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 'democrats'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:59:07 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5169614&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FCCw8IHSGY6Q%2F These are my links for August 26th from 18:21 to 18:39: California State Democratic Party targets mail vote to boost L.A. turnout – Los Angeles County is crawling with Democrats – 2.3 million, in fact, far more than the six San Francisco Bay Area counties combined and the foundation of blue clout in an overwhelmingly blue state. But all those L.A. Democrats have a peculiarity: They don’t like voting by mail. In part, that stems from county election officials who over the years were not aggressive in developing a vote-by-mail system, Democrats say. “First, it’s because (former registrar) Connie McCormack made it very difficult for vote by mail and, second, minorities are less trustful in general of voting by mail,” said Democratic consultant Steve Mavigl... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5169614 Sat, 27 Aug 2011 01:40:11 +0100 5169614 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5140036&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FzbB6f6VIsiE%2F These are my links for August 18th from 09:02 to 14:06: Los Angeles to quit hiring Standard & Poor’s to rate investments – Los Angeles, which recently saw its $7-billion investment portfolio downgraded by Standard & Poor's, has decided to no longer hire the rating company to rate the soundness of the city's investments. "We have really lost faith in S&P's judgment," Interim Treasurer Steve Ongele said. After its downgrade of U.S. debt last week, S&P cut its rating of L.A.'s general investment pool to AA from AAA. It also downgraded dozens of other municipalities with large investments in U.S. Treasury notes. One of them, Northern California's San Mateo County, has decided not to renew its contract with S&P. Florida's ... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5140036 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:06:27 +0100 5140036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057821&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2F-BwTVHJROKY%2F These are my links for July 23rd from 18:59 to 19:25: How the White House killed the deal – In an aggressive move, the House speaker’s office has put out a blow-by-blow on how the debt talks collapsed: The White House is misleading reporters tonight by claiming that new revenue in the framework that was discussed would have been generated by letting the current tax rates expire. That is simply false. Under the framework, a CEILING was offered by the White House that would generate $800 billion in new revenue over ten years. This would be done through comprehensive tax reform that would clear out deductions, credits, and loopholes in the system – and spur economic growth. After the gang of six plan came out, the White House moved the goal posts and insisted on $400 billio... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057821 Sun, 24 Jul 2011 03:00:03 +0100 5057821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4902553&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FFVIefHZy5Yo%2F Former Democratic Speaker and now House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi with rep. Anthony Weiner and former Democratic N.Y. Governor Eliot Spitzer who resigned after a scandal involving prostitutes Who will be the first Dem to throw Weiner under the bus? House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Steve Israel, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, are calling for an investigation into Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) over the series of sexually explicit conservations and lewd photos he exchanged with a half-dozen women during the last several years. “I am deeply disappointed and saddened about this situation; for Anthony’s wife, Huma, his family, his staff and his constituents,” Pelosi said in a statement released on Monday night. “I am calling for a... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4902553 Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:20:04 +0100 4902553 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813251&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZt5mv_FnBa4%2F By Jason KuznickiThe media makes it hard for ordinary people to be libertarians. In large part, this is because journalism is in the business of selling panic—panic about terrorism, panic about drugs, panic about food, panic about pornography, panic about our health care system. If it’s not an emergency, it’s not news. To the lazy journalist, everything becomes an emergency—and emergencies always—always—demand state action. The media makes things hard for the would-be libertarian in other ways, too. Consider this story from today’s Washington Post, about… well, it’s hard to say, actually: Senate Democrats unveiled a plan Tuesday to save $21 billion over the next decade by eliminating tax breaks for the nation’s five biggest oil companies, a move desi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813251 Wed, 11 May 2011 15:02:07 +0100 4813251 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4803033&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fu7BycjmwbJI%2F By Roger PilonToday POLITICO Arena asks: Given President Obama’s speech today in El Paso, Texas, is immigration a winning issue for Democrats? My response: Immigration will be a winning issue for Democrats only if Republicans allow it, which they’re quite capable of doing. Where’s the anti-immigrant part of the Republican base going to go — to the Democrats? Hardly. With so much else at stake, will they sit out the 2012 elections, over this one issue? Please. If Republicans play it right, this can be a winner. No one seriously believes that the estimated 10 to 12 million illegal immigrants in the country, most working, can or should be sent back to their countries of origin. So the main issues are paving the way to legalization, better securing the borders, and provid... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4803033 Tue, 10 May 2011 13:10:42 +0100 4803033 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4767993&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fis-national-debt-as-bad-as-paul-ryan-says-it-is-lessons-from-the-past%2F2011.04.30 The last two weeks have made clear that the debate over our national debt will play a major role in the next election cycle. On one side, many Republicans, lead by Representative Ryan, insist that the rate of growth of our national debt – especially the massive projected growth of Medicare and Medicaid – promises to destroy our society within a generation or two; and that the only way to avert that catastrophe is to make substantial structural changes to our entitlement programs. The subtext of their message is: Federal debt is bad, and debt of this magnitude will be fatal. On the other side, most Democrats, led by President Obama, stress that our entitlement programs are promises that simply can’t be changed in any substantial way, insist that such entitlements are “investments in... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4767993 Sat, 30 Apr 2011 14:00:10 +0100 4767993 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4724034&cid=t_99572_117_f&fid=38856&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.timemastermd.com%2F%3Fp%3D2258 Forget  libido boosting, Testosterone, or Growth Hormone promoting herbs, power bars, and high-tech memory boosters: The single best supplement for a guys’ or girls’ diet could be two cheeks full of nuts!  (you can start the jokes now)  As far as I can tell, there are health nuts,  nuts who love health, and then there a whole bunch of people who either vote for, or love people who are nuts! Two Cheeks Full News:  A new research study  demonstrates that naturally occurring antioxidants in pecans may help contribute to heart health and disease prevention. Apparently eating all those bowls of nuts on the bar down the street while drinking beer was the best preventive medicine strategy of all time?! Ever wonder “Why do we love Acorns so much?”  Acorn Bi... Timemaster MD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4724034 Sat, 16 Apr 2011 15:34:09 +0100 4724034 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4714726&cid=t_99572_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=4653307&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkAWrw1TmOdo%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonLindsey Burke of the Heritage Foundation has a good post today dissecting Rep. Nancy Pelosi's recent press release on DC school vouchers. If anything, Burke goes a little easy on Rep. Pelosi, comparing the maximum value of the vouchers  ($7,500) with the published figure for DC public school spending ($17,600). As it happens, the public school spending figures published by the Department of Education (and the Bureau of the Census) are always badly out of date. That means they don't take into account the continuing trends of rising overall spending and falling enrollment in DC public schools (let alone inflation). When you break down the DC K-12 education budget for the 2008-2009 school year, as I did in this Excel spreadsheet, it comes out to just over $28,000 per pupi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653307 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:38:08 +0100 4653307 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4626830&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdo-democrats-and-republicans-have-different-work-out-regimens%2F2011.03.23 In Washington, even exercise gets political. This morning, the WSJ reported that a small group of Congressmen, primarily Republicans, have embraced the adrenaline-infused exercise regimen that is P90X. They jump, stretch and flex to the tune of Tony Horton, a man who clearly checked the right box on career day. The 90-day results-intensive program celebrates its “I couldn’t move the next day” sensations. On the other side of the ideological spectrum resides the pragmatic approach of the White House. Last month, the NY Times described the regimented, non-boot-campish routine espoused by Mr and Mrs Obama. Our current executive branch favors a personal trainer who likes working people hard, but…”as politely as possible.”  The president adheres to a common sense program of regular... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4626830 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:00:28 +0100 4626830 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4507259&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FY60N5hY7X-Q%2F By Tad DeHavenTalk of a government shutdown is heating up. The current continuing resolution funding the government is set to expire on March 4th. Last week, House Republicans passed a bill that would fund the remainder of fiscal 2011 at $61 billion below fiscal 2010 levels. Senate Democrats are balking at the $61 billion in cuts and the president has issued a veto threat. The following chart measures $61 billion in cuts against the president's fiscal 2011 estimates for total federal spending, the deficit, and interest on the debt: As the chart shows, the proposed cuts amount to less than a third of what taxpayers will pay in interest on the debt alone this year. The $61 billion in cuts, which are woefully insufficient, would come from a relatively small category of government spending (n... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4507259 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:37:45 +0100 4507259 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433088&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRoNbqneuj9g%2F By Michael F. CannonSenate Democrats deserve credit for this much: in voting to repeal the so-called "1099 reporting mandate," they have acknowledged that this small part of Obamacare will be a disaster.  With time and education, perhaps they will see what most Americans already see: The rest of Obamacare is a disaster too -- a monumental one -- for patients, doctors, employers, the Constitution, and individual freedom. At this point, even the most ardent Obamacare supporters must have noticed that the law has not been well received.  As public opposition further manifests itself, perhaps some supporters will begin to reconsider their fealty to this law. Good Riddance 1099 Mandate 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=4433088 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:59:03 +0100 4433088 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4164578&cid=t_99572_117_f&fid=38856&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.timemastermd.com%2F%3Fp%3D1298 No one could be more unhappy than Lindsay Lohan about the fact that soon there will be no more free drugs at any doctor’s office thanks to President Obama’s “healthcare reform law”.  While touted to bring access and affordability to all – naturally it doesn’t, and while it is now clear to the Democrat Congress and Senate who voted it in without reading the bill – here is another unseen but real consequence of their failures. Pharmaceutical companies give doctor’s offices free samples to give to patients who can’t afford medication, or need to “try them before they have to buy them.”  And they give us a lot of them! Pfizer Inc. 101 million samples worth $2.7 billion Merck & Co. 39 million samples worth about $356 mill... Timemaster MD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4164578 Sun, 14 Nov 2010 18:16:03 +0100 4164578 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4139237&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealthcare-reform-and-a-divided-congress%2F2010.11.05 Republicans who had opposed healthcare reform before the election are now elected officials with a say in how the programs are funded. At federal and state levels, the program’s opponents either have a larger voice or are now in charge of implementing elements of reform. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid said he’d consider adjustments to healthcare reform. Frightened seniors flipped toward opposition to healthcare reform, while flipping on the issue may have saved a few Democrats. Exit polling showed 48 percent would repeal healthcare reform, 16 percent would leave it as is, and 31 percent would expand it. Now that Republicans have a larger say in the matter, take a look at their plan for healthcare in A Pledge to America, starting on page 25, and decide for yourself. (New Yor... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4139237 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:00:00 +0100 4139237 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118891&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FVKePJI-GApg%2F By Tad DeHavenHouse Republican Whip Eric Cantor’s “YouCut” project has released a new video that attempts to visually underscore the impropriety of sticking future taxpayers with a mountain of federal debt. The video begins with a voice saying “You wouldn’t do this to your child’s piggy bank” followed by visuals of a child’s piggy bank being smashed with a hammer. The voice then says: But Democrat controlled Washington is leaving a $13 trillion debt for your children and future generations. It’s time Washington got its fiscal house in order. Start changing the culture of spending in Washington by voting on YouCut today. That’s a wee bit disingenuous considering that Republicans and Democrats alike are responsible for the massive federal debt. More frustrating is the fac... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118891 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 14:04:47 +0100 4118891 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4074027&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F5FSTETcit7Y%2F By David BoazOn NPR stations this morning, the “Power Breakfast” segment from Capitol News Connection profiled Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO), who is fighting hard to keep her seat this year. The reporter noted: She’s a Blue Dog, one of those fiscally conservative Democrats who frequently complicate things for Party leaders by insisting on spending offsets and the like. A claim slightly complicated by the reporter’s earlier noting that Markey voted for the $787 billion stimulus bill, the health care overhaul, and cap-and-trade. How exactly does that make her a Blue Dog fiscal conservative? Oh, and in her first year she got a score of 19 percent on tax and spending issues from the National Taxpayers Union. The search for an actual Blue Dog goes on. But I was really struck by t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4074027 Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:37:02 +0100 4074027 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4065352&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FXc2vkaE5WlA%2F By John SamplesThe Obama administration’s attacks on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce look a lot like a three day story on its final day. The national media had its doubts, and even Democratic operatives decried the gambit. Why did the administration go after the Chamber? The politics are not hard to figure out. The actions of the Obama administration mobilized the Republican base. At the same time, the President and his party have been losing the support of independents for a year or so. Their only hope of limiting the electoral damage was to rally the Democratic base who are discouraged and divided. But the Democratic base might agree about what they don’t like and fear: business, money in politics, and foreigners or at least, foreigners spending money on politics. The attack on ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4065352 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:41:48 +0100 4065352 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4065354&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCV9DH-ZUPOE%2F By Roger PilonToday POLITICO Arena asks: Looking at the repeated failures of campaign finance reforms, is it time to end the restrictions? My response: Funny, we didn’t hear the primal scream about campaign finance from liberal Democrats during the 2008 campaigns, when money was pouring into their coffers from everywhere. Do we need any better evidence of the hypocrisy surrounding their screams this year? If so, turn to the lead editorial in this morning’s Wall Street Journal. It’ll tell you all you need to know about the campaign finance “reform” ruse that has been going on for years. As I’ve written often at the Arena, the true aim of this game is incumbent protection, and it has been from the beginning. But thanks to the First Amendment, incumbents ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4065354 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 14:47:16 +0100 4065354 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4045230&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2010%2F10%2F07%2Fwhy-the-democrats-lose-big-in-november-no-really%2F A no brainer: 10.1% national unemployment. Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, increased to 10.1% in September — up sharply from 9.3% in August and 8.9% in July. Much of this increase came during the second half of the month — the unemployment rate was 9.4% in mid-September — and therefore is unlikely to be picked up in the government’s unemployment report on Friday. Certain groups continue to fare worse than the national average. For example, 15.8% of Americans aged 18 to 29 and 13.9% of those with no college education were unemployed in September. And, some areas of California are over 20 per cent. Americans will vote for change and oust incumbent Democrat Congressional POLS. (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4045230 Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:04:24 +0100 4045230 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4001733&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2010%2F09%2F24%2Fhouse-mockery-stephen-colbert-becomes-the-side-show-that-democrats-will-regret%2F Stephen Colbert gives his opening statement during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Security (from C-SPAN 9/24/10 coverage) The Democrats will live to regret this tongue-in-cheek sarcastic performance by Colbert. Americans are angry and are in no mood for this type of mockery at the taxpayer’s expense. Here is video of comedian Stephen Colbert testifying before the House Judiciary subcommittee at the request of Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, on the subject of illegal migrant workers. The pretense for his being an expert witness was Colbert’s one day laboring with migrant workers in New York. There will be plenty of replays on the nightly newscasts, illustrating that Democratic control of Congress guarantees that important issues are dealt with... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4001733 Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:51:00 +0100 4001733 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3934475&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FB43rmFDb2mk%2F By David Boaz“Now on Democrats’ agenda: Budget cuts,” proclaims a front-page headline in Saturday’s Washington Post. The online headline reads, “Democrats add fiscal austerity as a campaign issue.” Good news, huh? Let’s check it out: The candidate was outraged — just outraged — at the country’s sorry fiscal state. “We have managed to acquire $13 trillion of debt on our balance sheet,” he fumed to a roomful of voters. “In my view, we have nothing to show for it.” And that was a Democrat, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who voted “yes” on the stimulus, the health-care overhaul, increased education funding and other costly bills Congress approved under his party’s control. Meanwhile, Paul Ho... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3934475 Sat, 04 Sep 2010 21:18:17 +0100 3934475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3914922&cid=t_99572_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F08%2F29%2Fan-election-update-pro-choice-candidates-can-almost-win-in-tennessee%2F In July, I wrote about why I planned to vote for Tennessee state senate candidate Jeff Yarbro – because of his explicitly pro-choice position, a rarity around here – over long-time incumbent Doug Henry in the Democratic primary. I did, and others did too, as Yarbro very nearly won. On election night, Yarbo was behind by two(!) votes. And there were two provisional ballots left to count. Those two votes went to Yarbo, but then absentee ballots were recounted, puttin Henry back up by 13 votes. And then there was a recount, and Henry was declared the winner by 17 votes. The point is, it was close. It wasn’t a blow-out in which the incumbent who is more Republican-y on choice easily walked away with it. I know, I know – it’s a small sample in one district and it&... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3914922 Sun, 29 Aug 2010 15:19:08 +0100 3914922 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3880845&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fs4kbUW4ySfU%2F Some leaders within the Republican Party seem to have fixed on a useful club with which to bludgeon the president and his fellow Democrats — Cordoba House, aka the “Ground Zero” Mosque. Over the weekend, Republican strategist Ed Rollins explained how the party would use the issue in the coming months: ROLLINS: Intellectually, the president may be right, but this is an emotional issue, and people who lost kids, brothers, sisters, fathers, what have you, do not want that mosque in New York, and it’s going to be a big, big issue for Democrats across this country. “Face the Nation” Host Bob SCHIEFFER: So you see it as an issue that’s going to continue? ROLLINS: Absolutely. No question about it. Every candidate — every candidate who’s in t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3880845 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:51:51 +0100 3880845 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3854621&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2010%2F08%2F10%2Fpoll-watch-2010-gop-maintains-lead-on-congressional-generic-ballot%2F From Gallup No surprise here. Republicans have a 49% to 43% lead over Democrats among registered voters in Gallup’s generic ballot for Congress for the week of Aug. 2-8, the second straight week in which Republicans have held an edge in projected voting. The current six-percentage-point Republican lead ties the largest for either party so far, although Republicans have generally tied or held an advantage over Democrats since Gallup began tracking the generic ballot in March. The major exception to this prevailing pattern came July 12-25, when Democrats moved ahead with six- and four-point weekly advantages. Republicans have maintained at least a 10-point advantage in voting enthusiasm since March, including this past week’s 16-point lead over Democrats in the percentage who are... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3854621 Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:40:54 +0100 3854621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3790706&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fpublic-service-does-having-an-opinion-disqualify-you%2F2010.07.26 Many conservatives are up-in-arms about President Obama’s decision to appoint Don Berwick, a pediatrician and renowned expert in quality improvement and patient safety, to lead the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). They object to Dr. Berwick’s views on a range of issues, and to Obama’s decision to use his office’s authority to appoint Dr. Berwick while the Senate was out on a short Independence Day holiday recess. As a “recess appointment,” Dr. Berwick was able to take office without Senate hearings and confirmation, but he can only serve through the end of the 111th Congress — that is, until the end of 2011 — unless ratified by the Senate. Berwick, though, also has many supporters. Maggie Mahar articulates the “pro&#8221... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3790706 Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:00:00 +0100 3790706 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3753800&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfhxDQx5BPbg%2F By Mark A. CalabriaWith Majority Leader Harry Reid’s announcement that Democrats have the 60 votes needed for final passage of the Dodd-Frank financial bill, we can take a moment and remember this as the moment Congress planted the seeds of the next financial crisis. In choosing to ignore the actual causes of the financial crisis — loose monetary policy, Fannie/Freddie, and never-ending efforts to expand homeownership — and instead further expanding government guarantees behind financial risk-taking, Congress is eliminating whatever market discipline might have been left in the banking industry.  But we shouldn’t be surprised, since this administration and Congress have consistently chosen to ignore the real problems facing our country — unemployment, perverse gover... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3753800 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:35:26 +0100 3753800 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3687066&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Ftodays-to-do-list-apologize-to-bp%2F photo from Reuters Last week, after Rep. Joe Barton apologized to BP for what he called the White House’s “shakedown” of the company, Republicans and Democrats alike couldn’t believe it. But you know what? Maybe there are some things for which we need to apologize to BP. ApologizeToBP.com is up and running for everyone to air the grievances that they’ve committed against BP. You can also use Twitter to show your remorse for the awful things you’ve done to BP with the hashtag #ImSorryBP. Grist did a round-up of the best apologies, and we chose a few of our faves: #ImSorryBP for not giving you your props for the 8 other oil rigs you operate that are hardly leaking at all. #ImSorryBP That people keep referring to the Exxon Valdez spill in reference to your ... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3687066 Tue, 22 Jun 2010 19:20:06 +0100 3687066 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3658952&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fproposed-sgr-fix-an-interesting-twist%2F2010.06.14 This is something I haven’t seen reported on elsewhere, but according to the ACEP 911 Legislative Network Weekly Update, there was an interesting twist in the Democrats’ proposed SGR fix: The latest plan increases physician payments by 1.3% for the remainder of this year and by an additional 1% in 2011. In 2012 and 2013, physician services would be separated into two categories, or “buckets.” One bucket would be for E&M services (including emergency department, primary and preventive care) and the other group would include all other services. The E&M bucket would increase at the same rate as the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) plus 2%, while the other group would receive a payment increase of GDP plus 1%.After 2013, the payment formula would revert back t... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3658952 Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:00:00 +0100 3658952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3569803&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fa-transparent-healthcare-system-whats-more-clear%2F2010.05.17 Congressional democrats want more transparency in healthcare, believing it would further drive down the cost of care, reports Politico. Hoping to drive competition, some lawmakers are grumbling to force doctors to reveal business negotiations between them and drug and device makers. Opponents worry that manipulating economics would backfire. If everyone knows their competitor’s business, why bother negotiating lower prices? But transparency worked for Wisconsin’s hospitals, not in business dealings but in reporting outcomes, reports The Fiscal Times. By voluntarily revealing clinical outcomes on the Web, the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality was able to spur low-performing hospitals to improve, high-performing facilities to eliminate tests that didn’t improve... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3569803 Mon, 17 May 2010 14:00:00 +0100 3569803 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3560190&cid=t_99572_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 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515337&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqIPxW_7tQLc%2F By John SamplesEd Morrissey kindly mentioned The Struggle to Limit Government and responds to the advice for Tea Partiers in my video. Morrissey says: I don’t think it’s accurate to say that some Tea Partiers “like” big government; it’s more like some aren’t enthusiastic about dismantling as much of the federal government as others, especially the more doctrinaire libertarians. In the video I noted that polls showed a majority of the people who identify with the Tea Party movement also thought the entitlement programs were worth their cost. My colleague, Jagadeesh Gokhale, has estimated that paying for current entitlements would require 9 percent of GNP in perpetuity. This is unlikely. Entitlements will have to be changed since too much has been promised. People who thi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515337 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:58:36 +0100 3515337 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3508168&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDVV1Wd82-ck%2F By Chris MoodyThe Tea Party movement may endure, but its endurance will be a testament to its ability to understand that cutting government means having a long-term focus, says John Samples, author of the Cato book The Struggle to Limit Government.  In a new video, Samples outlines an assessment of what Tea Partiers should do if they want to sustain an effort to cut government. He offers five pieces of advice for members of the Tea Party movement: 1. Republicans aren’t always your friends. 2. Some tea partiers like big government. 3. Democrats aren’t always your enemies. 4. Smaller government demands restraint abroad. 5. Leave social issues to the states. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3508168 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:57:12 +0100 3508168 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494510&cid=t_99572_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2010%2F04%2F21%2Fdemocrats-and-the-economy-its-always-happy-hour%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. Democrats and the Economy: It’s Always Happy Hour. Filed under: Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, deficit, democrats, economy, national debt, political cartoon (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494510 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:20:42 +0100 3494510 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3483080&cid=t_99572_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2010%2F04%2F19%2Fnasa-obama-and-the-angry-red-voters%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. NASA, Obama and the Angry Red Voters. Filed under: Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, deficit, democrats, midterm elections, nasa, national debt, obama, political cartoon, space program (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3483080 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 05:25:30 +0100 3483080 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3398888&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfWvkp45FNKg%2F By Julian SanchezFrom Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal to Joe Biden’s Big F-ing Deal, progressives have led a consistent and largely successful campaign to expand the size and scope of the federal government. Now, Matt Yglesias suggests, it’s time to take a victory lap and call it a day: For the past 65-70 years—and especially for the past 30 years since the end of the civil rights argument—American politics has been dominated by controversy over the size and scope of the welfare state. Today, that argument is largely over with liberals having largely won. [...] The crux of the matter is that progressive efforts to expand the size of the welfare state are basically done. There are big items still on the progressive agenda. But they don’t really involve substanti... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3398888 Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:08:02 +0100 3398888 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378448&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMNi1Fk2h2x8%2F By John SamplesThe leaders of the House of Representatives plan to address health care through a “deem and pass” strategy.  Professor Michael McConnell believes this strategy violates the Constitution.  But put that aside for now. Ms. Pelosi has chosen “deem and pass” because, as she said, “people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill.” The “people” in question are House Democrats whose votes are essential to passing the bill.  These members fear voters would penalize them for voting for the Senate bill. As the Washington Post put it, “deem and pass” would “enable House Democrats not to be on record directly as supporting the Senate measure.”  