Wednesday, May 17, 2017

In the news, Friday, May 5, 2017


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MAY 04      INDEX      MAY 06
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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.

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from The Atlantic (CityLab)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

The American Health Care Act's Prosperity Gospel
With the bill 51 votes away from law, the central philosophy of the Trump era is one step closer to becoming policy. How did a law that almost certainly makes health care more expensive for low-income, sicker, older, and more rural voters even make it this far? The central philosophy of the Trump era is a throwback with strikingly modern implications.

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from Daily Mail (UK)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Congress plans to cancel Obama's $200,000-a-year government pension following news of $400,000 speaking fees and a $65million book deal
Republicans plan to reintroduce legislation capping presidential pensions. Barack Obama vetoed the bill last year. Law would reduce pensions by $1 for every dollar over $400,000 a former president earns.

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from Daily Wire
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

People Literally Starving Thanks to Socialism in Venezuela
Once South America’s richest country, Venezuela implemented a socialist agenda. Now people are starving to death. Venezuela’s inflation, estimated by the International Monetary Fund to reach 720% in 2017, is the highest in the world. The economy has shrunk 27% since 2013, according to local investment bank Torino Capital; imports of food have plummeted 70%.

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from EUobserver

Turkey's accelerated drift from Europe
Turkey's accession talks have been on a rough road since it first applied 54 years ago, but after Erdogan this week threatened to "wave" goodbye to the bloc, the path towards EU membership seems even bumpier. Once hailed as a rising Muslim democracy, aspiring to become a member of the European Union, Turkey now faces a stalemate with the bloc. Some member states consider full accession a dead deal and call for deeper economic cooperation instead.

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from The Federalist

You May Like Obamacare, But Don’t Forget About The People It Has Hurt
Arguing about this as if beneficiaries of ACA don't exist isn't right. Arguing about it as if people like me don't is also not right.

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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Progressive Labor Policies Stymie Growth and Exacerbate Inequality
As private sector unions were largely replaced with public sector unions, union financial support more closely resembled the soviet model: public funds for political action.

This Is Why Government Shouldn’t Be Involved in Health Care
Even if you don’t like every result of market control, it’s hard to imagine that anyone can defend what necessarily replaces it once you surrender any market to control by government.

Prosperity and Income Aren’t the Same Thing
In recent years, income inequality has become a major political and economic issue in America. It is true that, adjusted for inflation, average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees in the private sector have barely changed between 1979 and 2015. But wages do not provide the full picture of workers’ earnings.

MIT Is Making Kid-Friendly Communist Propaganda
In order to make the deadliest ideology of the 20th century palatable to young Americans, Communism for Kids is coming to a bookstore near you. This newly released book from MIT Press “proposes a different kind of communism, one that is true to its ideals and free from authoritarianism.”

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from First Things

It’s in everyone’s interests to enforce immigration law—it’s even necessary for expanding immigration. Why is it so hard to do?

ADAM SMITH’S CIVILIZING PROCESS
Adam Smith is known as the founding theorist of capitalism. Surprisingly, he agreed with many of his contemporaries’ criticisms of emerging commercial civilization. He acknowledged that the division of labor produces inequality and can weaken virtue. Like Rousseau, he understood that we see ourselves through others’ eyes, turning us into envious rivals. He recognized that commercial society fosters desires it cannot fulfill. He had a solution to this problem, but is it still applicable today?

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from The Heritage Foundation
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]

Encouraging April Jobs Report Shows Need for More Pro-Growth Reforms
The April jobs report is in, and the Trump administration is taking a victory lap. But as with most job reports in recent history, the good and not-so-good go hand in hand. Until substantive reforms are passed, we'll keep getting a mix of good and bad reports.

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from The Living Church

WHO IS WORSHIP FOR?
Is Sunday worship for meeting people's needs, or for God's greater glory? “Seeker”-friendly church is hardly a new concept, but it is obviously becoming more pervasive, since it has spread even to the mainline churches.

