2013: The Year of Shamelessness | National Review Online

2013: The Year of Shamelessness | National Review Online: "Cyrus made us yearn for the good taste and restraint of the era of Lady Gaga, not to mention the golden age of classic Britney Spears."

'via Blog this'

The Corner | National Review Online

The Corner | National Review Online: "Let me provide an example from my own life. As I’ve related before, I arrived at Harvard Law School a rather idealistic young fellow (the semester after Barack Obama graduated, and the year before Ted Cruz enrolled), eager to do battle with the best and brightest on the left, the kinds of folks who’d never darken the door of my Christian college. I hoped (and prayed) that I was up to the challenge.

“The challenge,” it turns out, was not intellectual at all. In fact, I have a hard time remembering more than a few civil, interesting classroom exchanges. Instead, I remember the boos, the jeers, and the hastily scrawled hate messages left in my mailbox (“Why don’t you die, you f***ing fascist”). I remember the efforts made to get other conservatives fired from their future jobs through obscene and angry messages left on judges’ voice mails. "

'via Blog this'

How to Be Happy - Bloomberg

How to Be Happy - Bloomberg: "Other patterns were surprising, at least to me. Women in the U.S. have long reported greater levels of happiness than men. Their advantage has, however, been shrinking, and for an unhappy reason: falling happiness among women. Scholars are unsure why that’s happening. Women also rebound more quickly than men from the death of a spouse -- perhaps, Brooks speculates, because they have more close friends."

'via Blog this'

The Corner | National Review Online

The Corner | National Review Online: "Is someone really violating your right of “free speech” if they’re not using the power of the state to censor you? What if they’re “only” trying to get you fired, shamed out of public life, universally reviled, and left as a laughingstock — all without taking even a moment to address the conservative’s underlying argument? To some, that’s just a battle of free speech (conservative comment) versus free speech (lefty efforts to ruin your life), and anyone who thinks otherwise needs to be reminded of the law, thank you very much.

The other side of the argument – the Mark Steyn, Sarah Palin, Charles C.W. Cooke (among others) side — knows and understands that the law is just one part of the mix in the battle over free speech, and sometimes the law matters much less than the culture."

'via Blog this'

Camille & Co. | National Review Online

Camille & Co. | National Review Online: "No, no: I can’t abide the false accusations of racism. Show me a liberal who doesn’t tar his opponents with racism, and I’ll show you a rare bird indeed. The belief that conservatives are racists seems to be the Supreme Belief of the American Left. It is what they cling to (as we righties are supposed to cling to guns and religion)."

'via Blog this'

Meaning of Term "Homophobic"

Pretty sure I've read all the stuff Phil Robertson said about homosexuality in that GQ article. I have yet to read anything I thought was homophobic.

Certainly a straight guy saying he finds women more attractive than men isn't homophobic--no matter how crudely said--because that's how all straight guys feel. Unless all straight guys are homophobic. But they aren't.

And certainly considering homosexual conduct immoral isn't homophobic. It doesn't show a person fears or feels contempt for gays--even if he finds their behavior immoral. 

I must be missing something. Of course I also think you can say racial group A is, on average, smarter than racial group B without being a racist. 

The Age of Intolerance | National Review Online

The Age of Intolerance | National Review Online: "As Christian bakers ordered to provide wedding cakes for gay nuptials and many others well understand, America’s much-vaunted “freedom of religion” is dwindling down to something you can exercise behind closed doors in the privacy of your own abode or at a specialist venue for those of such tastes for an hour or so on Sunday morning, but when you enter the public square you have to leave your faith back home hanging in the closet. Yet even this reductive consolation is not permitted to Robertson: GLAAD spokesgay Wilson Cruz declared that “Phil and his family claim to be Christian, but Phil’s lies about an entire community fly in the face of what true Christians believe.” Robertson was quoting the New Testament, but hey, what do those guys know? In today’s America, land of the Obamacare Pajama Boy, Jesus is basically Nightshirt Boy, a fey non-judgmental dweeb who’s cool with whatever. What GLAAD is attempting would be called, were it applied to any other identity group, “cultural appropriation.”"

'via Blog this'

Facebook

Facebook: "One of the most valuable things my therapist has ever told me is this: Every feeling that you have is valid. Don't let anyone, including yourself, try to invalidate your own feelings, because you will always have a right to them."

'via Blog this'

Could not disagree more!

TaxProf Blog: Bar Report: 'New Lawyers Are in a Financial and Emotional Depression'

TaxProf Blog: Bar Report: 'New Lawyers Are in a Financial and Emotional Depression': "Terrified. Disheartened. Disillusioned. These are some of the words new lawyers are using to describe their struggles in the legal profession, as revealed in a State Bar of Wisconsin report discussing the challenges facing new lawyers.

Attorney Arthur Harrington, co-chair of a task force created in 2012 to study the issue, recently stood before the State Bar’s 52-member Board of Governors and read anonymous comments from new lawyers who responded to a survey questionnaire.  ..."

'via Blog this'

Ideas

Ideas: "The most interesting conclusion about the institutions was the evidence for parallel evolution, the fact that some were strikingly similar to institutions from unrelated Old World societies. But more interesting, to me, was looking at the sources of information."

'via Blog this'

You have the Right . . .

Phil Robertson has the right to speak his mind on homosexuality. A&E (depending on its contact) has the right to suspend or fire Robinson. Duck Dynasty fans have the right to complain about A&E and stop watching it. A&E has the right to declare bankruptcy. Democrats have the right to complain about the Dynasty fans being anti-gay. Republicans have the right to complain about Democrats being anti-religion. Democrats have the right to complain about Republicans complaining about . . . etc.

Pajama Boy, An Insufferable Man-Child - Rich Lowry - POLITICO Magazine

Pajama Boy, An Insufferable Man-Child - Rich Lowry - POLITICO Magazine: "Never has the difference between what Chris Matthews memorably dubbed the Mommy party and the Daddy party been so stark. Pajama Boy’s mom probably still tucks him in at night, and when she isn’t there for him, Obamacare will be. A less nurturing reaction is, as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie put it in a counter tweet, “Get out of your pajamas.” There’s a reason President Obama is underwater by a 2-1 margin among men in the latest Quinnipiac poll."

'via Blog this'

Matthews Likens Tea Party to Palestinians | National Review Online

Matthews Likens Tea Party to Palestinians | National Review Online: "The GOP is as difficult a negotiating partner as the Palestinians in their conflict with Israel, according to Chris Matthews.

“It’s like Israel,” he said of Democrats looking to put forward a more significant budget deal and tax reform. “It’s very hard to find a good negotiating partner across the border — in this case, across the aisle — who will stand up to a reasonable compromise.”

In recent weeks, Matthews has spanned the globe in the colorful analogies he’s used to describe the GOP, equating the party to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and arguing that apartheid-era South Africa was more willing to work with Nelson Mandela than Republicans have been with President Obama."

'via Blog this'

I can see how Republicans, who are generally pro-Israel, would find this offensive. But democrats, who seem to side more readily with Palestinians, I think would object to the analogy.

Althouse: "I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes."

Althouse: "I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes.": "Of course, Robertson is getting criticism for these remarks, which are called "anti-gay," but he's rejecting all of what is traditionally understood in the Christian religion as sin, including adultery and fornication. In the process, he talks about his own natural sexual orientation and seems perhaps to concede that it's easy for him to avoid one sin that he knows other people feel drawn toward. But overall, his effort is to call people into traditional religion and to save them from what he believes is sin. Myself, I support gay rights, but I do not like the simple portrayal of traditional religionists as mean or bigoted (even though I do understand that it may be the most effective way to defeat them politically)."

'via Blog this'

George W. Bush is a hipster icon now and Vanity Fair is angry about it. - Naked DC

George W. Bush is a hipster icon now and Vanity Fair is angry about it. - Naked DC: "Apparently, the kids these days just think George W. Bush is the bee’s knees. He paints, he loves cats, he’s awesome at the Internet, he writes consoling letters to football kickers who lose important match-ups for their teams and he takes selfies with Bono at major world leaders’ memorial services. And the hipsters are falling as hard for GWB as they did for PBR and Beats by Dre."

