US May Day protests planned, may disrupt commutes | Fox News

US May Day protests planned, may disrupt commutes | Fox News: "bridge district ferry workers say they'll strike Tuesday to shut down morning ferry service.

In New York, organizers have called for protesters to block one or more bridges or tunnels connecting Manhattan to New Jersey and other parts of the city."

That doesn't sound like a good way to get friends and supporters. :-/

MOMENT OF CLARITY: Wiscosin Gets Jobbed

MOMENT OF CLARITY: Wiscosin Gets Jobbed: "The fact is that none of our elected officials who promise to create jobs in the private sector have any say in the matter; politicians can only put up or tear down barriers to job creation. 

If you want to judge Governor Walker, or any other politician for that matter, on job creation, then list the barriers he has erected to private sector job creation down one column, and list the barriers he has removed down a second column."

"According to BLS – not me - the number of persons employed in Wisconsin in March of 2011 was 2,838,145. And according the BLS – not me - the number of persons employed in Wisconsin in March of 2012 was 2,856,643. My calculator says that is an INCREASE of 18,498."

Debate rages over severity of child-porn sentences | Fox News

Debate rages over severity of child-porn sentences | Fox News: " offenders who possess and distribute child pornography can go to prison for longer than those who actually rape or sexually abuse a child. In a 2010 survey of federal judges by the Sentencing Commission, about 70 percent said the proposed ranges of sentences for possession and receipt of child pornography were too high. Demonstrating their displeasure, federal judges issued child porn sentences below the guidelines 45 percent of the time in 2010, more than double the rate for all other crimes."

PROMISES, PROMISES: Romney pledges raise questions | Fox News

PROMISES, PROMISES: Romney pledges raise questions | Fox News: "Citing "the absurdity of Romney's plan," Preble wrote recently that the candidate "hasn't said what other spending he will cut, or what taxes he would increase.""

"Romney has shown little willingness to cut popular programs so far. He joined President Barack Obama, and bucked some House Republicans, by backing an extension of low college loan rates for middle-income students, a $6 billion government cost."

Insanity: CISPA Just Got Way Worse, And Then Passed On Rushed Vote | Techdirt

Insanity: CISPA Just Got Way Worse, And Then Passed On Rushed Vote | Techdirt: "The government would be able to search information it collects under CISPA for the purposes of investigating American citizens with complete immunity from all privacy protections as long as they can claim someone committed a "cybersecurity crime". Basically it says the 4th Amendment does not apply online, at all. Moreover, the government could do whatever it wants with the data as long as it can claim that someone was in danger of bodily harm, or that children were somehow threatened—again, notwithstanding absolutely any other law that would normally limit the government's power."

House GOP set to curb college student loan costs | Fox News

House GOP set to curb college student loan costs | Fox News: "The House planned to vote Friday on the bill, which would keep interest rates at 3.4 percent for subsidized Stafford loans, instead of rising as scheduled to 6.8 percent on July 1. The GOP-written package would cover its $5.9 billion cost by plucking money from a preventive health fund established in President Barack Obama's 2010 health care overhaul law"

Op-Ed: Campus commandos, or safer students?

Op-Ed: Campus commandos, or safer students?: "armed students have already prevented at least one shooting. When Peter Odighizuwa, a mentally unstable student at the Appalachian School of Law in Virginia, opened fire on Jan. 16, 2002, he killed two faculty members and a student and wounded three other students.

Hearing the shots, two students who were licensed to carry a concealed weapon (except on campus) ran to the vehicles, procured their firearms, and subdued the shooter without further violence."

Court in shock as Norway gunman describes massacre – USATODAY.com

Court in shock as Norway gunman describes massacre – USATODAY.com: "Sixty-nine people, mostly teenagers, were killed on Utoya island and others only survived by diving into chilly waters to escape."
"he mowed down young victims as they pleaded for their lives."
"Others pretended to be dead. He said he shot them, too."
"luring youth from their hiding places by telling them he was a police officer who was there to protect them. When they came out, he gunned them down."

Fleeing was the survival strategy that worked.

"He was disguised as a policeman, carrying a rifle and a handgun. He also brought drinking water because he knew he would get a dry throat from the stress of killing people."
"he took to the Internet to learn how to carry out his bombing-and-shooting rampage"
"his goal was to kill all of the nearly 600 people on the island"

He was prepared to for his massacre.

We're Taking Over (Minnesota Edition) | Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign CommitteeRon Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee

We're Taking Over (Minnesota Edition) | Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign CommitteeRon Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee: "he truth is the GOP has gone through many transformations over the years due to new factions coming in to the party–Southerners in the 70′s and 80′s, pro-lifers, Christian activists, the Tea Party–and all of these changes hardly ever sit well with the old guard.

