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Friday, October 31, 2003
P. J. [Patrick Jake] O’Rourke (1947-) Journalist and Author “A little government and a little luck are necessary in life; but only a fool trusts either of them.” “The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop.” Advocates for Self-Government - Libertarian Education: "The Libertarian Position on: the Military Draft History shows that free people can be counted on to defend their homes and their country. But the draft is slavery, and slaves make lousy defenders of freedom. I like knowing I'm being protected by people who are in the military because they want to be there, not because they were forced against their will to be there. A military focused on defending America instead of policing the globe would reduce manpower needs and further eliminate any reason to have a draft or draft registration. Let's let free people defend freedom." Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty: "The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.'' -- Thomas Jefferson Overlawyered: Countersue? Just try it, doc "When doctors are named in groundless malpractice lawsuits, they often want to fight back by filing countersuits or moving for sanctions. But, as American Medical News is the latest to learn, our legal system is elaborately structured to deny them any such recourse for the injury done them by the lawsuit. (Tanya Albert, 'Fighting frivolous lawsuits: Doctors engage in an uphill battle', American Medical News, Oct. 27). For a few of the rare instances in which countersuits or sanctions motions have been successful, see Sept. 6-8, 2002; Jun. 14-15, 2000; Sept. 14, 1999." Posted by Walter Olson at October 30, 2003 01:13 PM | TrackBack Media Research Center Home Page - 10/31/2003 12:54:23 PM "CyberAlert: Exposing Media Bias Daily Friday, October 31: • ABC Finds “Talk of a 7.2 Percent Growth Rate Falls Flat” • NPR Ombudsman Reacts to CyberAlert Item About Nina Totenberg • On 60 Minutes II Dan Rather Raises Jennings/Toby Keith Dispute • Letterman’s “Top Ten Things Never Before Said By Wolf Blitzer” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Main page provides links to individual articles. Junkscience.com -- Main Page 'Enviros fan California's flames' - 'Our forests are detonating like napalm bombs. We need to remove dead and dying bug-killed timber,' said Rep. Wally Herger, R-Calif. Is this Monday-morning quarterbacking spurred by the wildfires now raging in California? Hardly.' (Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com)" Mona Charen: The price of being wrong "---Bush was hardly alone in believing Iraq possessed WMDs. All of the Democratic candidates thought so, too. As did the U.N., the British, the French (yes, the French should know, they built Saddam's first reactor back in 1981), the Russians and even Scott Ritter. He certainly possessed them in the past, and used them on the Kurds and the Iranians. And why would Bush lie about something that would so rapidly be revealed?---" Jonah Goldberg: War: What are Dems Good for? Absolutely nothing "---Every single good thing about liberalism in foreign policy would have the Democrats seeking more money for Iraq, especially now that the U.N. supports our efforts. In the tradition of FDR, Truman, Kennedy and Sen. Henry Jackson, liberals should be the ones demanding that we send more teachers, more doctors, more librarians and more troops to protect them. They should be standing on the tarmac helping to load another shipment of soft-ice-cream machines and Ping-Pong tables bound for Fallujah, Tikrit and Basra. They should support it because it's the 'nice' liberal thing to do, and they should support it because any sober-minded assessment of our interests dictates that we need to do it. By not supporting our efforts for either reason, they advance the rot of their principles and resurrect the impression that liberals cannot be trusted on foreign policy. But these Democrats don't care, or at least they don't care enough. They see each setback in Iraq as a political opportunity. And they should be ashamed. Just ask Zell Miller." Jonah Goldberg is editor of National Review Online, a Townhall.com member group. Another Bailout for the States? Wouldn’t be prudent - Andrew Grossman "---$20 billion is how much Congress and the President gave the states this past May to help ease their budget woes. And now many governors want more. Bailing out the states was a bad idea then, and it's a worse idea now. The big problem is that the states' budget difficulties are largely of their own making.---" boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze DEMOCRATS ON SUICIDE WATCH "Nancy Pelosi is beside herself. Yesterday's news that the economy is growing at a 19-year record pace was very depressing news for Democrats. Pelosi knows as well as anyone else that the last sector of the economy to recover after a recession is jobs, particularly manufacturing jobs. Pelosi also knows that mindless rhetoric works on Democratic voters. Yesterday she was screeching 'but where are the jobs!?'" Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Freeloading free riders Source: WND Author: Ilana Mercer 'Would that the American Welfare State did not exist. But since it does and is, unfortunately, likely to persist for some time to come, it must stop at the Rio Grande.' (10/31/03)" Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Worried warriors? Source: TCS Europe Author: Iain Murray 'If Greenpeace is found guilty of illegal accounting practices, it will be a huge moral blow to all those well-meaning people who have had 'a minute for Greenpeace.' However, it is not as if many who were there at the beginning, like Patrick Moore and Greenpeace Foundation, did not warn us.' (10/30/03)" Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Trial lawyers increasing blackmail over obesity lawsuits Source: CCF Author: staff 'This trial-lawyer front group [PHAI] now insists that companies monitor the calorie consumption of their customers and demonstrate -- before next summer -- that they have somehow made people eat less. If everyone hasn't gone on a diet, trial lawyers will sue. Actually, they will probably sue regardless.' (10/30/03) " Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net: South Jersey property taxes soaring Source: Philadelphia Inquirer '[P]roperty owners across New Jersey have been stunned when they have opened this year's tax bills. Driven largely by school funding, the increase in taxes on typical homes in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties this year was far greater than the annual average increase over the previous five years ...' (10/31/03)" Democrats Call Record Growth in Domestic Production 'Meaningless "While economists were scratching their heads over their missed predictions and business news services were describing the phenomenon with words and phrases like 'sizzling' and 'rocketed ahead,' Congressional Democrats dismissed the largest single-quarter growth in U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 20 years as 'meaningless.'---" The truth about thimerosal - Letters to the Editor (6th letter on page) - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED "---Because 35,000 people die from influenza each year and another 115,000 are hospitalized, physicians and nurses are concerned that if inaccurate information about the safety of this vaccine dissuades people from taking it, needless deaths and illness could result.---" Help from above - Fires' economic toll likely to be mixed - Recordnet.com "The Southern California wildfires will likely have a mixed economic impact, devastating tourism in rural playgrounds like Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear but causing a temporary bump in the construction industry as homes are rebuilt, economists said Thursday.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The reporter talked to pretty dumb economists. This is an example of a fundamental economic fallacy - the idea that repairing or rebuilding damage to structures is an economic plus. It's called "The broken window fallacy". Run a Google search on the term. - TA Thursday, October 30, 2003
Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It's not good at much else.'' -- Tom Clancy on Kudlow and Cramer 9/2/03 ISIL -- In Pursuit of Liberty "---The right to property - the freedom to acquire, control, use and dispose of material possessions - is essential. Without property rights, no other rights are possible. Without the right to publish and read magazines and newspress papers, you have no freedom of and little freedom of speech. Without the right to own religious books and support houses of worship, you have no freedom of religion. Without the right to earn a living and keep what you earn, there is no right to life. Without the right to own and use weapons, you can't defend your life, home or family.---" P. J. [Patrick Jake] O’Rourke (1947-) Journalist and Author - Quotes On Power “There is no virtue in compulsory government charity, and there is no virtue in advocating it. A politician who portrays himself as ‘caring’ and ‘sensitive’ because he wants to expand the government’s charitable programs is merely saying that he’s willing to try to do good with other people’s money. Well, who isn’t? And a voter who takes pride in supporting such programs is telling us that he’ll do good with his own money -- if a gun is held to his head.” Interpreting the Constitution Contextually "---Both conservative and liberal constitutionalism, in short, ignore essential principles of the Constitution, principles that are stated clearly and explicitly in the document itself. The conservatives' chief blind spot is the Ninth Amendment (see sidebar for this and other constitutional passages), which was intended by the Founders not only to protect unenumerated rights but also to ensure that rights provisions generally be interpreted as broadly as possible. Conservatives also tend to overlook, or to interpret too narrowly, the many provisions in the Constitution—particularly the Due Process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments—that explicitly protect property and liberty rights in all their aspects, including the so-called right to privacy and other rights of personal autonomy. Left-liberals, on the other hand, are blind to the Ninth Amendment's companion provision in the Bill of Rights, the Tenth Amendment, which affirms a fundamental feature of the Constitution: that it creates a national government of limited, enumerated powers. By dismissing the Tenth Amendment as stating a mere truism, as the Supreme Court did in its 1941 decision in United States v. Darby, liberal constitutionalism not only ignores the importance of the Amendment (which Thomas Jefferson regarded as the foundation of the Constitution) but also tends to render meaningless the Framers' carefully crafted list of Congress's legislative powers in Article I of the Constitution. Liberal constitutionalism thus overlooks the mandate of the Tenth Amendment, which was meant not merely to protect federalism but also to ensure that the power-granting clauses of the Constitution be interpreted narrowly, in light of the document's enumerated-powers scheme.---" Will Janice Brown face the Big Stall - Welcome to Pacific Legal Foundation (Via: free-market.net) "---This unprecedented obstruction of the Senate’s advise-and-consent role has been accomplished largely because of active complicity from big media. In this case, however, “active” means an aggressive failure to cover the Democrats’ refusal to give up-or-down votes to key Bush judicial nominees. When the media isn’t ignoring the story altogether, it’s framing the controversy as mere politics as usual, nothing to get exercised about. The nasty “G” word (“gridlock”), which echoed through newscasts when a Republican Congress was declining to enact President Bill Clinton’s agenda, has gone into hibernation. A look back brings the double standard into focus. Journalists’ ho-hum response to the Democrats’ obstructionism would startle a time traveler from the 1950s, ‘60s or ‘70s when hatred of the filibuster was a prime tenet of liberal faith. The media shared the indignation over what was seen as an illegitimate, anti-democratic relic, a cudgel used only by drawling foes of civil rights and reactionary resisters to government expansion.---" Amish Children Bill # H.R.1943 - The Liberty Committee -- Legislation "---H.R. 1943 amends federal law to allow Amish teenagers to work in woodworking, as long as they are properly supervised and take reasonable safety precautions. H.R. 1943 protects the unique Amish way of life and takes a step toward ensuring that parents, not the federal government, make decisions regarding a child's work experience. After all, no politician or bureaucrat can ever know a child's unique needs, strengths and capabilities, as well as a child's parent. Since H.R. 1943 ensures that Amish children can learn woodworking skills and carry on their way of life free from the unnecessary intrusion of the federal government, The Liberty Committee supports this legislation." CyberAlert: Exposing Media Bias Daily - Media Research Center Home Page Wednesday, October 30: • CBS: Could Fire Cause Schwarzenegger to Void No Tax Hike Pledge? • Fineman: Newsweek’s Bush “Wimp” Cover a “Mistake” & “Juvenile” • Young People Pro-Bush, So Are They “Optimistic or Ill-Informed?” • Olbermann Publicizes Left-Wing Hit on NRA, Calls MRC “Wacko” • Tina Brown Discounts the Right’s “Predictable Flap” Over Reagans ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Main site provides links to individual articles. - TA The Wizard Behind The Obesity-Lawsuit Curtain Posted On October 29, 2003 "The Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI). It's a good name for a trial lawyer front-group that works to 'encourage and support litigation against the food industry.' And as the Center for Consumer Freedom's article in National Review Online points out, it's even less trustworthy than you thought. We shine a bright light on PHAI's executive director Ben Kelley, and detail his history of foisting false images on an unsuspecting public -- all in the interest of massive settlements for his trial-lawyer sponsors. In 1993, as president of a different trial lawyer front group, Kelley was instrumental in staging what the Los Angeles Times called 'the biggest TV scam since the Quiz Scandals.' Unknown to viewers of Dateline NBC, model rocket engines were attached to the gas tank of a GM pickup truck and detonated by remote control, in order to ensure an explosion during a videotaped test collision. Following the Dateline episode, Kelley wrote a memo to his trial-lawyer sponsors, in which he proposed taping a second staged explosion that would be made 'available for public dissemination and litigation use.'---" ENN Affiliate News - Lieberman-McCain Bill a Hidden Tax on Consumers (Via: JunkScience.com) "---'The cap-and-trade approach to rationing energy use would be a hidden tax on all Americans,' said Myron Ebell, Director of Global Warming Policy at CEI. 'The Lieberman-McCain bill is pointless political grandstanding and a shameless con game. They assure us that the initial costs will be low, but hope that we won't notice how expensive it quickly becomes. The Kyoto Protocol was always a dead-end approach and now it's dead, and Senators Lieberman and McCain need to get over it and move on to some other fashionable big government cause.'---" NCPA - Daily Policy Digest - Federal Taxing and Spending Benefit Some States "---According to Moody, federal spending on defense and other procurement dollars are often funneled to the state of powerful congressmen. Also, state governments can grab more federal grant money by skillfully manipulating their spending to comply with federal regulations." Source: Scott Moody, 'Federal Tax and Spending Patterns Benefit Some States, Leave Other Footing the Bill,' Tax Features, July/August 2003, Tax Foundation. For test http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxingspending.html For more on Effects of Federal Taxes on States http://www.ncpa.org/iss/tax/" NCPA - Daily Policy Digest - Farm Subsidies are Harm Subsidies "---Grewell argues that subsidies should be removed because they prevent competition by creating an entry barrier for new farmers, who may be more efficient. Under the current system subsidies only go to those who are already in the farming game, because they're based on the previous years' production. In addition, Grewell argues, agricultural subsidies are an obstacle to reducing trade barriers because they lead other countries to close their doors to U.S. exports." Source: J. Bishop Grewell, 'Farm Subsidies are Harm Subsidies,' American Enterprise, October/November 2003, American Enterprise Institute. For text http://www.taemag.com/issues/current_issue.asp For more on Federal Agriculture Policy http://eteam.ncpa.org/policy/Agriculture/Federal_Agriculture_Policy/ For more on Federal Spending and Budget Issues (Specific Spending Programs) http://www.ncpa.org/iss/bud/" Measuring the Federal Government's Unfunded Liability Thursday, October 30, 2003 "Social Security and Medicare have made future promises far in excess of tax revenues that will be collected at current tax rates. The difference between what has been promised to current and future generations and what will be collected from taxes dedicated to fund these programs is an "unfunded liability." How large are the federal government's unfunded obligations? According to a new NCPA study, that depends on how we measure them. If we confine our horizon to the next 75 years, as government actuaries have traditionally done, the unfunded liability is about $18 trillion in today's dollars -- more than six times as much as the federal government's outstanding bonds. If we focus only on people who are already participating in the system (either as beneficiaries or as taxpayers), the government's net debt is more than $24 trillion -- more than twice our current gross domestic product (GDP). If we consider only benefits that have been accrued so far (i.e., if we ended the program tomorrow and only paid benefits people have already earned), the debt is about $30 trillion -- about three times the size of our GDP. If we look indefinitely into the future -- and include not only people who are participating today, but all future generations -- the U.S. government's Social Security and Medicare unfunded obligations are equal to almost $50 trillion in today's dollars. This means that in order to ensure the government will keep its promises, we need to have $50 trillion on hand right now, invested at a rate of return of about 6 percent. Since we don't, the overall obligation will grow through time. Source: Liqun Liu, Andrew J. Rettenmaier and Thomas R. Saving, "How Large Is the Federal Government's Debt?" NCPA Policy Report No. 263, October 2003, National Center for Policy Analysis. For text http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st/st263 For more on the Federal Debt http://www.ncpa.org/iss/bud/ Medicare Trick or Treat "Imagine this: You've worked very hard to increase your income and assets over your working life. You've been responsible, invested intelligently, and planned ahead for your retirement. You contributed 2.9 percent in payroll taxes on your high income to support Medicare Part A (the hospital program). Plus you paid thousands of dollars in general federal taxes to fund Medicare Part B (outpatient doctor visits). Now you retire and begin to collect the promised benefits, including the Medicare benefits you thought were going to be there for you. But surprise! You and some other seniors may have to pay three times in premiums what most seniors pay for the same Medicare benefits. In other words, if you made more money and paid higher taxes, you may even have to pay higher premiums. Does this seem fair to those who have already paid higher Medicare taxes all their working lives?----" Debra Saunders: Bush's war on chaos "Yet the anti-war crowd argues that the best way to support American troops is to bring them home -- even though virtual surrender would make every U.S. soldier or sailor serving abroad a more inviting target. If, on the other hand, American and allied efforts prevail, if a representative government is installed, if young men in the breeding grounds of terror see determined Iraqis survive the vicious attacks designed destroy their ability to live, work and move freely and then go on to build their own nation, then terrorism loses." Gary Aldrich: More box cutters! "---Does anybody besides me think we are way off the track on screening the passengers at our nation’s airports? Forget about the box cutters! Arm the pilots like we said we were going to, and you have instantly solved the problem of box cutters. But it is the passengers, not the box cutters, who are the dangerous components that must be stopped at the gate. An 80-year old woman with a box cutter does not scare me. Right now, “PC” TSA screeners are what scare me." "Gary Aldrich is president and founder of The Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty, a TownHall.com member group" Emmett Tyrrell: The left doesn't have an alternative for Iraq "---Today the Bush administration, like the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, has no alternative but to resist terrorism and the states that support terrorism. The administration's job is made all the more difficult by the Democratic presidential candidates' cheap shots. The candidates who supported the Iraqi war resolution and now obfuscate their support and disparage our policy are shameless opportunists who will make our policy in Iraq all the more difficult and expensive.---" Larry Elder: Bush's foreign and domestic successes - do the media care? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Great article. Too many good points to summarize. A must read! - TA Marvin Olasky: Why hatred surrounding presidential elections grows "---The first 20th century president to inspire big-time hatred was Franklin Roosevelt, who began our national movement to a winner-take-all system. Now, many see their future happiness as dependent on who's in charge in Washington. A man with many female friends is unlikely to become despondent if one of them marries someone else. A man who believes that his happiness depends on marrying one particular woman may hate a successful rival suitor.---" Ann Coulter: The 'mainstream' is located in France "The newspaper that almost missed the war in Iraq because its reporters were in Georgia covering the membership policies of the Augusta National Golf Club has declared another one of President George Bush's judicial nominees as "out of the mainstream." The New York Times has proclaimed so many Bush nominees "out of the mainstream" that the editorial calling California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown "out of the mainstream" was literally titled: 'Out of the Mainstream, Again.'--- Liberals are always complaining that they haven't figured out how to distill their message to slogans and bumper stickers – as they allege Republicans have. Though it can't be easy to fit the entire Communist Manifesto on a bumper sticker, I beg to differ. (Bumper sticker version of the current Democratic platform: "Ask me about how I'm going to raise your taxes.") The problem is, if Democrats ever dared speak coherently, the American people would lynch them.---" Cal Thomas: Why Democrats are wrong on taxes "The Bush administration's prophecy that its tax cuts would produce an economic recovery is coming true. The New York Times - whose editorial page tirelessly campaigns against any and all tax cuts and sees government as our salvation from virtually every problem - carried an item last Monday (Oct. 27) that must have caused the newspaper's editorial staff to suffer the journalistic equivalent of shock and awe. In a front-page story about the fastest pace of economic growth in four years, there was this rare (for The Times) admission: 'Most of that growth stemmed from a sharp rise in consumer spending, driven largely by a continuing boom in mortgage refinancing and checks that were mailed out as part of the recent tax cut.' (emphasis mine)--- Yet the Democratic presidential candidates are sticking to their predictable and tired themes of class warfare, dollar envy and economic stupidity as they clamor for eliminating the tax cuts and raising taxes again on 'the rich.'---" boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Georgia Democratic Senator Zell Miller endorses George Bush in next year's election. To the left-wing Atlanta Journal-Constitution that makes Miller a 'maverick.'" good things to say about the Christian religion - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Now this one is really going to infuriate the left. George Bush made a speech last night at a Christian youth center. During that speech he actually had good things to say about the Christian religion and said that his recovery from drinking was directly tied to a renewal of his religious foundation." Brown Gets Borked Her problem is that she's too qualified--and black - OpinionJournal - Featured Article ((Via: NealzNewz.com) "---But the truth is that the merits are irrelevant to the willful liberal Senate minority that has already filibustered four nominees and is headed for seven. This is about political power, and overturning the results of the 2000 and 2002 elections. The White House and GOP Senators should be embarrassed to let Judge Brown get pounded the way she did last week while barely fighting back. Senate liberals are in the process of filibustering a rainbow coalition of conservative judges that deserves to become a major Republican campaign issue: One black, one Hispanic, three women, two Southern whites and perhaps soon an Arab-American. Let's have a 2004 election debate over which party is really the enemy of diversity, intellectual and otherwise." boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Do you know why prescription drugs are cheaper in Canada? It's because the Canadian government has strong price controls on those drugs. If your next question is 'Well, why doesn't the United States do the same thing?' you don't have a clue about market forces and how the free enterprise system works." boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Even The New York Times has reported that the Bush tax cuts are largely responsible for our growing economy. In spite of that, the Democrats are still talking about tax increases. Why? Because class warfare sells better than the economy when you're talking to core Democratic voters." Australian Embassy Deals With Concerns About Religious Vilification Case -- 10/29/2003 "---In its written rebuttal to the Muslims' complaints, Catch the Fire has denied that the information provided during the seminar incited hatred. 'It cannot be regarded as controversial that there are passages in the Quran...[and other key religious texts] which could and do incite believers in Islam to violence and hatred of non-Muslims. These passages are well known and widely cited by terrorist groups,' it said. 'Exposing the roots of this problem within Islam is not the same thing as inciting hatred. Since Christians are one of the named targets of jihad fighting in the Quran, they have a right and a duty to be well informed about this aspect of Islam.'---" GOP Senators Condemn Campus 'Thought Control' -- 10/30/2003 "Three Republican senators Wednesday joined a growing contingent of lawmakers who are concerned that America's college campuses lack the intellectual diversity necessary to provide students with a balanced education. It's the second time in a week that members of Congress have confronted the issue. In both cases, conservatives have complained that liberals dominate college campuses, shutting out other viewpoints while also abandoning traditional areas of study.---" Economy Expanding; Numbers Heartening - CNSNews.com -- News This Hour "(CNSNews.com) - The latest economic numbers are very good news for the Bush administration. The government says the U.S. economy expanded at a 7.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter of the year, the strongest showing since 1984. The growth in gross domestic product (the total value of all goods and services produced in this country) was fueled by increased consumer spending and corporate equipment purchases, the government said. Analysts had been expecting a 6 percent gain in third-quarter GDP, so the number released Thursday exceeded most estimates. Analysts said higher consumer spending is spurring corporate earnings, which in turn could lead companies to hire more workers - thus keeping the economic recovery going. Economists say that consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not good news for Democrat party. - TA Would you like cheese on that burger? - Letters to the Editor - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED "---Dr. Barnard's group, the deceptively named Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, is allied with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The two groups have some common board members, and tax records show that the committee has received more than $850,000 in funding from PETA and an additional $450,000 from other animal-rights groups. Dr. Barnard himself sits on the board of the PETA Foundation. The American Medical Association has formally censured the physicians committee, calling it a "pseudo-physicians group." The AMA officially considers the recommendations of Dr. Barnard's organization 'irresponsible and potentially dangerous to the health and welfare of Americans.' Dr. Barnard's mission is the same as PETA's: to permanently remove meat and dairy foods from our diets. It's sad that news outlets continue to treat him the way they would a legitimate, credible medical spokesperson." DAVID MARTOSKO Director of research Center for Consumer Freedom Washington AVID teachers - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Re 'Look who's acing the exit exam,' Our views, Oct. 16: The AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program sounds much like what my generation called study hall, a period in which we completed assignments, boned up on tests, researched new subjects and read -- i.e., studied. This was under the supervision of a teacher with a free period in which the teacher composed class studies, corrected papers and so on, but was available for student assistance. The atmosphere was conducive to completing class work and since the teachers were there, it didn't require state funding to the tune of $10.3 million. Seems to me an extra hour (or whatever time is a period) would be well worth considering. Of course, we attended school from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. But, joy, almost no homework." - Margaret Brookshier, Ione sacbee.com -- Politics -- Wildfires push Senate into action on forest bill "---The Bush administration's "Healthy Forests" legislation would permit accelerated operations, including logging, to clear the forest areas while the Senate compromise focuses at least half the effort on protecting homes and communities. While both the House and Senate approaches relax environmental and judicial processes to speed up thinning activities, the Senate compromise is less restrictive and gives the public an opportunity to submit alternatives to the thinning operations proposed by the federal government. But the biggest difference is that the Senate version would add permanent protections for old-growth forests that are the most likely to survive wildfires because of the size of the trees." Initiative would tax businesses to pay for preschool - By Ed Fletcher Published 2:15 a.m. PST Thursday, October 30, 2003 "Hoping to speed California toward the goal of universal preschool, the state's largest teachers union and movie director Rob Reiner plan to ask voters next year to increase education spending by hiking commercial property taxes by 55 percent.--- But so far, opponents are not buying the help-the-economy-by-taxing-business theory. 'This is an economy killer,' said Rex Hime, president of the California Business Properties Association. 'By doing this, they are going to have a lot of unintended consequences.' A coalition of groups -- including the business properties association, the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Manufacturers and Technology Association -- quickly denounced the plan Wednesday.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another socialist plan to drive businesses and jobs out of California. - TA A ticket to happiness - Recordnet.com - Third letter "A better title for Roberto Radrigan's Oct. 19 column ('What about compassion closer to home?') would have been 'Nothing is right in the USA.' He finds defects with the federal government, cries about Arnold and California cutting budgets, talks about recession, everything is going badly in Iraq and even complains about the way George W. Bush got to be president. Why, with so many things he finds wrong with this paradise, aren't people leaving it by the thousands? It must be awful for Radrigan to endure such unhappiness while he makes a living wage, raises a family and lives in comfort and peace. Any airline company would sell Radrigan a one-way ticket to anywhere in the world he can find the happiness and perfect government denied him here." By Rosasco F. Araya Valley Springs " Setting some practical limits - Recordnet.com "---Californians have only to look at the dysfunctional nature of the state's Legislature to see the damage term limits have done. Gov. Gray Davis might have been the one recalled, but the election results represent a growing dissatisfaction with elected officials unable to lead the state out of its financial wilderness. 'The answer lies somewhere between the excesses of those intoxicated with power and those shoved out before they learn how to be effective." Wednesday, October 29, 2003
Wesley Clark's Tinfoil Beret - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "---Goodness, Clark is threatening to tell us "again and again and again, until the American people understand," that the cause of Sept. 11 was decisions made in the White House, but only in the 233 days between Jan. 20, 2001, when Bush took office, and Sept. 10, 2001. This is delusional stuff; Clark is in Michael Moore or Cythia McKinney territory. But while they may believe the things they say, it's hard to imagine that Clark doesn't know better. His viciousness is a sign of panic in the face of declining poll numbers, and the particular form it has taken shows just how far off the deep end some Democrats have gone." Institute for Health Freedom: Medicare Trick or Treat: Why Make 654,000 Seniors Pay More for the Same Medicare Benefits? October 29, 2003 (Via: free-market.net) "Imagine this: You've worked very hard to increase your income and assets over your working life. You've been responsible, invested intelligently, and planned ahead for your retirement. You contributed 2.9 percent in payroll taxes on your high income to support Medicare Part A (the hospital program). Plus you paid thousands of dollars in general federal taxes to fund Medicare Part B (outpatient doctor visits). Now you retire and begin to collect the promised benefits, including the Medicare benefits you thought were going to be there for you. But surprise! You and some other seniors could have to pay three times in premiums what most seniors pay for the same Medicare benefits.---" The Triumph of Leviathan -- Objectivist Center -- Reason, Individualism, Achievement, and Freedom By Herbert I. London (Via: free-market.net) "Communism is dead; long live capitalism. Surely there is some truth to this claim, as even diehard advocates of communism are now in retreat. The second part of it, however, is questionable. If by 'capitalism' one means the application of free markets and limited government, in which public spending is a relatively small portion of private assets, then something is askew.---" The Endangered Species Act: A Growing Question of Whose Ox is Gored - Welcome to Pacific Legal Foundation "---Yet, for people living, working, and owning property in the nation’s rural regions and smaller communities, the ESA has an entirely different image. Residents of rural America view themselves as social and economic victims of an oppressive, “species-first, people-last” statute that, more often than not, is enforced in an unreasonable and increasingly abusive manner by federal bureaucrats who are influenced by hardcore environmental activists.---" Living In Post-Constitutional America - Toogood Reports Commentary: W. James Antle III "Last week we were again reminded that Americans are living in a post-constitutional era. The doctrine of enumerated powers, which holds that the federal government is limited to those functions delegated by the American people through the Constitution, has been discarded and relegated to the outer fringes of our nation´s political dialogue. The challenge for con-cons (constitutional conservatives) is how to confront and correct this radically reshaped regime.---" The Looting Process by Rep. Ron Paul (Via: free-market.net) "appropriate(v): to take possession of or make use of exclusively for oneself, often without permission ~ American Heritage Dictionary Every fall Congress goes through what is known in Washington as the “appropriations process.” The term really is inaccurate, as it should be called the spending process. After all, your money has already been appropriated, which is to say taken, through taxes. Once taken, Congress spends the autumn months doing what it does best: spending money.---" Naysaying the Nanny State by Garry Reed, The Loose Cannon Libertarian - www.freecannon.com - Liberty's Voice at Liberty For All - Online Magazine (Via: free-market.net) "We all practice civil disobedience. We have to. It's the only way to live in a world where every snaggle-toothed snot-nosed gecko-skinned legislator in the nation just has to pass a few thousand more laws to show us how superior they are.--- Increasingly, however, civil disobedience has become an organized community event. Never mind the WTO demonstrations or genetic crop burnings. Here, culled from various cyber sources over the past year, are edict-defying acts that libertarians can eagerly wrap both of our Invisible Hands around.---" AmericanDaily.com - Socialism Threatens Property Rights In America ! - Gordon Bishop (Via: free-market.net) "More and more I get the feeling that New Jersey’s judges and politicians are moving toward the mind-set of socialists and communists. The issue is property rights. Who owns your property: You or your government? Of course, you do. Our Constitution says so. This is America. Not the communist People’s Republic of China, or Cuba, or the old Soviet Union. We are a free and independent nation. No longer. In more and more court decisions, judges are willing to confiscate your property under the “eminent domain” rule that permits the taking of property for such public uses as transportation corridors (highways, rail lines, bridges, etc.).---" AmericanDaily.com - Only True Rights Have Responsibilities - A. E. Huggett (Via: free-market.net) "---The United States of America is particularly blessed in that it has a written Constitution and a Bill of Rights. Clearly written and easily understood, America's Bill of Rights limits governmental power and its control over the people. It is, in a sense, a negative document in that it tells the government what it cannot do. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights guarantees freedom to the people but it is up to the people to guard, protect, and defend their rights from governmental encroachment.---" U.S. Senate to discuss speech codes Source: FIRE (Via: http://www.free-market.net/news/) ''For the first time in ten years, the U.S. Congress will consider the menace to free speech caused by campus speech codes. The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions has invited Greg Lukianoff, director of legal and public advocacy for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), to testify ...' (10/29/03)" Overlawyered: Fast. fast, fast relief from forum-shopping "In Philadelphia, Common Pleas Judge Norman Ackerman 'has begun tossing out lawsuits by people who said they suffered strokes after taking Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold medicine, saying the claims should be dealt with in other states. ... 