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Aid, and the Nature of Governments, Voting with your
Feet (Las Vegas Vs. Detroit), Transportation Socialization,
Wal-Mart, Aiding America's Poor, Club For
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and Government, French
Riots, Post Office, Israel
and Palestine, Optimism, FDA
Tyranny, Communist
Musings, College, RIP Carrie Largent,
Medical Lobbying, The
Bureaucrat In Your..., Amnesty
From Government, Media Freedom, Nevada
Politics, Social Conservatism, The
Israeli Lebanon Conflict, Ebay, Tax Cuts, and
Capitalism, Fee
Trade, Ideology, Emotion, and Reason, Bad
Karma, Good Karma?, Airbus vs Boeing,
Personal Responsibility,
Mental Responsibility; Milk, It Does A Government Good,
Ron
Paul 2008, Settling the Small
Business Hype, Personal
Responsibility, Mental Responsibility, Part II Christ
In Life, New
Leadership on HealthCare: a Presidential Forum, Restricting
the Body, Elevating the Mind, DO
Day on the Hill, Round 2.
For Excerpts from the larger research papers click here.
For newer archives see, Archives 2',
'Archives 3', 'Archives 4'
(latest)
Posted 4/21/08 ( by
Kyle Hunt)
The
Mighty Tree
4/21/08 Neoperspectives.com by Kyle
Hunt
After three long weeks of work at my new job, I needed a respite from the world of bits and pieces. I was able to find one right outside my door.
I sat silently in the small Los Angeles courtyard, gradually forgetting the challenges and stresses of running a company. I felt the comforting presence of the tree above me, shading me from the sun when I got too hot, and breathing with me in time. The tree let little glimpses of light shine through, while its neighbors reflected the sun with their leaves, creating a dynamic, daytime star field as they swayed in the breeze – telling their ancient story:
Throughout the history of man, trees have played a crucial role in our development. Years ago, they were our shelter, giving us a better perspective from up high and protecting us from predators. We shared this home with many other creatures who also sought a place in which to flourish. But like those other animals, we needed to leave our homes to gather resources, find mates, and exchange goods. Life was simple, but fraught with danger.
And then man learned of fire through some act of nature, God, Prometheus, or Lucifer. He discovered how to contain the flame and then how to create it. Those with this knowledge held a clear advantage over those left in the dark.
The carriers of the light traveled north to explore the uninhabited lands. The trees became more coniferous, the nights grew long, and the winters became a blistering cold. Trees, preferable in their decaying state, were burned to keep our internal flame going. We were safeguarded against night stalkers and hypothermia. The flame even became a sign of civilization – a gathering point around which a community of humans might form. The torch currently symbolizes this phenomenon.
Though originally made of earth and stone, the houses of these humans once again became the trees. But this time, the trees were felled and reordered into more and more suitable shelters. They provided a sufficient barrier against the outside world, giving a sense of safety in a perilous existence.
They even became our vessels against the sea, opening up new worlds. Man was able to move people and goods in much higher quantities, at much greater speeds, because of the amazing properties of wood. How else could so many Irish, Chinese, and African people have been shipped to labor in the New World, but for our mastery of trees?
We can look around today and see how integral the tree has been to our way of life. But does our relationship to the tree not go any deeper? Perhaps.
For one, we share the same calendar with trees. Trees mark their solar years in a circular fashion, while we blow out the flames of our years stuck into a cake.
Tremendously, the most intelligent data structures imitate the tree. When organizing family histories, the internet, and knowledge in general, the tree becomes the most appropriate resulting diagram – unfortunately it is often squashed down into two-dimensions and rendered useless.
Triumphantly, we are trees. Our toes, feet, and legs are our roots. Our trunks are.. well, our trunks. And our arms, hands and fingers branch out, probing into the world. They allow us to produce, obtain, and consume energy.
We lack the chloroplasts of the tree, which makes us unable to sufficiently synthesize enough energy from the sun without also eating. But like most forms of life, we have melanin to protect our sensitive bodies from the sun's radiation. With the proper amount of sunlight, the melatonin hormone within us helps us to be happier, healthier, and more radiant people. Hence Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the ridiculously acronymed "disease" that occurs when a human does not spend enough time outside.
But unlike the tree, we can pull up our roots – our support structures – and plant ourselves all over the world. Some people are of hardier strains, with more fully developed brains containing many branches and roots. These humans are much like the hemp plant, incredibly useful, abhorred by big corporations, and able to flourish in even the harshest of conditions.
But of course with the Tree of Life comes the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Macbeth was right to worry when 'Birnam Forest come to Dunsinane'. The wizard Sarumon could not stand the onslaught of Ent tree-herders angered out of Fanghorn Forest. Have you never seen a tree with eyes?
They are full of power and force, and yet we take them for granted in our daily lives.
I wonder: what would the wind be like if there were no trees to give it life and voice? and will the Cradle drop?
|
Posted 4/21/08 ( by Travis)
The
Double Trouble of Taxation[Ron Paul]
House.gov
^ | 20 Apr 2008 | Ron Paul (Required Reading)
Reprinted
in full:
Taxes were on the forefront of many Americans’ minds
this week as they scrambled to meet the April 15th deadline to file their returns. Tax policy in
this country hurts taxpayers twice – once when they pay taxes, and then when the government spends
the money. Americans are sick and tired of the financial burden and the endless forms to fill out.
To add insult to injury, after collecting this money the government does some very detrimental
things to the economy.
The burden of complying with the income tax is
tremendous. Since its inception in 1913, the tax code has gone from 400 pages to over 67,000. The
Tax Foundation estimates that around $265 billion dollars and 6 billion hours are spent just on
compliance. That expense amounts to about 22 cents of every dollar the IRS collects. Imagine the
boon to the economy if we spent that time and money expanding our businesses and creating jobs!
Aside from the direct loss of money and productivity,
the funds from the income tax enable the government to do some very destructive things, such as
vastly over-regulating economic activity, making it difficult to earn money in the first place. The
federal government funds over 50 agencies, departments and commissions that formulate rules and
regulations. These bureaucracies operate with little to no oversight from the people or Congress and
generate around 4,000 new rules every year and operate at a cost of about 40 billion dollars. There
are some 75,000 pages of regulations in the Federal Register that Americans are expected to know and
abide by. Complying with these governmental regulations costs American businesses more than one
trillion dollars per year, according to a study by Mark Crain for the Small Business Administration.
This complicated system drives production to other countries and shrinks our job market here at
home.
Big government is destructive when it takes your money
and when it spends it. There is no economic benefit to supporting a government sector as massive as
ours. In fact, this country thrived for well over 100 years without an income tax. Today, if you
took away the income tax, the government would still have revenue from other sources equal to total
government spending in 1990, when government was still too big. $1.2 trillion should be more than
enough to fund a government operating within its constitutional confines, and that is exactly what
we need to get back to.
I have introduced legislation many times to abolish the
IRS and the income tax. It is fundamentally un-American to require taxpayers to testify against
themselves and be considered guilty until proven innocent. Abolishing the IRS altogether would
trigger an avalanche of real growth in the economy.
With these financial hard times only just beginning,
this would be the most efficient and logical way to get our economy growing again, and Americans
would need not dread the 15th of April every year.
(Added to
'Required Reading' and 'Ron Paul
2008')
|
Posted 4/20/08 ( by Travis)
The
Texas polygamy raid (was the action taken by the state excessive ?)
WorldnetDaily
^ | April 20,2008 | Joseph Farrah
Pretty
outrageous if you ask me, for the state to seize over 400 children from their families on what have
turned out to be false charges and then fish for crimes. What happened to innocent before proven
guilty?
This is not the first time we've written about Texas Child Services
on this website.
|
Posted 4/20/08 ( by Travis)
The
Lawyers' Party
American
Thinker ^ | 4/17/2008 | Bruce Walker
Today, we are drowning in laws, we are contorted by judicial decisions, we are driven to distraction
by omnipresent lawyers in all parts of our once private lives. America has a place for laws and
lawyers, but that place is modest and reasonable, not vast and unchecked.
An interesting perspective with some worthwhile facts in here; if you can cut through the rhetoric.
|
Posted 4/18/08 ( by Travis)
Kenya's
Cabinet 'Soaks Up 80% Of The Budget'
The
Telegraph (UK) ^ | 4-17-2008 | Mike Pflanz
Kenya's expanded new government will spend 80 per cent of the entire national budget on luxury
vehicles, inflated salaries for ministers and general running costs, a local anti-corruption group
claimed on Wednesday.
President Mwai Kibaki's administration now boasts 43 ministries - up from 34 - in a deal with the
Orange Democratic Movement, led by Raila Odinga, following the bitterly disputed election.
Of the 222 MPs, almost half now have government jobs. Cabinet members benefit from annual salaries
exceeding £83,000 and numerous perks, including official cars and "entertainment"
allowances of £600 per month.
Almost half of all Kenyans survive on less than 50p a day.
What
percentage of US citizens work for the government? How lucrative is it to be employed by the
government as opposed to work in the private sector in the United States? The answers to these
questions show we differ in scale and scope, but not in substance from Kenya. In fact, how much of
Kenya's budget is from US taxpayers? Last question, how many aid groups are operating in Kenya
but are not addressing the root cause of Kenya's poverty: the corruption and socialism of the Kenyan
government and economy?
"For
God's Sake please stop the Aid" REQUIRED READING
7/4/05 Der Spiegel Kenyan
economist James Shikwati
(Added to 'Causes
of Poverty in Developing Nations' and 'Charitable Corruption')
|
Posted 4/17/08 ( by Travis)
Half
the country can't get an NHS dentist - and haven't had any treatment for two years
4/17/08 Daily Mail (UK)
Half the population has received no dental care on the NHS in the last two years.
And thousands of suffering patients are turning up at hospital emergency departments for treatment
because they cannot find an NHS dentist.
Dentists complain the contract does not reflect the amount of work they actually carry out - for
example, they receive the same amount of money regardless of whether they provide a patient with two
fillings or ten.
Many have left the NHS, complaining they are not being properly paid.
Last year, a
survey found that one in 20 patients had resorted to DIY treatment, in some cases pulling out their
own teeth.
One patient in Lancashire claimed to have removed 14 teeth using pliers.
Earlier this month Elizabeth Green, 76, from Winchester, Hampshire, told how she was turned away by
12 dentists.
(Added to 'British
Healthcare')
|
Posted 4/16/08 ( by Travis)
Jill
Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight
Feb 2008 Ted.com
A very interesting
talk; a personal experience on left brain vs right brain and our perceptions of the world, related
to enlightenment.
What if there was a
way to artificially and safely temporarily cause the 'good' part of the effects of the stroke she
had by somehow inhibiting that part of the brain?
(Added to 'Sivananda
Yoga')
|
Posted 4/10/08 ( by Travis)
Free
Market Healthcare
4/10/08 neoperspectives.com
Here is the
powerpoint of the presentation given two days ago at Touro University AMSA/SOMA health policy week.
It is 110 slides and the presentation lasted about two hours. There is some video and audio, recorded on digital camera and mp3 respectively, but
because of technical limitations doesn't cover
the whole thing and so I didn't post those. Perhaps I'll try to venture down this path again in the near future and create a
more dynamic internet presentation, maybe on youtube or something.
(Added to 'Government
Healthcare')
|
Posted 4/10/08 ( by Travis)
Chen:
China should decrease state holdings
Yale
Daily News ^ | 4-9-08 | Helen Gao
Chen, who studies the Chinese economy,
argued in a lecture Tuesday that the Chinese government ought to decrease the stake it holds in its
economy in order to even income distribution among citizens.
Presenting data that he said reflected an inverse relationship between the number of state-owned
enterprises and the level of economic development, Chen argued that instead of promoting economic
equality, state ownership centralizes wealth and produces a wider gap between the rich and the poor.
(Added to 'Inequality,
Aid, and the Nature of Governments')
|
Posted 4/10/08 ( by Travis)
CA:
State Tomato Board is dissolved
LA
Times ^ | 4/9/08 | Jordan Rau
Interesting article describing the uselessness of a half dozen California agencies. Notice that
there is a 'private' tomato board, in conjunction with the state board. Best to just get rid of the
state one and let these jokers manage their own companies.
|
Posted 4/10/08 ( by Travis)
The
Real Cost Of Public Schools
4/6/08 Washington Post (Andrew J.
Coulson from CATO)
Sometimes all it
takes is a bit of simple math. I'd like to apologize to readers, as I quoted the $13,00 number repeatedly
in 'A Charter School Tale'. Coulson makes a pretty strong
case here that the number is actually twice that:
We're often told that public schools are underfunded. In
the District, the spending figure cited most commonly is $8,322 per child, but total spending is
close to $25,000 per child -- on par with tuition at Sidwell
Friends, the private school Chelsea
Clinton attended in the 1990s.
What accounts for the nearly threefold difference in
these numbers? The commonly cited figure counts only part of the local operating budget. To
calculate total spending, we have to add up all sources of funding for education from kindergarten
through 12th grade, excluding spending on charter schools and higher education. For the current
school year, the local operating budget is $831 million, including relevant expenses such as the
teacher retirement fund. The capital budget is $218 million. The District receives about $85.5
million in federal funding. And the D.C.
Council contributes an extra $81 million. Divide all that by the 49,422 students enrolled (for
the 2007-08 year) and you end up with about $24,600 per child.
For comparison, total per pupil spending at D.C. area
private schools -- among the most upscale in the nation -- averages about $10,000 less. For most
private schools, the difference is even greater.
(Added to 'A Charter School Tale')
|
Posted 4/8/08 ( by Travis)
Attention all Nevada
Readers:
A powerpoint presentation titled:
'The Virtues of Free Market Healthcare' will be given tonight (Tuesday) at 6pm at Touro University.
Touro U is on American Pacific dr, just past Gibson in Henderson near where the 515 and 215 meet.
You will need to sign in at the front desk before hand. They know people not affiliated with the
school will be coming. The talk will be in lecture hall two. I've been allotted two hours, although
I won't use up that much, hopefully! :)
Hope to see you all there!
-Travis
I will try to upload the presentation
to this site afterwards.
|
Posted 4/6/08 ( by Travis)
All
hail the burger king Airman completes mission to eat every burger at McGuire's
4/5/08 NWFdaily news
DESTIN — Two years and 28 monster burgers later, Geoff Dobson’s mission is accomplished.
Let us be the first to congratulate neoperspectives
contributing author Geoff Dobson on his incredible feat. :)
|
Posted 4/6/08 ( by Travis)
Hospital
Disputes Clinton Story About Uninsured Pregnant Woman
FoxNews.com
^ | 04/05/08 | Aaron Bruns
Why
we shouldn't trust politicians. This story demonstrates a few things; an inaccurate worldview, a
factual misunderstanding of the US health system, and an irresponsible, almost reckless approach to
informing the public on key issues affecting the nation. For example:
Bryan Holman, had played host to Mrs. Clinton in his home before the Ohio primary. Deputy Holman
said in a telephone interview that a conversation about health care led him to relate the story of
Ms. Bachtel. Deputy Holman knew Ms. Bachtel’s story only secondhand, having learned it from close
relatives of the woman. Ms. Bachtel’s relatives did not return phone calls Friday.
So, from this information, Clinton says at a rally:
“It
hurts me that in our country, as rich and good of a country as we are, this young woman and her baby
died because she couldn’t come up with $100 to see the doctor.”
And the whole
things is false.
(Added to 'US
Healthcare')
|
Posted 4/3/08 ( by Travis)
Frozen
in Grand Central Station
maniacworld.com April
Now this is a cool
prank! :)
(Added to 'Humor')
|
Posted 4/1/08 ( by Travis)
NHS
dentists play as patients wait
London
Times ^ | 3/30/08 | Sarah Templeton
Health service dentists have been forced to go on holiday or spend time on the golf course this
month despite millions of patients being denied dental care.
Many have fulfilled their annual work quotas allotted by the National Health Service and have been
turning patients away because they are not paid to do extra work. This is despite the fact that more
than 7m people in Britain are unable to find an NHS dentist.
Eddie Crouch, secretary of the Birmingham local dental committee, estimates that up to a third of
dentists in the West Midlands have run out of work or have had to reduce the number of NHS patients
they treat.
Representing the
interests of patients, or dentists?:
The
British Dental Association fears that other dentists have been unable to meet their quotas and will
be forced to pay back thousands of pounds to the NHS.
(Added to 'British
Healthcare')
|
Posted 4/1/08 ( by Travis)
Ran across these interesting graphs
comparing Canada and the United States Healthcare while compiling a 'Free Market Healthcare'
Power point presentation for an upcoming talk (this ppt will be uploaded when finished).


(Added to 'Canadian
Healthcare')
|
Posted 3/31/08 ( by Travis)
One
in 6 West Virginians is on food stamps
Charleston
Daily Mail ^ | 3/26/08 | Justin D. Anderson
Amid rising food and fuel costs, the assistance is becoming worth less and less.
And supplemental food programs for poor families are
struggling to keep up with the added demand as donations are on the decline.
Nationally, more than 26 million Americans were on the
food stamp program last year, according to the federal agriculture department.
"We never have enough food to totally give everybody what they really want," Nardella
said.
IMO, these welfare agencies will never 'have enough' regardless of how
many Americans are on welfare - the same welfare that is the very reason
for their poverty. These agencies have already decimated Appalachia.
(Added to 'Welfare;
History Results and Reform')
|
Posted 3/31/08 ( by Travis)
Bernanke:
Federal Reserve Caused Great Depression
worldnetdaily.com
^ | March 19, 2008 | David Kupelian
Despite the varied theories espoused by many establishment economists, it was none other than the
Federal Reserve that caused the Great Depression and the horrific suffering, deprivation and
dislocation America and the world experienced in its wake. At least, that's the clearly stated view
of current Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
In "A Monetary History of the United States," Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton
Friedman along with coauthor Anna J. Schwartz lay the mega-catastrophe of the Great Depression
squarely at the feet of the Federal Reserve.
Well, this is nice to see! However, does Bernanke apply this knowledge? Or does he believe that it
was not the 'power of the Fed' to begin with that caused the great depression, but just how it was
applied? He apparently believes he could do better:
The proposal would designate the Fed as the primary regulator of market stability, greatly expanding
the central bank's ability to examine not just commercial banks but all segments of the financial
services industry.
The Associated Press obtained a 22-page executive summary of the proposal. It seeks to make sense of
the mishmash of overlapping oversight in which an alphabet-soup roster of agencies regulates banks,
thrifts and credit unions.
Under the current hodgepodge, institutions that take deposits and are federally insured face
multiple regulatory bodies. By contrast, hedge funds, private equity firms and investment banks
endure substantially less regulation.
IMO, the more power given to Federal agencies to meddle in the affairs of the market, the more
likely the Fed will cause another 'great depression'.
(Added to 'The
Great Depression')
|
Posted 3/26/08 ( by Travis)
Lose
weight or we'll take all six of your children away:[UK]
This
is London ^ | 24 Mar 2008 | This is London
Six
young brothers and sisters face being taken from their parents and put into care because they are
overweight.
Social workers have warned they will intervene if three of the youngsters – including a
12-year-old boy who weighs 16 stone – do not shed several pounds in three months.
The parents have been told they risk losing all their children if there is no improvement in the
12-year-old or two of his sisters aged 11 and three – who weigh 12 stone and four stone – by
June. <.>
Last year, an eight-year-old girl from the Cumbria area was taken into care because she weighed nine
stone.

Don't think it
won't happen here... For the children, you see...
|
Posted 3/21/08 ( by Travis)
Obama
passport files violated; 2 State Department workers fired
Washington
Times ^ | March 20, 2008 | by Bill Gertz
Government records of political
candidates are tightly restricted because of concerns they could be used against candidates or the
data could be altered as part of campaign dirty tricks.
No word yet on any
'restrictive protections' for the rest of us. Government data collection on its citizens has little useful
purpose IMO, and can only lead to corruption and invasion of privacy. I don't see any reason why the
government should keep records of where we've gone.
|
Posted 3/21/08 ( by Travis)
FBI
posts fake hyperlinks to snare child porn suspects
CNET
^ | March 20, 2008 4:00 AM PDT
Undercover FBI agents used this hyperlink-enticement technique, which directed Internet users to a
clandestine government server, to stage armed raids of homes in Pennsylvania, New York, and Nevada
last year. The supposed video files actually were gibberish and contained no illegal images.
One
wrong click and.... bam!
|
Posted 3/21/08 ( by Travis)
ETHANOL
MADNESS (2006)
Executive
Intelligence Review (excerpt) from Technocracy.org ^ | 06/02/2006 | Staff
Well, first, we'll get 20% less gas mileage from our fuel
that way. Second, we can pay a good deal more for fuel, in direct prices and subsidies; in fact,
we'll be able to use a fuel whose price is inflating much faster than the price of gasoline. Third,
we'll be able to spend tens of billions of dollars more a year in tax revenues, subsidizing ethanol
makers, including some of the biggest global cartels. Fourth, we can use up more petrochemical
energy making ethanol than we get by using it. Fifth, we can use up large volumes of scarce regions
of the country, and overburden our transport infrastructure as well. Sixth, we could soon deny corn
exports to nations that need them — maybe even cut our own consumption of corn and burn it in our
cars instead...
And last but not least, we can delay or cut off the revival of nuclear power for industry and
economic expansion; instead, we could take a major scientific and technological step backwards, a
great leap back toward primitive ages when mankind burned straw for fuel.
Is this not similar to the previously posted
story on how Hydrogen cars pollute more (plus are more expensive) than regular gas cars?
California's
Ethanol Follies
7/17/07 Waterbury
Republican-American Editorial
(Added to 'Gasoline
and Government' and 'The Environment')
|
Posted 3/20/08 ( by
Kyle Hunt)
An analysis of energy and film
3/20/08 Neoperspectives.com (By
Kyle Hunt)
The "news" does not interest me much these days. It is too disheartening.
I am more interested in the principles and concepts that can be considered "timeless." I have been most interested in the field of energy that sustains all life. Unfortunately, many are unable to grasp the complexities and ultimate simplicity of this concept.
In an effort to increase understanding and engage in a meaningful discussion on this topic, I would like to present some of my favorite movies that deal with the manipulation and control of energy in space-time. I could reference a bunch of books that I have read, but that would be less fun and take way too long. In an odd way, this is where I cite my sources:
12 Monkeys
Brad Pitt Understands Consumerism – Bruce Willis is sent back in time from an apocalyptic future and put in an insane asylum. There he is introduced to the
evils of the world through an oddly-attractive lunatic who later goes on to be a terrorist leader.
A Beautiful Mind
Breaking Boundaries – A true genius attempts to find a unifying theory. The government puts him to work, he discovers too much, and is sentenced to a terrifying future of electro-shock and insanity. There are patterns everywhere.
Dark City
Intro/Beginning – In this movie, there are pale/grey men who control the reality of every person alive. That sounds familiar. Also, let us not read too far into the "KH" seen on the briefcase.
The End – Mind over matter to the full extent. Jennifer Connelly has been in my thoughts since
Labyrinth!
Donnie Darko
Trailer – Watch for "they made me do it" – or is it "The y made me do i x" This is touched on in
X * Y. Time Travel is discussed in Continuing the Spiral.
Mad World – Great lyrics and great production design for the film by Alec Hammond.
Head Over Heels – An amazing sequence showing life in school. Reality is only a matter of perspective.
Good Will Hunting
A Genius Interviews with the NSA – Although I don't like or respect many shrinks, Robin sure seems like an exception. He hits the nail right on the head. It is not uncommon that a genius lacks direction in such a society and is unable to commit in relationships. There is also a comparison drawn between Will and the Unabomber in the movie. One must be crazy to not want all of the "great things" our civilization has to offer.
Lord of the Rings
Opening Scene – Chilling. "And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History Became Legend. Legend Became Myth."
Two Towers Trailer – There is an obvious Twin Towers link. The multi-cultural coalition against the powers of evil is of note. So is the ability of the pale-skinned elves to see the future possibilities.
ROTK Trailer – Neither the Stewards of Gondor nor Sauron want Aragorn to take the throne, as he would usurp their powers.
Matilda
Dancing with the World – "She's a witch.. Burn her!" (Monty Python
logic)
The Matrix
Original Trailer – Paranoia and confusion in the
high-tech age. Reality vs. illusion while waiting for a savior.
Neo Meets the Architect – The Architect is an old white male. Neo is not the first anomaly, but he is the One. Was the First Matrix that is described the Garden of Eden? Note the logical, perfectionist Father Architect and the intuitive, loving Mother Oracle. Neo chooses the non-logical choice because an emotional response – something very difficult to calculate. It is interesting to see that although the Architect and Oracle created the system, they never claim to be God.
Network
Mad As Hell – It is pretty easy to be these days. What a great description of society.
Phenomenon
Travolta on Energy – Mr. Kotter taught him well. I attempt an explanation in Star Theory.
Powder
An Explanation of Connection – Again, the light-skinned magician. The 3rd eye (6th chakra) is discussed. Powder's code of ethics seems strikingly similar to the Jedi's. I will admit I am very pale, but I have a bit more melanin and more of a pinkish/red tone.
Star Wars
Yoda's Wisdom – A discussion of the life force. Search "Yoda" on Youtube, and all you get is inanity.
Yoda on Premonition, Death, and Attachment – The Jedi have a philosophy very much in line with Buddhists and many other mystical belief systems.
The Usurpation of Power – The force is balanced much in the same way Shiva dances, but unfortunately this means the bad guys can grab the reigns of power for a time. It is interesting how the expendability and controllability of the clone army is ultimate.
Terminator
Time Travel Kyle – Kyle Reese travels into the world in the infamous year of 1984 – a year after this Kyle came in. He had been sent back in time to save the future of humanity from the machines that eventually take control. He must kill a buffed up Terminator who intends to kill the mother of the resistance's leader, as he is ultimately successful. I chose this clip because Kyle Reese is the ultimate badass, eluding cops without hurting a single one.
X-Men
Jean Grey Flips Out – Here is the same ultimate and total control of mind over matter. It is notable that Jean Grey ends up transforming into the Phoenix much in the same way Gandalf the Grey turns into Gandalf the White. We should also not forget the hostility that the majority of the population has for the mutants. Nor the over-priced trading cards I used to adore.
Some of these movies are better than others, but there are many important correlations between them. What I would like to suggest is that some, if not all, of the powers portrayed in these movies do, in fact, exist and will continue to become prevalent in our realities. We all know that science fiction quickly becomes science fact. Welcome to the real world.
|
Posted 3/16/08 ( by Travis)
Book Review
Destiny Denied, by
Kirsten Snyder
This review should
have been up a long time ago for a pretty good reason: it is simply the best book I have ever read.
A fictional epic,
in the style of Tolkein and C.S. Lewis, it delivers a gripping tale of fantasy adventure, as a band
of advanced Pylorians, 'wizards' who are able to harness the power of the 'mind sense', fight
against an evil menace rising in the east. The nations of Calmer and Zireth take sides as intrigue
and treachery ensues and a
princess and sorceress fight for country, honor, and love.
It is definitely a family novel. Judeochristian values predominate and the tale is
rife with teaching symbolisms. I've read this book 3-4 times, the last few unintentionally because I
just couldn't put it down. :)
I'll say no more,
but it can be purchased here.
(Added to 'Book
Reviews')
|
Posted 3/16/08 ( by Travis)
Quote section
updated! The following quotes have replaced some of the others in the quote section:
C.S. Lewis
I
do mean that wickedness, when you examine it, turns out to be the pursuit of some good in the wrong
way. You can be good for the mere sake of goodness: you cannot be bad for the mere sake of badness.
James Madison
I flatter myself [we] have in this country extinguished forever the
ambitious hope of making laws for the human mind.
Matthew
17:25-26
……and Jesus said, What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take custom or
taxes? From their sons, or from strangers?
Peter said to Him, from strangers. Jesus said to him, Then truly the
sons are free.
Dave
Barry
See,
when the government spends money, it creates jobs; whereas when the money is left in the hands of
taxpayers, God only knows what they do with it. Bake it into pies, probably. Anything to avoid
creating jobs.
Joseph
Sobran
After
two world wars, countless smaller wars, mass murders, religious and racial persecution, several
species of tyranny, punishing taxation, erosions of ancient liberties, debasement of money, and
state-sponsored moral decadence, you’d think modern man would have drawn certain lessons about the
modern State. All of us ought to talk about the State the way the Jews talk about Hitler.
John Taylor Gatto
One afternoon when I
was seven I complained to him of boredom, and he batted me hard on the head. He told me that I was
never to use that term in his presence again, that if I was bored it was my fault and no one else's.
The obligation to amuse and instruct myself was entirely my own, and people who didn't know that
were childish people, to be avoided if possible. Certainly not to be trusted.
Frank
Chodorov
Freedom
is essentially a condition of inequality, not equality. It recognizes as a fact of nature the
structural differences inherent in man - in temperament, character, and capacity - and it respects
those differences. We are not alike and no law can make us so.
James Madison
If men were angels, no
government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls
on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over
men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the
governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.
Lao
Tzu
The
more artificial taboos and restrictions there are in the world, the more the people are
impoverished....
The more that laws and regulations are given prominence, the more thieves and robbers there will be.
The wisest course, then, is to keep the government simple and for it to take no action, for then the
world stabilizes itself.
Therefore the Sage says: I take no action yet the people transform themselves, I favor quiescence
and the people right themselves, I take no action and the people enrich themselves....
Thomas
Jefferson
When
all government, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the Center of all
power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as
venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated.
James
Madison
If
Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.
|
Posted 3/15/08 ( by Travis)
Even
huge tumour can't secure care in Ontario
Globe
and Mail ^ | March 11, 2008 | LISA PRIEST
Inside Sylvia de Vries lurked an enormous tumour and fluid totalling 18 kilograms. But not even that
massive weight gain and a diagnosis of ovarian cancer could assure her timely treatment in Canada.
The Ontario Health Insurance Plan says it won't pay for
the $60,000 cancer treatment because Ms. de Vries did not fill out the correct form seeking
preapproval for out-of-country care.
As well, it says no medical documentation was submitted
that indicated a delay in obtaining the service in Ontario would result in death or medically
significant, irreversible tissue damage.
That administrative misstep has left Ms. de Vries, a 51-year-old corporate
communications manager, with a staggering cancer bill.
(Added to 'Canadian
Healthcare')
|
Posted 3/15/08 ( by Travis)
Should
the U.S. adopt the Chilean pension system?
Bloggingstocks
^ | 3/10/08 | Aaron Katsman
The private funds earned an average 10 percent return since their start, ensuring that typical
workers who contributed since 1981 now collect about 85 percent of their final wage upon retirement.
That's more than double the average 40 percent paid to full-career, middle-income Social Security
recipients in the U.S.
|
Posted 3/15/08 ( by Travis)
States
May Warn Doctors to Follow Smoker Treatment Guidelines or be Sued for Medical Malpractice
NewsRx
^ | 03/11/2008 | PROFESSOR JOHN F. BANZHAF III
Public
interest law professor John Banzhaf, whom the media has dubbed a "driving force behind the
lawsuits that have cost tobacco companies billions of dollars," and the "law professor who
masterminded litigation against the tobacco industry," has written to the health commissioners
of the fifty states suggesting that they warn their state's doctors about such law suits based upon
a recent article in a leading medical journal and an even more recent study about saving smoker
lives.
The letter notes a recent study which shows that
physicians are killing more than 40,000 American smokers each year by failing to follow federal
guidelines which mandate that the doctor warn the smoking patient about the many dangers of smoking
and provide effective medical treatment for the majority who wish to quit.
"Since physician malpractice kills over 40,000
smokers annually – more than motor vehicle or product liability accidents – it should not be
surprising if antismoking lawyers, as well as those in private practice working on contingency fees,
find physicians who deliberately flout federal guidelines to be a major target of litigation."
Lets us go back to July
5th, 1997,
when the landmark tobacco settlement against Tobacco companies was being negotiated. The AMA (and
one assumes the AOA) were in favor of the hundred billion dollar settlements, which, incidentally,
turned many lawyers into multi millionaires.
Two public health groups, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free
Kids and the American Medical Association, were involved in the negotiations that led to the accord.
And just two years ago:
AMA Urges Florida
Supreme Court to Uphold Verdict Against Big Tobacco
CHICAGO, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing its
commitment against the dangers of cigarette smoking, the American Medical Association (AMA) this
week joined several other public interest organizations in a friend-of-the-court brief reaffirming
support for a Florida class-action victory against the tobacco industry.
In July 2000, the $145 billion punitive damages verdict
in Engle v. Liggett Group Inc. et al sent a strong message to tobacco companies that toying with the
health and lives of Americans can be a prohibitively expensive business. The damages awarded in this
case, however, could be overturned because an appellate court has reconsidered the case's class
certification. The AMA believes the Florida Supreme Court should overturn the appellate court's
ruling and compel the tobacco defendants to pay for the damages they continue to inflict on society.
"As long as the tobacco industry profits from business as usual, they must
bear responsibility for the human suffering and economic costs that result from tobacco-related
illnesses," said AMA Trustee Ronald M. Davis, MD. "Preserving the penalties in this case
will provide a strong incentive for tobacco companies to change their behavior."
First they went for the tobacco companies, but the doctors did not care
because they disliked the tobacco companies. But when they came for the doctors there was no one was
left to come to their aid.
(Added to 'Medical Lobbying')
|
Posted 3/10/08 ( by Travis)
Sivananda Yoga Recordings
About 20 hours of teachings, lectures, songs, chants, and other recordable
events are contained in the above link. Feel free to peruse them on the other page, but the very
beautiful Satsungs have been excerpted here for your listening pleasure. :)
ATTC 2008 NASSAU BAHAMAS

The following recordings are from the 2008 ATTC (Advanced
Yoga Teacher's Training Course). This was a month long, intensive course on yoga,
meditation, and philosophy. Its prerequisite was the TTC (teachers training course), another
month long course. These courses take place at Ashrams, communal type retreats, with peaceful
regimented daily livings dedicated to spiritual advancements. In my personal opinion, the TTC was an
immediately gratifying shock of a course, but whose main effects dissipated, while the ATTC is a
more subtle course, with seemingly longer lasting effects and positive change.
The recordings below can be downloaded by left clicking
on them and saving them to your computer. They are all WAV files. You will need to turn the volume
up. If it is still too low try right clicking on the sound icon on the lower right hand corner of
your menu bar and finagling with it. Feel free to convert these WAV files to MP3s and play them on
your Ipod or MP3 player!
If you are new to the subject of Yoga, the philosophy, or
even if you are not :), I recommend you start with the 'Satsungs'. Satsungs are the equivalent of
church gatherings, and the 'preaching' parts have been recorded here. These particular Satsungs are
taught by Swami Sadasivananda, a friend, teacher, and spiritual leader. He lives what he espouses
and these brief teachings are truly joys to behold.
If you are considering taking the Sivananda Teacher's
Training Course, you can hear Swami Sadasivananda give an introduction below under 'Miscellaneous'.
And if you are looking for a great yoga class, especially if you are familiar with Sivananda yoga,
the 95 minute Yoga 'meditation' class also under 'Miscellaneous' will take you to a whole new level.
This is truly how Yoga was meant to be practiced. It was the last class of our course.

Satsungs
3.16MB(13 min) Swami Sadasivanada Satsung, on desires
and true freedom
4.1MB (17 min) Swami
Sadasivanada Satsung, on living a Divine Life, dealing with problems
4.9MB (21 min) Swami Sadasivanada Satsung on Humility
4.3MB (18 min) Swami Sadasivanada Satsung
on Spiritual aspirants
5.6MB (24 min) Swami Sadasivanada Satsung on Faith
4.54MB (19 min) Swami Sadasivanada Satsung on
Happiness
3.2MB (13.5 min) Swami Sadasivanada Satsung on
living a Divine Life

|
Posted 3/9/08 ( by Travis)
Rememberances
of Mr Buckley
3/10/08
Rushlimbaugh.com
Rush
pens, or should I say, orates, a touching tribute to a giant in the conservative movement. A
highlight:
I
went through one year of college and I was having trouble, flunked speech, should have called the
course Outline 101. Flunked speech, did every speech, showed up at every class and still
flunked it. I said, "This is not for me." And one morning I was sitting in the
house at 20 years old and I said, "I'm quitting." I told my dad, "I'm quitting.
I can't handle this. I'm leaving. I've got a job offer in Pittsburgh, and I'm going to go
there." And, of course, he came from the Great Depression, and that was the worst news he
could hear. The formative years of his life were the Great Depression and World War II.
You go through the Great Depression, and if you didn't have a college degree you had no chance of
getting a job.
He had great fears. I'm the only member of my family I think that doesn't
have a college degree. He was very concerned he was a failure as a father, and I remember
telling him, "Well, I want to be like Bill Buckley." He said, "What do you
mean?" "Well, I want to be able to sit around and write and think and speak,"
and so forth, and my dad blew up at me. "What are you talking about?" He gave
me a two-hour lecture on, "Where do you think Bill Buckley went to become what he is? Do
you think Bill Buckley just sits around and writes and thinks and speaks, and people like you have
this reaction to him?" I got a serious lecture on how hard and time-consuming achievement
is. When you see the output of someone's work but you don't see what goes into it, you can
make the mistake of assuming it comes easy to them, especially those who are great at what they do.
They make it look so easy that you think you could do it, too. And you form impressions of how
they do it, and you see these people on television and so forth, you really don't see any of the
prep or any of the hard work that goes into the final product, and my dad was right about that.
So it wasn't until I left the formal academic setting at age 20, that I got serious about
education above and beyond what I'd learned at home. I was reading omnivorously and voluminously,
meaning anything I could get my hands on that was of interest to me.
Isn't it interesting? Rush Limbaugh flunking speech in college? Rush's Dad was right about what it takes to
succeed and the humility necessary to achieve accomplishment, but wrong about the importance of college.
(Added to 'College')
|
Posted 3/7/08 ( by Travis)
At
Charter School, Higher Teacher Pay
The
New York Times ^ | March 7, 2008 | Elissa Gootman
The school, which will run from fifth to eighth grades,
is promising to pay teachers $125,000, plus a potential bonus based on schoolwide performance. That
is nearly twice as much as the average New York City public school teacher earns, roughly two and a
half times the national average teacher salary and higher than the base salary of all but the most
senior teachers in the most generous districts nationwide.
The school’s creator and first principal, Zeke M.
Vanderhoek, contends that high salaries will lure the best teachers. He says he wants to put into
practice the conclusion reached by a growing body of research: that teacher quality — not star
principals, laptop computers or abundant electives — is the crucial ingredient for success.
“I would much rather put a phenomenal, great teacher
in a field with 30 kids and nothing else than take the mediocre teacher and give them half the
number of students and give them all the technology in the world,” said Mr. Vanderhoek, 31, a Yale
graduate and former middle school teacher who built a test preparation company that pays its tutors
far more than the competition.
In exchange for their high salaries, teachers at the new school, the Equity Project, will work a
longer day and year and assume responsibilities that usually fall to other staff members, like
attendance coordinators and discipline deans. To make ends meet, the school, which will use only
public money and charter school grants for all but its building, will scrimp elsewhere. <.>
Ernest A. Logan, president of the city principals’ union, called the notion of paying the
principal less than the teachers “the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers, called the hefty salaries “a
good experiment.” But she said that when teachers were not unionized, and most charter school
teachers are not, their performance can be hampered by a lack of power in dealing with the
principal. “What happens the first time a teacher says something like, ‘I don’t agree with
you?’ ”
Only when teachers and the educational system is outside the control of the teachers unions can
these sorts of experiments happen. This decentralized control, bottom up approach to education with
the money going strait to the classroom might
just work.
(Added to 'A
Charter School Tale')
|
Posted 3/6/08 ( by Travis)
Tons
of food aid rotting in Haiti ports (some since November)
Associated
Press ^ | Associated Press Writer
While millions of Haitians go hungry, containers full of
food are stacking up in the nation's ports because of government red tape — leaving tons of beans,
rice and other staples to rot under a sweltering sun or be devoured by vermin. <.>
Jean-Paul Michaud, a Canadian, said he sailed to the
capital of Port-au-Prince late last year carrying 60 pounds of donated clothing and medicine — and
that port authorities demanded $10,000 in "customs fees" — code for a bribe to make the
fees disappear.
"I'd have rather thrown the aid in the
water," said Michaud. The Canadian Embassy intervened and the fee was later waived.
Krabacher's group says it has paid nearly $16,000 in
fees in the first six weeks of 2008 alone, compared to $23,418 for all of 2007.
Readers may recall this
story:
British charity Oxfam has had to pay the Sri Lankan
government $1m in import duty for vehicles used in tsunami reconstruction work.
As oft stated: it is not
lack of food, commodities, health care, etc.. which cause a lack of these things. Socialism causes
shortages of these things. The people of Haiti could produce all they need and more if it wasn't for
the criminals running their government. Even without the corruption,
this aid is a major reason for perpetuating and encouraging the socialism already present in Haiti,
and further disrupting their
economy. Indeed, throw the aid in the water! And burn our tax dollars! Better that than
have our government spend our money hurting the good people of Haiti.
(Added to Charitable Corruption and Causes
of Poverty in Developing Nations.)
|
Posted 3/4/08 ( by Travis)
(Las
Vegas)City shuts clinic, with harsh words for owners
Las
Vegas SUN ^ | 1 MARCH 2008 | Marshall Allen
DiFiore said in a letter to the clinic’s owners that Desai ordered his nurses to reuse syringes
and reuse single-dose vials of medication when administering anesthesia to patients who received
endoscopic procedures. The practice, which allowed cross contamination of patients’ blood, caused
six people to become infected with hepatitis C.
Desai, who was a member of Gov. Jim Gibbons’ transition team in 2006, is the majority owner of the
Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada
Desai used to sit on the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners, which has now launched an
investigation into the clinic. <.>
Thank goodness we have medical licensing by the government. Who knows what horrors free enterprise
would yield?
“The fact that, once caught, you have agreed not to engage in a technique well known to the
medical community to subject patients to death or serious illness again does not persuade me
that you won’t do it again,” DiFiore wrote.
Who is this man
whose opinion needs persuading so - some gov bureaucrat?
Regardless, this
scandal has been rocking the Las Vegas medical community since the beginning of this week. Our
office has had over 50 lab referrals to check for Hep A, B, and C. The staff has been quite
frustrated with all the calls coming in as well. The papers told people they could get tested at UMC
Quick Cares, but the UMC gubermint people who told the papers this forgot to tell their employees,
and so people were getting turned away and being told to 'see their primary care physician'. So,
it's been one screw up and mix up after another...
|
Posted 3/4/08 (by Travis)
Pain
and Suffering
3/4/08 neoperspectives.com
Consider it pure
joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your
faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything.
- James 1:2-5
When pain enters the
consciousness the soul uplifts, the mind becomes joyful, and thanks and praise is given to God. What
a wonderful opportunity, delivered by pure grace, sent by the wings of angels. Oh pain, oh
suffering, oh teacher, lead me to the light and fill me with your blessings. How grateful am I for
your coming.
- Swami Sivananda
(paraphrasing)
Previously
it was discussed that happiness does not arise from external events; life experience does not emerge
from the set, but from the camera; our current perceptions, our very consciousness, arises entirely
from within, and changing the processing, without exclusive focus on the input is the key to
increasing our happiness and understanding.
If this premise is
true, then pain and suffering must be viewed quite different from standard convention. Pain is a red
flag, a blaring "fix me!", a lighthouse in a frothy sea of turbulent emotion and thought.
Pain is our imperfections jumping out at us, allowing us to address them and increase our
understandings.
In fact, should we
not be as thankful for pain as we are for so-called 'gems'
(vexing persons that appear to give us pain)? If not for pain how can we know we are walking
in the wrong direction, with our habits, values, and ways of thinking askew? Look around, what it is
that really gives us pain shall be our greatest uplifter if we open our hearts to it and act and
address it in the proper way.
Of course, it is
easiest to blame the outside world for pain in order to temporarily ignore or suppress these
negative thoughts and feelings. These maneuvers are undertaken as true self revelation about the
nature of the pain would cause much angst and violently shake our egos and worldviews, causing great
further discomfort in the short term. It is not human nature to ponder and philosophize and think of
long term happiness during a painful experience, rather we become emotionally fixed and attached to
our immediate experience and seek to relieve it through any means necessary. It requires great
concentration and strengthening of the higher thought processes to detach from the immediacy of
painful sensual experience and emotion. Indeed, much of our conscious experiences could be said to
resolve around this constant mental battle between short and long term pleasure. The simplest
example is one we've all experienced: eating those chocolates and feeling immediate gratification vs
long term tummy ache and accompanying mental cloudiness. The way we feel after such a sugary gorge
tells us many things if we care to listen.
If viewed correctly
and carefully pain could even become a central plank of spiritual and emotional development. It is
sought out joyously (although not sadistically), for each new discovery means more eventual healing, greater enlightenment and
increased emotional maturity. But these advances are only possible if pain is viewed as almost
a form of pleasure, an apparent oxymoron except that one attempts to witness the pain as third
party, to detach from suffering in order to appreciate beauty in its meaning. In other words,
when the intellectual joy, the higher thought processes overcomes the natural emotional fixation of
pain, true learning and permanent happiness unfold.
Phobias are the
easiest pains to cure because they are obvious and blatant, as by definition we understand their
nature. Most people with phobias understand their sufferings are irrational and so the higher mind
already has a decent jumpstart. It is the deeper fears which are tricky enough to entice the logical
reasoning part of our mind into believing we are justified in our fear (or that our fear comes from
an external event). It is necessary to cure these phobias not because of the inconvenient avoidance
of said phobia, but because the emotion of fear itself, our emotional wrong understanding of the
world is rooted in our phobias. Better said, a phobia is worth eliminating because the very idea of
fear in an external event is incorrect and strongly perpetuated (emotionally) by a phobia.
One proven method
of curing phobias is by desensitization. What is your phobia? Heights? Force yourself to the tallest
place you can tolerate and embrace the fear as it envelops you. Observe it as a scientist would
observe electrical fear impulses in a brain on a machine. It will soon lessen. Bugs, insects,
bees, wasps, spiders? Seek out these creatures and meditate upon them, observe the mind as it
recoils in abject terror; think, 'silly mind, bless the fear in thee'; laugh at the mind as you
would a young child. Such phobias are more disturbing and their effects more widespread then we
realize. They invade even our dreams, unsettling the subconscious, enabling nighterrors, and ruining
countless hours of sleep.
I recall a story by
a lecturing psychologist about a woman who had been in a horrible car wreck and thereafter had a
panic attack every time she sat behind the wheel. He put her in his car and said, "we're going
to stay here until you can drive." She immediately had a panic attack, but didn't leave the car. She had another one when she started to drive. His response, "go ahead
wreck it!". She pulled over and recovered and then drove and drove. It took them all afternoon,
but she was cured. It felt as if a great weight had been lifted and her whole emotional state
shifted, better sleep, and sense of well being ensued. That she is now able to drive is somewhat
irrelevant, the improvement of her life and PTSD symptoms is the real story.
Dislikes are
more insidious than phobias because there often appears to be some valid reasonings for them. In
other words, the higher thinking mind will often concur with the lower emotional mind. When we smell
putrid milk, we actually feel emotions of disgust. These emotions are painful (smelling putrid milk
is not fun!), yet we reason this pain is natural and is there to tell us not to drink the milk. Now
this is true, from an evolutionary perspective, but why can't we function without being consumed by
these negative emotions arising? There is nothing intrinsically 'bad' or 'negative' about putrid
milk. It simply is what it is. The qualities we assign it are false, arising from imperfections
within us. In fact, could one not experience the beauty of spoiled milk, and still refrain from
drinking it? Certainly there is something beautiful about the unique sensation of spoiled milk as it
percolates through our consciousness. Indeed, there is something glorious about the very nature of
consciousness itself, regardless of origin and flavor.
Upon reflection, we
might even find our sensation of the spoiled milk, negative though it may be, highly dynamic, with
our given experience greatly dependent on our immediate mood. For example, if we are already
stressed and late to work vs on the phone with a loved one sharing a happy moment, our discovery of
the spoiled milk will manifest quite differently. If we could raise our base happiness to a certain bar,
we might even find our experience of the spoiled milk not painful at all. In fact, we might find
very little actual pain in life, a goal only achievable by the embrace of the very pain we seek to
eliminate. In fact, theoretically, pain and suffering cannot truly cease and joy, knowledge, and
understanding cannot permeate in everything we do until our desire to eliminate pain is
extinguished, along with, finally, even our joyous desire for pain to show us the nature of
ourselves.
Similar to phobias,
taming our likes and dislikes involves some manner of desensitization technique, going against the
grain, prodding our stubborn minds, until we realize our dislikes are also our own creations. People
we dislike reflect things about ourselves we dislike. When we judge or insult or slander, we really
judge, insult, and slander ourselves, and stain only our own character. Practically there exists
much difficulty in how the mind processes an attempt down this path. For example, consider 'Dharma',
an Hindi yogic term, which can be defined as a combination of individual fate, duty, and talents (and which
will be subject of a future essay :)). We like what we are good at, are drawn to do our part in the
world, and are naturally attracted to people who help us facilitate beneficial information exchange,
ie aid us in accomplishing various physical and mental tasks. How one can walk this razors edge,
this fine line, between discomforting the mind to awareness of its fallacious dislikes and the
danger of straying from one's Dharma, really has no logical answer. Increased discernment and
perceptions of the finer points in this balancing act will surely become clearer with judicious
meditation and spiritual practice.
Some of those
versed in western psychology and psychiatry have arrived at many of these conclusions independently
of our friends to the east. For example, Dr Frattaroli in the previously reviewed
'Healing the Soul in the age of the Brain', describes depression as the body/subconscious telling
the conscious mind something relevant and important. He describes cases where a change in job,
relationship, or other major ( or even occasionally minor) life adjustment completely cured a
patient's depressive state. In effect, listen to the pain, what is it telling you, where is it coming
from? When the mind is calm, ideally after consistent meditation/prayer, or even purposeful sleep,
the answers may be more perceptible.
Major depression
and other more serious cases of mental illness are much more difficult. These cannot be cured simply
by changing relatively superficial aspects of one's life. These states may indicate pathology of an entire worldview, emotional circuitry, and value system, notwithstanding possible biomedical
components. Part of the mind has strayed so far from what leads to long term happiness and thus
major depression, also described as self loathing, is the body's way of alerting the mind to these
transgressions. Yet even this depression, horrible though it may be to experience, should be
approached and appreciated in the same fashion as minor pain. It will be far more difficult to
assess from whence and where the sufferings originate from and the mind will likely have to undergo
major reprogramming over a long period of time before positive results are seen. Certainly
anti-depressants along with major lifestyle changes can give one a temporary or permanent helpful
crutch in these cases, especially if the cause is more organic, stemming from an underlying medical
condition.
We often get caught
up in futile intellectualization of the reasons for what we
interpret as 'senseless pain': the death of a family member, a random car accident, a freak illness,
the suffering of a young child. However, this line of reasoning starts with the premise that
something is 'bad'. But is not this attempt at objectivity clouded by subconscious arrogance? How
can we know every effect of a particular event which transpires? After all, even the most painful
and horrendous events must have some benefits; perhaps hidden due to societal bias against analysis
of human growths stemming from tragedy and suffering. Or, perhaps these gifts are selectively given
to those who quietly view the event from the proper perspective.
If we are to travel
down this path of skewed intellectualization, it may be best to instead start with the premise that
the world and humanity are constantly evolving towards the positive. It is certainly true that
humanity, as a collective, is spiraling towards ever greater and more positive economic, political,
technological, social, and, most importantly, spiritual/religious development. Perhaps it is better
to trust in this than dwell on the 'unfairness' of a particular event or causes behind our
particular mental state or a mental shockwave ricocheting through a particular community.
Which brings us to
a final point, our roll in this interacting network, this computing living biological matrix of
humanity. When we face and learn from our pain, our discomfort, and our dislikes, we alleviate not
only our own suffering, but also the sufferings of others. Consider, again, the case of 'gems',
persons who we dislike, loathe, or are even treated badly by. If the higher mind is able to overcome
the illusions of rising negative thoughts and emotions, we help not only ourselves but also our
'adversary'. By an 'unwarranted' gracious or generous act or manner the offending person is faced
with a perfect mirror, and the nature of their own actions and thoughts suddenly loose camouflage
and finally percolate into consciousness. In fact, circumstances permitting,
great positive learning can transpire if one makes a special habit of forced interaction with people
the mind perceives to dislike or disapprove of. A dark brooding person who lashes out at those
around them is begging for this type of treatment from those more advanced souls floating around the
network. Serving others in this way not only enlightens the self, it benefits
the entire world. Aligning oneself with God's will in such a selfless
manner will surely bring forth the greatest glory and happiness.
|
Posted
2/27/08 (By Kyle Hunt)
Technology
in the Age of Big Government
2/27/08
neoperspectives.com by Kyle Hunt
The United States government's involvement with technological innovation is long and convoluted. Throughout history, every successful military power has relied on innovation to defeat its enemies. Cell phones, video games, the internet, and nuclear power are just a few examples of current technologies that were originally developed and are still used by the United States government for militaristic purposes.
Innovation has not always required governmental sponsorship, however. Before the federal government grew into extraordinary size in the 20th century, our best and brightest were able to fund their own research and only needed the government to enforce patent laws. Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and the Wright Brothers were all able to flourish in this open and free environment.
But as the government became bigger and its ambitions grew, it needed the aid of the smartest scientists to achieve its goals. The problem is that anyone smart enough to be at the forefront of innovation is also able to understand the implication of his work. More often than not, the government is investing the taxpayer's money in researching and developing methods for killing large amounts of people most efficiently. During WWII, Werner Von Broun was forced into working for Hitler to develop the V-2 rocket that pummeled the British landscape. He was against the war and was eventually extracted to the United States, where his work became integral in the development of our space program. Another immigrant inventor, Albert Einstein, provided the knowledge and foresight crucial to the success of the Manhattan Project, which provided the United States with the world's first nuclear weapon. Einstein would later rail against nuclear testing and the development of further bombs. In this cause he was joined by Bertrand Russell, Linus
Pauling, and Albert Schweitzer. These men possessed the great minds that could see the big picture implications of the Unites State's government's short-sidedness. Unfortunately, they were ignored.
As the government cannot always attract the best and the brightest directly, they rely on other means. In recent years, DARPA and NASA have held open competitions pitting independent groups of engineers against each other to develop the next generation of autonomous vehicles and spacesuit equipment. Engineers do not want to responsible for creating technology that brings about the destruction of countries and their peoples, so the government finds creative ways to leech off of their work.
Today, our biggest concerns should focus on the relationship between the internet and our government. What was once only a small project under DARPA has now become an inextricable part of today's society. It is redefining almost every aspect of our working, social, and emotional lives. It also appears that the internet has finally caused a drastic change in the politics of our country.
The internet has re-defined what "grass-roots" means. It is a tool through which truly populist movements can take hold in a country that has been so long divided. People have been given a new medium for education and unbiased truth, which has allowed for more people to gain a more full understanding of the underlying politics of our country than ever before. People who have been enlightened through free and open sources are no longer able to accept the lies and misinformation promoted through our history books, mass media, and most of our presidential candidates. The internet has allowed people to spread these "radical" ideas through their social networks, both online and in the real world. This revived interest in our history and current state of affairs could result in a government much more responsive to the will of the people, as they are able to organize and gather much more freely than ever before. If the two-party system (an obvious misnomer) is unable to adapt, then its very existence is put in a precarious position.
Although the internet has provided us with great possibilities, there is also a darker side to it and the future it may provide for us is dim. Any corporation willing to do business in China is required to comply with the country's regulatory policies and ban any information that is deemed illegal. The government of China does not want its people to have access to certain ideas and historical events, because providing people with truth and the means of disseminating it across such a large populace would be very dangerous for the continued one-party rule. Watching the
CNN/Youtube debates some months ago, one could see a very similar form of censorship under the guise of letting the "people" have a voice. (This is not very surprising, as
Google, owner of Youtube, is actually a Federal government contractor.) If the government was to further regulate what information is to be considered legal, certainly all of our big corporations in the US would have to comply, probably without the people of the United States ever being aware of it.
The ambitions of certain technology companies become rather scary when viewed in conjunction with our government's actions and plans for the future. The technology industry was abuzz for a long time about the
GPhone, but some months ago we learned that instead of actually releasing a handset like Apple did, Google would actually be releasing an operating system. Google worked with over 30 other companies to create an open and free mobile platform, Android, that can run on any handset. Additionally, Google is going to be bidding large amounts of money in the FCC's 700 MHz auction. Google engineers have also recently showed that they can accurately triangulate the position of any cell phone (even if it does not have GPS). All of this coupled with the fact that Google has bought a massive amount of "dark fiber" (unused fiber optic cable that was laid before the bursting of the tech bubble) means that telecommunications as we knew it might soon be coming to an end. Google will be able to provide incredibly fast, easy, reliable, and cheap service to anyone who is running Android on his or her phone. However, this would also provide one company with unprecedented amounts of personal information.
But we should not have anything to fear though, because Google's motto is "Don't be Evil" and seems so user-friendly, right? Well, even if Google maintains its integrity and never hands over private information to our government, the danger for abuse is still there. The government can piggy-back on the innovative work of Google engineers to serve its needs. The CIA and military use the internet to combat
Al-Qaeda, which they created and which also uses networks for means of organization, planning, and recruitment. However, I fear more and more that our government will be turning its eyes inward in the name of national security. The implications of this are tremendous, especially when one considers that our government has a "torture first, charge later – if at all" policy. The idea of a pre-emptive strike against our enemies, which was used to invade Iraq, could quickly be applied to American citizens whose data indicates that they might be a threat against the government. Someone who has never committed a crime against this country, but stands in opposition to its policies, could secretly be interrogated and detained without trial. The groundwork for this action has already been laid by the notorious federal legislation that has destroyed our civil liberties and ripped apart our Constitution. Currently, the powers that be are seeking legislation that would give immunity to telecommunication businesses that have illegally complied with the government's spying on its own citizens.
This would be just another instance of how the government hijacks technology that was created with the most benign of intentions and turns it to serve its own agenda.
Technological innovation could certainly prove a great ally in the spreading of truth and democracy. Unfortunately, it could also be the means by which fewer people are able to oppress and enslave ever more of the world's population. Let us all make sure it is used for the former. The world of George Orwell's imagination provides for interesting literature, but is most certainly not a desirable future.
|
Posted 2/26/08 (By
Travis)
Study
finds immigrants commit less California crime
Reuters
on Yahoo ^ | 2/26/08 | Duncan Martell
People born outside the United States make up about 35
percent of California's adult population but account for about 17 percent of the adult prison
population, the report by the Public Policy Institute of California showed.
According to the report's authors the findings suggest
that long-standing fears of immigration as a threat to public safety are unjustified. The report
also noted that U.S.-born adult men are incarcerated at a rate more than 2 1/2 times greater than
that of foreign-born men.
"Our research indicates that limiting immigration,
requiring higher educational levels to obtain visas, or spending more money to increase penalties
against criminal immigrants will have little impact on public safety," said Kristin Butcher,
co-author of the report and associate professor of economics at Wellesley College.
The study did not differentiate between documented
immigrants and illegal immigrants.
(Added to 'Amnesty
from Government')
|
Posted
2/26/08 (By
Travis)
Venezuela
fights use of English words
AP
via Yahoo! ^ | 02/26/08 | AP
English has spread not because of any innate linguistic superiority, but because of the relative
economic freedom here in the United States. Chavez's attempt to control common
culture is doomed to failure, as well as demonstrating his belief in the power of central
planning. Also:
A
lesson from Venezuela (Thomas Sowell)
Jewish
World Review ^ | February 27, 2008 | Thomas Sowell
(Added to 'Chavez')
|
Posted
2/26/08 (By
Travis)
Google
to Store Patients' Health Records, Raising Concerns
Associated
Press ^
This story is
interesting because it entertains the possibility of revolutionary advances in patient care.
What a great way to empower patients: give them access to their own records instantaneously on the
internet. It would
certainly facilitate their ability to look up the latest treatments for their health issues and even
such
details as the interpretations of various lab values. Perhaps, with the proper motivation and study, medically savvy
patients might even make diagnoses their healthcare provider(s) might miss. I can
tell you from personal experience the constant frustrations and delays occurring as patients are
unaware of what
medications they take, as docs struggle to get that latest Xray or MRI report, or have the report and
want to view the image. Patients, docs, and medical staff spend hours on the phone trying to
access and receive this or that. If patients information was stored on the internet, this content
would be easily accessible by tech savvy docs and patients.
However, this is
not a new idea. There are
current internet programs which seem similar to google's proposals, but just haven't caught on in sufficient popularity.
There already exists a plethora of non internet based electronic medical record programs in use, especially in HMO's,
one of their inherent advantages of scale. HMOs also have been utilizing programs like e scripts, electronic
prescriptions.
But I mostly disagree with
the 'concerns' of those expressed in this article. I think one of the fundamental rights of
privacy must be the right to give up that privacy. For instance, I would willingly give up my privacy to attain
personal
advertisements on TV. I enjoy gmail, and have even, on occasion, clicked on some of
the links (targeted advertisements) that appear on the sidebars of my emails. For example, I would
love to see political candidate commercials, drug advertisements, and maybe some yoga and health
food ads :) while watching TV, as opposed to the junk that normally spews forth. It's both more
beneficial and efficient for me and the advertisers!
Much of the time technology is in place to deliver these 'privacy violations' to those who want them, but, as is
their want, the
do-gooders in congress put a stop to the attempts and innovations of these private companies with various privacy acts. The one I am most familiar with
is HIPPA, the health privacy act, which was aptly described, "as about as effective as the post office in a snow
storm", by a retired
family practice doc of 20+ years at our school. We've heard the act denounced in many a doctor office.
IMO, privacy is an
important concept; after all, the core of libertarian thought is self ownership. All our medical records,
our mail
records, and all our private activities belong to us. But it is also our right to sell, barter, or
give away these rights as we choose with no strings attached. And it is our right to seek out
programs that explicitly violate our privacy.
Where those
concerned with the vast amounts of information being acquired and acquiesced by google and other
private companies in the digital age have a valid point is regarding the constant danger of government coercion,
corruption, and malevolent corroboration of these private companies and, even worse, independent
government stockpiling and fishing for information.
A funny thing is it not? Those passing the laws limiting
our right to give up our own privacy are themselves the biggest dangers and current thievers of our
privacy, not withstanding the rest of our precious freedoms.
|
Posted 2/25/08 (By
Travis)
EU
Antitrust Chief Speaks Boldly, Wields Heavy Hand
The
Wall Street Journal ^ | February 25, 2008 | Charles Forelle
Asked how the ruling would affect Microsoft's dominance, she said she hoped Microsoft's 95% market
share would decline -- conflating Microsoft's near-total share of operating systems on desktop PCs
with its share of computer servers, which is what the case centered on and which is lower.
Asked what share she thought would be better, she suggested a major fall -- well more than "a
couple of percentage points."
What business is it
of government what percentage a private corporation holds in the market?
|
Kyle Hunt, guest
author, and hopefully a future regular contributor has penned the following, exclusively for
neoperspectives.com:
Posted 2/19/08 (By
Kyle Hunt)
Ezekiel
for an Hour
2/19/08 neoperspectives.com by Kyle Hunt
The recent months
and years of my life have been spent in deep contemplation. I have studied as much as possible from
as many different sources as are available. The reason for this is that it had become apparent to me
that the most fascinating questions cannot be answered, let alone even asked, by specializing in one
field alone. Attempting to synthesize broad amounts of data from thousands of years of histories and
beliefs can be rather difficult, but the knowledge that can be gleamed is well worth the effort.
This journey through the collected information of the world is leading me to some
“non-traditional” views and beliefs.
This particular
story starts some months ago with a renewed interest in politics. Since I first registered to vote
some years back, I have been a Republican. I am a believer in minimal government,
non-interventionism, and personal freedom. The problem was that no candidate proposing those things
was ever offered to me, and as such, I had not been able to vote. I do not believe in choosing
between two evils, as there is no “lesser” in my mind.
But then along came
Ron Paul! I was fascinated with this man, his ideas, and most significantly the spirit that he was
able to awaken in the hearts of people all around the world. In a fit of inspiration, I penned some
predictions for the future and sent them to Lew Rockwell, the famous libertarian scholar. He omitted
some of the more controversial and long-term predictions and posted the article on his website as The
Political Earthquake.
Almost as soon as
the article was published, emails started flooding my inbox. People from a wide range of locations,
professions, and beliefs reached out to me. Some gave me suggestions for future articles, others
told me stories, and a few thanked me for putting words to that which they felt deep down, but could
not express. It was an overwhelming feeling to have been able to affect so many people.
I continued to write
about my visions for the future and my analysis of the past, but nothing was able to affect as many
people so intimately as my thoughts on Ron Paul. This became ever more evident a few weeks later
when I searched the internet for the article I had written and saw that my words had made their way
to the many corners of the information universe. But it was not because I am a good writer,
prescient, or an astute political analyst. To quote the man himself, “It’s the message!”
So I attempted to
explore the message and how it has appeared throughout the ages. The history of humanity is full of
mystery, especially as we are only left with only a few relics and artifacts. The average human is
left out all together in many instances, as they were slaves, and mostly an afterthought. For most
of our time on the earth, the collected wisdom of the ages has been guarded from public view.
Although the internet has started to swing the advantage in our favor, institutions like the Vatican
keep a tight grip on the assuredly controversial texts in their possessions. When the Dead Sea
Scrolls were unearthed in the last century and forced into the public sphere, our understanding of
Christianity needed a complete rethinking.
In Kabbalah, the
Torah is studied at many different levels to achieve incredibly deep and secret understandings of
the nature of God. As the Jews had long been persecuted, they were forced to hide these teachings in
coded texts, lest it be used in ways considered unfit (sound familiar?)
Even though most of us speak English, have limited access to unadulterated religious texts, and lack
the time and will to devote to pure study, we should still look at the stories and scripture we have
with a more discerning eye as they are rife with meaning.
Thus began my own
continual reanalysis of the world around me. I considered the nature of evil
and what causes people to act against their human(e) natures. Patterns began emerging as I saw how
easily corruptible man truly is under certain circumstances. Next, I looked at the literal,
symbolic, phonetic and hidden significance of three letters: X,
Y, and Z. As most will not have the chance to read all 4 pages of the study (if you do - the
meat is at the end), one of the discoveries I made while considering this topic was that the
pronunciation of “Xy” is a very important clue to understanding religion and existence. For
example, “Xy Zeus” = Jesus, “Xy O la Xy” = Geology, “Xy Netics” = Genetics, and “Xy”
= Z. Although these assertions might sound ludicrous to the amateur observer, they actually make
more sense when we consider the very nature of the spoken word as compared to written language.
There is much that is “lost in translation.”
What never occurred
to me until later was to try putting “Xy” before my own name. When I did, I came up with “Xy
Kyle” or “Z Ky L.” This name should sound familiar to anyone who has studied religion or seen Pulp
Fiction. Interestingly, one of the emails I received after writing about Ron Paul had asked me
to write about Ezekiel, but I had not yet done enough research. Ezekiel was a prophet who one day
came across a pile of dead bodies. He stopped to ponder upon the bodies and God/Allah came upon
Ezekiel and asked him if he would like to see the dead brought back to life. Ezekiel, of course,
said yes and God/Allah told him that all he had to do is command the bones to rise and come back to
life. Ezekiel did so and the bones rose up in unanimous praise of God/Allah. Most scholars do not
consider this a literal story and offer it as metaphor or prophecy.
Prophecy is
something that has been studied by the people in power throughout the many phases of humankind.
Armageddon is often the most widely discussed topic, especially when the world is in peril. All
prophets foresaw it. They all described it. And it sounds eerily a lot like right now. We can see
what man has done to this Earth and her inhabitants and the future looks grim for many. But there
are a variety of interpretations as to what to expect for the eventual outcome of all of this
violence and hatred. (That’s why it is a good prophecy!)
As astrology is the
source of much of the information used by prophets, I began to look more closely at stars. They have
played an integral part of every person’s life since birth. Stars are all over the products we
buy, the clothes we wear, the flags of our Fathers, our night’s sky, and of course our day’s
sky. Needless to say, the cycles of those pretty lights shining in the sky correlate very strongly
with the events that play out here on our beautiful planet. Never before one to “read my
horoscope,” I had not considered how much being born under the sign of Scorpio had influenced my
life. Nor had I understood the implications of being represented by Pluto in our solar system and
the Hanged Man and Death in the Tarot.
With an eye on the
stars and a mind on the future, I decided to look at a video on Youtube, Surviving
2012 and Planet X (link – not needed) The
film explains how for many years scientists have been trying to find the body in our solar system
that is disrupting the orbits of our planets and making. In this vein of research, Jupiter, Neptune,
and Pluto were all discovered. But the calculations were still off. In comes Planet X.
Conveniently, Pluto
was recently demoted from being a planet, so Planet X will be the 10th body of our solar
system. But we already know about the return of X as it had caused the Great Floods and Deluges of
the past. This is when the war of the gods takes place as lightning bolts are hurled from the sky,
fires boil up from hell, and angels fall from heaven. This heavenly body might well be Shiva the
Destroyer, Jesus (the son of the Sun), and even Lucifer the Fallen Angel (Star). The sun meeting
with its shadow could be the greatest example of Gog
and Magog.
Curiously, the film
in question also seems to be overt government propaganda. It lets us know that the best and the
brightest from among us will be taken by the government and brought to underground bunkers where
they will be safe to later repopulate the world. But we should not worry because humankind will
survive and we should wish our “lucky” loved ones well on their journeys. Of course the elite of
the world would assume the right to use the slave’s (or taxpayer’s) money in an attempt to
survive the coming Apocalypse. Even if Planet X is approaching, as it very well could be, I would
prefer to watch our world collapse and eventually reborn rather than spend the rest of my time in
these dimensions underground with the likes of the reptiles and trolls. Or maybe Planet X is just
another false threat being offered to distract us from the real evil facing the world.
In any event, this
interest in the more literal heavens is what inspired me to sit outside on the evening of February
13 (described here). The
fantastic sight left me with more questions than answers, but I knew that I should take a sign from
the sky seriously. Now I do not purport to be anyone of any particular significance, but I believe I
can feel and “see” things many others cannot. As my acts of prophecy started with Ron Paul, so
shall they continue:
The march on
Washington, D.C., proposed by Ron Paul, shall be the most momentous event to take place in the
history of the United States since its inception. It will be when the emperor truly realizes that he
has no clothes. Not because Ron Paul is going to win the presidency; indeed, we know he will not.
But remember, this is about so much more than this one man. This struggle transcends politics, race,
and religion.
When the people of
this country learn that there is going to be a march on Washington, they will join in. Many will
want to witness the most significant event in American history in person, as it will likely not be
televised. Many will feel the need to present their frustration with the leviathan, finally as a
united front.
We are all sick of
the lies, corruption, and death that have resulted from evil men pulling the strings of morally
corrupt institutions. We have allowed them to reside in power, hidden in the darkness, for far too
long.
The worst of times
are still yet to come, but this event shall be of utmost importance for the world. It will be the
largest count of the remnant to date!
But do not take my
word on any this. Wait and see if I am right or explore these things for yourselves. We as humans
are only able to glimpse a small portion of what is truly going on around us, but it does not mean
that we should not grasp for as much truth as possible.
Whatever may befall
us, I believe that peace is the only logical step forward in our evolution. The bones have risen and
taken flesh. And now they march.
_________________________________
I see problems down
the line
I know that I'm right.
There was a dirt upon your hands
doing the same mistake twice
making the same mistake twice
Come on over and be so caught up
its not about compromising.
I see problems down the line
I know that I'm right
I see darkness down the line
I know its hard to fight.
There was a dirt upon your hands
doing the same mistake twice
making the same mistake twice.
Don't let the darkness eat you up
Jose Gonzalez – Down
the Line
|
Posted 2/19/08 (By Travis)
Dwight
Howard Superman Dunk
I'd like to see
someone shoot a three like this. :)
(Added to 'humor')
|
Posted 2/18/08 (By Travis)
Happy Presidents
Day!
No
More Great Presidents
Mises
Institute ^ | 2/19/2007 | Robert Higgs
American liberty will never be reestablished so long as
elites and masses alike look to the president to perform supernatural feats and therefore tolerate
his virtually unlimited exercise of power. Until we can restore limited, constitutional government
in this country, God save us from great presidents.
|
Posted 2/17/08 (By Travis)
Congress
Should Worry About Its Own Business Not Baseball's
Townhall.com
^ | February 15, 2008 | Mike Gallagher
No,
politicians love to pander. They enjoy showboating in front of the TV cameras; they like to pretend
to be concerned about an issue like steroids in baseball that isn’t really any of their business.
If
Major League Baseball feels it has a problem with players taking steroids, let Major League Baseball
handle it.
At
least there wouldn’t be any taxpayer money involved.
Apparently
at least some folks agree with this author:
Now, the chairman of the committee, Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), regrets
holding the hearing, The New York Times reported.
"I'm sorry we had the hearing. I regret that we had the hearing. And the only reason we had
the hearing was because Roger Clemens and his lawyers insisted on it," Waxman said.
Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin, disputes Waxman's claims, calling the congressman's statements,
"unbelievable, disingenuous and outrageous."
"He
is the one who created this circus in the first place," Hardin said.
Who do you trust? Roger Clemens or Henry Waxman?
(Added to 'Social
Conservatism')
|
Posted 2/17/08 (By Travis)
Boston
Man Receives Postcard From 1929
2/12/08
Associated Press
Nearly 79 years after it was sent, a postcard of Yellowstone National Park's Tower Falls arrived in
a Boston mailbox recently with the one-word message, "Greetings."
A U.S. Postal Service spokesman says it's impossible to know what happened with the card. It somehow
got into the mail and was sent with a one cent stamp from Seattle earlier this year.
(Added
to 'The Post Office')
|
Posted 2/17/08 (By Travis)
Another
Massacre At A "Gun Free Zone" College Campus
kxmb
^ | 2/15/08
One gun. That’s all it would have taken. But that campus, like all the others, is a “gun free
zone”.
To everyone except the killer.
See also,
'A Tale of Two Tragedies' (VA
shooting)
(Added to 'Guns
and Crime')
|
Posted 2/17/08 (By Travis)
War
hero told: You can't have jabs to save sight until you are blind in one eye
The
Daily Mail (UK) ^ | 16th February 2008 | GLEN OWEN
Mr Tagg, 88, suffers from "wet" macular degeneration, the main cause of sight loss in
Britain, affecting a quarter of a million people. It can lead to blindness in as little as three
months - but with prompt treatment it can be reversed.
Now he and his wife Gabrielle, 77, are selling their house to pay for an £11,000 course of
injections.
Last week, Mr Tagg was told by a consultant at Torbay District General Hospital in Torquay that a
course of injections of the Lucentis drug could save his sight.
But at £760 a shot, for a course of between three and 14 injections, he was told that under
Government guidelines it was regarded as "too expensive" unless he was already blind in
one eye.
Mr Tagg, who was a member of the RAF Balloon Command during the war and flew Wellington bombers,
went for his first privately-funded injections on Friday.
Readers may recall, we've visited this drug
before during our critique of the FDA's
belated approval of it. Amazing how many layers of international government incompetence it takes
for it to actually reach patients.
(Added to 'British
Healthcare')
|
Posted 2/11/08 (By Travis)
Some
Observations on Four Terms in Congress
(required reading)
Ron
Paul 1984
By clicking on the above link you can read one of the best 'big picture' political commentaries I
have ever read. It is lengthy, but even written in 1984 it is still more than relevant today and
even prophetic in certain ways. It comes from 'A Foreign Policy of Freedom', a newish book by Ron Paul
and was transcribed onto the freerepublic website by yours truly. :)
(Added to
'Ron Paul 2008' and 'Required
Reading')
|
Posted 2/10/08 (By Travis)
Two
stories, similar in that 'public health' masquerades as a chance for established businesses to put
down their competitors.:
Secret
Nightclubs Open As Strip Club Restrictions Go Into Effect
NewsNet5.com
^ | 02-03-08 | AP
"They have succeeded in creating this underground, sleazy, cash-only
business that cannot be regulated, taxed or secured by police," said attorney Skip Lazzaro, who
represents legal nightclubs.
The
Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dog: So Good It's Illegal
LA
Times ^ | 2/6/08 | DANIEL HERNANDEZ
Last
May, she was sentenced to 45 days in county jail for repeatedly violating food codes. Once out,
Palacios and her companeros on the streets of the Fashion District formed an advocacy group
to protest what they call harassment on the part of police and inspectors, fully aware that they are
fighting an uphill battle.
Not that Palacios would mind more enforcement against the unlicensed vendors who are her primary
competition. You see, the typical bacon-wrapped hot-dog enthusiast, as Palacios points out, isn't
likely to notice that there are two tiers in L.A.'s hot-dog-vendor community.
"If
somebody comes in with no overhead and no bills and no sanitary counters and starts selling hot
dogs," Smith says, "you certainly can't complete with any of that."
|
Posted 2/5/08 (By Travis)
Due to technical difficulties Dobber was unable to blog during the past month, apologies to readers.
Hopefully we can figure out the problem and he will continue to add his commentary.
For
those interested, I was attending a Yoga
retreat course in the Bahamas for the past month and was without email or phone contact. It was
a wonderful experience and I have a lot to write about regarding this. This was my second month long
yoga retreat, readers may recall some writings on the first one, I'll group those together and tiddy
some things up here ASAP...
By
the way, what happened to Ron Paul?! I leave for a month and the whole campaign goes to pots! :)
|
Posted 1/6/08
(By Dobber)
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Happy New
Year from Neoperspectives. Travis will be spending some much deserved and needed rest and
relaxation
in an undisclosed location for the
next few weeks. In the meantime I will be guest blogging here at Neoperspectives. For
those that don't know,
my name is Geoff Dobson, nicknamed
Dobber. Travis and I met in July of 1999 while we were both spending our summer break
lifeguarding at
Ocean City, MD. We spent a
couple summers as roommates and have since discovered we share a similar political and philosophical
ideology.
That is, we believe that limited
government and free markets are the best systems of association mankind has ever come up with.
So, thanks for
having me and I hope you enjoy the
site while Travis is gone.
|
Posted 12/24/07 (By Travis)
State
blocks Muslim Celebration Involving Animal Slaughter
12/16/07 WRAL.com
State officials said mass slaughters conducted any other way are unsanitary and threaten an outbreak
of disease.
You see, mass slaughter is a delicate and complex activity
that can only be done by experts with
lobbyists, I mean, experts with expertise.
|
Posted 12/23/07 (By Travis)
Big
Venezuela refinery crippled by parts shortage
12/14/07
Reuters
Years of shoddy maintenance and mounting shortages of spare
parts have left Venezuela's second-largest oil refinery barely capable of functioning, three sources
at the refinery told Reuters.
State oil company PDVSA's 300,000 barrels per day Cardon refinery is currently operating at minimal
rates because four of its six steam boilers are out of service, leaving the facility without enough
steam to keep units functioning, the three sources said.
"They don't have the equipment. There are no spare parts, and they don't have them because they
are not experienced enough to get them," said one of the refinery sources, all of whom spoke on
condition of anonymity.
This year alone
there have been 12 major outages, almost half of which have been blamed on power failures. At least
nine workers have been hurt in refinery accidents in 2007.
PDVSA has struggled with operational problems at its refineries since hundreds of refinery workers
and engineers were fired after they joined an anti-government strike meant to force President Hugo
Chavez from power in December 2002.
Chavez purged the company of his political opponents in 2003 and turned it into the financial engine
of a social development campaign that has built up his political support.
Is this right out of Atlas Shrugged or what? This is the result of the state kicking out private
companies and further politicizing the state owned companies.
In other news, Venezuelans voted to
deny Chavez dictatorial rights a few weeks ago. Democracy is a flawed system, but it appears to
safeguard certain rights, even while trampling on the rights of the individual and placing the
minority under sway of the majority. Has the oil boom helped Venezuela? Their economy is tanking.
Speaking of oil:
God
is Brazilian?
5/12/07 EnergyBulletin.net
This title of this
article stems from Brazilian president Lula da Silva invoking the almighty in thanks for the
discovery of massive oil deposits off the coast of Brazil. But, if history
is any guide, this discovery will surely prove to be a pox upon the people of Brazil. The feedback
loops of freedom and capitalism and revenues to the voracious government will become unbalanced with
this new influx of money and it is likely socialism and tyranny will expand and freedom
retreat.
This project will
be a technological challenge to
Brazil's lethargic state owned company :
About
70 percent of Petrobras' oil production comes from deep-water wells, making it the world's biggest
oil producer at such depths. But the Tupi deposit is deeper than Petrobras has ever drilled —
under 7,000 feet of ocean water and more than 16,000 feet of rock, sand and salt, including a
1.2-mile-thick layer of rock-hard salt.
What if it were
left to the private sector?
In 2005, U.S.-based Chevron and its partners drilled the deepest offshore oil and gas well in
history at 34,189 feet below sea level in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Transocean, the
world's largest offshore drilling contractor, which completed the well. The deepest onshore well, at
37,016 feet, was completed earlier this year on Sakhalin Island, off the Russian coast, for ExxonMobil.
Additionally, we see the same pattern with Brazil's state owned oil companies
as Venezuela's. The article concludes:
"This discovery... proves that God is
Brazilian," Mum's the word as far as God goes, but here on Earth it is apparent that Petrobras
may struggle to meet their 2011 production target, let alone their goal for 2015.
(Added to 'Middle Eastern Governments and Causes of
Terrorism')
|
Posted 12/18/07 (By Travis)
Following Ron Paul's record $6
million day money bomb last Sunday, he gave this great interview with Glen Beck tonight. An
amazing articulation of conservatism and libertarian principles, which I cannot believe we are lucky
enough to find stemming from a major candidate for president of the United States. I find it hard to
believe even people opposed to Ron Paul's candidacy could come away not respecting and admiring
Paul's beliefs after seeing this interview.
Complete video HERE.
In segments:
1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pme20JHPkwk
2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y4j4m90-XM
3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNjnvp5z6kM
4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGrlZTlD-Sc
5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF_92PpCyUs
6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnm1nPHdATQ
7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD1qMXMOjfo
8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kze69_lmGmA
(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted 12/15/07 (By Travis)
Ron
Paul Boston Tea Party Money Bomb (Tomorrow!)

