Why PBS Is a Public Menace | David Boaz | Cato Institute: Commentary

Why PBS Is a Public Menace | David Boaz | Cato Institute: Commentary: "PBS used to ask, 'If not PBS, then who?' The answer now is: HBO, Bravo, Discovery, History, History International, Science, Planet Green, Sundance, Military, C-SPAN 1/2/3 and many more."

"In 2003, NPR told potential advertisers that 'compared with the general public, NPR listeners are 55 percent less likely to have a household income below $30,000 ... 152 percent more likely to have a home valued at $500,000 or more and 194 percent more likely to travel to France.' And PBS viewers were 98 percent more likely to be a CEO and 315 percent more likely to have stocks valued at $75,000 or more.

...

So why should working- and middle-class taxpayers be subsidizing the news and entertainment of the rich?"

Commander in Chief of the U.S. Economy | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Commander in Chief of the U.S. Economy | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Some conservatives will, predictably, conclude that Obama is Saul Alinsky with nuclear weapons — and that the fate of the republic depends on defeating him in 2012.

But Obama didn't invent the notion of the president as 'CINC of our economy,' and the powers he's accrued won't disappear when he retires to Hawaii, Chicago or McLean.

It's worth remembering that it was President George W. Bush who demanded, and got, a $700 billion blank check from Congress to, in his words, 'save the free-market system.'

And it was Bush who — Congress be damned — gave GM and Chrysler $17 billion in TARP funds immediately after Congress voted down the auto bailout."

Walker: Concealed carry needs permit, training

Walker: Concealed carry needs permit, training: "Police are calling for permits and a database that officers could check to see if people they encounter might be carrying."

So they would know if they are talking to a law-abiding carrier? Do the law-abiding carriers matter? They wouldn't be able to look up the person until they asked for ID so wouldn't that be too late to do any good anyway?

Obama solicitor general: If you don't like mandate, earn less money | Philip Klein | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner

Obama solicitor general: If you don't like mandate, earn less money | Philip Klein | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner: "President Obama's solicitor general, defending the national health care law on Wednesday, told a federal appeals court that Americans who didn't like the individual mandate could always avoid it by choosing to earn less money."

Federal Court Rules New York City Can Ban Schools From Churches - FoxNews.com

Federal Court Rules New York City Can Ban Schools From Churches - FoxNews.com: "The justices said that it could unconstitutionally convert schools into state-sponsored Christian churches on weekends."

“Jews and Muslims generally cannot use school facilities for their services because the facilities are often unavailable on the days that their religions principally prescribe for services,”

Does that mean that school should be held on Sundays to not show favoritism to religions that meet on Sundays (Saturdays also)?

Everything you've heard about fossil fuels may be wrong - War Room - Salon.com

Everything you've heard about fossil fuels may be wrong - War Room - Salon.com: "If gas hydrates as well as shale gas, tight oil, oil sands and other unconventional sources can be tapped at reasonable cost, then the global energy picture looks radically different than it did only a few years ago. Suddenly it appears that there may be enough accessible hydrocarbons to power industrial civilization for centuries, if not millennia, to come."

Is Immigration Really the Problem? - Stefano R. Mugnaini - Mises Daily

Is Immigration Really the Problem? - Stefano R. Mugnaini - Mises Daily: "Assuming that illegal immigrants are absolutely guilty of all the above charges, attempt to answer this question: How will legislation that denies jobs and housing to individuals already in our communities lighten the burden they place on society?"

How the Experts Are Wrecking Healthcare - Andrew Foy, MD - Mises Daily

How the Experts Are Wrecking Healthcare - Andrew Foy, MD - Mises Daily: "The data regarding the Medicaid population is similarly abysmal. The bottom line regarding these expertly designed programs is that they have done tremendous damage to the medical marketplace, and the minor benefits they bestow on target populations could have probably occurred in their absence given the direction of developments in private medical insurance prior to their passage. But here is the best part: in 1965 the government estimated that in 1990 Medicare expenses would total $12 billion; instead actual spending turned out be $110 billion — a 1,200 percent increase!"

Represent constituents

How does an elected official represent constituents well?
* Makes known his views before the election and don't radically change them. After all, the election is the most widespread poll.
* Make decisions based on feedback. If most feedback is for one thing, should he always do that? Even when there is a ton of feedback, that is much less than the number of people who voted so how much weight should be given to feedback?

Transportation: From the Top Down or Bottom Up? | Randal O'Toole | Cato Institute: Commentary

Transportation: From the Top Down or Bottom Up? | Randal O'Toole | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Fifty years ago, America's transportation system was almost entirely funded from the bottom up. Airlines, railroads and most transit systems were private and funded out of fares and fees. Airports and highways were public but funded out of user fees such as ticket fees and gas taxes; highway managers knew bridges to nowhere would not generate any fees, so they had no incentive to waste money on unnecessary projects."

"No matter how well intentioned, top-down transportation planning quickly turns into a combination of social engineering and pork barrel. It is time to return to a bottom-up funding system that rewards transport agencies and companies for reducing costs and increasing mobility."