BBC News - Obama authorises covert aid to Libyan rebels - reports

BBC News - Obama authorises covert aid to Libyan rebels - reports: "US President Barack Obama has secretly authorised covert assistance to rebels seeking to overthrow Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, US media reports say"

Why are there keyloggers on Samsung laptops? | InSecurity Complex - CNET News

Why are there keyloggers on Samsung laptops? | InSecurity Complex - CNET News: "Samsung put the [keylogger] software on the laptop to monitor machine performance 'and to find out how it is being used.'
'In other words, Samsung wanted to gather usage data without obtaining consent from laptop owners,' Hassan wrote."

Samsung cleared of false key logger allegations: It turns out that a misfiring antivirus program called VIPRE, made by the GFI Software company, falsely identified a Microsoft Windows directory as malicious software

Balancing the Federal Budget: What Would Jesus Cut? | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

Balancing the Federal Budget: What Would Jesus Cut? | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Those on the religious left tend to miss the distinction between moral and political imperatives. Many of them are admirable individuals who live their principles, but that doesn't mean they are entitled to force others to live by those same principles. Which is typically what government is about.

For instance, there's no doubt that Christians (and Jews, who set practices upon which the early Christians relied) must be concerned about the poor. But no one should mistake taxation as compassion. In this regard the religious left shares much with President George W. Bush, who believed that giving away other people's money made him a 'compassionate conservative.'"

"Unfortunately, many government programs don't work. Food Stamps, foreign aid and Head Start are not exempt from problems. Any system based on spending someone else's money suffers from limited accountability. Indeed, government agencies often profit — i.e., received increased budgets — if they fail to solve problems."

"many anti-poverty programs are really welfare for the better off. For instance, federal housing programs are notorious for aiding developers. So-called 'Food for Peace' was created to dump domestic agriculture surpluses overseas, inadvertently routinely ruining poor farmers in other lands."

Lessons from the States | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Lessons from the States | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "If Congress adopted the 'no fundraisers while Congress is in session' rule, it would have two desirable results: The first is that our federal elections would probably not be as expensive, and the other, more important, result is that Congress would in all likelihood spend far less time in session, which would benefit our pocketbooks and our liberties."

OMG! There's Discrimination in the Modeling Industry! - Ben O'Neill - Mises Daily

OMG! There's Discrimination in the Modeling Industry! - Ben O'Neill - Mises Daily: "there is no difference in principle between the characteristics which are presently protected (race, gender, nationality) and those that are not (height, weight, intelligence, beauty). And further, the characteristics we have so far considered are only the tip of the iceberg of those upon which people discriminate.
In addition, to mention only a few more, there is hair color, the side of the head upon which people part their hair, fastidiousness, neatness, strength of handshake, biliousness, loudness, shyness, considerateness, reliability, left or right handedness — the list goes on and on."

"Without discrimination on the basis of the superficial traits that make a model a model, she would be just another face among three billion women. She would not be capable of earning a living with her looks if not for the fact that people often judge others on the basis of superficial physical traits and like to look at physically attractive people. This discrimination is her bread and butter; she benefits directly from these superficial judgments, since her appearance puts her in a superior position compared to most other women. Though she complains of race discrimination in the present case, it is only because of similar kinds of discrimination, equally capricious, that she is special — that she can be a model, and other women cannot."

Pro-gun rights activists outbid cops for 'buy back' guns

Pro-gun rights activists outbid cops for 'buy back' guns: "While the Austin, Texas, police were offering grocery cards in exchange for unwanted firearms over the weekend, local activists showed up to outbid the men in uniform, insisting liberty would be better served if the guns were in the hands of law-abiding citizens instead.

At the 'no-questions-asked' event held at Oak Meadow Baptist Church in South Austin, the Austin Police Department offered, for example, a $100 Visa grocery card for an unwanted handgun. The activists offered $110 in cash."

Winning Whose Future? | Edward H. Crane | Cato Institute: Commentary

Winning Whose Future? | Edward H. Crane | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The question is, whose future? In a society based on individual liberty, each of us should decide what our goals are and what constitutes a life well lived."

"We don't need politicians winning the future for us — whatever that may mean. As Americans become ever more dependent on a bankrupt, intrusive and inept government, what we need is to liberate the future."

Should Governments Subsidize Health Insurance? | Jeffrey A. Miron | Cato Institute: Commentary

Should Governments Subsidize Health Insurance? | Jeffrey A. Miron | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The natural way to balance these concerns is to subsidize health insurance for the poor, but for no one else. Roughly, this mean eliminating Medicare, Obamacare, and the tax-subsidy for employer-provided insurance, but retaining a (scaled down) version of Medicaid.

This approach insures everyone against the worst case scenario in which poor health makes it impossible to earn income. This approach also means that even among the non-poor, some people will pay higher health insurance premiums than others."