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from Miami Herald

When a black criminal shoots someone, he will, if caught, be held to answer for it. When a cop shoots an unarmed black person, he probably won’t. Prosecutors decline to prosecute, grand juries decline to indict, juries decline to convict. Now an officer has pleaded guilty, and yet a judge declines to judge.

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from Mises Institute
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Obamacare? Trumpcare? Get Rid of it All
Ever since the US government began to sink its claws into the medical industry a good 50 or so years ago, attempts at reducing costs have failed again and again. This is par for the course whenever government invades an industry. Trying to reform this Frankenstein with either Obamacare, or Trumpcare, will solve nothing. The problem is structural. Tinkering with this or that will just waste more time.

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from Reason Magazine

Seattle Mayor Proposes Soda Tax To Fight White Privilege
A similar tax was roundly rejected in Santa Fe this week.

No, the AHCA Doesn't Make Rape a Preexisting Condition
The latest less-than-truthful meme about Republicans' American Health Care Act (AHCA), passed by the U.S. House on Thursday, is that it makes rape a "preexisting condition" for health-insurance purposes. According to a host of women's publications and an army of outraged tweeters, sexual assault and domestic abuse survivors could soon be forced to disclose their attacks to insurance companies, which could subsequently deny them health-insurance coverage because of it. None of this is true. Like, not even a little bit. And the fact it's not just being shared by shady social-media activists and their unwitting dupes but by ostensibly-legitimate media outlets is another sad indictment of press standards these days.

Bullet Train Myopia Driving Local Transit Boondoggles
If California officials weren't spending so much money on wasteful rail-related transit projects, they'd have extra money to fix roads, bridges and freeways—and to provide realistic transit projects rather than overbuilt boondoggles designed with a future fantasy train in mind.

Congress's Budget Bill Spends Billions on Useless Light Rail
Trump's abandoned "skinny budget" would have cut wasteful rail spending.

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from The Spokesman-Review

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In the news, Thursday, May 4, 2017


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MAY 03      INDEX      MAY 05
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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.

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from BBC News (UK)

There are diseases hidden in ice, and they are waking up
Long-dormant bacteria and viruses, trapped in ice and permafrost for centuries, are reviving as Earth's climate warms.

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from Conservative Intelligence Briefing

Mnuchin Confirms Obama Administration Used Fannie And Freddie Funds to Pay for Affordable Care Act
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin joined Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo to discuss items including a potential border adjustment tax, a tax plan for economic growth, and the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

How Star Wars Can Lead America Off the Dark Path
Luke Skywalker’s heroic victory was that he resisted terror, renounced hate, and rejected aggression. Inspred by his son’s example, Anakin finally turned back from the dark side, and so was redeemed. If we would but be similarly inspired, America could be redeemed as well. And we would finally step off the dark path.

Have you ever really stopped to consider why the Galactic Empire in "Star Wars" is actually bad?

People Are Enraged about Unfairness, Not Inequality
To say that inequality is a bad thing is something of a platitude. So universal is the condemnation of the chasm in income between rich and poor that it would be reasonable to assume that mankind has an instinctive preference for equality over inequality. Markets can't deliver equality, but they can deliver fairness.

Should Taxpayers Be Fleeced Forever Because of the Deficit?
As anyone could have predicted, after President Trump released his tax proposal last week the response from the left was a familiar one about "tax cuts we can't afford" and "mountains of debt" that will supposedly result from reduced penalties placed on work, investment, corporate profits, and of course, death. So while the left acted as expected, the truly unfortunate part of this story is that Republicans and conservatives responded to the criticism of Trump's proposal in a similarly predictable fashion. Wouldn’t it be a nice change to see Republicans promote tax relief that penalizes American workers less while also reining in politicians?

Trolling Isn't the Answer to Political Correctness
Political correctness seems to invite trolling. At the same time, it's pretty obvious that the more pleasant conversation is, the more we're likely to converse constructively.

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from First Things

MEDIATORS
Modern society is structured not according to a principle of communitas, but of immunitas, an order that enables us to keep safe distance from one another.