Yet virtually all of these changes eventually become part of permanent fabric of the GOP and have made it a more conservative party. Most in the party, even those who might have resisted these changes at one time, will now admit this."

No Obamacare Exchanges | Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute: Commentary

No Obamacare Exchanges | Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The Obama administration has indicated that it might try to tax employers and hand out those subsidies anyway — even in states that don't create an exchange, and even though neither Obamacare nor any other federal law gives it the power to do so. If that happens, the fact that a state has refused to create an exchange would give every large employer in the state — including the state government itself — the ability to go to court to block the administration's attempt to usurp Congress's legislative powers."

"States that opt to create an exchange can expect to pay anywhere from $10 million to $100 million per year to run it. But if states refuse, Obamacare says the federal government must pay to create one."

"Obamacare does not and cannot mandate that states create exchanges. Moreover, state-run exchanges do not preserve local control. They will do Washington's bidding, or else they will be commandeered or swept aside."

We Can't Hide from the National Security Agency | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary

We Can't Hide from the National Security Agency | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'How many Americans know that as of September 2013, all of us engaged in any form of communication will be subject — with the approval of President Barack Obama and the silence of Congress — to continuous tracking and databasing by the National Security Agency?'

'I’ve already asked if any of you are at all worried about inexorably losing what’s left of your privacy outside of our rule of law. You won’t be able to go to a judge to get the government to justify how it now suspects you of being associated with an enemy of the U.S. or some other evildoer.

And where are the protests of those in Congress and around the country as James Bamford demonstrates that “there is no doubt that (the NSA) has transformed itself into the largest, most covert, and potentially most intrusive intelligence agency ever created”?

There’s more: “For the first time since Watergate and the other scandals of the Nixon administration, the NSA has turned its surveillance apparatus on the U.S. and its citizens.”

We now live in a country — the former land of the free and the home of the brave — where the NSA “has established listening posts throughout the nation to collect and sift through billions of email messages and phone calls, whether they originate within the country or overseas.'

Why the Washington Post Is Wrong about Stand Your Ground Laws | Walter Olson | Cato Institute: Commentary

Why the Washington Post Is Wrong about Stand Your Ground Laws | Walter Olson | Cato Institute: Commentary: They represent not a rise in the rate at which some group is getting killed — as mentioned, homicide rates per capita in Florida are down from 2005, not up, and violent crime rates in the state are sharply down — but rather successful assertions of self-defense, in other words, a shift from one category of homicide to another. Of course the whole idea of the law was to make the self-defense justification more available where a homicide had occurred. Many casual Post readers will assume that dozens of persons a year now die in Florida who would have lived otherwise, but they will be wrong in that assumption.'

'Their opening paragraphs tell of a youth who innocently “knocked at the wrong door” and was greeted by an irate homeowner who, seemingly without reason or provocation, blasted him in the chest, only to be set free by the police, since in Florida, the victim’s father sorrowfully avers, it seems “the shooter’s word is the law.”'
'it was 4 a.m. and the youth, bipolar and “blitzed” on alcohol that night, was ignoring repeated pleas to leave a property with a young mother and baby inside; the husband/shooter (whom the Post never managed to reach for his side of the story) told police that he had asked his wife to call 911, which hadn’t shown up; that he had warned the intruder many times, and fired only after being “lurched” at; he was then arrested, “but Assistant State Attorney Manny Garcia concluded that his actions were ‘justified.’”'

A Consumerist, Not "All of the Above" Energy Policy | Robert L. Bradley Jr. | Cato Institute: Commentary

A Consumerist, Not "All of the Above" Energy Policy | Robert L. Bradley Jr. | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'A smarter approach would be to avoid playing favorites. No one in the energy market should be given preferential treatment. Unless the government has good reason to deny a new project, it should be approved and allowed to compete on the open market. Remove government to let customers and private investors decide what’s worth pursuing in energy subject, of course, to the hundreds of pages of existing regulation and protocol.'

President of the Twilight Zone | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

President of the Twilight Zone | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'For instance, the president denounces the Ryan budget as “thinly veiled Social Darwinism.” One would think that Social Darwinism would mean actually cutting the budget. But in reality, Ryan’s budget increases federal spending by more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years.'

'The president suggests that this means that children could no longer go to college, the weather service would be abolished, and roads and bridges would crumble into dust. In reality, the largest gap between the president’s spending plans and Ryan’s would occur in 2016, when Ryan would spend $43 billion less on domestic discretionary programs than the president. That amounts to roughly 1.1 percent of projected total federal spending that year.'

