Homegrown Failure: Why the Domestic Terror Threat Is Overblown | Benjamin H. Friedman | Cato Institute: Commentary

Homegrown Failure: Why the Domestic Terror Threat Is Overblown | Benjamin H. Friedman | Cato Institute: Commentary: " there is far less homegrown terrorism today than in the 1970s, when the Weather Underground, the Jewish Defense League, anti-Castro Cuban exile groups, and the Puerto Rican Nationalists of the FALN were setting off bombs on U.S. soil.

There was an increase in homegrown terrorism arrests in the late 2000s, with the decade's high coming in 2009. That year saw the decade's deadliest act of homegrown terrorism when Nidal Hasan killed thirteen people at Ft. Hood. Homegrown terrorism has declined since. According a report published earlier this year by Charles Kurzman of the University of North Carolina, arrests of homegrown terrorists fell from 47 in 2009 to 20 in 2011. No more successful plots have occurred."

"a sizeable minority of those arrested for terrorism in the late 2000s were U.S. nationals trying to help the al-Shabaab group in Somalia, either by recruiting, fundraising or joining its ranks. That counts as terrorism because the U.S. government categorizes al-Shabaab as a terrorist organisation and criminalises support for it. But it is an insurgent organisation chiefly interested in Somalia politics that has not attempted terrorism in the United States."

"Ferdaus had no accomplices, aside from those provided by the FBI, no money for the planes, other than what the FBI loaned him, and no explosives, beyond the fake sort that the FBI provides."

"By supporting the murder of most people, including most Muslims, al Qaeda ensures that it remains wildly unpopular in most places. Their ideology is especially noxious to those living in coherent, liberal societies like the United States. Americans drawn to al Qaeda are likely to be a troubled and disaffected lot, lacking traits that most organisations value in recruits."

Europe Suffers a Failure on the Part of Its Leaders to Lead | Alberto Mingardi | Cato Institute: Commentary

Europe Suffers a Failure on the Part of Its Leaders to Lead | Alberto Mingardi | Cato Institute: Commentary: "nobody seems to be ready to try the straightforward device to trim the public debt by virtue of selling the huge Italian state holdings or severely cutting public spending. Instead, the political class seeks to squeeze its already highly taxed citizens like lemons."

"Italy's public spending is worth half of the national income"

"national governments estimate the political cost of cutting public employment to be too high, particularly in a recession and fear the possible social unrest this would likely cause. Blaming financial markets, Mrs. Merkel, or the euro for their current predicament is much cheaper."

Homeowners Need to Take Responsibility | Randal O'Toole | Cato Institute: Commentary

Homeowners Need to Take Responsibility | Randal O'Toole | Cato Institute: Commentary: "There are risks to living everywhere, and denying people the right to use their own land in the forests will simply lead them to build in the path of tornados, floods, earthquakes or other potential threats.

Regulation isn't necessary because Forest Service research has shown that wildland property owners can use simple techniques to protect their structures from the worst of fires, including using non-flammable materials for roofs and eaves and keeping vegetation within about 140 feet of the structure neatly trimmed. Such techniques are called "firewise," and the most extreme measures produce "shelter-in-place" homes that are so fire-resistant that the safest place to be in the event of a wildlife is in the house."

"When a 2007 fire swept through five shelter-in-place communities outside of San Diego, not a single home was scorched."

Forget about the Mandate. Let's Fix Health Care | John H. Cochrane | Cato Institute: Commentary

Forget about the Mandate. Let's Fix Health Care | John H. Cochrane | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The legal distinctions among a mandate, a tax, a penalty, or a credit, and between federal and state powers, are important legally and constitutionally. But they are irrelevant in economic terms for this law.

To commentators who are apoplectic that the federal government is using taxes to nudge us to buy health insurance, I say this: Hello? The tax deduction for buying an electric car, or the mortgage-interest deduction for buying a house, is economically equivalent to a tax for not buying health insurance. Maybe all are bad, but did you really expect the Supreme Court to rule the mortgage-interest deduction unconstitutional in a case brought against the health-care law?"

"Who is going to pay for all this? Someone has to pay for every expanded benefit, whether through higher premiums, higher prices or higher taxes. And tapping “the rich,” reducing administrative costs or executive pay would just be a drop in the bucket."

"Imagine if the government decreed that law firms, car-repair shops, or home contractors had to charge everyone the same price, and couldn’t turn anyone away. “House fix,” for example, would be $1,000 per year, no matter how large the house or what shape it’s in. Why do we think this will work for medical services?

Health care will be rationed. Period. If we don’t ration by price, we will ration directly.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a bureaucratic nightmare. About 2,700 pages of law, 13,000 pages of regulations and counting, 180 boards, commissions and bureaus, according to one media report.

It’s an invitation to crony capitalism. Thousands of companies have already asked for, and won, exemptions."

"Where are the health-care equivalents of Southwest Airlines Co., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and Apple Inc. — innovating, dramatically lowering costs and bringing everyday low prices to health care? They have been kept out of the market by anti-competitive regulation. As one small example, in my state of Illinois, every new hospital, expansion of an existing facility or major equipment purchase must obtain a “certificate of need” from a state board. “Need” explicitly means that it doesn’t undermine incumbents’ profits.

Insurance should be insurance, reserved for unpredictable and catastrophic expenses. Car insurance doesn’t pay for oil changes, and you shouldn’t pay for checkups through health- insurance premiums. Such insurance would be a lot cheaper, and more people would buy it.