Creating Palestine on the Slit Throat of a Baby? | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary

Creating Palestine on the Slit Throat of a Baby? | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: "'Gaza residents from the southern city of Rafah hit the streets Saturday to celebrate the terror attack in ... Itamar. ... residents handed out candy and sweets, one resident saying the joy 'is a natural response to the harm settlers inflict on the Palestinian residents in the West Bank.''

I join the curt response to the Gaza delight in the blood-soaked bedrooms in Itamar that Bret Stephens wrote in the March 15 Wall Street Journal:

'Just what kind of society thinks it's 'natural' to slit the throats of children in their beds?'"

Campaign For Liberty — Middle Class

Campaign For Liberty — Middle Class: "If tough labor laws, pro-union government, and wealth redistribution were the pathway to prosperity, then it would be Mexico building that wall on our southern border, not us. Skills, not union propaganda, are the pathway to the middle class"

Clarence Darrow on Freedom, Justice, and War - Jeff Riggenbach - Mises Daily

Clarence Darrow on Freedom, Justice, and War - Jeff Riggenbach - Mises Daily: "the emphasis in punishment must be not on paying one's debt to 'society,' whatever that may mean, but in paying one's 'debt' to the victim. Certainly, the initial part of that debt is restitution. This works clearly in cases of theft. If A has stolen $15,000 from B, then the first, or initial, part of A's punishment must be to restore that $15,000 to the hands of B (plus damages, judicial and police costs, and interest foregone). Suppose that, as in most cases, the thief has already spent the money. In that case, the first step of proper libertarian punishment is to force the thief to work, and to allocate the ensuing income to the victim until the victim has been repaid. The ideal situation, then, puts the criminal frankly into a state of enslavement to his victim, the criminal continuing in that condition of just slavery until he has redressed the grievance of the man he has wronged.

We must note that the emphasis of restitution-punishment is diametrically opposite to the current practice of punishment. What happens nowadays is the following absurdity: A steals $15,000 from B. The government tracks down, tries, and convicts A, all at the expense of B, as one of the numerous taxpayers victimized in this process. Then, the government, instead of forcing A to repay B or to work at forced labor until that debt is paid, forces B, the victim, to pay taxes to support the criminal in prison for ten or twenty years' time. Where in the world is the justice here? The victim not only loses his money, but pays more money besides for the dubious thrill of catching, convicting, and then supporting the criminal; and the criminal is still enslaved, but not to the good purpose of recompensing his victim."

Should We Use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve? | Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren | Cato Institute: Commentary

Should We Use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve? | Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Thus the entire narrative about the embargo and the need to protect ourselves against foreign policy blackmail was never true. Nor is it true today. The development of an oil futures market, which did not exist in 1973, allows consumers and firms to insure against the financial consequences of oil shocks through contracting."

Over to You, H. Parker Willis - James Grant - Mises Daily

Over to You, H. Parker Willis - James Grant - Mises Daily: "Though the Fed's monetary and credit bridges collapsed two years ago, few have demanded a fundamental accounting of the ideas that undergird Chairman Bernanke's $2.2 trillion balance sheet and inform his interest-rate policy."

Ignorance Makes Us Poorer | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Ignorance Makes Us Poorer | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Should we have protective tariffs on pencils? As simple as a pencil is, it contains materials from all over the world (special woods, paint, graphite, metal for the band and rubber for the eraser) and requires specialized machinery. How much would it cost you to make your own pencils or even grow your own food? Trade means lower costs and better products, and the more of it the better.

Adam Smith explained that trade, by increasing the size of the market for any good or service, allows the efficiencies of mass production, thus lowering the cost and the ultimate price to consumers. The economist David Ricardo in 1817, building on Smith's work, popularized the understanding of the concept of 'comparative advantage,' which shows that trade is beneficial, even when one person or country can produce everything less expensively."

"It is easy to see the loss of 200 jobs in a U.S. textile mill that produces men's T-shirts, but it is not as obvious to see the benefit from the fact that everyone can buy T-shirts for $2 less when they come from China, even though the cotton in the shirts was most likely grown in the United States."

"A loss of 200 jobs in one industry can easily translate to the imperceptible gain of 2,000 jobs in 100 other domestic industries as a result of the cost reductions from free trade."

"It is possible to grow high-cost and inferior coffee in South Florida and not buy it from Colombia. A free-trade agreement with Colombia means that nation will buy more U.S.-built Caterpillar tractors and wheat grown in the American Midwest and U.S. consumers will buy more Colombian coffee, fruit and textiles. The consumers in both countries will benefit from lower prices and better products, and more workers will be employed in each country, doing the things that they can each do best."

"If free trade really causes most jobs to move to low-wage countries, why do countries such as Mexico and Bangladesh have huge unemployment rates and very high-wage places such as Virginia and Switzerland have almost full employment?"