On December
16th, 1773, American colonists dumped tea into the Boston Harbor to protest an oppressive tax. This
December 16th, American citizens will dump millions of dollars into the Ron Paul
presidential campaign to protest the oppressive
and unconstitutional inflation
tax - and the IRS, which sanctions government theft by proxy
ownership on an individual's labor! (my addition) Please
join us this December 16th 2007 for
the largest one-day political donation event in history. Our goal is to bring together 100,000
people to donate $100 each, creating a one day donation total of $10,000,000.
Imagining
a Ron Paul presidency
12/14/07 National Review Online
So a Democratic, or even Republican Congress completes the appropriations process, and sends
President Paul the funding bill for, say, the Commerce Department. Ron Paul doesn’t think we
should have a Commerce Department, so he vetoes it.
Congress either overrides it, or maybe with enough folks to sustain veto. Suddenly the appropriators
of both parties find themselves constantly bumping up against a president who forces them, for the
first time in anyone's memory, to justify the existence of this federal department and its attending
bureaucracy, much less the size of its budget. In the meantime, Paul may not appoint a Commerce
Secretary, since he thinks we don’t need a department. Or any of the undersecretaries. Or
Department of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development…. <.>
But if you think Washington is big and bloated and unresponsive and voracious in its appetite for
ever-larger, ever-more intrusive government, Ron Paul is the guy who would throw a monkeywrench into
the gears. Official Washington would grind to a halt; it’s hard to imagine any big expansion of
government with a president who made Tom Coburn look like Robert Byrd. Four to eight years, of a
broken record, “No, I’m vetoing it, it’s not in the Constitution… no, I’m vetoing that
too, it’s not in the Constitution.”
You think about that scenario, suddenly every other guy in the race looks like the candidate of the
status quo.
Two other good
quotes in recent articles:
1)
Paul wants the government
out of health care, and opposes Medicare, Medicaid, and federally mandated children's health
insurance.
2)
“If we reduced federal spending to the levels of just a decade ago we could
get rid of the income tax and replace it with nothing. There is only one candidate for president,
Ron Paul who is committed to ending the income tax.”
Plus, regardless of what the
unconstitutional FCC and campaign finance reform laws might
say, the Ron Paul blimp is up!

(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008' plus more blimp pics added)
|
Posted 12/11/07 (By Travis)
Lack
of Mirror Neurons may help explain Autism
7/22/07 Scientific America
This article was
the first I had heard of a 'mirror neuron'.
Here is the basic idea:
These
neurons are active when the monkeys perform certain tasks, but they also fire when the monkeys watch
or hear someone else perform the same specific task.
..when a person observes another person's action, their motor cortex becomes more excitable
The existence of these mirror neurons quantifies what we already know
from our own experience and further illustrates the broad degree to which we are influences by our
environments. Mirror neurons are likely very active in learning processes like infantile
modeling,
But some form of 'mirror neurons' or their equivalents are present in our language, behavioral, and emotional centers,
and will form an integral part of any cultural/societal theory.
For example, when a large audience sees an event on TV, like the superbowl, or a blockbuster movie, or
listen to a presidential address, they all undergo similar subtle neurologic changes stemming from
the same environmental input, which aggregately form the common ties that bind us as a people and influence our
environmental output. Not a bad thing, if freely chosen.
We can quickly shift this into a political field. In communism,
the attempt is through state control to influence culture and indoctrinate (called educate) the
population in a controlled way, increasing the commonalities of culture, creating a uniformly good
populace, and attaining the ideal culture and society. This, of course,
presumes the state (and the those learned individuals who run it) know what is the best end result
and the most feasible path to this enlightenment.
However, most societies today only do this partially; they have 'state owned media', and regulate
the culture (like France and Venezuela
who mandate a certain percentage of their media must be from in country). These actions send an
energy wave (negative we assume), pardon the brief divergence to eastern terminology, through the
populace and the mechanism is in part demonstrated by the pathophysiology of described mirror
neurons.
It should also be of interest to examine the same phenomena on an individual level. When one sees
a horror movie, fights with a friend or family member, or hears about or witnesses people acting
unkindly, mirror neurons are firing and changing the brain in subconscious ways. When we see anger,
whether in film or in real life, or even read about it, a tiny bit of this negative energy is
incorporated into our psych via said neurologic mechanisms, with the result being 'suffering', ie a more
negative and less happy conscious experience in life.
But, on a positive note, this also lends both credence and importance to the goals of living a good life and improving oneself. If one
lives a life of goodness and honor, besides the aforementioned
direct benefit to oneself in the form of increased happiness, one spreads positive energy, as others
view your example and their mirror neurons fire to their subconscious and/or conscious.
Additionally, this positive influence on the environment will indirectly provide self benefit in the
future, fulfilling the karmic theory.
It can be argued
that this post really doesn't say anything new, simply rehashes old theories in a new light, and
I'll certainly accept that. A scientific mechanism based explanations for philosophy and
spirituality is often sorely lacking or, worse, even discounted by the very proponents of such
ideas. Different ways of saying the same thing should be pursued and elucidated; after all, all
roads lead to Rome, but one can only travel one road to get there.
(Added to 'A
Theory of God')
|
Posted 12/9/07 (By Travis)
Everything
is Caused by Global Warming (600+ links)
11/29/07 American Thinker
Dr. John Brignell, a
British engineering professor, runs a website called numberwatch.
He has compiled what has to be the most complete collection of links
to media stories ascribing the cause of everything under the sun to global
warming. He has already posted more than six-hundred links.
The site's stated
mission is to expose all the "scares, scams, junk, panics and flummery cooked up by the
media, politicians, bureaucrats and so-called scientists and others that try to confuse the public
with wrong numbers" Professor Brignell's motto is "Working to Combat Math
Hysteria."
This list is rich,
especially the contradictions such as the following:
Atlantic
less salty, Atlantic
more salty
avalanches
reduced, avalanches
increased
bananas
destroyed, bananas
grow
coral
reefs dying, coral
reefs grow
desert
advance, desert
retreat
Europe
simultaneously baking and freezing
fish
catches drop,
fish catches rise
glacial
retreat, glacial
growth
harvest
increase, harvest
shrinkage
hibernation
ends too soon, hibernation
ends too late
Mt
(Everest) shrinking; Mont
Blanc grows
plankton
blooms, plankton
destabilised, plankton
loss
rainfall
increase, rainfall
reduction
rivers
dry up, rivers
raised
snowfall
increase, snowfall
reduction
trees
less colourful, trees
more colourful
So, as we can see global warming has become the new 'fad' amongst reporters, blamed for everything,
even oppositely occurring phenomena. Amongst researchers, it increasingly appears what they find is less
important than what is to blame for their findings; academia
and science is just as politicized, if not more so (due to state funding/control) than other
sources. Science follows the (state) money, not the other way around.
(Added
to 'The Environment')
|
Posted 12/9/07 (By Travis)
Right
to Medical Self-Defense, The
12/9/07 NYT
If laws banning the use of force are relaxed when an intruder crawls in your window and you’re
home, shouldn’t stringent F.D.A. regulations bend when you’re backed into a dark corner by a
terminal illness? That was the gist of an argument made by the U.C.L.A. law professor Eugene Volokh
in the May issue of The Harvard Law Review. Citing the concept of “medical self-defense,” Volokh
contended that a dying American should have the right to buy any drug that has passed the F.D.A.’s
preliminary safety tests. Currently, the F.D.A. insists that most terminally ill patients await,
like everyone else, full proof of a drug’s safety and efficacy.
(Added to 'FDA
Tyranny')
|
Posted 12/6/07 (By Travis)
Sales
tax on services to become a reality
11/30/07 WNDU.com
Reprinted in full:
Michigan
will impose a new six-percent sales tax on non-essential services starting Saturday, December 1st.
The move is catching many business owners by surprise.Some thought the tax had been repealed, in
light of the headlines a repeal bill in the State Legislature has made lately.
Despite all the talk, the last time the repeal bill was considered was Wednesday, when it was
defeated by the State Senate.
That means, in all likelihood, Michigan’s sales tax will officially go to the “dogs,” on
Saturday.
“Honestly I think there's probably better areas to tax than dog grooming,” said Greta Dalrymple
of Top Notch Grooming in Niles.
While dog groomers will be subject to the six-percent tax, people groomers will not. “I honestly
think that human haircuts should be charged along with the four legged haircuts,” said Dalrymple.
"It's both a service, so I think part of this is unfair the way they're singling out some
industries versus others.”
Some in the carpet cleaning industry also feel singled out.
“I’ve only been in the service industry now a couple of years, but what I see is most service
businesses are one-man operations,” said Steve Rutherford of Care
While carpet cleaners are subject to the tax, chimney sweepers are not.
While financial advice will now be taxable, karate lessons will not.
And while manicures and pedicures will be subject to the new tax, haircuts won't.
Tanning is also on the list of taxable items. At Maui Tan in Niles, they worry about the impact the
service tax could have, given “Maui’s” proximity to the Indiana border.
“They'll probably end up going where its cheaper,” said Amber Valentine, “they'll end up
tanning somewhere else if they're paying more here.”
Michigan State Representative Neal Nitz today apologized for the way the tax has been handled.
“We had always been telling the public that we were going to repeal it,” he said, “it was a
bad idea.”
“I really am quite ashamed of being a part of the process,” said Nitz. “it’s something I’m
not proud of, or happy the way it’s running.”
The following is a list of items that will be subject to the six percent sales tax:
Bail bonding
services
Tattoos and piercings
Carpet cleaning
Dating services
Financial investment counseling services
Gift wrapping services
Lawn care services
Locksmith services
Manicure and pedicure services
Private detective services
Skiing
Sun tanning
Here is a
partial list of services are that exempt from the tax:
Chimney cleaning
services
Chiropractor’s services
Dry cleaning services
Hair care (trimming, styling, shampooing, coloring, or waving)
Karate instruction services
Real estate services
Snow plowing services
As you can see all of these exemptions and nonexemptions are completely arbitrary. So why did it
happen? So politicians could shake down industries, generate campaign contributions and lobbyists
could tell their respective industry groups what a great job they did representing them. Everyone
wins, well, except those who didn't make the exemption status. And it is not a conspiracy, most
likely many of the politicians and lobbyists are unaware of how the system works and how
things turn out the way they do. Or, even more likely, they recognize the system for its
imperfections, but are unable to recognize their own subconscious failings and see the solution.
|
Posted 12/2/07 (By Travis)
In
Hospice Care, Longer Lives means money lost
11/27/07 NYT
Hundreds
of hospice providers across the country are facing the catastrophic financial consequence of what
would otherwise seem a positive development: their patients are living longer than expected.
Over the last eight years, the refusal of patients to die according to actuarial schedules has led
the federal government to demand that hospices exceeding reimbursement limits repay hundreds of
millions of dollars to Medicare.
Just another example of the perverse incentives resultant of government
control of healthcare. Here
is another previously posted instance of this sort of thing occurring over in Britain.
For reasons that are not fully understood, problems with the cap have
been most prevalent at small, for-profit hospices in Southern and Western states like Mississippi,
Alabama and Oklahoma.
This may not be what is occurring in this case but, from an ideological point of view,
it would be interesting to do a study comparing
death rates of patients with similar conditions in for profit vs non profit vs state owned
hospices. I wonder if patients live longer in the private for profit hospices simply on the basis of
their private for-profit nature?
(Added to 'US
Government Healthcare')
|
Posted 11/30/07 (By Travis)
Taking
Marriage Private
11/26/07 New York Times
WHY
do people — gay or straight — need the state’s permission to marry? For most of Western
history, they didn’t, because marriage was a private contract between two families.
A great history of marriage follows, with the ominous conclusion:
But
governments began relying on marriage licenses for a new purpose: as a way of distributing resources
to dependents.
The
authors suggestion?
Perhaps
it’s time to revert to a much older marital tradition. Let churches decide which marriages they
deem “licit.” But let couples — gay or straight — decide if they want the legal protections
and obligations of a committed relationship.
(Added
to 'Social Conservatism' and 'Secondary
Problems of Socialism')
|
Posted
11/26/07 (By Travis)
Benton
County: Hispanic moms often unmarried
Arkansaw
Democrat Gazette
Nearly half of the babies delivered by Hispanic mothers in
Benton County last year were born out of wedlock. That was double the rate for white, non-Hispanic
mothers in the county. The statistics mirror national trends that have the attention of advocates of
all persuasions. Immigration critics warn of looming consequences, from persistent poverty to
welfare dependency. The Bush administration also makes the connection:
As demonstrated, teen and out of wedlock marriage, along with child
poverty, has plummeted since welfare reform was enacted in the late 90s. This article demonstrates
welfarism has not been reduced enough; that it is still prevalent enough to cause these sorts of scourges
in the Hispanic communities. Not because they are 'Hispanic', but because the newly arriving
immigrants are poorer. This article does not mention any of this.
Preventing out-of wedlock pregnancies is a key to its $100 million “healthy marriage” strategy
for curbing welfare.
A $100 million dollar 'healthy marriage' strategy? LOL This is the first I've heard of this. Of
course, this sort of social engineering propaganda can only be doomed to failure, probably just as
effective as the governments attempt to influence 'drug
use'.
An easier strategy to strengthen marriage would be to eliminate socialism in the United States, and
further cut welfare. Incidentally, it might even lessen some of the immigration
angst percolating out there.
(Added
to 'Welfare; History,
Results and Reform')
|
Posted
11/26/07 (By Travis)
Cancer
Lottery
11/25/07
News of the World
The United States, despite our own pervasive healthcare socialism, is often accused of vast health
disparities. What happens with fully socialized medicine? Won't everyone be more 'equal' in single
payer systems? We've found that in Canada this is
certainly not the case and Britain is no exception:
CANCER
patients across Britain are facing a life-or-death postcode lottery which decides whether they get
vital drugs and treatment.
EACH cancer sufferer in bottom-of-the-table Oxfordshire is allotted just £5,182 a year—while in
top-ranking Nottingham the spending is TREBLE that at £17,028.
PATIENTS in high-spending areas such as Birmingham or Knowsley, Liverpool, have a 20 PER CENT better
chance of surviving than those in low-spending Dorset or parts of Yorkshire.
EVEN neighbouring towns differ wildly, with Hounslow (£11,726) in the Home Counties spending almost
DOUBLE Ealing's £6,650; and Solihull (£6,405) in the Midlands being OUTSTRIPPED by Wolverhampton (£10,797).
(Added
to 'British Healthcare')
|
Posted
11/21/07 (By Travis)
Book
Review
Healing the Soul in the
Age of the Brain
Elio Frattaroli, M.D.
This
was a very interesting book, although I'd agree with his editors, various parts were longish,
somewhat irrelevant, and a bit out of scope. As the author himself says:
Every
time I tried to rewrite a passage or section of the book that was overly academic, I discovered that
the reason I had lapsed into academic jargon was that I really didn't know what I was talking about.
I hadn't fully worked out the details and implications of whatever theory I was trying to explain,
so I felt insecure about the explanation and tried to hide that security under a cloak of big words.
We can respect his honesty here, because there appears few ideas so
complex that the basic tenants cannot be explained in simple concise terms over a reasonable amount
of time.
Yet in certain areas he may be guilty of violating his own premise. The history of psychotherapy,
the philosophy of consciousness and will, and the conflicts between the medical and psychoanalytic
model, were three areas heavy on jargon and citations, yet with little substance. In stark contrast,
his stories, examples, and analysis of current psychotherapy, how and why it works, and his
interpretations of both his patients and himself were absolutely fascinating and the highlight of
the book.
An interaction between two human beings has a number of components. First, both human beings are
conscious of various feelings and thoughts, and they recognize their particular state is a result
(chosen or otherwise) of the interaction with the other individual. Each person also has a
particular 'personality' or 'pattern of life', which influences both the input (people's reaction to
them) and output (their reaction to others). Of course, the terms are not mutually exclusive,
someone who is angry towards others will often receive that anger back, possibly causing even
further anger output. This leads to perpetuating cycles, patterns which can be seen throughout a
persons life. Dr. Frattaroli really does an excellent job of explaining that there are very
fundamental unique energies/emotions or reactions to a life experience which become ingrained deeply
enough in our psych to effect nearly every aspect of our lives. Unfortunately, these patterns often
repeat over and over without our conscious awareness, as they often require indirect reasoning,
extrapolation, emotional courage, and the difficult ability to step outside oneself to judge more
objectively.
Especially interesting is how widespread and pervasive these patterns become. Say, for instance, one
has a conflict with a boss at work. Instead of blaming the boss, it is more instructive to look
within oneself and view the conflict with the boss as only one of of many many symbols stemming from
a deep underlying problem within oneself. The same issue likely manifests in relationships with
friends, one's spouse and family, and every other aspect of life, even perhaps in relatively arcane
subsets like eating, sleeping, and sexuality.
To
view the fundamental of what actually is, rather than just what we see ourselves as, can be
especially difficult because the subconscious may contain opposite emotions than how we view
ourselves, may engage in internal power struggles, and attempt to fulfill unhelpful emotional or
sexual desires. An important part of a therapists job is to act as a mirror, as a blank slate, from
which the patient is forced to become aware that their negative emotions are coming from inside
themselves, and do not originate from an external source. Readers may recall, this sort of idea was the
premise of 'Personal
Responsibility, Mental Responsibility', regarding the root of all thoughts and emotions. While Frattaroli
doesn't go this far; he emphasizes the makeup of the therapist as key; if a therapist is consumed by
the constant cauldron of desires, jealousies, and other negative emotions and animal cravings, the
therapist and client relationship will soon degenerate into an emotional squabble with no favorable
outcome for either party. A common criticism of psychoanalysis, from popular culture and scientific
quarters, is its seemingly overemphasis on human sexual natures. While the constant Freudian
references to parental and childhood sexual associations is likely very much overplayed, the general
idea of unconscious sexual tension between two individuals is surely quite powerful. Sexual desires,
attractions, and fantasy's make up such a fundamental portion of human psych (bear in mind it was
Buddha who reportedly said, "If there were one more vice as strong as the vice of lust I should
never have become enlightened") that it can offer great insight into the aforementioned life
patterns and likely plays a huge role in the therapist/client relationship.
A
great story Frattaroli tells is one of a young girl from a brothel who comes into a hospital with
all kinds of various sicknesses, refusing to talk and refusing to take medication. The resident
attempts to reason with her and politely tries to spoon feed her, but she slaps the medication into
his face and he leaves irately, with her glaring at him as he leaves. The chief attending hears the
report, assesses, and enters only to have the same thing occur, but this time when she slaps the
medicine in his face he just wipes it off, smiles and refills the spoon and tries again. She
looks at him in astonishment, and in a rage, slaps the medication even harder back in his face. He
again smiles and repeats the action. Suddenly she breaks down in an intense emotional outburst of
crying and sadness, but eventually she takes the medication and begins a remarkable recovery
process. The key part of the story is when the chief attending did not feed into the cycle she had
likely created as a protection from the horrors of the brothel. Through his actions, the chief
attending forced her to recognize that he was not the problem, that the interaction between the two
of them was negative entirely because of her. He was, in essence, the transparent window, allowing
her to view herself objectively. He was only successful because he was able to stymie the intense
negative counter reaction he had to her cursing him and splashing the medicine in his face.
Perhaps the best lesson found in this book is Frattaroli's assertion, 'the patient is always right'.
In other words, the mind protects itself the best way it is able. There is a reason for peoples'
behaviors. In the above example, the girl may have even gotten sick or refused to take her medicine
because she didn't want to go back to the brothel; it is perfectly logical, provided one starts from
the proper perspective. However, because of the power of the subconscious, the patient himself will
often not be able to articulate the reasons for her actions, only a clear and undiluted mind of a
therapists relatively free from personal conflict can attempt to piece together these reasonings.
This view also allows the therapist to view the patient without judgment.
Another example of this is Frattaroli's postulation that the Schizophrenic brain separates the upper
cognitive functions of the frontal cortex from the lower subthalmic emotional and survival neuronal
firings. He states the mind undergoes this change as a protection, to shield the higher processes
from disturbing emotional pulses, but the result being that a gulf widens between the two and
neither function properly thereafter. It has often been stated, perhaps correctly, that
psychoanalytic theory collapses when dealing with more serious biologic physiologic illnesses and
this Schizophrenic theory is interesting as it puts this to the test. I would have liked to see more
psychoanalytic explanations for a wider variety of psychiatric and physiopsychiatric conditions.
I
thought his constant references to both his editors and his own personal life were a complimentary addition to his book. It is only fitting after all, that a psychoanalytic book, indeed
any book, must be intertwined with the mental psych of the author. I can respect his intimate
disclosures and honest attempt to 'bare all' to his audience. His mention of his past political
railings did fit with his admittedly similar over passionate zest to crusade against the medical
model.
In
conclusion, I think neither the medical nor psychoanalytic model are mutually exclusive, a
conclusion Frattaroli also appears to accept, at least in part. Patients may be best served with the
ability to choose either one, both, or neither. My only hope is that one day market forces will
return to healthcare to truly allow patients their choice of treatment and specialist, at an affordable price. As
Frattaroli himself might opine, I think they will choose correctly. :).
(Added to 'Book
Reviews')
|
Posted 11/19/07 (By Travis)
Ron Paul rally in Las
Vegas 11/19/07
11/19/07
Neoperspectives.com
Republican
Presidential candidate Ron Paul rocked Las Vegas today drawing a raucous crowd of 1200-1500 people
into UNLV's Ham Hall.


The days events
began with a fundraising luncheon, attended by roughly 70 people. With a $1000 dollar recommended
donation and $500 minimum donation the event likely raised in excess of $35,000 for Paul's
campaign.

Dr
Paul spoke at both the luncheon (15 minutes) and UNLV rally (45min-1hr) and signed autographs, posed
for pictures, and mingled with the crowd at both events.
His
speeches touched on liberty, freedom, and personal responsibility. Some highlights (paraphrasing):
"I don't pretend to know answers. I don't want to run the world, I don't want to run the
economy, and I don't want to run your lives."
"The good thing about these speeches is that I don't say things to different groups depending
on where I go like some other candidates, I never have to think about where I am or who the audience
is."
However, he did tailor one specific for Nevada. At UNLV he brought up his vote on Yucca mountain,
one of only 3 congressmen (the other two from NV) he said, to vote against the nuclear waste being
stored here because (paraphrasing), "I don't feel people in other states should be able to vote
problems onto other states. People in a given state should decide what they want in their
state".
He
also mentioned the money bombs, both past (Nov 5th) and future (Dec 16th), and how the press the Nov
5th bomb generated was worth millions.
Paul
got his biggest cheers, standing ovations, plus plenty of hooting and hollering for his "the government should have no claim on your life, liberty, or property, which includes your
income," "abolish the IRS", statement, as well as his "I'd just like to get the
US out of the UN" quip.
More
pictures of rally found here.
More
pictures of luncheon found here.
We
had 3 out of 4 major Las Vegas news media channels attend the rally, you can see their live coverage
of the events here:
http://ktnv.com/
estimated approximately 2,000 attendees
http://kvbc.com/ estimated approximately 1,300
attendees
My estimate of 1300-1500 was arrived at by the fact that Artemus Hamm Hall seats
approximately 1800, and is divided into a top and bottom section. The top section was not opened for
our event, but only holds 1/4th to 1/5th the total number in the bottom segment, which was almost
entirely filled.
In
their coverage, the
media also mentioned the many signs around town and his plan to eliminate the 'tax on tips' (radio
ads now playing in NV emphasize the Paul 'no
tax on
tips' plan).
In contrast, Romney drew approximately 200 attendees to his event when he was
here on Saturday. Today was a Monday with the rally at 3pm and also despite the Ron Paul campaign's unintentional
lesson on the merits of central economic planning via the printing of two full page ads in the Las Vegas
Review Journal with the wrong times for the rallies.
Also
of note, Hans Gullickson, hired by the Republican party of NV to run the primary Republican caucuses
gave a seminar to Ron Paul supporters the previous day (Sun 11/17), which was attended by over 100
people. This was more than who showed for the entire Republican party seminar weeks earlier.
Although Ron Paul is only currently polling at 8% in Nevada (up from 1% just a few months ago), the Ron
Paul supporters here in Las Vegas are enthusiastic, growing, motivated, and determined to win
NV. I think we will.
Paul
is headed to Pahrump tonight and to Reno tomorrow for more fundraisers,
rallies, and interviews.
My personnel
highlight of the day was meeting Ron Paul (for the second time).
I only had a second to say, "Abolish the FDA!" and he
replied, "There ya go." I'll take that as an affirmative. :)

Update:
Another Las Vegas meetup member wrote on Ron
Paul forums:
It was simply amazing! Prior to the rally, there was a
fundraiser with Ron Paul at $500 - $1,000 a plate. I didn't bother counting because I was too
distracted by all the fancy people, and the good food. I estimate anywhere between 50-80 people
showed up for that, but don't quote me on that.
The rally took place at an auditorium that seats approximately 1,800 people. It
was close to capacity. The estimates from the news channels ranged between 1,300 to 2,000 people.
For comparison, Romney drew approximately 200 attendees to his event when he was here on Saturday.
The audience was extremely loud. My ears are still ringing. The intensity
matched that of the SLC rally; the crowd even went nuts during the video presentation prior to Ron
Paul's speech. We passed out free yard signs prior to the event, so the footage will show a sea of
Ron Paul signs.
Tucker Carlson was there, I presume to interview Ron Paul, but it just looked
like he was hanging out. He seemed to really enjoy being there with all the volunteers and fans of
Ron Paul. He interviewed and chatted with the volunteers for 45 minutes. Tucker was very friendly,
but asked a ton of tough questions that covered every conceivable issue relating to Ron Paul. The
45 minute chat session with Tucker Carlson was RECORDED, and he gave us permission to release it
on youtube or google video.
We recruited 90 Ron Paul supporters to run as precinct delegates, and
registered 80 Republicans. We sold a ton of shirts, and took in a ton of campaign contributions
for the campaign.
We had about 9-10 prosumer cameras there. 3 television stations covered the
event. Also, one of the volunteers happened to own a 20 foot boom apparatus that flew around the
stage. We probably got the best campaign footage to date, of the most boisterous campaign event.
I will post pictures, videos, and other comments later. Right now, I'm
exhausted, and I need to sleep.
RON PAUL 2008!
Update 2, from
a Las Vegas meetup member in Pahrump:
The Pahrump rally a great success!!! The room was
absolutely packed and it was SRO. There was no video introduction at this rally and there were a
few differences in the speech. For example, he did not mention the war on drugs in Pahrump and
he emphasized private property and 2nd amendment. He also emphasized how the message of freedom
is resonating with young people and talked about the enthusiasm at the UNLV rally!!! (I really
think we made an impression on him.) He also said that we the supporters excite him and how the
campaign has been influenced by the internet. I liked his joke about how troops had been in
Korea since he was in high school and it was about time they got out!!! He spoke for about 40
minutes in Pahrump too.
The crowd demographic was different from the UNLV rally. People were
older, but RP's message does not discriminate, so that didn't surprise me one bit! ;)
Update 3, an estimate has been thrown out that some 600 people attended the Pahrump
rally:
We counted two sections of 160 seats each. All
filled. So 320 there.
All the sidelines were filled with standing room only, so maybe another 100 or so.
The back of the room, they were 10 or so deep, standing in a thirty foot wide room, so another
couple hundred?
Hard to tell, just a guestimate, but it was great!
News articles:
Las Vegas crowd
roars for Ron Paul
11/20/07 RJ
(Added to 'Ron Paul 2008' and 'Nevada
Politics')
|
Posted 11/15/07 (By Travis)
Kidney
Shortage Inspires a Radical Idea: Organ Sales
11/13/07 Wall Street
Journal
"There's one clear argument for sales," Dr. Matas told a gathering of surgeons earlier
this year. The practice, currently illegal in the U.S., "would increase the supply of kidneys,
save lives and improve the quality of life for those with end-stage renal disease."
Here is the basic plan, notice it is still not a completely 'free market' plan, but nonetheless
moves in the right direction:
A
set price, he says, could be established by the government and paid by the recipient's insurance,
typically Medicare. The kidney would go to whoever is at the top of the waiting list, rich or poor.
Potential sellers would be medically and psychologically screened to make sure they are suitable
donors. Afterwards, they would be tracked by the government to see what impact the kidney sale had
on their life and overall health.
Interestingly, the government would even save money by embracing the freemarket:
In February 2004, he and a colleague published a paper calculating that the government could spend
$95,000 to evaluate and compensate a donor and still break even. The reason: Medicare pays for
dialysis for all Americans who need it. Transplant recipients no longer need the costly procedure,
which translates to huge savings.
![[Chart]](http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/P1-AJ574_PAYMEN_20071112193244.gif)
"Every time I hear this talk, it makes me think a little bit more about it and question why I
had such a gut-wrenching reaction against it," she told him after his presentation.
Probably public skrewls... :)
|
Posted 11/12/07 (By Travis)
Venezuelans
scramble for food amid oil opulence
11/11/07
Reuters
The
37-year-old father-of-two has for months scrambled to find basic products like cooking oil, beef and
milk, despite leftist President Hugo Chavez's social program that promises to provide low-cost
groceries to the majority poor.
"It takes a miracle to find milk," said Arteaga, who spent two hours in line outside a
store in the poor Caracas neighborhood of Eucaliptus. <.>
Businesses say
price controls on staple foods are so low they discourage investment and force stores to sell at a
loss.
(Added to 'Chavez')
|
Posted 11/12/07 (By Travis)
U.S.
Aid Policy For Musharraf: Buckets of Cash
11/7/07 Out Side the Beltway
..the U.S. gives Musharraf’s government about $200 million annually and his military $100 million
monthly in the form of direct cash transfers. Once that money leaves the U.S. Treasury, Musharraf
can do with it whatever he wants. He needs only promise in a secret annual meeting that he’ll use
it to invest in the Pakistani people.
This is to a
country which is currently under martial law due to 'terrorism', pretty ironic considering
Pakistan's past
support for terrorism in India and Afghanistan. A country which is run by a socialist military
dictatorship with Al Qaeda hiding around its territory for a number of years.
Granted, we are
'allies' and the criminal Musharraf is said to be doing his 'best' to 'counter terrorism' and,
besides, since Musharraf is apparently an enemy of Al Qaeda (as evidenced by their multiple
assassination attempts), shouldn't he be a friend of ours? This is like saying Stalin was a 'friend
of ours' (uncle Joe) during WWII and that Osama was on our side against the Soviets in
Afghanistan.
Better, IMO, call a
spade a spade, and stop wasting American tax money, alienating the citizens of Pakistan, spreading
socialism, and working against American's foreign policy interests.
How is US aid to
Pakistan helping spread socialism? Well, since Pakistan is a poor country, we might expect it to be
highly socialized, and therefore corrupt, with heavy government interference and ownership
of industries. Indeed, this is the case, with the military (the same entity which receives cash US
aid) owning large sectors of the economy:
From
Guns to Cereal, Military Dominates Pakistan
So
if you go to Pakistan, the best neighborhoods are the military neighborhoods. They're called defense
housing estates. Nowhere else in the world does the military get involved in large-scale business as
the Pakistani military has.
In fact, the only Pakistani-made cereal is made by a company that is run by a foundation that is
under the military. It's supposed to benefit army veterans. But the fact remains that they manage
that by not allowing competition in the cereal sector. They're in the cinnamon sector, they
manufacture sugar, they have a bank, they have insurance companies. Because the military is running
the government, these business institutions can have privileged conditions. And so they are not open
to free-market forces and competition, which undermines the growth of Pakistan's economy as a
free-market economy.
Military
Inc. — it's big business in Pakistan
|
Posted 11/11/07 (By Travis)
Intel
Official: Say Goodbye to Privacy
11/11/07 Associated
Press
A
top intelligence official says it is time people in the United States changed their definition of
privacy.
Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, the principal deputy director of
national intelligence. Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguards
people's private communications and financial information.
Kerr's comments come as Congress is taking a second look at the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence
Act.
Privacy doesn't
mean you have privacy, is what he appears he saying, minus the newspeak.
Mark
Klein, a retired AT&T technician, helped connect a device in 2003 that he says diverted and
copied onto a government supercomputer every call, e-mail, and Internet site access on AT&T
lines.
I think this illustrates further the growing divide in the Republican
party, not just on spending, not just on nationbuilding and foreign policy interventionism, but also on personal
liberty. The current so-called GOP 'front runner', Rudy Giuliani doesn't appear to be deviating much
from Bush's line, as the following quotes illustrate:
"I don't remember a constitutional amendment that gives you the right not to be
identified."
"What we don't see is that freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want,
be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every
single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do."
|
Posted 11/6/07 (By Travis)
Ron
Paul w/ Tucker 11-6-07
Great Ron Paul interview with Tucker
Carlson on the record $4.3 million dollars raised in 24 hours by some 37,000 individuals with an
average donation of $103. His present total this quarter (each quarter is 3 months) of almost $7.5
million raised likely puts him in the lead of all Republicans candidates for this quarter.
What a historic day for liberty and
limited Government!

"God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. ... What country
before ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve its
liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of
resistance? Let them take arms."
-Thomas Jefferson
(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted 11/2/07 (By Travis)
Ron Paul
on Jay Leno
10/30/07
YouTube
A great video of Ron Paul on Jay Leno.
Also, on November 5th over 15,000 people have signed
up to contribute $100 to Ron Paul's presidential campaign in a massive 'money bomb'. Others have not
officially 'signed up' but have said they will contribute on that day. It will be interesting to
rock the political world and see what news coverage we get from this event, not to mention a massive
cash infusion to the campaign.
The reason November
5th was chosen varies depending on who you ask, but is most likely related to the V for Vendetta
movie (whom I can thank Dobber for recommending), which is set in a 'big brother' like society, with
an all intrusive, powerful, and (of
course) corrupt government. Characters with Ayn Rand type personalities outfox and outflank the
tyranny, and ordinary citizens come together wearing Guy Fawkes masks on November 5th, Guy Fawkes
day in England, to restore their liberty.

One can see why
such rich symbolism would appeal to the Ron Paul campaign, pardon me, I mean the individuals
supporting Ron Paul, the official 'Ron Paul campaign' does not, after all, control the campaign, a
fact most Paul supporters wear as a badge of honor.
(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted 11/2/07 (By Travis)
Gene
Master - How a private researcher won the race to decode the human genome
10/31/07
Wall Street Journal
...three years
ahead of the government's schedule and at a tenth of the cost.
Another example of government incompetence in research. IMO, funding
research is not a proper role of government. The money is better off spent in the hands of people
like Mr Ventor and his financial backers.
|
Posted 10/31/07 (By Travis)
Iowa
Tax on Pumpkins
10/30/07 DesMoines register
The Iowa Department of Revenue, often accused of trying to squeeze blood out of turnips, is now
searching for pennies in pumpkins.
Happy Halloween!
|
Posted 10/31/07 (By Travis)
Utahns
Can Vote for School Choice Tuesday
10/31/07 John Stossel (RCP)
Next Tuesday, Utah voters go to the polls to decide if their state will become the first in the
nation to offer school vouchers statewide. Referendum 1 would make all public-school kids eligible
for vouchers worth from $500 to $3,000 a year, depending on family income. Parents could then use
the vouchers to send their children to private schools. <.>
But wait. Arrayed against the vouchers are the usual opponents. They call themselves Utahns for
Public Schools. They include, predictably, the Utah Education Association (the teachers union), Utah
School Boards Association, Utah School Employees Union, Utah School Superintendents Association, the
elementary and secondary school principals associations, and the PTA. No to vouchers! they
protest. Trust us. We know what's best for your kids.
(Added to 'A
Charter School Tale')
|
Posted 10/29/07 (By Travis)
Ron
Paul: The Perfect as the Enemy of the Good
10/29/07 The Club For Growth
Wow, a detailed and
fair summation of Ron Paul's record in Congress. The Club For Growth nails another one!
When it comes to limited government, there are few champions as steadfast and principled as
Representative Ron Paul. In the House of Representatives, he plays a very useful role constantly
challenging the status quo and reminding his colleagues, despite their frequent indifference, that
our Constitution was meant to limit the power of government. On taxes, regulation, and political
free speech his record is outstanding.
This article is
great because it illustrates why Paul may not have exemplary ratings from various 'conservative'
organizations that people use as benchmarks. He votes against 'conservative' bills because they
don't go far enough, or believes that fixing unconstitutional measures with lesser unconstitutional
measures doesn't address the root problems.
Paul may, upon
occasion, vote with Democrats, but this is mere coincidence; he arrives at his conclusions from the
opposite side of the ideological spectrum.
(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted 10/29/07 (By Travis)
Hard
Work and Dedication Yield Big Results
10/29/07
freedomsphoenix.com Brock Lorber
There
are no boundaries to what a single person or group can do without filling out a single government
form.
This
past Saturday, some of us put in an 18 hour day to finish 'er up! It's a three story sign clearly
visible on the I15 between Vegas and LA. 7 million cars a month pass through here:
A previous
group laid the groundwork for this and even got a story in the Washington
Times.
On a similar note, a
video came out of the Las Vegas Ron Paul meetup vegas strip run!
(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted 10/26/07 (By Travis)
Senate
Committee approves $286 Billion Agriculture bill
10/26/07 The Modesto Bee
But
the Senate's farm bill, spanning some 1,300 pages, also reflects competition between its
agricultural and its social welfare priorities. The bill's nutrition and rural development sections
total 275 pages. The crop subsidy section totals 278 pages.
And what a congress of stinks!- Roots ripe as old bait, Pulpy stems, rank, silo-rich, Leaf
mold, manure, lime, piled against slippery planks, Nothing would give up life: Even the dirt kept
breathing a small breath.
- Theodore Roethke
(Added to 'Farm
Subsidies')
|
Posted 10/26/07 (By Travis)
Why
I quite the D.C. Schools /
I
Just Couldn't Sacrifice My Son
10/21/07
Washington Post
This article is a great read that mimics much of 'A Charter School Tale'.
I
visited public schools that were scenes of barely controlled chaos. I walked halls that teemed with
students 15 minutes after the bell had sounded for the start of class. I choked on the smell of
marijuana in the stairwells. Little had changed when I visited a District high school last year.
I've listened to teachers and principals talk about students with barely disguised contempt, heard
teachers gossip about students' sexual activity and had others refuse services or accommodations
that they were legally obligated to provide.
When some neighbors considering the school called to schedule a visit, however, the receptionist was
genuinely puzzled.
"Visit?" she said. "We don't do visits."
My neighbors and I kept calling. Two or three weeks later, school staff members agreed to let us in.
I found the building clean and well-maintained. The classes were quiet and students attentive.
The next step was meeting with the principal. That took more letters and calls; so many, in fact,
that Fenty -- then our Ward 4 council member -- offered to call on our behalf. I thanked him but
said no. It shouldn't take a council member's intervention to get a principal to meet with parents.
<.>
We thought we were going to be able to when our son won a lottery spot in a bilingual Montessori
charter school that was just starting. For three years, from preschool through kindergarten, we
watched him thrive with the same teacher, who truly valued him. Early in his first-grade year,
however, it became clear that while energy and passion were important in starting a school, they
were poor substitutes for teaching and administrative experience.
The problems began when the school finally moved into a building of its own. Pepco and Verizon
wouldn't start services because a clerk in the District's notoriously inefficient Department of
Consumer and Regulatory Affairs hadn't completed the paperwork for the certificate of occupancy.
Staff
members worked to correct this, but it took parents' writing the utilities (I asked Verizon's
president how it would look if something happened to a child because no one could call 911) to get
the lights turned on and the phones working.
(Added
to 'A Charter School Tale')
|
Posted 10/26/07 (By Travis)
I
won't let Daddy die: Girl of six raises £4,000 for life-saving drugs the NHS won't provide
10/26/07 The Daily Mail (UK)
The drug Mr Hill needs is called Tarceva. It is available for free in Scotland but not in England,
as the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence found it was not "an effective use
of NHS resources".
It has been welcomed by cancer specialists around the world and is used extensively in Europe and
the US.
The £4,000 Chantelle has raised will pay for only two months of treatment, but she is determined to
keep going and raise more, Mrs Hill said.
(Added to 'British
Healthcare')
|
Posted 10/23/07 (By Travis)
Prestige
or Education
10/23/07 Thomas Sowell
You
may never have heard of Harvey Mudd College but a higher percentage of its graduates go on to get
Ph.D.s than do the graduates of Harvard, Yale, Stanford or M.I.T. So do the graduates of Grinnell,
Reed, and various other small colleges.
Of the chief executive officers of the 50 largest American corporations surveyed in 2006, only four
had Ivy League degrees. Some -- including Michael Dell of Dell computers and Bill Gates of Microsoft
-- had no degree at all.
Apparently getting into Prestige U. is not the life or death thing that some students or their
parents think it is.
My only clarification would be that having a 'Ph.D' is not necessarily reflective of 'education'
either. :)
(Added to 'college')
|
Posted 10/23/07 (By Travis)
California
cities turn off lights
10/20/07
Reuters
Water
may be more limited / Georgia
considering options almost unheard of for metro areas
10/15/07
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Both of the above stories share the commonalities of having their problems stem from statist control
over important commodities, socialized electricity and water respectively. The results are no
different than the Soviet
breads lines, bare shelves in Zimbabwe,
healthcare in Canada and Britain,
or even 'traffic' here in the US.
|
Posted 10/18/07 (By Travis)
Plan
Would Ease Limits on Media Owners
10/17/07 New York Times
The
head of the Federal Communications Commission has circulated an ambitious plan to relax the
decades-old media ownership rules, including repealing a rule that forbids a company to own both a
newspaper and a television or radio station in the same city.
This
would be great news for media freedom, diversity of opinion, and improving the quality and quantity
of news. A good first step that would ideally end in the abolition of the FCC itself. :)
Currently,
a company can own two television stations in the larger markets only if at least one is not among
the four largest stations and if there are at least eight local stations. The rules also limit the
number of radio stations that a company can own to no more than eight in each of the largest
markets.
But deregulation in the media is difficult politically, because many Republican and Democratic
lawmakers are concerned about news outlets in their districts being too tightly controlled by too
few companies.
Incumbents worried about their jobs? Throw the bums out! :)
(Added to 'Media
Freedom')
|
Posted 10/18/07 (By Travis)
Father
delivered baby after partner was turned away from NHS hospital - TWICE
10/18/07
The Daily Mail
But on the day of the birth, she was twice turned away from
the hospital because it was full - forcing her partner to deliver the baby himself at their home.
A spokesman for the hospital said: "The maternity unit from time to time experiences peaks in
demand and during the last 12 months we have seen an increase in births at the Princess of Wales
Hospital.
"We can confirm that it was necessary for this unit to close recently for a short time to new
maternity admissions due to the unit reaching full capacity."
I wonder if this couple will be reinbursed their tax money taken from them to finance care they did
not receive. Because people are not paying for a service there is no accountability.
Then again, looks like they did ok on their own... :)
(Added to 'British
Healthcare')
|
Posted 10/18/07 (By Travis)
An
interview with Ron Paul about his presidential platform on energy and the environment
10/16/07 Grist.org
A great
articulation of conservative/libertarian philosophy as it deals with the environment. Property
rights (and Federalism, which Paul doesn't mention, but perhaps should have) is a simple and common
sense approach to dealing with these issues.
The only possible
weakness I can see in this general theory, is that if someone was to pollute your property, say
water supply, but then went bankrupt, you’d be stuck with the damages.
I think this is
reflective of the need to tighten bankruptcy laws so that people are accountable for their credit
and the damage they do to others. Actually ‘tightened’ is a misnomer, the current laws should be
repealed to allow contracts to be drawn up between individuals, creditor and lender. Also, people
could buy insurance, both the possible polluter and the individual, sort of like uninsured collision
insurance for the individual and ‘disaster’ insurance for the possible polluter.
On a different
note, here is a great Ron Paul clip
from NBC and Joe Scarborough.
(Added to 'The
environment' and 'Ron Paul 2008')
|
Posted 10/15/07 (By Travis)
A
guest author, 'Maelstrom', has agreed to allow neoperspectives.com to publish an excellent, if
strongly worded, piece on
the nature of conspiracy theories and their theorists. Conspiracies are a somewhat natural consequence of libertarian
type thought, they stem from a distrust of government taken to such an extreme that the distrust and cynicism
become so ingrained in the worldview as to become the most prominent part of it, and are in turn liberally,
pardon the pun, applied to many extraneous facets of life and often expanded to include nongovernmental parties
and private institutions and individuals. Alex Jones, a radio personality, is one individual, who,
although offering unique points of view in some perspectives, frequently errors in this fashion.
For
an extreme example, the 'ultimate conspiracy', if you will, lol, and this one is a hoot, especially
if you have a background in what this guy is spouting about:
Is
Alex Jones an NWO False Flag?
Q
We hear every day on TV about vast right-wing conspiracies and neoconservative cabals and all the
various strings the administration is pulling. And so the question that keeps coming up to me
is, if you guys are so powerful, why in the heck didn't you plant the weapons of mass destruction?
(Laughter.) (Applause.)
SEC. RUMSFELD: (Laughs.) Oh, my. (Laughter.) It's kind
of nice to be out of Washington. (Laughter.)
Two other articles on the 9/11 conspiracy theory:
9/11:
Debunking The Myths / PM examines the evidence and consults the experts to refute the
most persistent conspiracy theories of September 11
March 2005 Popular
Mechanics
I,
Left Gatekeeper / Why the "9/11 Truth" movement
makes the "Left
Behind" sci-fi series read like Shakespeare
10/1/06
Commondreams.org (language warning)
(Added to 'The Conspiracy
Theorists')
|
Posted 10/15/07 (By
Maelstorm)
The Conspiracy
Theorists
10/15/07
Neoperspectives.com
Mr. Jones is one artful conspiracy loon. He is at least an equal opportunity
one who is at least consistent in that he thinks everyone Republicans and Democrats are out to get
him.
Honestly that is the only reasonable stance for someone who chooses to accept
the conspiracy nonsense. The whole of the government at some level right and left would have had to
worked together to pull off something of the magnitude of a 9-11. True conspiracies require so many
co-conspirators that they soon collapse under their own weight of incredulity.
Conspiracies to succeed require an Al Qaeda style commitment. Politicians are
by their very nature not good candidates because they are not very good at keeping their traps shut
and are very self preserving and vainglorious.
They are also quick to back stab each other and exercise leverage against one
another which usually ends up being their downfall. Such type also have a bad habit of writing down
their escapades in diaries and spilling their guts to pretty call girls.
Mr. Jones and his like are right not to trust the government but they are
wrong to believe it capable of genius and cunning that is not evident anyplace within it.
The little kings are too busy wasting money and taking smoke breaks to
conspire to do anything but sneak out early when the tax payer isn’t watching. The great
deceptions are those they make in plain sight. Promising free Health Care, promising to make us
safer, leading us to believe learning requires billions of dollars and teachers paid and trained on
a gold standard, telling us cutting taxes is spending, and that our soldiers are no better than
shock troopers.
I could go on and on at the myths and lies and phony crud that is offered up
on the plate of American politics by the very horrible chefs in Washington. Most are educated
lawyers and that should trouble us only because it should make us truly skeptical of what it means
to be educated. Believing one has special knowledge and attributing a grandness to the buffoons
in Washington that they do not deserve is to confuse a man who is driving drunk with a man who is
trying sincerely to run you down. Those in Washington are drunk with tax payer money and too
busy looking at themselves on TV to conspire to do anything but fall prey to their own weaknesses
and power hungry nature. That it leads to a socialist mommy state is not because great thought has
went into it only that babies are prone to seek what makes them feel safe and those in power wish to
make sure citizens need them to feel safe. They hunger for attention just as their supporters hunger
to be fed and told they really aren’t perverts, baby killers, weak cowards, and lazy dumb asses.
The children of ignorance feed on the comforting breast dripping with pleasant
illusions and snarl and snap at any hand that would take that breast away.
|
Posted 10/15/07 (By Travis)
English
Pull Own Teeth Due To Poor Dental Services
10/15/07 AFP
78 percent of private patients said they were there because they could not find a National Health
Service (NHS) dentist, and only 15 percent because of better treatment.
Overall, six percent of patients had resorted to self-treatment, according to the survey of 5,000
patients in England, which found that one in five had decided against dental work because of the
cost.
Almost half of all dentists -- 45 percent -- said they no longer take NHS patients, while 41 percent
said they had an "excessive" workload. Twenty-nine percent said their clinic had problems
recruiting or retaining dentists.
"These findings indicate that the NHS dental system is letting many patients down very
badly," said Grant.
Readers may recall
previously posted stories on British Dental service see, 1,
2, 3,
4...
(Added to 'British
Healthcare')
|
Posted 10/15/07 (By Travis)
The Ron
Paul Las Vegas Meetup group held two strip drives this weekend, with about 10 cars/trucks and a massive
RV as the kingmaker. Blaring horns, big crowds, flag and sign waving, we were a sight to
behold!:


Interesting
coincidence, we ran across this guy, or he stumbled across us somewhat in his drink, who had never
heard of Ron Paul! The one running for president that is... :)


In other news,
check out what these folks did over the past
weekend. Regardless of one's political persuasion, you gotta give 'em credit, their effort and
diligence is truly a sight to behold.
(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted 10/7/07 (By Travis)
G.M.
Pact Calls for a Push for Healthcare Reform
10/6/07 New York Times
A
G.M. spokeswoman, Michelle Bunker, said the company had not specifically called for a single-payer
health care plan, in which a government program would be created to offer health care benefits.
Corporate welfare at its worse, GM, owing some $52 billion in health
care liabilities to its union members will soon try to force socialized medicine upon the citizens
of the United States.
Boycott American! Buy Japanese! It's the patriotic thing to do. :)
(Added to 'US
Government Health')
|
Posted 10/7/07 (By
Travis)
The
Ron Paul phenomenon
10/7/07 OC Register
The
biggest news to come out of the Ron Paul campaign (www.ronpaul2008.com) last week was that the
campaign raised $5.08 million during the third quarter of this year. <.>
Ron
Paul may be the candidate who breaks through. Whatever happens, his campaign has turned into the
most significant pro-freedom mass movement in modern American history, perhaps in all of our
history.
However, things aren't all peachy, Ron Paul has admitted
to some serious vices, which may make him unfit for higher office. :)
Also, Andrew Roth, over at the Club For Growth has told
me (and given permission to announce here) that they are working on a piece, 'Ron Paul's Record on
Economics Issues', due out in a few weeks time, joining those already in existence on Thompson,
Romney, Giuliani, McCain, Huckbee, and Brownback. These reports offer excellent in depth analysis
from, IMO, the most credible freemarket source in existence.
However, it will be interesting to see how they rate Paul, as he is often difficult to pin down by
traditional methods. How many Congressmen vote against CAFTA and NAFTA because it is 'government
managed trade', not free trade. In other words, if you vote against a 'free trade' bill because it's
not free enough are you counted as having an 'anti free trade' record?
We
shall see, but I very much look forward to seeing their report. I suspect many of their members
would be quite thrilled with a Paul Presidency and are, perhaps, unaware of his exemplary record in
Congress. I mean, forget abolishing the 'death tax', a laudable high priority for the Club For
Growth, let's abolish the entire IRS! :)
(Added to 'Ron Paul 2008'
and 'Club
For Growth; Defending Liberty')
|
Posted 10/2/07 (By Travis)
SOMA
Resolution on FDA approval
This past weekend,
SOMA (Student Osteopathic Medical Organization), representing over 14,000* Medical Students, 15%* of
the total medical students in the United States, passed the following resolution (only the final
'RESOLVED' statement was officially passed, the 'WHEREAS' parts are included here only for
completeness):
Resolution:
Subject: SOMA
Resolution on FDA approval
1) WHEREAS,
New pharmacological advances have resulted in major
2)
3) healthcare advances and
enabled physicians to enhance patient care (4),
4)
5) WHEREAS,
This year the FDA has so far approved only 7 NCE (new
6)
7) chemical
entities), down
31% from last year (1),
8)
9) WHEREAS,
It takes an average of 12-10 years and $400-800 billion
10)
11) to bring a new drug from lab to
marketplace, in large part due to legal
12)
13) and current regulatory compliance (2),
(3),
14)
15) WHEREAS,
Generic drugs take over 20 months for approval,
16)
17) increasing cost and
decreasing
access (6), (7), (8),
18)
19) WHEREAS,
Terminally ill patients are routinely denied opportunity to
20)
21) try new or experimental
drugs and therapies (5), (9), (10), (11),
22)
23) therefore be it;
24)
25) RESOLVED,
SOMA recommend agencies investigate ways to: 1)
24)
25) Review, reform, and hasten the
current regulatory processes regarding
26)
27) the current FDA approval
process for NCE
(new chemical entities). 2)
28)
29) Review, reform, and hasten the current
FDA approval
process for
30)
31) generic brands. 3) Review, reform, and ease the FDA rules
and
32)
33) regulations for entry of properly consenting terminally ill patients into
34)
35) clinical trials.
Specifically, the FDA should not be allowed to prevent a
36)
34) terminally ill, properly
consenting, educated, and fully lucid adult, from
35)
36) undergoing experimental treatment(s).
References
1) http://www.physorg.com/news106639362.html
2) http://www.allp.com/drug_dev.htm
3) http://www.fdareview.org/harm.shtml
4) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml
5) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/health/08cancer.html?ei=5088&en=c7d3700569843106&ex=1344225600&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1186761090-2nuJMDlO7lIWRhEdEr+MJw
6) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/03/AR2006020302598.html
7) http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/421495_3
8) http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2003/503_drug.html
9)http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/05/AR2007070502149.html
10) http://reason.com/news/printer/120763.html
11) http://www.abigail-alliance.org/
This resolution
will be passed onto the pertinent committee(s) at the AOA (American Osteopathic Association), which
represents 52,000 DOs, 5% of the country's physicians, for their review.
(Added to 'FDA
Tyranny' and 'Medical Lobbying')
|
Posted 10/2/07 (By Travis)
Ron Paul raised $1.2 million in the last week of this quarter,
his campaign will release his
total fundraising numbers soon, and those
of the other candidates will roll in shortly. However, there's no question he's on a
roll.
The odds makers have taken note:

Paul
Poses Serious Threat to Hillary Clinton in a General Election Match up
9/27/07 USdaily
This is an
interesting article, as it purports, from a purely political perspective, how Ron Paul's stance on
the war and immigration make him the best choice to beat Hillary.
When I first saw
this article, I'll have to admit I saw it as an interesting but sort of an unlikely possibility,
worthy of nothing more than a abstract intellectual political argument; but now I think present
developments merit it more serious consideration.
The GOP also has to
consider how the +50,000 passionate Ron Paul meetup members, probably numbering some 75-100k by election day
would aid the campaign, plus the piggyback effect on other Republican incumbents. These volunteers
will not be there, at least not in these numbers, for a Fred Thompson or a Mitt Romney.
I've also added
some new Ron Paul pics to the Ron Paul 2008 perm link.
(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted 9/23/07 (By Travis)
Farmers
rediscover allure of tobacco No longer subsidized, crop gains acres in U.S.
9/19/07 Wall Street Journal
Three
years after the federal government stopped subsidizing it, the leafy crop is gaining new popularity
among U.S. farmers. Cheaper U.S. tobacco has become competitive as an export, and China, Russia and
Mexico, where cigarette sales continue to grow, are eager to buy. Since 2005, U.S. tobacco acreage
has risen 20 percent. Fields are now filled with it in places like southern Illinois, which hasn't
grown any substantial amounts since the end of World War I.
What an interesting story, isn't it? Government, even when it tries to
help, even when it steals money from taxpayers, ends up hurting those who ostensibly reap dividends
from its help. The free market helps even the beneficiaries of government largeness, which makes it
all the more puzzling that special interests receive vast sums from their respective membership to
spend lobbying government for funds and 'friendly' regulations, when in the end it ultimately comes back to
bite them. True prosperity will come when individuals reject the claims of their representative
lobbyists and trust in freedom.
Readers may recall in 'Amnesty from Government', it was discussed how baring 'illegals' from
government funds will likely actually be a boon to the illegals and a continued harm on the regular Americans that receive
them. Again, in a sense, the reasoning and logic is opposite of the truth.
I wonder what the 'Republican' Senators of North and South Carolina, big tobacco growing states that
were adamantly against eliminating the government subsidy, think of this development? Or are
they already onto the next pork project?
(Added to 'Farm Subsidies')
|
Posted 9/23/07 (By Travis)
Off
The Record With Don Dumsfeld
9/07 GQ
An
long and interesting interview with Sec Rumsfeld.
(Added to 'The
best of Donald Rumsfeld')
|
Posted 9/16/07 (By Travis)
Keep
'Em Out / Higher education has been oversold
9/13/07 National Review Online
When
we hear that more and more jobs “require” a college degree, that isn’t because most of them
are so technically demanding that an intelligent high school graduate couldn’t learn to do the
work. Rather, what it means is that more employers are using educational credentials as a screening
mechanism. As James Engell and Anthony Dangerfield write in their book Saving Higher Education
in the Age of Money, “the United States has become the most rigidly credentialized society in
the world. A B.A. is required for jobs that by no stretch of imagination need two years of full-time
training, let alone four.”
<.>
Sadly, college education is now generally sold as a stepping stone to good employment rather than as
an intellectually broadening experience. Sometimes it manages to do both, but often it does neither.
Meaningless
High School
9/15/07 Bob Circus
An interesting take on the effect of Public compulsory education on family cohesion and
values.
The
only book by Laura Ingalls Wilder I've read is Farmer Boy, her biography of the life
of her husband, Almanzo Wilder, when he was ten years old and growing up on a farm. I was surprised
by his life, which wasn't all that long ago--in the 1860's.
Almanzo had a place and a purpose in the family, and an important one. The functioning of the farm
was very much dependent on him, and Almanzo didn't mind at all. He enjoyed it a great deal. How many
teenagers today can say the same? How many today just live with their families, but don't truly feel
part of them? As for school--ugh.
There was something very interesting about Almanzo's life. He hated school passionately and
apparently only attended a few months at the most in his entire life. Yet he grew up intelligent and
well-read.
So, school, too, is a major part of the problem with teenagers today. Many have little purpose or
meaning in their families, and even less in school. Unfortunately, to borrow a phrase from John
Taylor Gatto, the purpose of government factory schools is indoctrination. That's why it puzzled me
at first why family and school didn't mean that much to me. I especially had no place, or
meaning, or purpose, in school. Indoctrination is not education, and it's always boring and never
has any meaning.
Almanzo had an important place in the family, but no place in school. That's why he hated it. School
meant nothing to him, and it bored him. It isn't any different today. <.>
I've come to the conclusion there is no hope for the public schools. They bore kids, they destroy
their imaginations, they give them no meaning or purpose. I'd shut them down on the spot if I could.
How many kids like school? Almost none. Doesn't that tell people something? <.>
As for families, I do know one thing; the State is the cause of most of their problems.
Interference by public schools, interference in the economy, destruction of neighborhoods and
communities...all of these things are created and exacerbated by the State. Interference by the
State takes away the meaning and purpose of people's lives, and tries to replace it with its
meaning, which is generally bureaucracy, militarization, war and empire.
The State
does a lot of bad things to people. Taking away a true meaning to their lives and replacing it with
false one is one of the worst.
"Some things
are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our
ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the
streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the
rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased,
debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible."
- 6th Court of Appeals Justice Janice Rogers Brown
(Added to 'College')
|
Posted 9/16/07 (By Travis)
Biologists
trying to save endangered trout used wrong fish
9/5/07
Denver Post
A
20-year government effort to restore the population of an endangered native trout in Colorado has
made little progress because biologists have been stocking some of the waterways with the wrong
fish, a new study says.
Whoops! Readers may recall, this is somewhat similar to when the
government was protecting species like the 'tiny
owl' and 'jumping mouse',
which didn't exist.
In 1998, officials projected it would cost $634,000 to bring the greenback to recovery, with the
money coming from a variety of sources. It wasn't clear how much of that has been spent. Figures
for the recovery project before 1998 weren't available.
Other federal agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service, have helped with
the recovery program. An overall cost estimate wasn't available.
In sum, not a great track record of success or even marginal
competence in this project.
University of Colorado professor Andrew Martin, the study's principal investigator, said while the
findings might give the recovery program "black eye," the hope is that biologists and
agencies will move ahead on recovering the species before it goes extinct.
"The more the plans fail, the more the planners plan."
-Ronald Reagan
(Added to 'The
Environment')
|
Posted 9/16/07 (By Travis)
Waverly
DUI suspects free to go after $1000 donations to police
9/9/07 Associated Press
Nearly 100 drunken-driving suspects in this southern Ohio town avoided convictions or jail time last
year after making voluntary $1,000 donations to the police department, county records show.
In third world
countries they call it 'corruption' and 'bribery', in the US we call it a 'donation'. :)
|
Posted 9/16/07 (By Travis)
Smoker
Refused Operation on Broken Ankle [UK National Health]
9/14/07 The Telegraph
"I want to warn other smokers. We have paid our National Insurance stamps all our lives and now
we are being shut out of the NHS."
Stronach
went to U.S. for cancer treatment: report
8/14/07 ctv.ca
Liberal
MP Belinda Stronach, who is battling breast cancer, travelled to California last June for an
operation that was recommended as part of her treatment, says a report.
He said speed was not the reason why she went to California.
Instead, MacEachern said the decision was made because the U.S. hospital was the best place to have
it done due to the type of surgery required.
While it is rare for MPs to seek treatment outside Canada, MacEachern said Stronach was not lacking
confidence in the system.
Stronach, who announced last April she would be leaving politics before the next election, paid for
the surgery in the U.S., reports the Star.
"In fact, Belinda thinks very highly of the Canadian health-care system, and uses it when
needed for herself and her children, as do all Canadians. As well, her family has clearly
demonstrated that support," MacEachern told the Star.
(Added to 'British
HealthCare' and 'Canadian HealthCare' respectively)
|
Posted 9/16/07 (By Travis)
Ron
Paul interview on HealthCare
7/19/07 The Kaiser
Foundation
This
is a great interview touching on a couple key points:
1)
healthcare (along with clothing, housing, jobs etc..) is not a 'right' as to attain these 'rights'
you need to violate the life, liberty, and pursuit of
happiness of another
2)
getting the government out of healthcare
3)
liberalizing practice rights for non physicians
4)
explaining how freedom is good for alternative medicine. Actually, this past weekend
Ron Paul had an event in Utah:
Saturday
evening, he will join a small group of supporters for a $2,000-a-plate dinner where he will address
his Health Freedom initiative, which focuses on expanded access to alternative and homeopathic
medicine and to information on dietary supplements.
5)
illustrating how insurance isn't really insurance, that the Kaiser Foundation's premises about the
unaffordability of insurance are skewed because they don't separate the most common 'social
planning' type of insurance from true 'medical disaster' insurance.
6) promotion of health savings accounts, decreasing the influence of of 3rd party payers, and the gradual weaning of Americans off the dependency of
government programs. Here is a previous
article by Dr. Paul on health savings accounts.
Additionally, the above site is a high tech construction marvel, has 'Ron Paul TV' of highlighted
Ron Paul videos that play continuously. Here was a funny one I ran across.
(Added
to 'Ron Paul 2008', and 'US
government HealthCare')
|
Posted
9/9/07 (By Travis)
SIGNING
UP FOR A REVOLUTION / Ron
Paul supporters going to great lengths to get word out promoting long-shot candidacy of Republican
presidential candidate
9/9/07
Las Vegas Review Journal (front page)
The local Las Vegas Ron Paul meetup group generates some
pretty good press coverage for Ron Paul, even if parts
of the article are a bit bizarre... :)
BTW, Ron Paul will be on the O'Reilly factor tomorrow!
(Added
to 'Ron Paul 2008' and 'Nevada
Politics')
|
Posted
9/9/07 (By Travis)
The
Raw Milk Inspectors Come Calling, Again, at California's Largest Raw-Milk Dairy
9/9/07 The
Complete Patient
From this article is appears that a shutdown and recall was issued after 5 children became ill from
a type of bacteria that this particular farm routinely tests all its milk for. Additionally, it was never
proven the five children were ill due to the milk and even so, the milk in question came from a different farm.
Still, the state came in, tested for different bacteria and found 'subclinical'
levels and shut the place down. The article ends with this quote:
“We are in a place that is politically incorrect…I am in the business of producing good
bacteria…But every opportunity they (government regulators) have they will stick a knife in our
back.”
(Added
to 'Milk,
It Does A Government Good')
|
Posted
9/9/07 (By Travis)
New
OBL Tape: Iraq, Democratic Control
7/9/07 CNSnews
Osama, Tax Cutter?
He also speaks to recent issues grabbing headlines in the United States, referring to "the
reeling of many of you under the burden of interest-related debts, insane taxes and real estate
mortgages; global warming and its woes..."
"To conclude," bin Laden says, "I invite you to embrace Islam." He goes
on to say: "There are no taxes in Islam, but rather there is a limited Zakaat [alms]
totaling 2.5 percent."
Lol, a 2.5% tax rate sounds pretty appealing. But no such caliph of paradise ever existed in
practice; I recall reading that Mullah Omar sat on a sort of throne and dolled out cash to
impoverished supporters for various projects from treasure chests. And what up with the 'not taxes, but
'fees''?
Sounds like Mitt Romney's Massachusetts record... :)
|
Posted
9/6/07 (By Travis)
Patients
suing province over wait times (Canadians flee to US for care)
9/6/07
Toronto Star
An
MRI in May 2005 revealed a tumour in her brain. Her family doctor couldn't expedite appointments
booked with specialists for July 19 and Sept. 19, 2005. As the tumour pressed on her optic nerves,
her vision deteriorated. Afraid to wait any longer, she went to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.
<.>
Worried the tumour might be cancerous, McCreith and his family wanted an MRI. He was given an
appointment date four months later. McCreith went to the U.S. and paid $494.67 (U.S.) for an MRI.
Armed with the scan, he saw his Ontario family doctor, who referred McCreith to a neurologist. He
was examined on Feb. 8, 2006. He was referred to a neurosurgeon but would have to wait three
months.Unhappy with this, he returned to Buffalo. In early March, during a biopsy, the tumour was
found to be malignant and surgically removed.
(Added to 'Canadian
Healthcare')
|
Posted
9/6/07 (By Travis)
H.
R. 1146 To end membership of the United States in the United Nations.
Some much needed legislation
introduced by Ron Paul.
Ron
Paul Appears on Hannity show After Debate 9-5-07
Abolish the IRS and department of
education he says! :)
Hugh
Hewitt Interviews Ron Paul supporters 2
There are 5-6 of these segments with
various Ron Paul supporters, pretty interesting and passionate group!
(Added to 'Ron Paul
2008')
|
Posted 9/3/07 (By Travis)
Man
gets jail time for home improvement projects (no permits)
8/27/07
Daily Breeze
He built a fence, a retaining wall, a patio and a few cement
columns to decorate his driveway and now Francisco Linares is going to jail for it.
Little
League baseball practice field under fire for lack of permit
8/28/07
San Francisco Chronicle
A
man built a baseball field for his 11-year-old son and his son's Little League team, but this is not
some fairy tale where the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson emerges from a cornfield to join the game.
This is Danville, not Iowa. Someone did arrive to check out the Field of Dreams, but it was a city
building inspector.
|
Posted 9/3/07 (By Travis)
Thirty-day
plan for a smaller government (Required Reading)
8/30/07
SmallGovTimes.com
DAY ONE: The
federal income tax is abolished and April 15th is declared a national holiday. The 40% reduction in
federal revenues is matched by a 40% cut in spending. The budget is still almost twice as big as
Jimmy Carter's.
DAY TWO: All other federal taxes are abolished, including the corporate income tax, the capital
gains tax, the gasoline tax, "sin" taxes, excise taxes, etc. Businesses boom, and the few
legitimate federal functions are funded with an inexpensive head tax. People who choose not to vote
need not pay it. (Note: this was a mainstream view in the 19th century.)
DAY THREE: The federal government sells all its land, freeing up tens of millions of acres for
development, mining, farming, forestry, oil drilling, private parks, etc. The government uses the
revenue to pay off the national debt and other liabilities.
DAY FOUR: The minimum wage is reduced to zero, creating jobs for ex-federal bureaucrats at their
market wage. All pro-union laws and regulations are scrapped. The jobless rate falls dramatically.
DAY FIVE: The Bureau of Labor Statistics, like the rest of the Labor Department, is sent to that big
hiring hall in the sky. Without detailed economic statistics, future economic planners will be blind
and deaf.
DAY SIX: The Department of Commerce is abolished. Big business has to make its own way in the world,
without subsidies and privileges at the expense of its competitors and customers.
DAY SEVEN: The plug is pulled on the Department of Energy. Oil and gas prices plummet.
DAY EIGHT: All regulatory agencies, from the Interstate Commerce Commission to the Federal Trade
Commission, are deep-sixed. Competition is legalized.
DAY NINE: HUD is squashed like a bug. There's a building boom in cheap, private, apartments.
DAY TEN: The interstate highways reopen as private businesses. Road entrepreneurs price travel
according to consumer demand. Using modern technology, drivers get bills once a month. Credit risks
– and drunks and dangerous drivers – aren't allowed on the road. Non-drivers no longer subsidize
car owners.
DAY ELEVEN: Government welfare is wiped out. Bums work or starve. The deserving poor find a
cornucopia of private services designed to make them independent. Private charity explodes, as the
American people, already the most generous in the world, find their incomes almost doubled, thanks
to the tax cuts.
DAY TWELVE: The Federal Reserve closes its open-market operations and stops protecting the banking
industry from competition. But banks can now engage in all the non-bank financial activities
previously forbidden to them. The business cycle, which is caused by monetary expansion through the
credit markets, is liquidated.
DAY THIRTEEN: Federal deposit insurance is scrapped. All insured deposits are redeemed from federal
assets, which include the personal assets of high-level government employees. The threat of bank
runs forces banks to keep 100% reserves for their demand deposits, and prudent reserves on all other
accounts. There are no more inherently bankrupt banks propped up by the government, at taxpayer
expense, and no more bail-outs.
DAY FOURTEEN: The shaky fiat dollar is defined in terms of gold, with the ratio determined by
dividing the government's gold stock by all existing dollars on that day.
DAY FIFTEEN: The federal government sells National and Dulles airports to the highest bidder, and
stops all subsidies to other socialist airports around the country. All constraints on airline
prices and service cease. It costs more to fly during peak hours than off-peak, but overall, air
travel drops in price.
DAY SIXTEEN: All government regulations that create and sustain cartels are abolished, including
those for the post office, telephones, television, radio, and cable TV. Prices plummet, and a host
of new and unforeseen services becomes available.
DAY SEVENTEEN: Centrally planned agriculture, as imposed by Hoover and Roosevelt, is repealed: there
are no more subsidies, payments-in-kind, marketing orders, low-interest loans, etc. Farm prices
drop. Entrepreneurial farmers get rich. Welfare farmers go into another line of work. The poor eat
like kings.
DAY EIGHTEEN: The Justice Department shutters its anti-trust division. Companies, big and small, are
free to merge – up, down, or sideways. Stockholders can buy any other company, or sell their stock
to anyone else. Marginal producers can no longer battle their competitors with bureaucratic weapons.
DAY NINETEEN: The Department of Education flunks the constitutionality test, and is kicked out.
Private charities set up remedial reading and writing programs for the former bureaucrats. Federally
subsidized sex education and other anti-family programs go out of business. Local school districts
become responsive to parents or close, pressured by a fast-growing private school sector (which many
more parents can now afford).
DAY TWENTY: All federal monuments are sold, in some cases to non-profit groups based on the Mt.
Vernon Ladies Association, which owns and runs George Washington's home. The VFW buys the Vietnam
memorial. There is much bidding for the Jefferson and Washington monuments. Nobody wants FDR's, so
it's torn down and the land sold to a farmer. (With the federal government cut back to its
constitutional size, much of Washington reverts to productive uses like agriculture, as in late 18th
century.)
DAY TWENTY-ONE: The computerized financial and political dossier maintained by the government on
every American is erased. The public wanders through the federal offices to make sure, in a reprise
of the East Berliners' visits to Stasi headquarters.
DAY TWENTY-TWO: Equal rights are granted to all Americans, even members of non-victim groups. There
is no affirmative action, no quotas, no set-asides, no public accommodations laws. Private property
and freedom of association are fully restored.
DAY TWENTY-THREE: The EPA is cleaned out, with all "clean air" and similar big-government
laws repealed. Ten thousand lawyers leap from their balconies. Private property is established in
air and water. Americans harmed by pollution are free to sue the polluters, who are no longer
protected by the federal government.
DAY TWENTY-FOUR: Americans are given complete freedom of contract, restoring rationality to
malpractice and product liability law.
DAY TWENTY-FIVE: Government scrambles for more assets to sell (i.e., the National Zoo, also known as
Washington, D.C.) to pay off the liabilities of the privatized Social Security system.
DAY TWENTY-SIX: Porno artists have to earn their own livings, as the National Endowment for the Arts
tries to raise its budget through sidewalk painting sales.
DAY TWENTY-SEVEN: Foreign aid is outlawed as unconstitutional, unjust, and un-economic. Foreign
politicians have to steal their own money. The World Bank, IMF, and United Nations close their
super-luxurious doors.
DAY TWENTY-EIGHT: The American people are given the unrestricted right to keep and bear arms.
DAY TWENTY-NINE: The Defense Department is reoriented towards defense. American troops come home
from all around the world. We adopt a policy of armed neutrality, remembering the Founding Fathers'
teaching that we could not have an empire abroad and a constitutional republic at home.
DAY THIRTY: All tariffs, quotas, and trade agreements are put through the shredder. Americans can
trade with anyone in the world, without barriers or subsidies. Japanese car prices drop an immediate
25%.
In just 30 exhilarating days, we have established the outlines of free market. Radical? Maybe so.
Me, I can't wait until Month Two.
(Added to 'Required
Reading')
|
Posted 8/30/07 (By Travis)
The
Big Easy's Billion Dollar Boondoggle (Required Reading)
8/30/07
Townhall.com (Larry Kudow)
All divvied up, that $127 billion would come to $425,000 per person!
This is an outrage. The entire GDP of the state of
Louisiana is only $141 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. So the cash spent
there nearly matches the entire state gross GDP. That's simply unbelievable. And to make matters
worse, by all accounts New Orleans ain't even fixed!
You might be asking: Where in the hell did all this
money go?
Meanwhile, according to an article by Nicole Gelinas at the Manhattan Institute, New Orleans has
earned the distinct honor of becoming the murder capital of the world. The murder rate is 40 percent
higher than before Katrina, and twice as high as other dangerous cities like Detroit, Newark, N.J.,
and Washington, D.C.
Think of this: The idea of using federal money to rebuild cities is the quintessential liberal
vision. And given the dreadful results in New Orleans, we can say that the government's $127 billion
check represents the quintessential failure of that liberal vision.
I suppose the current Bush administration would like to label this "compassionate
conservatism." But guess what? That failed, too.
|
Posted 8/30/07 (By Travis)
Bringing
Politics Back to the People - The Do it Yourself Campaign of Ron Paul
8/28/07 American Chronicle (Sean
Scallon)
Article posted in full:
In 1964, just before the New Hampshire primary, an
average Joe named Paul Grindle didn’t particularly care for the choice of candidates running for
the Republican nomination for President.
So he decided to run his own candidate for president.
With the help of a few friends and using the most
sophisticated marketing techniques at the time, Grindle created a boomlet for Henry Cabot Lodge,
former Massachusetts U.S. Senator, 1960 GOP Vice-Presidential candidate and then the U.S. ambassador
to South Vietnam. Lodge wasn’t running for anything, his name wasn’t even on the New Hampshire
ballot. Grindle and his friends mailed out postcards to New Hampshire Republicans to find out if
there was support for Lodge which they found out there was. Then they mailed out fliers for Lodge,
letters for Lodge and pamphlets demonstrating how to write Lodge’s name on the ballot. They even
opened a headquarters for him in Concord.
All that postage spent for eventually paid off. Lodge
won the New Hampshire Primary with a write-in vote, beating out that year’s eventual GOP nominee
Barry Goldwater and former Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller despite all their money, all their TV
ads and vast campaign apparatuses deployed in the Granite State.
Of course it helped Grindle that so many New Hampshire
Republicans wanted someone other than Rockefeller and Goldwater, he just simply provided another
candidate. But Grindle’s effort also goes to show that politics does not have to be “game”
played only by a few professionals, or the hacks or even the wealthy. Sometimes, even the “average
Joe” can play too if they have the knowledge, the gumption and a little luck.
It’s that same “do-it-yourself” spirit that
Grindle showed 43 years ago that’s a part of Congressman Ron Paul’s run for the White House
today.
Forget the all internet activity, You Tube videos, or
Facebook pages for a moment and focus on meat-and-potatoes politicking. Out of all the candidates
running for President in 2008, who among them has supporters willing to hang signs on freeway
overpasses, to stand with signs outside events whatever the weather, who will volunteer their time
to make phone calls or write letters to voters or do lit drops as well? Who among the candidates has
supporters willing to pay for advertising in newspapers and radio out of their own pocket or are
willing to write scripts for cable TV ads? Who among the candidates has supporters so dedicated that
they attend his rallies thousands of miles from home?
The Ron Paul campaign isn’t spending a lot of money
right now because they don’t have to. The spending time, money and talent coming from Ron Paul
supporters across the country is cash one cannot measure but has become important to the credibility
of the campaign. You cannot write off Ron Paul because he has thousands of supporters in all 50
states willing to do things on their own initiative while other campaigns simply spend money on TV
ads or give handouts to voters like free bus trips, straw poll tickets and meals. Indeed, former
Massachusetts Governor Willard Romney’s campaign has become a literal welfare agency in order to
win votes.
Ron Paul supporters don’t need handouts to vote for
him at local straw poll. They don’t need orders from the central campaign office either. Much of
what is done for Ron Paul by his supporters is done upon their own ideas and their own initiative.
For example, two weeks before the Iowa Straw Poll, Ron Paul supporters set up an account through Pay
Pal.com to pool their money to buy advertising on Iowa radio stations and newspapers. One person
made the ads buys, a few enterprising fellows came up with the idea for the ads (including a
beautiful mosaic ad of Ron Paul’s head made up of pictures from thousands of supporters across the
country with the Constitution itself as a backdrop.) and before the official campaign came up with
their own radio and TV ads, Ron Paul’s message was being heard on the airwaves and in the pages.
Plans are afoot to do the same in New Hampshire and Iowa again and to expand to television as well.
All on their own they did this. That’s how devoted they are. As Ron Paul himself said. “I
didn’t start a campaign, I joined a campaign.” Like the Minutemen of Lexington and Concord of
old, Ron Paul supporters do not need “orders” to shoot the Redcoats. All they needed were their
rifles.
Candidates for President aren’t elected in vacuums.
Powerful cultural forces pull them towards the White House. If Ron Paul wins the GOP nomination,
goes on to win the Presidency itself, it will be because American voters begin to admire the plucky
resolve and selfless determination of Ron Paul supporters, who created a campaign virtually from
scratch of their own time, effort and resources and want to capture that spirit for themselves and
recapture it for the nation.
Since 9-11, a whole nation wanted to do something,
anything to help with the war efforts. A whole nation wanted some sense of pulling together and
working together to help a country in distress. They wanted time to go back to World War II, where
food was rationed, gas was rationed, rubber drives organized, scrap drives organized, where people
joined the Red Cross or the USO, or civil defense organizations, all of this done to help with the
war effort in any way possible. To be a slacker back then - if you weren’t fighting or doing
something to help our “boys” overseas – was as bad a form of treason as “loose lips sink
ships.” And yet did we go back after 9-11? No. Care packages, yellow ribbons pen pal letters to
troops and greeters at the airport are important and nice gestures, but one doesn’t get the sense
a whole nation has been mobilized to do so. No, instead, after 9-11, President Bush II told
Americans they ought go out and buy more stuff. No calls for sacrifice were made. War wasn’t
declared in Congress; just a resolution calling for military action was passed. They also pass
resolutions on Capitol Hill to the declare National Pickle Day as well. That’s how much importance
they gave to this cause. No draft of any kind was issued, so the many millions who could fight
instead stayed at home to watch the war on TV while those who did volunteer fought the war in their
stead. Or when things weren’t going well, they could ignore what was happening overseas completely
and go back to whatever it was they were doing on Sept. 10, 2001 as if time simply skipped over that
day.
People wanted to help. They waited for orders to come
from on high and yet such orders never came. Instead all they saw was a war turning sour because of
the incompetence of the people in charge. Then they saw a great city destroyed by a natural disaster
and saw that same government bumble the aftermath and reconstruction. That made it hard to help
those who needed it and only wasted the energy of those who gave of their time and effort to help
with the clean-up. So where does all that energy go when its not be used? When it’s being left to
dissipate on the sidelines and all that’s left is anger and bitterness at the authorities for
their incompetence and their mismanagement? Well some have decided they aren’t going to wait for
“orders” anymore. Some have decided on their own that they are going try and elect a man they
believe is going to change things for the better. And whether or not Ron Paul could make such
changes if he was elected President or get them through Congress really doesn’t matter when you
think about it. Just getting to that point will show that the nation has recaptured the
do-it-yourself spirit that helped to found the country in the first place.
Many books have been written about how alienated the
average voter is from politics with detailed explanations as to why. Yet all of them miss this
essential point: People feel alienated to something when they believe that nothing they do
concerning it matters because they are removed and remote to it. As politics has become a “game”
played by rich people and slick hustlers and where the game board is a television screen, voters
just watch it all from a distance. They’re no longer a part of the process, just stage props for
photos ops. Once upon a time an “average Joe” could be a precinct captain. He could stuff
mailers or put up signs in his neighborhood working for the political machine or his wife could host
a coffee klatch or baby-sit at campaign headquarters. Now people are paid to do things like this.
Politicians all like to talk about grassroots support but very few campaigns use volunteer labor
like they once did. Once upon a time the presidential campaigns of Barry Goldwater and George
McGovern and Ronald Reagan were made possible by such grassroots support but in this day and age,
only the late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone really had an “army” of average people volunteering
their time for him with their undying loyalty. If more campaigns were as volunteer orientated as Ron
Paul’s, perhaps voters would feel that connection with politics again and would use that untapped
energy for a cause they believed in and one they didn’t need to be “directed” at. And if all
that happened in the future, then Ron Paul’s campaign will be a success well past 2008.
For some examples of this:
Ron
Paul Revolution, Memphis Style
Jacksonville
Paint the Town Ron
In the above videos, 15-30 meetup members worked to cover their respective towns in Ron Paul signs and both
got good local news coverage for it.
These volunteers are growing exponentially at a rate far surpassing the other campaigns:

(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted 8/26/07 (By Travis)
Cancer
Survival Rates Highest in US
8/24/07
Telegraph
England
is on a par with Poland despite the NHS spending three times more on health care. Cancer experts
blamed late diagnosis and long waiting lists.
Experts
push NHS to use US-style cancer care
8/26/07 Telegraph (UK)
LIKE
many other British cancer sufferers before him, Rob Ellert travelled to one of America’s leading
hospitals to give himself a better chance of survival.
Anni Matthews, 53, who is fighting breast cancer, was told by British doctors in February 2003 that
she would be lucky to live until the Christmas of that year. Matthews, a former property company
director, increased her chances of survival by travelling to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in
Boston, Massachu-setts, where her treatment was helped by new “wonder drugs”.
These two stories give us some things to be hopeful about. Despite the fact that the US system
suffers from intensive government interference and regulation, we still have enough of a free market
component to give advantage in certain aspects of medical care.
It also illustrates a misfixiation on certain statistics, such as the number of
US 'uninsured' as many of these European countries have so-called 'free/universal healthcare'.
(Added to 'British
Health Care' and 'US Government Health')
|
Posted 8/25/07 (By Travis)
Three
Generations of America to the Rescue
8/23/08 The Daily Show
Heh heh... pretty
funny and interesting compilation by the daily show. Is government really as incompetent at foreign
policy as it is with other matters? Should we be following the words
of George Washington who warned against entangling alliances and adventurism with the European
powers? Could this be applied today towards the Middle East?:
The nation which indulges toward another an habitual
hatred or an habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its
affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy
in one nation against another disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of
slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable when accidental or trifling occasions of
dispute occur.
So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for
another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of
an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one
the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the
latter without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite
nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the
concessions by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting
jealousy, ill will, and a disposition to retaliate in the parties from whom equal privileges are
withheld; and it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the
favorite nation) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country without odium,
sometimes even with popularity, gilding with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a
commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good the base or foolish
compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation....
Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I
conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly
awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of
republican government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial, else it becomes the
instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it. Excessive
partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to
see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other.
Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the favorite are liable to become suspected and
odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender their
interests.
The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign
nations is, in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection
as possible.
Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have
none or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of
which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to
implicate ourselves by artificial ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics or the ordinary
combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.
Our detached and distant situation invites and enables
us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people, under an efficient government, the period
is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an
attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected;
when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly
hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by
justice, shall counsel.
Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation?
Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any
part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship,
interest, humor, or caprice?
Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But
even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand, neither seeking nor granting
exclusive favors or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying
by gentle means the streams of commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing with powers so disposed,
in order to give trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the
Government to support them, conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances
and mutual opinion will permit, but temporary and liable to be from time to time abandoned or varied
as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view that it is folly in one
nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it must pay with a portion of its
independence for whatever it may accept under that character; that by such acceptance it may place
itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached
with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon
real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride
ought to discard....
|
Posted 8/23/07 (By Travis)
How
Rove Directed Federal Assets for GOP Gains
8/19/07 Washington
Post
The
key point of this article is not that Rove's actions were 'unprecedented', a claim I find highly
unlikely, but the sheer power of the Federal Government and how those excessive powers were and will
be used to
hurt, not help the American people.
Contrast this with:
Political
Power and the Rule of Law (Required Reading)
2/5/07
Ron Paul
|
Posted 8/23/07 (By Travis)
Two
Major Airlines Admit to Price Fixing
8/23/08 Associated
Press
Two
major airlines were fined $300 million apiece Thursday after admitting they conspired to fix prices
on international flights and agreeing to help prosecutors investigate other airlines. British
Airways PLC, Britain's largest airline, and Korean Air Co., South Korea's national carrier, pleaded
guilty to antitrust conspiracy charges. They acknowledged colluding with rivals over cargo rates and
fuel surcharges, which were added to fares in response to rising oil prices. That meant higher costs
for international shippers and passengers. As part of their plea deals, the airlines acknowledged
they colluded with other unidentified companies from 2000 to 2006.
Another anti-trust, monopoly story. By raising the price of tickets these companies are only hurting
their own business in the long term because it decreases the number of passengers and opens
opportunity for other carriers to break into the market for a cheaper deal. The market itself could
easily sort out this so-called 'monopoly' without government coerscion, which only serves to stifle
competition and will, in the long term, raise, not lower, the very ticket prices they seek to
lower.
The largest antitrust fine, $500 million, was against vitamin giant F. Hoffman-La Roche in 1999 in a
price-fixing case.
Lol, 'the vitamin monopoly'; I can't wait to look that one up...
FTC
loses appeal to stop Whole Foods deal: company
8/24/07
Reuters
U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman's 93-page opinion rejected the
government's argument that the deal would be anti-competitive in two dozen markets and hurt
consumers.
The Consumer Federation of America also filed documents with the court saying that the merger would
lead to higher prices and fewer choices for buyers of organic products.
Whole Foods contends that it competes against larger supermarket chains such as Safeway Inc and not
just small, premium stores such as Wild Oats.
Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods operates nearly 200 stores in the United States and Britain, while
Wild Oats of Boulder, Colorado, runs about 110.
Well, this is some good news for Whole Foods and US consumers; despite what our government may feel
is good for us.
The judge also ignored Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's e-mails expressing a desire to crush the
smaller company.
Why should a
company CEO not want to beat its competitors?
|
Posted 8/23/07 (By Travis)
Pork
Buster in Chief
8/23/07 American
Spectator (Stephen Moore)
What
a great article on Senator Tom Coburn.
He
ran into his fellow Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the then powerful chairman of the
Senate Appropriations Committee and chief Senate sponsor of the Alaska Bridge to Nowhere. "He
strolled up to me and said: 'Well, Tom, I hope you're satisfied for helping us lose the
election.'"
evens was
evidently still infuriated by Coburn's nationally publicized crusade against runaway pork-barrel
spending over the past two years. To that, Coburn, never the shrinking violet, replied: "No,
Ted, you lost us the election."
What a gall!
(Added to 'Club
For Growth; Defending Liberty')
|
Posted 8/21/07 (By Travis)
The
Politics of Prohibition
7/31/07 Reason.com
The standard, schoolbook history of alcohol prohibition in the United States goes like this:
Americans in 1920 embarked on a noble experiment to force everyone to give up drinking. Alas,
despite its nobility, this experiment was too naive to work. It soon became clear that people
weren't giving up drinking. Worse, it also became clear that Prohibition fueled mobsters who grew
rich supplying illegal booze. So, recognizing the futility of Prohibition, Americans repealed it in
1934.
This popular belief is completely mistaken.
Despite pleas throughout the 1920s by journalist H.L. Mencken and a tiny handful of other sensible
people to end Prohibition, Congress gave no hint that it would repeal this folly. Prohibition
appeared to be here to stay — until income-tax revenues nose-dived in the early 1930s.
From 1930 to 1931, income-tax revenues fell by 15 percent.
In 1932 they fell another 37 percent; 1932 income-tax revenues were 46 percent lower than just two
years earlier. And by 1933 they were fully 60 percent lower than in 1930.
With no end of the Depression in sight, Washington got anxious for a substitute source of revenue.
That source was liquor sales.
An interesting
opinion stating that government greed, not sympathy to liberty by politicians or changing opinion of
the citizenry finally felled prohibition. Will the WOD (War on Drugs) meet a similar
fate?
(Added to 'Guns
and Crime' and 'Social Conservatism')
|
Posted 8/20/07 (By Travis)
Senator
Clinton Announces Initiative to Address Growing Crisis Facing Subprime Mortgage Holders
3/15/07 Press Release
I didn't realize
the government was so intricately involved in the lending process until reading about all of
Hillary's proposals to 'tinker' and expand current government rules, regulations, policies
etc...
She also talks
about 'predatory lending':
Underscoring
the need to make the rules clear and level the playing field for homebuyers, Senator Clinton
outlined a plan to break down barriers to owning a home and build up protections against unfair and
unscrupulous lending practices.
This is an interesting statement considering it is the lenders that are
going belly up, filling for bankruptcy etc... How can the lenders be 'predatory' when they are the
ones bankrupt?
The conclusions we can draw is are admittedly ideological ones:
1) Reinstating the inalienable right to contract will allow the market to set conditions that will best benefit the 'subprime'
borrower and lender.
2) It is likely the current government interference played a significant or leading role in the
current subprime trouble.
3) Hillary's solutions are the opposite of what is needed.
Another article describes FOUR
other agencies involved:
The
proposed guidance issued by the Federal Reserve and the other four federal agencies that regulate
banks, thrifts and credit unions, comes in increasingly troubled market for subprime mortgage loans.
<.>
In addition to the Fed, the agencies issuing the proposed guidance are the FDIC, the National Credit
Union Administration, and the Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and
Office of Thrift Supervision.
|
Posted 8/16/07 (By Travis)
Chavez
eyes power for life as he rips up constitution
8/17/07 Scottsman.com
Mr
Chavez, 54, plans to overturn the decree of his 1999 constitution which laid out a maximum of two
six-year terms for any president. The new constitution calls for seven-year terms with indefinite
re-election.
The new constitution will fix the working week at no more than 36 hours. The Central Bank will also
lose any vestige of independence, simply becoming the presidential piggy bank.
(Added to 'Chavez')
|
Posted 8/16/07 (By Travis)
Fast
Passport Service Gets Slower
8/16/07
Associated Press
People
can expect to wait about three weeks for expedited service, and the government indicated Thursday
they should get used to it. A regular application now takes 10 weeks to 12 weeks.
It will cost nearly $1 billion over three years to handle the surge in applications created by
post-Sept. 11 security rules for travel.
Pentagon
Paid $998,798 to Ship Two 19-Cent Washers
8/16/07
Bloomburg.com
The
company also billed and was paid $455,009 to ship three machine screws costing $1.31 each to Marines
in Habbaniyah, Iraq, and $293,451 to ship an 89-cent split washer to Patrick Air Force Base in Cape
Canaveral, Florida, Pentagon records show.
And our friends on the left would trust the government to run healthcare...
|
Posted 8/16/07 (By Travis)
The
New Privatization
States and cities are selling their roads, bridges, and airports for eye-popping sums.
|
Porter's Score on the RePORK Card
8/14/07 Club For
Growth Press Release
Porter’s Score on RePORK Card Speaks for Itself—And it’s Not Pretty
Washington – Yesterday, Republican Rep. Jon Porter (NV-3) defended his record of
fiscal responsibility despite scoring a pathetic 10% on the Club for Growth’s 2007 RePORK Card.
Fiscal responsibility, my foot.
“Porter’s staff claimed the RePORK Card is ‘misleading,’ but the Club for Growth’s
RePORK Card speaks for itself,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “Either you stand
for American taxpayers by voting against pork projects, or you stand for parochial special
interests. With a score of 10% on the 2007 RePORK Card, Jon Porter backed up the special interests
90% of the time. Porter also scored a humiliating 26% last year, voting for only 5 of Jeff
Flake’s 19 anti-pork amendments. If anything, Jon Porter is sinking further into the pit of
fiscal recklessness with each passing year.”
The RePORK Card documents all fifty anti-pork votes during the 2007 appropriations process.
Over the course of this process, Jon Porter voted to keep such outrageous pork projects as:
-
$34,000,000 for the Alaska Native Education Equity program and other programs (RC #654,
07/18/07)
-
$300,000 for the On Location Entertainment Industry Craft and Technician Training project at
West Los Angeles College in Culver City, CA (RC #667, 07/18/07)
-
$150,000 for the American Ballet Theatre in New York City for educational activities (RC
#668, 07/18/07)
-
$150,000 for the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, S.C. (RC #669, 07/18/07)
-
$100,000 for the Kansas Regional Prisons Museum in Lansing, Kansan (RC #670, 07/18/07)
-
Bars funding of $2,000,000 for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City
College of New York in New York City (RC #678, 07/19/07).
-
$50,000 for the National Mule and Packers Museum in Woodlake, CA (RC #700, 07/24/07)
Thanks Congressmen Porter for spending Nevada tax dollars on the above projects and much much
more...
(Added to 'Nevada
Politics')
|
Posted 8/12/07 (By Travis)
Daughter
Dies while waiting for a Scan
8/8/07 Norwhich Evening
News
A
woman who had complained to her GP of severe headaches for almost a year collapsed and died of an
undiagnosed brain tumour.
Jennifer Bell, 22, had been told she was suffering from stress but after months of illness had
finally been referred to a neurologist.
She then faced a 13-week wait before a 'relatively urgent' MRI scan could be carried out.
Three days before the longawaited appointment she collapsed at home and died later in hospital.
Yesterday at an inquest in Norwich, Coroner William Armstrong agreed that an early scan would have
led to much faster intervention.
As
far as I know, there is no such thing as a '13 week wait' for an MRI anywhere in the United States.
Would this patient have survived if she had been in the United States? We don't know the answer; but
it is likely she would have been diagnosed earlier... even if she didn't have insurance.
(Added to 'British
Healthcare')
|
Posted 8/10/07 (By Travis)
My Rep, Rep John Porter (R, NV), doesn't get high marks at
all on his porkbarreling record (compiled
by the Club For Growth).. No surprise to us!
| Porter (R-NV-3) |
10% |
5 / 50 |
(Added to 'Nevada
Politics')
|
Posted 8/10/07 (By Travis)
Judge
rules it's too hot to play
8/10/07 Memphis Commerical Appeal
In a move with wide-ranging implications, a North Mississippi judge Thursday banned outdoor school
activities in DeSoto and five other counties in his district because of the searing heat.
"It is our duty to protect the minors from harm when at all possible," Lundy said in his
two-page order banning outdoor activities between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. "We protect them from
others as well as from themselves."
"I think the judge needs to stay out of the school business," said Sammy Higdon,
superintendent of the Water Valley School District in Yalobusha County.
"Without looking it up, I couldn't guarantee that it's unprecedented," Rychlak said,
"but it certainly sounds unusual. Judges are supposed to handle cases and controversies, but
not legislate.
A related
story.
|
Posted 8/10/07 (By Travis)
Court
Rejects the Right to Use Drugs Being Tested
8/8/07 New York Times
The 8-to-2 decision by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit came in a closely
watched and emotional case that pitted desperate patients willing to try unproven, even risky,
therapies against those arguing that drugs should be proved safe and effective before they are
made available.
The decision preserves the current regulatory system. If it had gone the other way “it would
have undermined the entire drug approval process,” said William B. Schultz, a former deputy
commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, who wrote an amicus brief arguing against the
early access to drugs.
If only we could
be so lucky...
In
a dissent, Judge Judith W. Rogers wrote that it was “startling” that the “right to try to
save one’s life is left out in the cold,” not protected by the due process clause of the
Constitution, “despite its textual anchor in the right to life.”
Remember that even in the 'land of the free' you are not allowed to try to save your own life, even
when terminally ill. It's simply too dangerous.
(Added to 'FDA
Tyranny')
|
Posted 8/8/07 (By Travis)
Terrorists
Teaming up with Drug Cartels
8/8/07 Washington Times
Islamic extremists embedded in the United States — posing as Hispanic nationals — are partnering
with violent Mexican drug gangs to finance terror networks in the Middle East, according to a Drug
Enforcement Administration report.
WOD (War on Drugs) again
effecting our national security alert.
(Added to 'Guns
and Crime')
|
Posted 8/8/07 (By Travis)
Hawaii
Supreme Court Blocks Voter-Passed Property Tax Relief
8/7/07
Pacific Legal Foundation
But
instead of implementing the charter amendment, Kauai officials sued each other to invalidate it,
with the county attorney representing both sides of the case. The officials claimed they alone had
power to decide property tax issues, and hired private attorneys with over $250,000 of public funds
to litigate the lawsuit.
I don't know what happened here, but it seems beyond bizarre and deserves explanation.
|
Posted 8/8/07 (By Travis)
Worst
Excuse. Ever.
8/6/07 crooksandliars.com
LOL! (language warning) The comments
are funny too...
(Added to 'humor')
|
Posted 8/7/07 (By Travis)
Publix
to offer 7 popular prescription antibiotics for free
8/6/07 South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Fourteen-day
supplies of the seven drugs will be available at all 684 of the chain's pharmacies in five Southern
states.
"It can't be any more affordable than free," Crist said.
With health care costs one of the biggest challenges facing many Americans, Crist
said that the private sector's involvement in the solution was "a great trend."
Wal-Mart last year started offering hundreds of prescription drugs of all different kinds, ranging
from diabetes medication to high blood pressure drugs, for $4.
Kmart, a unit of Sears Holding Corp., began last month offering a 90-day supply of generic drugs for
$15. Now, more than 300 drugs are included in that program.
An example of private industry, the market economy, lowering prescription prices for consumers.
The lower prices and resulting increase in access occurs without government expansion, regulation,
or taxes. This sort of cost cutting would occur in other areas of healthcare except for the
stifling conditions imposed by government.
Yet, the intentions of the Publix company are rooted in the profit motive, while government attempts
to better healthcare are, ostensibly, rooted in what is considered relative purity. It is important
to differentiate between intention and result. Ideally, the two can be matched, once the realization
occurs that the profit motive, the market economy, and freedom can provide the best healthcare to the
poorest of the poor. Once those without financial interest advocate for such policies, when those
advocating positive agendas are not just those with direct business interests, only then will
'compassionate conservative' be correctly defined.
(Added to 'US
Government Healthcare')
|
Posted 8/6/07 (By Travis)
Zimbabwe
passes eavesdrop law
8/3/07
AFP
The government defended the new law saying it was necessary to protect the country from
international terrorism and espionage.
Of course, the true 'terrorists' in Zimbabwe can be found in the government
of Zimbabwe; the very ones who passed the law! Having destroyed and looted the country, they
apparently find themselves needing protection from a
restless, rebellious, and increasingly desperate population.
The lessons here can be extrapolated to a lesser degree here in the US;
whether it is 'terrorism', 'poverty', 'drugs', or 'drug
safety', political aims and power expansion cannot be concocted without a reason.
Upon occasion, the actions and 'fears' of those in power are in
response to legitimate concern, or perhaps even they believe in the cause they are are legislating
in favor of. Yet far too often the result of misplaced perspective is a more powerful and expansive
government which either fails to solve the original problem, makes it worse, or creates new more
critical quandaries from their actions. Only strong action, education, involvement, and discernment by citizens keeps relative
freedom intact.
Speaking of perspective:
Road
kill: Why worry about terrorism more people are dying on our highways
5/8/07 LA
Times
The statistics are
noteworthy in the United States, 245,00 road deaths since 9/11. Unfortunately the author digresses
into promoting more rules and regulations of our already burdensome
transportation system. However, of great interest are some global trends described:
Traffic
deaths are the fastest-rising cause of death in the world. Yet you've heard far more about H5N1
avian influenza, which has killed 192 people worldwide since being detected five years ago,
than about the 6 million people who have died in traffic accidents in the same period. Last year
alone, 1.2 million people were killed on the world's roads, versus about 100,000 dead as a result of
combat. The last decade is believed to be the first time in history that roads posed a greater
danger to human beings than fighting (which is partly a reflection of the decline of war).
Global prosperity is rising fast, which means that global car ownership is
rising fast, and both of those things are good -- but they also mean that global traffic deaths
are rising as well.
Global prosperity is rising, war is receding, and bird flu is a phony baloney myth. The only thing
that can stop this unfettered optimism, this continual exponential expansion of human goodness and
happiness are those who would swing sledgehammers at cracks, and throw stones in glass
cages, seemingly ignorant of the shimmering, spiraling, sparkling structures growing around them.
|
Posted 8/2/07 (By Travis)
Some Ron Paul pictures to be added to 'Ron
Paul 2008'. Some of these are real hoots:






|
Posted 7/29/07 (By Travis)
Wind in the Windy City (SOMA, AOA Chicago Convention)
7/24/07 Neoperspectives.com
So, I thought for this piece I'd mix the personal and the political and write about my trip last
week to Chicago. Retrospective apologies, I started out intending to touch mostly on medical/health
policy, but soon gave into the tempting digression of wading into the cesspool of Chicago
politics.
Upon landing,
literally the first thing I saw, and a rather fitting greeting at that, was:

'Daley' is the notoriously corrupt mayor of Chicago, who runs a tight political machine, using 'big
government' as a tool to maintain power and, like all big city liberal mayors, as a side effect of
such policies and those of his precessors, is hemorrhaging citizens. In fact, Chicago has lost 1/3rd
of its citizens, nearly a million people, since the 1950s.
Case in point, after exiting the airport I became stuck in the following:

The above is a picture of a massive hour long que for taxi cabs.
Now, we've always maintained that shortages are generally caused by government policies; even traffic,
for example, is little more than a shortage of roads. The situation is no different here. Readers
may recall a recently posted story
describing the government policies in New York and how a taxi cab 'license', aka a 'medallion', is
now worth $500,000. Upon inquiry, a Chicago medallion is 'only' worth $80-90k, still
prohibitive enough to discourage any upstart taxi entrepreneurs.
Even more interesting were the responses I received upon discussing this with my fellow waiting citizens. One lady, while somewhat sympathetic to my views,
said she thought getting rid of all
oversight without any regulations was, "sort of extreme and would lead to chaos." I
pondered the meaning of this response as I stood in the disorganized hour long line, with shouting
government workers herding us here and there, blaring horns, irate cab drivers, and exhausted and
exasperated pedestrians.
When I finally got a cab the first thing I noticed was that those responsible for the disaster at
the airport were taking responsibility, by laying out some of the regulations they were burdening
the taxi industry with and attaching their names in bold letters.

But, on second
thought, maybe this wasn't the intention. Perhaps mayor Daley and some government commissioner were
plastering their names all over the cabs in an act of political nepotism, simply to garner
importance and name recognition. Of course, the latter is what was actually occurring and such acts
are rather common and, IMO, one of the worst abuses of power a government official can engage
in.
For a recent
example, we need look no farther than the chair of the powerful house 'ways and means committee'
Charlie Rangel (D, NY). Last week Rep Rangel inserted an earmark for $2 million dollars to create:
...the CHARLES B
RANGEL Center for Public Service. That's right, this left wing Democrat who has probably never
voted against a tax increase in his life wants to appropriate millions in federal tax dollars to go
towards a building named after... HIMSELF!
But wait, there's more.
According to the marketing materials provided by Rangel himself to his colleagues, this center
includes a library to house the Congressman's future papers, a "well furnished office" for
him, and an endowment. There is even mention of a librarian to work on the organizing of his
papers. Apparently this last part is worded thusly in the paperwork: "The Rangel
archivist librarian will organize, index and preserve for posterity all documents, photographs and
memorabilia relating to Congressman Rangel's career."'
In any event, the main reason for my arrival in Chicago was the AOA (American Osteopathic
Association) Convention and SOMA (Student Osteopathic Medical Association) Convention.
I can say it was quite a sight to behold; hundreds of physicians filling a vast hall and voting on
issues effecting the entire profession, the medical field, and patient care. I was happy
to see many, many issues affecting DOs were decided by a private entity, the AOA, rather than the Federal
Government. Unfortunately, the Federal and State governments often usurp or negate the powers of national and state professional associations,
and equally disturbing, in many cases artificially enhance what powers professional organizations do possess by granting said organizations monopolies over sectors of the service economy.
At one meeting we viewed a video describing the AOAs involvement in Chinese health policy, training,
and advice. It described how the Chinese government was 'retraining' thousands of specialists as
'primary care docs', relocating physicians, and pursuing various other what I would characterize as
'top down big government policies'. I was disappointed
to see this; one would hope that the AOA would seize such an opportunity to advise the Chinese away
from such statist approaches and promote a more American market economy approach to medicine. Then again, perhaps the video was misleading, or I was inferring something that was
not implied.
There were also some good discussions regarding residencies and
the rapid growth of the Osteopathic profession. It is projected that the percentage of physicians
who are osteopathic physicians (DOs) will rise from the current 6% to over 20%. It is interesting to note
there is not a shortage of residencies in the lower paying specialties; in fact, in some areas there
is a glut. One speaker even, wisely in my opinion, asked whether certain struggling DO residencies should be
opened to MDs (the reverse is true). It is probably the case that scare residencies
are competitive in large part because they are 'high paying'. But why are they high paying? Is it because the
'public interest and safety' necessitate the attraction of impeccably 'qualified'
applicants, or because the policies/regulations intrinsic to those subspecialty societies make the
residencies scarce, thus raising the salaries of those in the field? In my mind, the latter
possibility is most likely and certainly worthy of investigation, as the negative repercussions reverberate
through the entire profession and indirectly harm patient care by increasing the cost of healthcare,
thereby decreasing access.
Doctors and residents in those subspecialties have little incentive, if we consider the unconscious
permeating feedback loops, to change the present system; in fact, it is medical students who gain
the most from advocating a fix; therefore it seems this issue is one meriting student led
discussion and investigation.
This trip also solidified, in my mind, the usefulness of continued political involvement, even in
organizations which may not share many of your own ideals and values. I was happy to discover there
are many likeminded freedom valuing individuals within the AOA and the various student groups. I
often wondered why people like Rod
Paige and other conservative blacks remained members of the NAACP, or why anyone with
conservative/libertarian values would stay a member of certain unions,
especially teacher's unions. Now I understand why. By
leaving various groups you are, in effect, conceding the ideology of those organizations to beliefs
in conflict with your own. Every group is, to some effect, a product of the opinions of its members,
even if those at the top give into the temptation to abuse or hijack their derived power.
Individuals can make differences and the infusion of the ideals of freedom into organizations by
active individuals more than offsets any financial or personal reluctance implied by membership
support.
To end, a pic with
myself and the newly elected AOA president, Peter B. Ajluni, DO. He seems like a
great guy!

|
Posted 7/26/07 (By Travis)
Dying
for Lifesaving Drugs
Aug/Sep Reason
A
great and thorough article makes the case against the FDA.
"The prerogative asserted by the FDA...impinges upon an individual liberty deeply rooted in our
Nation's history and tradition of self-preservation."
(Added to 'FDA
Tyranny')
|
Posted 7/26/07 (By Travis)
Slapping
down 'The Entire GOP Establishment'
7/18/07 The Nation
Is
there a new Dr. No (Aka Ron Paul) in congress?
The
frontrunner in the primary voting in north Georgia's 10th district, former state Sen. Jim Whitehead,
was the consensus choice of the Republican establishment. Whitehead essentially promised to
be a rubberstamp for the Bush White House and Republican leaders in Congress.
As evidence of his independence, Broun
emphasized a Ron Paul-like committed to "work to restore government according to the
Constitution as our Founders intended." While the Georgia appears to be a more cautious
constitutionalist than the maverick Texas congressman who is making a longshot bid for the party's
presidential nomination in 2008, Broun borrowed one of the most popular of Paul's principles,
promising that if elected he would assess any new legislation by first asking: "Is it
constitutional and a proper function of government?"
No one was going to confuse Broun with a liberal, but he did display a Paul-like
libertarian streak, suggesting that the federal government ought to stay away away from issues gay
marriage and legalizing marijuana -- matters that the candidate suggested are best handled at the
state level.
Even better:
...his past positions (which have included supporting the eradication of
"unconstitutional" programs like Social Security and Medicare)...
And finally:
The pro-free market Club for Growth, which helped knock off at least one pro-spending GOP House
incumbent in a 2006 primary, should feel encouraged by Dr. Broun's victory.
I hope they are licking their chops! :)
|
Posted 7/26/07 (By Travis)
Dem
Eyes Breast Test 'Wait Woe'
7/22/07
New York Post
Mammography
centers in New York City are closing at an "alarming" rate, causing a 171 percent increase
in wait times for the cancer-detecting procedure, according to a study by Rep. Anthony Weiner.
Since 1999, 67 mammography sites, more than a quarter of the city's supply, have closed, the
Brooklyn Democrat found.
The problem is that Medicare pays only $83 for a procedure that costs $125 to provide, said
Weiner, who will introduce legislation to increase payments.
"Increasing access to mammograms clearly saves lives," said Weiner. "Raising the
reimbursement rate will ensure that women have increased options to protect their most important
asset: their health."
Most women wait at least five weeks for a routine mammography appointment, the survey found,
with waits in Brooklyn and The Bronx averaging two months.
Another illustration of the dangers stemming from top down statist
control over medicine. Notice the root solution, removing government from setting the prices in the
first place, is not considered or mentioned in this story. What is the new reimbursement rate Rep
Weiner will choose and how will he choose it? Probably no different than how our friends on the left
set the 'minimum wage', arbitrarily and capriciously.
Better to let market forces set the price; not only is the 'right
value' reached, but wait times will be reduced and access to care increased.
Fix
Medicare - Not Prices
10/10/06 Cato
This last story has been posted before, but goes along nicely with the above mammogram article. Also, I
passed this story out again last week at the recent AOA convention in Chicago, to Dr. Oliva, AOA
Chair of Federal Health Programs, and Dr. Ajluni, president of the AOA (blog post on this coming
soon). I'll add it to 'required reading' as well.
(Added to 'US
Government HealthCare')
|
Posted 7/24/07 (By Travis)
Venezuela's
energy minister says state oil company struggling with 'operational emergency'
7/24/07 International Herald Tribune
The
Paris-based International Energy Agency, which collects and analyzes statistics related to the
international oil market, calculates that oil output in Venezuela — a major supplier of crude to
the United States — has fallen to 2.37 million barrels a day, down from 2.6 million barrels a day
a year ago.
Venezuela claims to be producing more than 3 million barrels a day.
"We hope to reach 3.2 million barrels by the end of the year," Ramirez said.
Who are we to believe? Lol, of course I'm being sarcastic; this is no different than the USSR
claiming double digit economic growth despite retractions, the Chinese under Mao
claimed record production levels even as millions starved, and the Cuban literacy and infant
mortality rates today (the later country's statistics are even enshrined in the UN and taken at
face value by many academics and even ordinary Americans).
The state will lie and deceive even itself.
The truth is that the thieving Venezuelans, having looted the foreign
oil companies, are now staggering under bureaucracy, stifled by broken feedback loops rooted in
economic reality, and strangled by trumpeting political considerations.
(Added to 'Chavez'
and 'Gasoline and Government')
|
Posted 7/24/07 (By Travis)
The
unfairness doctrine
7/24/07 LA Times Editorial
Excellent editorial
by the LA Times.
(Added to 'Media
Freedom')
|
Posted 7/18/07 (By Travis)
California's
Ethanol Follies
7/17/07 Waterbury
Republican-American Editorial
Reprinted in full:
Sometimes,
when a patient has an imaginary illness, the doctor will prescribe harmless pills called placebos.
Somehow, they work: The patient thinks the illness is being treated, and the symptoms diminish or go
away.
In 2005, California took a $17 million placebo for global warming. Specifically, the state bought a
fleet of 1,138 Chevrolet Impalas and Silverado trucks designed to run on E-85, a blend of 85 percent
ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
Trouble is, California has no filling stations that sell E-85. No such stations were scheduled to
open until 2009. In the interim, according to the San Jose Mercury News, the "flex-fuel"
vehicles traveled a collective 10 million miles and burned more than 413,202 gallons of ordinary
gasoline.
It gets even sillier. The Impalas replaced smaller, more fuel-efficient Ford Focuses so that, in the
words of the Mercury News, "the flex-fuel vehicles are actually chugging out more smog and
greenhouse gases than many vehicles in the state's old fleet as much as 2,000 tons
annually."
On orders from
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state's General Services Department has called for bids to open an
ethanol station a few blocks from the state capitol. However, the corn needed for California
refineries to make ethanol has to be hauled in from the Midwest, most of it on diesel-powered trains
or trucks, further negating any clean-air benefit.
Said Severin Borenstein, director of the University of California Energy Institute: "This is
about California politicians wanting to be leaders in alternative energy. They just jump on whatever
is sexy."
Thus, there is a bright side to
California's E-85 vehicle mess. Even if the state overpaid for the vehicles by 10 percent, and even
if the vehicles were 10 percent less fuel efficient, the total cost to the state probably wasn't
much more than $5 million. As bogus remedies for imaginary maladies go, California is getting off
cheaply.
Senators
Not Serious on Ethanol
7/20/07
Three Legged Stool
A couple of days ago, the Club
for Growth blog mentioned that the Senate had rejected an amendment to eliminate the 54 cent
tariff on imported Ethanol. This strikes me as completely disingenuous at a time when the same
Senators are concerned about price gouging for gasoline. Just for fun I used Google Maps to create this
map showing how the Senators from each state voted. Now we have a visual representation of where
the real price gougers live!
You will notice the votes cut across party lines and are more regional;
a pretty cool map!
(Added to 'The
Environment' and 'Gasoline and Government')
|
Posted
7/15/07 (By Travis)
Q.
When is 45 million not 45 million?
6/10/07 JunkYardBlog
An
excellent piece which delivers a more accurate picture of the number of uninsured.
However, unmentioned in this piece are a few other pertinent facts. First, that the starting number
of 45 million is actually the greatest estimate within
a range that goes as low as 19 million. Secondly, a significant percent of the uninsured are
young, wealthy, or both. For example, it is estimated
that 25% of the uninsured make 5 times the poverty limit. Thus, it is likely the graph shown below
actually overstates the true number of chronic underinsured:

In
other health news, Congress can't resist expanding socialized medicine even further. 'For the
children' that is.
22
Million New Smokers Needed: Funding SCHIP Expansion with a Tobacco Tax
7/11/07
Heritage Foundation
(Added
to 'US Government HealthCare')
|
Posted
7/15/07 (By Travis)
He
Has Crowd Appeal
7/15/07 Las Vegas Sun
(Front Page!)
Nice
long article on Ron Paul by the Las Vegas Sun. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend this
rally.
"Nevada is now high on our list. It's a great state. People in Nevada aren't that anxious to
have the government bearing down on them."
(Added
to 'Ron Paul 2008' and 'Nevada
Politics')
|
Posted
7/12/07 (By Travis)
China
executes ex-food safety chief
7/10/07
Ft.com
The execution of Zheng Xiaoyu (China's
equivalent head of the FDA),
62, was confirmed by state media after the Supreme People’s Court approved the death sentence on
charges that he took Rmb6.5m ($855,094) in bribes from eight pharmaceuticals companies. <.>
Mr Zheng was accused of approving the sale of six medicines that turned out to be fakes during his
seven-year tenure as head of the State Food and Drugs Administration. In one case, a gallbladder
medicine containing the wrong ingredients is believed to have led to the deaths of at least five
people.
It
is unclear if the eight companies that gave bribes are related to the six companies that were
selling 'fake' medicines. In fact, a lot of what actually occurred is rather obscured. Where are the
statistics over how many people have died in this regulatory environment 'run amok'?
The state-run news media said the government accused Mr. Cao of approving 277 medicines, six of
which were bogus, in exchange for bribes.
What about the other 271? How many people died because they were not
able to receive these medications in a timely manner due to the apparent necessity to pay off the
criminal (pun intended) government.
Additionally, articles on this subject make no distinction between outright fraud (drugs which
contain different ingredients then they claim) and the approval of medications with, as of yet, unproven
benefit. The few cases of actual deaths reported appear to be due to fraudulent drugs, an important
point because such actions are crimes, with or without an FDA. In
the United States similar 'legal bribes' take place; FDA officials leave to take jobs in
pharmaceutical companies and advisory committees are infiltrated with corruption.
Interestingly, the lessoned and sporadic regulation in China has lead to an explosion of growth, research, and entrepreneurial
activity:
Many
experts say the drug regulators were overwhelmed by a fast-growing industry where entrepreneurs were
eager to make blockbuster profits — quickly. And so new drugs were popping up every day.
For instance, Mr. Wang said that when Mr. Cao served as head of the registration division, it
approved 14,000 drugs in three months, even though the department had only a dozen staff members.
Where is all the death? Where is all the carnage? Such growth and
innovation may not be around for long:
In
2005, for instance, the state-run news media reported that the authorities banned 114,000 unlicensed
drug manufacturers and demolished 461 illegal factories.
While
news reports list only a scattered deaths, for arguments sake let us multiply these by a few orders
of magnitude, and assume all of them are due to lack of regulation rather than fraud. Contrast this
deliberate exaggeration with just one story:
A
jab to halt Alzheimer's could be available within a few years
7/23/07
The Daily Mail
When the jab was given to mice suffering from a disease similar to
Alzheimer's, 80 per cent of the patches of amyloid protein were broken up.
The vaccine is now being tried out on 60 elderly Swedish patients in the early and middle stages of
Alzheimer's. Half of the men and women are being given the vaccine while half are being given dummy
jabs. <.>
The jab, which is now being tested on patients, could be in widespread use in as little as six
years. The most common cause of dementia, Alzheimer's affects around 500,000 Britons, with about
500 new cases diagnosed every day as people live longer.
Surely there are many people suffering from Alzheimer's who would dearly love to try such an
experimental drug. These terminally ill people are prevented from doing so for their own 'safety', by their own government.
Who is the criminal? The company trying to bribe their way through the government in order to
release what might be lifesaving medication, or those fully utilizing the heavy hand of government
to prevent that reality?
Admittedly, this cited Alzheimer's story is probably somewhat sensationalist. But the particular
validity is besides the point. There are many miracle medicines out there, in the pipeline,
in the que, stopped up in the clogs of FDA bureaucracy.
Yet the coverage of these happenings is strangely paradoxical, heroes are labeled criminals, the
villains cloaked as saviors, and the big picture obscured in status quo group think
journalism.
Surely we should be the ones looking to China for answers; not the other way around.
(Added
to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted
7/8/07 (By Travis)
African
Safari on Steroids
5/3/07
YouTube
A pack of lions, a herd of buffalo, crocodiles, and somehow the baby survives!
|
Posted
7/8/07 (By Travis)
Ron
Paul tops McCain with Cash on Hand
7/6/07
ABC news
Though often regarded as a longshot candidate for president, Republican Ron Paul tells ABC News that
he has an impressive $2.4 million in cash on hand after raising an equal amount during the second
quarter, putting him ahead of one-time Republican frontrunner John McCain, who reported this week he
has only $2 million in the bank. <.>
"I think people have underestimated the number of people in this country who are interested in
a freedom message," says the Republican congressman from Texas, who has strong libertarian
leanings.
Here is a site where
you can get free Ron Paul bumper stickers.
(Added
to 'Ron Paul 2008')
|
Posted
7/6/07 (By Travis)
Cancer
Therapy Delay Attacked
7/5/07
MSNBC
A panel of experts recommended in March that the FDA approve Provenge. But in
May, the agency instead asked for more evidence that the vaccine works after specialists, including
Scher and Hussain, questioned its effectiveness.
Scher and Hussain told the FDA that Dendreon Corp., the small Seattle biotech company that developed
Provenge, submitted a study to win approval for the drug that was so small that the apparent benefit
it showed could have been the result of chance.
The FDA's surprise decision unleashed a spasm of criticism by prostate-cancer patients, advocacy
groups and investors in Dendreon. <.>
"The true victims are the prostate-cancer patients whose lives could be saved. We're talking
about terminally ill men, many of whom have no other options." <.>
"Why else would they object?" said Ray Vestal, a Huntsville, Ala., investor. His
"Approve Provenge Now" MySpace page asks, "Hey, Hey, FDA, How Many Dads Did You Kill
Today?"
Isn't it interesting, investors/capitalists and patients on the same side...
(Added
to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted
7/5/07 (By Travis)
Review
finds nutrition education failing
7/4/07
Associated Press
The federal government will spend more than $1 billion this year on nutrition education — fresh
carrot and celery snacks, videos of dancing fruit, hundreds of hours of lively lessons about how
great you will feel if you eat well.
But an Associated Press review of scientific studies examining 57 such programs found mostly
failure. Just four showed any real success in changing the way kids eat — or any promise as
weapons against the growing epidemic of childhood obesity.
"Any person looking at the published literature about these programs would have to conclude
that they are generally not working," said Dr. Tom Baranowski, a pediatrics professor at
Houston's Baylor College of Medicine who studies behavioral nutrition.
The results have been disappointing, to say the least:
- Last year a
major federal pilot program offering free fruits and vegetables to school children showed fifth
graders became less willing to eat them than they had been at the start. Apparently they didn't like
the taste.
Readers may remember...
(Added
to 'New Government Food Pyramid')
|
Posted
6/24/07 (By Travis)
Lone
Star
6/18/07
The American Conservative
His philosophy is simple: “no government intervention, not in personal life, not in economic life,
not in affairs of other nations.”
Free
Is A Relative Term In America - Freedom At Issue
6/24/07
Ocean County Register
Are we really 'free'? Steven Greenhut has a succinct answer.
(Added
to 'Ron Paul 2008')
|
Posted
6/24/07 (By Travis)
Two cool upcoming tech advances:
Blaise
Aguera y Arcas: Jaw-dropping Photosynth demo
May
Ted.com
Pretty sweet video on the photography technology revolution.
Japanese
firm tests brain-controlled toys
6/22/07
AP
In the near future, we will able to do just about anything by just thinking about it.
|
Posted 6/24/07 (By Travis)
Talk
with 'Lone Survivor' Marcus Lutrell
Breitbart
TV
The
Sole Survivor
6/11/07
Washington Post
|
Posted
6/20/07 (By Travis)
Insurance:
Feds, states invite disaster
6/19/07
Waterbury Republican-American
In Mississippi, Attorney General Jim Hood sued to force State Farm Insurance Cos. to pay claims for
damage it explicitly had excluded in its policies. When State Farm tried to pull out of Mississippi,
he sued again, seeking to compel the insurer to continue selling insurance in a market it no longer
wanted to serve.
This is right out of Atlas Shrugged. Government
trying to have it both ways...
|
Posted
6/20/07 (By Travis)
Learning
From Microsoft's Error, Google Builds a Lobbying Engine
6/20/07
Washington Post
When it comes to lobbying, Google does not intend to repeat the mistake that
its rival Microsoft made a decade ago.
Microsoft was so disdainful of the federal government back then that it had almost no presence in
Washington. Largely because of that neglect, the company was blindsided by a government antitrust
lawsuit that cost it dearly.
In
this last sentence the Washington Post appears to admit what we've said here all along. Monopolies
are a myth, defined only by the subjective and entirely political heavy hand of government. A
corporation cannot maintain a monopoly indefinitely unless it is unbelievably efficient. Like a mafia,
government goes after companies only if they don't 'cough
up' and their success makes them targets for both the state and the trial bar.
|
Posted
6/20/07 (By Travis)
Kyle
Smith on Michael Moore's Sicko
6/18/07
New York Post
An interesting rebuttal of Moore's Sicko...
|
Posted
6/16/07 (By Travis)
Political
Positions of Ron Paul
Wikipedia.org
Some people put together a nice little Wiki here... :) It's the best I've seen of where Ron Paul
stands on the issues.
An
Also Ran in the Polls, Ron Paul is Huge on the Web
6/16/07
Washington Post
"I'm for the individual," Paul said. "I'm not for the government."
(Added
to 'Ron Paul 2008')
|
Posted
6/16/07 (By Travis)
What
Do We Do About Trent Lott?
6/15/07
RushLimbaugh.com
This monologue is in reaction to Senator Lott saying,
“Talk radio is running America. We have to deal with that problem.”,
in response to conservative protests over the recent immigration
bill, protests which I, incidentally, happen to think are misdirected. Readers may recall past
stories, grouped together under 'media freedom', detailing how
various leftist politicians threaten free speech in one way or another. Now it appears we have a
Republican who may be doing the same thing! Rush offers a nice rebuttal:
Senator Lott is out there saying, "The problem with this is talk radio,
and it's a problem that's going to have be dealt with." Now, what does that mean? When
I hear a United States senator say that what I do for a living is a "problem" that the
government has to "deal with," you can interpret it any number of ways. He's
either saying, "Well, we're going to have to come up with our own ways to overcome them,"
or, "We're going to just have to wipe them out." What does it mean? The real
question is: How are we going to deal with Trent Lott? What are we going to do about him?
What is talk radio? Talk radio is the greatest democratic forum in the
country today. It is truly diverse. There are more ideas, there's more back and forth,
there's more so-called diversity. There are all kinds of great things to say about it. Talk
radio is the American voter. I bet most of the people who listen to talk radio are voters.
That's what bothers Trent Lott.
So you got a Republican talking about talk radio the way liberals talk about talk radio, which tells
you (it tells me) what the real objective of most elected officials in Washington is anyway. It's to
perpetuate themselves and their jobs and to spend money and maybe not -- well, yes. It would be in
that order. The reason talk radio is "running the country" is because the people who
are voters in this country are listening and involved and are passionate. Talk radio may be
informing you, but it's not making you a robot, and you're taking action on your own, and these
blowhards in Washington are hearing from you, the American people, and that's what bothers them --
and we are being blamed for you being informed, and that should tell you something.
(Added
to 'Media Freedom')
|
Posted
6/14/07 (By Travis)
Ron
Paul on Colbert Report 6/13/07
Lol,
the best is when he talks about what programs he'd abolish and talks about the governments' 'war' on
X, Y, and Z. Apparently UNICF abolition isn't a top priority, hmmmm.. lol.
(Added
to 'Ron Paul 2008')
|
Posted
6/14/07 (By Travis)
Another
Government Shakedown
6/13/07 Cato
Politicians are agitating for a big tax hike on the private equity industry, but the motive for this
talk may involve more than just a desire to have more money to spend. Holman Jenkins of the Wall
Street Journal explains that politicians threaten an industry in order to extract campaign
contributions. The column
suggests this is what spurred the attack on the so-called junk-bond industry in the 1980s.
Another good example would be the assaults on Microsoft and Intel. This does not mean politicians
are like mobsters. Mobsters, after all, don’t add insult to injury by trying to rationalize their
protection rackets as being for the public good.
(Added
to 'A Question of Rhetoric')
|
Posted
6/14/07 (By Travis)
What
Do Saudi Arabia and Tennessee Have in Common?
6/12/07 Freakanomics
Check out these two
maps of the United States. Sometimes we forget how much power we have. Power due to our relative
freedom and liberty.
|
Posted
6/13/07 (By Travis)
Driver
Ticketed For Using Biofuel
6/11/07 Charlotte
Observer
Bob
Teixeira decided it was time to take a stand against U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
So last fall the Charlotte musician and guitar instructor spent $1,200 to convert his 1981 diesel
Mercedes to run on vegetable oil. He bought soybean oil in 5-gallon jugs at Costco, spending about
30 percent more than diesel would cost.
His reward, from a state that heavily promotes alternative fuels: a $1,000 fine last month for not
paying motor fuel taxes. He has been told to expect another $1,000 fine from the federal government.
To legally use veggie oil, state officials told him, he would have to first post a $2,500 bond. <.>
Teixeira's story began near Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 14. As recreational
vehicles streamed in for race week, revenue investigators were checking fuel tanks of diesel RVs for
illegal fuel. The investigators spotted Teixeira's passing bumper
sticker: "Powered by 100% vegetable oil."
This
is similar to the story posted
a few weeks ago. Speaking of which, some interesting developments have occurred in that story:
Veggie
Oil Bill Cruises Through State House Committee
5/18/07 Herald &
Review
Senate
Bill 267 removes the requirements of licensing and posting bond for private users of
vegetable oil. The measure was introduced by state Sen. Frank Watson, R-Greenville. The Senate
passed it 58-0.
I wonder if someone could sell vegetable oil to another person. I'll bet this is a very narrow bill,
which doesn't address the underlying problem of government regulation and interference in the
gasoline and oil market.
During
the hearing, Wetzel provoked laughter from the representatives on the Least Cost Power Procurement
Committee, as he told of his interaction with the tax agency.
A bunch of jokers these state senators... Laughing at what their own policies do to the citizens of
their state.
(Added to 'Gasoline
and Government')
|
Posted
6/11/07 (By Travis)
California's
Spending Spree
6/10/07 Tom McClintock
When
Gov. Schwarzenegger took office in 2003, recalled Gov. Gray Davis was spending $78.3 billion from
the state's general fund. The May 2007 revision "restrains" spending to just less than
$103.8 billion, an increase of 32.6 percent. That's an annual average growth rate of 8.1 percent,
compared to an annual growth rate of 7.1 percent under Davis and 4.8 percent under former Gov. Pete
Wilson.
And to think the Governator says he doesn't have much in common, ideologically, with President Bush... They're
nearly twins! Well, I guess he's right in a sense. Bush has only increased
Federal Spending 25.3% since he took office, so I guess Bush is a bit more
'Conservative'.
|
Posted
6/11/07 (By Travis)
What
Would Happen If the Post Office Had Competition?
6/6/07
LewRockwell.com
(Added to
'The Post Office')
|
6/11/07
(By Travis)
Campaign
Funds for Alaskan; Road Aid to Florida
6/7/07 New
York Times
The road, a stretch of pavement near Fort Myers, Fla., that touches five golf clubs on its way to
the Gulf of Mexico, is the target of a $10 million earmark that appeared mysteriously in a 2006
transportation bill written by Representative Don Young, Republican of Alaska. <.>
His campaign records show that he received more than $40,000 in contributions on one day around that
time, mostly from southwestern Florida developers and builders.
Mr. Young, who last year steered more than $200 million to a so-called bridge to nowhere reaching 80
people on Gravina Island, Alaska, has no constituents in Florida.
The Republican congressman whose district does include Coconut Road says he did not seek the money.
County authorities have twice voted not to use it, until Mr. Young and the district congressman
wrote letters warning that a refusal could jeopardize future federal money for the county.
Some more
quotes from Congressmen Young:
"I'd like to be a little oinker, myself," Mr. Young told a Republican lunch crowd here,
taking mock offense at the suggestion that Ted Stevens, the Alaska Republican who is chairman of the
Senate Appropriations Committee, directs more pork to their state than he does. "If he's the
chief porker, I'm upset." <.>
He said he would support an increase in the federal tax on gasoline — a "user fee," he
called it — to pay for even more projects than were included in the newly passed bill. <.>
"It's not a good way to legislate, although I got a lot of stuff in it," Mr. Young told
The Anchorage Daily News in December. "I mean I stuffed it like a turkey."
Meet Congressmen, I mean Common Criminal, Don Young, and he's not even
a polite felon at that:
When
he was approached near the House floor by a reporter, Mr. Young responded with an obscene gesture.
"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that
there is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress."
-
Mark Twain
(Added
to 'A Question of Rhetoric')
|
Posted
6/7/07 (By Travis)
Ron
Paul on John Stewart's Daily Show 6-4-07
6/4/07 Daily Show
Short,
but sweet.
(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted
6/7/07 (By Travis)
Two items to add to 'Required
Reading'
Hans
Rosling: Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you've ever seen
April 2007 Ted.com
What a great video; great technology presenting the perfect picture of optimism. Indeed, the world is a wonderful place to live
and getting better everyday. Millions of people are being
lifted out of poverty, society is evolving for the better, materially and morally, and
government is getting smaller. This view of
optimism is not a product of ignorant naivety or wishful thinking, it really is the objective truth
of how the world is.
Others hold differing views. Readers may recall the previously posted story:
Julian
Simon's Bet With Paul Ehrlich
overpopulation.com
In
1980, economist |Julian Simon| and biologist Paul
Ehrlich decided to put their money where their predictions were. Ehrlich had been predicting
massive shortages in various natural resources for decades, while Simon claimed natural resources
were infinite.
Simon offered Ehrlich a bet centered on the market price of metals. Ehrlich would pick a quantity of
any five metals he liked worth $1,000 in 1980. If the 1990 price of the metals, after adjusting for
inflation, was more than $1,000 (i.e. the metals became more scarce), Ehrlich would win. If,
however, the value of the metals after inflation was less than $1,000 (i.e. the metals became less
scare), Simon would win. The loser would mail the winner a check for the change in price.
Ehrlich agreed to the bet, and chose copper, chrome, nickel, tin and tungsten.
By 1990, all five metal were below their inflation-adjusted price level in 1980. Ehrlich lost the
bet and sent Simon a check for $576.07.
(Added to 'Required
Reading)
|
Posted
6/4/07 (By Travis)
Is
the African AIDS pandemic a Bluff?
7/2/07 Afrol News
An
interesting article, claiming HIV/AIDS numbers in Africa have been exaggerated and inflated. Many
estimates of HIV/AIDS numbers come from UN and WHO 'computer models'.
Mr
Bennell regrets that "there is virtually no population-based survey data in most of the
high-prevalence countries, including Botswana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Lesotho, Namibia and
Swaziland."
Numerous other statistics contained in the article are used as evidence against the statistics coming out of Africa.
Some people have sounded
alarm bells for years:
Shikwati:
If one were to believe all the horrorifying reports, then all Kenyans should actually be dead by
now. But now, tests are being carried out everywhere, and it turns out that the figures were vastly
exaggerated. It's not three million Kenyans that are infected. All of the sudden, it's only about
one million. Malaria is just as much of a problem, but people rarely talk about that.
SPIEGEL:
And why's that?
Shikwati:
AIDS is big business, maybe Africa's biggest business. There's nothing else that can generate as
much aid money as shocking figures on AIDS. AIDS is a political disease here, and we should be very
skeptical. <.> Millions of dollars
earmarked for the fight against AIDS are still stashed away in Kenyan bank accounts and have not
been spent. Our politicians were overwhelmed with money, and they try to siphon off as much as
possible. The late tyrant of the Central African Republic, Jean Bedel Bokassa, cynically summed it
up by saying: "The French government pays for everything in our country. We ask the French for
money. We get it, and then we waste it."
This
is part of a greater pattern. Any seemingly looming catastrophe, any fearful event, gives government
legitimacy, incentives politicians and media figures, 'morally' and professionally, to 'make a
difference' and moves the public to allow their tax dollars to be confiscated and their freedoms
further limited. These actions stem not of conspiracy, but human nature and misplaced attachment as
to what constitutes the 'greater good', including translocation of ends over means. In reality their
efforts do more harm then good; chasing cracks with sledgehammers only breaks open gushing holes in
the dam.
Bush
Seeks an Extra 30 Billion for AIDS programs
5/20/07 New York Times
President Bush urged Congress on Wednesday to authorize an additional $30 billion to fight AIDS in
Africa over five years, doubling the current U.S. commitment.
|
Posted
6/3/07 (By Travis)
The
Price of Free Airwaves
6/2/07 New York Times (by
Michael Cops, Dem FCC commissioner)
Michael Cops delivers a stinging assault on free speech:
America
lets radio and TV broadcasters use public airwaves worth more than half a trillion dollars for free.
In return, we require that broadcasters serve the public interest: devoting at least some airtime
for worthy programs that inform voters, support local arts and culture and educate our children —
in other words, that aspire to something beyond just minimizing costs and maximizing revenue.
Luckily we're not quite as far along as Venezuela,
or Pakistan... Yet.
(Added to 'Media
Freedom')
|
Posted
6/3/07 (By Travis)
Founder
of Anti-Gang Group Arrested
6/1/07 LA Times
"The founder of an anti-gang organization known as No Guns, once funded ($1.5
million, with $200,000 executive salary!) by the
city of Los Angeles, was arrested Thursday and charged with selling firearms to federal undercover
officers. <.> Marroquin claimed to have helped more than 60 gang members find jobs in labor
unions."
|
Posted
5/28/07 (By Travis)
Faculty
at Two More Campuses discuss Breakway Idea (Required Reading)
5/25/07 LA
Times
Signaling deep discontent and a possible spreading revolt among the city's
public school teachers, faculty at two more Los Angeles high schools met this week with a leading
charter school operator to discuss alliances aimed at breaking away from the school district.
This is truly an amazing phenomena, especially as it attacks a
central plank of the teacher's Unions arguments against charter schools: that private companies
provide sub par working conditions and benefits. Even some proponents of charter schools mistakenly acquiesce
the benefit of unions to teachers, and instead trumpet the gains made by students, which if one
considers, is really the whole point of education anyway... However, as stated in 'A
Charter School Tale', the basic human instincts of justice, fairness, and happiness stemming
from quality, competence, and hard work, are both emotionally and financially beneficial.
The
educators also responded positively to Barr's claims that the group's small central staff allows
more than 90% of state funds to go directly to instruction and higher teacher salaries.
Significantly less money reaches district classrooms, largely because of the L.A. school district's
sizable bureaucracy. <.>
District
officials have been reluctant to grant teachers and principals the freedom to run the schools and
unable to provide the support needed to carry out the transformation smoothly. <.>
For Barr, the interest comes from two very different schools. Taft is a racially diverse school with
middle-of-the-road test scores and a largely veteran, stable faculty. Santee, by contrast, serves
poor minority students in one of the city's most gang-infested neighborhoods. Student performance is
some of the lowest in the district, and at the end of the campus' first year, roughly 40% of its
teachers left — several of them taking jobs at Green Dot schools.
In
Kentucky, Toyota Faces Union Rumblings / Downtrodden UAW Makes New Push
5/26/07 Washington Post
The
United Auto Workers has launched a big new push to organize the plant, trying to capitalize on fears
of lower pay, outsourcing of jobs and on Toyota's treatment of injured workers. <.>
At a new factory being built in Mississippi, Toyota plans to pay workers about $20 an hour in a
region where many people earn $12 to $13 an hour.
If teachers are better off without public school unions, maybe
autoworkers are too, and it just might save
their jobs in the long run...
(Added
to 'A Charter School Tale', 'Unions',
and 'Required Reading'.)
|
Posted
5/27/07 (By Travis)
The
Minneapolis Taxi Cartel
5/27/07 RCP George Will
In
1937, New York City, full of liberalism's itch to regulate everything, knew, just knew, how
many taxicab permits there should be. For 70 years the number (about 12,000) has not been
significantly changed, so rising prices have been powerless to create new suppliers of taxi
services. Under this government-created scarcity, a permit ("medallion") now costs about
$500,000. Most people wealthy enough to buy medallions do not drive cabs, any more than plantation
owners picked cotton. They lease their medallions at exorbitant rates to people like Paucar who
drive, often for less than $15 an hour, for long days.
This article is illustrative because, unlike medicine, education, social work, and all the various
other special interest government granted licensing monopolies/rackets, this one doesn't even make a
pretense of having a 'public interest' or 'public safety' as a cover for its existence. It is purely
political, derived from expansive government, placing a certain class of people above others, little
more than a spin-off from the traditional European aristocracies.
This also explains the various shortages and exhorbient prices seen in the medical field. But it is
important to note the specialists who restrict their own numbers most often do not do so consciously,
it is not a conspiracy, but rather a neglectful and subconscious result of marred feedback
loops.
However, a shortage of taxis is not as harmful as a shortage of doctors, sort of paradoxic
considering our friends on the left (and right) deem medicine 'too important' to be left to market
forces:
Boston
Found to Endure Longest Wait For Doctors
5/4/2004 Boston Globe
The Texas-based consulting firm Merritt, Hawkins & Associates surveyed 1,062 physician
specialists’ offices in 15 major cities and found Boston patients wait longest for
appointments. The study, released this week, found that new patients in Boston wait an average 37
days to see a cardiologist, 45 days to see an obstetrician-gynecologist, and 50 days to see a
dermatologist — the longest waits of the 15 cities. Patients schedule appointments with an
orthopedic surgeon in Boston 24 days in advance on average, the second longest delay after Los
Angeles, where patients wait 43 days.
|
Posted
5/26/07 (By Travis)
Federal
Gas Taxes Fund Seatbelt Roadblocks
5/23/07
The Newspaper.com
More
than $30 million in federal gas tax funding is being spent setting up roadblocks to ticket motorists
who neglect or choose not to wear a seatbelt.
More than $30 million in federal gas tax dollars will be spent between now and June 3 to encourage
local and state police to set up ticketing roadblocks under a program called "Click it or
Ticket."
Given all the apparent angst over high gas prices, as well as the fact that somewhere around 5 times
as much 'tax' is taken out of the price of gasoline as is 'profit', we need to wonder why there is
no outcry over this program.
But, more disturbingly than this, more and more Federal money is being
shuttled to states for all kinds of various programs. States are encouraged to socialize their
healthcare; for example Massachusetts received millions in matching federal funds. This Cato
Institute article documents more
examples.
Of course, there is the humorous ending:
The ticketing program's kick-off met with a rough start when reporters filmed President George W.
Bush driving his truck on his private property in Texas without a seatbelt.
Corzine anyone? :)
(Added
to 'Gasoline and Government')
|
Posted
5/23/07 (By Travis)
House
Passes Gasoline Gouging Bill
5/23/07 LA Times
What
does it reflect on the times when 2/3rds of the Congress believes price gouging exists? High prices
are the best incentive to encourage more of a product to enter the market. 1970s style gas shortages
may be around the corner if we keep heading down this path.
Opposing the measure, the National Petrochemical and Refiners Assn. warned that every link in the
chain of distribution -- right down to the local gas station owner -- would be in what it called a
Catch-22 of having to set a price for its gasoline and hope that no one deemed it "excessively
unconscionable."
But, of course, none of this matters as long as politicians are seen doing 'something'.
"I
was at a funeral Saturday, and when the monsignor greeted me, he said, 'My God, Bart, you have to do
something about these gas prices!' " said Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chief sponsor of the
anti-gouging bill.
Rep.
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) told her colleagues: "I can't go home, and I imagine none of you
can, without saying we tried to do something."
With a bit of creative context, one can almost hear the National Petrochemical and Refiners Assn. echoing
Fredrick Douglas:
"I have had but one answer from the beginning. Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has
already played the mischief with us! Do nothing with us!"
(Added to 'Gasoline
and Government')
|
Posted
5/19/07 (By Travis)
Enviro
Nonsense: So how did it become required classroom viewing?
5/19/07 National Post
(Canada)
First
it was his world history class. Then he saw it in his economics class. And his world issues class.
And his environment class. In total, 18-year-old McKenzie, a Northern Ontario high schooler, says he
has had the film An Inconvenient Truth shown to him by four different teachers this year.
<.>
In England, the government has made the movie part of the public curriculum. In Spain, the
government is buying copies of the movie for all of its schools. In Australia, private donors are
buying copies for schools.
The point is not whether this movie or this opinion is accurate or not, although from what I've read
there is much in it which is very inaccurate, but whether entire populations should be 'educated' en
mass shrouded in such conformity. Especially over the opposition of parents.
Another example:
Students at Roger Williams University in Briston, Rhode
Island, were forced to watch Al Gore’s global warming schlockumentary if they wished to graduate.
(Added
to 'A Charter School Tale' and 'The
Environment'.)
|
Posted
5/19/07 (By Travis)
Ron
Paul Builds Campaign on the Web
5/18/07
CNSnews.com
This article further describes Ron Paul's passionate and internet savvy supporters and the growing
momentum of his campaign.
The past presidential debate was quite interesting, highlighted by an exchange between Paul and
Guliani over the war in Iraq. I'd have to say, Rep Paul made some good points, even if he was
somewhat inarticulate in focus. He came in second
place via a text message vote count of over 40,000.
A while back I read ‘The Illusion of Victory', recommended by Pat Buchannon, whom I not a fan of
by the way, but it was still interesting as it purports
that we are all worse off for going into World War I and that we had no business going over there. I
wasn’t a die hard convert after reading it, although I respected the mans opinion, but parts
of it are increasingly making retroactive sense.
The following was the best piece I could find summing up this part of debate:
It's
Ok if Ron Paul was Right
5/8/07
TSC daily
(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted
5/15/07 (By Travis)
Palm
Beach County man arrested for making false teeth without a license
4/25/07
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Ask his neighbors and they'll tell you Roger Bean was the Robin Hood of
dentures.
He did fittings and made false teeth for older people who couldn't afford a
dentist, and didn't charge them, accepting only donations.
But ask sheriff's deputies who arrested Bean on Tuesday, and they'll tell you he was
practicing dentistry without a state license, which is a felony. He did have a certificate from
Texas for denturistry, though it is unclear whether it was authentic. But even that doesn't matter,
because the practice does not exist in Florida, Detective Don Zumpano said.
Denturistry was created to eliminate the dentist -- and a
significant amount of the price -- from the denture business, investigators said. In Florida,
denture work must be done by a dentist.
Bean charged about $200 for a full set of dentures, which usually cost upwards of
$2,000, investigators said.
Ron
St. Mary, 73, head of the neighborhood crime watch, said in his eyes, Bean was not a criminal.
"He's helping the old people who don't have a few dollars," he said. "I think the
world of him."
And so the government racket and sanctioned inefficient monopolies continues... In the name of
'patient safety' professional organizations lobby
government and raise the price of healthcare through the roof. Who is hurt most? The poorest of the
poor...
|
Posted
5/13/07 (By Travis)
Mugabe
Minister Voted to UN post
5/12/07 Washington Times
Zimbabwe
won approval last night to head a key United Nations body charged with promoting economic
progress and environmental protection despite protests from the U.S., European nations and human
rights organizations. <.>
Zimbabwe
has the world's highest inflation rate at over 2,200 percent. Unemployment is estimated at between
80 and 90 percent, and severe food shortages are common in a country once considered southern
Africa's breadbasket.
Besides North Korea, Zimbabwe is the closest thing there is to true communism in the world today. It
has one of the biggest governments in the world, and the worst
property rights, as demonstrated by the starvation occurring there.
Ironic, isn't it, the country which has demonstrated
the most economic ignorance and brought the most misery to its people should head a commission ostensibly promoting the
concept of 'economic development'. But, then
again, since government more often than not accomplishes the opposite of its intentions, why should
we expect better from a group of governments? In fact, we can rest assured the most incomprehensible,
asinine, and counterproductive actions and proposals will emerge from a body consisting of the sums of
the worlds' governments.
The UN so-called 'Human Rights' commission is another good example,
in 2003:
Libya,
under fire for years from human rights activists, was overwhelmingly elected Monday to chair the top
United Nations rights body.
On
5/10/06, coincidentally almost exactly a year ago, I wrote a post describing
some of the other unsavory members of the 'Human Rights' commission:
Russia, China, Cuba, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, identified by New York-based Human Rights Watch as
unworthy of membership on the new UN body, were among those winning seats.
Bear in mind your tax dollars are going to support these and countless other UN shenanigans.
|
Posted
5/13/07 (By Travis)
Cannabis
cash 'funds Islamist terrorism'
5/13/07
Guardian Unlimited
Cannabis smokers are unwittingly funding Islamist extremists linked to terror attacks in Spain,
Morocco and Algeria, according to a joint investigation by the Spanish and French secret services.
The finding will be seized on both by campaigners for a harsher clampdown on cannabis and by those
who argue that legalisation is the only way to end a petty dealing trend that is dragging growing
numbers of teenagers into crime. The investigation by the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia and the
Renseignements Generaux was launched after Spanish police found that the Islamists behind the March
2004 bombings in Madrid bought their explosives from former miners in return for blocks of hashish.
The
same has occurred in Afghanistan:
"...billions of dollars from the sale of opium and its derivative heroin
are bankrolling criminal and terrorist organizations."
Government, whose core reason for existence include protecting the property (lives) and liberty of
its citizens fails on both counts with the 'war on drugs'.
(Added
to 'Guns and Crime' and 'Social
Conservatism')
|
Posted
5/9/07 (By Travis)
ABC
News: The Ron Paul Effect - Boomlet or Savvy Supporters?
5/7/07
ABCnews
Rep.
Ron Paul, R-Texas, who barely registers in public opinion polls of the Republican presidential
field, won last Thursday night's debate.
That was the unmistakable conclusion of the online poll posted by debate sponsor MSNBC, which
registered Paul with higher positive ratings and lower negative numbers than any of the other nine
candidates on the stage.
So are the polls missing a Paul boomlet? Is the famously contrarian ob-gyn -- a libertarian
nicknamed "Dr. No" because of his propensity to vote against anything he believes
contradicts the Constitution's original intent -- poised to surge into contention in the GOP field?
Not likely. What's more likely, based on Web traffic over the past week, is that Paul supporters
have mastered the art of "viral marketing," using Internet savvy and blog postings to
create at least the perception of momentum for his long-shot presidential bid.
After Thursday night's debate, the comment sections of several major news organizations -- including
ABC's -- were inundated with pro-Paul messages.
I think we can safely discount any tomfoolery here. Ron Paul doesn't have the support of any
national party, deep pocketed special interest group, or any significant reserves of cash or
contributions himself. It appears his support truly stems from a relatively small
group of uncoordinated liberty loving persons acting individually. It has always been my cautious
observation that libertarian leaning folks tend to be more active, passionate, and politically
active than your average Liberal or Conservative. If true, there are many interesting theories that
can be constructed as to why this might be so.
(Added
to 'Ron Paul 2008')
|
Posted
5/9/07 (By Travis)
Williams
can't duck campaign pushes
2/9/07
Washington Times
Mr. Williams' own '08
favorite is Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Republican and a 1988 Libertarian Party presidential
nominee, who last month announced the formation of an exploratory committee.
Besides endorsing Paul, Williams gives us this gem:
"I personally
think that if we chose the president of the United States at random, we'd get a better president
than any president since Ronald Reagan," said Mr. Williams.
Which mirrors one of my favorite quotes of all time from William Buckely:
"I'd rather entrust the government of
the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the
faculty of Harvard University."
(Added
to 'Ron Paul 2008')
|
Posted
5/9/07 (By Travis)
Doctors
admit: NHS treatments must be rationed
/ Fertility, multiple sclerosis and migraine therapies at risk
5/6/07
The Observer
In
a major report that will embarrass the government, the British Medical Association will say
fertility treatment, plastic surgery and operations for varicose veins and minor childhood ailments,
such as glue ear, are among a long list of procedures in jeopardy. <.>
Senior
BMA sources say their report recognises the reality that despite record investment in the NHS,
'postcode lotteries' are rife.
'Rationing of health care in one form or another has always existed but has not been discussed.'
Junior
doctors plan to mount legal challenge over job rules
5/6/07
The Gaurdian
All
junior doctors have had to reapply for jobs as part of the system to modernise job applications. But
a row broke out this week after hundreds were denied interviews despite being overqualified.
This system appears to be more run like a union than a market based
system, although perhaps this is not surprising since the government controls healthcare. In unions seniority
generally rules and is directly related to paycheck, regardless of skill or competence.
This is
despite record wait lists and doctor shortages in Britain. Maybe some of these docs will get fed up
with this system and come to the US?
Modernisingmedicalcareers.com, a second website, has polled 1,200 doctors. Early findings indicate
71.5% have considered leaving the NHS as a result of the proposed changes.
(Added
to 'British Healthcare')
|
Posted
5/9/07 (By Travis)
U.S.
Court Rules Against Mormon Who Objects to Taxation
5/7/07
Washington Post
"I don't believe in it, I don't like it, I think it is Satanic,"
Jonathan Hansen said in a telephone interview, adding that to date he has paid his Social Security
taxes. "I belong to a religion that will take care of me. I don't need the Social Security
system and I don't want it."
"It violates my religious beliefs and it violates the teachings of my church as I interpret
them."
Heh heh... maybe this guy is onto something...
|
Posted
5/9/07 (By Travis)
Gas
Station Who Gave Discounts to Elderly Ordered to Raise Prices
5/8/07
Foxnews
Center City BP owner Raj Bhandari has been offering senior citizens a 2 cent per gallon price break
and discount cards that let sports boosters pay 3 cents less per gallon. But the state Department of
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection says those deals violate Wisconsin's Unfair Sales Act,
which requires stations to sell gas for about 9.2 percent more than the wholesale price.
Here is
a similar story from last year, this station was fined $140,000...
(Added to 'Gasoline
and Government')
|
Posted
5/9/07 (By Travis)
Beer
Pong Has Its LeBron James
4/15/07 deadspin
(Added to 'humor')
|
Posted
5/4/07 (By Travis)
The
$67 Million Pants Washington, D.C., Lawyer Sues Dry Cleaners for Lost Trousers
5/2/07 ABCnews
Regardless of who was right or wrong, it is simply the amount which is staggering. In all areas of
law, it is not that persons have not been wronged or deserve compensation, but the sheer payouts given and sought
serve as a blight on society.
|
Posted
5/4/07 (By Travis)
Man
Accused of Running 'Warehouse Bank'
5/2/06
Associated Press
Was a crime committed? Or was an entrepreneur sacked for exposing inefficiencies in the present
system.
|
Posted
4/30/07 (By Travis)
DO
Day on the Hill, Round 2
4/30/07
Neoperspectives.com
We just returned from DO Day on the Hill, an annual convention of Osteopathic students and
physicians who converge on Washington DC to lobby our representatives and become politically
involved in the AOA (American Osteopathic Association), which represents the Osteopathic profession.
This is my second year attending this great event, my post from last year can be found here.
The event began the night before with speeches by AOA lobbyists, including head lobbyist Shawn
Martin, and members of the AOA, including the president elect Dr.
Ajulini. We also heard a fun speech by NV congresswoman Shelly Berkely (D), who, incidentally, is
married to an adjunct professor at our school, Dr. Lehrner a nephrologist, who, if I'm not mistaken,
is a libertarian of sorts. He was the voice of reason at an organ transplant conference I attended
at UNLV where he argued for a market based, contract based approach to solve the organ donor
shortage. In other words, he was the only participant who started with the, in my opinion self
evident, premise that we own our own bodies.
However, I must admit, I was somewhat torn and conflicted during our day of lobbying. The AOA is
quite professional in their approach to lobbying, recommending only to pick a topic/bill(s) you are passionate
about and presenting students a variety of choices. For example, last year I was happy to stick to
discussing malpractice reform (here
is a great interview by Shawn Martin on the subject).
But this year I cannot honestly say I was in great favor of any of the legislation we were supposed
to lobby for, as every law expanded the power, spending, and reach of the Federal Government. In my
view, government is the problem, not the solution to issues in healthcare.
The first bill was to raise/restore physician payments for Medicare. My feelings regarding the expansive,
convoluted, and increasingly insolvent Medicare program is summed up in this
previously posted article.
The second legislative priority was to expand SCHIP,
a federal children's health program. One might wonder why there is even a need for this, since
Medicaid, another questionable massive Federal program, already covers poor children. Well, it turns
out there were folks 'falling through the cracks', a seemingly never ending phenomena when it comes
to expanding or creating government programs. In fact, in New York a family of four with an income
of up to $82,600 is considered 'falling through the cracks'. Another occurrence, also not of great
surprise, was the tendency of states to expand of eligibilities to expand coverage to pregnant women
and adults, and turn the program into an entitlement rather than a grant to the states.
Yet, it appears some form of this will pass as how can a politician be against anything that is 'for the children'? But more importantly, how
will the outcomes of these children's health programs be any different from the outcomes of other welfare
programs? Elimination, well reductions, in programs designed to help populations appeared to fulfill
the very goals of the programs! In other words do anti-poverty programs increase poverty? Although
initially counterintuitive, investigations appear to validate this
conclusion. The reasons are multifaceted, but the negative reinforcement applied when benefits are
taken away may increasingly perpetuate poverty cycles and discourage attempts to escape it.
The last bill (S. 588, H.R. 1093) was a graduate medical education bill, designed to increase the
number of residencies for physicians in states that have caps on federally funded slots and
shortages of residencies. Nevada is one such state. I was most familiar with this subject, having just completed, Medical
Education in Nevada, a Tale of Two Medical Schools, which deals in large part with the residency
situation in Nevada. Nonetheless, despite attractive aspects of this bill, it was still impossible
to evade the conclusion that the GME system is rotten at its core, that government control over
residencies and graduate medical education accomplishes far more harm than good, and is in fact
responsible for the current shortages, that government control harms the quality of GME, and that,
like Medicare and Medicaid, solutions which seem initially attractive to physicians conclude in the
biting of the hand which feeds them. Even if such a program were a benefit to physicians and the
medical community, it would still be difficult to justify the importance of the medical profession
over others and the confiscation of other peoples' property to support such measures.
We were able to meet briefly with our NV senators, Reid and Ensign, and Congressman Porter, but more
importantly, were also able to spend significant time with members of their staff, all of whom were
quite wonderful. We met with Allana Porter (Porter's health policy aide),
Katherine Oh (Reid's health policy aide), and Michelle Spence (Ensign's health policy aide).
Katherine recognized us from our discussions last year, and was more than welcoming, knowledgeable,
and interested in hearing from us. Porter's office and Reid's office supported the general concepts
behind all three of our bills.
However, in my personal opinion, the highlight of the trip was our interactions with the staff of
Senator Ensign. Pamela Thiessen, Legislative Director for Senator Ensign, was a real breath of fresh
air as we discussed the values of a free market health care system and the damage done by government
interference. But our meeting with Michelle was really a pleasure. It is, perhaps, the tendency of
politicians and their staff to say what visiting folks want to hear; certainly the easy road to
reelection. Yet, Michelle asked hard questions of our group; in fact, her objections mirrored my own
on all three bills. Additionally, she was correct in her inference that practice conditions in any
given state are far more important than any shortages, perceived or otherwise, in state residency
spots in attracting physicians. Nationally, less than 50%
of graduating residents stay in the states they trained in. In Pennsylvania the number was less than
8% in
2004!
In fact, the same argument holds true for eliminating state funding to state
medical schools:
For an extreme example, in Haiti it was documented that at one point out of 264 medical doctors who
graduated from a Haitian medical school all but three left the country, mostly for the United
States. (98), (99)
And so the discussions went. However, in all this I attempted to sit in relative silence, out of
courtesy to my fellow students and our hosts at the AOA. Luckily, there did arise some good
opportunity to profess some strong opinions against the FDA, hopefully
without overdosing, so to speak, on relish. :)
In other news we attended SOMA meetings (Student Osteopathic Medical Association representing nearly
all the +13,000* Osteopathic
Medical Students), accomplishing a great deal and were exposed to some very interesting speakers.
Additionally, I had the honor of being selected for a National Board position, 'National
Director of Political Affairs'. This will be very exciting and is also a great
responsibility.
Thus, by the necessity of time constraints, this site, or at least my
contributing part, will increasingly be directed towards health policy.
Of course, before I scare anyone too much :), it goes without saying this position is a nonpartisan
position and my duties will mostly consist of increasing medical student participation and
understanding of the political process, working to increase cooperation with OPAC and the AOA, and
additional projects. Although, of course, I am always more than happy to share any
opinions. :)
(See
perm link for pictures and further links)
|
Posted
4/30/07 (By Travis)
Analysts
Doubt XM-Sirius Merger Will Fly
4/26/07
Washington Post
Continuing on our 3/3/07 post on this subject, it appears our fears were realized and the proposed merger is
now not likely, although at least John Aschcroft and his buds at the NAB got paid. This WP article
accurately describes the reasons and reality of this coming rejection:
"The merger faces a very tough road at the FCC, where the public interest test applied by the
commission is inherently subjective," Moffett said. "In Washington, 'subjective' is
codeword for 'political.' " <.>
The
decline of the companies' stock, analysts say, has less to do with the merits of the merger than
with its prospects. They cited the political climate in Washington, where lawmakers have grilled
Sirius chief executive Mel Karmazin about antitrust concerns during four hearings on Capitol Hill,
as the driving force behind Wall Street's pessimism.
In a perfect world, shouldn't it be the opposite? The executives of these private companies and
freedom loving citizens would instead grill the politicians?
|
Posted
4/30/07 (By Travis)
Ron
Paul, Interview in a Dorm Room
4/26/07 YouTube
Talk
about grassroots! It doesn't get more grassroots than this!
(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted
4/24/07 (By Travis)
Pearls
Before Breakfast /Can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour?
Let's find out.
4/8/07
Washington Post
An
interesting story. In a sort of social experiment the 'greatest' violinist in the world plays some
of the 'greatest' classical and difficult songs ever written on a $3 million dollar violin, in jeans
and a baseball cap in DC subway rush hour. The man is ignored. But it is because
we Americans are 'uncultured' as a people, as this article appears to purport, or is it because the emperor
has no
clothes?
|
Posted
4/22/07 (By Travis)
Restricting
the body, Elevating the mind
4/22/07
Neoperspectives.com
In past posts, we've discussed the importance of
constantly bettering oneself, thus achieving happiness, through careful introspection and monitoring
of the mind, facilitation of positive habits, and meditation.
Along with this, there are also a number of 'exercises', if you will, that in both theory and
practice can aid us in moving in positive directions. These practices are widespread across religious and eclectic
spiritual practices, even if there is tendency in common culture to portray such practices
negatively, or at very least, somewhat eccentric.
The common underlying theme is restricting the body of a want or, more commonly, a need, with
deliberate and spiritual intention. For some examples, there are breathing exercises in Yoga where one
holds the breath until near unconsciousness, fasting, abstinence, or other methods employed by
various religious traditions, such
as the Catholic Lent and Good Friday or the Muslim month of Ramadan.
The goal is that by performing such acts, we gain a deeper understanding of our mind, body, and
consciousness, and more control over our thoughts, thus increasing our happiness. During a fast,
one cannot help but constantly think of food. Of course, this is rather obvious
and predictable; when one abstains from eating, hunger is experienced! Yet, when fasting we do not
give into this hunger. We allow our mind to control our body, for once. But actions are of little
importance and consequence, it is really our thoughts we are after, for it is possible to have a
fair level of control over our actions, but remain in relative cognitive misery.
However, the focus should not be on eliminating our hunger pangs, or any other thoughts of tasty foods
and fasting, but rather on a detached, peaceful,
and happy observation of life itself and of these arising thoughts. There is a very important
difference between 'being hungry' and 'observing that one is hungry'. The latter thought distances
one from the part of the self that thinks "I, I, I, me, me, me" and instead of being a
reactive robot in an environment, like an instinctive mindlessly experiencing animal, you operate at
a higher level, like a thinking choosing human being. You are truly self aware and alive!
If we can achieve even incremental advances on such a powerful biologic thought churning force as
hunger, then might we not in turn find it easier to stay reaction to the many subtle negative emotions
and attachments constantly arising in our everyday experiences?
There exists common misconceptions that the purpose of denying the body is to suffer; some even seek to emulate
the perceived 'suffering' of Christ, Buddha, and/or other spiritual or religious figures. But if
these folks were the great saints or spiritual leaders their followers claim, then 'suffer' is
certainly the one thing they did little of. Men and women of great spiritual caliber exert
overwhelming joy and happiness, exhibit tremendous freedom of will, and exude great discernment and
understanding. They soar on waves of joy, free from attachment to the self and body, and experience negligible
negative emotions, thoughts, and judgments.
These positive feelings and thoughts are to be welcomed and encouraged during a fast. When the mind
strays, gently bring it back. If said thoughts can be generated during a time of great physical upheaval,
against these turbulent underlying biological pulsations, then how much easier will these positive
states be to obtain in our normal mindsets?
So, the point of a fast is joy, not suffering. We do not withhold the breath to feel suffocation,
but to feel lightness, and I don't mean headedness :), even over the protestations of the body.
Yet, isn't it a bit curious, this need to undergo these exercises in order to achieve positive advancement
towards these goals? Can we not undertake these mental evaluations and exercises every day? When we
are contentedly full, why do we reach for that extra bite? Why do we live to eat, live to breath,
live to procreate etc.., instead of the other way around?
Certainly there exists the danger of becoming caught up and fanatical with spiritual exercises,
becoming attached to outside perceptions about ones actions or image, excessive pride in ones
lifestyle or advancements, to
the point that one forgets the root reason for it all. These restrictions we undertake are reflective only of our
weakness and difficulty maintaining sufficient regular motivation. The need to 'fast', for instance, is an admission
one is not making spiritual headway elsewhere.
This humility, hopefully reinforced by the pounding resurgent cravings experienced in restrictive
states, is a necessary requirement for facilitating the continuation of the more important constant
self monitoring, reflection, and improvements, and should continue even after the
body has been denied its wont.
(See also,
'In Pursuit of Happiness')
Posted
4/22/07 (By Travis)
School
row over Al Gore film
4/17/07
Telegraph
Parents
who claim that an award-winning film on climate change is inaccurate and politically motivated are
threatening a legal challenge over the Government's decision to send it to every secondary
school.
The film by Al Gore, the former US vice-president, won an Oscar for the best documentary this
year and Alan Johnson, the Education Secretary, says he wants teachers to use it to stimulate
children into discussing climate change and global warming.
But a group of parents in the New Forest say the circulation of the film by the Government amounts
to political indoctrination and is in breach of the Education Act 2002. Derek Tipp, their
spokesman, has urged Mr Johnson to stop the film being sent out.
In my opinion, Liberalism is the ideology of default, what
most school children emerge with from public school system. This story provides some reason why this
occurs.
(Added
to 'A Charter School Tale')
|
Posted
4/20/07 (By Travis)
Powerball
winner says he is cursed
4/7/07 ABC news
This
is an interesting story regardless, but it also includes an excerpt illustrative of how our legal system
functions:
By
the time Whittaker won the lottery, he said, he was doing $16 million to $17 million worth of work.
He enjoyed years of success with few complaints, but less than a year after winning the lottery
things began to change.
Rob Dunlap, one of Whittaker's many attorneys, said Whittaker has spent at least
$3 million dollars fending off lawsuits.
"I've had over 400 legal claims made on me or one of my companies since
I've won the lottery, " said Whittaker.
When asked why that might happen, Whittaker said it's because "everybody
wants something for nothing."
|
Posted
4/20/07 (By Travis)
Arizona
bars online home price estimator (Zillow)
4/15/07
The Examiner
The Arizona Board of Appraisal issued two cease-and-desist letters to the company that operates the
popular real estate Web site Zillow, saying it needs an appraiser license to offer its "zestimates"
in Arizona.
The site has been criticized by real estate professionals and others concerned about its
accuracy.
Government is again being used by professionals groups to take away rights from citizens.
|
Posted
4/20/07 (By Travis)
One
tough beauty Queen
4/20/07
The Enquire
She
was Miss America 1944 and later a candidate for Cincinnati City Council and worked to save
Over-the-Rhine's historic buildings. She performed on Broadway and in movies.
Now, though, she's in the news for another reason.
For some time, thieves had been breaking into the building to steal the machines to sell for scrap.
She hadn't been able to catch anyone in the act until last week.
She drove over to the building and blocked the truck sitting there.
When she asked a man what he was doing, he replied "scrapping," and said he would leave.
"I said, 'Oh, no you won't,' and I shot their tires so they couldn't leave," Ramey said.
She had to balance on her walking stick as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun.
Eventually, three people were arrested - one at the scene and two others walking on a nearby road.
"I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it. If they'd even dared come close to me,
they'd be 6 feet under by now."
"They've been stealing from me for years. Those good-for-nothing slobs," she said.
"I'm trying to live a quiet, peaceful life and stay out of trouble, and all it is, is one thing
after another."
(Added to 'Guns
and Crime' and 'American Heroes')
|
Posted
4/18/07 (By Terry)
A
Tale of Two Tragedies
4/17/07 Neoperspectives.com, by Terry
Yesterday, Cho Seung-Hui, a lone, deranged killer, snuffed out the lives of
over thirty innocent victims at Virginia Tech. His was the most deadly rampage of its kind in US
history. The cold, calculated way in which this monster executed his young victims sent profound
pain and shock into the hearts of all who heard.
On February 12, another shooter had stormed into a shopping center in Salt
Lake City, Utah with the same intent as Mr. Cho. Sulejman Talović wanted to kill a lot of
people. He blasted indiscriminately with a 12-gauge shotgun, killing and injuring innocent victims,
even before he entered the shopping center.
But the two incidents went very differently, and the number of victims was
much greater in Virginia than it was in Utah. The gunmen were no less murderous, and their victims
no less innocent. Yet, Mr. Talović killed five people and injured four, compared to Mr. Cho's
rampage, which took over thirty lives and left nearly that many injured. What made the difference?
When legislation was propose in Virginia to permit legal handgun carry on
college campuses, Virginia Tech spokesman, Larry Hincker, cheered its defeat. Of that event, he
said, "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions
because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus." [1]
The bitter irony of that statement should haunt the minds of every person who
opposed the bill.
The reason Sulejman Talović did not kill thirty people in Salt Lake City
was not because he didn't try. It's not because he didn't want to. It's because there
was a man in that shopping center with a concealed weapon. It's because there was someone there to
stop him.
In this case, the one who was there to stop the killer happened to be an
off-duty police officer. But it could just as easily been another legally-carrying citizen. Hundreds
of potential tragedies are averted, either completely or partially, every year by law abiding
citizens who use their guns legally to defend themselves or another.
There's nothing magic about a police officer. Police officers are watching for
bad guys pretty much full-time, but they are not and cannot be everywhere at all times. Most
of the time, they arrive after tragedy has struck. Someone needs to defend the innocent before
they're shot and bleeding to death on the floor.
Larry Hincker, and those who sympathize with his way of thinking, are happy
to make certain there is no-one to stop a rampaging killer. They celebrate the disarming of those
who desperately want to, need to, defend themselves.
I'm sure that most opponents of firearms do so out of a desire for peace, and
a hatred of violence. They don't want any more shootings. But opposition to guns is not the way to
stop shootings.
It. Just. Doesn't. Work.
Guns are here to stay. Banning them hasn't made them vanish from the face of
the earth. Guns are banned in Great Britain, yet criminals are still shooting their victims there.
And, when they can't get hold of a gun, British killers use knives or swords instead.
Since restrictive gun laws don't make them disappear, just what do
such laws do? They make those who respect the law, those who actually obey the law,
less able to defend themselves. They make legally obtaining a firearm more difficult and more
expensive, if it's legal to do so at all.
Restrictive gun laws disarm law-abiding citizens, not criminals.
Imagine for a moment what the Virginia Tech incident might have been like if
the legal gun bill would have passed. Maybe someone in the path of this psychopath would have
been able to stop him. Maybe he would have decided against the rampage in the first place,
knowing that someone along the way might just shoot him in self-defense.
Maybe, if some of these innocent victims weren't deprived of their God-given,
Constitutionally-guaranteed right to keep and bear arms, for the defense of their very lives... Just
maybe... there would be twenty or twenty-five or thirty more scared, but very alive, students
today.
Advocates of gun ownership don't want to kill people. They want to be able to stop
those who do.
[1] Gun bill gets shot down by panel, Greg Esposito, The Roanoke Times,
Jan 31 2006
As posted on freerepublic.com
See also, 'Guns and Crime'
|
Posted
4/15/07 (By Travis)
Warning
Concerning a King, a Biblical Perspective
4/15/07
Neoperspectives.com
1
Samuel 8:6
I ran across this recently and it is quite a powerful tribute to Libertarianism in the Old
Testament. This story starts with Samuel, a godly man, as King, but he grows old and his sons begin
to run the country and are corrupt. The people then come to him and demand a King to rule over
them:
Warning concerning a King
10 So
Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who had asked of him a
king. 11 He said, “This
will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them
for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. 12 “He
will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing
and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 “He
will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 “He
will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to
his servants. 15 “He
will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. 16 “He
will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys
and use them for his work. 17 “He
will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. 18 “Then
you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD
will not answer you in that day.”
19 Nevertheless,
the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king
over us, 20 that we also
may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our
battles.” 21 Now after
Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the LORD’S
hearing. 22 The LORD
said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.”
The
story continues with Saul being appointed King, yet eventually he succumbs to the lust of power and
politics, issuing tyrannical orders and warmongering. Eventually he confesses:
“I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the LORD and your
words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. 25 “
I think these excerpts are interesting because it accurately, in my opinion, describes the
corruption of power and danger of centralized expansive government. Both Samuel and Saul are 'good
people', yet they both are not able to effectively govern because by definition no human is capable
of governing another effectively. The powers are too vast, the responsibilities too great, and the
authorities too pervasive to prevent the corruption of power and stem clouded emotional judgment
from seeping into even the best of people. Interestingly, the Lord appears to place much onus on the
people for demanding someone rule over them. In effect, they bring upon their own suffering by not
accepting the Lord Himself as their King, by believing another man is capable of running their
lives, by not accepting personal responsibility for themselves and their communities, and by placing
faith in a runaway democracy.
This belief that there are hero men that we should surrender and submit to, who can run our lives
better than we can, who can spend our own money better than us, is a pervasive one, touched upon in
the article posted on President's Day which
concluded:
American liberty will never be reestablished so long as elites and masses alike look to the
president to perform supernatural feats and therefore tolerate his virtually unlimited exercise of
power. Until we can restore limited, constitutional government in this country, God save us from
great presidents
Of
course, the bible is subject to interpretation and there are other verses used respectively by
various ideologies. While it is not necessary to ground oneself in the bible to arrive at a
conclusion of liberty, it is still interesting such concepts existed thousands of years ago.
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern
men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a
government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must
first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control
itself.
- James Madison
(See also, 'The
Founding of the United States')
|
Posted
4/12/07 (By Travis)
Are
Mini Clinics a Good thing, State's increase their Scrutiny
5/20/06
National Conference of State Legislators
Some states regulate mini-clinics by requiring physician ownership. In Indiana, MinuteClinic acts as
a kind of franchisor, selling outlets to local doctors.
The above is posted as background. Diligent readers may recall past posts (now grouped under Medical
Lobbying) describing the attempts of doctor organizations to squash new upstart mini-clinics,
which threaten their businesses by exposing inefficiencies in their present system. However, these
attempts have unintended consequences, as seen in a recent email sent to all students and faculty of
Touro University, a private Osteopathic medical school in
Nevada:
Touro
University Nevada has been developing a clinical practice facility for faculty, staff, and students.
We ran into a serious obstacle in February when we discovered that non-physician owned
corporations could not provide patient care in Nevada. After extensive research, we discovered
that many states with similar laws had enacted legislation or regulations to enable private
not-for-profit medical schools to create clinical practices. At first we thought that we would have
to wait until 2009 for the next legislative session to introduce enabling legislation. However, Sen.
Joe Heck, DO graciously offered an amendment to a bill that he had introduced earlier and included
new language that would enable private-not-for-profit medical schools to deliver patient care. That
bill, S.B. 412, was passed by the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Good Friday, thus achieving
a very important milestone. It will next go to the full Senate and if passed by the Senate on to an
Assembly committee, etc. We are optimistic that “our bill” will become law this legislative
session.
All of us owe Sen. Heck much gratitude for his fine work and support. When you
see him, please thank him personally.
Why does the state of Nevada have the power to determine who or what 'class' of people, own certain
businesses?
In article 1 section 6 of the US constitution it is written:
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States.
This was done because many people in the United
States immigrated from Europe in search of freedom, religious, and otherwise, and a place where
all men were equal in the eyes of the law. In Europe there were different sets of laws, rules, and
customs for the nobility as opposed to the 'common folk'. We need to ask today if we have merely
substituted nomenclature. Instead of 'prince' we have 'doctor', instead of 'duke' we have 'lawyer',
and instead of 'knight' we have 'manicurists'. Manicurist? Yea, even manicurist.
The point being that all these distinctive subcategories of 'classes' or 'people' are accorded
special privileges solely on the basis of title. These privileges result in their enrichment and
benefit, at the expense of the 'common folk' or 'those without fancy titles'.
As history has shown it is most often the 'common folk' whose productivity and innovation create the
most prosperity and advances. Giving them the freedom to own medical clinics free of
government coercion would certainly be a good start.
|
Posted
4/9/07 (By Travis)
No
Drug Price Controls
1/21/07
John Stossel
But
government monopolies like the VA never embrace innovation in the same way the private market does.
And sure enough, the VA now rations drugs. If you are a VA patient and you need a new and expensive
drug, you can't get it. Writes
Sally Pipes, president of the Pacific Research Institute and author of "Miracle
Cure: How to Solve America's Health-Care Crisis and Why Canada Isn't the Answer",
"Only 19 percent of drugs approved by the FDA since 2000 are listed on the VA formulary, and
only 38 percent of drugs approved in the 1990s are listed. ...
The cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor, for example, isn’t on the VA’s list, even though it’s
shown remarkable success at lowering the risk of heart attack and stroke.".
In
other words, the department keeps a rein on costs by withholding drugs from veterans. <.>
When
government controls prices, it must eventually ration supplies. Consumers suffer. When the product
is medicine, the results could be catastrophic.
(Added to 'US
Government Health Care')
|
Posted
4/9/07 (By Travis)
Turkmens
Morn Autocratic Leader
12/24/06
Washington Post (and Forbes)
A long line of Turkmens and
foreign dignitaries streamed past the coffin of President Saparmurat Niyazov early Sunday, as the
country prepared to bury the man who ruled with an all-encompassing personality cult.
Schoolchildren are required
to read his book of musings everyday, and studying it is said to be a direct ticket to heaven. His
golden statues dot the capital, and he renamed the month of January after himself, and April after
his mother.
Analysts say Niyazov's
intolerance of rivals and frequent purges left no obvious successors. Signs of jockeying for power
emerged just hours after his death was announced.
Lt. Gen. Geldimukhammed
Ashirmukhammedov, the security minister, promised in a newspaper statement to follow the policies of
Niyazov, who banned opposition parties, controlled all media and jailed critics.
All this is not too surprising, certainly there exists plenty of tin horn cult like communist
like leaders around the world. However, also in attendance was:
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, the senior member of the U.S. delegation...
The Federal Government of the United States and the bureaucrats at the State
Department see fit to spend our tax dollars sending a delegation in some sort of support or
recognition of this tyrant?
|
Posted
4/4/07 (By Travis)
Plastic-bag
ban full of holes
4/2/07 USA today
editorial
The
city's Board of Supervisors voted last week to outlaw
plastic checkout bags at large supermarkets and chain pharmacies.
Good intentions? Perhaps. But just one, well a few, problems:
Plastic bags cost about a penny each, paper costs about a nickel and compostable bags can run as
high as 10 cents each.
Paper bags, meanwhile, generate 70% more air pollutants and 50 times more water pollutants than
plastic bags, according to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. This is because four times as much energy is required to
produce paper bags and 85 times as much energy is needed to recycle them. Paper takes up nine times
as much space in landfills and doesn't break down there at a substantially faster rate than plastic
does.
The
Daylight Savings Time Boondoggle
4/2/07 Liberty
Papers
The
move to turn the clocks forward by an hour on March 11 rather than the usual early April date was
mandated by the U.S. government as an energy-saving effort.
But other than forcing millions of drowsy American workers and school children into the dark, wintry
weather three weeks early, the move appears to have had little impact on power usage.
“We haven’t seen any measurable impact,” said Jason Cuevas, spokesman for Southern Co., one of
the nation’s largest power companies, echoing comments from several large utilities.
This last story is actually surprising because normally government efforts result in the opposite of
their intentions, working against the purported purpose of the politicians drafting the measures;
however, this action appears to have only a neutral impact, at least on the power savings. Of course,
the net impact is still negative because of the millions of dollars and nonmeasurable inconveniences
imposed.
(Added
to 'The Environment')
|
Posted
3/31/07 (By Travis)
Judge:
Government must allow meatpackers' tests for mad cow (Required
Reading)
3/29/07 Mohave Daily News
Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, a meatpacker based in Arkansas City,
Kan., wants to test all of its cows for the disease, which can be fatal to humans who eat tainted
beef. <.>
The Agriculture Department currently regulates the test and administers it to less than 1 percent of
slaughtered cows. The department threatened Creekstone with prosecution if it tested all its
animals. <.>
Larger
meat companies feared that move because if Creekstone tested its meat and advertised it as safe,
they could be forced to do the expensive test, too. <.> The Agriculture
Department argued that widespread testing could lead to a false positive that would harm the meat
industry.
This story is not satire, and has been added to 'Required Reading'
for obvious reasons. Despite their ostensible purpose, regulatory agencies do not protect consumers.
They do not even help industries, as the meat industry as a whole would be better off without them.
The only beneficiaries from these unconstitutional meddlings and regulatings by these agencies and
the politicians propagating their power are the few largest meat companies. The oft described
'creative destruction', turnover of industry and liquidation of inefficient companies, a hallmark of
freedom and capitalism, is limited.
This pattern can be found to some extent or another in nearly all government agencies. It continues
because of a mix of public ignorance, misplaced public advocacy by self appointed 'do gooders', unscrupulous lobbyists and
businessperson, and criminal politicians.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson ruled that the government does not have the authority to
regulate the test.
The biggest threat to consumer health is expansive and expanded
government.
(Added
to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted
3/31/07 (By Travis)
Parkinson's
Drug pulled From the Market
3/20/07 Seattle
Post-Intelligencer
The
Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that pergolide, sold under the name Permax and also in
generic versions, is being withdrawn at the agency's request. <.>
Temple said withdrawal was requested after two recent studies, published in The New England Journal
of Medicine, indicated high rates of valve leakage - up to 20 percent - in patients taking the drug.
While these side effects are certainly cause for concern, we must also
consider Parkinson's can be an incredibly debilitating and even lethal disease. One of the great
follies of regulatory government agencies, and even perceptions in the common culture and
medical establishment is this idea that people represent an idiosyncratic 'mass', and just because a
majority of people respond in a certain way or a minority have certain adverse effects, the
application is universal. It may be a stretch, but can we view this through a political lens, as a sort of 'medical
collectivism' or 'medical socialism'? We are all unique individuals with distinct biophysiological
makeups. Our innate capacity to weigh variables and passion to strive
for life certainly allow us to make more positive choices than a regulatory political agency ever
could.
"Our conclusion is that pergolide has no demonstrated advantage over other therapies,"
Temple said. "We believe almost all patients can be converted to another drug." <.>
Temple said a few people may not be able to change to another drug and the agency is making
arrangements to have pergolide available for them.
Above we see tacit admission of the described theory; certain
people, albeit a minority, have found pergolide to match well with their underlying biochemistry. These
folks are lucky
the FDA has generously 'allowed' them to continue to purchase this medication. Future Parkinson's patients will
not have this option.
(Added
to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted
3/24/07 (By Travis)
New
Leadership on HealthCare: a Presidential Forum
3/24/07
Neoperspectives.com
The
Democratic presidential candidates, the SEIU, a service oriented workers union for mostly
hospital staff, the Center For American Progress, a partisan liberal group that was, incidentally,
introduced by Time reporter Karen Tumulty as 'nonpartisan', and the University of Las Vegas, held a
debate on health care here in Las Vegas. As a blogger located here in Las Vegas, I felt compelled by
our readers to attend this event, if only to make sure the reporting emerging was 'fair and
balanced'. :)
One of
the first things we saw before entering was a number of protestors/demonstrators, from a wide
variety of liberal groups, mostly supporting the different candidates. An exception:

Nonetheless, it was actually a pretty well put together and enjoyable event, if one considers
listening to folks discuss different ways to expand the Federal government, increase spending and/or
raise taxes, and limit
the actions of free individuals enjoyable. Candidates all were in favor of 'universal health
coverage',
although they differed on how to go about achieving it. None mentioned that for all intents and
purposes a form of universal coverage already presently exists.
Senator John Edward described how he would mandate health insurance for everyone and mandate
'preventative medicine', as if we don't have enough mandates driving up the price of insurance
already. He said it is impossible to deliver universal health insurance and not raise taxes and
candidates should be honest about it. He said he would repeal the Bush taxes cuts for the 'rich'.
Arizona Gov Bill Richardson, sporting cowboy boots, proposed lowering the Medicare benefits age from
65 to 55, increasing the wealth transfer from the poorest Americans (the young) to the richest
Americans (the old). He also said a large number of the uninsured in Arizona are native
Americans,
whom "the Federal government is supposed to cover, but has not met its obligations". I wonder if it
will meet its obligation when it is 'supposed' to cover all of us. Richardson also promoted his
statewide smoking ban, saying he would attempt a similar law nationally and favored mental health
mandates.
Senator Barrak Obama didn't have specifics as his "campaign was only 8 weeks old", but really laid
it on thick in praise for the SEIU. Curiously, he did this while concomitantly discussing the
unaffordability and rising costs of healthcare, as the unionization of hospitals and resultant
inflated salaries and operational inefficiencies
are directly and indirectly responsible for some of the problems he discussed. We can rest assured
the SEIU works to keep nurses and healthcare workers from other countries out of the United
States and engages in licensing wars to bar nonnurses from doing nursing work etc.. In my opinion,
the SEIU and
other unions are part of the problem, not the solution for health care in this country. Obama also
discussed programs aimed at obesity
and nutrition, "vegetables for kids instead of
Popeyes", were his words. He "has not foreclosed raising
additional revenue" for his plan and he and Clinton talked of "putting money in the front
end"
of their proposals.
Speaking of which, Senator Hillary Clinton came on next and surprised me as the most partisan,
vitriolic, and robotic of the candidates. She started off with the premise that reforming healthcare
means, "taking money away from people who are making out very well right now." Reminded me
a bit of when she said,
"we're going to take things away from you for the common good." When the moderator asked
whom she meant to take this money away she seemed to make clear that insurance companies were her
main target. Most disturbingly she said she would make it illegal for insurance companies to deny
people with 'preexisting conditions', which, if one thinks about it, is the whole point of insurance.
Why buy car insurance now if I can just buy it after I get in a wreck? Why not just wait till you
have a disease and then shop around and find the insurance company that pays the most for it. It is,
frankly, a ridiculous notion, a demonstration of incredible economic ignorance stemming from a
candidate ostensibly seeking to be president of the United States. She also brought up some stories
of people who had insurance but then couldn't get coverage. If insurance companies are not covering
what their policy states then they are committing fraud, pure and simply. If they are just not
covering what you wish they would cover then it is your fault for buying the insurance. I cannot
complain to my car insurance company about not being covered for uninsured motorist collision if I
didn't pay for it! Her statements mirror my earlier commentary and posted
links describing how the term 'health insurance' is a misnomer; instead it has become a venue
for politicians to forcibly provide socialized collective benefits to us, the masses, through private
industry and the increased price of regulated insurance plans rather than the more direct central government
role and
increased taxes.
Overall, there were a few factual inaccuracies of consequence, most have been mentioned
here on neoperspectives.com before, notably the myth of child
mortality and the number of
uninsured. Another interesting comment came from the moderator who noted, accurately in my
opinion, that our present "employer based healthcare system was more or less based on an accident"
(federal regulations and tax laws that more or less mandate employers to cover the healthcare of
their workers stem from laws in the 50s and 60s). Whoops!
Nonetheless, I came away from this experience with many positive feelings. How, you might ask, can I
feel positively about what was said? Because I was at a Democratic presidential primary, at a union
rally, and the democratic candidates, running far left of center were, with rare exception, afraid
to mention raising taxes. Democrat voters want to keep their money just like the rest of us.
Governor Richardson even bragged about lowering taxes in Arizona. No candidate (well besides
Kucinich who came on after I left) offered as a solution
a single payer healthcare system. Sure, they all were in favor of expanding the federal system to "give ordinary people the same access to healthcare that congress has", private public
partnerships, increasing various mandates, and expanding various programs, but they
all respected the existence of the private market and they all respected the right of people to
choose different insurance plans. Democratic voters fear centralized bureaucratic healthcare just
like the rest of us. Most, if not all the candidates also wanted to give veterans the chance to
choose their hospital and doctor of choice, a tacit admission or at least lip service in the
direction of the recent failure
of centralized federal healthcare for veterans.
So,
there is much hope, a healthcare system like Britain
or Canada
is not in our near future. Yet. :)


Upon
signing up for this event, we were allowed to submit questions. Needless to say, mine wasn't asked,
but here it is:
We've heard stories on some of the pitfalls of socialized medicine in
Canada
and Great
Britain: pets getting MRIs before humans,
restrictions of treatments and drugs,
ethical dilemmas on who should
get certain treatments (like hip replacements denied to elderly and
the overweight in
Britain), fleeing doctors,
denial of the ability to
purchase private
insurance (Canada), weeks and months on waiting
lists, and even a story from Canada about a man who admitted
committing
a crime in order to get bumped up in line for a heart
transplant, as prisoners received preferential placement on the
waitlists. I understand you all have the best of intentions, but how
can you be sure your ideas and plans will not manifest similarly to
the unintended results seen in Britain and Canada? How will you avoid
those pitfalls here in the United
States?
SEIU/CAP/UNLV
Presidential Healthcare Forum Thread
3/23/07 Mydd
(transcript, more or less)
|
Posted
3/24/07 (By Travis)
Happy
Friday
3/23/07 The Libertarian
On Rep
Ron Paul's congressional desk:
(Added to 'Ron Paul 2008')
|
Posted
3/23/07 (By Travis)
Iraq's
O'Reilly Factor (Video)
3/23/07
flameoffreedom.net
I'm not sure whether to classify this under 'humor' or to just be thankful
for the society in which we
live...
|
Posted
3/23/07 (By Travis)
Wal-Mart
Pulls Application for Bank, Home Depot stands firm
3/21/07 Bizjournals.com
Unfortunately, Wal-Mart's attempt to help
the poorest of the poor, and of course, make money by doing so, has been withdrawn. One might
wonder, why there should be a need to 'apply' for some sort of 'banking license'? If a friend gives
me some money to hold on to and I invest a little here and there and keep tabs on it and let him or
her 'withdraw' whenever they like, am I committing a crime? I bet I'm committing two! Of course, I'm
only joking, I am likely violating dozens of federal laws that could earn me years in
prison.
(Added to 'Wal-Mart,
Aiding America's poor')
|
Posted
3/23/07 (By Travis)
Warning
to homeowners as the green vision is unveiled
3/14/07
Daily Mail
Homeowners who refuse to make their properties energy efficient will face
financial penalties under drastic government plans to transform Britain into the world's first
'green' economy. <.>
Ministers yesterday promised deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions that they warned would mean
everyone in the country having to 'live, work and travel differently'. <.>
Mr Blair compared the fight against climate change to the battle against fascism.
Massive government expansion and restrictions of freedom is fighting against fascism? Perhaps Mr.
Blair has his definitions confused...
Czech
leader Klaus fights global warming 'religion'
3/21/07
Reuters
PRAGUE
– Czech President Vaclav Klaus said on Wednesday that fighting global warming has turned into a a
'religion' that replaced the ideology of communism and threatens to clip basic freedoms.
The right-wing president, a free-market champion, wrote to the U.S. Congress that adopting tough
environmental policies to fight climate change would have destructive impact on national economies.
'Communism has been replaced by the threat of an ambitious environmentalism,' Klaus wrote in
response to questions from the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Energy and Commerce.
'This
ideology preaches earth and nature and under the slogans of their protection – similarly to the
old Marxists – wants to replace the free and spontaneous evolution of mankind by a sort of
central, now global, planning of the whole world,' he added.
Dimwits:
Why 'Green' Light Bulbs Aren't the Answer to Global Warming
3/13/07
Daily Mail
They have to be left on all the time, they're made from banned toxins and they won't work in half
your household fittings. Yet Europe (and Gordon Brown) says 'green' lightbulbs must replace all our
old ones.
From one of the comments on this thread:
"I thought
that they would be a great idea at the time, so I bought several packages of them at costco for
about $2.75 a bulb.
CAUTION:
Although they are only 23 watts, they do overheat and fail in some fixtures that were designed for
incandescent bulbs (as the article said - poorly ventilated fixtures). Sometimes the failures are
nasty as in my kitchen fixture where one of them actually started burning. The electronics in the
base are not as resistant to high temperatures as an ordinary incandescent bulb.
Plus the life is
nowhere near the 10x claimed but rather about the same to 3x longer is what I've experienced. SO
they aren't all that great. Oh and BTW I think global warming is the biggest fraud in the last 10
years. I bought them because if they worked as advertised (they didn't) they would have saved me
some money on my power bill."
The
last sentence illustrates how government can combat global warming, if in fact it exists: get out of
the way and let private industry and the people themselves solve their way out of it.
Incidentally, if this company is not forthcoming about their product they should be sued for fraud
(not regulated!). :)
(Added to 'The
Environment')
|
Posted
3/23/07 (By Travis)
FDA
issues new guidance on whole grains
2/15/07
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"It's very important that consumers are
able to have a consistent and uniform terminology of what constitutes a whole grain," said
Barbara Schneeman, director of the FDA's office of nutritional products, labeling and dietary
supplements. <.>
While the FDA is trying to make things clearer for consumers, the
agency seems to be causing confusion in the food industry.
(Added
to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted
3/22/07 (By Travis)
Officials
To Review Rat-Infested KFC Inspection
2/25/07 CBS New York
Health
officials are going to review the inspection of a Greenwich Village KFC/Taco Bell, which was
completed one day before CBS 2 cameras caught dozens of rats scurrying across the store, jumping on
tables, and climbing into food trays.
"It doesn't look like the inspection that was done Thursday met our
standards," said Geoffrey Cowley, a health department spokesman. "I don't want to prejudge
that. We're concerned and we're going to carefully revaluate that inspection."
This story is a bit old, but merits comment. How can the state ensure
that customers are protected? By health inspections? I'd think not. I'd bet health inspections don't
result in any increase in consumer safety. I doubt studies have been
done one way or the other, as we accept unquestioningly the good intentions and authority of the
state. More likely, health inspections, perhaps unconsciously, give politicians a way to legally extort and harass business
owners. At least the mafia doesn't
hide behind pretensive good intentions. And it is not just politicians doing the shaking down:
Shakedown
Ring Busted: NY food inspectors charged
4/4/98 Nation's Restaurant
News
NEW YORK -- More than two dozen current and former health inspectors and supervisors have been
arrested and charged with shaking down about 300 local restaurateurs in an extortion scheme that
allegedly netted the inspectors hundreds of thousands of dollars over the last few years. <.>
Occasionally, the inspectors would demand bribes to
over-look actual health code violations, according to Andrew Maloney, the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn
who will prosecute the case.
How could these inspectors in good conscious overlook blatant health code violations? Perhaps
because the violations are, largely, unrelated to the quality or safety of the establishment.
"...noting
that most health code violations are minor." <.>
One
restaurant owner, describing a visit by two health department inspectors in 1986, told investigators
that "the only thing that was missing on these two guys was a mask and gun."
So, if I am in favor of abolishing federal,
state, and local health authorities, which I happen to be :), then who is responsible for the health
of consumers? The businesses are! First, how can a business prosper by poisoning its customers?!
Businesses want their customers to enjoy their food and come back for more. Secondly, when I give
money to a restaurant for food, I do so with the implicit understanding that I am eating food free
of disease, food that they would not hesitate to serve their own families upon request. If this
unspoken contract is violated then the trial lawyers can and should step in and take these folks to
the cleaner. Justice is served with government respecting the right to contract. Might
we expand this line of thinking to treat our other government regulators to a bit of the same
medicine? :)
Of course, free concerned citizens and restaurant owners could always come together and establish
voluntary inspections and private certification processes.
|
Posted
3/22/07 (By Travis)
Quote
of the day:
"The competition
isn't all that great to claim that title here in Washington," Paul said on Fox News Channel
regarding his claim to be "the leading advocate for freedom in Washington today."
|
Posted
3/16/07 (By Travis)
A guest
author, Trista Snyder, has given permission to publish one of her essays. Very good stuff! :)
Christ
In Life, By Trista Snyder
3/16/07
Neoperspectives.com
Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor
life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height
nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that
is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians
3:18-19 …May you be able to feel and understand,
as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep and how high his love really is; and to
experience this love for yourself, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or
fully know or understand it.
I’ve found that the word “Christian” can procure instant bias and often negative connotations.
It is not hard to understand why. First, it is a religion that appears splintered; the dizzying
number of Protestants, Lutherans, Catholics, some orthodox, some liberal, seems to draw from any
attempt at a united front. Second, those who are not Christians justifiably feel isolated by and
withdrawn from an ideology that seems to quite easily condemn them to an eternity of hell. Third,
hypocrisy runs deep; on one hand is the middle class housewife, who adamantly believes that
non-Christians are doomed, yet who gossips about her friends and does not lift a finger to help
those less fortunate than she. On the other hand are the spiritual pillars of the religion,
entrenched in as much scandal and corruption as our elected officials. This image, perpetuated in
part by those responsible for upholding the tenets of their faith, is the problem with Christianity
as a religion.
But, here is my challenge: I question that we should even call Christianity a religion, as religion
is seen by our standards today. We view religion as something that we fit into the end of our day
right before we go to sleep, something that tucks nicely into the Sunday time slot between a bacon
and egg breakfast and afternoon football. Religion is something that we motion through, a tradition
surrounded by stiff collars and an instant gratification of feeling righteous and vindicated from
our immediate transgressions. This is what religion has become to many, and this is not
Christianity. Christianity is meant to be lived; it is life, not a religion. It is one unifying
principle that connects every living, breathing person to one another. It knows no sects or
factions, because it upholds only one simple truth that has been made available to each of us. That
truth is love, unconditional love that God has for us, and that we may have for each other if we
choose to do so. It is a love that can be felt even in the smallest details. We may feel it as the
warmth of the sun on the back of our necks, or in the smile of a stranger. Through all the debate
and differences of opinion on how one should lead life, the answer is simple.
Jesus said, love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor
as yourself. And beyond that, for though we have been taught to love our neighbor and hate our
enemies, Jesus says, But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you. We’ve heard to “turn the other cheek” when someone wrongs us, but the unconditional
love that He speaks of goes even further: And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic,
let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give
to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. This
principle is most evident in His sacrifice. For the longest time, I did not truly understand how one
man’s death could somehow atone for the offenses of humanity. The answer to my bewilderment is
explained by love. God showed us how to achieve that perfect love, with Jesus as our tangible
example. So unconditional was His love for us, that He was willing to die for those very people who
were spitting on him and driving spikes into his hands. He prayed for them, he loved them even as
they hated him. He wanted to take their sins upon himself, was willing to endure hell and torture to
give them, us, a chance at life. That willingness is the absolute manifestation of higher love, a
sacrifice so selfless. The point is, the capability to love in that way is within each of us. God
speaks to us: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always
trusts, always hopes, always perseveres…And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the
greatest of these is love. And love acts. We cannot protect the weak without lifting a finger.
We cannot reject evil if we see others around us in pain and do nothing to ease that pain. We cannot
be selfless without, at some point, putting our own needs behind another’s and inconveniencing
ourselves for their improvement. And this cannot occur if we are not walking in love at every moment
of our lives and if we are only concerned with the Lord’s work for an hour on Sunday mornings. So
to the middle class housewife: if you take the love that God had given you and hoard it away, if you
take the light that he has bestowed upon you and cloak it from the world, it will be as if those
gifts had never existed in the first place. You may sit pure and sinless in your own eyes, but you
will not be participating in the one true thing that God bestowed on us and wished for us: His love.
So, is Christianity splintered? No, it is connected by that single lifeline, that
perfect love for us that He revealed strikingly in Jesus. What differences in rules and practices
that exist among the sects matter little when compared to this unifying principle. God says, One
man considers one day more sacred that another; another man considers every day alike. Each one
should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord.
He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, because he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to
the Lord and gives thanks to God. Christians may differ on certain finer points of the faith,
but the key, the most important cornerstone, is that
each of these diverse ideologies and practices is enacted for the greater glory of God. We should
respect these traditions if they are true to His Word, because their faithful aim, no matter what
the path to that aim, is the glorification of God and the magnification of His love. Another
question: does Christianity easily condemn our brothers and sisters in humanity to an eternity of
hell? No, again, God’s love is not a condemnation. His gift in Jesus, that example of pure love,
is in no way a condemnation; it is an exclamation of good news, a reason to rejoice! Before this act
of selfless love, we were mired in our egocentric ways. The love is now tangible and can be accessed
by all of humanity, and we should celebrate the presence of God’s hope and peace in every person;
where we go wrong is when we trust in Christ, but do not proclaim His perfect love to those around
us. Again, hiding our faith from the world is akin to turning our backs on friend and foe alike. And
finally, what of our hypocrisy? Why are we judging others when we too are laden with similar
transgressions? We need to stop treating Christianity as a modern-day religion and start regarding
it as a way of life and a message of love. God did not intend for us to judge others, to only
occasionally think of Him, nor did He intend to have us seated in church with our eyes straying to
our watches. He wants us to marvel at his subtle touch in every aspect of our lives. When the sky is
darkened with clouds, He hopes that we will gaze upward and wonder at the palate of colors He has
used to paint the roof of our world. Even when we suffer, He wants us to praise His name in the
knowledge that He loves us and that His plan is continually working around us and through us. He
says, And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our
sufferings; because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and
character, hope. And so, even our pain can be transformed into a means to become closer to Him,
and can be used positively to reinforce God’s love on earth. In our lives may we forever be
striving to convey that love; may we find peace and joy at every single moment, no matter how small
and no matter how difficult; and may we judge no one but rather be unified as one people with the
sole objective to praise Him and to spread His compassion to the lonely, the weak, the poor, and the
lost. May we love selflessly in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments
and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and
kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with
weapons of righteousness in the right hand and left; through glory and dishonor; bad report and good
report; genuine, yet regarded as imposters; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live
on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having
nothing, and yet possessing everything.
|
Posted
3/12/07 (By Travis)
Ron
Paul Formally Announces White House Candidacy
3/12/07 SmallGovTimes.com
Political
maverick and Texas House member Ron Paul formally announced his candidacy for the president of the
United States this morning during the “Washington Journal” call-in program on C-SPAN.
Paul stands as one of the last remaining believers in strict enforcement of the Constitution and a
limited federal government in Washington D.C. Paul ran unsuccessfully for the White House in 1988
under the Libertarian ticket, but now caucuses with the Republican Party. His political platform
includes low taxes, individual liberties and a principled belief in the right to life.
His presidential exploratory committee formed earlier this year stirred up his enormous grassroots
support from heartland voters, small government believers and fed-up Republicans who believe current
GOP candidates offer no real solutions to an expanding federal government and refuse to tackle
America's important issues, such as illegal immigration and an erosion of American's civil
liberties.
The video can be viewed at C-SPAN.org, under 'recent programs'.
(Added to 'Ron Paul 2008')
|
Posted
3/12/07 (By Dobber)
Bring
Back the Draft?
An Open Letter:
To the editors of 60 Minutes and Andy Rooney,
It is my humble opinion that you mischaracterized the status of the United States military.
Rather than argue the details of Mr. Rooney's statement...
"recruiters have reduced the standards for getting into the Army or Navy"
...which seems to me, a simple exercise in supply and demand, I will address two problems I have
with Mr. Rooney's comments.
1. His comments on moral waivers:
"Last year a total of 8,129 "moral waivers" were given to men who volunteered for
the Army.
Are these the people we want representing us?"
I hope that I qualify, Mr. Rooney, to represent you. I was given one of the thousands of
moral waivers in 2005 in order to enter active duty with the US Air Force. My offense?
Splitting a case of beer with my 20 year old roommate when I was 21. Not all of those moral
waivers are for egregious acts. I would wager that most are just examples of boys being
boys. Furthermore, Mr. Rooney, it is offensive to say this...
"and if they have been taken from the bottom of the barrel,"
...to me and the thousands others who made minor mistakes when we were younger, and then
volunteered to put our life on the line for this beloved country. Sir, who are you?
2. Mr. Rooney's comments regarding education would have one believe that the U.S. military is not
representative of the population at large:
"drafted college students and high school graduates dominated our military. It changed the
United States Army for the better and in two years made it the best fighting force there has ever
been. The Army and Navy were no longer made up of losers"
He is certainly right! I do not have the numbers in front of me, but the United States
military outperforms the United States civilian population in all education figures - high
school diplomas, college degrees, and graduate degrees. Why would Mr. Rooney make statements
to millions of viewers that would have them believe otherwise? If it weren't so late I would
work harder at researching the exact numbers, but I have to be on base early tomorrow morning to
report for duty.
Sincerely,
Geoff Dobson, Lieutenant, US Air Force
|
Posted
3/8/07 (By Travis)
Postal
Commission Favors Selling Stamp That Locks In Current Rate
2/27/07
Washington Post
Under the plan, the first "forever stamp" would cost 41 cents. That
is because the commission also proposed increasing the first-class postal rate by 2 cents. The
independent commission trumpeted the hike as a victory for consumers because the Postal
Service had wanted a 3-cent jump.
A 'victory for consumers'? We wonder why the price of most things
drops, yet postal stamps always go up. In fact, with most goods, services, and commodities, the
prices of things consistently fall as innovation, technology, and productivity all increase with
time. When (inflation controlled) prices do not fall it is either because the product is getting better and has more
features (cars) or because government is controlling or meddling in the industry (health care and
postal service). In my opinion.
Postal Service fixes
long waits by removing clocks
3/1/07
Associated Press
The
missing clock didn't stop postal customer Al Cunningham from noticing the amount of time spent
waiting for service.
"It's always long here," said Cunningham, 49, an insurance adjuster and former postal
employee who was standing in line at the Watson Post Office in Fort Worth.
The Watson Post Office is one of the nation's 37,000 post offices in which clocks have been removed
from retail areas as part of a "retail standardization program" launched last year. The
effort is designed to give the public-service areas a more uniform appearance, the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram reported in Thursday editions.
"We want people to focus on postal service and not the clock," said Stephen Seewoester,
Dallas spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service.
At the Fort Worth post office, the hook that once held up the small battery-powered clock now
protrudes from a plaster wall. The clock was taken down months ago.
A customer-service expert at Texas A&M University was not impressed with the decision to take
down the timepieces.
"It's silly," said Leonard Berry, holder of the M.B. Zale Chair in Retail and Marketing
Leadership. "I guess they think people don't have watches."
Unions
and your tax dollars at work. :)
(Added to
'The Post Office')
|
Posted
3/8/07 (By Travis)
Walter
Reed: Government Health Care
3/7/07 Terence Jeffery
Townhall.com
(Added to 'Government
Health Care')
|
Posted
3/4/07 (By Travis)
State
Makes Big Fuss Over Local Couple's Vegetable Oil Car Fuel
3/1/07
Herald review
"They showed me their badges and said they were from the
Illinois Department of Revenue," Wetzel said. "I said, 'Come in.' Maybe I shouldn't
have."
So the saga begins...
(Added
to 'Gasoline and Government' and 'The
Environment')
|
Posted
3/4/07 (By Travis)
2007
German horror tale
2/28/07 Washington Times
Home-schooling
has been illegal in Germany since Adolf Hitler outlawed it in 1938 and ordered all children to be
sent to state schools. <.> Only some
500 children are being home-schooled in a country of 80 million. Home-schooling families are
prosecuted without mercy.
(Added to 'Homeschooling articles')
|
Posted 3/3/07 (By Travis)
Ashcroft
Attacks Sirius-XM Deal
3/3/07
Yahoo
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, hired by opponents of the deal,
has blasted Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s proposed acquisition of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.,
saying the combination would leave only one provider in the market. Ashcroft, who served as head
of the Justice Department for four years until January 2005, was hired by the National Association
of Broadcasters to examine the acquisition.
The NAB, which represents traditional radio broadcasters, has been a fierce critic of the
acquisition, now worth about $4.4 billion, since it was announced last week.
This reinforces the theory that poorly run monopolies will not remain monopolies for long. The true
root market competition here is between the NAB and satellite radio. Either side cannot afford to jack up
prices too much or they will loose listeners to the competition. As we can see, the NAB bought a
politician for hire to gain political leverage for what will be a political decision.
But, let's go a step further, hypothetically,
what if all the NAB stations and satellite radio were to announce a mega radio merger? Should government
step in to block it? I still say no; first because economic interference is not a proper role for
government and second because aggregate radio will still be competing with television,
ipod downloads, newspapers, the internet and many other forms of entertainment and sources of news
and music. IMHO, there is no situation where government interference or blockage of a proposed
merger is useful or helpful, besides perhaps for the politicians shaking down the companies
involved for cash, or get hired for megabucks.
To read another response see the threeleggedstool.
And here, for Allan Greenspan on
monopolies.
|
Posted 3/3/07 (By Travis)
India
in Dispute over the Price of Condoms
3/2/07 Financial Times
The Indian
government is under fire from HIV advocacy groups for paying 25-40% above market price for billions
of condoms. Why would someone pay that much for condoms? Well, someone wouldn't. But government
would.
The government now obtains condoms from local manufacturers such as the state-owned Hindustan
Latex...
'State owned' companies have infested many other areas of India's economy and the constant intrusion
of the state into economic matters remains the prime reason for India's poverty.
However, the statists require a reason for corruption. Quality is a favorite:
“Korean condoms are very cheap but they are quite suspect and are bound to be disastrous. I want
good-quality condoms,” she said.
To a lesser extent this happens here too. For example:
Does
High Fructose Corn Syrup have to be in everything?
1/17/07 Wilt
Alston @ lewrockwell.com
Of
course the culprit for the presence of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in all sweetened foods in the
U.S. is the state. The mechanism is the incredibly high tariff on sugar produced in other countries.
The U.S. government would rather force manufacturers to use inferior and hazardous high fructose
corn syrup, which can be created from corn – a crop grown in the U.S. – than allow them to use
more natural sugar from places that seem rather obvious. I don’t know about you, but when I think
of sugar, I think of sugar cane in South America, but when the USDA thinks of sugar, apparently they
think of cornfields in Nebraska!
His conclusion:
The FDA claims to "protect" us from
snake-oil salesmen of every stripe, yet when it comes to being able to choose an item of food that
is among the most basic and prevalent in any diet, economic considerations trump safety.
|
Posted 3/2/07 (By Travis)
The Chinese have
blocked neoperspectives.com!