Insurance should be individual, portable from job to job and state to state, and guaranteed renewable for people who get sick. That neatly solves the pre-existing-condition nightmare. Insurance companies would be happy to sell such coverage. The government stands in the way, by subsidizing employer-based group plans at the expense of individual insurance."

Why NOT Make Olympic Uniforms in China? | Daniel J. Ikenson | Cato Institute: Commentary

Why NOT Make Olympic Uniforms in China? | Daniel J. Ikenson | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Trade is not a competition between "our producers" and "their producers." In fact, U.S.-based firms benefit from collaborating with foreign firms by carving up the production process into distinct functions and processes that suit each location's efficiencies and strengths. Just as trade enables U.S. consumers to benefit from lower-cost final goods, globalization enables U.S. producers to benefit from access to lower-cost resources put into the manufacturing system. That enables them to compete more effectively at home and abroad.

In the typical production supply chain for consumer products, of which apparel production is a good example, the higher-value, pre-manufacturing activities like designing, engineering, and branding, and post-manufacturing activities like marketing, warehousing, transporting, and retailing happen in the United States, while the mostly lower-end manufacturing and assembly activities take place abroad. In the end, the final product is a collaborative effort, with the majority of the value accruing to U.S. workers, firms, and shareholders."

"With a very few exceptions, we simply don't cut and sew clothing much in the United States anymore.

But we design clothing here. We brand clothing here. We market and retail clothing here.

The apparel industry employs plenty of Americans, just not in the cutting and sewing operations that our parents and grandparents endured, working long hours for low wages."

"As our U.S. athletes march around the track at London's Olympic stadium wearing their Chinese-made uniforms and waving their Chinese-made American flags, there is a good chance that Chinese athletes will have arrived in London byU.S.-made aircraft, been trained on U.S.-designed and -engineered equipment, wearing U.S.-designed and -engineered footwear, many having perfected their skills using U.S.-created technology.

Our economic relationship with China, characterized by transnational supply chains and disaggregated production sharing, is more collaborative than competitive.

The nature of that relationship is inherently beneficial to American consumers and the economy at large; despite the alarmism emanating from the halls of power, trade is not a win-lose proposition."

The Crippling Nature of Minimum-Wage Laws - Murray N. Rothbard - Mises Daily

The Crippling Nature of Minimum-Wage Laws - Murray N. Rothbard - Mises Daily: "In truth, there is only one way to regard a minimum-wage law: it is compulsory unemployment, period. The law says, it is illegal, and therefore criminal, for anyone to hire anyone else below the level of X dollars an hour. This means, plainly and simply, that a large number of free and voluntary wage contracts are now outlawed and hence that there will be a large amount of unemployment. Remember that the minimum-wage law provides no jobs; it only outlaws them; and outlawed jobs are the inevitable result."

"this means that the people who will be disemployed and devastated by this prohibition will be precisely the "marginal" (lowest wage) workers, e.g. blacks and teenagers, the very workers whom the advocates of the minimum wage are claiming to foster and protect."

New Hudson police captain’s salary will be $79,000-$83,000 | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin

New Hudson police captain’s salary will be $79,000-$83,000 | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin: "Without an increase from what Atkinson was being paid, the department’s union-represented sergeants would make almost as much as the new captain, he said."

There is no good reason to demand that a supervisor always make more than the people they supervise!

Obama raises $1 million at Washington fundraiser | Fox News

Obama raises $1 million at Washington fundraiser | Fox News: "Twenty-five supporters each paid $40,000 to meet with the president at a Washington hotel. The event is closed to the media."

Johnson Comments on Senate Tax Vote - Press Releases - Newsroom - Ron Johnson, United States Senator for Wisconsin

Johnson Comments on Senate Tax Vote - Press Releases - Newsroom - Ron Johnson, United States Senator for Wisconsin: "Their class warfare tax hike would only raise enough revenue to fund the government for 6 days, but it would come at the very real expense of job creators.

“Small businesses in America – our economic and job creation engine – are struggling. Yet Democrats want to raise taxes on nearly one million of them just to serve an election strategy.  Raising taxes on small business will not help the 23 million Americans who are unemployed or underemployed, or who have lost hope and dropped out of the labor force.

"The damage doesn't end there.  In the same bill, Democrats also passed a dramatic increase in the Death Tax that would prevent many family farms and small businesses from being passed on to future generations.  "

NYC mayor disagrees with others on Chick-fil-A | Fox News

NYC mayor disagrees with others on Chick-fil-A | Fox News: "Bloomberg supports same-sex marriage, but says the restaurant flap is none of "the government's business."

New York City currently has one Chick-fil-A restaurant. Bloomberg indicated the company would have to jump through the standard bureaucratic hoops if it wanted to open another.

He said it would be "inappropriate" to consider political or religious beliefs when making such decisions."

The Current Wisdom: Throwing Science Overboard to get a Sea-Level Disaster | Patrick J. Michaels | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Current Wisdom: Throwing Science Overboard to get a Sea-Level Disaster | Patrick J. Michaels | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Combine a too large estimate from ocean thermal expansion with a too large estimate from ice melt, and you get an alarming amount of sea level rise. Crank it up even higher with more unrealistic assumptions about ice behavior in the future and you get a high end sea level rise projection (55 inches) that is some two times larger than the highest IPCC estimate."

Obama: Tax 'the Rich' | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama: Tax 'the Rich' | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "While $250,000 is a lot of money in many areas of the country, in high-cost regions such as New York City that earning category would include a teacher with 22 years of service married to a police captain. The president’s definition of “rich” would also include some 750,000 independent and small businesses that do not pay income taxes as businesses; instead, their taxes are paid through the owners’ individual tax returns."