A House Democrat running in a tough election will be able to deny ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378448 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:29:19 +0100 3378448 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378449&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FD8FXSTYtAVk%2F By Michael F. CannonHouse Democrats claim that a not-yet-released Congressional Budget Office report puts the cost of their revised health care overhaul at $940 billion over the next 10 years. Though I have yet to see the CBO score, I’ll bet anyone a fancy lunch that it does not claim the legislation would cost the federal government just $940 billion from 2010 through 2019. As former Congressional Budget Office director Donald Marron has explained over and over, the figure that Democrats consistently cite for the cost of their bills is only the CBO’s estimate of the cost of federal spending related to the expansion of health insurance coverage.  It is not the full cost to the federal government, because each bill also spends taxpayer dollars on other items. Marron examined th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378449 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:26:23 +0100 3378449 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378456&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZ5r_O6He898%2F By Chris Moody Busy with an ambitious domestic agenda, the Obama administration has put trade issues on the back burner. Let’s hope it stays that way. A little lesson on how government works. (As opposed to how it’s supposed to work.) There has been talk that House Democrats are planning to “deem” the health care bill into law without calling for a vote. If you’re not sure how that process works, read this. Contrary to a growing belief in Washington, revaluing China’s currency will not cure the trade deficit. Podcast: “ObamaCare Threatens Innovation” featuring Michael F. Cannon. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378456 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:10:12 +0100 3378456 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378457&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpvbkCO_jQVY%2F By Michael F. CannonDavid Goldhill has done it again. You may recall his article, “How American Health Care Killed My Father,” from the September 2009 issue of The Atlantic. Now, at HuffingtonPost, he comments on the health care legislation that may soon face a final vote (of some sort) in the House: [C]ontinuing our Party’s almost unquestioned conflation of health insurance with health care, the central feature of the proposed “reform” is further extension of our flawed insurance-based system…[D]espite the Administration’s recent heated rhetoric, most of the entrenched health industry interests are quietly or openly in favor of this bill. Should the bill become law, I suspect we will look back at it as an industry bailout… How…can Dem... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378457 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:05:40 +0100 3378457 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3374108&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKC4ZNnXHHFE%2F By Michael F. CannonI’ve already posted two series of such queries.  But every day brings new questions to mind.  So here are a few more: What does it say that pharmaceutical-industry lobbyists are meeting with House Democrats to write this legislation behind closed doors?  Or that the pharmaceutical industry is preparing to spend millions of dollars on advertisements in support of the legislation? Does it trouble you that a former federal judge writes, “Under Article I, Section 7, passage of one bill cannot be deemed to be enactment of another“? Does it trouble you that Speaker Pelosi says of the proposed “deeming” strategy, “I like it because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill“? (Emphasis added.) What does it say that left-of-... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3374108 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:09:39 +0100 3374108 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3358962&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FABQC4mmx4-k%2F By Michael F. CannonAccording to MSNBC, Democratic leaders have given up on trying to appease pro-life House Democrats: House leaders have concluded they cannot change a divisive abortion provision in President Barack Obama’s health care bill and will try to pass the sweeping legislation without the support of ardent anti-abortion Democrats.A break on abortion would remove a major obstacle for Democratic leaders in the final throes of a yearlong effort to change health care in America. But it sets up a risky strategy of trying to round up enough Democrats to overcome, not appease, a small but possibly decisive group of Democratic lawmakers in the House… Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee…predicted some of the anti-abo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3358962 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:32:20 +0100 3358962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3294576&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEC6-I7P_zjE%2F By Michael F. CannonHoping to revive his increasingly unpopular health care overhaul, President Obama has invited Republicans to a bipartisan summit this Thursday and plans to introduce a new reform blueprint in advance of the summit.  On Sunday, the White House announced that a key feature of that blueprint will be premium caps, a form of government price control that helped kill the Clinton health plan when even New Democrats rejected it. The New York Times reports on President Obama’s blueprint: The president’s bill would grant the federal health and human services secretary new authority to review, and to block, premium increases by private insurers, potentially superseding state insurance regulators. It bears repeating what Obama’s top economic advisor Larry Summers thi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3294576 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:41:15 +0100 3294576 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3208340&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCxYYVBCYszo%2F By David BoazTerry Michael, former press secretary for the Democratic National Committee, has some advice for Democrats wondering what to do with a Democratic party that can’t win Massachusetts — Jeffersonian liberalism: We have met the new center, and it is us, the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll baby boomers and our younger Gen X siblings and children. Because of our advanced age, we are the “most likely voters” that pollsters and their political clients focus on. That is precisely the opposite of what happened in the first year of the Obama administration. The new center tilts liberal on social issues, like gay rights and abortion. It zigs left on national security, having seen two really bad elective wars in our lifetimes: Vietnam and Iraq. But it zags right on econom... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3208340 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:45:01 +0100 3208340 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3204835&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fd8BAbrjpHac%2F By Michael F. CannonThe American people don’t want President Obama’s health care plan (see below). Massachusetts voters don’t want it. The White House knows that the people don’t want it.  In Ohio last week, President Obama said: the process has been less than pretty. When you deal with 535 members of Congress, it’s going to be a somewhat ugly process…when you put it all together, it starts looking like just this monstrosity. And it makes people fearful. And it makes people afraid. And they start thinking, you know what, this looks like something that is going to cost me tax dollars and I already have insurance so why should I support this. Yet Democrats still want ObamaCare to become law, and they are very close to making it happen.  If Speaker Nancy... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3204835 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:42:38 +0100 3204835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3200422&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7-W2odQL9mg%2F By Chris Moody How  unions will get a  sweetheart deal if the health care overhaul passes — and everyone else the shaft. Is it time to put Social Security reform back on the table? The mysterious ways of Fannie and Freddie. The G.O.P.’s next move on health care: “The challenge for Republicans is not to try to ‘do’ things just like the Democrats but a little less expensively or with a little less bureaucracy, but to present an agenda of personal and economic liberty as a positive alternative… [Republicans] will have to show that this time they are in favor of something positive. It’s called freedom.” Shattering the conventional wisdom: “Evidence is now flooding in from both America and England that obesity is the epidemic that never wa... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3200422 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:15:46 +0100 3200422 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3197610&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F46Mw8U1RmtU%2F By Daniel GriswoldThis has not been a good week for the national Democratic Party. Along with losing the Massachusetts Senate seat, the party took another step toward making hostility to trade liberalization a plank of party orthodoxy. As my Cato colleague Sallie James flagged earlier today, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued a press release yesterday criticizing a Republican candidate in upstate New York for contributing to the Cato Institute. And, of course, everyone knows that Cato is “a right wing extremist group that has long been a vocal advocate for extremist, unfair trade policies that would allow companies to ship American jobs overseas.” Among our sins, in the eyes of the DCCC, is that Cato research has supported tariff-reducing trade agreements, such as t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3197610 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:23:51 +0100 3197610 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3193693&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7QdUX2vM66M%2F By Roger PilonToday, Politico Arena asks: “Do they get it?” My response: Do the Democrats get it?  A good many of them, like so much of the mainstream media, have long taken their cue from The New York Times editorial page. This morning the Great Gray Lady sallies forth, ideological blinders in place, to pronounce that,  “To our minds, [Tuesday's result] is not remotely a verdict on Mr. Obama’s presidency, nor does it amount to a national referendum on health care reform.”  Not remotely?  Those Democratic office-holders who continue to sip from that purblind well will soon have plenty of time to do so. But Republican performance in recent years has hardly inspired.  To their credit, however, Republicans tend to subscribe to principles about government ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193693 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:25:40 +0100 3193693 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3193699&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsqDVlmlp3sU%2F By Chris MoodyIn this new video, Cato’s David Boaz and John Samples evaluate what Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts means for Democrats and Republicans in the near and far term. Samples and Boaz contend that Tuesday’s election sent a message to Democrats that they have clearly overreached, but Republicans need to be careful and realize that they’re still not very popular either. Watch: John Samples is the author of the forthcoming book, The Struggle to Limit Government, available soon at the Cato store. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193699 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:50:34 +0100 3193699 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171885&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIn435zpiq7c%2F By Chris EdwardsWe’ve got an IRS Commissioner who doesn’t even do his own taxes, and is not embarrassed about it. We’ve got complex deductions that nobody understands, including the government, as the Maryland nurse with the MBA found out. We’ve got a Treasury Secretary and other high appointees who apparently cheated on their taxes. And we’ve got the Democrats hell-bent on greatly increasing the power and responsibilities of the overwhelmed IRS with their health care bill. Now, more than ever, it’s time to scrap the current income tax and put in a flat tax. Or at least we could take a big jump in that direction with a “Simplified Tax,” as discussed in a new National Academies report. Get rid of all almost all deductions, exemptions, and cr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171885 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:21:59 +0100 3171885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3142512&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBJy2Fs_Ja2c%2F By Chris Moody Cato Vice President Gene Healy grades President Obama. (Hint: He doesn’t give him a “B+”). Afghanistan: A war we cannot afford. “Democrats say raise taxes. Republicans say no worries. The best policy would be to scale back America’s international commitments.” Doug Bandow: The war in Afghanistan was justified at the beginning, but to escalate now is the  “geopolitical equivalent of shutting the barn doors after the horses have fled.” How U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization enhances the liberty and prosperity of all Americans. Podcast: “TARP: A Congressional Failure” featuring John Samples. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3142512 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:51:21 +0100 3142512 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3096831&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWMabqY81hfM%2F By Michael D. TannerIf — and it is still a big “if — Democrats pass a health bill, that bill will owe as much to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. In fact, with the so-called “public option” out of the Senate health bill, the final product increasingly looks like the failed Massachusetts experiment.  Consider that the final bill will likely include: An individual mandate A weak employer-mandate An Exchange (Connector) Middle-class subsidies Insurance regulation (already in place in Massachusetts before Romney’s reforms) As to why this will be a disaster for American taxpayers, workers, and patients, I’ve written about it here, and my colleague Michael Cannon has covered it here and here. Gee, thanks, Mitt. (Source: Cat... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3096831 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:57:32 +0100 3096831 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3096842&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWYfBD0mISaA%2F By Daniel GriswoldThe good news is that a bill has been introduced in the House this week under the broad heading of immigration reform. Even during a recession, Congress should be working to change our immigration system to reflect the longer-term needs of our economy for foreign-born workers. The bad news is that the actual bill put in the hopper by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-IL, on Tuesday would do nothing to solve the related problems of illegal immigration and the long-term needs of our economy. As I argued in a recent blog post and a Washington Times op-ed, immigration reform must include expanded opportunities for legal immigration in the future through a temporary worker visa. Any so-called reform that is missing this third leg will be doomed to fail. We will simply be repeating the mi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3096842 Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:25:53 +0100 3096842 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089256&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSqRqgKHfyCA%2F By Michael F. CannonSenate Democrats now appear to be jettisoning the idea of creating a new government program to snuff out compete with private insurance companies.  It was an audacious proposal from the start, as it made their health care plan even more left-wing than the Clinton plan, which voters soundly rejected for being too statist. Yet it was always a sideshow that helpfully distracted the Left, the Right, and the mainstream from what shrewd Democrats and their allies at AHIP have really wanted all along: an individual mandate forcing all Americans to purchase health insurance under penalty of law. As I argue in this Cato study, an individual mandate gives government more (and more immediate) control over Americans’ health care than even the so-called “public option&... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089256 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:08:14 +0100 3089256 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3075475&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_BaInbbZYyM%2F By David BoazIn a report on Attorney General Eric Holder’s approach to seeking the death penalty, NPR reports: A few months after Holder made that statement, he authorized a capital prosecution in Vermont, a state that does not have the death penalty. When Ashcroft brought a federal death penalty case in Vermont seven years ago, the mayor of Burlington called it “an affront to states’ rights” and “not consistent with the values of a majority of Vermonters.” But this time, there was hardly any outcry. So the former antiwar movement doesn’t complain about President Obama’s expansion of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And opponents of capital punishment don’t protest the Obama administration’s seeking the death penalty in liberal... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3075475 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:05:12 +0100 3075475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3071132&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDr-VY5JMWbQ%2F By Michael D. TannerSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has announced that he has reached a super secret compromise on how to deal with the so-called public option for health reform.  While Reid said the agreement was too important to actually tell anyone what is in it, most of the details have been leaked to the press. Rather than set-up a completely government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurance, Congress would establish a program similar to the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP), which currently covers government workers, including Members of Congress.  The FEHBP offers a variety of private insurance plans under a program managed by the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM).  Each year OPM uses the Federal procurement process to solicit bids from... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3071132 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:58:14 +0100 3071132 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023097&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyqsO6MSLumI%2F House Democrats introduced the first complete draft of President Obama’s health plan on June 19. Since then, Congress has spent 158 days considering the Obama health plan without ever laying eyes on a complete cost estimate. The House passed its version without one. And the Senate has begun floor consideration without one.  (Shouldn’t these eight Democratic-caucusing senators be upset about that?) (Cross-posted at National Journal’s Health Care Experts Blog.) (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023097 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:40:49 +0100 3023097 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2995725&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoWIeC9lmuLE%2F Maggie Mahar asks a good question in Sunday’s Washington Post: If you’re a progressive like me, and you’re upset by the Stupak amendment, which bars federally subsidized insurance from covering abortions, consider this: What if we had a single-payer health-care system and someone like Jeb Bush or Sarah Palin were running the country? She worries that if Republicans were in charge of government-run health care, they might not stop with abortion. They might try to limit government-paid access to birth control, fertility treatments, or end-of-life care. They might even (gasp) try to require co-pays to get people to take some responsibility for their health-care decisions. She goes on: I strongly support increasing our government’s involvement in the health-care system ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2995725 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:44:43 +0100 2995725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2984782&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fq5hwXsq4dMA%2F We’ve been writing a fair amount over the last several months about increasing support for school choice among members of the Democratic Party. The focus has typically been on legislators, but a new report from the Center for Education Reform give a glimpse into possible widespread support among private-schooling Dems and Dem donors in Washington, DC. The Trustees delves into the political affiliations of board of trustee members of the “ten most prestigious private schools that support the  D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.” Based on trustees’ total donation amounts to the two major presidential candidates in 2008, or to candidates, party committees, and parties themselves, the report suggests that trustees lean Democratic by a ratio of roughly 9 to 1. I... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2984782 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:40:06 +0100 2984782 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2977268&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfbouaqOhHe0%2F President Obama’s approach to health care reform — forcing taxpayers to subsidize health insurance for tens of millions of Americans — cannot not change the status quo on abortion. Either those taxpayer dollars will fund abortions, or the restrictions necessary to prevent taxpayer funding will curtail access to private abortion coverage. There is no middle ground. Thus both sides’ fears are justified. Both sides of the abortion debate are learning why government should not subsidize health care. Tip of the hat to President Obama for creating this teachable moment. Meanwhile, Catholics should be outraged at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (to which my grandfather served as counsel). Yes, the USCCB helped prevent taxpayer funding of abortions in the H... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2977268 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:42:32 +0100 2977268 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2973906&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbHBenHALa9c%2F The fat lady hasn’t even started to warm up yet. The narrow 220-215 victory in the House on Saturday night was a step forward on the road to a government takeover of the health care system.  But as close and dramatic as that vote was, that was the easy part.  The Senate must still pass its version of reform—which will not be the bill that just passed the House.  Nancy Pelosi was, after all, able to lose the votes of 39 moderate Democrats.  Harry Reid cannot afford to lose even one.  A conference committee must reconcile the two vastly different versions.  And then, Pelosi must hold together her 3 vote margin of victory (if it gets that far).  Yet several House Democrats who voted for the bill on Saturday said they did so only to “advance the process.” Their vote is far from... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2973906 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:18:15 +0100 2973906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2971880&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiuYpk8X2ArI%2F Democrats are having difficulty corralling 218 votes for the Pelosi bill because Americans do not want government to be as big and as powerful as the House leadership does. Pro-life Democrats do not want a government so big that it can force taxpayers to fund abortions. Pro-choice Democrats do not want a government so big that it uses subsidies to restrict access to abortion coverage. Other Democrats don’t want a government so big that it turns the United States into a welfare magnet. The American people don’t want the Democrats’ approach to health care generally. The more time the public has to digest ObamaCare, the more they dislike it: And the Pelosi bill is the most expensive and extreme version of ObamaCare.  Opposition will climb higher when the public learns the bill costs s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2971880 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:14:49 +0100 2971880 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2967273&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fp7YBAVv_WCo%2F If House Democrats hold a vote on their health-care overhaul this weekend, they might as well vote to abolish the Congressional Budget Office too. It would be no more audacious (and much more honest) than the way they have gamed the CBO’s rules to hide $1.5 trillion of the cost of their legislation — which has to be the biggest fiscal obfuscation in the history of American politics. Here’s how they did it. C/P Politico (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2967273 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:58:39 +0100 2967273 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2963074&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgXyYR2TDT8w%2F This morning, Politico’s Arena asks: Is Tea Party conservatism a help or a hazard for Republicans seeking a return to power? My response: Let’s start with some clarity:  “Tea Party conservatism” stands for several things, but it is not the caricature one often finds in the mainstream media, to say nothing of the left wing blogs.  It is a movement with deep historical roots, drawing its name and inspiration from the Boston Tea Party of 1773.  As with that event, taxes brought it to the fore — on Tax Day, April 15.  But taxes are simply the most obvious manifestation of modern government run amok, insinuating itself into every corner of life.  Trillions of dollars of debt for our children, out-of-control government budgets, massive interventions in priv... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2963074 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:49:12 +0100 2963074 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2963077&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FjM6R2iKJpcE%2F Drop the neocons: “Republicans should take this opportunity to return to their traditional noninterventionist roots and throw their neoconservative wing under the bus.” John Samples on the national impact of this week’s elections: “The evidence suggests the Obama administration might be on the same path that led the Clinton presidency to the election of 1994. But there is an important difference: In 1994, the public had some faith in the alternative to Clinton and the Democrats in Congress.” Afghan election analysis. A few things you might not know about Bhutan. Podcast: “Independents and the GOP Victories“ (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2963077 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:33:44 +0100 2963077 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2958816&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwjQRYX3dyZs%2F This morning, Politico’s Arena asks: “Election 09: What’s the message?” My response: A note on NY 23, then to the larger message in yesterday’s returns. Already this morning we’re seeing an effort to spin the NY 23 outcome as a warning to Republicans and a hopeful sign for Democrats. Yet the striking thing about that outcome is how close a third-party candidate came in the face of opposition from the Republican establishment. And the ultimate outcome can doubtless be explained simply by absentee ballots, plus voters unaware of the last-minute developments in the race. Thus, given those factors, the NY 23 outcome is perfectly consistent with returns in the rest of the country. (In fact, Conservative and Republican votes in that race total more than 50 per... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2958816 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:18:12 +0100 2958816 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2954498&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlJXkpS4qjr0%2F The “Karzai problem” in Afghanistan: “The U.S. has assisted and sponsored a corrupt, illegitimate and slightly autocratic regime there while purporting to advance the values of freedom and democracy.” Did it work? Cato’s Jeffrey Miron debates the effectiveness of Obama’s stimulus plan. The Democrats’ internal battle: Why they can’t agree on how to overhaul the health care system. The limits of American power in Afghanistan. “Peter Bauer and the Economics of Prosperity“ (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2954498 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:07:30 +0100 2954498 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2943763&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgnYqzdJb3ZM%2F Illinois state senator James Meeks, an African American Democrat and long-time opponent of school choice, just switched sides. In doing so, he swells the small but growing ranks of Democrats in Florida, New Jersey, and the nation’s capital, among others, who support giving parents an easy choice between public and private schools. Like Wile E. Coyote, national Democrats have run off a political cliff in their reflexive opposition to educational freedom.  And like Wile,  they’re experiencing a temporary suspension of the law of gravity — not yet suffering for their mistake. But we all know that the cloud at Wile’s feet eventually dissipates, and he realizes that he’s no longer on solid ground. By then, it’s too late. As someone much happier under divide... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2943763 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:42:34 +0100 2943763 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2916083&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FG7xTnco9RUA%2F According to The Hill, House Democrats are considering re-branding their new government-run health insurance program.  A “public option” evidently isn’t catchy enough.  Now they’re thinking, “Medicare Part E” as in, Medicare for Everyone. By all means, model a new government program after Medicare, which: Drags down the quality of care for all patients, both publicly and privately insured Literally kills people by fueling the epidemic of deaths due to medical errors (as many as 100,000 annually) Is responsible for the fragmented delivery system about which the Left complains Has required one tax increase every four years, still has an unfunded liability approaching $90 trillion, and will therefore be the driving force behind income-tax rates essential... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2916083 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:11:20 +0100 2916083 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2912162&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNn-RkQ-j_Z0%2F Just days after the health-insurance lobby released a report criticizing the Senate Finance Committee’s health care overhaul (for not expanding government enough!), Democrats and President Barack Obama lashed out at health insurers, threatening to revoke what the Government Accountability Office calls the insurers’ “very limited exemption from the federal antitrust laws.” Democrats say they’re motivated by the need to increase competition in health insurance markets.  Right. According to Business Week: David Hyman, a professor of law and medicine at the University of Illinois College of Law and adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute…considers it unlikely that repeal would fundamentally change the nature of the market. While it might increase competition ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2912162 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:30:55 +0100 2912162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2908575&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPfrTVhvf31w%2F Today’s  Arena question over at Politico asks: Is Fox News a “legitimate news organization?” Is the White House smart, or not so smart, to take on Fox? Is Fox News a “legitimate news organization?” As compared to what? The New York Times? NPR? MSNBC? Please. The Obama team, Democrats like my good friend Walter Dellinger, and the so-called Mainstream Media (MSM) howl about Fox News for two main reasons. First, Fox is covering news the MSM ignores because it doesn’t “fit.” And second, in part because of that, the Fox audience continues to grow while the MSM audience is shrinking, raising a serious question about whether the MSM is any longer “mainstream.” Let’s not pretend that the MSM doesn’t “manage” the n... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2908575 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:56:40 +0100 2908575 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2904862&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKJVwVWrl6K8%2F I’m not a fan of the House Democrats’ proposed takeover of the health care sector.  (If there’s one thing that legislation is not, it’s “reform.”)  But at least House Democrats were honest enough to include the cost of the $245 billion bump in Medicare physician payments in their legislation, unlike some committee chairmen I could mention. Unfortunately, House Democrats have since decided that dishonesty is the better strategy.  They, like Senate Democrats, now plan to strip that additional Medicare spending out of health “reform” and enact it separately.  (Democrats are already trying to exempt that spending from pay-as-you-go rules, making it easier for them to expand our record federal deficits.)  Why enact it separately?  Because excising that spending from the �... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2904862 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:44:36 +0100 2904862 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2898925&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZE8sgxC9zbI%2F Yes, you read that right.  And I had to do the same sort of double-take when I read David Broder’s op-ed in The Washington Post this morning. Broder writes, “Obama has steered the enterprise to the point that odds now favor a bill-signing ceremony.  But the hardest choices still lie ahead….”  Whaa??  How can the odds be better than 50-50 if the biggest fights haven’t even happened yet? Broder’s optimism continues, “Two things will be needed to reach [a majority in the House and 60 votes in the Senate]: first, a plausible plan for making affordable and comprehensive health insurance available to millions…. And second, a way of financing the coverage….”  But that’s been the whole challenge all along.  