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Whoppers with Sleaze | Walter Olson | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Staffers at the Health Department were sharply divided about whether the proposed ads went beyond the available science in demonizing sweet drinks. The city's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, overruled three subordinates, including his chief nutritionist, to push things forward.
• 'The scientists, [the city's nutritionist] said, 'will make mincemeat of us.' ' 'Basic premise doesn't work,' said a Columbia professor of pediatrics and clinical medicine whom the city consulted."
"Incredibly, New York City's latest ad, on salt in processed foods, is even worse. It shows a can of soup bursting at the seams with table salt, whole mounds and piles of it. The city's underlying point is not 100 percent off-base — healthful in most other ways, conventional canned soup is a relatively salty food — but the actual amount of salt in a can is more like 1 teaspoon, not the third of a cup or more depicted in the city's ridiculously exaggerated photo. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Bloomberg soup ad is built on a visual lie.
What would happen if a private advertiser tried to get away with imagery as misleading as this? Well, in 1970, in a case still taught in business schools, Campbell's got caught manipulating the soup pictures in its ads; its photographers had put marbles at the bottom of the bowl so that the pleasing vegetables would be more visible on top. The Federal Trade Commission filed a deceptive-advertising complaint to make the company stop."
Monday, December 13, 2010
The GOP's Budget Cowardice | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary
The GOP's Budget Cowardice | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "It's time to face some hard facts: To actually bring the budget into balance by 2019 will require as much as a 20 percent reduction in spending relative to the level to which it would otherwise grow with inflation. That's total spending, not just domestic discretionary spending. To truly roll back the size of government — to, say, the 18 percent of GDP it consumed during the Clinton presidency — would require even bigger cuts. How does the GOP pretend that we can get there simply by cutting 'waste, fraud, and abuse,' and without putting entitlements or defense on the table?"
Body Scanners: The Naked Truth | David Rittgers | Cato Institute: Commentary
Body Scanners: The Naked Truth | David Rittgers | Cato Institute: Commentary: "the scanners fare poorly against low-density materials such as thin plastics, gels and liquids. Care to guess what Abdulmutallab's bomb was made of? The Government Accountability Office reported in March that it's not clear that a scanner would've detected that device.
Even if the scanners did work against low-density materials, the same group linked to the Christmas bomb, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has already found another way to defeat the technology: hiding bombs inside the human body: A would-be AQAP assassin tried to kill a senior Saudi counterterrorism official with a bomb hidden where only a proctologist would find it.
That bomb wound up killing only its carrier. But a more enterprising terrorist could go to the plane bathroom to remove bomb components hidden in a body cavity, then place them against the aircraft hull — and the results would be far different.
Terrorists already know how to beat body scanners with low-tech (really, no-tech) techniques, but the federal government still spends billions on this gadget."
"An army of executives for scanner-producing corporations — mostly former high-ranking Homeland Security officials — successfully lobbied Congress into spending $300 million in stimulus money to buy the scanners. But running them will cost another $340 million each year. Operating them means 5,000 added TSA personnel, growing the screener workforce by 10 percent. This, when the federal debt commission is saying that we must cut federal employment rolls, including some FBI agents, just to keep spending sustainable.
Why cut funding for the people who actually catch terrorists to add more pointless hassles at the airport?"
Even if the scanners did work against low-density materials, the same group linked to the Christmas bomb, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, has already found another way to defeat the technology: hiding bombs inside the human body: A would-be AQAP assassin tried to kill a senior Saudi counterterrorism official with a bomb hidden where only a proctologist would find it.
That bomb wound up killing only its carrier. But a more enterprising terrorist could go to the plane bathroom to remove bomb components hidden in a body cavity, then place them against the aircraft hull — and the results would be far different.
Terrorists already know how to beat body scanners with low-tech (really, no-tech) techniques, but the federal government still spends billions on this gadget."
"An army of executives for scanner-producing corporations — mostly former high-ranking Homeland Security officials — successfully lobbied Congress into spending $300 million in stimulus money to buy the scanners. But running them will cost another $340 million each year. Operating them means 5,000 added TSA personnel, growing the screener workforce by 10 percent. This, when the federal debt commission is saying that we must cut federal employment rolls, including some FBI agents, just to keep spending sustainable.
Why cut funding for the people who actually catch terrorists to add more pointless hassles at the airport?"
Sunday, December 12, 2010
You and Your Neighbor's Pork | Brandon Arnold | Cato Institute: Commentary
You and Your Neighbor's Pork | Brandon Arnold | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Earmark advocates love to brag about their newest project and are pretty good at making constituents believe they're particularly adept at this practice. However, most members of Congress are bringing home such a small piece of the earmark pie that their constituents would be far better off if they never sent their tax dollars to Washington in the first place.
Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia are 'earmark donor states.' Their citizens receive only a small percentage of earmarks relative to the share of taxes they send to Washington. Yet 90 percent of the U.S. population lives in these donor states."
Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia are 'earmark donor states.' Their citizens receive only a small percentage of earmarks relative to the share of taxes they send to Washington. Yet 90 percent of the U.S. population lives in these donor states."
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Congress Average Salary: Is It Too High? - PayScale Resources
Congress Average Salary: Is It Too High? - PayScale Resources: "According to PayScale.com, the median earnings for people in the US between the ages of 55-64 (which is the median age of US Congress and Cabinet members) who hold at least a bachelor's degree and work full-time is $73,700. This income is far below what Congress and Cabinet members earn. Perhaps a congressional campaign would be a smart next career move."