"President Obama’s proposed tax hike would raise roughly $65 billion in 2013. At the same time, the president proposes to increase spending next year by $202 billion. The tax hike would pay for only 32 percent of the proposed new spending. Or put it another way: Over ten years, the new taxes would cover roughly half of the $1.6 trillion in new subsidies and Medicaid spending under Obamacare.

That means that not a penny of Obama’s proposed tax increase would, in fact, go toward reducing the budget deficit, let alone paying down the debt. Rather, every cent of the tax hike would go toward paying for increased federal spending."

In Praise of Birthright Citizenship | Alex Nowrasteh | Cato Institute: Commentary

In Praise of Birthright Citizenship | Alex Nowrasteh | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In the U.S., by contrast, children of immigrants are legally on the same playing field as children born to American citizens. Both can serve in the military, purchase firearms, serve on juries, and be treated the same by the legal system. That is one reason why 89 percent of second-generation Hispanics and 96 percent of third-generation Hispanics have described themselves as American only. "Hispanic-American" or "Mexican-American" is still popular among some after several generations, just as "Italian-American" still survives, but these Americans do not view themselves as foreigners."

Obama vs. Job Creation | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama vs. Job Creation | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "A number of steps could be taken to help slow the regulatory onslaught. The most important would be to withdraw government entirely from certain areas. For instance, Obamacare should be repealed. Washington has no business mandating what must be in health insurance plans and who should buy them. Too much of what Uncle Sam does is social engineering inappropriate in a free society.

Most everyone promotes "cost-benefit" analyses, but, warns Crews, "A problem with cost-benefit analysis, however, apart from it not being done and enforced, is that it largely amounts to agency self-policing. Agencies that perform audits of their own rules rarely admit that a rule's benefits do not justify the costs involved." At the very least such analyses should be carried out by a separate, independent agency.

Moreover, Crews suggests aiming more deeply, at improper delegation by Congress, which "should answer for the compliance costs — as well as benefits — of federal regulations." Regulations could require congressional assent before they go into effect. Rules also should automatically sunset unless Congress votes otherwise. Many authorizations likely would be perfunctory, but such a process would make it easier for future presidents and Congresses to review past federal actions."

Why Long-Term Unemployment Has Doubled under President Obama | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary

Why Long-Term Unemployment Has Doubled under President Obama | Jim Powell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, back in January 2009 when Barack Obama was sworn in, there were 2.6 million people unemployed for more than 6 months. By June 2012, the ranks of the long-term jobless soared more than 100 percent to 5.3 million.

President Obama has promoted long-term unemployment by adopting policies that make it harder and more expensive for employers to hire people. He has relentlessly pushed for higher taxes, higher energy costs, compulsory unionism and, of course, Obamacare. One doesn't need a Harvard degree to figure out that when government makes hiring more difficult and expensive, there's likely to be less of it."

America Has Too Many Teachers | Andrew J. Coulson | Cato Institute: Commentary

America Has Too Many Teachers | Andrew J. Coulson | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Since 1970, the public school workforce has roughly doubled—to 6.4 million from 3.3 million—and two-thirds of those new hires are teachers or teachers' aides. Over the same period, enrollment rose by a tepid 8.5%. Employment has thus grown 11 times faster than enrollment."

"a doubling in staff size and more than a doubling in cost have done little to improve academic outcomes"

Rise of the Global Tax Collectors | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Rise of the Global Tax Collectors | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "This means that the most vile governments will receive financial account information automatically about individuals from other countries. Assume you are standing up to or protesting some corrupt or authoritarian regime in your own country — there are too many to name — and to protect your family, you have a bank account in the United States, Switzerland or some other nation that offers basic protections of civil liberties. Under automatic information-sharing, the thugs you are opposing will be receiving information about your finances from the U.S. government and other governments, which can put your property and your life at risk. The response from the bureaucrats in the OECD and Obama administration is “we protect confidential information,” as if they had never heard of Wiki-Leaks or the other never-ending hacks of government data. Again, we are told that governments will increasingly engage in “automatic” information-sharing and will “protect confidential information,” but please don’t notice the disconnect. Most people view their tax returns and bank account information as “confidential.” Would you voluntarily risk your life on the unenforceable promise of someone in government not to lose, misplace, sell or leak your financial information?"

"the OECD published a report claiming that the poverty rate is higher in the United States than in countries such as Greece, Portugal and Turkey. To reach this absurd conclusion, the OECD redefined poverty as a relative measure of cash income (not real income, which includes transfer payments). Under the new OECD definition of poverty, if real incomes were twice as high as they are today in the United States — meaning the poorest 10 percent could purchase double the amount of food, housing, etc., the U.S. poverty rate still would not fall, because income distribution would stay the same."

"U.S. taxpayers are supporting high-salaried international bureaucrats who are advocating higher taxes on others, most notably U.S. taxpayers, but do not pay income taxes themselves."

Rusty crayfish: A tasty treat and business opportunity | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin

Rusty crayfish: A tasty treat and business opportunity | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin: "There is heavy competition from a domestic invasive species in our area streams. Two local entrepreneurs are hoping to help solve the problem."

"having acquired all of the necessary permits" "They can only sell you the live product"

So there are permits and restrictions that hamper them from getting rid of an invasive species?!?!?

Health Care Rationing Wins up High | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary

Health Care Rationing Wins up High | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Many government bureaucracies will not pay for doctor-prescribed treatments costing more than a predetermined figure. And none of these bureaucracies’ members will have actually seen the individual patient."

