I'm not a fan of the state -- any state.

I do agree, however, that there are "better" states and "worse" states, in the same sense that the common cold is "better" than, say Ebolavirus ... and for most of my life I've put the state of Israel closer to the "common cold" end of that scale, even to the point of holding out that state as worthy of defense against more evil states, existing and nascent (see here and here for examples).

I'm beginning to re-think my position. The agonizing reappraisal begins with my latest column at the Center for a Stateless Society, "Awake, O Zion."

The establishment of the state of Israel was Zionism’s downfall. For more than 60 years, that state has drawn on a balance of credit built up by others. It has claimed the accomplishments of the "practical" Zionists and accepted reparations for the murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust by a state the pre-Likud Stern Gang attempted to make common cause with, a state based on tenets the "revisionists" openly admired! It has long since exhausted those accounts. Anything good and righteous remaining in Zionism exists outside the context of the state of Israel, and suffers that state at its existential peril.

After all the talk in the MSM about freedom of association, it’s rather timely that they take notice of the Red&Black Cafe — an anarchist-owned establishment — exercising theirs.  CNN’s view of this as somehow weird news is amusing, as the only reason it isn’t more common is that there aren’t many anarchist co-op restaurants.  [...]

Former Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) writing in The Huffington Post:

As a long-time admirer of Warren Buffett, I held up leaving for work earlier this week to hear him on Morning Joe. He concluded his optimism on the economy by exclaiming: "America works!" I'm sure he meant the people of America work, which makes the country work. But Buffett pinpoints our trouble -- America's money works in China which causes America's people unable to find work in America. Corporate America off-shores work or its production and jobs like gangbusters to China. And today's report of an anemic production of 41,000 jobs in the private sector last month proves the point.

The recession began in December 2007. Now, after trillions of dollars of stimulation in the past two and a half years, the private sector is only creating 41,000 jobs a month. Something else is wrong. And what's wrong with the economy is that Corporate America off-shores its jobs as fast as it can. Three years ago, Princeton economist Alan Blinder, estimated that over ten years we would be losing on an average of three to four million jobs a year to off-shoring. But Blinder is the only economist who mentions the problem of losing our economy. Paul Krugman and the rest of the economists keep calling for stimulation. And stimulation is spent. President George W. Bush and the Federal Reserve stimulated the economy $7.5 trillion in eight years. Household debt increased $7 trillion during the same eight years so that by the time President Obama stimulated the economy had been stimulated $14.5 trillion and we were losing 779,000 jobs a month. President Obama stimulated the economy last year $1 trillion, $885 billion, and, with four months left in this fiscal year, we have already borrowed and stimulated the economy $1 trillion, $148 billion (6/4/10).

We keep bailing the economy boat with stimulation and fail to plug the off-shore hole in the bottom. Plugging the off-shore hole is kept "top secret." Wall Street, Goldman Sachs and the financial houses, the big banks, and now Corporate America, oppose plugging this off-shore hole because that would stop the guaranteed and lucrative profits in China. If the President and Congress changed our tax laws and enforced our trade laws to make it profitable to produce in the United States, the incentive to off-shore would be destroyed.

For example, the President and Congress could eliminate the corporate tax and replace it with a 2% VAT by Labor Day and receive more revenues. Corporate America producing in China has a 17% VAT rebated at export and pays no tax on its imports to the United States, whereas, Corporate America producing in the United States pays an average of 27% corporate tax plus a 17% VAT when its export reaches Hong Kong, for a total of 44%. The 2% VAT would eliminate the 44% incentive to off-shore to China. Producing in China, Corporate America receives only 49% of the profit, but that 49% is guaranteed with no labor problems, health or legacy costs, no safety or environmental costs. The CEO back on Sixth Avenue in New York can have a quality control manager in China, and checking on production daily with the internet, the CEO has time for a round of golf. The President and Congress are kept quiet about the off-shoring with campaign contributions.

President Obama has no experience whatever in trade or globalization. Globalization is nothing more than a trade war with production looking for a country cheaper to produce. Since everything can be produced everywhere, the economist would have us believe that all the United States can do is hunker down and equalize our labor, pay, safety and environmental regulations, to meet the global competition. This is the race to the bottom, and, unfortunately, the labor leadership goes along by continually calling for more free trade agreements to protect labor and the environment. We ought to learn by now that the free trade agreements only protect Corporate America's investment. Labor hunkers down with pay cuts and downsizing as if nothing can be done. All we need to do is change our tax laws and enforce our trade laws to protect domestic production and the environment.

I have worked with corporate America to enforce our trade laws that protect domestic production, jobs, safety, and the environment. Our efforts in the Congress passed by both Houses were vetoed by both Republican and Democratic presidents at the behest of the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations, both run by the big banks making a majority of their money outside of the United States. But after NAFTA with Mexico and China being admitted to the World Trade Organization, corporate America gave up its efforts in the Courts and Congress to enforce our trade laws and joined China in the trade war. Ironically, corporate America is making communism work.