By What Authority Has Obama Gone to War with Libya? | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

By What Authority Has Obama Gone to War with Libya? | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "On the campaign trail in late 2007, [Obama] told reporter Charlie Savage that the president lacks the constitutional power 'to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.'

Then-candidate Hillary Clinton said much the same: 'The Constitution requires Congress to authorize war.'

It is 'a great principle in free government,' James Madison wrote in 1793, 'that those who are to conduct a war cannot in the nature of things, be proper or safe judges, [of] whether a war ought to be commenced.' The Constitution leaves that question to Congress."

Economic Efficiency | Peter Van Doren | Cato Institute: Commentary

Economic Efficiency | Peter Van Doren | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Recent estimates by economists suggest that electricity prices would have to increase by 1.4 cents per kilowatt hour from their current 9.1 cents per kilowatt hour to account for environmental damages. That's not enough to make it economically worthwhile to buy many of the energy-efficient appliances and lights bulbs adored by the would-be regulators."

Deal with the Dragon | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary

Deal with the Dragon | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Politicians who call for higher tariffs on imports from China are aiming straight for the pocketbooks of the poor and middle class."

"While trillion-dollar deficits are terrible, they are not China's fault, but that of our profligate politicians in Washington."

"Of the $179 it costs to actually make an iPhone, the study found that only $6.50 is spent on the labor to assemble it in China. Yet the full price of the iPhone hardware is counted in our bilateral trade deficit with China."

Come back with those petition signatures! | River Falls Journal | River Falls, Wisconsin

Come back with those petition signatures! | River Falls Journal | River Falls, Wisconsin: "River Falls police were asked to track down and find a suspect who had made off with a batch of Sen. Sheila Harsdorf recall petition signatures late Sunday afternoon. The alleged theft occurred on the sidewalk near EconoFoods. The male suspect pretended he wanted to sign the petition to recall Harsdorf but instead swiped the forms with signatures and drove off."

I don't think Harsdorf should be be recalled but I certainly don't agree with what this man did!

U.S. troops getting wearable gunshot detectors | Crave - CNET

U.S. troops getting wearable gunshot detectors | Crave - CNET: "Weighing less than 2 pounds, the IGD picks up supersonic waves produced by the blast and whiz of rounds and indicates where they're coming from in a fraction of a second.
An earpiece that was developed for the system provides audio warnings such as 'Shot, 400 meters, 3 o'clock.' It tracks the shooter and continues to provide audio updates."

Mexican Criminals, American Guns | David Rittgers | Cato Institute: Commentary

Mexican Criminals, American Guns | David Rittgers | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The plan, Operation Fast and Furious, was intended to help investigators follow low-level gunrunners to cartel leadership. That may justify letting a few illegal sales slip by, but agents say the number soon climbed into the hundreds and thousands."

Why Is Unemployment So High? - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily

Why Is Unemployment So High? - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Daily: "The government made low-skilled workers artificially more expensive. In July 2009, the federal minimum wage (due to legislation from 2007) rose from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour. Thus, anyone with productivity worth more than $6.55 but less than $7.25 per hour to an employer was turned into a money-losing proposition when he otherwise would have been profitable to hire."

Campaign For Liberty — Union Busting

Campaign For Liberty — Union Busting: "Compulsory collective bargaining - key word compulsory - is incompatible with the principle of liberty. End of argument. If union enthusiasts would simply make membership voluntary, I would be out there stomping around with them. But the 'right' they insist upon is the right to deny the rights of others by force"

"They will yell themselves hoarse over a 5% minority religion's potential offense over a mural with the Ten Commandments; but they find it perfectly acceptable to force the 49% of a workforce that voted against union membership to join it anyway and for employers to withhold the dues that will be used against their interests."

Obamacare Marches On | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obamacare Marches On | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "It raises the question, then, of just how committed the Republican leadership really is to killing Obamacare.

It is worth remembering that House Republicans did not include the cutoff in health-care funding as part of their original CR proposal. It was added as an amendment after a mini-rebellion by House conservatives. And the leadership was quick to jettison it at the first sign of Democratic objection."

"Given a choice between 'free' federal money and standing up against big government, the money wins every time."

BofA Comes To Trash Out House After It's Sold - The Consumerist

BofA Comes To Trash Out House After It's Sold - The Consumerist: "When she asked if people buying short sales and foreclosures should hire security guards to protect their properties, the bank representative agreed that that would be a good idea."

Ron Paul: No-Fly Won't Fly Constitutionally | Ron Paul 2012 | Sound Money, Peace and Liberty

Ron Paul: No-Fly Won't Fly Constitutionally | Ron Paul 2012 | Sound Money, Peace and Liberty: "for the US to establish a “no fly” zone over all or part of Libya would constitute an act of war against Libya. Establishing any kind of military presence in the sovereign territory of Libya will require committing troops to engage in combat against the Libyan air force, as well as anti-aircraft systems."

