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 'immigration,'. Tue, 04 May 2010 18:19:17 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3529769&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0c_auXdTqak%2F By Daniel GriswoldIn a gutsy display for a newspaper, the Arizona Republic in a front-page editorial yesterday castigated the state’s top politicians for a failure of leadership on immigration. Prompting the editorial was the passage of Arizona’s tough new law making it a crime to be an illegal immigrant in the state. Under the banner headline, “STOP FAILING ARIZONA; START FIXING IMMIGRATION,” the state’s major newspaper fired with both barrels: We need leaders. The federal government is abdicating its duty on the border. Arizona politicians are pandering to public fear. The result is a state law that intimidates Latinos while doing nothing to curb illegal immigration. This represents years of failure. Years of politicians taking the easy way and allowing the debate to descend in... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3529769 Mon, 03 May 2010 19:51:02 +0100 3529769 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3529770&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwuvmdiXeoc4%2F By Jim HarperSenate Democrats have solidified and given more definition to their plan to create a biometric national ID, the centerpiece of their immigration reform proposal. (For reasons unrelated to the national ID plan, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has dropped out of the picture for now.) The “Conceptual Proposal for Immigration Reform” they released last week gives much more detail to the sketchy plans I previously reviewed. In my Cato Policy Analysis, “Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification: Franz Kafka’s Solution for Illegal Immigration,” I wrote about the possibility of a work authorization document limited to that purpose—and my doubts that the government would adopt one. A credential such as eligibility for employment under [the immigr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3529770 Mon, 03 May 2010 19:30:19 +0100 3529770 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3529984&cid=t_321253_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2010%2F05%2F03%2Fusa-to-mexico-the-grass-is-always-greener%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. USA to Mexico: The Grass Is Always Greener. Filed under: Politics Daily Tagged: arizona, border, chaos theory, illegal immigrants, immigration, mexico, papers please, political cartoon (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3529984 Mon, 03 May 2010 17:01:56 +0100 3529984 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3519444&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCROrwEtMTh4%2F By Daniel GriswoldThe latest catch phrase in the immigration debate is that we must “get control of our borders” before we consider actually changing the current immigration law that has made enforcement so difficult in the first place. In his Washington Post column yesterday, George Will wrote that “the government’s refusal to control [the U.S.-Mexican] border is why there are an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona and why the nation, sensibly insisting on first things first, resists ‘comprehensive’ immigration reform.” On the other side of the political spectrum, Democrats in Congress this week unveiled the outlines of an immigration bill that would postpone any broader reforms, such as a new worker visa program or legalization of workers already here, until... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3519444 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:55:33 +0100 3519444 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3519447&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZns89v_2yXw%2F By David BoazCato senior fellow Tom Palmer and friends Don Boudreaux and June Arunga debate free trade with the legendary Lou Dobbs around John Stossel’s anchor desk on tonight’s edition of “Stossel.” 8:00 p.m. and midnight EDT on the Fox Business Network. Stossel’s weekly column also interviews Tom Palmer. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3519447 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:14:04 +0100 3519447 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515339&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOzLA9q35N5o%2F By David BoazTim Carney has a blog post at the Examiner that’s worth quoting in full: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has issued its 2009 congressional scorecard, and once again, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Tex. — certainly one of the two most free-market politicians in Washington — gets the lowest score of any Republican. Paul was one of a handful of GOP lawmakers not to win the Chamber’s “Spirit of Enterprise Award.” He scored only a 67%, bucking the Chamber on five votes, including: Paul opposed the “Solar Technology Roadmap Act,” which boosted subsidies for unprofitable solar energy technology. Paul opposed the “Travel Promotion Act,” which subsidizes the tourism industry with a new fee on international visitors. Paul opposed the largest spending bill in history, Obama’s $... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515339 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:24:48 +0100 3515339 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511530&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FogwC7JDgSaI%2F By Daniel GriswoldA silver lining of the Arizona immigration law is that is has turned up the heat on Washington to re-examine federal policy. As I’ve made the rounds of talk radio shows today, one of the questions that keeps coming up is just what changes should be made in federal law to tackle illegal immigration. Glad you asked. In brief, the single most effective change would be to expand opportunities for legal immigration, including for low-skilled workers who make up the large majority of the illegal population. I make the case for comprehensive immigration reform in an op-ed in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer. For a more comprehensive case for comprehensive reform, see the lead article I wrote for the current issue of the Albany Government Law Review, titled “Comprehensive Immi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511530 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:36:15 +0100 3511530 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3508165&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_gfAuvvTSEo%2F By Daniel GriswoldPresident Obama has committed his administration to the ambitious goal of doubling U.S. exports in the next five years. I don’t believe the government should be setting such targets—the rate of growth of U.S. exports should be left to the marketplace—but I am all for the administration seeking ways to expand the freedom of U.S. companies to sell in global markets. In the “Economic Watch” column of the Washington Times today, I suggest six policy changes that will help American producers sell more of their goods and services abroad. None of them involve subsidies, threats of sanctions, or other government involvement. Among my suggestions: enact into law the three free-trade agreements that have already been negotiated, repeal the trade embargo against Cu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3508165 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:14:39 +0100 3508165 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3508169&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FjzR2S_zYOqU%2F By Daniel GriswoldArizona’s harsh new law against illegal immigration is being justified in part as a measure to combat crime. The murder of an Arizona rancher in March, allegedly by somebody in the country without documentation, galvanized support for the bill. The death of the rancher was a tragedy, and drug-related violence along the border is a real problem, but it is a smear to blame low-skilled immigrant workers from Latin America for creating a crime problem in Arizona. The crime rate in Arizona in 2008 was the lowest it has been in four decades. In the past decade, as the number of illegal immigrants in the state grew rapidly, the violent crime rate dropped by 23 percent, the property crime rate by 28 percent. (You can check out the DoJ figures here.) Census data show that immigr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3508169 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:38:47 +0100 3508169 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3505099&cid=t_321253_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2010%2F04%2F25%2Fimmigration-arizona-cracks-down-what-if-theyre-wrong%2F My new post on Politics Daily / Woman Up. Immigration: Arizona Cracks Down (What If They’re Wrong?) In memory of the women of Juarez who disappeared. As a native Texan who grew up around immigrants and believes they are the hope of our country, I’m appalled by this law. I understand the frustration of Arizonans, but as a nation we need to recognize the war taking place on our southern border. We can’t “wish away” organized crime. America had it in the 1930s, and Mexico has it now. It’s real, it’s powerful, and innocent people are rightfully terrified. America likes to think of itself as a civilized and generous nation. If that’s what we are, we should give Mexicans a legal way to immigrate quickly in massive numbers — with federal help to ... Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3505099 Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:26:19 +0100 3505099 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3502855&cid=t_321253_111_f&fid=34712&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdigitaldoorway.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fmisguided-state-of-arizona.html The new immigration law enacted in the state of Arizona earlier this week is an egregious act of backwards thinking that sets the tone for draconian measures that will negatively impact millions of Americans and non-Americans for years to come.This law, which commands that Arizona law enforcement officers demand to see the papers of any "suspicious" person who might, by some chance, be in the country illegally, will cause many individuals to be searched and questioned for no good reason other than the color of their skin. In an article by Robert Creamer on "The Huffington Post", the author correctly likens this new law to the legal climate in Alabama in the early 1960's.Beyond requiring officers to question any individual who might be deemed as potentially illegal, the law also allows priv... Digital Doorway blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3502855 Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:26:00 +0100 3502855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3499050&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-80GP0dPdEo%2F By Sallie JamesYet another show of that rare commodity, bipartisan efforts to reduce the size of government today. Four members of the House—two Republican and two Democrat—have sent a letter to President Obama, calling on him to reverse the insane policy of bribing Brazilian farmers with subsidies in an attempt to correct, in accordance with the perverse two-wrongs-make-a-right school of logic, for  illegal U.S. subsidies. (There were other questionable parts of the deal with Brazil). Barney Frank (D, MA), Ron Kind (D, WI), Paul Ryan (R, WI) and Jeff Flake (R, AZ) make compelling arguments for finding a better and more permanent  solution to the dispute than the current (dodgy) deal with Brazil, including arguments about fiscal responsibility, the adverse effects of di... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3499050 Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:42:09 +0100 3499050 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3499057&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ffbhl-ltldn4%2F By Jerry TaylorA conversation with documentarian Robert Stone regarding Earth Day is featured today in The New York Times’s “Dot Earth” online column.  In the course of his conversation with the Times’s Andrew Revkin, Mr. Stone — who is quite alarmed about our reliance on foreign oil — asks:  “How many Americans know that we send about $800 billion to the Middle East every year for oil?” Hopefully, not many. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. spent $95.4 billion on crude oil imports from OPEC sources in 2009.  But not all OPEC members are from the Middle East.  That $95.4 billion includes dollars spent on oil originating from Algeria ($6.3 billion), Angola ($9 billion), Ecuador ($3.4 billion), Nigeria ($17.7 billion), an... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3499057 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:11:36 +0100 3499057 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3499059&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4neGF9UCGYE%2F By Jim HarperThe Arizona legislature recently sent Senate Bill 1070 to the governor. According to this summary from the Arizona legislature, the bill would require Arizona officials and agencies to determine the immigration status of any person with whom they have “lawful contact” where reasonable suspicion exists regarding the immigration status of the person. Any person arrested in Arizona would also have to have their immigration status established and verified with the federal government before they were released. The documents that can be used to prove legal immigration status under the bill include a valid Arizona driver license, a valid Arizona nonoperating identification license, a valid tribal enrollment card or other tribal identification, or a valid federal-, state- ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3499059 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:46:24 +0100 3499059 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494298&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAyhd8t2Aymo%2F By Jim HarperSecrecy breeds suspicion, and little in the intellectual property area has garnered more suspicion than ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. ACTA is a multilateral trade agreement that has been under negotiation since 2007. But the negotiations haven’t been public, and access to key documents has only been provided to people willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement. It is inconsistent with the U.S. public’s expectations to have government officials negotiate public policies without providing public access to the deliberations and the documents. There are some limitations and exceptions to this principle. Generic diplomatic relations probably develop best in an environment where candor can prevail. Issues related to national security may require secret ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494298 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:02:47 +0100 3494298 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3490616&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FGeZikXzp2gM%2F By Daniel GriswoldThe U.S.-China Business Council has performed a valuable public service by marshalling state-by-state figures on exports to China. In its annual survey, released this morning, the USCBC documents that 19 states exported $1 billion or more in 2009 to China, which is now the third largest market for U.S. exports. In a statement accompanying the report, the USCBC noted that exports to China declined only slightly in 2009, compared to a 20 percent plunge in exports to the rest of the world. Top U.S. exports to China last year were computers and electronics, agricultural products, chemicals, and transportation equipment. The USCBC figures tend to undercut complaints that China’s currency policies have stymied U.S. exports to that country. In fact, as I argued in an op-ed in... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3490616 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:22:44 +0100 3490616 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3487042&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMNlfbkUiCwY%2F By Jim HarperThere are many interesting facets to this story in the Chicago Tribune—among them Rep. Luis Gutierrez’ signal that he might support having a U.S. national ID. “We need to know who’s working in the United States, and we need to make it easy,” Gutierrez told the paper, referring to the push to create a national ID in immigration reform legislation Congress may consider this year. The story also describes how a UPS worker nearly lost her job because the name she was using—her married name—doesn’t match up with Social Security Administration records. I discussed how electronic employment eligibility verification would plunge Americans into an identity-bureaucracy morass in my paper, “Franz Kafka’s Solution to Illega... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3487042 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:01:29 +0100 3487042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3487044&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4VC4OgGr6Zk%2F By Sallie JamesI’ve written before about Rep. Collin Peterson’s (D, MN) disdain for the World Trade Organization, and its rulings against U.S. farm programs. However, in launching his 2012 Farm Bill listening tour, the Brownfield blog reports that he sees that perhaps some changes might be necessary after all. And, lo and behold, he cites the WTO rulings as the reason: One of the key issues [in the 2012 Farm Bill] will be what to do about the way that cotton farmers are subsidized. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said today that the cotton program will have to be overhauled in the wake of Brazil’s successful challenge to the subsidies at the World Trade Organization. The Obama administration agreed to change the program in a deal to avert retalia... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3487044 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:46:36 +0100 3487044 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3479664&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4O2lz_1MOAw%2F By Sallie JamesSen. Sherrod Brown (D, OH), along with eight other “usual suspects,” yesterday sent a letter to Senators John Kerry (D, MA), Joe Lieberman (I, CT) and Lindsey Graham (R, SC), outlining what’s necessary for their support of the latter’s climate green jobs bill (there seems to be some confusion about the precise purpose). The math, assuming that Republicans vote as a block to defeat the bill, requires that these senators’ demands be met if the Democrats are to overcome a filibuster and pass the bill. So what exactly do they want? The main thrust of their demands seems to be for U.S. manufacturing’s competitiveness to be “addressed,” including by asking for the bill to “invest” (don’t you just love the way th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3479664 Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:10:41 +0100 3479664 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3475809&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLb7UJy_Iev4%2F By Daniel GriswoldLawmakers in Arizona must believe the state’s law enforcement officers have too much time on their hands. A bill passed by the legislature yesterday will make it a misdemeanor to be in Arizona without proper immigration paperwork. It also directs Arizona police to question anyone about their immigration status if they have reason to suspect the person is in the country illegally. Failure to produce the proper documents could result in arrest, a $2,500 fine, and up to six months in jail. Making and enforcing immigration law is a federal responsibility. State and local police should focus their resources on preventing crime and apprehending real criminals who pose a danger to public safety. Police in Arizona seem to agree. According to an Associated Press report, [The bil... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3475809 Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:51:10 +0100 3475809 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3467734&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3Tj_w72mg6I%2F By Jim HarperCEI’s Alex Nowrasteh has a commentary on Townhall.com illustrating how restrictive immigration policies confound security. Twenty-three Somalis with suspected ties to an Islamist group were mistakenly released from a Mexican prison last January, and their whereabouts now are unknown. He continues: Forcing immigrants underground creates an enormous black market where terrorist activities and serious crimes can continue undetected. If legal immigration were much easier, the American government would know who was entering the country and do a better job in screening out criminals and suspected terrorists. I’m leery of touting terror threats for any reason beyond alerting the public to information they can use for national and self-protection. A small group of possib... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3467734 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:02:28 +0100 3467734 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3463577&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIXSSGcoD_SU%2F By Chris MoodyIn a new episode of Stossel,  Cato’s David Boaz and Jeffrey Miron join a panel of experts to discuss where libertarians stand on a host of major issues facing the nation today.  They tackle libertarian views on war, abortion, the welfare state, gay rights and more. Watch the videos below for a full re-cap. The first video covers the so-called culture wars, including gay marriage, abortion and immigration: More videos after the jump. In the second video they discuss the role of government in providing aid to the poor: In the third video, the panelists discuss libertarian views of war. Should the United States leave Afghanistan and Iraq? What should we do about Iran? Watch: If you’re hungry for more, the segment is a great supplement to David Boaz’s time... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3463577 Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:35:43 +0100 3463577 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3453884&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoxXMXyHgvGs%2F By Sallie JamesIt appears that the United States has reached a temporary deal with Brazil over U.S. cotton subsidies, which were deemed illegal under world trade rules many years ago. (Here’s Cato adjunct scholar Dan Sumner on the case and its implications. Bloomberg’s Mark Drajem and the New York Times’ Sewell Chan have more details on the deal.) This comes not a minute too soon from the U.S. perspective: the deal was reached just one day before Brazil was to begin imposing over $800 million worth of tariffs and WTO-approved intellectual property rights violations against American firms in retaliation for U.S. intransigence in complying. (Snarky aside: where’s your commitment to ”trade enforcement” now, Mr. Obama?) What’s in the deal, you ask?... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3453884 Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:35:20 +0100 3453884 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3429160&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNAy9l6EF2gI%2F By Daniel GriswoldAlex Nowrasteh and Ryan Young of the Competitive Enterprise Institute make the case for immigration reform in an especially appealing way in a fresh op-ed this week in the Detroit News. In a commentary article titled, “Fix immigration rules to crush black market,” they dissect a well-meaning but flawed Obama administration effort to fix the dysfunctional H-2A visa program for temporary farm workers. Instead of fine tuning an unworkable law, Nowrasteh and Young advocate liberalization: That means making H-2A visas inexpensive, easy to obtain, and keeping the related paperwork and regulations to a minimum. That means no minimum wage hike. No costly background check requirements. People rarely break laws that are reasonable and easy to obey. When legal channels cost too ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3429160 Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:42:49 +0100 3429160 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3403868&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIF4mb5ideWY%2F By Daniel IkensonOrganized labor’s trade “think tank” in Washington, the Economic Policy Institute, claims that currency manipulation is a major cause of the U.S. trade deficit with China, which (along with other unfair trade practices) accounted for 2.4 million American job losses between 2001 and 2008. EPI has been making similar claims for years, getting lots of media attention for its hyperbole, and providing smoke bombs for charlatan politicians to hurl into the discussion to obscure the public’s understanding of trade.   For starters, as conveyed in this new paper, I am skeptical about the relationship between currency undervaluation and the trade account. EPI’s methodology (to use the term loosely) is not to be taken seriously, though, because it deri... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3403868 Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:20:41 +0100 3403868 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3398888&cid=t_321253_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=3395112&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3XDrt0gUkyE%2F By Daniel GriswoldLost in the buzz last week over health care was the news that the broadest measure of the U.S. trade deficit fell sharply in 2009 from the year before. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. current account deficit plunged from $706 billion in 2008 to $420 billion last year — the smallest deficit since 2001. I’ve been waiting for a few days now for the usual trade deficit hawks to hail this development as great news for millions of Americans looking for work. In years when the trade deficit was rising, it was common practice for the labor-union-friendly Economic Policy Institute to publish detailed studies showing that larger trade deficits caused the U.S. economy to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs each year. For example, according to an October... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3395112 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:25:33 +0100 3395112 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3382797&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ffoj0uy-ak_M%2F By Jim HarperThere is much to commend in the op-ed on immigration reform that Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) published in this morning’s Washington Post. Unfortunately, they lead with their worst idea: a biometric national ID card, mandatory for all American workers. Here’s the good: “Americans overwhelmingly oppose illegal immigration and support legal immigration,” they say. “Throughout our history, immigrants have contributed to making this country more vibrant and economically dynamic.” Their plan includes problem-solving proposals: “creating a process for admitting temporary workers” and “implementing a tough but fair path to legalization.” The latter would reduce the population of illegal aliens in ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3382797 Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:45:30 +0100 3382797 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3382803&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FgyutLzFlzco%2F By David BoazIt’s that time of year again, when friends start telling me about this or that candidate I should support because he or she is a dedicated defender of liberty and limited government. I’m a political junkie, so I love getting these recommendations. But I don’t end up supporting or contributing to many candidates. In my view, it’s not enough for a candidate to say that he’s ”committed to slashing wasteful spending, providing tax relief, and eliminating red tape.” What’s your actual tax plan? What spending do you propose to cut or eliminate? Not many of them offer clear answers to that. And liberty involves more than just economics. Often I’m told, “Congressman X is a libertarian.” I always check, and then I say, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3382803 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:16:27 +0100 3382803 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3378462&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQ2xIsk1ZHis%2F By Sallie JamesI suspect I may be falling into a publicity trap here, but nonetheless I am unable to resist blogging about an email I received this morning from the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University.  The email contained this teaser: How does cheap food contribute to global hunger?  GDAE’s Timothy A. Wise, in this recent article in Resurgence magazine, explains the contradictory nature of food and agriculture under globalization. He refers to globalization as “the cheapening of everything” and concludes: “Some things just shouldn’t be cheapened. The market is very good at establishing the value of many things but it is not a good substitute for human values. Societies need to determine their own human values, not let the market do it for them. Th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3378462 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:14:46 +0100 3378462 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370388&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLND7-EWVsCo%2F By Daniel IkensonFollowing are some thoughts from a broader analysis of mine on  the state of U.S.-China relations, which will be published in the near future. Between July 2005 and July 2008, the Chinese RMB appreciated by 21 percent against the dollar.  But over that 3-year period, the U.S. trade deficit with China increased from $202 to $268 billion.  Why, then, do policymakers think revaluation is the key to reducing the trade deficit?  Why do they even care about the bilateral trade deficit, which is meaningless in the context of our globalized economy.  Only one-third to one-half of U.S. imports from China is Chinese value added.  The rest is Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean, Australian, American and other countries’ value added.  The bilateral figures tell us nothing import... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370388 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:46:31 +0100 3370388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362385&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fm4qMDptrwaI%2F By Sallie JamesIt’s not often (especially these days) that a trade news item makes me laugh out loud. But, via an article in Inside U.S. Trade today, I saw a letter from United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk to Rep. Michael Michaud (D, ME) that did the trick. Representative Michaud leads the House Trade Working Group, which is indeed working very diligently to stymie any hopes of meaningful trade liberalization. They wrote a letter in January to the USTR outlining their concerns about the upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. (I, too have concerns, but not the same ones as the HTWG.) Ambassador Kirk wrote back a fairly anodyne response that did not commit the administration to much of anything, except to follow up on the comments they have received from the Fede... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362385 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:46:57 +0100 3362385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3354299&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6TxM0YyU3qg%2F By Jim HarperCompromise is catnip in Washington, D.C. That’s my best guess at why Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) would endorse New York Senator Chuck Schumer’s (D) widely reviled plan to create a mandatory biometric national ID system. Schumer’s national ID plans have no more definition today than when he wrote about them in his 2007 campaign manifesto Postitively American. Among the thin gruel of that book is a two-page lump displaying more ignorance than understanding of how identity systems work and fail. Schumer doesn’t know the difference between an identifier—a characteristic used to distinguish or group people—and an identification card or system, which does the entire task of proving a person’s previously fixed identity. (My thin gruel ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3354299 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:03:00 +0100 3354299 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3350255&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKS3tuIWG6eU%2F By Sallie JamesWhen Rep. Collin Peterson (D- Minn. and Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee) pronounces that a farm program is too generous, you know you’ve crossed a line. But that’s what happened recently after Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark), Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman and — oh, hey, how about that? — facing a tough re-election battle in November proposed an extra $1.1 billion in emergency farm aid be added to a jobs/tax/unemployment/kitchen sink bill going through the Senate this week. These extra handouts would flow despite the fact that the 2008 farm bill contained ”reforms” (the so-called ”permanent disaster” program) ostensibly to put an end to politically-motivated ad hoc emergency aid of just the type that Senat... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3350255 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:48:30 +0100 3350255 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3346442&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fch32bVW5xiI%2F By Jim HarperSo reports the Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers working to craft a new comprehensive immigration bill have settled on a way to prevent employers from hiring illegal immigrants: a national biometric identification card all American workers would eventually be required to obtain. It’s the natural evolution of the policy called “internal enforcement” of immigration law, as I wrote in my paper, “Franz Kafka’s Solution to Illegal Immigration.” Once in place, watch for this national ID to regulate access to financial services, housing, medical care and prescriptions—and, of course, serve as an internal passport. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3346442 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:35:24 +0100 3346442 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3331269&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FuR5Ih82A_N4%2F By Daniel GriswoldPresident Obama is taking a break today from promoting a more federalized health-care system to sign a bill creating a federalized tourist promotion campaign. In a closed ceremony at the White House, the president signed the Travel Promotion Act. After gaining final passage by the Senate last week, the bill will raise an estimated $200 million a year by imposing a $10 tax on visitors to the United States from countries where they are not required to obtain a visa. The revenue will be used to create and fund a new agency, the Corporation for Travel Promotion, that would work with the U.S. tourism industry to promote the United States as a global travel destination. I’m all for promoting tourism to the United States. Tourism is an important “service export” that gener... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3331269 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:57:23 +0100 3331269 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3331271&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaIbxtY5oaD4%2F By Daniel GriswoldIf you want to witness the clash of two worldviews on trade, check out the online debate I’m having with Ian Fletcher of the U.S. Business and Industry Council. A self-described protectionist, Fletcher has written a new book with the unambiguous title, Free Trade Doesn’t Work: What Should Replace it and Why. In the opposite corner, I argue for eliminating barriers to trade, drawing on my own recent book, Mad about Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization. The debate is being hosted by the International Economic Law and Policy Blog. We’ve already filed two 600-word posts each, with a third to come at the end of this week and concluding arguments early next week. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3331271 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:05:21 +0100 3331271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3311655&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1bwyS25Me0Q%2F By Daniel GriswoldRep. Gene Taylor, D-MS, thinks so. According to CongressDaily, Taylor is about to introduce a two-page bill that would withdraw the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement. Taylor blames the agreement with Canada and Mexico for the loss of 5 million manufacturing jobs since it was enacted in 1994. This is a popular but false charge. Manufacturing jobs have declined in the past 15 years for one big reason: soaring productivity. Overall output at U.S. factories was actually 37 percent higher in 2009 compared to 1993, the year before NAFTA took effect, according to Table B-51 in the latest Economic Report of the President. We are producing a higher volume of stuff with fewer workers because individual workers are so much more productive than they were in t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3311655 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:31:24 +0100 3311655 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3311656&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ff_Tmvu9RBGg%2F By Sallie JamesUsually when I hear that a policy proposal has bipartisan support, I instinctively check for my wallet. But I greeted with pleasure the news on Wednesday that two lawmakers — Rep. Scott Garrett (R, NJ) and Rep. Patrick Murphy (D, PA) — had introduced a bill to shut down the USDA’s Market Access Program, which the congressmen rightly paint as “corporate welfare to big business.” I yield to no one in my abhorrence of trade barriers, here and abroad. But this program is less about addressing market access per se, and more about taxpayer funding of marketing campaigns, trade shows and other promotions, which surely are the responsibility of the firms/industries concerned. Incidentally, the Market Access Program is a line item in one of many agricul... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3311656 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:24:16 +0100 3311656 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3311661&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPn31hW3p3fQ%2F By Sallie JamesAn article today in BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest (What? You don’t subscribe??) contains an explicit rejection by India’s trade minister of the idea that carbon border tax adjustments belong in the WTO’s agenda.  Border tax adjustments in this context refers to de facto tariffs that would “level the playing field” for domestic producers competing with foreign producers not subject to climate change policies of an equivalent rigour, also called “border carbon adjustments” or variations on that theme. While Minister Khullar predicts that these sorts of measures will be in place in 2-3 years time, he rejects that the WTO is the forum to deal with environmental issues. Furthermore, countries introducing such measures can expect liti... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3311661 Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:21:19 +0100 3311661 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3306821&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Flkyb7Jpk8Wk%2F By Cato EditorsThe White House meeting on health care will begin at 10:00 AM EST Thursday and Cato health policy experts will be here to offer live commentary on the event. We’ll also stream the meeting live here at Cato@Liberty. Questions for the experts during the live-blog are welcome. Cato Experts Live-Blog Health Care Summit (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3306821 Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:19:10 +0100 3306821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3302294&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOpNcCgqYISM%2F By Jim HarperThe state of Nevada is one of few that is tripping over itself to comply with the REAL ID Act, the U.S. national ID law. It’s worth taking a look at the sample license displayed in this news report, especially the gold star used on the license to indicate that it is federally approved. The reasons for “improving” drivers’ licenses this way are complex. The nominal reason for REAL ID was to secure the country against terrorism. The presence of a gold star signals that this the card bears a correct identity and that watch-list checking has ensured the person is not a threat. Don’t be too thrilled, though. The weakness of watch-listing was demonstrated again by the Christmas-day attempt on a Northwest airlines flight. The underpants bomber wasn&#8... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3302294 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:43:25 +0100 3302294 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3302300&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFpznxafE8rw%2F By Daniel GriswoldI’ve become a fan over the years of the annual Economic Report of the President, released around this time each year by the Council of Economic Advisers. The more than 100 tables in the back of the book provide an invaluable picture of the economy over many decades, covering all the major indicators from output and employment to interest rates and trade. Each report also contains chapters explaining the economic thinking behind administration policies. Chapter 10 of the latest report focuses on “Fostering Productivity Growth through Innovation and Trade.” For critics of trade, it offers sound economic reasons why trade raises U.S. productivity and, thus, over the long run, U.S. living standards. One of ways trade promotes growth is “Firm Productivity.” Economist... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3302300 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:05:20 +0100 3302300 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3287718&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fv2JEn-4TfLY%2F By Daniel IkensonRon Kirk hasn’t exactly been burning the candles at both ends as U.S. Trade Representative.  And I don’t expect he’ll be racking up the frequent flier miles anytime soon, given his recent assessment of the trade policy scene.  Here’s what he had to say, as reported by Jerry Hagstrom of Congress Daily: Speaking at the USDA Annual Outlook Forum, Kirk said members of Congress “are more open and receptive” to the idea of creating a trans-Pacific agreement because it could be written from scratch. The Trans-Pacific Partnership comes “without any of the biases of the three [agreements] under consideration,” he said. Kirk added members of Congress also like it because it would take 18 to 24 months to develop and would not come up ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3287718 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:57:54 +0100 3287718 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3267160&cid=t_321253_135_f&fid=35277&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.aac.org%2Findex.php%2F2010%2F02%2F11%2Faids-action-hosting-off-site-legal-clinic-for-haitians%2F On Thursday, February 18, 2010, AIDS Action Committee will offer a legal clinic for Haitians interested in applying for Temporary Protected Status, which would allow them to live and work in the United States for a period of time. The clinic will be held at the Great Hall of the Codman Square Health Center at 6 Norfolk Street, Dorchester, MA (see map). For more information, please call our Legal Line at 617-450-1317. (Source: AIDS Action Committee's Blog) AIDS Action Committee's Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3267160 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:13:22 +0100 3267160 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3235821&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3RcaiyzvnDs%2F By Sallie JamesThis priceless quote from Barack Obama comes from 2007 apparently, but is depressingly instructive: We need to stand up to the special interests, bring Republicans and Democrats together, and pass the farm bill immediately From Jacob Sullum at Reason, via Megan McArdle (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3235821 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:38:27 +0100 3235821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3235828&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fcaw7UitGmus%2F By Daniel IkensonDuring his SOTU address last week, the president declared it a national goal to double our exports over the next five years.  As my colleague Dan Griswold argues (a point that is echoed by others in this NYT article), such growth is probably unrealistic. But with incomes rising in China, India and throughout the developing world, and with huge amounts of savings accumulated in Asia, strong U.S. export growth in the years ahead should be a given—unless we screw it up with a provocative enforcement regime. The president said: If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores. But realizing those benefits also means enforcing those agreements so our trading partners play by the rules. Ah, the enforce... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3235828 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:46:09 +0100 3235828 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3231450&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYsUdwzn3Ljo%2F By Cato EditorsGlobalization holds tremendous promise to improve human welfare but can also cause conflicts and crises. How will competition for resources, employment, and growth shape economic policies among developed nations as they attempt to maintain productivity growth, social protections, and extensive political and cultural freedoms? In a new study, Cato scholar Jagadeesh Gokhale offers policy recommendations for developed nations to reduce globalization’s negative effects and, indeed, harness it for solving economic challenges. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3231450 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:47:15 +0100 3231450 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220512&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FT11nD6xi4to%2F By Daniel GriswoldIn his State of the Union speech, President Obama vowed to double U.S. exports in five years to (all together now) “create jobs.” Exports are dandy, and they do support higher-paying jobs, but the president’s pledge was unrealistic and raises false hopes that it will make any dent in the unemployment rate. U.S. exports have not doubled in dollar terms during a five-year period since the inflation-plagued 1970s, not exactly a golden era for the U.S. economy. In real terms, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, exports have not come close to doubling during any five-year stretch in the past 40 years. The fastest growth in inflation-adjusted exports came in the second half of the 1980s, when they grew by two-thirds from 1985 to 1990. Other periods of robus... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220512 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:53:27 +0100 3220512 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3216569&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIenRBO4KjiQ%2F By Sallie JamesVia Cato’s Director of Government Affairs, Brandon Arnold, comes this [$] bold claim by the National Journal’s Congress Daily (although, to be fair, they are just quoting a press release): U.S. wheat promotion programs increase sales more than programs for other grains and agricultural products, according to an analysis of wheat export programs released this week. The study by Cornell University professor Harry Kaiser showed that for every dollar spent on wheat promotion, U.S. producers get $23 back in increased net revenue, Kaiser told U.S. Wheat Associates, which commissioned the study. With that sort of return on “investment”, the U.S. government should devote all of its revenue to wheat promotion as an ultra-quick revenue raising measure. Right af... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3216569 Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:05:41 +0100 3216569 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3212305&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKktZfHgKEmc%2F By Jeffrey A. Miron1. Abandon Obamacare 2. Forget Cap and Trade 3. Reject the Card Check Bill 4. Withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan 5. Legalize Drugs 6. Scrap the tax code and replace with a flat tax 7. Expand free trade and immigration 8. Stop the bailouts 9. Cut spending 10. Cut spending BONUS -  Cut spending (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3212305 Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:03:17 +0100 3212305 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3212316&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fqd8-53IOb_4%2F By Sallie JamesHouse Agriculture Committee Chairman Colin Peterson (D, Sugarbeet Farmers) announced yesterday [$] that he would begin hearings on the 2012 Farm Bill this spring. I’m still recovering from the traumatizing 2008 Farm Bill fight, so I heard this news with some trepidation. But wait! Put those red pens away, folks, because Chairman Peterson plans to keep on spending on agricultural programs. Heaven forbid that agriculture should take any of those “cuts” we’ve been hearing so much about : House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said… he is determined to write a bipartisan bill that is within the funding baseline that exists in 2012. The funding baseline is the amount of money that the Congressional Budget Office determines wo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3212316 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:56:12 +0100 3212316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3208341&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSdT4YffTEVY%2F By Daniel GriswoldAt the end of last week, the Labor Department reported that the share of private-sector workers who belong to labor unions fell to its lowest level in more than a century. In 2009, the “union density” in the private sector fell to 7.2 percent, the lowest it has been since 1900. The recession caused the number of private-sector union members to fall by 10 percent last year, with the heaviest losses in manufacturing and construction. Not surprisingly, union membership held steady in the public sector, with the share of government workers belonging to unions actually inching up to 37.4 percent. Unionization is more viable in the public sector because the additional costs imposed by unions can be passed along to captive taxpayers. The economics of unionization are much di... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3208341 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:53:30 +0100 3208341 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3197610&cid=t_321253_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=3193694&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ft0pKuzfU8vk%2F By Sallie JamesFrom the DCCC comes this little beauty: While making today’s announcement that he will once again run for Congress in New York’s 24th district, [Candidate for New York's 24th Congressional Disctrict Richard] Hanna also launched a new campaign website where he shamelessly touts his ties to the CATO [sic] Institute, 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 [emphasis mine]. The fact that Hanna is touting his leadership role in a group that prides its commitment to unfair trade policies that send American jobs overseas is downright shameful,” said Shripal Shah, Northeast Regional Press Secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.  To cl... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193694 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:18:29 +0100 3193694 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3193705&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-BvZiDZy7x4%2F By Jim HarperStephen Dinan reports in the Washington Times that the Social Security Administration—an integral part of the E-Verify government background check system—regularly fails to use E-Verify properly. Despite helping run the government’s electronic database designed to weed out illegal-immigrant workers, Social Security failed to run E-Verify checks on its own employees nearly 20 percent of the time. That’s according to this report, which also found that SSA failed to verify employees during the correct time-frame a whopping 49% of the time. E-Verify is not supposed to be used for pre-screening, but SSA ran a background check before hiring new employees 25% of the time. Fifty-one percent were screened timely. The remaining 24% were screened after the seve... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193705 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:48:58 +0100 3193705 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3189126&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaxTtFN283XA%2F By Chris Moody Gene Healy on today’s election in Massachusetts: “If Republican Scott Brown wins the Massachusetts special election Tuesday, the Bay State will have its first GOP senator since the era when disco was king. And Brown will have the much-derided Tea Party legions to thank.” Why opportunistic politicians need to stop using times of crisis for their own ends and let the next one go to waste. George W. Obama? “Bush’s successor—who actually taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago—is continuing much of the Bush-Cheney parallel government and, in some cases, is going much further in disregarding our laws and the international treaties we’ve signed.” Can Google beat China? Cato’s Timothy B. Lee tackles the questi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3189126 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:02:39 +0100 3189126 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3189347&cid=t_321253_135_f&fid=35277&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.aac.org%2Findex.php%2F2010%2F01%2F19%2Feligibility-info-temporary-protected-status-for-haitians-living-in-the-us%2F NOTE (1:38pm, January 19, 2010): We’re posting the following information about temporary protected status for Haitians living in the US to inform qualifying individuals of their current options for staying in or leaving the country. We will post updates, including contact information for additional resources, as they become available. Meanwhile, we encourage people to continue supporting Haiti relief, particularly through Boston-based Partners in Health, a widely respected organization with one of the strongest records fighting HIV/AIDS in Haiti. TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS—Haitian nationals who were physically present in the United States on January 12, 2010 may be eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS allows eligible people to live and work in the United States fo... AIDS Action Committee's Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3189347 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:40:46 +0100 3189347 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3178759&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlYS1FwDCNGc%2F By Chris Moody Jeffrey Miron on Obama’s bank fees: “Bailing out the banks was wrong, but a new tax won’t make it right.” What Constitution? If Congress can order you to buy health insurance, why stop there? Don’t poke the bear: There is a proposal in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to rearm the country of Georgia. Why the tragedy in Haiti cries out for swift action from private donors and yes, governments. Podcast: “Obama and Immigration in 2010” featuring Daniel Griswold. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3178759 Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:08:06 +0100 3178759 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171882&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F421zmODqqbw%2F By Sallie JamesThe nominee for EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht has taken the brave step of opposing carbon tariffs, called for by many European politicians (including, notably, French President Nicolas Sarkozy). In the first day of his confirmation hearings, Mr. de Gucht expressed concern that carbon tariffs were a possible first step in a “trade war” and implied that they were in any event inconsistent with current trade law. (I agree.) He also called for abolishing tariffs on goods beneficial to the environment as a trade-friendly way to reduce greenhouse gases, and expressed support for the Doha round of multilateral trade talks. (More here.) While the Trade Commissioner’s influence over actual trade policy in the EU is arguably limited, it is good to have some... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171882 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:45:08 +0100 3171882 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171886&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvfvMzQXF4Gg%2F By Jason KuznickiIn my Policy Analysis “Attack of the Utility Monsters,” I noted that U.S. talk radio host Michael Savage had been preemptively banned from entering the United Kingdom, for fear that he would incite hatred on arrival. I also noted that the ban had been rescinded — which, anyway, it appeared to have been at the time. Today I read that Savage’s travel ban is back on again. What had Savage done that was so terrible? I’m not exactly sure, but here are some things that he’s said: On homosexuality, he once said: “The gay and lesbian mafia wants our children. If it can win their souls and their minds, it knows their bodies will follow.” Another of his pet topics is autism, which he claims is a result of “brats” without fa... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171886 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:52:56 +0100 3171886 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3167090&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6hNK1oMEAhA%2F By Daniel IkensonWhy blame only media and politicians for the public’s confusion about imports and trade deficits? Surely economists deserve some scorn. Some of the misunderstanding can be traced to the famous National Income Identity, which expresses gross domestic product, as: Y = C + G + I + (X-M). That is, national output (Y) equals personal consumption (C) plus government spending (G) plus investment (I) plus exports (X) minus imports (M). The expression clearly lends itself to the wrong interpretation. The minus sign preceding imports suggests a negative relationship with output. It is the reason for the oft-repeated fallacy that imports are a drag on growth. Here’s why that conclusion is wrong. The expression is an accounting identity, which “accounts” for all of the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3167090 Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:03:39 +0100 3167090 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3167096&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FzQyBy9vIAIE%2F By Daniel IkensonThe U.S. trade deficit jumped to its highest level in 10 months, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department this morning. What to make of this? Every month the Commerce Department publishes data on the value of U.S. exports and imports. And every month, the media do an absolute hatchet job explaining the meaning of those data. As I’ve been arguing for a long time, careless reporting and inaccurate media analyses of imports, exports, the trade balance (exports minus imports), the “Trade Account” and the slightly broader measure of international trade activity called the “Current Account” help explain the growing aversion of Americans to trade and trade agreements during the past decade. The media’s tendency to describe a rising t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3167096 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:54:33 +0100 3167096 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3167098&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaQOzMNiaugU%2F By Tad DeHavenThis weekend while watching a football game with a friend, I saw a commercial for Pepsi “Throwback.” This is a new product containing real sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. My friend was incredulous when I explained that soft drinks manufactured for sale domestically generally don’t contain sugar because government protection of the U.S. sugar industry from imports make its use cost-prohibitive. I am intrigued that Pepsi would market a sugar-based product. In perusing the Internet for news about it, I found countless stories applauding the product but blaming Pepsi and Coke for continuing to use inferior-tasting high-fructose corn syrup. For example, Pepsi Throwback’s Wikipedia page states that soft drink manufacturers switched to high-fructose corn syrup dec... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3167098 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:27:38 +0100 3167098 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3163757&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIrbaBCaUnxg%2F By Daniel IkensonThe Washington Post reports today that China surpassed Germany to become the world’s largest exporter in 2009, adding yet another economic feat to its expanding trophy case. Undoubtedly, U.S. trade skeptics and globophobes will consider this “accolade” the latest evidence of American decline and Chinese ascendancy. But more than it is any refection of China’s economic might, the milestone is testament to the successful erosion of economic, political, physical and technological barriers that had previously constrained human possibilities. Widespread liberalization of trade and investment rules beginning in earnest after World War II; China’s opening to the West beginning with reforms in 1978; the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the Soviet Union ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3163757 Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:06:00 +0100 3163757 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3163759&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNTNXygE_EEk%2F By David BoazElizabeth Gilbert, the bestselling author of the memoir Eat, Pray, Love, is back with a new book, Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage. In her earlier book Gilbert reflected on her broken marriage, her travels around the world “looking for joy and God and love and the meaning of life,” and her determination never to marry again. In the new book we learn that she surprised herself by meeting a man worth settling down with, a Brazilian living in Indonesia. So they became a couple and settled near Philadelphia, with Jose Nunes regularly leaving the country to renew his visitor’s visa. But then came a legal shock: She was in the early stages of research for that book when Nunes was detained, after a visa-renewing jaunt out of the country, by Homeland S... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3163759 Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:34:16 +0100 3163759 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3156444&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FrRwSJLBKprw%2F By Daniel GriswoldWhen Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND, announced this week that he would not be running for re-election in November, he explained that he wanted to pursue other interests such as teaching and writing more books. As a senator, Dorgan opposed almost all efforts to liberalize trade unless it involved Cuba or the re-importation of price-controlled drugs. He holds the distinction of being the second most frequently mentioned politician (behind only Barack Obama) in my Cato book, Mad about Trade, something that I’m sure the senator would consider a badge of honor. Here is my critical but eminently fair review of his 2006 book, Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3156444 Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:22:10 +0100 3156444 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3153354&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLE3EQtuGuQk%2F By Daniel GriswoldThe Center for American Progress and the Immigration Policy Center released a new study this morning that finds comprehensive immigration reform would boost the U.S. economy by $189 billion a year by 2019. The bottom-line results of the study are remarkably similar to those of a Cato study released last August. Titled “Raising the Floor for American Workers: the Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” the CAP study was authored by Dr. Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda of the University of California, Los Angeles. It finds that legalizing low-skilled immigration would boost U.S. gross domestic product by 0.84 percent by raising the productivity of immigrant workers and expanding activity throughout the economy. Using a different general-equilibrium model of the U.S. ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3153354 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:19:45 +0100 3153354 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3153356&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FON8LqoedHMQ%2F By Daniel GriswoldOne of the more common complaints I hear about illegal immigration is that low-skilled workers from Mexico and Central America allegedly bring with them a wave of crime and incarceration expenses, especially to southern California. Those complaints are hard to square with the mounting evidence that immigrants, even low-skilled, illegal immigrants, are no more prone to commit crimes than native-born Americans. The latest data point comes from Los Angeles, where the Wall Street Journal reports this morning: “Violent crime in Los Angeles hit its lowest level in more than half a century last year, one of a growing number of U.S. cities reporting its streets were remarkably safe in 2009.” I tried to connect the dots on immigration and crime in a recent article I wrote for ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3153356 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:46:33 +0100 3153356 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3149034&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtVv87lxdqr0%2F By Daniel GriswoldThree items in the news this week remind us why we should be glad we live in a more global economy. While American consumers remain cautious, American companies and workers are finding increasing opportunities in markets abroad: Sales of General Motors vehicles continue to slump in the United States, but they are surging in China. The company announced this week that sales in China of GM-branded cars and trucks were up 67 percent in 2009, to 1.8 million vehicles. If current trends continue, within a year or two GM will be selling more vehicles in China than in the United States. James Cameron’s 3-D movie spectacular “Avatar” just surpassed $1 billion in global box-office sales. Two-thirds of its revenue has come from abroad, with France, Germany, and Russia the lea... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3149034 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:02:52 +0100 3149034 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3149038&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fi4laDEwh48A%2F By Daniel IkensonIn a post at the Enterprise Blog two days ago, economist Mark Perry deftly parodies a typical mainstream media account of trade protectionism by editing the story in redline to contrast its original presentation with its true significance. I recommend reading the whole thing, but here’s the first paragraph: WASHINGTON POST (Reuters) – A U.S. trade panel gave final approval on Wednesday to duties taxes ranging from 10 to 16 percent on cost-conscious firms in the U.S. who purchase low-priced Chinese-made steel pipe rather than high-price domestic pipe, in the biggest U.S. trade case to date against China American companies (and their shareholders, employees, and customers) who shop globally for their inputs and find the best value in China. Perry’s point—and I s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3149038 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:40:45 +0100 3149038 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3142513&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FjbUNnK6jmTw%2F By Sallie JamesNot content with waiting for federal legislation on the matter, it seems that Minnesota has introduced a “carbon fee” of $4-$34 per ton of carbon dioxide emissions on energy produced –mainly using coal — in North Dakota.  The fee is scheduled to go into effect in 2012. (see here) North Dakota plans to challenge the new tax, which it rightly says will discourage the purchase of North Dakota power (that is, indeed, the whole point of the tariff). I’m no constitutional scholar, but Article 1, section 10 of the Constitution says that “No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws…” so the Minnesota tar... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3142513 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:26:19 +0100 3142513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3142519&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnjLh8I2w3HY%2F By Daniel GriswoldFor American workers and families trying to get ahead, the decade just behind us was a stinker. As a front-page Washington Post story over the long weekend summarized: For most of the past 70 years, the U.S. economy has grown at a steady clip, generating perpetually higher incomes and wealth for American households. But since 2000, the story is starkly different. … According to the story, the Aughts (2000-09) were the first decade since World War Two with no net job creation, and the first in which median household income was actually lower at the end than at the beginning. It won’t be long before critics of trade will try to blame the poor economic performance on trade agreements and globalization. This has been a standard line of attack, and I address it at length i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3142519 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:06:28 +0100 3142519 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3096842&cid=t_321253_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=3089260&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6-Rob9CAzpQ%2F By Sallie JamesWell here’s an interesting, if three-weeks-old, story. Apparently the North Dakota Farm Bureau’s annual convention recently passed a policy calling for the elimination of all agricultural programs.  Reading between the lines of the original press release indicates that the call was part of a broad political position by the NDFB to move away from government intervention in many areas of the economy apart from farm programs, including cap-and-trade and health care: “As people in this country expect more from the government and less from themselves, our delegates are urging everyone, including farmers, to step away from the public trough and get back to the principles of individual responsibility and initiative,” said NDFB President Eric Aasmundstad…. ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089260 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:51:20 +0100 3089260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3079320&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F96CK9NMNQaw%2F By Ilya ShapiroThat’s the title of a Wall Street Journal article detailing the latest idiocy to come out of our immigration system.  It seems that if you’re a musician trying to get a visa to perform in the United States, you have to prove to some bureaucrat’s satisfaction that your music either is “culturally unique” or has “achieved international recognition and acclaim.”  (Query: Does the Department of Homeland Security now require immigration caseworkers to have degrees in musicology or fine arts?) The article chronicles the various travails of performers who are either so innovative — perish the thought! — as to not fit into an easily defined cultural category or haven’t yet reached U2-like levels of popularity.  Reads one... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3079320 Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:37:17 +0100 3079320 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3079322&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTGslb_rm3AA%2F By Daniel IkensonAs described in the current Cato Policy Report, one of the “Hard Lessons from the Auto Bailout” is that management at GM is likely to be “highly erratic, as the president and Congress wrestle for decisionmaking primacy at this majority taxpayer-owned entity.”  