After World War II, Japan started a trade war for market share by closing its market, subsidizing its manufacture, selling its export at cost, and making up the profit in the closed market. This put General Motors in bankruptcy and Toyota #1. China enlarged Japan's assault by opening its market for foreign technology and expertise, cutting the cost of its export with minimum labor, safety and environmental concerns. China developed the trade war into a war not just for trade but the entire economy -- investment, research, technology, development, production, jobs -- the economy. Today all nations fight fiercely in globalization. Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Germany, France, etc., all have invaded the United States economy using their VAT tax advantage. For example, Germany, with its 19% VAT, recently announced the production of windmills in Charleston, S. C. With parts produced in Germany and exported at a 3% cost to Charleston, German production in the United States enjoys a 16% advantage over domestic production. Highballing the cost of producing parts in Germany, little income tax is paid for production of its windmills in the United States. Germany has established a beachhead to take over the energy jobs that the President and Congress keep saying we ought to develop.

We have lost and are losing more jobs to off-shoring than the recession. By the time President Bush stimulated, South Carolina had lost its textile industry, North Carolina its furniture industry, Michigan its automobile industry, Intel had left Silicone Valley for China, and Bill Gates had moved Microsoft research to China. But the President only moves to save jobs from the recession. And President Obama is our only hope. Under the Constitution, tax and trade measures must originate in the House of Representatives. No House member will introduce a tax or trade measure unless it's sanctioned by the White House. Moreover, Republican and Democratic House members are more concerned with campaign contributions rather than the economy. The President can plug the off-shoring hole and save the economy by the following:


1. Like President Nixon in 1971, President Obama should institute a 10% surcharge on imports to stop the deficits in the balance of trade. This would put the world on notice that the United States had come in from the cold in the trade war and would now compete in globalization.
2. Call for the Congress to eliminate the corporate tax and replace it with a 2% VAT.
3. Section 201 of our trade laws calls on the President to move with tariffs or import quotas when America production is endangered. Instead of enforcing Section 201, we waited for General Motors to go bankrupt, needing a bailout. Move with tariffs or import quotas on any endangered production.
4. We've got the troops, but our defense is endangered because of our reliance on foreign production for materiel and equipment to fight. The War Production Act of 1950 should be enforced to provide for the materiel and equipment necessary to our national defense. This would create millions of jobs.

If the President moves to create jobs by changing our tax laws or enforcing our trade laws, coming down on his head in opposition will be Wall Street, Corporate America and its entities, the Business Roundtable and the United States Chamber of Commerce, crying: "Free trade," "protectionism," "don't start a trade war." Wall Street and Corporate America want to keep profits in China flowing; keep the stock market up.

But President Obama is our only hope.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-ernest-frederick-hollings/our-only-hope_b_601170.html

... and I'm sorry about that, but it's been a busy week.

I spent last weekend (Friday thru Monday) at the Libertarian National Convention. I mostly mo/micro/phone-blogged (with the occasional assist from an Asus EEE PC netbook) from there as "The National Desk" (Tumblr | Twitter). Should have done more photography, but I tend to get caught up in things and forget that.

On Tuesday, I began my new job as media coordinator at the Center for a Stateless Society.

In theory, this will be a 20 hour per week position, but I'm trying to hit the ground running and have spent closer to 40 (in four days!). I'm building media lists, working old (and trying to develop new) radio and TV contacts, making unreasonable demands on the Center's fine people, etc. The idea is to turn the Center into a media resource that gets noticed -- Center op-eds in newspapers, Center talking heads on talk radio and cable news, etc.

Results so far this week include one radio booking and one newspaper pickup of a Center op-ed. A month from now, I hope to be able to report the same results on a daily basis and then some.

Yeah, you knew this would turn into a bleg, didn't you? The Center is doing a lot of work on a very small budget. That budget just went up some. Since the Center is transparent with its supporters, I'll be equally transparent with my readers.

C4SS put out $275 to get me started -- that went for a "professional" membership in a media contact service, and for purchase of a cell phone which I'll answer professionally on C4SS's behalf 8 hours a day in theory and 24/7 in practice.

They'll also be paying me $640 a month for that 20 (in theory) hours per week. I'm retaining the title of "Senior News Analyst" as well at my request, but I'll be writing at least one column a week (gratis, off the clock) instead of at least two (at $25 each).

I'd appreciate your support for the Center. Not just because I like groceries and beer (although I do, indeed, like groceries and beer), but because we're doing the important stuff and I want us to succeed at it.