"Frankly, it is not up to the President whether or not we intervene in Libya, or set up “no-fly” zones, or send troops. At least, it is not if we follow the Constitution. Even by the loose standards of the War Powers Resolution, which cedes far too much power to the president, he would have no authority to engage in hostilities because we have not been attacked – not by Gaddafi, and not by the rebels. This is not our fight. If the administration wants to make it our fight, let them make their case before Congress and put it to a vote."

Looting in Japan: Why so little looting in Japan? The explanation is legal as much as cultural. - By Christopher Beam - Slate Magazine

Looting in Japan: Why so little looting in Japan? The explanation is legal as much as cultural. - By Christopher Beam - Slate Magazine: "For example, if you find an umbrella and turn it in to the cops, you get a finder's fee of 5 to 20 percent of its value if the owner picks it up. If they don't pick it up within six months, the finder gets to keep the umbrella. Japanese learn about this system from a young age, and a child's first trip to the nearest police station after finding a small coin, say, is a rite of passage that both children and police officers take seriously. At the same time, police enforce small crimes like petty theft, which contributes to an overall sense of security and order, along the lines of the 'broken windows' policy implemented in New York City in the 1990s. Failure to return a found wallet can result in hours of interrogation at best, and up to 10 years in prison at worst."

"[Organized crime makes] their money off extortion, prostitution, and drug trafficking. But they consider theft grounds for expulsion."

Striking the right bargain in Wisconsin | Scott Walker for Wisconsin Governor

Striking the right bargain in Wisconsin | Scott Walker for Wisconsin Governor: "most employees of the federal government do not have collective bargaining for wages and benefits. That means the budget reform plan we signed into law in Wisconsin on Friday is more generous than what President Obama offers federal employees."

"as the national union bosses were saying [that their workers were ready to pay a little bit more for their benefits], their locals were doing something entirely different. Over the past several weeks, local unions across Wisconsin have pursued contracts without new pension or health insurance contributions. Some have even pushed through pay increases."

Meltdown 101: A brief glossary of nuclear terms - Radiation sickness - CSMonitor.com

Meltdown 101: A brief glossary of nuclear terms - Radiation sickness - CSMonitor.com: "Radiation, measured in millisieverts (mSv), can cause radiation sickness in high enough concentrations. A single dose of 1,000 mSv has been known to cause nausea and fatigue among other symptoms; experts say that a single dose of 5,000 mSv would likely kill about half of those receiving it; and that a single dose of 10,000 mSv has, in many cases, been shown to be fatal within a few weeks.

By comparison, most people receive about 2 mSv over the course of a year by way of normal background radiation.

On Tuesday, March 15, Japanese officials ordered people to seal themselves indoors due to radiation measurements of more than 400 mSv per hour, though that measurement soon dropped to 11 mSv per hour."

Kapanke target of threats, vandalism

Kapanke target of threats, vandalism: "A vocal opponent of Walker's bill and of Republican legislative tactics, Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) denounced the threats and vandalism in a written statement Thursday."

That's a start but I would expect more denoucements of vandalism and threats.

Police: $4M stash in bottled water cache in truck - FoxNews.com

Police: $4M stash in bottled water cache in truck - FoxNews.com: "Tennessee Highway Patrol officers say they have seized more than $4 million in cash in duct-taped bundles hidden in cases of bottled water in a tractor-trailer, prompting the arrests of two California men."

I looks suspicious but why is it illegal?

When Was Barack Obama Coronated? | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary

When Was Barack Obama Coronated? | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: "According to the FBP, the CMUs are designed to hold terrorists and other high-risk inmates; but the Center for Constitutional Rights demonstrates to me that also in the CMUs are 'environmental activists ... prisoners who have been active in organizing prisoners' rights (where they were previously incarcerated) or those with 'unpopular political views.''"

'They are not told in any meaningful way why they have been designated to the CMU, nor do they have a chance to challenge that designation. Additionally, there is no meaningful review process that would allow them to earn their way out.'

'CMU prisoners are therefore indefinitely subjected to harsh deprivations — such as a permanent blanket ban on contact visitation with family and loved ones (far more severe than at the Supermaxes) — without procedural protections guaranteed by the Constitution.' President Obama agrees."

The Injustice of Social Justice - Ben O'Neill - Mises Daily

The Injustice of Social Justice - Ben O'Neill - Mises Daily: "In fact, since the program of social justice inevitably involves claims for government provision of goods, paid for through the efforts of others, the term actually refers to an intention to use force to acquire one's desires. Not to earn desirable goods by rational thought and action, production and voluntary exchange, but to go in there and forcibly take goods from those who can supply them!"