'Most of those cases, like this one, involve out-of-state plaintiffs who chose to file (in Philadelphia) for no apparent reason other than the fact that their attorneys have their offices here,' Ackerman wrote in the case of Larry Hunter, of Seattle.' (Another apparent reason might be the city's famously generous juries.) For background on suits blaming phenylpropanolamine (PPA) for strokes, see Apr. 6-8, 2001. ('Alka-Seltzer Suit Thrown Out', WPVI.com, Oct. 1)." Posted by Walter Olson at October 28, 2003 11:27 PM | TrackBack " CyberAlert: Exposing Media Bias Daily - Media Research Center Home Page - 10/29/2003 11:29:05 AM Tuesday, October 29: • Moran: Bush “Dodged” Query; O’Donnell Errs, Yet Corrects Bush • Hume Notes Some Things Media Skipped Over at Anti-War Protest • Only Newsweek Devotes a Page to Partial-Birth, a One-Sided One • Reagan Friend Merv Griffin Blasts CBS for “Cowardly Act” • Ted Danson: George W. Bush a Drinker, Clark “Inspires Hope” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Main page provides links to individual articles Media Reality Check - Media Research Center Home Page "Lobbying for More Government Confirming once again that the producers and editors at ABC News see the world through a liberal lens, the network spent all of last week campaigning for universal government financing of health care. In the network's heavily promoted series, 'Critical Condition: Health Care in America,' ABC ignored conservative ideas and no story explored how a centralized, single-payer system might degrade the high quality of U.S. health care." The man who mistook his bathtub for a hockey stick - 2003 October - NumberWatch.com (Via JunkScience.com) "Well, well! The pontiff of eco-theology, who has been choreographing the assault on infidels who doubt the true religion of global warming, has himself come under examination. He has been weighed in the balance and found wanting. A new paper by McIntyre and McKitrick of Ontario has probed into the inner recesses of the data that gave rise to the notorious hockey stick. What they found, in a masterly essay in academic understatement, is a considerable can of worms. Amid all the omissions, substitutions and amendments, however, there is one act of subreption that is so stark that it has all the appearances of downright fraud. Mann et al simply censored the data at the beginning of the series, which belong to the mediaeval warm period. Reintroducing them gives the lie to the claim, so forcefully prosecuted by the IPCC, that the past decade was the warmest in history.---" USATODAY.com - Researchers question key global-warming study By Nick Schulz (Via JunkScience.com) "An important new paper in the journal Energy & Environment upsets a key scientific claim about climate change. If it withstands scrutiny, the collective scientific understanding of recent global warming might need an overhaul.---" Albert Gallatin (1830-1864) U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and Congressman “Government prohibitions do always more mischief than had been calculated; and it is not without much hesitation that a statesman should hazard to regulate the concerns of individuals, as if he could do it better than themselves.” Eliminating Waste - Heritage Daily Briefing "Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback recently deliverd a Heritage lecture entitled, A Strategy to Eliminate Wasteful Federal Spending---, in which he said 'the use of hard-earned taxpayer dollars on duplicative, inefficient, and failed federal agencies and programs is a serious problem facing our nation today. Over and over, we see congressionally authorized programs become institutionalized, and then--although no longer necessary--they become permanent fixtures receiving more taxpayer dollars year after year. ' ... It is my hope that we will be able to see the enactment of the Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies (CARFA) Act in the 108th Congress. If we do, it will certainly send a positive signal to the American people that the federal government is serious about fiscal accountability and responsibility, and it would set a good example for others to follow.'---" Minority Rules: Filibustering the Constitution - Cato Daily Dispatch for October 28, 2003 "In 'Minority Rules: Filibustering the Constitution,' former Cato Senior Fellow James Swanson writes that 'when the filibuster is being used not to debate, but to kill their nominations by denying the majority its right to consent to them, serious constitutional issues arise.' 'Yes, the Constitution permits the Senate to set its own rules,' Swanson writes. 'But that is hardly a blank check entitling the Senate to amend the Appointments Clause by raising the confirmation bar from simple majority to super majority, to aggrandize power by upsetting the balance between the congressional and the executive branches, and to threaten the independence of the third branch, the federal judiciary. The conclusion is inescapable. Whenever Senate Democrats, a minority of the body, filibuster judicial nominations, obstruct an up or down vote, and deny the majority its right to consent to the appointments, they subvert the Constitution.'---" CBS: Stumbling Through the Dark Side in Home-schooling Report "---We expect a more considered reaction, though, from journalists, who are supposed to make objectivity paramount and put facts ahead of feelings. It is a standard that the CBS reporter failed to uphold; he chose instead to exploit the emotions of the story, seizing on the first sign that inadequate government controls might be to blame for the abuse of home-schooled children. It is not a conclusion based on readily accessible facts -- facts that should at least have received some mention in CBS's report. Consider just a few, both anecdotal and national---" Cato Scholar to Testify on Spam Controls The Cato Institute: Public Policy Analysis, Limited Government, Free Markets "Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Cato's director of technology policy, will testify before the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Oversight at 10:00 am Thursday in the Rayburn House Office Building. Crews will recommend that the private sector beat the federal government to the punch by voluntarily implementing spam controls. A government-mandated solution would do nothing to prevent spam from pouring in from overseas, and it would undermine legitimate commerce, communications, and free speech. Visit Cato's research website on Internet governance." Ben Shapiro: Environmentalists fan the flames of hell "---As of Tuesday, the Sierra Club and Greenpeace Web sites contained no mention of the forest fires raging out of control in California. Ironically, environmentalists oppose clear-cutting and promote forest fires even though forest fires are the sources of materials most dangerous to air quality -- far more dangerous, in fact, than the smog environmentalists fret over ad infinitum. The California government has issued a health alert for the Southern California area.--- Meanwhile, some Senate Democratic pawns of the environmentalist movement continue to stall President Bush's Healthy Forests Restoration Act. At the start of October, Senate Democrats threatened to filibuster HR 1904, forcing advocates to find 60 votes in order to pass the bill. The prospects for passing HR 1904 look good. Unfortunately, it's too little too late for those in California who tensely wait and watch as the wall of smoke draws ever nearer." Brent Bozell: Bush's 'Mess,' Clinton's Free Pass "The cover of Newsweek screams from the mailbox and the magazine rack: "BUSH'S $87 BILLION MESS." In case that rhetorical punch isn't strong enough, it adds the promise of uncovering "Waste, Chaos and Cronyism." Today's task for deniers of liberal media bias is set. Please find a Newsweek from the Clinton era with the words "mess" or "cronyism" next to a picture of that president.---" Kathleen Parker: Pursuing happiness is not only fun but necessary "---How could I enjoy indulging myself - pursuing happiness - in a time of war? That's a question many of us asked ourselves, and now Carl Cannon, White House correspondent for the National Journal, has answered it in a book - "The Pursuit of Happiness in Times of War" - that is not only scholarly, well-researched and delightfully readable, but possibly the best explanation yet for how and why we got here.--- Writes Cannon: 'Chasing dreams, pursuing happiness, and even achieving material success, are not embarrassing by-products of American freedom; they are the essence of American freedom.' It is also what our enemies, contemptuous of what they see as our self-indulgence, fail to comprehend. They see our material pursuits as a sign of weakness, when in fact, our materialism combined with our free market and other expressions of freedom - as well as our pursuit of knowledge for the sake of knowledge - constitute our strengths.---" Thomas Sowell: Spinning education October 29, 2003 "You want to know what liberal bias and media spin are? Try a headline in the San Francisco Chronicle of October 25th: 'California School Rankings Improve.' According to education officials quoted in the story, an 'unprecedented rise' in test scores has been achieved by 'shifting away from a nationally normed test and toward exams that measure what children are being taught in the classroom.' In other words, when school children in California were taking the same tests as children in other states, their results were lousy. But, now that we have our own test, results are much better.---" Bryant Rape Case Puts Victims' Rights on Trial "When Kobe Bryant goes to court on rape charges, he will not stand trial alone. Society's view of 'victims' rights' will also be under scrutiny. A growing belief that false accusations of sexual assault have become commonplace has prompted a demand for fairer treatment of those accused, especially from the media. Critics of the media coverage seem particularly bitter about the standard policy of extending anonymity to accusers but not to the accused. They believe the double standard stigmatizes the accused, who should be presumed innocent, and encourages false accusations. The criticism assumes that false reports are widespread. Estimates vary wildly.---" Advertisers Urged to Preview Reagan Movie Before Sponsoring "---Media Research Center President L. Brent Bozell Tuesday sent a letter to each of the nation's top 100 advertisers, urging them to preview the movie before making a sponsorship decision because it is what Bozell called a 'partisan political attack against one of America's most beloved presidents.' A review of the script by New York Times reporter Jim Rutenberg noted the two-part mini-series, scheduled for broadcast next month, makes no mention of the significant economic expansion that took place during Reagan's presidency, and Bozell called the program 'a blatantly unfair assault,' on Reagan's legacy.---" Taxpayer Groups Urge Congress to Scrap Prescription Drug Plan "More than three dozen taxpayer advocacy groups are urging lawmakers to scrap the Medicare prescription drug plan now working its way through Congress. Critics say taxpayers will be 'trampled in the rush to create a new entitlement program.' In an effort organized by the National Taxpayers Union, 38 organizations sent a letter to all members of Congress on Tuesday, warning lawmakers that the new prescription drug entitlement would be 'the height of fiscal irresponsibility,' coming as it does on top of large increases in federal spending and in light of the looming Medicare and Social Security crises.---" A Note on Labels: Why "Libertarian"? - by David Boaz "---Libertarianism may be regarded as a political philosophy that applies the ideas of classical liberalism consistently, following liberal arguments to conclusions that would limit the role of government more strictly and protect individual freedom more fully than other classical liberals would. Most of the time, I use liberal in its traditional sense; I call today's misnamed liberals welfare-state liberals or paternalistic liberals or social democrats. And I should note that libertarian ideas and the libertarian movement are far broader than any political party, such as the Libertarian Party. References to libertarianism should not be taken to indicate the Libertarian Party unless that is made explicit.---" Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "Government is not compassion ... Government is nothing more than structured, widespread coercion ...'' -- Glen Allport Tuesday, October 28, 2003
High Price for Protectionist Labels on Meat - Foundation for Economic Education - Home 10/28/03 “A federal law backed by U.S. farm groups to require country-of-origin labels on meat, seafood, produce and peanuts could cost American food producers up to $3.9 billion in its first year, the Agriculture Department said yesterday.... Consumer advocates and some farm groups say the labels will distinguish meat produced in the United States from competitors at the grocery store.” (Washington Post, Tuesday) "Trade impediments on behalf of American farmers are nothing new." FEE Timely Classic “Protectionism and Agricultural Price Supports” by E. C. Pasour, Jr. Post Office to Require Sender ID - Foundation for Economic Education - Home 10/28/03 “Sending an anonymous love letter or an angry note to your congressman? The U.S. Postal Service will soon know who you are. Beginning with bulk or commercial mail, the Postal Service will require "enhanced sender identification" for all discount-rate mailings, according to the notice published in the Oct. 21 Federal Register. The purpose of identifying senders is to provide a more efficient tracking system, but more importantly, to ‘facilitate investigations into the origin of suspicious mail.’” (Washington Times, Sunday) "What would we do without this government monopoly?" FEE Timely Classic “The Post Office as a Violation of Constitutional Rights” by Wendy McElroy The Over-Criminalization of Social and Economic Conduct - OVERCRIMINALIZED.COM - Overview "The origin of modern criminal law can be traced to early feudal times. From its inception, the criminal law expressed both a moral and a practical judgment about the societal consequences of certain activity: to be a crime, the law required that an individual must both cause (or attempt to cause) a wrongful injury and do so with some form of malicious intent. Classically, lawyers capture this insight in two principles: in order to be a crime there must be both an actus reus (a bad act) and a culpable mens rea (a guilty mind). At its roots, the criminal law did not punish merely bad thoughts (intentions to act without any evil deed) or acts that achieved unwittingly wrongful ends but without the intent to do so. The former were for resolution by ecclesiastical authorities and the latter were for amelioration in the tort system. In America today, this classical understanding of criminal law no longer holds.---" Palo Alto v. Liebrand - OVERCRIMINALIZED.COM "On April 3, 2002, Kay Leibrand surrendered to the police. She was fingerprinted. They took her mug shots. The 61-year old grandmother and software engineer was told that she had broken the law. She might go to jail or perhaps she would get off with just a fine. On May 30, 2002, she was arraigned. Her crime was allowing street-side xylosma bushes to grow more than two feet high.---" OVERCRIMINALIZED.COM - Fighting against the current trend to criminalize everything! (Via: Overlawyered.com) "Overcriminalized.com is devoted to challenging and ultimately reversing the harmful trend by government to criminalize more and more ordinary activities. Some of the conduct that is being criminalized is really socially and economically beneficial conduct. Some of it, though undesirable, is more appropriately regulated through the tort system, civil sanctions, or other administrative action. To this end, overcriminalized.com is also devoted to exposing current abuses of the criminal justice system that are unjust and in need of reform." Overlawyered: Overcriminalized.com "Not related to this website despite its name, Overcriminalized.com is a new site from the Heritage Foundation 'devoted to challenging and ultimately reversing the harmful trend by government to criminalize more and more ordinary activities.' Among the case histories presented: Palo Alto v. Leibrand, in which a 61-year-old homeowner was fingerprinted and booked (complete with mug shot) on charges of letting the street-side xylosma bushes near her bungalow grow more than two feet high (her site); and cases of alleged federal overzealousness in enforcing the False Claims Act (U.S. v. Krizek, alleged overbilling by psychotherapist); and environmental law (Hansen v. U.S., manager of bankrupt chemical plant sentenced to 46 months despite critics' questions as to both mens rea and his practical capability to rectify the various violations). For a sampling of similar themes aired on this site, see Aug. 6 (drowsy driving), Jul. 22 (corporation's vicarious criminal liability for acts of employees and agents), Jul. 14 (U.K. seaweed-picking); May 14 (sexual harassment); Aug. 3-5, 2001 (cloned human cells); Dec. 8-10, 2000 (gun sale); Oct. 20-22, 2000 (product liability); May 18-21, 2000 (public morality laws) and Dec. 20 and Aug. 2, 1999 (injury to animals)." Posted by Walter Olson at October 28, 2003 12:07 AM | TrackBack " CyberAlert: Exposing Media Bias Daily - Media Research Center Home Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, October 28: • Washington Post Whitewashes Protest Which Featured “F*** Bush!” • Poll: Most Think Media Portraying Iraq as Worse Than Reality • Cronkite: Liberals “Humane,” Conservatives “Less Sensitive” • Fox Replaces Snow with Wallace, an ABCer with a Liberal Record • MRC Study: “Censoring the Partial-Birth Abortion Basics” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Main page provides links to individual articles. - TA GMOs with a kick - Food Navigator - Ingredients, Food Additives & Nutrition (fibers, proteins, enzymes, food safety, science, ingredients) "28/10/03 - Can the trend for foods with added health benefits turn the tide of consumer cynicism towards genetically modified foodstuffs? US researchers hypothesise that shoppers might just pay a premium for GMOs if they are told of the potential health benefits they may receive from eating those foods.---" TCS Newsflash: Important Global Warming Study Audited -- Numerous Errors Found; New Research Reveals the UN IPCC 'Hockey Stick' Theory of Climate Change is Flawed (Via: JunkScience.com) "WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 27, 2003--Canadian business executive Stephen McIntyre and economist Ross McKitrick have presented more evidence that the 20th century wasn't the warmest on record. In their article for the journal 'Energy and the Environment,' McIntyre and McKitrick cited numerous errors in data used in Mann, et al. (1998), a temperature record that has been frequently cited by global warming alarmists.---" The Heritage Foundation: Policy Research and Analysis "It is not too late for Congress to target seniors in need without hurting those who are not. This new online exclusive details how House and Senate Medicare conferees are scrambling to find a solution to the problem of senior dumping -- which will occur when former employers drop current retirees into the proposed new government entitlement." More Taxpayer Subsidies Will Not Correct Congress’ Medicare Drug Miscalculation by Derek Hunter Recent Research Confirms that Seniors Will Lose Coverage Under New Medicare Legislation by Derek Hunter The Crucial Elements of an Acceptable Medicare Bill by Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D. Reform the United Nations by Nile Gardiner, Ph.D., and Baker Spring Backgrounder #1700 October 27, 2003 "President George W. Bush's major address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23 was a powerful wake-up call for an organization that is in danger of becoming an outdated irrelevance on the world stage. At the dawn of the 21st century, the United Nations looks more like a glorified debating society than a serious global body designed to confront the world's growing threats and problems. The inability of the U.N. to deal with the Iraqi dictatorship was symbolic of its broader failure to address the rising global threat posed by international terrorism and rogue states. The credibility of the United Nations was largely shattered by the Security Council's failure to address the Iraqi threat.1 Instead of acting as an effective mechanism for advancing global security, the Security Council became a barrier to progress and was used as a tool by European nations such as France and Russia to try to limit the ability of the United States to act on the world stage.---" Brownback lecture - Heritage Daily Briefing Monday, October 27 "U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas recently delivered a Heritage lecture on eliminateing wasteful federal spending. Brownback said: The use of hard-earned taxpayer dollars on duplicative, inefficient, and failed Federal agencies and programs is a serious problem facing our nation today. Over and over, we see congressionally authorized programs become institutionalized, and then—although no longer necessary—they become permanent fixtures receiving more taxpayer dollars year after year. ... It is my hope that we will be able to see the enactment of the The Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies (CARFA) Act in the 108th Congress. If we do, it will certainly send a positive signal to the American people that the federal government is serious about fiscal accountability and responsibility, and it would set a good example for others to follow." The link will be available soon. Free Speech? Not on Campus by David E. Bernstein "David E. Bernstein, a professor of law at George Mason University, is the author of 'You Can't Say That! The Growing Threat to Civil Liberties from Antidiscrimination Laws' (Cato Institute, 2003). Is it a no-no for students to satirize affirmative action at the University of California-Irvine? The answer is a resounding 'Yes!' Last week, the university administration shut down an 'affirmative action bake sale' run by the College Republicans. Members of the group offered students donuts at prices ranging from ten cents to one dollar, depending on each student's race and gender. The obvious message: It's wrong to treat people differently based on immutable characteristics. But apparently you can't say that in public.---" Thomas Sowell: The politics of judicial nominees "---You cannot continue to send outstanding people to confirmation hearings to be led like lambs to the slaughter without finding, at some point, that more and more good people will refuse to play that role. There will always be warm bodies available with a "conservative" label but we have learned the hard way what to expect from such warm bodies when we see what Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy have done on the Supreme Court. Among the people who are trying to do the job of educating the public that the administration should have done is the Committee for Justice, which has put out an excellent background paper on Justice Janice Rogers Brown. It is available on the Internet at www.committeeforjustice.org." Cal Thomas: Ronald Reagan revisionism "When he was at full ideological and political strength, liberals couldn't lay a glove on Ronald Wilson Reagan. Now that he is in "the sunset of my life," as he poignantly wrote in his final letter to the American people on Nov. 5, 1994, the left is unleashing a distorted and inaccurate attack on Reagan in an attempt to rewrite history and smear a good man. CBS will air a miniseries, "The Reagans," Nov. 16 and 18. If a script obtained by the New York Times correctly depicts the final product, the show will bear as much resemblance to the real Ronald Reagan as Santa Claus reflects the real meaning of Christmas.---" David Limbaugh: A few choice Democratic debate snippets "Did you see the Democratic presidential debate in Detroit Sunday evening? How about some choice gems from a few of the nine who would be president? Bush's policy on Iraq seems to be their favorite subject. As a conservative my fervent hope is that the televised event enjoyed astronomical ratings. Voters need to see what these people are saying. Indeed I think the Republican National Committee ought to consider underwriting a few more of these Bush-bashing, truth-challenged spectacles on prime time, sandwiched in between the highest-rated reality shows they can find. The only chance they have of unseating Bush is if insufficient numbers of people observe their puerile sniping.---" Notable Quotables from the Media Research Center "A bi-weekly compilation of the latest outrageous, sometimes humorous, quotes in the liberal media." October 27, 2003 (Vol. 16; No. 22) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In case you have any doubts about the liberal ideology of mainline media journalists. - TA U.S. “Fails” to Offer Socialism "Carole Simpson: “Even though the U.S. spends twice as much per person as any other developed country on health care, the U.S. is the only developed country that fails to provide universal coverage for all its citizens....” "Tim Johnson: “We have a country that wants to believe it is the best in everything, but until all of us embrace the idea that health care should be a right, not a privilege, our system cannot be glibly described as, quote, ‘the best in the world.’” – ABC’s World News Tonight/Sunday, October 19. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Media socialists in action. - TA Aging With Dignity - Five Wishes "The Five Wishes document helps you express how you want to be treated if you are seriously ill and unable to speak for yourself. It is unique among all other living will and health agent forms because it looks to all of a person's needs: medical, personal, emotional and spiritual. Five Wishes also encourages discussing your wishes with your family and physician. Five Wishes lets your family and doctors know: Which person you want to make health care decisions for you when you can't make them. The kind of medical treatment you want or don't want. How comfortable you want to be. How you want people to treat you. What you want your loved ones to know.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Valid in most states. Check it out Schiavo Case Spurs Interest in Living Wills "As the plight of Florida's Terri Schiavo continues to dominate news headlines, sparking debate over end of life issues, there is also a growing interest in living wills. Even the Florida Senate, which last week passed legislation that effectively forced the re-connecting of Schiavo's feeding tube, has posted a copy of a living will, along with other documents on selecting health care surrogates on its website.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Standard format. Valid in most states. Check it out. - TA New Science Curriculum Aims to Curb 'Animal Rights' Influence By Marc Morano CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer October 28, 2003 "A new science-based educational curriculum has been launched to help elementary and middle school students appreciate the role of science in their lives and to counter the animal rights-based curriculum known as humane education.---" Once again, the devil gets the last laugh - By Bill O'Reilly - Recordnet.com "---Once again, I'm not coming at this from a moralistic point of view. If you're older than 18 and want to pay $10 to watch a chainsaw guy slaughter people, then go ahead. Just don't come over to my house. If you're an adult who wants to hear some guy rant about prostitutes jumping on him, hey, who am I to tell you you're a moron? Children are something else. It's time for all Americans to realize your homes have been invaded by insidious forces beyond your control. Harmful music, movies, computer images and television will affect your kids, no matter what you do. The American media is celebrating that very troubling turn of events.---" Libertarian Party Platform: Statement of Principles (Via: Advocates for Self-Government.) "We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual. We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose.---" Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence -- it is force.'' -- George Washington Monday, October 27, 2003
Overlawyered: Update: Calif. business groups launch s. 17200 initiative October 26, 2003 "As predicted in this space (Sept. 29), a California business coalition which includes the state Chamber of Commerce, auto dealers and the Civil Justice Association of California has launched an initiative drive aimed at curbing lawsuits under s. 17200, the state's bizarrely broad consumer-protection statute. (see Oct. 2, Aug. 27 and links from there). The coalition 'expects to spend $1 million to $2 million to collect signatures to put the initiative on the November 2004 ballot. ... Under the initiative, private attorneys or individuals would no longer be able to file a lawsuit without a specific victim or evidence of harm or financial loss. ... The right to sue on half of the public would rest with the attorney general, county district attorneys and other local prosecutors.' (Gilbert Chan, 'Ballot drive targets lawsuits', Sacramento Bee, Oct. 23). More: Law.com coverage (Jeff Chorney, 'Tort Reformers Want Voters to Remake Calif. Unfair Competition Law', The Recorder, Oct. 27)" Posted by Walter Olson at October 26, 2003 12:39 PM | TrackBack Overlawyered: Bin Laden's gift to lawyers October 26, 2003 "'Say what you like about Osama bin Laden. He's done wonders for the defamation bar,' says a British barrister. A group of wealthy Saudi businessmen are engaging in 'libel tourism,' suing in British courts to silence American critics. British libel law, unburdened by the First Amendment, puts the burden on defendants to prove that their stories are true; the threat of libel suits often acts to deter journalistic inquiries, but now suits are being aimed at American publishers. The Wall Street Journal faces two lawsuits for a February 2002 report on Saudi support for terror that was reprinted in its European edition. (Michael Isikoff & Mark Hosenball, 'Libel Tourism', Newsweek Web, Oct. 22). (via Postrel)" Posted by Ted Frank at October 26, 2003 11:22 PM | TrackBack CyberAlert: Exposing Media Bias Daily - Media Research Center Home Page - 10/27/2003 4:29:35 PM Monday, October 27: • Rather Uses Staged Democratic Event to Justify Leakgate Story • “Finally” a Prescription Drug Plan, But Rather Sees GOP in Way • Jennings Skips Hezbollah Role in Marine Bombing, Rationalizes It • CBS’s Reagans: Reagan the “Anti-Christ,” Ketchup as Vegetable • “Moderate” for Good Schools & Low Crime, “Conservative” Isn’t • Journalist With Tie to MRC Rescues Man in al-Rashid Hotel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Main page provides links to individual articles. - TA GM may be good for you - Ross Clark says we should ignore the eco-brigade’s hysteria over genetically modified food - The Spectator.co.uk (Via: http://greenspin.blogspot.com/) "---Before rushing off to join Ms Tulip at the furrows, the eco-brigade might just care to study what the government scientists actually said. They have found nothing in GM food that directly harms any kind of wildlife. The reason there are fewer beasts found in GM fields is that fewer weeds grow there. By the same token, any form of farming can be said to be bad for wildlife in that were it not for crops, the land could be given over entirely to weeds. The preservation of nature is a noble aim, but not to the extent that the survival of particular butterflies in particular fields should be allowed to cast a veto over all agricultural improvement. Wouldn’t it be better if butterflies were provided with alternative habitats on field margins and nature reserves where they wouldn’t risk having their wings mangled by combine harvesters? One advantage of higher-yielding GM crops is that they would free up land for nature conservation.---" Robert Wood Johnson Lays Food Cops' Foundation Posted On October 27, 2003 "'Greetings, fat people,' writes Jack Gordon in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. 'It cannot have escaped your notice that you lately have been reclassified as not merely unsightly but an actual public health hazard and a menace to society.' The chunky among us, he continues, are now being blamed for 'oppressing the innocent and the svelte by exerting upward pressure on their health-insurance premiums.' And America's public health activists 'intend to put a stop to you.' How did we get here? Part of the answer can be found in Princeton, New Jersey, where the biggest health cop in the world, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), is headquartered. As we've told you before, RWJF is applying its anti-alcohol model to burgers, fries, and apple pie -- even proclaiming that our love-handles are 'forcing what may be a cultural revolution' in which 'ideas to cut obesity that once sounded extreme are gaining public attention and moving into mainstream thinking.'---" Obesity Statistics Seriously Flawed Posted On October 24, 2003 "Testifying at a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hearing on obesity yesterday, the Center for Consumer Freedom discussed how the three most commonly used statistics associated with the so-called obesity epidemic are all seriously flawed. The three faulty statistics are: 1) that obesity causes 300,000 deaths per year; 2) that 61 percent of Americans are overweight or obese; and 3) that the economic cost of obesity is $117 billion a year. As our testimony pointed out, even the Federal Register notice of the FDA hearing cited two of these three numbers.---" Edward Wolf: Climate change impacts Oregon agriculture and Health 10/27/03 "News bulletins of extreme weather events around the world tell the same story: The climate system is behaving in ways never seen since societies began keeping weather records.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Big example of media errors, lies, distortions and environmentalist propaganda and scare mongering. Check the facts through other sources. Also notice the inconsistencies of "fact" within the article itself. - TA Same Old Arctic `Warming' - Still Waiting For Greenhouse (26 Oct 03) (Via JunkScience.com) "A new guest article by Willis Eschenbach reveals some major contradictions in the latest media stories about `recent Arctic Warming'. What is clear is that the Arctic was actually warmer during the 1930s - before satellites were around to record every fine detail. It is also shown that the temperature numbers being quoted are quite inconsistent with each other and that the old technique of making a tiny warming look alarming in graphics is alive and well." See the article here Edward Gibbon (1737-1894) English Historian and Author “What protectionism teaches us, is to do to ourselves in time of peace what enemies seek to do to us in time of war.” National Center for Policy Analysis "Living standards would be 20 percent higher if the tax system didn't penalize labor, say researchers.... " ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Click here for more ANOTHER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Yup, it was another one of those Democratic presidential debates last night. Another evening of heroic Democrats telling America and the world that if they manage to get into the White House America will switch from a policy of confronting and destroying terrorists to a policy of appeasement and encouragement. With the possible exception of Joe Lieberman, this is a crowd that believes the time has come for the United States to cease being a sovereign nation and meekly accept its place as just another member "state" under the control of the United Nations. There are many issues before the American people in next year's election. There is no issue, however, that is more important than our security and the defeat of Islamic terrorism. For the first time in over 200 years America has been attacked on our own soil. As soon as that first airplane hit the World Trade Towers there were three courses of action open to our president. Fight them here, fight them there or don't fight them at all. George Bush chose to take the fight against Islamic terrorism overseas. Those Democrats you saw on that platform last night don't want to fight them at all." Rat Nazis - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "---Rat Nazis? What in the hell are Rat Nazis? The Rat Nazis are the great and exalted protectors of the kangaroo rat ... that cute little critter which inhabits the very areas that were burning over the past weekend. I can't say that this is happening today, but several years ago the Rat Nazis wouldn't let you clear an area of underbrush around your home in order to protect it from fires. The underbrush, you see, was a kangaroo rat habitat. I remember one story where a homeowner proceeded to clear a firebreak around his home anyway. Good thing he did, too, because the fire came along within days and destroyed all homes on his street --- except his. After the smoke cleared the government cited this poor SOB for clearing out a rat habitat. Government ... gotta love it." Infantopia - by K. Lloyd Billingsley "---In September, George Will observed that California resembles Britain in 1975, when "bad government by both parties – meaning bad decisions by British voters– had brought that nation to the brink of bankruptcy. "While Britain was "the sick man of Europe," Will wrote, "California is the sick man of the Republic." The problem, in his view, is "infantilism." "The public has repeatedly used the initiative process to mandate spending that prevents sane budgeting," Mr. Will said, "And the public has used this recall to throw a tantrum about what it, the public, has wrought." Will noted in California a dearth of the "vigorous virtues" that rescued Britain under Margaret Thatcher, and which together can be called "adulthood." These include entrepreneurship, deferral of gratification, individual initiative, and personal responsibility in making appetites conform to resources. California needs all that, but must also shed another prevailing ethos – utopianism.---" National Policy Analysis #492: Dioxin Shenanigans: Why the is EPA Afraid of Independent Peer Review by Bonner R. Cohen (Via Free-Market.net) "If he makes it past a bruising Senate confirmation process, Utah Governor and EPA Administrator-designate Mike Leavitt will soon face an even bigger challenge. How does he deal with an entrenched EPA bureaucracy that - if it can get away with it - is perfectly willing to put its own narrow regulatory interests above those of the public it is supposed to serve?---" Single-Payer Proposal Called ‘Politically Impractical’ (Via Free-Market.net) "A controversial socialized medicine proposal published in the August 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests the federal government should pay all health care bills for everyone living in the United States, effectively putting private insurers out of business and health care providers on the government payroll. The proposal makes no distinction between U.S. citizens and millions of undocumented immigrants. The proposal’s sponsors, Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), claim the plan has attracted the signatures of 7,782 supporters, including hundreds of academics, medical school deans, thousands of practicing doctors, and medical students. The plan also is endorsed by former surgeons general Dr. David Satcher, who served under President Bill Clinton, and Dr. Julius Richmond, who served under President Jimmy Carter. The American Medical Association (AMA), which publishes the journal, was quick to say it does not support the proposal. The insurance industry, which is often at odds with the AMA, also opposes the plan.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The road to health care serfdom. - TA Does our Constitution fit into the governing documents of other nations: (Via Free-Market.net) "---The question of why Americans would want their constitutional heritage altered by the lack thereof in the rest of the world remains unanswered. Is it proper to attempt to reconcile Saudi Arabia’s complete lack of women’s rights with our Fourteenth Amendment? Does the land-grabbing dictatorial kleptocracy of Zimbabwe have something to teach us about the proper understanding of the Takings Clause in the Fifth Amendment? Of course not, because for the moment those justices prone to look beyond our shores for constitutional guidance only acknowledge the parts of the globe where current legal precedent "fits with" these justices’ own – Eurocrats that prefer a centralized, economically liberal system of governance.---" The FTC Gets in Its Licks (Via Free-Market.net) "The freedom of Americans to peacefully manage their own affairs has been shrinking for many decades, as government officials find more and more reasons to tell us what things we must do and what things we may not do. The pettiness of it all is wonderfully demonstrated in a recent decision by the agency that supposedly acts as a protector of the consumer: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).