An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it.

— James A. Michener

Any dictators residing in the northern part of the Korean peninsula should probably consider the implications: U.S. Air Force Test Fires Missile From California Base.

Michael Yon is back in Afghanistan.

Kabul has changed.  In recent years the roads were often clogged with military convoys, filling the town with aggravations and dangers often caused by the mere presence of large numbers of soldiers in proximity to the dusty beehive called Kabul.  Yesterday, in a drive around the city, the only obvious presence was that of the ANA and ANP (Afghan National Army and Police).  The few U.S. or other soldiers who could be seen were driving in armored civilian SUVs.

The roads themselves are bad as ever and there seemed to be more trash than before.  All westerners and Afghans that I’ve spoken with have said security in Kabul has improved, probably due to the heavy fighting in Pakistan that has drawn attention away.  Also, the opium trade is booming and U.S. forces are increasing their numbers in southern Afghanistan.  The fighting has by no means ended – it’s increasing — but has been taken more to the parking lot.

Keith Jarrett with Jack DeJohnette and Gary Peacock, telepathic as always, with an interpretation of the jazz classic “Stella by Starlight”. The art of the jazz trio at its most refined.

Here’s the latest news from the coup in Honduras, where pro-Zelaya demonstrators showed up at presidential offices today, as the Obama administration tried hard to seem like they weren’t totally surprised: Protesters Confront Soldiers After Coup in Honduras.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — One day after the country’s president, Manuel Zelaya, was abruptly awakened, ousted and deported by the army here, hundreds of protesters massed at the presidential offices in an increasingly tense face-off with hundreds of camouflage-clad soldiers carrying riot shields and automatic weapons.

The protesters, many wearing masks and carrying wooden or metal sticks, yelled taunts at the soldiers across the fences ringing the compound and braced for the army to try to dispel them. “We’re defending our president,” said one protester, Umberto Guebara, who appeared to be in his 30s. “I’m not afraid. I’d give my life for my country.”

Leaders across the hemisphere joined in condemning the coup. Mr. Zelaya, who touched down Sunday in Costa Rica, still in his pajamas, insisted, “I am the president of Honduras.”

The Honduran Congress late Sunday officially voted Mr. Zelaya out of office, replacing him with the president of Congress, Roberto Micheletti, who said Monday that he would resist pressure from other nations demanding the reinstatement of the ousted president, news agencies reported.

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the last senior member of the administration to visit Honduras, just three weeks ago, said that the United States was working toward “full restoration of democratic order in Honduras.”

She said that the situation in Honduras “has evolved into a coup.” But when pressed by a reporter, she refused to say explicitly that the United States was demanding that Mr. Zelaya be returned to power, although senior administration officials pointed out that the United States had signed on to an Organization of American States statement on Sunday that included such a demand.

“We haven’t laid out any demands that we’re insisting on, because we’re working with others on behalf of our ultimate objectives, which are shared broadly,” Mrs. Clinton said. But, she added: “We think that the arrest and expulsion of a president is certainly cause for concern that has to be addressed. And it’s not just with respect to whether our aid continues, but whether democracy in Honduras continues.”

The crazy uncle’s influence on US conservative politics is definitely increasing. CQ Politics reports on growing GOP support for Ron Paul’s ‘Audit the Fed’ Bill.

He may have faded from the national political scene a year ago, after his dark-horse presidential run came to naught, but Rep. Ron Paul ’s influence is still being felt in campaigns and policy debates across the country. Indeed, the latest legislative priority of the libertarian Texas Republican — auditing the Federal Reserve — has gained support in unlikely quarters.

Paul’s legislation, popularly known as the “Audit the Fed” bill, has drawn 244 cosponsors, ranging from Ohio’s John A. Boehner , the conservative Republican floor leader, to Michigan’s John Conyers Jr. , the liberal Democratic chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Some Democrats have even picked up on Paul’s rhetoric. “It’s time to yank the shroud off the Fed and shine some light on these events,” New York Democrat Edolphus Towns , chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said at a hearing last week about the shotgun marriage between Bank of America and Merrill Lynch last fall to stave off the latter’s collapse.

Paul’s efforts have only gained in political significance since the Obama administration unveiled its proposal to give the Fed new powers over the financial regulatory system.