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from Investor's Business Daily

What Caused Venezuela's Collapse Is No Mystery — Except To Economically Illiterate Journalists
Why is it that reporters keep scratching their heads about Venezuela's descent into extreme poverty and chaos? The cause is simple. Socialism. End it and you will end the misery. Here is how the Times explained the reason for Venezuela's dire situation: "The growing economic crisis (was) fueled by low prices for oil, the country's main export; a drought that has crippled Venezuela's ability to generate hydroelectric power; and a long decline in manufacturing and agricultural production. There's no mention — not one — of the fact that Hugo Chávez tried to turn Venezuela into a socialist paradise, policies that his successor Nicolás Maduro has continued. The Times' coverage is par for the course.

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from Mises Institute
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

How Governments Outlaw Affordable Housing
In many places, rent growth means more housing is badly needed. Unfortunately, local governments are working hard to limit the supply of housing.

Only Trump Has Been Honest About This One Issue
About a year ago Trump committed what some economic pundits considered his greatest gaffe, suggesting that the US may not pay back all of its debt. According to Serious People at the time, the very notion was “stupid and ridiculous,” “insane,” and a threat to “incinerate the world economy.” Trump was also entirely correct.

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from The New American Magazine
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

John Lott: Half of All U.S. Murders Happen in Just Two Percent of Counties
In 2014, the latest year for which sufficient data is available, half of all murders in the United States took place in just 63 U.S. counties — two percent of the 3,144 counties in the country. Two-thirds of all murders that year happened in 157 counties — five percent. On the other hand, according to John Lott, the author of the study by his Crime Prevention Research Center, more than half had no murders at all.

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from New Statesman
"The leading voice of the British left, since 1913."

Leader: The god that failed
One hundred years ago in St Petersburg, the world received a shock as momentous as that of the French Revolution. The Russian experiment on 1917 today serves not as an example but as a permanent warning against tyranny.

I despair at how quickly couples give up on each other – but then, what do I know about dating?
I sometimes wonder how the hell I’d cope nowadays.

Emmanuel Macron's debate with Marine Le Pen set the tone for the next five years
Emmanuel Macron played the role of the president, and Marine Le Pen was the disrupting opposition.

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from Shift Washington

Inslee on bipartisan bill: Nah, the enviros won’t let me
Washington’s Growth Management Act (GMA) is so restrictive that some school districts can’t even find appropriate land for building new schools. In a way, the law is fulfilling its goal: to be greatly restrictive of growth. But as the state grows, new schools have to go somewhere.

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from The Spokesman-Review

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In the news, Wednesday, May 3, 2017


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MAY 02      INDEX      MAY 04
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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.

________

from Anglican Journal

Women Bishops speak out on gender justice
The seven female bishops of the Provinces of the Anglican Church Australia and of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia have used their first ever meeting to speak out “for the well-being of girls and women across the Anglican Communion.”

Three dioceses have married eight same-sex couples since General Synod 2016
Since the first reading at General Synod 2016 of a resolution to allow for the solemnization of same-sex marriages, eight couples have been married in three Anglican Church of Canada dioceses—with more planning on walking down the aisle in the coming year. Four weddings of same-sex couples have taken place in the diocese of Niagara, three in the diocese of Toronto and one in the diocese of Ottawa, according to the offices of the respective diocesan bishops. 

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from The Blaze (& Glenn Beck)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

What Made the Cost of Living Skyrocket in the Last 50 Years?
In 1924, you could buy a new house for $7,720. In 1962, just shy of 40 years later, a new house was up to $12,000. However, just nine short years later in 1971, the cost of a new house doubled. Seven years later in 1978 it doubled again. By 1983, the average new house cost $82,000. Why did housing costs — and other costs — remain stable for decades then begin to skyrocket? What happened in the 1970s that caused an increase in the cost of living?

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from Capital Press
The West's Ag Website

Two Oregon onion packing sheds moving to Idaho
Golden West Produce and Owyhee Produce, both in Nyssa, Ore., have taken out building permits to construct packing sheds and several storage facilities in northwestern Canyon County, Idaho.