'And, of course, what presidential speech would be complete without a denunciation of Ryan for wanting to “end Medicare as we know it.”'

'The president manages to leave out his own proposal for Medicare, which is to have an unelected 15-member board further reduce payments to physicians. Even Medicare’s own actuaries warn that those cutbacks could lead to hospital closures and reductions in access to care or the quality of care.'

'the president claims, “I’ve eliminated dozens of programs that weren’t working.” Well, maybe. But the total savings from those cuts amounts to less than $100 million. That’s million with an “M,” out of a $3.7 trillion budget. That’s trillion with a “T.”'

'Actually, the Buffett Rule would raise less than $3.2 billion per year on average according to the Congressional Budget Office, enough to pay for eight hours of federal spending. '

Detroit students suspended for demanding education — RT

Detroit students suspended for demanding education — RT: "Pupils from the boys’ school Frederick Douglass Academy abandoned their classrooms over teacher shortages and a lack of resources on Friday.
They gathered outside the building amid cries of "We want… education! When do we want it? Now!"
Parents reportedly organized the march after the consistent absence of a number of teachers and the dismissal of the principal. Students had allegedly been out of lessons for weeks due to a shortage of staff."

DNA collection bill proposed

DNA collection bill proposed: "And I can tell you that if you know that these lives can be saved and you choose not to do it, that in the weeks, the months, the years to come, there will be a list of Wisconsin residents that could have been saved"

It's not a simple as spending some money to prevent future crimes. If we removed all of the Bill of Rights then it would be easier for police to protect us but most people wouldn't consider that a good trade. Why not require all people in WI to submit DNA samples? Just being charged with a crime doesn't mean you should be treated differently for issues not related to that charge. SB 214 would be an unreasonable search because the info isn't needed for the charged crime.

Hunger Games Doesn't Fit TSA's Dystopian Vision | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Hunger Games Doesn't Fit TSA's Dystopian Vision | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Last week on his blog, security expert Bruce Schneier recounted his recent Economist.com debate with a former TSA administrator: "He wants us to trust that a 400-ml bottle of liquid is dangerous, but transferring it to four 100-ml bottles magically makes it safe..."; that "butter knives given to first-class passengers are nevertheless too dangerous to be taken through a security checkpoint"; and that "there's a reason to confiscate a cupcake (Las Vegas), a 3-inch plastic toy gun (London Gatwick)... and a plastic lightsaber that's really a flashlight with a long cone on top (Dallas/Fort Worth).""

"What's worse, the TSA is increasingly taking this show on the road with roving VIPR, or Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response, teams that conducted over 9,300 random searches in 2011 — on cruise ships, at NASCAR races, on buses and at train stations."

Indy Transit Task Force Misses the Mark | Randal O'Toole | Cato Institute: Commentary

Indy Transit Task Force Misses the Mark | Randal O'Toole | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Commuter rail lines in cities comparable to Indianapolis, including Albuquerque, Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, Nashville, Portland and Seattle, are so expensive and carry so few people it would cost less (and be better for the environment) to give every daily round-trip rider a brand-new Toyota Prius every other year for the rest of their lives."

A Global Assault on Religious Liberty | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

A Global Assault on Religious Liberty | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Dictators have been falling in the Middle East, but that doesn’t mean freedom is inevitably expanding. Unfortunately, the Arab Spring has turned into something far different than hoped. Especially for religious minorities."

"If people are oppressed because of their religious faith, they are likely to be victimized for holding other unpopular beliefs."

American Income Tax Tyranny | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

American Income Tax Tyranny | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Modern-day apologists for the progressive income tax argue that it is just — because it is imposed by the “consent of the governed” — and that is merely their first lie. America was established as a constitutional republic to protect despised minorities from the tyranny of the democratically elected majority. Democracy and consent of the governed are distinctly different concepts. Once it becomes acceptable to divide a population into classes, majorities can easily take the right of consent from a minority. Did black Americans, despite living in a democratic country, consent to being forced to ride in the back of the bus before the civil rights movement?"

"Most tyrannical regimes impose laws that are so extensive, complex and uncertain that the people can never know whether they are in compliance or not. This enables the state to target anyone, knowing they will almost certainly find some violation. The U.S. tax code now has something in the order of 77,000 pages. Obviously, no one person or even a group of tax professionals, including those at the Internal Revenue Service, can possibly know all of the rules and regulations. Hence, everyone is at risk of selective prosecution."

