End the War on Freedom

"The truth is that nobody is anti-environment. I have lots and lots of conservative friends and colleagues. I go to many of the most sinister right-wing meetings and parties. I've simply never heard anybody say they want to hurt the environment. No matter how many pave-the-planet jokes conservatives tell to annoy liberals, the truth is none of them really wants to. Some may not care that much one way or the other. But if given a cost-free option to maintain clean water, clean air and prospering ecosystems, there's really not a conservative -- with his marbles intact -- who wouldn't leap at it. In other words, all of the serious arguments are about means, not ends. For decades, Greens have insisted their means -- heavy-handed government command and control -- were the only way to those ends. ... Obviously, not every problem can be solved through tax credits or property rights, but the exciting solutions these days are coming from the people at least willing to entertain that possibility." -- Jonah Goldberg

"Our hopes for the future are high. Despite the hectic pace of change in today's world, we know that by allowing the freest expression of individual human aspirations, we can surmount our challenges and build a more secure and peaceful future. We know this because of a simple truth which makes our societies strong: Freedom works." -- Ronald Reagan

# Stevie Wonder's new album, A Time to Love, is supposed to be released in the U.S. today. It's not yet shipping from Amazon, nor do I see it at iTunes, where I intend to spend my free Pepsi tunes to buy it. Rats.

# Claire Wolfe at Backwoods Home Magazine - When the Police Don't Take No for an Answer - an update of a 1999 Hardyville column. Old hat to me, but well said. Bottom line: don't ever consent to a search, and it's usually not a good idea to physically resist the cops. Personally, as the courts become more and more corrupt, I think we'll come to a time when we won't have any choice but to eradicate the cops, but that time probably hasn't come yet. [claire]

# Don Froomkin at The Washington Post - Laura Bush's Coming-Out Party - I heard the soundtrack of some of Mrs. Bush'es jokes on the radio yesterday morning. They were really funny. I was laughing my head off while driving to work. C-Span has a video (Real™, Laura's speaking starts at ), and USA Today has the full text. My favorites are below, but if you can make the video work, do that instead of reading; she gives a good deadpan delivery.

But George and I are complete opposites -- I'm quiet, he's talkative, I'm introverted, he's extroverted, I can pronounce nuclear...

I saw my in-laws down at the ranch over Easter. We like it down there. George didn't know much about ranches when we bought the place. Andover and Yale don't have a real strong ranching program. But I'm proud of George. He's learned a lot about ranching since that first year when he tried to milk the horse. What's worse, it was a male horse.

It's always very interesting to see how the ranch air invigorates people when they come down from Washington. Recently, when Vice President Cheney was down, he got up early one morning, he put on his hiking boots, and he went on a brisk, 20- to 30-foot walk.

# Denise at The Ten Ring - Convention Picture--Barrett - a photo taken at the NRA convention of a sign at the Barrett Firearms booth. Text below. Bravo Ronnie Barrett! [codrea]

# Nicholas Strakon at Strike the Root - Pseudoephedrine and Pseudofreedom - commentary on the epidemic of limiting access to over-the-counter cold medicine because a handful of people allegedly use it to manufacture methamphetamine. [root]

I have to wonder what other common products will be yanked from small-town shelves over the next few years in order to advance the great state-building project and (not incidentally) award special privilege to the pharmacy industry. I hope some demented subculturals don't start stuffing toilet paper up their nose, lest we villagers be forced to hit the highway in search of a licensed druggist from whom we might score a few rolls of Charmin.

# Uri Avnery at Strike the Root - A Tale of Two Demonstrations - Disgusting! If I were Israeli, this would make me weep for what has happened to my country. [root]

Thus the secret came out and was also documented by the cameras: "Arabized" undercover soldiers had been sent into action. These started throwing stones at the security people in order to provide them with a pretext to attack us. The moment they were uncovered, they turned on the demonstrators nearest to them, drew revolvers and started to arrest them. Later on, when it became clear that the events had been recorded by foreign television crews, the police officially confirmed that throwing stones is the method used by "Arabized" undercover soldiers so as to merge with the crowd.