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from Competitive Enterprise Institute

Canceling U.S. Participation Protects Competitiveness and the Constitution

Polluted Logic Taints WHO Reports on Children’s Health
Pro-Growth Free Market Policies Make for a Wealthier, Healthier World

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from EUobserver

EU outlines tough Brexit goals, seeks 'entente cordiale'
Amid growing tensions between Brussels and London, the EU negotiator unveiled how the bloc wants to safeguard citizens' rights for a lifetime under EU Court guarantee, and obtain a possibly hefty financial settlement.

Merkel and Putin fail to see eye-to-eye
Differences between Germany and Russia were put on display on Tuesday (2 May), as German chancellor Angela Merkel visited Russia for the first time in two years. The German chancellor called on the Russian president to protect the rights of gays in Chechnya, but he responded with praise for Russia's police.

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from First Things

Reason is another victim of Roe vs. Wade. The Gorsuch hearings underscored that. Which does not bode well for the future. The political battles over Supreme Court nominees are only going to get more intense and the rhetoric more hysterical. Why? Because Democrats see their cherished cause of an unlimited abortion license slipping away.

THE LAND OF ATHANASIUS AND ITS LESSONS
The scope of anti-Christian violence does demand a much louder voice from American Christians in defense of persecuted Christians overseas.

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from Haaretz.com

First-ever Photos of Yemen's Jews Stunned the Jewish World
When adventurer and photographer Hermann Burchardt arrived in Sana'a in 1901, he became the first person to chronicle this unique community’s way of life.

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from The Heritage Foundation
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]

The First Step in Revoking Obama’s Land Grab
What is done by executive power can be undone by executive power. Former President Barack Obama began to learn that lesson this Wednesday when President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to conduct a review of all Antiquities Act designations larger than 100,000 acres over the past 30 years.

Driving Investment, Fueling Growth: How Strategic Reforms Can Generate $1.1 Trillion in Infrastructure Investment
The Administration and Congress can invest $1 trillion into infrastructure by undertaking strategic reforms instead of repeating stimulus boondoggles. An agenda of aggressive policy reforms can drive an estimated $1.1 trillion in direct investment in infrastructure over 10 years. Reducing regulations that hamper infrastructure production will increase investment in infrastructure by $562 billion while creating immediate and long-term jobs.

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from Liberty Writers
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]

Neil Gorsuch hasn’t even been a Supreme Court Justice for a full month now and already he is setting fires everywhere. Today the young justice reignited the fire of liberty and broke 40 years of precedent when he REFUSED to join the SCOTUS “cert pool.”

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from LifeZette (& PoliZette)

Maher: Clinton is a ‘Lovely Lady, but She Couldn’t Fill the Function Room at the Olive Garden’
Talk show host Bill Maher appeared on CNN Wednesday evening to discuss what the Democratic party must do moving forward to be successful after President Trump's win.

Fabio’s Advice to Americans: ‘Don’t Ever Give Up Your Guns’
In an exclusive LifeZette interview, the model and actor reveals his worry about the increasing crime rates in California.

Shock: Susan Rice Refuses to Testify on Unmasking Scandal
With the help of one liberal senator, Obama national security adviser ducks Senate Committee

Democrats Get Desperate for Trump-Russia Connections
Senators strain for Comey to confirm links between president's campaign and Podesta hackers

Colbert Unhinged on Trump
Late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert is taking heat for his recent rant about President Donald Trump; however, this isn’t anything new. Colbert's bizarre rants about the president have become a regular occurrence.

Historian: Give Trump Credit for Dispelling Myth of ‘Inevitable’ Civil War
Fury over president's unpolished remarks ignores the fact many scholars agree with him
President Trump sparked outrage on Monday after making comments regarding President Andrew Jackson and the Civil War during an interview broadcast on satellite radio. Trump’s remarks, while not exactly polished, suggested Jackson might have been able to stop the Civil War and that the seventh President foresaw the nation’s imminent sundering. He also implied the great and terrible fraternal tragedy never needed to have occurred in the first place — a point many historians agree with.