Associated Press on Global Warming: No Fact Checks, Please! | Patrick J. Michaels | Cato Institute: Commentary

Associated Press on Global Warming: No Fact Checks, Please! | Patrick J. Michaels | Cato Institute: Commentary: "If this summer’s weather is a result of global warming, then it had better be globally warm."

"All of these records share a common characteristic. They don’t show much warming since the late 1990s. More germane to Borenstein’s article is that, so far, 2012 is actually cool compared to the run of years since then. Such an inconvenient fact."

"Given the fact that 2012 is nothing special globally, then, under Borenstein’s logic, any odd weather from 1996 through now—when temperatures have been pretty constant—is consistent with global warming. That would include:

• Last year’s mild winter,

• The record length of time that the U.S. has seen since its last major hurricane strike, and

• The very low hurricane activity observed worldwide since 2005,

• The gigantic snowstorms that hit Washington DC in 2009-10,

• The very active hurricane season of 2005, and

• The lack of any trend whatsoever in severe tornadoes or economically-adjusted weather damages."

Patients, Docs Win -- And Lawyers Lose | Walter Olson | Cato Institute: Commentary

Patients, Docs Win -- And Lawyers Lose | Walter Olson | Cato Institute: Commentary: "many patients who sue would be happy if someone would just pick up the out-of-pocket costs an injury has dealt them, from lost income to the bill for rehab nursing. Oh, and pick them up quickly."

The Future of Congressional War Powers | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Future of Congressional War Powers | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "If he is elected president, Mitt Romney will take an oath to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution. Yet he has proudly declared that he doesn’t believe in the Constitution—at least in the clear and unambiguous language that the right to declare war belongs to Congress."

The States Resist Obamacare | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

The States Resist Obamacare | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "by refusing to go along with Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and by blocking state-run exchanges, governors are not just saving state taxpayers money. They are potentially reducing future federal spending by as much as $1.5 trillion over the next ten years."

Obama's Disaster-Prone Presidency | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama's Disaster-Prone Presidency | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: " "In the post-Stafford Act era," Reeves explains, "a competitive state is expected to receive over twice the number of disaster declarations as a noncompetitive state." What's more, the FEMA porkbarrel pays off politically: "Voters reward presidents for disaster declarations to the tune of over 1 percent at the ballot box."

After Congress expanded presidents' disaster relief powers in 1988, Reeves notes, they were, unsurprisingly, "more likely to grant [relief] in year four as the presidential election neared." "

Demand for guns in Colorado jumps in wake of movie massacre | Fox News

Demand for guns in Colorado jumps in wake of movie massacre | Fox News: "A lot of it is people saying, 'I didn't think I needed a gun, but now I do,' " he told the newspaper. "When it happens in your backyard, people start reassessing — 'Hey, I go to the movies.'"

Headline: Pro-gun group uses Chicago firearms buyback program to fund shooting camp for kids

Headline: Pro-gun group uses Chicago firearms buyback program to fund shooting camp for kids: "I'm proud to be president of this fine organization and couldn't be happier about what our members accomplished in Chicago on Saturday," Boch wrote. "We collected these guns in anticipation of this foolish event orchestrated by big city gun bigots, executed our plan to sell them and used the gift cards to help teach tomorrow’s gun owners safe and responsible use of firearms.

"So thank you Mayor Emanuel. We hope you'll do it again next year. For the children, of course."

'A Republic — If You Can Keep It' | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

'A Republic — If You Can Keep It' | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "As Roberts wrote, “It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.”"

A Taxing Decision | Trevor Burrus | Cato Institute: Commentary

A Taxing Decision | Trevor Burrus | Cato Institute: Commentary: "If I park in a "no parking zone" and get a ticket, can I just call that a "tax" that I pay for choosing to park there? Are speeding fines now just taxes on "moving fast.""

"the individual mandate is one of the biggest gifts, if not the biggest gift, ever given by a government to a private industry. To get the government to compel the purchase of your product is the ultimate dream of every businessman."

Government Medical "Insurance" - Murray N. Rothbard - Mises Daily

Government Medical "Insurance" - Murray N. Rothbard - Mises Daily: " it is impossible, under third-party insurance, to prevent a gross decline in the quality of medical care, along with a severe shortage of the supply of such care in relation to the swelling demand.

Everyone old enough to remember the good old days of family physicians making house calls, spending a great deal of time with and getting to know the patient, and charging low fees to boot, is deeply and properly resentful of the current assembly-line care. But all too few understand the role of the much-beloved medical insurance itself in bringing about this sorry decline in quality, as well as the astronomical rise in prices."

Laissez-Faire Learning - David Greenwald - Mises Daily

Laissez-Faire Learning - David Greenwald - Mises Daily: "Since it is obvious that the wealthiest few have far more purchasing power per capita than those in the middle- and lower-income strata, why does the market not produce only for the former group and leave the latter two homeless and starving?"

To paraphase, high price initially limits products to the rich, but high price also encourages competition that drives down the price.

"Education, if it is to be worthy of the name, demands a method opposite to that of bureaucratic management and entirely irreconcilable with it. It requires flexibility, parsimony, innovation, and above all, a means of daily subjecting the producers of educational services to the competition of their peers and the approval or disapproval of their clients."

Heading toward National Insolvency | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

Heading toward National Insolvency | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The full national debt already is 100 percent of GDP, compared to about 84 percent for Europe."

"Putative Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney promises to be tough on federal spending, but nothing in his past behavior suggests that he takes this promise any more seriously than he has treated the many positions he has cheerfully tossed aside when he thought doing so was to his political advantage. Believing that Republicans, if victorious come November, will rein in Uncle Sam, is, like a second marriage, the triumph of hope over experience."

