MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'barack'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:57:19 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182074&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FL764-9coxSM%2F President Obama visited the solar company Solyndra on May 26, 2010 to tout his $535 million loan guarantee. On August 31, 2011, Solyndra announced it was filing for bankruptcy and laying off 1,100 employees Signs of the failed Obama PORKULUS (Economic Stimulus and Debt) and economic policy. The Republican National Committee wasted no time in turning Wednesday’s bankruptcy of Solyndra — the Fremont solar company touted by President Obama as the future of the U.S. economy — into a campaign web-only ad. Not a lot of production values here – mainly a pasting together of clips from our pals at KTVU and CBS5 — but the effect is devastating. The company that Obama (and many other pols) have touted and dropped $535 million in federal tax dollars on, ain’t happ... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182074 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 23:40:39 +0100 5182074 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182218&cid=t_169705_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F09%2F01%2Fu-s-president-barack-obama-proclaims-september-2011-as-national-ovarian-cancer-awareness-month-what-should-you-know%2F Today, U.S. President Barack Obama designated September 2010 as National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. During National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Libby’s H*O*P*E*™ will honor the women who have lost their lives to the disease, support those who are currently battling the disease, and celebrate with those who have beaten the disease.  Today, U.S. President Barack [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182218 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 23:03:15 +0100 5182218 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5140034&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FWi7ud1I3oic%2F Guess some folks are sensitive about the President going up to Martha Vineyard on vacation and being called on it. So, they sent me about ten of these post cards with different messages. OK and the point is? Tell the President to get back to Washington, call Congress back into session and do the people’s business. Don’t you understand Americans are hurting out there? The President needs to do his job and not vacation. (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5140034 Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:44:25 +0100 5140034 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130901&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2F0ZSy8duv_ng%2F President Barack Obama speaks during a town hall meeting, Monday, Aug. 15, 2011, at the Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa, during his three-day economic bus tour Unbelievable – I mean really. At a town hall meeting on his campaign-style tour of the Midwest, President Obama claimed that his economic program “reversed the recession” until recovery was frustrated by events overseas.  And then, Obama said, with the economy in an increasingly precarious position, the recovery suffered another blow when Republicans pressed the White House for federal spending cuts in exchange for an increase in the national debt limit, resulting in a deal Obama called a “debacle.” “We had reversed the recession, avoided a depression, gotten the economy moving again,&#... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130901 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 01:37:41 +0100 5130901 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130903&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2Fsl1vrUaKJtw%2F According to the latest Gallup Poll. President Obama’s job approval rating dropped to 40% during the week spanning Aug. 8-14, the lowest weekly average of his administration. During this period, Obama’s three-day rolling average also hit a new low of 39% for Aug. 11-13, the first such average below 40% since he took office, though it recovered to 41% for Aug. 12-14.Obama’s weekly average was 42% for the two weeks prior to last week, which at that time also marked new lows for his administration. His lowest three-day average prior to Aug. 11-13 had been 40%. Why? Probably widespread disapproval of the way the President handled the debt-limit crisis and a drop in confidence regarding Obama’s handling of the economy. Also, the Republican Presidential field is being so... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130903 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:31:33 +0100 5130903 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096684&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FrfqMBGb57xU%2F Day By Day by Chris Muir I guess President Obama liked Sarah Palin’s idea of the bus tour. But, with the high unemployment and American voter’s angst about the economy – what could go wrong? The Obama bus tour should NOT last too long and don’t think that some on the RIGHT won’t try to out Alinsky the Alinsky-ite.Previous: The Day By Day Archive (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096684 Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:50:17 +0100 5096684 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077657&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FikJxoPNKE-4%2F By Doug BandowSen. John McCain has exhibited personal courage, but his geopolitical judgment is uniformly awful.  Over the last 30 years there has been no war or potential war that he has opposed.  In 2008 he wanted to confront nuclear-armed Russia over its neighbor Georgia, which started their short and sharp conflict.  It would have been ironic had the Cold War ended peacefully, only to see Washington trigger a nuclear crisis in order to back Georgia as it attempted to prevent the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from doing what Kosovo did with U.S. military aid:  achieve self-determination (by seceding from Georgia). Now Senator McCain is banging the war drums in Libya.  But he seems to have trouble remembering who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. Although n... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077657 Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:49:40 +0100 5077657 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5069652&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FPVBTwdCypS0%2F Day By Day by Chris Muir Chris, the best approach is probably to swallow hard, bend over and accept the Boehner Plan. It certainly is NOT perfect, but the GOP and people have won and should now consolidate the gains by beating Obama in the race for 2012. Then, it will be over to Harry Reid and Obama to decide whether they want to push America into default or not. I bet they cave. with Obama’s poor polling in key battleground states, the GOP can afford to sit back and wait while they select a nominee. The next four years are too important to be squandered over cuts that won’t be seen in 10 years. Declare victory and call it a day —> over to Obama. Previous:The Day By Day Archive (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5069652 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:16:15 +0100 5069652 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057822&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FSFbbA0-l2HE%2F Day by Day by Chris Muir President Obama is saving the REAL IRS drones for the enforcement of ObamaCare. If Obama does not get serious with GOP Congressional leaders soon, he will need more than the IRS to pull him out of the financial crisis which will ensue over the debit ceiling. Previous: The Day By Day Archive (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057822 Sun, 24 Jul 2011 01:37:38 +0100 5057822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050534&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FzE5hTHeZnEM%2F The American welfare state has been in crisis for decades. Many of the problems faced in 1995 fight have become less tractable problems today. John Samples comments in yesterday’s Cato Daily Podcast. One notable difference between 1995 and today, Samples says, is that the GOP of 1995 kept Social Security off the chopping block for spending cuts. Subscribe to the podcast here (RSS) and here (iTunes). Parallels to 1995 in Spending Fight is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050534 Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:44:31 +0100 5050534 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036425&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FBVMF5wR1hhs%2F Day By Day by Chris Muir I actually think President Obama was winning the narrative on the debt-ceiling flap last week until the facts and his walk-out stepped into the way. American voters are now realizing that Obama and the Congressional Democrats REALLY do not want to cut spending but simply wage endless war against millionaires and billionaires – while pocketing $ millions in their campaign contributions. So, No is Yes and Yes is No. Doublespeak. Amazingly, the Democrats latest salvo of class warfare against the GOP does not seem to be sticking. The meme is getting tired and old. Saul Alinsky must be spinning in his grave. Previous:The Day By Day Archive (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036425 Sun, 17 Jul 2011 11:49:11 +0100 5036425 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036316&cid=t_169705_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Ftrimming-medicare-save-economy-social-media-reactions President Barack Obama seems desperate for a compromise with Republicans over the debt ceiling. In a press conference on Monday, he once again agreed to consider cuts in Social Security and Medicare. The deal would cut benefits within Medicare and Social Security, in addition to raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. But as the weeks roll by, congressional Democrats are showing more displeasure on that endorsement, creating difficult choices for the administration. read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036316 Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:58:06 +0100 5036316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028718&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FKRryEun0bKc%2F Day By Day by Chris Muir The whole idea of the President of the United States having to walk out of a debt ceiling meeting leaves everyone suspecting that their judgment of Obama is correct. He is an ego-centric, immature POL who will FLEE when the going gets tough. Remember when the McCain campaign nicknamed Obama “The One.” Not a good character trait for someone who is the leader of the “free world.” Now, a President who has not lead on deficit reducation and not produced a budget in the last two years, is giving the Congress and Republican Leaders a 36 hour deadline. How quaint. Obama has been AWOL and now expects immediate action – HIS WAY. What will POTUS do next = leave for Europe and declare he won’t be back until the Republicans do THEIR job? Pre... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028718 Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:33:55 +0100 5028718 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5029209&cid=t_169705_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FIeHKxZD7Sj0%2F And so another working week is about to draw to a close. This is, of course, our signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda includes another installment in the ‘Let’s-See-Them-Before-They-Die‘ concert series, hanging with the short people and catching up on some sleep. And you? Perhaps this is a chance to mow the lawn or read an e-Book? Maybe you want to ponder the future without a debt deal in Washington? Whatever you do, have a great time and be safe. Catch you soon… Valeant Pharma To Buy Janssen Dermatology Portfolio (Associated Press) FDA Questions Safety of Experimental Bristol & Astra Diabetes Drug (Reuters) Eric Cantor And PhRMA Fight Drug Discounts In Debt Deal (Politico) Novartis To Cut 550 Manufacturing Jobs In The UK (The Argus) Obama Camp M... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5029209 Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:16:02 +0100 5029209 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968577&cid=t_169705_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F06%2F25%2Fwhy-celebrities-like-katy-perry-dont-want-people-to-make-eye-contact%2F A few weekends ago, I was intrigued to see this story in the New York Post: “The ultimate star perk is forbidding eye contact.” According to the Smoking Gun, singer Katy Perry’s contract covering her driver provides that the driver isn’t supposed to “stair” (sic) at her in the rear-view mirror. The piece notes that there have been many similar rumors over the years — that people were prohibited from making eye contact with Luke Perry, Tori Spelling, Sylvester Stallone, and others. When I read this story, I had a huge rush of intellectual pleasure. Because I think I’ve figured this out! Darshan. Years ago, when I was doing the research for my first book, Power Money Fame Sex: A User’s Guide, I was struck by how often celebrities made rules about eye contac... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968577 Sat, 25 Jun 2011 19:03:06 +0100 4968577 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4953367&cid=t_169705_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F50CZuCTdRlE%2F Once again, US trade talks and the behind-the-scenes role being played by the pharmaceutical industry are making headlines. This time, the ruckus is taking place in New Zealand, where there are mounting concerns about the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, or TPP, which is a trade agreement that aims to integrate eight economies of the Asia-Pacific region. Among the issues is the extent to which the TTP would move beyond intellectual property standards in the World Trade Organization’s Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property, or TRIPS agreement (back story). The US Trade Representative, with backing from 28 US Senators and pharma, is also reportedly taking a hard line on Pharmac, the government entity that manages access to medicines in New Zealand, and reimbursement practices. ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4953367 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:14:31 +0100 4953367 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934437&cid=t_169705_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whitehouse.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fuploads%2F2011ruralcouncil_eo_rel.pdf Is it even possible anymore to seem unbiased when reporting on politics or the workings of government? As hard as I try sometimes, there’s always someone who thinks I’m taking a particular side. The latest example came today in a story I wrote for InformationWeek about the Obama administration’s new White House Rural Council. Created by executive order last week, the council “will focus on actions to better coordinate and streamline federal program efforts in rural America, and to better leverage federal investments,” according to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, chair of the council. That’s obviously the Obama administration’s line. Yet within a couple of hours of the story being posted, someone offered this comment: Okay, let me see if I got the right... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934437 Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:53:39 +0100 4934437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934113&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBwNYJ3ZXGhg%2F By Andrew J. Coulson In the video clip above, President Obama blames America’s current unemployment problem on… automation. ATMs and airport kiosks are singled out. These words could only be uttered by someone who knows very little about economics or the history of human progress. In fact, they could only be uttered by someone who has never reflected on this question before in his  life. Because if you reflect for one moment, you come up with this glaringly obvious counterfactual: we use a lot more  labor-saving technology today than in previous generations, and yet we also employ far more people. Therefore, increased automation does not lead to decreased national employment. If you do more than just think for a second — if you read an economic history book, for instanc... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934113 Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:45:21 +0100 4934113 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4902554&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FKh7uENVC8_g%2F Democratic strategist James Carville on the Don Imus Show Even James Carville admits it will be tough for President Obama to win re-election if the unemployment situation does not improve quickly. Who ever thought the saying, “It’s the economy stupid,” from James Carville in 1992 would become a staple in presidential elections 20 years later? That expression made its way into the campaign in 2008, and according to Carville, it could be the theme of the 2012 campaign as well as President Barack Obama seeks reelection. In an appearance on Monday’s “Imus in the Morning” on the Fox Business Network, the former Clinton adviser said that, based on the May jobs number, if the unemployment picture doesn’t improve, 2012 could be rough for the president. It may already be too late for ... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4902554 Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:59:48 +0100 4902554 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893402&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPxrcRUxnjW4%2F By Trevor BurrusCornel West feels jilted. In an article on him at Truthdig, Princeton’s Professor of African-American Studies and Religion criticizes President Obama for being ungrateful for West’s service to his campaign. Much of the article reads like post-breakup grumblings. West describes how Obama never calls him back, “but then a month and half later I would run into other people on the campaign and he’s calling them all the time. I said, wow, this is kind of strange. He doesn’t have time, even two seconds, to say thank you or I’m glad you’re pulling for me and praying for me, but he’s calling these other people.” Most interesting are West’s criticisms of Obama’s presidency. Like many former supporters, Professor West feels betrayed by Obama’s “same as the o... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893402 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:23:49 +0100 4893402 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872057&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfS2R4ouTELk%2F By Walter OlsonWhen President Obama, following his midterm “shellacking” at the polls, announced his belated conversion to the cause of regulatory relief, I was skeptical. I noted that, despite the reputation of OIRA chief Cass Sunstein as a brilliant scholar with an openness to cost-benefit analysis rare on the Left, the first two years of the Obama administration had been marked by a tremendous ramping up of regulatory burdens on the economy, both in areas of new legislation (ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank) and in new agency rulemakings gearing up from the “ultras” — ardently pro-regulatory appointees like Margaret Hamburg at FDA, Lisa Jackson at EPA, and David Michaels at OSHA. I also observed that in boasting of its deregulatory accomplishments, the administration chos... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872057 Fri, 27 May 2011 20:39:29 +0100 4872057 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872060&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FT5PxUyB1Bis%2F By Julian SanchezBarack Obama’s AutoPen has signed another four-year extension of three Patriot Act powers, but one silver lining of this week’s lopsided battle over the law is that mainstream papers like The New York Times have finally started to take note of the growing number of senators who have raised an alarm over a “secret interpretation” of Patriot’s “business records” authority (aka Section 215). It would appear to be linked to a “sensitive collection program” referenced by a Justice Department official at hearings during the previous reauthorization debate—one that would be disrupted if 215 orders were restricted to the records of suspected terrorists, their associates, or their “activities” (e.g., large purchase... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872060 Fri, 27 May 2011 17:25:23 +0100 4872060 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4847943&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FP-3JYByf26g%2F By George Scoville How to identify as a leftist totalitarian. How to reinforce the status quo in the Middle East peace process. How to learn and understand the Founders’ intent for the United States. How to save billions of dollars annually and reduce the deficit: Friday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4847943 Fri, 20 May 2011 17:02:17 +0100 4847943 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841433&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmYoiRBgTDyI%2F By George Scoville “Consistent bets for higher oil prices in futures markets have not been particularly lucrative.” “The vast, swaying bulk of America’s military has absolutely nothing to do with effectively combating terrorism—including the large land armies that we deploy to Muslim countries in efforts to destroy and then reconstitute their states.” “‘Poking and prodding’ is what good government does to perfect strangers. And that’s what the Obama administration has been doing, with unusual zeal, for the past 2 1/2 years.” The Cato 2011 State Legislative Guide is designed to help state policymakers free their constituents from the burden of overextended government and addresses unfunded pension liabilities, ballooning Medicaid enr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841433 Thu, 19 May 2011 14:29:22 +0100 4841433 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841436&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsSGo76ioxcw%2F By Neal McCluskeyThe most recent, comprehensive Pew higher education survey has gotten a lot of coverage for its findings on how important the public thinks college is, its financial payoff for grads, etc. For some reason, though, by far the most interesting statistic in the report has gotten roughly zero play, either from Pew itself or media coverage of the report: “Among all college graduates, 33% say they are in a job that does not require a college degree.” Wait. One-third of all college graduates are in jobs that don’t call for a college education? So one-third of all college degrees are quite possibly total economic wastes? (To be fair, no doubt some of those grads are looking for jobs requiring a degree, mitigating this somewhat. On the flip side, many job... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841436 Wed, 18 May 2011 17:32:46 +0100 4841436 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841437&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLrWEFtQ-Q3Q%2F By George Scoville Next up for marriage equality: Perry v. Schwarzenegger. Please join us at 12:00 p.m. Eastern today as co-counsels for the plaintiffs Theodore Olson and John Boies join Center for American Progress president John Podesta and Cato chairman Robert A. Levy for a panel discussion on marriage equality, exploring legal and moral questions dating back to the landmark 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision that ended state bans on interracial marriage. If you cannot join us here at Cato, please tune in to watch a live stream of the event. “Republicans have an opportunity for a much more important debate, which will frame the election campaign next year.” In President Obama’s next speech, Cato director of foreign policy studies Christopher Preble hopes “that the ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841437 Wed, 18 May 2011 14:29:53 +0100 4841437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841442&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFZ_BziKOzgc%2F By Gene HealyMy DC Examiner column this week focuses on Barack Obama’s transformation into our National Noodge, nudging, shoving, poking and prodding Americans into healthier lifestyles via the powers of the federal government. A year ago, the New York Times got all excited about the “new age of regulation” the administration was busy ushering in. The president had elevated “a new breed of regulators”: folks like regulatory czar Cass Sunstein, who wants to “nudge” Americans toward healthier consumption choices, and CDC head Thomas Frieden, who, as NYC health commissioner, proclaimed ”when anyone dies at an early age from a preventable cause in New York City, it’s my fault.” Today’s column tracks how this killjoy crusade is playing out: Quitti... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841442 Tue, 17 May 2011 17:56:35 +0100 4841442 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841450&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3FKNcw-Lq0o%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThis new video, narrated by yours truly, discusses a proposal to solve Medicare’s bankrupt finances by replacing an unsustainable entitlement with a “premium-support” system for private insurance, also known as vouchers. This topic is very hot right now, in part because Medicare reform is included in the budget approved by House Republicans, but also because Newt Gingrich inexplicably has decided to echo White House talking points by attacking Congressman Ryan’s voucher plan. Drawing considerably from the work of Michael Cannon, the video has two sections. The first part reviews Congressman Ryan’s proposal and notes that it is based on a plan put together with Alice Rivlin, who served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget und... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841450 Tue, 17 May 2011 13:30:08 +0100 4841450 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4794913&cid=t_169705_112_f&fid=34971&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.drmalpani.com%2F2011%2F05%2Fobama-osama-google-and-healthwise.html When Osama was tracked down, Obama was advised that there were two options to deal with him - a bomb attack; or a finely crafted precise surgical strike using helicopters. Obama quickly figured out that a bomb was too heavy duty to use and would cause a lot of collateral damage. Why use a hammer to kill a fly ?This is equally true when you want health information. While it's true that google indexes millions of pages and billions of kilobytes, a lot of what google crawls is just rubbish, and the results only end up distracting users; confusing them; and infuriating their doctors . Google's focus is on being comprehensive and regurgitating as many pages as it can find ( which makes sense , because they make their money by showing as many ads as possible).When you need health information, wh... The Patient's Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4794913 Sat, 07 May 2011 03:22:00 +0100 4794913 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789223&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fj0oEcTlXCrY%2F By George Scoville Osama bin Laden’s death gives us a chance to end what might have become an era of permanent emergency and perpetual war. The Cold War ended–what are we doing in Korea? Two cheers for President Obama for ending eight (well, three) tax breaks to oil companies. Does Osama bin Laden’s death mean an end to U.S.-Pakistan relations? Please join us next Tuesday, May 10 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern for a Cato Book Forum on America’s Allies and War: Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, by University of Mary Washington political scientist Jason W. Davidson. Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow and Georgetown University international relations professor Charles Kupchan will join Professor Davidson in a discussion of the book and its themes, particularly U.S. relation... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789223 Wed, 04 May 2011 14:52:52 +0100 4789223 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4775373&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIn343nt1Z4k%2F By George Scoville Habeas corpus applies to anyone, citizen or not, in custody under American law, no matter what President Bush and President Obama decree. House Republicans’ cuts to the Department of Education, which will spend over $70 billion next year, didn’t even amount to $1 billion. “Regardless of whether Pakistan gets its way, its impudence in pushing Afghanistan to abandon America exposes the real balance of power in the region.” “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to refer to a government whose intelligence service assists military efforts by al Qaeda and the Taliban against U.S. troops in Afghanistan as an ‘ally.’” Here are five ways to cut military spending today without changing our strategic focus: Monday Links is a post f... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4775373 Mon, 02 May 2011 14:29:08 +0100 4775373 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4762750&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoAmWM9B0Sjo%2F By George Scoville Gary Johnson: the anti-Trump. Interventionists to the left. Interventionists to the right. There ain’t no such thing as free… parking. Vermont has a new universal health care proposal on the table. Michael Cannon joined WAMU’s The Diane Rehm Show (Washington, DC) yesterday to discuss the plan with a panel of other experts: Thursday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4762750 Thu, 28 Apr 2011 14:18:33 +0100 4762750 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758732&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEJd6AXyKP1Y%2F By John SamplesIn an earlier post, I wrote about the problems with the Obama administration’s executive order to force government contractors to reveal their political activity. The administration defends the mandate by arguing “taxpayers deserve to know how contractors are spending money they’ve earned from the government.” For the first (and perhaps last) time, I rise to the defense of government contractors. The President apparently believes that anyone who sells a good or service to the government must account for the uses of the money received in the transaction in perpetuity? Obama’s press secretary said the President’s “goal is transparency and accountability. That’s the responsible thing to do when you’re handling taxpayer dollars.” I do ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758732 Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:28:56 +0100 4758732 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758734&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQrEZ7JCysJk%2F By David BoazIn a feature story about left-wing stand-up comics (news flash!), the Washington Post finds one who isn’t: One of the few right-leaning comics is Nick Di Paolo, who has written for “Saturday Night Live.” Di Paolo, who is socially liberal but economically conservative, has a one-hour special, “Nick Di Paolo Raw Nerve,” airing Saturday on Showtime, in which he takes swipes at favorite targets, such as President Obama and labor unions. If that sounds like fun, then your Saturday night is planned. And if you’re more interested in fiscally conservative, socially liberal voters, check here or here or indeed this lament. Socially Liberal but Economically Conservative: Now That’s Funny is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liber... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758734 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:19:51 +0100 4758734 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758736&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBnOPA4zAhNw%2F By Neal McCluskeyI couldn’t help but notice that in his remarks to the press about releasing his birth ceritifcate, President Obama reiterated his conviction that Washington needs to ”invest in education.” He should have stuck with the birth certificate issue. Unlike his belief in the power of dumping dollars on “education,” he actually has some decent evidence of his natural born U.S. citizenship. He Should Have Stuck with the Birth Certificate is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758736 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:33:55 +0100 4758736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734047&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvoPyCqGdCOY%2F By George Scoville Higher deficits and debt mean we must confront entitlements and re-think the way government insurance creates perverse incentives that increase our dependence. Higher gas prices have nothing to do with Wall Street speculators. Higher polemics against limited government aren’t going to restore our fiscal sanity. Higher taxes on soda will have little, if any, effect on our waistlines. Please join us one week from tomorrow, on Friday, April 29 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern for a special sneak preview of Free or Equal, a documentary from Free to Choose Media. In this one-hour film, Cato Senior Fellow Johan Norberg retraces Milton Friedman’s steps from the trailblazing 1980 documentary Free to Choose to see how economic liberalization has transformed societies around the w... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734047 Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:44:51 +0100 4734047 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734058&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOTvW8AKCpvs%2F By George Scoville “Collective bargaining gives unions the exclusive right to speak for covered workers, many of whom may disagree with the views of the monopoly union.” “Which two have done more to improve your life — Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs, or Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi?” “A temporarily frozen debt limit could instead signal U.S. lawmakers’ resolve to get our fiscal house in order. It may even reassure investors about long-term U.S. economic prospects.” “What makes Americans exceptional is our ornery resistance to being bossed around.” Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) spoke recently at a Cato forum on fiscal policy about the CAP Act–here’s an excerpt of his remarks: Wednesday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty -... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734058 Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:16:36 +0100 4734058 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734063&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOJ5BsPWZczg%2F By George Scoville Please join us this Thursday, April 21 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern for a book forum and debate on “green energy” policy, following the recent release of the Cato book The False Promise of Green Energy. On Thursday, University of Alabama Professor of Law and Business Andrew P. Morriss (one of the book’s authors) and Center for American Progress Vice President for Energy Policy Kate Gordon will debate the merits of the “green” economic agenda, moderated by Cato Institute Senior Fellow Jerry Taylor. Complimentary registration is required of all attendees by noon TOMORROW, Wednesday, April 20. We hope you can join us in person and for the reception following the event–if you cannot attend in person, we hope you’ll tune in online or on Faceb... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734063 Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:29:37 +0100 4734063 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4723790&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fqe59_xBEk1A%2F By George Scoville Regulatory privilege is not consistent with competitive markets–that’s why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need reform. Thank goodness the U.S. Supreme Court found that education tax credits are not consistent with the fictitious notion of a “tax expenditure.” President Obama’s budget plan is not consistent with either his own deficit commission’s plan or the Constitution. The modern “Executive State” is not consistent with Article II of the Constitution. Cyberbullying laws are not consistent with the First Amendment and our concept of free speech: Monday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4723790 Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:12:59 +0100 4723790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4719882&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8cM-DqmEp10%2F By George Scoville Penalizing millionaires won’t help President Obama get re-elected, but partnering with Republicans on corporate tax reforms and spending cuts would boost the economy — and his prospects. Of course, both Republicans and President Obama will have to stop pretending to cut defense spending if either want the economy to recover. Chasing the energy independence white rabbit isn’t helping much, either. Soaking the rich definitely won’t work. When you look back at the grueling [sic] debate over an underwhelming $38 billion in spending cuts, you realize the fight was never about cutting spending–it was over how much to grow the size and scope of government: Friday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4719882 Fri, 15 Apr 2011 16:57:51 +0100 4719882 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4714726&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fnj_4KnPBahk%2F By George Scoville One thing is clear after President Obama’s speech yesterday: He envisions a smaller national debt, but a much bigger government. One percent is better than nothing, but it’s still pretty close to nothing. One thing is clear about climate change: it’s causing a rising tide of red ink in Washington. See the forthcoming book Climate Coup: Global Warming’s Invasion of Our Government and Our Lives and join us for the accompanying book forum, featuring MIT meteorologist Richard Lindzen and American Meteorological Society fellow Bob Ryan, on Wednesday, May 4 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. Complimentary registration is required of all attendees by 12:00 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, May 3. If you cannot join us in person, we hope you’ll watch live online. One can... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4714726 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:23:25 +0100 4714726 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4714429&cid=t_169705_146_f&fid=38266&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsleepeducation.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fsleepy-vp-biden-dozes-during-obama.html (Source: Sleep Education) Sleep Education blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4714429 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:44:00 +0100 4714429 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4709192&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1d48imqwYoY%2F By George Scoville “Whatever your views on climate change, you ought to find it unsettling that, here and elsewhere, most of the actual ‘law’ in this country is crafted by unelected executive-branch bureaucrats.” “The Framers’ Constitution freed us, to make our own individual choices.” “The world’s dictators are fleeing for their lives, all because of Secretary Clinton’s efforts.” “Total spending jumped by almost $2 trillion during the Bush-Obama spending binge, so a $39 billion cut is almost too small to mention.” The Founders would agree with the idea that “it should be hard to get into wars and easy to leave them“: Wednesday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4709192 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:48:36 +0100 4709192 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4704624&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTI0rIAQ1l5s%2F By Tim LynchFrom today’s Washington Post: During his campaign, Obama supported reintroducing the lapsed assault weapon ban, promised to eliminate an amendment requiring the FBI to destroy records of gun buyers’ background checks and advocated closing the gun-show loophole. Since taking office, the president has done none of that, and before the midterm elections, he shelved a proposal requiring gun dealers to report bulk sales of high-powered semiautomatic rifles. In his State of the Union address, just weeks after the Giffords shooting in January, Obama made no mention of guns. … Other leading Democrats, even those traditionally willing to offer full-throated support for gun-control efforts, have grown surprisingly less vocal as they take on more of a national role. The Dems... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4704624 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:44:07 +0100 4704624 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4693267&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpH6INmUyxng%2F By Daniel IkensonThe angry Left has been calling for President Obama to fire Jeffrey Immelt from his position as head of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. I think that would be a good idea, but for different reasons. Sen. Russ Feingold, Moveon.Org, and the regular scribes at the Huffington Post see Immelt, the chairman and CEO of General Electric, as unfit to advise the president because GE invests some of its resources abroad and, despite worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, paid no taxes in 2010. No illegalities are alleged, mind you; GE — like every other U.S. multinational — responds to incentives, including those resulting from tax policy and regulations concocted in Washington.  But there are more substantive reasons for why Immelt is unfit to advise ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4693267 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:30:21 +0100 4693267 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684270&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpKlx44gYfOU%2F By Daniel GriswoldTo no great surprise, the Obama administration announced today that it has cut a deal with the government of Colombia to address concerns about labor protections and to finally move toward enacting the long-stalled free-trade agreement between our two countries. This is welcome news for trade expansion and for strengthening our ties to a key Latin American ally. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is expected to arrive later this week in Washington to cement the deal. In exchange for the agreement, Colombia has reportedly agreed to expand its efforts to protect union members from violence and to more vigorously prosecute those responsible. As my Cato colleague Juan Carlos Hidalgo and I documented in a Cato study earlier this year, concerns about labor protections were ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684270 Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:54:59 +0100 4684270 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4670089&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fsmgbhm97Dmc%2F By Benjamin H. FriedmanMany presidential foreign policy doctrines ago, George Kennan figured out what was wrong with them. In my latest post for The Skeptics, I rely on his insight to try to stop pundits from inventing an Obama Doctrine. The national effort to discern an Obama Doctrine from our attack on Libya is likely to be futile. If it succeeds, it will be harmful. No one can make foreign policy without some theory or strategy. But as Kennan’s lament about the Truman Doctrine points out, doctrines tend to be post-hoc rationales of actions that confuse policy later. If taken seriously, they typically encourage foolish wars. Kennan attributed the American desire for doctrines to our love of law and rules. I see it more as a product of divided power, which heightens the need for sales. ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4670089 Fri, 01 Apr 2011 21:33:19 +0100 4670089 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4670091&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTpfGnYThmvk%2F By Richard L. GordonWhen Barack Obama emerged as a serious contender for the presidency, he offered a core menu of curing everything by increased federal intervention in health care, education, and energy. Whenever new problems arose that lessened the urgency of earlier concerns, Obama has crafted assertions that his original prescriptions will also resolve the new difficulties. In energy, this has involved extending his program to new, even more dubious projects. He also has a habit of incessantly repeating the same tired arguments in the vain hope that his skill at persuasion will win the day. His March 30, 2011 energy speech and accompanying Blueprint are typical. About the only differences between these and his June 15, 2010 speech on energy were more bad ideas. He added to the panic... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4670091 Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:24:37 +0100 4670091 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4670095&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FesbVSDUr5i4%2F By George Scoville They passed the bill, and now we're finding out what's in it. We're finding out that the war in Libya could really be about protecting European interests. In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand described a world in which government both partly produced and partly subsidized goods; we're finding out she wasn't far off the mark. We're finding out that "American exceptionalism" is a cloak for military adventurism. The longer America fights a war on drugs, the more we find out about how detrimental it is to our fiscal outlook: Friday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4670095 Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:45:22 +0100 4670095 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4658361&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxKTbpjkN3VQ%2F By Daniel GriswoldIn a speech today at Georgetown University, President Obama called for a goal of cutting America’s oil imports by one-third within a decade. Like all efforts to wean Americans from big, bad imports, such a policy will mean we will all pay more than we need to for the energy that helps to power our economy. I’ll leave it to my able Cato colleagues to dissect the president’s proposal in terms of energy policy, but it terms of trade policy, this is about as bad as it gets. We Americans benefit tremendously from our relatively free trade in petroleum products. Like all forms of trade, the importation of oil produced abroad allows us to acquire it at a price far lower than we would pay if we had to rely more heavily on domestic oil supplies. The money we save buying oil ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4658361 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:36:08 +0100 4658361 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4658366&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFXcuFE3ki1g%2F By Neal McCluskeyLast month I wrote a post on President Obama's selective citation of evidence when debating which education programs to kill and which to keep. Well yesterday the administration struck again, issuing the following statement opposing a bill that would revive DC's bleeding-out voucher program: STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY H.R. 471 – Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (Rep. Boehner, R-Ohio, and 50 cosponsors) While the Administration appreciates that H.R. 471 would provide Federal support for improving public schools in the District of Columbia (D.C.), including expanding and improving high-quality D.C. public charter schools, the Administration opposes the creation or expansion of private school voucher programs that are authorized by this bill.  The Fede... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4658366 Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:56:12 +0100 4658366 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653310&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FySEgFjmU-Kg%2F By John SamplesPresident Obama’s speech last evening offers a chance to assess the implications of the war in Libya. President Obama is not the first president to order attacks on another nation without the authorization of Congress.  This case, however, seems different. Prior to the intervention, the President’s national security advisors had determined that the nation had no vital interest at stake in the Libyan civil war. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has repeated that conclusion after the intervention began. For his part, President Obama emphasized in last night’s speech and before, that the war would preclude a “humanitarian catastrophe.” Why did that rationale win out over the realism of his advisors? President Obama tends to see our nation and the world as divided bet... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653310 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:21:52 +0100 4653310 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653312&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBu-siNuvTgo%2F By George Scoville Shifting America's focus away from individual liberty is waging war on the future, not winning it. U.N. "authorization" is the Emperor's new fig leaf for war with Libya. Why are we fighting Mexico's drug war? David Boaz remembers Geraldine Ferraro, who helped advance the war against gender discrimination in politics. Chris Preble eulogizes the Weinberger/Powell doctrine against the backdrop of the Libyan war: Tuesday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653312 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:32:20 +0100 4653312 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642790&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2Flzb_iH0q98M%2F Bill Ayers claims he wrote Barack Obama’s Autobiography Dreams of My Father. He said this in front of over 100 people at a Students for a Democratic Soctiety (SDS) event on March 24, 2011 at Montclair State University in New Jersey. A shot across President Obama’s bow? Unprompted, Ayers also noted that while Dreams deserves its praise, Obama’s second opus, Audacity of Hope, is “more of a political hack book.” Not surprisingly, Ayers retreated into irony as he ended the session. “Yeah, yeah,” he said after confirming again that he wrote Dreams, “And if you help me prove it, I’ll split the royalties with you. Thank you very much.” With his final comment, the Ayers-friendly audience laughed in relief.  The media will laugh nervo... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642790 Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:17:57 +0100 4642790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4622228&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBYJDNP1o0dQ%2F By George Scoville America's involvement in the war in Libya can't be justified on either security or humanitarian grounds. Obamacare can't be fixed, and now is the time to dismantle it. The no-fly zone over Libya can't mean good things for American politics or policy. Bureaucrats can't allocate goods more efficiently than market actors. President Obama can't blame former President Bush for Guantanamo Bay anymore: Tuesday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4622228 Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:19:38 +0100 4622228 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615081&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMS8NpV5DC1U%2F By George Scoville "The New Health Care Law: What a Difference a Year Makes," featuring a keynote address from constitutional attorney and counsel in Florida v. HHS David Rivkin, and panels including economist and former CBO director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Cato director of health policy Michael F. Cannon and vice president for legal affairs Roger Pilon, and many more, begins at 1pm Eastern today. Please join us as we stream the event at our new live events hub, or watch on Facebook. If you prefer television, the forum will be broadcast live on C-SPAN 2. "The next time gun-control advocates point to violence in Mexico and call for more restrictions on gun sales or a revived assault-weapons ban, they should consider that the problem may not be with the laws on the books, but with those who enf... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615081 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:46:35 +0100 4615081 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615222&cid=t_169705_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FPH-LM6dEKO4%2F On Jan. 28, Ron Pollack, executive director of the liberal advocacy group Families USA, introduced President Obama at a Families USA event by saying, “Numerous presidents over many decades tried to secure health reform legislation that would move us toward high-quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans. You, Mr. President, actually achieved it.” The crowd ate it up. During the contentious debate over health reform in 2009 and 2010, countless lobbyists, pundits and politicians touted “quality healthcare” as a reason to pass the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Some called for the same “Cadillac” health plans that members of Congress provided for themselves. Many opponents of the legislation countered by saying the U.S. already has the &#... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615222 Sun, 20 Mar 2011 19:10:14 +0100 4615222 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4610796&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIdpiqIBq5kE%2F By Juan Carlos HidalgoAs Ted Carpenter notes below, President Obama is departing on an important trip to Latin America. The countries that he will visit exemplify the macroeconomic stability and advancement of democratic institutions now found in much of the region. Brazil, by far the largest Latin American economy, has enjoyed almost a decade of sound growth and poverty reduction. Chile is the most developed country in the region thanks to decades of economic liberalization, a process that has also made it Latin America’s most mature democracy. And El Salvador is undergoing a delicate period in its transition to becoming a full-fledged democracy with its first left-of-center president since the end of the civil war in 1992. In an era when most Latin American nations are moving in the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4610796 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:54:10 +0100 4610796 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4605812&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FjPnfq1s6ZeU%2F By George Scoville "If financial institutions are indeed better than consumers at managing interest risk, then those companies should be able to offer consumers attractive terms for doing so — without the moral hazard of an enormous taxpayer backstop." We should be thankful that the president is spending time on his golf game. After all, he recently reinstated military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay and has continued the use of extra-constitutional prisons in the U.S. after the Bush era. "It’s odd that debate here centers on a no-fly zone, a form of military intervention that shows support for rebels without much helping them." Does Haley Barbour really want to cut defense spending? Or is he just really politically astute?  