"Both the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany imposed sizable exit taxes on their citizens — primarily Jews who tried to emigrate. Such tax tyranny is correctly viewed as a violation of a basic human right to move. Yet, the United States is one of the few remaining countries that still taxes people after they have left and are no longer U.S. citizens. Now, Sen. Barbara Boxer, California Democrat, is pushing a bill to go even further by preventing people from getting a passport on the mere allegation (not conviction) by the IRS that they owe $50,000 or more in unpaid taxes."

Santorum Supporter - Visits Ron Paul Rally @ Ft. Worth Texas - Shares His Reaction

Santorum Supporter - Visits Ron Paul Rally @ Ft. Worth Texas - Shares His Reaction: "There was enough energy in
that room to power a skyscraper. Teenagers, college students, whites,
Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, middle-aged, elderly, every
racial, ethnic, socio-economic, cross cultural ingredient of the
American melting pot was there."

"What exactly is our national security securing? Certainly not our
liberty. We have been sacrificing ever larger chucks of our liberty to
the gods of security for decades now and in the interests of securing
our liberty have given it all away. Go to an airport if you want to
witness the loss of liberty in all its glorious humiliation. One wonders
if we actually were taken over by another power and our Constitution
dismantled what exactly could they do to restrict our movements, monitor
our activities and control our actions that would be any worse or
oppressive than what our own government is doing right now?"

Nine Lessons Learned from the Oikos College Shooting

Nine Lessons Learned from the Oikos College Shooting: "In any school shooting the victims have a range of possible responses to consider. In my research on school shootings, the most successful student responses (ranked best to worst) are as follows:

1. Escape
   
2. Lock down in a secured location
   
3. Fight the attacker
   
4. Hide
   
5. Reason with the attacker
   
6. Cry, beg, plead, or submit"
   

"

'Col. Dave Grossman says "If the shooter wanted a fight, he would have started shooting up the police station." The shooter doesn't want a fair fight. He wants a massive body count. In order to accomplish his goal, he will target a disarmed population like a school.

History shows that the single worst fear an active shooter has is effective resistance from police or armed citizens foiling his plans for notoriety. In nearly every past event, the shooter has either surrendered or killed himself as soon as he is faced with effective resistance.'

Wisconsin Reporter/Waukesha County Republican Party U.S. Senate Debate - YouTube

Wisconsin Reporter/Waukesha County Republican Party U.S. Senate Debate - YouTube: "Republican candidates for U.S. Senate debate at the Waukesha Expo Center. Candidates include Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, hedge fund manager Eric Hovde, former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann and physical therapist Kip Smith."

How recruiters look at your resume

How recruiters look at your resume: In a study by TheLadders (of n equals 30), recruiters looked at resumes and make some judgments. During evaluations, eye tracking software was employed, and they found that the recruiters spent about six seconds on a resume looking for six main things: name, current company and title, previous company and title, previous position start and end dates, current position start and end dates, and education. After that, it was a crapshoot.

Time-Bomb Diplomacy | Justin Logan | Cato Institute: Commentary

Time-Bomb Diplomacy | Justin Logan | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In the long term, the problem is that it will be very hard for Washington to convince Tehran that it can trust American assurances. If Iran complies with whatever demands are made of it, how can it be sure that the United States will not attack anyway at some point in the future? It is very hard for a unipolar power like the United States to credibly commit to abstaining from doing something in the future because the cost of reneging is relatively low."

"One does not have to be extraordinarily empathetic to see how the prospect of a Libya-style deal might play with Iran’s Supreme Leader. Put bluntly, given the past decade of U.S. foreign policy and the structure of the international system, Iran would be irrational not to want a nuke. Our policy of sanctions and pressure is doing little to change that."

"Traditional conservatives will recall that Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war. They will also recall that despite the last 60 years of American diplomatic history, the last enemy against whom the United States declared war was Ion Antonescu’s Romania in June 1942.

Part of the reason congressional war-making has fallen out of favor is that in declaring war Congress leaves its fingerprints all over the affair. If the decision is a bad one, legislators might pay a dear political price for having embroiled the nation in a costly or counterproductive war. The Founders’ decision to vest war-making power in the Congress reflected in part a belief that the nation should be reticent to enter conflicts. As enunciated by James Wilson, entrusting the war power to Congress had the advantage that “this system will not hurry us into war; it is calculated to guard against it.”"

"Congress has urged the president to launch a war on Iran while ignoring its own power to do so. Last November, Senator Joseph Lieberman told the Weekly Standard’s William Kristol that there is “a broad, bipartisan base of support if the Commander in Chief comes to a point where he thinks [war with Iran is] necessary.” Lieberman and his permahawk confrère Sen. Lindsey Graham have drafted legislation declaring that the president can do anything he wants to Iran except contain it."