---" WHAT ON EARTH HAS HAPPENED TO CANADA? (Via Free-Market.net) "Once called the "Switzerland of the North", as late as 1968 it was the world's second-richest country. Today, in terms of GDP per capita ($29,300), it ranks ahead of Australia ($27,500) and Britain ($26,400) but just below the G7 average ($30,100) and well behind the U.S. ($35,200). Accompanying – one is tempted to say causing – Canada's relative economic decline has been the rise of many and various interventionist schemes: high taxes, big deficits, growing debt, nationalisation of "key" industries, attempts to control consumer prices, regulation of investment, regional development and transfer payments from the wealthier provinces to the poorer ones (such as Manitoba). Alas, these policies have done nothing either to enrich the country as a whole or to narrow the gap between its wealthy and not-so-wealthy areas. (As in Australia, so too in Canada: no social program ever fails – it is simply "underfunded.")---" Extracting Cash from Calamity: Lawsuits Against Santa Monica Over Farmers Market Deaths (Via Free-Market.net) "October 23, 2003 - For any free society to be successful, there must exist not only individual liberty but also individual responsibility. Sadly, both qualities are dwindling in America today. Too often, human parasites, ambulance chasers and even criminals are seeking to benefit from their own negligence or bad luck. Ironically, they are increasingly petitioning the very judicial system that is supposed to protect our rights and freedoms and administer justice - and they're winning.---" Curbing the Appetite for Spending October 25, 2003 by Richard W. Rahn Richard W. Rahn is an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute. (Via Free-Market.net) "Did you know total federal government spending grew 17 percent during the last three years? This compares with 6.8 percent, 8.3 percent, and 3.5 percent for the first three years respectively of the Reagan, Bush I, and Clinton administrations.---" Posturing and Reality on Warming: by Patrick J. Michaels Patrick J. Michaels is senior fellow in environmental studies at the Cato Institute and author of 'The Satanic Gases.' (Via Free-Market.net) "For the first time, the Senate is about to vote on whether to restrict national emissions of carbon dioxide -- the respiration of our civilization and our economy -- in an attempt to control the world's uncontrollable climate. This legislation has absolutely no basis in science.---" Healing our World in an Age of Aggression -- Freedom Book of the Month from Free-Market.Net: The Freedom Network "---If you buy any freedom-oriented book to share with nonlibertarians in hopes of persuading them, buy Healing Our World in an Age of Aggression. If Ruwart's clear, gentle prose doesn't work, the wide-ranging quotations liberally sprinkled throughout the margins will at least get people thinking. And, if there is any justice in this world, Mary Ruwart will one day be recognized as the preeminent ambassador of peace and liberty of our time." Order Healing Our World in an Age of Aggression from Laissez Faire Books, $19.95 " Dem presidential wannabes back off of victim disarmament - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Miami Herald ''Democratic presidential candidates are distancing themselves from tough gun control, reversing a decade of rhetoric and advocacy by the party in favor of federal regulation of firearms. None of the candidates who routinely poll near the top is calling for the licensing of new handgun owners ...' (10/27/03)" As Debt Problems Worsen, So Do Debt Counselors - Reuters | Latest Financial News Sun October 26, 2003 08:59 AM ET (Page 1 of 3) By Linda Stern (Via Free-Market.net) "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Debt-burdened Americans have seen their financial situations deteriorate this year, but the help they seek is often worse than no cure at all. Several government regulators recently took the unusual step of warning consumers that many nonprofit debt counseling agencies are really rip-offs.---" --Case Pitting Muslims Against Christians Moves Forward in Australia "---'This case is a wake-up call for Western Christians,' said the group's spokesman, Todd Nettleton. 'These men are not on trial for telling lies. They are on trial - in what we would call a free nation - for telling the truth.'--- "This is an indication of the growing trend to place Islamic teaching and Muslim actions beyond the bounds of criticism, not only in the Islamic world, but also, as a result of misguided ideas of political correctness, in the West as well," it said.---" Vox Populi: Note to Schools - Lose the Drivel - CNSNews.com: The Cybercast News Service "The latest public school curriculum fad -- something called humane education that emphasizes compassion for animals -- isn't getting a very humane or compassionate reception among readers who agree with the critics who called it drivel." Read Letters to the Editor New Foreign Policy Coalition Warns of US 'Empire Building' "Members of a newly formed coalition of policy analysts last week accused the Bush administration of pursuing an increasingly imperialistic foreign policy agenda and warned that U.S. armed forces are dangerously extended in overseas deployments as a result. Doug Bandow, a member of the Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy - a group of scholars and analysts whose political views encompass all sides of the foreign policy debate - said the United States government is getting bigger as troop deployments overseas increase. 'Basically, if you're going to have big government abroad, you've got to be prepared to have big government at home. One aspect of that is if you want an imperial foreign policy, you're going to need an imperial military to carry it out,' Bandow said.---" More Money for Amtrak - Foundation for Economic Education - Home 10/27/03 “The Senate has approved a $1.34 billion subsidy for Amtrak for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1, setting up a conflict with the House, which approved a $900 million bill and has been eager for structural changes at the railroad.” (New York Times, Monday) All that money and the trains don't even run on time. FEE Timely Classic “Train Wreck” by Gregory Bresiger Memphis Takes Property for Private Use - Foundation for Economic Education - Home 10/27/03 “A massive $127.5 million urban renewal project is under way, aimed at revitalizing a sleepy section of old Memphis…. Some of the Uptown project, a planned 6-square-mile residential and commercial development, will be built on property taken by the city from private citizens through the threat or use of eminent domain, then given to private developers. The legal tool for a government entity to take title to private property is as old as the U.S. Constitution, but its use in consolidating property for private development projects has raised vocal opposition both here and around the country.” (Commercial Appeal, Sunday) Bastiat called it "legal plunder." FEE Timely Classic “The Blight of Eminent Domain” by Steven Greenhut Definitions of Libertarianism "A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, or to advocate or delegate its initiation. Those who act consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are *not* libertarians, regardless of what they may claim." - author L. Neil Smith Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "All of history attests that the centralization and concentration of power breed despotism.'' -- H.A.Scott Trask Sunday, October 26, 2003
Brent Bozell: CBS revises the Reagans "---There are two kinds of films about presidents. There are documentaries, which usually try to dwell in factual examination, and fictional movies, which have a habit of wildly making things up to satisfy the demands of making either effective entertainment or effective propaganda. Now, CBS is preparing a dramatic and quite fictional miniseries for November titled "The Reagans." CBS promised reporters it would be "meticulously researched." Researched fiction, that is.---" Paul Jacob: Some Journalists Don't Play By the Rules October 26, 2003 "Actually they're not rules, they're laws: the laws of logic. These laws can get complicated. But they boil down to just one: the law of identity. The law of identity says things are what they are.---" Learning from our first war on terror - By Joseph Wheelan - Recordnet.com "Postwar Iraq, which these days evokes strained comparisons to late 1960s Vietnam, might be more usefully compared with the Barbary War of 1801-05, a forgotten conflict with lessons to impart. Fought 200 years ago, the Barbary War was America's only unilateral war against a Muslim foe. It was begun with high hopes that soon began to ebb. Eerily mirroring today's war on terror, the undeclared war was waged against terror, piracy, extortion and slavery. These were immensely profitable, because Europe paid millions for the privilege of trading in the Mediterranean unmolested. But the Barbary States broke those treaties, demanding new, costlier ones. After winning independence, America also made treaties with the Barbary States. But by the time Thomas Jefferson became the third president in 1801, the treaties were unraveling. Tripoli was threatening war. Jefferson ordered a naval squadron to the Mediterranean.---" Definitions of Libertarianism "Libertarianism is what you probably already believe… Libertarian values are American values. Libertarianism is America's heritage of liberty, patriotism and honest work to build a future for your family. It's the idea that being free and independent is a great way to live. That each of us is a unique individual, with great potential. That you own yourself, and that you have the right to decide what's best for you. Americans of all races and creeds built a great and prosperous country with these libertarian ideals. Let's use them to build America's future." -- David Bergland, 1984 Libertarian Party presidential candidate and author of Libertarianism in One Lesson Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.'' -- John Adams, 1772 Saturday, October 25, 2003
Makers and Takers: How Wealth and Progress Are Made and How They Are Taken Away or Prevented Edmund Contoski, Foreword by John Chamberlain Via: Barnes & Noble.com Product Details: ISBN: 0965500748 Format: Paperback, 464pp Pub. Date: March 1997 Publisher: American Liberty Publishers Barnes & Noble Sales Rank: 633,144 ABOUT THE BOOK From the Publisher "Makers and Takers" shows how the free market works -- and why government intervention doesn't. It examines various forms of economic intervention (taxation, regulation, monetary policy) and their effects on consumer products and services, the health and lives of Americans, and the nation's economic well-being. The book also explores a broad range of environmental issues. Scientific subjects such as pollution, acid rain and global warming are explained in clear, nontechnical language -- and some surprising facts here discredit current government policies. sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor (Third letter on page.): Rush Limbaugh's fall "I noted the glee in the Opinion page cartoon showing Rush Limbaugh had joined "discredited right wing moralists" (Nick Anderson, Courier-Journal, Oct. 16). I thought Rush specialized in political commentary. He makes a living mocking liberals, but I have never heard him presenting his moral credentials or even his religion. Maybe the cartoonist was confused with Dr. Laura. My second thought was, "Who are the left-wing moralists?" We all have seen Bill Clinton going to church or on camera with a minister. Ted Kennedy's religion is common knowledge. What about Rep. Barney Frank's? Since these are the major spokesmen for the Democratic Party, should we call them the "left-wing moralists"? It does give one pause to think on what guides these people. Some make a strong argument purporting that liberalism is an ersatz religion. The double standard is clearly evident even if liberals are unable to provide the logic that there is no accountability in leftist morality." - Justin Broadbent, Folsom Foundation for Economic Education - Home Promotion for Air-Security Boss 10/24/03 “The White House yesterday promoted the head of the Transportation Security Administration to second-in-command at the Department of Homeland Security, just days after a high-profile breach in which box cutters and other dangerous items were discovered aboard commercial aircraft.” (Washington Post, Friday) Another object lesson in the perverse incentives of bureaucracies." FEE Timely Classic “Hayek Was Right: The Worst Do Get to the Top” by Lawrence W. Reed Definitions of Libertarianism "Libertarians are self-governors in both personal and economic matters. They believe government's only purpose is to protect people from coercion and violence. Libertarians value individual responsibility, and tolerate economic and social diversity. -- Carole Ann Rand, Chair, Board of Directors, Advocates for Self-Government Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty ''For those looking for security, be forewarned that there's nothing more insecure than a political promise.'' -- Harry Browne Friday, October 24, 2003
Medicare Using Blimp in Ad Campaign - My Way News Oct 22, 6:16 PM (ET) Via: Opinion Journal - Best of the Web "WASHINGTON (AP) - Finally, proof that government is full of hot air, or at least helium. Medicare, the federal health insurance program for seniors and the disabled, is spending $600,000 this year to have a blimp fly at sporting events, including Saturday's Tennessee-Alabama college football game in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The blimp is part of a $30 million advertising campaign in 2003 to make the program better known to its 40 million participants." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wasting your tax dollars. - TA FOXNews.com - Views - Social Security: Where Do the Candidates Stand? Tuesday, October 21, 2003 By Bob Costello Via: Free market.net "With the 2004 presidential primary elections fast approaching, voters should know where the major candidates stand on a critical issue: Social Security choice.---" Just For Skeptics: My Transformation From Anti-Gun Feminist To Armed Feminist By Katherine von Tour GOA Member Via: Free market.net "Most people who support the Second Amendment have probably wondered at one time or another how to change the thinking of anti-gunners. Since I was once a staunch gun-control proponent, including being a member of Handgun Control Incorporated (HCI) in the 1970's, but am today a fervent and virtually no-compromise Second Amendment supporter, perhaps the story of my mental shift will be of interest.---" Freedom and Tort Reform Via: free market.net "Freedom and Tort Reform Ending lawsuit abuse in America is about more than just trial lawyers and big business. The mainstream media in this country has done a great disservice to the citizens of America and failed in its responsibility to accurately report the issue at stake for this country in regard to what is called “tort reform.” The reporting on this subject is always about trial lawyers, corporations, Republicans and Democrats and campaign contributions. What we have lost in the debate about lawsuit abuse is a discussion about freedom and self-government.---" Online pharmacy guild to launch propaganda campaign - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Washington Post "Drugstore.com is launching a 'public awareness campaign' intended to scare people away from 'rogue internet pharmacies'. Lost in all the fear-mongering are the facts that countries without stringent pharmaceutical regulations don't necessarily have more drug abuse, and that this protectionism raises prices and limits medical choices for some individuals. (10/24/03)" Homeland Security to nanny us about computer security - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Washington Post '"The advertising campaign is designed to educate home and small business computer users about the importance of using firewalls and anti-virus software, as well as defending against online fraud.' Maybe the gov will begin taking its own advice. (10/23/03)" Medical privacy madness HIPAA, the stringent new federal medical-privacy law, took effect in April, and soon had what may be some rather drastic unintended consequences in the town of Craig, Colo.: 'To protect the privacy of those needing medical help, 911 dispatchers stopped mentioning residents' names in radio calls to emergency response teams. That made it more difficult for the teams to find addresses,' which critics charge may have contributed to the death of a local heart attack victim. Moreover, thousands of doctors 'have stopped sending out appointment-reminder postcards, figuring the cards could be read by someone other than the patient. Some doctors have stopped leaving messages on patients' telephone answering machines, fearing that other family members might listen to them. Wives have been told they no longer could verify dental appointments for their husbands' -- even though a federal official says such postcards, phone messages and spousal verifications do not violate the law. (Laura Parker, 'Medical-privacy law creates wide confusion', USA Today, Oct. 16). Medical errors often arise from miscommunication, and the law has also made medical providers more reluctant to share information with each other about patients. Medpundit Sydney Smith (Oct. 20) comments: 'Part of the problem is that the penalties are so stiff (they include time in prison) that no one wants to risk any breach, no matter how nonsensical and impractical complying with it may seem. I've heard colleagues say that they've had requests for old medical records from other practices or hospitals rejected because their request form was deemed 'non-HIPAA compliant,' and I've heard nurses ask one another if they're allowed to tell another nurse in another department -- say dialysis -- details about the patient they're sending over for care. Most see the law as punitive -- one that will be used by the disgruntled and unhappy as one more weapon in their attack arsenal (along with laws on disability, sexual harassment, equal opportunity, etc.). That makes people -- especially those who manage large organizations -- very nervous. And that's another reason they abandon common sense so readily." Posted by Walter Olson at October 23, 2003 10:11 AM | TrackBack Overlawyered: "Asbestos meltdown" "Despite talk of compromise in Congress, write the editorialists of the Washington Post (Oct. 20), reform of 'the spectacularly broken asbestos litigation system' seems to remain out of reach for the moment. 'The tort system has failed to provide asbestos victims predictable and fair compensation for the grievous injuries they have suffered even as it has saddled industry with gigantic liability from people who are not actually sick. ... [It is] a system that now works to everyone's detriment -- a system in which trial lawyers, representing people who aren't sick, sue companies that never made asbestos (the asbestos manufacturers themselves being long since insolvent).' See also 'Frist asks labor counter-offer on asbestos', Reuters/Forbes, Oct. 21; Michelle J. White, 'Resolving the 'Elephantine Mass'', Regulation, Summer (PDF); Doug Bandow, 'Quenching the asbestos fire', syndicated/TownHall, Sept. 8. Posted by Walter Olson at October 24, 2003 11:26 AM | TrackBack " Welcome to Michael Fumento's BioEvolution - Overview "No area of science is moving faster nor will have a greater impact than biotechnology. BioEvolution is the first book to explain what biotech is all about and to describe the amazing scientific advances that have already been made. Author Michael Fumento shows how biotech is changing our lives and will do so even more dramatically in the near future.---" GM may be good for you - The Spectator.co.uk Via Junk science.com "Ross Clark says we should ignore the eco-brigade’s hysteria over genetically modified food." TCS: Tech Central Station - United Nations Day of Shame By Henry I. Miller and Gregory Conko Published 10/24/2003 Via Junk science.com "UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recently declared that the global pursuit of scientific endeavors is marked by inequality. Noting that developing countries invest much less on scientific research and produce fewer scientists, Annan warned that the resulting imbalance in the geographic distribution of scientific activity creates problems for both the scientific community in developing countries and for development itself. He urged scientists and scientific institutions around the world to resolve this inequity and bring the benefits of science to all. How humanitarian. How enlightened. How hypocritical. The UN is supposed to be the watchdog of human rights, the most basic of which is the right to have enough to eat. When human rights are compromised, most often it is because people are desperately poor. One contributing factor to this poverty is the inability of people to feed themselves effectively. The UN's mission ought to be self-sufficiency of food production for all. Instead, the self-interest of UN bureaucracies actually prevents the poor from bettering their lives -- and even from surviving.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There is no "right to have enough to eat", but certainly there is a right of freedom from government actions that make it difficult or impossible to get enough to eat. - TA FOXNews.com - Views - Junk Science - Hit-and-Run Pesticide News Via Junk Science.com "The New York Times reported this week that 'apples, peppers, celery and cherries top a list compiled by an environmental research organization of the 12 fruits and vegetables it considers the most contaminated by pesticides.' The brief 201-word article is an excellent example of hit-and-run reporting designed to scare rather than inform readers.---" Friedrich W. Nietzsche (1844-1900) German Philosopher and Poet “Then what is freedom? It is the will to be responsible to ourselves.” Medicare reform legislation - National Center for Policy Analysis "Differences between House and Senate negotiators have prompted Democrats to threaten to filibuster Medicare reform legislation. The primary sticking point is a provision in the House version of the bill that steers Medicare coverage toward private, consumer-driven health insurance plans by 2010. Social Security and Medicare Trustee and NCPA Senior Fellow Thomas R. Saving recently co-authored a study showing that consumer-driven plans, like Medical Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements, should be an integral part of any reform legislation. FEATURE PUBLICATION Policy Report No. 261 http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st/st261/ " NCPA - Daily Policy Digest - Patients Often Use Emergency Rooms for Non-Urgent Care Friday, October 24, 2003 "Visits to hospital emergency departments (EDs) have increased greatly in recent years, contributing to crowded conditions and ambulance diversions. Contrary to the popular belief that uninsured people are the major cause of increased emergency department use, insured Americans accounted for most of the 16 percent increase in visits between 1996-97 and 2000-01, according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). Less than half of ER visits (47 percent) are truly emergencies requiring care within an hour or less. Because the cost of treating patients is higher in the ED than in outpatient clinics and medical practices, increased use of the ED for many non-urgent health problems will contribute to higher health insurance costs. According to HSC, most striking is the increase in ER visits by patients with private health insurance -who increased by about one quarter despite a population increase of less than five percent---" The Heritage Foundation: Policy Research and Analysis "'The private market will work because people will respond to the incentives and the disincentives of the private market, and it can work in health care just as well as it can work in other areas if you let it,' says the Honorable Jon Kyl in his recent Heritage lecture, What Is True Medicare Reform? The Wrong Prescription for Medicare by Robert Moffit and Derek Hunter The Crucial Elements of an Acceptable Medicare Bill by Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D. Medicare Malady #69: Who Doesn't Get Hurt Under The Medicare Deal?" Social Security Reform - Heritage Daily Briefing "---Every day that Congress and the Administration delays reforming Social Security, there is one less day that the program will have surpluses. The Social Security trustees warn that the program will begin to run cash flow deficits within 15 years. There is a pool of IOUs known as the trust fund, which can be used to help pay benefits until they run out in 2042, but in order to liquidate them, Congress will have to come up with about $5 trillion (in today’s dollars) from general revenue. The last thing that future retirees need is to find out that both their company pension plan and Social Security are unable to pay all of their promised benefits." Mona Charen: The most important book of the year "Abigail and Stephen Thernstrom have produced a book that should rock the nation. "No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning" is an absolutely brilliant analysis of what ails American education today. Though the Thernstroms will doubtless receive a certain amount of abuse for tackling this sensitive subject, no fair-minded person reading this scholarly and lucid book can fail to recognize their good faith. It is hard to imagine a more necessary book about domestic policy.---" Thomas Sowell: A lynch mob gathers: Part III "Senator Charles Schumer went on television on October 22nd to announce that he was prepared to urge his fellow Democrats to filibuster, in order to prevent a Senate vote on the nomination of California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown to become a federal judge on the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington. In other words, Senator Schumer is prepared to deny other Senators the right to vote yes or no on Justice Brown. He has turned the Senate's Constitutional duty to "advise and consent" on judicial nominees into the Senate minority's ability to delay and obstruct.---" Caucasian Student Club Developer Drops out of School - CNSNews.com: The Cybercast News Service "(CNSNews.com) - A 15-year-old high school freshman who proposed the creation of a Caucasian student club at a California high school has transferred to another facility, citing harassment from other students. Full Story" Commentary: Why The National Debt Matters To You -CNSNews.com: The Cybercast News Service "(CNSNews.com) - The public debt is currently growing at nearly a billion dollars a day! That is thousands of dollars per second! It''s nearly inconceivable. Try blinking your eyes. There went $5,000-$10,000. Read the Commentary" Giving TSA the slip - DANIEL JOHN SOBIESKI - Chicago - Letters to the Editor - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED Second letter on page. "As James Bovard points out ("Airport trick or treat," Commentary, yesterday), the best analysis of college student Nathaniel Heatwole's slipping of box cutters onto multiple passenger jets was by airline expert Michael Boyd, who observed, "The [Transportation Security Administration] is a poorly focused, unaccountable Washington political bureaucracy geared to screen for objects, not for security threats.---" Accessing the Internet - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED (George Allen) "Don't tax this 21st century imperative." Definitions of Libertarianism "'In popular terminology, a libertarian is the opposite of an authoritarian. Strictly speaking, a libertarian is one who rejects the idea of using violence or the threat of violence -- legal or illegal -- to impose his will or viewpoint upon any peaceful person. Generally speaking, a libertarian is one who wants to be governed far less than he is today.' -- Dean Russell, Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), 1955" Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "'The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.' -- Thomas Jefferson " Thursday, October 23, 2003
Yahoo! News - Scientists Back Farmers in Klamath Basin By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Writer Via Junk science.com "GRANTS PASS, Ore. - Voluntary steps to restore habitat, including removing dams, might be more effective in saving Klamath Basin fish than taking water from farmers, a federal report released Tuesday says.---" Wired News: Plumbing Depths of Data Mining Via free-market.net "---Federal authorities badly want to be able to comb the data trails of ordinary people in order to spot terrorists. But what -- if any -- limits should be put on that frighteningly invasive power? A panel of lawmakers, think tankers, data miners and civil libertarians assembled here Tuesday couldn't even begin to make up their minds.---" Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/23/2003 | Prosecutor: Drugs big in Camden economy By Dwight Ott Inquirer Staff Writer Via free market.net "In a policy debate, Vincent R. Sarubbi said trafficking in the city was worth $100 million a year, making it tough to stop. CAMDEN - Drug trafficking is a major part of Camden's economy, accounting for close to $100 million a year in income to drug dealers and their employees, most of it coming from suburbanites, according to Camden County Prosecutor Vincent R. Sarubbi. The figure, revealed by Sarubbi yesterday during a debate at the Rutgers School of Law in Camden, rivals the city's $118 million budget, only $20 million of which comes from local taxes. Most of the rest comes from state and federal subsidies.---" Iraq's Conjunction Junction Via free-market.net "---Wait a minute, you might say. Iraq and al Qaeda? Hasn't this spurious argument for the war been rebutted long ago by the disclosure that, whatever the average American thinks, there was no connection? I can understand why reasonable people might come to this conclusion, given the massive media attention paid to attempted rebuttals and the artful language used by the Bush administration's critics on the issue -- they deny that Saddam Hussein instigated the 9/11 attacks, which virtually no one is alleging, while ignoring the increasingly compelling evidence that the Iraqi regime was at least an accessory to the first World Trade Center attacks in 1993, at least a financier and trainer of some al Qaeda-affiliated terror groups, and at least a well-wisher and facilitator of al Qaeda operatives in Africa, Asia, and Europe.---" Project 21 New Visions: It's Only Disfranchisement When Liberals Lose Via free-market.net "Do you ever get the feeling you're being used? The black voter has become a virtual pawn in the liberal political strategy. Our 'disfranchisement' was an issue in the elections of 2000, 2002 and in the recent California recall. While voting problems may, in fact, exist, it's the pattern of selective outrage that tips the liberals' hand. Disfranchised voters who don't help their cause apparently aren't really disfranchised.---" sacbee.com -- News -- City eyes Patriot Act stand "The council will consider a resolution opposing parts of the law as a threat to civil liberties. By Emily Bazar -- Bee Capitol Bureau Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Wednesday, October 22, 2003 The Sacramento City Council will consider in the coming weeks whether to take a stand against the USA Patriot Act, following the lead of more than 190 cities and counties across the country. The development was spurred by a meeting Tuesday of the council's Law and Legislation Committee, which called on the full council to consider a resolution opposing portions of the Patriot Act, a controversial federal law passed in fall of 2001 that significantly expanded the government's investigative authority.---" CSPI: Perception vs. Scientific Credentials - healthfactsandfears.com - featured articles October 20, 2003 By Donald J. McNamara Via free-market.net "An open letter to Center for Science in the Public Interest director Michael Jacobson: The random mixing of science, politics, agendas, and self-aggrandizing — when used against individuals who don't happen to endorse your opinions — is a sad commentary on CSPI. Your media event criticizing the USDA-HHS Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is another example of the myopic vision and irrational knee-jerk judgmentalism expected from CSPI.---" Common Sense #962: Re-Certifiable Via free-market.net "'What we really need is to require all Congress Men and government bureaucrats to have a Bachelors Degree in Paper Pushing, a Masters Degree in Bullpucky, and a PHD in Bureaucratic Nonsense, plus a Certificate in Red Tape in addition to a Law degree, Masters in Law and a JD. That might slow the tide of crap coming out of Washington. . . .' " PERSPECTIVE‑Is Socialism Good in Theory? Published in Ideas on Liberty - October 2003 by Sheldon Richman, Editor, Ideas on Liberty Via free-market.net "Socialism has been mortally discredited on economic grounds, thanks to Ludwig von Mises, F. A. Hayek, and history. But for many people it has not been discredited on moral grounds. You can tell this by how often people say that while socialism doesn’t work in practice, it is good in theory. Strange notion—that a theory which doesn’t work in the world can somehow still be good. Where else is it to be judged? One would think that a theory whose consistent realization requires gulags and secret police would be morally disqualified even if it “worked.---” Media Reality Check - Media Research Center Home Page "Won’t Blame Big Spending for Big Deficits The networks are touting "record" budget deficits, but when it comes to assigning a cause for all that red ink, an MRC study finds reporters are quick to blame tax cuts while rarely pointing to the incredible increases in both federal and state spending over the past several years." Medicare Malady #68: The Road To Health-Care Serfdom Starts Here by The Heritage Foundation WebMemo October 22, 2003 “House and Senate negotiators said on Monday that they had reached a tentative agreement on one of the most important issues in the Medicare bill. Under the agreement, the government would guarantee the availability of prescription drug benefits in any market where private insurers fail to do so.” – The New York Times, Oct. 21. And that, ladies and gentlemen, starts America’s march toward a national health-care system that offers less quality and fewer choices.---" Albert Gallatin (1830-1864) U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and Congressman “Government prohibitions do always more mischief than had been calculated; and it is not without much hesitation that a statesman should hazard to regulate the concerns of individuals, as if he could do it better than themselves.” Ask Our Scholars -- David Bernstein - The Cato Institute: Public Policy Analysis, Limited Government, Free Markets "George Mason University Law Professor David Bernstein is author of the new Cato book You Can't Say That!, an in-depth look at how efforts to eradicate discrimination from American society are undermining our civil liberties." Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Preserving Our Liberties While Fighting Terrorism - Cato Daily Dispatch for October 22, 2003 "---In 'Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Preserving Our Liberties While Fighting Terrorism,' Timothy Lynch, director of Cato's Project on Criminal Justice, writes: 'To assuage the widespread anxiety of the populace, policymakers make the dubious claim that they can prevent terrorism by curtailing the privacy and civil liberties of the people. Because everyone wants to be safe and secure, such legislation is usually very popular and passes the legislative chambers of Congress with lopsided majorities. Too many people indulge in the assumption that they are now safe, since the police, with their newly acquired powers, will somehow be able to foil the terrorists before they can kill again. The plain truth, however, is that it is only a matter of time before the next attack.'' Jonathan Block, editor, jblock@cato.org" Internet Sales Tax Not What the States Are After - The Cato Institute: Public Policy Analysis, Limited Government, Free Markets "In a new Policy Analysis, Adam Thierer and Veronique de Rugy argue that there's more at stake than meets the eye in the battle over whether or not to renew the Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1997. The real issue, they write, is 30 years of Supreme Court precedent dictating that states and local governments can only tax those businesses with a physical presence within their jurisdictions. Thierer and de Rugy argue that beyond extending the IFTA, Congress must also take action to resist the collusion among the states to tax multistate sales." Debra Saunders: Justice for Justice Brown "---No wonder liberal law professors such as Gerald Uelman of Santa Clara University and Stephen Barnett of University of California, Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law endorse her confirmation. But not the Black Caucus, which disingenuously argued, as Durbin did, that Brown is outside of the "mainstream" of America. No, the caucus is outside of the mainstream. Her detractors point to the decision Brown wrote that upheld Proposition 209 -- as they ignore the fact that the California Supreme Court voted 7-0 in agreement with her. Not to mention that 54 percent of Californians voted for Proposition 209.---" upcoming CBS hatchet job - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "There's going to be some controversy over the CBS presentation of "The Reagans." In this corner, Emmett Tyrrell giving you some background on the upcoming CBS hatchet job." a little union violence - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "How about a little union violence to start your day? Grocery clerk union members in California are hunting down replacement workers and beating them in the face with baseball bats. Don't you just love unions? There's nothing like a little mob violence to get even with people who will work when you won't." LIBERTARIAN WRITER - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "The national Libertarian Party is seeking a talented, experienced writer to help produce LP News, the party's official monthly paper, and assist with a variety of other writing projects such as op-eds, brochures and web content. The ideal candidate will have a broad range of professional writing experience and will have authored a wide variety of news, feature and opinion pieces. Professional design and/or desktop publishing experience a plus. The successful candidate will have: ► A degree in journalism or English, or three years of professional experience writing for a newspaper, magazine or equivalent publication. ► Experience as an editor, with responsibility for selecting stories, acquiring artwork and photographs, dealing with advertisers and working on a deadline. ► A commitment to the libertarian ideals of free markets and civil liberties and have a strong desire to work in an organization dedicated to reducing the size, power and cost of government. This is a full-time position in a hard-working, fast-paced office in the historic Watergate building near the Foggy Bottom Metro. Excellent compensation. Send resume and several writing samples (ideally, two examples each of news, feature, and opinion pieces) to: Libertarian Party, ATTN: George Getz, 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100, Washington, DC, 20037." What The Democrats Won't Tell You - Toogood Reports Commentary: Ron Marr "We are now approaching the beginning of the race for the Oval Office. As usual, the same tired old candidates are trotting out the same tired old clichés. This is particularly true of the Democrats, who once again are focusing their message on those who wish something for nothing, those who do not value work or sacrifice, those who contribute the least and consume the most. They are parroting the heinous line they have utilized for decades. No matter if the speaker is Dean, Clark, Kerry, Lieberman, Gephardt or Edwards, the diatribe is the same. 'You haven't been treated fairly. We will make sure you get your fair share.'" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Democrats throw out the old socialist/Marxist pitch to the stupid. - TA Senate Democrats Call for Continued Ban on Plastic Guns "---'There never has been a plastic gun; there is no such gun at this time; and if there were one sometime in the future, [Sen. Kennedy's] law would do nothing to keep thugs and terrorists from obtaining such a gun,' Pratt said in a press release. 