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from The Heritage Foundation
RIGHT BIAS, MIXED, think tank in Washington, D.C
Russia Will Not Win a Diplomatic Tit-for-Tat With the US
The recent U.S.-Russian tit-for-tat—the expulsion of diplomats and the closing of consulates—appears to be resulting in more parity of representation between the two global powers. That is no bad thing. According to the White House, the United States and Russia now have three diplomatic facilities in each other’s countries and a like number of diplomats of about 455. It is easy for countries like Russia, China, or Iran to exploit the openness of American society and the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of expression to conduct enter the media market and to spread propaganda and fake news. It is a tough yet reasonable response to Russia’s own actions. Before anyone bemoans the loss for international relations, it is worth recalling that there are diplomats, and then there are diplomats. While being careful not to undermine U.S. international relations or democratic principles, the U.S. government is right to argue for parity between Russian and U.S. representations.
The Myth That Climate Change Created Harvey, Irma
Climate policies and regulations designed to prevent natural disasters and slow the earth’s warming simply will not do so. Instead of blaming man-made greenhouse gas emissions, climate catastrophists should see natural disasters for what they really are: natural. Flooding in homes and businesses across Houston was still on the rise when Politico ran a provocative article, titled “Harvey Is What Climate Change Looks Like.” Politico was not alone, as another news outlet called the one-two punch of Harvey and Irma the potential “new normal.” Brad Johnson, executive director of the advocacy group Climate Hawks Vote, says Harvey and Irma are reason to finally jail officials who “reject science.” Rather than focus on the victims and offer solutions for speedy recovery, pundits and politicians in the wake of Harvey focused on saying, “I told you so.”
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Russia Will Not Win a Diplomatic Tit-for-Tat With the US
The recent U.S.-Russian tit-for-tat—the expulsion of diplomats and the closing of consulates—appears to be resulting in more parity of representation between the two global powers. That is no bad thing. According to the White House, the United States and Russia now have three diplomatic facilities in each other’s countries and a like number of diplomats of about 455. It is easy for countries like Russia, China, or Iran to exploit the openness of American society and the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of expression to conduct enter the media market and to spread propaganda and fake news. It is a tough yet reasonable response to Russia’s own actions. Before anyone bemoans the loss for international relations, it is worth recalling that there are diplomats, and then there are diplomats. While being careful not to undermine U.S. international relations or democratic principles, the U.S. government is right to argue for parity between Russian and U.S. representations.
The Myth That Climate Change Created Harvey, Irma
Climate policies and regulations designed to prevent natural disasters and slow the earth’s warming simply will not do so. Instead of blaming man-made greenhouse gas emissions, climate catastrophists should see natural disasters for what they really are: natural. Flooding in homes and businesses across Houston was still on the rise when Politico ran a provocative article, titled “Harvey Is What Climate Change Looks Like.” Politico was not alone, as another news outlet called the one-two punch of Harvey and Irma the potential “new normal.” Brad Johnson, executive director of the advocacy group Climate Hawks Vote, says Harvey and Irma are reason to finally jail officials who “reject science.” Rather than focus on the victims and offer solutions for speedy recovery, pundits and politicians in the wake of Harvey focused on saying, “I told you so.”
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from The Living Church
Magazine of The Living Church Foundation (Anglican)
Christchurch Saves Cathedral
More than six years after its cathedral was devastated by an earthquake, the Diocese of Christchurch, New Zealand, voted Sept. 9 to rebuild. By a majority of 55 percent, the diocesan synod voted to save the building. The church will work with the Christchurch City Council and government and the reconstruction is likely to take 10 years. The Gothic-style 136-year-old cathedral was badly damaged in a 6.3-magnitude earthquake on Feb. 22, 2011, that killed 185 people. The cost of a full rebuild is expected to be about $108 million.The national government has offered $50 million toward the project. The regional government and Christchurch City Council will offer a further $35 million. The balance will be met by trust funds, an insurance payout, and a soft loan from the government that may not have to be repaid. Government authorities have promised to fast track the legislation so restoration can begin.
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Ludwig von Mises and the Real Meaning of Liberalism
Liberalism has become one of the most widely misused and abused words in the American political lexicon. It represents, some say, politically “progressive thought,” based on the goal of “social justice” through greater “distributive justice” for all. Others declare it represents moral relativism, political paternalism, governmental license, and just another word for “socialism.” Lost in all of this is that fact that historically “liberalism” originally meant, and continues to mean for some, individual freedom, private property, free enterprise and impartial rule of law under constitutionally limited government.
What If Every Person Paid an Equal Share of the Military Budget?
Government employees and their apologists like to lecture Americans about how "freedom isn't free." And indeed it isn't. If military costs were spread out evenly, a family of four would be paying more than $9,000 per year.
What We Lost on September 11th
The cliché is true: September 11, 2001, represents a defining American moment. Generation X and Millennials suddenly had their own day of infamy, just as their parents and grandparents had Pearl Harbor and the Kennedy assassination. 9/11 marked the end of a relatively untroubled time in the US following the 1980 and 90s, and the beginning of a dark turn that continues to this day. Optimism, an enduring feature of the American psyche (rightly or wrongly identified as buncombe by Mencken) suddenly was in short supply.
Congress Exploits Hurricane to Raise Debt Ceiling
Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel famously counseled politicians to never let a crisis go to waste. Sadly, this week President Trump and congressional leaders of both parties showed that they have taken this advice to heart when they attached a debt ceiling increase and an extension of government spending to the over 15 billion dollars Hurricane Harvey relief bill. This maneuver enabled Congress to avoid a contentious debate over whether to pass a clean debt ceiling increase or to pair it with spending cuts. After all, few members of Congress want to be accused of blocking a bipartisan deal to help those suffering from Harvey over what the media will spin as a “right-wing anti-government” crusade.