'via Blog this'

Obama the Oblivious | National Review Online

Obama the Oblivious | National Review Online: "Hence the odd spectacle of a president expressing surprise and disappointment in the federal government — as if he’s not the one running it. Hence the repeated no-one-is-more-upset-than-me posture upon deploring the nonfunctioning website, the IRS outrage, the AP intrusions, and any number of scandals from which Obama tries to create safe distance by posing as an observer. He gives the impression of a man on a West Wing tour trying out the desk in the Oval Office, only to be told that he is president of the United States."

'via Blog this'

Althouse: "Mandela Interpreter Says He Was Hallucinating/Says He Entered Altered State As He Took His Place on Stage."

Althouse: "Mandela Interpreter Says He Was Hallucinating/Says He Entered Altered State As He Took His Place on Stage.": "Without any training or experience, this guy applied for the job, got the job and fooled people for years by just putting on an elaborate show. The fact that he was standing on stage next to a lot of important people put him beyond question in the minds of most people.Those who really understood that what he was saying actually made no sense were ignored.

And now we have this South African interpreter doing the same thing."

'via Blog this'

Tele Novella

A new band I like. A sample.



 I wish they had music available to purchase, but I can't seem to find any. Must be an anti-capitalism thing.

George Will: Obama’s tardy epiphany about government’s flaws - The Washington Post

George Will: Obama’s tardy epiphany about government’s flaws - The Washington Post: "The education of Barack Obama is a protracted process as he repeatedly alights upon the obvious with a sense of original discovery. In a recent MSNBC interview, he restocked his pantry of excuses for his disappointing results, announcing that “we have these big agencies, some of which are outdated, some of which are not designed properly”"

'via Blog this'

The Left's Reality Problem - Rich Lowry - POLITICO Magazine

The Left's Reality Problem - Rich Lowry - POLITICO Magazine: "onsider the minimum wage. Rarely do liberals truly grapple with the possibility—supported by some, but not all research—that it suppresses employment. If they did, they would be more cautious about advocating a higher minimum wage in a soft job market and less scornful of opponents.

When Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said the other day that extended unemployment benefits could keep people from searching for a job, he was denounced, literally, as a Scrooge. It doesn’t matter that there is plenty of evidence—some of it once mustered by Alan Krueger, the former head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers—on Paul’s side. He is presumed guilty of a moral failing."

'via Blog this'

The Left's Reality Problem - Rich Lowry - POLITICO Magazine

The Left's Reality Problem - Rich Lowry - POLITICO Magazine: "Many liberals still don’t want to acknowledge the rather straightforward fact that if you mandate more insurance benefits in the so-called Affordable Care Act, insurance will cost more. QED. You might be able to cushion the cost increase for some people with subsidies, but not for everyone, and the underlying insurance is still more—not less—expensive."

'via Blog this'

Race and the Priesthood

Race and the Priesthood: "During the first two decades of the Church’s existence, a few black men were ordained to the priesthood. One of these men, Elijah Abel, also participated in temple ceremonies in Kirtland, Ohio, and was later baptized as proxy for deceased relatives in Nauvoo, Illinois. There is no evidence that any black men were denied the priesthood during Joseph Smith’s lifetime.

In 1852, President Brigham Young publicly announced that men of black African descent could no longer be ordained to the priesthood, though thereafter blacks continued to join the Church through baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Following the death of Brigham Young, subsequent Church presidents restricted blacks from receiving the temple endowment or being married in the temple. Over time, Church leaders and members advanced many theories to explain the priesthood and temple restrictions. None of these explanations is accepted today as the official doctrine of the Church."

'via Blog this'

Selfies at Funerals blog creator retires after Obama flub: 'Our work here is done' - Washington Times

Selfies at Funerals blog creator retires after Obama flub: 'Our work here is done' - Washington Times: "My Tumblr was once a collection of evidence, convincing the world that something very strange actually existed, but now everyone believes, and everyone has seen, and Thorning-Schmidt has the evidence on her phone. So it was time to do the only sensible thing: It was time to declare victory, to revel in drawing a line from the bottom to the top,” he continued.

“I won’t miss it. I’m not even tempted to post another image. That is, unless the pope takes a funeral selfie. Then I’ll return for one more. Your move, Your Holiness,” he said."

'via Blog this'

Obamacare Exchanges Won't Hit Enrollment Targets - Amy Ridenour's National Center Blog - A Conservative Blog

Obamacare Exchanges Won't Hit Enrollment Targets - Amy Ridenour's National Center Blog - A Conservative Blog: "The federal exchanges fall about 44% short of the enrollment target and all exchanges fall about 43% short.  The only question is whether the shortfall will be distributed evenly among all age groups?  Probably not.  In states where we have information, such as Colorado, Kentucky, and California, enrollment of 18-34-year-olds are falling far short of 35% rate that the Obama Administration estimate it needs.

Death spiral, here we come."

'via Blog this'

The Paranoid Style of Feminism | National Review Online

The Paranoid Style of Feminism | National Review Online: "If the House Republicans had their way, women would have to ask permission to leave their homes, speak out of turn, or take an aspirin.

(Sadly, I don’t think that’s an exaggeration.)

Right now, the only thing that’s keeping the Republican Party out of your doctor’s office and out of your bedroom is the Democratic majority in the Senate."

'via Blog this'

This is a sad commentary on the the author's grasp of reality.

Who Is the Constituency for the Budget Deal? | National Review Online

Who Is the Constituency for the Budget Deal? | National Review Online: "That being said, conservatives should not assume that $1 appropriated to national security is doing $1 worth of national-security work. There is a great deal of waste, redundancy, and superfluity in our security spending, and any long-term agenda for fiscal sanity must take that into account. As a matter of political expediency — which is not a trivial concern — it probably is the case that Republicans would cut a much better deal swapping military cuts for non-military reductions when negotiating from a position of power, such as when they are in possession of a Senate majority or the presidency or both."

'via Blog this'

Military is a public good, and so as a matter of overarching principle, I think conservatives-republicans are right to support it. But whether to spend on the military is hardly a binary question. I don't know how the average person can come to any sort of understanding about whether our military spending is adequate, without knowing quite a lot about (1) current spending levels; (2) current capacity; (3) needed capacity (4) wasted spending, and probably a whole host of other factors not coming to mind.

Cafe Hayek — where orders emerge

Cafe Hayek — where orders emerge: "Prof. Holzer might defend his claim by saying that the negative employment effects are real yet “small.”  But many of the studies reviewed by the authors of the paper clearly find large negative effects on the job prospects of the very workers meant to be helped by minimum-wage legislation – especially high-school dropouts, teenagers, and black youths.  When these findings are combined with recognition of other ways that employers can also respond to mandated minimum wages – ways such reducing fringe benefits and demanding greater hourly efforts from workers – suggestions that minimum-wage legislation is a boon to low-skilled workers become too incredible to believe."

'via Blog this'

Greg Mankiw's Blog: The CEA Fact Checkers Miss One

Greg Mankiw's Blog: The CEA Fact Checkers Miss One: "'Some say it actually hurts low-wage workers -- businesses will be less likely to hire them. But there’s no solid evidence that a higher minimum wage costs jobs.'

From my perspective, the last sentence is just incorrect.  There is a lot of work by reputable economists that finds adverse employment effects of a higher minimum wage.  In a poll of top economists, as many say they believe that the adverse employment effect is noticeable as those that say the opposite."

'via Blog this'

Why I No Longer Favor a Carbon Tax «

Why I No Longer Favor a Carbon Tax «: "Well, among the many reasons that I no longer favor it is that I’ve started to realize I live in big boy world, and not the fantasy world of good economics I thought about when I first became a professor:"

'via Blog this'

Althouse: "Yes, Men Should Do More Housework."

Althouse: "Yes, Men Should Do More Housework.": "All couples are in some kind of an exchange — like the man in the earlier post who seems to have been buying a lady shoes as a way to earn his place in the relationship. We idealize relationships that are mostly or entirely love for love. And how lucky you are if you're in a 100% love-for-love relationship. It's highly rewarding to feel the love, and the feeling is much better if you're in a position to give it, and you never run out. And you get love too.

But there are all sorts of exchanges among couples, from the stark clarity of the money-for-sex exchange that is prostitution on up to the pure ideal of love-for-love.

Where are you on that continuum?"

'via Blog this'

I've been thinking about the exchange aspect of marriage in the context of an old, wealthy guy marrying a young, pretty money-hungry bride. Is that arrangement really morally different from paying a prostitute? If so, in what regard?