How to Fix the Supreme Court After the ObamaCare Judgment | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

How to Fix the Supreme Court After the ObamaCare Judgment | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "To have momentous cases decided by a five-four vote carries more than a hint of arbitrariness. Happenstance in one appointment three or more decades before could effectively set important areas of government policy today.

A larger court—Turley proposes adding justices slowly, to prevent any single president from dominating the institution—would reduce the likelihood of decisions by a small, idiosyncratic majority. Where a true consensus developed, the Supreme Court would speak with a large and authoritative majority. A larger court also would allow more diverse membership. Today the high court is dominated by former appellate court judges. That’s good training, but the body would benefit from a greater mix of backgrounds."

"The jurist pool should be leavened with a few judges who understand economics, history, and more. They would need to become conversant with the law, but the average bright college graduate could do far better than some past Supreme Court justices in interpreting the Constitution."

"members of the high court should be appointed for a fixed term of five or ten years. Lifetime appointment is intended to shield jurists from political currents, but it also ensures that bad jurists are able to inflict themselves on the American people for decades in some cases. The greater their perceived insulation from reality, the greater will be the attacks on justices for their decisions."

"The natural churning of justices would be more orderly and less arbitrary if they served fixed terms."

"Unless the starting point is what the relevant text was intended to mean, interpretation is but a sophisticated fraud, an eloquent rationalization for one ideology or another. There always will be disagreements, even among jurists with similar philosophies, but a commitment to the rule of law rather than the rule of man is critical."

"President George W. Bush signed into law a campaign “reform” measure he believed to be unconstitutional and said that he could arrest American citizens on American soil and lock them away without legal due process."

Government Transparency Is Becoming a Joke | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Government Transparency Is Becoming a Joke | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "the National Security Agency refused to provide Congress with a rough estimate of how many Americans have had their communications monitored by the agency since 2008, on the grounds that revealing that information might violate Americans' privacy."

Man accused of breaking into homes purely to view porn | Technically Incorrect - CNET News

Man accused of breaking into homes purely to view porn | Technically Incorrect - CNET News:

Another reason not to charge someone with a crime just because it was committed from an IP address or computer that was assigned to them!

Constitutional Fix to Overspending | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Constitutional Fix to Overspending | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Tea Party members are going to be very unhappy. Many of the new members of the House and Senate that the Tea Party helped elect are already becoming part of the political class, as evidenced by their votes for continued farm subsidies, refusals to put reasonable limits on the growth of the food-stamp program, support for unaccountable international organizations, and on and on. Members of Congress vote for unjustified spending because they think the recipients will reward them with campaign contributions and praise while the majority of the electorate will never notice."

"The answer is to make it more difficult for the political class to spend and tax as much as it does but not make it so restrictive that government cannot spend sufficient funds on what is generally believed to be a constitutional and appropriate function of government. This can be accomplished best by having a constitutional amendment that requires both houses of Congress to pass all tax and spending bills with a supermajority — two-thirds of each chamber might be appropriate.

There already are many supermajority requirements, such as overrides of vetoes, so no new ground is being broken. In practice, what this would mean is that the special interests who want more spending or taxing will have a more difficult time rounding up the required numbers of votes, which means they will fail more often — all to the good. The supermajority requirement is not a panacea but will make it easier to reduce excessive spending and destructive deficits."

Hoarding cited in Pa. seizure of 185 Chihuahuas | Fox News

Hoarding cited in Pa. seizure of 185 Chihuahuas | Fox News: "Veterinarians who checked the Chihuahuas — plus two other dogs that were also removed from the residence — found no serious health issues, only minor eye, teeth and skin problems.

The dogs wagged their tails when visitors approached their crates and apparently came from a loving home, officials said.

"The owners were telling us their names as we were tagging them," said Nicole Bucher, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture.

The dogs in the freezer, which included adults and puppies, apparently died of natural causes and the owners said they planned to cremate them, Bucher said.

"They weren't killed," she said."

So the dogs were taken care of -- there were just too many?

Gov't acknowledges one-time surveillance problem | Fox News

Gov't acknowledges one-time surveillance problem | Fox News: "the Obama administration acknowledged Friday that the government's surveillance efforts have exceeded legal limits on at least one occasion."

"Will the response be just? Will it be the same as if a private person made the same admission?"

Obama, Romney views have evolved toward gun rights | Fox News

Obama, Romney views have evolved toward gun rights | Fox News: "As they expressed shock and sorrow over the bloodshed at a Colorado movie theater, neither [President Barack Obama nor Republican challenger Mitt Romney] suggested that tougher gun control could make a difference, a notion that has faded from political debate."

Free Speech Codes on Campus: Political correctness run amok? | Fox News

Free Speech Codes on Campus: Political correctness run amok? | Fox News: " One stipulation in the code requires that students may only "express opinions" within a free speech zone"

"if you want to tell your friend that you think it's hot outside, you have to go to the zone to do it"

"IUS's code also requires university approval for acts of 'expressed opinions' by submitting an application at least five days in advance.

But the school defended the speech code, expressing concern the exercise of First Amendment rights outside designated zones could disrupt others' pursuit of an education."

Boston mayor vows to keep Chick-fil-A out of city | Fox News

Boston mayor vows to keep Chick-fil-A out of city | Fox News: "Mayor Thomas Menino told the Boston Herald on Thursday that he doesn't want a business in the city "that discriminates against a population."

Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press this week that his privately owned company is "guilty as charged" in support of what he called the biblical definition of the family.