Friday, December 10, 2010
How do you find an effective teacher? Ask a kid - FoxNews.com
How do you find an effective teacher? Ask a kid - FoxNews.com: "— The average student knows effective teaching when he or she experiences it.
— In every grade and every subject, a teacher's past success in raising student achievement on state tests is one of the strongest predictors of his or her ability to do so again.
— The teachers with the highest value-added scores on state tests, which show improvement by individual students during the time they were in their classroom, are also the teachers who do the best job helping their students understand math concepts or demonstrate reading comprehension through writing.
— Valid feedback does not need to come from test scores alone. Other data can give teachers the information they need to improve, including student opinions of how organized and effective a teacher is."
— In every grade and every subject, a teacher's past success in raising student achievement on state tests is one of the strongest predictors of his or her ability to do so again.
— The teachers with the highest value-added scores on state tests, which show improvement by individual students during the time they were in their classroom, are also the teachers who do the best job helping their students understand math concepts or demonstrate reading comprehension through writing.
— Valid feedback does not need to come from test scores alone. Other data can give teachers the information they need to improve, including student opinions of how organized and effective a teacher is."
Obamanomics Leaving World Nervous | Daniel J. Mitchell | Cato Institute: Commentary
Obamanomics Leaving World Nervous | Daniel J. Mitchell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "When I was growing up, China's Communist leaders would attack the United States as 'capitalist running dogs.' How the world has changed: Chinese leaders now publicly fret about America's reliance on 'outmoded central planning.'"
"Ironically, the rest of the world has learned that easy money and deficit spending are a bad recipe, yet the White House somehow thinks that going back to Jimmy Carter's policies is the right approach for America."
"Ironically, the rest of the world has learned that easy money and deficit spending are a bad recipe, yet the White House somehow thinks that going back to Jimmy Carter's policies is the right approach for America."
Top GM exec says federal pay limits hurt company - FoxNews.com
Top GM exec says federal pay limits hurt company - FoxNews.com: "The top executive at General Motors said Friday that the automaker's attempt to rebound from its bankruptcy is being hindered by salary limits the government has clamped on executives at companies that accepted federal bailouts."
If you choose to receive special gifts from the government, you can't complain when their rules hurt you.
If you choose to receive special gifts from the government, you can't complain when their rules hurt you.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
High-speed rail in Wisconsin off track? | New Richmond News | New Richmond, Wisconsin
High-speed rail in Wisconsin off track? | New Richmond News | New Richmond, Wisconsin: "Had the Milwaukee to Madison line gone through, Walker said, taxpayers would have been 'on the hook' for as much as $7.5 million in annual operating subsidies to keep the line operational."
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
The Fantasy of Wealth Redistribution - Lorenz Kraus - Mises Daily
The Fantasy of Wealth Redistribution - Lorenz Kraus - Mises Daily: "you cannot chop to pieces and spread among the people an oven — and still have a working oven. You must respect the integrity of all capital goods for them to function. A power plant would have to be ground up into atoms and divided into baggies to get equality.
By their nature, capital goods cannot be redistributed among the people in any sense that results in equality and wealth. The redistribution of wealth, if taken seriously, necessarily means the complete and utter destruction of wealth. Socialism is nihilism, the destruction of values.
Communists never successfully distributed wealth equally. This is inherent in the nature of wealth. Because wealth cannot be subdivided (only rights to wealth can) to the masses, they seized wealth for their own clique. Everyone else starved. This is how the integrity of wealth asserts itself when seized. Socialists do not fight over air; their infighting is over this radio station, that printing press, these tanks, or this bit of rancid meat."
"hundreds of millions of people have thought that redistribution of wealth will lead to personal gain. Obama's redistribution of wealth brought economic destruction."
"Where in socialism do you, oh peasant, lay claim to your part of the public schools, the postal service, or the prisons? There is no similar mechanism to illustrate your ownership of the nationalized steel mill, auto company, coal mine, bank, or national park — and there is not much of a mine or mill left after it is nationalized or burned down.
Take out private-property rights and wealth vanishes. We revert to the ravaging of the commons and to mutually assured destitution."
By their nature, capital goods cannot be redistributed among the people in any sense that results in equality and wealth. The redistribution of wealth, if taken seriously, necessarily means the complete and utter destruction of wealth. Socialism is nihilism, the destruction of values.
Communists never successfully distributed wealth equally. This is inherent in the nature of wealth. Because wealth cannot be subdivided (only rights to wealth can) to the masses, they seized wealth for their own clique. Everyone else starved. This is how the integrity of wealth asserts itself when seized. Socialists do not fight over air; their infighting is over this radio station, that printing press, these tanks, or this bit of rancid meat."
"hundreds of millions of people have thought that redistribution of wealth will lead to personal gain. Obama's redistribution of wealth brought economic destruction."
"Where in socialism do you, oh peasant, lay claim to your part of the public schools, the postal service, or the prisons? There is no similar mechanism to illustrate your ownership of the nationalized steel mill, auto company, coal mine, bank, or national park — and there is not much of a mine or mill left after it is nationalized or burned down.
Take out private-property rights and wealth vanishes. We revert to the ravaging of the commons and to mutually assured destitution."
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