There are various ways to support the Center, from a one-time donation to various levels of monthly contribution. And of course there's the monthly goal-meeting fundraiser:



Thanks in advance for your help. I hope to get back on a reasonably frequent blogging schedule here at KN@PPSTER starting next week.

Thoreau questions whether he’s a libertarian.  Read the whole thing, I’m not going to even attempt to break that up. There’s a lot of people out there, people that get way more attention than they deserve, who claim libertarianism yet have no real philosophical grounding to it (and no, selfishness does not count; you’re thinking Objectivism, [...]

Patri Friedman makes a comment about disaster liability.  Brian Doherty, as an excuse to mention Reason’s dumbassed cruise (which I’m surprised Patri is planning on attending), quotes him.  Of course, hilarity ensues, primarily in the form of site regulars actually defending limited liability via strawman — “Really, you would sue every single insignificant shareholder?” — [...]

From The Daily Yonder

Agriculture and Energy Secretaries Tom Vilsack and Steven Chu write about the benefits of energy independence for rural America:

Last month, President Obama outlined a broad energy security plan designed to end America’s dangerous dependence on foreign oil. As the President noted, this is about strengthening national security, but it’s also about strengthening America’s economic security.

Rural communities – which have been hardest hit by job losses for decades – will perhaps have the most to gain from the transition to a clean energy economy. For example, the economic stimulus bill signed by the President last year has already doubled the pace of investment in wind turbines, creating thousands of construction jobs in rural America as wind farms come online across the country.

There is also an enormous opportunity for rural America as we dramatically increase the use of biofuels, ranging from corn ethanol to promising new technologies like cellulosic ethanol and other even more advanced forms of biofuel.

Our goal is to more than triple America’s biofuel production in the next twelve years, cutting oil imports by $41 billion. Instead of sending that $41 billion overseas, we can invest it right here in America. Instead of depending on oil fields in other countries, we’ll depend on farm fields in America’s heartland.

This is an ambitious target – 36 billion gallons by 2022 – and it will mean a growing market for agricultural producers. We will build on the tremendous growth over the past few years in the production of corn based ethanol and soy based biodiesel, fuels that already play a valuable role in reducing oil imports.
Kate Gabrielle

Moving forward, these corn and soy based fuels will continue to provide a source of wealth creation for rural communities. In addition, we are developing new forms of biofuel that will create an even brighter future and a bigger role for rural America.

Read full article at:
http://www.dailyyonder.com/when-secretaries-speak-rurals-role-energy/2010/05/28/2769

With a promise to return Florida’s government to the people, Lawton M. (Bud) Chiles III, a Tallahassee businessman who served until recently as President of the Lawton Chiles Foundation, today announced that he has entered the race to become Florida’s next governor. Chiles, 57, said that the influence of money has caused state government to break its bond with the people it was created to serve.

“I’m running for Governor to speak for a million Floridians who are out of work right now,” Chiles said. “I’m running to help nearly a million children who have no health care – and for the millions of people who, like me, believe Florida can and must do better by its families and communities.”

Chiles said that state government has “broken faith” with the people it was created to serve, and he pointed to contributions to candidates and parties as the reason.

“It’s big money versus big money and the people are left on the sidelines,” he said. “I refuse to play that game. I am in this race as an independent, beholden to no party. My campaign is all about bringing people together, not dividing folks.”

Not only will he refuse party money, Chiles added that he also will not accept contributions from political action committees (PACs) or large corporations- and is limiting contributions to $250.

As president of the Lawton Chiles Foundation – named in honor of his late father – Chiles has spent the last several months walking across the state, meeting with teachers, children’s advocates and local leaders. According to Chiles, the hard work and cooperation he witnessed made him realize that the communities ought to serve as a model for the state.

“I’ve seen firsthand that the answers to our most challenging problems are found right in our own communities,” Chiles said. “These collaborative efforts are working because people are coming together not as Democrats or Republicans, but as community leaders – to improve education, help foster kids, and end homelessness.”

Chiles said that his campaign will be focused on energizing the people of Florida who have been left out and whose voices haven’t been heard. He promised fast action on reforming campaign finance laws and making government more transparent to the people.

Chiles said he expects to continue his way across Florida, meeting with people in the communities and learning firsthand about their successes and challenges. A major campaign rally to kick off the campaign is scheduled for his hometown of Lakeland on June 12.

The Lights in the Tunnel by Martin Ford, which I reviewed here, is now available as a free eBook.

-BP continues to wing it w/r/t stopping their oil leak.  Meanwhile their stock value sinks.  If this kind of fallout made oil executives flat broke then perhaps there’d be better effort in the Pre-emption of Environmental Catastrophes department, hmm? -Giant sinkholes open up in Guatemala.  Still waiting for the plague of locusts… -The War on Drugs begets [...]