'Those in the anti-self defense crowd such as Senator Kennedy believe that gun bans will keep guns out of the wrong hands. The island of England has a near-total gun ban and now has more crime committed with guns than at any time in recent history,' Pratt commented.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anti-self defense advocates don't bother doing their homework on gun technology or gun bans. I see dumb people. - TA The more you know - Letters to the Editor - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED "---The public library has always been a sanctuary of inclusiveness, free expression and a diversity of views on many different subjects and will continue to play a vital role in supplying the information that will allow the public to respectfully explore and better understand different cultures and religions from around the world. That is why libraries will provide the information necessary to help educate Americans about Islam. A well-informed population is the foundation for an active and healthy participatory democracy like our own." CARLA HAYDEN President American Library Association Executive director Enoch Pratt Free Library Baltimore Price controls and tuition - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED (Malcom Gillis) "The law of unintended consequences." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another reason why government economic plans don't work. - TA Dean's dream-destroying plan - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED "Let there be no mistake: Howard Dean's claims to the contrary, 'Reclaiming the American Dream' will result in a huge tax increase on child-rearing working families." Bush judicial nominee slammed - The Sacramento Bee -- sacbee.com -- Politics "WASHINGTON -- California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown, President Bush's controversial nominee for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, ran into a firestorm of criticism from Democrats during a four-hour Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing Wednesday." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Only liberal judicial activists need apply. - TA Definitions of Libertarianism "Libertarianism is self-government. It combines the best of both worlds: The left leg of self-government is tolerance of others; the right leg is responsible economic behavior. The combination of both legs leads to social harmony and material abundance.'' -- Marshall Fritz, Founder of the Advocates for Self-Government; President, Alliance for the Separation of School and State Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty ''Personal responsibility is the price of liberty.'' -- Michael Cloud ''A free society cannot work unless people take charge of their lives and assume responsibility for their actions.'' -- Jim Powell Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Waiting Lists for Surgery in New Zealand Criticized - Foundation for Economic Education - Home 10/22/03 “The current system of allocating points to patients on surgery waiting lists should be reviewed, the [New Zealand] College of General Practitioners says. An Otago University study released this week showed people on waiting lists for hip replacements and other orthopaedic surgery were reducing the ability of GPs to deal with routine general practice problems.... College of General Practitioners president Jim Vause said today it was not just orthopaedic patients who were suffering.” (New Zealand News, Wednesday) Sounds like our neighbor to the north." FEE Timely Classic “Socialized Medicine: The Canadian Experience” by Pierre Lemieux Zero-Tolerance Watch - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "Thirteen-year-old Christina Lough, a straight-A student at Garland McMeans Junior High in Katy, Texas, was ordered to attend a "special disciplinary class" for seven days and stripped of her posts as president of the student council and the honor society. Her crime: bringing a pencil sharpener to school. Christian's mother, Sumi Lough, had brought the sharpener, a two-inch blade that folds into a small handle, from her native South Korea. "District officials said they had no choice but to follow their zero-tolerance policy to the letter," reports the Houston Chronicle, quoting school district lawyer Christopher Gilbert: "If we vary from the rules, that's when the rules fall apart." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Police state mentality. - TA CyberAlert: Exposing Media Bias Daily - Media Research Center Home Page Wednesday, October 22: • Big Three, But Not FNC, Frame Partial-Birth Around Left’s Agenda • CNN Gives Air Time to Anti-Bush Ad Bought in One Small Market • CBS’s Reagan Movie Will Amplify Foibles, Downplay Successes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Site provides links to individual articles. - TA Book Review: 'Climate Alarmism Reconsidered' - Junkscience.com "A couple of weeks ago, Robert Bradley, President of the Institute for Energy Research in Houston, Texas, and a senior research fellow at the University of Houston, contacted us regarding a new book of which he is the author -- Climate Alarmism Reconsidered. Recognizing the topic of his book to be of potential interest to readers of CO 2 Science Magazine, we reproduce here the book's Back Cover Points, Table of Contents and Introduction with Robert's permission. We invite you to read this material and consider purchasing Robert's book, which is available from Laissez-Faire Books.' (co2science.org)" From CO2 Science Magazine this week: - Junkscience.com Editorial: ''The Role of Science in the CO 2 Emissions Reduction Debate' - 'The National Research Council's expert witness at the McCain Senate hearing on The Case for Climate Change Action presented a rather even-handed assessment of where the science of the matter stands. Unfortunately, it did nothing to alter the Senator's biased views on the subject.' (co2science.org)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Politics first, science last, if at all. - TA William Godwin (1756-1836) English Philosopher and Author “Above all we should not forget that government is an evil, a usurpation upon the private judgement and individual conscience of mankind.” Eco-radicals Twist Tax Law to Feed Habits by Doug Bandow "Corporate misbehavior remains much in the news in America. One day it is Enron; next it is the New York Stock Exchange. Big Labor, too, must routinely be called to account. Now comes a study, 'Green-Peace, Dirty Money: Tax Violations in the World of non-Profits,' from Public Interest Watch, demonstrating the importance of scrutinizing nonprofit organizations. PIW charges the radical environmental group Greenpeace with misusing tax-exempt donations for political purposes. Greenpeace, it says, is 'the most egregious offender we reviewed,' and thus warrants a thorough investigation. Greenpeace activists sometimes risk life and limb trying to blockade bases and ships and invade businesses and power plants. Alas, the group lacks an appreciation for the importance of protecting humans as well as whales and plants. There may be no more avid antagonist to technological innovation than Greenpeace, which sees danger in every advance and most ferociously opposes changes that offer the greatest potential benefits. If the organization had its way, we'd all be living in primitive hovels with dirt floors, sharing our single room with farm animals while enjoying the wonders of cholera, smallpox and typhoid.---" Brent Bozell: NPR admits a liberal bias "---The only ones who seem not to know that the left has a massive, taxpayer-funded radio network of 700 affiliates are the liberals trying to sell investors on their own private-sector talk-radio network. A recent PBS "NewsHour" story on talk radio turned ridiculous when reporter Terence Smith allowed liberal-network booster Jon Sinton to proclaim: "Every day in America on the 45 top-rated talk radio stations, there are 310 hours of conservative talk. There is a total of five hours of talk that comes from the other side of the aisle." Don't buy that for a minute. The key word in that sentence is "top-rated" stations. Sinton's upset that conservatives apparently dominate "top-rated" talk. That doesn't mean NPR doesn't have hundreds of hours of liberal talk shows, not to mention liberal "news" shows. It's just not "top-rated." Last week, NPR's own official ombudsman, Jeffrey Dvorkin, admitted a liberal bias in NPR's talk programming.---" Thomas Sowell: A lynch mob gathers: Part II "---Liberal-left activist groups with pretty names like the People for the American Way, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People all understand that much of what they want cannot be enacted into law by legislators who have to face the voters at the next election. It can only be enacted into law from the judicial bench by judges with lifetime jobs, pretending to "interpret" the law when in fact they are creating law. Judges who oppose having courts engaging in social engineering are likely to find their own nominations opposed by liberal special interest groups, whether their names are Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas or Janice Rogers Brown. And, since the real reasons for opposition to such judges cannot be admitted publicly, phony reasons have to be concocted -- and repeated endlessly through the media until they become "well-known facts.---" Rebecca Hagelin: Rush, pain and drugs "---Some of our loved ones suffer out of ignorance of what is available to relieve their pain. Others suffer because not all doctors take the time to study the latest methods in pain-control. Thankfully, God in his mercy had provided me, through my friend Rita Marker, a book titled, "Power Over Pain: How to Get the Pain Control You Need" that showed me Mom could receive complete relief.---" Walter E. Williams: No excuses "'Excellent schools deliver a clear message to their students: No Excuses. No excuses for failing to do your homework, failing to work hard in general; no excuses for fighting with other students, running in the hallways, dressing inappropriately and so forth. That's part of the prescription for ending educational mediocrity discussed in Abigail and Stephen Thernstrom's new book, "No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning.' (Simon & Schuster, 2003).---" read this Jonah Goldberg piece - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Do you believe that presidents can actually have that much of an influence on our economy? Do you believe that Clinton was responsible for the boom of the 1990's which began before he took office, and that Bush was responsible for the slow-down that began before he took office? Maybe you should read this Jonah Goldberg piece." Rush Haters Don't Like The Dittoheads Either - Toogood Reports Commentary: W. James Antle III Via: Boortz.com "---It´s obvious that a lot of Rush´s critics just don´t get him. They take his shtick a lot more seriously than most of the dittoheads do. But it is more disturbing how little they understand that vast section of America that votes Republican, believes in traditional values and prefers free enterprise to big government. You have to wonder how some of these elites can speak out in the name of "working families" and yet find so many of them so alien." THE DANGEROUS UNITED NATIONS - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Israel is building a security fence. It seems that hardly a week goes by where you don't have some Palestinian murderer enter Israeli territory with the goal of killing as many Israelis as possible. So, Israel is building a concrete barrier between its citizens and the killers. "Yesterday the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for Israel to stop construction of that wall and to tear down what has already been built. Israel responded by saying that construction of the wall would continue. "It's interesting that the UN can't seem to bring itself to pass a resolution condemning the terrorist attacks against Israel, but can easily pass a resolution condemning Israel's efforts to protect itself. Remember, liberals want the United States to subject itself to the authority of the United Nations in all international matters and in many domestic matters. Why don't we just put these leftists in power in Washington again and see how things work out?" A fair education - a Tufts conservative speaks out - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: The Tufts Daily Author: Nicholas Boyd ''This preponderance of liberal views and consequent dearth of conservative perspectives prompts the concern that we ... are not really getting the rounded education we ... are paying a very steep price for. We are making up our minds on important political issues under the frequently false assumption that we have been presented with a balanced consideration of arguments from all sides.' (10/21/03)" A government out of control - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Sierra Times Author: Alan Burkhart ''Whether you consider yourself liberal, conservative, or somewhere in-between, you have to be wondering just what in the world is going on with our nation these days. Our government seems to be populated by extremists of every sort... leftist nutcases want to wreck our healthcare system by nationalizing it. Right-wing kooks want to turn America into a police state.' (10/20/03)" Free trade: A potent weapon against terrorism - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Cato Institute Author: Christopher Preble ''This week's Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Bangkok provides President George W. Bush with an opportunity to promote free trade as a weapon in the fight against global terrorism .... An unequivocal commitment to free trade would erode the terrorists' hateful claims that the US and its allies intend to keep Muslims poor and weak.' (10/21/03)" CSPI blasted for funding hypocrisy - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: CCF Author: staff ''CSPI nonchalantly disparaged these scientists' reputations, McNamara continues, not because 'they fail to be in the top tier of research scientists, educators, mentors, and leaders' but because 'they are open minded and associate with CORPORATIONS!' McNamara concludes with this heartfelt denunciation ...' (10/21/03)" 20th century warming not unprecedented - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Heartland Institute Author: David Wojick ''The [Senate] hearing was called in an attempt to help determine the answers to some important questions: Was twentieth century warming unusual? Could it have been natural? Was it due to man-made greenhouse gas emissions ... and how can we know that? Those questions mask a very complex problem that is emerging as the most important issue in the global climate change debate.' (10/03)" Eco-radicals twist tax laws to feed habits - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Cato Institute Author: Doug Bandow ''Alas, many 'public interest' groups, such as Greenpeace, are actively working against the interests of most people. And Greenpeace apparently is twisting U.S. tax law along the way.' (10/22/03) " Killing the good Samaritan - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Ifeminists Author: Wendy McElroy ''[A] devil is at large. He tells us that acts of kindness and common decency do not exist; the worst possible interpretation should be placed on acts that appear to embody those values. Individuals do not exist; only categories.' (10/21/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another form of class warfare. - TA Killing turkeys causes winter - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: TCS Author: Sandy Szwarc ''Plenty of things that have increased in popularity over recent decades -- natural fiber clothing, running shoes and soccer to name a few -- but it would be nonsensical to say any of these have caused obesity. Association never proves causation, any more than killing turkeys causes winter. Yet Banzhaf's case against fast food relies upon multiple associations.' (10/22/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Banzhaf takes advantage of dumb people. - TA It isn't fascism because we don't call it fascism - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: TCS Author: David E. Bernstein ''There are signs that the public is growing impatient with the corrosive effect of hostile environment law on freedom of expression. One of the more amusing manifestations of this disquiet is an episode of the animated series 'South Park'.' (10/22/03)" The people's republic of the United States of America - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Liberty For All Author: Roderick T Beam ''I now have a more radical proposal. Every American student should be taught of [sic] 'The Communist Manifesto'. I say this because this country has now fulfilled, to at least some degree, all of the recommendations that Karl Marx made for his proletarian dictatorship. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, do not fool yourselves. By Marx's own measure, we now live in a communist country.' (10/22/03)" Mo' betta - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Hawaii Reporter Author: Don Newman ''The supposed government solution to poverty is the cause. Every bit of money pulled out of the economy to fund a bureaucrat's salary is a product not purchased from a business somewhere .... That hatred of the wealthy that spurs government programs and interference results in the continued impoverishment of the poor.' Excellent commentary. (10/22/03)" Embarassing government the greatest crime of all - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Strike the Root Author: Michael Tennant ''What really has Heatwole in hot water, then, is not his supposed crimes of smuggling 'dangerous' items onto commercial jetliners. No, what really has him in trouble is that he made the feds look bad (not that that's very hard) and then taunted them with notes in the bags of contraband.' (10/21/03)" Free speech sometimes means saying you're sorry - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Town Hall Author: Kathleen Parker ''Easterbrook, Limbaugh and Boykin clearly are not equivalent cases, but a common thread runs through all three: If you say something that offends a group (except for white males, of course), you're at risk of losing your livelihood. .... That these men's remarks have evoked such emotional responses suggests a censorious sensitivity that does not bode well for free speech.' (10/22/03)" Compassion-based curriculum 'untrue drivel,' critic charges - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Cybercast News Service ''A controversial curriculum focusing on 'humane education,' which advocates say includes compassion for animals, awareness of environmental problems like so-called global warming and overpopulation as well as non-violence, is expanding into the U.S. public school system. ... But Chris Horner, a senior fellow of ... the Competitive Enterprise Institute, ridiculed the whole premise ...' (10/20/03)" CSE launches Wisconsin chapter - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: CSE ''Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) is expanding its presence in Wisconsin with the hiring of a full-time Wisconsin State Director, Cameron Sholty. Lead by former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, Citizens for a Sound Economy works for lower taxes, less government and more freedom -- the CSE Freedom Agenda.' (10/16/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Good news for Wisconsin. - TA Senate Dems to filibuster lawsuit reform act - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Washington Times ''A group of Senate Democrats plans to filibuster the bipartisan class-action reform bill aimed at reining in frivolous lawsuits that often benefit lawyers more than victims. 'I oppose the Class Action Fairness Act for the simple reason that it is not fair, said [VT] Sen. Patrick J. Leahy ...' (10/22/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Senators want to protect the immense incomes of their lawyer contributors. - TA Homeland Security Dept value debated - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Fox News ''A little longer than six months into its operations, analysts are still debating whether a Department of Homeland Security is necessary and if the agency is doing what it was created to do.' (10/22/03)" Poor USA Patriot Act still misunderstood, according to senators - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Washington Post ''Even as some members of the Senate Judiciary Committee said they want to see elements of the Patriot Act modified, others contended that some of the attacks on the anti-terrorism legislation have been unfair.' (10/22/03)" Fedgov reports 'well-written, but missing information' - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: GovExec.com ''Federal agencies generally published clear, accessible performance reports for fiscal 2002, according to a new study. But more than half of the agency reports recently surveyed by accounting firm KPMG LLP failed to integrate certain performance and financial data.' (10/21/03)" Bayard, New Mexico passes resolution against the Patriot Act - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Silver City Daily Press ''City of Bayard councilors in a unanimous vote during their regular meeting Monday passed a resolution 'supporting the restoration of our inalienable civil rights guaranteed by the United States and New Mexico constitutions.' The vote was a direct challenge to the constitutionality of the U.S. Patriot Act.' (10/21/03)" California citizens call Patriot Act a threat, push for resolutions - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Redding Record Searchlight ''A local group wants Shasta County [California] and its three cities to pass resolutions calling the USA Patriot Act a threat to residents' civil liberties. The Anderson City Council will consider tonight the Citizens for Responsible Government's statement calling on agencies to refrain from practices that could infringe on individuals' constitutional rights.' (10/21/03) " DNC Ad Uses President's Father to Attack Him on CIA Leak "A Democratic National Committee television ad that uses a video clip of former President George H. W. Bush to attack Bush's son, the current president, is a case of the Democratic Party 'picking and choosing its facts' as it pursues a strategy of 'scandal-mongering,' a GOP spokesperson said Tuesday.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Example of DNC propaganda methods. - TA Avoiding Clinton's mistakes - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED "Bill Clinton's former security advisers are on the defensive against charges that the administration's inaction allowed bin Laden to grow into a global force." State's independent voters gain clout - The Sacramento Bee -- sacbee.com -- Politics "California Democratic Party officials announced Tuesday that the state's fastest-growing voting bloc -- independents -- will be allowed to cast ballots in the party's March 2 presidential primary." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More people are catching on to the problems involved in voting a "party agenda". - TA Leftists gathering to fight another nominee - By Thomas Sowell - Recordnet.com "The nomination of Justice Janice Rogers Brown of the California Supreme Court to become a federal Court of Appeals judge has brought out vicious special-interest groups with their long knives -- and a long record of smears and character assassination, going back to the campaign of wholesale misrepresentations that defeated the nomination of Judge Robert Bork in 1987. Leading the charge against Justice Brown, as it did against Judge Bork 16 years ago, is the grossly misnamed organization People for the American Way. This is a far-left group with only contempt for American traditions and culture. They want judges who will dismantle the Constitution for the sake of current left-wing fashions like racial quotas and unlimited abortions.---" Definitions of Libertarianism "'Libertarianism promotes a society where no one is the first to harm (strike, defraud, steal from) another. If someone fails to obey this one-and-only law, then he or she must make things right again with the one who is harmed. The only legitimate use of force is self-defense. Basically, libertarianism is a restatement of how we learned to get along with each other as youngsters. We honor our neighbors' choices, and they honor ours. We don't start fights and only fight back when attacked. We try to make right any wrongs that we do. Simple, isn't it?'" -- Dr. Mary Ruwart, Author, Healing Our World Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "'In the end, more than they wanted freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life, and they lost it all -- security, comfort, and freedom. When ... the freedom they wished for was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free.' -- Sir Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) " Tuesday, October 21, 2003
New vs. Old Democrats on class actions "The Class Action Fairness Act, a version of which has already passed the House with White House support, may be brought to the floor of the Senate tomorrow, but Democratic leaders are saying they have enough votes lined up for a filibuster to prevent its passage (Jesse J. Holland, "Supporters looking for more votes to help class action legislation past filibuster", AP/San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 20; Helen Dewar, "GOP Pushes Vote to Curb Class-Action Suits", Washington Post, Oct. 21; Heather Fleming Phillips, "Group tries to rein in lawsuits", San Jose Mercury News, Oct. 21). If so it's a shame, the more so as some of the most persuasive argumentation for the CAFA has come from New Democrat circles, especially from Walter Dellinger, solicitor general during the Clinton Administration, now a professor at Duke Law and partner at O'Melveny & Myers (home of our co-blogger Ted Frank). ("The Class Action Fairness Act", Progressive Policy Institute, Mar. 11). "The states whose courts have honorably decided not to play class action games are, contrary to fundamental federalism principles, being forced to transfer authority over their citizens' claims and the interpretation of their own laws to other states whose courts seem to have an insatiable appetite for such lawsuits," according to Dellinger. See New Democrats Online, "Breakthrough in the Courts?", Feb. 19; "Compromise on Class Action Reform", May 1." Posted by Walter Olson at October 21, 2003 10:06 AM | TrackBack CyberAlert: Exposing Media Bias Daily - Media Research Center Home Page Tuesday, October 21: • CBS Equates Malaysian PM’s Anti-Jewish Screed with Boykin Remark • Jennings & Johnson Shoot Down Anti-Universal Health Care Points • ABC’s Johnson Points to Medicare as Model of Cost Efficiency • Dr. Tim Johnson Was a Cheerleader for HillaryCare in 1990s • FNC Gives Credence to Silly Attack on NRA “Enemies List” • NBC’s Brian Williams Confuses Vatican with the Pentagon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Site provides links to individual articles. - TA Nature behind melting ice - Junkscience.com ''This past June, 46 distinguished climate scientists sent Paul Martin an open letter supporting environmental protection in general, but 'strongly' disagreeing with the scientific rationale for the Kyoto Protocol. A copy given to the National Post was published, but the letter was otherwise generally ignored, both by Martin and most of the media.' (National Post) " 'Scared silly' - Junkscience.com "The public - and politicians - are being panicked by stories of health risks that are unlikely to affect them, research out this week claims.' (The Guardian)" Albert Gallatin (1830-1864) U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and Congressman “Government prohibitions do always more mischief than had been calculated; and it is not without much hesitation that a statesman should hazard to regulate the concerns of individuals, as if he could do it better than themselves.” National Center for Policy Analysis "Policy Note: Many pundits have criticized the President's tax cuts as the cause of deficits which they assume will lead to higher interest rates. But, tax cuts by themselves have little effect on interest rates. Rather, it is the economic growth created by tax cuts that will cause interest rates to rise." FEATURE PUBLICATION: Bartlett Commentary: Deficits and Tax Cuts Other Publications: Brief Analysis 433: The Bush Tax Plan: Tax Reform in the Making Bartlett Commentary: Watching Interest Rates Bartlett Commentary: The Real Cost Of Future Deficits Brief Analysis 408: Explaining the Growth of Medicare: Part II Bartlett Commentary: Bias Against Tax Cuts Click Here for all NCPA publications on the Economy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Site provides links to individual articles. - TA Bill Murchison: For lousy schools, no excuses "---You have to want to hear it, no doubt. It could be -- my own observation, not the Thernstroms' -- that, when it comes to race, American society is demoralized, terrified of the "civil rights" lobby, "the black vote," the Jesse Jacksons, the Al Sharptons, and so on, with their bull-whip rhetoric and smug demands, afraid to peel back the wallpaper and examine the shiplap with attention. But the alternative? Hearken to the Thernstroms. "The alternative to a radical overhaul (of public education) is an appallingly large number of black and Hispanic youngsters continuing to leave high school without the skills and knowledge to do well in life ... Is that acceptable? What decent American will say yes?" Dennis Prager says it better - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "I said it yesterday on the air, but Dennis Prager says it better. The left is upset at the thought of American sovereignty. We should just sit back and be a nice little member state of the United Nations." Al Sharpton - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "I seem to remember that a few weeks ago some Democratic presidential candidates, John Kerry among them, were calling for Rush Limbaugh to be fired from his ESPN commentary position because of his statements about Donovan McNabb. I wonder why they've never had anything to say about Al Sharpton marching up and down the street in front of a Jewish-owned clothing store yelling "bloodsucking Jews" and "Jew bastards"?" WorldNetDaily column (by Boortz) - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "This week's WorldNetDaily column (by Boortz): Democrats abandon America." THE MEDICAL TREATMENT OF OUR SOLDIERS - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "The Pentagon is now saying that it is going to investigate yesterday's stories about hundreds of sick and wounded National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers waiting, sometimes for weeks or months, to see doctors at Ft. Stewart in Georgia. Some of these soldiers served in Iraq and may well be suffering from injuries suffered there. United Press International reports that one document shows that there are no more available appointments to see doctors until after Veterans Day. Are you watching what's happening to these reserve and guard soldiers in Georgia? Well, look hard, my friends. Today it's National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers at Ft. Stewart. Tomorrow it's you. This is government health care. This is what happens when you turn the health care of these people over to government ... and this is the future of health care in the United States. This is the future of health care in America because you believe that your health care isn't your business. No ... it's up to your employer or the government to take care of your health needs, certainly not you. Life insurance, auto insurance, homeowners insurance .. that's fine. You'll go out there and competitively shop for those products. But health insurance? No way! That's not your responsibility, is it? Noooooo. That's your employer's responsibility. Unless there is a huge and very quick change of attitude on the part of the American people, socialized medicine is inevitable in the United States. Right now these soldiers at Ft. Stewart have to wait weeks or months to see a doctor. Wait until the politicians get their way way with some sort of national health care plan. What makes you think they can do any better administering health care on a national basis than they can on one Army post? Read the stories about Ft. Stewart closely. It's your medical future they're talking about down there." A LITTLE TRIP TO FANTASYLAND - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "---Do these Democrats recognize that they are in fact giving aid and comfort to the enemy with their campaign tactics? Of course they do. They know full well that Islamic terrorist leaders are licking their beards at the prospect of another Democrat in the White House. Democrats see this as a price America should pay to have Democrats regain their rightful place in the seat of power. The Islamic terrorist leaders understand the Democratic culture, even if many American voters don't. They experienced it for eight years with Bill Clinton as president. During those eight years it was a lot of words and a few cruise missiles, but little else from America. Bill Clinton wouldn't even take bin Laden when he was offered up on a silver platter! Why would the terrorists think it would be any different under Dean, Kerry, Edwards or Clark?---" Have doctors (or their minions) now become cops? - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Safetynet Associates Author: John G. Tarsikes, Jr. ''In bygone years, patient-physician confidentiality was sacrosanct. ... Not so anymore, at least in some pill rollers' offices in Texas. ... [H]ow many amendments are shredded when you are required to fill out a government document which carries a penalty under law for false statements, and expects a patient to admit to the following ...' (9/21/03)" Movie review: 'Runaway Jury' - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Illinois Leader Author: Fran Eaton ''After serving several years ago on a federal jury concerning a civil rights battle between the Chicago Police Department and a gang of hoodlums, I was very interested to see the new movie 'Runaway Jury' this past weekend. I didn't expect to get caught up in the time-worn debate between Second Amendment advocates and gun control activists, but that's what happened.' (10/20/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The book was about a tobacco suit. Sounds like it was morphed into anti-gun propaganda. - TA Why not give a little? - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Armed Females of America Author: Nicki Fellenzer ''NO-COMPROMISE means our rights and liberties are not bargained for, ever, especially when we get nothing in return. Giving something up without getting anything in return is not 'compromise,' it's surrender.' (10/20/03)" Rushing to See the Bright Side, by Alan Bock "---I confess, however, to harboring a fond hope that Rush might have come to understand that the War on Drugs cannot be won through the ongoing arrest and incarceration of users, but had been reluctant to talk about it lest he upset his core listeners. Now he will almost be obligated to talk about it. One may hope, if logic and personal experience have any influence on his opinions, that he will have rather a different take on whether the justice system is the proper institution to deal with the human propensity to seek to alter one's consciousness and the fact that certain substances have a propensity to create addiction (a handy term generally understood but not all that well defined scientifically if you delve into the literature a bit.---" Armey's Ultimate Axiom – Freedom Works Via: FreeMarket.net "---Armey’s ultimate axiom is simply FREEDOM WORKS. The 225-year-old American experiment in self-government has resulted in the greatest improvements in both human rights and human prosperity in world history. The reason is that freedom is an effective and dynamic organizing principle for a society. Allowing individuals to make choices for themselves, and to both reap the rewards and benefits and accept the consequences of their own personal decisions, produces a society of hard working, responsible and free citizens. Freedom works because all humans have an inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness. When government does not try and interfere with that basic human right, people are more dynamic, creative and self-reliant.---" A civics lesson under one roof - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Independent Institute Author: Brigid O'Neil ''However malleable our Constitution may seem, it has endured as the oldest surviving written constitution precisely because of its solid foundation in democratic principles, individual rights, and the separation of powers. So how can it be, at the very moment we erect a museum ... in its honor, that the Constitution now faces some of the most serious attacks in modern history?' (10/20/03)" National Football League vs. the trial lawyers - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: CFIF Author: staff ''The NDPL, National Deep Pockets League, has lawyers and plaintiffs racing to America's courthouses to file lawsuits in an attempt to score big payouts against deep pockets, with the NFL becoming the most recent opponent of the NDPL.' (10/16/03)" CEI.ORG: Competitive Enterprise Institute: Sam Kazman: Too Tough on SUVs, Too Soft on Mini-Cars Via: FreeMarket.net "---The agency's emphasis on SUV rollovers obscures the much more important question of overall crashworthiness. When you look at all accident modes combined (which is what any sane consumer should be most concerned about), SUVs as a category turn out to perform better than passenger cars. The most unsafe vehicles, by far, are mini-cars -- their death rates, according to another new agency study, are almost four times as great as those of large cars and large SUVs. Mini-cars, however, are today's epitome of political correctness -- small, cute, and extremely fuel-efficient. If you're waiting to hear Runge's views on allowing his daughter in a mini-car, don't hold your breath.---" Why the states are broke - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Reason Author: John Hood ''Democrats as fiscal conservatives? Republicans as tax hikers? Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of government finance, where political labels can confuse more than inform, where experts specialize in deliberately misleading 'analysis,' and where all is not as it seems.' (10/20/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Can't tell the Democrat socialists from the Republican socialists. - TA A lynch mob gathers - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Town Hall Author: Thomas Sowell ''The nomination of Justice Janice Rogers Brown of the California Supreme Court to become a federal Court of Appeals judge has brought out vicious special interest groups with their long knives -- and a long record of smears and character-assassination .... Because Justice Brown is black and conservative, she is being denounced as 'another Clarence Thomas.'' (10/21/03)" Long live intellectual property rights - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Strike the Root Author: John De Laubenfels ''In a recent STR column, Roderick Long argues that, 'Either intellectual property means slavery, or it means nothing at all.' I would beg to differ. Let us view the question from the standpoint of the right of individuals to voluntarily engage in private contracts with others.' (10/21/03)" Free trade benefits becoming more recognized - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Hawaii Reporter Author: Tracy A Ryan ''The next intellectual battle will between libertarian ideas of truly free trade and government ideas of semi-free trade managed by complicated treaties and super-national organizations. Trade, in its essence, is between individuals, not nations.' (10/20/03)" Demography, disaster, and destiny - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: TCS Author: Megan McArdle ''The answer is that there's no easy way to fix our pensions problem, though there are several things we ought to do to make our retirement system more sustainable. To understand exactly why Social Security is so troubled, it's helpful to stop thinking about our looming fiscal crisis, and think instead about the demographic problem that's causing it.' (10/21/03)" Anti-MSA report a rehash of old falsehoods - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Heartland Institute Author: Greg Scandlen ''Ya gotta give 'em credit. Ten days after the Health Savings Account/Health Savings Security Account ... provisions were passed ... the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) was out with three separate ... press releases explaining how these ideas would be the ruination of civilization ... and create massive deficits in state government ...' (10/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Socialists don't much like the idea of free market competition in health care. Makes socialized medicine look bad. - TA McCain and Lieberman propose energy tax - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: NCPPR Author: Christopher Burger ''[T]he 'Climate Stewardship Act of 2003' .... is essentially an energy tax [and] would suppress the amount of energy that can be produced, lead to energy scarcity and higher energy prices. It would harm all sections of the American economy and place a greater financial burden on those that can least afford it -- the economically disadvantaged.' (10/21/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Democrats: Tax and spend, tax and spend - socialism. - TA Sexual identity appears to be tied to genes - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Reuters ''Sexual identity is wired into the genes, which discounts the concept that homosexuality and transgender sexuality are a choice, California researchers reported .... Published in the latest edition of the journal Molecular Brain Research, the UCLA discovery may also offer physicians an improved tool for gender assignment of babies born with ambiguous genitalia.' (10/20/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ But what about this report? -Fact-O-Rama -- Homosexuality Among Twins "In a study of homosexuality among twin brothers, researchers J.M. Bailey and R.C. Pillard learned that among identical twins – those from a single fertilized egg that then split - 52% of twins of homosexual men “were likewise homosexual.” Among fraternal twins – those from two separate fertilized eggs - 22% of twins were likewise homosexual, and 11% of adoptive brothers of homosexual men were likewise homosexual." (SOURCE: J.M. Bailey and R.C. Pillard, “A genetic study of male sexual orientation,” Archives of General Psychiatry, vol. 48:1089-1096, December 1991 via the World Policy Institute.