ObamaCare's Defenders Still Aren't Taking Challenges to the Mandate Seriously - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine: "It is hard, then, to see what limits, if any, would exist on congressional power under the Commerce Clause should the mandate be upheld. This is not an entirely unusual conclusion. Harvard law professor Charles Fried, who believes the mandate is constitutional, told Congress last year that the same constitutional provisions that permit the mandate would also permit Congress to compel the purchase of broccoli or any other vegetable. “Force you to pay for something? I don’t see why not. It may not be a good idea, but I don’t see why it’s unconstitutional,” he said. To accept this interpretation is to accept that there are no limits on the power granted to Congress on the Commerce Clause. That presents a problem for the mandate’s defenders because the Constitution is a limiting document."Actually, I like broccoli. But I'm guessing you ... not so much... Read More......
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Broccoli World
Reserved To The States Or To The People
Obamacare’s rewriting of contract law - The Washington Post: "The IJ argues: The 10th Amendment forbids Congress from exercising its commerce power to compel states to enter into contractual relations by effectively forcing states to “buy” radioactive waste. Hence “the power to regulate commerce does not include the power to compel a party to take title to goods or services against its will.” And if it is beyond Congress’s power to commandeer the states by compelling them to enter into contracts, it must likewise be beyond Congress’s power to commandeer individuals by requiring them to purchase insurance. Again, the 10th Amendment declares that any powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states or to the people.And nowhere in this do I see any wording that it only applies to people with enhanced melanin:
Furthermore, although the Constitution permits Congress to make laws “necessary and proper” for executing its enumerated powers, such as the power to regulate interstate commerce, it cannot, IJ argues, be proper to exercise that regulatory power in ways that eviscerate “the very essence of legally binding contracts.” Under Obamacare, Congress asserted the improper power to compel commercial contracts."
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.Or are there some emanating penumbras in there that I'm missing? Read More......
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.[2]
Whoa!
Althouse: Walter Dellinger — listing 5 Obamacare "myths" — begins with "The 'individual mandate' forces everyone to buy health insurance.": "So Obamacare doesn't work to get the uninsured insured, it just gives the federal government a new source of revenue. Meanwhile, these uninsured folks can buy insurance at whatever point they want, right? Whenever they acquire a condition that makes them want to have insurance, they can take advantage of private insurance companies that never got the benefit of the "penalty" these people were paying to the federal government all these years. So this scheme will destroy private insurance companies and is really a way to leverage in, by steps, a completely government-controlled health-care system. Or have I arrived at another "myth" that Dellinger can rescue me from?The mask seems to be slipping a lot lately, no? Read More......
Nope. The closest thing on his list is #4: "The law is socialist." But here, Dellinger says it's not "the New Deal approach of having a monolithic government agency be the single provider of a good or service." (Whoa! Did he just accidentally call the New Deal "socialist"?)"
Yes, Faster...
Instapundit » Blog Archive » ER, FASTER PLEASE? Vaccine to stop heart attacks could be here in 5 years. “Scientists have discov…: "ER, FASTER PLEASE? Vaccine to stop heart attacks could be here in 5 years. “Scientists have discovered that the drug stimulates the body’s immune system to produce antibodies which prevent heart disease by stopping fat building up in the arteries.” Well, stay tuned.Read More......
Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 1:00 pm"
The Return O Haavaad Maath
The Corner - National Review Online: "On President Obama’s call yesterday to end tax subsidies for oil and natural gas producers:You know, like this. And this. Read More......This is truly staggering cynicism.
Number one, when he was in the Senate, Obama supported the subsidies he is denouncing today. When our own Ed Henry asked Jay Carney about that, Carney had no answer. He was looking for a hole to hide in.
Second, the Congressional Research Service showed in March of 2011 [that] if [ending the tax preferences] will have any effect on the gas prices, it will be to increase the price. The president is pretending he is trying to lower the gas prices.
Lastly, it is a trivial effect. If you collected this subsidy… for the next 100 years, it wouldn’t cover four months of deficit spending under the administration."
Friday, March 30, 2012
Schmucks
Don’t Die for Me, Argentina - By Mark Steyn - The Corner - National Review Online: "Boy, I’ll bet at their Monday night poker game in Hell, Hitler and Stalin are kicking themselves for not thinking of that one: “That schmuck Goebbels, burning books for ‘decadence’. Why didn’t we just burn them on Health & Safety grounds?” “Exactly, comrade. And next time we’ll jam the western radio broadcasts because they increase your risk of cancer. It’s for the children.”Read More......