THUGS DESTROY RECALL PETITIONS | Newsradio 620 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin News, Talk, Sports, Weather | Charlie Sykes

THUGS DESTROY RECALL PETITIONS | Newsradio 620 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin News, Talk, Sports, Weather | Charlie Sykes: "Upon arrival, members of the recall committee were encircled by union protesters carrying signs and a leader with a mega phone who began chanting and ranting loudly. They packed in tightly around the petition collection table so as to prevent those attempting to sign from doing so. At one point, a pro union protester, pretending to be interested in signing the petition, wrote profanity across a partially collected petition form, than began ripping up the completed petitions that were in close proximity."

If those people don't represent the majority of union members, I would expect many union members to denounce those actions and come to defend the rights of recall people. If the roles were switched, I would expect the same thing.

Taxpayers Have Rights, Too | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary

Taxpayers Have Rights, Too | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary: "What's crucial to examine, though, is the much-neglected opposite side of all this rights talk: the right of individuals not to deal with unions and collective bargaining.

For one thing, there's the forcing of people as a condition of public employment to pay union dues. The law will end this egregious violation of individual freedom — the right to associate or not associate with others — but not having to plow money into their coffers is one right the unions absolutely will not tolerate.

Then there is the broader right: that of any taxpayer not to employ workers under terms he finds unacceptable. In other words, just as potential employees have the right to propose conditions for their employment, those who hire them have the right to make their own proposals and reject those they find unsatisfactory."

Get Rid of the Spoils System | Trevor Burrus | Cato Institute: Commentary

Get Rid of the Spoils System | Trevor Burrus | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Amid the endless complaining over corporate control of politics, we've been distracted from the real behind-the-scenes power in this country: unions. The data are irrefutable. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, since 1989, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have spent as much on federal campaigns as Chevron, Exxon-Mobil, the NRA and Lockheed Martin combined.

While both parties excel at pandering to their constituencies, unions clearly have a single-party focus. The most partisan campaign contributors in this country are unions, which, according to opensecrets.org, are five of the top 10 contributors in the country and nine of the top 15. Not a single one of those nine gives less than 89 percent of its contributions to Democrats. Coming in at No. 3 on the list of largest contributors is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the biggest public-sector behemoth of them all, which could cough up only 1 percent of its $43.5 million in contributions to Republicans."

How the War on Obesity Went Pear-Shaped | Patrick Basham and John Luik | Cato Institute: Commentary

How the War on Obesity Went Pear-Shaped | Patrick Basham and John Luik | Cato Institute: Commentary: "the study found that, 'Whether assessed singly or in combination, body-mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio do not improve prediction of first-onset cardiovascular disease when additional information exists on blood pressure, history of diabetes, and cholesterol measures.'

As Danesh suggests, other researchers have suggested concentrating on a measurement of the waist alone, while many cling to BMI, which calculates obesity based upon a weight-to-height ratio. Because of its easy applicability, BMI is universally used in officially defining obesity, despite its manifest shortcomings. The BMI is wholly arbitrary and has no scientifically valid connection with mortality."

"Many studies for different disease outcomes have demonstrated that the effect of both diet and physical activity are independent of the effect of BMI or various measures of body size or fat."

"Katherine Flegal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in the US population there were more premature deaths among those who are normal weight than those who are overweight. Indeed, in this study, Americans who were overweight were those most likely to live the longest."

Averting the Washington Monument Ploy | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Averting the Washington Monument Ploy | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Congress could require every government agency to rank its programs from the most to the least cost-effective, and present a detailed plan as to how each agency would deal with a required 10, 20 or even 40 percent budget reduction, just as businesses often have to do."

"To bring the federal budget into balance this year would require spending cuts of approximately 40 percent. No one has proposed cuts of that magnitude at the moment — Republicans are proposing cuts of about 1.8 percent of this year's budget and Democrats are only proposing cuts of 0.28 percent. If Congress and the administration fail to agree on a budget or debt-limit increase, government tax revenues would only cover about 40 percent of spending, so a ranking of spending priorities would be necessary."

"I often speak before groups of government executives, and when I ask them, 'If you were forced to substantially reduce your budgets without impairing the effectiveness of your operation and mission, could you do so — if you were freed from unnecessary paperwork and other absurd requirements?' The answer is almost always 'yes,' including those in the military."

"Rather than taking all of the heat, the members of Congress should do what boards of directors in companies and other organizations do and that is to require management to come up with specific — and very substantial — budget cuts that would not impair the core functions of the organization. Specifically, they should require each government department to state specifically how it would reduce its budget (by some specified amount) in the most cost-effective way, and be prepared to defend it before the appropriate congressional committees. In addition, the government departments should be required to rank the importance of their activities on the Internet and state how they would reduce the budget (if required to)so members of the media and the public could comment on their rankings."