Comey: Alternative Options on Clinton Probe Were ‘Catastrophic’
FBI director offers vigorous defense of decision to alert Congress on email-investigation reboot

Hillary PAC: Clinton to Launch Political Organization
Report claims former Trump foe will create new committee to boost Democrats in 2018

Gingrich to Trump: Get Out of Washington, Sell Agenda to the People
Former House Speaker warns divided GOP may 'need to erase the board and start over again'

Chris Matthews Gushes Over Warren: ‘You Have a Mastery’
MSNBC host feels that 'thrill' up his leg again, this time for progressive firebrand

Krauthammer: The Clintons Have Taken Victimhood to a New Scientific Height

Ingraham: Some Republicans Resist Trump Agenda as Fiercely as Dems
LifeZette editor-in-chief blasts GOP leaders, 'If you can’t put points on the board, you can’t be the quarterback'

Most Federal Agencies Remain Vulnerable to Cyberattack
Government websites lag woefully behind private sector in speed, usability and security

Hillary in Denial: Blames Russians, FBI and Misogyny for 2016
Clinton names scapegoats six months after loss, boasts of being 'part of the resistance'

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from The Living Church

‘We Must Embrace Them’
Archbishop Justin Welby reflects on meeting Iraqi Christians in Jordan, on the first day of his visit to Jordan, Israel, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories: "One woman told me that she can endure persecution as a Christian because the Bible teaches that that is to be expected. What she did not expect was that the worldwide church would ignore their plight."

EVANGELISM OF THE WEIRD
It is good that Christians are weird. The weirder we can be, the better. Fr. Jonathan Mitchican urges the Church to embrace its distinct practices for the sake of witness: public processions, blessing chalk, eucharistic adoration, and much else that seems "weird."

One Baptism
Roman Catholic and Coptic churches have agreed to recognize each other’s baptisms. The decision was disclosed in a common declaration signed on April 28 by Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Francis was on a solidarity visit to Egypt in the wake of the Palm Sunday bombings that left 47 Coptic Christians dead and many injured. Under the agreement, the churches undertake not to repeat baptisms done by the other church. This long-standing practice followed the split between the two churches dating from the Council of Chalcedon (451). The statement commits the churches to work together for a shared formulation of the Lord’s Prayer and a common date for celebrating Easter. While in Egypt, Pope Francis addressed a peace conference hosted by the Grand Imam of al-Azhar.

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from MinnPost (Minneapolis, MN)

Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks’ view that getting sick is some kind of personal moral failing is, sadly, widely held — by people on the political left as well as on the political right. But at least people on the left who think like this aren’t trying to make it difficult for others who have either a chronic or acute illness — or who have been ill in the past (those with “pre-existing conditions”) — to get affordable health care.

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from Mises Institute
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

FOMC Keeps Rates Steady
At 2:00 pm Eastern, the FOMC made their policy announcement as their meeting came to an end. As expected the Fed did not raise the Federal Funds rate target at this May meeting.

How Liberty Defined Western Civilization
Social cooperation under the division of labor is the ultimate and sole source of man's success in his struggle for survival and his endeavors to improve as much as possible the material conditions of his well-being. But as human nature is, society cannot exist if there is no provision for preventing unruly people from actions incompatible with community life. The aim of all struggles for liberty is to keep in bounds the armed defenders of peace, the governors and their constables. Freedom always means: freedom from arbitrary action on the part of the police power. The idea of liberty is and has always been peculiar to the West. 

The Myth of the "Popular Will"
French voters are about to decide who will be president for the next five years, and it is always interesting to see how the electoral campaign is an excellent occasion for mainstream political commentators to remind us how crucial voting is and how it will supposedly allow people to take back control over their own lives. Democracy often relies on conflating society with the state. Unfortunately, this confusion can lead to the politicization of every facet of daily life.

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from The Seattle Times

Fourth man accuses Seattle Mayor Ed Murray of paying him for sex
In a handwritten declaration from jail, a fourth man has accused Seattle Mayor Ed Murray of paying him for sex. A Murray spokesman denied the latest allegations, calling them a “sensational media stunt.”