The Damage of a Handshake | National Review Online

The Damage of a Handshake | National Review Online: "American presidents should avoid shaking the hand of dictators, especially those that have American blood on theirs. One example of many: Raul Castro was Minister of Defense in 1996 when Cuban Air Force Mig’s, cold-bloodedly and over international airspace destroyed two civilian U.S. airplanes with four American rescue workers on board. President Clinton rightly condemned the attack as cowardly, while Raul Castro decorated his pilots for bravery."

'via Blog this'

Althouse: The desperation would be laughable, but it's not funny to write "How Adam Lanza Wrecked Obama's Second Term."

Althouse: The desperation would be laughable, but it's not funny to write "How Adam Lanza Wrecked Obama's Second Term.": "20 children were murdered, and 6 adults. Leave it alone. Conduct your pathetic search for someone or something to blame somewhere else, Alex Seitz-Wald. Have some decency. Find another grave upon which to dance the Dance of Obama Exculpation. "

'via Blog this'

It was Obama who chose to use (or try to use) the event as a political cudgel against Republicans. Adam Lanza had little to do with the politics of it.

The PJ Tatler » After Wishing Someone Would Defecate in Sarah Palin’s Mouth, Martin Bashir Resigns from MSNBC

The PJ Tatler » After Wishing Someone Would Defecate in Sarah Palin’s Mouth, Martin Bashir Resigns from MSNBC: "MSNBC’s audience is a bit like Spinal Tap’s, in that has become more selective. It’s neither compassionate nor discerning, at least if one judges them by the product they watch every day."

'via Blog this'

Mormon Scholars Testify » Blog Archive » Richard Lyman Bushman

Mormon Scholars Testify » Blog Archive » Richard Lyman Bushman: " Hundreds of books and articles have been written arguing one way or the other. Scores of scholars labor away on the question. The issue is hotly debated. Tons of evidence are brought to bear. As with so many historical questions, a definitive answer may never emerge, but the search is not merely a theoretical possibility. It fuels a scholarly industry. Mormons are in the anomalous position of saying that a spiritual testimony, not empirical proof, undergirds their faith, while all the while furiously working to dig up evidence in support of the Book of Mormon. This is practical empiricism as contrasted to the theoretical empiricism of the bones of Jesus argument. I do not anticipate a conclusive, open-and-shut case in favor of the Book of Mormon, but I like the willingness of Mormon scholars to pursue the question. They are actively putting their faith on the line. They take the risk of failing. I admire their courage, and furthermore their arguments must be taken seriously."

'via Blog this'

In Which I am Becoming a Misanthrope «

In Which I am Becoming a Misanthrope «: "There is serious discussion of not only raising the minimum wage, but to do so significantly in several places, as high as $15 per hour. I don’t need to try to discuss the economics, research, ethics, etc. of the minimum wage. Why? Because no one cares on either side. Never has an argument about it, even on ethical grounds, persuaded people. So all I will do is illustrate what I’ve seen just in the past week"

'via Blog this'

War on Contraception? No, an Attack on Religion - Bloomberg

War on Contraception? No, an Attack on Religion - Bloomberg: "From reading the New York Times, you might think that religious conservatives had started a culture war over whether company health-insurance plans should cover contraception. What’s at issue in two cases the Supreme Court has just agreed to hear, the Times editorializes, is “the assertion by private businesses and their owners of an unprecedented right to impose the owners’ religious views on workers who do not share them.”

That way of looking at the issue will be persuasive if your memory does not extend back two years. Up until 2012, no federal law or regulation required employers to cover contraception (or drugs that may cause abortion, which one of the cases involves). If 2011 was marked by a widespread crisis of employers’ imposing their views on contraception on employees, nobody talked about it."

'via Blog this'

Ice Everywhere, But No Hockey Sticks | National Review Online

Ice Everywhere, But No Hockey Sticks | National Review Online: "Global warming hysterics at the BBC warned us in 2007 that by summer 2013, the Arctic would be ice-free. As with so many other doomsday predictions by warmists, the results turn out to be quite the opposite."

'via Blog this'

Egyptology and the Book of Abraham: An Interview with Egyptologist Kerry Muhlestein | FairMormon Blog

Egyptology and the Book of Abraham: An Interview with Egyptologist Kerry Muhlestein | FairMormon Blog: "Muhlestein: Starting at least by 200–150 BC there were many Egyptians who were interested in Abraham. In particular, we know that a group of priests were collecting stories from other religious traditions and using those stories in their own religious spells. We know that some of them had specifically collected stories about Abraham and Moses. At least some of those who were doing this were priests from Thebes. This is most interesting because Joseph Smith Papyrus I, X, and XI were owned by the priest Hor from Thebes from the same time period."

'via Blog this'

Peter Higgs criticises Richard Dawkins over anti-religious 'fundamentalism' | Science | The Guardian

Peter Higgs criticises Richard Dawkins over anti-religious 'fundamentalism' | Science | The Guardian: "Higgs has chosen to cap his remarkable 2012 with another bang by criticising the "fundamentalist" approach taken by Dawkins in dealing with religious believers.

"What Dawkins does too often is to concentrate his attack on fundamentalists. But there are many believers who are just not fundamentalists," Higgs said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. "Fundamentalism is another problem. I mean, Dawkins in a way is almost a fundamentalist himself, of another kind.""

'via Blog this'

Comments on The Machinery of Freedom

"Critics of free immigration worry that immigrants might change the country, make it more socialist, more crime ridden, more like the places they are coming from, but offer no strong reason to expect those particular effects. Leaving the place where you grew up to move somewhere very different is, after all, evidence that you prefer the latter. As I pointed out in one exchange, the Volokh brothers, associated with the popular libertarian/conservative legal blog the Volokh Conspiracy, are immigrants from the ex-Soviet Union. While Eugene and Sasha Volokh may be slightly more socialist than I am, they are much less socialist than most of their fellow academics, not entirely surprising given that they have experienced socialism at first hand."

'via Blog this'

Professor Friedman is soliciting criticism of newest chapters of the Third Edition of the Machinery of Freedom.

With regards to the assertion above, polls show that Hispanics are by in large in favor of the welfare state and Obamacare, while disfavoring Capitalism.

Maybe we can assume that Hispanics that want to come the U.S. are self-selecting for a life of capitalism and so favor the same? I think it's assuming quite a bit to think that people who are seeking or reaping the benefits of capitalism necessarily see what is causing those benefits. If that was the case, Americans would be much more pro-capitalism. Additionally, both Republicans and Democrats seem to think Hispanic immigrants are Democrat voters. Since they have a keen personal interest in the subject, I assume they know what they are talking about.

"Of course, survival is usually a means to reproductive success, so most living things most of the time are trying to survive. But a living being that put survival above everything else would not reproduce, so its descendants would not be around for Rand to use as evidence in deriving oughts."

'via Blog this'

Zachary Price on the Constitution and Enforcement Discretion | The Volokh ConspiracyThe Volokh Conspiracy

Zachary Price on the Constitution and Enforcement Discretion | The Volokh ConspiracyThe Volokh Conspiracy: "Through close examination of the text, history, and normative underpinnings of the Constitution, as well as relevant historical practice, the article demonstrates that there is indeed a constitutional authority of enforcement discretion — but it is both limited and defeasible. Presidents may properly decline enforcement of civil and criminal prohibitions in particular cases, notwithstanding their obligation under the Take Care Clause to ensure that “the Laws be faithfully executed.” But this authority does not extend to prospective licensing of prohibited conduct, nor to policy-based non-enforcement of federal laws for entire categories of offenders. Presuming such forms of executive discretion would collide with another deeply rooted constitutional tradition: the principle that American Presidents, unlike English Kings, lack authority to suspend statutes or dispense with their application to particular individuals. This framework not only clarifies the proper executive duty with respect to enforcement of federal statutes, but also points the way to proper resolution of other recurrent separation-of-powers issues."

'via Blog this'

"Such was the intention of the Compact – by eliminating any semblance of private property and personal accountability, which were declared to be the foundation for avarice and selfishness – prosperity and brotherly love would result. How did it work out?

You need only look at the cleanliness of your office fridge or the condition of a public bathroom for a glimpse into the horrors of such collectivism. People suffered, starved and perished. Governor Bradford wrote in his diary, “For this community (so far as it was) was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For young men that were most able and fit for labor and service did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men’s wives and children without any recompense … that was thought injustice.”"