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If homosexuality is genetic it seems like 100% of the identical twins should have been homosexuals, or 100% not. - TA Texas professor accuses FBI of lying to get confession - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: LubbockOnline.com ''Thomas Butler said ... that FBI agents lied to him to obtain his confession that he accidentally destroyed vials of plague in a Texas Tech lab last January. He said agents told him they would end their investigation, which drew national attention, and that he could go home after confessing; however, he was arrested, indicted on 69 federal charges and now faces 469 years in prison.' (10/20/03) " ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Police state tactics. - TA Supreme Court to examine harsh sentencing by judges - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Boston Globe ''While the Bush administration contends that judges are too often soft on crime, the Supreme Court agreed ... to look at the other end of the spectrum -- cases in which judges reject guidelines and hand out extra-long sentences. The court said it would consider whether judges alone can decide to tack on additional prison time or whether a jury must make that call.' (10/21/03)" SpaceDev contracts to provide engine for SpaceShipOne - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: SpaceDev ''SpaceDev has received the finalized propulsion contract for SpaceShipOne. ... SpaceDev is proud to be a significant part of this revolutionary movement of human space flight out of the government and into the private sector where things can be done faster and more cost-effectively and where new markets can be created and supplied.' (10/20/03)" Pennsylvania House approves 16% income tax hike - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ''Under strong pressure from Gov. Ed Rendell, the state House ... approved a $1.1 billion tax-and-spending package that relies heavily on a 16 percent increase in the state's personal income tax.' The measure faces strong opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate, however. (10/21/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More cost of Socialism in Pennsylvania. - TA Beware of Stealth Energy Tax, Conservative Group Warns "A conservative think tank says Sens. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) are backing an energy bill that includes a de facto energy tax on the American public. The bill, the Climate Stewardship Act of 2003 (S.139), bears a troubling resemblance to the Kyoto Protocol, said the National Center for Public Policy Research.---" Sponsor Pulls Ad from CBS News After Homeschoolers' Complaints : "At least one sponsor temoparily withdrew advertising from the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, after advocates of homeschooling complained about last week's two-part report on the 'dark side' of the 'largely unregulated' home school movement. Homeschool advocates claim that CBS News' telephone switchboard was so overwhelmed by the high volume of viewer complaints that some calls couldn't get through to its Los Angeles bureau.---" Student Charged in Airport Scheme (washingtonpost.com) "---The TSA has said that it has confiscated more than 8 million dangerous items at the nation's airports, but the items in Heatwole's bags demonstrated that the system can be penetrated. When asked how a college student was able to pass through security at two airports with prohibited items, apparently easily and on several occasions, TSA Deputy Administrator Steven McHale acknowledged the security system's imperfections.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Government does big and small things poorly, at great cost to taxpayers. - TA Medicare Drug Bill 'Most Momentous' Decision Before Congress, Says Conferee "Putting the federal government in charge of drug prices and health care decisions will hurt the quality of health care for America's seniors, warns a lawmaker embroiled in final negotiations for a Medicare prescription drug benefit.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Government does big things and little things badly. - TA Scientists Caution Against Political Interpretation of Sex Research: "Research that suggests human sexual identity is wired into the genes should not be used to boost the concept that homosexuality and transgender sexuality are biologically determined, a leading author on the origins of homosexuality said Monday.---" 'Capable, black and conservative' - Letters to the Editor - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED "---It seems that if you are capable, black and conservative, you can count on being held back by the likes of Jesse Jackson and his minions in Congress. A black person will get the support of the more vocal "black leadership" only if he or she doesn't leave the plantation that was created by this supposed leadership and white liberal Democrats.---" How to prosper though stupid - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED "---In a scathing indictment of this state of unacknowledged misery, Victor Davis Hanson, a scholar at the Hoover Institution and professor of classics at California State University at Fresno, notes the dumbing down of the humanities in favor of "Ethnics Studies," Women's Studies," "Environmental Studies" and "Peace Studies." In the National Review, he tells how the University of California at Santa Barbara, for example, offers 62 courses in Chicano Studies, with titles such as Methodology of the Oppressed; Barrio Popular Culture; Body, Culture, and Power; Chicano Political Organizing and De-Colonizing Cyber-Cinema.---" Why war in Iraq? - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED "---The difference between the critics in Washington/London and the opinions of the soldiers serving in Iraq is simple. The troops have actually seen Iraq and based their opinions on experience, rather than forming their opinions from the political agendas of party leadership or the ratings battles of networks. To the soldiers and Marines who liberated Iraq, the war is about ending a rogue regime that threatened international peace, conducted genocide against its own people and methodically terrorized innocent civilians.---" Anti-gun stories - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Re 'Maimed child's dad faces trial in shooting,' Sept. 29: The Los Angeles Times -- and, by extension, The Bee -- printed this article without giving it any thought except it sounded anti-gun. If you believe the facts as presented in this article, this dimwit Jeffery West was sitting on the bathroom floor with a new shotgun lying in front of him. His 8-year-old daughter was in the bathroom along with his girlfriend. The article says West was "looking at the weapon when it discharged," hitting his daughter. Two questions: First, what magical power does West have that allows him to pull the trigger just by "looking" at the gun? Second, what brilliant new laws will the out-to-lunch bunch at the Capitol come up with that would prevent this type of tragedy? I won't go in to why he was in the bathroom with two other people and why the shotgun was lying on the floor in the first place. You can't legislate stupidity into extinction." - David Adams, Sacramento Plenty of other news - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Re '1.7 million join ranks of poverty,' Sept. 27: I want someone to show me all of those poor, pitiful people in this horrible country that is so full of victims. We bought a new pickup two weeks ago. The auto mall was full of people. The line at McDonald's was 10 cars long. The parking lot at the high school is full of the kids' cars. The movies make tens of millions of dollars every weekend. My husband is working 10 hour days, six days a week, and when I try to get a gardener they are all "too busy." Where are the unemployed? Maybe it's all of the illegals that are here. I'm sick of hearing about them. What about all of the jobs in The Bee want ads? I know: Let's count all of the people who are working. Wouldn't that be a novelty?" - Mary Ellen Smith, Citrus Heights Definitions of Libertarianism "'Libertarianism is, as the name implies, the belief in liberty. Libertarians believe that each person owns his own life and property, and has the right to make his own choices as to how he lives his life - as long as he simply respects the same right of others to do the same.' -- Sharon Harris, President, Advocates for Self-Government" Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "'It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.' -- Theodore Roosevelt " ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Democrat presidential candidates take note. - TA Zero Tolerance Watch - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "When Nick Ziegeweid signed up for a firearms safety course at Winona Middle School earlier this fall, he was told to bring his shotgun," the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. 'But when the 12-year-old boy attended his first class Oct. 11, school administrators and instructors met him and about 40 other students outside the school to remind them they couldn't bring their guns inside.' Turns out the schools zero-tolerance policy prohibits kids from bringing guns to class--even to gun-safety class." Quagmire Alert - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "JessicasWell.com reprints an article from Life magazine complete with the familiar postwar laments: The troops returning home are worried. "We've lost the peace," men tell you. "We can't make it stick." . . . Friend and foe alike, look you accusingly in the face and tell you how bitterly they are disappointed in you as an American. . . . Never has American prestige in Europe been lower. . . . Instead of coming in with a bold plan of relief and reconstruction we came in full of evasions and apologies. . . . A great many Europeans feel that the cure has been worse than the disease. The taste of victory had gone sour in the mouth of every thoughtful American I met. Hey, wait a second. Didn't Life magazine go out of business a couple of years ago? Why yes. This article, by John Dos Passos (1896-1970), appeared in Life's Jan. 7, 1946 issue." Monday, October 20, 2003
CyberAlert: Exposing Media Bias Daily - Media Research Center Home Page Monday, October 20: • Totenberg on Gen. Boykin: “I Hope He’s Not Long for This World” • NPR’s Bob Edwards Unloads on Failures of Bush’s Foreign Policy • ABC’s Health Care Series Advocates “Right” to “Universal” Care ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Site provides links to individual articles. - TA Halting Frivolous Obesity Lawsuits - ConsumerFreedom.com | Website of The Center For Consumer Freedom ''Is a grocer [legally] liable for simply placing the Oreo cookies on the shelf? Is your mom liable for her good cooking?' Unfortunately, these questions -- posed by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) at a hearing yesterday on legislation that would prohibit lawsuits blaming food companies when some of their customers got fat -- are no longer far-fetched. John 'Sue the Bastards' Banzhaf even advocates legal action against school board members and milk companies. And at a hearing on the House version of the same bill, he came perilously close to suggesting that, indeed, mom should be held liable for her cooking." Public Health Busybodies Target Eating Habits - ConsumerFreedom.com | Website of The Center For Consumer Freedom "Most Americans believe that AIDS and other communicable diseases constitute the biggest threat to our nation's health. But according to the 'experts' from the field of public health, they're dead wrong. A new Roper survey reveals that four out of five public-health professionals now consider obesity our number one public health threat." Read more Rushing to Judgment "Is Earth warming? The planet has warmed since the mid-1800s, but before that it cooled for more than five centuries. Cycles of warming and cooling have been part of Earth’s natural climate history for millions of years. So what is the global warming debate about? It’s about the proposition that human use of fossil fuels has contributed significantly to the past century’s warming, and that expected future warming may have catastrophic global consequences. But hard evidence for this human contribution simply does not exist; the evidence we have is suggestive at best. Does that mean the human effects are not occurring? Not necessarily. But media coverage of global warming has been so alarmist that it fails to convey how flimsy the evidence really is. Most people don’t realize that many strong statements about a human contribution to global warming are based more on politics than on science. Indeed, the climate change issue has become so highly politicized that its scientific and political aspects are now almost indistinguishable. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), upon which governments everywhere have depended for the best scientific information, has been transformed from a bona fide effort in international scientific cooperation into what one of its leading participants terms “a hybrid scientific/political organization.” (Jack M. Hollander, The Wilson Quarterly) Still Waiting For Greenhouse: "The latest piece of mis-information from the Greenhouse Industry comes via AP, with a story titled `Warmest September on Record, Worldwide' dated 17th Oct 2003. Their source was cited as the National Climate Data Center, who cited temperature data back to 1880. They further claimed that `the second and third warmest Septembers on record (again since 1880) occurred in 1997 and 1998'. That's clear enough. Naturally it must be global warming. Russia please note. Mis-information? That putting it mildly. In reality, September 2003 was the 6th warmest in only 25 years. 1980, 1988, 1995, 1998, and 2002 were all warmer. The National Climate Data Center bases their claim on city-based thermometers where artificial warmings are created from concrete jungles. The satellite-based temperature record, from which the above chart is derived, has no such artificial distortions to their data and is clearly the more credible." Frankenstein meets the Megababy - Junkscience.com "Shock horror 1. If you feed your baby 100 tons of proprietary baby food, it might get cancer. Shock horror 2. GM crops do exactly what they were designed to do. Two fatuous scares dominated the British media in mid-October and they typified the manic inconsequentiality of the genre. One was generated by a European report on “carcinogenic” baby food, while the other arose from the publication of the results of GM field trials." (Number Watch) National Center for Policy Analysis: "A recent Washington Post poll found 54 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the health care system. This proportion would likely fall if more Americans were able to control their own health care dollars. For research on letting consumer control more of their own care." FEATURE PUBLICATION: Brief Analysis 430: Three Avenues to Patient Power Other Publications: Brief Analysis 454: Answering the Critics of Health Accounts Brief Analysis 438: Health Reimbursement Arrangements: Making a Good Deal Better Brief Analysis 439: Flexible Spending Accounts: The Case for Reform Brief Analysis 447: Health Savings Accounts Are Crucial to Medicare Reform Click Here for a complete list of NCPA Health Publications." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Site provides links to individual articles. - TA the diversity elite at UNCW - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Mike Adams is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Here is a letter he has written to students who are a bit weary of having their views censured by the diversity elite at UNCW." taking shots at George Bush - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Diana West says that at some point the anti-war elite of the Democratic Party are going to have to stop merely taking shots at George Bush, and start telling the American people what they would do if they were in his place. They're still probably trying to figure out that part out. It means they would have to explain why they left Saddam Hussein in place." Oh how true this is - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Oh how true this is. Mona Charen says that there is a tendency for liberals to always want to believe the worst about the United States. This is particularly true when it comes to military action." Why We Went to War By Robert Kagan and William Kristol The Weekly Standard | October 13, 2003 "When I left office, there was a substantial amount of biological and chemical material unaccounted for. That is, at the end of the first Gulf War, we knew what he had. We knew what was destroyed in all the inspection processes and that was a lot. And then we bombed with the British for four days in 1998. We might have gotten it all; we might have gotten half of it; we might have gotten none of it. But we didn't know. So I thought it was prudent for the president to go to the UN and for the UN to say you got to let these inspectors in, and this time if you don't cooperate the penalty could be regime change, not just continued sanctions." --Bill Clinton, July 22, 2003 FORMER PRESIDENT CLINTON is right about what he and the whole world knew about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction programs. And most of what everyone knew about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction had nothing to do with this or any other government's intelligence collection and analysis. Had there never been a Central Intelligence Agency--an idea we admit sounds more attractive all the time--the case for war against Iraq would have been rock solid. Almost everything we knew about Saddam's weapons programs and stockpiles, we knew because the Iraqis themselves admitted it.---" Let automakers increase fuel efficiency - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Mackinac Center Author: Tait Trussell ''Washington has spent the past two decades dictating to automakers the number of miles you can squeeze out of a gallon of gas. Congressmen, posing as automotive engineers, have pulled out of their hats figures that auto manufacturers had to reach -- or else.' (10/20/03)" Bearing Arms "---The fundamental principle behind civilian disarmament is not the protection of the populace from one another, and never has been. The idea that all firearms owners are accountable for the actions of the criminal few is on par with the idea that today’s taxpayers are responsible for slavery. In both cases, individuals who had nothing to do with an act or acts are penalized for the doings of others. Just as a taxpayer is deprived of his income, which he could probably put to better use, to atone for the alleged crimes of long-dead men, so is the upright man of arms deprived of his means of self-defense and of the ultimate method of “redress of grievance” against the State. The State fears the intelligent, independent, armed man, and when the State is afraid, people will die." Even Telemarkets Should Be Protected by the Constitution "---No-call may be a great idea -- but only if the arrangements are controlled by private contract and not by government regulation. A phone customer does not own the lines coming into his home, so he may not restrict their use. Once a call enters his house, the customer has a remedy: Hang up. That's not much different than radio or TV. If you don't want to see a commercial, turn off the TV or switch channels. Your ownership of the television doesn't give you the right to prevent advertisers from broadcasting into your living room. Similarly, your ownership of a phone doesn't mean you can suppress usage of incoming lines. If you would rather eat dinner uninterrupted, just turn off the ringer. You can even use caller ID or record your messages and return them selectively.---" Second amendment: the Excalibur of the people - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Liberty For All Author: Sergei Borglum Hoff ''Whether the appropriate charge is criminal negligence or high treason, there is no question that the people have been betrayed. However, individual security is not the constitutional responsibility of government. ... Self-defense is the natural and honorable stance that we must all promote. Without decisive steps to defend self and family, 'security' is only a word.' (10/19/03) " All people have the right to self-defense - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: NCPPR/Project 21 Author: Richard Dimery ''Our 'black leadership' argues that we, a spiritual and moral people, cannot responsibly possess weapons. But, for the reasons cited previously, disarming America is not in our best interests. Total defenselessness invites continued government excesses and criminal victimization. Government does not exist to guarantee total security of every person.' (10/17/03)" Sprawl solves another problem - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Carolina Journal Author: John Hood ''Sprawl reduces public interactions and weakens our democracy. And so on. Challenge this orthodoxy and you will, as befits the term, be treated as an apostate. .... Well, count me in on that apostate gig.' (10/19/03)" Documentary review: 'Innocents Betrayed' - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: SunniMaravillosa.com Author: Sunni Maravillosa ''Innocents Betrayed' .... may seem an odd title for a documentary focusing on the right to keep and bear arms, [but] it is apt in many ways. ... [A]ny individual with integrity who sees it will have to grant that firearms have a legitimate place in private individuals' hands.' (10/20/03) " No new taxes for California, but higher fees - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Contra Costa Times ''Californians will pay more next year for everything from speeding tickets to television sets as a painful hangover from the worst budget crisis in state history. .... Lawmakers held the lid on taxes but not on fines or fees. Scattered among 909 new laws are rate hikes that will hit every family in one form or another.' (10/20/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A tax is a tax no matter how they try to disguise it with a name change. - TA Congress increasingly butting in on states' laws - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Boston Globe ''Michael Bird, federal affairs counsel for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said the number of [Congressional] measures seeking to 'render the states helpless' was on the rise. 'You have more organized interests that are seeking one-stop resolution to their perceived problems,' he said. (10/20/03)" GOP Uses Small Business Owners to Defend Tax Cuts for High Earners By Jon E. Dougherty CNSNews.com Correspondent October 20, 2003 "With Democratic presidential candidates assailing 'tax cuts for the rich' on a daily basis, the Republican National Committee is fighting back by placing a face on the so-called rich: the face of America's small business owner. In an e-mail alert Friday, the RNC warned that "Democrats want to raise taxes on small businesses," chiding the opposition for failing to "understand that raising taxes on top individual income" harms entrepreneurs.---" Compassion-Based Schools Teach Kids 'Untrue Drivel,' Critic Charges By Marc Morano CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer October 20, 2003 "A controversial curriculum focusing on 'humane education,' which advocates say includes compassion for animals, awareness of environmental problems like so-called global warming and overpopulation as well as non-violence, is expanding into the U.S. public school system.--- But Chris Horner, a senior fellow of the free market environmental group the Competitive Enterprise Institute, ridiculed the whole premise of humane education. "This is not preparing students in any way because the whole point here is to stick these kids' heads in the sand and teach them fantasies about how to loathe modern conveniences and prosperity and how to talk to the animals," Horner told CNSNews.com. "They are going to be teaching alarmism, which inherently means filling their heads with untrue drivel designed to breed a new generation of modernity-loathing robots," Horner added.---" The Lieberman tax plan - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED "Make no mistake: the "tax fairness plan" unveiled Oct. 13 by a prominent candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, is little more than a giant tax increase on the economy's most indispensable growth-generating sector. That's the small-business sector, where the vast majority of the nearly 40 million net new jobs have been created during the past 20 years. Small-business owners routinely pay their income taxes through their personal tax returns. Mr. Lieberman's plan would clobber them.---" What is libertarianism? - Libertarian FAQ - Advocates for Self-Government "Libertarians want a win-win world of peace and plenty. And we believe that the only way to get it is through self-government... NOT others-government. Self-government is the combination of personal responsibility and tolerance. Responsibility means you govern yourself. Tolerance means you don't force your values on peaceful, honest people. Today, however, others-government is giving us insecurity, conflict and poverty. Let's revitalize our heritage of self-government to create a win-win world where everyone comes out ahead. [4] -- Carole Ann Rand " Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty: "Patrick Henry did not say, 'Give me absolute safety or give me death." - John Stossel, '20/20', ABC-TV, Aug. 3, 2001 Sunday, October 19, 2003
William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879) American Abolitionist and Journalist “With reasonable men I will reason; with humane men I will plea; but to tyrants I will give no quarter, nor waste arguments where they will certainly be lost.” George Will: Colorado Governor shows us how to run a state "---Today most state governments have budget crises. Colorado's difficulties are much milder than most. One year ago the Washington-based Cato Institute, a free-market think tank, graded all 50 governors. Owens was one of just two governors --the other was Florida's Jeb Bush -- to receive an A grade.---" Paul Jacob: Rush to Judge Rush Gives Critics a Rush "---Rush Limbaugh was never in the Calvinist mold of social critic. Does he pursue Excellence in Broadcasting? Yes. Is he bombastic? Yes. Does he speechify with deep and rolling voice? Yes. Is he ever at a loss for words? Rarely. Is he right-on in his critique of culture, society and politics? At least 55 percent of the time. But he never claimed to be perfect. Never claimed to a "moral paragon" or "the epitome of virtue"--unless with a transparent, rollicking facetiousness that only someone deliberately attempting to misconstrue could misconstrue. The sad truth is that his foes not only want Rush to eat humble pie, they want to shove his face in it. They indict only themselves thereby, not Rush Limbaugh." Paul Jacob is Senior Fellow at U.S. Term Limits, a Townhall.com member group. Food fight - The Washington Times -- America's Newspaper MARY F. CALVERT (THE WASHINGTON TIMES) "Special Report: While the public sees "fun foods," a group of lawyers and public health advocates sees a "toxic environment" encouraging Americans to put on extra pounds and increase their health risks." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "(A) group of lawyers and public health advocates---" Health Fascists. - TA Public cellular-phone users are crossing the line - By Daniel Meltzer - Recordnet.com "What is it about cell-phone users that is driving the rest of us nuts? We are an ever-shrinking minority in a world of the compulsively connected who have seemingly little of interest to say yet compel us to listen to it anyway, virtually anyplace, any time. And it bores deeper than the annoying chirp or tune in the middle of dinner or an elevator ride, a movie or a play, your bus ride or your lecture hall, if you lecture. There seems to be something inherently wrong here, something beyond garden-variety rudeness, falling somewhere between a violation of the natural order of things and an attack on civilized society, something that simultaneously renders obsolete such seemingly conflicting niceties as public space, privacy and even nonelectronic conversation.---" The Law, by Frederic Bastiat "Let Us Now Try Liberty God has given to men all that is necessary for them to accomplish their destinies. He has provided a social form as well as a human form. And these social organs of persons are so constituted that they will develop themselves harmoniously in the clean air of liberty. Away, then, with quacks and organizers! A way with their rings, chains, hooks, and pincers! Away with their artificial systems! Away with the whims of governmental administrators, their socialized projects, their centralization, their tariffs, their government schools, their state religions, their free credit, their bank monopolies, their regulations, their restrictions, their equalization by taxation, and their pious moralizations! And now that the legislators and do-gooders have so futilely inflicted so many systems upon society, may they finally end where they should have begun: May they reject all systems, and try liberty; for liberty is an acknowledgment of faith in God and His works." Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "'The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.' -- Patrick Henry " Saturday, October 18, 2003
Eugene Volokh, 1:50 PM] "HOW TO AVOID EMBARRASSMENT: Before forwarding friendly warnings to all your friends, colleagues, and acquaintances -- warnings about viruses, about cell phones starting gas station fires, and so on -- google some of the key terms, either by themselves or together with the words "myth" or "hoax." You'll often find that the original e-mail you got is a hoax; and you'll thus spare yourself a bit of mortification, and your friends a bit of annoyance. UPDATE: A couple of people e-mailed me to point out that snopes.com does a great job of checking for hoaxes, and I agree; but in my experience, google will find more stuff than snopes, in part because it usually finds snopes pages. And while I think it would be great if people checked several sources before forwarding "warnings," my sense is that we're lucky if people just check one source; google is probably the best candidate for that one." Overlawyered: $1.3 billion oyster damage October 18, 2003 "A Louisiana state appellate court, by a 3-2 vote, has upheld an award of $1.3 billion--more than $21 thousand an acre--to 130 oyster farmers who leased land from the state. The award, supposed damages for a state environmental project meant to save Louisiana's disappearing coast, is worth more than the entire haul of oysters from Louisiana over the last century and is twice the cost of the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion Project in question. As if to demonstrate that this case is nothing more than a wealth transfer to enrich lawyers over taxpayers, one of the plaintiffs did not purchase his lease until the day the lawsuit was filed, and thus could not possibly have suffered damages, since nobody made him purchase the lease. The appeals court actually increased his award.---" Neil Cavuto: Smile while you work "---The problem with attitude is that, good or bad, it's contagious. The kid who treats you like crap, treats the next person like crap, who likely treats other people like crap. Then before you know it, everyone is treating everyone else like crap. Here's what I say: Cut the crap. And here are some quick pointers I learned as a former waiter, newspaper delivery boy and short-order cook on how to do it---" Robert Novak: Bush on Rx drugs "Before he left on his current Asian trip, President Bush privately passed word that he is keeping a close eye on the negotiations for prescription drug subsidies and will not sign an unacceptable bill. Earlier in the year, conservative Republicans in Congress were antagonized by reports that Bush would sign any Medicare bill passed by Congress in order to get the prescription drug issue off Republican backs in 2004. Majority Leader Tom DeLay made it clear that House Republicans would not yield either to the Senate or the White House to accept a broader, more expensive bill.---" USATODAY.com - Bill aims to manage rising college cost "---Price controls on tuition will force (colleges) to reduce or eliminate the programs now in place to serve those who find it most difficult to attend college," said David Warren, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. "And the potential sanctions of colleges losing access to federal programs designed to help needy students will force many of those students to abandon their college education goals." Others praised the bill's goals but said it misplaces the blame for tuition increases. There are 14 states where individual campuses determine tuition, according to a statement from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). Elsewhere, statewide boards or governors and legislators set tuition. "It is unfair to hold campuses responsible for decisions they do not make," the AASCU statement said. "If sanctions are warranted, they should be imposed upon policymakers, not upon campuses struggling to provide financial assistance to students." Property Owners Fight Plan to Expand Recreation Area - CNSNews.com: The Cybercast News Service "A national property-rights advocacy group is blasting a plan to triple the size of a national recreation area in California's San Fernando Valley, the Los Angeles Daily News reported." Read News on the Web Sidebar: Guns and God in America - CNSNews.com: The Cybercast News Service "Some Democrats fear their party may be 'hostile' to many churchgoers and gun owners, two groups that make up a pretty substantial number of voters. See Fact-O-Rama" Setting recall foes straight - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "For anti-recall activists it's time to stop making excuses. Allow me to correct some misconceptions: * The recall is a provision of the constitution, not an abuse of it. It is used when the people feel that a governor is so inept he must be replaced ASAP. * Arnold Schwarzenegger got more votes than Davis did in both this election and last November's. There was no minority of voters "stealing" the election. * Arnold was very specific about his economic plans: Cut spending across the board, sparing education. Like any good business man, Arnold knows that you can only spend as much as you bring in. Meanwhile, Gray Davis' solution was to take out long-term loans that will put us even deeper in the hole and to raise taxes, making California even less attractive to business, meaning less jobs. The truth is Davis lost not because of ignorance, or conspiracy. He lost because the vast, silent majority finally got fed up. In an election not dwindled to absurd extremes by primaries, we found a candidate we can believe in." - Garrett Henderson, Roseville "Wouldn't it be nice if ...?" - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "It does not surprise me to learn that legislators such as Kuehl and Burton think Schwarzenegger needs lessons on governing. Unless one were trained to do it, it is unlikely that any sane person would attack the task in the manner employed by these two. Their only test for sponsoring or supporting legislation seems to be "Wouldn't it be nice if ...?" Wouldn't it be nice if everybody had health insurance? Why, yes it would, so let's give it to them and make their employers pay for it. The fact that this will add a couple of million dollars yearly to the cost of doing business in California for even the smaller firms covered by the legislation never seems to enter their compassionate heads. Then, if these firms go belly up or leave California and the intended beneficiaries are without health insurance and without a job, they will attribute that situation to "corporate greed." Get rid of the Burtons and Kuehls who engender the virulently anti-business climate that presently exists in California and the economy will go through the roof." - Paul Greisen, Sacramento Democrats' arrogance - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Re "Don't bet on Arnold Schwarzenegger to fail now," Daniel Weintraub, Oct. 9: It's begun. They're promising to fight Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger every step of the way. It doesn't occur to the Democratic hierarchy that the will of the people is what's important here. They haven't got a clue what the word democratic means. Those who suggest a right-wing conspiracy, a power grab by the Republican Party, have lost sight of the fact this recall was completely legal and has been a tool afforded the people for years by the state constitution. These mean-spirited Democratic leaders assume their constituents can't possibly form there own educated opinions based on the facts. They're the same bozos who tried every 11th-hour smear tactic against their leading opponent, thinking the voter too ignorant to see through it. This has obviously backfired. I urge Democratic leaders to come to the table in earnest and work through their ideological differences for the good of the people of this great state. After all, it is the people who are in charge." - Michael Clark, Roseville A successful climate - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Re "Giving millions to back a winner," Oct. 12: The article refers to the millions of contributions Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger received from big business interests. It states, the business community is very happy with the election of Schwarzenegger. He will assure a better business climate for California and attract new businesses to come to our state. The people of California should all applaud and hope this statement will be proven right, rather than be critical of it. It is only with successful businesses that we can turn California around. They are the ones who create jobs and opportunities for our citizens. It is the best interest of us all if our state's leadership creates a friendly business climate. If business prospers we all have a chance to prosper." - Werner C. Dillier, Sacramento False accusations - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Re "Recall's legacy: A damning look at views on sexual harassment," Oct. 9: Relying on second-rate journalism in the L.A. Times, Marjie Lundstrom wrote a third-rate column assailing Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger that left me wondering about her agenda. Though she did cover herself by using the word "alleged" once in her diatribe she went on to give full credence and ample promotion to the accusations of the 15 women who have made claims against Schwarzenegger. Sexual battery is a serious crime. Falsely accusing a man of sexual battery is equally serious. The label will stick to him for the rest of his life, compromising all aspects of his life, regardless of its validity. I have a daughter and God help any man who commits sexual battery against her. I have two sons and God help any woman who falsely accuses them of sexual battery. If the accusations against Schwarzenegger are proved to be either untrue or enormously exaggerated, what should the penalty levied against the accusers be? And will Lundstrom, who has compromised herself by promoting this barrage of accusations as the truth, resign her position with The Bee?" - Dan Lombard, Lincoln Rejected feminist agenda - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Re "Women's movement is still about equal rights, opportunities," Oct. 16: Diana Griego Erwin questioned whether feminism was dead in light of the recent election of Arnold Schwarzenegger with 43 percent of the female vote. Erwin cited a quote from California NOW Executive Director Helen Grieco that this was due to Americans taken by "star power" and overlooking all else. This elitist attitude of NOW and Erwin questioning the intelligence of American voters each time their agenda is rejected demonstrates that they just don't get it. The feminist agenda is being rejected because the hypocrisy of NOW continues to be replayed. The failure of NOW to criticize former President Clinton, whose allegations of sexual harassment and assault were far more serious and far more recent than Arnold's, has shown that NOW and feminists only care about crimes against women when it is a Republican charged. It is their hypocrisy that is their undoing and we the voters are on to them." - Darryl Hunter, Travis AFB Internet liberation - Sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Re 'Vote early, vote often -- but vote on everything?' Other views, Oct. 15: Peter Schrag raises an important point. With the Internet bringing information on every issue to everyone, the elitist political ruling class has become an insulting and dangerous anachronism. We no longer need U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton designing socialist Frankenstein monsters, or state Sen. Deborah Ortiz prohibiting soda pop, or an entire nanny government telling us what we are to drink, eat, wear, speak and think. Most important, we don't need the elitist practitioners of puke politics deciding how much of our money they will allow us to keep. Schrag continually insinuates that there's a problem with European Americans voting too much. Before he and the other elitists are able to further dilute our voting rights, we should recognize that the rapidly diminishing prospects of preventing California's complete degeneration to Third World status may depend on further limiting the power of the Legislature by enacting severe constitutional limits on spending and taxes, and by drastically reducing the amount of time the Legislature is allowed to meet to conspire against our liberty. Perhaps it's time to drain the swamp." - Richard Lavallee, Sacramento Where do Latino loyalties lie? - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Now is the time Latino legislators need to decide if they are Americans or if their loyalties lie with their country of origin. If they are so determined to help Latinos utilizing any illegal means to enter this country, perhaps the legislators should move to those countries and help make the potential illegal immigrants' lives better.