Thursday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4605812 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 14:31:19 +0100 4605812 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592361&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSmX0x1VerIA%2F By Walter OlsonAs I note in a New York Post opinion piece published on Sunday, today marks an unusual milestone: the executive branch of the U.S. government is actually rolling back a significant burden imposed on business owners and others under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Because the subject matter is an unusually colorful one -- the widespread misclassification of household pets, including such exotic species as iguanas, goats, and boa constrictors, as "service animals" under the ADA -- you'd think there'd be major press coverage. And yet with scattered exceptions here and there, public attention has been muted. And there's a story in that too. In the early years of the law (as I observe in the Post piece) the ADA's mandate that businesses admit service animals caused lit... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592361 Tue, 15 Mar 2011 16:20:31 +0100 4592361 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592493&cid=t_169705_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FopWr_wehgR8%2F President Barack Obama has made plenty of mistakes in his first two-plus years in office, but none may be more serious for the future of America than his decision to install Donald M. Berwick, M.D., as a recess appointment to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in July 2010. Berwick really is a great choice to head CMS, but the underhanded nature of the recess appointment has provided fodder for all kinds of uninformed ideologues and assorted nut jobs to attack Obama’s healthcare reform efforts. Just as CMS is gearing up to release widely anticipated proposed regulations for Accountable Care Organizations, we get the sad news that that Berwick’s days are numbered. After refusing to allow Berwick to testify before the Senate last year, Obama renominated Berwick on Jan. 2... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592493 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:21:58 +0100 4592493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4566336&cid=t_169705_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FDmJ2p7BJIyA%2F Earlier today, President Obama nominated US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to be the next US ambassador to China and former Pfizer ceo Jeff Kindler is among the names being mentioned as a possible successor, according to Bloomberg News, citing unnamed sources. The 55-year-old Kindler, you may recall, spent four years as the Pfizer ceo before unexpectedly resigning last December amid ongoing tension with some board members (see here and here). And there has long been speculation that he would next look to Washington, DC, whenever he left the drugmaker. Last July, in fact, Kindler was named by Obama as a member of a presidential advisory board devoted to increasing US exports. And the portly one had already angled to become a Democratic mover and shaker. Three years ago, for instance, he part... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4566336 Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:30:45 +0100 4566336 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4565887&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F18vOaTm2NKA%2F By Tim LynchThis week Obama announced that he intends to prosecute prisoners before military tribunals.  The administration is taking pains to point out that Obama is not embracing the Bush policy.  These will be Obama's tribunals, not Bush's.  But since Mr. Obama's executive order can be revised or withdrawn at any time, the new and improved procedures do not amount to much.   The tribunals were wrongheaded under Bush and the critique applies equally well to Obama's "new" policy. As others have noted, Obama has now embraced tribunals, Gitmo, and the Patriot Act.    Bad news, but at least Obama kept his promises to end the wars and get us on a sound financial footing. For additional Cato work related to military tribunals, go here and here. Obama’s Military Tribunals is a ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4565887 Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:03:12 +0100 4565887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560236&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FuwJDMvYZKdE%2F By Tad DeHavenLast week I compared “other mandatory” spending in fiscal 2007 to the president’s proposal for fiscal 2012. Several readers requested that I produce a chart showing a similar breakdown for nondefense discretionary spending (or “domestic discretionary”). The following chart breaks down nondefense discretionary outlays according to Budget Enforcement Act categories. These categories generally consist of programs from multiple departments and agencies. For example, “Science, Space, & Technology” includes programs at the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and NASA. Note: The president’s fiscal 2012 budget proposes that surface transportation outlays, which make up the majority of spending in the transportation category, be budgeted as mandator... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560236 Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:50:43 +0100 4560236 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560238&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv8Qy7ibK79s%2F By Neal McCluskeyA couple of years ago, I was highly critical of President Obama's first, it turns out annual, televised school-year kickoff address to America's students. At the time I got a lot of emails telling me how outrageous my stance was, and how anyone, of any political persuasion, should be thrilled to have the President of the United States talk to their kids. Apparently, the thrill is gone when you actually have to do a little work to get the President. According to internal White House memos, the President's "Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge" -- in which schools compete for a chance to get the Prez as their graduation speaker -- had generated only 68 applications as of February 28, which was after the original application deadline of Feburary 25. (T... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560238 Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:25:08 +0100 4560238 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560250&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fk_9bm4uY9ic%2F By Michael F. CannonThat's the title of my latest Kaiser Health News column, which addresses President Obama's offer to accelerate the waiver process that would allow states to replace many of ObamaCare's most offensive provisions: If you think that means the president was himself exhibiting flexibility, you would be wrong. Despite the rhetoric about compromise, what the president actually did was offer states the option of replacing his law with a single-payer health care system three years earlier than his law allows... HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has written that ObamaCare gives states "incredible freedom" to implement the law. We now know what she meant: states are free to coerce their residents even more than ObamaCare requires. What's incredible is that she calls that freedom. A... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560250 Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:44:45 +0100 4560250 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4540552&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcIitwJHsV84%2F By Justin LoganThe prospect of the United States intervening in Libya is uncertain.  Yesterday, Secretary Gates and Adm. Mullen appeared to downplay the possibility of military action, while not clearly taking a position.  But lost in much of the reporting is President Obama’s Executive Order declaring a national emergency, and the accompanying letter to congress, issued last Friday. Obama claimed that the overall situation constituted “…an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”  Over at The Skeptics, I examine why it is a mistake for the president to lump together national security and humanitarian considerations: Obama should be ashamed of this language. Muammar Qadhafi is a despicable man without basic decency, but ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4540552 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:19:05 +0100 4540552 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4536448&cid=t_169705_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Ffv2Jsa06fpQ%2F Some of the biggest drugmakers do not have a good track record when it comes time for FDA inspectors to visit their plants. Overall, the FDA found violations at 54 percent of plants inspected last year, up 20 percent from a decade low in 2007, according to data obtained from the agency by Bloomberg News. And 80 drugmakers failed more than half of their inspections. Who led the pack? Pacira Pharmaceuticals, which makes painkillers sold in hospitals, was the worst offender among publicly traded drugmakers with an 82 percent failure rate during 11 inspections. Abbott Labs failed 59 percent of 111 inspections; Pfizer flunked 57 percent of 202 inspections; Merck bombed out on 52 percent of 134 visits and Johnson & Johnson failed 48 percent of 161 inspections. By contrast Mylan passed 79 pe... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4536448 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:14:42 +0100 4536448 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4522091&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FY3HgFcLujvQ%2F By David BoazYou know you're really wrong when Mike Huckabee can call you out. But that's the situation Mitt Romney finds himself in, as Michael Cannon points out below.  Huckabee says Romney's government-run health care plan with an individual mandate is a bad idea, Romney says he's still proud of his plan, which is totally different from President Obama's government-run health care plan with an individual mandate. But really, what can he do? In 17 years of seeking high political office, he is known for two things: changing his position on a surprisingly large number of issues, and his Massachusetts health care program. Which was of course the forerunner of Obamacare, as Michael Cannon and I pointed out in the video that Michael linked. So Romney is still defending a position I think we'... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4522091 Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:23:03 +0100 4522091 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489652&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCUijtZ1nf7g%2F By Sallie JamesWhile I fully agree with my colleagues that President Obama "chickened out" in general in his FY2012 budget proposal, in one area he had the courage to propose some cuts that have proven controversial for ages: farm subsidies.  His plan would lower the income eligibility limits for subsidies (from $500,000 to $250,000 for off-farm AGI per farmer, and an on-farm AGI limit of $500,000, down from $750,000.) It would also lower the cap on annual direct payments that individuals can receive -- from a maximum of $40,000 to $30,000. The administration's proposal would affect only about 2 percent of the total recipients of direct payments -- subsidies that flow every year regardless of prices or farm output to owners of land that may or may not still be used for farming -- and... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489652 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:21:36 +0100 4489652 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4478156&cid=t_169705_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F9oaO7W1OaAM%2F Federal budgets always make interesting reading and, this year, the Obama White House does not disappoint. Tucked into the section reserved for the US Department of Health and Human Services is a section that focuses on generics and how these can save an estimated $11.1 billion over 10 years - or roughly $1 billion a year (look here). Not small change, yes? But how? There are two proposals. One would shrink exclusivity for biologics to seven years from 12 years, a move that would roll back a provision in health care reform. You may recall that brand-name drugmakers won a 12-year exclusivity period last year as part of an effort to create a so-called FDA approval pathway for biosimilars. Generic drugmakers, of course, wanted a shorter term. At issue is the balancing act between protecting R... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4478156 Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:27:44 +0100 4478156 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4455249&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4L9gwS9jciU%2F By Daniel IkensonPresident Obama’s visit with the Chamber of Commerce this week has infuriated the anti-business Left.  But short of expropriation and nationalization, what doesn’t?  Robert Reich and NPR and the scribes at the Huffington Post just don’t get it.  Their man may be in the White House, but business holds the keys to the kingdom.  Whether the president’s priority is job creation or reelection, nothing matters more than sustained economic growth. And without business having confidence that policy in the United States will become more hospitable and predictable, investment and job creation will remain tepid. The president doesn’t have nearly the leverage assumed in the delusions of groups like Public Citizen, which wrote: "What America needs is not olive branches to... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4455249 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:49:56 +0100 4455249 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445780&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSpmeOr_vLw0%2F By Chris EdwardsRep. Richard Hanna is one of the many new members of Congress with a no-nonsense business background. He is determined to move the GOP in the direction of major tax and spending reforms. When I chatted to the congressman, he told me that he had already read my Global Tax Revolution, so he will be well-armed in tackling business tax reform! Hanna is off to a good start with his "American Competitiveness Act," which would chop the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. He notes that "the average rate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries is just over 25 percent, meaning the effective U.S. corporate tax burden, when state and local taxes are considered, can be 50 percent higher than some of our developed competitors, renderin... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445780 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:39:30 +0100 4445780 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445787&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FGRQC24wuuKg%2F By Tim LynchSteve Kelley Obamacare is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445787 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:21:18 +0100 4445787 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4436731&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FeMS0QKy7dL0%2F By David BoazThe U.S. ambassador to Iraq expects to have 17,000 people on his staff after the United States "withdraws" from Iraq at the end of the year, he told the Senate this week. This is astounding. A typical American embassy in a small country might have 100 employees, in a big country such as Great Britain or Russia maybe a few hundred. A staff of 17,000 (including contractors) is not an embassy, it's an occupation force. Or at least a viceroy's staff. Here's the Washington Post report: The top U.S. diplomat in Iraq on Tuesday defended the size and cost of the State Department's operations in that country, telling lawmakers that a significant diplomatic footprint will be necessary after the withdrawal of U.S. troops at the end of this year. James F. Jeffrey, the U.S. ambassador in... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4436731 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:10:51 +0100 4436731 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4411506&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F62l8IwsAU44%2F By David BoazKarl Rove, the architect of Republican victories in 2000 and 2004 and Democratic victories in 2006 and 2008, denounces President Obama’s “spending binge” and “liberal activism” as described in the State of the Union address. The Wall Street Journal‘s tagline on the column is, “On Tuesday, Republicans offered an alternative to the president’s big-government vision.” What Rove omits is that he and President Bush started the spending binge, delivered big government, and indeed came into office with a big-government vision, as Ed Crane pointed out in 1999. Just take a look at the analysis in Rove’s Wall Street Journal column: Most of his hour-long speech was a paean to liberal activism, as the president called for redoubl... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4411506 Fri, 28 Jan 2011 17:17:38 +0100 4411506 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399496&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoDrngqB050w%2F By Sallie JamesWhen it became clear that President Obama would make “competitiveness” a theme of his SOTU address, I looked forward to seeing Paul Krugman’s statement pointing out how much nonsense that is. Here he is, after all, in his excellent 1997 book, Pop Internationalism (MIT Press): …International trade, unlike competition among businesses for a limited market, is not a zero-sum game in which one nation’s gain is another’s loss. It is [a] positive-sum game, which is why the word “competitiveness” can be dangerously misleading when applied to international trade. Sure enough, President Obama’s speech last night was peppered with references to “the competition for jobs,” “new jobs and industries take root in this... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399496 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:56:54 +0100 4399496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399499&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FzlNVVkOT6N0%2F By Roger PilonToday POLITICO Arena asks: Although President Obama proposed a five-year, $40 billion per year freeze in non-security, discretionary spending, and Republicans want to cut spending by at least $100 billion a year, is either side serious about real spending cuts? My response: With uncontrolled deficits well into the future and a debt exceeding $14 trillion, for Obama to propose saving only $40 billion per year in discretionary spending over the next five years, while “investing” in pie-in-the-sky things like high-speed rail, wind farms, environmentally destructive ethanol, and the like, is worse than unserious — it’s an insult to our intelligence. Like Obama, many Republicans too treat military spending, among other things, as sacrosanct, but at leas... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399499 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:22:25 +0100 4399499 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4382746&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FuXU9IrEWXmI%2F By Cato EditorsPlease join us at 9:00pm Eastern on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 for live commentary during President Obama’s State of the Union address and the response given by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.). Here is our panel of expert bloggers (click each name for their respective Cato@Liberty archives): Director of Information Policy Studies Jim Harper Trade Policy Analyst Sallie James Director of Health Policy Studies Michael F. Cannon Senior Fellow Daniel J. Mitchell Director of the Center for Educational Freedom Andrew Coulson Other Cato scholars may also be contributing. Come back to this page at 9:00pm Eastern on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 to join us–we look forward to having you, and to sharing our insights with you. Cato Experts React to the State of the Uni... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4382746 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:39:39 +0100 4382746 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4377558&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUrfJNoB1IH0%2F By Mark A. CalabriaChinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington brought renewed focus on China’s currency.  It was likely the largest point of discussion between President Obama and President Hu.  I suspect a less public, but related, issue was China looking for some certainty that America would make good on its obligations; after all, China is our largest lender. What is often missed is the connection between these two issues:  currency and debt.  When China receives dollars for the many goods it sells us, instead of recycling those dollars into the purchase of US goods, it uses that money mostly to buy US Treasuries and Agencies (Fannie/Freddie securities).  These large Treasury/Agency purchases (foreign holdings of GSE debt are over $1 trillion) have the effect of... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4377558 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:26:17 +0100 4377558 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4360951&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1oZw3nbVfU4%2F By Walter OlsonIn today’s much talked-of Wall Street Journal op-ed, President Obama reaches for common ground with critics of excessive government regulation — not a constituency he’s had much time for in the past. He announced an executive order requiring agencies to review existing regulation for outdated or unwise rules deserving of being struck from the books. That drew measured praise from organized business groups, something the President has not had much of lately. Many left partisans are aghast, just as they were when Bill Clinton dashed for the political center after his own mid-term electoral “shellacking.” Salon complains that Obama’s op-ed “reads like an apology to the business community,” while Rena Steinzor fears the move signal... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4360951 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:57:55 +0100 4360951 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4343114&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0ud79KYaN3E%2F By Tad DeHavenRep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) has introduced the Cut Unsustainable and Top-heavy Spending Act, which would cut spending by $44 billion annually.  Brady’s effort moves in the right direction but it is a very modest fiscal reform effort. The legislation, which Brady calls a “down payment on getting America’s financial books in order,” chooses targets that have already been proposed by the Obama administration or the president’s Fiscal Commission. Therefore, the proposal should have bipartisan appeal. For example, Brady’s bill would cut Pentagon spending and eliminate subsidies to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Many of the targets represent “house cleaning cuts” that would reduce spending on bureaucratic activities such as printing and federal travel. Th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4343114 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 14:59:32 +0100 4343114 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4327041&cid=t_169705_135_f&fid=35247&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmyjourneywithaids.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F08%2Fsarah-palin-incites-stupidity-why-not-worse%2F “If a Muslim put a map on web w/crosshairs on 20 pols, then 1 of them got shot, where would he b sitting right now? Just asking.” (tweet from Michael Moore) I have nothing but best wishes for the victims and families of today’s gun madness in Tucson. Speaking from family experience, the first brain [...] (Source: My journey with AIDS) My journey with AIDS blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4327041 Sun, 09 Jan 2011 02:39:20 +0100 4327041 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4318313&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYzAPg4k1bLg%2F By Neal McCluskeyAdopting national curriculum standards — the so-called “Common Core” — is voluntary for states. That is what we’ve long been told, and that is what the text of a new report looking at implementation of the standards repeats. But within that report is powerful evidence of how involuntary and federally led Common Core adoption has truly been. According to the report, which furnishes results of a November 2010 survey of state education officials, the vast majority of states that had adopted the Common Core as of November had done so at least in part because of “the possible effect” of doing so “on success of our Race to the Top application.” Race to the Top, you might recall, was a $4.35 billion federal contest for ed... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4318313 Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:39:04 +0100 4318313 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4277815&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fe-kuu90lUGU%2F By David BoazThis simple chart dramatizes something that I don’t think most Americans realize: the tripling of U.S. troops in Afghanistan by President Obama. Now it’s true that when candidate Barack Obama vowed, “I will bring this war to an end in 2009,” he was talking about Iraq. In July 2008 he suggested that he would send two more brigades — about 8000 troops — to Afghanistan. He has far exceeded that, and we can only wonder whether the voters who responded to his antiwar message anticipated that he would increase the number of troops in Afghanistan by almost as much as he reduced the number in Iraq. The Incredible Expanding Afghan War is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4277815 Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:05:38 +0100 4277815 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265687&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FueRzNG8I_pU%2F By Malou InnocentPresident Obama released his Afghanistan war review today. It highlights progress on the battlefield against insurgents, the success of Special Forces operations and drone strikes, and achievements in training the Afghan security forces. I have four thoughts on the matter: First, scattered throughout the document are passages such as “al-Qa’ida’s senior leadership in Pakistan is weaker,” “[a]l-Qa’ida’s senior leadership has been depleted,” and “al-Qa’ida’s leadership cadre have diminished.” However, can we deter more jihadists than our efforts help to inspire? After all, “fighting them over there so they don’t fight us here” did not deter Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad and his inco... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265687 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:31:24 +0100 4265687 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233166&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fa_QwBH92uOI%2F By Doug BandowThe U.S. and South Korean governments have agreed to changes in the free trade agreement negotiated by the Bush administration. The president rightly lauded the FTA as a good deal for Americans: “This agreement shows the U.S. is willing to lead and compete in the global economy,” the president told reporters at the White House, calling it a triumph for American workers in fields from farming to aerospace.” Approving the FTA has taken on added urgency after the European Union negotiated a similar accord with the South. Once that agreement takes effect, Europeans would have better access than Americans to the world’s 13th largest economy. Protectionism is always foolish, but especially so when one’s competitors are promoting open markets. The accord also offer... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233166 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:29:51 +0100 4233166 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225227&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F62M3ZCtiK9Q%2F By David BoazIt looks like Republicans and Democrats may have made a deal on blocking the tax increases that loom on January 1. No details yet, but reports are that they will extend the current tax rates for one to three years. That means investors and businesses will face continuing uncertainty and the real prospect of a tax increase in one to three years. Unfortunately, pundits continue to use terms like “extending the Bush tax cuts” or “tax breaks for the wealthy.” In reality, American taxpayers have faced a particular range of personal income tax rates for the past eight years. If the 2001 and 2003 tax laws are allowed to expire, then Americans will see increased tax rates on income, dividends, capital gains, and estates. So the issue is not “tax cuts” or “tax breaks,”... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225227 Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:34:49 +0100 4225227 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4219730&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3BFss3qvpBg%2F By Christopher PreblePresident Obama’s Fiscal Commission’s report is out and they have wisely kept military spending on the table. Having not seen the accompanying list of specific cuts, it seems that rather than micromanage DoD’s decisions with respect to which weapons systems to cut or keep, the commissioners have laid down a different marker: find the cuts that make sense, but understand that the business-as-usual of the past decade is over. The report fixes on a number of spending cuts and reforms that Benjamin Friedman and I call for in the Cato Policy Analysis “Budgetary Savings from Military Restraint” including cuts to the civilian workforce (see recommendation 1.10.4). They also hold fast to the proposition that all spending must be on the table, and reject out of ha... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4219730 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:46:27 +0100 4219730 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183279&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FY07_nK188sQ%2F By Tad DeHavenPresident Obama has proclaimed today to be National Entrepreneurs’ Day. The president who has brought us regime uncertainty, more regulations, more government intrusion into the economy, more debt, and is proposing to raise taxes on productive businesses and individuals wants to celebrate entrepreneurship? I was alerted to National Entrepreneurs’ Day via an email (not online) from the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. The EDA email makes it clear that the administration wishes to celebrate political entrepreneurship, not market entrepreneurship. In his book, The Myth of the Robber Barons, historian Burton Folsom explains the difference: A key point about the steamship industry is that the government played an active role right from the start... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183279 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:00:35 +0100 4183279 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183281&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPGBb9vLnnD4%2F By Daniel IkensonI don’t particularly relish picking on a president who, on virtually every policy front, is showing all the markings of a man in way over his head.  But the president’s actions and statements are becoming excruciating to watch—like a highly-touted Olympic figure skater who can’t complete a maneuver without falling to the ice.  President Obama’s salutary statement about GM’s IPO yesterday reveals a man so focused on defending his policies that he can no longer conceal the incongruity between his political objectives and the country’s imperatives. American taxpayers are now positioned to recover more than my administration invested in GM, and that’s a good thing. (My emphasis) Besides revealing the president’s preference for LIFO accounting procedure... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183281 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:44:32 +0100 4183281 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4179303&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYxlU1guvzQA%2F By Daniel IkensonThere seems to be a lot of confusion about the meaning of GM’s IPO today.  A common narrative in today’s media is that GM’s return to the stock market affirms the wisdom of the auto bailout.  Some tougher customers in the media insist on a higher threshold being met—that taxpayers get back the entirety of their $50 billion investment in GM—before declaring “mission accomplished.” And then there are the rabid partisans who—in their seething animosity toward the Obama administration—reach conclusions devoid of logic and rich only in conspiratorial-mindedness.  For example, yesterday I was contacted by a media outlet vetting this conclusion: “The IPO is evidence of the failure of the bailout because taxpayers were excluded from buyin... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4179303 Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:59:37 +0100 4179303 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4179305&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9PUnzUnh61g%2F By Christopher PrebleThe inherent vulnerabilities and shortcomings of an alliance created in 1949 to defeat an adversary that ceased to exist in 1989 will be on display for all to see tomorrow when President Obama and leaders of NATO meet in Lisbon. I predict that President Obama will try to put the best possible gloss on the alliance’s inability to resolve its internal differences over Afghanistan, and the leaders of the other NATO countries will surely do the same. But they can not obscure the fact that an alliance that was expanded on the premise that it was uniquely suited to deal with problems far outside of Europe has revealed itself to be all but irrelevant. Much of the media coverage has focused on the NATO mission in Afghanistan, especially the new, new target date for ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4179305 Thu, 18 Nov 2010 19:53:38 +0100 4179305 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159219&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FujSpzFqXP-E%2F By Michael F. CannonFollowing up on what Dan and Chris have said … If the co-chairs of President Obama’s fiscal commission were serious about reducing federal spending and deficits, they would have proposed eliminating the federal deficit, rather than “reduc[ing] it to 2.2 percent of GDP by 2015.”  Yawn. They would have proposed cutting federal spending (currently, 24 percent of GDP and rising) to match federal tax revenue (currently at 15 percent of GDP).  But the co-chairs proposed only to “bring spending down to 22 percent and eventually 21 percent of GDP.”  