'via Blog this'

The Volokh Conspiracy | Commentary on law, public policy, and moreThe Volokh Conspiracy

The Volokh Conspiracy | Commentary on law, public policy, and moreThe Volokh Conspiracy: "One of the illuminating things about this video is the combination of cluelessness and arrogance of the petty bureaucrats that run student life on university campuses these days.  What a classic line that captures the whole incident in a nutshell (uttered by the university bureaucrat in charge of handing out the permits):  “[We have] two people on campus right now, so you’d have to wait until either the 20th, 27th, or you can go into October.”"

'via Blog this'

Forward Progressives — 10 Questions Every Liberal Should Ask Every Republican

Forward Progressives — 10 Questions Every Liberal Should Ask Every Republican:

1) If Republicans are so fiscally responsible, why was President Eisenhower (in the 1950′s) the last Republican president to balance the budget?

Answer: False premise; the last Republican to balance the budget was Newt Gingrich. Presidents don’t write budgets, cannot authorize spending, and cannot authorize taxes. Congress does that.

2) If President Reagan was such a fiscally conservative hero, why did he quadruple our national debt during his eight years in the White House?

Answer: False premise; Tip O’Neill quadrupled the national debt. Presidents don’t write budgets, cannot authorize spending, and cannot authorize taxes. Congress does that.

3) If tax breaks are the main driving force behind job creation, how would we create jobs once tax rates were reduced to practically zero?

Answer: Tax breaks are not the main force behind job creation; demand for labor is the main force behind job creation.

'via Blog this'

It continues in its awesomeness from there. . .

Krauthammer on Iran Nuclear Agreement: 'It's The Worst Deal Since Munich' | NewsBusters

Krauthammer on Iran Nuclear Agreement: 'It's The Worst Deal Since Munich' | NewsBusters: "And what is the result of this agreement? Iran retains the right to enrich. It continues to enrich during the six months. It is promised a final deal in which we’re going to work out the details of its enrichment. And remember, enrichment is the dam against all proliferation. Once a country anywhere can start to enrich there is no containing its nuclear capacity. So it undermines the entire idea of nonproliferation, and it grants Iran a right it’s been lusting for for a decade. That’s why there was so much jubilation in Tehran over this."

'via Blog this'

Why the Failure of Healthcare.gov Matters

Causation is hard. Especially in the realm of public policy, where multiple factors affect any one outcome, such that there is almost always another explanation for any given outcome. That's not to say that some explanations aren't better than others. Just that, in the face of evidence that contradicts a person's philosophical belief, there's always enough wiggle room for the belief to survive the confrontation.

An illustration or two. The stimulus bill was designed to get the economy going and lower unemployment. Now, the unemployment forecasts were much rosier than the actual path of the unemployment rate. One explanation is that the stimulus failed to jump start the economy as promised. But another explanation is that the economy was just in much rougher shape than the forecasters could know. (Don't let it trouble you that the forecasters did not understand the condition of the current economy, while attempting to predict the future economy.)  And a third explanation is that the stimulus just wasn't big enough to have the rosy impact that was predicted. We failed to spend enough money to get the job done.

So here we have three explanations of what the stimulus accomplished or didn't accomplish, each consistent with the history, and each ascribed to by smart people. Take your pick of what you want to believe based on your theory of economics or government.

Same thing is going to happen with insurance prices post-Obamacare. Your insurance premiums went up? Or your Deductible went up? Or you have fewer doctor options? It's probably due to the excessive regulation in Obamacare. Unless you're a Democrat. Then it's probably due to a spike in insurance companies' levels of greed. Or, you're actually better off than you would be, because premiums would have been even higher, but for Obamacare.

That's why the failure of Healthcare.gov is instructive. Because the counter factual is so easy. It's hard to know how the world would have looked without the stimulus, or without Obamacare. But I can imagine a world with a functional website for buying insurance. I have seen functional websites. In fact I have purchased things from them.

Having spent millions of dollars and three years, the administration's failure to get the website working right speaks volumes about it competency to do much harder things, like forecast the effect of 800 billion dollars of stimulus spending, or predict the intended and unintended consequences of 20,000 pages of Obamacare regulation.

The Death of Star Wars | National Review Online

The Death of Star Wars | National Review Online: "First, backstory: I’m a Star Wars purist, but I’m also a Star Wars minimalist. I watched the original three movies over and over and over and over as a little kid and loved them with a love that is true. (One of my clearest memories is playing in our backyard with my neighbor, fortuitously named Luke, and pretending the swings were TIE fighters.) But I never got into the three prequels, on principle."

'via Blog this'

The good news that there is no God

The good news that there is no God: "Bertrand Russell, who actually believed this, faced it squarely and put it eloquently:

“That man is the product of causes that had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve individual life beyond the grave; that all the labors of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and that the whole temple of Man’s achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins–all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand.
“Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding dispair, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built.”"

'via Blog this'

The good news that there is no God

The good news that there is no God: "But God’s absence also seems to deprive the acts undertaken with such freedom of any lasting significance.  They become as trivial morally as many of them already were in other respects.  Faithful spouses and utterly unfaithful playboys will rot alike, along with their partners, unremembered and irrelevant.  And, if atheism is true, whatever good things it confers (no time-consuming church responsibilities! no boring Sunday meetings! no guilt after getting drunk or spending quality time with pornographic videos! cocktail parties!) come at the high price of living in a universe that is entirely indifferent, one that could, in fact, easily be described as hostile except that it is completely unconscious and lacks any purposes or intentions at all.  Lost loved ones will remain lost forever.  Children will die, and will then be as if they had never lived.  Everything human — the pyramids, happy families, Beethoven’s symphonies, children’s songs, the plays of Shakespeare, memories of holidays at the beach, the sculptures and paintings of Michelangelo — will perish, and there will be nobody, anywhere, to remember them."

'via Blog this'

Knitting With Dog Hair: Kendall Crolius: 9780312104894: Amazon.com: Books

Knitting With Dog Hair: Kendall Crolius: 9780312104894: Amazon.com: Books: "Be very careful with this book. Thinking myself clever, I shaved my dog, then knitted him a sweater using his own fur. I believe this paradox may have ripped a small hole in the space-time continuim. My son seems to be now aging in reverse, causing me to deduct one star from this review. Otherwise a very informative book."

'via Blog this'

Facebook

Facebook: ""I grew up on a rice farm in Guyana. We didn't have running water or electricity, or anything like that. I didn't come to America until I was 14. My friend has been struggling lately because she can't get a job she wants, even though she's really talented. She's lived in New York her whole life and hasn't travelled very much, and she said to me: 'I don't understand why anyone would want to immigrate to America.' I told her:
"Trust me-- if there's a heaven, this is it.'""

'via Blog this'

How Things Have Changed from 50 Years Ago «

How Things Have Changed from 50 Years Ago «: "The War on Poverty might have been more accurately termed a war to consolidate Johnson’s influence. Poor rural families got grants and loans to expand their farms — provided they stayed on the farms, where Johnson needed their votes. Job training, educational programs, small business loans — all were available as long as you lived your life in a way that suited Lyndon Johnson’s purposes.

It was Johnson who launched the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, to ensure that the agendas of the arts, the humanities and the airwaves could be guided by the tastes of officials appointed by Lyndon Johnson. It was Johnson who arrogated unto himself and his cronies the power to veto private rental and employment contracts."

'via Blog this'

How Things Have Changed from 50 Years Ago «

How Things Have Changed from 50 Years Ago «: "If there is such a thing as evil, it lived in Lyndon Johnson, whose life was one long obsession with the accumulation and exercise of power"

'via Blog this'

Fareed Zakaria: Why Americans hate their government - The Washington Post

Fareed Zakaria: Why Americans hate their government - The Washington Post: "But whatever the answer, if there is one, the real story is that both are examples of a major, and depressing, trend: the declining competence of the federal government. Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, has been saying for years that most Americans believe their government can no longer act effectively and that this erosion of competence, and hence confidence, is a profound problem."

'via Blog this'

Mediaite's Tommy Christopher Asks Single Worst Question Ever at WH Press Briefing

Mediaite's Tommy Christopher Asks Single Worst Question Ever at WH Press Briefing: "First of all, I don’t if you’re aware of this, but when I had a heart attack three years ago, I was uninsured, and I haven’t been able to get insurance ever since then. Listening to all the pressure on the president to negotiate, a lot of it from inside this room, it made me think, is there a chance the president would be willing to delay Obamacare for a year if Republicans were to agree to delay heart attacks for a year?"