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Moving socialism from Mexico to the U.S. won't help American Latinos, or anyone else for that matter. - TA Gathering racial data - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Page A30 of the Oct. 9 Bee demonstrated one of the problems with gathering "racial data." The racial breakdown of those voting for and against the recall is labeled "Race" but there are no races listed. Race, ethnicity and skin color are not interchangeable terms, except that race is one type of ethnicity. The primary human races, in alphabetical order, are Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Negroid. Some sociologists include Australoid, but not one of these is listed under The Bee's "Race" category. However, identifying individuals in terms of only one race becomes more and more difficult and inaccurate as the races become more mixed. Famous examples include Ward Connerly and Tiger Woods, the latter, for example, being one fourth Negro (black is a skin color, not a race), one fourth Thai, one fourth Chinese and one fourth American Indian. In terms of race, he is one fourth Negroid and three-fourths Mongoloid (American Indians came from eastern Asia). Unless the meanings of labels conform to a standard, the usage of labels is meaningless." - Tom Silver, Orangevale The rejection of Prop. 54 - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "---It is undeniable that people continue to suffer discrimination based on their social status, as well as their economic, educational, religious and regional backgrounds. However, as the diversity of our cultures intermingles it becomes apparent that these are not issues of race but of American culture. Being raised poor, without appropriate role models, without access to quality education or on the "bad side of town" is not an African American, Latino American or Asian American issue. It is simply an American issue. As long as race is considered an acceptable distinguishing factor among people, regardless of whether its intent is negative or positive, we will continue to be a racist society. Each time an individual is asked to "check the appropriate box," that person is reminded to separate people in terms of color. We will not achieve an equal society until the color of skin carries the same weight as the color of hair." - M. Rightmire, Carmichael Frédéric Bastiat - The Law The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc. Irvington-on-Hudson, New York 10533 "The Desire to Rule Over Others This must be said: There are too many "great" men in the world — legislators, organizers, do-gooders, leaders of the people, fathers of nations, and so on, and so on. Too many persons place themselves above mankind; they make a career of organizing it, patronizing it, and ruling it. Now someone will say: "You yourself are doing this very thing." True. But it must be admitted that I act in an entirely different sense; if I have joined the ranks of the reformers, it is solely for the purpose of persuading them to leave people alone. I do not look upon people as Vancauson looked upon his automaton. Rather, just as the physiologist accepts the human body as it is, so do I accept people as they are. I desire only to study and admire. My attitude toward all other persons is well illustrated by this story from a celebrated traveler: He arrived one day in the midst of a tribe of savages, where a child had just been born. A crowd of soothsayers, magicians, and quacks — armed with rings, hooks, and cords — surrounded it. One said: "This child will never smell the perfume of a peace-pipe unless I stretch his nostrils." Another said: "He will never be able to hear unless I draw his ear-lobes down to his shoulders." A third said: "He will never see the sunshine unless I slant his eyes." Another said: "He will never stand upright unless I bend his legs." A fifth said: "He will never learn to think unless I flatten his skull." "Stop," cried the traveler. "What God does is well done. Do not claim to know more than He. God has given organs to this frail creature; let them develop and grow strong by exercise, use, experience, and liberty.---" Definitions of Libertarianism "'Libertarianism is a philosophy. The basic premise of libertarianism is that each individual should be free to do as he or she pleases so long as he or she does not harm others. In the libertarian view, societies and governments infringe on individual liberties whenever they tax wealth, create penalties for victimless crimes, or otherwise attempt to control or regulate individual conduct which harms or benefits no one except the individual who engages in it.' -- definition written by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (!), during the process of granting the Advocates for Self-Government status as a non-profit educational organization." Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "... in every generation the idea of liberty must be reasserted by those with the vision to see through the fog, and rediscovered by the young and courageous.' -- Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. " Friday, October 17, 2003
That Explains It - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "Congressman Kucinich is one of the few vegans [fundamentalist vegetarians] in Congress."--from the "About Dennis" page on Kucinich's Web site "A new German study found B12 levels low enough to cause attention, mood, and thinking problems in a whopping 68% of vegetarians."--Prevention magazine, November issue Mr. Moderate--II - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "---But the problem isn't Israel; the problem is the rulers of the Muslim and Arab world who refuse to let Israel live in peace and instead use it as a scapegoat to divert attention from their own misrule. This is why establishing a decent government in Iraq is so crucial. If America succeeds there, the example may spread throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds, eventually allowing Jews to live in peace and Arabs and Muslims in freedom." Still Digging - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "The Daily Californian reports on an appearance at the University of California, Berkeley, where Los Angeles Times reporter Mark Barabak spoke to a group of students. "While the campaign may be over, Barabak said, the story of [Arnold] Schwarzenegger's past is not," the student newspaper reports. "He said the Times is investigating potentially more damaging charges against the governor-elect." Blogger Mickey Kaus asks a good question: "Do reporters usually say they are investigating damaging charges before they are proven? It seems permissable [sic] to me--but if a Times reporter announced that the paper was investigating unspecified 'potentially damaging' but unproven charges against, say, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, I suspect the editors of the Times might come down somewhat hard on him." 'This Guy's Got It' - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "---The Bush-Schwarzenegger "lovefest," as the Associated Press amusingly dubbed it, also reminded us that Jay Nordlinger was right on the money when he described the GOP as the manly party. The serene masculinity of the president and the governor-elect is especially appealing when compared with the other party, which is desperate to prove its manhood by fielding a presidential candidate who's served in uniform." Overlawyered: Insurers roll back Texas med-mal rates "Confirming the hopes of supporters of Texas's Proposition 12 (see Sept. 4, Sept. 6, Sept. 14), various companies that write medical malpractice insurance have moved quickly to cut the rates they charge doctors. 'Texas Medical Liability Trust, which insures more than 3,000 Houston-area doctors, will cut rates by 12 percent, effective Jan. 1. ... Dr. Charles W. Bailey Jr., president of the Texas Medical Association, says he expected insurers to reduce rates after the proposition passed, but didn't think it would happen so quickly. Outside insurers could be returning to write policies in Texas again in the near future, Bailey predicts.' (Allison Wollam, 'Medical insurance rates roll back', Houston Business Journal, Oct. 6). During the Prop 12 campaign, the editorialists of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who opposed the measure, deemed 'debatable' the proposition that the damage limitations at issue 'will bring down, or at least stabilize, insurance rates' ('Keeping courts open', Aug. 24)." Posted by Walter Olson at October 16, 2003 08:36 PM | TrackBack http://www.overlawyered.com/archives/000420.html Overlawyered: Racketeering suit names nearly 70 Miami lawyers October 17, 2003 ''Three years after more than 60 lawyers, county employees and medical professionals were arrested on charges of bilking Florida's Miami-Dade County out of millions of dollars through fraudulent personal injury claims, the county has filed a civil racketeering lawsuit against the accused perpetrators and others.' In the 715-page complaint, Miami-Dade County charges that 85 defendants, including nearly 70 South Florida lawyers, were implicated in schemes in which 'attorneys who filed personal injury lawsuits against the county paid kickbacks to county risk management employees in return for expedited and inflated settlements. Miami-Dade Police Director Carlos Alvarez has said that county claims adjusters typically received 10 percent of the settlements. The claims against the county generally involve slip and fall accidents on county property, injuries on county buses, accidents with county cars and false arrests.' Defendants dispute some of the indictments as vague and untimely and point out that not all those sued had faced criminal charges earlier. (Matthew Haggman, 'Miami-Dade Files Massive RICO Civil Suit', Miami Daily Business Review, Oct. 8)." Posted by Walter Olson at October 17, 2003 10:33 AM | TrackBack http://www.overlawyered.com/archives/000422.html CyberAlert: Exposing Media Bias Daily - Media Research Center Home Page Friday, October 17: • Journalists Rebuke Army General’s Christian Views as “Divisive” • Media Too Negative for Public, Koppel Blames Bush’s Deception • Hume Notes CBS’s “Reluctant Witness” Hasn’t Been Very Reluctant • CBS Castigates the Pope: “His Legacy is Not Without Flaws” • NBC’s Today Promotes Gun Rights-Bashing Movie and Novel • Washington Post Celebrates Left-Wing Award to Joe Wilson • CBS Paints Unregulated Home Schooling as Dangerous to Kids • Letterman’s “Top Ten Perks of Being Stationed In Iraq” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Main site provides links to individual articles. - TA Secondhand Smoke Scam - Junkscience.com "I could only laugh last April when I first heard about a study claiming that a smoking ban in Helena, Mont., cut the city’s heart attack rate by 58 percent in six months." (Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com) NCPA - Daily Policy Digest - Are Teachers Underpaid? "Every time a teacher's union contract comes up for negotiation, teachers complain that they are underpaid. Economist Michael Podgursky, professor of economics at the University of Missouri, found this not to be true.---" NCPA - Daily Policy Digest - Lessons From Japan's Health Care System "Japan spends less than Canada does on health care, yet has no waiting lists, better access to high-tech medicine, and manages better health outcomes, according to the Fraser Institute's Nadeem Esmail and Sabrina Yeudall. The reason is that the Japanese health care system is less governmental and has competitive features lacking in Canada and other countries with national health systems.---" NCPA - Daily Policy Digest - Canadian Doctors Eyeing United States Friday, October 17, 2003 "The residents of Windsor, Ontario, might lose two of their four neurosurgeons if Drs. Siva Sriharan and Srinivas Chakravarthi move their practices to nearby Detroit, Mich. The two surgeons are sharply critical of Canada's health care system, which features government-financed insurance for all, but increasingly rations service because of shortages of technology and personnel. Both doctors say they are fed up with a two-tier medical system in which those with connections go to the head of the line for surgery. Many other Canadian doctors feel the lure of the United States these days, particularly if they live close to the border---" Senators Unite against Patriot Act - Cato Daily Dispatch for October 16, 2003 ''A bipartisan group of lawmakers and advocacy groups have formed a 'Coalition of Conscience' to roll back sections of the Patriot Act they say encroach on civil liberties,' according to The Washington Times. ''This is an amazing coalition. Very seldom do these groups and these senators come together,' said Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat.---" Mona Charen: The failure brigade "There is a marked tendency among those on the left to believe the worst about the United States. This is particularly true when it comes to military action.---" Jay Bryant: Of breasts and apples "Silicone breast implants are coming back, the Food and Drug Administration finally having concluded what responsible scientists have known all along – which is that the health risk of using them is smaller than an A-cup.---" 'imminent threat' nonsense - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Johna Goldberg on this 'imminent threat' nonsense that is part of the Democrats Big Lie campaign against George Bush." THE BIG LIE - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Democrats, and particularly Ted Kennedy, are becoming well practiced in the technique of the Big Lie that was perfected by their Nazi brethren several decades ago. The Big Lie in this case is that George Bush lied to the American people in order to get them to go along with deposing Saddam Hussein. Remembering that a lie is a statement that is known to be untrue at the time it is made, can anyone point out just what Bush's lies were?---" Border crossings - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: TCS Author: Sally Pipes ''The fact critics of U.S. health care miss in this cross border trade is that while Americans travel to the drug Costco of the north to hunt for bargains, Canadians travel here not because it costs more in Canada but because the government there ... won't let them get the tests, treatments and medications they need to make their lives worth living.' (10/17/03)" In the name of love - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: USTL Author: Paul Jacob ''The greatest danger here is the notion that government regulators are better at parenting from a distance than the parents are themselves, right up close. .... Reminds me of the time a public official claimed to care as much for a couple's children as they did, but had nothing to say when the father asked, 'Then what are their names?'' (10/15/03)" America dying - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Hawaii Reporter Author: Don Newman ''As I look out across the landscape of America today, I am becoming very sad. I see the America I once believed in dying. And there appears no way to stop it.' Wide-ranging, excellent commentary. (10/17/03)" Brief book review: 'Terrorism and Tyranny' - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: FEE Author: Sheldon Richman ''By now there is a slew of books about 9/11 and the so-called war on terrorism. Only a certified news junkie will try to read them all. If you are going to read only one, make it James Bovard's 'Terrorism and Tyranny'.' (10/03)" From Russia with love - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: TCS Europe Author: Alan Oxley ''We still all respect Russia for one of its best features: its scientific tradition. It put the first man in space and has an immense record of research. That tradition has just been put to forensic effect. The Kyoto Protocol may well be doomed as a result.' (10/17/03)" Vox populi and public policy - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: CEI Author: Henry I Miller ''How can you tell whether a whale is a mammal or a fish?' a teacher asks her third-grade class. 'Take a vote?' pipes up one of the pupils. Although this suggestion may be amusing coming from a child, it is a lot less funny when applied by governments to the formulation of complex policies that involve science and technology. And it's an approach that is becoming increasingly common.' (10/16/03)" DC school choice bill a legacy of educational freedom - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Cato Institute Author: Marie Gryphon & Emily A Meyer ''Opponents of school choice rightly suspect that a victory in D.C. will spur efforts to give families choices elsewhere. But they wrongly suggest that parental choice is a radical concept, or contrary to an American tradition that favors state-controlled schooling.' (10/17/03)" Why the greens hate Bush - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: PLF Author: M David Stirling ''The Greens' hatred for Bush's environmental programs is no mystery. To them, Clinton-Gore -- with Bruce Babbitt at Interior -- ranks as the all-time 'dream-team' of environmental politics.' (10/16/03) " Canada's doctor shortage worsens even as gov spends more - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: National Post ''Canada spends more of its wealth on health care than almost any other country, yet still has fewer doctors and high- tech imaging machines per capita than most industrialized nations, according to a new international report.' (10/17/03)" Air rules create backlog - Recordnet.com "A growing number of rules aimed at cutting the San Joaquin Valley's air pollution has created a bureaucratic backlog of applications from businesses who need regulators' approval before expanding or starting new companies." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How government helps the economy in California. - TA The Law, by Frederic Bastiat "Proof of an Idea And does not experience prove this? Look at the entire world. Which countries contain the most peaceful, the most moral, and the happiest people? Those people are found in the countries where the law least interferes with private affairs; where government is least felt; where the individual has the greatest scope, and free opinion the greatest influence; where administrative powers are fewest and simplest; where taxes are lightest and most nearly equal, and popular discontent the least excited and the least justifiable; where individuals and groups most actively assume their responsibilities, and, consequently, where the morals of admittedly imperfect human beings are constantly improving; where trade, assemblies, and associations are the least restricted; where labor, capital, and populations suffer the fewest forced displacements; where mankind most nearly follows its own natural inclinations; where the inventions of men are most nearly in harmony with the laws of God; in short, the happiest, most moral, and most peaceful people are those who most nearly follow this principle: Although mankind is not perfect, still, all hope rests upon the free and voluntary actions of persons within the limits of right; law or force is to be used for nothing except the administration of universal justice." Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” -- John F. Kennedy, 1963 Mind-Altering Drugs... "I began to study marijuana in 1967... I had not yet learned that there is something very special about illicit drugs. If they don't always make the drug user behave irrationally, they certainly cause many non-users to behave that way." -- Harvard medical professor Lester Grinspoon, author of "Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine." Thursday, October 16, 2003
Lesson from the California Recall - By Congressman Ron Paul "---The crisis in Sacramento should serve as a cautionary tale for all Americans. Legislators in statehouses across the country and in Washington lack the political will to cut spending. They consistently spend more each year, without regard to revenues. If the process goes on too long, government becomes insolvent, unable to tax or borrow enough to satisfy its voracious appetite. It could happen in your state, and it is happening in Washington. It’s worse in DC, however, because Federal Reserve printing presses help our national politicians temporarily evade reality. If Congress continues to spend and print dollars at the pace of recent years, however, the devaluation of our currency will make all of us poorer for decades to come." CyberAlert: Exposing Media Bias Daily - Media Research Center Thursday, October 16: • CBS Hypes as “New” Anti-Powell Charges Moyers Featured in June • ABC News President Westin Concedes Iraq Coverage Too Negative • NBC Denounces NRA “Enemies List,” Skips How Liberals Using It • “Top Ten Cool Things About Having a Bodybuilder as Governor” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Site provides links to individual articles. - TA Quote Of The Week - consumerfreedom.com "---What the Greenpeace promotion was saying is that the milk that you bought is poison so you should exchange it for good wholesome 'organic' milk. Ironically, however small the probability may be, organic milk could well be highly toxic, containing all natural poisons. At very least, organic milk poses a far greater threat than milk produced from cows fed genetically modified maize for which there is absolutely no evidence of harm ... Isn't it time that consumers everywhere hold Greenpeace and organic food producers to the standards of conduct and food safety that they claim to be promoting?" 'Raking in the Green' - Junkscience.com "The Kyoto Protocol has no real scientific basis. It is a geo-economic game between the US and EU. The time has come for Russia to pick a side.' (Olga Vlasova and Tigran Oganesyan, Gateway to Russia) " Posturing and reality on warming - Junkscience.com "For the first time, the Senate is about to vote on whether to restrict national emissions of carbon dioxide — the respiration of our civilization and our economy — in an attempt to control the world's uncontrollable climate. This legislation has absolutely no basis in science." (Patrick J. Michaels, The Washington Times) John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-) American Economist and Ambassador to India “You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too.” Ann Coulter: With half his brain tied behind his back "---The reason any conservative's failing is always major news is that it allows liberals to engage in their very favorite taunt: Hypocrisy! Hypocrisy is the only sin that really inflames them. Inasmuch as liberals have no morals, they can sit back and criticize other people for failing to meet the standards that liberals simply renounce. It's an intriguing strategy. By openly admitting to being philanderers, draft dodgers, liars, weasels and cowards, liberals avoid ever being hypocrites.---" Clifford May says it hasn't gone far enough - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "The Bush Administration is going on the offensive over Iraq ... getting the message out of the good things that have happened over there. Clifford May says it hasn't gone far enough." how many people are murdered - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "The next time someone starts ranting about America's gun culture and about how many people are murdered in this country every year, just tell them that at least they aren't living in Sweden. That's right .. Sweden." Success in Iraq: Guaranteed property rights as a precondition for democracy - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Acton Institute Author: Frances Brigham Johnson ''Respect for property rights is integral to the traditions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. So it is not only legally necessary, but morally consistent, for Iraqis to establish inviolable property rights in any new constitution.' (10/15/03)" Toxic shock - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: TCS Author: Thomas DiGregori ''What the Greenpeace promotion was saying is that the milk that you bought is poison so you should exchange it for good wholesome 'organic' milk. Ironically, however small the probability may be, organic milk could well be highly toxic containing all natural poisons.' (10/16/03)" Revisiting the loss of jobs - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Strike the Root Author: Tibor R Machan ''[W]hile in a free market economy it is ultimately the customer who is king, in the halfway house of the government regulated mixed economy the people who cause the loss and escape of most jobs are promoters and executors of government regulations.' (10/16/03)" A checklist for teminating programs - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: RPPI Author: David Nott ''[E]ach and every state program should be required to justify its existence by demonstrating relevance and results. .... We shouldn't assume that since a program exists, it is needed. To continue, programs must answer key questions ...' (10/15/03)" We already have a civilian reserve - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: CCRKBA Author: Alan Gottleib ''Responding to Democrat presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark's plan to create a 'civilian reserve to respond to terrorist attacks,' the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today, 'We already have that, Gen. Clark. They're called armed private citizens.'' (10/15/03)" CDC study rips guts out of gun control - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: VDare.com Author: Sam Francis ''You don't hear so much about gun control any more, largely because, one has to suspect, even the Democrats have tumbled to the truth that it's a big loser at the polls. ... Nevertheless, that doesn't mean the gun gestapo that peddles gun control is defunct. It's just out of ammunition, not only because its issue is a loser but also because there's so little merit in its main claim ...' (10/13/03)" Larry Pratt reviews 'Thunder on the Left' - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Gun Owners of America Author: Larry Pratt ''Aldrich has broadened his attack on the socialist drive for total control with his latest book, Thunder on the Left. The book covers a wide range of subjects, but several are of particular interest. ... In any case, 'safety' is something that is only used by the socialists when they think they can con us into going along with one of their zillion regulations. ...' (10/15/03)" How to fix California's fiscal problems - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Cato Institute Author: Michael New ''When Governor-elect Scharwarzenegger introduces a fiscal reform plan, he needs to detail how a spending limit can provide tax relief, prevent future fiscal crises, and revive the California economy. Indeed, if the recall election results in the enactment of a constitutional spending limit, the recall effort could pay dividends for years to come.' (10/16/03)" Outta control - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: TCS Author: Sally Pipes ''Canadians get a free ride on the U.S. system. Only because Americans pick up the full cost for drug development -- which averages around $897 million for each new product and costs $32 billion to the industry each year -- can Canadians get bargain rates for meeting the cost of manufacturing. If Americans didn't, then Canadians wouldn't be able to.' (10/16/03)" The war against success - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Town Hall Author: Thomas Sowell ''A whole vocabulary has grown up among the intelligentsia to downplay or dismiss the achievements that create our standard of living and the longevity that allows us to enjoy it more fully. Where some achieve more than others, that is not seen as a special contribution to society that should be appreciated but as a grievance to be resented by others, in the name of equality.' (10/16/03)" Teachers increasingly take issue with textbook quality - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: CNN ''Too often, teachers say, the real world is absent from school textbooks -- from racial quotas on illustrations to sanitizing rough language in literary classics. Critics say textbooks designed not to offend also don't do much to inform. As a result, teachers are increasingly turning to other sources, including the internet, to teach their students. (10/15/03) " Political Correctness: Terminated? - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "---If Farber is right and political correctness is slain, part of the credit must go to Bill Clinton for his piggishness. Almost all of the feminists who had attacked Clarence Thomas in 1991 stood behind Clinton in 1998-99 amid charges of sexual harassment and assault. When they came forward to attack Schwarzenegger, no one cared, because they had already revealed themselves as hypocrites. Oh, there are a few pitiful partisans who still try to argue that Schwarzenegger's alleged actions are really much worse than Clinton's, but what can one do with them other than laugh?" Mr. Moderate - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia is routinely described as a "moderate" Muslim, but apparently he believes moderation in the pursuit of injustice is no virtue. He's hosting a 57-nation summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which he opened with "calls for the world's 1.3 billion Muslims to unite against 'a few million Jews' who allegedly rule the world by controlling the world's major powers,--- "And while Mahathir rightly criticizes the intellectual and technological backwardness of the Muslim world, he seems blissfully unaware of its moral backwardness, which he himself embodies. Can he really think of no better reason to pursue knowledge and technology than to produce weapons to attack the Jewish "enemy"? Does he really mean to disparage democracy as a Jewish plot? (Malaysia is actually one of the more democratic Muslim states.) It's attitudes like these that will have to change if there's to be any hope for progress in the Muslim world." Energy efficiency is 'vaccine' for energy crisis - Recordnet.com "Although I lived through harrowing times as a World War II artillery gunner, I have never seen American people more vulnerable than when the OPEC oil embargo dealt the U.S. a body blow 30 years ago." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We had a similar energy crisis when the world supply of whale oil ran out. Think about it. - TA Frédéric Bastiat The Law The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc. Irvington-on-Hudson, New York 10533 "The Path to Dignity and Progress Law is justice. And it is under the law of justice — under the reign of right; under the influence of liberty, safety, stability, and responsibility — that every person will attain his real worth and the true dignity of his being. It is only under this law of justice that mankind will achieve — slowly, no doubt, but certainly — God's design for the orderly and peaceful progress of humanity. It seems to me that this is theoretically right, for whatever the question under discussion — whether religious, philosophical, political, or economic; whether it concerns prosperity, morality, equality, right, justice, progress, responsibility, cooperation, property, labor, trade, capital, wages, taxes, population, finance, or government — at whatever point on the scientific horizon I begin my researches, I invariably reach this one conclusion: The solution to the problems of human relationships is to be found in liberty.---" Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "'If a nation expects to be ignorant and free ... it expects what never was and never will be.' -- Thomas Jefferson " Wednesday, October 15, 2003
