The State Is a Harsh Mistress - David Masten - Mises Daily

The State Is a Harsh Mistress - David Masten - Mises Daily: The space shuttle, built by private organizations with government funding, was infamously advertised as having a payload costing solely $100 per pound.' ... 'The shuttle, in actuality, yielded a payload costing around $10,000 per pound — a sizable hundredfold increase above the expected.'

Mandating Contraception | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

Mandating Contraception | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Obamacare's chief characteristic is substituting a one-size fits all template for today's imperfect but decentralized system. Washington insists that it knows best for 313 million Americans and intends to impose its will on the recalcitrant.'

'Contraception is not an essential medical service more important than treatment for breast cancer, leukemia, colon cancer, and Alzheimer's. Or my knee replacement. If contraception should be "free," why not these other far more vital treatments? Why allow deductibles and co-pays to discourage anyone from getting any medical treatment?'

'Putting Uncle Sam in charge of health care is precisely how not to leave women in control of their own medical destinies. Observed Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY), "The very essence of the healthcare law is that the government is going to tell you what your healthcare is going to be." Washington is filled with interest groups and their lobbyists, not individual patients and their advocates. There is no reason to believe that Uncle Sam will act in the interests of "women,"'

'Even Jesus' ministry — he healed people who did not follow him — would not qualify for an exemption.'

'The president has prepared the perfect free lunch: everyone will have coverage and no one will have to pay for it. It's a miracle!

If this really is "a solution that works for everyone," then why not expand it? Let companies offer health insurance policies which cover, well, no medical treatments. But force insurance companies nevertheless to cover every malady. Voila: Americans would enjoy comprehensive health care insurance at no cost!'

Family Resource Center St. Croix Valley, 'Growing Kids by Growing Families' - My Gateway News - Serving Elmwood, Spring Valley and Woodville, WI

Family Resource Center St. Croix Valley, 'Growing Kids by Growing Families' - My Gateway News - Serving Elmwood, Spring Valley and Woodville, WI: 'Imagine a world where every newborn baby in Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix counties is visited by a trained professional while he/she is still in the hospital.'

I'm confused, where in the civilized world doesn't that happen? I thought all hospital births include a doctor visit after the birth?

'Imagine a world where prenatal care is also available.'
The whole civilized world?

'Now imagine this: regular opportunities for parents and babies to socialize with other parents and babies'
Virtually the whole world?

'home visits to the family of baby until baby gets on the school bus and heads off to kindergarten.'
Maybe its just the wording or something but that makes me think of Big Brother for some reason.

The Solyndra Saga: Part… (uh… we’re losing count): Low Voltage | FreedomWorks

The Solyndra Saga: Part… (uh… we’re losing count): Low Voltage | FreedomWorks: 'The base model Volt is listed with and MSRP of $31,645 however when considering state and federal government subsidies the cost per vehicle dwarfs the MSRP. With $2.3 billion coming from the federal government alone, total subsidies are well over $3 billion for the program. This makes the cost of each Volt sold well over $200,000.'

Note to self: Encrypt data, memorize password | InSecurity Complex - CNET News

Note to self: Encrypt data, memorize password | InSecurity Complex - CNET News: 'Even though the data being protected could easily be obtained with a warrant if it were not locked up with encryption technology, the act of using the cryptographic lock puts it in a protected zone if it can only be accessed by memory.

"This ruling keeps with the spirit of the Fifth Amendment, which is intended to make sure law enforcement does its job," Hofmann said. "If they're going to prosecute you, they have to make the case against you and can't force you to help them out with that."'

Dictators Murdering Their Own People | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary

Dictators Murdering Their Own People | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: '"Tens of thousands of Nuba have been living in caves since June when the government began going house to house, killing families with rebel ties and driving out international aid groups."'

'We have never had access to so much instant global information through ever-expanding technological inventiveness, but we remain ignorant of excruciatingly tormented human beings in nations far away — many of whose leaders are proud, even arrogant members of the U.N.'

Why I am so rude to Warmists – Telegraph Blogs

Why I am so rude to Warmists – Telegraph Blogs: '"preserving the planet for future generations"
The reason this cant phrase makes me want to throw up every time I hear it is that it's such a grotesque inversion of reality. It's not people on my side of the debate who want to ravage the countryside with wind farms (with no provision for decommissioning them), rein in economic growth, introduce wartime-style rationing, raise taxes, destroy farmland and rainforests to create biofuels, and base heinously expensive public policy on hysteria and junk science. It's not people on my side of the debate who are condemning those "future generations" to a lower standard of living and an uglier environment in order to deal with a problem that doesn't exist. So how dare they have the gall to try to take the moral high ground?'

Sickening Regulation | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

Sickening Regulation | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Those new regulations would have increased the total number of reimbursement codes from the current 18,000 to more than 140,000 separate codes. The delay will undoubtedly come as a relief for physicians who will have additional time to try to understand the bureaucratic complexity of rules that, for example, apply 36 different codes for treating a snake bite, depending on the type of snake, its geographical region, and whether the incident was accidental, intentional self-harm, assault, or undetermined. The new codes also thoroughly differentiate between nine different types of hang-gliding injuries, four different types of alligator attacks, and the important difference between injuries sustained by walking into a wall and those resulting from walking into a lamppost.'

The Real Victims in the Patent Wars | Timothy B. Lee | Cato Institute: Commentary

The Real Victims in the Patent Wars | Timothy B. Lee | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'Patents are supposed to reward innovation, but in the software industry, they are having the opposite effect. The patent system has become a minefield that punishes innovators who accidentally infringe the patents of others. There are now so many software patents in force that it is practically impossible to avoid infringing them all.

The result has been an explosion of litigation. Large firms like Apple, Microsoft, Motorola, and Samsung are suing one another over mobile phone patents. And as a recent episode of This American Life documented, there are entire office buildings full of "patent trolls" that produce no useful products but sue other companies that do. What has gone largely overlooked in the coverage of the “patent wars,” however, has been the disproportionate burden placed on small firms—which has enormous consequences for the movement toward DIY innovation.'

'The patent system doesn't even offer software developers an efficient way of figuring out which patents they are in danger of infringing upon.'

'Little wonder, then, that most software firms don't even try to avoid infringement. Defending against patent litigation is simply seen as a cost of doing business in the software industry. Startups hope that by the time the inevitable lawsuits arrive, they will have grown large enough to hire good lawyers to defend themselves. But as the number of software patents—and with it, the volume of litigation—has soared, smaller companies have become targets.'

Blind Ambition Is Not a Presidential Job Qualification | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Blind Ambition Is Not a Presidential Job Qualification | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: '"an abnormal-psych study could be written on every president of the modern era except the one who never ran for national office, Gerald R. Ford." With apologies to Groucho Marx, anybody who wants to belong to this club shouldn't be allowed to be a member.

In his terrific book "See How They Ran," historian Gil Troy writes that "Originally, presidential candidates were supposed to 'stand' for election, not 'run.' They did not make speeches. They did not shake hands. Republican detachment from the political arena was good and dignified; actively seeking office and soliciting votes was humiliating and bad."'

'we ought to strive to make the office less powerful, and thus, a less attractive prize for those who hunger for power.'