The Israeli government has been running a blockade on Gaza for a few years.  Recently an attempt by activists to bring aid through it was met with That Thing That Governments Do, and there’s been a lot of reaction to it already.  Here’s an example that really caught my eye, due to the comparison made: True, [...]

The new issue of ALLiance Journal is out. Because I am vain and given to self-promotion, I'm linking directly to page 30, which is where my contribution, "Wobbly, and I won't fall down," begins. Teaser:

Two things I heartily agree with IWW on:

First, the state must go!

Secondly, the most likely way to successfully rid ourselves of it is through non-political, even anti-political, means -- the IWW's tools of preference are "building the new society in the shell of the old," a phrase which adherents of Samuel E. Konkin's agorism/counter-economics/Movement of the Libertarian Left will surely recognize, and the general strike.
Speaking of ALLiance, it was great to get to spend some time (not nearly enough time, but some) with Chris Lempa, James Tuttle, Gary Chartier and other left-libertarian luminaries at the Libertarian National Convention over the weekend.

After putting out the Facebook announcement for the "Radicals Luncheon" on Saturday, I got more and more worried about attendance. I was hoping for 30, but I was afraid it would be ten. Shouldn't have worried -- I stopped counting when I reached 50. It was an entirely social event, no presentations, etc., just fellowship and socializing.

The turnout put a spring in my (backache-plagued) step when I left the luncheon to attend the organizational meeting of the Libertarian Non-Intervention Caucus. Within 24 hours of our formation, we had not only successfully lobbied for the defeat of a mildly hawkish change to the LP's platform, but saw the existing plank replaced with an even stronger non-intervention statement written by Rebecca Sink-Burris (who won my vote for at-large LNC with her proposal -- so far as I know she is not affiliated with the caucus, btw). Thanks to George Phillies for bringing the caucus together.

Tomorrow ... er, today ... I start a new job with the Center For a Stateless Society. See the Center's May Fundraiser pitch for details, and pitch in if you like what we're doing.

Well here it is--the moment I'm sure you've all been waiting for. The Center for a Stateless Society is raising funds for the month of May to pay all us writers for what we've already done.

The good news (great news!) is that there's currently $220 coming in automatically through the true fans system (i.e. the monthly PayPal subscription option). With $220 of the $1455 monthly budget (around 15%) now funded automatically, that leaves $1235 for May. If enough people subscribe for a modest monthly subscription (just a few dozen people choosing the $10 or $25 option would put us over the top), it's quite conceivable you'll never have to read any more of these blegs. Imagine if Jerry Lewis had a Chipin subscription option and promised he'd go away forever if enough people cooperated! The MDA would be funded through the year 3000.

In the meantime, though, we've got $1140 left to raise (I see we're up to $95 in contributions). So if you value the work we're doing at C4SS and have the means to do so, we'd certainly appreciate anything you can throw our way (just go here to contribute or do so with the Chipin widget to the left).

Or (again) you can just go here to select a subscription option for some amount you'll hardly even miss every month, and then just smugly sit back and ignore future begathons.

Left (your left, not mine): Kelly Wall, editor, Voice of Freedom (Libertarian Party of Tennessee newsletter).

Right: Two-term Wilson County (Tennessee) Commissioner and 2010 state legislative candidate Heather Scott.

A leading Senate Democrat is proposing legislation to discourage outsourcing of U.S. jobs. I applaud Senator Schumer for his efforts to protect U.S. jobs and help save the middle class.

The New York Daily News reports:

Senator Chuck Schumer wants to tax companies 25 cents for every customer service call that's outsourced overseas.

Schumer (D-N.Y.) proposed a bill yesterday that would slap the tax on companies that transfer calls from American area codes to foreign call centers.

"How many times do we hear of a company shutting down a facility in New York or elsewhere in the country and sending the jobs abroad? Almost daily," Schumer said.

The measure also would require telling U.S. customers that their call is being transferred - and to which country.

"1.6 billion calls are being transferred to call centers, often without the customer's knowledge," Schumer said.

Companies would be required to report their total customer service calls and the number relayed overseas.

India, Indonesia, Ireland, Canada, the Philippines and South Africa are countries popular with American companies looking to outsource call centers to cut costs.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/05/31/2010-05-31_reach_out_and_tax_outsource_calls_schumer.html#ixzz0pWVVn8Ly

Not saying I won't blog here at KN@PPSTER this weekend, but my main plan is to concentrate on "raw coverage" -- photography, microblogging, etc. -- and let others (this means you) grab/adapt/use what I originate.

Tumblr is set up nicely for quick posting of photos, video and audio, so look for that kind of thing at The National Desk. Its associated Twitter feed and my personal Facebook profile are the places to find quick microblog updates.

If I do any long form stuff of my own, it will appear here or, more likely, at Independent Political Report (where you should consider yourself pointed for the best coverage by others as well).