Planned Parenthood Director Quits After Watching Abortion on Ultrasound - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

Planned Parenthood Director Quits After Watching Abortion on Ultrasound - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com: "'When I was working at Planned Parenthood I was extremely pro-choice,' Johnson told FoxNews.com. But after seeing the internal workings of the procedure for the first time on an ultrasound monitor, 'I would say there was a definite conversion in my heart ... a spiritual conversion.'

Johnson said she became disillusioned with her job after her bosses pressured her for months to increase profits by performing more and more abortions, which cost patients between $505 and $695."

"'Ideally my goal as the facility's director is that your abortion numbers don't increase,' because 'you're providing so much family planning and so much education that there is not a demand for abortion services.'

'But that was not their goal,' she said."

Campaign For Liberty — Marriage License & Registration, Please ��| by Steve Bierfeldt

Campaign For Liberty — Marriage License & Registration, Please ��| by Steve Bierfeldt: "In the American colonies and the subsequent Republic, the idea of the government holding preeminence over a marriage is a relatively new concept. Historically the 'requirement'to get married had more to do with obtaining parents' approval, making a public announcement, and finding a willing church official to perform the ceremony. State supreme courts often ruled public cohabitation was sufficient evidence the marriage was valid and referred to the couple as having been married under 'Common Law.' A couple whom had the approval of their parents, held a ceremony, and pledged their faithfulness to one another had made it as clear as possible they were getting married.

How then did we arrive at the point we now find ourselves? As time progressed, many states began passing laws outlawing the marriage of racially mixed couples. In the mid-1800's, certain states began allowing interracial marriages as long as those marrying received a the state's approval. In the 1920's more than 30 states prohibited whites from marrying individuals of another racial background. 18 states had restrictions on remarrying after a divorce, and a dozen states would refuse a license if one partner were a drunk, addict or "mental defect." Soon states began requiring all people to obtain a marriage license. By 1929, every state in the nation had adopted marriage license laws.

The government had now entered into the business of determining who was fit to marry, how drunk was "too drunk," or if some had an addiction or just a vice."

Read the Bills? How about Reading the Constitution? | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Read the Bills? How about Reading the Constitution? | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "If congressmen can't be bothered to read a [campaign finance] law that directly affects them, should we be surprised that they're not planning to read the health care bill, which won't?"

Fannie, Freddie Mustn't Be Left Out Of Reform | Mark A. Calabria | Cato Institute: Commentary

Fannie, Freddie Mustn't Be Left Out Of Reform | Mark A. Calabria | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Ultimately, Fannie and Freddie were not bailed out in order to save our housing market; they were bailed out in order to protect the Chinese Central Bank from taking losses. Without the implicit federal guarantee of Fannie and Freddie, trillions of dollars of global capital flow would not have been funneled into the U.S. subprime mortgage market."

Welcome to the Health Care Free Lunch Cafe | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Welcome to the Health Care Free Lunch Cafe | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: "At the core of the president's proposal is the idea that he can provide more health care services to more people and have it cost less. A neat trick – but one that flies in the face of economic reality, not to mention common sense.

For example, the president wants to require insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions, that is, people who are already sick. Doing so will cost money. And where will that money come from? Insurance companies will simply raise premiums for the rest of us.

Similarly, the president would mandate that all insurance plans provide a new government-designed minimum benefits package. In addition to the usual coverage for hospitalization, physician services and so on, all insurance plans would also have to include coverage for prescription drugs, rehabilitation services, mental health and substance-abuse treatment; preventive services and maternity, well-baby, and well-child care, as well as dental, vision, and hearing services for children under age 21. If that's not enough, he would also establish a new federal commission headed by the surgeon general, which will have the power to develop additional minimum benefit requirements. There is no limit to how extensive those future required benefits may be."

Reduce, Reduce, Reduce, Reuse, Reuse, Recycle

The phrase is usually "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" but I think that makes each part equally important. Reducing is the most important and recycling is the least important. But, of those three, recycling seems to get the most focus. Why isn't reducing given the most focus? If I reduce the usage of something, it is much better for conservation than to recycle it. Why isn't there a push to create and use items that last longer? Why can't I buy an appliance with a 10 year warranty (and expect it to last 25 years)? Just think of how much waste would be reduced if we used products that lasted longer! Why aren't there rebates for reusing and buying products with a longer warranty? Why is reusing discouraged by charging sales tax on used goods?