'via Blog this'

Russell Simmons: ObamaCare Already Saved Thousands, Possibly Millions, of Lives

Russell Simmons: ObamaCare Already Saved Thousands, Possibly Millions, of Lives: "Yes, we initially wanted single payer, and we had to compromise back in 2009 for the Affordable Care Act. But, it is a damn good piece of legislation that has already saved hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lives. So, let us not give up now."

'via Blog this'

LOL!

Dangerous Games - "Point 'em Out, Knock 'em Out"

Dangerous Games - "Point 'em Out, Knock 'em Out": "The victim was attacked by 17-year-old Marvell Weaver. But Weaver did more than try to knock his victim out, he tried to do it with a taser. Luckily for the victim, the taser didn't work and he was able to protect himself with his concealed-carry .40 caliber pistol.

"He shoved something into my side. I wasn't sure what it was. It had some force to it. I wasn't sure if it was a knife or a gun," said the victim.

Weaver was shot twice, in the leg and an inch away from his spine. He's been sentenced to a year in jail for the attack, but he admits he's getting off easy."

'via Blog this'

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich is Racist, Says Portland School Official

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich is Racist, Says Portland School Official: "Did you know that eating or even talking about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich could be considered racist?

That’s right.

Apparently, it’s because people in some cultures don’t eat sandwich bread. Verenice Gutierrez, principal of Harvey Scott K-8 School in Portland explained in and interview with the Portland Tribune:"

'via Blog this'

I was hoping this happened Portland, Maine. But no.

Older hill aides shocked by Obamacare prices - Jonathan Allen and Jennifer Haberkorn - POLITICO.com

Older hill aides shocked by Obamacare prices - Jonathan Allen and Jennifer Haberkorn - POLITICO.com: "Veteran House Democratic aides are sick over the insurance prices they’ll pay under Obamacare, and they’re scrambling to find a cure.

“In a shock to the system, the older staff in my office (folks over 59) have now found out their personal health insurance costs (even with the government contribution) have gone up 3-4 times what they were paying before,” Minh Ta, chief of staff to Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), wrote to fellow Democratic chiefs of staff in an email message obtained by POLITICO. “Simply unacceptable.”"

'via Blog this'

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The Volokh Conspiracy | Commentary on law, public policy, and moreThe Volokh Conspiracy

The Volokh Conspiracy | Commentary on law, public policy, and moreThe Volokh Conspiracy: "Viewed in this context, Z-Trip’s response of “Dope!” plainly communicated that, in some sense, he “approve[d]” of “the video.” But such approval is quite distinct from conveying assent to a mutual exchange of promises or other consideration. And it certainly did not convey that Z-Trip had authority to approve, on behalf of the Beastie Boys, a free license to Monster to use the Beastie Boys’ recordings and songs."

'via Blog this'

The Campaign Spot | National Review Online

The Campaign Spot | National Review Online: "“Before we blame the problems with Healthcare.gov on ‘big government’ or ‘liberalism,’ we should remember that the Affordable Care Act needed GOP cooperation to succeed.”

Why? As Robert Gamble noted, “If your plan requires complete control and no opposition, then it isn’t a plan, it’s a wish.”"

'via Blog this'

Seattle socialism: Kshama Sawant has some bad ideas.

Seattle socialism: Kshama Sawant has some bad ideas.: "Can Boeing's front-line workers actually retool an airplane factory and turn it to bus production and win contracts to sell buses that raise enough revenue to keep everyone employed? Only time will tell for sure, but in the real world the answer is "no." This is exactly what you need executives for. Retooling plants, establishing relationships with suppliers and customers, understanding the size of the market for buses, and all that other stuff is a non-trivial task."

'via Blog this'

Obama: Republicans Making It Difficult To Fix Obamacare Glitches | RealClearPolitics

Obama: Republicans Making It Difficult To Fix Obamacare Glitches | RealClearPolitics: "PRESIDENT OBAMA: The last point I'll make is that in terms of expectation setting, there's no doubt that in an environment in which we had to fight tooth and nail to get this passed, it ended up being passed on a partisan basis -- not for lack of trying, because I met with an awful lot of Republicans to try to get them to go along -- but because there was just ideological resistance to the idea of dealing with the uninsured and people with preexisting conditions. There was a price to that, and it was that what was already going to be hard was operating within a very difficult political environment. And we should have anticipated that that would create a rockier rollout than if Democrats and Republicans were both invested in success.

One of the problems we've had is one side of Capitol Hill is invested in failure, and that makes, I think, the kind of iterative process of fixing glitches as they come up and fine-tuning the law more challenging. But I'm optimistic that we can get it fixed. (Wall Street Journal CEO Council, November 19, 2013)"

'via Blog this'

"Reconsidering Citizens United as a Press Clause Case" | The Volokh ConspiracyThe Volokh Conspiracy

"Reconsidering Citizens United as a Press Clause Case" | The Volokh ConspiracyThe Volokh Conspiracy: "The central flaw in the analysis of Citizens United by both the majority and the dissent was to treat it as a free speech case rather than a free press case. The right of a group to write and disseminate a documentary film criticizing a candidate for public office falls within the core of the freedom of the press. It is not constitutional for the government to punish the dissemination of such a documentary by a media corporation, and it therefore follows that it cannot be constitutional to punish its dissemination by a non-media corporation like Citizens United unless the freedom of the press is confined to the institutional media. Precedent, history, and pragmatics all refute the idea that freedom of the press is so confined."

'via Blog this'

16 People On Things They Couldn’t Believe About America Until They Moved Here | Thought Catalog

16 People On Things They Couldn’t Believe About America Until They Moved Here | Thought Catalog: "My Russian in-laws were shocked when they found out that we get packages left on our doorstep and no one steals them.

They were also shocked by buffets. My father-in-law told everyone back in Moscow, “No, really! You just pay to enter!”"

'via Blog this'

16 People On Things They Couldn’t Believe About America Until They Moved Here | Thought Catalog

16 People On Things They Couldn’t Believe About America Until They Moved Here | Thought Catalog: "Why individual houses are so large? We always get into discussion that house is not just a shelter, but also a manifestation of one’s financial achievements.
Philanthropy. There is no culture of philanthropy in Russia and many view American philanthropy either as a waste of money or as some intricate plot to get some additional benefits."

'via Blog this'

16 People On Things They Couldn’t Believe About America Until They Moved Here | Thought Catalog

16 People On Things They Couldn’t Believe About America Until They Moved Here | Thought Catalog: "A lot of couples adopt children, sometimes in spite of having their own, and treat them exactly like their own. (To me, this alone is a marker of a great people)"

'via Blog this'

More Freedom on the Airplane, if Nowhere Else - NYTimes.com

More Freedom on the Airplane, if Nowhere Else - NYTimes.com: "The total number of federal regulatory restrictions is now more than one million. And they’re not all necessarily good ideas. For instance, the Food and Drug Administration has banned some useful asthma treatments because they have a slight negative impact on the ozone layer. The nation has medical-device regulations that take longer to satisfy than those of the European Union."

'via Blog this'

College Cheating and Public Service «

College Cheating and Public Service «: "In this paper, we demonstrate that university students who cheat on a simple task in a laboratory setting are more likely to state a preference for entering public service.  Importantly, we also show that cheating on this task is predictive of corrupt behavior by real government workers, implying that this measure captures a meaningful propensity towards corruption.  Students who demonstrate lower levels of prosocial preferences in the laboratory games are also more likely to prefer to enter the government, while outcomes on explicit, two-player games to measure cheating and attitudinal measures of corruption do not systematically predict job preferences. "

'via Blog this'

Obama in the Dark | National Review Online

Obama in the Dark | National Review Online: "The president did his level best to explain that he was as in the dark as anybody about the problems with his signature legislation."

'via Blog this'

‘What We’re Also Discovering Is That Insurance Is Complicated to Buy’ | National Review Online

‘What We’re Also Discovering Is That Insurance Is Complicated to Buy’ | National Review Online: "This might have been my favorite line in President Obama’s press conference. After using every possible means to pass a law transforming American health insurance, after making the law heavily dependent on people purchasing health insurance through a federal website, after years of implementation and after hundreds of millions of dollars, it is only dawning on them now that health insurance is complicated to buy?"