Is Broder actually ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2898925 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:12:57 +0100 2898925 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2846347&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_TKxtI_qwPg%2F Scott Lincicome sharpens his pencil today and calculates that Congressional failure to ratify the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement–a deal that was signed almost three full years ago–has so far cost American exporters $2 billion.  That tally increases $1.9 million each and every day. Since that time [the trade agreement signing], American exporters have paid approximately $1.9 million per day in Colombian tariffs that they wouldn’t have paid if the Democrat-controlled Congress had just passed the FTA back then and thus allowed it to enter into force. By my math, that means that Congress’ and (now) the President’s partisan stalling has resulted in a pointless tax on American businesses of almost $2 billion ($1.9798 billion = 1042 days times $1.9 million) a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2846347 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:32:08 +0100 2846347 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2823951&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FR7XAGt9qZN4%2F President Obama’s address to the United Nations General Assembly this morning, and his chairing of the UN Security Council on Thursday, is a grand attempt to tell the world–after eight years of George W. Bush–that the United States will no longer go it alone. The president has a very difficult task, however, if he expects to invest the United Nations with renewed credibility. The UN is a weak and fractured institution, whose limited power and authority has been steadily undermined by a progression of U.S. presidents, both Democrats and Republicans. We should not forget that President Bill Clinton explicitly circumvented the UN Security Council when he chose to intervene militarily in Kosovo in 1999. Clinton’s evasion of the UNSC established a precedent for future mi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2823951 Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:29:12 +0100 2823951 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2823967&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFuQ414OVrvQ%2F “Americans are more likely today than in the recent past to believe that government is taking on too much responsibility for solving the nation’s problems and is over-regulating business,” according to a new Gallup Poll. New Gallup data show that 57% of Americans say the government is trying to do too many things that should be left to businesses and individuals, and 45% say there is too much government regulation of business. Both reflect the highest such readings in more than a decade. Byron York of the Examiner notes: The last time the number of people who believe government is doing too much hit 57 percent was in October 1994, shortly before voters threw Democrats out of power in both the House and Senate. It continued to rise after that, hitting 60 percent in Decembe... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2823967 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:18:43 +0100 2823967 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2823968&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvVttEbFpft4%2F Bloomberg News reports today that the U.S. House may pass a bill by the end of the year lifting the almost five-decade-old ban on travel to Cuba by American citizens. The step is long overdue. According to the article: A group of House and Senate lawmakers proposed in March ending restrictions to allow all U.S. citizens and residents to travel to Cuba. [Rep. Sam Farr, a California Democrat] said the legislation, known as the “Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act,” also has enough votes to clear the Senate, where Senator Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, and Republican Senator Michael Enzi of Wyoming introduced the legislation. As Rep. Farr succinctly added, “If you are a potato, you can get to Cuba very easily, but if you are a person, you can’t, and that is our problem.” “If yo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2823968 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:07:28 +0100 2823968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2803887&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUJEALC3pR_E%2F In their attempt to defeat Obamacare, Republicans have focused their criticism on the public option, painting it as the most objectionable feature of existing proposals. Senator Max Baucus, (D-Mont.), has now proposed a plan without the public option. This leaves the Republicans in an awkward position, especially since Baucus’s plan is projected to cost less than earlier proposals. If Republicans oppose the Baucus plan, they surely risk the ire of voters who will be told during the mid-term elections, “The Republicans blocked a plan that would have covered the uninsured and reduced the deficit.” The problem is, the public option was never the crucial issue; instead, it was the mandate to purchase insurance. Once government mandates insurance coverage, it gets to define wh... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2803887 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:26:45 +0100 2803887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2800365&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMdmVBHfM5-k%2F Will you allow a foreigner to comment on something that has intrigued her about this great country? All this hand-wringing and then censure (not to mention impeachment talk) over Rep. Joe Wilson’s admittedly rude intervention at President Obama’s speech last week has me baffled. Partly, it is because I come from a land that is governed by a parliamentary system, where Question Time is a much-loved institution. The offense (manufactured, perhaps) that Representative Wilson’s comment has caused is almost laughable when I think about some of the insults that have been hurled in both directions in Australia’s parliament. Here’s a collection of quotes from former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating just for starters (warning: offensive language). Here is a Br... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2800365 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:46:47 +0100 2800365 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2793137&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fusr6_D_mguM%2F That’s my favorite placard from the Washington tea party protests on Saturday. No Child Left a Dime underlines perhaps the central concern of the protesters — the ongoing massive fiscal irresponsibility in Washington by both parties. We’ve got deficits of more more than $1 trillion for years to come. Federal debt will approach World War Two levels within a decade. Even so, the Democrats are trying to ram through a $1 trillion health care expansion, and the head of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, is defending against any cuts to Medicare, the program that is the single biggest threat to taxpayers. People are marching not just because Obama and the Democrats are scaring their pants off, but because most Republicans in positions of power are spen... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2793137 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:42:55 +0100 2793137 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2782010&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fr1sh67TTEv4%2F Hell of a speech last night, eh?  Here are a few of my favorite gems. Under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Translation: I, Barack Obama, ignoring thousands of years of failed price-control schemes, will impose price controls on health insurance. I will force insurers to sell a $50k policies for $10k. What could go wrong? We were losing an average of 700,000 jobs per month. True. And your employer mandate would kill hundreds of thousands of low-wage jobs that would never come back. They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime.   We will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses…. And i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2782010 Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:24:49 +0100 2782010 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2778387&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fa49WOEq6Lxg%2F Thomas Friedman’s New York Times column today would be astonishing in its incoherence if only Friedman hadn’t long ago sapped us of our ability to be astonished by his incoherence. Like many capital-’d’ Democrats, Friedman has soured on democracy for failing to deliver on his policy wish list. Watching both the health care and climate/energy debates in Congress, it is hard not to draw the following conclusion: There is only one thing worse than one-party autocracy, and that is one-party democracy, which is what we have in America today. Why does Friedman say the United States has one-party democracy? Because the Republican Party is effectively opposing the Democratic Party’s agenda! Not even kidding. Get this: The fact is, on both the energy/climate legislatio... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2778387 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:11:09 +0100 2778387 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2778392&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FdYrS3bQjgmM%2F Although it has very much taken a back-seat to health care, and a press report [$] today say it could be bumped down yet another notch on the administration’s hierarchy of goals, climate change is shaping up to be a major battle if the others don’t prove to be prohibitively exhausting. So today I am weighing in on the debate by releasing my new paper on the dangers of using trade measures as a tool of climate policy. The Democrats were keen to pass a climate change bill in advance of the December meeting in Copenhagen designed to agree on a successor regime to the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.  However, opposition from a number of quarters and the fear of health-care-town-halls-mark-II has cooled their heels. Senate leaders have pushed back the deadline for passing... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2778392 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:36:09 +0100 2778392 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2737703&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwJKumTnB9BQ%2F Okay, well maybe Tax Tips for Democrats won’t ever make it to the publisher, but while speaking at Cato University this summer, David Boaz offered a few tips to any more Democrats with tax problems who are thinking about joining the current administration. “Some people say the best thing about electing a Democratic president is all the back taxes we collect from their appointees,” says Boaz. “It helps to balance the budget.” Watch the whole thing: C-SPAN 2 will air Boaz’s talk on the state of freedom in America this Sunday at 11:30 AM EST. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2737703 Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:17:50 +0100 2737703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2712065&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FacawJ5E21T8%2F Since the June House vote on the Waxman-Markey “cap-and-trade” bill, lawmakers from both chambers have backed significantly away from the legislation. The first raucous “town hall” meetings occurred during the July 4 recess, before health care. Voters in swing districts were mad as heck then, and they’re even more angry now. Had the energy bill not all but disappeared from the Democrats’ fall agenda, imagine the decibel level if members were called to defend it and Obamacare. But none of this has dissuaded the editorial boards of the The New York Times and Washington Post. Both newspapers featured uncharacteristically shrill editorials today demanding climate change legislation at any cost. The Post, at least, notes the political realities facing cap-and-trade and ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2712065 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:41:08 +0100 2712065 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2653664&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbuIpFzOeoP0%2F We’ve written more than once about the Democratic “Blue Dogs” and the lack of any actual evidence for their supposed fiscal conservatism. Now Merrill Mathews in The Wall Street Journal tells the sad story of the Blue Dogs in the Obama era. They call in the journalists, and they moan and complain about their concerns over the deficit and rising federal spending. And when the rubber meets the road, what happens? • The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). One of the first things the Democratic leadership wanted the newly inaugurated President Obama to sign was a huge expansion of SCHIP. Democrats have been trying to pass the expansion for over a year, with some bipartisan support. President George W. Bush vetoed the legislation twice, and Congress sustain... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2653664 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:37:11 +0100 2653664 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2648968&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvDt3KTAbk1E%2F Any City Council members who aren’t vocally supporting the DC voucher program need to take a good long look at these numbers: Nearly 75 percent of District residents support the city’s federally funded school voucher program, according to a rigorous, independent poll released today. Widespread support for the program crosses party lines—with 74 percent of Democrats, 77 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of Independents backing the program—and extends across each of the District’s eight wards. . . Two previous polls have demonstrated local support for the program; in 2007, a Greater Washington Urban League poll demonstrated almost 70 percent support for the federal funding creating the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. A 2008 poll by the national nonprofit Education Reform ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2648968 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:10:12 +0100 2648968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2645266&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fi7W1qQskV3k%2F According to Don Johnson of The Health Care Blog: Speculators seem to be betting that a watered down health insurance reform bill won’t hurt health insurers, hospitals, drug makers or medical device and supply manufacturers. Stocks for almost all of these health sectors and for exchange trade funds that track health stock indexes turned higher last week. In other words, those with real money at stake don’t believe that health reform will hurt the firms that make a living off of America’s highly inefficient health sector — President Obama’s assurances notwithstanding. Johnson provides seven possible explanations for this development, including: 3. If the very liberal Coastal Democrats who lead Congress and most of the five committees drafting health insurance l... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2645266 Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:14:36 +0100 2645266 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2645273&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEMa-TNTzYU4%2F President Obama and other leading Democrats have proposed creating a new government health insurance program as an “option” for Americans under the age of 65. In a new study, Cato scholar Michael F. Cannon shows that government programs cost more and deliver lower-quality care than private insurance. “If Congress wants to make health care more efficient and increase competition in health insurance markets, there are far better options,” argues Cannon. Fannie Med? Why a "Public Option" Is Hazardous to Your Health, Cato Policy Analysis No. 642 (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2645273 Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:18:49 +0100 2645273 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2621752&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJyaZOAD6zdo%2F A new ABC/Washington Post poll is out.  The trends are not comforting for the White House.  President Obama’s approval rating - probably the most important number for a president these days - continues to drop. Approval by independents has fallen by 9 points over his term.  Support for his handling of the economy now garners the approval of barely half of respondents.  The number of people who see him as an “old-style tax and spend” Democrat has rise by 11 percentage points; the number who see has as a new Democrat “careful with public money” has dropped by about the same number. A majority of the public now rejects a second spending splurge. Most now give avoiding deficits a higher priority than increasing spending, even to fight the recession. The number... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2621752 Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:00:10 +0100 2621752 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3105031&cid=t_99572_97_f&fid=35606&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheangriestpharmacist.com%2F2009%2F07%2F16%2Fforgive-me-for-not-being-quiet%2F Michael Jackson got a moment of silence in Congress for dying. He sold records, made music, and made people happy. He was an accused child molester. While never convicted, he did settle CIVIL cases out of court (which is all but admitting guilt when it comes to child molestation, am I right?). My cousin Brian was 19 years old. He was killed three days ago in Iraq by what the military has dubbed an “IED.” [Improvised Exploding Device] This is called newspeak, and it’s the government’s way to change the way a word makes us feel (and our response) — it’s propaganda and manipulation of the public to alter our thoughts, perceptions, and maybe even our ideals without us even knowing. They want to make it seem not as bad — not as harsh. Now, read it again... The Angriest Pharmacist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3105031 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:23:51 +0100 3105031 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2610881&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIDp9dUjVBBY%2F The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has two charts showing what health care regulation looks like now… …and what it would look like under the House Democrats’ health care plan: (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2610881 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:10:01 +0100 2610881 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2610882&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbOKerDexnw8%2F This is too good.  Directly from the ABC News blog post, “CBO Sees No Federal Cost Savings in Dem Health Plans:” Here’s a blow to President Obama and Democrats pressing health care reform. One of the main arguments made by the President and others for investing in health reform now is that it will save the federal government money in the long run by containing costs. Turns out that may not be the case, according to Doug Elmendorf, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Answering questions from Democrat Kent Conrad of North Dakota at a hearing of the Senate Budget Committee today, Elmendorf said CBO does not see health care cost savings in either of the partisan Democratic bills currently in Congress. Conrad:  Dr. Elmendorf, I am going to really put you... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2610882 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:09:13 +0100 2610882 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2610891&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpUTtm370xTY%2F As Mike Tanner has written, the health care bill means a big tax hike — indeed, a lot of tax hikes.  It also means a reversal of one of President Ronald Reagan’s great achievements, bringing down the top marginal income tax rate.  Reports the Washington Times: Small-business owners are warning that the economy would suffer under a health care bill proposed by House Democrats, which would drive tax rates for high-income taxpayers to levels not seen since before President Reagan’s tax reform of 1986. The top federal income tax rate, which Mr. Reagan and a bipartisan Congress lowered from 50 percent to 28 percent, would reach 45 percent in 2011 if Congress and President Obama enact the surtaxes that are part of the health care reform plan that House Democrats announced Tue... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2610891 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:03:03 +0100 2610891 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2605945&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6_XbFFeVUIM%2F House Democrats released their 1,018 page health care reform bill, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, yesterday. This bill is a dog’s breakfast of bad ideas paid for by more than $500 billion in new taxes. The reform would impose an individual mandate on individuals, requiring every American to buy a government designed insurance package or pay a new tax equal to 2.5 percent of their income. At a time of rising unemployment, businesses would be required to provide health insurance to workers or pay a new tax equal to 8 percent of workers wages. These new taxes could drive the total cost to taxpayers much higher than the $500 billion in direct taxes in the bill. In addition, the bill includes a host of new insurance regulations that will drive up the cost of insurance ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2605945 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:24:02 +0100 2605945 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2601961&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQqwtjZG3HNk%2F The New York Times reports that House Democrats want to raise money for health care with a $550 billion tax hike on people who produce the most wealth. The Times says, the proposal is perhaps the clearest expression yet of the mandate that Democrats believe they won last November, when voters expanded Democratic majorities in Congress and sent Barack Obama to the White House. If Democrats think they won a mandate for huge tax increases — without talking about them — then 2010 ought to be fun. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2601961 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:37:50 +0100 2601961 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2588181&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fm-PJqMJp6ow%2F Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona is one of the very few fiscal policy heroes in Congress. Last night, he was doing what he does best — offering amendments to cut funding from a wasteful appropriations bill moving through the House. Flake tried to strike spending earmarks slipped into the bill by both Republicans and Democrats. Watching the action on C-SPAN, I was struck by what a bunch of robots the big spenders defending the bill were. They said things like “this project is very important,” “it will help people,” and “it has a rate of return of 30-to-1 for every tax dollar spent.” Flake pointed out the simple logical flaws in the spenders’ arguments. If an earmarked project is so important, why doesn’t it get funding through the norma... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2588181 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:16:03 +0100 2588181 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2584136&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTb8mvhRbf-U%2F In their desperate bid to find half a trillion dollars or so to fund a health care expansion, Democrats have no shortage of bad ideas. Indeed, their new idea is even worse than last month’s dastardly plan to hike taxes on beer and wine. The Democrat’s new idea is to slap a special “surtax” on high earners. A surtax is simply a flat additional charge based on adjusted gross income. The model for the new scheme seems to be a four percent surtax proposed by House tax writer Charlie Rangel in 2007. Elsewhere I’ve explained why tax hikes on high earners is poor economic policy.  But politically, what’s striking is how far American economic policy is moving to the left of policies in other major nations. The chart shows that the current top U.S. pe... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2584136 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:35:02 +0100 2584136 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570384&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FrGWIX7NUNs0%2F A news story from today in a slightly alternate universe: Jobless Rate at 26-Year High Employers kept slashing jobs at a furious pace in June as the unemployment rate edged ever closer to double-digit levels, undermining signs of progress in the economy, and making clear that the job market remains in terrible shape. The number of jobs on employers’ payrolls fell by 467,000, the Labor Department said. That is many more jobs than were shed in May and far worse than the 350,000 job losses that economists were forecasting. Job losses peaked in January and had declined every month until June. The steep losses show that even as there are signs that total economic activity may level off or begin growing later this year, the nation’s employers are still pulling back. White House pres... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570384 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:34:21 +0100 2570384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2556087&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FrdZiIACZYC4%2F Fed Chairman Bernanke’s term as Chair ends in January 2010. So far President Obama has offered Bernanke praise for his performance, but little else. After last week’s House Oversight Committee hearing focusing on Bernanke’s role in Bank of America’s purchase of Merrill Lynch, it is now readily apparent that the Chairman has few supporters on Capitol Hill. While his nomination will not be subject to the approval of the House of Representatives, or any of its Committees, the Senate Banking Committee’s reaction to Treasury Secretary Geithner’s plan to extend the Fed’s power serves as a useful proxy in gauging that Committee’s view of the Fed’s recent performance. Several recent polls show President Obama to be broadly popular with the American public, while the public holds ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2556087 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:38:24 +0100 2556087 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2464101&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FjNvnLCy3gRU%2F There are lots of reasons Washington should not bail out the automakers.  Whatever the justification for saving financial institutions — the “lifeblood” of the economy, etc., etc. — saving selected industrial enterprises is lemon socialism at its worst.  The idea that the federal government will be able to engineer an economic turnaround is, well, the sort of economic fantasy that unfortunately dominates Capitol Hill these days. One obvious problem is that legislators now have a great excuse to micromanage the automakers.  And they have already started.  After all, if the taxpayers are providing subsidies, don’t they deserve to have dealerships, lots of dealerships, just down the street?  That’s what our Congresscritters seem to think. Observes St... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2464101 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:04:51 +0100 2464101 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2452377&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fei6jvzEUVn0%2F First, the Democrats in Washington for all intents and purposes killed the District of Columbia’s proven voucher program, but did it with Ninja-like stealth. The weapons: Nearly impossible reauthorization requirements, late Friday announcements, and politically expedient promises to keep kids currently attending good schools from being very publicly booted. Now it’s Milwaukee’s turn. The new Democratic majority in Madison is on its way to cutting the value of individual vouchers while raising public school per-pupil expenditures, and even worse, is larding new regulations on private schools participating in the choice program. Perhaps the most ridiculous proposed reg: Requiring all participating private schools with student bodies that are more than 10 percent limited... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2452377 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:16:10 +0100 2452377 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2452388&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2zyqJ_YLrxY%2F Christopher J. Christie just decisively won New Jersey’s Republican gubernatorial primary, but had to veer away from his middle-of-the-road plan and venture into some traditionally conservative territory to do it, according to news accounts. Will that be a problem for him in the general election? Not necessarily. As NorthJersey.com’s Charles Stile observes, Christie’s ardent support for private school choice is not the polarizing stance it once was: these programs “once championed by conservative ideologues, are being embraced by urban Democrats.” As we’ve been saying at the Center for Educational Freedom for some time now, the post-partisan age of school choice is well within sight, and draws closer every day. The last politicos to see that will find... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2452388 Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:59:30 +0100 2452388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441178&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fpp5du9uDC64%2F The New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn accuses Americans for Prosperity (AFP) of “lies” for running an ad that claims “Washington wants to bring Canadian-style healthcare to the U.S.” AFP’s ad is more defensible than Cohn’s criticisms of it. Cohn elides the question of whether Shana Holmes (the woman featured in the ad) was almost killed by Canada’s Medicare system.  For a supporter of single-payer like Cohn, that is tantamount to admitting that, yeah, socialized medicine sometimes kills people. Cohn argues that the ad is unfair because Canada has many advantages over the U.S. health care sector.  That may be true, but the ad doesn’t appear to defend American health care.  It merely says, “government should never come in between your family and your doctor” and “Don’... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441178 Thu, 28 May 2009 12:43:07 +0100 2441178 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2424037&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcFpwPOHV67s%2F Democrats in Congress are reportedly considering taxing employer-provided health insurance benefits as a way to pay for their health care reform plan.  And, even though he brutally attacked John McCain for something similar (see below) during the campaign, President Obama may now go along with the idea. Much of the media coverage around the idea has equated this tax hike with the McCain plan and other proposals by advocates of market-based health reform over the years that would shift the tax break from employer-provided insurance to individual insurance.  However, there is an important distinction.  The market-based proposals would have taxed employer-provided health benefits (treating them as taxable compensation), but would have provided workers with a deduction or credit for purchas... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2424037 Tue, 19 May 2009 14:35:51 +0100 2424037 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2405037&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FS1ga3UOJXco%2F The USA Today takes note of the fact that support for school choice is growing among Democratic, often black, politicians: While vouchers will likely never be the clarion call of Democrats, they’re beginning to make inroads among a group of young black lawmakers, mayors and school officials who have split with party and teachers union orthodoxy on school reform. The group includes Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and former Washington, D.C., mayor Anthony Williams. I’d only add that this broadening support is hardly limited to black Democrats, and that support for education tax credits is spreading even more quickly among Democrats. And while choice might never become a Democratic “clarion call,” it just might become the new consensus among serio... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2405037 Wed, 13 May 2009 15:31:58 +0100 2405037 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2382258&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUTNdxnUrl_A%2F In choosing a Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Souter, President Obama will have an opportunity to avoid the partisanship he promised to reduce on the campaign trail, which his legislative agenda has thus far only exacerbated. But given the way Bush nominees were treated by Senate Democrats, it won’t be easy. After the stormy confirmation hearings for Judges Bork and Thomas, President Clinton’s nominations of Judges Ginsburg and Breyer sailed through the confirmation process with little opposition and even less acrimony. With the return of Republican nominees after the election of George W. Bush, however, Senate Democrats resumed their scorched earth practices, starting with appellate court nominees and continuing to the nominations of Judges Roberts and Alito to the Hi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2382258 Fri, 01 May 2009 18:54:44 +0100 2382258 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2380736&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcqV-tk4Ahuo%2F When the Florida Legislature passed its education tax credit program in 2001, only one Democrat supported the measure. Last year, the legislature expanded the program with votes from one third of statehouse Democrats, half the black caucus and the entire Hispanic caucus. Last week, nearly half of House Democrats —47 percent—voted to significantly expand the revenue base for the state’s business donation tax credit program. House Republicans voted 100 percent in favor. And yesterday, nearly a third of Senate Democrats—31 percent—voted to expand the tax credit program. And 92 percent of their Republican colleagues voted for the bill. In all, 43 percent of state Democratic legislators voted in favor of education tax credits. Governor Crist is expected to sign the bill shortly. T... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2380736 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:12:09 +0100 2380736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375842&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F43-Z_HibELo%2F This month’s issue of Cato Unbound has drawn an extraordinarily hostile response from a couple of mainstream online publications. Writing at Salon, Michael Lind inferred, mistakenly, that our interest in Seasteading and other radical libertarian projects was due to our disappointment that Republicans lost in the 2008 election. Because this issue was my idea, I feel I can speak effectively to the charge. As I see things, it was basically impossible to cast either John McCain or Barack Obama as a libertarian. Neither of them shared the policy goals of the Cato Institute to any appreciable degree. Speaking as a private individual, I didn’t vote for either of them, and I don’t regret my choice. I found both Democrats and Republicans profoundly unappealing this election cycle.... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375842 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:53:34 +0100 2375842 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375854&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHY7kiey1toE%2F I watched the congressional conference committee on the budget yesterday on CSPAN, and it seemed like the final fall and sacking of Rome. Two of the remaining generals defending fiscal sanity, Reps. Paul Ryan and Jeb Hensarling, pled with the invading barbarians to limit their fiscal pillaging and warned that the Treasury was empty. But the barbarians, in the form of Rep. Rosa DeLauro and others, had visions of spreading the empire’s gold widely, and were not deterred by talk of damage to future generations. The barbarians are inside the fiscal gate. The gate is the 60-vote margin usually required for big, new spending programs to pass in the Senate. Ryan and Hensarling were right that the Democrat budget plan could be a major turning point in the nation’s fiscal his... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375854 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:13:00 +0100 2375854 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306729&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F24LVmhFGt18%2F G-20 Summit Agrees to International Spending Plan The Washington Post reports, “Leaders from more than 20 major nations including the United States decided Thursday to make available an additional $1 trillion for the world economy through the International Monetary Fund and other institutions as part of a broad package of measures to overcome the global financial crisis.” Cato scholars Richard W. Rahn, Daniel J. Ikenson and Ian Vásquez commented on the London-based meeting: Rahn: “President Obama of the U.S. and Prime Minister Brown of the U.K. will be pressing for more so-called stimulus spending by other nations, despite the fact that the historical evidence shows that big increases in government spending are more likely to be damaging and slow down recovery than they ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306729 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:32:27 +0100 2306729 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2284349&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlUuti90WMdE%2F Here’s an interesting letter penned by Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association — the largest union in the country (hat tip to Cato’s own Neal McCluskey). It reads, in part (boldface added, ALL CAPS “shouting” in the original): Letter to the Democrats in the House and Senate on DC Vouchers March 05, 2009 Dear Senator: The National Education Association strongly opposes any extension of the District of Columbia private school voucher (”DC Opportunity Scholarship”) program.  We expect that Members of Congress who support public education, and whom we have supported, will stand firm against any proposal to extend the pilot program.  Actions associated with these issues WILL be included in the NEA Legislative Report Card f... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2284349 Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:51:22 +0100 2284349 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2255976&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Flf3PXVeEkP0%2F Through his press secretary Robert Gibbs, president Obama has declared that he will reverse congressional Democrats’ phase-out of the DC Opportunity Scholarships program. The scholarships make private schooling affordable for 1,700 poor DC children, most of whom would be forced back into the District’s broken public school system if it were to end. However — yes, there’s always a however — there’s every indication that president Obama will do the minimum necessary to keep the program going at its current size, and will not help to expand it. This is nevertheless a crucial milestone. There is finally a major national Democratic leader who is beginning to catch up to his state-level peers. Democrats all around the country have been supporting and signing... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2255976 Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:01:05 +0100 2255976 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2255982&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FICXyRU1QTaE%2F In his famous book, Confessions, the 5th-century theologian Augustine wrote that he used to pray before his conversion, “Lord, make me chaste, but not just yet.” That quote came to mind as I read the news a moment ago that President Obama plans to sign the $410 billion catch-all appropriations bill even though it contains 8,500 “earmarks” that will cost taxpayers nearly $8 billion. Recall that as a candidate, Obama said he and Democratic leaders in Congress would change the “business as usual” practice of stuffing spending bills with pet projects. Those earmarks, submitted by individual members to fund obscure projects in their own districts and states, typically become law without any debate or transparency. Saying he would sign the “imperfect bill,” President Obama offere... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2255982 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:40:22 +0100 2255982 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1917889&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2008%2F10%2F28%2Fthe-coming-second-bill-of-rights-under-president-obama%2F The Second Bill of Rights Mark Steyn has put his finger on the pulse again. Re Sunstein, Obama and Euro-style rights, they may be here sooner than you think: Senator Obama’s call for a middle-class rescue plan comes a day after The Blade published a Page 1 open letter to the candidate welcoming him to Toledo and inviting him to endorse a ‘Second Bill of Rights’ that includes Americans’ right to a job where they live. Mr. Obama responded to The Blade’s question by agreeing that every American willing to work should be able to find a job at a living wage. But he stopped short of accepting that as a right. U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D. Toledo) whipped the crowd up before Mr. Obama took the stage yesterday telling them that America needed a Second Bill of Rights guar... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1917889 Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:22:31 +0100 1917889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1871244&cid=t_99572_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F12%2Fdrew-westen-on-the-political-brain-part-i%2F In this two and one-half minute video, Drew Westen discusses the “dispassionate” view of mind and how it has failed Democratic candidates. * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “Political Psychology in 2008,” “Do We Miss Racial Stereotypes Today that Will Be Evident Tomorrow?,” “Perceptions of Racial Divide,” “New Yorker Cover of the Obamas and Source Amnesia,” “Voting for a Face,” “The Situation of Swift-Boating,” “On Being a Mindful Voter,” “Naïve Cynicism in Election 2008: Dispositionism v. Situationism?,” “Implicit Associations in the 2008 Presidential Election,” “The Situation of Political Animals,” and “Your Brain on Politics.” For other posts on the Situation of politics, click here.   &nbs... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1871244 Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:22:02 +0100 1871244 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1742678&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2008%2F08%2F29%2Fsarah-palin-watch-florida-democrats-slam-palin-as-dangerous-right-winger%2F From the Press Release e-mailed from a little bird: Dear Friends, John McCain rolled the dice with his VP pick today - in an attempt to woo women voters. But we cannot gamble with women’s lives. Don’t let your friends, family and co-workers be fooled: Alaskan Sarah Palin is a dangerous right-winger who lacks the judgment to lead. In 2000, Palin endorsed Pat Buchanan for President. Yes, that Pat Buchanan. In 2006, Palin ran for Alaska Governor on a message of change - and then turned out to be just another corrupt Alaska politician who’s now under investigation in her own state. She’s no Hillary Clinton. She’s Dan Quayle in a dress. Women voters who care about equal rights, choice, family and other issues, will not see a partner in Palin. Help us... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1742678 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:24:04 +0100 1742678 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1723529&cid=t_99572_136_f&fid=35302&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWhitePebble%2F%7E3%2F370991912%2F Okay, I have to admit that this reason got by me at first, but it’s obvious if you think about it. I myself worry about Obama because he is too slick, too appealing. I want to cheer when he speaks, but why? I have to question everything. American Thinker: The odd choices in Barack Obama’s career It’s time to throw my hat in the ring as regards predicting the election results. So here it is: Barack Obama will be defeated. Seriously and convincingly defeated. Not due to racism, not due to the forces of reaction, not even due to Karl Rove sending out mind rays over the national cable system. He will lose for one reason above all, one that has been overlooked in any analysis that I’ve yet seen. Barack Obama will lose because he is a flake. (Source: white pebble) white pebble blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1723529 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:38:50 +0100 1723529 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1717265&cid=t_99572_136_f&fid=35302&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWhitePebble%2F%7E3%2F369047886%2F Every time I’m thinking of voting for Obama, I get a dash of cold water in the face. Thanks, Venomous Kate! Another Take On Obama’s Inexperience Not surprisingly, he immediately backed off from his statement because, after all, Obama himself only has 143 days of actual Senate experience yet believes he’s qualified to lead the free world. It’s the debates — the one particularly at Saddleback — where I start thinking he maybe isn’t so very bad after all. Then reality hits. I truly appreciate my fellow bloggers. (Source: white pebble) white pebble blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1717265 Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:43:07 +0100 1717265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1709333&cid=t_99572_136_f&fid=35302&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWhitePebble%2F%7E3%2F364837723%2F Who Framed George Lakoff? - ChronicleReview.com … which argues that liberals have clung to the false belief that people think in a conscious, logical, and unemotional manner and that this belief has doomed Democrats’ chances with voters. (Source: white pebble) white pebble blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1709333 Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:13:39 +0100 1709333 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1692230&cid=t_99572_136_f&fid=35302&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWhitePebble%2F%7E3%2F359967535%2F Dirty Harry’s Place… » Yuck… When asked, politicians shouldn’t lie, but they shouldn’t be asked. Remember when discretion was a virtue? (Source: white pebble) white pebble blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1692230 Sat, 09 Aug 2008 02:14:58 +0100 1692230 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1582906&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2008%2F07%2F06%2Fbarack-obama-watch-invesco-field-in-denver-will-be-site-for-nomination-acceptance%2F Invesco Field in Denver, Home of the Denver Broncos Marc Ambinder says that the Democrats will announce the venue for Barack Obama’s acceptance of the party nomination for President tomorrow. For the day, August 28th the Democrats will move from the Denver Pepsi Center to Invesco Field. The field, the home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos seats around 75,000. Invesco is an open air stadium with no retractable roof. This will make a pretty picture for television as the Democrats will pack the place but if it rains or there are thunderstorms……..August is the fourth highest average rainfall month for Denver. Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Invesco Field, Democrats (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1582906 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:03:02 +0100 1582906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1537863&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2008%2F06%2F23%2Fbarack-obama-watch-a-50-state-campaign%2F Photoshop from Infruriated Faggot Flap agrees with Geraghty. Team Obama and the DNC are feinting a 50 state campaign. It won’t mean any more pick-ups than already predicted. But, the political consultants and media companies will be flush with cash. (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1537863 Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:47:48 +0100 1537863 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1516428&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2008%2F06%2F13%2Fbarack-obama-watch-here-comes-the-increase-in-payroll-taxes%2F Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., speaks to senior citizens, Friday, June 13, 2008, in Columbus, Ohio, as his wife Michelle Obama looks on If anyone believes that Barack Obama as President and the Democrat controlled Congress would limit Social Security payroll taxes to increase for taxpayers ONLY making more than $250,000 a year then Flap has a New York bridge to sell you. Democrat Barack Obama would apply the Social Security payroll tax to all annual incomes above $250,000, which he says would affect the wealthiest 3 percent of Americans. The payroll tax is now applied to all income up to $102,000 a year, which covers the entire amount for most Americans. Under Obama’s plan, the tax would not apply to incomes between that amount and $250,000. But all annua... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1516428 Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:26:56 +0100 1516428 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1481812&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2008%2F05%2F31%2Fday-by-day-by-chris-muir-may-31-2008%2F Day By Day by Chris Muir While the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Commitee work out a plan to nominate Barack Obama or to screw Hillary Clinton, Flap will be off for a day of an eye exam, and shopping at the Glendale Galleria and other assorted venues in the greater Los Angeles area. Watch the Donkey on Donkey action at the DNC here. Flap might stop by the Tony Strickland event in Camarillo as well. I will post photos of the sojourn. They can be found at Twitter, Friendfeed and Flap’s Flickr Photostream. Previous: The Day By Day Archive (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1481812 Sat, 31 May 2008 17:16:40 +0100 1481812 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1480621&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2008%2F05%2F30%2Fdnc-denver-host-committee-short-on-cash%2F Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., waves to the overflow crowd as she walks with campaign aide Huma Abedin, right, and a secret service agent at a campaign event in Huron, S.D., Thursday, May 29, 2008. Clinton is campaigning in the state in anticipation of the June 3rd South Dakota presidential primary election. Flap can’t help but think the reason why Barack Obama has NOT agreed to pay off Hillary’s campaign debts (rumored by some to be over $30 million) is because he would decimate his own fundraising accounts AND the DNC would not be able to backfill him because they are out of money. Millions of dollars behind in raising money and unlikely to meet a fast-approaching final deadline, the Denver committee hosting the Democratic National Conven... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1480621 Fri, 30 May 2008 22:12:56 +0100 1480621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1469571&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D7060 Bill Clinton explains why the Obama team and in-the-tank MSM is trying so hard to push Hillary out As Flap wrote previously, Bill Clinton has a point. Now, does this mean that Hillary will fight all the way to the Denver Convention over seating the Michigan and Florida Democrat delegations? Or will Hillary sue the Democrat Party if they apportion the disqualified Florida and Michigan primary results in an “UNFAIR” way? If Hillary wants to hurt Obama against McCain so that she can run in 2012 after Obama loses (which she does) she will carry on this fight as long as possible. No matter what anyone says. (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1469571 Tue, 27 May 2008 02:52:33 +0100 1469571 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1445952&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D6965 California Supreme Court Justices, from top left, Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, Carlos R. Moreno, Joyce L. Kennard, Marvin Baxter and from lower left, Ming Chin, Chief Justice Ronald M. George and Carol Corrigan With today’s California Supreme Court ruling overturning a ban on gay marriage, the reaction and response has been swift and pointed. From the Left: Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles We are delighted with today’s State Supreme Court ruling allowing marriage equality in California. It is a true testament to advancing equality and to recognizing the right of all Californians to build a future with the person they love. We recently lost Mildred Loving, the woman whose marriage to a man of another race ushered in the Supreme Court ruling that made marriage colorblind. Today... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1445952 Fri, 16 May 2008 02:43:49 +0100 1445952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1445955&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D6962 In a speech to Israel’s Knesset, President Bush said Thursday, ’some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals.’ So, did President Bush specifically SLAM Barack Obama? You bet he did and the Democrats are screaming BULL, particularly Senator Joe Biden who is being prominently mentioned as Obama’s Vice President choice. DNC chair Dean calls for McCain to denounce the president’s Jerusalem comments: Sen. Biden: “This is bullsh*t, this is malarkey.” Speaker Pelosi: President’s comments “beneath the dignity of the office.” DCCC head Rep. Emanuel: “Does the president have no shame?” Appeasement will be the WEDGE ISSUE the GOP will use against Obama in the fall. GOP pushback against the antiwar LEFT of the Democrat Party has just sta... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1445955 Thu, 15 May 2008 18:26:35 +0100 1445955 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1405318&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D6864 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6ul9iMgmOw Ad from the Democrat Party The Democrats and Democrat National Chairman Howard Dean are lying about John McCain again. The Republican National Committee demanded Monday that television networks stop running a television ad by the Democratic Party that falsely suggests John McCain wants a 100-year war in Iraq. The ad says President Bush has talked about staying in Iraq for 50 years, then plays a clip of McCain saying, “Maybe 100. That’d be fine with me.” The announcer then says: “If all he offers is more of the same, is John McCain the right choice for America’s future?” Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan said the ad deliberately distorts what McCain, the likely GOP presidential nominee, said. Th... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1405318 Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:21:21 +0100 1405318 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1334447&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nypost.com%2Fseven%2F03282008%2Fpostopinion%2Fopedcolumnists%2Fgop_achilles_heel_103897.htm%3Fpage%3D0 The GOP needs to return to core Reagan values and economics. (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1334447 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:57:07 +0100 1334447 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1324991&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D6653 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BfNqhV5hg4 CBS news exposes the real story of Hillary Clinton’s 1996 trip to Bosnia. The story yesterday about Hillary Clinton’s LIE about being under sniper fire in Bosnia would be the “STAKE IN THE HEART” for most Presidential candidates. But, not Hillary Clinton. Why? David Brooks explains - Hillary and the “The Audacity of Hopelessness:” Why does she go on like this? Does Clinton privately believe that Obama is so incompetent that only she can deliver the policies they both support? Is she simply selfish, and willing to put her party through agony for the sake of her slender chance? Are leading Democrats so narcissistic that they would create bitter stagnation even if they were granted one-party rule? The better answer is... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1324991 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:51:46 +0100 1324991 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1301792&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D6588 Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democrat National Committee discussing Do-Over Elections in Florida and the Geraldine Ferraro Flap A mail-in Do-Over Florida Democrat Primary election has been proposed by the Karen Thurman, chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party. Under the plan, all of Florida’s 4.1 million Democrats would be mailed a ballot. They could send it back, or cast a ballot in one of 50 regional voting centers that would be set up. The election would end June 3, a week before a Democratic National Committee deadline to name delegates. The estimated cost is $10 million to $12 million. Asked if the plan will be implemented, Thurman said, “I have a feeling that this is probably closer to not, than yes.” But, let’s see who is or could be opposed to this plan:... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1301792 Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:34:33 +0100 1301792 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1283394&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D6549 A day after the idea of Do-Over Democrat primary elections in Michigan and Florida was floated, there is increasing pressure by politicians of both states to hold the election - and by June. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean urged Florida and Michigan party officials to come up with plans to repeat their presidential nominating contests so that their delegates can be counted. “All they have to do is come before us with rules that fit into what they agreed to a year and a half ago, and then they’ll be seated,” Dean said during a round of interviews Thursday on network and cable TV news programs. The two state parties will have to find the funds to pay for new contests without help from the national party, Dean said. “We can’t afford to do that.... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1283394 Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:56:10 +0100 1283394 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1221288&cid=t_99572_145_f&fid=35710&url=http%3A%2F%2Fstoryofhealing.com%2F2008%2F02%2F10%2Fthe-health-care-commotion%2F Michael Moore’s Sicko was just one of the manifestations of many Americans’ seeming discontent on the current status of its policies affecting health care. All of a sudden, there is this more-than-romantic urgency to get packing for France! Or quite simply, curse the insurance companies. This so called commotion has started long before the movies came out. And now, it is election time. Along with these varied degrees and reasons for this noise, there is this apparent expression of the desire to see changes. Among a gamut of issues in town, health care is one closest to the heart and probably the first card people want laid out on the table by the candidates. Is America’s health care going to change? How is America’s health care going to change? Where will the next l... the story of healing blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1221288 Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:09:28 +0100 1221288 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1219493&cid=t_99572_136_f&fid=35302&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWhitePebble%2F%7E3%2F231952322%2F Copyright © 2008 Patti. Visit the original article at http://www.white-pebble.net/?p=4053.Watching Medea Benjamin of Code Pink talking with an interviewer on Fox News about Berkeley’s edict against the Marine Corps: Neither woman is listening to the other. They are simply speechifying over each other’s sentences. Why can neither side admit that choices beyond that side’s scope exist? ShareThis (Source: white pebble) white pebble blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1219493 Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:34:19 +0100 1219493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1146492&cid=t_99572_136_f&fid=35302&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWhitePebble%2F%7E3%2F215029685%2F Copyright © 2008 Patti. Visit the original article at http://www.white-pebble.net/?p=4009.For reasons yet to be discovered, I got out of the house and down to the coffee house before nine o’clock this morning. I snuggled myself down into my usual place on the couch. I then found myself in the midst of a pack of Democrats. Mind you, these are my usual coffee house cohorts — the ones that are always hanging around, and whom you get to know simply by being in the same place at the same time very often. General trends of talk: some few bits about the Republican debate. They found it unsatisfactory in various ways. McCain, though, was the favorite of the bunch, failing only in his dedication to The War. There have been so many “The Wars” that one is tempted to ask them ... white pebble blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1146492 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:05:06 +0100 1146492 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1002311&cid=t_99572_136_f&fid=35302&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWhitePebble%2F%7E3%2F179244436%2F My husband and I have been watching Kucinich’s career since he was “mayor” of Cleveland, which he nearly ruined financially. Trust me, this new business is completely in character with him! Michelle Malkin » Kucinich leads the impeachment circus: Introducing a Cheney impeachment resolution next week Strike up the nutroots band! Impeach-a-palooza is coming to the House floor. Dennis Kucinich announces his plans to introduce a privileged resolution that will bring articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney (Source: white pebble) white pebble blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1002311 Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:42:40 +0100 1002311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=927945&cid=t_99572_136_f&fid=35302&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWhitePebble%2F%7E3%2F165204977%2F The following is a snippet of a long post over at Captain’s Quarters, which is well worth reading. Ed Morrissey brings together all of the details of how Justice Thomas’s nomination process nearly was derailed. Nothing quite like having all the facts in one nice, tidy place, is there? Captain’s Quarters It was the clearest example of McCarthyism since Tail Gunner Joe, and most people don’t even know that it happened. Technorati Tags: Joe McCarthy, Clarence Thomas Powered by ScribeFire. (Source: white pebble) white pebble blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=927945 Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:28:37 +0100 927945 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=925374&cid=t_99572_136_f&fid=35302&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWhitePebble%2F%7E3%2F164739261%2F Via Michelle Malkin » The White Flag Democrats’ grand new scheme: A war “surtax” Nothing screams impotence louder than a desperate, last-ditch effort to tax the war on terror to death. Slowly, but ever so steadily, the left comes up with crazier and crazier notions. And here I’d thought Hippies were dead. Powered by ScribeFire. (Source: white pebble) white pebble blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=925374 Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:01:26 +0100 925374 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=764203&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=34867&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thediabetesblog.com%2F2007%2F07%2F28%2Fpresidential-candidates-say-fighting-diabetes-vital%2F Filed under: Type 1, Type 2, Opinion, Care, PersonalitiesThe Democratic presidential candidates all know this: whoever gets the nomination has an excellent shot at making it to the White House. First, though, is the long, hard, down and dirty campaign slog in which each candidate has to do the impossible - try and be all things to all people.One thing we can except is that they all devote a little time to addressing diabetes. Specifically, finding a cure for type 1 diabetes and strategies for containing the unprecedented spread of type 2 diabetes. The type 2 "epidemic" (as it is sometimes called) is all the more serious because of the strain it is adding to the US healthcare system, a system already failing to meet the needs of many Americans.During Monday night's CNN/YouTube debate, the c... The Diabetes Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=764203 Sat, 28 Jul 2007 04:00:00 +0100 764203 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=717962&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5251 Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa arrives for a news conference about his relationship with Telemundo newscaster Mirthala Salinas. He was at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to attend the swearing-in ceremony for the Los Angeles school board. A Latino star shines less brightly His career may survive, but many are disappointed by Villaraigosa’s involvement in scandal Felipe Mares groped [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=717962 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 19:08:11 +0100 717962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=674507&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5105 Iraq surge a failure, top Democrats tell Bush Top US congressional Democrats bluntly told President George W. Bush Wednesday that his Iraq troop “surge” policy was a failure. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi challenged the president over Iraq by sending him a letter, ahead of a White House meeting [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=674507 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 09:23:41 +0100 674507 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=650906&cid=t_99572_87_f&fid=34867&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thediabetesblog.com%2F2007%2F06%2F01%2Favandia-controversy-stirs-congress-to-investigate-fda%2F Filed under: Type 2, Adult Onset, Drugs, Research, Daily News Remember learning about "checks and balances" in U.S. History class? When state leaders gathered in 1787 to draft the Constitution, they established three branches of government (legislative/executive/judicial) to protect individual freedom and prevent government from abusing its own power. Now, Congress is questioning the balance of powers over at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate have called for an investigation into the FDA in the wake of the New England Journal of Medicine study which suggests the popular diabetes medication, Avandia, significantly increases the risk of heart attacks. A House hearing is set for June 6. Original trials by the drug's maker, GlaxoSmithKlin... The Diabetes Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=650906 Fri, 01 Jun 2007 04:00:00 +0100 650906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=645097&cid=t_99572_135_f&fid=35263&url=http%3A%2F%2Fronhudson.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F05%2Flosing-respect-for-america.html I am not a scholar of government, but I am someone who has lived through the administrations of Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton and this last Bush to ever hold office. I was taught that it is my duty as a citizen to pay attention to current events and to speak out when I find injustice. Each of the Presidential administrations through which I have lived has had its up moments and its down, but never, in my life, have I seen such blatant disregard for the electorate and Constitution of this country as has been exhibited by the current President.There is a lot of rancor being directed toward the Democrats in the US Congress right now. This anger comes from their not having found a way to force this President to compromise on any attempt to end the war... 2sides2ron blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=645097 Wed, 30 May 2007 14:29:00 +0100 645097 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=637670&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D4995 Cox & Forkum: Torn CNN: Dems in tough spot with war funding bill. Democrats in Congress face a tough decision on a bill funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that does not include a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops.Vote “yes,” and they are certain to face the wrath of anti-war forces in their political base. Vote [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=637670 Sun, 27 May 2007 02:58:48 +0100 637670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=538936&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D4750 A cheap shot? You bet and at least get the spelling right……… Undermine the troops and support America’s enemies - NICE! Brought to you by the MORONS at the Democrat National Committee. Technorati Tags: Iraq, IraqWar, DNC, DemocratNationalCommittee, Democrats (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=538936 Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:50:10 +0100 538936 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=471024&cid=t_99572_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D4536 So, Speaker Pelosi when will you announce the appointment of Representative Jefferson to the Homeland Security Committee? The GOP will object on the House Floor when he is appointed. Background on the Flap here. Stay tuned…….. Graphic courtesy of Flip Previous: Representative William Jefferson Watch: GOP Objects to Jefferson Homeland Security Seat Representative William Jefferson Watch: Jefferson on House Homeland Security [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=471024 Wed, 14 Mar 2007 17:30:04 +0100 471024