Obama's And Paul Ryan's Conflicting Budget Visions | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama's And Paul Ryan's Conflicting Budget Visions | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Neither President Obama nor Paul Ryan actually cuts government spending. Rather, both are playing the time-honored game of calling a reduction in the rate of increase a “cut.” Thus, the president would increase federal spending from $3.8 trillion in 2013 to $5.82 trillion in 2022. That might not be as big an increase there might otherwise be, but in no way can it be called a cut. Meanwhile, Ryan, who is being accused of “thinly veiled Social Darwinism,” would actually increase spending from $3.53 trillion in 2013 to $4.88 trillion in 2022.

The president warns that Ryan’s spending “cuts” would “gut” the social safety net. And, it is true that Ryan’s budget knife falls more heavily on domestic discretionary spending than does the president’s — but only relatively. Over the next 10 years, Ryan would spend $352 billion less on those programs than would Obama, an average of just $35.2 billion per year in additional cuts. Given that domestic discretionary spending under the president’s budget will total more than $4 trillion over the next decade, Ryan’s cuts look less than draconian."

"Ryan would also allow taxes to increase as a percentage of GDP, returning to roughly their historical average around 18 percent of GDP."

What's at Stake as Obama Tries to Intimidate the Supreme Court | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary

What's at Stake as Obama Tries to Intimidate the Supreme Court | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "There have been cases where a president was upset about an opinion after it was issued, but not cases where a president tried to influence a decision in the making. That might be comparable to jury tampering — usually treated as a felony."

What about FDR's attempt to pack the court?

"By trying to bully another branch of our government, Obama appears to be challenging our federal system itself, based as it is on a separation of powers.

Perhaps we need to remind ourselves how hard people struggled and how much they sacrificed to develop this, the most successful political system ever devised for limiting government power and protecting liberty."

"In 1628, Coke drafted the Petition of Right that aimed to limit the king’s power: (1) taxes couldn’t be imposed without Parliament’s consent; (2) citizens couldn’t be forced to provide food and shelter for soldiers; (3) individuals could be imprisoned only upon the order of a judge; (4) the king couldn’t arbitrarily declare martial law."

"[John Lilburne] was the first person to challenge the legitimacy of the Star Chamber, the English royal court that had become a notorious instrument for suppressing dissent. He was the first to challenge Parliament’s prerogative as a law court for imprisoning adversaries. He was the first to challenge the prosecution tactic of extracting confessions until defendants incriminated themselves. He challenged the standard practice of imprisoning people without filing formal charges. He challenged judges who tried to intimidate juries."

"One of [William Penn's] cases helped secure the right to trial by jury. In 1670, as a young lawyer, he decided to challenge the Conventicle Act that Parliament had passed to suppress “seditious conventicles” (as assemblies of religious dissidents were called). Many Quakers were imprisoned.

The jury acquitted the Quakers, but the Lord Mayor of London refused to accept the verdict. He fined the jury members and ordered that they be held in Newgate Prison until they came back with a guilty verdict. Still, they affirmed their acquittal. After the jury had been imprisoned for about two months, England’s Court of Common Pleas issued a writ of habeas corpus to set those people free. Then they sued the Lord Mayor of London for false arrest. The Lord Chief Justice of England, together with his 11 associates, ruled unanimously that juries must not be coerced or punished for their verdicts."

Madison: “A law violating a constitution established by the people themselves, would be considered by the Judges as null and void.”

"Senator Wheeler thundered [about FDR's court packing plan]: “Create now a political Court to echo the ideas of the executive and you have created a weapon which in the hands of another President could... cut down those guarantees of liberty written by the blood of your forefathers.”"

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: My Wife Joanne Has ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: My Wife Joanne Has ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease: "ALS is painless, non-contagious, and extremely cruel. The cause of ALS is unknown, but motor functions of the central nervous system cease to function although the mind remains fully aware to the end."

"I am sponsoring a raffle for the benefit of ALS research. 50% of the proceeds of the raffle will go to the Les Turner Foundation, with the money specifically earmarked for ALS research.

The other 50% will go to raffle winners."

The Role of Partisanship in the Health Care Reform Challenge | Trevor Burrus | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Role of Partisanship in the Health Care Reform Challenge | Trevor Burrus | Cato Institute: Commentary: "If the law is struck down, it will almost assuredly be on a 5-4 vote. As predicted by many, none of the liberal justices seemed inclined to rule any part of the law unconstitutional, yet this presumptive unanimity of the four liberal justices rarely elicits catcalls of partisanship. When the four conservative justices — sans Justice Anthony Kennedy — move in predictable lockstep, it is often sneeringly cited as a product of partisanship rather than a principled constitutional analysis. Such an attitude, if held by someone from either political side, is simply too self serving to be worthy of respect."