At the heart of Paul’s anti-Fed crusade, as well as his other ventures, is the grass-roots lobbying organization Campaign for Liberty, a home base for his fervent band of presidential supporters. The organization was launched just over a year ago with cash left over from his bid for the GOP nomination. The 501(c)4 non-profit group claims a quarter-million members and says it has 20 full-time employees and coordinators in all 50 states.

According to spokesman Jesse Benton, Campaign for Liberty has raised approximately $3 million so far this year and plans “to spend millions of dollars educating as many Americans as possible on monetary policy.”

Paul is the organization’s honorary chairman, and though he has no official day-to-day duties, “we consult with him on every major move that we make,” Benton said.

Paul’s imprint is also seen on the 2010 campaign: At least five prospective candidates for the House and Senate are being dubbed the next generation of the Ron Paul movement, including his son and fellow physician Rand Paul. The younger Paul is considering a run for the Senate in Kentucky if incumbent Republican Jim Bunning decides not to run again.

But the potential candidate generating the most interest among Paul’s followers is Peter Schiff, who might join the increasingly crowded filed of Republicans wanting to take on Democratic Sen. Christopher J. Dodd in Connecticut.

Wired has a balanced look at the controversy around the Waxman-Markey “cap and trade” climate change bill passed last week by the House: Update: Climate Bill Clears House by Narrow Margin.

Commonly referred to as the Waxman-Markey bill, after the original Democratic sponsors Henry Waxman of California and Edward Markey of Massachussets, the legislation has been the subject of aggressive attacks by both right- and left-wing groups.

Right-wing groups like the Heritage Foundation say the bill will cripple the American economy. They point out that the bill will effectively raise the price of carbon, and because the vast majority of our electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, the cost of electricity is likely to rise, at least in the near-term.

Left-leaning environmental groups say the bill doesn’t go nearly far enough to combat climate change, particularly in the next decade. They also aren’t happy that the utilities will receive their carbon permits for free. Many were pushing for 100 percent auctions, with the money refunded to taxpayers or used to support alternative energy R&D.

While both sides seem to have very specific projections about the costs of the bill 10 years in the future, all numbers should be viewed skeptically. It’s very difficult to predict what the price of fossil fuels will be three years out, let alone 10. For example, if global oil and natural gas prices spike — and this bill has generated substantial investments in alternatives — then it will seem like a great idea, regardless of the legislation’s impact on the country’s carbon dioxide emissions.

That level of uncertainty could be carried across the rest of the bill. One major argument in favor of passing the climate bill is that it will make international climate negotiations in Copenhagen later this year easier. If the U.S. is leading on the issue, China and India could institute greenhouse gas curbs of their own.

The Supreme Court has overturned an appeals court decision made by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, ruling that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn. were unfairly denied promotions due to their race: Ricci Decision Provides Rallying Point for Opposition.

Conservatives are jumping all over today’s Supreme Court decision that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, using it to attack high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s earlier ruling against them.

But White House officials are fighting back, and they spent the morning reaching out to Senate Judiciary Committee members to make their case that the ruling should have little bearing on Sotomayor’s nomination.

“The issue from the Sotomayor perspective is, does this call into question anything about her judgement? And it doesn’t,” said one senior White House official. “The majority made it clear they are making a new rule. No one has really questioned that she did what she was supposed to do.’’

The real outrage, however, is in the other decision made by the Supreme Court today: Supreme Court Rules 9/11 Families Cannot Sue Saudi Royals.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that families of September 11th victims cannot file a lawsuit against the Saudi royal family.

The high court upheld an appeals court decision that victim’s families cannot pursue lawsuits since the Saudis are protected by sovereign immunity, which prevents foreign countries from being sued in U.S. courts.

Nearly 6,000 plaintiffs had planned to sue, claiming money from Saudi Arabia and four of its princes ended up in the hands of Al Qaida members.

Wall Street scoundrel Bernie Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years in prison for perpetrating one of the biggest financial frauds in history.

NEW YORK – Convicted swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison Monday for fraud so extensive that the judge said he needed to send a symbolic message to those who might imitate his fraud and to victims who need relief.

Applause broke out in the crowded Manhattan courtroom after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old defendant, who said he sought no forgiveness and knew he must live “with this pain, this torment, for the rest of my life.”