thegreatwallofchina.org let's you type in urls to see if they are blocked by the Chinese government.
According to them:
It
is estimated that some 30,000 Chinese civil servants are monitoring Internet traffic and blocking
content that is deemed undesirable. Typing in sensitive keywords such as ‘democracy’, ‘Falun
Gong’ or ‘porno’ in a search engine results in an error message. Websites of a sensitive
nature are being blocked. Internet service providers also (self)censor, as do individuals: many
people do not express their real thoughts because they know these will be censored anyway.
If true, it is likely neoperspectives.com has been blocked because of
this url:
http://www.neoperspectives.com/china.htm
While there is
plenty contained therin critical of China, the above link also contains numerous accolades for the
increasing Chinese economic freedom, especially this rather, IMHO, complimentary piece by Thomas Sowell:
Curing
Poverty or Using Poverty? (Required Reading)
1/10/06 RCP Dr.
Thomas Sowell
But, who are we to
judge the 'offensiveness' of our online material to the Chinese citizens, I mean, the Chinese government.
:)
This sort of
meddling and censorship occurs in
nearly all countries. We most recently posted
a story on an occurrence in India. Of course, there are also American
'civil servants' from the justice department or whoknows where or what agency 'carousing' the
internet looking for criminals, terrorists, and/or ostensible malcontents. The difference is a
matter of degree and it remains uncertain, IMO, if the US government's surveillance and censorship
of the internet, despite vast differences in scale, is any less hurtful than that of the
Chinese.
Diligent readers
will recall that neoperspectives was hacked last year by the 'Red
Devils Crew' or 'Saudi X'. Whether this 'Islamic advocacy' group was private or government sponsored remains
unresolved. They managed to delete nearly the entire site and defaced what remained (we reuploaded
everything quite quickly). At the
time I hypothesized they were upset at:
http://www.neoperspectives.com/terrorism.htm
So, in any event, we meek peace
loving folks here at neoperspectives.com seem to be making a habit of rubbing some folks the wrong
way, not even including some emails I receive every now and again.
We'll keep on
pluggin'. :)
(Added to 'China')
|
Posted 2/28/07 (By
Dobber)
Mr.
Witschey's response and further analysis
Walter Witschey (thanks for the reply sir, very nice of you) replied to my post
below, and told me that he is going to take two major actions (paraphrasing his
email response): continue to educate folks and do his best to reduce, reuse, and
recycle in his personal life. Not only was his email to me very congenial,
but his response to my question was more than satisfactory. Both of those
goals are noble, and more importantly, they don't infringe on my property.
Mr. Witschey is convinced that human activity is having an impact on global
warming. He summarizes the report's conclusion:
The climate changes are due, in a measurable way, to human
activity.
As I stated in my last post on this subject, the IPCC is not a group of
scientists. It is a UN interest group. I don't care if the
conclusion was 2 + 2 = 4...I would reject it. What is my opinion? I
don't have one. I have never seen any evidence that human activity is
having a major impact on the world climate, and furthermore, that for some
reason we should care.
Now on to what I do care about. We at Neoperspectives believe that
governments, by in large, do not solve problems. Governments do things
like address a problem, and then make it worse (ie America's war on drugs) or
simply create problems (ie the Holocaust). So, the United States
government should refrain from doing ANYTHING about global warming...now.
Let's examine the science just a little longer. In the meantime,
let's hope the American people can come up with some ideas to work out this
global warming thing without the federal government getting involved and pushing
people around. Walter Witschey's solutions are fine with me.
|
Posted 2/25/07 (By Travis)
Fish
in Mother's Diet Benefits Child, Study Finds
2/16/07 Washington Post
A large study has found that
children of women who ate little fish during pregnancy had lower IQs and more behavioral and social
problems than youngsters whose mothers ate plenty of seafood, a finding that challenges the U.S.
government's standard advice to limit seafood while pregnant.
If
one wants to live healthy, a good rule of thumb is to do the opposite everything the government
advises. :) I'm only half joking. Regardless of correctness in this particular issue, it is
advisable to get government out of science and stop issuing these sorts of recommendations. They are
a waste of
taxpayer money, not to mention more often than not harmful to its citizenry.
The study found that children born to women who ate about three servings of fish per week or
less -- near the maximum advised by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental
Protection Agency -- had lower verbal IQs, more problems with fine motor skills, and higher
rates of behavioral and social difficulties, compared to youngsters whose mothers consumed more
seafood during pregnancy.
There appears to be a bit of jurisdictional overlap...
(Added to 'FDA
Tyranny')
|
Posted 2/25/07 (By Travis)
A
Cheerful Anachronism
2/26/07 George Will (Newsweek)
Ron
Paul Presidential Exploratory Committee Video
2/20/07 Ronpaulexplore.com
(Added to 'Ron Paul
2008')
|
Posted 2/21/07 (By
Dobber)
Doubt fades in what exactly?
2/22/07 Richmond
Times Dispatch
Every day I turn on the internet news to hear more and more about how Global
Warming is a certainty, and doubt is fading, and only the most diehard
environment haters can still be clinging to the ridiculous notion that its all a
bunch of crap!
Well, I, Geoff Dobson, will continue to be a self-proclaimed hater. As a
former X-Files junkie, I doubt everything and trust no one. So I will
continue to doubt every article I read and every pundit I hear and ESPECIALLY
every politician that speaks. So when I read the first line of the above
article:
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of
climate scientists
I start doubting. Why? Because the IPCC is not a "group of climate
scientists". It is a United Nations organization. But I am not on
authority on this. So you shouldn't trust that statement if I say it.
I'm not even a scientist. But one of the smartest scientists in the world
can easily, in plain English,
explain
what the IPCC is:
They travel around the world several times a year for
several years to write it and the summary for policymakers has the input of
about 13 of the scientists, but ultimately, it is written by representatives of
governments, of environmental organizations like the Union of Concerned
Scientists, and industrial organizations, each seeking their own benefit.
And who is that deranged lunatic telling the public that the IPCC is NOT a
"group of climate scientists" and hardly an authority on the matter? It's
none other than Richard
Lizden. He's just the Alfred P Sloan Professor of Meteorology,
Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. And what does he think about the chicken littles
running around talking up the global warming fears (whatever that means...)?
I think it's mainly just like little kids locking
themselves in dark closets to see how much they can scare each other and
themselves.
I'll sleep well tonight, like I do every night. And then I'll drive to
work and contribute greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. And I won't even
been too upset if I
fart
once or twice. Now, Walter Witschey, what are you doing about global
warming tomorrow? If you can answer that, I'll read past the first
fragment of sentence in your article.
|
Posted 2/21/07 (By Travis)
Neal
Bortz: Teachers Unions are 'Much More Dangerous' Than Al Qaeda
2/20/07 thinkprogress.org via Digg.com
Transcript:
SEAN HANNITY:
Alright, let me ask you. Because, you — when you said about the Department of Education — you
want to abolish it — when you said that the teachers unions is more dangerous to this country in
the long term –
NEAL BOORTZ:
In the long term, yeah.
HANNITY: Than
al Qaeda.
BOORTZ: Right.
Look, Al Qaeda, they could bring in a nuke into this country and kill 100,000 people with a
well-placed nuke somewhere. Ok. We would recover from that. It would be a terrible tragedy, but
the teachers unions in this country can destroy a generation.
HANNITY: They
are.
BOORTZ: Well,
they are destroying a generation.
HANNITY: They
are ruining our school system.
BOORTZ:
They’re much more dangerous. We worry about al Qaeda and we should. But at the same time let’s
not let the teachers union skate.
HANNITY: They
destroyed our school system, and we don’t do anything. The parents — why there aren’t people
rising up against it is unbelievable.
I agree with Boortz,
and I'm happy to say most of the readers at Digg.com do too.
(Added to 'A
Charter School Tale' and 'Charter School Quotes')
|
Posted 2/21/07 (By Travis)
Ron
Paul, The Real Republican
2/20/07 Foxnews
An
excellent summary of Ron Paul's leadership in Congress. In other news, a sort of eccentric ad
hoc poll of myspace users finds Ron Paul with the lead for the Republican nomination! Don't read
into this too much...
(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted 2/19/07 (By Travis)
A fitting President's
Day read:
No
More Great Presidents
2/19/07 Mises Institute
It
concludes:
American liberty will never be reestablished so long as
elites and masses alike look to the president to perform supernatural feats and therefore tolerate
his virtually unlimited exercise of power. Until we can restore limited, constitutional government
in this country, God save us from great presidents
|
Posted 2/19/07 (By Travis)
Bionic
eye restores sight to the blind
2/17/07 The Times
Well,
the FDA is continuing it's war
against the blind.
A
bionic eye that can restore sight to the blind should be available commercially within two years,
scientists behind the revolutionary technology announced yesterday.
An early version of the prosthetic retina has already
been fitted to six patients with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative and incurable eye condition
that affects 1 in 3,500 people. All have recovered the ability to detect light and motion, and even
to make out large letters and to distinguish between objects such as a cup, a knife and a plate.
The second-generation device that is now starting trials should provide even better vision, as it
contains 60 light-sensitive electrodes, compared with 16 in the previous model.
More
improvements are expected within five to seven years with a 1000-electrode implant that will enable
previously blind people to recognise faces, Professor Humayun said.
Imagine if you were blind. Perhaps I should stop there, because it is
impossible for our imagination to do us true justice. It is easy enough to take these
sorts of things for granted, forgetting what a precious gift sight really is. But, try to imagine you are blind and you
hear this news and, despite the risks, you and/or your family are willing to pay tens of thousands,
or even hundreds of thousands to try this experimental procedure. Imagine you are an entrepreneurial
doctor, flush with money from venture capitalists, attempting to do good and tap this market
(synonymous goals), and you research and discover this amazing new procedure. So, our two imaginary friends come
together, money is exchanged, the procedure is completed and....
the doctor is thrown in jail.
Because his actions are illegal as they have not been sanctioned by the bureaucrats at the FDA:
The artificial retina has been cleared by US regulators to begin trials on between 50 and 75
people suffering from two of the most common causes of blindness, opening the way for millions
more to benefit from similar implants in the future.
If you're not one of those 50-75 people, you're just plain out of luck.
Thousands of people have already volunteered.
And if you're young? Forgedaboutit:
The trials will be conducted at five centres in the US, on patients over 50. The US Food and Drug
Administration has insisted on older subjects as they have less to lose if the experiments go wrong.
Who are they to judge what someone has to gain or
loose?
Reminds me of the many
stories
of how the FDA was falling over itself denying treatments to critically ill patients in order to ostensibly
'protect' them.
In
conclusion, it is likely safe, affordable, and even further advanced bionic optical procedures would be
available at present if it were not for the FDA and Co.
(Added
to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted 2/19/07 (By Travis)
Apple
CEO Jobs Attacks Teacher's Unions
2/16/06 Associated Press
Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs lambasted teacher unions today, claiming no amount of technology in the
classroom would improve public schools until principals could fire bad teachers. <.>
"I believe that what is wrong with our schools in this nation is
that they have become unionized in the worst possible way," Jobs said. "This unionization
and lifetime employment of K-12 teachers is off-the-charts crazy."
Heh heh.. great comments from Steve Jobs, who, by the way, is a
Democrat.
"Apple just lost some business in this state, I'm sure," Jobs said.
(Added to 'A
Charter School Tale')
|
Posted 2/19/07 (By Travis)
Women
will be Paid to Donate Eggs For Science
2/18/07 UK Guardian
It will now be
legal to pay a women 250 British Pounds for her eggs. Previously they could only use their eggs as
currency for fertility treatments or sterilization. Given that the British have socialized medicine,
one would think there would be little use for this kind of 'currency', but I digress. As we might
expect, these sorts of regulations have a predictable effect:
Campaigners for change say that this has led to a chronic shortage of eggs for scientific use.
In the United States, these shortages do not exist because people can be paid, as far as I am aware,
any mutually agreeable amount. Still, there are those who would limit freedom here, the 'National
Academics', whose name appears to provide apt description, came out with a report
last year stating:
Health, not money, should be the priority
of women hoping to sell their eggs to science, the National Academies concluded in a 240-page report
published Tuesday. As a result, researchers should be barred from paying women for their eggs.
There are shortages of many other health commodities, which could be alleviated by removing
government interference in the transactions of mutually interested individuals. Organ shortages, blood
shortages etc...
|
Posted 2/16/07 (By Travis)
Man
Catches Shark With Bare Hands
2/16/07 News.com.au
EYRE Peninsula man Phillip Kerkhof has wrestled a 1.3m shark - and lived to tell the tale with
barely a scratch on him.
On Monday night, after "quite a few vodkas", the 42-year-old bricklayer from Louth Bay,
near Port Lincoln, thought it would be a good idea to jump in the ocean and wrestle with a 1.3m
bronze whaler shark that had been spotted "hanging around".
He caught the shark with his bare hands, dragging it onto the Louth Bay jetty to the cheers of other
fishermen. The only damage was to his jean, which received a few nips.
But rather than keep hold of his "trophy shark" as a memento, Mr Kerkhof skinned and
gutted it, and has been eating it all week.
"I've got 10 or a dozen real good feeds from it, and I've still got a fair bit of him in the
freezer to last me a while," he said.
Mr Kerkhof admits his actions were not very clever and "wouldn't recommend anyone try it".
"It's amazing what vodka does to you, but when I woke up the next morning I thought it probably
wasn't the smartest thing to do," he said.
(Added to 'Humor')
|
Posted 2/15/07 (By Travis)
In Pursuit of Happiness
2/15/07
Neoperspectives.com
If happiness, true long term happiness, is the goal of life, and what else could supercede this?,
then it follows that we must tirelessly pursue our own happiness through whatever means possible. As
stated in 'Personal and Mental Responsibility' Part I and Part
II, it is imperative we recognize happiness comes entirely from within us and we alone are
responsible for it. Despite the great difficulties, we can change our conscious experience,
we can become better people and happier people, the terms are synonymous, and eventually even
fundamentally modify our conscious experience, attaining a greater level of control over our
thoughts and emotions.
The hardest part is maintaining focus on this goal. The mind will utilize every trick in the book to
prevent our will from achieving respectable power. Constant distractions, petty desires, recurrent
thoughts, emotional and biologic swings all compete to dilute steadfastness. To think, "I
would only be happy if..." is to know the treachery of the mind.
A relentless, ruthless, take no prisoners approach, defined somewhat distinct from this agitating
verbiage, may be necessary in order to assure nothing becomes a greater priority and nothing stands
in our way. This approach bears fruit regardless of starting point, past actions and
experiences, and outside influences. Adverse life events and/or a genetic shafting may conspire to
deliver a 'raw deal', yet to view life as such brings only cynicism and delusion. Intrinsic in such interpretation is external comparisons to others, a path shrouded in fallacious
verdict. Little good can come of such contrastations, or from dwelling on or lamenting past
events. Instead, attempt to approach each moment as a new person, free from weighty entanglements.
The first step is becoming aware of what exists to change, along with the wonderfulness of what is.
Take joy even in your faults, for they are the essence of humanness and, like 'gems',
provide opportunity to learn and advance. Concomitantly, we must vigilantly seek out positive
influences to facilitate this introspection and advancement regardless of venue; environment,
therapy, drugs, habits, and many others are all of vital importance. Positive
environments have been previously discussed, but what about therapy and drugs? Aren't those only
for people who have something wrong with them? This misconception stems from a lack of societal
humility. There is something 'wrong' with all of us! Counseling benefits anyone, especially if
approached with the proper intention. In fact, don't we do a form of this, if differently labeled, with friends and family
everyday? The same with medications, just because we are not functionally deficient, as defined when
compared to others, does not mean we are living up to our own potentials. Medications, even in small
doses, if used carefully and prudently can be used as a crutch and give us a sense of what 'normal'
is, and by 'normal' I mean normal for us, individually, better and happier, without contrast to
the general population. Diet is an important form of medication, or vice versa depending on your
semantic preference, there is really little difference between the two; rigid categories with walls
of judgment as separation rarely prove accurate.
Constant internal monitoring is perhaps the most important aspect of self improvement and increased
happiness as it aids in the development of positive habits. When you exercise, how do you feel?
Better or worse? The areas in your life and mind that you've marked for improvement, how do these
fare after a given activity, after a few distinct given meals? Generic advice is always useful as
a general guide to healthy living and happiness, but self feedback is infinitely more important, as
individual differences are prolific enough to negate many assumed commonalities. As an aside, it
is unfortunate the medical establishment and government agencies
appear remiss in subscription.
The point is, everything we do and everything around us has an effect on any given mental part of
us, and any given mental part of us has an effect on every other mental, and even physical, part of
us. Somewhat paradoxically, every single thing we do is so important and effects us so much, yet we
cannot let the importance consume us. Almost as if to have passion divulged of negative emotion, a
controlled, compassionate, and calm passion.
This
calm, almost uncaring, passion not only increases happiness and control, but also results in
increased discernment, allowing one to view things as they actually are, without the pre
categorizing, associating, and attachment of mental baggage. If this happy passion is directed at
oneself, and is able to thwart the protective barriers of the ego and the mind, increased lucency of
the self
and the nature of consciousness is possible.
Forsaken amongst previously mentioned tools necessary to increase happiness, free will, and this
passion/joy of life, is the focal key: meditation. Meditation, prayer, concentration, focus,
relaxation, interchangeable terms again designate virtually the same entity, is of critical importance. We all do a form of this everyday, but
a more sustained, focused, and productive specialization and application, swirled with some
individual tailorship, would surely prove
uniformly positive.
|
Posted 2/14/07 (By Travis)
Do
we want socialized medicine?
2/14/07
Walter Williams
(Added
to 'Government Healthcare')
|
Posted 2/14/07 (By Travis)
New
Minimum Wage Puts Squeeze Across Arizona
2/10/07
Some
Valley employers, especially those in the food industry, say payroll budgets have risen so much that
they're cutting hours, instituting hiring freezes and laying off employees. And teens are among the
first workers to go.
(Added to 'The Minimum Wage')
|
Posted 2/14/07 (By Travis)
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!
NYC
Hands Out Free Condoms for Valentine's Day
2/14/07
WCBS/AP
Hugo
Chavez Says He Misses Condoleezza Rice in Valentine's Day Speech
2/14/07
Associated Press
|
Posted 2/12/07 (By Travis)
One
third of homes dependent on benefits
2/12/07 Telegraph
One
in three households across Britain is now dependent on the state for at least half its income, it
emerged today.
Official government figures showed that more than seven million households are getting most of their
income from government handouts.
The figures also reveal the huge gulf in welfare dependency between single parent and two-parent
households.
These unfortunate British policies are likely creating large numbers of
single parent families and enhancing and spreading poverty.
But it suggests that David Cameron's Conservatives are worried about seeming uncaring, and therefore
not ready to take drastic action and copy American-style policies that have produced huge drops in
benefit claims in the United States.
(Added to 'Welfare
Articles')
|
Posted 2/12/07 (By Travis)
Venezuela
May Control Food Distribution
2/11/07 Durham Herald Sun
President
Hugo Chavez's government has drafted a decree allowing officials to take control of food
distribution chains, including supermarkets and storage depots, if services are interrupted,
officials said Sunday.
Industry and Commerce Minister Maria Cristina Iglesias said the decree would help curb supply
problems that have caused severe shortages of meats, milk and sugar in recent weeks.
If you recall, a previous hypothesis put forth was that shortages of anything people are willing to
pay for, with the possible exception of Harley Davison motorcycles :), are caused by government
policies.
Shortages
of items ranging from milk to coffee have occurred since early 2003, when Chavez began regulating
prices for 400 basic products as a way to counter inflation and protect the poor.
(Added to 'Chavez')
|
Posted 2/7/07 (By Travis)
Hi,
I'm Senator Coburn and I don't want your vote
Feb 2007 GQ Long but interesting
read on the Club For Growth elected senator from Oklahoma.
|
Posted 2/5/07 (By Travis)
Political
Power and the Rule of Law (Required Reading)
2/5/07
Ron Paul
An outstanding article. Added to 'Required Reading', 'The
Founding of the United States and the Constitutionality of Charity' and, 'Ron
Paul 2008'.
|
Posted 2/4/07 (By Travis)
Medical
Education in Nevada: A Tale of Two Medical Schools
2/4/07
Neoperspectives.com If you will look to your left you will see a new 'neoperspective' has finally
been added. A summary:
A look at medical
education in Nevada, including discussion of residencies and recommendations on improving access,
affordability, and quality healthcare for the state of Nevada.
Introduction (Posted
2/4/07)
Nevada
Medical School Profiles (Posted
2/4/07)
Nevada
Residencies (Posted
2/4/07)
Discussion (Posted
2/4/07)
Recommendations (Posted
2/4/07)
Conclusion (Posted
2/4/07)
To further wet your whistle, here is the introduction in full:
What is the proper roll for
government in society? Policy makers constantly wrestle with this question as they attempt to
address issues of concern to their communities. In many areas the private sector is acknowledged as
more efficient and innovative than the public sector. History has shown governmental regulation and
control over industries and sectors of the economy often yield dismal results. However, there is
still much debate and large swathes of the US economy are still fall under sway of the state and/or
federal government. Two notable such areas are Education and Healthcare, and, most especially, the
education of healthcare workers. The state of Nevada presents a unique opportunity to compare and
contrast two differing styles of Medical education. This alternating dance of competition and
cooperation between the two schools, pardon the pun, of thought serve as a microcosm to similar movements
playing out across the country and will be the focus of this paper.
|
Posted 1/30/07 (By Travis)
Free
to Choose
1/26/06 Economist blog
Yesterday was
Milton Friedman day!, for those who missed it. PBS ran a documentary
last night on Milton Friedman, if you can believe it. Would Milton be rolling in his grave over
having his obituary/documentary carried by a publicly financed station? Probably not because he was interviewed
by PBS on other occasions.
|
Posted 1/27/07 (By Travis)
From
Pelosi to Pitt, perverts to Paris, Dave Barry offers a last laugh
1/31/06 Dave Barry
(This
is a hilarious column, which I just ran across, added to the 1/1/07 New Years posting
greeting)
|
Posted 1/27/07 (By Travis)
The State of the Union: A Libertarian
Response
1/24/06 Steve Kubby (not too shabby)
One of the few things I approved of in the President's speech was his health
care proposal, a step towards removing the incentive imbalance towards employer based health insurance, despite what the
New
York Times may think about it.
|
Posted 1/23/07 (By Travis)
Curing
Cancer: A Patent Impossibility
1/22/07 LewRockwell.com
I can't vouch for
the efficacy of DCA, whether it might actually 'cure' some forms of cancer or help in treatments,
but the basic premise of this article is true and deserves further exploring and analysis.
(Added to 'FDA
Tyranny')
|
Posted 1/22/07 (By Travis)
The
happiest man in the world?
1/21/07
The Independent
To
scientists, he is the world's happiest man. His level of mind control is astonishing and the
upbeat impulses in his brain are off the scale.
MRI scans showed
that he and other long-term meditators - who had completed more than 10,000 hours each - experienced
a huge level of "positive emotions" in the left pre-frontal cortex of the brain, which is
associated with happiness. The right-hand side, which handles negative thoughts, is suppressed.
Further studies have shown that
even novices who have done only a little meditation have increased levels of happiness.
Now Matthieu Ricard, 60, a French academic-turned-Buddhist monk, is to share his secrets to make the
world a happier place. The trick, he reckons, is to put some effort into it. In essence, happiness
is a "skill" to be learned.
Pretty inspiring! Notice the correlation between 'mind control' and
happiness. Increasing free will by recognizing that the vast majority of our current thoughts and
feelings are not of our choosing (nor would we choose them if we could :)) is a good first
step.
|
Posted 1/22/07 (By Travis)
Two pretty good
stories on executive pay:
The
Greed Fallacy
1/23/07 Thomas Sowell
Many
observers who say that they cannot understand how anyone can be worth $100 million a year do not
realize that it is not necessary that they understand it, since it is not their money.
Worth
Every Last Million
1/19/07
Washington Post
|
Posted 1/21/07 (By Travis)
We've already
covered the statements by John Kerry, Hillary
Clinton, and other Democrats,
who dance around the idea of regulating or censoring blogs or infringing on freedom of speech. To further
hammer the point home that is seems only to be our friends on the left who advocate media and
internet censorship, the following stories have been compiled:
Transcript
for the video "Kucinich Discusses Fairness Doctrine on Lou Dobbs"
1/20/07
Some brief remarks here noting that Kucinich appears in favor of bringing back the 'fairness
doctrine', which would require all news and opinion shows to give equal time for all opinions. Like
most of liberalism, while it sounds good, it is inherently tyrannical, and would serve to stifle
conservative and libertarian minded media, as it did in the
past. From another
article:
Kucinich
said in his speech that "We know the media has become the servant of a very narrow corporate
agenda" and added "we are now in a position to move a progressive agenda to where it is
visible."
When
he says 'we' he means, the Democratic party and the liberal ideology. Regardless of who is in power,
why would we want government to be a position to move any agenda anywhere in the media?
Even
more worrying, Michael Copps, a Democratic FCC commissioner, added:
FCC
Commissioner Michael Copps was also on hand at the conference and took broadcasters to task for
their current content, speaking of "too little news, too much baloney passed off as news. Too
little quality entertainment, too many people eating bugs on reality TV. Too little local and
regional music, too much brain-numbing national play-lists."
You see, he, Michael Copps, and his agency know what is best for us, the American People.
"We're
Going to Break Up Giant Media Enterprises"
12/2/03 Hardball
The current Chairman of the Democratic party, Howard Dean:
He [tells Chris Matthews on MSNBC's Hardball, according to this
transcript via Drudge, that Rupert Murdoch's Fox interests will have to be broken up. He's
cagier, though, about whether GE, owner of the network on which he speaks, will specifically be
targeted, saying, "Yes, we`re going to break up giant media enterprises. That doesn`t mean
we`re going to break up all of GE. What we`re going to do is say that media enterprises can`t be as
big as they are today. I don`t think we actually have to break them up, which Teddy Roosevelt had to
do with the leftovers from the McKinley administration."
Editorial:
Power-hungry Chávez devours nation's future
1/20/07
San Antonio Express News
Continuing
his campaign against a free press, el presidente decided not to renew the license of Radio Caracas
Television, the country's oldest commercial television station.
This is on top of onerous laws such as the one regulating a certain
percentage of music on the radio be Venezuelan (just like the French and their television).
This is not to say there are no Conservatives or Republicans who do not trample on free speech; look
no further than aspiring Presidential hopeful John McCain and his 'Campaign
Finance Reform' law. Yet, the main point is nearly all threats to free speech and a market based
media come from our friends on the left.
And we haven't even discussed PBS and NPR... :)
(Added to 'Media
Freedom')
|
Posted 1/19/07 (By Travis)
New
Hampshire couple found guilty for failing to pay income tax; husband holed up with armed supporters
1/18/06 Associated Press
"Most Americans would cower and cringe and raise their hands and surrender like a good little
slave," he told reporters at his home this week.
"I won't. Under no circumstances. I do not tolerate cowardliness, oppression, bulliness, and I
certainly don't tolerate a federal agency that has absolutely zero jurisdiction in my state, never
mind in my county, in my town."
This goes nicely with the recently posted
story, describing the 2000
Tennessee tax revolt:
At
7:30am, at the instigation of the talk radio hosts, cars, trucks, and virtually every other type of
motor vehicle you could imagine began circling the state capitol blaring their horns. Thousands of
angry citizens swarmed into downtown Nashville and traffic all around town came to a virtual
standstill. By noon that day, with the deafening sound of car horns continuing to blare non-stop (in
fact, I lost part of my hearing that fateful day), legislators supporting the income tax called in
the State Troopers to bar the doors of the state capitol. One pro-tax legislator was carted away by
ambulance with heart problems - threatening the razor-thin majority in support of the tax hike.
By late afternoon, the legislature had abandoned the income tax proposal
entirely, closed the state budget gaps with temporary measures, and ended the legislative session
for the year while they could still get out of town with their lives. Car horns continued to blare
well into the night. In all my years working in public policy in Washington D.C. and several state
capitals, it is the most exhilarating experience I have been privileged to be witness to and be a
part of.
(Added to 'American
Heroes')
|
Posted 1/17/07 (By Travis)
Gas
Tax Proposal
1/11/06 Three Legged Stool
Bangert writes
a succinct proposal to keep the gas tax, but remove the Federal Government from management and
building of our nation's highways. While I disagree with the need for gas taxes, and perhaps Bangert
is just being politically savvy in his support of their continuance, I certainly can support
relieving the Federal Government from control of the nation's highways. Unlike many, I view President
Dwight Eisenhower's construction of our national highway system as a national abomination rather
than some sort of national treasure. Not that I have any particular objection to highways or roads;
I think we can agree that there was a 'need', if it's worth contemplating, for expanding infrastructure
at the time. Yet private entities, or at worst, collaborative state governments, were and are plenty
capable of fulfilling our transportation 'needs' - by the way, I really hate to use that word 'needs'
as it provokes the wrong connotations; no one can know our 'needs' until after they have been met,
as the process involves limitless interactions and an existential like vote tallying of freely
acting individuals, beyond the predictability of any individual and certainly over the head of any
government entity.
Regardless,
Bangert's view regarding the value of state corroboration brings up some interesting points. First,
beyond transportation, this sort of state cooperation can replace the bumbling actions of the
Federal Government on many levels. I hesitate to use this
example, as I am opposed to licensing
laws, but if we are going to have them, they might as well be uniform and, by uniform I don't
mean 'imposed' by the distant Feds as some now advocate. There are mutual benefits inherent in
states coming together, voluntarily, to facilitate the movement of various professionals across
state lines:
The
Nursing Licensure Compact is a mutual recognition model of nursing licensure that allows a nurse to
have one
license (in his/her state of residency) and to practice in other states (both physical and
electronic), subject to each
state’s practice law and regulation. Under mutual recognition, a nurse may practice across state
lines unless
otherwise restricted. In order to achieve mutual recognition, each state must enact legislation
authorizing the Nurse
Licensure Compact. States entering the compact also adopt administrative rules and regulations for
implementation
of the compact. There are currently 20 states that have implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact and
1 additional
state
pending. Nevada has declined to join at each of the last two Legislative sessions.
(Added to 'Transportation
Socialism' and 'Gasoline and Government')
|
Posted 1/17/07 (By Travis)
Governor
Schwarzenegger Should Go to Nashville (Required
Reading)
1/17/06 American Thinker
Nowadays it is
easy to hear the
pundits and media lauding the respective 'pioneering' universal healthcare efforts of CA gov Schwarzenegger and
GOP presidential hopeful Gov Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.
Yet, there is nothing innately 'pioneering' about these policies, although perhaps they are pioneering in the
sense they offer new 'tweaks' in the way with which they zigzag in the same direction.
In fact, these efforts
have been tried before in Tennessee and this, rather inspiring, article lays it out the results so
well, IMO, it has been
added to 'Required Reading'.
From Wikipedia:
In
July 2005 Sundquist was named head of a national panel on improving Medicaid.
You'll see the humor in that after reading the article. :)
(Added to 'US
Government Health Care')
|
Posted 1/15/07 (By Travis)
A
Disabled Son Imperils Family's Immigration Hope
12/27/06
Wall Street Journal
I meant to post this story some time ago because I think it is quite
illustrative. For background, a couple in Brazil discovered their son had a rare disease:
The couple soon realized that Igor's condition would require careful management and virtually
around-the-clock monitoring, not to mention a panoply of special drugs. The Souzas had access to
free care through Brazil's vast public health-care network, but the large hospitals and long waiting
lists were difficult to navigate. To get Igor to the doctor, Fernanda rose at 4 a.m., taking two
buses to line up just to make an appointment for a month later. The family couldn't afford private
care on Mr. Souza's $300 a month salary working in a restaurant.
The Souzas saw an answer thousands of miles to the north,
on Martha's Vineyard where Brazilian immigrants are the backbone of the local tourism industry. In
1989, Mr. Souza's father, José, found summer work in a restaurant called the Navigator, eventually
settling here in 1997. <.>
Mr. Souza says he has paid almost all of Igor's medical bills -- about $20,000
annually -- out of pocket, without insurance or help from government programs. He feared
accepting aid would jeopardize his family's attempt to gain permanent U.S. residency.
The point here is that this couple left 'free healthcare', aka
socialized medicine, for the private system here in the United States. Once here they did not
purchase insurance
or use government programs and were able to attain care better than that which they left
behind.
(Added
to 'US government Health')
|
Posted 1/15/07 (By Travis)
Life
at $7.25 an hour
1/9/07 Washington Post
(Added to 'The
Minimum Wage')
|
Posted 1/11/07 (By Travis)
(New Perm link: Ron
Paul 2008)
Texas
Congressmen Ron Paul Files for GOP Presidential Bid
1/11/07 AP
Rep
Ron Paul, the iconoclastic, nine-term lawmaker from southeast Texas, took the first step Thursday
toward a second, quixotic presidential bid - this time as a Republican.
Paul filed papers in Texas to create a presidential exploratory committee that will allow him to
raise money. In 1988, Paul was the Libertarian nominee for president and received more than 400,000
votes.
Paul, of Lake Jackson, acknowledges that the national GOP has never fully embraced him despite his
nine terms in office under its banner. He gets little money from the GOP's large traditional donors,
but benefits from individual conservative and Libertarian donors outside Texas. He bills himself as
"The Taxpayers' Best Friend," and is routinely ranked either first or second in the House
of Representatives by the National Taxpayers Union, a national group advocating low taxes and
limited government.
He describes himself as a lifelong Libertarian running as a Republican.
Paul
limits his view of the role of the federal government to those duties laid out in the Constitution.
Doesn't the Constitution define, by definition, the role of the Federal
Government? Isn't that the whole purpose of it? Why even bother with a constitution if it doesn't
stop government from doing willy-nilly whatever it wants?
Here
is a list of articles by Ron Paul,
including my personal favorite:
Scandals
are a Symptom, Not a Cause
1/9/06 (R) TX Rep.
Ron Paul
So, for these reasons, we at Neoperspectives.com are (drum roll) officially endorsing Rep. Ron Paul
for President. We may be jumping the gun on this, as this current press release is merely announcing
the creation of an 'exploratory committee' to examine the feasibility of a presidential run, but this
is going to take a true 'grassroots' effort, so why not strike while the iron is hot?
While it may be the case that Rep Paul will start as a long shot underdog, a platform on which to espouse the virtues of
limited government will still be beneficial and necessitate the shifting of the winning candidate(s)
to accommodate libertarian minded voters. With 10-40% of the electorate classifying as some form of
libertarian, there is certainly a possibility for a significant upswelling and consolidation of a
powerful voting block.
The only objection some might raise to Dr Paul's nomination is his national security stance, which
might, perhaps, divide even the board members here at Neoperspectives.com.
Despite my personal wariness on his foreign policy views, as well as some aspects of monetary
policy, a quick assessment and prioritization leaves little doubt that this man offers the best
chance to repeal socialism, end economic slavery, and expand freedom, thus, IMHO, enhance morality
and expand happiness in the United States and throughout the world. :) And, let's be frank, isn't
that really the goal of this all anyway? :)
I
happen to think the greatest threat facing us stems from the advancing aforementioned slavery within, not from
Islamic terrorists, and even so, some of Paul's arguments ring true; there are
aspects of US foreign policy which have certainly done more harm than good over the
years.
Regardless, a few third world thugs we can send back to the stone age, if they aren't there already,
any day. I'd rather protect our freedoms now, here at home first. :) I'd hardly say this is an
extreme position and by the same token, I'd hardly say it is extreme to support and endorse Ron Paul
for President of the United States... even if he hasn't yet announced his candidacy. :)
(Added to 'Ron
Paul 2008')
|
Posted 1/9/07 (By Travis)
The
Bureaucrat in your Trash (not real title)
1/8/07 Las Vegas Sun
Local
officials unfairly hurt private trash haulers by requiring them to process garbage at
government-owned facilities, the haulers' lawyer told the Supreme Court Monday.
(Added to 'The
Bureaucrat in Your...)
|
Posted 1/9/07 (By Travis)
Gov.
seeks sweeping health system reforms
1/8/07 LA Times
Where to start
with this one? The Governor's misguided attempt to
follow in the footsteps of Massachusetts
yields this gem:
Schwarzenegger
would tax doctors 2% of their gross revenue and place a 4% tax on hospitals.
This is interesting because our friends on the left (and even today's right) routinely justify tax
increases on cigarettes because it discourages their use by raising the price. Yet, with healthcare
the result should be different? The same tune is sung when gas
prices rise and a 'windfall tax' on oil companies is suggested.
(Added to 'US
Government Health')
|
Posted 1/6/07 (By Travis)
Curing
Poverty or Using Poverty? (Required Reading)
1/10/06 RCP Dr.
Thomas Sowell Progress in China
This was a previously posted story, lost in the archives, that has now been added to it's proper
place in 'Required
Reading'. Dang it's good! :)
|
Posted 1/6/07 (By
Travis)
A
Year full of school sex raps
1/5/07 New York Daily
News
Condon
recommended 121 firings last year, most of which are still pending due to union procedures. Only 41
of those firings have taken effect.
Let us not get caught up in the fearmongering that kids at public
schools are getting molested or at any great risk beyond the standard brain rot experienced from a
public education. The point here is that only 41 firings of 121 have taken effect due to union
policies.
What are these teachers doing? This
previously posted story tells us:
It's almost impossible
because of the rules in the New York schools' 200-page contract with their teachers. There are so
many rules that principals rarely even try to jump through all the hoops to fire a bad teacher. It
took six years of expensive litigation before the teacher who wrote Cutee101 was fired. During those
six years, he received more than $300,000 in salary.
"Up, down, around, we've paid him,"
said the chancellor. "He hasn't taught, but we've had to pay him, because that is what is
required under the contract."
Hundreds of teachers the city calls incompetent,
racist, or dangerous have been paid millions.
And what do they do while they get paid? They
sit in rubber rooms.
They're not really made of rubber, of course.
They are big, empty rooms where they store the teachers they are afraid to let near the kids. The
teachers go there and sit, hang around, read magazines, and waste time. The city pays $20 million a
year to house teachers in rubber rooms.
The same thing takes
place in the auto industry,
and is why unions will drive it to bankruptcy (unlike public schools the
auto industry actually has competition)...
(Added to 'A Charter School Tale')
|
Posted 1/6/07 (By
Travis)
Political
Peak Oil - One thing stands in the way of secure and abundant supplies of oil: Government
1/5/07 Reason
The problem arises because 77 percent of the world’s known oil reserves are in the hands of
state-owned oil companies.
(Added to 'Gasoline
and Government')
|
Posted
1/4/07 (By Travis)
Free
Will, Now You Have it, Now You Don't
1/2/07 New York Times
(Added to 'A
Theory of God')
|
Posted
1/4/07 (By Travis)
TV
ban on Adverts for Cheese, the latest 'Junk Food'
1/2/07 Daily Mail
From
the United Kingdom.
(Added to 'New
Government Food Pyramid')
|
Posted
1/4/07 (By Travis)
The
Armed Citizen Year In Review: Final Tallies
12/31/06
Freerepublic.com
An interesting recap of 263 news stories from the year 2006, searchable by state, where citizens
successfully defended their life, liberty, and property with firearms. Of course, this is only the
tip of the iceberg, most shootings probably don't make the newspapers, and of those making the
newspapers many are probably not caught by the diligent 'freepers' (posters on freerepublic.com), and
labeled with the correct key words. Even so, it is still interesting as a reference and will be
added to 'Guns and Crime'.
|
Posted
1/4/07 (By Travis)
Owners
Cut Jobs as Wages Increase
12/31/06
Colorado Gazette
A good article illustrating the harmful effects of increasing the minimum wage. Of special interest:
For
example, some restaurant owners wondered whether tipped workers could perform the duties of
nontipped workers, such as kitchen prep work, to offset some labor costs. Attorneys and labor
experts told association members this would not be legal, Symonds said.
Private businesses cannot pay people what it thinks they are worth or
have them do jobs they need done.
Interestingly, some Medical
Residents do not make minimum wage, even now. Maybe they should sue. Amazing how one can
fall afoul of the law...
(Added
to 'The Minimum Wage')
|
HAPPY NEW YEAR
EVERYONE! :)
Stranger
than Satire, Past New Year Predicts this One
1/1/07 Foxnews
From
Pelosi to Pitt, perverts to Paris, Dave Barry offers a last laugh
1/31/06 Dave Barry
Posted
12/25/06 (By Travis)
Personal
Responsibility, Mental Responsibility Part II
This
post is an update to the 10/27 post 'Personal Responsibility,
Mental Responsibility'.
What
does it means to 'take mental responsibility' for our life experiences? If we simply try harder can
we easily change the way we think and feel? Are we are all capable of self change simply by
'toughening up'? And, most importantly, do successfully happy people attain their happiness entirely
by virtue of their free will and vice versa? Part I did
not intend to answer any of the above in the affirmative. In fact, the conclusion reached is the
opposite; free will, despite its apparent existence, is most often an illusionary phenomena, we
perceive we possess it, but this apparent ownership is often only superficial.
For
example, someone who is addicted to cigarettes will smoke a cigarette. They may 'choose' what
store they buy their pack at, and when, where, and the manner in which they light up. While it is
semantically correct to label these other actions 'choices', they are unimportant and interpreted
only to retain some semblance of false dignity. Yet, this makes all the difference to the mind.
Governments do the same thing, totalitarian governments such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and many
others hold elections, but all the candidates are chosen by the government. The people are given the
perception of freedom even whilst they languish in chains. The definition of Fascism is that
government allows private industry to exist, but mandates
what must be done with it, giving the illusion of private ownership and property
protection.
So,
the central thesis is not that we are strong, but that we are weak. We are slaves, held in bondage
by our desires, insecurities, anxieties, and lower thought processes, which all arise and influence
our thoughts and actions without any volitional choice of our own. However, the fear of exposing our
utter weakness, the risk of total demolition of our false self image, the humility of shattering any
vestige of pride, and the pain inherent in the realization of our fragility and insecurity of our
true mental state all contrive to keep us blind to the very nature of ourselves.
It was
in this same seeking spirit that Harry
Browne said, "If government had taken over the auto industry in 1920, today we'd all be
driving Model-T cars -- and saying, 'If it weren't for the government, we'd have no cars at all.'"
We look at government projects and think, "Thank God government
was there to fulfill our great needs; we have water,
electricity, roads,
all thanks to Government." Of course, we would be more than perfectly capable of fashioning
these things for ourselves and doing it better and cheaper than government. All we have to do is
look around us; we live and tolerate amazing incompetence, beat down daily by the corruption,
the regulation, the taxes, yet we never dare
shake our worldview by questioning common assumptions. We prefer the security of bondage rather than
risk the challenges and responsibilities of freedom. So it is with the mind as well.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating
contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick
the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye
were our countrymen. -- Samuel Adams 1776
However, this canvas of pessimism is misleading as the background colors of life are bright,
not dark. We are still surrounded by humming commerce. Raw capitalism, brought about by the free
choices of individuals, delivers the highest living standard in the world. Immigrants
flock to the United States and even our most ardently critical
citizens, interestingly, remain in country. This 'voting with
your feet' phenomena occurs, even though the reasons behind the migrations may not be fully
understood by the participants themselves. So too, the mind is self-aware; our higher thinking
processes are dimly aware of our bondage. Our true self, the part with volition and morality, grasps
that our higher mind is being overruled and overrun by our lower animalistic nature. How can we be
sure? Because, upon questioning, every single person can list their own faults off like a laundry
list. We are, and what a gift it is, aware, on some level, of the contradictions in what we
think and what we feel. Just like people are quite good at making economic choices for themselves,
people are remarkably good at understanding themselves, on an intellectual level.
So wherin lies the problem? The problem is that the master, the lower mind, works to keep the slave,
the higher mind and our true self (the part that chooses), in bondage. Thus, while we may be
somewhat aware of many of our faults, vices, desires, and erroneous thoughts and feelings, we lack
the urgency to deal with them. We do not feel a sense of acute emergency despite the continual
suffering our cognitive dissonance, internal conflicts, generates. We think, "sure, I tend to
be an anxious person", or, "yea, I'm often
sad", or "I probably drink too much", but it often doesn't bother us to the point
that we find it totally unacceptable to remain in these recurrent cycles of suffering.
Worse,
and most destructively, we blame our feelings on outside influences. I used to work at an HIV/Aids
hotline and we had significant numbers of persons with anxiety disorders repeatedly call, who had
been repeatedly tested for HIV and/or did not have an exposure, but their anxiety prevented them
from believing the tests, results, or us counselors. The problem was not the outside event, their
exposure, or the existence of HIV, their problem stemmed from their internal processing of outside
events. The problem was within them and upon questioning, they nearly always revealed past
spates of intense anxiety, fear over various self-created stressors. If the focus remains on the
outside events, inner reflection and positive change is not possible. The cycles and patterns
must be broken.
Is this not reminiscent of politicians? They focus on superficial political winners like prayer in school and the so-called 'banning of
Christmas' rather than on the deeper socialization of public
schools. They focus on new aid programs for poorer persons, without
the realization that existing aid programs and expansive government
policies are the cause of the very poverty they seek to alleviate. The root causes are ignored in the place of more politically
viable and emotional swatting of symptoms and symbols.
Will an individual who has achieved (more on possible approaches to this in the coming essay 'In
Pursuit of Happiness') a level of control over the mind and experiences a diminishing of negative
thoughts and emotions never appear angry or frustrated? Of course not, first because of the
difficulty in bringing about change to the point where an individual truly has freedom and has taken
full responsibility over their own mental state and secondly, because the battle is entirely
internal, external expressions of anger or even the use of violence may be appropriate, moral, and
necessary in some situations. Yet, even while the person is appearing outwardly enraged or violent,
they remain perfectly calm and loving inside. So, in a sense, an outside event can cause a reaction,
yet the reaction is volitional and physical rather than mental and the event should not disrupt
inner peace. This discrepancy is important to understand because misconceptions can lead to derision
of the idea that negative emotions come from only within us and are not caused by external
events.
|
Posted
12/25/06 (By
Travis)
Merry
Christmas Everyone!
Deputy
Dresses as Elf to Catch Speeders
12/11/06
Local6.com
It's been a tradition, well sort of, here at Neoperspectives to post humorous stories on holidays,
so here are some more:
Oh
Dear Lord Bees! (picture montage and story)
Family
Guy, Hummer Guy (video, language warning)
Family
Guy, Vomit (video)
Family
Guy, Chicken Fight (video)
(Added to
'Humor')
|
Posted
12/24/06 (By
Travis)
Spanish
Surgeon rushed to treat Castro
12/24/06 Reuters
Jose
Luis Garcia Sabrido, an intestinal specialist, traveled to the Caribbean island on Thursday aboard
an aircraft chartered by the Cuban government, according to Spain's left-leaning El Periodico de
Catalunya newspaper.
The plane carried medical equipment not available in Cuba in case the leader needs further
surgery due to his progressively failing health, the newspaper reported.
Garcia Sabrido will carry out tests on Castro to see if he needs another operation after undergoing
emergency surgery for intestinal bleeding in July, the newspaper said.
Why is this medical equipment not available in Cuba? Would this doctor
be flown in for any citizen? This story takes a little jab at the lovechild of the left: inequality.
Although it might be the case that many Cubans have access to health care, the health care they
receive is subpar. Cuban society is also stratified and even the upper echelons of the Cuban healthcare system
are no match for the advances of capitalism elsewhere in the Western world.
|
Posted
12/21/06 (By
Travis)
'Milk,
It Does A Government Good' is a newly created post grouping.
See also, 'Harvesting
Cash' a Washington Post story collection on agra subsidies.
|
Posted
12/21/06 (By
Travis)
Dairy
Industry Crushed Innovator Who Bested Price-Control System
12/10/06 Washington Post
An update from a previously posted(1/2/06) Wall Street Journal
story with an unhappy ending. This article is interesting because, IMO, it is a great illustration of how Washington works. The
main points I've excerpted here are just to show how politicians benefit as they shake down
hardworking citizens, on all sides of a given issue, for cash, in a manner reminiscent of the mafiosa.
When politicians have the power to affect
change in a given area, corruption and discord and immorality soon follows. The root of this issue
is not the reprehensible action government chose to take, but that it has the power to take any action at
all.
In the summer of 2003, shoppers in Southern California began getting a
break on the price of milk.
A maverick dairyman named Hein Hettinga started bottling his own milk and selling it for as much as
20 cents a gallon less than the competition, exercising his right to work outside the rigid system
that has controlled U.S. milk production for almost 70 years. Soon the effects were rippling
through the state, helping to hold down retail prices at supermarkets and warehouse stores. <.>
The
first challenge to Hettinga came in late 2001, when Sen. John Kyl (R-Ariz.) proposed a measure that
would have forced Hettinga to pay in to the pool that Shamrock was governed by.
Shamrock's chairman, Norman P. McClelland, had contributed thousands of dollars to Kyl, beginning
with Kyl's first House campaign, in 1986. <.>
In Nunes's first run for Congress, in 2002, he pulled in $130,000 from dairy interests, second only
to President Bush among federal candidates, election records show.
Nunes's bill and Kyl's amendment initially went nowhere. So Kyl, a conservative Republican, found an
unlikely ally in Reid, then the Senate's fiercely partisan Democratic whip.
Reid was no newcomer to dairy issues. Nevada's population was growing faster than its dairies could
supply milk, so prices tended to be high. Milk plants that had to import milk from far away thought
they could get it cheaper if they did not have to pay regulated prices. In 1999, Reid helped them
out. He slipped an amendment into a spending bill exempting milk plants in the Las Vegas area from
federal pricing rules.
David Coon, vice president of Anderson Dairy Inc., then the area's largest milk plant, hailed Reid's
amendment as a "good example of the good we feel he has done fighting for our state." Reid
later listed Anderson as one of 51 "soft money" donors to his Searchlight Leadership Fund,
which funds Democratic candidates in Nevada.
The 1999 provision still left the Las Vegas area subject to some federal milk regulations. By 2003,
fixing that had become a pressing concern as Dean Foods began construction on a $40 million,
state-of-the-art milk plant outside town.
That year, Reid and Kyl saw they could make a deal. Kyl agreed to back removing all of Nevada from
federal milk regulation, and Reid agreed to support legislation cracking down on Hettinga and
protecting Arizona dairies from competition from low-priced Nevada milk. In 2003, the senators
co-sponsored an amendment with both provisions. In effect, Nevada bottlers would get some of the
same rights that were being taken away from Hettinga. Under this arrangement, the money the Yuma
dairyman would save by operating outside the federal system would have to be paid in to the pool. <.>
Hettinga said that at Lewis's request he chipped in $2,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign later that
year. He also gave $4,000 to Lewis's campaign war chest between 2003 and 2006, records show.
A few months
later, Lewis used his power to kill the Kyl-Reid measure. "Congressman Lewis did it strictly on
behalf of a constituent and because he thought Hein's deal was good for consumers," said
Lewis's deputy chief of staff, Jim Specht. <.>
Eight groups with an interest in the legislation reported overall lobbying spending of more than $5
million in 2005 and the first half of 2006. Dean Foods reported spending almost $2.5 million,
including $500,000 for outside lobbyists. One was Charles M. "Chip" English Jr. of Thelen
Reid & Priest. English also represented Shamrock Foods, United Dairymen of Arizona and the Dairy
Institute of California.
During 2005, English fine-tuned the language in the milk bill. "My hand can be seen throughout
the bill," he said in an interview. Pick a paragraph in the legislation, he said, and
"either I wrote it or I commented on it." <.>
Hettinga
also turned to the courts. In October, he filed a lawsuit charging that the milk bill was
unconstitutional because it was aimed at penalizing a single individual.
"I still think this is a great country," Hettinga said. "In Mexico, they would have
just shot me."
(Added to 'Milk, It Does A Government Good')
|
Posted
12/21/06 (By
Travis)
No
Drought Required For Federal Drought Aid
7/11/06 Washington Post
All
that livestock owners had to do was show up at their county agriculture office and fill out a short
form certifying the number of animals they owned as of June 1, 2002. Short-staffed county offices
were hard pressed to verify the numbers. They did only limited spot checks.
<.>
Then, on Feb. 1, 2003, the shuttle exploded. To ensure recovery of the debris and pay for emergency
costs, President Bush issued a federal disaster declaration. As an unintended result, most of East
Texas was then eligible for livestock funds. Denton County's livestock owners collected $433,000,
records show.
"Speaking personally, I didn't think it was necessary at that point in time," said Calvin
Peterson, an 81-year-old rancher who heads the local farm committee. "It might have been more
political than anything."
In Henderson County, about 100 miles southeast of Dallas, Nico de Boer felt the same way. When he
arrived from the Netherlands 17 years ago, de Boer had 90 acres, a house, one barn and fewer than
200 cows. Today, he has 1,000 acres, multiple cow barns and sheds, 650 cows that produce 3 million
pounds of milk monthly, a BMW in the driveway, a swimming pool, and two more farms in neighboring
counties.
The rolling hills surrounding his sprawling farm receive a generous average of 40 inches of rain
annually. When the shuttle exploded, pastures were full and there hadn't been a drought or any other
type of weather disaster in years, records show. But after the presidential disaster declaration,
John Reeves of the local USDA office informed livestock owners in Henderson County they were
eligible. They eventually collected $751,083 despite no shuttle damage.
"The livestock program was a joke. We had no losses," de Boer said. "I don't know
what Congress is thinking sometimes."<.>
"We registered about a 3 [magnitude] or something," said Don Boyd, a local emergency
management official. "We had some minor shaking, some cracks in the chimneys, that sort of
thing."
USDA officials didn't check for damage because none of the local dairy farmers complained.
Yet in 2003 more than 200 livestock owners in Whatcom County collected $1.6 million under the
Livestock Compensation Program -- one of the largest payouts for a county nationwide -- for the same
earthquake.
A 2001 presidential disaster declaration for the Nisqually earthquake had named 22 counties,
including Whatcom. Dairy farmers and ranchers in Washington state collected nearly $4 million in
livestock funds, according to records analyzed by The Post.
She said some Whatcom County dairy farmers came into the office to report that they had accidentally
received government checks. <.>
In still another news release, Brancel implored (Reminds me of this
story) livestock owners to apply for the money. "If
you own eligible livestock in eligible counties you are eligible," he wrote. "In these
tough economic times, you don't want to miss the opportunity to receive money to help pay some of
the bills."
Wisconsin livestock owners took Brancel up on his offer, collecting more than $39 million. Still,
some dairy farmers and county officials were confused about why they were getting the money.
"In this county, we got a lot of questions from producers: 'Why are we eligible?' "
recalled Tom Schneider, the head of the USDA office in Manitowoc County, where livestock owners got
$1.5 million. "Our answer was 'Because we were told you were eligible.' "
(Added
to 'Farm Subsidies')
|
Posted
12/21/06 (By
Travis)
Harvesting
Cash The Myth of the Small Farmer / Federal Subsidies Turn Farms Into Big Business
12/21/06 Washington
Post
Without
generous government help, farm-state politicians say, thousands of these hardworking families would
fail, threatening the nation's abundant food supply.
The very policies touted by Congress as a way to save small family farms are instead helping to
accelerate their demise, economists, analysts and farmers say. That's because owners of large
farms receive the largest share of government subsidies. They often use the money to acquire more
land, pushing aside small and medium-size farms as well as young farmers starting out. <.>
A March 2005 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City found that hundreds of counties most
dependent on subsidies had suffered the biggest population losses and posted the weakest job growth.
"Farm payments appear to create dependency on even more payments, not new engines of economic
growth," concluded the study's author, Mark Drabenstott.
Another example of government action resulting in the opposite of their
intentions. However, this time, somewhat refreshingly :), we can question their intentions as well.
Why should the goal be to 'save family farms' or help family farmers?
Large farms are a "rational and ethical" response to market demands, he said. His family
has farmed there for six generations, Phipps himself for the past three decades. He owns 800 acres
outright or with his siblings and rents 1,000 acres. His wife is his main helper and drives one of
the trucks that haul up to 700 bushels of corn per load to grain bins. "Imagine that: Two
middle-aged people able to farm 1,800 acres," Phipps marveled. "That's all because of the
immense technology we have at our hands. We are horrendously efficient." <.>
"Farming is a science now," he said. "The image of a farmer in bib overalls bumbling
along is just wrong. I'm an engineer, for God's sake." <.>
Phipps resents the images used to evoke sympathy for farmers. "I think they do us more harm
than good," he said as he scrambled to finish his harvest. "I don't think farmers are any
more special than anyone else; lots of people work hard and don't get help. Why should farmers get
special treatment?"
(Added
to 'Farm Subsidies')
|
Posted
12/20/06 (By
Travis)
Here is a sort of Hodgepodge collection of stories on backlog that compliment and have thus been
added to various post groupings:
Farm
Security: The mohair of the dog that bites you
Dave Barry
(Added to
'Farm Subsidies')
U.S.
Supreme Court to Consider Eminent Extortion Case for Review
12/18/06
Institute For Justice
Because Didden planned to build a CVS on his property—land the developer
coveted for a Walgreens—the developer demanded $800,000 from Didden to make him “go away” or
ordered Didden to give him an unearned 50 percent stake in the CVS development. If Didden refused,
the developer would have the Village of Port Chester condemn the land for his private use. Didden
rejected the bold-faced extortion. The very next day the Village of Port Chester condemned
Didden’s property through eminent domain so it could hand it over to the developer who made the
threat.
(Added
to 'Supreme Tyranny' (Kelo))
Iraq's
Economy is Booming
12/25/06
Newsweek
Imported
goods have grown increasingly affordable, thanks to the elimination of tariffs and trade barriers.
Salaries have gone up more than 100 percent since the fall of Saddam, and income-tax cuts (from 45
percent to just 15 percent) have put more cash in Iraqi pockets. "The U.S. wanted to create the
conditions in which small-scale private enterprise could blossom," says Jan Randolph, head of
sovereign risk at Global Insight. "In a sense, they've succeeded."
(Added
to 'The War In Iraq')
A
Short Course in Brain Surgery
2006
Onthefencefilms.com
(Added
to 'Canadian Healthcare')
Communism's
Clumsy Condoms
Soviet
liberation of women may have been grand and radical, but it was imposed from above by brutal force
and was therefore deeply inhuman. Of course, compared to forced industrialization and
collectivization, liberation of women was benign. It did not cost millions of human lives. But the
results of gender equality inflicted by the state are inevitably quite different from women's rights
secured by generations of public activism.
(Added
to 'Communist
Musings' and 'Social Conservatism')
Communist
Body Count
12/4/06 Scott Manning
Top
Ranked Atrocities
Mathew White
(Added
to 'Communist
Musings' and 'John Kerry and Foreign Policy')
In
Remembrance of Carrie Largent
Web Photo
Collaboration page (designed by Brian Cook)
Friends can upload
photos here
Carrie's Myspace
Page
Carrie's FaceBook
Page
(Added
to 'RIP Carrie Largent')
|
Posted
12/18/06 (By
Travis)
NHS
funding for kids' braces slashed by 20 per cent
12/17/06 The Daily Mail
Some news from socialized medicine and dentistry in Great Britain:
Parents
are being forced to pay thousands of pounds for braces for their children's teeth after the
Government slashed the number of youngsters eligible for free treatment.
Rationing of orthodontic treatment means more than 7,000 children and teenagers with crooked teeth
are being turned down for braces and other corrective dental work each month, orthodontists have
warned.
Many have no option but to go private - a path that costs their parents up to £4,500 for a set of
braces.
This means that around 85,000 of the 420,000 patients treated each year will be turned away. Most
will be children and teenagers.
Chris Kettler, executive secretary of the British Orthodontic Society said: 'More than 20 per cent
of children who would have been treated under the NHS cannot be now. We need more funding.'
More funding? The system is broken from the bottom up, or better said,
top down. :)
The shake-up, designed to boost the number of people entitled to
dentistry on the NHS, has led to restrictions on the orthodontic work carried out by dentists,
increasing the pressure on orthodontic specialists.
How can this be? A plan designed to increase access reduced access?
Careful students of government will recognize this bizarre outcome as entirely predictable.
(Added to 'British
Health Care')
|
Posted
12/17/06 (By
Travis)
U.S.
Schools Overhaul Sought, Using Private Control
12/14/06
Associated Press
U.S. public schools should be run by private contractors who would graduate
most students by 10th grade, concluded an expert commission sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation.
While I've been critical, perhaps unfairly because after all it's their
money, of aspects of the Gates' charitable foundation
in the past here at neoperspectives.com (as they don't seem to place heavy focus on the underlying
political and economic roots of poverty, disease, and suffering), this recent proposal is quite
interesting. The seriousness with which this analysis and proposal is being taken says volumes
about the shifting debate and sentiment towards public 'education' and, if we're lucky, 'public'
institutions in general. :)
The
plan faces opposition from teacher unions, which expressed concern about the proposal to hand
operations over to private contractors, and to shift the structure of teacher retirement pay.
No surprises here, nor their method of
attack:
The nation's largest teachers union, the 3.2 million-member National Education Association, said
that recommendations such as state funding and private control of schools ``could potentially
disenfranchise poorer communities and eliminate community voices.''
Of course, the opposite is true, and feel free to extrapolate this
contradiction to policy areas beyond education:
The Education Trust, a
Washington-based research and advocacy group, released a state-by-state analysis yesterday
concluding that U.S. school funding policies leave poor and minority students with the worst
schools, including less- qualified teachers and less-demanding curriculum.
However,
I thought this was the most interesting part of the article:
The plan also calls for state funding to replace local property taxes, free pre-kindergarten and
higher teacher pay on a merit-based system. The Gates Foundation and other sponsoring groups may pay
states to help implement it, organizers said.
This is interesting because in the United States conditions exist that
enable a private entity to create enough wealth, through rugged free market capitalism, or something
close to it, to influence and shoulder massive costs
normally paid by taxpayers. How much more productive is the genius of creative and caring
individuals than that of government? Think of all the taxes government has taken from Gates and
Microsoft over his lifetime. And for what? What does government actually accomplish with our tax
money? Well, they do a good job supporting the Unions
whose members have their dues forcibly returned to the very politicians that orchestrated the
original theft. Gates and Co and the rest of us are plenty capable of running day to day
functions we somehow believe can only be suited to government. In fact, we could easily perform the current
(unconstitutional) 'jobs' of
government and still have spending money leftover; provided they'd let us keep our own $$$, abolish
existing institutions, and keep the heck outta our way!
(Added
to 'A Charter School Tale')
|
Posted
12/11/06 (By
Travis)
World
Bank Reports Poverty Programs Ineffective
12/7/06
Washington Post
Despite an intensified campaign against poverty, World Bank programs have
failed to lift incomes in many poor countries over the past decade, leaving tens of millions of
people suffering stagnating and even declining living standards, according to a report released
Thursday by the bank's autonomous assessment arm.
Just like much of Western foreign aid and charitable
aid, the 'aid' the World Bank seeks to deliver is not having the desired effect because
handouts or policies promoting government largeness do not address the root of the problem of poverty in the world. Poverty exists because poor
countries are run by criminals and have large, expansive, and intrusive governments.
Overall, between 1990 and 2002 the percentage of the world's people who
subsist on less than one dollar per day declined from 28 percent to 19 percent, according to World
Bank research. But officials with the evaluation group noted that much of the advance was registered
in China, which has rejected many of the tenets of the development model advocated by the West
while relying hardly at all on the largesse of the World Bank.
But isn't the opposite true? China has raised millions of
people out of poverty by moving away from communism and socialism and embracing Western free market
concepts.
Now, here is the real kicker:
Some of the report reads like an amalgam of the sorts of criticisms that have been leveled against
the World Bank for years by activists who accuse it of an ideological bias toward market reforms and
a callous disregard for the people bearing the brunt of such policies. The report chides the bank
for failing to help cushion poor people against price and currency liberalizations; for focusing on
the fiscal sustainability of pension systems to the deriment of the poor; for promoting the
privatization of power industries without thinking enough about wiring up the indigent.
It criticizes the bank for failing
to tailor projects to local conditions, and for sometimes attempting to accomplish more than
national governments can handle. In the most striking example, the report noted that in Uganda the
bank assisted the government with an ambitious effort to increase school enrollments, but failed to
plan for sufficient teacher hiring or classroom construction.
Of course, the opposite is true! The World Bank's promotion of expanding health and education,
increasing the power of the already large government (we know it is large because the country is
poor) can only be unhelpful. The World Bank's focus on the things the activists claim don't go far enough is likely the
reason for their failure.
Want to alleviate poverty? First step, kick the World Bank out of your country.
|
Posted
12/6/06 (By
Travis)
When
costly drug trials don't bear fruit
12/6/06
Mlive.com
Torcetrapib was pulled from studies involving 15,000 heart patients
nationwide. Half took Lipitor alone; the rest took Lipitor and the trial drug. On Saturday, Pfizer
announced that an independent monitor found instances of high blood pressure among the patients
taking the combination. More alarming, the death rate differed: The two-drug group recorded 82
fatalities, while the Lipitor group recorded 51.
What about those who took Torcetrapib alone? Have any studies been done on this? What about
individuals within the studies? Did those who died share any commonalities? Individuals react very
differently to medications and diseases manifest differently in different individuals. The future of
medicine lies in individual treatment using genetics and/or clinical experience, a future not
yet embraced by those in government, notably the FDA. In fact, even today, many medications are
prescribed on a trial and error basis. Side effects may be intolerable, or results dismal, in a
subset of patients and so a different class(es) is then tried. While it may be the case drugs are often
thrown at patients and may, upon occasion, do more harm then good, it is also true that they can
literally be lifesavers if applied correctly.
My
purpose in raising these points is that, IMO, torcetrapib should be available for docs to prescribe
and for further studies to be done, and for patients with no other options, or otherwise, to try if
they so choose. The reason it will not be available is not because there are not customers, or docs
who were excited about aspects of this drug, especially in certain subsets of patients, but because of government. The company
is forced to
shield
itself from predatory trial lawyers and
more importantly, the unconstitutional FDA.
The
cost of developing torcetrapib, reported in various news stories as between $800 million and nearly
$1 billion, goes a long way toward explaining the high prices of prescription drugs with no generic
competition. The pharmaceutical companies often invest astronomical sums on research, development
and testing to bring a drug to market. And many drugs in development fail -- often after a fortune
has been spent on them.
But it's also a bitter setback for the company and its shareholders. On Monday, Pfizer's stock fell
nearly 11 percent -- a $21 billion reduction in the stock's market value, according to The New York
Times.
But the news underscores the importance of small pharmaceutical companies and other biotech
concerns that continue to take risks to develop promising drug therapies.
It is incredible how much money is spent on these trials and
developments. Much of this is due to the onerous regulations of the FDA and worries about legal
liabilities. Yet, we always hear our friends on the left criticize 'big pharm', when they are the
ones saving lives, in spite of government. Amazing that they are able to do it.
However, I would be negligent in this analysis :) if I did not spend
some time attacking the vast amounts of money government gives to fund so-called 'academic'
research. The best and most relevant research is done by private companies, who employ the best
researchers and most visionary scientists. Private companies, especially pharm companies, have large
volumes of private unpublished research and databases that would, perhaps, this is just an
inference, put academia to
shame. Why not take the money thrown at University profs for who knows
what various research grants and give it as tax breaks to the drug companies? Even better, don't
collect the money from them to begin with. :)
|
Posted
12/1/06 (By
Travis)
Canadians
Agree That A Patient Wait Time Guarantee Is The Most Important Priority For Canada’s New
Government
11/29/06 Ipsos News
Center
Ottawa, ON –According to an Ipsos Reid
survey among the general public, a majority of Canadian adults rank a patient wait times guarantee
as more important than any other of the Government’s priorities. Of the five policy promises made
by the Government of Canada during the last federal election, 42% of Canadians said that “a
patient wait time guarantee that would reduce wait times for key health services” was the most
important to them personally. This compares to lowering taxes (19%), restoring accountability to
Ottawa (14%), tackling crime (14%), and implementing a choice in childcare program (9%).
Pretty interesting survey, and indicative of the problems inherent in
socialized medicine. The only snag is that the government cannot lower wait times lists because
government creates them! How can the problem create the solution? Also of interest is that lowering
taxes is second on the list. Restoring accountability, sort of general, but as Ron Paul so eloquently
opinioned, best done by shrinking the power and influence of government officials. The last
issue, implementing choice in childcare programs, is a Canadian issue I am not familiar with, but it
sounds like some unions in Canada have a monopoly on where parents' tax money is spent, just like
they have here in the United States with our public skrewls. :)
So, Canadians seem to have their heads on strait. :) My only disagreement with them is that 74%
"trust the CMA (Canadian Medical Association) to do what is best for the patients". I
don't share their optimism. Doctor organizations represent doctors, not patients.
(Added
to 'Canadian Healthcare')
|
Posted
12/1/06 (By
Travis)
Two stories on the
criminal government of Saudi Arabia:
Halt
enquiry or we cancel Eurofighters
12/1/06 Telegraph
Saudi
Arabia has given Britain 10 days to halt a fraud investigation into the country's arms trade - or
lose a £10 billion Eurofighter contract.
The contract supports up to 50,000 British jobs and there are now fears that the deal may go to
France.
The Saudi government is on the verge of cancelling the contract - an extension of one brokered by
Margaret Thatcher 20 year ago - because of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into allegations of
a slush fund for members of the Saudi royal family, according to authoritative sources.
The Saudis are said to be "outraged" by the probe into the activities of companies linked
to BAE Systems. The investigation concerns alleged illegal payments made to members of the Saudi
royal family and their agents.
The
Scandal of US Saudi Relations
11/29/06 National
Interest
When
it comes to the Saudi-American relationship, the White House should be called the ‘White
Tent.'" - Mohammed Al-Khilewi, a Saudi diplomat who defected to the United States
The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, helpfully hinted at an answer
in a statement boasting of his success cultivating powerful Americans. "If the reputation then
builds that the Saudis take care of friends when they leave office", Bandar once observed,
"you'd be surprised how much better friends you have who are just coming into office."[35]
This effective admission of bribery goes far to explain why the usual laws, regulations and rights
do not apply when Saudi Arabia is involved. <.>
Several surveys of the post-government careers of ex-U.S. ambassadors to Riyadh all raise eyebrows.
Steven Emerson characterizes their behavior as "visceral, overt self-interested
sycophancy."[37] National Review finds that
the number of them "who now push a pro-Saudi line is startling" and concludes that
"no other posting pays such rich dividends once one has left it, provided one is willing to
become a public and private advocate of Saudi interests."[38]
A National Post analysis looked at five former ambassadors and found that "they have
carved out a fine living insulting their own countrymen while shilling for one of the most corrupt
regimes on Earth." If you closed your eyes while listening to their apologies, "you would
think the person talking held a Saudi passport."[39]
A Washington Post account gives some idea of the nature of the "rich dividends"
reaped by former officials:
Americans who have worked
with the Saudis in official capacities often remain connected to them when they leave public office,
from former president George H.W. Bush, who has given speeches for cash in Saudi Arabia since
leaving office, to many previous ambassadors and military officers stationed in the Kingdom. In some
cases, these connections have been lucrative. Walter Cutler, who served two tours as the U.S.
ambassador in Saudi Arabia, now runs Meridian International Center in Washington, an organization
that promotes international understanding through education and exchanges. Saudi donors have been
"very supportive" of the center, Cutler said. [Edward] Walker, the former assistant
secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, is president of the Middle East Institute in
Washington, which promotes understanding with the Arab world. Its board chairman is former senator
Wyche Fowler, ambassador to Riyadh in the second Clinton administration. Saudi contributions covered
$200,000 of the institute's $1.5 million budget last year, Walker said.[40]
Nor is this a new problem. Many ex-Washington hands have been paid off by the Kingdom, including not
only a bevy of former ambassadors but also such figures as Spiro T. Agnew, Jimmy Carter, Clark
Clifford, John B. Connally and William E. Simon.[41]
(Added
to 'Middle Eastern Governments and Causes of Terrorism')
|
Posted
11/29/06 (By
Travis)
The
Therapeutic State The Myth of Health Insurance (Required Reading)
May 2003 Foundation For
Economic Freedom
(Added to 'Government
Health')
|
Posted
11/27/06 (By
Travis)
Fisking
Frank's Grand Bargain
11/22/-6 Three Legged
Stool
Some interesting thoughts from
Bangert over at
the Three Legged Stool on Senator Barney
Frank.
|
Posted
11/27/06 (By
Travis)
Indiana
Gas Tax Debate
11/25/06 wndu
Democrats, who control the Indiana House, want to eliminate the state's sales tax on
gasoline.
But, Republicans,
who control the Indiana Senate, are skeptical.
Senate Republicans
say it is unlikely the proposal would become law.
Republicans say
exempting gasoline from the state's six percent sales tax could cost the state as much as $300
million a year. And, it would only save drivers a few cents at a time.
(Added to 'Optimism
on Nov 8th' and 'Gasoline and Government')
|
Posted
11/27/06 (By
Travis)
A
Raw Milk Raid Leads to a Special Thanksgiving
11/22/06 Business Week
A belated Happy Thanksgiving post. :)
|
Posted 11/21/06 (By
Travis)
12
surgeons, 10 hours, 10 patients: quintuple kidney transplant
11/12/06 CNN
Four of the sick patients had approached Johns Hopkins with a relative who was willing to donate a
kidney but was an incompatible donor. The fifth patient had been on a waiting list for a kidney from
a dead person.
Together, those nine people and an "altruistic donor" -- someone willing to give a kidney
to anyone who needed it -- had enough matched kidneys among them to pull off a complex, five-way
swap.
Once the swap was agreed to, the transplants were done all at the same time to prevent anyone from
backing out later or in case someone fell ill.
Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of Hopkins' transplant center and head of the transplant team,
pronounced the interlocking deal "a demonstration to the rest of the country that this is
what's possible when people work together."
What
an amazing thing. Different and disparate people coming together to make capitalistic trades that benefit all
parties. Shouldn't we applaud the dedication and innovation of these folks and the docs at
Hopkins?
Nah,
throw 'em all in jail. They're criminals. Or so says current Federal law:
Montgomery
called for a national kidney-swap program, saying it could help ease the shortage of transplant
organs and cut costs by getting people off dialysis. He said 6,000 people on the waiting list for
a kidney from a dead person have a willing but incompatible donor.
He noted, however, that live-donor kidney swaps present ethical problems for some institutions since
federal law prohibits receiving something of value in exchange for an organ. Some institutions feel
multiple arrangements come uncomfortably close to quid pro quo, Montgomery said. He called for a
clarification of the law.
Obviously, something of value was given for each organ, namely another
organ. It was clearly a quid pro quo and thus each of these people are in blatant violation of the law. You
cannot, legally, pay someone for an organ either. IMO, it seems clear that the current
laws regarding organ donation are killing large numbers of US citizens each year.
Yet, freedom never seems to be the answer we hear from politicians and even most transplant specialists
(unlike these brave folks at Hopkins).
I've attended a few conferences on the subject and most of the synopsis dance around ideas like the
European 'presumed consent' whereby unless you specifically object to having your organs harvested,
they are. I find this governmental claim on your physical body, the last vestige of self ownership
and property rather repulsive. I listened to a prominent transplant doc from California opine the
principle problem was that donated organs are just going to the 'wrong' people. That if only he
could 'play god' and determine who lived and died, there would be a much better overall societal
outcome. 'Course he didn't say it quite like that. :)
To quote David Shapiro:
Lao
Tse said that the evil leader is the one whom the people despise, the good leader is the one whom
the people revere, but the greatest leader of all is the one who causes the people to cheer that
"we did it ourselves".
Why not give freedom a chance? We, as in 'we the people', are
perfectly capable of mixing our own self interest and intrinsic altruism to fashion an excellent
organ transplant system, meeting the needs of every citizen. And then we could cheer that we 'did it
ourselves'.
|
Posted 11/21/06 (By
Travis)
Two unrelated previously
posted stories will be added to 'Required Reading' because for whatever reason I keep
referencing, emailing, and posting them and it's a pain to keep finding them :) :
The
High Price of Cheap Drugs (Required Reading)
Summer 2004 Hoover Digest
For
Blacks in Law School, Can Less Be More? (Required Reading)
2/13/05
New York Times Magazine
|
October 27, 2006 Heritage Foundation
Front-line
troops disproportionately white, not black
1/21/03 USA Today
WASHINGTON —
The American troops likeliest to fight and die in a war against Iraq are disproportionately white,
not black, military statistics show — contradicting a belief widely held since the early days of
the Vietnam War.
In a little-publicized trend, black recruits have gravitated toward non-combat jobs that provide
marketable skills for post-military careers, while white soldiers are over-represented in front-line
combat forces.
(Added to 'The Draft Myth')
|
Posted 11/20/06 (By
Travis)
Senior
Democrat Renews Call For Draft
11/19/06 Reuters
We
wrote extensively about this during the 2004
election. Some retrospective reading for context may be in order. Another good opportunity to quote
the late Milton Friedman
In his testimony before the commission, Mr. Westmoreland said he did not want to command an army
of mercenaries. Mr. Friedman interrupted, "General, would you rather command an army of
slaves?" Mr. Westmoreland replied, "I don't like to hear our patriotic draftees referred
to as slaves." Mr. Friedman then retorted, "I don't like to hear our patriotic
volunteers referred to as mercenaries. If they are mercenaries, then I, sir, am a mercenary
professor, and you, sir, are a mercenary general; we are served by mercenary physicians, we use a
mercenary lawyer, and we get our meat from a mercenary butcher."
Added to 'The
Draft Myth'
|
Posted 11/20/06 (By
Travis)
How
to Cure Health Care (Required Reading)
Nov 2001 Hoover Institute
Milton Friedman
|
Posted 11/16/06 (By Dobber)
RIP Milton Friedman
11/16/06 Reuters
Rest in Peace Milton Friedman. I am thankful that you lived a long,
influential life and were able to teach the world so much. Some quotes
courtesy of www.brainyquote.com:
"A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely
that group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free
market is a lack of belief in freedom itself."
"Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good
intentions of those who create it."
"Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned."
"History suggests that capitalism is a necessary condition
for political freedom. Clearly it is not a sufficient condition."
"I am favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for
any excuse, for any reason, whenever it's possible."
"I'm in favor of legalizing drugs. According to my values
system, if people want to kill themselves, they have every right to do so. Most
of the harm that comes from drugs is because they are illegal."
"Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A
much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government."
"Nobody spends somebody else's money as carefully as he
spends his own. Nobody uses somebody else's resources as carefully as he uses
his own. So if you want efficiency and effectiveness, if you want knowledge to
be properly utilized, you have to do it through the means of private property."
"Only government can take perfectly good paper, cover it with
perfectly good ink and make the combination worthless."
"The black market was a way of getting around government
controls. It was a way of enabling the free market to work. It was a way of
opening up, enabling people."
"The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as
the problem."
"The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe
unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than by any
inherent instability of the private economy."
"The most important single central fact about a free market
is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit."
"The most important ways in which I think the Internet will
affect the big issue is that it will make it more difficult for government to
collect taxes."
"The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of
people cooperate together voluntarily is through the free market. And that's why
it's so essential to preserving individual freedom."
"The problem of social organization is how to set up an
arrangement under which greed will do the least harm, capitalism is that kind of
a system."
"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack
of belief in freedom itself. "
"We have a system that increasingly taxes work and subsidizes
non-work."
Neoperspectives will miss you sir.
|
Posted 11/12/06 (By
Travis)
The
Donald Rumsfeld I know Isn't the One You Know
11/12/06 Douglas J Feith
As you
know, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has resigned. We've gotten a large upswing in hits to 'The
Best of Donald Rumsfeld', and this piece will be added to it.
|
Posted 11/11/06 (By
Travis)
Quote
Page Update! Some have been removed, in order to make way for the the following quote additions:
C.S. Lewis
I would rather be ruled by robber barons than omnipotent, moral
busybodies.
John Stuart Mill
[A] State which dwarfs its men, in order that they may be more
docile instruments in its hands even for beneficial purposes, will find that with small men no great
thing can really be accomplished; and that the perfection of machinery to which it has sacrificed
everything, will in the end avail it nothing, for want of the vital power which, in order that the
machine might work more smoothly, it has preferred to banish.
Friedrich A. Hayek
The curious task of
economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can
design.
Brad
From Tennessee
Anything
a politician gives you he has first stolen from you.
Robert Half
Family is the most
effective form of government.
Russel Roberts
American companies make good fighter planes and bombers, but the
government chooses the path that innovations take. This public-private cooperation works pretty well
when your competitors are other governments designing and building fighter planes. It would be
disastrous in medicine, where we are trying to outrun the angel of death.
Freepatriot32
Everything
not forbidden is mandatory.
Ronald
Reagan
To blame the military for
war makes about as much sense as suggesting that we get rid of cancer by getting rid of doctors.
|
Posted 11/11/06 (By
Travis)
How
Sweat Shops Help the Poor
11/9/06 Lewrockwell.com
(Added to 'Sweatshops
and Welfare')
|
Posted 11/11/06 (By
Travis)
Parents
risking jail
11/9/06
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Shaye
Carter and Janie Lewis each risked a $300 fine yesterday because they had refused to withdraw their
children from Career Connections Charter Middle School and enroll them in Pittsburgh Public Schools.
They couldn't have cared less.
"I'm more concerned about my child's education," Ms. Carter said of daughter, Ria, a
seventh-grader.
"I'll go to jail," she said. <.>
Pittsburgh parents said they're standing their ground because they've found a good thing. They said
the school's curriculum, small class sizes and welcoming environment are improvements over regular
Pittsburgh schools.
(Added
to 'A Charter School Tale')
|
Posted 11/9/06 (By
Travis)
NEW
POLL: People Want Limited Government
11/9/06 Club For
Growth
A
great analysis and poll of competitive congressional districts, which mirrors the previously posted CNN
poll.
(Added to 'Optimism
on November 8th')
|
Posted 11/8/06 (By
Travis)
Optimism on Nov 8th
11/8/06
Neoperspectives.com
"I hate
to admit it, I'm optimistic about the Nov 7th elections and don't particularly care who wins."
Those were the words I
wrote yesterday as I began to write a lengthy commentary on the coming
midterm elections. However, since I didn't get the piece finished, it is now obsolete, but the gist
remains the same, despite the fact that the Democrats have apparently won the House and possibly the
Senate.
The reason for my optimism is simple; I do not support the Republican party, I support what the
Republican party supposedly stood for. When the Republican party ceases to stand for what it
supposedly represents; it makes little sense to support them. Case in point:
How
did GOP right get it so wrong?
11/4/06
Dick Armey
How
did we go from the big ideas and vision of 1994 to the cheap political point-scoring on meaningless
wedge issues of today — from passing welfare reform and limited government to banning horsemeat
and same-sex marriage?
The answer is simple: Republican lawmakers forgot the party's principles, became enamored with power
and position, and began putting politics over policy. Now, the Democrats are reaping the rewards of
our neglect — and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Despite controlling both houses of Congress and the presidency Republicans have given us record
domestic spending and have not even made token attempts to reign in out
of control government programs. They have lorded over an unprecedented rise in earmarks, pork barrel
spending, and the corruption resulting from an expanded out of control one party government,
Republican or not. Despite inherent misgivings, the phrase, 'throw the bums out' does have a nice
ring to it. As Thomas Jefferson said, "From time to time, the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and
patriots." Perhaps this truism is applicable to the big spenders in the house of
representatives, especially when you consider who will be replacing them:
Democrats
veer to the right in fight for House
10/11/06 Washington Times
To make a successful play
for House control, Democrats have to win in Republican districts. But voter surveys consistently
show that the national Democratic Party's liberal positions on taxes, abortion and other issues do
not go down well in districts that supported Mr. Bush by 10 percentage points or more.
Therefore, the Democrats have recruited two types of candidates: those who
often sound like their Republican opponents on abortion, guns, homeland security or taxes -- and
those who simply don't talk much at all.
"It took 12 years in the minority for Democrats to realize that they
couldn't win elections by running like Democrats -- so they've drafted candidates who either
masquerade as conservatives or keep mum on the issues as long as politically possible," Mr.
Collegio said.
"If
Democrats make headway this cycle, it's not because America has moved leftward, but because Democrat
candidates have moved rightward," Mr. Collegio said.
In fact, Nancy Pelosi, now Majority leader for the Democrats in Congress campaigned on a platform
of, among other things, cutting taxes!
Pelosi
Emphasizes Economic Proposals
10/5/06
Townhall
Pointing toward midterm elections, House Democratic
leader Nancy Pelosi promises to raise the minimum wage while cutting taxes to spur economic
growth and help the middle class. <.>
"Democrats believe in the marketplace," she said. <.>
"If there was any evidence that campaign season is in full swing, it's Nancy Pelosi's epiphany
that tax cuts spur economic growth after years of leading the charge in tax hikes on American
workers," said Tracey Schmitt, a Republican Party spokeswoman.
Democrats are going to cut taxes? We'll see. If they don't, in two more
years we can 'throw the bums out' again!
Republican attempts at 'triangulation', their reliance on political advisors, and their ideologically
bankrupt ideas like the bloated Medicare bill have failed. Americans don't want big government. They
don't want corrupt government, they want good government, and good government is limited
government. Americans want to be free:
Poll:
Majority believes government doing too much
10/27/06 CNN
A quarter century after the Reagan revolution and a dozen years after Republicans vaulted into
control of Congress, a new CNN poll finds most Americans still agree with the bedrock conservative
premise that, as the Gipper put it, "government is not the answer to our problems -- government
is the problem."
The poll released Friday also showed that an overwhelming majority of Americans perceive, correctly,
that the size and cost of government have gone up in the past four years, when Republicans have had
a grip on the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House.
Discretionary
spending grew from $649 billion in fiscal year 2001 to $968 billion in fiscal year 2005, an increase
of $319 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Queried about their views on the role of government, 54 percent of the 1,013 adults polled said they
thought it was trying to do too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses. Only
37 percent said they thought the government should do more to solve the country's problems.
When asked if the size of the federal government has increased in the past four years, 72 percent
said it had, and 86 percent said they thought federal spending had gone up during the same period.
Those questions have a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percent.
There are other positive trends in this election, ideologically
Libertarian
governors are now running Idaho and South
Carolina.
But
most importantly, the
old media, the liberal media, the biased agenda driven media continues to loose its stranglehold on
the American populace. While newspapers in general are loosing marketshare, Conservative
leaning papers are bucking the trend. The Internet is increasingly being utilized by Conservatives
and, especially, the ever active Libertarian leaning folks, shining light on the
practices of those in government and turning the heat on our corrupt
and criminal congresscritters. Ron Paul, (R, TX) a libertarian minded representative is fast
becoming an internet icon on relatively bipartisan and youthful sites like Digg.com, as well as the
conservative stronghold freerepublic.com.
The Internet,
and the resultant freedom of information is changing the political
landscape. Conservatism/Libertarianism ideas are multiplying and seeping into mainstream discourse.
Those who oppose government, those who would 'throw the bums out' any chance they get, are growing
in number. We stick to principle over party, prefer gridlock over power consolidation, and value
freedom above all else. Democrats beware, our patience wears thin fast. We are on the march and your turn is next.
A
Well-Earned Kick in the Gut
11/8/06 Neal Bootz
Statement
by Congressmen Mike Pence
11/8/06
Mike Pence
Libertarians
Emerge as a Force
11/8/06 The Economist
Always
Look on the Bright Side of Life
11/8/06 The Wall Street Journal
Conservatism
Was Not Defeated
11/8/06 Human Events
|
Posted 11/8/06 (By
Travis)
Sanford’s
not ‘our boy.’ He’s theirs
10/21/06
The State
The State is not endorsing Mark Sanford for governor of South Carolina this time around:
Trouble is, he did have a vision: He didn’t want government to
be more effective as much as he wanted it to be cheaper. It was about tax cuts and privatizing
everything he could, including public education. He had proposed moderate versions of these concepts
as a candidate: phasing out the income tax while raising the gasoline tax; providing vouchers for a
very few of the most disadvantaged kids. We opposed those things, and said so, but they were no big
deal.
After he got into office, his tax position morphed over time into just cut a tax, any tax.
Eventually, his anti-government rhetoric became far from moderate.
He had run as a conservative, but he wasn’t that. He was as close to an ideologically pure
libertarian as you can get. You can’t be a conservative and a radical at the same time. And folks,
it doesn’t get more radical than his veto of the entire state budget. <.>
Why attack the public schools? Because that’s where state government spends the most tax money,
and that makes public education a deeply offensive institution to the extremists. Why did the
governor not even condemn their most extreme attacks on our public schools as a “failed
monopoly”? Because he agreed with them.
Heh
heh.. I can't think of a more ringing endorsement of Governor Sanford. :) This is the same guy who
unleashed live pigs in the state capitol, making fun of the porkbarreling politicians in the SC
State House and Senate. Go Governor!
|
Posted 11/8/06 (By
Travis)
Police:
Intruder was in prison several times
10/11/06 Corpus Christi Caller-Times
A 57-year-old man who was shot and killed by his 14-year-old hostage Monday at a home on Ocean Drive
had been released from jail Friday and had committed several other burglaries, including a similar
home invasion, according to police and court records.
(Added
to 'Guns and Crime')
|
Posted 11/5/06 (By Dobber)
Wal-Mart making people rich AND helping environment and going green and being
nice
11/2/06 Food Navigator USA
Here at Neoperspectives, Travis and I HEART Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart is the biggest employer in the world, allowing people to earn money,
while offering low-cost products which lowers shoppers' spending and makes
people richer. But now, they're going too far! They're going
GREEN!
Wal-Mart yesterday announced the
online rollout of a "green" rating system for the packaging used by all of its
product suppliers, one that will eventually determine who can sell to the
world's largest retailer. About 2,000 private label suppliers to Wal-Mart
began imputing data on the packaging they use for their products into the
groundbreaking system yesterday. The creation of the packaging rating
system is a significant part of the bid by the retailer to become more
environmentally-friendly and meet the demands of its customers.
Now, when I buy low-cost Fruit
Loops I will be creating wealth for Americans AND helping the environment.
But, how can Wal-Mart get their suppliers to be more green?
Wal-Mart is selling the
program to the suppliers, who will have no option but to comply,
Beautiful. I need some
cereal.
|
Posted 11/5/06 (By Dobber)
Wal-Mart makes employee decision people get mad
11/2/06 The State
Wal-Mart is a private company where people freely choose to work.
Sometimes employees come in late, which is bad for business. So, Wal-Mart
unveiled a new system to punish tardy employees. Too many lates equals no
job. Seems reasonable.
It’s all part of a revised attendance policy
implemented this fall that makes Wal-Mart Stores Inc. hourly workers more
accountable for excessive unexcused absences and formalizes such penalties.
Reasonable. Naturally, people who don't like Wal-Mart are mad.
WakeUpWalmart.com plans its first national conference
call with Wal-Mart employees and civil rights leaders today to discuss the
latest moves, as well as other recent labor changes.
Civil rights leaders. WakeUpWalmart. What? Well, I'm still
buying low-cost Fruit Loops there. I hope the employees in Ft Walton Beach
show up on time, like you're supposed to.
|
Posted 11/1/06 (By
Dobber)
67 was good for music, but today is good for money
11/1/06
Forbes
1967. The summer of love. The Beatles and Sgt Pepper. The
Grateful Dead in its infancy. Jim Morrison had only taken his one
thousandth hit of acid. But let's be honest. Financially, we're
better off now then our grandparents were. (Speaking in Generation X
terms.)
As the U.S. population crossed the 300 million mark
sometime around 7:46 a.m. Tuesday (according to the U.S. Census Bureau), the
typical family is doing a whole lot better than their grandparents were in
1967, the year the population first surpassed 200 million.
In any society, if property rights are established, equality exists, and
capitalism is flowing, as the population increases, money for everybody
increases. So, more people equals more money.
Mr. and Mrs. Median's $46,326 in annual income is 32%
more than their mid-'60s counterparts, even when adjusted for inflation, and
13% more than those at the median in the economic boom year of 1985. And
thanks to ballooning real estate values, average household net worth has
increased even faster. The typical American household has a net worth of
$465,970, up 83% from 1965, 60% from 1985 and 35% from 1995.
And what has stopped the American people from even more gains in wealth? Progressive taxes, high corporate tax rates, pork spending, the war on drugs,
the war on poverty, Medicare increases, prescription drug benefit increases,
eminent domain abuse, subsidies for farmers, subsidies for big companies,
subsidies for education, department of education spending explosion, etc etc
|
Posted 11/1/06 (By
Travis)
We've had a record month
this month here at neoperspectives.com. With 6,217 unique visitors and 88,456 hits during the month
of October, we're truckin' ahead at full speed! We have a number of ideas to improve the site we'll
be working on and implementing ASAP. There are so many exciting projects we are behind schedule on,
it's not even funny. I'm kidding, it is funny. :) As always, we're also looking for contributors of
quality content or technical expertise.
Thanks to all our readers!
(btw, it's Dobber's
birthday today)
(Added to 'About
Site')
|
Posted 10/30/06 (By
Dobber)
Alarmists
Alarmists Alarmists O My
10/30/06
International Herald Tribune
Well, I haven't heard much about end of times catastrophe stemming from human
industrialization in at least a couple weeks, so this article is way overdue.
Britain warned Monday that failure to act swiftly on
global warming will have a cataclysmic effect on the global economy, and said it
was stepping up efforts to get other nations involved.
Well, I'll probably die sometime in the next 60 years or so, what do I care?
A long-awaited report predicted apocalyptic effects from
climate change, including droughts, flooding, famine, skyrocketing malaria rates
and the extinction of many animal species. These will happen during the current
generation if changes are not made soon, the report said.
Oh no! Sometime in this generation! Well, then, chop-chop, let's get
to it. But wait a minute, I'm sure this is just some hogwash from some
yahoo scientists, right?
"This disaster is not set to happen in some
science-fiction future, many years ahead, but in our lifetime," Blair said.
"What is more, unless we act now, not some time distant but now, these
consequences, disastrous as they are, will be irreversible."
Tony Blair! Well then, this is much more mainstream than I thought.
But, really, I am just trying to figure out what I, and we Americans can do.
This emphasis seems aimed at the few industrial nations,
including the United States, that have refused to sign up to initiatives like
the Kyoto Protocol, citing economic reasons.
Okay, we should start by signing the Kyoto Protocol. This is an
international treaty which over
17,000 distinguished
scientists (most American) believe is
"in our opinion, based upon
flawed ideas." So, let's go ahead and hold off on that one, for now.
What else?
the governing Labour Party is committed to acting on the
challenge
Challenge, yes, yes. Other than the Kyoto Protocol, which luckily for
Americans, smart people have dismissed, what other ways can we act?
Britain intends that "the report should be discussed as
widely as possible throughout the world - not just among governments but among
international institutions, business leaders, NGOs and civil society," Brown
said. He also said he had appointed the former U.S. vice president Al Gore as an
adviser on environmental issues.
Discussion. That's it. Let's do some talking. Al Gore, eh?
He can certainly provide some great discourse. I'm sure it will be
non-partisan, and with the best interest of
science in mind.
Okay, so first we sign the Kyoto Protocol, and then we have discussions led by
Al Gore. Great solution mate.
|
Posted 10/27/06 (By
Travis)
Personal
Responsibility, Mental Responsibility
10/27/06
Neoperspectives.com
I can
think of nowhere more exciting to pitch a tent than at the crossroads of politics, philosophy,
science, and spirituality. This is sort of an eccentric way to begin an essay, but the endless
seagueways present at this intersection increasingly beg delving into. The excitement is derived
from a mix of personal topical interest, the pioneering rush of novelty creation, and the possibility
of capturing and defining a net (as in internet) subspecialty.
Libertarian philosophy rotates around the central plank of self
ownership, which ironically
contrasts with the more Conservative slogan of 'personal responsibility'. Thus, you own your
physical body, the property you produce with it, and answer to God, not
government, for your actions
and choices, the product of which advances your own understanding, knowledge, and morality. This
coincides with the premise that free will exists and that the purpose of it, as well as the key to
happiness, is self improvement.
Political positions arise from the former, if not the latter, premise, yielding the recognizable
platforms of economic and personal freedom. However, if we can enjoy and are responsible for our
economic and social successes and failures, are we not also equally responsible for our life
experience? Indeed, it is arguable that an understanding of what drives the consciousness of our life
experience is more important than embroiling oneself in the more tempting political discoveries. In
fact, although concurrent progress and travel in either direction is certainly possible, as the
underlying patterns are complementary, we might retrospectively :) advise a 'mental starting point'.
The
tenant of this starting point is simple: no one makes you feel a certain way, no one besides
yourself is responsible
for your thoughts and emotions, and no event need enlighten you, one way or the other, with an
involuntary emotional experience.
We view the universe through our own conscious experience; it is entirely subjective. Like the
political plank, this starting point is not deemed truly radical until its application, but, then again,
consensus of common culture never was worth its weight in empirical value.
The
easiest example is one without any other actors. Tonight I was writing a very long (pages) email to
a friend (hi Libby!) when my gmail timed out and I lost
nearly all of it. As you can easily imagine, I felt the surges of anger and frustration. But these
feelings were not caused by the event; they came from within me; the event itself had no qualities other than
those my internal computer, pardon the pun, assigned to it. And these aren't pleasant feelings. Ever
see a happy angry person? :) Interestingly, I didn't 'choose' to feel this certain way; I just felt it.
Actually, I had no control over it whatsoever. Pretty scary when you stop and think about it. No
control over your feelings? What is your everyday experience but a product of your feelings? From
whence do thoughts most often arise? Forget all
the property government steals from us and all their asinine rules and
regulations which conform and restrict us - we don't even control our very lives! How can we work on
getting those in government off our backs when we're stomped into the dirt by our own boots? Do you
see why the event itself, the email deletion, is more or less irrelevant? The important thing is my
erroneous response. This response will continue to occur throughout my life until I recognize it for
what it is, a qualitatively demonstrable flaw within myself. Negative emotional expressions are
neither the 'natural' or ideal state of things. Turn it on itself; anger and frustration at the anger
and frustration is an important first step. :)
In the
same sense, when you
become angry at someone else,
they did not cause you to be angry; no one can make you angry besides yourself. Again, the anger you feel
is really reflective of manifest imperfections within oneself. Most religions give at least lip service to this
idea;
eastern spiritual teachings label such persons, the ones who expose the flaws within us yielding
anger or other unpleasant emotions, as 'Gems'. Gems because, how glad are we to have met these
precious people who allow us to uncover previously undiagnosed defects simmering within? This, IMHO,
is the proper perspective, any negative emotion or thought is not caused by anyone but yourself and
before positive change can occur, along with increased happiness, you must take full responsibility
for it. This is not to say we need to behave hedonistically, or even sadistically, although this is
where some Buddhist traditions of viewing disgusting images of decapitations or rotting bodies stems
from, as do the more Christian flagellations of self inflected pain and punishment. Probably the best is a sort of
middle path, a 'razors edge', a pattern which is remarkable in its consistent emergence.
The
idea that someone 'made us feel a certain way' is just as erroneously comforting as the jealous
indignation towards people who happen to be wealthier than us, an emotion which is taken advantage of
by the classwarfarests, notably our friends on the left. This is especially prevalent in the black
community, where, upon occasion, charges of racism and economic slavery
take center stage, to the occlusion of a more positive individualistically advansive agenda. Is it ever
justifiable to be angry when someone acts racist towards you? What benefit could possibly come from
it? Similarly, the
constant outrage some Muslims profess over the insulting of the prophet Mohammad, is reflective of
their own insecurities and flawed worldviews, as, of course, is outrage to the outrage :). How often do these 'political
temper tantrums' take
place in the media today? Someone says something and reporters call up any 'group' they think will
be 'offended' or 'outraged', but the offence or outrage of the responding organization reflects only
reversibly, and if anything adds false legitimacy to the provocateurs.
Let's
take this a few steps further; a spouse or significant other is not responsible for your love towards them, you are. After all, who is doing the
feeling? The smile on your face when your dog welcomes you home does not come from the dog; it was
within you the entire time. It had to be, or you wouldn't have felt it! A certain situation
did not 'bring out the best in you'; you brought out the best in yourself. Like a computer program,
the output depends not on the input, but on the internal processing. Focusing on positively changing
the internal processing, making the output better regardless of input, is the laudable goal. Only
then will we truly be free.
There
are a couple caveats which accompany this theory. The first is that, yes, input can affect the
internal programming, particularly when we are growing up and our capacity for free will is slim to nonexistent.
Yet, even if one is born with or develops defective software, it is still advantageous to consider it as it is,
without comparison to others, and begin to attempt the long process of reprogramming, rather than chasing or
blaming outside stimulus, as this is not only unproductive, it is the definition of blindness. Admittedly,
in a previous post I discussed the benefits of a positive
environment, putting oneself in a situation where positive energy exists and some level
of self realization is facilitated. Is this a contradiction? I'd argue it is not, as the choice to seek out a positive
environment still requires some sort of humility and self analysis.
Now,
imagine if a government existed, which, in its innate humility, developed policies fostering a
positive environment for all the citizens and nurtured and cherished them in such a loving and
parenting way, creating so much positive energy that they all were liberated from their minds and lived
happily ever after. While liberals and some social conservatives may dream of such a utopia,
it can never be. Inevitably, their grand plans are doomed to failure. Morality and self improvement must be chosen and recognized
independently. A life without challenge, bumps, and bruises
is not a life at all as no self knowledge can be gained. We are better for our struggles, and
government must leave us free to struggle, provided we don't struggle over the lives and property of others.
A true
utopia is where every imaginable vice is available, legal, and plentiful, but yet, the people, and
by 'the people' I mean each individual person, chooses, volitionally, without the coercion of government,
not to partake in these deviations because they are enlightened as to the nature of themselves and
are deeply reflective of their thoughts and actions. Sort of like the
Communists, the laudable goals of these do-gooders are achievable,
if only they would look over their shoulders, turn about face, and march back whence they
came.
|
Posted
10/24/06 (By Dobber)
What are they
smoking
10/21/06
Waterbury-Republican American
Unbelievable.
Connecticut certainly has its share of antismoking
moonbats, but they seem almost sane compared with the smoke-free powers that be
in Omaha, Neb. The city banned smoking in public on Oct. 2. Penalties are $100
for the first offense, $200 for the second and $500 for the third and subsequent
infractions.
Imagine for a second, a World War II Veteran, returning home from defeating
Nazism and the spread of Totalitarianism. He sits down at an empty table
in a restaurant that his buddy owns. His buddy owns the property.
His buddy used his own money, and even some of his own sweat, building the
restaurant. The restaurant is open to the public, that is, anyone that
wants to come in, out of their own free will. Nobody is forced to enter
the building, which I remind you, is owned and operated by a private citizen. The World War II vet is
sitting, relaxing, and enjoying his freedom. He lights a cigarette.
In Omaha, Nebraska, He's a criminal.
Unbelievable. But even MORE unbelievable, is the fact that if he were
sitting in Omaha, Nebraska, the government there would urge his friends, whom he
had just got done risking his life for, to call 911 and turn the criminal in!
It's like "any other crime that happens in any city. If somebody sees a
crime happen, they can call 911 and report it," and an officer will be
dispatched, a police spokeswoman told an interviewer.
Unbelievable. Omaha, Nebraska, you are a disgrace.
|
Posted
10/23/06 (By Dobber)
Possible Gay Candidate Opposes Gay Marriage
10/23/06
Orange County Register
In a couple of weeks, American citizens get to vote for either Big Government
Republicans or Big Government Democrats. The way I see it, Big Government
Democrats will limit your freedom with money, and Big Government Republicans
will limit your freedom with personal choices. A perfect example, is the
Governor race in Florida. This morning while I was driving to work I had
the displeasure of hearing a political ad for Charlie Crist, the Republican
candidate for Governor. One of his elect-me talking points was his
"Defense of Marriage" amendment to the Florida Constitution. The amendment
will not allow two human beings to enter into a contract that our land of the
free should allow.
Interestingly, an Independent running for Governor makes this claim:
According to Linn, during the course of
conversations with Crist he learned that the future attorney general is gay.
The two talked about "what would happen if [Crist’s sexual orientation] comes
out" during a political campaign, Linn said. Linn kept quiet about
Crist’s supposed gay secret for more than 20 years until he launched his
third-party bid for governor. Then, on Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day, Linn
outed Crist on WFTL, a South Florida radio show.
Charlie denies he's gay. (Even though he's good looking and single.)
Crist has repeatedly denied rumors that he is gay. When
Miami radio host Jim DeFede asked Crist if he is gay in July, Crist responded,
"The point is, I’m not. There’s the answer. How do you like it? Not that there’s
anything wrong with that, as they say on Seinfeld. But I just happen not to be."
Not that there's anything wrong with it? Why then Charlie, if there is
nothing wrong with it, does the government have to impose itself on two
citizen's lives?
|
Posted 8/21/06 (By
Travis)
Prop.
84: Pay to Play?
10/5/06
Orange County Register
Runaway democracy is not a solution to corrupt politicians. Education of the people by and for
themselves seems the only solution.
Freedom will advance only when people stop laughing and loving speeches like this
one by the little better than common criminal Sen Robert Byrd (D-WV),
and instead elect officials with a different attitude:
"There are two different sorts of philosophies of government at work here. First is that West
Virginia is not capable of taking care of itself, so we have to funnel millions of dollars a year
here from the federal government. The other philosophy is that West Virginians are talented and
hardworking, and they do not have to be dependent on Big Brother or Big Daddy."
|
Posted 8/21/06 (By
Travis)
Counties
caught in conundrum: getting Amish to take food stamps
10/18/06
Cleveland Plain Dealer
A pretty disgusting story about government's attempts to force welfare on populations. Luckily,
the Amish value liberty and understand the harm and cultural destruction which follows government
'help'.
However, president Bush, a 'conservative' president, doesn't seem to understand this:
Bush
Brings Faith to Foreign Aid
10/8/06 Boston
Globe
President
Bush has almost doubled the percentage of US foreign-aid dollars going to faith-based groups such as
Food for the Hungry, according to a Globe survey of government data.
If you're interested, here's another
interesting story about another worthless government agency.
(Added
to ''Welfare; History,
Results, and Reform'')
|
Posted 8/21/06 (By Travis)
Germany
jails homeschoolers
10/20/06
Catholic Standard Times
If you suspect Plett is guilty of a very serious crime, guess again. She was arrested and thrown in
prison for homeschooling her children.
Homeschooling, along with any educational institution other than state-run
schools, was outlawed by Adolf Hitler in 1938. But a recent decline, both academically and
morally, in the country’s public school system has more and more German parents looking for better
ways to educate their children.
The Konrads contended that Germany’s compulsory school attendance laws were a violation of their
human rights.
The human rights court ruled: “Parents may not refuse the right to
education of a child on the basis of their convictions,” adding that the right to education “by
its very nature calls for regulation by the state.”
(Added to 'Homeschooling Articles')
|
Posted 8/21/06 (By
Travis)
Geologist:
Earth has lots and lots of oil
10/20/06 UPI
"The
most common question I get is, 'When are we going to run out of oil?' The correct response is,
'Never,'" said Cheney.
For instance, oil deposits unreachable 40 years ago can be tapped using improved technology, and oil
once too costly to extract from tar sands, organic matter or coal is now worth manufacturing.
This
is true, but opinion to the contrary remains widespread, especially amongst our friends on the left who
seem to believe resources are finite and that human population growth and advancement is
unsustainable. However, if one looks at the record, they've been wrong on all counts:
Julian
Simon's Bet With Paul Ehrlich
overpopulation.com
In
1980, economist |Julian Simon| and biologist Paul
Ehrlich decided to put their money where their predictions were. Ehrlich had been predicting
massive shortages in various natural resources for decades, while Simon claimed natural resources
were infinite.
Simon offered Ehrlich a bet centered on the market price of metals. Ehrlich would pick a quantity of
any five metals he liked worth $1,000 in 1980. If the 1990 price of the metals, after adjusting for
inflation, was more than $1,000 (i.e. the metals became more scarce), Ehrlich would win. If,
however, the value of the metals after inflation was less than $1,000 (i.e. the metals became less
scare), Simon would win. The loser would mail the winner a check for the change in price.
Ehrlich agreed to the bet, and chose copper, chrome, nickel, tin and tungsten.
By 1990, all five metal were below their inflation-adjusted price level in 1980. Ehrlich lost the
bet and sent Simon a check for $576.07.
|
Posted
10/16/06 (By Dobber)
No
Link
10/12/06 Wall Street Journal
Last week, Travis made this statement:
Finally, on a more personal level, one cannot help but arrive at the
conclusion that it is possible, although perhaps not politically correct, to be
an extremely moral person and accomplish great good without giving a cent to
charity or spending a second volunteering. This is not to be critical or
disdainful of these activities, but merely encourage cost-benefits analysis,
which often appear to be sorely lacking, especially when the acting entities are
NGOs, Hollywood actors, 'rockstars' like Bono, or government itself.
I want to expand upon this idea by examining an absolutely
amazing story that appeared in last Thursday's Wall Street Journal. The story
(which I did not provide a link to, because I realized that WSJ stories are only
available to subscribers - so I typed selected quotes out of it for purposes of
this post) details China's richest private citizen's rise to power. This
man is Dr. Shi. The story begins with a quick summary of his inspiring
life:
A doctorate, several patents, two solar-power companies,
and a $455 million initial public offering later, Dr. Shi is now one of the
richest people in China.
Naturally, as a Neoperspectives co-dictator, it was Dr. Shi's battle against
government entities that sparked my interest in this story.
The story of his journey from China to Australia and back
shows how important China's growing openness has become to its people.
Note the reference to China's "growing openness"... So,
before we examine the idea of wealth building vs. philanthropy, let me say a few
words about this story and examine government power over individuals choosing
work.
Although the Chinese government is a force of oppression, depriving nearly a
billion people of liberty and prosperity, it is very encouraging to read
about the recent forces of change that have been going on there,
over the past ten years or so. This force of change can be compared with
the Invisible Hand Adam Smith spoke of that accompanies liberalization of
marketplaces. What has this Invisible Hand of more "openness" and
"liberalized economic policy" given the Chinese people? Prosperity.
There are now probably 320,000 U.S.-dollar millionaires in
China according to estimates by Merrill Lynch and CapGemini, and many of
them are newly minted...nearly one-third appeared on the list for the first time
this year - including Dr. Shi. He debuted this year at No. 1.
Very recently, in China, almost no citizens had the chance to pursue their own
interest in choosing a job or career, or even course of study.
I got into the solar industry, in the beginning, by
accident," says Dr. Shi. The forty-three year old came of age in China at
a time when the government controlled where people worked and lived. "In
our generation, we didn't have the freedom to choose. We just accept
whatever we are given. So, it's hard to plan," he says.
I remember growing up in the late eighties and early nineties, listening to Guns
n Roses, and changing my mind almost weekly about whether I was going to be a
fireman, or a doctor, or pro body-boarder when I grew up. Imagine, for a
second, having no choice whatsoever. So one wonders how it was that Dr.
Shi. was able to escape the grips of oppression. Simple. He was very
smart.
His high scores in math and physics got him slotted into
the optical science department at Jilin University, in China's chilly northeast.
He found working in a lab preferable to working in the fields.
Since he was smart enough, and deemed "valuable" by the totalitarian government
of China, the decision was made to improve his worth to the common Chinese
interest. (Read: the common Chinese interest is for the status quo to be
maintained and the totalitarian regime of power to continue)
After graduation in 1983, he entered a master's program at
the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics.
First, Dr. Shi was able to separate himself from most other Chinese peasants (I
would assume ninety-ninth percentile range) and granted permission to further
study at the Jilin University. Then, he was able, once again, separate
himself from peers by getting accepted to a highly competitive Shanghai school.
How are we certain that this is highly competitive?
The institute had access to a small quota of coveted
government-sponsored spots for overseas study.
Government sponsored spots for overseas study. Small number. In a
land where millions upon millions of college-aged kids are working their butts
off, the government only chooses a small number of winners. Of course, a small number
of winners implies an extremely large number of losers.
Now, when the government allows its best and brightest to
escape its oppressive boundaries, do they all come back? Of course not.
Close to 800,000 Chinese students have gone abroad since the government first
started sponsoring them for overseas study in 1978. Drawn by job
opportunities overseas, less than a third have come back so far. But the
rate at which they are arriving is accelerating.
It is ironic that China allows their best minds to leave,
when most do not return. I assume, they are playing the odds and just
hoping enough return to keep their government in power. Lately more and
more are choosing to return, in light of the economic changes. I am confident
that the amount of students returning is directly proportional to the business
and freedom climate. As markets are liberalized, more Chinese will return.
But people (and brains and ideas and innovation and jobs,
etc) are not the only thing that is on the rise in China.
At the same time, foreign venture capitalists are flooding the country with
unprecedented amounts of money and Chinese companies are finding the can raise
money from stock offerings abroad. Combined with the heady opportunities
from an economy expanding at 10% annually, the result ahs been the creation of
private wealth on an unprecedented scale.
Back to Dr. Shi...
Yet Dr. Shi has also shown a knack for challenging the status quo. His
plan to start a solar-power company in China drew skepticism from colleagues,
but he managed to obtain government funding.
Rather than allowing people the freedom to create businesses, the Chinese
Mafioso government decides whose doors are open and whose are closed.
Rather than shopping his business idea around to different private citizen
investors, Dr. Shi had to beg for funding and permission from Chinese Dons.
Dr. Shi shopped his proposal to several Chinese cities with ambitions to attract
high-tech businesses. Wuxi, a fast-growing city near Shanghai, offered $6
million as a start-up investment. Government funds and state companies
would own 75% of the company, and a local official would serve as chairman.
Dr. Shi would put in the technology he owned and $400,000 of his own money for a
25% stake, and get a free hand to run the company. He agreed and Wuxi
Suntech Power Co., as it was then called, was registered on January 21, 2001.
Dr. Shi's company grew and grew. He had to remain
innovative in order to succeed.
It was under these pressures that Dr. Shi came up with his signature innovation,
which he likes to call simply "low-cost expansion." "Coming from a
scientist background, I always pursued high efficiency, as high as possible," he
says. Instead, Dr. Shi reorganized the manufacturing process to reduce
automation, taking some processes from machines and putting them into the hands
of workers, who in China were cheaper. He cobbled together parts from
different suppliers, including little-known Chinese companies. He bought
used gear from an Italian laboratory and new equipment from a Japanese startup.
Workers in China were cheaper. A business will always
pay the lowest amount of money possible for labor. Which works out good
for everyone, mostly the workers.
Suntech's revenue zoomed to $226 million last year, from just $14 million in
2003. First-half revenue this year was $218 million. Suntech's cost
advantages have endured: It is now selling its solar modules for $3.78 per
watt, well below the average global market price of $4.30 estimated by Photon
Consulting.
The business was booming. Naturally, The Mafioso needed
to start wetting their beaks.
By 2004, Suntech's government owners had also taken a note of Suntech's
improving fortunes, and wanted a more active role in the company. That put
chairman Li Yanren, the government's representative, into conflict with Dr. Shi.
The internal strife consumed several months, but eventually the board threw its
backing to Dr. Shi, making him chairman as well as chief executive. Mr.
Li, who received a compensation package upon leaving, declined to comment.
Dr. Shi wanted to get rid of the Mafioso goons who were
impeding his success. But to do that he had to use the argument that by
getting out of the way, the government would receive more taxes. Which is
what all governments should both logically and morally strive for.
Dr. Shi argued that getting the state shareholders out of the company would
allow Suntech to grow faster, hire more people and pay more taxes. That
swayed city government officials, who helped Dr. Shi work on convincing the
company shareholders.
It worked.
In May 2005, an $80 million sale of shares to venture capitalists, including
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., financed their exit.
Lucky for us, people like Dr. Shi exist.
Dr. Shi hasn't left his academic past behind. His office is piled with
technical papers and decorated, if that's the word, with photographs of silicon
crystals. He can still unconsciously switch to a professor's chalkboard
style when he has to explain technical concepts.
Although many people don't believe it, there are some nice
people running and working for corporations. Dr. Shi, of course, is one of
them.
Now, hopefully, you are still reading. :) This
next paragraph segues nicely to the aforementioned question of philanthropy
versus running a business.
He has already started giving his money away, an unusual move in a country where
private philanthropy is largely undeveloped. Recently, his family trust
gave donations to a nursing home and a school on Shanghai. For now,
however, his main focus remains on the business. Having just bought a
company in Japan, Dr. Shi says his goal is to turn Suntech into a true
multinational.
So, Dr. Shi does both. He runs a business and gives
money away. The question I am wondering is this: If you found
yourself in the situation with a decent chunk of cash, would it be better
to use the money for business start-up costs and open a business, or give the money away to charity?
Also, I am defining 'better' as better for society, and the world. Which is
the more moral decision? I will judge this very simply on a few
criteria.
First of all, without his business, how would he have ever
been able to come up with millions of dollars to give to charity? Score
one for opening a business. Second, when one gives to charity they are
giving a handout (in many situations morally justified). When one signs a
paycheck they are allowing a person to work for a livelihood. Putting
clothes on his back and feeding his children. Score two for opening a
business. Third, when a business becomes successful, it generates residual
income. This income provides people with food and shelter, and the
opportunity to give some of their income to charity. Score three for
opening a business. Fourth, when a business becomes successful, it
provides competition in the marketplace raising pace of technology which in turn
leads to innovations such as open heart surgery and cleaner drinking water.
Score four for opening a business. Fifthly, when a business becomes
successful, it lowers the cost for whatever product or service it is providing.
This allows poor people to spend less of their money on that specific item,
making them richer. Score five for opening a business. Sixth, by
opening a business, one provides more tax revenue for the government so that we
can live peacefully by policing the streets, defending property, and
administering court. (The only moral functions of a government).
Score six for opening a business. Seventh, when one donates to charity,,
they are often given a mug or umbrella. Score one for giving to charity.
Therefore, by a final score of 6 - 1, opening a business is
clearly the more moral decision. Like Martin Luther King, Dr. Shi dreams
of a better society for his people.
"The time is right, the soil is rich," he says. "Now there's already a lot
of Chinese dreams being realized. And I think there are a lot more to
come."
I'm going to wrap this post up, so I can donate two dollars
to the Breast Cancer Foundation by buying a glass of pink lemonade on my Delta
flight.
|
Posted 10/13/06 (By Travis)
In-Store Clinic
Update
19/13/06
Neoperspectives.com
I wrote
the president of the AOA (American Osteopathic Medical Association), Dr. John Strosnider a few
months ago on his blog:
Recently, I've been following the exponential growth of so-called
'in-store clinics' with great interest. They seem to offer great access, lower costs, and benefits
to patients and by some estimates are on the verge of revolutionizing health care. However, I've
been concerned with the response of the AMA, which seems to be seeking to limit them via regulation
and engage in 'turf protection', licensing wars etc...
I was wondering what the AOA’s position is on this, and was rather hoping it
would be different from the AMA's. In my humble opinion, I think it should be the consumers of
healthcare, rather than politicians or doctor organizations who determine whether these in-store
clinics thrive or perish. In the end, I feel this approach will also benefit DOs, as we have a lot
to offer patients in our own right.
Dr. Stro responded:
Thanks for your thoughts, I agree with you in many
ways, however quality should be the hallmark of any practice location.
In store clinics are convenient, usually less expensive and usually limited in
what they will see. They are usually manned by a nurse practicioner or Physician Assistant. Some
with physician oversight, however in many states this is not required.
It has been said that we are our own worse enemies, and in this case, especially
for primary care physicians it is probably true. With limited office hours, no weekend hours, no
night call, the public will rebel and seek alternatives. They do not, as you would not, want to just
be referred to a local emergency room by a recording at the doctor's office, after work at 4:30 or
5:00 pm, or in the evening or on Saturday morning. ERs are many times impersonal, expensive and time
consuming, especially for more minor ailments or concerns. No wonder the public seeks help
elsewhere.
I think that most people would rather see their physician, however when the
physician is not available, or makes it such a hassle to see them, I don't blame them for going
elsewhere.
I can tell you that when I practiced, our group had evening hours, sometimes to
seven or eight in the evening. We were open every Saturday, and there were many times when on call
for the week, I would meet patients at the office - after hours, or on Sunday to suture, cast, or
check other complaints.
I do not know where you live, but I do not see much if any of that here in
eastern Kentucky.
As an osteopathic physician, I hope you remember this when you practice. Our
patients' time is valuable, they seek help when they are concerned or hurting, not just between 9:00
am and 4:00 pm Monday through Friday.
I commend Dr. Stro for his response, especially his emphasis on making
doctors more competitive. In fact, this is the key end result of increases in freedom, liberty, and
the stemming entrepreneurship. Whether it is school
choice, medical choice, or 'voting
with your feet' ie location, it has been government monopolies, licensing or otherwise, which
encourage stagnation and limit innovation. When those monopolies are broken, when freedom is
unleashed, positive results are attained. Dr. Stro did mention his concern for the 'quality' of the
in-store clinics, often a code word for increasing the regulatory burden on these stores, but since
we don't know this for certain, I'll refrain from jumping to judgment on, IMHO, an otherwise
excellent response.
(Added to 'Medical
Lobbying')
|
Posted 10/13/06 (By
Travis)
Fix
Medicare - Not Prices
10/10/06 Cato
It is tempting to think that Medicare's payment system exists to benefit physicians who know how to
play the game. But few physicians enjoy having their practices thrown into turmoil by payment
changes uttlerly unrelated to the value they provide.
A more plausible explanation is that Medicare's pricing system exists to serve Washington's
political class. Politicians can use the perennial threat of payment cuts to shake down wealthy
physicians for political contributions. Organizations that lobby on behalf of physicians - like the
AMA and the AAFP - rake in membership fees as well. It is little wonder that, according to the
watchdog group Political Money Line, the health-care industry spends more on political contributions
and lobbying than any other.
This is madness. The government has no business setting prices for physicians' services. Until
Congress lets the market set those prices, Medicare will continue to purchase sub-standard care and
encourage shakedowns that benefit no one but politicians and lobbyists.
(Added to 'US
Government Healthcare' and 'Medical Lobbying')
|
Posted 10/13/06 (By
Travis)
Blagojevich
fundraiser indicted for "play for pay" shakedowns
10/11/06
Chicago Tribue
Speaking of 'shakedowns', get a loada this mess... First, before we start, recall that under 'required
reading' there is an essay
from (R) Ron Paul (TX), which contains the following excerpt:
The only effective way to address corruption is to change the system itself,
by radically downsizing the power of the federal government in the first place. Take away the
politicians' power and you take away the very currency of corruption.
Bear the above in mind as we go
through these charges:
Specifically,
the indictment alleged Rezko used his influence with top officials in Blagojevich's office in the
spring of 2004 to ensure that allies were appointed to or retained seats on a state hospital
planning board and the state's Teachers' Retirement System Board, the $36.5 billion pension fund for
retired teachers outside of Chicago.
The solution? First, eliminate the 'state hospital planning board'.
What is there to plan? The people of the state of Illinois are perfectly capable of building and
maintaining their own hospitals without political interference. Second, eliminate public, ie
political, control over the pensions of teachers, preferably by allowing parents to control the
education of their children by placing schools in the hands of private accountable institutions who
compete for customers. In any case, and after all, isn't it by definition the 'teachers' pensions'? Belonging to the
teachers? So, why don't the
teachers themselves control it?
Blagojevich, whose wife, Patti, netted thousands in fees
from real estate deals with Rezko, is desperately trying to distance himself from a man he now calls
a traitor.
The solution? As seen by the recent so-called 'scandal' involving Senator
Reid in Nevada, there is extensive political control over zoning, licensing, lending, affecting
all aspects of real estate dealings, reflective of the consistent propensity of government to meddle with the
private property of otherwise free citizens. If these 'perks' were eliminated, any corruption would
follow it down the drain.
Rezko
was sued for more than $10 million by a Chicago man who says he helped Rezko secure a $1 million
loan from Broadway Bank, whose vice president is Democratic state treasurer candidate Alexi
Giannoulias.
The solution? Eliminate government regulation over the banking
industry.
The
indictment alleges that Rezko schemed to extort businesses that came before two state boards with
the help of co-conspirator Stuart
The
solution? Abolish whatever useless 'state boards' the article is referring to.
While
the indictment alleges Rezko and Levine displayed a pattern of attempting to extort several firms,
federal prosecutors said.
The solution? The only reason they can extort the private firms is
because they have power, through oppressive government, to harm the business of these firms. Eliminate the
power of government to do this and the problem is fixed.
Conclusion: This is not a result of 'criminal behavior' of individuals, although the behavior
of the individuals certainly was criminal. It is a result of a broken system, with distorted feedback loops such that
criminals thrive and are rewarded, while honesty and morality are punished. Notice none
of the media articles give even passing mention to, IMO, this most important angle of the
story.
|
Posted
10/11/06 (By Travis)
Education
Aid Mythology
10/10/06
campusreportonline.net
Some
interesting facts that clash with the political rhetoric about 'drying up student loans' and
'soaring costs' of college and the so-called cutting of 'vital' programs'.
“Twenty-nine to thirty-one percent of high income students take out loans to go to college.”
There is no mystery why this is. Government steals taxpayer money and gives it to these students at
interest rates below what can be made in the stock market or any other investments. It is puzzling
that 100% of students don't take out the subsidized loans and invest the money in index funds...
• 52% of
students max out on Stafford student loans.
• 47% of
students either don’t max out or do not take out the loans.
• 37% of
private borrowers work.
• 63% don’t.
Several of the speakers at the event noted that only one-third of students are working their way
through college in addition to borrowing, a puzzle when the stated reason for the loan is need. In
days of old, students borrowed and worked their way through college.
In fact, Mazzeo, who has worked as a professor at Baruch College, noted that “A surprisingly large
number of low-income students do not max out on Stafford loans.” At the other end of the
transaction is a multi-billion dollar industry, mostly fueled by tax dollars.
So, just like 'poverty statistics' the
reasons for the existence of the 'welfare state' once again prove exaggerated...
(Added to 'The Poor' and 'College')
|
Posted
10/11/06 (By Travis)
Arthritis
patients denied drugs
10/11/06
Reuters
LONDON
(Reuters) - Many British arthritis patients are still being denied a new generation of medicines, despite
a government pledge four years ago to make them universally available, according to research
published on Wednesday.
Although the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) approved anti-tumour
necrosis factor (TNF) drugs for rheumatoid arthritis in 2002, access to them still varies widely.
Dr. Lesley Kay, a member of the management committee of the British Society for Rheumatology
Biologics Register and co-author of the study, said nearly half of consultants reported restrictions
on the prescribing of anti-TNF drugs.
The limitations were mainly in the form of caps on funding for the medicines -- which cost around
10,000 pounds per patient a year -- or caps on the number of patients treated.
Despite a government pledge.... Who would believe a government?
(Added
to 'British Healthcare')
|
Posted
10/11/06 (By Travis)
Government
influence comes back to haunt Airbus
10/10/06 nvtvprofit.com
BERLIN (Reuters) - The European governments that created Airbus and funded ambitious jet programmes
that allowed it to soar past U.S. rival Boeing, are now hindering the firm's efforts to get over the
worst crisis in its history.
The sudden departure of Airbus CEO Christian Streiff on Monday after only three
months in the job has underscored just how important national considerations remain within Airbus
and its parent EADS, which has operated with a cumbersome Franco-German management structure since
its founding.
It was Streiff's attempt to break down these structures and introduce cost cuts without
regard to political sensitivities, that alienated his managers within EADS and the German
government, ultimately making his position untenable.
"The organisation and governance of EADS have as major objectives the
preservation of a delicate balance between men, power and positions," Streiff told French daily
Le Figaro on Tuesday. "This formula can work in normal times, but it is not appropriate for a
firm that is going through a serious crisis."
Louis
Gallois, who took Streiff's place as CEO this week, warned on Tuesday of "painful" job
cuts and called EADS structure a "bit baroque". He is likely to meet strong resistance in
a company that has always had more success with balanced government-funded expansion than
cutbacks.
Government run business is not run as business, but as a political machine, which is true with
regards to anything government attempts.
(Added
to 'Airbus vs Boeing' new perm link)
|
Posted
10/8/06 (By
Travis)
Good
Karma, Bad Karma?
10/8/06
Neoperspectives.com
Karma
is a term that has been bandied about fairly loosely in common culture. Synonymous with the old
expression, 'What goes around comes around', the interpreted meanings of Karma span the spectrum,
from cute but meaningless expression to a foundational law of spiritual reality.
IMHO,
in my humble opinion, there are two perspectives, possible phenomena, which legitimize the
functional meaning of the phrase without laying judgment on the more epistemological claims.
The
first starts with the premise that good acts and thoughts, resulting from each other or increased
awareness/introspection (and vice versa), bring their own internal rewards. Helping others, achieving goals,
controlling the mind, and advancing and improving oneself brings both short and, most especially, long term happiness. Cognitive dissonance
between the higher mind and lower animalistic nature is minimized and positive emotions are
generated, better said, they are uncovered and freed to elevation. Now, this may be stating the
obvious, but when we combine it with our knowledge of how human beings interact, this facet of
Karma becomes clearer.
It was
somewhat surprising to hear a prominent physician remark, "Whether you like it or not, or are
aware of it or not, you will treat your patients differently. You will be more careful, slower,
thoughtful, and caring with the ones you like as compared to the ones you don't like. If I really
don't like a patient, I won't treat them in order to keep the standard of my care high." (For
context, he
mostly does nonemergency elective procedures). Whether doctors should take their personal opinions
to this level is anyone's judgment call, but the underlying pattern undoubtedly exists and is
present in all professions and relationships, if we are honest and humble enough to admit and
discover it.
This
being the case, it is apparent how good acts and deeds to others around you will be returned, either
through direct knowledge and reciprocation of your actions, or indirectly, simply because your
resultant happiness makes you likeable.
The
second, subtler, Karmic phenomena is less esoteric and more of a product of networking and
environmental theory. As we interact with our various social groups we add something to the nature of each.
Without going out on a Consciousness limb, the information exchanges
and natures of groups of connected persons are reflective of said membership. At any given time one is adding,
for lack of a better term, 'positive energy' (positiviness, ie making the group better,
increasing the group happiness)
or 'negative energy' to each network. Of course, it is often difficult to define exactly what positive and negative
'energy' is, but it can be no more challenging than the analogous interpretations of the 'good and
moral acts' of the aforementioned first perspective.
The
sum of all our contributions to our various networks and they to each other up to and including the ultimate
aggregate network, effect the makeup of these networks, which in turn combine to have a profound
impact on every aspect of our lives, fulfilling the karmic prerequisite. But which is more
important, the chicken or the egg? Unfortunately, I'd think, we have a tendency to overestimate our
ability to contribute positive energy and downplay the degradations of negative energy on our psych.
Thus, at least initially, it is important to choose our environments, friends, relationships, and
activities carefully, recognizing our extreme fragility, attempting to maximize the 'positive
energy' (increased moral improvements/happiness) we receive. After all, how can we contribute
positive energy to our networks with a log in our own eye?
This
reminds me a bit of author Ayn Rand's brush with treating relationships as capitalistic goods and
services, a rather fascinating framework, IMO. What do you give and receive from each relationship?
Since we all have different wants and needs and posses different traits of varying value to others,
do we not, in effect, participate in a massive 'nonmaterial' market, unregulated I might add :), with
other
'cognitive traders' around us? Luckily, we can once again discard the staid viewpoint of our friends
on the left, who would surely believe there is only a 'fixed amount' of 'cognitive resources' that
must be divvied up equally, and perhaps even taxed... I'm only kidding, but in truth each
of us can create our own 'cognitive/emotional/moral wealth', improve ourselves and increase our
happiness and awareness without taking anything away from anyone else. In fact, just as financial wealth
creation
spreads prosperity and benefits everyone, so too does a rising tide raise all boats, the
contagiousness of personal advancement, morality, and happiness, is equally as beautiful in its
simplicity.
|
Posted
10/7/06 (By
Travis)
Real
do-gooders (Required Reading)
10/1/06 Washington
Times
Essentially a more precise reiteration, of 'The Founding of
the United States and the Constitutionality of Charity'. These ideas are especially
powerful when coupled with supportive data, such as that compiled by economist Greg Mankiw:
Philanthropy
Vs. Free Trade
6/26/06
Greg Mankiw
Compare the numbers from two articles in today's NY Times:
Warren E. Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and one of the world's wealthiest men,
plans to donate the bulk of his $44 billion fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and
four other philanthropies starting in July.
According to the study [by the International Food Policy Research Institute], a
deal similar to what is now on the table — modest cuts in real tariffs, limited cuts in domestic
support payments, full elimination of export subsidies and 97 percent duty- and quota-free access
for exports from the poorest countries — would create global gains of $54 billion per year.
In other words, success in the Doha round of international trade talks would give the world more every
year than what Buffett can give once after a lifetime of being the world's most
successful investor.
However, even if
Gates and Buffet gave the same amount away every year the comparison would still be flawed because
Gates and Buffets' charity is given as aid, which is temporary, if even useful, a shot in the
arm with possible debilitating side effects. Free trade agreements allow
for lasting and sustained economic growth with jobs and wealth permanently created along with
a healthy societal dose of moral incentives, such as success and advancement. The benefits of
free trade are not disputable, from China,
to Ireland,
to Estonia,
to Chile,
to the Smoot-Haley Tariffs of the Great
Depression, to NAFTA, you'll be
hard pressed to find an economist speaking on the record against free trade. In fact, the only
losers in all of this are the Unions, but that's only because their
government imposed monopolies are being chipped away... Boo hoo....
Now, from here we
can go a few places. First, we can launch an attack on our friends on the left, who attempt to cherry
pick data, dividing state and private 'aid' into two categories, ignoring the private 'aid',
which Americans lead on a
per capita basis, and laud the 'public' or, better said, 'pillaged', aid, a dubious category
lead by socialistic nations such as some in Europe, whom forcibly take more per capita from their
citizens to redistribute as 'aid' than Americans. While we still win this argument, even on their
own terms, we need to go one step further and question the assumption that these 'aid' statistics
are even relevant. In fact, IMO, their basic premise is irrelevant, besides illustrating basic
ideological failings (the subject of the other head of our pincer movement), as it is free trade,
freedom, which really alleviates poverty and spreads prosperity and even (ehm, ehm) practical
inequality.
The
second attack is more satisfying than scrimmaging with our friends on the left, as it is a direct
assault on government itself. This prong retrospectively lays the blame at the foot of government
for prolonging the poverty of the people. After all, what is free
trade, but removing and reducing the size of government? 100%
free trade would be the natural state of things if governments and politicians were not around
to ply their corruptive and corrosive
policies upon uneducated and ill-informed populaces. The enemy here is government and, more
importantly, IMO, the enemy is government in nearly all other facets of public policy as well.
Finally, on a
more personal level, one cannot help but arrive at the conclusion that it is possible, although
perhaps not politically correct, to be an extremely moral person and accomplish great good without
giving a cent to charity or spending a second volunteering. This is not to be critical or disdainful
of these activities, but merely encourage cost-benefits analysis, which often appear to be sorely
lacking, especially when the acting entities are NGOs,
Hollywood actors, 'rockstars' like Bono, or government itself.
(Added to 'Fee
Trade', new perm link)
|
Posted 10/6/06 (By
Travis)
Border
Security, Job Market Leave Farms Short of Workers / Growers Frustrated by Delay in Agriculture
Legislation
10/4/06 Washington Post
P-R Farms, like farms up and down California and across the nation, does not have enough workers to
process its fruit.
"We're
short by 50 to 75 people," said Pat Ricchiuti, 59, the third-generation owner of P-R Farms.
"For the last three weeks, we're running at 50 percent capacity. We saw this coming a couple
years ago, but last year and this year has really been terrible."
The problem is now reaching crisis proportions, food growers say. As much as 30 percent of the
year's pear crop was lost in Northern California, growers estimate. More than one-third of Florida's
Valencia orange crop went unharvested, Regelbrugge said. In New York, apples are rotting on the
trees, because workers who once picked the fruit have fled frequent raids by Immigration and Customs
Enforcement agents, said Maureen Marshall, an apple grower in Elba.
Big
Government raising the price of our food and hurting our farmers. Thanks guys!
(Added to 'Amnesty
From Government')
|
Posted
10/6/06 (By
Travis)
Steelworkers
union will terminate Goodyear contract Thursday
10/6/06
wstm.com
A key issue has been the company's ability to close money-losing plants. The union wants to keep the
12 plants open.
Who owns the plants? The company or the union? This same
pattern is occurring with US car companies. I was surprised to see a 'steelworkers' union still
existed, because I was under the impression they had bankrupted the remaining steel companies in the
United States.
(Added
to 'Unions')
|
Posted
10/5/06 (By
Travis)
Nanotechnology
Risks Unknown
/ Insufficient
Attention Paid to Potential Dangers, Report Says
9/26/06
Washington Post
The
United States is the world leader in nanotechnology -- the newly blossoming science of making
incredibly small materials and devices -- but is not paying enough attention to the environmental,
health and safety risks posed by nanoscale products, says a report released yesterday by the
independent National Research Council. <.>
Norris Alderson, associate commissioner for science at the Food and Drug Administration and chairman
of the working group that created the administration's summary research plan presented to Congress
last week, said the document -- which was supposed to be delivered six months ago -- was meant as
"a first step."
Is this the beginning of the end of the nanotech industry?
(Added
to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted 10/4/06 (By
Travis)
Out
of Body experience? Your brain is to blame
10/3/06 New York Times
In one woman, for example, a zap to a brain region called the angular gyrus resulted in a sensation
that she was hanging from the ceiling, looking down at her body.
Yet
the sense of body integrity is rather easily duped, Dr. Blanke said.
And while it may be tempting to invoke the supernatural when this body sense goes awry, he said the
true explanation is a very natural one, the brain’s attempt to make sense of conflicting
information.
This reminds of me of the book 'Why
God Won't go Away', where researchers did brain scans of persons who were thinking about, either meditating
or praying to God and discovered, roughly, the area of the brain where God is
experienced/perceived. Interestingly, Buddhist monks and Christian nuns lit up the same areas of the
brain during their respective spiritual practices.
However, contrary to this NYT article, these researchers did not assume scientific explanations of
the supernatural eliminated the supernatural, but instead left open the possibility that their
discovery actually confirmed it. Personally, I'm ambivalent about which path one follows, as
negatives, either way, are rather hard to prove. :)
|
Posted 10/4/06 (By
Travis)
Beer
Cannon!!!!
YouTube
Fire
in the hole! Nothin' beats the beast.. :)
(Added to 'Humor')
|
Posted 10/4/06 (By
Travis)
Who,
Me, A Yogi?
10/3/06 Washington Post
A February 2005 Harris poll
commissioned by Yoga Journal, the leading American yoga magazine, found that 7.5 percent of U.S.
adults, or 16.5 million people, practice yoga; that's an increase of 43 percent from 2002.
Interesting statistics. Of course, this trend is happening not because of government, but
because the people are freely choosing it. Well, government still has it hands somewhat in the cookie
jar...:
L.A.
yoga guru accused of running illegal studio
4/7/06 LA Times (originally)
Los
Angeles prosecutors charged "hot yoga" guru Bikram Choudhury with operating a yoga studio
without a permit and other violations that could land the controversial instructor in jail.
Choudhury, his landlord American Sunroof Corp. and company president Christian Prechter were each
charged on Thursday with 10 criminal counts including operating without a certificate, overcrowding
the yoga studio and not maintaining emergency exits. Each faces a maximum sentence of six months in
jail for each count, and/or a $1,000 fine (540 pounds).
|
Posted 10/4/06 (By
Travis)
The
Raw Deal
10/1/06 Washington Post
The
FDA requires milk to be pasteurized (heated) and homogenization (filtered). Why? If it is not
treated as such, it is claimed we could get sick from bacteria. Thus, to protect us from ourselves,
the FDA and other big government types will throw us in jail if we sell this sort of milk or dairy
products. Sure, there are cases of raw milk
being harmful, but there are also cases of pasteurized and homogenized milk being harmful.
In any
case, this is a thorough, well written article; the author has a good sense of humor. :)
Case
in point, here is a good contrast:
The
FDA'S 2006 science forum was held in April in a cavernous, blue-carpeted hall at the Washington
Convention Center. There were row after row of poster presentations with titles such as
"Characterizing Perfluorochemical Migration From Food Contact Paper" and "Evaluation
of Nanomaterials' Immunotoxicity: Examples of Polystyrene Nanoparticles."
Versus:
His wife also grew up drinking raw milk on a dairy farm. They feed their kids raw milk. He says he
has never become ill from drinking it. Neither has his wife or his kids. In fact, he's never known
anyone who has gotten sick from drinking raw milk. When I tell him that the FDA has called raw milk
"inherently dangerous," he rolls his eyes. "Yeah, that's what they say," he
says. The young farmer is not a man of lengthy explanations.
Reminds me of this quote:
State a moral case to a plowman and a professor. The former will decide it as well, and often better
than the latter, because he has not been led astray by artificial rules.
-
Thomas Jefferson
(Added to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted 10/2/06 (By Dobber)
Congress Makes
Decision, Business Ruined
10/2/06 TOW News
I am not a business owner. If I was, I would be most terrified of one
thing: Congress' Big Government Gavel. Today, Congress made a decision,
and, as usual, the results of the decision make life worse for people all over
the world. It seems that a lot of people enjoy spending some (or a lot) of
their own free time and money gambling. As such, entrepreneurial individuals
came up with a way to provide internet gambling sites a reliable
electronic money-transferring system. With today's passage of HR 4954, the Safe Port Act,
Congress made those businesses illegal in the United States.
Neteller,
the best known and most trusted gaming e-wallet shares lost 60.56% of their
value or 215 pence Monday, closing the harshest day the gaming industry
recalls at 140 pence.
Too bad for Neteller (London Stock Exchange business). Too bad for anyone
that enjoys internet gambling. Too bad for freedom. Neteller wasn't the only casualty of the Republican dominated Congress.
Leisure &
Gaming shares closed at -74.68%, Sportingbet at -64.18%, PartyGaming at
-57.94%, Betcorp at 45.86%.
In the words of Justice Janice Rogers Brown
"[w]here
government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates, and our
ability to control our destiny atrophies"
And how true does that ring, when you read this bookie's opinion?
Privately owned gaming
operators report business as usual. “we were booking illegal before, and it's
still illegal, what has changed?” a well known bookmaker told
TheOnlineWire.com this afternoon. “What changed is all the marketing yuppies
and geeks are scared and bailing out. Let the real book makers take the
market back.”
There you have it. The government's decision forces honest people to cease
doing business in that trade. Now, that trade will be ruled, once again,
by organized crime, much like the prohibition era of the United States.
With legal gambling, big losers face big bills. With only illegal
gambling, big losers face big broken knuckles.
|
Posted
10/1/06 (By Dobber)
Government Loosens Reigns, Government School Improves
9/28/06 USA Today
Great read for anyone that is interested in the ongoing failure of government
schooling. An inner-city school in Baltimore is having success with some
of the nation's least likely to succeed.
The school, better known as
Baltimore Talent Development High School, is on the cutting edge of a
decade-long experiment to stem the nation's dropout crisis. In a city where an
estimated four in 10 students graduate, principal Jeffrey Robinson counts just
half a dozen students who have dropped out in the school's first two years.
Why is this school having success? The article sums it up in this paragraph:
Yet it's working, on a simple, common-sense principle:
Find a dynamic principal with high expectations, give him what he needs, and
let him hire the teachers he wants. Provide a rigorous curriculum and massive
intervention for freshmen who read and do math at elementary school levels.
And then get out of the way.
And then get out of the way. Did you hear that Federal Government?
Get out of the way. United States Department of Education, get the heck
out of the way.
|
Posted 9/30/06 (By
Travis)
In
Rural Cuba, a Slow Road to Progress
/ Outside Havana, Scarcity of Cars Makes Horse-Drawn Buggies the Way to Go
9/28/06 Washington
Post
In the near absence of passenger cars, these buggies serve as taxis and local buses in rural areas
of Cuba, and the flaming buckets function as homemade taillights.
Countless chroniclers of Cuba have observed that the vintage American cars in Havana -- the
fabulous, hulking Buicks and finned Chryslers -- make the capital feel like a city frozen in the
1950s. But outside Havana, in the vast expanse of the Caribbean's largest island, the ambiance often
leans more toward the 1850s.
But then again, the government pays her [a Dermatologist]
only about $30 a month for her work, treating the sunburns and bug bites that afflict European and
Canadian tourists at nearby beach resorts. <.>
A new car was out of the question. Cubans need government permission to buy new cars, which
usually go to government agencies or to people involved in tourism and development, and almost no
one outside those lines of work can afford one if they could get permission.
Quite a different picture of Cuba than is typically painted by the media, Castro supporters in
Hollywood, and our friends on the far left.
|
Posted 9/28/06 (By
Travis)
Visas
for Skilled Workers Still Frozen
9/28/06
Washington Post
An incredibly important bill that is not passing. The brain drain needs to be to, not from, the
United States. This sort of expansive government also encourages outsourcing, reduces American
jobs, and limits prosperity and growth for all.
Pathak
cited the Hungarian roots of Intel Corp. co-founder Andrew S. Grove, whose work helped create the
modern computer industry that employs millions of Americans.
"What would have happened if
the United States had decided to close the doors on him?" Pathak said.
(Added to 'Amnesty From Government')
|
Posted 9/28/06 (By
Travis)
Venezuela
Oil Pimp Can Have The UN
9/21/06 New York Post
Editorial
A
scathing attack on the United Nations from the New York Post. The point is not that President Chavez
repeatedly called Bush 'the Devil' in his diatribe before the United Nations, but that afterwards there was
laughter and applause from the attending UN delegates. This went too far even for US Democrats who condemned
Chavez in the strongest possible terms. But these Democrats and even most Republicans did not attack
the root of the problem - the 'United Nations' itself. Which is why I like the tone of this article:
May your prayers be answered, Señor Chavez. May the United Nations leave New
York for residence in Venezuela, so very far from the diplos' lush and cushy berth on the East Side.
The sorry organization isn't worth the gridlock.
You're more than welcome, please, to take the
atrophied, self-abasing remains of a global ideal 2,100 miles to Caracas, where you can play the
messianic oil baron game to your heart's content with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, fresh in from Tehran,
perhaps with a dirty bomb in his suitcase.
You can take the UN, and you can shove it - there. <.>
Saddam Hussein had his way with the UN by corrupting the oil-for-food program to buy his way out of
having to comply with weapons inspections. Today's trade is oil for nukes, and the UN is again
reclining into a supine position.
The parliament of mankind? Naw. A cheap bordello.