What Can We Do about Gasoline Prices? - Mark Brandly - Mises Daily

What Can We Do about Gasoline Prices? - Mark Brandly - Mises Daily: "Our political leaders criticize other countries, particularly the OPEC countries, for restricting their oil production in order to drive up oil prices. But many US government policies restrict US oil production. Beyond the hypocrisy in this issue, it's important to point out that US policies seem to be geared to helping OPEC maintain high oil prices."

Some Perspective On The Japan Earthquake: MicroISV on a Shoestring

Some Perspective On The Japan Earthquake: MicroISV on a Shoestring: "If you’re feeling compassionate and want to do something for the sake of doing something, find a charity in your neighborhood. Give it money. Tell them you were motivated to by Japan’s current predicament. You’ll be happy, Japan will recover quickly, and your local charity will appreciate your kindness."

Taking Liberties: Taxing Church Attendance? - FoxNews.com

Taking Liberties: Taxing Church Attendance? - FoxNews.com: "“This is not a tax,” She said in a telephone interview. “This is a fee.”"

LOL!?!

Immigration Doesn't Hurt Native-Born Workers | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary

Immigration Doesn't Hurt Native-Born Workers | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary: "immigration helps to soften swings in the unemployment rate by acting as a kind of safety valve for the U.S. labor market. When jobs are plentiful and labor markets tight, immigrants tend to come in greater numbers. When jobs are scarce and unemployment high, immigrants arrive in fewer numbers and more choose to return to their native countries"

"immigration from 1990 to 2004 had reduced the wages of Americans without a high school diploma by 1 to 2 percent, while boosting the wages of the more than 90 percent of American adults with a high-school education by 0.7 percent in the short run and 1.8 percent in the long run."

Zandinomics | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Zandinomics | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In fact, the logic of Zandi's model holds that government spending is such a good deal that it doesn't matter if we needed the bridge in the first place; we should keep building it, tearing it down, and building it again, to multiply the money we are spending. From Zandi's point of view, former Alaska senator Ted Stevens's infamous 'bridge to nowhere' wasn't pork — it was a brilliant investment, and we should have built ten of them, or a hundred."

Obamacare Can't Be Fixed | Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obamacare Can't Be Fixed | Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute: Commentary: "to turn the United States into a European-style social democracy, the Left 'need only play good defense. The federal spending commitments now in place will bring about the leviathan state they have always sought."

"opponents may never have more power to chart Obamacare's course than they do right now. In particular, the decisions that federal and state officials make today could determine whether the 2012 elections produce a Congress and president who are willing to repeal the law."

"Obamacare opponents in most state capitols are laying the bureaucratic foundations for the law's new entitlement spending and lending it legitimacy by accepting its debt financed federal grants"

"In sum, states can impose harsher regulations than Obamacare requires and can choose who sits on their exchange's board. That's it."

Leave Electoral College Intact | John Samples | Cato Institute: Commentary

Leave Electoral College Intact | John Samples | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In actual operation, the most influential states in selecting the president are likely to have large populations. State legislatures in large states have reasons to support the Electoral College."

The Myth of Free-Market Healthcare - Kel Kelly - Mises Daily

The Myth of Free-Market Healthcare - Kel Kelly - Mises Daily: "the American Medical Association (AMA) has had a government-granted monopoly on the healthcare system for over 100 years. It has intentionally restricted the number of doctors allowed to practice medicine so as to raise physician incomes artificially. The primary way it does this is by using the coercive power of the state to restrict the number of approved medical schools in operation."

"Since that time, the US population has increased by 284 percent, while the number of medical schools has declined by 26 percent"

"Just as a Saturn Astra or a used Ford Escort delivers a valuable service to many, so would a B or even a C doctor, particularly for non-life-threatening issues. There are many of us who would pay, say, $30 to visit a C-grade doctor for a cold, versus $100 to visit an A-grade doctor."

"When medical care is free, people consume more of it. The costs would continually rise, as they currently do in the United States. Because national governments have limited budgets, governments with socialized medicine impose cost controls and limit spending to a particular amount. But because nothing limits individuals from going to the doctor, waiting lines grow longer and longer."

"if licensing is so important in order to guarantee competent and qualified service providers, shouldn't we, in the same vein, require all politicians to go through years of training in the areas of philosophy, history, economics (including free-market economics), industrial production, accounting, and management before they are permitted to pass laws that affect the economy and our lives? Shouldn't they be licensed?"

Incorrigible Keynesians | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Incorrigible Keynesians | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "IImagine that you have a serious drinking problem, which has caused your job performance to decline. If your doctor said to you, "Don't stop drinking now, because going sober may cause you discomfort and may not immediately improve your job performance" — while failing to tell you that if you keep drinking, you will become totally dysfunctional and may die — what would you think of your doctor?