This is not unrelated to the present ObamaCare debate. If the government regulates your health care arrangements on the grounds of controlling costs, it can surely regulate dangerous activities you undertake that could potentially increase those costs – like reading an imported book opposed to government health care."
Must Read: Have You Ever Read The Federal Reserve Act?
Must Read: Jim Grant Crucifies The Fed; Explains Why A Gold Standard Is The Best Option | ZeroHedge: "The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has invited some of its public critics to visit the bank to unburden themselves of their criticisms. On March 12, it was Jim Grant's turn. The text of his remarks follows. (highlights ours)This is almost beyond a must read. While not overly long, it is one of the most comprehensive debunkings of our current economic brainwashing and tyranny for those untethered from history.
Piece Of My Mind
My friends and neighbors, I thank you for this opportunity. You know, we are friends and neighbors. Grant’s makes its offices on Wall Street, overlooking Broadway, a 10-minute stroll from your imposing headquarters. For a spectacular vantage point on the next ticker-tape parade up Broadway, please drop by. We’ll have the windows washed.
You say you would like to hear my complaints, and, on the one hand, I do have a few, while on the other, I can’t help but feel slightly hypocritical in dressing you down. What passes for sound doctrine in 21st-century central banking—so-called financial repression, interest-rate manipulation, stock-price levitation and money printing under the frosted-glass term “quantitative easing”—presents us at Grant’s with a nearly endless supply of good copy. Our symbiotic relationship with the Fed resembles that of Fox News with the Obama administration, or—in an earlier era—that of the Chicago Tribune with the Purple Gang. Grant’s needs the Fed even if the Fed doesn’t need Grant’s.
In the not quite 100 years since the founding of your institution, America has exchanged central banking for a kind of central planning and the gold standard for what I will call the Ph.D. standard. I regret the changes and will propose reforms, or, I suppose, re-reforms, as my program is very much in accord with that of the founders of this institution. Have you ever read the Federal Reserve Act?"
Which would be pretty much everyone nowadays... Read More......
The $17 Trillion O Hole
Massive $17 Trillion Hole Found In Obamacare | ZeroHedge: "Two years ago, when introducing then promptly enacting Obamacare, the president stated that healthcare law reform would not cost a penny over $1 trillion ($900 billion to be precise), and that it would not add ‘one dime’ to the debt. It appears that this estimate may have been slightly optimistic… by a factor of 1700%. Because coincident with the recent Supreme Court debacle, in which a constitutional law president may be about to find that his magnum opus law is, in fact, unconstitutional, someone actually read the whole thing cover to cover, instead of merely relying on the CBO’s, pardon Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs’, funding estimates. That someone is Republican Jeff Sessions who after actually running the numbers has uncovered that the true long-term funding gap is a mind-boggling $17 trillion, just a tad more than the original sub $1 trillion forecast. This latest revelation means that total underfunded US welfare liabilities: Medicare, Medicaid and social security now amount to $99 trillion!"
Devastation
Instapundit » Blog Archive » AL GORE’S CURRENT TV TERMINATES RELATIONSHIP WITH KEITH OLBERMANN: round up of links from Ed Driscol…: "ANOTHER UPDATE: “Keith Olbermann has been fired from Current TV, because he no longer reflects the company’s values, it was announced today. He will be replaced by a man who cheated on his wife with a prostitute.”Read More......
Plus this: “His viewer must be devastated.”"
Me Too
Instapundit » Blog Archive » SEEN IN THE MARKET SQUARE PARKING GARAGE ON TUESDAY, a bumper sticker for a political ticket I could…: "SEEN IN THE MARKET SQUARE PARKING GARAGE ON TUESDAY, a bumper sticker for a political ticket I could really get behind!"Read More......
More Bogus Science Reporting
Read More......Instapundit » Blog Archive » CONFIDENCE IN SCIENCE BY CONSERVATIVES HAS DECLINED SINCE 1974: “That represents a dramatic shift f…: "I tracked back to the original paper (http://www.asanet.org/images/journals/docs/pdf/asr/Apr12ASRFeature.pdf) to see what the exact survey question was.