(Added
to 'Chavez')
|
Posted 9/26/06 (By
Travis)
Rare
Woodpecker Sends a Town Running for Its Chain Saws
9/24/06 New York Times
(AP)
BOILING
SPRING LAKES, N.C., Sept. 23 (AP) — Over the past six months, landowners here have been
clear-cutting thousands of trees to keep them from becoming homes for the endangered red-cockaded
woodpecker.
The chain saws started in February, when the federal Fish and Wildlife Service put Boiling Spring
Lakes on notice that rapid development threatened to squeeze out the woodpecker.
The results can be seen all over town. Along the roadsides, scattered brown bark is all that is left
of pine stands. Mayor Joan Kinney has watched with dismay as waterfront lots across from her home on
Big Lake have been stripped down to sandy wasteland.
“It’s ruined the beauty of our city,” Ms. Kinney said.
Whodathunkit? Government action results in the opposite of their
intentions? And who can blame these property owners? They are just trying to prevent the theft
(devaluation) of their property by government.
(Added to 'The Environment')
|
Posted 9/26/06 (By
Travis)
Senator
James Inhoffe Speech on Global Warming
9/25/06 Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee
Check this out for a great recap of the history of media and scientific coverage of global warming
(and cooling). :)
(Added to 'The Environment')
|
Posted 9/26/06 (By Dobber)
Big Government punishes
Communist Party!
9/26/06 RIA Novosti
Belarus' government is practicing censorship. I know little about Belarus,
but from what I've read, it's pretty
bleak. The government controls almost all of industry.
Roughly 80 percent of all industry
remains in state hands
80%! Think about that. A couple hundred years ago, in New England,
people were willing to kill King George and his cronies for a tax increase!
Today, the United States is the most prosperous, freest country in the
world...but I digress.
The fact that the Belarus government, which is an authoritarian, repressive
regime, is punishing the communist Party of Belarus (by definition authoritarian
and repressive) is interesting. The Communist Party is standing strong
though:
Sergei Kalyakin, the Communist Party leader, said the
party has started forming a new organization in Minsk.
"We will continue our political activity, which is
aimed at restoring democracy, freedom and human rights in Belarus, no matter
what," he said.
The Communist Party stands for freedom. Okay.
|
Posted 9/25/06 (By
Travis)
Estonia:
Land of the Free? (Required Reading)
8/4/06 The Unknown
Candidate (blog)
What
really fights poverty? How do third and second world counties
become first world countries? Estonia
tells us the answer is freedom.
Economists
call Estonia the Baltic Tiger, the sequel to the Celtic Tiger as Europe’s success story, and its
policies are more radical than Ireland’s. On this year’s State of World Liberty Index, a ranking
of countries by their economic and political freedom, Estonia is in first place, just ahead
of Ireland and seven places ahead of the U.S. (North Korea comes in last at 159th.)
It transformed itself from an isolated, impoverished part of the Soviet Union
thanks to a former prime minister, Mart Laar, a history teacher who took office not long after
Estonia was liberated. He was 32 years old and had read just one book on economics: “Free to
Choose,” by Milton Friedman, which he liked especially because he knew Friedman was despised by
the Soviets.
Laar was politically naïve enough to put the theories into practice. Instead of
worrying about winning trade wars, he unilaterally disarmed by abolishing almost all tariffs. He
welcomed foreign investors and privatized most government functions (with the help of a
privatization czar who had formerly been the manager of the Swedish pop group Abba). He drastically
cut taxes on businesses and individuals, instituting a simple flat income tax of 26 percent.
These reforms were barely approved by the legislature amid warnings of disaster:
huge budget deficits, legions of factory workers and farmers who would lose out to foreign
competition. But today the chief concerns are what to do with the budget surplus and how to deal
with a labor shortage. <.>
The
growth over the past decade has produced so much unanticipated revenue that the tax rate is being
gradually reduced to 20 percent. Laar’s political rivals still complain that his flat tax unfairly
helps the rich, but as he notes, the level of income inequality in Estonia actually declined during
the past decade.
On the
other hand, what does the Mayor of New York think the answer is to fighting poverty? Socialism.
NYC
Mayor Suggests Paying Poor
9/18/06
NEW YORK (AP) -- Poor New Yorkers who make healthy choices - such as staying in school and regularly
seeing the doctor - should be rewarded with cash to help break the cycle of poverty, Mayor Michael
Bloomberg suggested Monday.
This is almost as condescending as the views of persons like Paul Farmer who
support the ideas of paying TB (Tuberculosis) patients cash if they return to the free western
clinics for their follow up treatments.
The commission, headed by Time Warner's chief executive, Richard Parsons, and the president of the
nonprofit group Harlem Children's Zone, Geoffrey Canada, said many New Yorkers are locked in a cycle
of poverty in which built-in conditions trap them into failure.
Well, they are at least correct about this. Government punishes the
financial success of those in poverty by taking away their government health, housing, cash, food,
and who knows how many other goodies the moment they begin to succeed. Welfare
Reform provided ample evidence that government itself is creating/incentivising these
cycles.
In countries such as
Mexico and Brazil, there has been widespread praise for World Bank-supported programs that give
financial rewards to parents for sending their children to school and regular doctors' visits.
Somehow Mexico and Brazil don't seem like shinning role models in
tackling poverty, much less the United
Nations... Why don't
we look to Estonia?
(Added to 'Welfare; History, Results, and Reform')
|
Posted 9/25/06 (By
Travis)
Still
Exploding
9/19/06 A Constrained
Vision (blog)
Some
interesting statistics on growing educational freedom:
1990:
0 charter schools
January 2004: 684,000 students in 2,996 charter schools
October 2005: 1,076,964 students in 3,625 charter schools
September
2006: 1,149,986 students in 3,977 charter schools
Top Cities:
1.
New Orleans, LA 69%
2. Dayton, OH 28%
3. Washington, DC 25%
4. Pontiac, MI 20%
5. Kansas City, MO 20%
6. Youngstown, OH 20%
I still wonder how many of the nearly 4000 charter schools in
the United States are really free. After all, it is the tendency of politicians and government to
appease the people by changing the labeling of an issue. For example, fascists, in contrast to
communists, appear to allow ownership of 'private
property', but then the state contrives so many rules and regulations around what property owners
could do with their property that, for all intents and purposes, the state owns all property in all
but name. This difference of perception, brought about by psychological sleight of hand, still
results in many believing there is a significant difference between fascism and communism.
(Added to 'A Charter School Tale')
|
Posted 9/19/06 (By Dobber)
Thanks for visiting Neoperspectives. Travis and I will be traveling East
to attend some weddings for about a week. Stay tuned.
Posted 9/13/06 (By
Dobber)
Kick out the Liberals Part 1
8/12/06 Mohave Daily News
Kick out the Liberals Part 2
9/5/06 NY Times
A
Defense of Liberals
I think that all of us agree that free speech is the most important freedom
every society should rightfully enjoy. Without freedom of expression, we
have nothing. Our property becomes worthless, the courts are irrelevant,
and the right to bear arms is futile. That said, it is imperative that all
opinions should be expressed. If one does not examine, listen, and think
about a diverse array of opinions, how can one ever reach a solid conclusion?
Although I will disagree with most "liberal" viewpoints, I will jump to defend
their freedom of speech. That said, take a look at some of the language
from the above American newspaper articles:
"state lawmakers are targeting what they see as
left-leaning university professors,"
"president urged students Tuesday to push for a purge of
liberal and secular university teachers"
"push has raised concerns among the academic community
about academic freedom"
"higher education remains home to dozens more professors
and instructors who outspokenly oppose policies that restrict freedom of
expression"
"lawmakers have floated or are planning a host of
proposals that would restrict what students can be required to read,"
"would try to deprive others of their jobs because of
political differences"
Similar, eh? Each quote above was taken from article 1, then article 2,
then article 1, then article 2, then article 1, then article 2. Now, in
the stunning conclusion, I will show the major difference between the articles:
"Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, plans to introduce an
‘‘Academic Bill of Rights'' next year designed to keep liberal bias out of the
classroom."
"Iran's hard-line president urged students Tuesday to push
for a purge of liberal and secular university teachers, another sign of his
determination to strengthen Islamic fundamentalism in the country."
The first article was about New Mexico lawmakers. The second was about Iran.
|
Posted 9/12/06 (By
Travis)
Where
Americans live can affect how long they live
9/12/06 AP
Health
disparities are widely considered an issue of minorities and the poor being unable to find or afford
good medical care. But Murray's government-funded study shows the problem is far more complex, and
that geography plays a crucial role.
The longest-living whites were not the relatively wealthy, which Murray calls "Middle
America." They are edged out, by a year, by low-income residents of the rural Northern Plains
states in the Midwest, where the men tend to reach age 76 and the women 82.
Murray was surprised to find that lack of health insurance
explained only a small portion of those gaps. Instead, differences in alcohol and tobacco use,
blood pressure, cholesterol and obesity seemed to drive death rates.
Most important, he said, will be pinpointing geographically defined factors — such as shared
ancestry, dietary customs, local industry, what regions are more or less prone to physical activity
— that in turn influence those health risks.
This is certainly an interesting study; we are always told that there
is a healthcare crisis in America and that folks aren't getting the healthcare they need, yet it appears here that lifestyle and culture are playing a much greater role. In fact, life-expectancy
has never been an adequate measure of modern healthcare, a view which is probably not shared by many
in the medical community.
It is not a coincidence that the author of this study looked at Appalachian
whites, inner city blacks, and Native
Americans. Most likely, he was aiming for conclusions quite different than the ones he has
inadvertently reinforced. These were the same populations studied in 'Welfare;
History, Results, and Reform' and it was found that condescending, de-empowering, paternal
governmental programs were significantly correlated with not just poverty, but sociologic failings
like drug abuse and family structure. IMHO, the correlation was significant enough to equal
causation. If true, might it not also be the case that these same government policies, the handouts,
the freebees, the lack of respect for property, all of which corrupt and degrade the human spirit,
are also at least partially responsible for the cultures and behaviors that equate with lower
life expectancies?
This
more precise measure of health disparities will enable federal officials to better target efforts to
battle inequalities, said Dr. Wayne Giles of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which
helped fund Murray's work.
Inequalities
of income or healthcare should not be a target or concern of government! Government action will only
make whatever token inequalities exist worse.
"It's not just telling people to be active or not to smoke," he said. "We need to
create the environment which assists people in achieving a healthy lifestyle."
I disagree. My advice would be the same as Fredrick Douglas's:
I have had but one answer from the beginning. Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has already
played the mischief with us! Do nothing with us!..-<>-.. ..just let him alone! Your
interference is doing him a positive injury!
It is the doing with them that has already played the mischief
with them.
(Added to 'Welfare; History, Results, and Reform'
and 'US Government Health')
|
Posted
9/12/06 (By Travis)
Oil's
Dark Secret (Required Reading)
8/10/06
The Economist
A great article! It is about time someone blamed the world's governments for the oil shortages and the resultant economic
stagnations and sufferings.
In 'Atlas Shrugged', author Ayn Rand writes a fictional mirror image of the description of what is happening to Venezuela's oil company.
A couple themes pop out of this article. First, in 'Middle
Eastern Governments and Causes of Terrorism' it is written:
Another
theory is that without foreign aid or natural resources, governments are forced to liberalize
because it is the only way for them to get tax revenues. In other words, when wealth can only be
generated through the naked productivity/ingenuity of it's citizens, the rulers of that country will
be most inclined to introduce reforms to accelerate this. Notice some of the strongest economic
zones in the world today - Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, Israel, Taiwan, South Korea and
the (early, eastern) United States - are poor in natural resources. Historically, the British,
Dutch, Portuguese and, going way back, Carthageans and Athenians, were all were top world powers
without being strong in natural resources. Why was the Spanish Empire, a centrally controlled
country drowning in colonial gold, discarded into the ash heap of history so fast? Returning to the
Africa analogy, the areas which are richest in natural resources, especially the diamond belt, are
suffering the greatest conflict and strife.
From the posted article:
One
factor that does not seem to be a prerequisite to success for a national oil company is having a lot
of oil. Petrobras, for one, began life as a refiner and distributor. It used its profits from those
businesses to fund new ventures in exploration and production. Abundant, inalienable oil, on the
other hand, seems to do most state-run firms more harm than good.
Another theme, touched on throughout this website, is that, sure,
we have it bad here, our government is oppressive and large and immoral, but.... we still
have it much better than anywhere else. The United States is home to most of the world's largest
private oil companies and, even though these are still layered with burdensome taxes and
regulations, we can still be thankful that we don't even have a single state oil company... yet.
(Added
to 'Chavez', and 'Gasoline
and Government')
|
Posted 9/10/06 (By
Travis)
McCain-Feingold
Iron Curtain Roundup
9/2/06 Club For Growth A
great roundup of how campaign finance 'reform' is anything but.
|
Posted 9/10/06 (By
Travis)
How
Hitler became a Dictator
9/1/06 LewRockwell.com
This is interesting, historically, as there seems to be a lot of misinformation out there about how
it happened.
|
Posted 9/10/06 (By
Travis)
San
Fran Police Association Head
Video of a good skewering the media and blasting the judges of San Francisco.
Background. On a side note, can you make the
connection between this
story and this press conference? :)
|
Posted 9/7/06 (By
Travis)
Since
we're on the subject of the FDA, I thought I'd take the opportunity to show off my new license plate
:) :