The “dealerships” issue is Exhibit A. One of GM’s first decisions upon emerging from bankruptcy was to announce closures of a number of dealerships to help reduce costs. Then-nominal-CEO Fritz Henderson explained that the planned closings would save GM about $100 in distribution costs per vehicle–a few hundred million dollars per year when factoring in the millions of units GM expects to produce. But many of GM’s congressional CEOs cried foul, demanding reco... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3079322 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:39:39 +0100 3079322 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3075480&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8nLJSsxGUDg%2F By Jim HarperIf you have a job, a panel convened by the University of Denver thinks you should have a national ID card. DU’s “Report of the Strategic Issues Panel on Immigration” says: The idea of a national card for identifying citizens and non-citizens has become the third rail of immigration politics. But in truth, without a means of positive identification, it makes very little difference what immigration policies are adopted because they can’t be effectively enforced. A means of positive identification is essential to prevent the employment of illegal immigrants. Only the panel’s narrow framing leads to this conclusion. Restrictive immigration policies may require a national ID and federal background check system because such policies are so at odds with em... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3075480 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:46:01 +0100 3075480 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3071134&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYQPnE5ZUdSw%2F By Daniel IkensonJust when you have a pretty good sense of who is dishing protectionist nonsense and from where, along comes Robert Aliber, who — according to the byline of his commentary in yesterday’s Financial Times – is professor emeritus of international economics and finance at the University of Chicago.  Et tu, Chicago? Aliber considers the US-China trade imbalance unsustainable and, because the Chinese government continues to prevent the value of its currency from rising sufficiently, proposes that the United States impose an across-the-board duty of 10 percent on all Chinese imports, which (after 6 months) would ratchet up 1 percentage point per month every month until the Chinese trade surplus with the United States declines to $5 billion per month.  We’... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3071134 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:51:14 +0100 3071134 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3056616&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0FApm6G3Mlc%2F Chuck Schumer is perhaps my favorite U.S. Senator because of his endless capacity to make me laugh.  He often reminds me of Inspector Clouseau, the earnest but bumbling detective from the Pink Panther movies. Through an excellent post by Scott Lincome today, I learned not only that official NBA jerseys (those worn by the players) are made for Adidas in upstate New York, but that Senator Schumer is attempting to thwart the company’s decision to move production to Thailand.  I share Scott’s assessment of the absurdity of Schumer’s efforts, but more importantly, I wanted to share this humorous footage of Schumer’s awkward nativist appeal that basketball is an American-centric game….conducted in front of German-born NBA Star Dirk Nowitski’s jersey.  ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3056616 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:50:43 +0100 3056616 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3056617&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FP1wbE-cyLCA%2F That is one of the conclusions in my new paper, “Made on Earth: How Global Economic Integration Renders Trade Policy Obsolete.” For hundreds of years, trade policy has been premised on the assumptions that exports are good, imports are bad, and the interests of domestic producers are tantamount to the “national interest.” Though that mercantilist worldview has never been accurate, its persistence as a pillar of trade policy into the 21st century is especially confounding given the emergence and proliferation of disaggregated production processes, transnational supply chains, and cross-border investment. Those trends have blurred any meaningful distinctions between “our” producers and “their” producers and speak to a long chain of interdepende... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3056617 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:57:28 +0100 3056617 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3039762&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fi3W6_dyIntc%2F We have much to be thankful for as Americans. We live in a country founded on the principles of liberty and limited government, and the freedom and prosperity we still enjoy today flow from those foundational principles. I was reminded of our great heritage recently as I was re-reading Frederic Bastiat’s classic pamphlet, “The Law.” He wrote his impassioned defense of individual freedom and limited government in 1850, at a time when socialist ideas were on the march in his native France. Bastiat observed that, as government grew more powerful on the Continent, the struggle for political power became more bitter, stoking hatred, discord and social disorder. In contrast, Bastiat beckoned his readers to Look at the United States. There is no country in the world where the law confines i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3039762 Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:28:23 +0100 3039762 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3033581&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ftm23MZROxuk%2F The longest and least uplifting chapter in my new Cato book Mad about Trade is Chapter 9, where I describe all the remaining duties and restrictions our government imposes on our freedom to trade with people in other countries. We are certainly not “the most open market in the world,” as a member of President Obama’s Cabinet asserted in China last week. In fact, by one measure we rank a lowly 28th. After mentioning this fact in speeches lately, I’ve been asked more than once to name the markets that ARE the most open in the world. Here, according to the latest 2009 Economic Freedom of the World Report, are the top ten most open economies: 1. Hong Kong 2. Singapore 3. Chile 4. Ireland 5. Panama 6. Netherlands 7. United Arab Emirates 8. Slovak Republic 9. Hungary 10. Luxembourg (The ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3033581 Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:00:30 +0100 3033581 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023094&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FVtCFexcexqY%2F Yes, you read that right. The story is more complicated than a short headline can covey, but that is the gist of an article of mine in the just-out December issue of Commentary magazine. [Subscription needed.] The past 15 years have witnessed two undeniable trends: dramatically rising levels of immigration, both low-skilled and high-skilled, and an equally dramatic plunge in crime rates nationally. I don’t argue that increased immigration in the past 15 years is the primary cause of falling crime rates, but I do argue that the evidence punches a gaping hole in the Lou-Dobbs contention that immigrants have clogged our prisons and unleashed a new wave of crime. In the Commentary article, and in an earlier Cato Free Trade Bulletin, I cite Census data that show that incarceration rates for i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023094 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:11:58 +0100 3023094 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023095&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F35PMRhE5m3I%2F I’ve just started reading a new article by economists at the World Bank and the Peterson Insititute. The gist of the paper is that greenhouse gas emission targets will have little effect on “carbon leakage”, the apparently-largely-theoretical phenomenon whereby carbon-intensive industries move to less regulated jurisdictions in response to stringent emissions regulations in their original home.  So we can strike that off our list of worries. The authors do reach the conclusion, though, that output of energy-intensive products will decline in response to emissions cuts and the political temptation for “carbon tariffs” will be strong (see here why that is a bad idea). Basing the carbon tariffs on the carbon content of imports–as opposed to, say, the carb... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023095 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:10:35 +0100 3023095 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023381&cid=t_321253_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2009%2F11%2F23%2Flou-dobbs-the-haters-are-wrong%2F My new post on Politics Daily / Woman Up: Lou Dobbs has quit his news anchor job at CNN, his network home for three decades. Currently he’s considering all kinds of offers, including opportunities in politics. Dobbs has a reputation as an anti-immigration racist and a right-wing nut. His detractors lump him in with Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck. And, of course, Hitler. I confess – for years I watched the now-defunct “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on CNN. Whenever I let that detail slip, friends respond with shock or horror. Or both. But that’s because they assume I watched Dobbs for his politics. Nothing could be further from the truth. Lou is the grandfather I never knew. If you factor in his use of language – words like balderdash and phrases like &#8... Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023381 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:51:10 +0100 3023381 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023103&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fcl_3Rv3NzC8%2F Sunday marked the third anniversary of the signing of a free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia. It is an embarrassment to our great nation that this agreement with an important Latin American ally still sits on the shelf three years later, a victim of congressional trade politics. As my Cato colleague Juan Carlos Hidalgo and I argued in a 2008 Free Trade Bulletin, and as I wrote in a more recent op-ed, the FTA with Colombia is a win-win for Americans. It fully opens the Colombian market and its 44 million pro-American consumers to our exports, while deepening our ties with one of our most dependable allies in the Western Hemisphere. The AFL-CIO and other opponents of the agreement demand that Colombia further reduce violence against trade unionist before approval can b... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023103 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:33:31 +0100 3023103 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3012339&cid=t_321253_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F20%2Fat-our-bodies-our-blog-cdc-reverses-hpv-vaccine-requirement-for-immigration%2F At Our Bodies Our Blog this week, I cover the CDC’s new vaccination criteria for U.S. immigration, which removed HPV and zoster (chicken pox) from the required vaccines. I also have a bit about why the HPV vaccine requirement was problematic, links to previous related posts, and links to organizations for women of color that issued a statement applauding the change. Meanwhile, C’s post on the new mammogram recommendations has useful explanation of the change and a lively comments section. Posted in Access, Rights, & Choice, Boobs, Cancer, Ethics, Global Issues, Government, HPV, Infectious Diseases (Source: Women's Health News) Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3012339 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:10:37 +0100 3012339 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3012369&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FygoWTIPbl5o%2F My March 2008 paper, Franz Kafka’s Solution to Illegal Immigration, detailed the problems with electronic employment verification systems. The paper concludes that successful “internal enforcement” of immigration law requires a national ID—and ultimately a cradle-to-grave biometric tracking system. The Department of Homeland Security has started a program called the “I E-Verify” campaign for businesses that use the federal background check system on its employees. If you see businesses with “I E-Verify” decorations or insignia, they at least indirectly support a national ID system in the United States. This can help you decide whether or not you want to spend your dollars with them. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3012369 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:53:34 +0100 3012369 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3008067&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-Ggtb4lU96U%2F The House Foreign Affairs Committee is holding a hearing today on the almost 50 year old ban on travel to Cuba. The ban is part of a broader economic embargo in place since the early 1960s that was supposed to bring about change in the island’s oppressive, communist regime. Instead, the embargo and travel ban have needlessly infringed on the freedom of Americans, weakened our influence in Cuba, and handed the Castro government a handy excuse for the failures of its Caribbean socialist experiment. I wrote an op-ed recently advocating change in U.S. policy toward Cuba, and delivered a talk on the same theme at Rice University in 2005. Will Congress finally change this failed U.S. policy? (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3008067 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:26:03 +0100 3008067 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3003728&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FS-U9xcrRmMo%2F Accompanying the president on his trip to China this week, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk couldn’t resist repeating the old line that the United States is “the most open market in the world.” The chief U.S. trade negotiator was trying to rebut criticism from Chinese officials that the Obama administration, with its 35 percent tariff on Chinese tire imports and all that, has retreated from a commitment to free trade. The administration’s “more open than thou” rebuttal is a weak one. As I write in Chapter 9 of my new Cato book, Mad about Trade: If an Olympics were held for the most open economy, the United States would be out of medal contention. According to the most recent annual Economic Freedom of the World Report, people living in 26 other countries enjoy greater “free... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3003728 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:51:45 +0100 3003728 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3003734&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKCglQpiCXZE%2F In the past eight months, the unemployment rate has jumped from 7.2 percent to 10.2 percent. Here’s why. Three trillion reasons to hope the Senate is not as fiscally reckless as their counterparts in the House on health care reform. Obama a federalist? Not quite: “Not yet a year into his administration, Obama’s record on 10th Amendment issues is already clear: He’ll let the states have their way when their policies please blue team sensibilities and he’ll call in the feds when they don’t.” More here. It’s time to get immigration reform right: “Republican leaders need to liberate themselves from the Lou Dobbs minority within their own ranks that will oppose any legalization. Democratic leaders need to face down their labor-unio... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3003734 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:49:21 +0100 3003734 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2992655&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiA4hnbLEOBA%2F In a speech this morning in Washington, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the Obama administration remains committed to enacting real immigration reform. In a key passage in her remarks, she said reform must contain three essential components: Let me be clear: when I talk about “immigration reform,” I’m referring to what I call the “three-legged stool” that includes a commitment to serious and effective enforcement, improved legal flows for families and workers, and a firm but fair way to deal with those who are already here. That’s the way that this problem has to be solved, because we need all three aspects to build a successful system. The phrase “improved legal flows” is rather vague, but it points toward some kind of expanded visa program to allow futur... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2992655 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:16:00 +0100 2992655 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2992659&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCo0EmhS-QJo%2F Well, here’s an interesting pair. Today’s Washington Post contains an op-ed on climate change and trade, written jointly by Fred Bergsten, director of the Peterson Institute of International Economics, and Lori Wallach, director of Global Trade Watch at Public Citizen.  The authors readily admit, quite early in the piece, that they are usually on opposing sides of the trade debate.  The Peterson Institute scholars are well-known and well-respected advocates of freer international trade. Global Trade Watch, and Wallach in particular? Not so much. She has called NAFTA a “disastrous experiment” and has a special section on her website calling on people to Take Action! on trade (example: by hosting a house party to celebrate the tenth anniversary of ” the hist... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2992659 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:04:33 +0100 2992659 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2984773&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcM9wwSbomHM%2F In his CNN swan song last night, Lou Dobbs told his loyal if shrinking audience that important national issues are now defined in the public arena by partisanship and ideology rather than by rigorous empirical thought and forthright analysis and discussion. I will be working diligently to change that as best I can. I would argue that his very act of resigning from his prime-time perch is probably the best contribution he’s made yet to advancing “rigorous empirical thought.” Since he launched his program “Lou Dobbs Tonight” in 2003, the CNN anchor has been engaged in one long rant against immigration, free trade, and other populist bugaboos. His approach was anything but rigorous and empirical. In a review of his 2004 book, Exporting America, I critiqued his flabby reasoning and q... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2984773 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:14:45 +0100 2984773 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2984781&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4wEeiXfvpdk%2F My colleague Dan Griswold pointed out yesterday some unfortunate editing in the Washington Post. Here are a couple of other trade-related items in the news recently: Sen. Max Baucus (D, MT and Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee) has seemingly thrown his weight behind the idea of “border measures” (i.e., carbon tariffs).  After paying the semi-obligatory lip service to the United States’ obligations under international trade law — and I say only “semi-obligatory” because some U.S. lawmakers appear not to care about it at all – Baucus goes on to deliver this rhetorical gem: I think often the United States has to lead,” Baucus said, noting that what lawmakers come up could be used as a model for other countries to copy. So the U.S. wou... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2984781 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:44:21 +0100 2984781 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2984783&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fxa6w9YSpjHE%2F I expected and got some pushback about my post comparing the Berlin Wall to the wall along our southern border. Happily, it was more civil than the reactions I often get when I talk about immigration and free movement of people. One fair comment focused on the key distinction between the Berlin Wall and our border wall: the direction the guards were facing. From the perspective of the state, it’s easy to conceive of border guards facing “in” or “out”—and those facing in suggest much worse than those facing out. But from the perspective of the individual, what matters is whether or not the border guards are facing you. Our border wall keeps Mexicans and Central Americans from freedom and a better life precisely the way the Berlin Wall did East Ge... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2984783 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:25:34 +0100 2984783 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2981058&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqX9P6h_jem8%2F Import competition can throw Americans out of work. Even advocates of free trade like me will readily acknowledge that fact. And nobody needs to remind the people of Hickory, North Carolina. On the front page of the Washington Post this morning, under the headline, “In N.C., damage not easily mended: Globalization drives unemployment to 15% in one corner of state,” the paper reports in detail how the people of that community are struggling to adjust to a more open U.S. economy: The region has lost more of its jobs to international competition than just about anywhere else in the nation, according to federal trade-assistance statistics, as textile mills have closed, furniture factories have dwindled and even the fiber-optic plants have undergone mass layoffs. The unemployment rate is on... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2981058 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:35:09 +0100 2981058 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2973903&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F57aEbZfmhEA%2F On his personal blog, Bottom-Up, Cato adjunct scholar Timothy B. Lee compares the Berlin Wall to the wall along the southern border of the United States. There are differences, of course, but important similarities too. [I]t’s jarring that less than 20 years after one Republican president gave a stirring speech about the barbarity of erecting a wall to trap millions of people in a country they wanted to leave, another Republican president signed legislation to do just that. Conservatives, of course, bristle at analogies between East Germany’s wall and our own, but they seem unable to explain how they actually differ. Judging by its ‘wall’ policies, the United States appears to value the freedom of Europeans more than Americans. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2973903 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:51:05 +0100 2973903 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2973906&cid=t_321253_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=2970194&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6IJOQ3uWono%2F On Wednesday I blogged about how, for the first time in many years — since the last recession — H-1B skilled worker visas remain available despite the hard cap on their number.  In other words, even foreigners respond to market incentives: when there are no jobs, there are fewer immigrants. I’ve gotten some interesting email in response to that little notice, one of which I post below, along with my paragraph-by-paragraph responses. Just read your blog entry on the H-1b visa.  The problem is that this visa has been misused by sponsoring companies, suffering from high rates of fraud.  I find it strange that Cato supports (or appears to support) a labor tool that is anything but free market.  The H-1b visa is more of an indentured servant visa program than anything else – w... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2970194 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:40:55 +0100 2970194 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2970196&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fa6iaAzBk_ac%2F Following on from my earlier post, I was delighted to receive a call from Bradley Peck at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce just now, clarifying that they do not in fact endorse the idea of carbon tariffs. Here’s a blog entry, posted a few minutes ago on the Chamber’s blog, clarifying their position. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2970196 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:19:51 +0100 2970196 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2970199&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1fh_fPOPVfI%2F Even though the climate change summit in Copenhagen next month is likely to yield very little, domestic shenanigans continue. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works passed a bill on Thursday amid controversy, and the farmers’ friends in the Senate (notably Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D. Mich) are looking to send goodies their way by filing an amendment that would pay farmers for not cutting down trees, not farming, and will likely see states such as — well, how about that! —  Michigan “cashing in” (see here). Meanwhile, those concerned about the cost of climate change regulations may have lost an ally. Often, but not always, one can depend on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to defend free enterprise, or at least free trade. On climate change, however, t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2970199 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:55:16 +0100 2970199 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2967271&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJ7GuoUUUKxk%2F The dirty secret of the U.S. tariff code is that it is not only insanely complex but that it is biased against the poor. Our highest remaining trade barriers are imposed on goods that loom the largest in the budgets of poor and middle-income families — such as food, shoes, and clothing. Politicians and interest groups that fight any reduction of U.S. tariffs are unwittingly picking the pockets of the poor every day. I discuss how President Obama supports this unfair status quo in a new Cato podcast, in an earlier newspaper column, and in Chapter 9 of Mad about Trade. And you can bet your imported t-shirt that I will highlight this inconvenient truth during my presentation at today’s Cato book forum. You can watch it live online beginning at noon, eastern time. Commenting on Mad ab... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2967271 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:16:42 +0100 2967271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2963217&cid=t_321253_117_f&fid=38158&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drneedles.comhttp%3A%2F%2Famericanacupuncture.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F11%2Fimmigration-health-reform-policy.html The Democrats want to all legal permanent residents able to participate in the proposed health insurance exchanges and also to receive subsidized health coverageAs a medical physician for over 51 years, I strive to give you the best medical information on controversial medical subjects, and help your read betwwen the lines. You must come to your own conclusions. I have no ties to any organization, pharmaceutical, or lobby group. As an practicing medical acupuncturist since 1982, I find western medicine and medical acupuncture are very complimentary. This results in astounding healing in pain management, addictions to cigarettes and food, and a host of other maladies. Visit drneedles is blogging" at the end of each blog for a complete alphabetical list of all my blogs Visit http://www.ameri... Dr. Needles Medical Blogs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2963217 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:42:00 +0100 2963217 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2958818&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fymlbhqjl5xk%2F As I blogged here, I got my green card in April — and am now counting down the days till I can naturalize (five years from the green card, though you can apply three months before that and processing takes a year or so).  Because of my various travails over the years that led to that fortunate day this spring, I’ve learned quite a bit about immigration, both as a matter of policy and as a matter of law.  Indeed, both before joining Cato and ever since, it’s been an area in which I’ve been writing and speaking — and I appreciate very much the synergy this work has had with my colleagues in the trade and immigration shop. One oped I had in National Review Online dealt with H-1Bs, the temporary visas for highly skilled workers to work in the United States.  ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2958818 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:52:06 +0100 2958818 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2954491&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FeY5mHHxTn2w%2F Mexican sugar growers want “in” on the cozy little arrangement that domestic sugar growers have here in the United States.  They have formed an alliance with the U.S sugar lobby to recommend that the U.S. and Mexican governments work to “avoid importing sugar from other countries to help boost the market between the neighbours” (full article here [$]). This proposal is not new, of course, having previously been suggested to lawmakers’ during the 2008 farm bill debate (see here). The “recommendation” was rebuffed at that time, but these people are nothing if not tenacious. In what surely must be a contender for the “Understatement of the Year” award, the article ends with this: ” Sweetener users and free trade advocates are ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2954491 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:37:23 +0100 2954491 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2943765&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJ08j1EAl2cE%2F According to a Washington Post story today, “the weak dollar is one problem the United States loves to have.” The story reports how the fall of the dollar against the euro and other currencies in the past year has boosted U.S. exports and discouraged imports, cutting the trade deficit and allegedly boosting the U.S. economy. A weaker dollar has spurred complaints in Europe and elsewhere, but here at home the Post story leaves the impression the approval is practically unanimous. Nowhere in the 1,058-word story is the impact on consumers ever mentioned. But it is American consumers who pay the biggest price when the dollars we earn buy less on global markets. We are paying more for oil, which not coincidentally has zoomed toward $80 as the dollar flounders. A weaker dollar means higher ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2943765 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:56:31 +0100 2943765 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2934650&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fna70SK_t-iY%2F If you were a federal contractor with millions of dollars in federal business, would you ever say that federal regulations are too burdensome? Would you tell a newspaper that you violated federal rules by turning away workers because a federal database reported a discrepancy between the information you submitted and the information the government holds? I don’t think so. But on National Review’s “The Corner” blog, Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies takes a federal contractor’s self-serving statements about E-Verify as evidence that it’s “working fine.” Of course it is! If you carefully consider the evidence you want to! (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2934650 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:10:57 +0100 2934650 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2920160&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfFnNowFh9qw%2F As an update to an earlier post about my speaking schedule this fall, here are my remaining public events through Thanksgiving.  All these events, other than the one on Nov. 3, are sponsored by the Federalist Society (and in some cases co-sponsored by other organizations) and all are open to the public.  As always, if you decide to attend one of the presentations after learning of it from this blog post, please feel free to drop me a line beforehand, and do introduce yourself after the event. Event info after the jump. Oct. 26 at 12:00pm -  Florida International University Law School (Miami) – Use of Foreign Law in Constitutional Interpretation Oct. 27 at 12:30pm – University of Miami Law School – Use of Foreign Law in Constitutional Intepretation Oct. 28 at 12:30pm... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2920160 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:56:13 +0100 2920160 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2865597&cid=t_321253_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F10%2F06%2Fbritish-journal-of-general-practice-2009-vol-59-no-567%2F Contents Page Fade Fave: Asylum seekers, refugees, and the politics of access to health care: a UK perspective Fade Skinny: The UK government has recently consulted on proposals to prohibit access to health care for some asylum seekers. This discussion paper considers the wider ethical, moral, and political issues that may arise from this policy. (Print subscription held at Fade Library) Posted in Current Awareness, Journals Tagged: Current Awareness, Immigration, Medical Ethics, Primary Care, Refugees (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2865597 Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:22:56 +0100 2865597 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2828428&cid=t_321253_135_f&fid=35277&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.aac.org%2Findex.php%2F2009%2F09%2F23%2Fgood-news-for-hiv-immigrants-with-green-cards-pending%2F The Office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) at the Department of Homeland Security has issued a memorandum regarding green card applications for HIV+ immigrants. The memo directs immigration officers to defer any adjustment to a green card application based on whether the applicant is HIV+ or not. This is good news for HIV+ immigrants waiting to see what the final Health and Human Services ruling will be on this issue. Currently HIV+ individuals are barred from traveling or immigrating to the United States. In June of this year, the Department of Health and Human Services issued new rules removing HIV from the list of communicable diseases barring such movement. The new rules are expected to take effect shortly, following a 45-day comment period and further planning for... AIDS Action Committee's Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2828428 Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:28:54 +0100 2828428 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2788615&cid=t_321253_93_f&fid=35707&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHemodynamics%2F%7E3%2FgTrJ4RsfZFM%2Fjoe-wilsons-war.html For all the fuss about Joe Wilson disrespecting Obama by shouting "You lie!" (to which, it can only be said, he never would have said that to a white president)--the biggest crime is not disrespecting the president, but that he was doing so in the cause of trying to make sure some Guatemalan girl can't deliver her baby, and some Chinese guy can't get treatment for HIV infection, and some old Mexican lady is going to die for reasons regular medical care could have prevented.And now, politicians are bending over backwards to say, Joe Wilson is disrespectful, but to his larger point, they only respond, please, fellow Americans, be assured, we won't be taking this love your neighbor thing too far. (Source: hemodynamics) hemodynamics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2788615 Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:21:00 +0100 2788615 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2781987&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=34470&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehealthcareblog.com%2Fthe_health_care_blog%2F2009%2F09%2Fimmigrants-health-reform-and-lies.html By NATHAN CORTEZ In a much-anticipated prime time address to Congress, President Obama made the case for health care reform. One ostensible goal of the speech was to correct misinformation about the bills proposed by Congress. As a scholar who... (Source: The Health Care Blog) The Health Care Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2781987 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0100 2781987 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2757727&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fr90MQRzDjno%2F The standard view in policy discussions is that emigration of skilled workers from poor countries to rich countries is bad for development becuase it deprives poor countries of much-needed human capital and it reduces growth. A new study by Michael Clemens at the Center for Global Development challenges this view. Clemens shows that efforts to slow the so-called brain drain “generally brings few benefits to others, and often brings diverse unintended harm.” There is little evidence that limiting skilled migration improves growth or public finances in poor countries, while following such a policy may reduce the demand for education, international trade and capital flows, and the diffusion of ideas and norms. There is also a gap between the policy discussion (that takes the nega... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2757727 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:37:44 +0100 2757727 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2751845&cid=t_321253_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F01%2Fguidelines-for-the-clinical-management-of-people-refusing-food-in-immigration-removal-centres-and-prisons%2F Title: Guidelines for the clinical management of people refusing food in immigration removal centres and prisons The Skinny: Information, for health professionals in prisons and immigration removal centres, on the physical effects of food refusal, the most effective practical and clinical management of individuals refusing to eat and drink, legal aspects and the relevance of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. It also addresses the considerable dangers and risks associated with refeeding individuals who have been starving but who then decide to eat again. Publisher: DH Size of Publication: 51p Published: 28/08/2009 Posted in Clinical Governance, Clinical Guidelines, Diet, Ethics, Grey Literature, Legislation, Mental Health, Prison Health Services, Prisons Tagged: Asylum Seekers, Clinical Guide... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2751845 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:37:02 +0100 2751845 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2741343&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F8kvyN8T05_g%2F While the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency constantly raids factories and workplaces looking for peaceful and hard-working undocumented immigrants to kick out of the country, the same federal government agency brings to the U.S. dangerous Mexican drug traffickers who—while continuing their criminal activities in Mexico and the U.S.—also serve as informants to the federal authorities in their war on drugs. Can someone explain this to me? (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2741343 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:13:11 +0100 2741343 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2737704&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7X_pJG6gRnI%2F An article published this week by National Review magazine blames the many problems of California on—take a guess—high taxes, over-regulation of business, runaway state spending, an expansive welfare state? Try none of the above. The article, by Alex Alexiev of the Hudson Institute, puts the blame on the backs of low-skilled, illegal immigrants from Mexico and the federal government for not keeping them out. Titled “Catching Up to Mexico: Illegal immigration is depleting California’s human capital and ravaging its economy,” the article endorses high-skilled immigration to the state while rejecting the influx of “the poorly educated, the unskilled, and the illiterate” immigrants that enter illegally from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. Before swallowing the article’s ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2737704 Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:34:18 +0100 2737704 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2724818&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBnIqYpLZdJ4%2F I’m back at my desk after a meeting this afternoon at the White House on comprehensive immigration reform. [For small fish like me, "the White House" never means the Oval Office or the West Wing but the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door.] The meeting was presided over by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and included about 100 representatives of groups interested in reforming the current system. It also featured a surprise guest speaker. The meeting began with Secretary Napolitano expressing the administration’s commitment to comprehensive immigration reform, a goal that I have been advocating for several years. The phrase has come to mean legalization of low-skilled immigrants, both those already living here illegally and future inflows of workers, with the pr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2724818 Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:16:40 +0100 2724818 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2691457&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fams7EmiDDxc%2F Here’s a depressing little blurb from the New York Times about the disparity between anemic job growth in the private sector and rising payrolls in the bureaucracy. For the first time since the Depression, the American economy has added virtually no jobs in the private sector over a 10-year period. The total number of jobs has grown a bit, but that is only because of government hiring. …For the decade, there was a net gain of 121,000 private sector jobs, according to the survey of employers conducted each month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In an economy with 109 million such jobs, that indicated an annual growth rate for the 10 years of 0.01 percent. At some point, of course, the rising number of people dependent on government will overwhelm the shrinking number of people... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2691457 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:59:32 +0100 2691457 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2688629&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fzwz-TZgCy6A%2F On his AJC “Barr Code” blog, Bob Barr weighs in on the national ID debate, rejecting PASS ID just as much as REAL ID. Notably, he discusses how the immigration issue may bolster pro–national ID forces: Not content with relying on PASS ID to secure sufficient support where its predecessor failed, some in the Congress — most notably Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.) — are using fear of illegal immigration as another vehicle by which to mandate a national, biometric-identification card that would be required before any person could secure employment. Clearly, those relishing the creation of some form of national identification card and the national database on which it would rest, will themselves not rest until they have realized their dream. Those of us ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2688629 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:33:45 +0100 2688629 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2637786&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOkMoWXL0IL0%2F In conclusion, “The idea of using a minimum wage to overcome poverty is old, honorable — and fundamentally flawed. It’s time to put this hoary debate behind us, and find a better way to improve the lives of people who work very hard for very little.” Even in the 1990s, the Times remained skeptical about the value of raising the minimum wage. An April 5, 1996, editorial conceded that a proposed 90 cent increase in the minimum wage would wipe out 100,000 jobs. It said that Republican critics of the minimum wage as a “crude” antipoverty tool were right. By 1999, however, the nation’s newspaper of record had completely reversed itself. In a September 14 editorial, it endorsed a sharp increase in the minimum wage, arguing that it would have no impact whatsoever on unemployment. �... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2637786 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:54:44 +0100 2637786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2625960&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fz1tO1FuL2xA%2F Critics warn that immigration reform would bring in its wake rising rates of poverty, higher government welfare expenditures, and a rise in crime. In a new paper, Cato scholar Daniel Griswold says that Congress should not reject market-oriented immigration reform because of misguided fears about “importing poverty.” Griswold argues that “Comprehensive immigration reform that included a robust temporary worker program would boost economic output and create new middle class job opportunities for native-born Americans.” For more, read the whole thing. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2625960 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:25:12 +0100 2625960 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2613830&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTb3KlrTnjgI%2F One piece of good news out of Washington yesterday was the decision among supporters of the Orwellian-named Employee Free Choice Act to dump a provision that would have virtually eliminated the secret ballot in union-organizing elections. The bill is the number-one legislative priority of major U.S. labor unions. It is packed with provisions aimed at making it easier for unions to organize workplaces and halt the relentless 40-year slide in private-sector union membership. The jettisoned provision would have allowed unions to organize a workplace simply by “persuading” a majority of workers to sign cards saying they want a union. Of course, such a system would leave individual workers wide open to intimidation, as I explained in a recent op-ed. Business-funded ads against the measure s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2613830 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:13:52 +0100 2613830 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2605949&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FY1Mxw-9cV5w%2F There may be no more vicious epithet from neoconservatives these days than “isolationist.”  One would think the term would mean something like xenophobic no-nothings who want to have nothing to do with the rest of the world.  No trade or immigration.  Little or no cultural exchange and political cooperation.  Autarchy all around. But no.  ”Isolationist” apparently means something quite different.  Never mind your views of the merits of international engagement.  If you don’t want to kill lots of foreigners in lots of foreign wars you are automatically considered to be an isolationist. President Bill Clinton called Republican legislators “isolationists” for not wanting to insert the U.S. military into the middle of a complex but strategic... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2605949 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:58:46 +0100 2605949 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2588184&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fn1CSRqpQTXQ%2F In a recent post, I noted how Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano was “taking the national ID tar baby in a loving embrace.” Now the administration seems to be similarly embracing the E-Verify government background check system. Starting September 8th, it will go forward with a Bush administration plan to require federal contractors to check their employees against federal databases. The E-Verify program is riddled with problems, and it will send many American workers and legal immigrants into Kafkaesque ordeals when they find they aren’t approved by the federal government to earn a living. Ultimately, “internal enforcement” of immigration law, which is what E-Verify is about, requires a biometric national identity system. Wasn’t a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2588184 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:39:47 +0100 2588184 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570384&cid=t_321253_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=2517209&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FElVLv7wCGBM%2F President Obama is meeting today with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to talk about reforming our broken immigration system. The challenge for both parties will be whether they can overcome opposition within their respective bases to expanding legal immigration. For Republicans, the chief opposition remains the faction of talk-radio-driven conservatives who just don’t like immigration, period, especially when it comes from Latin America. For Democrats, who now run Washington, the chief opposition to allowing more foreign workers to enter the country legally is represented by organized labor. As the Wall Street Journal reports this morning, advocates of immigration reform “worry that Democrats will defer to the AFL-CIO on the issue of legal immigration. The labor confederation has oppos... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2517209 Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:27:00 +0100 2517209 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2469442&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Foo3lGvcfWFA%2F In the past couple of days the administration has been discussing the employment impact of its stimulus package. Employment has declined steadily since adoption of the package, so it might seem odd to claim that it has already had beneficial impacts. The administration’s response is that employment would have declined even faster without the stimulus, so hundreds of thousands of jobs have been saved. The administration might be right, but how can we know? The short answer is, we cannot know with any confidence because we cannot know what employment would have been in the absence of the stimulus. Thus, the concept of “jobs saved” is problematic; it allows the administration to conclude, no matter how bad things get, that the stimulus worked because the economy would h... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2469442 Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:01:45 +0100 2469442 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2458042&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAJ-wEF2nS7c%2F Via Radley at Hit & Run, it’s a clear outrage that Larry Moore — homeless, but working his way back up — should be kicked back down by a costly and unhelpful city bureaucracy. But don’t overlook how identification requirements act as a “barrier to re-entry”: The only one who isn’t furious about this is Moore. He insists that city functionaries are giving him a break because they are letting him continue to shine shoes while he waits for a copy of his birth certificate to be sent from Kansas. Once it arrives they will allow him to get an ID card and then hand over almost every cent he has. It’s already a burden for people overcoming alcohol or drug problems — and disasters like flood or fire — to produce satisfactory identification. For eve... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2458042 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:55:09 +0100 2458042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2458044&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyeyiZ29wawI%2F As I warned in my “deferral” video, the president’s proposal to increase the tax burden on U.S. companies competing in global markets is horribly misguided. The White House has now been put on notice by high-tech executives that they will be compelled to move jobs out of America if this destructive policy is adopted. Bloomberg reports: Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steven Ballmer said the world’s largest software company would move some employees offshore if Congress enacts President Barack Obama’s plans to impose higher taxes on U.S. companies’ foreign profits. “It makes U.S. jobs more expensive,” Ballmer said in an interview. “We’re better off taking lots of people and moving them out of the U.S. as opposed to keeping them inside the U.S.”... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2458044 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:38:18 +0100 2458044 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2389659&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FjhwD7iG_CAc%2F The Heritage Foundation’s “The Foundry” blog has a post up called “Questions for Secretary Napolitano: Real ID.” Honest advocates on two sides of an issue can come to almost perfectly opposite views, and this provides an example, because I find the post confused, wrong, or misleading in nearly every respect. Let’s give it a brief fisking. Below, the language from the post is in italics, and my comments are in roman text: Does the Obama Administration support the implementation of the Real ID Act? (Hope not . . . .) Congress has passed two bills that set Real ID standards for driver’s licenses in all U.S. jurisdictions. REAL ID was a federal law that Congress passed in haste as an attachment to a military spending bill in early 2005. To me, “REAL ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2389659 Wed, 06 May 2009 12:38:42 +0100 2389659 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375863&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUIm4MUjeQ0w%2F Here are a few highlights from Cato Today, a daily email from the Cato Institute. You can subscribe, here. Marian Tupy discusses African aid in his new Development Policy Analysis, “The False Promise of Gleneagles: Misguided Priorities at the Heart of the New Push for African Development,” and an op-ed in the Washington Times. Swaminathan Aiyar argues against a global currency in The Guardian. Daniel J. Mitchell calls for abolishing the death tax in USA Today. Will Wilkinson argues for more liberal immigration policies in The Week magazine. In the Christian Science Monitor, Benjamin Friedman says the United States should cut military spending in half. In Monday’s Cato Daily Podcast, Jim Harper explains why Obama’s record on following through with his cam... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375863 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:01:03 +0100 2375863 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2364920&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLkWzT79QIpA%2F CNN wrote an exciting headline on Wednesday: “Homeland Security Chief Seeks to Repeal Real ID Act.” What they left out was that the replacement would be . . . the REAL ID Act. Intentionally or not, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has created the impression that the national ID law might go away. But simply renaming the Department of Homeland Security’s national ID program is not a repeal of REAL ID. The REAL ID revival bill that has been circulating is the same national identification and tracking system with a few of the sharpest corners taken off and the hope of federal money held out to up-to-now recalcitrant states. The REAL ID revival bill would corral every American citizen into the national ID system to try and attack illegal immigrants. Bills to re... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2364920 Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:15:49 +0100 2364920 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2353755&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F38IVqOm_lCM%2F Anti-immigrant groups have done nothing but lead Republicans off the electoral cliff, but they are very aggressive and vociferous. This has evidently convinced Senate staff to negotiate with them about reviving the moribund REAL ID Act. REAL ID lobbyist Janice Kephart reports the state of play on the Center for Immigration Studies blog. Interestingly, the National Conference of State Legislatures may join the National Governors Association in seeking to sell state authority over licensing and identification policy to the federal government, exchanging state power for the right to beg for federal funds evermore. I wrote a little bit in a previous post about the dynamics at play when a group that supposedly represents state interests in Washington, D.C. begins to represent Washington, D.C.&#... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2353755 Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:52:58 +0100 2353755 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306736&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJi9BXWfcgcI%2F People who don’t know me well don’t realize I’m not American.  I have no accent, am among the most patriotic people you could meet, went to college and law school here, interned for a senator, clerked for a federal judge, worked on a presidential campaign, spent time in Iraq, and speak and write about the U.S. Constitution for a living. I was born in Russia, however, and immigrated to Canada with my parents when I was little.  “We took a wrong turn at the St. Lawrence Seaway,” I like to joke. The upshot is that, much as I’ve wanted to be American since about age eight — when I discovered that the U.S. governing ethos was “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” while Canada’s is “peace, order, and good government&#82... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306736 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:35:44 +0100 2306736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306742&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F5jD7vZ_jCwM%2F The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has a new paper out on electronic employment verification systems. Using government estimates, it finds that operating a nationwide worker background check system would cost $10 billion a year. The Chamber is no opponent of requiring employers to check workers’ immigration status — I oppose the policy, preferring to live in a free country — but the paper has a lot of information about the practical impediments to giving the federal government a say in every hiring decision. It also gives the last word to my paper, Electronic Employment Eligibility: Franz Kafka’s Solution to Illegal Immigration. In the paper, I discuss a method for verifying work eligibility under the current immigration law without creating a national identity system. It... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306742 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:22:10 +0100 2306742 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2276203&cid=t_321253_133_f&fid=35124&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Faspergerwoman%2F%7E3%2FK_WzXMUFZic%2Fautism-and-immigrationintegration.html While I watch another tv discussion program on Integration of Foreigners in our society I can not help to get annoyed by this subject. I wish there was an equal amount of money and media attentions spent on autism matters. In my homecountry The Netherlands one of the main issues in general and political discussions is about how to deal with Integration of Foreigners Issues. There are many foreign employees working here. They were asked to come here and do our dirty jobs during the sixties and seventies. They contributed not only in the our prosperity but have also created a culture of their own. Many people from Turkey and Maroc, especially elder man and imported brides- do only speak their own language. For years the foreigners could, due to our policy, just live their own life in our cou... The Art of Being Asperger Woman blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2276203 Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:57:00 +0100 2276203 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2223519&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiUVH2elNX9k%2F Yesterday, the Washington Times editorialized in favor of E-Verify, the inchoate government background check system for all American workers, saying, “[T]he system is 99.5 percent accurate, according to DHS, and it permits employers to verify work eligibility in minimal time (10 minutes or less) and at minimal cost ($419 per year for a federal contractor of 10 employees).” Don’t be so sure. The DHS mantra of 99.5 percent accuracy was debunked long ago. The government doesn’t actually know the status of the 5.3% of workers that the system bounces out, an issue the Christian Science Monitor explored last summer. I examined the numbers in detail here, also last summer. The 0.5% error rate that DHS acknowledges is the known error rate. Others bounced out of the system D... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2223519 Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:38:14 +0100 2223519 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2201567&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqUptHbg8x-Y%2F She didn’t put it so bluntly, but DHS secretary Janet Napolitano appears ready to scrap the failed national ID program in the REAL ID Act. This is good news. Is it great news? Not really. Nothing I’m aware of in her public comments reflects awareness of the thoroughgoing weakness of identity-based security or its prohibitive privacy and dollar costs. And she’s looking for an alternative national ID. “‘Enhanced driver’s licenses give confidence that the person holding the card is the person who is supposed to be holding the card, and it’s less elaborate than Real ID,” the Washington Times quotes her saying. Less elaborate? Yes. Reliably secure? Not really. A full-fledged national ID? Eventually. The point is to get away from national ID system... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2201567 Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:34:50 +0100 2201567 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2187184&cid=t_321253_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F14%2Fa-round-up-of-stacey-campfields-vagina-fearing-legislation%2F Aunt B at Tiny Cat Pants has it, including proposed legislation on sex education, pretending homosexuality doesn’t exist, further taxing “adult” entertainment, child support, denying birth certificates for the children of undocumented immigrants, requiring death certificates for abortion, and yet exempting some men from being on the death certificates of stillborns. Campfield is a Republican state rep for district 18 in Knox County. That’s an awful lot of vagina-fearing nonsense in a year where we have some more immediate and serious economic things happening. As B says, “I Almost Wish My Vagina Were as Mysterious and Powerful as Campfield Thinks It Is.” Posted in Abortion, Access, Rights, & Choice, Birth, Laws, Legislation, & Courts, Pregnancy,... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2187184 Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:27:50 +0100 2187184 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2173719&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F535750589%2F House Judiciary Committee ranking member Lamar Smith (R-TX) wrote a plea for E-Verify, the federal worker background check system, in the Washington Times yesterday. He dedicates the first paragraphs to a broad analogy between immigrant workers and burglars, then says: E-Verify is the federal government’s system that enables businesses to hire legal workers. It is a sure way to protect jobs for U.S. citizen and legal immigrant workers alike, and ensure their jobs aren’t stolen by illegal immigrants. Time was when Republicans opposed regulation rather than extolling it. Smith’s advocacy for increased regulation in the name of a closed society is handily eclipsed by the Wall Street Journal’s editorial on the topic this morning, reporting on the status of the effort t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2173719 Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:59:18 +0100 2173719 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2149898&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F527337401%2F The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration is delaying the Bush administration plan to require federal contractors to use the E-Verify worker background check system. Criticizing the move, Lamar Smith (R-TX), ranking minority member on the House Judiciary Committee, says, “It is ironic that at the same time President Obama was pushing for passage of the stimulus package to help the unemployed, his administration delayed implementation of a rule designed to protect jobs for U.S. citizens and legal workers.” E-Verify may well have been designed or intended to protect jobs for citizens and legal workers, but that’s not at all what it would do. I wrote about it in a Cato Policy Analysis titled “Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification: Franz Kafka&#... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2149898 Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:52:01 +0100 2149898 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2138408&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F523736743%2F Though the stimulus package racing through the house is unlikely to work, some Republicans are going a step further and seeking to ensure that it does lasting damage to our economy - and to the freedom of our society. Amendments to the stimulus bill in committee last week include one to reauthorize “E-Verify,” the budding national identification and government background check system. Another would mandate the use of E-Verify by any business receiving stimulus money. The growth of E-Verify would raise costs on business and make it harder for many law-abiding Americans to get work, draining energy from the economy at precisely the wrong time - not that there’s ever a good time. I wrote about electronic employment verification programs like E-Verify in a paper called &#8220... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2138408 Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:48:20 +0100 2138408 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2128549&cid=t_321253_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F01%2F23%2Famy-sedaris-and-the-great-vulva-plus-the-roe-anniversary-and-the-treatment-of-immigrant-women%2F Christine caught this episode of Chelsea Lately featuring Amy Sedaris, in which she both mentions Our Bodies Ourselves and brings a giant vulva prop for the interview. Christine also put up a really great post for the Roe v Wade anniversary yesterday, with tons of info and links. Meanwhile, I have something on a new report criticizing the treatment of women immigrant detainees in Arizona. Posted in Abuse, Rape, & Safety, Access, Rights, & Choice, Funny, Government, News Round-Ups, Vaginas & Vulvas, Women's Health       (Source: Women's Health News) Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2128549 Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:57:27 +0100 2128549 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2111003&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F513045108%2F Several months ago, the National Council of La Raza convened a group of health care wonks to help that organization make up its mind about how Congress should reform the tax treatment of health care.  The wonks included people from Harvard University, the Urban Institute, the Kaiser Family Foundation, Families USA, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and elsewhere. La Raza took the unusual step of inviting a libertarian (me) to be part of that discussion, despite our divergent views.  Where La Raza wants to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, for example, I advocate repealing SCHIP.  I’m glad they invited me; it was one of the most enjoyable policy discussions I’ve ever had. La Raza took the further unusual step of publishing a transcript ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2111003 Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:08:21 +0100 2111003 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2093118&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F506346602%2F In the Wall Street Journal, Mark Yost explores the taxpayer subsidies to major college football bowl games: while everyone’s fretting over the bailout package for the auto industry, most taxpayers would be shocked to learn that they’re also footing the bill for some of these highly profitable bowl games. From 2001 to 2005, seven tax-exempt bowls received $21.6 million in government aid. During that time, 38 percent of the Brut Sun Bowl’s revenue came from a Texas rental-car tax. Now that’s Brutish. And what do the bowls do with those taxpayer dollars? Well, they put on a football extravaganza, of course. But also: To ensure the bowl games maintain their tax-exempt status, the committees hire state and federal lobbyists. Watts Partners, the Washington, D.C., lobbying... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2093118 Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:20:47 +0100 2093118 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2093127&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F505269078%2F The new Congress came roaring out of the gate yesterday, with more than 350 new bills introduced. That should be enough for an entire two years, but they’re not likely to stop there. Among many other subjects, Congress will consider creating “a secure Social Security card.” The idea is to protect seniors from identity theft, and the author of this legislation no doubt intends not to create a national ID. But the reality is that this would be a nationally uniform card made secure with a nationally standardized biometric, and it’s very likely that it would be administered with a national biometric database. That’s a national ID system, and it is a profound threat to American liberty. You can learn a bit about identification and identification policy in my book, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2093127 Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:46:48 +0100 2093127 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1992056&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F464165314%2F The 111th Congress and the new Obama administration should scrap “E-Verify.” The federal government’s inchoate immigration background check system is the culmination of 20 years’ failure to create a tolerable “internal enforcement” program for U.S. immigration law. Rather than building on past failure, the new Congress and president should pull the plug on E-Verify and reform immigration law so that it aligns with the nation’s economic need for labor. More here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1992056 Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:39:46 +0100 1992056 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1981547&cid=t_321253_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F461286012%2F Things went badly for Detroit’s automakers in Washington this week. What was to be a decisive lobbying blitz planned months in advance proved reminiscent of GM’s efforts to market the Chevy Nova in Latin America. Both were all show, no va! The arguments against a bailout under any circumstances are well-established. A lot has been said and written lately, including this new piece, about the improprieties of so-called bailouts, generally, and in this case, specifically. Basically, we need a shakeout, not a bailout. What we’re witnessing is a shakedown. Rather than emphasize those arguments here, there is a lot of subtext to this auto bailout frenzy. The subtext hasn’t received much attention, but is fascinating enough (to me at least) to write about. Even before CorporateJetGate for... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1981547 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:16:49 +0100 1981547