News of Note:
- Skilled workers needed!
- Georgia lawmaker says unemployed should volunteer to receive benefits
- We'll see how long this lasts
- Allowing women to drive increases premarital sex
- After the rhetoric on deficit reduction, is this spending spree necessary?
- Unlikely Allies: Occupy Richmond sides with Richmond Tea Party
- Why not extend this vacation for an additional year or so? And take Joe with you, too!
Tonight's Crazy Story:
Trapped Pregnant Cat Is Revealed to Be Stuffed Toy
Authorities in Wales were called to rescue a cat that was stuck in a donations bin. Unfortunately, the cat turned out to be a stuffed cat toy.
The Final Five: Number 5
America Wins War On Terror (9-11-01 To 12-1-11)
Robin Koerner explains how we have won the war on terror but lost our freedom in the process. "For that reason, on December 1, an amendment to the aforementioned National Defense Authorization Act that would seek to preserve the very last freedom of Americans -- to receive due process, including the right to a trial by jury, as required in the Constitution, before being detained by the state -- was defeated, ensuring that no American freedom, and therefore no reason for the terrorists to hate America -- any longer exists. Now, and thankfully for those who wish to defend the American values of peace and freedom, Americans can be detained by the military without trial or limitation."
There's Always Time for a Laugh:
"One of the holiday decorations at the White House is a 400-pound gingerbread house. Isn't that nice? And in front of that is a 400-pound ginger bread “foreclosed” sign."
-Conan O'Brien, 12/1/11
The Final Five: Number 4
Friday’s Fast & Furious Fallout: Fatal Falsehoods From Feds?
Moe Lane explains why the federal government is trying to brush the Fast & Furious scandal under the carpet and how the media is helping the government do just that. "To break this down: ‘willing stooges for the Gun Lobby’ is of course inflammatory, not to say utterly unproven; if a program where up to 1,200 guns were essentially thrown to the Mexican drug cartels is considered an ‘incredible success,’ I am too terrified to even contemplate what an ‘utter failure’ would look like; and, given the recent revelation that Border Patrol Brian Terry’s death may have been due to the FBI’s/DEA’s unwillingness to risk exposing a confidential informant, neither ‘reckless’ nor ‘despicable’ really apply as adjectives modifying ‘accusation.’ All in all, this was… pretty representative of this administration when it comes to being questioned on their actions, really. Which might be one reason why they’ve sealed the records of the Terry murder case. Mind you, if it is, it’s not going to help."
Debt Watch:
On Thursday, the government actually spent less than it took in, reducing the national debt by $22,056,773,469! On Friday, the government was able to reduce the debt by $15,061,085,818.05, bringing the debt at the end of Friday to:
$15,073,380,701,589.57.
The debt increased by $21,707,106,391.67 for the week.
The Final Five: Number 3
Muslim Anti-Semitism Is Not Israel’s Fault
Omri Ceren responds to the US Ambassador to Belgium's comments that anti-Semitism is the fault of the Jews. "As a sheer historical matter, of course, he’s demonstrably wrong. Muslim anti-Semitism stretches back centuries. Just last week we passed the 70th anniversary of the meeting between the Mufti of Jerusalem and Hitler, where the two of them conspired to wipe out European and Middle East Jewry. The Mufti, citing Muslim dogma and history, committed to helping the Nazis fulfill their genocidal ambitions. A few decades later, then-Secretary of State John Foster Dulles was explaining to Congress why the U.S. was withholding war planes from Israel while selling them to Saudi Arabia, and he explained that Muslim states “have felt for a long time – it goes back centuries – a very particular animosity toward the Jews because they credited the assassination of Mohammed to a Jew.”"
Tweets of the Day:
Radley Balko (@radleybalko):
Anxious to hear Occupy supporting legal pundits explain how First Amendment protects the right to erect your own house in a city park.
The Final Five: Number 2
The OWS Zero-Sum Game Fallacy
Chris Bell explains the problems with the zero-sum arguments of Occupy Wall Street. "Each Monday, Hollywood announces how much money recently released films made the previous weekend. It's always millions of dollars. If OWS is correct, these numbers would represent lost opportunity for those who didn't make any money off the movie. If the Occupiers were consistent, they would hate Hollywood as well as Wall Street. Hollywood made $10.5 billion last year from ticket sales, but that does not mean that there are more poor people because of it. The creation of a blockbuster movie is good news for all. Contrary to what the OWS crowd thinks, the lack of accumulated wealth creates poverty, not the other way around. ... Zero-sum offers an easy excuse for failure. It provides someone to blame for the human condition instead of encouraging self-reliance. As more people believe it, a stream of helplessness and resentment begins to meander through our culture. In short, it says that our individual financial shortcomings are not our fault -- instead of addressing ourselves, we should blame the rich."
Food for Thought - A Quote from our Founders
"If it be asked, What is the most sacred duty and the greatest source of our security in a Republic? The answer would be, An inviolable respect for the Constitution and Laws — the first growing out of the last.... A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government."
-Alexander Hamilton
The Final Five: Number 1
How Not to Criticize American Health Care
Matt Palumbo presents the case against socialized medicine. "There is much talk about a health care "crisis" in America, but the only real problem, rising costs, is largely attributable to interference in markets, not markets themselves. Unfortunately, going socialized wouldn't be much of a transition, since the status quo is hardly a free market. The government already covers half of all health care costs, with other third parties, mainly insurance, covering a large chunk of the rest. The average person pays only 12% of his bill out of pocket. Since there is still a profit motive, all the negative aspects of current interference aren't realized, but the costs masked by government and insurance give an excuse to increase costs further, and thus all the benefits of a free-market system aren't realized as well. As Milton Friedman warned us, "nobody spends other people's money as well as they spend their own." The problem with third parties picking up the bill is that we have no motive whatsoever to know what we're paying, since we are in fact spending other people's money indirectly."
Tomorrow in History
December 6, 1865
- Slavery is officially banned in the United States as the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution is approved by enough states to guarantee ratification.
Would you like to receive The Final Five in your inbox each night. Simply send an e-mail to finalfive@defenseoffreedomblog.com with "Subscribe" in the subject line.
No comments:
Post a Comment