“The GSS asked respondents the following question: “I am going to name some institutions in this country. As far as the people running these institutions are concerned, would you say you have a great deal of confidence, only some confidence, or hardly any confidence at all in them [the Scientific Community]?”(page 172)
The confidence in “people running these institutions” was being measured, not “Science” itself. Huge difference. HUGE!
Maybe we should be skeptical of science reporting, too.
Posted by Glenn Reynolds at 8:15 am"
Thursday, March 29, 2012
What Conspiracy?
Mike Krieger On When Central Banking Dies: China and Oil | ZeroHedge: "No quotes today. Just this image. This applies to everyone in every country on this planet. You are being herded. The gate is closing. "And I'm guessing you didn't know about the secret codicil to the Molatov-Ribbentrop Pact did you? It's only one of the most famous conspiracies in history -- but you were unaware of it and still consider yourself an expert on conspiracies? Having a little problem with the 10,000 hour rule are we?
And now that the scales are dropping from your eyes you may want to look at another conspiracy whose older regions are now a matter of public record...
Hmmm... Read More......
What Happened To The 8th Amendment?
Scalia Likens Reading Obamacare to Cruel and Unusual Punishment | Washington Free Beacon: "Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia humorously invoked the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids cruel and unusual punishments, when discussing the Obamacare legislation during oral argument today at the Supreme Court.
JUSTICE SCALIA: Mr. Kneedler, what happened to the Eighth Amendment? You really want us to go through these 2,700 pages?
(Laughter.)"
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Leaping (Wheeled) Lizard
Ace of Spades HQ: "In the hands of a capable operator, it is reportedly accurate enough to jump through a second-story window."
Heh
Instapundit » Blog Archive » PROF. DAVID BERNSTEIN CHIDES THE SOLICITOR GENERAL FOR QUOTING THE PREAMBLE IN SUPPORT OF OBAMACARE:…: "Exclusive InstaPundit video of Verrilli’s practice arguments at the Department of Justice:"
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Not Pretending Any More
Obama Doesn't Care About Debt - Reason Magazine: "Don't get me wrong; the Ryan budget isn't perfect. After all, it's brimming with superb non-starters, such as the repeals of Dodd-Frank and Obamacare and the complete privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And it must also be pointed out that for many Republicans, fretting about debt is a newfound passion. Even today, Ryan's budget doesn't take on Social Security. The GOP won't go for real cuts in defense spending. On Medicare they're wobbly, and on farm subsidies some of them sound like members of the Fabian Society. So there is plenty of blame to go around.Read More......
But these days, we can see how utterly unserious Democrats are about the deficit and debt. They've offered no real plan. They're not even pretending anymore."
The Seven Rules of Bureaucracy
The Seven Rules of Bureaucracy - Loyd S. Pettegrew - Mises Daily: "Rule #1: Maintain the problem at all costs! The problem is the basis of power, perks, privileges, and security.If you can't figure out the game after reading this, you'll end up starving in the dark wondering what happened... Read More......
Teasley correctly points out that problems, not solutions, are the basis of bureaucratic power, perks, privilege, and political security. In politics, the tougher the problem appears, the more resources must be devoted to it. Political careers have been made by bureaucrats promising to fix problems. Bureaucrats feign trying to fix problems while usually making them worse. This is because maintaining the problem creates constituent dependency and allows the bureaucrat to show tangible evidence that he or she is working hard for constituents and their cause. It also allows bureaucrats to spend lavishly and, seemingly endlessly, on new government programs and employees. Examining the three "wars against" created by politicians in the last 50 years provides ample illustration of rule #1."
If I Were The Devil
Moonbattery: "Our moonbat rulers must have been listening when Paul Harvey broadcast this commentary back in the 1960s. They’ve adopted it as their game plan to fundamentally transform America:"
The Choice
Paul Ryan Leads the Way | Power Line: "The Choice: Cronyism and Corporate Welfare vs. A Level Playing FieldRead More......
In each major sector of the economy, the President and his party’s leaders have offered a vision at odds with the core principles of economic freedom. It is an obsolete vision that favors big, well-established or politically well‐connected corporations and unions at the expense of workers and small competitors. It is a vision that creates political inequality by favoring companies with the best connections over those with the best ideas. And it is a vision that inhibits growth by increasing the cost of complying with government regulations instead of leaving enterprises with more money and more freedom to hire workers and create jobs."
Obama v Obama
American Crossroads: "Individual Mandate: Obama v. Obama" - YouTube: "Obama was right on the individual mandate...before he was wrong."
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