Conservatives And the Courts | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Conservatives And the Courts | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The latest meme from the Obama administration, congressional Democrats, and much of the media is that if the Supreme Court were to strike down all or part of Obamacare, it would place the Court's legitimacy itself at risk. After all, since only 28 state attorneys general, at least two District Court Judges and five Circuit Court Judges (including a Clinton appointee), numerous law professors, the 52 organizations and hundreds of state legislators who filed briefs in support of the plaintiffs, and 72 percent of the American public believe that Obamacare's attempt to force every American to buy a specific commercial product is unconstitutional, it would obviously be an unprecedented act of judicial activism for the Court to agree.

Of course, there is nothing really unprecedented about the Court striking down legislation that it finds outside of constitutional bounds. Between 1803 and 2002, the Supreme Court struck down as many as 1,315 laws on constitutional grounds. Indeed, many of the judicial decisions that liberals hold most dear involved striking down legislation."

Where Was the Catholic Church When the Obamacare Mandate Was Being Debated? | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary

Where Was the Catholic Church When the Obamacare Mandate Was Being Debated? | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "infringements on economic liberty tend to undermine other liberties. Freedom of religion is impossible unless churches are private property — sanctuaries where people may gather peacefully without interference and without being forced to violate their core teachings."

"How is it that a group of Catholic nuns, representing 22 religious organizations, filed an amicus brief supporting the Obamacare mandate?

The short answer, of course, is that as long as Church officials thought they would be exempted from the mandate via a religious carve-out, they didn’t expect to gain by venturing into controversy."

"political power must be limited, because there’s no reliable way of keeping bad or incompetent people away from it"

"Lord Acton said: “I cannot accept your view that we are to judge pope and king unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”"

The Coming Medical Ethics Crisis | Jeffrey A. Singer | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Coming Medical Ethics Crisis | Jeffrey A. Singer | Cato Institute: Commentary: "These protocols govern the therapeutic decisions made by the health care practitioner — right down to the pre-operative antibiotics a surgeon may order. Despite the fact that several recent peer-reviewed studies concluded that the protocols have had no positive effect — in fact, one study showed post-op skin infections increased since the protocols were instituted — CMS imposes financial penalties on hospitals that fail to get protocol compliance from their medical staff."

"One way CMS is trying to deal with this is by penalizing hospitals and doctors who treat patients with resistant problems. Effective this year, any patient readmitted to a hospital within 30 days of discharge for the same or a related problem will be treated by the hospital without compensation."

"In a few years, almost all doctors will be employees of hospitals and will be ordered to practice medicine according to federally prescribed guidelines — guidelines that put the best interests of the state ahead of the interests of individual patients.

When the physician's primary obligation is to satisfy the wishes of the payer — ultimately the wishes of the state — how can patients be truly confident in their doctors' decisions?"

What to Do on the Day after ObamaCare | John H. Cochrane | Cato Institute: Commentary

What to Do on the Day after ObamaCare | John H. Cochrane | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Insurance proper is what pays for unplanned large expenses, not for regular, predictable expenses. Insurance policies should be "guaranteed renewable": The policy should include a right to purchase insurance in the future, no matter if you get sick. And insurance should follow you from job to job, and if you move across state lines.

Why don't we have such markets? Because the government has regulated them out of existence."

"Start with the tax deduction employers can take for their contributions to group health-insurance policies — but which they cannot take for making contributions to employees for individual, portable insurance policies. This is why you have insurance only so long as you stay with one employer, and why you face pre-existing conditions exclusions if you change jobs.

Continue with the endless mandates (both state and federal) on insurance companies to provide all sorts of benefits people would otherwise not choose to buy. It sounds great to "make insurance companies pay" for acupuncture. But that raises the premiums, and then people choose not to buy the insurance. Instead of these mandates, at least allow people to buy insurance that only covers the big expenses."

"the expenses of emergency room treatment for indigent uninsured people are not health-care's central cost problem. Costs are rising because people who do have insurance, and their doctors, overuse health services and don't shop on price, and because regulations have salted insurance with ever more coverage for them to overuse."

"The number of new doctors is still restricted, thanks to Congress and the American Medical Association. Congress caps the number of residencies, the AMA has fought the expansion of medical schools, state tests make it difficult for foreign doctors to work here, and on and on.

There are hundreds of government impediments to competition. New hospitals? In my home state of Illinois, every new hospital, expansion of an existing facility or major equipment purchase must obtain a "certificate of need" from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board. The board does a great job of insulating existing hospitals from competition if they are well connected politically. Imagine the joy United Airlines would feel if Southwest had to get a "certificate of need" before moving in to a new city — or the pleasure Sears would have if Wal-Mart had to do so — and all it took was a small contribution to a well-connected official."