The fast-food chicken sandwich chain later said that it strives to "treat every person with honor, dignity and respect -- regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.""

So the Mayor will discriminate against at company that he thinks discriminates but actually just disagrees!

Calif bullet train faces funding, legal challenges | Fox News

Calif bullet train faces funding, legal challenges | Fox News: "$2.6 billion in bonds for construction of the initial 130-mile segment of the bullet train in the Central Valley. The move allows the state to tap $3.2 billion in federal funds for the project."

$44 million dollars/mile!

Texas honor student jailed for truancy likely spent night with 'hard-core' criminals | Fox News

Texas honor student jailed for truancy likely spent night with 'hard-core' criminals | Fox News: "Diane Tran, an 11th-grade honor student at Willis High School near Houston, was sent to jail for 24 hours last Wednesday by Judge Lanny Moriarty and ordered to pay a $100 fine for excessive truancy."

"Tran, who works full-time at a dry-cleaning business and part-time for a wedding planner, has been supporting her brother and sister since her parents separated and her mother moved away."

"the girl likely spent her 24-hour jail sentence at Montgomery County Jail surrounded by suspected murderers, drug addicts and prostitutes.
"It's hard-core," he said of the jail, noting that past clients whom he has defended described it as "the worst experience of their life." "

""If you let one run loose, what are you going to do with the rest of them? Let them go, too?" [Judge] Moriarty told the station."

Perish the thought that people will work hard to support their family! We can't have that!

"I think the public policy of making kids attend school is necessary and 24 hours in jail would be pretty minimal and should get the point across," "

The policy is to ensure that children get a good education so it doesn't make sense to punish someone who is doing well in school!

RI MD admits guilt in NY rare-coin case with twist | Fox News

RI MD admits guilt in NY rare-coin case with twist | Fox News: "Still, Weiss was criminally implicated because he believed what he had were illegally obtained coins."

If ignorance of the law isn't a valid reason for breaking the law, why is someone guilty if they incorrectly thought they were breaking the law?

Energy Companies Are Not Sitting on "Inactive" Oil Leases, President Obama | Robert L. Bradley Jr. | Cato Institute: Commentary

Energy Companies Are Not Sitting on "Inactive" Oil Leases, President Obama | Robert L. Bradley Jr. | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Obtaining a lease is just the first step in producing energy, after which companies must obtain exploration and drilling permits. Leases may appear idle — but only because planned exploration and development are being held up by other federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Ocean, Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

Throughout the pre-leasing, leasing, exploration, drilling, and production processes, companies have to apply for more than 15 permits and comply with more than 90 sets of federal regulations. A permit just approved in Utah, for example, was four and half years in the making. In an earlier report on lease activity, this land would have been considered inactive.

The more the government stalls, the more oil and gas companies pay. Annual rental fees for leased land can now exceed $100,000 annually — and can increase as the lease goes on. This hardly suggests that companies are somehow incited to postpone drilling and production.

Not to worry, leases also include a "use it or lose it" provision to ensure that oil companies promptly return acreage unworthy of development to the government."

Report: 2M jobs lost if automatic cuts kick in | Fox News

Report: 2M jobs lost if automatic cuts kick in | Fox News: "The study, obtained by The Associated Press, was conducted for the Aerospace Industries Association, but it examined the shared pain for defense and domestic programs from the across-the-board reductions slated to kick in Jan. 2. The cuts would reduce the nation's gross domestic product by $215 billion next year while consumer confidence would plummet, said the report by Dr. Stephen Fuller of George Mason University and Chmura Economics and Analytics."

Sweet! There are no costs to the government spending money! That makes so much sense!
And of course the Aerospace Industries Association has no incentive to say that we should keep government spending -- they don't get any extra benefits from government spending so they can be trusted!

Calif. cities eye plan to seize mortgages | Fox News

Calif. cities eye plan to seize mortgages | Fox News: "The idea was broached by a group of West Coast financiers who suggest using the power of eminent domain, which lets the government seize private property for public use. In this case, they would condemn troubled mortgages so they could seize them from the investors who own them. Then the mortgages would be rewritten so the borrowers would have significantly lower monthly payments."

"In this case, supporters say, the public purpose is served because communities battered by foreclosures have seen tax rolls decimated and services gutted and have suffered economic blight."

"Here's how it would work for a hypothetical city:

— The city goes to court and argues that the public purpose is served by having the county own, and ultimately refinance, the mortgage.

— The city pays fair market value to the owner of the mortgage. That is usually a securitization trust, an otherwise passive financial entity used to bundle mortgages and sell pieces to investors that became a bigger part of the mortgage market during the 2000s housing boom.

— The city, the new owner of the mortgage, encourages and helps the homeowner to find refinancing. Now the principal is lower, and interest rates are at historic lows, so the homeowner winds up with easier monthly payments.

— Mortgage Resolution Partners collects a flat fee, $4,500 per loan, for helping the city find homeowners who can be helped and for handling the other mechanics of the process."

The problem is that people owe more than the house is worth, so a company thinks the government should take the loan an refinance it to lower the payments. So it doesn't solve the problem and the company makes *only* $4,500 per house!

Obama Policy Is Positive Step, But Could Delay Real Reform | Alex Nowrasteh | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama Policy Is Positive Step, But Could Delay Real Reform | Alex Nowrasteh | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The last time Obama used his prosecutorial discretion to review deportation cases, his administration promised to stop the deportations of unauthorized immigrants with strong American family ties and no criminal records. Since that policy went into effect in November 2011, Department of Homeland Security officials stopped deportations in a bare 2 percent of the 411,000 cases reviewed. Last week's memo could be just a repeat of that."