The U.S. government has a serious overspending problem. If the spending and the resulting deficits are not soon stopped, the U.S. economy will become dysfunctional, and our prosperity and freedoms will disappear. Despite the overwhelming evidence that the government is headed for a debt crisis, there are still a few economists who are saying: 'Spend more.'"

Collective Bargaining Has a Fiscal Impact Part 4 | Scott Walker for Wisconsin Governor

Collective Bargaining Has a Fiscal Impact Part 4 | Scott Walker for Wisconsin Governor: "teaches can retire and receive a year’s worth of salary for working only 30 days over a three year period"

"retired Madison public school teachers receive annual payments of at least $9,884.18 per year for enrolling in the Emeritus Program, which requires ZERO days of work."

Collective Bargaining is a Fiscal Issue Part 3 | Scott Walker for Wisconsin Governor

Collective Bargaining is a Fiscal Issue Part 3 | Scott Walker for Wisconsin Governor: "Today Governor Walker’s office released more specific examples to show how collective bargaining fiscally impacts government and how reforming collective bargaining can improve government."

Democracy Requires Participation | Scott Walker for Wisconsin Governor

Democracy Requires Participation | Scott Walker for Wisconsin Governor: "The reason Senate Democrats claimed they left the state was because citizens needed more time to debate the issue. This is ironic because 12 of the 14 missing Senate Democrats passed Governor Doyle’s budget repair bill, which raised taxes by a billion dollars, within 24 hours of introduction and without a public hearing in February 2009. Senate Republicans vehemently disagreed with the bill and the process Democrats used to ram it through; however they stayed in Wisconsin, debated the legislation and made the choice to participate in democracy by casting their vote in opposition.

The Legislation has been public for two weeks and the Joint Finance Committee listened to more than 17 hours of public testimony on the budget repair bill. Yet Senate Democrats still remain out of state endlessly holding media interviews. "

BIDS v. NICS

BIDS v. NICS: "BIDS distributes the list of hardcore prohibited possessors
to federally licensed firearm dealers. Dealers check their customers
against the computerized list to lockout illegal sales.
This maintains the privacy of innocent citizens and
eliminates the potential for illegal government registries.
It's simple. It's cheap. It works. Do it."

Ten Reasons Not to Abolish Slavery - Robert Higgs - Mises Daily

Ten Reasons Not to Abolish Slavery - Robert Higgs - Mises Daily: "At one time, countless people found one or more of the foregoing reasons adequate grounds on which to oppose the abolition of slavery.

Yet in retrospect, these reasons seem shabby — more rationalizations than reasons.

Today these reasons or very similar ones are used by opponents of a different form of abolitionism: the proposal that government as we know it — monopolistic, individually nonconsensual rule by an armed group that demands obedience and payment of taxes — be abolished.

I leave it as an exercise for the reader to decide whether the foregoing reasons are more compelling in this regard than they were in regard to the proposed abolition of slavery."

Andrew Coyne, Market Socialist � LewRockwell.com Blog

Andrew Coyne, Market Socialist � LewRockwell.com Blog: "in most cases of toll roads, bridges, etc., the government engages in anti peak load pricing: charging less at times of road congestion, and more at other times. The highway authorities commonly do this when they issue monthly passes at cheaper daily prices for regular commuters who utilize highway capacity during the hours of the day with the most traffic."

Rands In Repose: Three Superpowers

Rands In Repose: Three Superpowers: "When you employ the Mandate, you leverage a large part of your credibility. You’re effectively saying, “Shut up and go,” and if where they end up isn’t where anyone expects, you’re less of a leader than when you started. This is an important fact that actual Dictators have forgotten. They believe that pure charisma — absolute, unwavering confidence — is all you need to fuel a Mandate, and while there are those who are just happy someone made a decision, there is an equal number of folks ready to kill you."

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Walker Wants to Save 12,000 Jobs; Unions Don't Want Them; Obama Group "Organizing for America" Bussed in Protesters; Walker too Generous to Unions

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Walker Wants to Save 12,000 Jobs; Unions Don't Want Them; Obama Group "Organizing for America" Bussed in Protesters; Walker too Generous to Unions: "If this was really 'about the kids' rather than about the greed and arrogance of the public unions, teachers would be in the classroom teaching instead of fraudulently calling in sick, with help of doctors aiding and abetting that fraud."

"The ideal approach is to end collective bargaining altogether. Public union workers who do not like their offers would have the same choice as everyone else: accept the job or leave.

Those who think they can make more in the private sector are free to do so. Yes, it really is as simple as that."

Real-World Cases Prove: Spending Restraint Works | Daniel J. Mitchell | Cato Institute: Commentary

Real-World Cases Prove: Spending Restraint Works | Daniel J. Mitchell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Two percent annual spending increases would lead to fiscal balance by 2021. Limiting spending growth to 1% annually would balance the budget by 2019. A spending freeze would balance the budget by 2017."