(Added to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted 9/7/06 (By
Travis)
Gene
Therapy Found Effective Against Terminal Cancer
8/31/06
Los Angeles Times
Scientists
for the first time have genetically modified tumor-fighting immune cells, allowing patients to rid
themselves of an aggressive form of cancer, according to a study released Thursday.
The technique, used to cure two patients with advanced melanoma, paves the way
for a new approach to fighting cancer by harnessing — and boosting — the body's own immune
system instead of relying on toxic chemotherapy and radiation treatments to kill out-of-control
tumors.
They
added that there is still more failure than success with the technique. Fifteen other melanoma
patients enrolled in the study failed to show sustained improvement from the modified immune cells.
Twelve of those patients have passed away, and the other three are near death, Rosenberg said.
But the success with two patients, who are cancer-free more than a year and a
half after their treatment, was enough to demonstrate the possibility of a new front in the long,
intractable war against cancer.
Now, as we know, any doctors that try this approach on
terminally ill patients with cancer will get thrown in jail by the FDA. We can assume this
particular trial was only allowed to go forward with the utmost bureaucratic involvement and
haggling and we've already documented
that the FDA has severely limited gene therapy trials.
Melanoma
accounts for only 4% of skin cancer cases, but it is the most lethal type. More than 62,000 patients
will be diagnosed with melanoma this year, and 7,910 people will die from it, according to estimates
from the American Cancer Society.
If we assume the success rate for this type of therapy
is 2/15, 13%, and that all of the 7,910 people who are about to die want to
try the therapy, then it follows that 1054 of these people would be alive today. That is, if the FDA
did not exist.
Of course, one
might argue that not all of these folks would try the therapy and that we don't even know for sure
what the actual percent of success is, given the small sample size and the propensity of docs to
'creatively' design trials and interpret data. Maybe so. But I'd counter with
the fact that the FDA has surely set back gene therapy (and other therapies!) years and years with its
asinine regulations and
prohibitions on trials etc... (Readers may recall the article
posted about the exodus of patients and clinicians to china.)
If history is any guide, and the FDA
has delayed gene therapy 12 years, which is, on average, how long it takes for a new drug to get
approval, then it is not unreasonable to estimate that over 12,000 persons are now dead due to the
FDAs attempts to protect us, and, apparently, the deceased. In fact, the number is likely higher,
because with more trials and competition, the therapies would have improved faster and started
earlier.
Again, let us be clear, the efficacy of gene therapy is besides the point, the substitution of 'any
medical advancement' for gene therapy, will illustrate the pattern in question.
(Added to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted 9/7/06 (By
Travis)
Implantable
Heart Device Receives F.D.A. Approval
9/5/06
New York Times
As you can see, expert opinion here at Neoperspectives.com has already been expressed on this
subject. :) However, I'd like to leave one further quote, and another example of the FDA, and its
outside 'expert' docs playing God:
In June 2005, a panel of heart experts appointed to advise the F.D.A. voted, 7
to 6, against approving the Abiomed device, in part because of concern that the risks from
complications like bleeding, strokes and infection outweighed the benefits. Some panel members
expressed concern about whether patients would live long enough with an improved quality of life to
justify the risks.
Who better to weight the risks and benefits than the
terminally ill patients themselves? What about their concerns? Who owns
their lives? Who are these meddling middlemen?
(Added to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted 9/6/06 (By Dobber)
FDA approves of
saving lives of 4,000 people per year
ABC News
The Food and Drug Administration
gave preliminary approval today to Abiomed Inc. to sell its AbioCor device, the
first fully implantable mechanical heart, just over a year after an FDA panel of
outside experts voted against giving the Massachusetts company permission to
sell the device.
How is it that we the people, define expert?
Would your definition of expert be the same as
mine? Maybe or maybe not. The FDA hired
experts to determine whether or not a private company could sell a
potentially life-saving device to willing private citizens. The
experts voted no. A year later, apparently
against the advice of the experts, the FDA changed
its mind.
Continue to think about that. The FDA hired experts
to make a decision for them. The FDA apparently could not make the
decision itself, so rather than wallow in its own stupidity, or non-expertise,
it hired experts to make the decision. The
FDA took the advice of the experts....for one year.
Somehow, the FDA has decided that the experts it
hired are no longer experts. They did not
hire more experts to examine the previous
experts expertise,
they simply decided, in a very non-expertise way
(they aren't experts, if they were, they wouldn't have
hired experts), to discontinue the advice the
experts put forth, after one year.
The company, who ingenuously conceived of, researched, developed, built, and
tested the device? Not experts.
Enough of that...read on.
The company received "humanitarian exemption" for the
device, meaning it is approved for terminally ill heart failure patients who
are believed to be in the last month of life and thus not eligible for a
normal heart transplant.
Aha! Humanitarian Exemption! The company, who had possibly developed
a life saving device for countless Americans, and people all over the world, was
not considered humanitarian, until now. Today. They weren't
humanitarian last week, or last month. But today, they are.
But remember, this device can only be used for patients who are believed to be
in the last month of life. What if the doc thinks you have six months to
live? What if his expert opinion puts you at
37 days?
An FDA spokesman expects that the
company will sell between 25 and 50 devices a year
First of all how could we trust the voice of an FDA spokesman? He is
certainly not an expert! If he were, he would
have been an outside expert.
I certainly don't trust the number of 25 - 30 which the non-expert
FDA generated. But why should we care about how many of the life-saving
devices the non-expert FDA has projected for sales?
although the FDA has given it
approval to sell as many as 4,000.
It gets worse and worse! Pray for the 4001 person that orders one of these
life-saving devices from the recently humanitarian but non-expert
company!
"This represents a culmination of 30 years of
transplant research," said Dr. Daniel Schultz, director of the FDA's Center
for Devices and Radiological Health.
Excuse me, non-expert (experts
don't work for the FDA, they hire them to approve or disapprove of inventions
made by private citizens) Dr. Daniel Schultz, in your non-expert
opinion, how do you feel about the four thousand first applicant who will be
denied a life-saving device by your organization?
I wonder how many people, who in their last month of life, over the past year,
sat thinking about possibly buying this mechanical heart. Remember, the
experts disapproved of the now humanitarian heart.
The initial approval was granted after studying 14
human patients who'd received the mechanical heart. The patients lived for an
average of five months after receiving the implant, which costs about
$250,000.
Would you pay 250K for an extra few months? Uhh, yeah! But more
importantly, this is the first ever device of its kind. How good did the
first car do, compared with a 2006 Honda Civic? How would the first
airplane compare to today's jumbo jet?
"The results of AbioCor have not
been good. … I am surprised that the FDA gave their approval," said Dr. Frank
Sellke, chief of cardiothoracic surgical research at Beth Israel Deaconess
Hospital in Boston.
Hmm. I wonder if he's an expert? Franky
thinks the government ought not give you, in your dying days, the freedom to
put a device in your body that will probably prolong your life. Is it worth it, for
even a day? Ask those people in their dying days whose eighteen year old
daughter will graduate high school in three months. Ask those people whose
son comes back from a tour in Iraq in six weeks.
Sellke was involved in one of the original trials of
the AbioCor, but his team never actually implanted the device into a patient
because "it was a hard moral decision to make. We didn't know it it worked."
What!??!!? The patient is laying on a hospital bed, ASKING you to please
perform the surgery. If you don't do it, move out of the way for the
thousands of doctors who would love to!
Creators of the artificial heart
do agree that much research and development is still required . Follow-up
studies to look at the device are planned in up to 10 facilities.
How else will they make improvements in order to make a profit? A friend
of mine, the future Dr. Trista, gave her opinion, that the FDA should only be
allowed to approve of hearts made of Swiss cheese. Obviously, she has a
future with the FDA since no sane human being would call her an
expert. Lucky for Vanderbilt University, they
have a possible expert
Some surgeons do not like the idea of an artificial
heart. Sticking an artificial heart into a terminally ill patient is "like
swatting a mosquito with a bazooka," said Dr. John Byrne, chairman of the
department of cardiac surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
... a mosquito....with a bazooka... expert
|
Posted 9/4/06 (By
Dobber)
Another Labor Day, Another Complaint About Labor
Boston.Com
I knew it would be out there: A Labor Day newspaper article,
where a journalist writes about labor statistics. Of course, the situation
is dire, and getting worse; and if you're a middle class or poor person, you
should blame it all on rich people and rich people in bed with politicians for your personal economic woes.
I certainly agree with that, partly. The title of his article is "Another
Year, Another Wage Loss".
Government statistics show that the typical family works
about 500 more hours a year than families did 30 years ago, because it takes two
incomes to make it. Even so, family incomes are failing to keep pace with the
cost of living.
Interesting. Over the past thirty years, it has gotten harder for regular
Americans to make money. This increase in difficulty for Regular Joe
Americans has coincided with an increase in the size (and cost) of the federal
government. Based on that simple statement one could theorize that there
happens to be a correlation there. So, the hypothesis goes something like
this: As size of government increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for
Regular Joe American to increase his own personal wealth. Another way to
state that is: As size of government increases, economic growth decreases.
Now, if only we had a way to test that theory....
Lucky for us, economists frequently ponder that question. Over the weekend
I read about that theory
here,
here,
here, and here.
All of those studies, by different people, reached the same conclusion that we
reached just a second ago. That is, as size of government increases, it
becomes increasingly difficult for Regular Joe American to increase his own
personal wealth. The case is closed on that question.
The author of the article, Robert Kuttner, does not address that apparent
correlation in his article. The only time he makes actual government
policy references is in this part:
Theda Skocpol, author of several books of social
history, tells of interviewing a hard-pressed woman with small children and a
low-wage job. Her only social support was that her mother-in-law -- the
children's grandmother -- looked after her children while she worked. As
Skocpol observes, this was possible only because Social Security enabled the
grandmother not to have to work herself.
Skocpol asked the woman whether she thought there was
anything government might do to improve her economic circumstances. The woman
replied, ``Nothing they do there ever makes a difference for people like me."
But that was not always so. Social Security,
Medicare, college aid, the GI Bill, government wage-and-hour laws, and
government protection of the right to unionize made a real difference in
people's lives.
These policies, which benefited the vast middle class
(and helped to create it), did not just happen. They were the result of
political organizing and a public awareness that government could affect the
economic opportunity and security of ordinary Americans, for better or worse.
He claims that Social Security, Medicare, college aid, the GI Bill, government
wage-and-hour laws, and government protection of union rights benefited the vast
middle class. All of these policies increase the size and cost of
government, and over time, the size of each one of those programs increase, as
is the natural tendency of ever-expanding government.
So, how, Mr. Kuttner do these policies help the middle class? How do these
policies help poor people? Can someone please point me to any research
where the conclusion concludes that increasing the cost of government helps
Regular Joe American?
IMO, those conclusions do not exist. Qualifying statement - I do believe
that young men and women willing to risk their lives in military service should
be afforded a college education at the conclusion of their service.
|
Posted 9/1/06 (By
Travis)
The
Political Brain
July Scientific American
"We did not see any increased activation
of the parts of the brain normally engaged during reasoning," Westen is quoted as saying in an
Emory University press release. "What we saw instead was a network of emotion circuits lighting
up, including circuits hypothesized to be involved in regulating emotion, and circuits known to be
involved in resolving conflicts." Interestingly, neural circuits engaged in rewarding selective
behaviors were activated. "Essentially, it appears as if partisans twirl the cognitive
kaleidoscope until they get the conclusions they want, and then they get massively reinforced for
it, with the elimination of negative emotional states and activation of positive ones," Westen
said.
First, this study is interesting because it was done by a Libertarian.
:) Secondly, if correct, it offers an interesting view on ideology versus reason. Ideology is more
based on emotion, but, unlike what the article infers, I don't necessarily consider this to be a
negative, but a neutral statement of fact. Emotional ideology is a useful evolutionary concept. Why
should I need to painstakingly reason through every angle of a proposed policy? Instead, generally,
if it expands government and limits freedom I consider it 'bad' and if it shrinks government and
expands freedom I consider it 'good'. This processing can be done fast and, yes, it is quite satisfying
:). However, this sort of reasoning is still reasoning; it is macro-level pattern recognition that
has been labeled, perhaps correctly, as emotion.
You see, I think emotion is ultimately derived from the same substance as normal cognizant
'objective' reasoning, but is differentiated only by scale, representing a much lower/subtle form of
thought/communication. A danger is that this level is often diluted by instinct and harmful desires.
So,
despite its usefulness, ideology inherently runs into problems. Knee jerk reactions are not always
the best and everything is not uniformly black or white. And, because of its ingrained structure, we
observe the stubborn nature of politics and religion. Conclusions/opinions about both are derived
through the aggregate weighing/comparisons of vast quantities of variables and experiences
over a lengthy period of time. Hence their emotional and controversial nature and why you can
never change someone's mind.
I take that back, a person can change their mind, but it will never, or rarely, be you that
has changed it. It will be a combination of persons and events, percolating temporally, hammering
away at the widespread neural circuitry, until a yawning tipping point is reached and a change
begins so slow the person may even be unaware of it.
Thus, it is best not to go into arguments or discussions even attempting to 'change minds', but with
a joyous attitude and appreciation of another's company and interest. This attitude will also
facilitate your own learning, advancement, and openness, because, notwithstanding its value, emotion
can often, as this study showed, erect walls and barriers. If you are consumed with dislike or
frustration at another person's argument, or worse, at the person themselves, how will you have
energy left to learn from them, or consider your own flaws? It was Ralph
Waldo Emerson who said:
In every man there is something wherin, I may learn of
him and in that I am his pupil.
This approach also yields curtsey, which is, upon
occasion, sorely lacking from religious/political discussions.
Additionally, it is both humbling and refreshing to dig deeper into neurological functionings and
theories of networking/group processing and realize that, by definition, we cannot be right
about every opinion that we have. We all have strengths and weaknesses in our 'objective' reasonings,
which manifest even in our personalities. Studies have shown that, in certain instances, the sum of
opinions derived from many individuals is more accurate than the guesstimates of even a so-called
expert in whatever area the inquiry
is in. Granted, if the whole group is denied certain information or experiences, their accuracy precipitately
declines, eventually leading to mob mentality and groupthink. Incidentally, this is why Conservatives and Libertarians spend so much time attacking the
media. :)
Regardless, it is probably also true that distancing oneself from outcomes, attempting not to place an
'I' in any contemplated equation, will result in a higher accuracy of processing output,
correctness, if you will. But, then again, this is just my opinion and I am a self proclaimed ideologue. :)
(Added to 'Ideology,
Emotion, and Reason', new perm link)
|
Posted 8/31/06 (By
Travis)
California
Assembly passes bill to provide universal health care
8/28/06
Mercury News
Luckily Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will veto this bill. I really just posted it for this quote:
"The reason health care is messed up is the government," argued Assemblyman Ray Haynes,
R-Murrieta. "So why would we want to create even more government?"
(Added to 'US government Healthcare')
|
Posted 8/31/06 (By
Travis)
Is
Nationalized Health Care Terminal?
8/26/06
Worldnetdaily.com
Canada's
nationalized health-care system, admired by the left all over the world and deplored by the right
all over Canada, took another hit last week. The Canadian Medical Association, long its unfailing
supporter, suddenly turned against it.
The CMA elected as president Dr. Brian Day, a Vancouver surgeon and one-time supporter of state
medicine, who is now an outspoken critic of Canada's "Medicare" system. In fact, he runs
the largest private clinic in the country, offering an array of surgical procedures to people
prepared to pay for them. In doing so, he challenges the Canada Health Act, which prohibits
for-profit medical practice. <.>
Long
waits for medical and hospital services are the system's chief symptom of failure. The causes are
many, not least a steady exodus of young Canadian doctors to the U.S. – which means, of course,
that Canadians are training many doctors to work elsewhere.
State Medical Schools here in the US do the same thing, train doctors at
subsidized tuitions, who then go practice in other states. But, the taxpayers don't seem to mind...
(Added
to 'Canadian HealthCare')
|
Posted 8/31/06 (By
Travis)
Hezbollah
says its war with Israel was a mistake
7/28/06
Washington Times
TEL AVIV -- Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said yesterday that he would not have ordered
the July 12 seizure of two Israeli soldiers had he known it would provoke a war that leveled
Shi'ite villages and neighborhoods throughout Lebanon.
"We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war
at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 ... that the operation
would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not," he told Lebanon's New TV
station.
A rather galling admission if you ask me. Could you imagine if the Mexican government had seized two
American soldiers and said the same thing?
How could the response have been anything else?! How could this
terrorist imagine it would be any different? Perhaps because Israel has been just as spineless in
the past as it was in this conflict. Why was it spineless in this conflict? Well, the two soldiers
Hezbollah kidnapped are still missing and the government of Israel is doing nothing. It is not
protecting the property of its citizens and as such has failed in its duty as a sovereign
government.
(Added to 'Israel
Lebanon Conflict')
|
Posted 8/29/06 (By Dobber)
Office of National Drug Policy intoxicated
8/29/06
USA Today
Simple question: In a free society, should it be the responsibility of parents,
or the federal government to deter children from illicit drug use? Well,
apparently, the United States Feds believe it to be their responsibility, not
parents.
I've been away from high school bathrooms for almost ten years, and I wonder how
the War on Drugs is going.
A $1.4 billion anti-drug advertising campaign conducted by
the U.S. government since 1998 does not appear to have helped reduce drug use
and instead might have convinced some youths that taking illegal drugs is
normal, the Government Accountability Office says.
1.4 billion dollars. billion. Like most other programs that fail,
the solution is simple, for bureaucrats.
President Bush's budget for 2007 asks Congress for $120
million for the campaign, a $20 million increase from this year.
I assume that federal employees are subject to random drug tests, I've been
tested five times in the past year (seriously). Please, Mr. President -
test Tom Riley tomorrow, there is absolutely, positively, no sober explanation
for this statement, he must be a crack-head.
The GAO report is "irrelevant to
us," says Tom Riley, spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP). "It's based on ads from 2½ years ago, and they were
effective, too. Drug use has been going down dramatically. Cutting the program
now would imperil (its) progress."
Drug use has gone down dramatically? Where, New Orleans?
|
Posted 8/28/06 (By
Dobber)
Exporting the American
Model
8/28/06
TCS Daily
Tim Worstall at TCS Daily wrote an interesting piece today about the results of
a 'study'
out of the Economic Policy Institute.
This chapter of the study analyzes wealth inequality and poverty. The
study is 36 pages of jibberjabber revisionist economic dapplerdoppling.
Re-read that sentence. That's what I felt like while reading the study.
The authors create tables and then change a few parameters and re-table the
tables, then re-explain the explanations. Their introduction gets us going
:
Two dominant themes emerge from this chapter. First, while the
United States is, on average, a very wealthy country, it also has a large
variance in incomes between those at the top and the bottom of the income
scale. Large variances in incomes make it difficult for economic growth to
reach those at the bottom. Therefore, while it is true that many people in the
United States are well-off, many are not.
The U.S. has a large variance in income levels. This is an interesting
point I hear about all the time. Wealth inequality. By my standards,
the fact that wealth inequality exists, is good. Where can we look for the
most wealth equal citizens within a nation? Hmmm...North Korea and Cuba
come to mind. The reason that the United States has the highest inequality
in wealth is because the government in the United States allows citizens the
greatest opportunity to become wealthy. The higher the threshold of
attainable wealth, the higher the wealth inequality. Shouldn't Bill Gates,
or any successful business owner be far wealthier than an 18 year old?
Large variances in incomes make
it difficult for economic growth to reach those at the bottom.
False. Tell that to starving people in North Korea. It is amazing
that a "nonpartisan think tank", whose sole existence is to think about things,
comes up such blatantly wrong assessments.
Therefore, while it is true that
many people in the United States are well-off, many are not.
Wow. What a powerful
conclusion! It is also true that many people will be born healthy and many
will not. It is also true that many days will have sunshine and many days
will be cold and miserable.
The study continues:
Second, many OECD countries with strong unions, worker
protections, and higher taxes have caught up with, and in many cases,
surpassed U.S. productivity while achieving lower unemployment rates.
This fact would come as a
surprise to any rational human being. Of course, this statement is not
corroborated in the 36 pages. If it is, it must be over my head.
United States GDP is approximately 12.5 trillion dollars. The entire
European Union has a slightly higher GDP. However the population of the
United States is approximately 295 million and 462 million in the EU.
Simple math can lead to a very different assessment than that of the
professional thinkers at the Economic Policy Institute.
Questionable statements, assumptions, and conclusions abound in the nonpartisan
study. Of course, the predictably dire conclusion goes, in part,
like this:
In the United States, it is possible to work full-time,
full-year and still live in poverty. In the United States, poverty and
child poverty rates are the highest of all the countries studied. How can it
be that the wealthiest country in the world—the United States—has such
appallingly high child poverty rates? Certainly, part of the explanation has
to be the lack of policy focus to alleviate such problems in the United
States.
Lack of policy focus to alleviate such problems. Sigh. The only
policy to alleviate poverty that works, is one that is non-existent.
|
Posted 8/28/06 (By
Travis)
Another update to 'Ebay, Tax Cuts, and Capitalism'. A
reader has commented, see 8/25 comment below, that the fee hikes were in most cases much higher than
6%, and in some cases reached 250% or 500%. I've looked into this a bit and found this to be true;
Ebay has increased many different types of fees for items in stores, which can often add up to large
increases, depending on the price of an item.
Wouldntyaknow, some large companies are also
closing shop:
Last
week Ebays largest media seller, Movie Marz, [with 1.2 million items]
announced they will be pulling up their ebay stakes and moving on.
So, it's not just the little guys that get hurt by tax increases. We're
all in this together.
Here's a new scenario; what happens if we tax eBay itself?
EBay
users hit by sales tax
6/6/2003 BBC
According
to the new European directive, all internet firms trading in western Europe must now charge VAT on
services and products sold from their sites, if the sellers live in a European country.
The move means that seller fees will now include VAT, and eBay admitted the move to charge a sales
tax could have an effect on its European business, until now one of the firm's fastest growing
units.
EBay said it would increase its fees in Britain and Germany to compensate for any loss of
revenue from the new laws.
This story is of interest because some of our friends on the left following these posts might believe
raising taxes on small businesses, or even wealthy individuals, who often own small
businesses, is not
the best idea, but since corporations 'rip off' consumers and make 'excess profit', they can be
taxed without overly negative consequences. However, as illustrated here, corporations just pass on
the tax increases to consumers. The lesson learned is that a tax does not become less harmful when it is
applied in a 'feel good' manner (such as on 'excessively' profitable energy
companies). Besides, corporations can vote with their feet just as easy as eBay's former
online-store owners:
Media
giant AOL Time Warner has already taken steps to pre-empt the charges, setting up a new business
unit in Luxembourg - a European country with a more favourable VAT rate - for its internet group AOL
Europe.
These economic lessons from the internet are quite valuable, and provide an
exclusive window into
incentives and disincentives of human behavior and the root causes of prosperity, better said, the
root causes of economic stagnation.
For example, The
Pay Pal Wars is an excellent book, describing the rise of Pay Pal, which, incidentally, was
founded by a libertarian, and the hyper competitive, hyper capitalistic nature of internet
companies, which, luckily, are still relatively free from the heavy hand of big government. However,
the back cover states:
While
every Silicon Valley startup can count on fierce competition, this candid insider's account reveals
that sometimes that's the least of an entrepreneur's worries! When PayPal launched its online
payment service and set out to overhaul the world's currency markets, it survived the dot-com bust
and weathered a competitive struggle with the auction giant eBay. But hordes of government
regulators, trial lawyers, and organized crime rings soon targeted PayPal for destruction, turning
its quest to make Internet history into a desperate struggle for survival.
Trial
lawyers?
EBay
fee hikes put traders out of e-business
8/28/06 The Australian
EBAY
faces a possible class action from disgruntled Australian sellers pushed out of business after the
online auctioneer jacked up its merchant and other fees by as much as 500 per cent.
An online forum lists at least 250 Australian-based internet stores that have closed since the US
internet auction giant hiked its fees last Monday.
The loss-making eBay traders could sue for unconscionable conduct under the Trade Practices Act,
said trade practices barrister Neville Rochow.
"People have invested a great deal of trust in eBay and its cost structure and may have been
induced into using the site on that basis," he said.
But, when an online store is created, the seller signs a user
agreement policy, which contains the following:
Joining eBay and bidding on listed items is free. We do charge fees for
using other services, such as listing items. When you list an item or use a service that has a fee
you have an opportunity to review and accept the fees that you will be charged based on our Fees
schedule, which we may change from time to time. Changes to that Policy are effective
after we provide you with at least fourteen days' notice by posting the changes on the Site.
It seems to me this is a classic case of government attempting to
sidestep a contractual agreement signed between private parties. Ebay could raise its fees 10000%
and, as long as they give 14 days notice, it should be entirely legal. Predatory lawsuits like the
one being filed in Australia are anti-business, anti-jobs, anti-growth, and, most obviously,
anti-common sense.
(Added to 'Ebay, Tax Cuts, and Capitalism')
|
Posted 8/27/06 (By
Travis)
This
is an update to the post below, 'Ebay, Tax Cuts, and Capitalism'.
I received some good feedback on this post from Dr. Russell Roberts, Professor of economics
at George Mason University and co-owner of Cafe Hayek (an
excellent site btw). The Club For Growth has also linked
to this post.
I
should clarify that this analysis is not meant to be critical of Ebay. Ebay is a private company and
can raise fees on whomever they want as high as they want. In fact, it's entirely possible Ebay's
decision was the best for the company, as their auction business is most profitable and the large
number of 'mom and pop stores' were apparently a drag on their costs.
However, no one believes 'mom and pop small businesses' are a drag on the economy, in fact they are
the engine of growth. And the interesting part, and key point of the previous post, was how
Ebay choose to rid itself of these smaller outlets, by raising fees by 6%. Although the analogy is
imperfect, the same effect is likely to occur when taxes are raised, with the smallest businesses
going under first because they are most vulnerable to shifting market conditions, if one considers a
tax hike a 'market condition'.
The
ironic ending to this saga is that when government raises taxes, it bankrupts companies and
discourages new business startups with the probable result being that it raises less overall money than if
it had kept taxes neutral, or even cut them!
(Added
to 'Ebay, Tax Cuts, and Capitalism')
|
Posted 8/25/06 (By
Travis)
EBay
online stores closing by the hundreds
8/24/06 Marketwatch
Hundreds
of eBay Inc. merchandisers say they have closed their online storefronts, and some took their
listings elsewhere, in the wake of a controversial [6%]
fee increase eBay began charging earlier in the week.
This is of interest because the same phenomena occurs when government
raises taxes. Substitute 'government' for eBay and 'businesses' for 'online storefronts' and it
becomes more apparent how economic disaster occurs. What types of businesses are most hurt when government raises
taxes?
A list of more than 700 eBay stores that have closed so far can be
found on a Web site created by Melinda Burnett, an eBay seller living in
Atlanta. The majority of eBay stores closing appear to be the smaller ones,
just as eBay had hoped.
"A lot seem to be small, mom-and-pop type places." said David Yaskulka, the
president of Harris Michael Inc. of Valley Stream, N.Y., and chairman of a committee of the
Professional EBay Sellers Alliance, the main association of eBay sellers. "These are the less
successful ones that see that eBay as no longer profitable because of the rate hikes."
Diligent readers will recall that in 'Settling
the Small Business Hype', I described how vital small businesses are to job growth; they employ
41% of all US workers and are typically the fastest growing, hardest working, employers. Raising taxes hurts
the poorest of these, the businesses just getting started, the ones in the most precarious
situations, the risk takers, the poorer small business owners.
But wait a second, I thought the reason Liberals advocate tax increases was to help, not hurt the little
guy? Generally, Liberals don't deny raising taxes hurts the bottom line of business, they just believe
business will somehow magically 'absorb' and 'afford' the cost. But, as extrapolation of this ebay simulation
indirectly illustrates, they do not 'absorb' and 'afford', they go under, file for bankruptcy, and lay off their
workers, the result being that there are even more 'poor' and 'downtrodden' to take care
of. Instead of aiding the poor, or making us more 'equal' by distributing wealth, liberals have instead created
more poverty, by tearing down productive wealth
creating members of society, creating incentives for folks to fall into poverty, and discouraging the impoverished from trying to improve their lot.
However, there is hope:
A number of former eBay merchandisers say they're shifting their listings to Amazon.com Inc.
and its Google Base free classifieds listings, plus a host of other eBay competitors.
When states or cities raise taxes, there is always the opportunity to
relocate, to 'vote with your feet', which is why cities like
San Francisco and states like California and New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey have been hemorrhaging
businesses and hence population. When the Federal Government raises taxes or undertakes foolish schemes like a
Nationalized, excuse me, Socialized, Healthcare system, there is nowhere
to run, unless, of course, you can somehow find a freer country overseas. Good luck with
that....
One last point, if such damage can be created on ebay with a 'mere' 6% hike in 'taxes', imagine what
is was like when Herbert Hoover:
passed the Revenue Act of 1932 which increased the top income tax rate
from 25% to 63% with the aim being to restore business confidence by reducing the deficit.
Yet, we are taught in public
school that it was 'excessive capitalism' and erroneous 'laissez-faire economics', which were to
blame for the Great Depression.
(Added to 'Settling the Small Business Hype'
and 'The Great Depression')
(Permlink @ Ebay, Tax Cuts, and Capitalism)
|
Posted 8/24/06 (By
Travis)
8/22/06 Reason.com
There
have been a lot of articles written about the 10th Anniversary of Welfare
Reform, but this one, IMO,
takes the cake.
My
only complaint is that it doesn't give credit where it is most due; to the Conservative movement and
the newly elected Republican Majority Congress. Despite what he
says in his recent New York Times article, Clinton, deserves little or none of the credit, as he
vetoed two previous bills that were written nearly the same as the final one.
Also,
equally unsurprising, our friends on the left appear to have learned nothing from the results of
welfare reform. The New
York Times and Washington
Post are still up to their old tricks. :)
(Added to 'Welfare; History, Results and Reform'.)
|
Posted 8/23/06 (By
Travis)
(Follow up on 'The
Israel Lebanon Conflict' Below)
I must
admit, this whole idea of endorsing war by governments on each other is repulsive, to say the least, sort of
like groupies cheering for bands of mafiosa criminal groups tearing down each other. In a perverse sort of way, it might
even be laughable, except that it is ordinary people who get hurt, not the rulers. Despite this
inherent difficulty, it is important to point out that, notwithstanding expansive government's proper seat
in the crosshairs as public enemy number one, there are degrees of government and degrees of
tyrannies. War is always initiated by the less free (Hezbollah/Syria/Iran) against the freer (Israel); thus
those that live in the free must battle off the less free before dealing with their own
government.
Still, whilst the benefits of economic and social freedoms can, generally, be stated with
a great degree of confidence, verdicts on wars or conflicts between governments seem to be more difficult, as the
number of variables juggled is vastly multiplied. Besides, one always has a nagging feeling deeper
premises are being violated. Thus, take the opinion in 'The Israeli Lebanon
Conflict', with a grain of
salt.
See,
the Israel
Palestine Conflict, for more.
(Added to The Israeli Lebanon
Conflict)
|
Posted 8/23/06 (By
Travis)
The Israeli Lebanon
Conflict
8/23/06
Neoperspectives.com
When
discussing the Middle East, there is the tendency to get lost in the convoluted histories, cultural idiosyncrasies,
and/or the supposed irreducible complexities of the region. To be perfectly honest, it would best to
toss all this out, or better yet, not even consider it at all. :) Sometimes there is a certain
beauty to simplicity.
In
theory, a government's only real duties are to defend the property of its citizens, promote liberty,
and ensure equal application of the law. Thus, when Hezbollah recently kidnapped two Israeli
soldiers, it is more than fair to assume Hezbollah is intruding on their liberty and property, namely
their physical bodies.
Now,
if Israeli citizens within Israel had committed the kidnapping, the Israeli government would be
responsible for using all methods within the law to bring the guilty parties to justice via the
criminal system. If bandits from another country were responsible, the situation would be
more complex, as Israel would expect that country to do all in its power to investigate the
criminal act. Mexico and the United States frequently cooperate and prosecute cross border
activity.
However, Hezbollah is a sovereign government, which planned the kidnapping and publicly gave
it their full support.
Thus, it is the duty of any moral government, hopefully at the bequest of their citizens, to defend their citizens and consider
such an attack an act of war. It might be argued that Hezbollah is not a sovereign government, as the area they
control is under the jurisdiction of the government of Lebanon. But, here we are again descending
into misleading diplomatic jargonspeak and gobbledygook legalese. Jurisdiction is a useless term as
it deals only in the theoretical. The physical control of southern Lebanon is under the entire
control of Hezbollah and thus it must be considered a sovereign government.
So, it
follows that Israel has the responsibility to retaliate with the lethal use of force (the only
monopoly government should have) against
Hezbollah until the soldiers are returned or until Hezbollah is destroyed. But who controls
Hezbollah? Hezbollah was created, funded, and is currently armed and supported by Syria and Iran. In
fact, it might be more accurate to say Syria and Iran share sovereignty over southern Lebanon. The strange
discrepancies between the jurisdiction and control of southern Lebanon is due to
assaults on the sovereignty of Lebanon by Syria and Iran, through their proxy, Hezbollah.
The
reasons for these meddlings have already been outlined in 'Middle Eastern Governments
and Causes of Terrorism'; the tyrannies imposed on the Iranian and Syrian people by their
respective criminal governments are made more tolerable via state creation of 'external enemies'; although, it has
been pointed out that it is possible some of these leaders
are delusional enough to believe their own propaganda.
Israel
is therefore fully justified in attacking and eliminating Syria and Iran, unless those countries renounce
and end support for Hezbollah's kidnapping of the Israeli citizens.
But, isn't this an extreme
response? Two soldiers are kidnapped and thousands die in a massive war? Isn't the response
'disproportionate'?
Well,
what is the alternative? To allow a sovereign government to seize the liberty and destroy the
property of the citizens of another sovereign government? If liberty and property are not respected
the only result can be more violence and death than if righteousness is upheld.
If
Hezbollah (Syria/Iran) apologizes, reforms, and the soldiers are returned, shouldn't Israel end its attacks? Of
course, the answer is yes; if the attacks continued Israel would become the aggressor. However, if
repeated terrorism, kidnapping, and, killings become the norm, as has been the case with Hezbollah,
it is Israel's duty to destroy Hezbollah and its sponsors, accepting nothing less than unconditional
surrender.
Upon
victory, which will be Israel's as it is a freer country with the resulting greater economic output and
greater industrial/military production capabilities, Israel should establish a despotic military government
with an appointed general as governor of the conquered territories whilst a new constitution is
written and a representative free constitution and government is formed. Israeli troops should
remain present for years to come to ensure no backsliding of liberty occurs. The result will be a
lasting peace.
I
recognize this solution is not a mainstream position. :) But historically it is how lasting peace has
been attained. World War II, a total defeat of Germany, a total defeat of Japan, brought those
countries to experience great freedoms and prosperities. In World War I, a partial defeat of
Germany, where they 'negotiated' a false peace resulted in the opposite of the peacemakers
intentions.
Obviously, as any student of Middle East history knows, this pattern has never occurred in the
Middle East. Israel will not defeat its enemies! It has been tormented by the criminal Middle
Eastern governments, terrorism, the anti-Israel United Nations, the biased media, and its own
population influenced by the aforementioned. There has been 50 years of 'wars', if you can
even call them that, endless talk and negotiations with terrorists, thugs, and criminals, and Israel has been played
by every one of them like a puppet. It has consistently been put in untenable positions, even by its
chief ally, us, the United States. The result and reality is that Israel has not been permitted to defend its own
citizens. Could you
imagine if the Mexican government, funded by the Soviet Union, committed terrorist acts against
American citizens, launched rockets into Texas, kidnapped American citizens, and then in retaliation
we sort of fudgepudged around northern Mexico for a bit, agreed to a cease-fire, sat down to
'talk' with the terrorists, and then were criticized by the United Nations for our 'disproportionate
response'? I don't think this analogy is a stretch at all.
The
critics are right about one thing: there is a 'disproportionate response' and it is
Israel's.
|
Posted
8/22/06 (By Dobber)
Flag burning teacher
8/21/06
Courier-Journal, Lexington, KY
A government school teacher burned a flag, creatively engaging students in a
Social Studies lesson.
he burned small flags in two classes Friday and asked
students to write an opinion paper about it, according Lauren Roberts, a
spokeswoman for Jefferson County Public Schools
I wonder how this teacher could possibly stray from the state written curriculum
handed to him by government bureaucrats posing as education experts. Did
he think of the consequences?
The district is examining whether the demonstration
endangered students and whether it was appropriate, Roberts said...Holden, a
teacher in the school district since 1979, remained on non-instructional duties.
On Tuesday, he declined to comment through a school district official.
"Certainly we’re concerned about the safety aspect,” Roberts said, along with
"the judgment of using that type of demonstration in a class.”
This bring two very interesting issues to mind: a possible flag burning
amendment and government schooling. Let us examine a limited government
approach to each. With flag burning, the issue seems simple - the
government should not decide if a person may or may not burn his/her own
property. Flag burning, though, is usually used as a political statement,
and done so during demonstrations. And as such, it must be protected under
free speech.
As far as government schooling goes, imagine (for the sake of argument), there
were no public schools (as was intended at the inception of America). If
schooling was only private, then no taxpayer money would go to this flag burning
teacher's salary. Therefore, the public would not have a say in what
should become of him. Only the school managers, parents, and students of
that specific school would have a say in what they deem 'judgement'.
|
Posted
8/21/06 (By Dobber)
Tax Hikes on Rich
Hollywoodites
8/21/06
WebCPA
I don't hear many rich celebrities from Hollywood complaining
about high taxes and wasteful government spending. So, I'm not going to
lose too much sleep over this:
The Internal Revenue Service
announced the beginning of an outreach campaign to the entertainment industry
regarding the taxability of gift bags and promotional items
It seems that all of the people (rich celebrities and/or friends and family of
rich celebrities) at the big time awards shows will now be taxed for receiving
the famous gift bags they receive. I was reading this news story,
chuckling, until I got to this part:
said IRS Commissioner Mark W.
Everson, in a statement. "The gift basket industry has exploded, and it's
important that the groups running these events keep in mind the tax
consequences."
The key to that statement is '...industry...exploded...tax
consequences'. Let that be a warning to all creative Americans: If
you are thinking about a great new product or industry, beware of the tax
penalty that will be applied to your ingenuity! And what will the taxes go
to? Well, in the America we live in, it will
mostly go
to wealth redistribution, un-capitalistic economic policy, and welfare!
Isn't that what most of the celebrities advocate?
|
Posted 8/19/06 (By
Travis)
Letter From Rep Jon 'Porkbarrel'
Porter
Ok,
this is hilarious. If you recall, on 7/29 I listed a whole slew of
ridiculous projects that my representative, 'Republican' Jon C. Porter, had gone on the record voting for. I
emailed him a link and told him I was a registered Republican
voter in his district blogging unfavorably about his stealing from the American people.
So,
just the other day I get back a letter stating:
Thank you for your letter regarding H.R. 4890. I appreciate and value your views on this issue. As
you already know, the Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006, amends the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to authorize the President to propose the rescission of any dollar
amount of discretionary budget authority or the rescission, in whole or in part, of any item of
direct spending.
Is Porter suggesting that he supports the Presidential in-line-veto so that the President can veto
his own votes for wasteful spending?!?
Heh heh... Actually I don't think that's the case, it's more likely some staffer just glanced at my
email and sent out the wrong form letter.
As an aside, it is clearly stated on the letter what congressional committees Porter is a member of.
One of them is the "Committee on Government Reform". Lol!
(Added
to 'Nevada Politics')
|
Posted
8/19/06 (By Travis)
Detroit
Waves Flag That No Longer Flies Congress Embraces Jobs Growth Created by
Foreign Carmakers
8/19/06
Washington Post
Foreign-based automakers employ 101,000 people, according to the Association
of International Automobile Manufacturers, a District-based lobbying group for the overseas
automakers. In the next three years, these manufacturers will invest $9 billion in new factories,
adding 9,000 more jobs.
The foreign car makers are non-unionized, while the parasitic
unions who have control over the big 3 are bankrupting those companies. I'm stating this because
the article makes little mention of this.
The U.S. companies, struggling to revive their fortunes by
slashing costs, benefits and payrolls, are troubled by what they perceive as an unsympathetic ear
from Congress and the White House. They say the lack of a U.S. auto policy is putting them at
a disadvantage to their fast-rising foreign rivals.
Boo Hoo! The Big 3 are looking to steal from US citizens. Stealing,
because gun barrel government intervention would increase car prices for all US
consumers.
"If you look around the world, most countries have a version of economic patriotism," said
Robert Lutz, GM vice chairman in charge of global product development. "They are proud of their
own industries. The U.S. is the only major country that, if anything, has negative economic
patriotism. I think some people in the United States, in leading government circles, actually detest
the American automobile industry. They don't like us."
Mr. Lutz, you can count me as one of them. And as for
'patriotism'? Since when was stealing patriotic? Since when was corporate welfare patriotic? Since
when was expanding Big Government patriotic?
Capitalism, on the other hand, is as American as Apple Pie.
|
Posted 8/17/06 (By
Travis)
Did
you know that 'Jimmy Wales', founder of Wikipedia,
is an Ayn Rand loving Libertarian?
He
has since criticized Wales's approach to the project,
describing Wales as "decidedly anti-elitist". Wales later took issue with this description
in a C-SPAN interview,
describing himself as not anti-elitist but "perhaps anti-credentialist. To me the key thing is
getting it right. And if a person's really smart and they're doing fantastic work, I don't care if
they're a high school kid or a Harvard professor."
The
setup of Wikipedia is quite interesting. Anyone can change just about any entry, yet the people
police themselves, and the work is remarkably accurate and proliferate. As James Madison said:
"If men were angels, no
government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls
on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over
men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the
governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself."
The fact that Wikipedia, a reflection itself of the Internet, is able
to function with little external control is, perhaps, a vindication of Wale's philosophy and an
attest to the goodness of our fellow man.
(Added
to 'The Internet')
|
Posted 8/17/06 (By
Travis)
Against
School / How public education cripples our kids and why
Sept 2003 John Gatto Harper's
Magazine
A
rather interesting article. In some instances it verges on conspiratorial, inferring that
corporations want a dumbed-down labor force to do their work and buy their products. It traces the
founding of compulsory schooling, and it is true, and a little known fact, that many of the
architects, viewed the system under the auspices of statism and collectivism, with the following
goals:
1)
The adjustive or adaptive function. Schools are to establish fixed habits of reaction to authority.
This, of course, precludes critical judgment completely. It also pretty much destroys the idea that
useful or interesting material should be taught, because you can't test for reflexive obedience
until you know whether you can make kids learn, and do, foolish and boring things.
2) The integrating function. This might well be called "the conformity
function," because its intention is to make children as alike as possible. People who conform
are predictable, and this is of great use to those who wish to harness and manipulate a large labor
force.
3) The diagnostic and directive function. School is meant to determine each student's
proper social role. This is done by logging evidence mathematically and anecdotally on cumulative
records. As in "your permanent record." Yes, you do have one.
4) The differentiating function. Once their social role has been
"diagnosed," children are to be sorted by role and trained only so far as their
destination in the social machine merits - and not one step further. So much for making kids their
personal best.
5) The selective function. This refers not to human choice at all but to Darwin's
theory of natural selection as applied to what he called "the favored races." In short,
the idea is to help things along by consciously attempting to improve the breeding stock. Schools
are meant to tag the unfit - with poor grades, remedial placement, and other punishments - clearly
enough that their peers will accept them as inferior and effectively bar them from the reproductive
sweepstakes. That's what all those little humiliations from first grade onward were intended to do:
wash the dirt down the drain.
6) The propaedeutic function. The societal system implied by these rules will require
an elite group of caretakers. To that end, a small fraction of the kids will quietly be taught how
to manage this continuing project, how to watch over and control a population deliberately dumbed
down and declawed in order that government might proceed unchallenged and corporations might never
want for obedient labor.
What this misses is that the vast majority of the Americans did not view education this way. In fact,
parents often created their own schools in the absence of government. But the
generally principles and theories of national education ensconced above were and are in the
minds of many of the governing elite and even among some of our fellow citizens. However, they most often
describe it differently, using terms like "good citizen" and the benefits of "having
a common experience", "starting from the same page", and of course,
"equality".
It is well known that babies and young children develop and learn, in part, by 'modeling', imitating
the parents or older persons. In public school, we are all forced into environments with persons our
same age.
If
children could be cloistered with other children, stripped of responsibility and independence,
encouraged to develop only the trivializing emotions of greed, envy, jealousy, and fear, they would
grow older but never truly grow up. <.> In fact, until pretty
recently people who reached the age of thirteen weren't looked upon as children at all.
This essay contains a few other gems:
One
afternoon when I was seven I complained to him of boredom, and he batted me hard on the head. He
told me that I was never to use that term in his presence again, that if I was bored it was my
fault and no one else's. The obligation to amuse and instruct myself was entirely my own, and
people who didn't know that were childish people, to be avoided if possible. Certainty not to be
trusted. That episode cured me of boredom forever. <.>
Well-schooled people are conditioned to dread being alone, and they
seek constant companionship through the TV, the computer, the cell phone, and through shallow
friendships quickly acquired and quickly abandoned. Your children should have a more meaningful
life, and they can.
Finally:
I've concluded that genius is as common as dirt. We suppress our genius
only because we haven't yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The
solution, I think, is simple and glorious. Let them manage themselves.
(Added to 'A
Charter School Tale')
|
Posted 8/16/06 (By
Travis)
Grades
and Politics
1/23/06 Newsweek
India's
rise has been built in large part on the quality of its education. Some of the best brains in the
world—in the fields of science, information technology, medicine and engineering—emerge from the
country's private institutions, along with the state-run Indian Institutes of Technology and
Regional Engineering Colleges. While many of India's other public colleges are a mess—suffering
from serious budget shortages, a lack of faculty talent and poor facilities—private institutions
have been thriving. They've grown rapidly since the early 1990s, when India began to pay more
attention to the market and parents began to realize the importance of a good technical education.
Four of five engineering students now attend private colleges.
So, just
like in the US, public institutions, with rare exception, are horrid, precisely because they are public.
No increases in funding will change this, as the system suffers from broken feedback loops. However, last
year the Congress-led coalition government passed a bill that would make it
mandatory for private educational institutions to reserve at least 22.5 percent of their seats for
poor, minority students—including Dalits (untouchables), tribals and other lower castes.
Pretty amazing huh? It gets worse:
India's
Affirmative Action Rocks the Boat
5/19/06
Business Week Online
If
implemented, such a policy would add, on top of the earlier 22%, another 28% of seats in colleges
reserved for students from lower castes, making for a total of 50%.
Bear
in mind we are talking about so-called 'private' universities.
"The bill seeks to kill higher education in India," says Syed Iqbal
Hasnain,
vice chancellor of state-funded Calicut University in Kerala. "It will not only make the
private colleges economically unviable but make their product substandard."
Hasnain notes that
private colleges buy land at market prices, invest large sums in facilities and hire talented
faculty. "All this simply can't be [continued] if they have to set aside a chunk of their seats
for poor students."
Hasnain
is right. These socialists in India will destroy education for everyone, in their failed attempt at
'equality'. Or, perhaps they are just vote buying:
Political parties
have since dangled the carrot of quotas to win political support.
Democracy
fails when the rights of the minorities, ironically in this case, the upper Indian castes, are
trampled upon.
But, the problem is not just government ownership of universities, aka socialism, but the more insidious
government
control of private universities, aka fascism. They are two sides of the same coin. Besides the
destruction of Indian higher education, what else will result from these policies? A Brain
Drain to countries with more freedom:
Some
150,000 are studying in the US, Britian, and Australia, spending an average of $4.5 billion a year.
That's more than New Delhi's $2.0 billion budget for higher education.
Additionally, domestic and foreign investment will plummet:
The
fate of the private schools is key to India's dynamic IT sector, and to the southern states where
most IT firms are located. There are three times as many self-financing colleges in Tamil Nadu as
public ones. Andhra Pradesh has 250 private engineering institutes, compared with barely 12 run by
the government, and 33 unaided medical colleges, against 25 in the government sector. The situation
is similar in Kerala and Karnataka.
I read into this issue and posted these articles to draw analogy to public policies here in the
US. Of course, 'caste' and 'race' are interchangeable, just
insert 'special interest group' and the patterns are the same. Affirmative Action in the US runs
into the same problems as AA in India. In my opinion, any kind of affirmative actions hurts
the populations it seeks to help, while limiting freedom and hence prosperity for
everyone.
"That sort of coercive measure will really affect India's
competitiveness," says Ram Guha, a well-regarded Indian author and historian on the subject.
"We will be worse off than in the socialist economy we once used to be."
|
Posted
8/13/06 (By
Travis)
The
road increasingly traveled: Homeschooling
7/11/06
TownOnline.com This article is posted just for this simple quote:
Boston-based Sherry Robartez noticed her daughter was losing joy once she
entered kindergarten, but that her personality change and attitude problem disappeared once school
was out for the summer. "So I pulled her out in kindergarten and started her in homeschooling,"
stated Robartez.
(Added
to 'Homeschooling Articles')
|
Posted 8/13/06 (By
Travis)
I've
been meaning to write an extensive post on the Israeli/Lebanon situation, but these two videos will
hopefully suffice until then:
Pallywood
Directed
by Green Helmet Guy
|
Posted 8/9/06 (By
Travis)
Drug
Helps Restore Sight: Relief for wet macular degeneration
8/6/06
MonteryHerald.com
After
years of having to tell patients losing their eyesight to wet AMD that nothing could be done,
doctors now can offer hope. On June 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Lucentis to
treat wet AMD, which strikes an estimated 155,000 people a year. The approval came seven
years after the drug's maker, Genentech Inc., began the first test in humans, said Dawn Kalmar,
a spokesperson for the company based in San Francisco.
About 95 percent of patients regain their sight after treatment, and in some, vision gradually gets
better than it was before the onset of the disease.
Let's
see, 7 x 155,000 = 1,085,000 people who could have had their vision restored, but were
prevented from doing so by the actions of the Federal Government of the United States via
the unconstitutional FDA. But
don't you folks worry, it was worth it cuz the FDA was busy 'protecting' you.
(Added
to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted
8/8/06 (By Dobber)
Chicago bureaucrats pass law, chase business away (and jobs and tax revenue)
8/8/06
Investor's Business Daily Editorial
Chicago politicians passed a law
forcing certain businesses to alter their labor costs.
The law was passed by a vote of 35-14 late
last month. It would take 34 votes to override a veto.
And what does this law say?
Wal-Mart is on track to open its first
store in the city of Chicago on the West Side next month. It plans to offer a
starting wage of $7.25 an hour at that store, Simley said.
It would take a 28 percent increase to raise that starting pay to the $9.25 an
hour required by the ordinance (the new Chicago law).
The law calls for a minimum wage of
$9.25 an hour for Wal-Mart. Would the new law force McDonald's to raise
their minimum wage? No. Why?
The new Chicago law, which affects stores
that are 90,000 square feet or more, is slated to take effect next July.
Because in Chicago, the government
chooses which businesses pay which employees what. In Chicago, people do
not choose, on this issue, the government does.
Sometimes government, in its
self-prescribed infinite knowledge, passes laws that
limit freedom, and force businesses to alter business models that have been
successful for them in the past. Now, I ask, when government does this,
what does business do?
The decision by Wal-Mart to increase some
starting wages was disclosed as Target Corp., another retailer affected by the
Chicago law, is threatening to pull the plug on proposed projects in the city if
the new ordinance takes effect.
Business leaves.
|
Posted
8/7/06 (By Travis)
Too
successful: the hospitals forced to introduce minimum waiting times
8/7/06
Telegraph
In March, Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Health, offered
her apparent blessing for the minimum waiting times by announcing they would be
"appropriate" in some cases. Amid fears about £1.27 billion of NHS debts, she expressed
concern that some hospitals were so productive "they actually got ahead of what the NHS could
afford".
<.>
The measures also seem
certain to add to the anger that erupted last week after Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk admitted it had
forfeited £2.4 million because it treated patients too quickly, having already agreed a 122-day
minimum waiting time with East Suffolk Primary Care Trust (PCT), its funding body.
What is surprising about this? Government routinely rewards incompetence
and punishes excellence.
Government planners routinely issue mindboggling orders that defy comprehension, human nature, and
morality. Is the British government implying that socialized medicine is only 'affordable' if enough folks die on the waitlist...?
Added to 'British HealthCare'.
|
Posted 8/6/06 (By
Travis)
The
Philosophy of Liberty [Required Viewing]
Animation
jonathangullible.com
Pretty
sweet and nicely put together. Check it out! The end of it may come off as 'anti-war', in the
political sense, rather than the literal definition, but notice it is against the initiation
of force by government. Government can use force (self defensively) on behalf of its citizens to defend their life,
liberty, and property, when it is threatened by others.
|
Posted 8/4/06 (By
Travis)
Jeffco
goes after 1,000 delinquent businesses
7/30/06
Al.com
More than 1,000 Jefferson County businesses owe sales taxes and business fees, and some say it's
because they object to the county's 1 cent sales tax increase passed in 2004, said Travis
Hulsey, director of the county's Department of Revenue. <.>
"Some of them say they choose not to participate to protest the sales tax."
<.>
Still, some are not paying and will be pursued, he said. "When you have some who escape their
tax burden it creates more of a hardship on the honest people."
Or, perhaps it's the honest folks who don't pay. :) Lol, well at least these folks haven't been arrested
yet.
|
Posted 8/4/06 (By
Travis)
Bangert
wrote some comments on 'Social Conservatism', which are
reprinted here in full and added to 'Social Conservatism':
I recently read a post by Travis about how social conservatives differ from his brand of
libertarians. I agree with much of what he wrote. Travis proclaims to not be a
member of any organized religion, which is fine with me, but as a practicing Catholic, I want to add
a few of my thoughts on the subject.
Sadly, most social conservatives do not realize that by using the powers of
government to enact God’s will they themselves commit a sin on their own terms. As most
social conservatives are Christian, a quote from the bible
is certainly appropriate:
Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single
instant. The devil said to him, "I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has
been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship
me." Jesus said to him in reply, "It is written: 'You shall worship the Lord, your God,
and him alone shall you serve.'" Luke 4:5-8
Where many looked for a Messiah to conquer and achieve temporal power, Jesus
specifically rejected that option and equated it with worshiping false gods. A
government, even a Christian government, cannot achieve good. Only individuals can
achieve good when they freely choose to do so. The best we can hope for from government
is to provide order and security so that individuals are free to choose good or choose evil.
At that point, it is up to the faithful to try to convince others to choose good,
with the understanding that as humans many will in fact choose evil. The emphasis must be
on individual choice. Without the opportunity to choose evil there can be no opportunity
to truly respond to God’s grace.
For this reason, I think that Travis correctly differentiated between the nature
of religious organizations and governments. Religious organizations call people to choose
to worship God in response to his grace.
Governments offer no such choice. Governments will enforce their laws, forcibly if
necessary. This contrast between choice and power is why the separation of church and
state is necessary not only to provide individuals a choice of religions, but even more importantly
to avoid the corruption of the religion that happens to be ascendant.
Andrew Sullivan has been popularizing the term Christianist
to describe social conservatives who hope to use government power to achieve Christian ends. This
mingling of faith and government can only end up hurting both.
|
Posted 8/1/06 (By
Travis)
Social Conservatism
8/1/06
Neoperspectives.com
In
principle, Conservatives and Libertarians see eye to eye in regards to economic freedom. They
believe that individual Americans will collectively spend their own money much more efficiently and
benefit society more than government spending. They believe burdensome regulations
limit prosperity and harms business. They understand the harmfulness of socialized health care and
retirement schemes.
However, there seem to be differences in scope between the two ideologies. Conservatives don't seem
to have the same degree of, for lack of a better word, anti-governmentism. They don't seem to
realize the degree which government spending and social programs routinely, if not always,
accomplish the opposite of their intentions.
Thus,
it is somewhat natural Social Conservativism should exist. Social Conservatives generally believe
government is just focused on the wrong things; they believe government intervention itself is not
the problem, but rather a liberal, pun intended, use of government is desirable and necessary to maintain order and
increase morality in society. Incidentally, and as we might expect, Social Conservatives also tend
to be the weakest along the spectrum of economic Conservatism and may also oppose free trade and immigration
etc...
It
goes without saying, the intentions of Social Conservatives are just as pure and good as the
intentions of liberals with their collectivism and social programs. However, IMHO, the fact is that,
just like liberals, Social Conservatives actually work against their own ideals; their bills and
legislations accomplish the opposite of their intentions. Instead of government acting as a
moral beacon, as they had hoped, it instead injects a dose of immorality into society, which varies
directly with the degree of activism by the Social Conservatives. Thus, ironically, the more
powerful Social Conservatives become, the further they will drive society from their goals. Of
course, this is somewhat difficult to quantify as their actions may be statistically obscured by
positive economic Conservatism and the resulting economic freedom. Indeed, economic freedom, for
example freedom from welfarism, plays a vastly greater role in the making
of a prosperous moral society, which is why Libertarians generally side with Conservatives on most
issues. Still, the priorities and actions of Social Conservatives are harmful, if occasionally
practically tolerable, and need to be examined and elucidated, which is the point of this piece. :)
Justice Janice Rogers Brown said:
Some
things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and
our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the
streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the
rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased,
debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible.
Notice Justice Brown did not make the distinction of 'how' government moves
in; she does not distinguish between economic and social interventions:
Teens
More Likely To Try Marijuana After Viewing Feds' Anti-Pot Ads, Study Says
5/11/06
NORML First, let's look at intentions:
The
National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, initiated by Congress in 1998, has spent more than $2
billion in taxpayers' money and matching funds producing and airing anti-marijuana advertisements,
including several alleging that the use of cannabis funds international terrorist activities.
The funny thing, if you find it humorous, is that cannabis funds, and
drug money in general, is tied to terrorism, as well as increases in violence and general
societal destruction; but, this is not because of 'drugs' or marijuana, it is because government has
made drugs and marijuana illegal! It is the very illegality of these substances that breeds the
terrorism and violence! Again, government can blame only itself. Now, let's look at the results
of these ads and spending:
Investigators found that viewers expressed significantly fewer negative attitudes toward marijuana
after viewing the ads. No such "boomerang effect" was noted among those who viewed
anti-tobacco advertising.
""It appears that ... anti-marijuana public statement announcements used in national
anti-drug campaigns in the US produce immediate effects [that are the] opposite [of those] intended
by the creators of this campaign," authors concluded."
The criminals and drug dealers who peddle drugs should thank the US government for advertising for
them (after they thank them for the
cheap labor and 'tax breaks'). The point is that this attempt by government, and Social
Conservatives, whose support for this sort of action dates back to the failures of prohibition,
again accomplished the opposite of their intention.
In actuality, those who have seen firsthand the scourge of drugs, who abhor drug use, who
passionately care about the youth of today and the current drug problem, should be the most
ardent proponents of legalization.
This sort of counterintuitiveness reminds me of the Children's
Defense Fund, a liberal organization that vehemently opposed Welfare
Reform in the name of 'the children', in effect working to hurt the
very children they were trying to get funding and government intervention for. Their opponents were
labeled as 'uncaring', 'greedy', and 'racist'.
Similarly, those opposing the Social Conservative agenda are sometimes labeled 'potheads' and 'porn
lovers' and promoters of the 'homosexual agenda'. As with Welfare Reform, it becomes impossible to
rationally debate a policy when your opponents are unwilling to recognize that you both share a hope
for the same results and possess the same intentions.
The most
unfortunate consequence of the Social Conservative movement, IMO, is that the apparent lack of
understanding of how harmful the federal government is economically, has led Social Conservatives to
place mistaken priority on their social agenda. This dilutes the pressure economic conservatives
and libertarians can exert on politicians. It also leads to some of the silliest, ridiculous, acts
of government one can imagine:
The
Whizzinator: A House Panel's No. 1 Priority
6/28/05
Washington Post
Every so often, in the hushed galleries of
Congress, history unfolds in a manner that casts the momentous business of Capitol Hill in stark,
even humbling relief.
Then there are moments spent discussing the Whizzinator.
Onlookers stifle cackles and snickers, or try to. "People want to make this a skit on 'Saturday
Night Live,' " says Rep. Joe Barton. But it's not funny, the Texas Republican says, not funny
at all.
Congressmen
Propose Steroid-Testing Bill
5/25/05 Associated Press
Athletes in the four major
U.S. professional leagues would be subject to two-year bans for a first positive drug test under
legislation proposed Tuesday that would put the sports' steroid policies under the White House drug
czar.
Bar
Sweep Sparks Controversy
3/23/06
NBC5i.com
The
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission sent a message to bar patrons last week.
TABC agents and Irving police swept through 36 Irving bars and arrested about 30 people on charges
of public intoxication. Agency representatives say the move came as a proactive measure to curtail
drunken driving.
North Texans interviewed by NBC 5, however, worried
that the sweep went too far.
At one location, for example, agents and police arrested patrons of a hotel bar. Some of the
suspects said they were registered at the hotel and had no intention of driving. Arresting
authorities said the patrons were a danger to themselves and others.
"Going to a bar is not an
opportunity to go get drunk," TABC Capt. David Alexander said. "It's to have a good time
but not to get drunk."
D.C.
Seeks Sales Ban On Violent Games
2/3/05
Washington Post
D.C. Mayor Anthony A.
Williams and most D.C. Council members say they want to ban the sale of violent and sexually
explicit video games to minors, linking the popular games to juvenile violence.
Justices
question Southern Nevada anti-prostitution ordinance
10/19/05
KRNV.com
State
Supreme Court justices questioned Wednesday whether high school cheerleaders trying to flag down
motorists for a car wash might run afoul of a broadly written ordinance targeting pushy Las
Vegas-area prostitutes.
Contra-Contraception
5/7/06 New York Times
But
recently, as the conservative tide has continued to swell, this campaign has taken on a broader
scope. Its true beginning point may not be Roe but Griswold v. Connecticut, the 1965 case that had
the effect of legalizing contraception. "We see a direct connection between the practice of
contraception and the practice of abortion," says Judie Brown, president of the American Life
League, an organization that has battled abortion for 27 years but that, like others, now has a
larger mission. "The mind-set that invites a couple to use contraception is an antichild
mind-set," she told me. "So when a baby is conceived accidentally, the couple already have
this negative attitude toward the child. Therefore seeking an abortion is a natural outcome. We
oppose all forms of contraception."
Senate
Passes Legislation on Schiavo Case
3/20/06
Associated Press
The Senate passed a bill that could prolong Terri Schiavo's life while a federal court considers her
case while House Republicans, stymied by Democrats, scrambled to bring enough lawmakers back to
the Capitol for an emergency vote early Monday.
GOP leaders planned a House vote just past midnight, hours after the Senate approved the bill by
voice vote. President Bush rushed back from Texas for a chance to sign the measure. [which
he did at 1:11am in the
morning]
Can you believe it? The senior whitehouse staff, the president of the United States, and the Congress
have to come back to Washington and are up all hours of the
night over what was essentially a he said she said family dispute (Terri Schiavo case). This
is what the Federal Government and our elected representatives consider an 'emergency'?
This micromanaging and blatant intrusion of the Federal government into family matters should abhor, rather than excite
Social Conservatives. What a disgrace, that this was a priority for elected officials, rather than
battling the pervasive socialism that exists in the United States.
Town
won't let unmarried parents live together
5/17/06 AP
The
City Council has rejected a measure allowing unmarried couples with multiple children to live
together, and the mayor said those who fall into that category could soon face eviction.
Olivia Shelltrack and Fondrey Loving were denied an occupancy permit after moving into a home in
this St. Louis suburb because they have three children and are not married.
Gay-Adoption
Ban In Florida to Stand
/ Justices Decline to Hear Challenge
1/11/2005 Washington Post
(Florida 'Republican' controlled Legislature passes a law banning gay couples from adopting)
The Florida plaintiffs argued there is no reason to deny all gays the right to adopt at a time when
the state lacks homes for 8,000 children.
But the state replied in its brief, "Petitioners never showed that the gay adoption provision
has ever limited the number of adoptions in any statistically significant way."
This is perhaps the worst result of Social Conservative lawmaking. They
seem to believe that kids are better off in a state home than with gay parents. Again, they don't
understand the true enemy is the STATE! The worst place for kids to be raised is the state - by
definition! This has been shown over and over again from the atrocities in Romanian and Chinese
orphanages, where thousands of children grew up brain damaged, to the horrific state run orphanages
here in the US. Yet, these lawmakers are somehow considered strong on 'family values' by Social Conservatives.
Speaking of 'family values', in 'Secondary
Problems of Socialism', I address the issue of socialized marriage and some of the hurtful
government interventions contained therin. It is the government intervention which has corrupted and
harmed this
sacred institution, more government intervention is not needed to fix it! The current defining and licensing
of marriage by government, the pervasive tax incentives and disincentives for both marriage and
single mothers, divorce laws encouraging 'gold digging', and other incentives to break apart marriage, all
combine, along with welfare and other redistributionist type policies (again, economics play the
greatest role), to lessen family values, to cheapen marriage, and to place it into the hands of
government, rather than God.
Indeed, this is the strangest part of Social Conservatism, the religious and spiritual overtones, from which
many of their beliefs and resulting legislative efforts are apparently derived. In describing the spiritual founding of the
United States, I previously
wrote:
Finally,
they
[the founders] wrote laws that removed the King and eliminated the artificial Middle-Man between the common
man and God. Each man was the King of his own private property, including his physical body,
and thereby only answerable to God, not government. What took place was a massive decentralization
of power to the individual.
The idea that one answers to God and not government is quite a powerful one. By assuming that man
can and should enforce God's will upon the people, Social Conservatives are operating on a number of
faulty premises.
First, they are assuming they, and not the 'common man', are closest to God and understand His will
best. This indirect condescension is analogous to the liberal intellectual who believes he can spend
your money better than you. Moral currency, if you will, is best left for the common man to
accumulate and spend.
Second, common sense dictates, and the scriptures of all religions pontificate, that morality is
something that must be chosen, hence the apparent phenomena of free will. Forcing God, or their version of Him, on the populace, will not
change hearts or minds. In fact, it may alienate investigation of many of the positive principles
Social Conservatives profess. God/morality is found or chosen from within. Similarly, by forcibly
confiscating money from the populace to invest in 'charity', liberals make the same mistake. In the words of Calvin
Coolidge, Federal
aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and
weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people
of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood.
Or, as
Albert
Jay Nock said:
Once we might have been inclined to give a quarter to a beggar. Now, however...we might tell him
that the State has confiscated our quarter for his benefit, and that he might as well go to the
State about it.
With
government providing 'morality' for the society, what need is there for activist citizens to educate
others and band together to voluntarily spread moral messages? What need is there to independently
investigate right and wrong, if the government provides such 'information'? And, most importantly,
who wants morality
to be under political control? Heh heh... I wonder how Social Conservatives would feel if Republicans lost congress and the presidency
after they decreed the Federal Government in charge of morality...
Thirdly, Social Conservatives believe that without government people are not 'good' enough or moral
enough to live their lives and individually raise the level of morality in society. Liberals believe
people would not donate or help those who 'need' such help if it weren't for government. Both lines
of thinking are incorrect.
Fourthly, some Social Conservatives may concede most of society would be fine or even better without government coercion,
yet, a small minority would 'fall through the cracks'. Thus, laws must exist to ensure the 'proper
behavior' of the deviant few. Does this not sound similar to liberal rhetoric? In order to make us
'equal', in order to 'save the poorest of the poor', liberalism instead makes everyone equally
miserable. Attempting to 'save' the weak by tearing down the strong ends up destroying everyone.
Social Conservatives must be disciplined enough to respect the freedom and choices of the deviant few, with
an understanding
that pursuing cracks will bring the house down. It is how the world is and any action on the part of government will only increase this
deviance.
Fifthly, this propensity to be 'outraged' and obsess about the behavior of others is symptomatic of
a lack of appreciation for the wonderfulness of our society and culture, ie searching
for cracks, insecurity from within, and excessive emotional attachment to cultural events (Schaivo). When
liberals hear about a 'wrong' somewhere, the first thing they want to do is pass a law, confiscate
some money, and get government involved.
Finally, and most controversially, as if this blend of politics and religion hasn't been controversial
enough :), I need to touch on the similarities and differences between churches and governments. Let
me start by stating that, although I don't belong or subscribe to any particular one (per se), I am
a big fan of churches and religious organizations. From the beginning of history they have provided
a needed balance and protection against the despotic power of government. From the Pope in the
middle ages, to the Catholic Church in Poland and Cuba, to the, largely, protestant founders of the
United States, as long as church and state remain separate (an unaddressed problem in many Muslim
Countries), a church and/or religion(s) provides a powerful check and balance on runway
political control.
With
that said, there are similarities between governments and large organizations such as churches. A
church, similar to a government, will take tithes for them, not you, to spend as they see
fit. Churches have issued pronouncements of morality, which the members generally follow, relieving
them of the trouble of arriving at their own conclusions, encouraging conformity, and limiting
innovation. This is analogous to the government issued propaganda we are subject to in the media
and public schools. Like government politicians, the leadership of churches and religious
organizations may focus on numerical membership and their own positions of authority, and the
importance of the message (spiritual teachings) becomes twisted to emphasize the messenger (the
uniqueness of that church or preacher). There is often a certain communalism present, which manifest
as both a strength and a weakness.
It
cannot be stressed enough that, although comparable, these actions are vastly inferior in scale to
those of governments, the main reason being that people are generally free to come and go within
religions and churches. However, sometimes families, peers, and culture, act as conforming pressures
to retain membership in religious organizations one may not entirely agree with. It is somewhat
ironic to hear our friends on the left point out the atrocities, stagnations, doublethinks, etc...
committed by churches and religious organizations, as these pale juxtaposed to the historical crimes and grievances
committed by expansive government. In fact, many of these so-called crimes were the actions of
church and state combined.
In any
event, the aggregate effect of some of the negative connotations in churches/religious organizations
may be responsible for aspects of the Social Conservative movement. This is not to say all or
even most Churches or religious organizations possess the described characteristics to any
significant degree. I also concede church membership can be as diverse and varied in their viewpoints
and beliefs as anywhere else. Even in Churches and religious organizations penetrated by pervasive corrupting influences, it may be the case that their benefit to society and to individuals
still overshadow the negatives.
In
conclusion, the degrees of separation between the similarities found in Churches and religious
organizations and governments are reflected in the exponential differences in erroneousness of
liberalism vs Social Conservativism, whose followers generally have some vestige of the more
important concept of economic freedom.
The above is
the opinion
of the author and subject to change. :)
|
Posted 7/29/06 (By
Travis)
Nevada
Politics, a new posting group, has been created in order to consolidate present and future posts
on political happenings in Nevada and highlight 'Republican' Rep Jon Porter's porkbarreling
spending/thieving. Also, I can now send Rep Porter a link informing him that a registered Republican
voter is blogging about him unfavorably from within his district. :)
Here
are some great excerpts from Flake's speeches
on the house floor, detailing the 19 anti-pork amendments he proposed.
|
Posted 7/29/06 (By
Travis)
435
Districts - 435 Blogs Against Pork
It's Time to Blog Against
Pork!
7/28/06 Club For Growth
Andrew
Roth, talented manager of the 'Club For Growth' blog, has
requested that we partake in an exercise to find out and advertise how our Congresscritters feel about stealing from the American people.
With $2.5 trillion dollars in Federal Spending, it is already abundantly clear they LOVE to steal
from us. :) However, thanks to (R) Congressmen and CFG elected Candidate Jeff Flake, Congresspersons
were forced to go on the record voting YES or NO on 19 'Flake'
Amendments, which highlight some especially
egregious pork. This effort to highlight the votes on these 19 amendments is gaining
steam:
The Pork
Scorecard is now listing 64 blogs, both conservative and liberal in ideology, that have written
about 131 politicians.
So, I
checked out my Congressmen (R) Jon Porter from Nevada's third district. Rep Jon Porter, a
Republican?!, mind you, voted no, individually, on amendments attempting to toss out the following:
House Vote 190 - Dairy education in
Iowa ($229,000)
House Vote 191 - Hydroponic tomato
production in Ohio ($180,000)
House Vote 192 - National Grape and
Wine Initiative ($100,000)
House Vote 204 - Virginia Science
Museum ($250,000)
House Vote 205 - Juniata Locomotive
Demonstration ($1,000,000)
House
Vote 298 - Mystic Aquarium in New London, Conn. ($1,000,000)
House Vote 299 - The Jason Foundation
in Ashburn, VA ($1,000,000)
House Vote 302 - Northwest
Manufacturing Initiative ($2,500,000)
House Vote 303 - Lewis Center for
Education Research ($4,000,000)
House Vote 304 - Leonard Wood Research
Institute ($20,000,000)
House Vote 335 - Bronx Council for the
Arts in Bronx, N.Y. ($300,000)
House Vote 336 - Johnstown Area
Regional Industries ($800,000)
House Vote 337 - Fairmont State
University ($900,000)
House Vote 338 - Tourism Development
Association in Kentucky ($1,000,000)
Rep Gibbons, the
other Republican from NV, voted to scrap all 19 projects. Thank you sir! Of course, Rep Berkly, the
Democratic Rep, voted to fund all 19 of the Amendments.
Congressman Porter, as a Nevada citizen, I thank you for taking the time to fund these initiatives
so vital to the well-being of our state. I'm being sarcastic. Congressmen Porter and the rest of
this sorry bunch are guilty of nothing less than outright theft. Legal
stealing is no less immoral than illegal stealing, such as a mugging. :) Congressman Porter also
recently voted
to raise the minimum wage, another more subtle form of stealing, thus harming businesses, consumers,
minorities and younger workers.
The
2006 Nevada Primary elections begin today, with general voting on August 15th. Unfortunately, no one
is challenging Porter in the Republican party, but Joseph
P. Silvestri is running on the Libertarian ticket. I'll bet Mr. Silvestri would be less of a
thief than Jon Porter.
(Added to 'Club
For Growth, Defenders of Liberty')
(Added to 'Nevada
Politics')
|
Posted 7/29/06 (By
Travis)
Top
10 Corporate Welfare Queens [Required Reading]
7/24/06 Human Events These
organizations grow fat and rich thanks to special treatment from the federal government. They
manipulate the political system to get insider deals, government guarantees, fixed prices and other
benefits, paid for by taxpayers and consumers.
|
Posted 7/29/06 (By
Travis)
The
Rise of the Walk-in Clinic
7/2/506 Newsweek A
look at a new explosive phenomena that is sweeping the nation. These medical clinics are providing
affordable, convenient access to healthcare. Previously, in 'AOA
Advocacy' (4/8/06) I described the reaction of the medical community, which was, rather
predictably,
hostile. But, special interests need to provide cover for corrupt politicians to use the power of
government to shut down upstart competitors and retain monopolies. 'Public Safety' is typically the
slogan of choice used in the licensing/regulatory wars of the healthcare industry:
A report issued by the American Medical
Association in June expressed concerns about the impact that clinics would have on physicians'
practices and on patient care.
Dr. Larry Fields,
president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, says his group's members have also been able
to weather the competition, so far though some have adapted their practices to accommodate more
patients. Last month, the AAFP issued a list of "desired attributes" for retail clinic
practices, recommending the use of referrals for more serious cases, electronic medical records
(which can be transmitted to the patient's primary provider) and a clearly defined—and
limited—scope of services. "To the credit of many of these clinics, they've endorsed the
guidelines," says Fields.
Still, he worries that
the walk-in clinics may be tempted to expand the range of their services as they grow.
"They may want a bigger piece of the market and that's a concern," he says. "In
today's complex world of healthcare, patients really need to have a medical home."
Patients need to be left to make their own choices free from coercion and condescension from Doctor
organizations.
(Added to 'Medical Lobbying')
|
Posted 7/26/06 (By
Travis)
A
Modest Proposal to Abolish Universities 'Required Reading'
7/25/06 Fred Reed Wow, a
hawkish, strongly worded attack on Universities, but there is a great deal of truth to it:
To
the extent that universities actually try to teach anything, which is to say to a very limited
extent, they do little more than inhibit intelligent students of inquiring mind. And they are
unnecessary: The professor’s role is purely disciplinary: By threats of issuing failing grades, he
ensures that the student comes to class and reads certain things. But a student who has to be forced
to learn should not be in school in the first place. By making a chore of what would otherwise be a
pleasure, the professor instills a lifelong loathing of study. <.>
The truth is that universities positively discourage learning. Think about it. Suppose you wanted to
learn Twain. A fruitful approach might be to read Twain. The man wrote to be read, not analyzed
tediously and inaccurately by begowned twits. It might help to read a life of Twain. All of this the
student could do, happily, even joyously, sitting under a tree of an afternoon. This, I promise, is
what Twain had in mind.
But no. The student must go to a class in American Literatue, and be asked by some pompous drone,
“Now, what is Twain trying to tell us in paragraph four?” This presumes that Twain knew less
well than the professor what he was trying to say, and that he couldn’t say it by himself. Not
being much of a writer, the poor man needs the help of a semiliterate drab who couldn’t sell a
pancake recipe to Boy’s Life. As bad, the approach suggests that the student is too dim to see the
obvious or think for himself. He can’t read a book without a middleman. He probably ends by
hating Twain. <.>
You learn that structure trumps performance, that existence is supposed to be dull. It
prepares you to spend years on lawsuits over somebody else’s trademarks or simply going
buzzbuzzbuzz in a wretched federal office. Only two weeks a year do you get to do what you want to
do. This we pay for?
(Added
to 'College')
|
Posted 7/26/06 (By
Travis)
Wealthy
French say au revoir to taxes
/ Fed up with a country renowned as the most burdensome for taxation,
the rich flee to neighbors.
7/20/06 Detriot News On
average, at least one millionaire leaves France every day for more wealth-friendly nations,
according to a government study. <.>
Eric Pinchet, author of a French tax guide, estimates the wealth tax earns the government about $2.6
billion a year but has cost the country more than $125 billion in capital flight since 1998. <.>
Socialist
leaders and some government officials say the rich are shirking their social responsibilities by
fleeing with their millions.
Lol! Imagine a thief breaking into your house every Friday and then
honestly believing you are irresponsible when you leave the neighborhood. And, recall, since rich
and poor are affected equally by erroneous government policies, you can rest assured that it is not
just the rich who are leaving, although, of course, I'm sure people living in countries less free
than France still desire to immigrate to France.
(Added
to 'Voting with Your Feet')
|
Posted 7/25/06 (By
Travis)
Boeing
Versus Airbus
5/24/06
Forbes It appears that Airbus's fortunes have taken a turn for the worse, which is interesting
because just a few months ago the media was reporting that Boeing was getting hammered. There are
significant differences between the two companies that are worth highlighting and are reflective of
the differences between the United States and Europe. First, Airbus is between 15-20% state owned.
This political control more than anything else is probably the root cause of Airbus's problems.
Airbus has two chief executives; in order to be 'fair' they have one from France and Germany. This,
IMO, dilutes the chain of command and lessens accountability. In addition, the political control
results in public complaints from various government officials etc.. about where certain parts are
being built and where plants are located.
Boeing, on the other hand, is privately owned and is apparently implementing a modern
business model, whereby the people who are best at making products, are the ones sought out to
make them. There is also the issue of subsidies, with both sides snipping at each other and going to
the WTO etc..., just like what was described in the 7/24 post below with the trade talks. In the
same sense, it appears the Europeans, who give direct subsidies to Airbus, are more in violation,
which, of course, doesn't excuse the American side. The rhetoric was similar though, at the
Airbus news conferences, Airbus execs were liable to criticize Boeing and make comparisons between
the two companies, while Boeing just stuck to talking about Boeing. Psychologically speaking, this
sort of thing reflects negatively on Airbus.
Also of interest:
No
one has ever built a commercial airplane with a fuselage made of plastic--more precisely, carbon
fiber embedded in epoxy--much less tried to get it certified as safe to carry passengers. To keep to
its timetable, Boeing is pushing the Federal Aviation Administration to apply the 5,000 standards
accepted for certifying aluminum aircraft to its composite 787 months before flight testing begins.
The FAA isn't saying much at this point, other than that the 787 represents a "radical way of
building and certifying an aircraft."
Boeing is confident of approval. Jeffrey L. Hawk, its director of certification, says the plane's
FAA certification plan, spelling out every point Boeing must meet to make the 787 airworthy, is 80%
approved. Hawk hopes to finish this process by year-end so the company can begin assembling the 787
and conduct flight testing in fall 2007. "Some of this will probably have to go out for public
comment," Hawk says, noting there could be ten or so exceptions, or "special
conditions," where regulations need to be developed specially for the composite 787--for
example, dealing with protections against lightning strikes and electromagnetic interference--as
well as tougher new maintenance standards. In the Pandora's box of aviation approval, special
conditions are opened up to the public, including rival Airbus, for 30 to 90 days.
What a joke the FAA is! 5000 regulations? And special ones for the 787? What interest does Boeing
have in making an airplane that crashes? It would destroy their business. There is more than enough
incentive for the makers of aircraft to make their airplanes safe. It wouldn't surprise me if the
burdensome regulations required by the FAA result in the diminishment of technological innovation
and actually serve to make the plane less safe, not to mention more expensive and delaying its entry
into the market. It also wouldn't surprise me if Airbus experiences regulatory 'difficulty' with the
FAA, brought about by Boeing's backdoor lobbying efforts.
We need to abolish the FAA.
|
Posted 7/24/06 (By
Travis)
Global
Trade Talks Collapse over Farm Subsidies
7/25/06 AP Why can't
private citizens of different countries conduct voluntary commerce with each other? The fact that
there even needs to be 'trade talks' is indicative of the degree with which governments are
perpetuating poverty and stealing from their populations. Stealing? If it
costs $2.00 to buy a head of lettuce from a 'protected' American grower, but because of tariffs or
taxes or just outright bans/quotas, the US government prevents a foreign grower from importing and
selling a head of lettuce for $1.00, then it seems to me the US government is stealing $1.00
from each US citizen every time they buy the US lettuce. This sort of theft is very subtle, which is
perhaps why they get away with it (just like they got away with 'cutting' property taxes in Jersey,
while raising taxes double the relief).
Bear in mind trade and liberating government policies towards it
is by far the best way to alleviate poverty and advance prosperity. So, why do people donate to charities like Oxfam and 'save the
children' and who knows what other sorts of charities, which may actually perpetuate rather than reduce
poverty? Why don't they give to an organization that advertises/educates/promotes free trade and limited
government involvement in commerce in developing countries? Why don't they donate money to a free
market think tank here in the US or pro-growth liberating politicians? Surely these efforts will result
in greater movement towards their humanitarian goals. Yet our government works against this line of
thought by encouraging 'traditional' charity giving
through such incentives as discriminatory tax write-offs.
It is
also interesting how,
at least in the articles I've read on this, the Europeans are slathering the blame for this collapse on the US. Of course, the US should have zero farm
subsidies, this isn't excusing us, but it does seem a bit hypocritical given that:
"The finger-pointing can't hide the fact that their average tariff is twice as high as ours and
that their farm subsidies are more than three times what ours are," [US
trade rep] Schwab said on a conference call.
|
Posted 7/23/06 (By
Travis)
Teen
Loses Fight To Seek Alternative Cancer Treatment
7/22/06
AP A different story than the one I've been covering on Katie Werneke,
but equally appalling.
A
Virginia judge has ruled that a 16-year-old cancer patient fighting to use alternative treatment
must report to a hospital by Tuesday and accept treatment that doctors feel is necessary.
The
family's attorney says the judge also found the parents neglectful for allowing him to pursue
alternative treatment of a sugar-free, organic diet and herbal supplements in Mexico.
The lawyer says the parents are devastated by the new order and plan to appeal.
Regardless of outcome or objective, if it can be measured, 'rightness' of a given treatment,
citizens and parents should be left free to chose treatments of their choice. The last thing we
need, if we don't have it already, is a government monopoly/mandate on treatment.
After
all, it is not the duty of the state to 'save lives', as any attempt to do so ironically costs
lives, but rather it is the duty of the state to protect freedom and
property, which, incidentally,
saves lives.
"Unless we put medical freedom into the Constitution, the time
will come when medicine will organize into an undercover dictatorship . . . to restrict the art of
healing to one class of men, and deny equal privilege to others, will be to constitute the bastille
of medical science. All such laws are un-American and despotic and have no place in a Republic . . .
The Constitution of this Republic should make special privilege for medical freedom as well as
religious freedom."
Dr. Benjamin Rush (signatory to the Declaration of
Independence)
Sadly, Dr Rush's fears have already come to pass. Extensive licensing laws restrict who can do what,
regulatory battles occupy the time of lobbyists and legislators,
and meddling healthcare legislation and regulations are destroying the health industry.
(Added
to 'Government Kidnapping')
|
Posted 7/22/06 (By
Travis)
Prescription
Errors Kill, Injure Americans, Report Says
7/20/06 Washington Post At least 1.5 million Americans are sickened,
injured and killed each year by avoidable errors in prescribing, dispensing and taking medications,
the influential Institute of Medicine concludes in a major report released today. <.>
Inlander said that the IOM panel sought information about how many people may have died as a
result of drug errors, but said the estimates were so different -- ranging from 7,000 to 50,000 a
year -- that they were not included in the report. <.>
But the panel members did make clear that they
believe the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA have not done enough to make information about
individual drugs clear and easy for consumers to understand and caregivers to dispense.
So there you have it. A rather silly report IMO. Not silly in that I'm
doubting the accuracy of it, but silly in the focus and perspective of both the authors and the
journalist. Why should these sorts of things even be studied, no doubt with taxpayer money? Of what
use is this information? A much more pertinent and relevant question is: How many people are injured or killed
each year because of the existence of the FDA? I'll bet the number is
greater than those injured or killed by 'drug errors' and any 'nonaction' by the FDA and pharm
companies.
The report also addresses the issue of errors
of "omission" -- medications that patients should be getting but do not. Panel co-chair J.
Lyle Bootman, of the College of Pharmacy of the University of Arizona, Tucson, said yesterday that
the panel believed those errors to be as widespread as other errors, but that researchers have not
yet quantified the problem. Bootman said that the question of errors of omission is one of many that
has to be aggressively researched so that corrective steps can be taken.
This 'errors of omission' path is another dangerous one and could lead
to happenings like we saw in the post (7/21) below on Katie Weirnke.
FDA
100 Years of Misguided Missions
7/7/06 OC Register
Economist Sam Peltzman has shown that the number of new drugs approved declined precipitously after
imposition 44 years ago of the effectiveness requirement. He also showed that the proportion of
inefficacious drugs didn't change in wake of the added requirement, writing that the "penalties
imposed by the marketplace on sellers of ineffective drugs … left little room for improvement by a
regulatory agency." His conclusion has been confirmed by other researchers.