Obama's Executive Unilateralism | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama's Executive Unilateralism | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In an interview with a panel of Latino journalists last fall, the president had a different take: "This notion that somehow I can just change the laws unilaterally is just not true. We live in a democracy," he insisted. "You have to pass bills through the legislature and then I can sign it." That's why, despite the urging of immigration activists, he could not implement the Dream Act via executive diktat."

"The University of Chicago's Richard Epstein warns that "government by waiver" is "among the most serious challenges to the rule of law in our time." The growth of the administrative state has concentrated enormous discretionary power in the president's hands, and he can use that power to reward political allies and legislate by decree without the inconvenience of democratic deliberation.

Consider the conditional waivers the administration has granted to 10 states, freeing them from the strictures of the No Child Left Behind Act — but only if they adopt certain reforms, nowhere to be found in the law."

"the president's union allies were suspiciously overrepresented in Obamacare waivers granted by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, loosening administrative cost limits in employer health plans."

Wanted: Servants, Not Celebrities | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Wanted: Servants, Not Celebrities | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The empirical evidence supports the stereotype that the Republicans are somewhat more restrained when it comes to spending than their Democratic colleagues, but that is a low standard. "

"History shows that both Republicans and Democrats usually end up voting for more spending (and taxing) than they promise during their election campaigns. The basic problem is that they are heavily lobbied by those who want specific spending programs, and rewarded with campaign contributions for voting in favor of those programs."

"By 1988, he garnered 71 percent of the vote — the all-time record for any Long Island congressman. He was a model of how a lawmaker can be fiscally responsible, yet get re-elected time and time again in a swing district (after defeating a well-known Democrat)."

"Mr. Lent once told me that he thought the reform that would have the biggest single effect would be to no longer allow the sponsor of a bill or party leadership to name the legislation. "

Obama, Romney short on specifics for voters | Fox News

Obama, Romney short on specifics for voters | Fox News: "Romney, for example, has pledged to cap total federal spending at 20 percent of the gross domestic product by the end of his first term, increase defense spending and put the federal budget on track to be balanced within eight to 10 years. But he's offered scant detail about the painful spending cuts that would be necessary to pull off such a trifecta."

Will the House Block the Farm Bill Pig-Out? | Tad DeHaven and Chris Edwards | Cato Institute: Commentary

Will the House Block the Farm Bill Pig-Out? | Tad DeHaven and Chris Edwards | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Supporters are calling it a "reform" bill because it would trim a measly two percent from projected spending over the period."

"most farm subsidies don't go to small family farms. The largest 10 percent of recipients receive more than two-thirds of all farm subsidies"

"For the passage of the last major Farm Bill in 2008, 100 House Republicans helped the Democrats override President Bush's veto of that spending monstrosity."

"New Zealand abolished virtually all of its farm subsidies, and after an adjustment period, farm productivity, profitability, and output from that country's agriculture industry rose substantially."

IPAB, Obamacare's Super-Legislature | Michael F. Cannon and Diane Cohen | Cato Institute: Commentary

IPAB, Obamacare's Super-Legislature | Michael F. Cannon and Diane Cohen | Cato Institute: Commentary: "[ Independent Payment Advisory Boarb] consists of up to 15 unelected government "experts." Its stated purpose is to restrain Medicare spending. If projected spending exceeds certain targets, Obamacare requires IPAB to issue "legislative proposals" to reduce future spending. Those proposals could include drastic cuts that jeopardize seniors' access to care, leading some critics to label IPAB a "death panel.""

"That makes IPAB more than an advisory board. It's a super-legislature whose members are more powerful than members of Congress."

"Under Obamacare, after 2017 Congress could repeal Medicare, but not the board it created to run Medicare. Congress and the states could repeal the Bill of Rights — but not IPAB."

"if Congress fails to repeal IPAB in 2017, the secretary must implement IPAB's edicts even if Congress votes to block them."

"Fortunately, one Congress cannot bind future Congresses by statute."

Ky. woman fights porn companies' anti-piracy suits | Fox News

Ky. woman fights porn companies' anti-piracy suits | Fox News: ""It is no more likely that the subscriber to an IP address carried out a particular computer function — here the purported illegal downloading of a single pornographic film — than to say an individual who pays the telephone bill made a specific telephone call.""

Witness: Driver of runaway Ohio truck saved others | Fox News

Witness: Driver of runaway Ohio truck saved others | Fox News: "Witnesses praised the driver for maneuvering around a busy intersection, pedestrians and a strip mall. Driver Trista Merendino watched the scene and told the Akron Beacon Journal  it was clear that Burgess sacrificed himself to save other people."

After attacks, Kenyan Muslims guard Christian churches - CSMonitor.com

After attacks, Kenyan Muslims guard Christian churches - CSMonitor.com: "Kenyan Muslims are joining the police in protecting churches in the northeastern province where Christians have come under increased attack from suspected Somali Al Shabab Islamic militants"

End the FDA Drug Monopoly: Let Patients Choose Their Medicines | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

End the FDA Drug Monopoly: Let Patients Choose Their Medicines | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Drug discovery is an uncertain business. Unfortunately, new medicines do not appear miraculously, like manna from heaven. Firms typically have to assess between 5,000 and 10,000 substances for every one that survives the extensive testing process and makes it to market. Of those that win approval, 80 percent lose money. Only a few pharmaceuticals pay for the entire development process.

The average cost of developing a new drug runs more than $1 billion, with estimates traditionally ranging between $1.2 and $1.5 billion."