Connecticut Town Ordered to Pay for Union Workers’ Coffee - FoxNews.com

Connecticut Town Ordered to Pay for Union Workers’ Coffee - FoxNews.com: "A Connecticut town must provide their union workers free coffee and milk, according to a ruling from the State Board of Labor Relations.�

The board also ordered town leaders to reinstate “Dress Down Fridays” for the union clerical and custodial workers.�"

The Smaller Fish Tries to Eat the Bigger Fish — Mises Economics Blog

The Smaller Fish Tries to Eat the Bigger Fish — Mises Economics Blog: "The very existence of UPS and Fed-Ex is something of a miracle, companies that were built up based on a loophole in the letter statutes that give the government itself a near-total monopoly on mail, or at least that was the idea. Private shipping companies found the workaround and ended up driving all the innovation in this industry that has taken place for decades. The Post Office is reduced to a pathetic game of catch up amidst constant threats of insolvency.

And yet we are asking the same government to adjudicate an antitrust suit in the private sector? If we are looking for monopolistic behavior, it is not hard to find. Look no further than the USPS. The doctor should heal thyself."

Union ‘rights’ that aren’t - The Boston Globe

Union ‘rights’ that aren’t - The Boston Globe: "There is no “fundamental right’’ to collective bargaining in government jobs. Indeed, labor leaders themselves used to say so.

Arnold Zander, the Wisconsin union organizer who became the first president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, wrote in 1940 that AFSCME saw “less value in the use of contracts and agreements in public service than . . . in private employment.’’ Instead of collective bargaining, he explained,, “our local unions find promotion and adoption of civil service legislation . . . the more effective way’’ to serve the interests of government employees. As late as the 1950s, AFSCME considered collective bargaining in the public sector desirable but not essential, and viewed strong civil-service laws as the best protection for government workers.

In December 1955, in a New York Times Magazine essay on “Labor’s Future,’’ no less a union icon than AFL-CIO president George Meany wrote: “The main function of American trade unions is collective bargaining. It is impossible to bargain collectively with the government.’’"

"Obama scolds Walker for trying to restrict collective bargaining by government employees to wages, yet the 2 million federal civilian (non-postal) workers Obama presides over can’t even bargain over that much: The wages, hours, and benefits of federal employment have never been subject to union contracts. The president appears to be perfectly OK with that. Last November he unilaterally announced a two-year pay freeze for all federal civilian employees, informing them — no negotiating — that they were going to “make some sacrifices’’ adding up to $2 billion this fiscal year."

"Wisconsin could abolish public-sector collective bargaining entirely, and its government workers would still be strongly protected from management abuse — and as free as they are today to join unions able to advocate on their behalf."

The National Pasture: Bring sheep back to the Mall - Greater Greater Washington

The National Pasture: Bring sheep back to the Mall - Greater Greater Washington: "President Woodrow Wilson brought a flock to the White House grounds during World War I. Led by a famed tobacco-chewing ram named Old Ike, the sheep replaced expensive gardeners, freeing up men to fight and slashing groundskeeping costs. Although they occasionally munched on rare shrubbery and perennials, Wilson's flock trimmed the grass better than any lawnmower."

Wisconsin’s Smoking Gun at Steven Landsburg | The Big Questions: Tackling the Problems of Philosophy with Ideas from Mathematics, Economics, and Physics

Wisconsin’s Smoking Gun at Steven Landsburg | The Big Questions: Tackling the Problems of Philosophy with Ideas from Mathematics, Economics, and Physics: "If you cut the pay of an overpaid worker, he’ll generally scream bloody murder. After all, overpaid workers like to stay overpaid. But if you cut the pay of a non-overpaid worker, you haven’t really damaged him. He just quietly leaves and gets a job elsewhere. After all, the ability to find a comparable job elsewhere is pretty much the definition of not being overpaid."

ICE Boss: It's Okay To Ignore The Constitution If It's To Protect Companies | Techdirt

ICE Boss: It's Okay To Ignore The Constitution If It's To Protect Companies | Techdirt: "First of all, if they don't have any interest in going after bloggers or discussion boards, why did they? Second, if the intellectual property laws of the US are 'clear' -- why did ICE not use them and actually get anyone charged with infringement? Third, the laws aren't that clear -- which is why we (normally) have trials to make sure there was actual infringement. If ICE had been willing to let due process play out, it would have avoided embarrassing mistakes, like taking down 84,000 websites because a few may have had illegal content. Or seizing a blog (yes, a blog, despite what he says) that posted links to music elsewhere that was sent by the labels and artists. And, when someone spends all that money to develop something, there are plenty of business models for them to use, and they have every right to use civil laws to go after those who violate their rights. What they shouldn't have is some government agents taking down websites with no due process, seizing plenty of protected speech in the process."