NCEs stand for New Chemical Entities, new drugs. This Peltzman
chart is from fdareview.org.
Noble intentions aside, any reasonable concept of safety is at best relative. The safe use of a drug
is dependant on innumerable particulars, unique to the individual. By attempting to create a safety
standard for something as variable as physiology, the FDA imposes onto the marketplace a rule that
is at once clumsy and constricting.
<.>
Consumers are protected by a dynamic mixture of expert consultation, individual experimentation,
independent and industry certification and the tort system. The FDA should be mindful of this
existing system, because no one lobbies for the patients who die, or delay treatment, while waiting
for a promising therapy to be approved.
I'd love to see this sort of article in the Washington Post. Don't hold your breath. :)
(Added to 'FDA Tyranny')
|
Posted 7/21/06 (By
Travis)
State-sponsored
medical terrorism: Texas authorities arrest parents, kidnap their teenage daughter, and force her
through chemotherapy against her will
1/3/06 Newstarget.com It
has been a while since I wrote about this, but here an update describing how a judge ruled Katie
Werneke free from CPS and apparently the family has now finally been given control over her
treatment. But this may be only temporary...
(Added to 'Government
Kidnapping')
|
Posted 7/21/06 (By
Travis)
If you
recall, on 4/23 I posted some critical commentary on President Bush's 'energy
plans' for the 'masses', aka us. More specifically I said:
The article goes onto describe the burdensome changes government has foisted upon private industry,
including replacing the 'deadly carcinogen' MTBE with ethanol. Now, I don't know this, but it would
not surprise me in the least if the 'concern' about the 'safety' of MTBE was rooted in junk
science, just like most of the rest of the stuff government tells us we should be afraid of and
tries to 'protect' us from and that this initiative was pushed for and passed mainly at the urgings
of the powerful farm and ethanol lobby in Washington.
I bring this up because I had a chance to do a bit of reading
on MTBE, which confirmed this.
Ban
Hysteria, Not MTBE
2/99/06 Steven Milloy
MTBE
Acsric.com
After chronic inhalation of MTBE,
female rats were found to have an excess number of liver tumors (hepatocellular adenomas) at the
highest MTBE
concentration (8,000 parts per million). Neither male rats nor mice of either sex were found to have
any excess cancers at any concentration (Bird, 1997).
Regarding studies w/ other types of cancers:
The
authors of this study note that the development of these cancers requires chronic exposure to toxic
doses of MTBE.
They assert, "because of the intense odor and taste of MTBE,
humans will not tolerate either air or water concentrations sufficient to produce [similar
effects]" (Mennear, 1997)
These studies
and others indicate that MTBE is most likely not dangerous, should not have been banned, $140
Billion should not have been spent to clean it up, and the hundreds of
other lawsuits currently active regarding the compound should be thrown out. It was found to
cause cancer and other health problems in animals only after consistent exposures to incredibly high doses. This technique is
commonly used in junk science. It allows layers to loot productive private companies and allows competitors to
attain government issued commodity monopolies over industries.
The
way these sorts of studies are designed would be the equivalent of feeding a human a halloweens
night worth of sugar every day for a few months and then banning sugar. Anything in excess, especially a nonorganic chemical is going to
cause problems when you feed it to rats in quantities of their own body weight!
The
burden of proof should be on those trying to prove a chemical harmful, yet for some reason it seems to be the
other way around. How does one go about proving a negative?
But, the more vexing question is how did MTBE even end up in our gasoline? Get this:
In 1990, Congress enacted amendments to the Clean Air Act that required refiners to add oxygenates
to gasoline in order to combat air pollution. At the time, Congress and the EPA knew that MTBE would
be the primary oxygenate used given supply, transportation and other difficulties with using
alternatives such as ethanol. MTBE helped reduce air pollution significantly.
So, in effect, government required MTBE to be used, before banning it!
Just like the old axiom, "Everything not forbidden is mandatory." This also reminds me of
what occurred with folic acid. Bureaucrats refused to let
private bread companies advertise that their bread was fortified with folic acid, which may help
reduce certain rare birth defects, but then, some years later, the same bureaucrats, in another
asinine public safety scheme, required that ALL bread be fortified with folic acid. What did MTBE
replace?
Following MTBE’s
approval as a gasoline component by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1979,
refiners began adding MTBE to gasoline to replace tetraethyl lead (TEL), which the EPA required to
be phased out because it had been identified as a source of air pollution.
Was TEL really that bad of an air pollutant? It has been labeled as the
"Chernobyl of America" for causing health problems. I don't have time to keep looking this
stuff up, but, again, I doubt TEL was as bad as the doomsayers claim/claimed. Of course, the makers of TEL got their
pants sued off them too.
Let's
continue the pattern:
Ethanol creates similar problems, including increased emissions of acetaldehyde - a probable human
carcinogen - by up to 70%.
Give
it 20 years and Ethanol will be banned, after it was required, and the makers of ethanol will be
sued out of business and so forth.
Now,
do not misunderstand me, since the basic function of government is property protection, I recognize
the necessity for legislation allowing private parties to sue other private parties when pollutants
cause damage. If a neighbor of mine pours mercury all over his property, fine, but when it gets into
my drinking water well I can sue him in a court of law. However, this ongoing national
regulation and micromanaging of such commodities as gasoline is ridiculous. This power given to
government is abused and government intervention in this area surely accomplishes the opposite of
its intentions.
This
pattern does not just take place with gasoline additives, this political, sociological, psychological
'culture of fear', manifests in broad swathes across every aspect of society. As you might imagine,
the medical field is especially ripe for these sorts of shenanigains, a fact which I'm becoming more
and more and more
and more aware of.
We
need to wake up to this fearmongering,
made possible by the media, who seek to sell sensationalist stories, but ultimately, by the American
people, who revel in and buy the rotgut that today stands for journalism and science.
If my
readers will allow it :), I'd like to make another prediction. I don't know much about Bird Flu, haven't
read a thing on the science behind it, but based solely on the media coverage of it, I'd be willing
to bet it is just as
phony and fake as
anything else the fearmongers have put out there. There is no Bird Flu crisis. There is no Bird Flu danger.
The emperor has no clothes!
What
is actually occurring, as Bill Whittle
might have said, is that we, the American People, are sitting amidst a towering citadel of spotless
marble, the purest most wonderful civilization known to man, and.... we spend our time looking for
cracks and in our panic to fix these nonexistent cracks, we risk destroying all that we have
wrought.
(Added to 'Gasoline
and Government'.)
|
Posted 7/21/06 (By
Travis)
After
2 days, India calls blog block an "error"
7/20/06 International
Herald Tribune Did you hear about this one? The Indian Mafia, I mean, the Indian Government, blocked
access to thousands of blogs, after apparently meaning to only block 'two pages' of a 'hate blog'.
I'm not quite sure I believe this explanation, after all, we are dealing with a poor country, and
therefore their mafia of a government is more criminal than ours and not as transparent. :)
We
also learn that Pakistan blocked blogspot.com in February, as a way to prevent
Danish cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad from spreading.
An Indian blogger complained:
"You have a right to know what is being banned, and why it's being
banned," she said. "I can understand if it's China or Iran or Saudi Arabia. I'm truly
appalled when it's my country doing this."
I don't see what is so surprising. India's per capita income is only $640,
and, since poverty is generally a direct reflection of the degree of which government suppresses and
steals
from its citizens, blatant government censorship and discrimination certainly doesn't seem too far
fetched. To a lesser degree, similar actions and attempts have occurred in the United
States.
Government censorship of websites of any kind is dangerous,
counterproductive, and should be illegal.
(Added
to 'Media Freedom')
|
Posted 7/18/06 (By
Dobber)
Senate Stem Cell Vote Misses the Point San Jose Mercury News
Today the Senate voted to allow federal funding for stem cell research.
The administration's assessment of stem cell science
has extra meaning in the wake of the Senate's 63-37 vote Tuesday to expand
federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. The measure, which passed the
House last year, will now head to Bush, who has vowed to veto it.
The key wording in that blurb is - "expand federal funding".
Expand. More of your money spent. Now, many will say that this vote
is about vital research to cure disease, and others will say it's a pro-life vs
pro-choice issue. I say, where in the
Constitution, does it imply that the federal government should be in the
business of speculative research?
If I were in the Senate, I would have voted no. Not because stem cell
research is wrong. Not because adult stem cells have shown
promise, not
because this issue has anything to do with the abortion debate, but because, in
principle, I am against the government deciding whom should be doing speculative
research. Remember, when the government votes to provide stem cell
research funding, they are not creating a lab, packed with our best scientists,
working vigorously to solve a problem for the betterment of society. The
government is saying, we have money to hand out - who wants it? Then,
people all over the United States fill out forms and ask to get taxpayer money
to work on their bright stem cell idea. If you want to work on stem cell
research, use your own money! If you want someone else to work on stem
cell research, write them a check! That, my friends, used to be the
ideology of America. That government should not choose winners and losers.
That regular people had the power and freedom to do what they chose, as long as
it wasn't infringing on another's rights.
If the fiscally challenged representatives of the federal government can approve
of mailing your money to labs to do stem cell research, what's stopping them
from sending your money to alien research or
poop
smelling studies?
|
Posted 7/17/06 (By Dobber)
Wireless Wasted Tax Money Floating Through the Air CNN
Bored bureaucrats have been wasting their personal money on buying their kids
multiple cell phones and other wireless devices. They must have noticed a
way to waste some more taxpayer money, while text messaging their kid to be home
before the street light comes on.
The new digital system will update the emergency alerts
planned -- but never used -- during the Cold War in the event of a nuclear
strike.
Cold war, eh? Wasn't the Cold War going on while I was playing Race Driver
on Commodore 64?
The Homeland Security Department, through the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, expects to have the system working by the end of
next year. Though still in its pilot stages, the system is being demonstrated
Wednesday at a public television station in suburban Virginia.
I'll wait until you stop laughing after hearing that FEMA expects to have
something working, and on time. LOL. What is it that the planners
are planning to do?
The Association of Public Television Stations is
partnering with FEMA to transmit the alerts to receiving networks ranging from
wireless devices, cable TV channels and satellite radio to traditional
broadcast outlets.
"Anything that can receive a text message will
receive the alert," Homeland Security Department spokesman Aaron Walker said
Tuesday. "We find that the new digital system is more secure, it's faster, and
it enables us to reach a wide array of citizens and alert them to pending
disasters."
A wireless alert system! Cell phone and beeper toting politicians decided
that every time an EMERGENCY happens, they should send out a text message to
every cell phone, beeper, PDA, Blackberry, and BlueTooth device in the country!
First I must ask - What would be a message worth sending? 9/11 - okay.
Katrina - if you didn't know that was coming, you probably live in the woods
outside of Morgantown, and you definitely don't own a cell phone. Oklahoma
City Bombings - maybe. So, we can say, maybe once every decade or so, the
government employee with the enormous emergency text messaging cell phone will
send out the alert! Great. Now how much will it cost the
hard-working American taxpayer?
The public TV stations have so far raised $1.1
billion -- a third of it from the federal government -- to convert antiquated
technology at its 176 stations to digital systems that can transmit the
alerts, APTS President John Lawson said. Overall, the new warning system
is expected to cost $5.5 million to test and deploy nationally and $1 million
annually to maintain, Walker said.
Pretty cheap - a few hundred million and then one million per year forever.
So what will this multi-billion, golden cow of text message say?
For alerting regular Americans, "we're hoping that
your cell phone will go off saying something bad is happening, and you need to
get to a TV or radio to find out what's going on," Lawson said.
You've got to be freaking kidding me.
|
Posted 7/16/06 (By
Dobber)
Freedom, Liberty, and Net Neutrality
Career politicians are pondering possible future scenarios of horrible
consequence concerning internet traffic..
From Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley, it's become one
of the most controversial and confusing topics to hit the tech industry this
year: network neutrality. The term is confusing, the ad campaigns have further
clouded the issue, and it's no longer easy to tell who's for it and who's not.
Whatever becomes of the concept could affect what you
pay for connectivity, the sites you'll have access to and the types of
services (think video, music and Internet phone offerings) you'll be able to
use.
But what is net neutrality?
Ask Wikipedia, and
you'll have to sped an hour to find out. Ironically, the neutrality of
that Wikipedia article is disputed! In reading this paragraph, you may
understand why -
A major argument in favor of network neutrality is
that a discriminatory network distorts markets that depend on the network, and
ultimately may slow national economic growth. For example, if a network favors
search engine A over search engine B, A may become dominant even though B's
technology is better. Similarly, if the network favors a usage of the network
popular at a given time (say,
Gopher, enormously
popular in the early 1990s) that may slow the competitive arrival of a new
usage (like the
World Wide Web). In
other words, a discriminatory network may "freeze" innovation (particularly
application innovation) based on today's dominant applications.
So, the free market of the
internet must be salvaged by upsetting the free market of provider - business -
consumer agreements. Interesting. Is there even a problem for the
government to address? I don't see any problems. Only supposed
problems, and hypothetical problems, and possible future scenario problems.
Let's wait for the problems to actually happen, before we try to solve them.
The internet, in its current unregulated form provides the opportunity for rapid
growth and innovation. I can imagine no situation where politicians
(almost all who were born before computers could fit into one room) who have
never downloaded a song, don't regularly shop on Amazon, don't IM each other,
don't have MySpace accounts, don't create websites, don't listen to internet
radio, etc etc....I can imagine no situation where they will step in and create
legislation good for the internet, or us consumers.
Like, Alex Epstein
says,
Unfortunately, data prioritization is fiercely opposed by
advocates of "Net Neutrality," who claim paradoxically that freedom and
innovation demand that companies not be free to make this innovation.
Agreed.
|
Posted 7/14/06 (By
Travis)
A new post group 'Media
Freedom' has been created for your viewing pleasure (or displeasure) :).
|
Posted 7/14/06 (By
Travis)
The
Extinction of Mass Culture
The advent of 300 channels and the Internet has fragmented audiences - and
the explosion of choice has left us poorer
7/28/06
Fortune Marc Gunther
I post this opinion piece because it goes along with the 7/13 post below on the UN and Rush
Limbaugh. Basically, his point is that we have too many choices, as consumers of products,
news, opinion, politics etc... He bemoans the decline of the MSM (MainStream Media) and how we are
drifting apart as Americans because we don't share as many common cultural bonds.
I'd have to disagree with this author on, well, just about everything! We can have pride and common
identity as Americans by virtue of our choices. The decline of the old media, the MSM, is occurring
because they can't hold an audience in a free market. Blogs and new media are so popular
because people recognize quality that is not present in the staid rote of the traditional press.
People want to hear opinions. I don't want to hear what happened, I want to hear why you think it
happened, what should be done, and who the players are and their history. Freedom is often a
terrible thing to behold if the results are against your ideology and some seem to be quite scared.
:)
I'd like to repost the words
of Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry's:
"We learned," Kerry said to the gathering, "that the mainstream media, over the
course of the last year, did a pretty good job of discerning. But there's a subculture and a
sub-media that talks and keeps things going for entertainment purposes rather than for the flow of
information. And that has a profound impact and undermines what we call the mainstream media of the
country. And so the decision-making ability of the American electorate has been profoundly impacted
as a consequence of that. The question is, what are we going to do about it?"
Now, let's go to the wife of 8 year Democratic President Bill Clinton
and potential future Democratic Presidential Nominee:
Flashback:
Hillary Clinton says Internet News Needs 'Rethink'
9/25/05
Drudge Report
China
on Sunday imposed new media restrictions designed to limit the news and other information available
to Internet users, sharply restricting the scope of content that can be posted on Web sites.
Hillary Rodham Clinton said IN 1998 during a meeting with reporters said that "we are all going
to have to rethink how we deal with" the Internet because of the handling of White House sex
scandal stories on Web sites.
Clinton was
asked whether she favored curbs on the Internet, after the Drudgereport made headlines with coverage
of her husband's affair with a White House intern. "We are all going to have to rethink how we
deal with this, because there are all these competing values ... Without any kind of editing
function or gatekeeping function, what does it mean to have the right to defend your
reputation?" she said.
Hillary Clinton Continued:
"I don't have any clue about what we're going to do legally, regulatorily, technologically -- I
don't have a clue. But I do think we always have to keep competing interests in balance. I'm a big
pro-balance person. That's why I love the founders -- checks and balances; accountable power.
Anytime an individual or an institution or an invention leaps so far out ahead of that balance and
throws a system, whatever it might be -- political, economic, technological --out of balance, you've
got a problem, because then it can lead to the oppression people's rights, it can lead to the
manipulation of information, it can lead to all kinds of bad outcomes which we have seen
historically. So we're going to have to deal with that. And I hope a lot of smart people are going
to --"
REPORTER: Sounds
like you favor regulation.
MRS. CLINTON:
Bill, I don't know what -- that's why I said I don't know what I'm in favor of. And I don't know
enough to know what to be in favor of, because I think it's one of those new issues we've got to
address. We've got to see whether our existing laws protect people's right of privacy, protect them
against defamation. And if they can, how do you do that when you can press a button and you can't
take it back. So I think we have to tread carefully.
So, you can see the United Nations, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, whomever was the author of this
opinion piece against choice and countless other folks on the left are always dancing around this
idea of limiting freedom, limiting free speech, and protecting their old media monopoly. Whether
they know it or not, they are afraid of the American people. With freedom, we just don't seem to be
going in a direction they deem 'wise'. But it is too late. It is us, who are changing the culture,
it is us who are choosing freedom, it is us, who are winning our country back.
It is they, who will be discarded into the ash heap of history.
|
Posted7/14/06 (By
Travis)
12
Year Old Points Gun at Burglars; Group Takes Off (SC)
11/10/06
Fox News Try
and picture it. A 12 year old walks into the living room, sees his mother frantically protecting the
baby, and several strangers attacking his father. The 12 year old rushes out of the living room--
but comes back pointing a gun at the five suspects. As of Monday night-- all but one are in jail.
This one goes well with the previously posted story about the
87 year old grandmother and
will be added to 'Guns and Crime'. Now we have the young and the old
examples to go along with the 'great
equalizer' theme. :) Speaking of crime, anyone see the
news stories about how a crime
wave is sweeping the District of Colombia, which, if it isn't obvious, has a ban on all guns. Or
maybe its not so obvious, considering the frequency
of armed robberies and gun battles... I guess its obviousness depends on the nature of the
perceiver. :)
On
the other hand, crime is at a 35 year low
Florida,
a state which actually lets you defend yourself against intruders with firearms, and is one of the
fastest growing states in the country, due to liberating economic policies.
Gov Jeb Bush says:
''This report shows that staying tough on crime works,'' Bush
said. ``Law abiding citizens that have guns for protection actually probably are part of the reason
we have a lower crime rate.''
|
Posted 7/13/06 (By
Travis)
Who
Cares What Pointy-Headed UN Elitists Say?
7/7/06
RushLimbaugh.com Lol, this whole transcript is just too funny, check it out if you get a chance.
Gotta love this pic:

However, Rush's hilarious monologue on all of this stems from this statement by Kofi Annan's chief
of staff:
BROWN: The prevailing practice of seeking to use the United Nations almost by stealth as a
diplomatic tool while failing to stand up for it against its domestic critics is simply not
sustainable. <.> Much of the public discourse that reaches the US heartland has been largely abandoned to its
loudest detractors such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. That is what I meant by stealth diplomacy.
The UN's role is, in effect, a secret in middle America, even as it is highlighted in the Middle
East and other parts of the world.
US Ambassador John Bolten responded:
BOLTON: And even worse was the condescending and patronizing tone about the American people, that
fundamentally and very sadly, this was a criticism of the American people, not the American
government, by an international civil servant.
Now, this is true, and it is indicative of the world view held by many
at the United Nations, especially as US cable TV and US talk radio are among the freest medias in
the entire world. They are privately owned, privately financed, and, sure, even they are regulated
too much, but this is still nothing compared to other countries and even non-cable US television,
which I am still convinced is regulated in some sort of way that facilitates much of the media bias
contained therin :). Whether you agree or disagree with the tone of talk radio and cable TV, you must
admit they have grown purely by the merits of their programming, by the desire of the American
people to hear and watch them.
Looking at the rest of the world, there is really not much free media out there. The governments of
the world, I mean the mafias of the world, own and control most of it.
Russia is cracking down and controlling its radio and television stations; everywhere one turns the
media is largely state owned, South American, China, Africa, the Middle East, even much of Europe.
The mildest state owned stations around are probably the leftist BBC, which is owned by the British
government and is therefore under political control, and leftist PBS, NPR, which are owned by the US
government, and also under political control.
These stations, and all the government owned media outlets around the world, are, in effect,
forcefed to their respective populaces; they will exist and stay in business whether the people
watch it or like it. NPR looses hundreds of millions of dollars each year, as does PBS, as does the
BBC; in fact, I'd bet nearly all state owned media looses money - after all, who wants to watch
something put out by a state? Who wants to watch propoganda? Sure, I listen to NPR regularly, and
occasionally it is ok, although I'm not sure why it is the only talk show allowed on the PM dial,
and, yeah, I watched PBS pretty regularly at one point as it was the only clear TV channel I
received back when I had a TV; but, in large part, I didn't watch and listen to state media
because I wanted to, I did it because there was nothing else out there. I didn't and often still
don't have a choice.
Then these folks at the UN talk about how unlike in the 'US heartland', at least in the Middle East
the UN is getting a fair media shake?! Nearly all, if not all, of this media is controlled by the criminal
Middle Eastern Governments! Arab media, even the so-called
'independent' Al-Jazeera station, are under the direct political control of some of the worst thugs and criminals
known to man. If these media outlets are saying positive things about the UN, then we really
need to pay attention to what Rush Limbaugh and Fox News are saying:
RUSH:
The United Nations has not changed. It's still the bar scene in the first Star Wars movie. It's
nothing but the vast majority of its members being tinhorn dictators and other, you know, little rug
rats that are given legitimacy with their membership in the United Nations. It is an organization
that seeks to fleece the American treasury. It's an organization that seeks to undermine US foreign
policy, blames us for the problems of the world. <.>
And I, frankly, I don't know -- it would be difficult here, particularly in recent years, to
chronicle where they've ever been helpful to us, in a real sense. My God, the UN couldn't do anything --
we are the UN when it comes to really solving problems. Otherwise they're just obstacles to
everything, and it's no different than Madeleine Albright's view. They're upset that we're the lone
superpower. They're upset at our prosperity. They don't think it's fair, it isn't right, and
they're trying to whittle us down to size in the ways that they know best how to do.
Now, I know many of you might be thinking that there are also independent liberal newspapers and TV
shows and talk shows in this country, and I'll have to agree, but the difference is that many of
these are allied, ideologically and otherwise with the state owned and state controlled stations.
People from the New York Times are all over PBS and NPR and vice versa. They cite each other
constantly and report the news in similar fashion. Don't get me wrong, despite their affiliations, I
would still trust these outlets over the state ones and there are many independent liberal media
outlets that are supported by an audience. Of course, you have to wonder how much of their
audience actually arrived at their thinking and thought processes independently vs how many were
leached off the state media created audiences, and before you cry double
standard, recall, the ideology of the state is the default
one!
In
retrospect, the reasons for these statements and feelings at the UN should be more than obvious -
after all, these folks at the UN are sent by their governments and appointed by the collective agreement
of nations all less free than our own. Thus, they are under just as much political control
as the state owned medias! Why should we expect people appointed and controlled by a state(s) to
respect a free press?
To end
his transcript:
RUSH:
You know, Mr. Snerdley still can't believe that I'm not offended by this. How many times have I told
all of you? These are signs we are winning. Singled out like this, do they not have any idea what
they're actually doing? What does all this really mean? It means that a free press and free talk
radio are a pain in the ass to corrupt, undemocratic, dictator-loving bureaucracies like the United
Nations. And they want the US government to go out and actually defend the United Nations against
assaults on it being made in the free press in this country. Hey, UN, why don't you defend
yourselves? If it's that easy to do, Mr. Malloch Brown, why don't you mount a famous PR campaign to
defend the United Nations? The fact of the matter is this, frankly, kind of honors me, folks. My dad
would not believe this.
|
Posted 7/11/06 (By
Travis)
Congressman
Paul's Legislative Strategy? He'd Rather Say Not.
7/9/06 Washington Post
This is a great follow to the previous post. :) And is a good read. If you recall, I had a chance to
meet the good congressmen a few
months ago. :) I don't agree with everything he says, but most of it, especially his style and
solidity of his core beliefs.
|
Posted 7/11/06 (By Travis)
The
Whizzinator: A House Panel's No. 1 Priority
6/28/05
Washington Post lol This is an old story,
that I can't believe I didn't post previously. An excellent look at what a bunch of.... I'm not
really even sure what to call them... our congresscritters are. Ironic that they ask these brave and harassed entrepreneurs the very question I would ask
of them
(the congressmen).
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) calls them
"jokers" and asks one how they can sleep at night.
|
Posted
7/8/06 (By Dobber)
Sports
Pork
7/06 ESPN
Patrick Hruby at ESPN of all places wrote this:
Try $75,000. Of your money... Two years ago, Congress tacked a grant
for the Syracuse Hall onto a larger appropriations bill covering Veterans Affairs and Housing and
Urban Development.
That 75,000 dollars (yours and mine) went to help building the Greater
Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame! How do Hoya fans feel about funding an Orange Hall of Fame!
LOL. Well, who called for that money? None other than Republican James T. Walsh, of New
York.
"It wasn't a great deal of money," says Dan Gage, a spokesman for
Rep. James T. Walsh (R-N.Y.), the congressman responsible for the funding. "There are similar
projects all across the country. This was no different from what is being done elsewhere."
It wasn't a great deal of money, so that makes it okay. Sigh.
Lucky for us, there are some (albeit very very very very very few) who are not happy with tax money
being flung around like Gerry McNamara shooting threes, warming up for a game. Rep. Jeff
Flake, from Arizona.
"It's incredibly ridiculous what we'll spend money on," says Rep.
Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a vocal critic of excessive federal spending. "Pork is just out of
control."
Thank you sir, good luck.
|
Posted
7/8/06 (By Travis)
What
Detroit Can Learn From Bangalore / A
booming city’s lessons for a town in decline
June
Reason Magazine Added to 'Voting With Your Feet'
Meeting
Danger Well South of the Border
/ Central American Migrants Brave a Risky Trek
7/8/06
Washington Post Added to 'Amnesty From Government'
Dutch
Told To Return Land They Won From The Sea
5/27/06
Telegraph Added to 'Constitutional Issues' and 'The
Environment'.
Fat
days may be over for farm subsidies
6/7/06
USA Today (Added to 'Farm Subsidies')
|
Posted 7/7/06 (By
Travis)
My Fourth of July Post, a
few days late :)
58
Fireworks Cars Seized
6/27/06
New York Post
New
Yorkers are learning the hard way that an initiative to keep July 4th firecrackers out of the city
means just what the warning signs on the highway say: "Transport fireworks, lose your
vehicle."
The NYPD has now corralled 58 vehicles under Mayor Bloomberg's fireworks crackdown, officials said.
With
Injuries Up, Feds Eye Fireworks Laws
7/4/06
Comcast.net
On the eve of the nation's noisiest holiday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission responded to
growing fireworks injuries by quietly reopening the question of how it should police explosives for
backyard entertainment.
The
notice cited a disturbing increase in injuries and a decrease in compliance with safety regulations
as reasons for the first major review of commission fireworks regulations since 1976.
Without a public meeting, the three commissioners voted unanimously by ballot late Friday to begin a
study of whether to tighten their regulation of fireworks, commission spokesman Scott Wolfson
announced Monday. Their notice seeking public comment will appear soon in the Federal Register.
Here
is my public comment:
Dear Commissioners, I can save you the trouble of stealing money from us to fund your fireworks
study, although I may regret this, as it is preferable to keep meddling bureaucrats busy studying
rather than acting. However, hopefully your 'concern' about any present trends will be alleviated
with the knowledge that tends involving a freely acting public cannot, by definition, be 'disturbing'. In addition, the less
compliance there is with whatever asinine regulations you have already concocted, the better.
Furthermore, I'd like it to be put in the public record that I am in favor of abolishing your
commission and voting out of office the politician(s) which appointed and created your commission,
as they don't seem to have sufficient understanding of the constitution.
|
Posted 7/7/06 (By Travis)
Well, I'm
back! It was an amazing month at the Yoga Ashram, although it was great to come back to the quality stories and
commentary from Dobber.
I thought about writing a lengthy piece on life at a Yoga Ashram, but I'm not sure how much
of interest this would be to most readers and, of course, it pays to be cognescent of the
constant temptation to write gobbledygook about oneself. :)
However, being an astute political observer :), I could not help but be struck by a few happenings
of interest from a political angle, which would surely be of interest to readers of this site
:). Keep in mind, it is a shame to focus only on the political
aspects of Ashram life, as it played only a tertiary role in the wonderful spiritual teachings and
practices of the Sivananda Yoga Teachers Training
course.
First, it was interesting to note what was prohibited on the Ashram due to oppressive outside
laws and regulations. They had cows, but could not milk them because of pasteurizing regulations; they had ponds,
but you could not swim in them because of swimming/health regulations. In addition, it is likely the
Ashram could be legally shut down or fined/harassed out of business, at any time for 'technical violations' of a plethora of
equally useless
legislative acts. Housing/fire, minimum wage, insurance, automobile, health licensing, trespassing, were all
probably violated/stretched in some way and I'm sure this list is incomplete. In truth, just about
any business or organization could be shut down for various discrepancies, but since an Ashram has
more broadly based activities, this was especially noticeable here.
There's no way to
rule innocent men. The
only power any government has is the power to crack down on
criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one
makes them. One
declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for
men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of
law-abiding citizens? What's
there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that
can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted -- and
you create a nation of law-breakers -- and then you cash in on guilt.
-
Ayn Rand
Now, you might expect that a group living with such a hammer hanging over them would be rabidly
anti-government, indeed, we might expect such things of all American citizens, but like with the
rest of us, it was not to be. When politics crept into the mix, it was nearly uniformly from a far
left perspective: global warming hysteria, anti-corporation, anti-military, poverty hyping, colonialism, a
distorted view of communism, Reagan and Bush bashing (I Bush bash
for different and opposite reasons :)), and a lack of appreciation for American
culture and history, .
While not overly distracting, it was mildly disturbing, because we were all learning and
experiencing the amazing benefits of yoga/meditation and eastern spiritual philosophy. Since our
teachers were obviously an accurate and trusted source in this area, it would be more than easy to
assume that the provided political ideology is an intricate part of Yoga and is equally accurate. It is
not. IMO, all the spiritual teachings and practices were fully consistent and supportive of a libertarian
ideology. If one believes in freedom from the mind, then would not one also believe in freedom from
government, and vice versa?
This phenomena, the mixing of politics with nonrelated objective information or goals is,
unfortunately, quite common. It routinely occurs in our public
schools and in the civil rights movements, peace movements
etc... I bring up 'peace movements' because one of the tenants of yoga philosophy is 'ahimsa' or
nonviolence. The misinterpretation, IMO, of ahimsa is perhaps the best example of the mudding of the
spiritual aspects of yoga with opinion/ideology.
Ahimsa is often taken to literally mean nonviolence towards any living thing. There are Buddhists
that sweep the ground when they walk so as to not kill any bugs, and there are Jains that wear a
cloth over the mouth so as to not inhale even microscopic bacteria, which, incidentally, they still
do. :) In other words, taken to this extreme, you may not commit violence in self
defense, or even if innocents or your family members are threatened with violence. Far from
being a spiritual ideal, it is sheer lunacy. In fact, such a practitioner is actually violating ahimsa,
inflicting violence on others through their inaction. In the name of nonviolence, they are
increasing violence? Sound familiar?
The necessary consequence of man's right to life is his right to self-defense. In a civilized
society, force may be used only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use. All the
reasons which make the initiation of force an evil, make the retaliatory use of physical force a moral
imperative. If some 'pacifist' society renounced the retaliatory use of force, it would be left
helplessly at the mercy of the first thug who decided to be immoral. Such a society would achieve
the opposite of its intention: instead of abolishing evil, it would encourage and reward it.
-
Ayn Rand
In fact, Ahisma has a deeper meaning than nonviolence: non hating. Freedom from hatred/anger is a
higher goal, and one also taught in the marital arts. In theory, it is possible to not hate your
enemy, even to love your enemy, even as you use violence against him in order to protect yourself, loved
ones, or the innocent. This freedom from the hurtful emotion of hatred increases one's
discrimination, allows one to see things objectively, and ultimately increases
your own morality and hence your happiness. The goal of meditation and yoga is to increase your control over these negative
emotions, to enhance the higher mind and the free will that resides there.
So, the superficial and literal meaning of Ahimsa has led various yogis and traditions, including
the mentioned Sivananda Yoga Ashram, to disavow all wars as evil. While war is a terrible thing, it is often necessary
to keep peace in the world. Even the definition of 'war' itself is a superficial one. For example,
misguided
pacifists would bemoan the devastation in the Korean war, a war which liberated millions of South
Koreans and halted the spread of Communism, while ignoring the
constant internal wars of Communism, which has killed over 100 million people, more than all 'wars'
combined. In the Soviet Union, China, and present day North Korea,
there were and are wars of epic proportions being waged by the governments of those countries
against their own peoples, yet, because it wasn't called 'war' or fit with our traditional
definition/perceptions of 'war', the pacifists sort of shove it under the rug.
For example, in the Korean War, an estimated 3
million civilians and soldiers died. Since 1994 alone, it has been estimated
that 2-3 million have died of starvation, and/or in the massive gulag/concentration camps of
North Korea. How many lives have been taken by the North Korean government since the Korean war?
Surely many times more than were lost in that war. A similar analysis,
with a similar conclusion, was done in my review of Fahrenheit 9/11,
which compared the casualties of the latest war to Saddam's grim yearly totals.
War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded
state of moral and patriotic feelings which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A
man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own
personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by
the exertions of better men than himself.
John
Stuart Mill
Notice I have highlighted the word 'moral' above. It is the easiest thing
in the world to become a blanket pacifist. Only with strong discrimination and strong morals can one
truly practice Ahimsa.
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Posted 7/6/06 (by Dobber)
Billions paid to non-farmers by accident
7/2/06 Washington Post
Imagine buying a house, or some property, to settle down or retire in, and
surprise surprise - the government pays you money. Ahem, excuse me - the
government takes money from your neighbors and gives it to you!
Even though Donald R. Matthews put his sprawling new
residence in the heart of rice country, he is no farmer. He is a 67-year-old
asphalt contractor who wanted to build a dream house for his wife of 40 years.
Yet under a federal agriculture program approved by Congress, his 18-acre
suburban lot receives about $1,300 in annual "direct payments," because years
ago the land was used to grow rice.
Does Congress have time to investigate exactly where your money is going?
Do they have time to make sure the hundreds of BILLIONS in farm welfare is going
to struggling farmers who are working hard to provide the food we enjoy?
Ha!
Mr. Matthews, an honest man, who probably never stole or lied to get ahead,
wanted to do what's right and give it back. Sadly, that's not even
possible.
"I don't agree with the government's policy," said
Matthews, who wanted to give the money back but was told it would just go to
other landowners. "They give all of this money to landowners who don't even
farm, while real farmers can't afford to get started. It's wrong."
Wrong it is. It is always wrong for the government to take money from one
businessman, to give it to another businessman, so that the latter may more
easily succeed than the former.
The checks to Matthews and other landowners were
intended
INTENDED!
10 years ago as a first step toward eventually
eliminating costly, decades-old farm subsidies. Instead, the payments have
grown into an even larger subsidy that benefits millionaire landowners,
foreign speculators and absentee landlords, as well as farmers.
So, Congress decided that subsidies should be eliminated. But, they
decided, in their infinite knowledge, that the subsidies should be eliminated
EVENTUALLY. Imagine deciding that feeding your child raw eggs should stop,
but it should stop eventually. Rather than stopping now, and averting the
possible death of your child, you continue to feed them until some arbitrary
future moment.
Is this analogy not correct? Or, is it that the Congress People didn't
want to take the binky of robbed money away from some votes! Or maybe,
(beware - major conspiracy theory surfacing in my head) just maybe, they were
getting some campaign contributions from some of those stinky rich land owners,
speculators, and investors who liked the idea of a taxpayer funded check
arriving in their mailbox the first of each month in the sparkly mailbox outside
their new dream home.
Now, one would think (until they gave serious, analytical thought to the matter)
that the purpose of farm subsidies, or corporate welfare, or tax credits, would
be to help the little guy. Help the struggling farmer or businessman to
compete with the big bullies of the business world. Of course, the exact
opposite ends up happening.
The Post's nine-month investigation found farm
subsidy programs that have become so all-encompassing and generous that they
have taken much of the risk out of farming for the increasingly wealthy
individuals who dominate it. The farm payments have also altered the
landscape and culture of the Farm Belt, pushing up land prices and favoring
large, wealthy operators.
Surprise, surprise. An insider even spills the beans, corn, and rice:
"The farm policy we're pursuing now has no rhyme or
reason, and we're just sending big checks to big farmers," said Gary Mitchell,
now a family farmer in Kansas who was once a top aide to then-Rep. Pat Roberts
(R-Kan.), the 1996 bill's House sponsor. "They're living off their welfare
checks."
The interesting part of that statement is 'the farm policy'. Farm policy.
Why would a government ever need a farm policy? Could anyone ever come up
with some type of governmental policy on farming that did anything but impede
farmers and/or hand out money to undeserving businessman that was taken from
other citizens? Maybe next year I'll run for Congress on a "Shoelace
Policy" platform.
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Posted 7/6/06 (by Dobber)
Florida Supreme Court
throws out excessive lawsuit
7/6/06 Canadian Broadcasting News
In a huge victory for tobacco companies, the Florida Supreme Court decided
hundreds of billions of dollars in fines was a little to strong...
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday tossed out a record
$145 billion US punitive damage award against tobacco companies for injuring
smokers, saying it was excessive even though it agreed that the companies had
misled the public about the dangers of cigarettes.
The court made the reasonable decision that a few thousand Floridians should not
be allowed to sue for an arbitrarily calculated astronomically induced number of
dollars. Seriously, what were these people thinking? They spend
their lives smoking, seemingly enjoying it, and then sue the company that made
their habit possible!
The court did rule that tobacco companies have been misleading the public about
the dangers of smoking.
It also upheld the jury's finding that the companies were
negligent in misleading the public about the dangers and addictive nature of
cigarettes.
Maybe I'll try to do some research and figure out how exactly the tobacco
companies were negligent, but I'm pretty skeptical about that. Are ice
cream companies negligent when they claim their ice cream tastes the best?
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Posted 7/5/06 (by Dobber)
New Jersey
too expensive and wasteful, must shutdown
7/5/06 ABC News
On Sundays, I listen to Seth Grossman's
radio program. Since he
lives in New Jersey, and demands a responsible government for all of the money
it costs him, he has been active in leading protests of the proposed budget.
His beef was the
tax increase. Who would disagree with him? If you lived in New
Jersey, would you want to spend even more of your hard earned money on an
already bloated and corrupt government?
Well, New Jersey is shut down until the budget becomes law. Police,
courts, and emergency services will still operate. The essentials.
Wait a minute, what else does New Jersey need? What else could possibly be
affected?
shutdown forced the closure of all 12 Atlantic city
casinos. Also affected, 42 state parks such as Liberty State Park in Jersey City
are shut down along with all state-run beaches. It's the same for all horse
racing venues controlled by the state. They too are closed for business.
Casinos and horse racing venues? Why do government employees need to be
present for those to operate? I would argue that they would see their best
revenue ever, without the government intruding.
State beaches? What does that even mean? I wonder how fellow surfers
feel about that! What is the problem in New Jersey? This statement
sums it up for me:
St. Sen. Bill Gormley, (R) Atlantic County: "Bill Gormley
will vote for Jon Corzine's budget and he will vote for the sales tax. I want my
people back to work in the county and I want services provided in the state of
New Jersey."
A Republican will vote for the tax increase because people need government
services. Wow. The ever decreasing gap between Democan and
Republicrat just got that much smaller.
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Posted 6/29/06 (by Dobber)
Earmark spending continues to increase
6/29/06 Townhall
How much money did the federal government charge taxpayers last year to spend on
pork?
The congressional watchdog group
Citizens Against Government Waste
found that Congress spent a record $29 billion on nearly 10,000 discretionary or
pork projects in the fiscal year 2006 appropriations.
29 BILLION. If the government were to take that money, and invest it with
the worst financial adviser in America and only earned a 5% return, it would
have enough money to write every American citizen a check for about $120.
Could you use that money?
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Posted 6/29/06 (by Dobber)
Women vote in Kuwait for first time
6/29/06 Mumbai Mirror
A bit more freedom has spread into another Arab sate.
Kuwaitis voted for a new parliament on Thursday with women standing for election
and casting ballots for the first time in the Gulf Arab state.
Listen to the words of this woman who is tasting that freedom for the first
time.
“I
don’t know how to describe my feelings, I am so happy, it’s a beautiful day as
women practice their right,” female candidate Hind al-Shaikh said. “I hope a
woman makes it.”
Hopefully the women will use their new power to squash the oppressive
"Islamists" who currently control the government.
Men
and women braved the summer heat to vote in separate polling stations as
Islamists, who reject female suffrage, had demanded.
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Posted 6/29/06 (by Dobber)
Cost of
government per household
6/29/06 Heritage Foundation
How much money, per household does this United States government cost us?
The federal government last year
spent a peacetime-record $23,760 per household,”
Certainly, that number will change over the course of the next couple years.
Simple question. Would all of these households be better off if that
number rose, or dropped over the course of the next few years?
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Posted 6/26/06 (by Dobber)
Taxpayers robbed to support any candidate that runs
6/26/06 USA Today
USA Today editorials arguing for and against taxpayers funding political
campaigns. The first article starts off
Trying to control the flow of money, and its
corrupting influence, into politics is tricky.
Tell me something I don't know.
go too far in trying to limit the money, and you interfere
with free speech guarantees.
The author is talking about private money.
In a splintered ruling, the court rejected
Vermont's limits on candidate spending as unconstitutional, saying they
improperly restrained freedom of speech by office-seekers. The court also
rejected Vermont's super-tight limits on donations to candidates, saying they
were so low that challengers might not be able to mount effective campaigns to
unseat incumbents.
When the government gets involved in deciding who can spend money where, the
damage is done, regardless of the supposed and seeming outcome
So how might an acceptable
balance be struck?
Simple. Government should not have any say. But is this the way that
governments are tending to act?
The ruling points the way to a solution, one that,
happily, seems to be gaining political traction: public financing of campaigns
And is it any surprise? Politicians, who are in office, are ruling that
they can use taxpayer money to finance their own campaigns! Brilliant.
I've always said, offer a person a chance to be lazy, and he will be. On
many levels, this is human nature. But allowing our elected leaders to use
our money to finance their own campaigns?
The
opposing argument contends:
These programs force taxpayers to support
candidates they oppose.
End of argument.
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Posted 6/25/06 (by Dobber)
Bush pushes line item veto bill
6/25/06 Jurist Newspaper
In a huge surprise, the federal government may reverse its position on wasteful
spending and begin to think about reigning it in!
A
line-item veto would allow the President to "insist on greater discipline in the
budget."
Maybe, just maybe, the amount of pork barrel spending projects will decrease.
Of course, the real solution would be to end earmarks altogether. But this
is a start.
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Posted 6/22/06 (by Dobber)
Earth Temperature at 400 year HIGH
6/22/06 CNet News
the surface temperature of the Earth in
the last few decades of the 20th century was higher than any comparable period
for the past 400 years
Ahhhhh! Government do something, quick!
The data also indicates that many parts of the Earth
in the past 25 years were hotter than anywhere else on the globe than any
other 25-year period since 900 A.D.
Ahhhhh! What are you waiting for Congress?
Scientists do not have temperature records going back
hundreds of years.
Oh. Sorry, I was being a little alarmist there a second ago. Of
course I don't believe that Congress should do anything. On a serious
note, I do not believe in the looming global warming catastrophe at all. Call me
a skeptic, but the jury is still out on this one. Is the Earth getting
warmer? Yes. Leading up to the Ice Age, was it getting cooler?
Yes. After the Ice Age ended, was it getting warmer? Yes.
So, am I worried now, all of the sudden, that the Earth's temperature is
changing? No. Luckily,
plenty of other experts are skeptical as well. Professor
David Bellamy, of Oxford,
believes
that wasting billions of taxpayer dollars is '"Poppycock!".
NASA scientists
think
much of the global warming science and 'facts' are over exaggerated. There
are hundreds, if not thousands, if not tens of thousands, of very intelligent people out there that
believe the global warming controversy is POLITICAL, and not based on sound
logic. Just check out the Oregon Petition Project. The Project is an
effort to -
We urge the United States government to reject the global
warming agreement that was written in Kyoto, Japan in December, 1997, and any
other similar proposals. The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would harm the
environment, hinder the advance of science and technology, and damage the health
and welfare of mankind.
Do you think the 17,100
scientists, who have signed the petition, are spreading poppycock? Or do you believe big-government
politicians are? Haha. That's a pretty easy guess for me.
Let me be clear though. It
is not, I repeat, not, in the interest of American citizens for the size, scope,
cost, and power of the federal government to increase over this issue.
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Posted 6/21/06 (by Dobber)
Poker Information Site Deemed Illegal
6/19/06 Poker News Magazine
I'm not a gambling man. Well, not often. But if I
were, I would bet that government will base almost any gambling law against
individual freedom. Since two healthy, reasonable adults are forbidden
from most forms of gambling in almost every state, the internet has provided a
source for their hobby. Over the past few years I've been hearing more and
more about government cracking down on these sites. This activity does not
surprise me. However, this is shocking:
In an article in the Seattle Times by Danny Westneat on
June 17th, it is reported that a poker information site has come under fire from
the state. The site, called Integrity Casino Guide, is basically an information
site for other Internet users which culls different information on the poker
rooms on the Web and offers other pertinent details. The owner of the site, Todd
Boutte, was concerned about the new law but, since he wasn't taking any wagers
on his site, figured that all would be OK.
To summarize, the Washington State government has made speech about poker
illegal. In a related
article, it seems Indians eager to make a good profit from a legitimate
business are doing quite well.
Nationwide, Indian gambling revenue grew by 15.6
percent in 2005, even though no major casinos opened last year, according to
the Indian Gaming Industry Report, which has been compiled the past five years
by Southern California economist Alan Meister. It was the 10th consecutive
year in which revenues increased by about 15 percent.
Interesting logic in play here. Indian tribes are allowed (rightfully so,
if you honor the Constitution) to create full fledged casinos offering all types
of gambling. In Washington state, home of Microsoft, it is illegal to talk
about poker on a website.
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Posted 6/20/06 (by Dobber)
Poor People Beware: Minimum Wage Hikes
6/20/06 Wall Street Journal
Democrats are forcing the issue on a minimum wage hike.
Apparently, they've never studied basic economics. I wonder if they've
studied Algebra. Here is a very simple correlation, using zero
mathematics, that they might be able to understand: Raising the minimum wage
equals less jobs. Period. Apparently Mr. Hoyer doesn't read or
understand economics.
"We think it's both the right thing and
good politics," said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D., Md.).
Well, he's half right - it's good politics for him to tell
potential voters he'll get them more money when it will actually, by in large,
do the opposite. My favorite part of the article was this blurb:
Another factor could be Congress's own
pay. While the minimum wage has remained frozen, lawmakers' salaries have
risen with annual cost-of-living increases keyed to what is given federal
employees. And last week's vote in the House Appropriations Committee followed
a floor vote days before in which the House cleared the way for members to get
another increase valued at thousands of dollars annually.
Haha. Politicians lower their own salary? Or drive regular cars?
Or eat at Kentucky Fried Chicken? Hahahahaha. Of course, if you are
a Neoperspectives reader, you'll already know why minimum wage laws are bad for
Americans, because Travis already spent a great deal of time
pointing that out.
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Posted 6/20/06 (by Dobber)
Great Public School slogans
6/20/06 Education Intelligence Agency
If you are reading this and you are a teacher and you are part of a union PLEASE
comment on this question: Why did you join the union? That's it.
That's all I want to know. I find the behaviors of teachers unions
questionable in many ways. Rather than comment on that I'll just point out
the slogan that teacher union dues paid to create:
Great Public Schools Are a Basic Right.
The author of the blog goes on to joke that:
A second NEA source now tells us the slogan is actually
Great Public Schools Are a Basic Right for Every Child
It's a bad sign when your own people can't remember your slogan. Do you think
NEA got its money's worth with this? I'll grant you -- it's pretty flexible:
He then goes on to make fun of the organization by doing a little word swapping:
Great. Public Schools Are a Basic, Right for Every Child
or
Basic Public Schools for Every Child Are Great, Right? or
Every Child Is A Public School's. Basic, Right? Great. or
Great Child Basics Are Right for Every Public School
Well, I'm laughing. I'm sure some of my friends aren't.
My main beef with teacher's unions is their constant suppression and bullying of
charter and private schools. They are afraid of competition.
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Posted 6/19/06 (by Dobber)
I must admit that I am at a loss for answers when it comes to a fairly important
issue. Global warming. I just returned from
Bonnaroo, where I
saw an amazing My Morning Jacket performance, a slightly disappointing and
very slow Radiohead performance, the best puppet show ever during Beck's show,
and always rocking Phil Lesh show, and a number of other great music acts. Bonnaroo is a music and arts festival, and I definitely didn't go there for
politics, but some politics was pushed into my face. Between shows at the
main stage the Bonnaroo producers played some environmental political skit-movies
on the enormous stage screens.
Two were played most often. One featured Jack Black being bribed by a
board of corporate executives to be allowed to plunder the earth only to be
talked out of it by a group of children. The other had a George Bush look
alike answering questions about global warming, but mocking his communication
skills. Both brought cheers from the audience, but a frown from me.
I can only hope that some of the others that have similar tastes in music as me,
will question government handling of global warming and other environmental
issues. After searching and reading I have come across nothing that I can
point to as policy I would support, much less definitive evidence of a looming
catastrophe. I watched the new Al Gore movie
trailer, I read the
Green Party's higher taxes and more powerful government power
platform,
I read the libertarian government is the biggest polluter
opinion, I read an
interesting FactCheck
report, I skimmed a John McCain the environmentalist
article, and I
scratched my head. Well, do you have any ideas?
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Posted 6/15/06 (by Dobber)
Roethlisberger
apologizes
6/15/06 Associated Press
Ben Roethlisberger, star quarterback of the greatest football team in the world
(ahh, it feels good to say that) has apologized to the organization and to the
fans for not wearing a helmet while driving his motorcycle after being released
from a local hospital. Ben, I was mad at you. But, I accept your
apology, and will continue to cheer for you as you direct our great team to more
victories and hopefully more Super Bowls. I loved seeing the Cincinnati
Bengals coming to his defense:
"He went through seven hours of surgery and the last thing he needs right
now is guys banging on him for not wearing a helmet," Palmer said at Bengals'
minicamp in Cincinnati.
I was not happy to see the Bengals' quarterback go down during last season's
playoff game and I truly hope he recovers fully. Ben vs. Carson will
provide many epic games in the future.
"They took away the (touchdown) celebrations. Now we
can't enjoy ourselves outside of the facility? That's not fair," Johnson said.
"If you're going to do it, do it very cautiously. If you're going to ride a
bike, ride it the right way. Don't speed. Do it for enjoyment. If you're going
to bungee jump, have two cords in case one snaps. I don't ride anything. I
just talk trash. That's it."
Of course, Chad Johnson had something to say as well. He must talk in his
sleep.
|
Posted 6/14/06 (by Dobber)
AMA advocating
tax increase
6/14/06
Chicago Sun Times
Doctors are mad that Americans are making decisions that they don't agree with.
Millions of upper-income Americans refuse to buy health insurance because
they're young and healthy and figure they don't need it.
Seems reasonable to me. Poor people in Kansas don't buy hurricane
insurance. Probably a good decision on their part. Well, who am I to
judge, it's their decision.
But now the American Medical Association wants to
force them to buy coverage.
At its annual meeting in Chicago on Tuesday, the
nation's largest doctors' group called for mandatory health insurance for
anyone who makes more than five times the poverty level. That works out to
$49,000 for an individual and $100,000 for a family of four.
No one would go to jail for refusing to buy coverage.
The AMA instead suggested using the tax code to force compliance. There would
be incentives such as tax credits for people who buy insurance and higher
taxes for those who don't.
Hmm, an annual meeting of the American Medical Association, eh? I would have thought that they would be talking about
better ways to provide medical care, cutting edge technologies, funny operating
room stories. For some reason, they're talking about TAXES. Of
course, this is just a symptom of the problem of ever-increasing size of federal
government. The federal government should not be meddling with medicine.
If that were the case, the AMA could spend more of its time working on medicine,
because healthcare would be so affordable, everyone could enjoy its benefits.
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Posted 6/14/06 (by Dobber)
Supposed Consumer Advocates Sue KFC
6/13/06
Mercury News
A doctor and a bunch of so-called consumer advocates are suing Kentucky Fried
Chicken.
A doctor (Dr. Arthur Hoyte) and a consumer
group have sued KFC in an effort to stop the chicken chain from cooking with
high-fat partially hydrogenated oil.
The fact that this even goes on in America is repulsive. Even if the
'consumer' group is laughed out of court they will have at the minimum caused
Kentucky Fried Chicken to spend a bunch of money paying lawyers to work on this
frivolous lawsuit. Read what the executive director has to say and see if
you can find any logic whatsoever in his statement.
Michael Jacobsen, the executive director of the
Center for Science in the Public Interest, said Louisville-based KFC parent
company Yum Brands Inc. knows that other, healthier cooking products are
available.
"KFC knows this, yet it recklessly puts its customers
at risk of a Kentucky Fried Coronary," Jacobsen said.
Hoyte said he is suing to force KFC to change its
cooking practices "for my son and others' kids, so they may have a healthier,
happier, trans-fat-free future."
"If I had known that KFC uses an unnatural frying
oil, and that their food was so high in trans fat, I would have reconsidered
my choices," Hoyte said.
Hoyte and the consumer group are seeking class-action
status for the lawsuit and asking a judge to let Hoyte represent anyone who
ate at a Washington, D.C.-area KFC in 2004 and 2005. Along with stopping KFC
from using oil with trans fats, they are asking for a variety of economic
damages.
Does anyone go to KFC, or any fast-food restaurant, to eat healthy? I go
to McDonald's and Wendy's and Whattaburger and Waffle House and KFC to eat
unhealthy food. That's why it tastes good. That's why it's
cheap. The "Center for Science in the Public Interest". Wow.
This is the Center's mission statement:
In general, CSPI’s three main goals are:
- To provide useful, objective information to the
public and policymakers and to conduct research on food, alcohol, health,
the environment, and other issues related to science and technology;
- To represent the citizen’s interests before
regulatory, judicial and legislative bodies on food, alcohol, health, the
environment, and other issues; and
- To ensure that science and technology are used for
the public good and to encourage scientists to engage in public-interest
activities.
Providing info, ensuring companies don't lie.
Okay, okay, I'm with it. But suing a company that provides its
nutritional information to willing customers? Come on.
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Posted 6/13/06 (by Dobber)
Welfare experiment in Sweden failing
6/12/06
Investor's Business Daily
Sweden is the epitome of the quasi-socialist state of Europe. It was to
bring all the best of capitalism, but combine it with the compassionate nanny-statism with its
entitlements, welfare, cradle to grave care, free healthcare, and great skiing.
So, how is Sweden doing? First let's look at where it was, 35 years ago:
In 1970, it had the world's fifth-largest GDP per capita.
35 years later, it is on the decline.
The decline is getting more rapid, as it continues to tumble down the ever
slippery slope of increasing welfare.
it slipped from fifth in income in 1970 to 15th in 2004.
Sweden has a very simple choice to make. Reduce the size of government and
scale back its total amount of welfare, or continue to experience economic
decline. I feel sorry for the children being born in that country, because
every day, their ability to achieve that pursuit of happiness we all crave,
declines. I predict that if Sweden continues its current course, it will
slip to 20th or 30th GDP in the next ten or twenty years, but that's an easy
prediction to make. The question for us here in America, the still freest
(yet ever declining) nation, is: Will we take notice? Will we learn
their sorry lesson? Or, will we continue to increase the size of
government?
The rot is alarming, not only for Sweden, but also for the
U.S. If it's not careful, the U.S. will take the same well-trod path to
stagnation as Sweden. That's especially true if it doesn't rein its growth in
entitlement spending, bureaucracy and regulations.
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Posted 6/12/06 (by Dobber)
Tax Reform
Contrasts
6/12/06
Free Republic
The IRS needs reform. This is one of the most important yet least talked
about issues. This is important because every single American citizen is
affected by tax law. How many people does the Barry Bonds steroid scandal
affect? Congress wastes its time working on that issue for some reason.
The current system is compared to the Flat Tax and FairTax proposals.
Admittedly, the assessment is very pro-FairTax (which I happen to agree with),
however there is a good debate in the comments below the article.
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Posted 6/11/06 (by Dobber)
Cigarette tax
increase in Texas
6/8/06
Tax Foundation Policy
Rather than curbing spending, the Texas government decided to increase taxes.
“Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has signed legislation to
increase the state's cigarette tax by $1 per pack effective January 1, 2007.
The tax is currently 41 cents per pack.
It is my humble opinion that government should not pick and choose winners and
losers among different industries. Why not increase taxes on lemonade?
Why not increase taxes on plastic cup sales? Why do we allow our elected
leaders to have this much power?
Of course, increasing the taxes on something by over 100% will increase the
black market share of that thing, no matter what it is. Look for more
smuggling of cigarettes into Texas, and less revenue for honest businessmen
selling a product to willing customers. Cigarettes are bad for you?
So what.
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Posted 6/11/06 (by Dobber)
What America says
6/12/06 Telegraph (UK)
The title of the article, if you follow the link is:
"Guantanamo triple suicide is good
PR for terrorists, says America"
Who is 'America'?
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Posted 6/8/06 (by Dobber)
Zarqawi Dead
6/8/06 Fox News
HUGE success for the United States in the hunting and elimination of that scum.
Props to our boys and girls in the military and CIA and the Iraqi forces that
helped bring him down! When I heard about this driving onto base this
morning I was so excited I honked the horn and let out a whoo-whoo. The
most perplexing thing about this whole story is the reports about his "spiritual
adviser". Spiritual adviser?!? Did that guy offer a money back
guarantee?
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Posted 6/7/06 (by Dobber)
Government full of gas
6/7/06 CBS News
For some reason, some of our Representatives think that meddling with the auto
industry hasn't happened in a while, therefore they should.
“The passenger car system has remained untouched for too
long,” said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the committee chairman. “It's time that we
require a fresh look at an old system.”
The people that are least qualified to make a policy decision about car
manufacturing are starting to think about making a policy decision on car
manufacturing. Of course, this is bad news for us.
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., tried to
require a fleetwide average of 33 miles per gallon for light trucks and
passenger cars by 2015. The committee rejected the proposal by a 36-17 vote.
Let's examine that idea. You are trying to make a decision about buying
car A or car B. Let's suppose car A and car B are comparable in every way
- price, size, reputation, trendiness, safety, etc. Let's say car A gets
25 mpg and car B gets 35 mpg. Which would you buy? I would guess,
most people would choose car B.
I think that car manufacturers know this as well. So, if two car
manufacturers are competing for your business, why don't they just make their
car have a better fuel economy, and make you a happy customer? Because it
costs a lot of money to increase fuel economy!
The above example is fictitious, for good reason. There are no cars that
are comparable in price and make and size and everything else, yet have a
substantial difference in fuel economy. It's simple economics. Just
check out the price you'd have to pay to get a
Civic Hybrid rather than a standard
Civic.
If the government mandates higher fuel economy, they mandate higher prices for
all of us, and, probably more importantly, they put American manufacturers at a
disadvantage to foreign competition. If Ed Markey wants the auto industry
to come up with innovative ways to increase fuel economy, he should get out of
the way of the engineers and businessmen that are already doing just that.
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Posted 6/6/06 (by Dobber)
The
Marriage Amendment
6/5/06 Forbes
A couple weeks ago I was tailgating the car in front of me and read a hilarious
bumper sticker. It read - "The Marriage Amendment is Gay". The irony
is awesome. Not only is it using the
evil word to describe the amendment in a negative way; the owner of the
bumper sticker obviously sides with homosexuals, while using the descriptive
word 'gay' in a negative way! LOL. (That's IMese for Lots of laughs,
or laugh out loud, depending on which part of the country you're from.) I
disagree with nearly every word that is uttered from any Kennedy's mouth, but I
do agree with this:
"The Republican leadership is
asking us to spend time writing bigotry into the Constitution," said Sen. Edward
Kennedy of Massachusetts
My question(s) though is even more
basic. What does marriage have to do with government? Isn't marriage
a religious institution? Why is the government making religious decisions
for people? I believe the word marriage should appear in no legislation in
the federal government. The only way shape or form I could see any
government having an interest in marriage is when the government is trying to
allow couples to adopt children that are in the system. But then, the
government that is holding the child (state, county, municipal, what have you)
should decide what policy will govern their adoption policies. This should
not be a federal issue.
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Posted 6/5/06 (by Dobber)
Men have rights
too
6/5/06 The Press Democrat
This article will open up a great can of worms. At least my opinion will,
and I hope to read some comments telling me why I'm wrong.
In a case that could have repercussions for single-sex
fitness clubs, a Sonoma County judge has ordered a Santa Rosa women's health
club to open its doors to men.
Who owns the club? Whose property is it? Is it the state of
California's property? Is it the state of California's club?
Judge Knoel Owen said Body Central must provide
showers and lockers for men and stop advertising itself as a women-only health
club. He ruled in favor of the state Department of Fair Employment and
Housing, which sued Body Central last year for allegedly violating
California's anti-discrimination law. The state agency filed the suit
after Phillip Kottle of Santa Rosa complained he was denied membership at the
downtown fitness center in 2003 because of his gender. On Wednesday, Kottle
said Body Central allowed him to join the gym in January.
Why should someone be forced to change a completely reasonable business policy
on their own property?
Kottle, who also filed a complaint against a Petaluma
women's health club in 2003, said he views the case as a civil rights issue.
"I have a right to go there," he said.
Why does he have a right to go there? I couldn't find it
here.
And under California's
Constitution, section 19 seems to be relevant here:
Sec. 19. The right of the people to be
secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects,
against unreasonable seizures and searches,
shall not be violated; and no
warrant shall issue but on probable
cause, supported by oath
or affirmation, particularly describing
the place to be searched, and
the persons and things to be seized.
Does this pertain to the property and papers and effects of the owner of the
Gym? Why is she forced to allow a person she does not see fit under the
papers of her establishment to enter?
In my humble opinion, the Court has overstepped its bounds and infringed on the
rights of the club owner. Anyone disagree? Feel free to answer any
of the above questions. I do understand that the Court was simply
interpreting the law...so I suppose it's the law that is wrong.
Nonetheless...
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Posted 6/4/06 (by Dobber)
Office of Baseball?
6/1/06 WJLA.com
The Washington D.C. government has asked for $750,000.00 of
taxpayer money to create an Office of Baseball. This is so ridiculous it's
almost funny. Almost.
Mayor Anthony Williams is asking the
D.C. Council to approve $53 million in emergency spending, which includes money
to create an "Office of Baseball" to oversee construction of the Nationals
ballpark.
The key word there is "emergency". When I hear
politicians speak, I wonder if my understanding of the English language is
digressing in my old age. "Emergency". What the heck does
"emergency" mean to the D.C. mayor? Are people dying? Is the economy
about to whirl away in some sort of unforeseen disaster?
The mayor is asking for $750,000 to
start the baseball office. He says it's needed to streamline oversight of the
massive stadium project.
Oh! The emergency is that the massive stadium project
must be streamlined? An office needs to be created? That begs the
question: Were they going to build the stadium without an office?
Or, doesn't the Washington Nationals franchise have an office? Or better
yet, when the project was created, was there an "office"? Investigating
further:
D.C. Council member Adrian Fenty,
who is running for mayor, says the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission and
the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation are already funded to oversee the baseball
project.
Oh! The $750,000 is needed to solve the emergency by
creating an office to oversee an office! Like the Guinness commercial -
"BRILLIANT!"
|
Posted 6/2/06 (by Dobber)
Estate Tax Lunacy
5/31/06 Washington Post
This article was emailed to me by my father because one of
the things we have discussed lately is the estate tax...or death tax. What
you call it will probably depend on the flavor of your bumper stickers. In
all honesty I really don't care much about the "inheritance tax" (it's actual
name under law) because it is way, way down on my "things politicians need
to do soon" list. However, debate will happen next week about possibly
repealing this tax. In principle, I am against it. From the article:
On the other hand, an estate tax repeal would save
the estate of Vice President Cheney between $13 million and $61 million,
according to the publicly available data on his net worth. It would save the
estate of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld between $32 million and $101
million. The estate of retired Exxon Mobil chairman Lee Raymond would pocket a
cozy $164 million. As for the late Sam Walton's kids, whose company already
makes taxpayers foot the bill for the medical expenses of thousands of its
employees, the cost to the government for not taxing their estates would run
into the multiple billions.
I assume the author of the article, Harold Meyerson, is saying the tax repeal would add between $13
and $61 million to the amount of money received by the heirs of Mr. Cheney's
estate in the event of his death, if the tax is repealed. So what?
Interestingly he adds the last
sentence of the paragraph about Sam Walton's kids. The fallacies in this
statement are obvious. Wal-Mart does not "make taxpayers foot the bill"
for anything! Does Wal-Mart, or any of its employees ever come to your
house with a gun saying "pay for so and so's Prozac or go to jail". NO.
The United States government does that. Our elected leader have decided
that one American citizen will be forced to pay for another citizen's hospital
visits, prescription drugs, etc. But this has nothing to do with the
Inheritance Tax debate, does it? No. Mr. Meyerson please stay on
topic.
Well, I got past the comma of the same sentence and Mr.
Meyerson is back to the estate of the Walton family, but he throws in another
fallacious phrase. He says "the cost to the government..." It does
not "cost" the government anything to not tax an estate. Cutting
taxes is not a "cost" to the government. I only took three credit hours of
economics in college, but I did get that much out of it. As far as
economics goes with any government, it does two things: raise revenue and
then spend the money. When we are discussing taxes, we are talking about
raising revenue. This is not a "cost". "Cost" would be how the
revenue is spent. I could go on all day, actually all weekend, about the
second part - how the government wastes our money. But that is not the
issue, so I'll refrain from mentioning anything on a different topic of
argument, unlike Mr. Meyerson.
Why am I against the death tax? Simple. I agree
with Wikipedia's characterization of opposition to it:
Some argue that the estate tax creates a potential
for double and triple taxation, that is, taxation on assets which have already
been taxed. Double taxation occurs on earned income, and by imposing capital
gains tax on the returns after earned income is reinvested in new ventures,
stocks, bonds,and savings. The estate tax would then add an additional tax
upon the two previous taxes netting a triple taxation of earned income.
Now, you may bring up a valid point of cutting taxes during
times of enormous deficits. I am against lowering taxes during enormous
deficits...so I guess I wouldn't repeal it today, but I would next week.
Like I said earlier, repealing the estate tax is not on my long list of what
our lawmakers need to do now. After a couple seconds of thinking, I came
up with a quick to-do list for Congress - The order of operations should be - 1.
Curb spending and shrink government. 2. Lower your own salaries. 3.
Fire a ton of government workers. 4. Only lease Cavaliers to drive around,
not luxury
cars. 5. Lower taxes. 6. Repeal Death Tax. Whomever runs on that platform in November will
receive my support here in Florida. Say, is anyone running on that
platform?
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Posted 6/1/06 (by Dobber)
New Eminent Domain Seizure
6/1/06 New Jersey.com
Governments all over the country have been busy robbing private citizen's land,
in order to give it to other private citizens. So, eminent domain rulings
this day and age are of no surprise. In this instance, a New Jersey farmer
is being robbed of part of his farmlands to create.....ready for
this.....WETLANDS.
The state will use eminent do main to seize more than
17 acres of a working farm in Washington Township to offset wetlands lost
because of road projects miles away in Sussex County.
Poor farmer will lose his own private land, because of road projects miles away?
Huh? Well, this is the law behind the act:
Spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said the DEP, which
requires the creation of new wetlands when they are disturbed, gave DOT a
permit to destroy wetlands in Sussex County.
Did the farmer whose property is being seized "disturb any wetlands"? No.
But he must feel very good about the fair process of doing thorough research on
which land to steal:
DOT spokeswoman Erin Phalon said the DOT "selected
that location after studying various locations and working with DEP to
determine which land is most suitable."
Is this the America you love? Where your land can be robbed by bureaucrats
sitting around playing a real life game of SIMS - Land Development? If
you're not worried, just ask people in
Connecticut , Florida,
California,
North Carolina, Utah,
Tennessee,
Ohio,
Illinois ... I could go on but I'm getting depressed. Many of these
cases are using the same logic used by Justice John Paul Stevens in the case in
New London, Connecticut last year:
In the
2005 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Kelo v.
New London Justice John Paul Stevens, in rationalizing the taking of
private property for use by private developers – as opposed to the classical
interpretation of the Fifth Amendment in which eminent domain may only be
invoked if the confiscated land is to be taken for
public use – wrote: "For more than a
century, our public use jurisprudence has wisely eschewed rigid formulas and
intrusive scrutiny in favor of affording legislatures broad latitude in
determining what public needs justify the use of the takings power…. Promoting
economic development is a traditional and long accepted function of
government."
When I read that I have to pinch myself! Yes, I am awake. Yes, that
is real! Promoting economic development is a traditional and long
accepted function of government? Since when? Governments do not
promote economic development. By their very nature they can only impede
it. They only promote economic development by getting out of the way.
They only promote it by relaxing harmful laws they foolishly passed in the first
place. They only promote it by shrinking themselves, and allowing more of
the money to stay in the hands of the people. Just ask our friends across
the pond if they
agree.
"The moment the
idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God,
and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy
and tyranny commence. If ‘Thou shalt not covet’ and ‘Thou shalt not steal’ were
not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every
society before it can be civilized or made free."
-
John Adams
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Posted 6/1/06 (by Dobber)
Government
allows people to dine with pets!
5/31/06 Free Republic
Wow. How nice of the Florida government and Jeb Bush to allow private
citizens the courtesy of making a completely reasonable policy on their own
property in their own private business. For people who believe in property
rights, don't get too high on your horse...
Allowing dogs to dine would be up to the local city or county,
That's a bubble buster. We'll see how many counties
and cities respect supposed property rights. But this is the clincher:
and then even if local restrictions were waived to allow it, it would still
be up to the restaurant owner as to whether to participate.
What???!?!?!? Allow property owners to decide for themselves? No,
they need the government to decide for them. That's why there was a law in
the first place. The restaurant owners needed the government to make the
law because they couldn't figure out sound business practices for themselves.
That's why many cities and states are making it a crime to smoke a cigarette in
your own restaurant on your own property!
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Posted 5/31/06 (by
Dobber)
Dear Readers,
I regret to inform you that I will be taking over this site for the next month.
Just joking. I do not regret it, in fact I am excited for the fun we'll
have; and I'm honored that Travis trusted me enough for this tremendous
responsibility. I guess I'll just take a quick minute to introduce myself.
My name is Geoff Dobson and I go by Dobber. I'm originally from
Pittsburgh, PA, home of the Super Bowl champs! Currently I live in Ft
Walton Beach Florida, where I serve in the Air Force stationed at Eglin Air
Force Base. I met Travis about six years ago while we were both spending
our summer (and some subsequent summers) lifeguarding the Atlantic Ocean waters
of Ocean City, MD. We ended up living together a few summers and have been
friends ever since. We have a lot in common. Once (around the time
we lived together) when we were young and naive we were huge liberals.
After reading and investigating, we both came to the conclusion, while living
hundreds of miles away from each other, that the reason our nation is the
greatest in the world, is because it exists based on principles of liberty,
property rights, limited government, and freedom. We also both agree that
the current direction of the nation's policies and laws is in the exact opposite
direction that our founders envisioned. That is, nearly daily, we are
moving farther and farther away from the principles that the first Americans
were willing to fight and die for. Limited Government. Well, I hope
that this website continues to attract readers, and I hope that you all enjoy
what I present and write about. Please comment. Also, I hope Travis
comes back in a month safe and sound, and his website hasn't gone up in flames.
-
Dobber
Posted 5/30/06 (by
Travis)
Dear Readers,
I regret to inform you that I will be taking a month long hiatus from neoperspectives and the rough
and tumble world of political discourse in order to attend a Yoga/Meditation
retreat in Woodbourne NY. Here, in a secluded ranch, we will learn learn to discipline and focus
the mind and strengthen the body and spirit and become liberal. (I'm kidding about the last part) :)
But in all seriousness I am really looking forward to it.
Hopefully this will also spur me to finish the oft mentioned 'meditation paper' I've been
neglecting, which will come out by the end of the summer.
However, I am happy to inform you that Geoff Dobson, also known as Dobber, not sure what he will
call himself, or if he wants his name public :), will be taking over this site for the next month
and will hopefully agree to become a full contributor/partner to this site. Some of you may remember
Dobber from his contributing piece 'Observations
From a Former Charter School Employee', which was added to 'A
Charter School Tale'. Dobber has had experience operating his own
blog, which also marched to a libertarian beat.
In any
case, you can rest assured the output from neoperspectives.com will remain of the highest quality.
:) Dobber will also be looking at ways to make the site more aesthetically pleasing, to put it
mildly, and has some good ideas for other improvements.
Take
care, and see you all in early July!!
|
Posted 5/29/06
Amnesty From Government
5/29/06
Neoperspectives.com
I've
found myself pondering this so-called 'problem' of 'illegal' immigration of late, and suddenly was
struck by the simple, yet retrospectively obvious, solution: amnesty from government. The only way
us legals can achieve this desperately needed amnesty from government is by become 'illegal'.
As
President Kennedy might have said:
"Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Soy un inmigrante ilegal.""
Just
think of the benefits! No Social Security taxes, no Medicaid, Medicare, Federal Income Tax, State
Income Tax, Inheritance Tax, Selective Service, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few! How much greater would our health
and retirement benefits be without government throwing us in jail if we don't roll over and let them
'arrange' them for us? The only taxes left to pay might be smallish sales taxes here and there and
once again, to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, it [would]
be the pleasure and pride of an American to ask, what farmer, what mechanic, what laborer, ever sees
a tax-gatherer of the United States?
Imagine
if businesses could return to voluntarily contracting with their employees and discard the
hurtful government coerced workers compensation programs? Think how much more they would be able to
pay us! Businesses could also, if they so choose and their employees acquiesced, ignore burdensome 'safety'
regulations, bureaucratic red tape, many worker related litigations, and Union regulations/labor laws. These possibilities would all doubtlessly
equate to large increase in our salaries and reduced the prices of our consumer goods.
In conclusion, the benefits to us, the American worker, of becoming 'illegal' are more than clear.
So, let us take to heart the lessons the present "illegal" immigrants have taught us,
stand up for freedom, and lead our nation into the 21st century, creating an orgy of economic growth
and prosperity unlike any the world has ever seen. And of course, as Americans always have, we'll do
it by sticking it to government.
But wait!, you say, that is it? You're through? This is your solution to the immigration problem?
Sure, it all sounds great, but it only deals with us. What about them? What are we
going to do about the 12+ million undocumented illegals already in the United States and the many
more continuously flowing in?
Well, I'm not sure I understand the question. It is the legals, us, who are the problem, we are the ones
who have fallen into err; so what is there to do that 'needs doing' to the 'illegals'? From whence
does this urge to 'do something' about others arise?
History has showed the greatest catastrophes have occurred not when free peoples act in their self
interest, but when men try to rule other men, via ever expansive and oppressive government. Besides, since we are
now all 'illegal', I'm not quite sure who 'they' are anymore.
Let me now ask you some questions. Did 'they', the illegals, voluntarily choose to take incredible risks to
immigrate to a country they knew little or nothing about, sometimes knowing no one, often flat broke or in
debt, and perhaps not even knowing the language? Were 'they' voluntarily hired by employers here and
did 'they' voluntarily agree to be employed by those employers for an agreed upon amount? Do 'they'
voluntarily rent or own shelter and do these persons who sell or rent to them do so voluntarily?
When 'they' go to the store and buy consumer goods do 'they' voluntarily choose their purchases and do
these stores voluntarily choose to sell to them? Since 'they' are doing all these things
voluntarily, with the full consent of those around them, please explain what business of it is 'yours'? As Ayn Rand
might have said:
If
this is evil, do whatever you please about me, according to whatever standards you hold. These are
mine. I am earning my own living, as every honest man must. I refuse to accept as guilt the fact of
my own existence and the fact that I must work in order to support it.
But, you protest, it is my concern because my wages are being
driven down by illegal immigration, and my job is threatened.
Boo hoo! You sound almost like a Union member
bashing Wal-Mart. Why is it that you require government to protect your
job or your wage? If your own skill, hard work, diligence, and talent do not intrinsically define
your individual value in a position of employment, then you probably didn't deserve the job
in the first place.
Regardless, I'd bet it could be shown by facts and figures that restrictions on immigration,
illegal or otherwise, cost Americans jobs and lowers our salaries:
Gone
in a Day, a Year's Supply of 'Skilled' Visas
10/6/04
Miami Herald
The U.S. used up its supply of 65,000 temporary visas for skilled foreign workers in a single day.
At first glance, one might think that these incoming workers will lower
the salaries of American 'skilled' workers who are now competing with these foreign workers for the
available jobs. This flawed reasoning can be traced to the faulty premise inferring there are only a set
number of 'skilled' jobs available. Just like our friends on the left believe there is only a fixed
amount of wealth and resources available to society, which need to be 'equally divided' among
the populace, ignoring the fact that wealth creation is dynamic and correlated with liberating
governmental policies.
Besides, companies will get around government imposed barriers in order to get the most talented
labor for the best cost. If the talent cannot come to the company, the company will go the talent
and there will be a drastic increase in outsourcing. And the American workers previously employed by
the relocating company? Now they have no job. Funny how those in favor of expanding government
to restrict immigration also tend to be in favor of expanding government to restrict trade and outsourcing. It's like drilling a hole in a
boat and then bailing the water out!
We must also consider that someone will need to train, integrate, and
manage the foreign worker as he begins work for the company. Who better for this task than the
American worker? As these companies prosper, by hiring cheaper and more available labor, those
already with the company, ie the American worker, will have opportunity for advancement. With more
efficient and profitable companies, the resulting drop in price of consumer goods is a boon to all
Americans, along with the added purchasing power of the immigrants and higher real estate
prices.
In this case, the above brief analysis was done with high tech workers, but it bodes true for any
immigrant, migrant, 'illegal' or legal, who comes to the United States.
Now, it has also been said that we must be 'concerned' because 'illegal' immigrants are costing us,
the US taxpayer, a great deal of money. First, this is patently untrue. Study,
after Study, after Study,
after Study,
not to mention common sense, have shown that immigrants, legal or 'illegal', contribute more to
'society' than they receive, especially in the case of the so-called migrant worker. Some studies
have concluded there is often an increased burden on state governments, as most taxes go to the
Federal government, while many 'services' are provided by the state; but this is a problem of the ever
expansive and overreaching Federal Government, not immigration.
Which group costs American taxpayers
the most money? Legal Americans, especially those in poverty with children. Again, it is
us, the legals, who represent the problem! However, as documented, this
government spending itself is largely the very reason for poverty! If immigrants, 'illegal' or
otherwise, and even our own citizens, can escape our government's crushing attempts to help them,
chances are they will be free from poverty and become prosperous contributing citizens.
Secondly, and most importantly, all of the above completely misses the point. Even if it were true
that immigrants, 'illegal' or otherwise, placed an undo burden on taxpayers, the whole issue is a secondary
problem of socialism, not of immigration! If a thief stole your money and gave it to a third
party, would you be angry at the third party? No! You'd be angry at the thief, which, in this case,
as in so many others, is government.
Thirdly, even if it were the case that immigrants placed an economic burden on society and even if
these problems resulted from immigration, not socialism, I would still argue against passing
restrictive immigration laws because of the innate dangers directly associated with the expanding
power and growth of government.
Since government, as a political institution, is never a neutral party, the power to regulate
immigration will and has become corrupted, with politicians and bureaucrats quickly succumbing to
the temptation to pick winners and losers in industries and fall sway to corrupting foreign
influences and foreign policy considerations.
For example, in the posted news story above there were visas available for 'skilled' workers and I'd bet the
definition of 'skilled' is worth big bucks to some industries, which politicians can now shake down
for funds. Similarly, before Sept 11th, Saudi citizens enjoyed a program called:
"Visa Express," an unprecedented program that literally
delegated visa processing to travel agents to speed it up. The basic legal requirement that
applicants provide accurate and persuasive information was ignored.
This program existed because of intensive bipartisan Saudi lobbying
of US officials and generous financial gifts to presidential libraries, speaking fees, and think
tank salaries.
Another example of proposed government expansion:
NYC
Mayor Advocates U.S. Worker Database
5/24/06
Associated Press
Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg thrust himself into the national
immigration debate Wednesday, advocating a plan that would establish a DNA or fingerprint database
to track and verify all legal U.S. workers.
Donna Lieberman, director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said a DNA or fingerprint database
"doesn't sound like the free society we think we're living in."
"It will inevitably be used not just by employers but by law enforcement, government agencies,
schools and all over the private sector," she said.
She is right.
This corrupting influence and abuse of power by government, injecting society with immorality and
staining our culture, should be fought at every turn. Arguably, terrorism checks and protections
should be the only immigration related power allowed to government and even this should be closely
monitored for signs of abuse.
So, imagine my surprise to see this headline from one of the leaders of the conservative movement:
"Immigration"
Bill Is an Attempt to Expand the Federal Gov't and Kill Conservatism
5/26/06
Rush Limbaugh
Make no mistake, folks, this is the expansion of government on parade.
This is the importation of new people in poverty necessitating an expansion of the safety net and
expansion in tax rates to pay for it. Another transfer of wealth and an expansion of government in
order to accomplish all this, thereby cementing even more dependency among these new arrivals.
Of course, precisely the opposite is true! As aforementioned, the more
immigration is regulated and restricted the more government expansion is necessary and
needed.
Increases in immigration no more result in poverty than an increases in college graduates would.
Both groups start with empty pockets or in debt and then gradually work their way to prosperity. The
same process occurs with folks working at minimum wage jobs, which
serve most often as stepping stones to higher paying positions. It may
be true that American born college graduates, statistically speaking, will become wealthier in the
long term, although the reasons for this are debatable, but this doesn't take away from the overall
picture of immigrant advancement. We know this to be true because all of us, the legals, came from
immigrants!
Rush has, correctly, argued against attempts to raise the minimum wage and has denounced onerous
legislations such as the Family Medical Leave Act, which also places burdens on employers. In
addition, he has argued in favor of
free trade, noting it's clear benefits and
recognizing expansive government is necessary to restrict it. The arguments for free trade and
immigration run parallel, in fact, it would be accurate to categorize immigration as a free trade
issue. Little wonder then that the vocal Buchananite
wing of the Republican party supports neither, but it is certainly surprising to hear people like
Rush and Thomas Sowell
repeatedly contradict themselves on this issue and even, in Limbaugh's case, stoop to bashing big business!
It's about big business! It's about big business, and everybody that has any experience at all, the
objective of any business is to keep costs down as much as practicable, and you know what
it's like trying to get a raise. Every trick in the book will be tried on you to say you don't
deserve it or, "You don't like the job? We can find somebody else to do it for you."
In my
humble opinion, the worst part about this 'Conservative' outrage over immigration is the apparent
lack of understanding over what it fundamentally represents. The United States is the freest and hence the most
prosperous and moral nation in the history of the world. Despite my constant denunciations of our
present criminal government, I can at least maintain the proper perspective that we have it better
than anywhere else. Our
government is smaller and our citizens more vigilant in their protection of liberty than anywhere
else on earth.
It is
for these reasons we have had wave after wave of immigrants from all over the world
flocking to the United States. People vote with their feet, fleeing socialism, collectivism,
tyranny, corruption, and all other forms of government imposed wackosim :), and seek refuge in capitalism, freedom, and
Conservatism/Libertarianism. The more Conservative/Libertarian a country's policies, the
greater its attractiveness for prospective immigrants!
Immigrants do not come here for higher minimum wages, universal health care, worker protections, higher taxes, more
regulation, more lawsuits, or bigger government. Whether they know it or not at the time, people flee those policies,
leaving them behind in their home countries. Why do
many in the Conservative movement apparently not have pride in the reasons for which these
immigration 'problems' exists?
The
Statue of Liberty says:
Give
me your tired, your poor,
Your
huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The
wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send
these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
Unfortunately, this engraving is often misinterpreted. While, it is true that many
immigrants, especially 'illegals' are poor when they arrive, 'wretched refuse' is hardly an apt
description. These immigrants are brave, they are bold, they are courageous, they are risk taking,
they are imaginative, they are actively self interested in making better lives for themselves and their families. And what
became of those timid souls that stayed in their home countries and rotted in poverty, enduring socialism under the worst type of
criminals known to man? What choice would you make?
There are those who patiently waited years and years in line for a legal visa and there are those
who didn't. Then, there are those, the 'illegals', who said, "to heck with the law, to heck with my criminal
government, to heck with the Federal Government of the United States, I'm going to get mine, I'm
going to improve my lot, I'm going to the USA, and I'm not waiting." What choice would you
make?
This dogged self interest, along with individual freedom, the equal application of law, and a 'don't tread on me
attitude', is what has
kept the United States relatively free of government domination and tyranny. As author Ayn
Rand said:
America's
abundance was not created by public sacrifices to "the common good," but by the productive
genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private
fortunes.
Some believe not 'doing something' about the 'illegals' is a slap in the face to the legal
immigrants who dutifully obeyed the law. I don't make this distinction. If anything, it is the 'illegals'
who have demonstrated their distaste for authority, their distrust of government, and their disdain
for immoral laws. I trust they will make good Americans.
You see, as previously stated, I don't believe there are many laws of
government that deserve our respect or obedience. A law should be obeyed not because it is 'a law',
but because it is morally correct. It's hard to argue that restrictions on the movement of free
persons and limits on self determination meet any moral standard.
Immigration is what has made our country great and the desire to immigrate
here is reflective of our greatness. For over 200 years, various domestic elements have respectively
favored restricting immigration on all groups or various selected groups such as Irish, Poles,
Italians, Jews, Blacks, and Chinese. The dire predictions and sometimes accompanying prejudices towards
these groups turned out to be dead wrong. There is no reason to think the recent surge of Hispanic
Americans will differ in any significant way from their historical brethren. And, I do not mean to
imply anti-immigration forces are intolerant or racist or any of the other accusatory rotgut ginned up by
the left. They are simply mistaken and ignorant. Some 'Conservatives' oppose
immigration based on the notion that these persons will become Democratic voters. In time, I'd say
the opposite will surely be the truth, for those seeking liberty will vote for what they have
sought. Whether the Republican party will still
represent what we are looking for is the more pertinent question...
Perhaps
these 'Conservatives' would do best to remember the concluding words from Ronald
Reagan's 1988 farewell speech:
I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated
what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than
oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a
city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls,
the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.
That's how I saw it and see it still.
And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and
happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that; after 200 years, two centuries, she still
stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And
she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all
the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.
(Further
articles, links, and graphs can be found at 'Amnesty From Government')
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