Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Women's Groups Blast 'Divisive' Pro-Life Super Bowl Ad -- Without Even Seeing It - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

Women's Groups Blast 'Divisive' Pro-Life Super Bowl Ad -- Without Even Seeing It - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com: "It's a happy story with an inspirational ending, but pro-choice critics say Focus on the Family should not be allowed to air the commercial because it advocates on behalf of a divisive issue and threatens to 'throw women under the bus.'

'This organization is extremely intolerant and divisive and pushing an un-American agenda,' said Jehmu Greene, director of the Women's Media Center, which is coordinating a campaign to force CBS to pull the ad before it airs on Feb. 7.

'Abortion is very controversial, and the anti-abortion vitriol has resulted in escalated violence against reproductive health providers and their patients,' Greene said. 'We've seen that clearly with the murder of Dr. George Tiller,' the late-term abortion provider who was gunned down in his Kansas church in May 2009."

NOW calls them intolerant but doesn't want to tolerate their views! How can anyone think that make sense?!?

Good News for Blackwater Is Bad News for Industry | David Isenberg | Cato Institute: Commentary

Good News for Blackwater Is Bad News for Industry | David Isenberg | Cato Institute: Commentary: "U.S. military reports from the scene indicated that Blackwater guards opened fire without provocation and used excessive force against Iraqi civilians."

"Reportedly American investigators were told that during the shootings at least one Blackwater guard continued firing on civilians while colleagues urgently called for a cease-fire. At least one guard apparently also drew a weapon on a fellow guard who did not stop shooting.

Reportedly FBI agents found that at least 14 of the shootings were unjustified and violated deadly-force rules in effect for security contractors in Iraq."

Mankiw's Baseless Arguments - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Institute

Mankiw's Baseless Arguments - Robert P. Murphy - Mises Institute: "When the Treasury pays someone interest, it's not inflationary; it simply leaves less money (out of general tax receipts) available for other spending purposes. On the other hand, when the Fed pays interest on reserves, it necessarily increases the monetary base.

Thus, Mankiw's solution for dealing with unprecedented excess reserves is for the Fed to create even more reserves in order to pay bankers not to make new loans. Does that sound like a good long-term plan for the economy?"

Monday, January 25, 2010

Google Public Policy Blog: Finance clean energy, Mr. President

Google Public Policy Blog: Finance clean energy, Mr. President: "Along with other entrepreneurs, investors and industry stakeholders, we wrote a letter urging President Obama to craft a jobs package that includes the creation of a Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA). Swift enactment of CEDA will create jobs in 2010 and also position the U.S. as a global leader in the development and deployment of clean energy technologies for years to come."

Government financing usually makes something worse because it is so much less efficient that the market and its choices are usually political. For the sake of clean energy, please don't finance clean energy, Mr. President.

Friday, January 22, 2010

FOXNews.com - Senate Democrats Propose $1.9T Increase to U.S. Debt Limit

FOXNews.com - Senate Democrats Propose $1.9T Increase to U.S. Debt Limit: "The record increase in the so-called debt limit is required because the budget deficit has spiraled out of control in the wake of a recession that cut tax revenues, the Wall Street bailout, and increased spending by the Democratic-controlled Congress. Last year's deficit hit a phenomenal $1.4 trillion, and the current year's deficit promises to be as high or higher. "

"'We have gone to the restaurant. We have eaten the meal. Now the only question is whether we will pay the check,' said Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. 'We simply must do so.'"

No, it is more like you bought toys and the question is if you will return any.

"Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota immediately offered an amendment to end the bank and Wall Street bailout, officially known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Thune would prohibit further expenditure TARP funds and would require that all funds paid back be used to retire debt."

That would at least show some remorse for overspending.

FOXNews.com - U.N. Panel's Glacier-Disaster Claims Melting Away

FOXNews.com - U.N. Panel's Glacier-Disaster Claims Melting Away: "Today, the IPCC issued a statement offering regret for the poorly vetted statements. 'The Chair, Vice-Chairs, and Co-chairs of the IPCC regret the poor application of well-established IPCC procedures,' the statement says, though it goes short of issuing a full retraction or reprinting the report.

Pachauri told Reuters on Monday that the group was looking into the issue, and planned to 'take a position on it in the next two or three days.'"

"'They are indeed receding and the rate is cause for great concern,' Ramesh said of the glaciers. But, he said, the IPCC's 2035 forecast was 'not based on an iota of scientific evidence.'"

"The speculative comments were not peer reviewed, and other reports have indicated that the glaciers are not retreating abnormally."

This just shows that IPCC is a political group -- not a scientific group. They didn't follow accepted scientific methods. So take their work as political statements and not scientific statements.

Blogs, YouTube prompt campaign finance ruling | Politics and Law - CNET News

Blogs, YouTube prompt campaign finance ruling | Politics and Law - CNET News: "The New York Times endorses political candidates (in 2008, it endorsed Barack Obama). So does the New York Post (it chose John McCain).
Those endorsements on the eve of a presidential election were permitted under U.S. election laws--even though both newspapers are owned by corporations with market capitalizations in the billions of dollars. But the tiny nonprofit called Citizens United, funded mostly by individual donations, was barred from sharing its own political views."

Thursday, January 21, 2010

FOXNews.com - Supreme Court Removes Limits on Corporate, Labor Donations to Campaigns

FOXNews.com - Supreme Court Removes Limits on Corporate, Labor Donations to Campaigns: "In a stunning reversal of the nation's federal campaign finance laws, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Thursday that as an exercise of free speech, corporations, labor unions and other groups can directly spend on political campaigns."

Campaign finance laws aren't effective anyway -- they just shift how things are done while appearing to solve the problem.

"'In the context of election to public office, the distinction between corporate and human speakers is significant. Although they make enormous contributions to our society, corporations are not actually members of it,' he added."

Technically, corporations don't do anything either (speak, spend money, etc). It is the people who run those corporations who do those things.

Sitting Too Much Could Be Deadly, Experts Say - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News - FOXNews.com

Sitting Too Much Could Be Deadly, Experts Say - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News - FOXNews.com: "Scientists are increasingly warning that sitting for prolonged periods — even if you also exercise regularly — could be bad for your health. And it doesn't matter where the sitting takes place — at the office, at school, in the car or before a computer or TV — just the overall number of hours it occurs."

One idea that comes to my mind is to setup a desk (or a few) at standing height. The computer would be setup with remote desktop so that employees using it could connect back to their workstation and do work as if they were at their desk. That desk could then be reserved like a conference room so that employees could use it for a few short periods during the day. Optionally, the cube could have a tread mill right in front of the computer so that employees could also walk while working.

Muslims Angry Over U.S. Military 'Jesus' Rifles - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

Muslims Angry Over U.S. Military 'Jesus' Rifles - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com: "Markings on the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, which is standard issue to U.S. special operations forces, include 'JN8:12,' a reference to John 8:12: 'Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,'' according to the King James version of the Bible.

The Trijicon Reflex sight is stamped with 2COR4:6, a reference to part of the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians: 'For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,' the King James version reads."

"'I don't have to wonder for a nanosecond how the American public would react if citations from the Quran were being inscribed onto these U.S. armed forces gun sights instead of New Testament citations,' Weinstein said. The foundation is a nonprofit organization opposed to religious favoritism within the military."

"'This situation is not unlike the situation with U.S. currency,' said the spokesman, Air Force Maj. John Redfield. 'Are we going to stop using money because the bills have 'In God We Trust' on them? As long as the sights meet the combat needs of troops, they'll continue to be used.'"