Minimum Wage, Including in N.J., Could Mean Maximum Damage | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary

Minimum Wage, Including in N.J., Could Mean Maximum Damage | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The trouble is that most exempt jobs offer no training, no benefits and no future. Shrinking the number of jobs among larger, more visible employers by raising their minimum wage will result in trapping more unskilled young people in dead-end jobs where the law is not binding."

ObamaCare: The Supreme Court as a Constitutional Death Panel | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

ObamaCare: The Supreme Court as a Constitutional Death Panel | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "For instance, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman complained that "the justices most hostile to the law don't understand, or choose not to understand, how insurance works." However, he doesn't appear to understand, or choose to understand, constitutional law. The issue is whether the Constitution grants the power asserted, not whether the legislation is good insurance policy."

"The Constitution consciously puts certain powers beyond the reach of even elected officials. If the Supreme Court effectively suspends or amends the Constitution by majority vote for whatever reason, there is no defensible rule of law."

"states otherwise have essentially unlimited power to tax and regulate. Which is why then-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney could push into law a state requirement to buy health insurance."

"Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) responded "are you kidding" when asked about Congress' authority. Then-Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) admitted that "There's nothing in the Constitution that says that the federal government has anything to do with most of the stuff we do." In their view Washington enjoys unlimited power. The Constitution is but a quaint ornament for display."

Do Blood And Guts Make for Good Presidencies? | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Do Blood And Guts Make for Good Presidencies? | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: '"military deaths as a percentage of population is a major determinant of greatness in the eyes of historians."'

'It's also worth reminding presidents that, as Wilson, Truman, and George W. Bush discovered, unnecessary wars make presidents unpopular. While historians may eventually award extra credit for spending American blood and treasure, ordinary Americans generally don't. Here again, they come out looking smarter than the intellectuals.'

To Protect and Conserve - Ninos P. Malek - Mises Daily

To Protect and Conserve - Ninos P. Malek - Mises Daily: 'I have never heard of a chicken, cow, or pig facing extinction. The reason is simple: people breed them.'

'With CAMPFIRE, which allows private management of the animals (including the right to hunt them), elephant populations have increased by 50 percent. In countries that ban hunting, such as Kenya, the elephant population has decreased between 60 and 70 percent.'

'Ironically, allowing these animals to be hunted on private property has helped them to thrive. In fact, three varieties of antelope have been saved from the brink of extinction. The endangered-animal population in Texas is increasing, while it is falling in the animals' native Africa.'

'Like the pig farmer, the ranchers have an incentive to ensure animals are hunted at a certain rate. It would not be in their own self-interest to allow too much hunting in a very short period of time. In fact, no more than 10 percent of a herd is hunted each year.'

'Ownership gives you an incentive to take care of that possession, not only now, but also for the future.'

The Truth about Paul Ryan's Tax Plan | Chris Edwards | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Truth about Paul Ryan's Tax Plan | Chris Edwards | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Liberals rail against the idea of cutting the top income tax rate from the current 35 percent, but Ryan’s lower 25 percent rate was not picked out of thin air. IRS data show that taxpayers with the highest incomes currently pay an average of about 25 percent of their income in income taxes. At the same time, middle-income taxpayers pay an average of roughly 10 percent. That is why Ryan’s two-rate tax structure of 10 and 25 percent would collect about the same amount of money from the same income groups as the current code if we got rid of the deductions and credits.'

Sugar Taxes Are Unfair And Unhealthy | Patrick Basham | Cato Institute: Commentary

Sugar Taxes Are Unfair And Unhealthy | Patrick Basham | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Economic research finds sugar taxes are a futile instrument in influencing the behavior and habits of the overweight and the obese. Why do sugar taxes fail? Those consumers who strongly prefer unhealthy foods continue to eat and drink according to their individual preferences until such time as it becomes prohibitively expensive to do so.'

'Poorer consumers react to higher food prices not by changing their diets but by consuming even fewer healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and eating more processed foods. For instance, taxes levied specifically on sugar content increase saturated fat consumption.'

Learning from North Korea | Malou Innocent and Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

Learning from North Korea | Malou Innocent and Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'History suggests, however, that sanctions will fail. They have a poor record of persuading authoritarian regimes to sacrifice interests they see as vital. If the regime believes it needs a nuclear program or weapons to survive, it will continue to allow its people to suffer.'

