Pa.'s Rhyming Justice Pens Insurance Fraud Opinion | Fox News

Pa.'s Rhyming Justice Pens Insurance Fraud Opinion | Fox News: 'Part of his opinion reads: "Sentenced on the other crimes, he surely won't go free, but we find he can't be guilty of this final felony."'

The Back Story: Santa Claus | Fox News

The Back Story: Santa Claus | Fox News: 'Although skeptics abound, the spirit of every Santa Claus is rooted in a real saint; St. Nicholas, a third-century bishop in the Byzantine Empire, or modern-day Turkey. The relics of some of his bones rest in New York's Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

"He was known as a giver of gifts, but he gave them secretly," says Father Mark Arey, of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.

"He redeemed people from slavery, but he did it secretly. He gave dowry's to women, but he gave them secretly. He helped the poor, but secretly, never to embarrass anyone or glorify anyone but to glorify God."

The stories go that St. Nicholas also dropped coins through windows, some landing in children's shoes or stockings hung out to dry.'

Why Do GOP Bosses Fear Ron Paul? | The Nation

Why Do GOP Bosses Fear Ron Paul? | The Nation: 'Even if it were desirable, America is not strong enough to police the world by military force. If that attempt is made, the blessings of liberty will be replaced by coercion and tyranny at home. Our Christian ideals cannot be exported to other lands by dollars and guns. Persuasion and example are the methods taught by the Carpenter of Nazareth, and if we believe in Christianity we should try to advance our ideals by his methods. We cannot practice might and force abroad and retain freedom at home. We cannot talk world cooperation and practice power politics.'

Democracy versus Bureaucracy | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

Democracy versus Bureaucracy | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'One provision of the new health care law empowers unelected panels of technocrats to make reductions in Medicare benefits each year in order to hit budget targets. This enables the politicians to claim they are not responsible for the cuts, but someone behind the tree is.'

'Control by the electorate in the United States will continue to diminish as long as the people demand more from government than they (not someone else) are willing to pay for and the economy can support.'

Back to Bush's Big-Government Conservatism | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Back to Bush's Big-Government Conservatism | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Both Gingrich and Romney have long supported more federal involvement and spending in education. Both backed No Child Left Behind. In fact, both endorsed the same strange idea of having the federal government buy a laptop computer for every child in America.'

'In fact, both are even opposed to cuts in farm price supports or ethanol subsidies. Gingrich was last seen suggesting that anyone who wanted to cut ethanol subsidies must hate farmers, while Romney believes food subsidies are a matter of national security, as if al-Qaeda is going to corner the wheat market.'

'Romney is the quintessential better manager, a "turn-around specialist," someone who can make government run more like a business. And Gingrich's new ideas are nearly all about making government work better. For example, he doesn't oppose a national ID system (E-Verify); he wants it "run by MasterCard or Visa." He doesn't want to get government out of health care; he wants to use "Lean Six Sigma" business strategy to make it less wasteful.

Nowhere in their rhetoric is there a recognition that big government is bad because it makes us less free.'

Let the Boss Decide What to Do | Patrick Basham | Cato Institute: Commentary

Let the Boss Decide What to Do | Patrick Basham | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'If the nation's public health mandate is to produce a significantly lower level of obesity in the near term, the use of discrimination by employers is a perfectly logical and defensible instrument to employ in such a war on fat. The painful and inconvenient truth is that any rapid reduction in the number of obese Americans would require the private sector to discriminate against, rather than in favor of, the obese.

Instead of expensive lawsuits, counterproductive fat taxes and endless lists of (ignored) nutritional information, we should allow employers, insurers and other institutions to act toward the obese as they see fit.'

Down Syndrome Genocide | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary

Down Syndrome Genocide | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: '"Today, 92 percent of mothers who get a definitive diagnosis of Down syndrome choose to abort, surveys show." These parents are told by their physicians that this child will not live a meaningful life.'

'However, a considerable number of families, instead of killing the child, provide their youngsters with regulated forms of therapy and tutoring. As a result, sizable numbers of these Americans graduate from high school and college and — as my next column demonstrates — enjoy meaningful lives.'

High-Tax Advocates Are Either Credulous or Envious of Wealthy | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary

High-Tax Advocates Are Either Credulous or Envious of Wealthy | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'If you think increasing tax rates on the "rich" is the correct economic policy, then you also need to believe the following:

That most government spending is cost-effective, and cutting 3 percent of it (approximately $110 billion out of the current $3.7 trillion budget) would be more damaging than increasing taxes by $100 billion on many of those who create jobs.'

'That getting rid of the huge amount of waste and fraud in government programs, whether it is Medicare, Medicaid or defense, would do more damage to the economy than increasing tax rates on many highly productive people. Every year, many studies by government agencies and nongovernment groups show billions of dollars of waste and fraud within government, yet few government employees are fired or sent to jail, and little is done to correct the problems.'

'That being "rich" or "wealthy" is the same thing as having a high income. Many wealthy people generate much of their income from nontaxable sources, such as state and local bonds, and would not be affected by the higher tax rates being proposed. But some people with high incomes, such as young doctors, may have negative net worth because of the debt they incurred to obtain their education, and yet they would be hit by these proposed taxes.'

Should the Government Narrow the Income Gap? | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary

Should the Government Narrow the Income Gap? | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'The grander estimates of Piketty and Saez are frequently cited as a rationale for increased tax rates on the rich and increased transfer payments to the rich. This is an irrational rationale. Even doubling tax rates and transfer payments would have no direct effect on those estimates, because they explicitly ignore taxes and transfers.'

'the top 1 percent's share always falls in recessions and rises during periods of rapid economic growth such as 1983-89 and 1997-2000. This cyclicality of the top 1 percent's share makes that share a preposterous definition of "inequality" because poverty rises in recessions. Are the unemployed supposed to welcome recessions and stock market crashes simply because such crises demolish top incomes from capital gains, dividends, interest, and small business?'

We Don't Need a Balanced Budget Amendment | Tad DeHaven | Cato Institute: Commentary

We Don't Need a Balanced Budget Amendment | Tad DeHaven | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'The Constitution already places strict limits on what the federal government can and cannot do. The problem is that those limits have become stretched over the years to the point that the federal government can do pretty much what it pleases.'

'Most Republicans are about as enthusiastic to confront this reality as most Democrats are in reversing it. Thus, the convenient resurgence in popularity for a balanced budget amendment on the part of Republicans has been driven by an unwillingness — or inability — to flesh out exactly what federal agencies and programs would have to go in order to bring the budget into balance without raising taxes.

Indeed, it's not a coincidence that the balanced budget amendment wasn't a priority for Republicans when they were jacking up spending and debt during George W. Bush's tenure.'

'Republicans who support the balanced budget amendment cannot cite it as evidence that they're serious about cutting spending unless they're prepared to detail what they would cut in order to bring the budget into balance.

While proponents of the balanced budget amendment argue that it would also reign in spending, almost all the states possess balanced budget requirements and that hasn't stopped state spending from continuing to increase. In fact, the balanced budget amendment would actually end up solidifying the oversized and overbearing federal government we have today. Therefore, policymakers who truly desire a federal government that is smaller in size and scope should concentrate their efforts on convincing the American people that the country would be better off.'