'via Blog this'

Obamacare Schadenfreudarama | National Review Online

Obamacare Schadenfreudarama | National Review Online: "But not as delicious as the tears of his praetorian guard. First of all, every day Jay Carney looks even more like a little boy who put on his dad’s suit. You have to wonder what goes on in his mind, as a former journalist, when he tells his former colleagues that “the American forces have been completely destroyed with minimal Iraqi casualties.” "

'via Blog this'

Obamacare Schadenfreudarama | National Review Online

Obamacare Schadenfreudarama | National Review Online: "During the government shutdown, Barack Obama held fast, heroically refusing to give an inch to the hostage-taking, barbaric orcs of the Tea Party who insisted on delaying Obamacare. It was a triumph for the master strategist in the White House, who finally maneuvered the Republicans into revealing their extremism. But we didn’t know something back then: Obama desperately needed a delay of Healthcare.gov. In his arrogance, though, he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. The other possibility is that he is such an incompetent manager, who has cultivated such a culture of yes-men, that he was completely in the dark about the problems. That’s the reigning storyline right now from the White House. Obama was betrayed. “If I had known,” he told his staff, “we could have delayed the website.”"

'via Blog this'

Obamacare Schadenfreudarama | National Review Online

Obamacare Schadenfreudarama | National Review Online: "If you can’t take some joy, some modicum of relief and mirth, in the unprecedentedly spectacular beclowning of the president, his administration, its enablers, and, to no small degree, liberalism itself, then you need to ask yourself why you’re following politics in the first place. Because, frankly, this has been one of the most enjoyable political moments of my lifetime. I wake up in the morning and rush to find my just-delivered newspaper with a joyful expectation of worsening news so intense, I feel like Morgan Freeman should be narrating my trek to the front lawn. Indeed, not since Dan Rather handcuffed himself to a fraudulent typewriter, hurled it into the abyss, and saw his career plummet like Ted Kennedy was behind the wheel have I enjoyed a story more."

'via Blog this'

Freespace: The lawlessness of Obamacare

Freespace: The lawlessness of Obamacare: "s Christina and I observe in an article coming in the next issue of Regulation, this sort of behavior indicates a profound failing with Obamacare: one that runs much deeper than the policy problems that have been the focus of recent debates. From its unconstitutional origin, to the rewrite that the Roberts Court put on the law, to the unconstitutional delegation of lawmaking power to unelected, independent bureaucrats, to the halting and unpredictable manner in which it is being enforced or not--depending on political pressure--Obamacare has been a sustained assault on the concept of the rule of law itself."

'via Blog this'

Althouse: 10 rules for writing about the 50th anniversary of the day John F. Kennedy was shot.

Althouse: 10 rules for writing about the 50th anniversary of the day John F. Kennedy was shot.: "4. Don't make up alternate histories of what would have happened if Kennedy had not been killed. Everything would have been different; we would all have been different. If you're American and under 50, you can assume that you would never have been born. "

'via Blog this'

Policy Cancellations: Obama Will Allow Old Plans

Policy Cancellations: Obama Will Allow Old Plans: "Bowing to pressure, President Barack Obama on Thursday announced changes to his health care law that would give insurance companies the option to keep offering consumers plans that would otherwise be canceled.

The administrative changes are good for just one year, though senior administration officials said they could be extended if problems with the law persist. Obama announced the changes at the White House."

'via Blog this'

Doesn't this put the lie to the argument that the House Republicans shut down the government?  True, Republicans were asking for a year delay in the individual mandate, and this only delays the coverage mandates.  But I'm pretty sure Republicans would have taken this in a deal to keep the government open.

What does this say about Obama and Democrats? Given this new policy, how else can you explain Democrats refusal to negotiate as anything other than bad faith politicking?

Greed-o-Meter «

Greed-o-Meter «: "Just wanted to update my readers on the amount of greed in the economy.

In March of this year, the average retail price of gasoline was $3.85.
In the first week of November, the average retail price of gasoline was $3.34.
So, I guess gas and oil companies are feeling 13% less greedy these days! Whew."

'via Blog this'

Being a Mormon is Hard | Junior Ganymede

Being a Mormon is Hard | Junior Ganymede: "Since then my experience as a church member, or as a father and a husband, has been much the same. Never an unmixed success. Never a performance that I could feel I hadn’t unnecessarily tainted with sins of commission and omission. I am a shabby Mormon. These failures are better than successes elsewhere. I have found more joy making a hash of things in the gospel path than would be possible on any other path pursued however flawlessly. I mean that."

'via Blog this'

Poll: 78% of Uninsured Not Interested in ObamaCare

Poll: 78% of Uninsured Not Interested in ObamaCare: "A new Gallup poll brings more terrible news for President Obama and his signature health plan, showing that only 22% of uninsured Americans intend to buy insurance through the ObamaCare exchanges.

One of the major selling points for using ObamaCare to disrupt our health care system (that polls showed up to 80% of Americans were satisfied with) was to insure the uninsured. But according to this poll, only a very small minority of that small minority is even interested in obtaining insurance."

'via Blog this'

I remember Ann Coulter (of all people!) predicting quite sensibly that the penalty for being uninsured wasn't big enough to induce individuals to buy insurance. I don't remember a lot of other people saying that publicly, but I'm sure there were.

Defending the Faith: Henry Eyring exemplified both science and faith | Deseret News

Defending the Faith: Henry Eyring exemplified both science and faith | Deseret News: "Since several other chemists later received the Nobel Prize for work based on it, his own failure to receive the Nobel Prize remains rather mysterious. In any event, the academy awarded him the Berzelius Medal in 1977, perhaps as partial compensation. He also won the Priestley Medal, the highest award given by the American Chemical Society, in 1975 and the Wolf Foundation Prize in Chemistry in 1980."

'via Blog this'

University physicists study urine splash-back and offer best tactics for men (w/ Video)

University physicists study urine splash-back and offer best tactics for men (w/ Video): "(Phys.org) —A team of four physicists at Brigham Young University (calling themselves "wizz-kids") has been studying the physics properties of urine splash-back in a urinal-like environment. Their mission was to uncover the fluid dynamics involved in male peeing and to hopefully discern which approach leads to the least amount of splash-back (and less mess). They will be presenting their results at the American Physical Society Meeting later this month."

'via Blog this'

My Alma Mater. I couldn't be prouder!

You Lie | National Review Online

You Lie | National Review Online: "Never before in the history of the Republic has a president lied so boldly, so unequivocally, so repeatedly about a matter that has such a significant impact on hundreds of millions of Americans — and that also happens to be his administration’s signature achievement."

'via Blog this'

Transgender Grammar | National Review Online

Transgender Grammar | National Review Online: "Addendum: As an example of the absurdities that this politically correct usage can lead to, consider this sentence from a recent New Republic article: “She has also tried to castrate herself by tying off her testicles.”"

'via Blog this'

I think this hints at something deep in the liberal psyche that I don't quite understand. I'm not quite sure how to put my finger on it, but I'd summarize it as: the truth is whatever you feel is true. Thus, if you feel like you're a woman, you are.

I see another manifestation of the phenomenon in some liberals' assertion that life begins when the mother thinks the child is alive.

Truth is in the eye of the beholder.

George W. Bush is smarter than you « Keith Hennessey

George W. Bush is smarter than you « Keith Hennessey: "President Bush is extremely smart by any traditional standard. He’s highly analytical and was incredibly quick to be able to discern the core question he needed to answer. It was occasionally a little embarrassing when he would jump ahead of one of his Cabinet secretaries in a policy discussion and the advisor would struggle to catch up. He would sometimes force us to accelerate through policy presentations because he so quickly grasped what we were presenting."

'via Blog this'

Charles Krauthammer: Obamacare laid bare - The Washington Post

Charles Krauthammer: Obamacare laid bare - The Washington Post: "So that your president can promise to cover 30 million uninsured without costing the government a dime. Which from the beginning was the biggest falsehood of them all. And yet the free lunch is the essence of modern liberalism. Free mammograms, free preventative care, free contraceptives for Sandra Fluke. Come and get it."

'via Blog this'

Charles Krauthammer: Obamacare laid bare - The Washington Post

Charles Krauthammer: Obamacare laid bare - The Washington Post: "Translation: Sure, you freely chose the policy, paid for the policy, renewed the policy, liked the policy. But you’re too primitive to know what you need. We do. Your policy is hereby canceled."