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from The Spokesman-Review

Former U.S. attorney Mike Ormsby appointed city attorney by Spokane Mayor David Condon
The former U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington could soon become the city of Spokane’s top lawyer. Mike Ormsby, who served as U.S. attorney under President Barack Obama, will take over the city attorney’s office on May 22 if the Spokane City Council confirms the appointment by Mayor David Condon.

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from UPI News Agency - United Press International

Trump on Israeli-Palestinian peace: 'We will get this done'
"There is such hatred, but hopefully there won't be such hatred for very long," Trump said at the White House on Wednesday.

Gallup: 54% say Trump not making progress changing Washington

FBI's Comey: Clinton's classified email forwarded to Weiner
FBI Director James Comey testified Wednesday to U.S. senators that Hillary Clinton emails containing classified information were forwarded to former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner.

Pre-existing conditions complicate Obamacare repeal
Republicans are struggling to reach a final agreement on a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, because some do not want to allow insurance companies to charge people with pre-existing conditions more for coverage.

Report: North Korea cultivating marijuana to fuel drones
Authorities in North Korea have instructed people to cultivate marijuana plants, claiming hemp oil can be used to make cooking ingredients. But sources in the country say the state has ulterior motives -- preparing the product as fuel for military use, Radio Free Asia reported Wednesday.


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from The Washington Post

Trump has a dangerous disability
It is urgent for Americans to think and speak clearly about President Trump’s inability to do either. This seems to be not a mere disinclination but a disability. It is not merely the result of intellectual sloth but of an untrained mind bereft of information and married to stratospheric self-confidence.

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from The Week

The U.S. government should provide health insurance for every one of its citizens. This is very conservative — at least if the word still means anything.

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from Zero Hedge
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Comey Says Huma Abedin Sent Anthony Weiner Classified Emails
“Somehow, her emails were being forwarded to Anthony Weiner, including classified information. His then-spouse Huma Abedin appears to have had a regular practice of forwarding emails to him for him to print out for her so she could deliver them to the secretary of state.”

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In the news, Tuesday, May 2, 2017


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MAY 01      INDEX      MAY 03
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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.

________

from Anglican Journal

Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows becomes 11th bishop of Indianapolis, first black woman to lead Episcopal diocese
The consecration of Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows made history twice over: not only is Baskerville-Burrows the first black woman to lead an Episcopal diocese, she is also the first woman to succeed another woman as diocesan bishop.

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from Competitive Enterprise Institute

Pulling the Administrative State off Autopilot
Regulatory reform is desperately needed to reduce the burden crushing innovation and entrepreneurship. How can Congress help the administration take the regulatory state off autopilot?

The Wire Act was Already Restored
The point of the Wire Act was to target the mafia's sports gambling operations not to create a new and broad prohibition on all Internet gambling. This bill was never meant to create a broad prohibition on all Internet gambling.

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from The Daily Caller
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Power Move: Gorsuch Opts Out Of High Court Labor Pool
In an early show of independence, Justice Neil Gorsuch declined to join the Supreme Court’s “cert pool,” an administrative division of labor that allows for efficient review of the deluge of petitions the justices receive each term.

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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

African Cities Are Being Built for Wealth Consumption Not Creation
The problem with African cities is that they are generally built for the rich elite. Yet these cities lack the basics. Roads are jammed up; power is erratic; there is often little in the way of sewage systems or clean water. As a result, few competitive businesses want to move to African cities. Manufacturing is all but absent: the power and logistics are simply not good enough for factories. The African city Kinshasa, despite having a population that is bigger than London's and being one of the world's fastest growing cities, is only slightly better connected to the global economy than the North Pole.

The Campus Counter-Revolution against Liberty
Much has been rightly said about recent attacks on conservative, libertarian, and other non-Leftist speakers on college and university campuses around the country. The elements of intellectual intolerance, the willingness to shout down any ideological critic or opponent, and the resort to incidents of on-campus violence to prevent invited speakers from addressing students have been pointed out to represent a dangerous totalitarian streak among “progressives” and even more radical Leftists. The goal of these new leftists is to create a real “false consciousness” among segments of society in which they no longer think of themselves as distinct and individual human beings, but as inescapable and interchangeable particles within a collectivist mass of particular race, gender, or social groups that define them and whose collective destiny determines their own.

