Today’s Links: July 25, 2012

OPINION

ANDREW KENT: “Just Don’t Ask For Money”
“Last week, the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights sued the government over the drone strikes that killed American citizens in Yemen in 2011. The suit is almost surely a loser. But the rationale the courts will probably use for disposing of it, if not the outcome, is troubling : It shows how it’s nearly impossible to win compensation if you say you’ve been harmed by anything that relates to U.S. national security.”

DAVID GORDON & SEAN WEST: “U.S. Should Stop Pretending It’s an Emerging Market”
“One of the biggest shocks of the financial crisis was that stable wealthy countries could come to resemble unstable emerging markets in both behavior and market perception. When the U.S. asserted control over its financial and auto companies, the very distinction between developed and emerging nations disappeared. Europe continues to be a source of sovereign risk comparable to less-developed countries. The same couldn’t be said, however, about the U.S.: Its emerging-market moment is over. Yet, this reality seems lost on the commentariat, many of whom fixate on every potential risk around every possible corner.”

GENE HEALY: “Why America Needs Governor Johnson in the Presidential Debates”
“Last fall, GQ ran a profile of former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, then a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, under the headline ‘Is This the Sanest Man Running for President?’ The piece noted that in 2003, Johnson scaled Mount Everest with a broken leg, and in 2005, broke his back paragliding off the highest mountain in Maui. ‘Sanest’? Well, maybe not. But Johnson, now running on the Libertarian Party ticket, is certainly the most interesting candidate in the 2012 field — and that’s not an attempt to damn with faint praise.”

NEWS

INNOVATION – Could Kickstarter Be Used to Crowdfund Journalism?
“Under increasing financial pressure from the web and the decline of print advertising, newspapers and other traditional media outlets have been laying off staff and trying to fill the gap with services such as Journatic — the hyperlocal aggregator that uses offshore workers — or simply doing without things like copy editors. But are there other solutions to that reporting gap? Crowdsourcing journalism through sites like Reddit could be one, but crowdfunding could be another: One journalist in Michigan has raised funding through a Kickstarter campaign so he can travel around the U.S. interviewing people about the upcoming election. Could crowdfunding allow other journalists to do investigative or in-depth projects as well?”

POP SCIENCE – Brain Sees Men as Whole, Women as Parts
“Women are more likely to be picked apart by the brain and seen as parts rather than a whole, according to research published online June 29 in the European Journal of Social Psychology. Men, on the other hand, are processed as a whole rather than the sum of their parts.”

NANNY STATE – Heated debate over NYC big sugary drinks ban plan
“‘I’m not overweight because of big-gulp sodas,’ said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. ‘Frankly, I’m overweight because I eat too much pasta, pastrami, bagels, cream cheese and lox, red velvet cake, cheese cake.’