'via Blog this'

Charles Krauthammer: Obamacare laid bare - The Washington Post

Charles Krauthammer: Obamacare laid bare - The Washington Post: "Still, how could he imagine getting away with a claim sure to be exposed as factually false?

The same way he maintained for two weeks that false narrative about Benghazi. He figured he’d get away with it.

And he did. Simple formula: Delay, stonewall and wait for a supine and protective press to turn spectacularly incurious."

'via Blog this'

Facebook

Facebook: ""My girlfriend and I aborted a child a couple of weeks ago."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"We didn't lose anything. It was a choice."
"Were both of you equally on board with the decision?"
"She followed my lead, which made it tougher I guess. But I've got so much going on right now, and she just opened her own theater show. It's just not the right time."
"How's the aftermath been?"
"You know, I always thought of abortion as a common thing. I'm a liberal guy. Pro-choice and everything. But I never imagined how bloody painful it was going to be."
"Do you mind if I post your story?"
"With my picture? I'd prefer not.""

'via Blog this'

He said "child," but I think he meant "fetus."

AP: 3.5 Million Insurance Plans Canceled | National Review Online

AP: 3.5 Million Insurance Plans Canceled | National Review Online: "There are at least 3.5 million Americans who would take issue with President Obama’s promise that they could keep their insurance plans if they want to, according to the Associated Press. In a state-by-state breakdown, the news agency came to the figure by tracking notices through insurers in each state.

“The law is getting more and more real for people,” said Drew Altman, Kaiser Family Foundation president. “A lot of this will turn on whether there’s a perception that there have been more winners than losers. . . . It’s not whether an expert thinks something is a better insurance policy, it’s whether people perceive it that way.”"

'via Blog this'

A Phalanx of Lies | National Review Online

A Phalanx of Lies | National Review Online: "On Day One, the junkies were eager for their fix: As the administration crowed, the site received 4.7 million unique visits. By the following morning, the HHS “war room” was informed that “six enrollments have occurred so far.” That’s six as in half a dozen, as in fewer people than in just one vehicle of Obama’s 40-car motorcade. Kathleen Sebelius had successfully enrolled one American for every assistant secretary of health and human services. Oh, no, wait: She has seven assistant secretaries, so there was one free, waiting for that seventh enrollee. One in every 783,333 visitors managed to close the deal: Dr. Obama could make house calls to every one and still have time for a round of golf."

'via Blog this'

The Arrogance of Obama, and Obamacare | Coyote Blog

The Arrogance of Obama, and Obamacare | Coyote Blog: "More expensive, more highly featured products are not necessarily "better".  A Mercedes is not necessarily the best car choice for a middle class buyer just because it has more features than his Taurus.  Would Obama tell that person his Taurus is "sub-standard" and force him to pay for a Mercedes? If not, why the hell is doing the exact same thing but with health insurance OK?"

'via Blog this'

The Arrogance of Obama, and Obamacare | Coyote Blog

The Arrogance of Obama, and Obamacare | Coyote Blog: "So I guess the Left has hit on its favored meme in response to the millions of insurance cancellations.  From Obama to Valerie Jarrett to any number of bloggers, the explanation is that the cancelled policies were "sub-standard".  We may have thought we liked them, but it turns out we were wrong.  Deluded in fact.

These folks -- despite not knowing my income, my net worth, my health situation, my age, my family size, my number and age of kids, my risk adversity, my degree of hypochondria, my preventative care habits, my diet, my lifestyle, my personal preferences and priorities, or any details about my insurance policy that I spend many hours analyzing and cross-comparing -- have decided they know better than I what health insurance I should want."

'via Blog this'

Opinion: The Obamacare whiners - Rich Lowry - POLITICO.com

Opinion: The Obamacare whiners - Rich Lowry - POLITICO.com: "Near the end of his Boston remarks, the president said, “Both parties working together to get the job done, that’s what we need in Washington right now … You know, if Republicans in Congress were as eager to help Americans get covered as some Republican governors have shown themselves to be, we’d make a lot of progress.”

Is that how we’d make a lot of progress? The president got his law and it’s possible more people will be uninsured in 2014 than if it had never passed. That’s on him, no matter how much he and his supporters want to evade responsibility for their own achievement."

'via Blog this'

Greg Mankiw's Blog: Who knew what when?

Greg Mankiw's Blog: Who knew what when?: "As someone who has previously worked for a President, I am fascinated by how the White House staff let President Obama so consistently and so publicly make a false statement.  Presidential speeches undergo a painstakingly thorough review process. It seems that there are only three possibilities:

1. The White House staff did not know the statement was false.  That is, they did not understand the law the administration was promoting.

2. The White House staff knew the statement was false, but they decided to keep this fact from the President.  That is, they let the President unwittingly lie to the American people.

3. The White House staff knew the statement was false and told the President so, but the President decided to keep saying it anyway.  That is, the President consciously decided to lie to the American people.

These are the only three possibilities I can envision.  None of them reflects particularly well on what has been going on in the White House."

'via Blog this'

Ross Douthat on the burden and incidence of ACA

Ross Douthat on the burden and incidence of ACA: "If we want health inflation to stay low and health care costs to be less of an anchor on advancement, we should want more Americans making $50,000 or $60,000 or $70,000 to spend less upfront on health insurance, rather than using regulatory pressure to induce them to spend more. And seen in that light, the potential problem with Obamacare’s regulation-driven “rate shock” isn’t that it doesn’t let everyone keep their pre-existing plans. It’s that it cancels plans, and raises rates, for people who were doing their part to keep all of our costs low."

'via Blog this'

SOWELL: The race-hustlers among us - Washington Times

SOWELL: The race-hustlers among us - Washington Times: "Years ago, someone said that according to the laws of aerodynamics, bumblebees cannot fly. But the bumblebees, not knowing the laws of aerodynamics, go ahead and fly anyway.

Something like that happens among people. There have been many ponderous academic writings and dour editorials in the mainstream media lamenting that most people born poor cannot rise in American society anymore. Meanwhile, many poor immigrants arrive here from various parts of Asia, and rise on up the ladder anyway."

'via Blog this'

Dem Strategist: Party is 'F****d' Over Obamacare | National Review Online

Dem Strategist: Party is 'F****d' Over Obamacare | National Review Online: "One high-level Democratic strategist is more than a little worried about the negative impact Obamacare will have on his party’s future. “Dem Party is F****d,” the strategist wrote in the subject line of an email to the National Journal’s Ron Fournier. The unnamed strategist, who Fornier says has strong ties to both Capitol Hill and the White House, said the combination of sticker shock and people being dropped from thier health care plans will doom the Democratic party as the implemenation of Obamacare continues. "

'via Blog this'

I hope so!

LA Times - Some health insurance gets pricier as Obamacare rolls out

LA Times - Some health insurance gets pricier as Obamacare rolls out: "Pam Kehaly, president of Anthem Blue Cross in California, said she received a recent letter from a young woman complaining about a 50% rate hike related to the healthcare law.

"She said, 'I was all for Obamacare until I found out I was paying for it,'" Kehaly said."

'via Blog this'

Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics: Charles Krauthammer: 9780385349178: Amazon.com: Books

Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics: Charles Krauthammer: 9780385349178: Amazon.com: Books: "Charles Krauthammer: No real surprises—I find that I agree with myself a lot—except for my enthusiastic review of Independence Day. Though I might've been unduly swayed by seeing the premiere with my son, then ten, who announced after the showing that he would see the movie every week for the rest of his life."

'via Blog this'

Health insurance cancellation notices soar above Obamacare enrollment rates | The Daily Caller

Health insurance cancellation notices soar above Obamacare enrollment rates | The Daily Caller: "he number of cancellation notices greatly exceed the number of Obamacare enrollees.

Insurance carrier Florida Blue sent out 300,000 cancellation notices, or 80 percent of the entire state’s individual coverage policies, Kaiser Health News reports. California’s Kaiser Permanente canceled 160,000 plans — half of its insurance plans in the state — while Blue Shield of California sent 119,000 notices in mid-September alone."

'via Blog this'

Actress Sophia Loren ends 39-year tax feud - FRANCE 24

Actress Sophia Loren ends 39-year tax feud - FRANCE 24: "The 79-year-old Loren, who lives in Switzerland, was quoted as saying she was happy with a ruling by the supreme court that said her 1974 tax return was indeed covered by a 1982 tax amnesty.