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from Forbes

Supreme Court Rejects Guilty Until Proven Innocent, Says States Cannot Keep Money From The Innocent
Reaffirming the presumption of innocence, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Colorado law last month that forced criminal defendants to prove their innocence when the defendants’ convictions were already overturned. As the court explained, “Absent those convictions, Colorado would have no legal right to exact and retain petitioners’ funds.” Not only is this decision a win for due process, the court’s ruling in Nelson v. Colorado could have major ramifications for government shakedown schemes nationwide.


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from The Heritage Foundation
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]

The Risks Of Slighting Human Rights In Asia
A strong policy toward Asia cannot be accomplished without bearing human rights concerns in mind.

Reducing the Regulatory Burden
Don’t make the mistake of assuming regulations don’t affect you — or that they do only if you run a business.

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from KIRO 7 Eyewitness News (CBS Seattle)

City council unanimously passes Seattle income tax resolution
As May Day marchers worked their way through downtown Seattle Monday, the city council unanimously supported a resolution in favor of a Seattle income tax.

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from Miami Herald

Leonard Pitts Jr.: Florida’s apology to four black men after 70 years falls far short of being justice
If this apology to the Groveland Four tempts anyone to feel good about how enlightened we’ve become, he or she would be well advised to remember that it comes from a state that just a few years ago put a murder victim named Trayvon on trial and judged him guilty of his own death.

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from Mises Institute
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

What Nassim Taleb Can Teach Us
Nassim Nicholas Taleb does not suffer fools gladly. Author of several books including The Black Swan and Antifragile, Taleb is known for his incendiary personality almost as much as his brilliant work in probability theory. Readers of his very active Medium page will experience a formidable mind with no patience for trendy groupthink, a mind that takes special pleasure in lambasting elites with no “skin in the game.”

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from New York Magazine

This Is What a Modern-Day Witch Hunt Looks Like
A bunch of academics are spreading false information about one of their own by sharing all sorts of false claims about the article that don’t bear the scrutiny of even a single close read, leading to a massive and misinformed pile-on.

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from Salon
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Alabama congressman: “People who lead good lives” don’t have preexisting conditions
Mo Brooks says people without pre-existing conditions have "done things the right way"

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from The Spokesman-Review

Violence leads to arrests in May Day marches in Northwest
May Day protests turned violent in the Pacific Northwest as demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, threw smoke bombs and Molotov cocktails at police while elsewhere thousands of people peacefully marched against President Donald Trump’s immigration and labor policies.

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from UPI News Agency - United Press International

Hillary Clinton says it's fair to question legitimacy of Trump presidency
"The reason why I believe we lost were the intervening events of the last 10 days," Clinton said in an interview Tuesday.

"It's possible that it has snowed less in this part of Antarctica in recent years -- that would also cause the glaciers to thin and lose mass, but it's a not a signal of dynamical imbalance," said Leeds researcher Andrew Shepherd.

President Donald Trump threatened to force a "good shutdown" of the government over frustration with a spending bill, which House Speaker Paul Ryan defended Tuesday.

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from Washington Examiner

The Wire Act was already restored
In his April 24 op-ed, lobbyist Jon Bruning presented several alternative facts about our nation's gambling laws and history. The most egregious error was his assertion that a 2011 opinion issued by the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice amounted to a reinterpretation of the 1961 Wire Act and that the Trump Administration — presumably newly minted Attorney General Jeff Sessions — must act to "restore" the Act to its original intent. The reality, however, is that the 2011 legal opinion already did that.

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from The Washington Times

Pulling the administrative state off autopilot
Reducing burdensome regulations could unleash the full potential of America
When it comes to confronting excessive federal regulation, from signing a Congressional Review Act resolution to roll back the Federal Communications Commissions’ broadband privacy rules to his executive order asking the Environmental Protection Agency to review its Clean Power Plan, the Trump administration has, so far, delivered on promises.

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