Not only does that elicit another yawn, but since the co-chairs only asked for half a loaf, they won’t even get that much. If the co-chairs were serious about reducing federal spending ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159219 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:55:59 +0100 4159219 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151757&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbqJ7Qd5olO4%2F By Tad DeHavenFollowing last week’s electoral victory, the House Republican leadership has been talking up its pre-election pledge to return federal spending to 2008 levels. As I’ve previously discussed, the Republicans are only talking about non-security, discretionary spending. This category of spending represents a relatively small portion of the overall federal budget, and would only shave about $100 billion off of what the president wants to spend. A better idea would be to cut total spending to 2008 levels. Excluding interest, the president has proposed spending $853 billion more in fiscal 2011 than the government spent in fiscal 2008. The following table shows the increases by department. As the chart shows, federal spending for the Pentagon alone is set to increase by $126 bil... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151757 Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:01:44 +0100 4151757 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151764&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQyDYQDT8dxM%2F By Jim HarperAs a campaigner, President Obama promised that bills sent him by Congress would be posted online for five days before he would sign them. It’s a simple, measurable transparency promise that we have followed on this blog. With attention beginning to turn to the 2012 presidential election (believe it or not!), President Obama’s fealty to campaign promises will become a focus. So here’s an update on his Sunlight Before Signing promise. First, a brief summary table. Congress has presented President Obama 283 bills, 124 in 2009 and 159 in 2010. He posted six online for the requisite number of days in 2009, and 103 in 2010. (One emergency bill did not require posting. It’s non-posting is consistent with the president’s promise so we treat it as  &#8220... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151764 Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:59:36 +0100 4151764 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4139214&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3nvUMBUeJXg%2F By Daniel GriswoldDuring his visit to India, President Obama should bury once and for all his divisive rhetoric about American companies shipping jobs overseas. Our growing commercial ties with India are a great opportunity, not a problem. U.S. exports to India have doubled in the past four years. American companies that have set up shop in India have helped to fuel demand in that country for U.S. products and services. The president should be celebrating rather than demonizing our deeper economic ties with India. Commercial Ties with India Are An Opportunity, Mr. President–Not A Problem is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4139214 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 20:00:53 +0100 4139214 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133664&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHv3bLt3_CDY%2F By Swaminathan S. Anklesaria AiyarTo make his coming visit to India meaningful, President Obama needs to combat the impression that India fares better with Republican presidents than Democratic ones, because the latter are instinctively more protectionist. In his quest for economic recovery, he has bashed US corporations that outsource jobs to places like India, forbidden companies getting government rescue funds from outsourcing work, and has now enacted higher visa fees for visiting IT professionals which seem designed to hit Indian companies quite specifically. This may be designed to win votes in the Congressional elections, but will not win hearts and minds in India. President Obama needs to state categorically that he will not follow the Great Depression formula of trying to combat u... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133664 Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:00:44 +0100 4133664 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133673&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpN6aR-8_hhM%2F By Roger PilonToday POLITICO Arena asks: Would a staff shakeup — and potentially Cabinet — help the White House and congressional Democrats recover ahead of the 2012 elections? My response: If the president’s press conference yesterday is any indication, it’s going to take far more than a White House shakeup for Mr. Obama and congressional Democrats to recover ahead of the 2012 elections. In several ways, the president was asked point blank whether he still resisted “the notion that voters rejected the policy choices [he] made.” His answer? Voters “are not satisfied with the outcomes.” And again: “they’re deeply dissatisfied with the pace of our economic recovery.”   Time and again, he declined to draw the connection between his ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133673 Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:16:06 +0100 4133673 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4121859&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=39261&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvactruth.com%2F2010%2F10%2F30%2Fletter-alerts-obama-to-dangers-of-hpv-vaccines%2F In an extraordinary move to prevent further HPV vaccine casualties, Marian Greene the Chairwomen and Co-Founder of the campaign and action group Truth about Gardasil (http://truthaboutgardasil.org/), has written an open letter to President Obama.  Her letter urges the President to take time to research the HPV vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix and to read what is happening to the innocent young men and women of America. She opens her letter by saying: “We come to you now to beg for your help. The lives of an entire generation of young women and now, men, are hanging in the balance.” Greene strengthens her plea by alerting the President to a staggering 20101 reports of injury and 84 deaths; highlighting the case of a forty day old baby who died after being exposed to Gardasil through the ... vactruth.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4121859 Sat, 30 Oct 2010 15:01:49 +0100 4121859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4098459&cid=t_169705_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fav8j7ew4lEA%2F Whoever thought the pharmaceutical industry was drifting toward the political center by striking a deal with the White House over healthcare reform must not have been aware of Fred Eshelman. Over the past few weeks, the ceo executive chairman at Pharmaceutical Product Development, a contract research organization, has donated more than $3.3 million to RightChange.com, a 527 conservative group that has funded negative ads in various US Senate races, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Apparently, his donations constitute most of what the group has raised this year, according to third-quarter data analyzed by CPR, which reported the contributions on its Open Secrets blog. His largesse follows more than $5.4 million he donated to the group during the final months of the 2008 elec... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4098459 Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:22:16 +0100 4098459 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040552&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMBvs5JDJF5s%2F By Neal McCluskey…President Obama and Congress were doling out tens-of-billions of dollars to the education status quo while doing little of meaningful, reform-y substance. Now we see the payoff: President Obama has gotten bipartisan accolades for supposedly being a different kind of Democrat on education — one willing to take on teacher unions – while he’s fully kept union allegiances. Reports the Washington Post about National Education Association plans to spend $15 million on largely Dem-friendly, midterm-election advertisements: Karen M. White, the NEA’s political director, said the 3.2 million-member union is in sync with Obama more often than not. As an example, she pointed to his support for a $10 billion education funding bill that the Democratic-... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040552 Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:26:08 +0100 4040552 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4036631&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0DmXBgK2qaY%2F By Daniel J. MitchellI dislike taxes as much as the next person (and probably a lot more), but other policies matter as well, so if I had the choice of replacing current government policies with the ones that existed at the end of the Clinton years, I would gladly make that trade. Yes, it would mean higher tax rates, but it also would mean slashing government spending from 24 percent of GDP down to 18 percent of GDP. It would mean no sleazy TARP bailout, no Sarbanes-Oxley red tape, no expansion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and no added power and authority for the federal government. This is the argument that I made in this interview on CNBC, though my opponent tried to do his version of the Brezhnev Doctrine (what’s mine is mine, what’s yours is negotiable), so I concluded th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4036631 Tue, 05 Oct 2010 19:24:43 +0100 4036631 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4025798&cid=t_169705_175_f&fid=39258&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmypatraining.com%2F2010%2F10%2F01%2Ftime-crunch-status-update%2F So, as you may have read (I know, Gabe, it’s not all about me), I have a lot going on in the next couple of weeks, and not a lot of time to do it.  That’s just life, or more specifically, PA training life.  Since I posted last, I’ve cranked out five assignments in pharmacology.  [...] (Source: Palpating the Field) Palpating the Field blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4025798 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:30:16 +0100 4025798 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4022900&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqCYT1eaGZXs%2F By Michael F. CannonFirst, a dozen insurers said they would stop writing child-only health insurance policies.  Now, according to the Wall Street Journal: By forcing the exit of Principal Financial Group — which ran a profitable, $1.6 billion health insurance business — ObamaCare has now left 840,000 Americans to find another source of coverage. According to The New York Times, other insurers may soon follow: More insurers are likely to follow Principal’s lead, especially as they try to meet the new rules that require plans to spend at least 80 cents of every dollar they collect in premiums on the welfare of their customers… “It’s just going to drive the little guys out,” said Robert Laszewski, a health policy consultant in Alexandria, Va. Smaller players like ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4022900 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:09:44 +0100 4022900 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4018156&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7D33y_6u4ec%2F By Michael F. CannonMany employers, such as McDonald’s, provide health benefits that are less comprehensive than most.  They may have an annual claims limit of $10,000 or less.  But if you’re young, healthy, and need to pinch your pennies, that may suit you just fine.  According to Jerry Newman, a SUNY-Buffalo professor who wrote a book about working at McDonald’s, “For those who didn’t have health insurance through their spouse, it was a life saver.” These are the health plans (and the workers) that are seeing the highest premium increases under ObamaCare.  The Wall Street Journal reports: Trade groups representing restaurants and retailers say low-wage employers might halt their coverage if the government doesn’t loosen a requirement for &#8... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4018156 Thu, 30 Sep 2010 19:14:04 +0100 4018156 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4018159&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FN0pdSoTaXhQ%2F By Christopher PrebleToday’s Washington Post features an op-ed by John Hopkins’ SAIS professor Eliot Cohen arguing – via a series of fictional statements — that the Obama team’s decision to speak with Bob Woodward is likely to have a devastating impact on our ability to win in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The technique is too cute by half. I could just as easily come up with a series of quotes by people who believe that the costs of the war in Afghanistan far exceed the benefits. (e.g. The widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan, upon reading the Woodward excerpts, bursts into tears. “Why have we chosen to fight a war that Gen. Petraeus admits we will likely never win, and which our children and grandchildren will be fighting?”) By the same token,... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4018159 Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:26:04 +0100 4018159 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3998962&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbLiCu2LAYHo%2F By Marian L. TupyHaving inherited an 8 percent budget deficit from the previous socialist government, the new conservative-liberal government of Slovakia has come up with a novel way of keeping budget deficits under control in the future. Starting in 2011, salaries of government ministers will rise and fall depending on the evolution of the fiscus. Thus, a budget deficit of 5 percent will translate to a 10 percent decrease in salaries, while an (unlikely) budget surplus of 5 percent will translate into a 10 percent rise in salaries, etc. It will be interesting to see if this new measure will truly result in a more responsible fiscal policy in the years to come. Incidentally, had the United States adopted a similar measure, President Obama’s reported salary of $400,000 in 2009 would have ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3998962 Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:26:56 +0100 3998962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3993917&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=39261&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvactruth.com%2F2010%2F09%2F21%2Fopen-letter-to-president-barack-hussein-obama-the-national-prevention-health-promotion-and-public-health-council%2F Catherine J. Frompovich Vactruth.com 09/21/2010 An Open Letter to President Barack Hussein Obama & The National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council As created under Executive Order 13544 of June 10, 2010 Ladies and Gentlemen: Since voters, consumers, and taxpayers have NO input nor any ability to accept, reject, or counter FORCED legislation as enacted by Presidential Executive Orders—nor does Congress have any authority over them, which I find absolutely counter to a democratic form of governance—I think it behooves us all to examine Presidential Executive Order 13544 in view of what it may and can portend for We, the People. There are many interpretations that Obama “gave away the store” with regard to the USA accepting Codex Alimentarius, that draconian... vactruth.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3993917 Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:37:03 +0100 3993917 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3987043&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBMKy5RTSVsM%2F By Michael F. CannonPresident Obama’s Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is still threatening to bankrupt insurance companies who tell their customers that ObamaCare‘s mandates will increase premiums by more than 2 percent, even though her department’s projections show that, starting this week, just one of the law’s new mandates will increase some premiums by nearly 7 percent. In a CBS News story last week, Sebelius tried to defend those indefensible threats: But don’t the insurance companies have a right to make their own analyses and claims to their customers? “Absolutely, they have a right to communicate with their customers,” replied HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “We just want to make sure that communication is as... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3987043 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:20:35 +0100 3987043 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3980817&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7wLnv6a_8s4%2F By Michael F. CannonDuring the (initial) congressional debate over ObamaCare, President Obama vilified Anthem Blue Cross of California for a 39 percent rate increase.  On Wednesday, the Hartford Courant reported that ObamaCare itself may increase premiums by similar amounts: Health insurers are asking for immediate rate hikes of more than 20 percent in Connecticut for some plans, citing rising medical costs and federal health reform laws as reasons… In what might appear to be an oddity, companies are citing a huge range of effects that the health care reform mandates will have on plan prices — from near zero to well over 20 percent. The reason is that among all the plans, some already deliver the provisions required by health reform, while others do not… Anthem Blue Cross an... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3980817 Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:43:45 +0100 3980817 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3976489&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FVjjlsGiLkwQ%2F By Tad DeHavenWisconsin has become a battleground over the Obama administration’s plan to create a national system of high-speed rail. Of the $8 billion in HSR grants awarded to the states in the stimulus bill, $810 million of it went toward a high-speed route between Milwaukee and Madison. Ironically, this Wisconsin “high-speed” route would only achieve speeds of 79 mph initially and 110 mph by 2016. As a Cato essay on high-speed rail points out, HSR aficionados don’t even consider 110 mph to be true high-speed. In fact, passenger trains were being run at speeds of 110 mph or more back in the 1930s. And those “high-speed” trains didn’t prevent the decline of passenger trains after World War II. The Cato essay also notes that the 85-mile line between Milwaukee and Madison “... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3976489 Thu, 16 Sep 2010 13:58:12 +0100 3976489 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3954228&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_xVwx6kegIc%2F By Mark A. CalabriaLike President Bush before him, Obama has a knack for taking the worst ideas of his opponents and making them his own.  