Obama's Protectionist Policies Hurting Low-Income Americans | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama's Protectionist Policies Hurting Low-Income Americans | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary: "America's highest remaining trade barriers are aimed at products mostly grown and made by poor people abroad and disproportionately consumed by poor people at home. While industrial goods and luxury products typically enter under low or zero tariffs, the U.S. government imposes duties of 30 percent or more on food and lower-end clothing and shoes - staple goods that loom large in the budgets of poor families."

"The tariff the president imposed on Chinese tires earlier this month was heavily biased against low-income American families. The affected tires typically cost $50 to $60 each, as compared with the unaffected tires that sell for $200 each. The result of the tariff will be an increase in lower-end tire prices of 20 percent to 30 percent. Low-income families struggling to keep their cars on the road will be forced to postpone replacing old and worn tires, putting their families at greater risk."

"The future president ignored the fact that every poor family must buy those shirts to keep themselves clothed, yet only one-third of 1 percent of American workers make clothing or textiles of any kind. A wealthy politician or TV commentator need not care about the price of a T-shirt or other everyday consumer items, but millions of poor and middle-class American families do care."

"In his 2007 book Freedom From Want: American Liberalism and the Global Economy, he calculated that a single mother earning $15,000 a year as a maid in a hotel will forfeit about a week's worth of her annual pay to the U.S. tariff system, while the hotel's $100,000-a-year manager will give up only two or three hours of pay."

Get Serious about Decriminalizing Drugs; Others Are | Tim Lynch and Juan Carlos Hidalgo | Cato Institute: Commentary

Get Serious about Decriminalizing Drugs; Others Are | Tim Lynch and Juan Carlos Hidalgo | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In 2001, Portugal decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Not only has the predicted spike in drug use and a public health crisis failed to materialize, Portugal's drug usage rates compare more favorably than many other European states that have kept up a strict 'lock 'em up' approach."

We Call Upon the Hedge Funds - Dan O'Connor - Mises Institute

We Call Upon the Hedge Funds - Dan O'Connor - Mises Institute: "What also separates the hedge funds from most of our financial system is that none of the hedge funds had their hands out in search of bailouts during the turmoil of 2008. In fact, a myriad of hedge funds went bust in this period. Some of them, worth billions of dollars, not only collapsed but did so in a very smooth fashion. Their collapse represents the natural process of liquidation, on which Mises and Hayek placed such a great emphasis in their analyses of the boom and bust periods historically caused by the expansion of money and credit.

Many of the more prescient hedge funds recognized the fact that 2006–2007 was an over-inflated boom period, specifically in the mortgage industry. Those who acknowledged this boom for what it was were able to shift their capital away from the mortgage industry or bet against it. Those companies that remained highly invested in the mortgage industry (e.g., AIG and Lehman Brothers) failed."

"The US government is deeply afraid of failure, which is in fact an integral part of a pure capitalist model. Many economists and politicians define America's economy as "capitalist" but one of the most essential aspects of capitalism, failure, is being blocked by government. Those who continue to criticize America's "capitalist" system need to realize how far the country has strayed from it.

Short selling actually adds efficiency to the market, because it identifies weaker companies and filters them out of the market more quickly. This increases competition and encourages companies to perform as best as they can. For example, if hedge funds short sell Britannica and buy Wikipedia long, this sort of market action only promotes a speedier way to filter out the obsolete player. If Britannica fears its stock being sold short, it is more likely to urgently shift up its business strategy in order to meet the changing needs and habits of consumers.

In 2003, The Economist noted that 'constraints on short selling allowed stocks to become more overvalued during the most recent bull run.… More short selling then might have made the bear market less painful now.' Suppressing short selling with tighter regulation of hedge funds also stifled the market's ability to police itself."

Obama Administration to Order Steep Pay Cuts for Bailed-Out Companies - FOXNews.com

Obama Administration to Order Steep Pay Cuts for Bailed-Out Companies - FOXNews.com: "The Obama administration plans to order companies that received the most money from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout to slash pay to top executives, a government source told Fox Business Network.�

Under the plan, the seven companies that received the most government aid will have to cut annual salaries by about 90 percent from last year for the 25 highest-paid executives."

Surprise! Surprise! The government attached more strings after the fact -- even when they made some companies participate that didn't want to participate.