"Between 1962 and 1967 the average delay in approval time rose from seven to 30 months. Total drug development time jumped from around three years in 1960 to six years in 1965 and ten years in 1970. The Tufts University Center for Drug Development found little has changed in recent years. Estimates range between 10 and 20 years, most commonly settling around 15 years.

Economist Sam Peltzman concluded that the introduction of new drugs fell by more than half after Kefauver-Harris. Yet there was no comparable drop in the release of unsafe or ineffective pharmaceuticals or withdrawal of unsafe products from the marketplace."

"The FDA's slowness did not increase safety: post-approval drug withdrawals were comparable on both sides of the Atlantic."

"For years the FDA prevented any mention of aspirin's value in preventing heart attacks or even the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation that women take folic acid supplements to reduce birth defects."

"The benefits of FDA regulation relative to that in foreign countries could reasonably be put at some 5,000 casualties per decade or 10,000 per decade for worst-case scenarios. In comparison... the cost of FDA delay can be estimated at anywhere from 21,000 to 120,000 lives per decade."

"The government could be restricted to judging safety, leaving efficacy up to the marketplace. After all, assessing effectiveness is what markets do every day."

"Best would be to make the FDA's approval advisory. If you only trust the U.S. government, then only take medicines (or use medical devices) endorsed by the agency. Otherwise consider the opinion of doctors, hospitals, and other medical providers, as well as look for certification by public or private organizations."

Surveillance requests to cellphone carriers surge | Fox News

Surveillance requests to cellphone carriers surge | Fox News: "Law enforcement agencies in the U.S. made more than 1.3 million requests for consumers' cellphone records in 2011, an alarming surge over previous years that reflected the increasingly gray area between privacy and technology.

Cellphone carriers, responding to inquiries from a member of Congress, reported responding to as many as thousands of police requests daily for customers' locations, text messages and call details, frequently without warrants. Special legal teams operating round-the-clock have been set up to field requests"

3 dead after gunfire at Del. soccer tournament | Fox News

3 dead after gunfire at Del. soccer tournament | Fox News: "Investigators said one of the suspects, 43-year-old Sheldon Olge, was fatally shot by someone in the crowd after he and two accomplices opened fire Sunday afternoon before fleeing in a car."

Identity theft scam claims Obama will pay your utility bills | Fox News

Identity theft scam claims Obama will pay your utility bills | Fox News: "Last week, 2,000 people were tricked in Tampa, and at least 10,000 people fell for the fake deal in New Jersey in recent weeks."

Conservatives make it rough for business | Fox News

Conservatives make it rough for business | Fox News: "They and their ideological leaders argue that the marketplace should dictate what businesses thrive and falter, not Washington.

"What we find now is this cronyism and this corporate welfare, it's corrupting the politics because there's nothing now that goes through that doesn't have a corporate interest," Republican Sen. Jim DeMint told The Associated Press in an interview. "It's not just the Ex-Im Bank. It's the transportation bill that has huge entities involved. The farm bill basically guarantees large corporate farmers."

The South Carolina lawmaker warned that the combination of big government and big industry is creating a nation that is becoming "too big to succeed.""

Vikings star Peterson arrested in Houston on charge of resisting arrest | Fox News

Vikings star Peterson arrested in Houston on charge of resisting arrest | Fox News: "arrested in Houston on a charge of resisting arrest"

That just doesn't make sense.

Insurance companies send crews to protect homes | Fox News

Insurance companies send crews to protect homes | Fox News: "For insurers, hiring their own crew is worth the cost. They spend thousands on well-equipped, federally rated firefighters, potentially saving hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to replace a home and its contents.

Insurance companies began sending crews to wildfires around 2006"

Minnesota inmates can now receive email (but not send) | Fox News

Minnesota inmates can now receive email (but not send) | Fox News: "Any emails sent to the state's 9,300 adult inmates will be printed by correctional officers and placed in their mailboxes. Minnesota Department of Corrections deputy commissioner, Terry Carlson, tells KSTP-TV emails will reduce the risk of contraband arriving with a mailed letter.

The emails have a price. Each will cost the sender 30 cents, with 20 cents going to the state to cover expenses."

Is it free to receive letters? Does it really cost that much?

Over a barrel, city of Niagara Falls seeks life in new grads | Fox News

Over a barrel, city of Niagara Falls seeks life in new grads | Fox News: "Just 20 people will be selected for the first round of buyers and renters, whom the city would pay up to $3,500 in annual student loan payments for two years."

"Local officials have said the program could help ensure that the shrinking city doesn’t dip below a population count of 50,000 for the 2020 Census, when it would lose key funding through the state and federal governments. In 2010, the city had a population of 50,193, down from 55,593 in 2000."

$7,000 per person?!?! And they may not even be around for the next census!

5 Ways to Solve Health Care | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

5 Ways to Solve Health Care | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Nothing would do more to fix our health-care system than moving away from a system dominated by employer-provided health insurance and instead making health insurance personal and portable, controlled by the individual rather than government or an employer. There is, after all, no logical reason for an individual to receive health insurance through their job. We don't receive most other types of insurance — auto, homeowners, life — in that way.

Employer-based health insurance is an anomaly that grew out of unique historical circumstances during World War II. Despite the widespread entry of women into the labor force during the war, the shift of men from private employment to the military created a labor shortage. At the same time, wage controls prevented employers from competing for available workers by raising salaries. In an effort to circumvent the regulations and compete for available workers, employers began to offer non-wage benefits, including health insurance.

In 1953, the IRS ruled that employer-provided health insurance was not part of wage compensation for tax purposes."