"A saga that has lasted nearly 40 years is finally over," Loren was quoted by the La Stampa daily as saying, adding: "I always look to the future and I leave bad experiences like this one behind me."

Her lawyer, Giovanni Desideri, said: "The supreme court has wrapped up a Kafkaesque case.""

'via Blog this'

Opinion: Heckuva job, Kathleen Sebelius - Rich Lowry - POLITICO.com

Opinion: Heckuva job, Kathleen Sebelius - Rich Lowry - POLITICO.com: "Her explanation for why the Obamacare website doesn’t work is that she couldn’t possibly have been expected to make it work in the mere 3½ years since the law passed. She told The Wall Street Journal the website ideally needed five years of construction and one year of testing and instead had only two years of construction and almost no testing.

That means with the proper development time, HealthCare.gov would have had a flawless launch … on Oct 1, 2017. Needless to say, had Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) suggested a four-year delay in Obamacare as his fallback in the defunding fight, he would have been scorned as an unbending fanatic, although he just might have been giving Sebelius the breathing room she needed."

'via Blog this'

Blue Cross rep in North Dakota: The feds asked us not to reveal the number of people who’ve signed up for ObamaCare « Hot Air

Blue Cross rep in North Dakota: The feds asked us not to reveal the number of people who’ve signed up for ObamaCare « Hot Air: "Still, a spokeswoman from Blue Cross Blue Shield says about 14 North Dakotans have signed up for coverage since the federal exchange went live Oct. 1. That brings total statewide enrollment to 20 – less than one a day.

Spokeswoman Andrea Dinneen said Tuesday that while Blue Cross generally does not release its internal sales numbers, it has in this case because the problematic rollout of the federal health care exchange is a “unique situation.”"

'via Blog this'

Obamacare mandate may be delayed - MarketWatch

Obamacare mandate may be delayed - MarketWatch: "The administration declined to say whether people who purchase health coverage late in the enrollment period—say, on March 31—would be exempt from a penalty, even if their policy doesn’t kick in until April or May. Nor would the department give a specific date by which people would need to buy coverage to escape a fine. The HHS official, however, indicated that the administration may extend the deadline beyond Feb. 15: “We are exploring options currently and will issue guidance at a later date.”"

'via Blog this'

So we had a shutdown because Democrats would not agree to delaying the individual mandate. But it might be delayed anyway?

If the delay happens, then clearly the shutdown was the Democrats' fault, right? Because all they had to do to avoid the shutdown was delay the individual mandate, which they were going to do anyway.

Co-Ops Created Under Obamacare Are Crumbling | National Review Online

Co-Ops Created Under Obamacare Are Crumbling | National Review Online: "Health-care co-ops that were established under the Affordable Care Act to provide a non-profit alternative to major health-care insurers, thereby promoting greater competition, are facing funding pitfalls and potential closures. According to a Washington Post report, these co-ops—different from traditional insurers because of their nonprofit status and governing board of policyholders—have faced government funding cuts and prohibitive red tape and may soon have great difficulty paying back their taxpayer loans valued at nearly $1 billion.

Thus far, one co-op has closed, another is struggling, nine more have projected financial problems, and 40 co-op applications were withdrawn owing to funding "

'via Blog this'

The Book of Mormon and the Leaves of Grass: The Case for Plagiarism?

The Book of Mormon and the Leaves of Grass: The Case for Plagiarism?: "The astute reader, upon hearing the first mention of Leaves of Grass as a candidate for Book of Mormon plagiarism, will immediately sense a tantalizing possibility. The very title itself suggests "Leaves of Brass"--and thus "Plates of Brass"--a Book of Mormon parallel from the get-go. Coincidence? Not when considered in light of the overwhelming evidence of plagiarism that I present below."

'via Blog this'

Thousands Of Consumers Get Insurance Cancellation Notices Due To Health Law Changes - Kaiser Health News

Thousands Of Consumers Get Insurance Cancellation Notices Due To Health Law Changes - Kaiser Health News: "Florida Blue, for example, is terminating about 300,000 policies, about 80 percent of its individual policies in the state. Kaiser Permanente in California has sent notices to 160,000 people – about half of its individual business in the state.  Insurer Highmark in Pittsburgh is dropping about 20 percent of its individual market customers, while Independence Blue Cross, the major insurer in Philadelphia, is dropping about 45 percent."

'via Blog this'

I know everyone thinks the government shutdown was a debacle for Republicans. But if the Obamacare train wreck is going to happen--I and think it will--maybe it wasn't such a bad idea for Republicans to reiterate their opposition to Obamacare in the moments before the collision.

Offsetting Behaviour: Construction costs

Offsetting Behaviour: Construction costs: "Donal Curtin pointed to some less-than-helpful government action that helps increase construction costs. New Zealand initiated anti-dumping action against Chinese wire nails, Malaysian galvanised wire, and Thai plasterboard, among other things. And so we have a specific tariff helping to keep prices up for plasterboard. While we're trying to rebuild after an earthquake.

So one part of central government is all mad about excessive construction costs. Another part of central government penalises foreigners for selling us construction materials cheaply. Meanwhile, local government does its best to restrict the supply of land to keep property values up."

'via Blog this'

An Immodest Proposal

I'm unhappy with the direction of our country, and more particularly, the growth of government. I don't think the U.S. debt to GDP ratio approaching 90% is healthy, nor do I see any end to government growth in sight. I don't think that the government (all levels) should spend 38% (or whatever it is) of our GDP.  I also don't think that regulating the healthcare market (which represents 18% of the economy) through 20,000 pages of regulation is going to make health insurance cost less or the medical care better. Similarly, I don't think Dodd-Frank is going to make the financial markets any safer or more efficient. In fact, almost every regulation we pass, in my opinion, damages or hampers the economy in one way or another.

But clearly many if not most people disagree with me. We have deep philosophical disagreements that I don't totally understand, and frankly, I don't think we are going to be able to resolve them any time soon. And as we have seen recently, when these philosophies clash on the political stage, it can be ugly.

Depressing. But here's where it gets better, because I have come up with a solution! What is it? Simple: we should split up the country! Sort of. That is, we should divide the county into at least two regions that can pursue their own economic policies. The regions would roughly follow the outlines of the current divide between red and blue states. It might be nice to have a third, libertarian region, too.

Each state will be allowed to decide which region they want to join. If you want to join the Democrat region, you are subject to the Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, cap-and-trade, and whatever other regulation The Democrat region passes. If you want to join the Republican region, you are freed from those regulations but subject to all other regulations specific to that region.

Now to make this work, the regions would have exclusive control over all domestic laws that are currently federal laws. That includes national education policy, employment law, and all entitlement spending. However, we will keep a central federal government with the power to conduct foreign policy. We don't want to have a military conflict between regional governments. The central government will have to collect taxes to fund the military, intelligence and foreign policy bureaucracy, but that will be the limit of its taxing power. We'll constitutionally require that the central government run a balanced budget. Taxes for central government will be levied as a flat tax, however, the regional government can change the default by subsidizing or taxing its citizens in a way to make the regional taxes progressive. All policy to counteract the business cycle will be handled by regional governments. Regional governments will be allowed to print their owner currencies and have their own central banks, if they wish.

We will need a Supreme Court to decide foreign policy and military issues, only. The Supreme Court will no longer need to interpret the constitutionality of economic regulations like Obamacare, since those laws will be handled on a regional level. Regional governments will set up their own federal court system as they desire.

Free trade will be the rule for trade between the regional governments.

States will be allowed to move back and forth between regional governments as often as they desire. If the Democrat region passes Obamacare, and the state wants to abandon or join that regions, then they can do so.

Citizens will be allowed to move, uninhibited between regional governments. Regional governments will be allowed to place whatever limit they want to on the entitlements that citizens can receive from the regional government, based on whatever criterion they deem appropriate.Time in the region and taxes paid to the region are two obvious factors a regional government might take into consideration.

My ideal would be allowing every person the freedom to choose the regulatory regime he lived under, without having to move out of his home. The next best thing is probably having 50 different regulatory regimes to choose between. Unfortunately, we mostly undid that system, I guess because some people thought we needed bigger, top-down government. So I propose this system as a compromise. Those states who favor large-top down central government can choose that form of government for their region. People like me who think the government is doing more harm than good can get the de minimis government we desire. Everyone gets what they want. Who could possibly object?