Why Police Cannot (and Will Not) Protect Our Rights
It would seem that most people on the planet have seen the viral video of Alex Wubbels, the nurse at the University of Utah Medical Center, being arrested by police officer Jeff Payne because she insisted on following state and federal law, along with hospital protocol, regarding Payne’s demand that he be permitted to draw blood from a car accident victim. Most police today – and most politicians, frankly – see the rights of due process enshrined in the Bill of Rights not as rights that police need to protect, but rather as barriers to “good police work.”
Magazine of The Living Church Foundation (Anglican)
Christchurch Saves Cathedral
More than six years after its cathedral was devastated by an earthquake, the Diocese of Christchurch, New Zealand, voted Sept. 9 to rebuild. By a majority of 55 percent, the diocesan synod voted to save the building. The church will work with the Christchurch City Council and government and the reconstruction is likely to take 10 years. The Gothic-style 136-year-old cathedral was badly damaged in a 6.3-magnitude earthquake on Feb. 22, 2011, that killed 185 people. The cost of a full rebuild is expected to be about $108 million.The national government has offered $50 million toward the project. The regional government and Christchurch City Council will offer a further $35 million. The balance will be met by trust funds, an insurance payout, and a soft loan from the government that may not have to be repaid. Government authorities have promised to fast track the legislation so restoration can begin.
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from Mises Institute
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]Liberalism has become one of the most widely misused and abused words in the American political lexicon. It represents, some say, politically “progressive thought,” based on the goal of “social justice” through greater “distributive justice” for all. Others declare it represents moral relativism, political paternalism, governmental license, and just another word for “socialism.” Lost in all of this is that fact that historically “liberalism” originally meant, and continues to mean for some, individual freedom, private property, free enterprise and impartial rule of law under constitutionally limited government.
Government employees and their apologists like to lecture Americans about how "freedom isn't free." And indeed it isn't. If military costs were spread out evenly, a family of four would be paying more than $9,000 per year.
What We Lost on September 11th
The cliché is true: September 11, 2001, represents a defining American moment. Generation X and Millennials suddenly had their own day of infamy, just as their parents and grandparents had Pearl Harbor and the Kennedy assassination. 9/11 marked the end of a relatively untroubled time in the US following the 1980 and 90s, and the beginning of a dark turn that continues to this day. Optimism, an enduring feature of the American psyche (rightly or wrongly identified as buncombe by Mencken) suddenly was in short supply.
Congress Exploits Hurricane to Raise Debt Ceiling
Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel famously counseled politicians to never let a crisis go to waste. Sadly, this week President Trump and congressional leaders of both parties showed that they have taken this advice to heart when they attached a debt ceiling increase and an extension of government spending to the over 15 billion dollars Hurricane Harvey relief bill. This maneuver enabled Congress to avoid a contentious debate over whether to pass a clean debt ceiling increase or to pair it with spending cuts. After all, few members of Congress want to be accused of blocking a bipartisan deal to help those suffering from Harvey over what the media will spin as a “right-wing anti-government” crusade.
Why Police Cannot (and Will Not) Protect Our Rights
It would seem that most people on the planet have seen the viral video of Alex Wubbels, the nurse at the University of Utah Medical Center, being arrested by police officer Jeff Payne because she insisted on following state and federal law, along with hospital protocol, regarding Payne’s demand that he be permitted to draw blood from a car accident victim. Most police today – and most politicians, frankly – see the rights of due process enshrined in the Bill of Rights not as rights that police need to protect, but rather as barriers to “good police work.”
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from Orthodox Christianity
Even 16 years after the events, when I see any documentaries on TV about the terrorist attack on the United State on 11 September 2001, I find myself hypnotized by the images on the screen. A paralysis of disbelief takes over as I watch in horror the events unfolding and experience the terror and sorrow of the victims and their families – images that seem burned into my memory.
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from The Spokesman-Review
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from The Wall Street Journal
What It’s Like to Be Smeared by the Southern Poverty Law Center
Carol M. Swain: I paid a professional price when the group attacked me in 2009. Now I wear its mud as a badge of honor. Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, was to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee about threats posed by domestic extremist groups. The hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, has been postponed because of Hurricane Irma. As a black conservative who has been smeared by the SPLC, I recommend against reinviting Mr. Cohen. When Morris Dees and Joseph J. Levin Jr. started the SPLC in 1971, it was needed and it had noble goals. In recent years, however, it has become a tool of the radical left. Domestically, it uses its influence to paint with a broad brush that smears immigration restrictionists, orthodox Christian churches and pro-family organizations as “hate groups.” blog entry titled “Mission Creep and the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Misguided Focus.” I pointed out the SPLC’s silence about video footage released after the 2008 elections showing members of the New Black Panther Party, decked out in full paramilitary regalia, patrolling a polling precinct in Philadelphia where they were clearly intimidating white voters. Although several news organizations covered the story, the SPLC ignored the incident. At the time, the law center was spending an inordinate amount of time attacking then-CNN host Lou Dobbs for his relentless focus on illegal immigration. It demanded that CNN fire the anchor. After CNN and Mr. Dobbs parted ways, the SPLC took credit for getting him off the air. I ended my post with a one-liner that raised the ire of the organization and had a devastating effect on my life. I wrote: “Rather than monitoring hate groups, the Southern Poverty Law Center has become one.”
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