'Serious Moral Goals' - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "---So let's see if we have this straight: The head of the Anglican Church is telling us that the wanton murder of thousands of innocent people is a sign of "serious moral goals," while the liberation of millions from one of the world's most vicious dictatorships is, as he has put it, "immoral and illegal." Is this really what Christianity is all about?" A MUST-READ - The Role of Religion in the CO2 Emissions Reduction Debate - Bizarre Science "The Role of Religion in the CO2 Emissions Reduction Debate Volume 6, Number 41: 8 October 2003 Overlawyered: Martha Stewart defended "Softening his former view of the Martha Stewart affair, Stephen Bainbridge suggests that the government may be overreaching in prosecuting Stewart for publicly denying a charge of insider trading when it does not see fit to charge her with insider trading itself (Oct. 7; Oct. 8; Oct. 9; Oct. 10; Oct. 14; and follow links from the various entries). See also Reason's recent cover story with its unnecessarily provocative title and subhead (Michael McMenamin, 'St. Martha', Oct.). Other views: Yin Blog, Oct. 8: Daily Kos, Jun. 5; Chris Byron, '$uper Winter Sale for Martha Stewart', New York Post/Fox News, Jun. 11." Posted by Walter Olson at October 14, 2003 09:37 PM | TrackBack CyberAlert: Exposing Media Bias Daily - Media Research Center Home Page Tuesday, October 14: • Rather Frets Over “Soldiers Caught Up in Propaganda Campaign” • Nets Disdain Bush’s Local Interview Strategy to Go Around Them • CNBC’s Bad News Bias, Bush’s Good News Claim Baffles Anchor • FNC Reporter Admits Focus on Violence in Iraq Misses Normalcy • Ex-Wash Poster: “The Echoes Are Immense” Between Iraq & Vietnam • Time’s Joe Klein Smears Bill Clinton Accusers as “Lunatics” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Main site provides links to individual articles. - TA Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "We've witnessed a fire sale of American liberties at bargain basement prices, in return for the false promise of more security... The America being designed right now won't resemble the America we've been defending... The danger isn't that Big Brother may storm the castle gates. The danger is that Americans don't realize that he is already inside the castle walls. -- Wayne LaPierre " John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) 7th Vice President of the United States and U. S. Senator “The object of a Constitution is to restrain the Government, as that of laws is to restrain individuals.” Campaign Spending Leads to Knowledgeable, Engaged Electorate - The Cato Institute: Public Policy Analysis, Limited Government, Free Markets "A Briefing Paper by John J. Coleman, which concludes that the more politicians spend on campaigns, the more knowledgeable voters become about the issues, was cited by a Wall Street Journal editorial critical of campaign finance legislation. Coleman also found that increased campaign expenditures did not increase voter cynicism or political participation, as some advocates for campaign finance reform have suggested." Rainbow Filibuster Coalition The Democrats aren't prejudiced--they bork everybody. - OpinionJournal - Featured Article "---The only thing these nominees have in common is that they were nominated by a GOP President and share a conservative view of the law. Far from being radical or extreme, their views are shared by tens of millions of Americans--a majority if the results of the past two elections count for something. If Democrats want to dictate who can sit on the federal bench, they can always take the issue to the voters and win either a Senate majority or the White House. They shouldn't be allowed to hijack the confirmation process." Our friends, the Saudis - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Our friends, the Saudis, teach a seething, blind hatred of the United States in their schools. How much longer are we going to hide from the fact that these people are not our friends?" Democratic opposition to vouchers - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "How can you explain the Democratic opposition to vouchers in D.C., the nation's worst government school system. There's only one way. Government unions are more important than educating children. But wait, there's something else. Could Democrats be opposed to vouchers simply because they are someone else's idea?" THERE'S JUST NO GOOD NEWS FOR DEMOCRATS RIGHT NOW - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "You do know that our economy is growing, don't you? I fact, there are predictions that the economy might grow by as much as 6% during the last quarter. Six percent, folks. Bush gets his tax cuts, tax revenues are actually going up, the economy is improving, and these Democratic mental midgets who want to be president are all talking about how they're going to raise taxes. The hungry-for-attention Joe Lieberman even wants to kick taxes up an extra 5% over what they were after Clinton's tax hike! Are the American people going to put these power-hungry class warfare demagogues in charge? Please tell me they aren't." UH OH ... TAX REVENUES ARE UP - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "A few weeks ago you were hearing a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth from Democrats and some Republicans in Washington about the size of the projected budget deficit. Democrats almost exclusively blamed this deficit on the Bush tax cuts and stood in line to say that these tax cuts should be turned around. Funny ... you haven't heard a lot about this budget deficit lately, have you? Do you know why? It's because the projected budget deficit is actually shrinking, not growing. When the budget deficit grows that's bad news for the President and, therefore, good enough news to put on the TV newscasts and the front pages of the major newspapers. But, when that projected deficit shrinks it's actually good news for the President, and good news is news that's not fit to print or broadcast for many "journalists" out there.--- "Once again .. just as with both the Kennedy and Reagan tax cuts, we're seeing an increase in government revenues. Don't you Democrats just hate it?" THERE GOES THAT RIGHT WING FOX NEWS CHANNEL AGAIN - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze ''Last night they ran another one of those features showing life returning to normal, or better, on the streets of Baghdad. Fox showed furniture makers busy at their trade, water tank sellers saying that business has never been better. The streets were teeming with shoppers visiting stores and curbside markets. Yup ... those Iraqis looked pretty happy. Damn those right wing zealots at Fox. How dare they show the positive side of our presence in Iraq. This is just proof that the evil conservatives have taken over our media.'' Kopel: All sides support jury rights idea - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Rocky Mountain News Author: Dave Kopel ''But in fact, the Fully Informed Jury Association (www.fija.org) draws support from all over the political spectrum. Some groups which are often considered conservative, such as Gun Owners of America and U.S. Term Limits, do support jury rights, but so do plenty of liberals ...' (10/11/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Jury Rights refers to the traditional Anglo-American legal principle that jurors have the right and the duty to acquit a defendant if they conscientiously believe that the prosecution is unjust." - TA Do try this at home - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: CFIF Author: staff ''Despite his lack of formal schooling?' Whether that phrase was intentional, subconscious or just unfortunately worded, the clear implication is the stunning remarkability of such achievement without benefit of 'formal schooling,' widely but erroneously believed to be the prerequisite of human accomplishment.' (10/10/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "'(L)ack of formal schooling?' - He was home schooled. Since when is that not 'formal schooling?'" - TA Racial censorship - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Town Hall Author: Walter Williams ''I'd like someone to tell me precisely what it is that Limbaugh said that can rightfully be characterized as racist. For the life of me, I can't find it. Limbaugh's statement is opinion that can be characterized as correct or incorrect -- but racist, no. (10/15/03)" The best medicine the 1970s can provide - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: TCS Author: Sally Pipes ''Does it make any sense that your cat can get an MRI at 2:30 in the morning ... but your mother can't? Is your cat more important than your mother?' Most people would answer, 'Of course not.' But when you have a single payer system in which those picking up the bill are intent on controlling prices and costs such as Canada's health system, it doesn't matter what most people say.' (10/15/03)" Self-inflicted Wounds "---Not everyone in the administration has learned that good economics is good politics and vice versa.--- "The administration imposed steel tariffs, believing it would make steelworkers happy by creating more steel-making jobs. The facts are now in, and, as most of the president's own economic advisers warned, the higher prices that steel users are paying have killed more jobs in those industries than the tariff has saved in the steel industry. For 200 years, good economists have known protectionism backfires, and the steel tariff again proved the point. Federal government spending is rising as a percentage of GDP, reversing the trend of the 1990s. The growth in spending has been caused by the war, the recession and the lack of political will to reduce nonessential spending. Government spending crowds out private spending, and, given that most government spending is less productive than private spending, overall economic growth suffers.---" Gun control or gun safety: What's the difference? - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Liberty Belles Author: Jennifer Freeman ''Old tricks. New phrases. Same agenda. In the beginning, gun-ban organizations were very forthright in their intentions to ban the private ownership of firearms by U.S. citizens. It did not take long for gun-banners to figure out that the overwhelming majority of Americans ... support the Second Amendment as an individual right and are not likely to support an all out ban ... (10/15/03) " Adults should be in charge - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Ifeminists Author: Wendy McElroy ''The California Child Welfare system is such a disaster that even the state's Department of Social Services (CDSS) admits families are aggressively torn apart and children unnecessarily placed in foster care. California has announced sweeping reform. But the reform required is for 'authorities' to act like adults and take responsibility.'' (10/14/03)" Stop Hyphenating Americans - CNSNews.com Letters to the Editor “Personally, I'm disgusted with everybody's continued use of ‘fill-in-the-blank American.’ If they are Americans, they're Americans. (‘College Dems Anger Indian-Americans for Attack on GOP Candidate,’ October 10) If they are Indians, Mexicans, Africans, or whatever, then let them claim their original ethnicity, but don't claim to be Americans. This idea of worshiping diversity is nothing more than saying that all other countries have a culture, but America does not. America may not be as old as some other countries, but we do have a culture of our own, and it is different from that of most others. People in other countries often have their own idea of what an American is, and they attribute certain characteristics to Americans. Some of these characteristics are complimentary and some are not, but they are American. I am an American, and proud of it. I am thankful that my ancestors came here and started a new life as Americans.” Roger F. Houston, TX The N.R.A.'s List (2nd Letter) "Bob Herbert (column, Oct. 13) seems to take exception to the National Rifle Association's list of 'unfriendly' people and organizations. Like any other organization, the N.R.A. has those who oppose its mission, and like other organizations, it lets its members know who those individuals and groups are. "I will be happy to demonstrate a good reason civilians should have arms. It's called the Bill of Rights. As a gun owner and N.R.A. member, I see nothing fanatical about defending our constitutional rights. If anything, I see the N.R.A. as too willing to compromise on gun ownership. "If there are groups that don't like the Second Amendment, let them introduce an amendment repealing it. The problem with that is the fact that when gun rights meet American democracy, gun rights generally prevail." CURTIS L. RUSH Coldwater, Kan., Oct. 13, 2003" Health care business - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Re 'Davis approves health care bill,' Oct. 6: This is another example of a tax-and-spend Democratic government that has not been able to control its own spending and is now forcing California businesses to spend money that they did not intend to and may not have to spare in the first place. "It is the responsibility of individuals, not their employers, to provide health insurance for themselves and their families. It is sad to see how some people choose to afford cell phones and expensive cars rather than health insurance for their children, and I understand that not everyone will choose to take on the responsibilities that accompany an individual's freedom of choice. But while we allow individuals to choose whether or not to purchase health insurance, we must maintain the same choice for businesses. "I sincerely hope that our new governor will take steps to correct this and other Democratic pre-recall kicks below the belt of California's overregulated businesses as soon as possible to keep our employees working -- so that they might be able to choose to purchase their own health insurance." - Markus Geissler, Sacramento Rush to judgment - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "It's ironic that popular talk-show radio host Limbaugh has been named in an investigation for the illegal purchase of prescription drugs. "Limbaugh, a keen supporter of the "war on drugs," is now finding out what it's like to be a "person of interest" to those who would dictate what substances the American people may or may not smoke, snort, inject or otherwise consume for medical or recreational purposes. "Guilty or not, Limbaugh is now in a position to rethink his support for the expensive, intrusive, unconstitutional and, ultimately, anti-conservative federal drug enforcement regime. Having reconsidered it, I hope he will urge his audience to do likewise." - Steven Duke, Chico -------------------------------------- "Limbaugh has learned the hard way that anyone can fall (or jump) into the trap of chemical dependency. Most drug abusers are good people who made bad decisions in a time of weakness. It will be interesting to see if Limbaugh and his followers take this opportunity to re-examine their stereotypical viewpoints of substance abusers." - Ed Sanders, Sacramento sacbee.com -- News -- Medical pot a big winner "---Dr. Jack Lewin, chief executive officer of the California Medical Association, said the importance of the Supreme Court decision was that it blocked 'inappropriate intrusion into the sacredness of the patient/physician relationship by the (U.S.) Department of Justice.' "But Lewin said it did not solve the whole dilemma for doctors. "'Marijuana needs to be de-politicized,' he said. He called for broad scientific research -- not 'politically motivated research' -- comparing marijuana with other options for pain relief and nausea control. "Until that happens, he said, it will be hard for doctors to evaluate whether to recommend marijuana." Emphasis on American - Recordnet.com "The notions of political correctness I've learned from the media lead me to believe I should be a hyphenated American of some kind. "The proper thing is to be a member of a group or class rather than an individual, since Congress appears to legislate on behalf of groups and classes. "My ancestors have been around America long enough that they intermixed with individuals from other groups and classes. "I am Scotch, Irish, English, German and Dutch-American. The English component traces all the way back to the Mayflower. "The political correctness notion is completely backward. When I was in elementary and high school (1944-56), we learned we were Americans first. "Unlike our ancestors, we didn't believe we were owned by any king, emperor, czar, potentate, dictator or religious leader. "Rather than being some kind of hyphenated being, I'm an American with Scotch, Irish, English, German and Dutch ancestry. The emphasis is on the American, as it should be." By Tom S. Allison Stockton " Topsy-turvy job market Today's workers must be flexible, trainable, focused and prepared - Recordnet.com "---Contrary to popular belief and what some politicians are saying, the Department of Labor says the lack of job growth is because of: * A low rate of hiring by new businesses. "Not because of: * Large layoffs at failing businesses. "Unlike the past two decades, economists now believe job growth will be an outgrowth or byproduct of economic growth, not a catalyst. "That means the whole process is slower and more reactionary. It also means more and more new jobs in new sectors of the economy.---" State that glitters not gold - By Michael Fitzgerald - Recordnet.com "---'Such was the blinkering effect of local dream time,' recalls Didion, a Sacramentan who went east, 'that it would be some years before I recognized that certain aspects of 'our California Heritage' didn't add up.' "Didion says California's shining self-image of pioneer independence, risk-taking innovation and progressivism hides the truth that the good times were always propped up by federal welfare. "And now the money is going away, chipping the gilt off the Golden State, revealing an un-Californian misery.--- "Didion says she saw the light when the state could no longer pay for good public schools and some cities begged for prisons. "Dependent is not how Californians see, or project, themselves. But handing the state to the railroad, Big Ag, the feds or the prison guards' lobby is "a familiar California error, that of selling the future of the place we lived to the highest bidder." The Law, by Frederic Bastiat: "---Do those worshippers of government believe that free persons will cease to act? Does it follow that if we receive no energy from the law, we shall receive no energy at all? Does it follow that if the law is restricted to the function of protecting the free use of our faculties, we will be unable to use our faculties? Suppose that the law does not force us to follow certain forms of religion, or systems of association, or methods of education, or regulations of labor, or regulations of trade, or plans for charity; does it then follow that we shall eagerly plunge into atheism, hermitary, ignorance, misery, and greed? If we are free, does it follow that we shall no longer recognize the power and goodness of God? Does it follow that we shall then cease to associate with each other, to help each other, to love and succor our unfortunate brothers, to study the secrets of nature, and to strive to improve ourselves to the best of our abilities?---" Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "The trade-off between freedom and security, so often proposed so seductively, very often leads to the loss of both.'' -- Christopher Hitchens in the August, 2003 issue of Reason Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Overlawyered: Secondhand smoke vs. firsthand contraband "One of the larger costs from the lack of tort reform is not so much the damages awards to undeserving plaintiffs or the fees that plaintiffs' lawyers extract or the cost of hiring lawyers to defend, but the social costs imposed when decisions are made to avoid the risk of litigation: playgrounds shut down, bans on cold weather swimming ('Don't be so wet', The Economist, Oct. 2 (subscription required)). "The repercussions have been particularly severe in Colorado, where a fear of secondhand smoking suits caused the prison system there, where the vast majority of the 18,000 prisoners incarcerated are smokers, to ban tobacco. The result? An immediate creation of a black market with markups for tobacco far exceeding that for cocaine, and the expected associated violence and corruption that goes along with a widespread black market in prison. Eighteen guards, teachers, and supervisors have been prosecuted in three years, and a prisoner newsletter calls the tobacco contraband law 'a retirement assistance program for correctional officers.' (Kirk Mitchell, 'Ban turns tobacco into prison prize', Denver Post, Oct. 13). Posted by Ted Frank at October 14, 2003 05:13 AM | TrackBack " "Prof discusses climate science’s limits" - Junkscience.com "Geologist Henry Pollack said unpredictable social factors can affect scientific predictions. "Hundreds flocked to the St. Paul campus Monday to hear geological expert Henry Pollack discuss the key points of his recent book, “Uncertain Science ... Uncertain World.” "His message to students was the importance of recognizing how unpredictable social factors can affect scientific outlooks. For example, when studying global warming, scientists cannot account for social behavior in the future. “Uncertainty in predicting climate change is partly a difference of social science uncertainty, and partly climate science,” he said. “There are many aspects to the climate change problem, each with its different uncertainties.” (The Minnesota Daily) 'Food standards body dismisses health scare' - Junkscience.com ''A health warning over the reuse of plastic soft-drink and water bottles is baseless, says Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). A widely circulating email warns that people can be poisoned through the reuse of the common sipper (PET) bottles.' (The Press)" Frank Chodorov [Fishel Chodorowsky] (1887-1966) American Essayist and Journalist “Freedom is essentially a condition of inequality, not equality. It recognizes as a fact of nature the structural differences inherent in man--in temperament, character, and capacity--and it respects those differences. We are not alike and no law can make us so.” National Center for Policy Analysis "The ultimate goals of a new national energy policy should be economic growth and consumer freedom of choice. Unfortunately, Congress is debating some economically harmful proposals designed to appease politically constituencies rather than address the nation's energy needs, say NCPA experts." Click here for more. Cato Daily Dispatch for October 13, 2003: "---In 'Internet Tax: The New OPEC for Politicians,' Cato Fiscal Policy Analyst Veronique de Rugy writes that 'state governments actually are banding together to create a tax cartel that would not only lead to higher taxes but also would be a flagrant violation of the Constitution.' "She goes on to say: 'Make no mistake: Under the cover of the SSTP, states and local governments are asking Congress to lift the restriction that forbids them to tax extraterritorial income earned by remote sellers. The extension to sales-and-use taxes to out-of-state sales, no matter how simplified and harmonized, represents a huge threat to taxpayers and economic prosperity. The states involved want to create a tax cartel to allow them to impose taxes on firms that do not have a physical presence in the state, which means those companies would pay taxes to that state but would not consume public services. And that equals taxation without representation.'---" boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "The stock market is up, as are corporate profits. Consumers are happy. Things aren't looking all that great for leftists who are praying for a bad economy to bolster Democrat chances in 2004." Dennis Prager: The second American civil war: what it's about "Whatever your politics, you have to be oblivious to reality to deny that America today is torn by ideological divisions as deep as those of the Civil War era. We are, in fact, in the midst of the Second American Civil War.---" Let's end the drug war - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "This week's WorldNetDaily column, Let's end the drug war ANOTHER MOVEMENT BEGINS IN CALIFORNIA - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "---In California there are more births to non-citizens every year than there are to citizens. That should give you an idea as to the potential voting power these non-citizens hold. "I find it odd that immigrants who come to this country to take advantages of our freedoms and economic liberty quickly align themselves with the political party dedicated to the destruction of the very things that brought them here. Democrats are thrilled, though, and the more of these people they can get to the polls, the better." LIEBERMAN CAN'T GET ANY ATTENTION, SO ....boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "... it's time to play the class warfare game! "Democratic presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman decided that he needed to do something to get some much-needed publicity for his faltering campaign. Well, what the hell! Nothing works better than a little class warfare, so let's give that a try! Lieberman has come up with the absolutely unique idea (yeah, right!) of ... are you ready now? All together .... raising taxes on the rich! "When nothing else works, play the envy card. Lieberman knows that envy is one of the most powerful emotions around, and powerful emotions make powerful tools in the hands of politicians.---" Food is too cheap? - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: CCF Author: staff ''In a New York Times Magazine cover story, food author Michael Pollan labels America 'the Republic of Fat' and blames our over-hyped 'obesity epidemic' on 'a veritable mountain of cheap grain.' Without talking to a single consumer or considering how most people make their food decisions, Pollan argues that food is just too darn cheap.' (10/13/03)" Fat wallets - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: TCS Author: Sandy Szwarc ''While Banzhaf told NBC viewers his lawsuits were doing something about a very serious health problem, it's difficult to believe that public health is his main concern rather than the big bucks he can earn through litigation. For example, Banzhaf's prime restaurant target is McDonalds, not because its food is the most fattening but because it has 43 percent of the fast food market.' (10/10/03)" Language police brutality - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: PRI Author: Sally Pipes ''As a reporter on National Public Radio noted, Galileo was an 'unpersonned' space craft. Only language was injured. An 'unmanned' spacecraft would, of course, be accurate but not politically correct. This sort of nonsense proceeds from militant feminism, which sees gender bias lurking on every hand, and regards the English language as an instrument of repression.' (10/03)" Greenpeace bends tax laws to fit its radical agenda - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Town Hall Author: Doug Bandow ''Any institution, from corporation to union to non-profit, can abuse its position. Alas, many 'public interest' groups, such as Greenpeace, are actively working against the interests of most people. And Greenpeace apparently is twisting the tax law along the way.' (10/13/03)" The great displacement - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: TCS Author: Arnold Kling ''If today's economy shares some characteristics with that of the 1930's, then perhaps we should be worried. Will the economy pull out of its current slump, or will we suffer another long, stubborn period of high unemployment? So far, we are doing much better than in the 1930's ...' (10/14/03)" Police-state tactics violate rights and waste resources - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Washington Times ''Police warnings have been flooding Washington airwaves of late. The message: Make a wrong move, and the authorities will get you ? any time, anywhere. ... Typically, dragnets of patrol cars block off a street and check everyone (and their papers) who happens to be driving down that route. ... dedicating so many officers to dubious random searches is a clear misallocation...' (10/9/03) " Woe, Canada - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: TCS Author: Sally Pipes ''Many observers of American health care have come to the conclusion that the American system of health care is broken. .... The critics often point to Canada -- with its universal coverage and lower direct health care costs for doctors, hospitals, drugs, and treatments -- as a model the United States might follow. First of a 4-part series on Canadian health care. (10/14/03)" Making Social Security a money machine - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: FoG Author: Steve Forbes ''Saving social security' will be a sizzling campaign issue next year. Instead of trying to preserve FDR's brainchild, why not transform it into something that enriches the economy and significantly expands retirement benefits? (10/13/03)" Privatize state fairs to save millions - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Mackinac Center Author: Michael LaFaive ''Clearly, fairs need not remain a province of government for people to enjoy this tradition. Why not sell the state fair in Detroit to the highest bidder? .... To help close the deficit, the governor and Legislature should look more closely at fairs, to decide whether they truly are a legitimate function of government. (10/13/03)" Can Keynesian spending stimulate the economy? - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Le Quebecois Libre Author: Harry Valentine ''This economic 'recovery' is being sustained by government spending and related malinvestment that will propagate through the American economy. Despite the increased government spending, it will inevitably lead to another economic slowdown, one followed by a long period of economic stagnation similar to the ongoing one that began in Japan a decade ago. (10/11/03)" The Independent Institute | New Regulations May Have Driven Recent Recession "When the Enron and Arthur Andersen scandal erupted in late 2001, confidence in the securities markets plummeted as doubts about the validity of financial information lingered in the air. The subsequent drop in overall market prices only increased the threat of a recession. In response, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act into law in the belief that it would pump confidence in the markets back up to its pre-existing levels and ward off the potential recession. Instead, the passage of the Act served only to exacerbate the economy’s downturn.--- "Why didn’t the Act work as planned? The basic answer is that it had a tremendously negative impact on business activity by criminalizing the entrepreneurial spirit and increasing non-value-added costs.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Government action fails again, as usual. - TA Doctor tries new fertility technique in China to escape FDA - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Washington Post "A New York University School of Medicine doctor has taken his new fertitily treatment to China for trials, after the FDA decided that its power to regulate cloning applied to his work. 'It's like dealing with the IRS,' said Dr. Jamie Grifo, also asking why bureaucrats that do not understand his work were empowered to tell him how to practice medicine. (10/14/03)" FOXNews.com - Politics - Analysts: Gun Control a Non-Issue in 2004 "---Another blow to the gun control lobby came Oct. 2 when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (search) released a review of 51 published studies about the effectiveness of state gun control laws. The CDC report found “insufficient evidence” that increased gun control lowers crime rates. "This has made it very difficult for groups like the Brady Campaign, which enjoyed tremendous media exposure during the Clinton administration -- culminating in the anti-gun Million Mom March (search) in May 1999, to gain traction.---" Dissecting drug policy - Letters to the Editor - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED "Some observations about the article, "Walters links drugs to terrorism" (World, Saturday). If illegal drugs are linked to terrorism, it's for one reason: our drug prohibition policies. Ninety years ago, when recreational drugs were legally available in local pharmacies for pennies per dose, organized criminals and international terrorists had no interest in recreational drugs. That's because there wasn't enough money in the business. "Our drug criminalization policies have made easy-to-grow weeds and easy-to-produce chemicals more valuable than pure gold. "We could put organized criminals and international terrorists out of the drug business in a heartbeat — the same way we put organized criminals out of the alcohol business in 1933. By legalizing, regulating and controlling the sale of recreational drugs.---" KIRK MUSE Mesa, Ariz. Contracting state work - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Conservatives from coast to coast would love nothing better than to dismantle government-run services and replace them with private vendors who they claim can do everything government workers already do for less. The problem is, all available evidence shows that privatization of public services costs taxpayers more (Emphasized statement is a myth propagated by government employees' unions that fear competition with the private sector. - TA.)---" Perry Kenny, Sacramento President, California State Employees Assn. Contracting state work - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor "Re "CalPERS oversteps," Our views, Sept. 17: The Bee is absolutely correct that CalPERS' threat to disinvest in firms that provide services to state and local government is extraordinary, but it is not the first and certainly not the last effort on behalf of public employees to prohibit the private sector from providing services for government agencies. "Last year, the Legislature passed and the governor signed SB 1419, which has hamstrung school districts' ability to contract for services. This year public employee groups sought to similarly restrict cities and counties. A little-noticed provision in the contracts agreed to by the Davis administration's Department of Personnel Administration and the state employee groups requires each agency to create "a labor-management committee to specifically address and reduce contracting out" of that agencies work. "The statement by CalPERS is just one skirmish in the battle over who will provide services for government agencies. - Richard Markuson, Sacramento Executive Director, Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CalPERS tries to prevent competition with the private sector, and thus screw the taxpayers. - TA. sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor (Second letter on page.) "Here is a concept for balancing the budget: Get rid of all services that provide benefits to specific groups. "Just because I resent the fact that I am taxed to provide medical benefits for a specific group, e.g., breast cancer victims, does not mean I don't care about breast cancer. It just means I believe my money is better spent elsewhere. The same applies to any group of which I am not a member -- rice farmers, auto mechanics, single mothers, whatever. "Theft is when you take my money without my permission for the benefit of another. When the state takes my money for the benefits of others it may be called taxes, but it is still theft." - John Paul, Carmichael sacbee.com -- Politics -- Energy market strategy outlined "---Also, generators see California as hostile territory. The issue was underscored Monday when Houston's Reliant Resources Inc. said it has retired two small generating units near Rancho Cucamonga. Reliant said, "It is not economic to invest in the required environmental upgrades given current market conditions in California and uncertainty regarding future market conditions.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leftists are blind to the anti-business conditions in California. Apparently the new government doesn't have that vision problem. - TA Here's one man's vote for direct democracy - By Richard Marsh - Recordnet.com "Can Schwarzenegger terminate the problems ailing California? It's doubtful, if you understand what the problems really are: "A private sector that has serious economic problems; scores of narrow-interest ballot measures that dictate up to 80 percent of state spending; a money-fueled political system that, it should be noted, Davis constantly exploited; illogical tax laws; an overwhelming bureaucracy; and, lastly, term limits which have removed power from the Legislature and handed it to lobbyists and destroyed consensus-building.---" Frédéric Bastiat - The Law The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc. Irvington-on-Hudson, New York 10533 "---The Basis for Stable Government "Law is justice. In this proposition a simple and enduring government can be conceived. And I defy anyone to say how even the thought of revolution, of insurrection, of the slightest uprising could arise against a government whose organized force was confined only to suppressing injustice. "Under such a regime, there would be the most prosperity — and it would be the most equally distributed. As for the sufferings that are inseparable from humanity, no one would even think of accusing the government for them. This is true because, if the force of government were limited to suppressing injustice, then government would be as innocent of these sufferings as it is now innocent of changes in the temperature. "As proof of this statement, consider this question: Have the people ever been known to rise against the Court of Appeals, or mob a Justice of the Peace, in order to get higher wages, free credit, tools of production, favorable tariffs, or government-created jobs? Everyone knows perfectly well that such matters are not within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals or a Justice of the Peace. And if government were limited to its proper functions, everyone would soon learn that these matters are not within the jurisdiction of the law itself. "But make the laws upon the principle of fraternity — proclaim that all good, and all bad, stem from the law; that the law is responsible for all individual misfortunes and all social inequalities — then the door is open to an endless succession of complaints, irritations, troubles, and revolutions.---" Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "'My greatest fear is that too many members of the public will embrace the government's call to give up some freedom in return for greater safety, only to find that they have lost freedom without gaining safety.' -- ACLU President Nadine Strossen, in the December, 2001 issue of Reason." Monday, October 13, 2003
Was She Covert? Apparently Not. - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "The Valerie Plame kerfuffle seems to be fuffling out. Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times offers 'a few pertinent facts' about her career--- "---This Joe Wilson is a clever one, isn't he? He didn't actually say his wife was a covert agent, so he can't quite be accused of lying. But if Kristof's account of Plame's career is accurate, Wilson misled Corn (as well as others who followed his lead, including Kristof's colleague Paul Krugman) by making a hypothetical statement based on a premise he knew to be false, which gave journalists hostile to the Bush administration all they needed to make an accusation of criminal wrongdoing." Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty "'Voting is no substitute for the eternal vigilance that every friend of freedom must demonstrate towards government. If our freedom is to survive, Americans must become far better informed of the dangers from Washington -- regardless of who wins the Presidency.' -- James Bovard in Voting is Overrated " Overlawyered: Larry Schonbrun profile "Our primary editor, Walter Olson, is quoted in an East Bay Express profile of 'The Spoiler', Larry Schonbrun, a former Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation lawyer who now specializes in taking on class action settlements where the plaintiffs' lawyers seek extravagant attorneys' fees. (E.g., May 28). 'To date, Schonbrun has convinced judges to reduce such fees by more than $100 million.' (Susan Goldsmith, 'Class Action Warrior', Oct. 8)." Posted by Ted Frank at October 12, 2003 09:28 AM | TrackBack ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Three cheers for Larry!!! - TA Early Bloomers by Willis Eschenbach - Still Waiting For Greenhouse - john-daly.com "---Looking at the temperatures since 1970, the period of the Smithsonian study, the trend is the same. During that time, Washington warmed about 1.2°C more than than Lincoln, and about 0.75°C more than Owens Ferry. The records clearly show that the cause of the early blooming in DC is not global warming but rather urban warming, caused by the urban heat island effect of Washington DC. "The Urban Heat Island Effect occurs as cities build up, ground level winds drop, concrete and buildings trap and re-radiate heat, vehicles emit hot exhaust gases, and night sky cooling is lost. As a result, these and other related changes heat up the cities far beyond the surrounding rural areas.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ But global warming whackos still point to this phenomenon as support for their global warming phobia. - TA 'Of human frights' - Junkscience.com "One of the favourite targets of the scaremongers is popular medications; and the more popular they are the harder they go for them. One of the reasons that real science does not accept RRs (Relative Risk or Risk Ratio) of less than three (or greater than 0.3) is the question of confounding factors. One confounding factor they like to ignore in this area is embodied in the assumption that it is the treatment and not the disease that is the cause. (Number Watch)" Shots in the Dark: Gun control's shaky empirical foundation - Junkscience.com "In November 1988 The New England Journal of Medicine published a study that noted Seattle's homicide rate was higher than Vancouver's and attributed the difference to stricter gun control in Vancouver. Although the study had serious flaws, including the failure to take into account important demographic differences between the two cities, it received generous coverage in two major newspapers known for their sympathy to gun control.' (Jacob Sullum, Reason)" America's History of Educational Freedom - The Cato Institute: Public Policy Analysis, Limited Government, Free Markets "In a new Cato Policy Analysis, Marie Gryphon and Emily A. Meyer look at America's conflicting educational traditions -- educational freedom and the more recent history of state-sponsored schooling. Gryphon and Meyer stress that though school choice was upheld in the Supreme Court's Zelman decision, advocates of educational freedom must keep up the fight in the public policy arena to ensure all Americans have access to accountable education." UNIONS -- DOING THEIR JOB FOR THEIR FRIENDLY LOCAL POLITICIAN - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "Grocery store workers on strike in California. Are they upset because they're not getting paid for the work they do? Nope, that's not it. They work, and they get paid. They're upset because the grocery stores aren't paying enough of their medical costs. Like most Americans, these union workers believe that it is their employer's responsibility to pay to keep them healthy. An honest day's pay for an honest day's work isn't enough ... you have to keep them healthy too. "Somehow we've come to believe that health insurance is never our own responsibility. Auto insurance, fine. Life insurance, no problem. Homeowner's insurance, we'll pay it. Health insurance, hey ... that's not my responsibility. "This hasn't all happened by accident. It's all about power ... political power. Our federal laws are full of roadblocks that prevent, or make it difficult for the individual to assume the responsibility for their own health care insurance costs. This is so because politicians don't want you to be responsible for your own health care. They want you to be dependent, not independent. If you have seen to your own health care needs then how is that politician going to control your vote? He won't be able to tell you that his opponent is going to reduce your health benefits. You have your own policy! How is he going to do that? And he can't buy your vote with promises of grand new coverage and benefits. If you want those benefits you'll pay for them yourself! "Leftist politicians hate independent constituents. People who control their own health care are independent, at least when it comes to health care. This is why our laws are stacked against individually owned health insurance policies, and this is why socialized medicine is inevitable in the United States." NOW --- ABOUT THAT WAR ON DRUGS - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "A question for those of you out there who are so adamant about pushing this illogical war on drugs. So, you like to see drug pushers in jail, right? And those people who buy drugs from those pushers? You want them in jail too, right? Yeah, damn right! Lock them all up! "Most of the people who adopt this "take no prisoners" attitude on drugs are conservative. Most, not all. Read the law. If Rush Limbaugh was doing those things that the National Enquirer says he was doing, then he could conceivably face quite a lengthy jail term. Is that what you want? Are you grumbling to yourself that Rush ought to be getting his treatment in a hospital jail ward somewhere? "What's the deal here? You're celebrating (as you should) Rush's decision to seek treatment. If this is such a good option for Rush (and it is) then why isn't it a good option for some sap from the inner city who succumbs to neighborhood peer pressure and gets hooked on drugs?" CNSNews.com Letters to the Editor (Sixth letter) “Get on the net and just see who provides the most financial support to PETA; left-wing socialist and Marxist foundations. "PETA has a more eclectic agenda in mind than just the rights of animals. They are lined up with ALF, ELF, Greenpeace, Sierra Club and many more. Their main goal in America is the redistribution of wealth and replacing our capitalistic system with socialism.” Jim J. New Boston, MI ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ See for example the website http://www.activistcash.com/ for information on funding sources for organizations like PETA. Also run Google or other searches. - TA The Law, by Frederic Bastiat "Law and Charity Are Not the Same "The mission of the law is not to oppress persons and plunder them of their property, even though the law may be acting in a philanthropic spirit. Its mission is to protect persons and property. "Furthermore, it must not be said that the law may be philanthropic if, in the process, it refrains from oppressing persons and plundering them of their property; this would be a contradiction. The law cannot avoid having an effect upon persons and property; and if the law acts in any manner except to protect them, its actions then necessarily violate the liberty of persons and their right to own property. "The law is justice — simple and clear, precise and bounded. Every eye can see it, and every mind can grasp it; for justice is measurable, immutable, and unchangeable. Justice is neither more than this nor less than this. If you exceed this proper limit — if you attempt to make the law religious, fraternal, equalizing, philanthropic, industrial, literary, or artistic — you will then be lost in an uncharted territory, in vagueness and uncertainty, in a forced utopia or, even worse, in a multitude of utopias, each striving to seize the law and impose it upon you. This is true because fraternity and philanthropy, unlike justice, do not have precise limits. Once started, where will you stop? And where will the law stop itself?---" Sunday, October 12, 2003