Outrageous Forced Contracts Could Become Legal If Obamacare Mandate Is Upheld | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary

Outrageous Forced Contracts Could Become Legal If Obamacare Mandate Is Upheld | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'FDR issued Executive Order 9066 mandating that some 110,000 peaceful Japanese Americans be hustled away from the Pacific Coast and into places like the urine-soaked Santa Anita racetrack stables until these people could be moved to Spartan “War Relocation Camps.” Nothing like this happened to the 6 million Italian Americans, even after Mussolini declared war against the United States.'

'After the U.S. Civil War, many blacks didn’t want to work for former masters who had tormented them. But The Union army, occupying the South, pressured former slaves to sign annual contracts with plantation owners, and blacks were forbidden to leave plantations without the owners’ permission — the same policy as under slavery. Blacks found to be loitering, changing jobs or riding the rails were arrested as vagrants, then forced to perform unpaid labor. How could the Union, that had abolished slavery, do this to blacks?'

'a Florida law that provided, in part: “Every able-bodied male person over the age of twenty-one years, and under the age of forty-five years, residing in said county for thirty days or more…shall be required to work on the roads and bridges of the several counties for six days of not less than ten hours each in each year when summoned so to do.” No-shows, the law went on to say, “shall be fined or imprisoned in the county jail for not longer than thirty days.”'

'If a war really benefits the general population, then the general population should pay the full cost of it, including the cost of offering compensation that’s high enough to attract as many volunteers as might be needed.'

NY, NJ: Just Hold Off | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

NY, NJ: Just Hold Off | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'one study suggests it will take a 5 percent tax on insurance premiums to pay to operate Oregon’s exchange.'

Since they want almost everything covered, premiums will be almost all of health care costs. So it is a 5% tax on health care just to run the exchanges!

'If the feds set up an exchange in New York or New Jersey, the feds will be responsible for the cost of running it. If a state establishes the exchange, that state will have to pay for it.'

'Nor does setting up an exchange preserve state control over the local insurance market. Under Section 1311(K) of the ObamaCare law, the federal government essentially has veto power over the design of state exchanges.'

Why Apple, Samsung's phones sit atop piles of cash (FAQ) | Mobile - CNET News

Why Apple, Samsung's phones sit atop piles of cash (FAQ) | Mobile - CNET News: 'Apple and Samsung accounted for 95 percent of the industry's profits in the fourth quarter - with Apple generating 80 percent by itself - as the rest of the players struggle for the scraps. Canaccord Genuity analyst Mike Walkley said yesterday that their percentage could rise even higher in the first quarter.
Just five years ago, Nokia and Research in Motion - two companies now desperately looking for a comeback - were the ones gobbling up the industry's profits. The radical change in leadership illustrates the rapid shifts in the business, which is even more dependent than ever on consumer tastes and technical trends. Titans today are paupers the next.'

This is a great example of why the government shouldn't pick winners and losers -- Even a great pick can quickly become a bad pick.

Rapid GDP Growth--Best Antidote for Poverty | Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar | Cato Institute: Commentary

Rapid GDP Growth--Best Antidote for Poverty | Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar | Cato Institute: Commentary: "record GDP growth in India has produced record poverty reduction, just as it did in China."

The census' broken privacy promise | Security - CNET News

The census' broken privacy promise | Security - CNET News: "Seventy-two years ago, the federal government made a promise to the American public: "No one has access to your census record except you."
So said a radio ad intended to promote participation in the 1940 census by assuaging privacy concerns. President Franklin Roosevelt even proclaimed, "No person can be harmed in any way by furnishing the information required. There need be no fear that any disclosure will be made regarding any individual or his affairs."

Yet today, the government is posting online all 3.8 million pages of the 1940 census rolls for all to access -- at no charge and with no need to register before viewing them."

"Since the number of enumerated individuals still alive when the census rolls are to be published each coming decade will grow with increasing longevity, the 72-year delay before should be lengthened to 100 years -- both for future censuses and the 1950 to 2010 censuses that have not yet been released."

"If a private company reneged on its privacy policy, you can bet the Federal Trade Commission would immediately launch an investigation. But the only ones who can act when a government breaks its own rules are citizens."

Trayvon Martin's Father Says They Are Looking For A Peaceful Resolution In The Case Of His Son's Death | Fox News

Trayvon Martin's Father Says They Are Looking For A Peaceful Resolution In The Case Of His Son's Death | Fox News: "The father of a black Florida teen killed in February by a neighborhood watch captain says his son's death shouldn't be a race issue, and that his family is looking for a peaceful resolution in the case."

"Tracy Martin was responding to comments made by the Black Panthers, who have claimed there was a bounty on the head of the shooter, George Zimmerman."