It is truly bipartisanship in the worst of ways (think Sarbanes-Oxley, the TARP or No Child Left Behind).  The newest example is the President’s proposed “infrastructure bank.”  A bill along those lines was introduced a few years ago by then Senator Hagel, although the idea is far from new. First, let’s get out of the way the myth that we have been “under-funding” intrastructure.  Take the largest, and usually most popular, piece:  transportation.  Over the last decade, transportation spending at all levels of government has increased over 70 percent.  One can debate if that money has been spent wisely, but the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3954228 Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:03:26 +0100 3954228 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3954232&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHov1qgivtKo%2F By Roger PilonToday POLITICO Arena asks: In his speech in Ohio yesterday, did President Obama draw a stark enough contrast with House Minority Leader John Boehner, whom he attacked by name eight times, to help his party in November? My response: The contrast the president drew was clear enough. His problem is that the people aren’t buying what he’s selling – and for good reason. His ideas, far from being new, have been tried countless times, both here and abroad. They don’t work. And they undermine basic American principles about individual liberty and free choice. So when Obama says that Boehner and the Republicans have no new ideas, he’s partly right. (They have new ideas about how to address unsustainable entitlement programs — ask Rep. Paul Ryan... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3954232 Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:18:48 +0100 3954232 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3946437&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3p_yRURpgAU%2F By Daniel J. MitchellHere’s a clever video produced by the Winston Group, comparing the tax policies of two Democratic Presidents. Having previously highlighted Kennedy’s tax-cutting approach, it is painful for me to observe the class warfare approach of the Obama Administration.   What’s especially fascinating is that JFK intuitively understood the Laffer Curve, particularly the insight that deficits usually are the result of slow growth, not the cause of slow growth. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3946437 Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:33:14 +0100 3946437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3924887&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxPO3Es4zw2Q%2F By Justin LoganAs someone who has his own snarky tendencies, I am really starting to have a hard time discerning when Matt Yglesias is being serious and when he is being sarcastic these days.  For example, he writes of President Obama’s Iraq speech last night that I think Barack Obama’s Iraq policy was perfectly clear as of last week—war kinda sorta ending on August 31, 2010 and more honest-to-god ending in December 2011—so I wasn’t exactly glued to the set to watch his speech last night. So Obama’s “perfectly clear” Iraq policy is that “the war” “kinda sorta ended” yesterday, and will have a “more honest-to-god [than kinda sorta?]” end on New Year’s Eve next year?  But when does it just plain end? Or maybe the bes... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3924887 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:04:33 +0100 3924887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3924891&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FABtddZklDdE%2F This study jumps into a long-running chicken-or-egg debate in the academic literature about whether higher taxes lead to higher spending or whether higher spending leads to higher taxes. This causality debate is interesting, but I’m not sure it really matters. A VAT is a terrible idea if it triggers bigger government, and a VAT is a bad idea if it merely finances bigger government. But I suspect this study is correct. The key thing to remember is that Milton Friedman was right when he warned that “In the long run government will spend whatever the tax system will raise, plus as much more as it can get away with.” This means that a VAT will allow more government spending and no reduction in deficits and debt, which is exactly what we see in Europe (and as Jim Powell n... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3924891 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:38:58 +0100 3924891 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3911684&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FykSNxECZ3j4%2F By Neal McCluskeyYesterday, White House sources confirmed that President Obama will deliver another back-to-school address aimed at all of the nation’s children. That’s right, the president will make September 14 the second-annual Obama Day at your local school! You might recall last year’s Obama Day, for which the U.S. Department of Education put out teaching guides that gave parents across the country reasonable cause to fear a day of liberal politics and celebrating President Obama. You might also remember the divisive national uproar that precipitated, which ultimately culminated in a relatively staid — but nonetheless campaign-esque — speech, not to mention a fair amount of after-the-fact sneering at people who either didn’t want public-... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3911684 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:13:21 +0100 3911684 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3907585&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMKS0ao40eJQ%2F By Adam SchaefferThe new PDK/Gallup education poll for 2010 is out, with the standard problems we can expect from this pro-government school/anti-choice outfit. Randi Weingarten even gets some column space! Oh Randi, you proud yet humble teacher. The “Commentary” sidebars in general were cringe-inducingly hackish and treacly. It is interesting that there was a big spike in the percentage of people saying the biggest problem schools must deal with is a lack of funds. They’ve done a great job convincing folks there’s no money. Of course, the way the question is worded, it encourages respondents to think about the difficulties schools are facing, which despite their flush accounts probably is dealing with funding issues. I’d like to see the answers to “What do you thin... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3907585 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:38:50 +0100 3907585 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3907588&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FY2qMk0xSuC8%2F By Michael F. CannonThe Obama administration spent your tax dollars on a pro-ObamaCare ad, featuring Andy Griffith, that FactCheck.org found uses “weasel words” to “mislead” seniors about how that law would affect them.  (As I blogged previously, FactCheck.org understated the case.) Nonetheless, over at Medicare.gov, the administration is still running that dishonest ad. They should take the ad down. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3907588 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:26:57 +0100 3907588 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3902884&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhnFOiq83nwU%2F Earlier this year, Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama signed legislation that threatens U.S. residents with prison if they fail to purchase health insurance. This week, his administration told the United Nations that this legislation shows the United States is making progress on human rights. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3902884 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:57:09 +0100 3902884 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3899377&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FB5PWPWLtndw%2F The White House’s misbegotten “Summer of Recovery” continued today with the release of another administration “analysis” that purportedly demonstrates the stimulus’s success in “transforming” the economy. Vice President Joe Biden unveiled the report alongside Energy secretary Steven Chu and numerous businesses officials willing to serve as political props in return for Uncle Sam’s free candy. Biden bemoaned the nefarious “special interests” that were coddled by the previous administration. What does the vice president think those subsidized business officials attending his speech are called? The money the White House has lavished on these privileged businesses isn’t free. The money comes from taxpayers—including businesses that do not enjoy the favor of the White ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3899377 Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:06:08 +0100 3899377 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3895868&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fn6mBLZJkmBk%2F Today POLITICO Arena asks: Angry Left Obama’s bête noir? My response: Would the president help himself by making a clearer ideological declaration — as many on the “professional left” are asking him to do? Hardly. POLITICO tells us this morning that those “professionals” lament “the president’s reluctance to be a Democratic version of Ronald Reagan, who spoke without apology about his vaulting ideological ambitions.” One of those professionals, Robert Reich, urges Obama to present “a clear and convincing narrative into which all the various initiatives neatly fit, so that the public can make sense of everything that’s done.” The public is quite capable of making sense of everything that’s been done. It’s doing i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3895868 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:09:18 +0100 3895868 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3895936&cid=t_169705_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F08%2F23%2Fobama-kanazawa-endogamy-and-religion%2F A recent blog entry by Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist, recently came across my desk that made the outrageous claim that one cannot chose one’s religion. If one’s family is a Muslim, you will be too, no matter what you actually practice — genetically speaking. He relates this piece of news by suggesting that Obama cannot choose to be a Christian, because his family was a Muslim. He suggests that, genetically, Obama is a Muslim no matter what he practices. If this doesn’t pass the basic logic smell test for you, then you’re not alone. Like other world religions, Islam not only is a religion but also comprises largely endogamous ethnic groups. When a group of individuals remain largely or entirely endogamous (marry only other members of the group ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3895936 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:27:31 +0100 3895936 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3872540&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3fWvmCBVC6U%2F By Roger PilonPolitico Arena asks today for continued comment on Obama’s Ground Zero mosque “correction.” My response Well, well: What a difference a day makes. Yesterday [Friday] most POLITICO Arena contributors – including law professors, shockingly – were falling over themselves to defend President Obama’s Friday night Ground Zero mosque remarks — on constitutional principle, no less — while a very few of us were cutting through that nonsense. Meanwhile, the president and the White House were struggling to get the word out that constitutional principle wasn’t really the point at issue here. It was, rather, the “wisdom” of building a mosque so close to Ground Zero. Now that we’re clear about that, perhaps Aren... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3872540 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:29:44 +0100 3872540 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3854623&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2010%2F08%2F10%2Fday-by-day-august-10-2010-cake-served%2F Day By Day by Chris Muir Michelle and President Obama do NOT care obviously of the appearances of the First Lady’s Spain vacation. Isn’t it just spreading the wealth around? Obama’s PORKULUS (Economic Stimulus) is/was a failure and the Democrat Leadership (Speaker Nancy Pelosi) has called the House back in session today to bailout the teacher’s unions and save hundred’s of thousands of teacher jobs that the states cannot pay for. I wonder how many teachers Michelle Obama’s vacation would have funded? Let them – meaning the taxpayers – eat it…… Previous: The Day By Day Archive (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3854623 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:05:34 +0100 3854623 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3802372&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fr3w64mk1zPk%2F By Daniel IkensonIn his State of the Union address this year, President Obama announced a goal of doubling U.S. exports in five years.  The “National Export Initiative” has since become the centerpiece of his administration’s trade policy, complete with its own Executive Order, organizational structure, and dedicated website. Although I would be happy to see exports double in five years, I am skeptical of efforts to enshrine that goal as a national imperative.  I worry that Five Year Plans and the setting of export targets puts the United States on the slippery slope to industrial policy, which is being touted nowadays with growing vim and vigor by columnists, politicians and other analysts who wish the United States were more like China. But the economic straight jacket of industr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3802372 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:47:26 +0100 3802372 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3776358&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Flt8GPLMzxRQ%2F By David BoazThe New York Times reports: President Obama signed into law on Wednesday a sweeping expansion of federal financial regulation…. A number of the details have been left for regulators to work out, inevitably setting off complicated tangles down the road that could last for years…complex legislation, with its dense pages on derivatives practices…. “If you’ve ever applied for a credit card, a student loan, or a mortgage, you know the feeling of signing your name to pages of barely understandable fine print,” Mr. Obama said. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3776358 Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:49:17 +0100 3776358 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767063&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKX0daQBjiM8%2F By Michael F. CannonThe individual mandate has been a tricky issue for Barack Obama, leading him to make some impressive self-reversals. When campaigning against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, Obama came out hard against an individual mandate to purchase health insurance, alleging that Clinton would garnish workers’ wages and that Massachusetts’ individual mandate has left many residents “worse off”: He even dismissed an individual mandate by saying, “If a mandate was the solution, we could try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody buy a house”: Once president, of course, Obama endorsed and signed into law both an individual mandate and an employer mandate. During the debate over ObamaCare, Obama likewise mocked... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767063 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:48:48 +0100 3767063 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767066&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgKvI6D9vta4%2F By Michael F. CannonAs of mid-July, it appears the American public still opposes ObamaCare, with the opposition strongest among those most likely to vote. Judging by the latest data at the poll-aggregating site Pollster.com, a solid plurality of adults continues to oppose ObamaCare (46.8 vs. 40.1 percent): The trendlines don’t look so good for supporters of the law.  (The public isn’t so hot about President Obama’s handling of health care, either.) Yet the above graph includes (polls that include) adults who are neither registered nor likely to vote. If you want to know how public opinion about ObamaCare will influence the November elections, you’ll want to look at polls of likely voters. Those suggest a majority opposes the law (51.3 vs 42.9 percent): It&#8217... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767066 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:35:59 +0100 3767066 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3762899&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F35BpdwvjcAw%2F By David BoazThe print edition of the Washington Post and the online Real Estate home page feature this headline: Debunking rumors of a housing sales tax The article begins: Rumors are flying that the health-care legislation Congress passed this year will impose a sales tax on all real estate sales. So I’m thinking, OK, more crazy Glenn Beck tea-party stories about mythical Obama tax hikes, and the Post is going to debunk them. Then I keep reading: But the rumors are based only partly on fact. Although there is a new tax, it will not apply to everyone, and existing tax breaks for home sales will remain in place. The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which President Obama signed into law March 30, is comprehensive and complex. Section 1402, “Unearned Income M... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3762899 Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:28:03 +0100 3762899 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3733053&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fshould-obama-bypass-senate-to-appoint-health-care-official%2F President Obama announced yesterday that he will bypass congress to appoint Dr. Donald M. Berwick as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The decision, called a “recess appointment”, is going through while senate is in recess, which many find surprising because it’s only in recess for a short amount of time. White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said that the appointment is needed to carry out the new health care law, which calls for big changes in both Medicare and Medicaid, affecting about 1/3 of all Americans. The New York Times quoted his statement that “many Republicans in Congress have made it clear in recent weeks that they were going to stall the nomination as long as they could, solely to score political points.”... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3733053 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:33:41 +0100 3733053 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3721752&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwM6AsjYwBcE%2F By Roger PilonToday, Politico Arena asks a second question: What does Obama need to do on jobs? My response: What does Obama need to do on jobs? Asked about that in his Arena interview today, Rep. Rob Andrews (D-N.J.) answers, “The best thing we could do is encourage banks to lend money.” Encourage them? Banks don’t need to be encouraged: if they can make money by lending it, they will. But that’s just the problem. The regulatory climate under Obama is so uncertain that capital isn’t moving. Andrews adds that “we need to stimulate,” as if we hadn’t already massively stimulated with little to show but massive debt.  And he says that “the Wall Street reform bill will help.” Apparently he hasn’t read Stanford economist John B... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3721752 Fri, 02 Jul 2010 19:21:52 +0100 3721752 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3721755&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUVtuLr3JLis%2F By David BoazAt Politico Arena, the question of the day is: A new Siena College poll ranks Barack Obama as the 15th best U.S. president (landing him below Bill Clinton, ahead of Ronald Reagan). Franklin Delano Roosevelt earned top honors, while Andrew Johnson was last. Pollsters say Obama is high on imagination, communication and intelligence, but weak on background. On your list of best presidents, where would President Obama land? Who was the best president, and who was the worst? I responded: Of course Obama ought to be given an incomplete. But he got a Nobel Peace Prize purely on spec. He does now have 18 months of presidential action, and he has already done many things that establishment political scientists like. Presidential scholars love presidents who expand the size, scope and p... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3721755 Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:03:23 +0100 3721755 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3718381&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0mRalV1SaZE%2F By Sallie JamesRand Paul, after setting the newswires alight with his controversial stance on the Civil Rights Act, is busy touting his “moderate” credentials. Moderate, in this case, being a euphemism for “laughably timid.” In a recent interview with a Kentucky radio station, Paul rejected the charge of his political opponent that he was opposed to farm subsidies. Not true, sayeth Paul. He is “much more moderate than that.” According to an article in yesterday’s  Lexington Herald-Leader, Paul’s less-than-radical view on farm subsidies is that, well, maybe dead people should not receive them: Let’s just agree that we will get rid of subsidies for dead farmers first,” he said. After that, Paul said, the government should restri... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3718381 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:05:20 +0100 3718381 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3710735&cid=t_169705_133_f&fid=35452&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.graphictruth.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fpetraeus-throws-obama-into-briar-patch.html I've never thought Barack Obama was an idealist. Nor did I ever think that his "lack of experience" as a legislator was a critical factor. It's the "community organizer" aspect that caught my attention. You see, in Chicago, that means you learn to deal with a lot of various sorts of people, and this very much includes fronting up to stone killers and squeezing a donation or some leverage out of them.I think he's a man who is very much a realist, and very familiar with dealing with things as they are and the people on the ground that are there, and rather less affected by the various idealistic and doctrinal slants that people on the "left" and the "right" try to assign to him.I consider him to be the very sort of person that you would want piloting an crippled airplane toward a distant air... Graphictruth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3710735 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 01:18:00 +0100 3710735 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3710546&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2r8788ebKU8%2F By Julian SanchezA confession: For all my innumerable policy disagreements with Barack Obama, on election night 2008, I found myself cheering with the rest of the throng on U Street. I fully expected to be appalled by much of his agenda — but I had also spent years covering the Bush administration’s relentless arrogation of power to the executive in the name of the War on Terror, its glib invocation of “national security” to squelch the least gesture toward transparency or accountability, its easy contempt for civil liberties and the rule of law. However fitfully, I thought, we could finally hope to see that appalling legacy reversed. And that seemed worth celebrating even if little else about the declared Obama agenda was. As you might guess, I had a lot of disappo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3710546 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:28:50 +0100 3710546 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3690968&cid=t_169705_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2010%2F06%2F23%2Fday-by-day-june-23-2010-bling-it%2F Day By Day by Chris Muir Speaking about dress and appropriateness – what about General McChrystal meeting with President Obama today? Will he have a photo op in his dress uniform after he is fired? Personnel issues are always difficult and how do you dismiss someone who is running your frakking war in Afghanistan. I think there is more to it than changing the locks on the headquarters door. The Obama Administration perception of being a bunch of clowns in the White House may well be sustained if this Hope and Change moment goes very badly.Previous: The Day by Day Archive (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3690968 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:59:57 +0100 3690968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3665952&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FST1kjvfDj4w%2F By Justin LoganToday’s Wall Street Journal excerpted a Peter Hitchens Daily Mail column and then inexplicably tried to stick it behind the pay wall on their website.  (Peter is the “Anti-War, Pro-God” Hitchens, not the “Pro-War, Anti-God” Hitchens.) Because I’m feeling subversive–and because the column was a good piece of prose–let’s take a look.  Hitchens is talking about the Obama White House vs. BP in the context of the US-England relationship, and lets loose: …Far too many people – many of them academics, many politicians – continue to jabber about a supposed ‘special relationship’ between our two countries. I used to think that no such thing existed. Recently, I have become convinced that it does, and that it is in ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3665952 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:11:21 +0100 3665952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3648261&cid=t_169705_146_f&fid=38266&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsleepeducation.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fstudent-sleeps-through-obama-keynote.html (Source: Sleep Education) Sleep Education blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3648261 Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:31:00 +0100 3648261 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3621649&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZzCpn_i-FMk%2F By Gene HealyThe MoDo column I criticize below exemplifies the warped notion that we should view the president as a benevolent national Father-Protector.  But it’s also a good example of a related phenomenon, the apparently unquenchable yearning for Presidential Empathy. “Once more,” she writes, “President Spock”  has “willfully and inexplicably resisted fulfilling a signal part of his job: being a prism in moments of fear and pride, reflecting what Americans feel so they know he gets it.”  There’s a little tension between Dowd’s desire for a presidential father figure and her demand for a “Feeler in Chief.”  She seems to want a daddy who cries a lot. But this understanding of the president’s role is hardly unique ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3621649 Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:13:28 +0100 3621649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607481&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FM_yxevurwek%2F By Michael F. CannonAs explained in an excellent letter to the editor of The Washington Post: Capitalism’s friends never had to cede moral ground to its enemies, but they will have to replace the current power structure to make room for a revival. President Obama summarized his understanding of free enterprise in his 2009 commencement speech at Arizona State University: “ruthless competition pursued only on your own behalf…” That markets are built on voluntary transactions — mutual exchange for mutual benefit — is an alien concept in the academic environment that produced Mr. Obama and many of his staffers. That one accumulates wealth in a free market by providing value to willing buyers — the exact opposite of acting “only on your own behalf... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607481 Thu, 27 May 2010 16:56:01 +0100 3607481 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3607484&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmwX_WNYLnkA%2F By Justin LoganNational Security Strategies are domestic political documents that serve two main purposes: they allow administrations to wax philosophic about America’s place in history and they provide an opportunity to mention the various foreign-policy interest groups to let them know you care.  This NSS does a good job of fulfilling these rhetorical and domestic political demands of the document.  (The lead drafter of President Obama’s NSS is a speechwriter with a background in fiction and poetry, not a strategist.) If the NSS were read as an actual strategy document, it would be terribly unimpressive.  It offers a variety of unsubstantiated theories about international politics (the idea that U.S. security depends on “strengthening human dignity” abroad and “speaking to t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3607484 Thu, 27 May 2010 15:45:03 +0100 3607484 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3599353&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2kV0kcE7VQw%2F By Gene HealyMy Washington Examiner column this week begins with a look back at the Disco Era: In his high school yearbook photo, President Barack Obama sports a white leisure suit and a Travolta-esque collar whose wingspan could put a bystander’s eye out. Hey, it was 1979. Maybe that explains the rest of young Barry’s yearbook page, with its “still life” featuring a pack of rolling papers and a shout-out to the “Choom gang.” (“Chooming” is Hawaiian slang for smoking pot.) Survey data suggest some 100 million Americans have tried pot, including political elites and drug war supporters Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin. So the point here isn’t to play “gotcha” by calling the president out on some harmless fun ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3599353 Wed, 26 May 2010 15:33:05 +0100 3599353 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3592197&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOdetYO-VnLg%2F By Michael F. CannonJohn Goodman is correct that ObamaCare’s individual mandate — and Kathleen Sebelius’s power to make the mandate more burdensome at whim — threaten the continued existence of health savings accounts (HSAs).  But ObamaCare’s price controls are no less a threat. The new law requires insurers to charge enrollees of the same age the same average premium, regardless of health status.  That’s a price control, and it will cause premiums for healthy people to rise dramatically and thus lead to massive adverse selection.  Healthy people will gravitate to less-comprehensive insurance — in particular, HSA-compatible high-deductible plans — where the implicit tax is smaller. As premiums for comprehensive plans spiral upward (ulti... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3592197 Mon, 24 May 2010 13:55:02 +0100 3592197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3590449&cid=t_169705_131_f&fid=35743&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthegenesherpa.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fthomas-goetz-has-wrong-debate-fda.html I think everyone in this space has been way off base as to what the problem is with FDA and Congress wanting to investigate the DTC Genomics companies. The whole mindset is wrong. What I hear from this debate is "It's my data, mine, mine, mine. Gimmee, Gimmee, you can't keep me from my data Big Brother!"From Mr Goetz's Blog"The controversy seems to have stirred the FDA to assert its authority – and that of physicians – over any and all medical metrics." "To me, getting access to this information is a civil rights issue. It’s our data." This is a straw man argument that has been set up to make regulating these companies seem unseemly and an invasion of privacy. IT IS A DEAD WRONG ARGUMENT and I will not stand for it being perpetuated anymore. This is not about getting access to your d... Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3590449 Sat, 22 May 2010 18:49:00 +0100 3590449 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3585588&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkJ7kion4AxI%2F By David BoazDana Milbank of the Washington Post complains that Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell “held a news conference in the hallway outside the Senate and all but called Obama a socialist.” And what exactly did McConnell say? Milbank goes on: “They’re running banks, insurance companies, car companies, taking over the student loan business, taking over health care, now, apparently doing to the financial services industry what they did to the health-care industry, doubling the national debt in five years, tripling it in 10,” he railed. “They’ve got people over at the FCC trying to take over the Internet. This is a massive government overreach.” So McConnell didn’t call anybody a socialist. He just listed President Obama’... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3585588 Fri, 21 May 2010 12:51:00 +0100 3585588 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3566611&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0qxILJ4EPps%2F By Neal McCluskeyOh, they’ll chew your ears off about how boldly they support and are catalyzing  real education reform, and how they won’t accept the failed status quo. Yes sir, they’ll boast nonstop about what a gigantic success their  Race to the Top initiative has been, despite having no real evidence to back that up. Without question, the Obama administration will talk the talk about transformative education reform. But walk the walk? That’s another story. Let’s put this in perspective. Almost the entire basis for the Obama administration’s claim to school reform supremacy is Race to the Top. And what does RTTT do? It furnishes $4.35 billion to entice states into submitting sort of bold-sounding plans for education reform while requiring ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3566611 Fri, 14 May 2010 16:03:02 +0100 3566611 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3563950&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1sodhiyl8es%2F By Michael F. CannonSenate Judiciary Committee members should be sure to ask Solicitor General and Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, during her upcoming confirmation hearings, whether she or her office played any part in crafting ObamaCare or the administration’s defense to the lawsuits challenging that law.  If Kagan helped to craft either, that would present a conflict of interest: when those lawsuits reach the Supreme Court, she would be sitting in judgment over a case in which she had already taken sides. Though the Solicitor General deals with appellate matters, it is certainly possible that Kagan was consulted during the drafting of the law or the administration’s legal strategy for defending it. The Senate Democrats who drafted ObamaCare took pains to protect it from... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3563950 Thu, 13 May 2010 16:57:15 +0100 3563950 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3560190&cid=t_169705_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fpresident-obamas-supreme-court-nominee-elena-kagan-on-dont-ask-dont-tell%2F photo: Wenn.com With President Obama’s recent nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, conservatives are busy trying to find some dirt on Kagan that will sully the nomination. The best (or worst, I guess) they can come up with are Kagan’s days as the dean of Harvard Law School. In 2004, Kagan kicked Pentagon recruiters off of campus because of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prohibits openly gay citizens to enter the armed forces. After the government threatened to pull federal funding from Harvard, Kagan repealed her ban. The Defense Authorization bill is going though the Senate and the House Armed Services Committees, and The Services Members Legal Defense Network (SLDN) is urging President Obama to include a repeal of “Don’t... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3560190 Wed, 12 May 2010 21:34:17 +0100 3560190