John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) 7th Vice President of the United States and U. S. Senator “The government of the absolute majority is but the government of the strongest interests; and when not effectively checked, is the most tyrannical and oppressive that can be devised. [To read the Constitution is to realize that] no free system was ever farther removed from the principle that the absolute majority, without check or limitation, ought to govern.” Brent Bozell: The media get recalled "Arnold Schwarzenegger won, and Gray Davis lost, as did Cruz Bustamante, as did Arianna Huffington. But no one was more rejected in this 61 percent Republican tidal wave in an overwhelming Democratic state than the liberal press. Consider the media recalled.---" Rich Tucker: Turning off PBS "---PBS is actually just a victim of market economics. For-profit stations and networks can deliver better products than a government-run network. In just one example, “Bill Nye the science guy” launched his career on a public station, but his show is now seen on Noggin, a private network owned by Viacom. Noggin also carries shows like “Play with me Sesame,” an educational show featuring the characters from PBS’ Sesame Street. And its programs are presented without commercials.---" US Economy Adding Jobs; Markets Rise - CNSNews.com: The Cybercast News Service "The federal government announced Thursday that initial applications for jobless benefits fell to their lowest level in more than eight months last week." Full Story The Law, by Frederic Bastiat "Proper Legislative Functions "It is not true that the legislator has absolute power over our persons and property. The existence of persons and property preceded the existence of the legislator, and his function is only to guarantee their safety. "It is not true that the function of law is to regulate our consciences, our ideas, our wills, our education, our opinions, our work, our trade, our talents, or our pleasures. The function of law is to protect the free exercise of these rights, and to prevent any person from interfering with the free exercise of these same rights by any other person. "Since law necessarily requires the support of force, its lawful domain is only in the areas where the use of force is necessary. This is justice. "Every individual has the right to use force for lawful self-defense. It is for this reason that the collective force — which is only the organized combination of the individual forces — may lawfully be used for the same purpose; and it cannot be used legitimately for any other purpose. "Law is solely the organization of the individual right of self-defense which existed before law was formalized. Law is justice.---" Saturday, October 11, 2003
Hugo L. Black (1886-1971) Associate Justice, U. S. Supreme Court “For my own part, I believe that our Constitution, with its absolute guarantees of individual rights, is the best hope for the aspirations of freedom which men share everywhere. I cannot agree with those who think of the Bill of Rights as an 18th Century straitjacket, unsuited for this age. It is old but not all old things are bad. The evils it guards against are not only old, they are with us now, they exist today . . . .” [from “The Bill of Rights,” 35 New York University Law Review 865, 1960] Paying Dearly for Free Prescription Drugs By Congressman Ron Paul "As Congress finalizes plans to expand Medicare, more and more seniors are beginning to understand that “free” prescription drugs from the government will carry a very high price tag. The tragedy is that our society is allowing the pharmaceutical industry, phony senior lobbies, and vote-hungry politicians to force millions of older Americans into a government-run Medicare ghetto. "All of us, including seniors, will pay for the drug benefit in the form of higher taxes. Congress claims the program will cost $400 billion over the next 10 years, but government cost projections cannot be trusted. Medicare today costs seven times more than originally estimated. Private economists estimate the true cost will be closer to $3 or $4 trillion over ten years, but even the government’s figure of $400 billion represents the largest entitlement increase since the failed Great Society programs of the 1960s. This new spending comes as the Treasury faces record single-year deficits, which soon will approach $1 trillion annually. "The biggest losers under the new program are the 76% of seniors who already have some form of prescription drug coverage. On average, these seniors spend less than $1,000 per year on drug co-payments and meeting deductible amounts. Under both the House and Senate proposals, however, millions of American seniors will end up paying more out-of-pocket for drugs than they do now, while having worse coverage.---" Thomas Sowell: Is California crazy? "---The time is long overdue to get rid of the outdated notion that liberal Democrats represent ordinary people. They represent such special interests as trial lawyers who keep our courts clogged with frivolous lawsuits, busybody environmentalists who think the government should force other people to live the way the greens want them to live, and of course the teachers' unions who think schools exist to provide their members with jobs.---" The homework gap - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED "Fueled by anecdotes and spread by journalistic sensationalism, the homework monster has become entrenched throughout the educational culture. There's just one minor problem: It has virtually nothing to do with reality." The Democrat alternative - sacbee.com -- Opinion -- Letters to the editor (Fifth up from bottom of page) "The Democrat alternative "The Democrat Presidential candidates' posture seems to be that Bush's tax cuts have failed to improve the economy, that he is bereft of other ideas, and that he lied and led us into a unilateral war. Their prescription is to raise taxes and shift spending from the military to social programs to balance the budget. "It's said that one definition of stupidity is to repeat the same actions but expect different results. So let's review some history: "The 1929 stock market crash caused a federal deficit. The Hoover solution of raising taxes and cutting spending made conditions worse. Although the economy was improving when FDR took office, he increased taxes and social spending and cut military programs. The economy dipped again. The Japanese perceived a weakened military and attacked Pearl Harbor. "President Carter solved malaise with increased taxes and social spending and military cuts. He gave us stagflation, with unemployment, inflation and interest rates rising from single to double digits. Emboldened by our weakened military, Iran took our Tehran embassy and held U.S. citizens hostage for 444 days. "The Democrat candidates merely recycle those policies, and we should expect similar results. "Michael Sugden, Citrus Heights Reacting to the recall (Third letter) - Recordnet.com "In The Record's Election Day issue you ran an item from The Associated Press (naturally) with the headline 'Whoever wins, it's a grueling struggle ahead.' "It reminded us 'the state of California is faced with an $8 billion deficit, persistent unemployment, struggling schools and angry and mobilized voters.' "In the same issue you recommend a 'no' vote on the recall of the CEO of the state, Gov. Gray Davis. "You were in awesome company: both senators from California, former President Clinton and his lovely wife, Hillary, presidential wannabes former Gen. Wesley Clark, Al Gore and Jesse Jackson. "You were also in the heady company of the Los Angeles and San Francisco big-time newspapers. You also had companions in your viewpoint among professors, unions, intellectuals, the Indian casinos and other beneficiaries of the state's largesse. "However, it appears you are disconnected with 60 percent of the people of the state (excepting the Bay Area, of course). "Perhaps you should consider getting connected with the governed. A.P. Howison Valley Springs " Frédéric Bastiat The Law The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc. Irvington-on-Hudson, New York 10533 "The Socialists Reject Free Choice "Please understand that I do not dispute their right to invent social combinations, to advertise them, to advocate them, and to try them upon themselves, at their own expense and risk. But I do dispute their right to impose these plans upon us by law — by force — and to compel us to pay for them with our taxes. "I do not insist that the supporters of these various social schools of thought — the Proudhonists, the Cabetists, the Fourierists, the Universitarists, and the Protectionists — renounce their various ideas. I insist only that they renounce this one idea that they have in common: They need only to give up the idea of forcing us to acquiesce to their groups and series, their socialized projects, their free-credit banks, their Graeco-Roman concept of morality, and their commercial regulations. I ask only that we be permitted to decide upon these plans for ourselves; that we not be forced to accept them, directly or indirectly, if we find them to be contrary to our best interests or repugnant to our consciences. "But these organizers desire access to the tax funds and to the power of the law in order to carry out their plans. In addition to being oppressive and unjust, this desire also implies the fatal supposition that the organizer is infallible and mankind is incompetent. But, again, if persons are incompetent to judge for themselves, then why all this talk about universal suffrage?---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The terms have changed since 1850, but not the ideology. - TA The Cognitive Elite - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "---The emergence of a cognitive elite may be inevitable in a knowledge-based economy, but it is a development Murray and Herrnstein viewed with considerable concern. What's fascinating is that liberals, who denounced Murray and Herrnstein over the racial aspect of their book, seem to view rule by the cognitive elite as the natural order of things. And of course they think they are the cognitive elite. We saw this in Jonathan Chait's Bush-hating cover story last month in The New Republic (which was, but is no longer, available online), in which Chait opined that the "striving, educated elite" views the president, because of his success despite his "dullness," as "an affront to the values of the liberal meritocracy." (In 1994 TNR devoted an entire issue to a series of essays on "The Bell Curve"; views ranged from harsh criticism to furious denunciation.) "The same phenomenon is evident in the reaction to Arnold Schwarzenegger's election as governor of California. The Oakland Tribune reports that state Sen. John Vasconcellos, a San Jose Democrat, has called the governor-elect "a boob" and is threatening to leave office on the grounds that he's too good for Californians: "If people want this actor to govern . . . they don't need or deserve me.---" John Stossel - 20/20 Copyright © 2003 ABC News Internet Ventures "My column looks at the protest against what many American college students call "sweatshops." The protesters seem to be winning the battle of public opinion. They once made Kathy Lee Gifford cry and apologize after allegations arose that workers who made her clothing line were mistreated. "The students say they want to protect workers from "exploitation." That sounds noble, but I interviewed people from India and Kenya who say "what exploitation?" … and "we don't even use the word, 'sweatshop!'" They say the protesting students are "rich, arrogant, and clueless." In fact, most economists say what the students call "sweatshops" are the very businesses that allowed people in places like South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong to work their way out of poverty. If today's protesters make enough noise and get rules passed that cause these factories to close, they'll put poor people out of work. This improves their lives? Give me a break …" Friday, October 10, 2003
Overlawyered: "Why does the gun industry deserve special protection?" "Why does the gun industry deserve special protection?" ...runs the rhetorical question posed by anti-gun litigators. 'Because the gun industry is under special attack,' responds Eugene Volokh (Oct. 9). A version of the federal pre-emption litigation recommended in this space (Apr. 4-6; my hearing statement) may be on the way to passing Congress soon, but proponents have made what sounds like a rather major concession to win the support of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), by allowing suits to proceed against guns deemed defective; trial lawyers have long pushed the idea that the absence of some feature such as a timed trigger lock is really a 'design defect' for which manufacturers ought to be held liable. If such theories are left unscathed by the new legislation, the push for gun-control-through-litigation is likely to continue (Jesse J. Holland, 'Gun Makers May Win Exemption From Suits', Washington Post, Oct. 9). See also Pejman Yousefzadeh, Oct. 9. Posted by Walter Olson at October 9, 2003 10:54 PM | TrackBack " Overlawyered: Suing NFL over fan's DWI "A fan downed 14 beers at a New York Giants game and drove off, causing a crash that left a child paralyzed. Now the family's lawyers want the league to pay. 'I understand they are searching for a deep pocket,' said Rutgers law prof Howard Latin. 'But at a certain point, people have to be responsible for their own behavior.' (Peter Pochna, 'Family sues NFL for fan's DWI that left child paralyzed', NorthJersey.com, Oct. 10)(reg) Posted by Walter Olson at October 10, 2003 11:13 AM | TrackBack " Quote Of The Week - consumerfreedom.com Posted On October 10, 2003 "On Tuesday, the impressively credentialed Dr. Robert P. Heaney gave Congressional testimony on the (surprisingly) controversial issue of milk in school lunches. He outlined the nutritional benefits of milk, but took a moment to note that the 'scientifically groundless' arguments against milk almost always originate with organizations whose interest is not human health at all: "'I think it is useful to recognize the origin of the anti-milk campaign -- and it is literally a campaign. If one checks carefully, one finds that behind most of the stories is an organization called the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and its sister organization, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). These are animal rights organizations that oppose the use of any animal product -- leather, fur, meat, or milk. [When the federal government was reviewing its] Dietary Guidelines for Americans, PCRM shamelessly played the race card, alleging that African Americans could not digest milk because of lactose intolerance. The facts are that people of all races are able to consume, digest, and benefit from milk without difficulty.' "You can find out more about PCRM's deceptive campaign against milk, and its links to PETA, on our award-winning website, ActivistCash.com." 'Global Warming Shakeup in Moscow' - Junkscience.com ''Events at a recent scientific conference in Moscow represent an important and dramatic change in the worldwide debate over global warming. Several distinguished scientists who spoke at the World Climate Change Conference in Moscow last week shattered claims that the science is settled and any consensus that the Kyoto Protocol would serve any useful purpose.' (Competitive Enterprise Institute)" Global Warming Litigation Heating Up - Junkscience.com "No one knows for sure whether the Earth’s climate is changing appreciably or whether any such change is due to humans. One thing that certainly is heating up, though, is the global warming litigation environment." (Steven Milloy, FoxNews.com) Louis D. Brandeis (1856-1941) Associate Justice, U. S. Supreme Court “Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.” Socialized Medicine is not the Answer Daily Policy Digest "In an effort to avoid a two-tiered health care system where wealthy people can get health care but the poor can't, Canada has solved the problem admirably: dogs can get health care but people can't, according to Charles Jarvis, Chairman and Chief Executive of United Seniors Association. "Canada's health care system is deficient in many other ways says Jarvis: "It is unable to provide sufficient money, resulting in a shortage of doctors and bailouts for deficit-ridden hospitals. "It is unable to provide universal access to care; typically patients must wait an average of three months or more for elective surgery. "The quality of care is not as good as that provided in the United States because patients often cannot receive needed treatments for months and are criminalized if they try to pay privately for services that are provided by the government-run health care system. "In Canada's system, all are not treated the same: pets can receive a CT scan in 24 hours, while humans wait longer than three months or do without. "Canada spends only 9 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care and is able to cover all of its citizens. Jarvis shows that at least in Canada, you get what you pay for. "Source: Charles W. Jarvis and Dr. Merrill Mathews Jr "Can 7,700 Doctors Be Wrong About Health Care?" United Seniors Association, September 26, 2003." For text Click here For more on Health Care (Moving Toward Universal Coverage) Click here Americans' financial liberty placed at risk by Patriot Act - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: JimBovard.com Author: James Bovard ''The Patriot Act makes it far easier for the feds to vacuum up Americans' financial records without a warrant. Banks are now required to gather far more information on their clients - their background, their sources of income, their financial behavior, etc....' (10/8/03)" A powerful message for limited government - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: CSE Author: Dick Armey ''The recall election in California caps a 32 day stretch where the voters made clear from 'conservative' Alabama to 'liberal' California that tax increases are completely unacceptable. .... As the results in Alabama and California demonstrated, the public is not only opposed to but is extremely angry about taxes and big government spending.' (10/9/03) " America's fascination with firearms - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: World and I magazine Author: David B Kopel ''Unlike most of the world's people, many Americans view the possession of firearms as the norm rather than the exception.... While some Americans are embarrassed that their nation has a distinctively strong constitutional right to arms and a vigorous gun culture, the United States consciously created itself to be different from Europe....' (10/03)" Study finds sex is good for you - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Forbes ''The best that modern science can say for sexual abstinence is that it's harmless when practiced in moderation. Having regular and enthusiastic sex, by contrast, confers a host of measurable physiological advantages, be you male or female.' The listing of benefits is geared toward a family audience. (10/8/03)" French state-owned companies an economic drain - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: the Tocqueville Connection ''Leading French state-owned companies have worsening finances and must improve productivity, an annual government report said ... painting an overall picture of rising debt and falling shareholders' funds. The report ... said the 38 biggest state-owned enterprises had made an overall net loss of 20.9 billion euros (24.5 billion dollars) in 2002 and that net debt had risen ...' (10/8/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Socialists everywhere just don't get it. - TA President Schwarzenegger could be possible in the future - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Seattle Post Intelligencer ''The original (constitutional) language reflects the notion that if you were a naturalized citizen somehow, you were less trustworthy than a native-born citizen,' said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass, who has introduced legislation to amend the Constitution. 'I don't think we should treat immigrants as lesser people than naturally born citizens.'' (10/10/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I think the original idea was to insure no foreign power could slip us a deep cover ringer. - TA U.S. states have love-hate relationship with tobacco companies - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Boston Globe "A report by the National Conference of State Legislators found that states are increasingly relying on tobacco idustry settlements to plug their budget holes. At the same time, they pump millions into anti-smoking campaigns and related nannying. (10/10/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Take money from the free market system and waste it on police state actvities. - TA Homeland Security: We don't need no accountability - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: GovExec.com ''Legislation designed to enhance financial management and accountability at the Homeland Security Department is well- intentioned but unnecessary, a key department official said ...' (10/9/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oh well, now I feel so much better about how government spends my tax money. - TA. Jacob Sullum: Gun control's shaky empirical foundation "---But it's scandalous that politicians have been legislating in the dark all these years, promising that the gun control solution du jour would save lives when there was no evidence to back up such claims. If gun control laws have any positive effect at all, it must be pretty modest to have escaped documentation so far.---" Charles Krauthammer: 'Just in time' WMD "Rolf Ekeus, living proof that not all Swedish arms inspectors are fools, may have been right. "Ekeus headed the U.N. inspection team that from 1991 to 1997 uncovered not just tons of chemical and biological weapons in Iraq, but a massive secret nuclear weapons program as well. This, after the other Swede, Hans Blix, then director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had given Saddam a perfectly clean bill of health on being non-nuclear. Indeed, Iraq was sitting on the IAEA Board of Governors. "Ekeus theorizes that Saddam decided years ago that keeping mustard gas and other poisons in barrels was unstable and corrosive, and also hard to conceal. Therefore, rather than store large stocks of weapons of mass destruction, he would adapt the program to retain an infrastructure (laboratories, equipment, trained scientists, detailed plans) that could ``break out'' and ramp up production when needed. The model is Japanese ``just in time'' manufacturing, where you save on inventory by making and delivering stuff in immediate response to orders. Except that Saddam's business was toxins, not Toyotas.---" Larry Kudlow: Arnold Matters "---No two historical episodes are ever completely alike. But, like Proposition 13, Schwarzenegger's campaign victory is an overthrow of the old-liberal order in Sacramento -- a political regime that decimated California's businesses and economy with high-tax, high-spend and overregulation policies.---" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In short: Socialist policies. - TA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On the other hand: "---Schwarzenegger has been consistent that low-tax conservative fiscal policies are the key to solving the California economic problem. Such policies would stem the outflow of smart money, smart people and small businesses. Schwarzenegger's pro-business stance is a startling change -- not only for the Golden State, but for the nation. "Politicians in both parties ran from supporting business in the aftermath of the highly publicized corporate scandals. But the essential Schwarzenegger fact is this: He believes that business creates jobs. He also understands that rising incomes from job growth will create a stable revenue base for the state budget.---" The Nobel Peace Prize - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "The Nobel Peace Prize has been announced. Some are treating this as a big deal. Yassir Arafat is a past winner .. and with that award the Nobel Peace Prize no longer deserves all of this attention. Some Norwegian leftists bestow their blessings and the world rejoices. Sorry .. I'm not impressed." RANDOM ... AND SOMETIMES INTEMPERATE THOUGHTS - boortz.com: Nealz Nuze Today's Nuze "In the past year stocks have risen 33% on the New York Stock Exchange. The NASDAQ has risen by 71%. Household income is up, productivity is up, unemployment is down. When in the hell is George Bush going to start paying some attention to our economy?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stuff the Democrats don't want you to think about. - TA Pro-Life Group Demands Recess Appointment of Judges "In a new advertising campaign, announced Friday, the American Life League noted that the next Senate recess is scheduled to begin Nov. 21. The ad urges Americans to call President Bush to recommend that he take action on behalf of his conservative judicial appointments. "In a press release, the American Life League said it's clear that 'pro-abortion zealots' in the Senate will continue to block President Bush's judicial nominees. "'The Senate's leadership is too impotent to do anything about this situation,' said ALL President Judie Brown. 'Therefore, we are calling upon President Bush to use his power to make recess appointments to break this unprecedented blockade by ensuring that men and women of integrity are appointed to the federal benches.'" Judicial activism influence - The Washington Times: Commentary "---It is interesting that Democrats have admitted in recent years that they fully intend to use the courts to further their policy agenda — that judicial activism to effectuate their goals is justified and desirable. Yet when a Republican president is in power, they cry foul at the suggestion he might appoint conservative judicial activists. "In fact, most conservative judicial nominees are not judicial activists — they believe the Constitution ought to be interpreted according to its plain meaning and the original intent of the Framers. Rolling back liberal judicial activism is not conservative activism.---" Judicial activism influence - The Washington Times: Commentary (David Limbaugh) "It truly is past time that we take steps to rein in this imperial judiciary and restore the policymaking prerogatives to the executive and legislative branches of government." Frédéric Bastiat - The Law The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc. Irvington-on-Hudson, New York 10533 "Socialists Fear All Liberties "Well, what liberty should the legislators permit people to have? Liberty of conscience? (But if this were permitted, we would see the people taking this opportunity to become atheists.) "Then liberty of education? (But parents would pay professors to teach their children immorality and falsehoods; besides, according to Mr. Thiers, if education were left to national liberty, it would cease to be national, and we would be teaching our children the ideas of the Turks or Hindus; whereas, thanks to this legal despotism over education, our children now have the good fortune to be taught the noble ideas of the Romans.) "Then liberty of labor? (But that would mean competition which, in turn, leaves production unconsumed, ruins businessmen, and exterminates the people.) "Perhaps liberty of trade? (But everyone knows — and the advocates of protective tariffs have proved over and over again — that freedom of trade ruins every person who engages in it, and that it is necessary to suppress freedom of trade in order to prosper.) "Possibly then, liberty of association? (But, according to socialist doctrine, true liberty and voluntary association are in contradiction to each other, and the purpose of the socialists is to suppress liberty of association precisely in order to force people to associate together in true liberty.) "Clearly then, the conscience of the social democrats cannot permit persons to have any liberty because they believe that the nature of mankind tends always toward every kind of degradation and disaster. Thus, of course, the legislators must make plans for the people in order to save them from themselves. "This line of reasoning brings us to a challenging question: If people are as incapable, as immoral, and as ignorant as the politicians indicate, then why is the right of these same people to vote defended with such passionate insistence?---" Thursday, October 09, 2003
Senseless in Seattle - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "The Washington State Court of Appeals has approved a plan to spend $9 million in taxpayers' money "to build a 75-unit apartment building and then stock it with chronic alcoholics," reports KOMO-TV: "Said tenants would get free, or reduced, rent, along with meals and access to alcoholism treatment. "The only rub is that those with the alcohol problem will not only be allowed--nay, encouraged!--to drink in their new apartments, they'll also be allowed to invite others in to drink with them! "Sounds like a great place to watch tonight's Democratic debate." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More dumb people. - TA Great Moments in Public Education - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., "has canceled its student production of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' because of concerns over a racially sensitive word in the play's dialogue," reports Indianapolis's WRTV: "The school's drama teacher asked the play's publisher to let the students take the "N-word" out of the dialogue, but the publisher refused, Principal William Jensen said. . . . "Before the play was canceled, the drama teacher asked Gwendolyn Wiggins, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, what she thought of using the word in the play. Wiggins said she didn't want students to hear it. "'That would be giving another reason to say, 'OK, if they use it in the play, we can say it outside the play.' And that's not right,' Wiggins said. "'The school's decision came as a local children's museum prepared an exhibit about discrimination that will feature the word in question,' the report adds. The exhibit 'will have a sign warning people that it contains strong language.'" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I see dumb people. - TA Zero-Tolerance Watch - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "Fifteen-year-old Andra Ferguson, a student at Caney Creek High School in Conroe, Texas, suffers from asthma, which she treats with Albuterol, a prescription inhaler. One day last month, Houston's KPRC-TV reports, she suffered an attack and had forgotten to bring her inhaler. Brandon Kivi, her boyfriend and a fellow asthmatic who uses the same medicine, lent her his inhaler. "It made a big difference," said Ferguson. It did save my life." "You can guess what happened: "The next day, he was arrested and accused of delivering a dangerous drug. Kivi was also suspended from school for three days. He could face expulsion and sent to juvenile detention on juvenile drug charges." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mindlessness in government controlled (public) school. - TA 'There's a Lot You Can Get Away With' - OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today "---An elegant-looking teacher in her 40s wandered up and joined the conversation. The truth, she said conspiratorially, is that when you close your classroom door, you're in charge and there's a lot you can get away with. The others nodded in agreement. "Suddenly, the teacher registered with alarm that a reporter's tape recorder was running. She declared that her comments were off the record and abruptly walked away from the group. Reconsidering their candor, one by one other teachers in the circle requested that their comments, too, be considered off the record. Peace may have a chance in America's schools. But at least for now, the revolution will not be broadcast. "McCarthy's practice of letting students grade themselves may be eccentric, but it's benign by comparison with his acolytes' determination to indoctrinate kids and escape accountability." Shedding some light on the blackout -- Is deregulation the culprit? - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Acton Institute Author: Jordan Ballor ''Last summer's massive blackout on the East Coast raised a hue and cry for more regulation of the power industry. But is that the answer? (10/08/03)" The sorry state of American journalism - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Prudent Politics Author: Dennis Campbell ''[W]hat passes for journalism far too often is little more than propagandizing. Doubtless there are ethical journalists who diligently follow the tenants of a profession once possessing a greater degree of honor, but far too many do otherwise. (10/7/03)" Gun bans don't work - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Washington Times Author: staff ''There always has been substance to the cliche that guns don't kill people, people do. Correlative to that rule is that the criminals who use guns to kill usually possess their weapons illegally. These serial lawbreakers are not deterred by statutes prohibiting or regulating gun ownership. They will continue to use guns to commit violent crimes... (10/8/03)" When the people fear the 'government,' that is tyranny - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Armed Females of America Author: Mike Straw ''Why are your mere employees, the elected politicians, entitled to expensive offensively-armed personal bodyguards, equipped with the high-capacity fully-automatic assault weapons they've unconstitutionally denied you, and you, their boss, their employer, their master, aren't? ... The era of terror has spawned a new 'status symbol' in the nation's capital ... (10/9/03)" New rules for Finland's socialized medicine expected to lengthen surgery waits - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Helsingin Sanomat ''Waiting lists in Finland's public health system for surgical procedures could grow longer next year in spite of the extra EUR 50 million earmarked for easing the backlog. The funding was provided in anticipation of new 'treatment guarantee' rules that come into effect in 2005.' But cash-strapped local agencies plan to reduce health spending. (10/9/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Let's hear it for socialized medicine. - TA Airport screening candidates were given test answers - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Seattle Post Intelligencer ''The written tests given potential baggage screeners at airports never asked applicants to show they could identify dangerous objects inside luggage. In addition, screeners hired by the government to check baggage for bombs were given most of the answers to the tests, according to an internal investigation by the Homeland Security Department. (10/9/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` Another government boondoggle. - TA Seattle city council told: Cuts for thee, but not for me - Freedom News & Commentary from Free-Market.Net Source: Seattle Post Intelligencer "The city [Seattle] needs to cut about $24 million out of an already lean budget for next year. Citizens representing libraries, health clinics, immigrant services, parks, crossing guards and neighborhoods urged the council to spare their programs from cuts. (10/9/03)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Groups don't want to be responsible for anything - let government do it. - TA Overlawyered: "Investors gain little from shareholder suits" "Highly critical analysis of the shareholder-suit biz in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: 'Usually, what shareholders get back is some minuscule fraction of their loss, some symbolic payment,' said Stuart Greenbaum, dean of Washington University's Olin School of Business. 'They're of great benefit to the legal profession, but I don't know that they do a great deal to right corporate wrongs.' (Allyce Bess, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oct. 4) (via 10b-5 Daily)." Posted by Walter Olson at October 8, 2003 09:57 AM | TrackBack " Overlawyered: Class actions and the cost of cars "Steve Blow of the Dallas Morning News, like Alex Tabarrok before him (see Sept. 19), is far from pleased with the results of the class action to compensate recipients of free Firestone replacement tires for the inconvenience of a recall; he follows up with a second column which gives details of another class action, this time against Nissan over a printed error on car leases ('Firestone, lawsuits and cost of inflation', Oct. 4; 'Isn't it time to raise the bar for lawyers?', Oct. 7). And across town at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, J.R. Labbe discusses the recent case (see Oct. 4) in which Philip Morris agreed to pay $2 million to a mother who by her own account left a child and a lit cigarette unattended in a car contrary to Texas law. 'The public may never know why the company chose to settle this case, but you can be sure it will open the door for additional claimants looking to blame someone for their own irresponsible actions.' ('Somebody has to pay', Oct. 5)." Posted by Walter Olson at October 8, 2003 10:35 PM | TrackBack " CyberAlert: Exposing Media Bias Daily - Media Research Center Home Page Thursday, October 9: • Nets Raise “Voodoo Economics,” Push Arnold to Rescind Tax Pledge • Network Analysts Paint Recall Vote as Bad Omen for Bush • Jennings Emphasizes How Arnold Got Fewer Votes Than Recall • ABC’s Douglass Dismisses Recall as a “Statewide Temper Tantrum” • GMA Gives Huffington Second Day to Blast Bush and Schwarzenegger • “Top Ten...If I, Gary Coleman, Had Been Elected Governor” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Site provides links to individual articles. - TA James Burgh (1714-1775) English Philosopher “No kingdom can be secured otherwise than by arming the people. The possession of arms is the distinction between a freeman and a slave. He, who has nothing, and who himself belongs to another, must be defended by him, whose property he is, and needs no arms. But he, who thinks he is his own master, and has what he can call his own, ought to have arms to defend himself, and what he possesses; else he lives precariously, and at discretion. And though for a while, those, who have the sword in their power, abstain from doing him injury, yet by degrees he will be awed.” |
