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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, HIGH, non-profit organization
Order Without Design: Why Markets Shape Cities Better Than Planners
Alain Bertaud’s upcoming book "Order Without Design" makes the point of the emergent order of cities clearer and more defensible. Bertaud reminds us that command economies such as the USSR or China have failed many years ago and embraced markets for the allocation of resources, but for some reason that has been ignored by the urban planning field. "From regulating minimum building standards to “masterplans” for urban growth, the attempt to “design” a city is not only futile but also have the worst consequences for the poor."
The Future of Energy Sustainability Has Never Looked Brighter... Thanks to Free Markets
Depletion … pollution … security … climate change. These flashpoints of energy sustainability have been invoked time and again to advocate forced (government) transformation away from fossil fuels. But each complaint has been highly exaggerated for the purpose of demoting the primary role of mineral energies (natural gas, coal, and petroleum) in modern living. The congruence of private gain and social good in energy markets is a great reason to give thanks this holiday season. Consumers in good conscience can stay warm with natural gas and fuel oil, as well as travel on gasoline and diesel. Electricity, too, can be generated with the cheapest and most versatile carbon-based energy without regret.
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from The Heritage Foundation
RIGHT BIAS, MIXED, think tank in Washington, D.C
A Salute to Orrin Hatch
Orrin Hatch has been the senior senator from Utah for 26 of his 42 years in the Senate. He is retiring from that extraordinary period of service and, on Dec. 12, made what he called his “final request” from the Senate floor. In his farewell speech, Hatch showed that he cares not only about what government does, but also how our politics are conducted. Hatch called for reason over noise, patience over impulse, and fact over feeling. His three-part prescription included the “indispensable political norm” of civility, pluralism that emphasizes common purpose rather than common characteristics, and unity. His 42 years of Senate service made his final words a call to all Americans: "This is the last request I will ever make from this lectern—that as a Senate and as a nation, we listen to our better angels; that we recommit ourselves to comity; that we restore civility to the public discourse; that we embrace wholeheartedly the principles of pluralism; and that we strive for unity by rejecting the rhetoric of division."
Trump’s Newly Unveiled Strategy Will Advance U.S.-Africa Relations
National security adviser John Bolton presented the Trump administration’s new Africa strategy Thursday at The Heritage Foundation. The strategy focused on three priorities: * Enhancing U.S. trade and commercial ties with African nations through arrangements that benefit both the United States and Africa. * Countering the threat of Islamic terrorism. * Ensuring that the U.S. allocates its foreign assistance efficiently and effectively to advance U.S. interests. All three of these priorities have been encouraged by conservative foreign policy experts, including those at The Heritage Foundation.
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A Salute to Orrin Hatch
Orrin Hatch has been the senior senator from Utah for 26 of his 42 years in the Senate. He is retiring from that extraordinary period of service and, on Dec. 12, made what he called his “final request” from the Senate floor. In his farewell speech, Hatch showed that he cares not only about what government does, but also how our politics are conducted. Hatch called for reason over noise, patience over impulse, and fact over feeling. His three-part prescription included the “indispensable political norm” of civility, pluralism that emphasizes common purpose rather than common characteristics, and unity. His 42 years of Senate service made his final words a call to all Americans: "This is the last request I will ever make from this lectern—that as a Senate and as a nation, we listen to our better angels; that we recommit ourselves to comity; that we restore civility to the public discourse; that we embrace wholeheartedly the principles of pluralism; and that we strive for unity by rejecting the rhetoric of division."
Trump’s Newly Unveiled Strategy Will Advance U.S.-Africa Relations
National security adviser John Bolton presented the Trump administration’s new Africa strategy Thursday at The Heritage Foundation. The strategy focused on three priorities: * Enhancing U.S. trade and commercial ties with African nations through arrangements that benefit both the United States and Africa. * Countering the threat of Islamic terrorism. * Ensuring that the U.S. allocates its foreign assistance efficiently and effectively to advance U.S. interests. All three of these priorities have been encouraged by conservative foreign policy experts, including those at The Heritage Foundation.
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from HumanProgress.org
Education Website
Human progress, as I attempted to show in a series of CapX articles over the course of this year, is dramatic and real. The fundamentals of human wellbeing, including life expectancy, income, nutrition, education and personal safety, have improved dramatically – especially over the last two centuries or so. The arc of those improvements, however, is jagged, not linear. Occasional backsliding, as the findings of the just-released Human Freedom Index 2018 indicate, is unavoidable. The authors of the Index write that “freedom plays an important role in human well-being” and note “the complex ways in which freedom influences, and can be influenced by, political regimes, economic development, and the whole range of indicators of human well-being.” As editor of HumaProgress.org, I can only concur. The decline in human freedom shows that progress does not take place along all dimensions of human well-being, all of the time. That, as Harvard University psychologist Steven Pinker notes, would not be progress, but a miracle. The findings of the Human Freedom Index 2018 report also remind us that progress is not guaranteed. To live in a better world, all of us have to be on guard and defend the gains that humanity has made.
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from Laudable Practice Blog
DEEP ADVENT: O SAPIENTIA
This coming Sunday, 16th December, is a Black Letter day in the BCP 1662 Calendar: O Sapientia, the first of the Advent antiphons. Its inclusion in the Calendar, together with many other Black Letter days, dates to 1561. What is the significance of this day being commemorated in the Prayer Book Calendar? In face of Puritan critiques of the Black Letter days, the bishops of the Church of England at the Restoration defended their inclusion in the Calendar.
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from LifeZette (& PoliZette)
Media/News Company in Washington, D. C.Director Michael Moore Says Donald Trump Is ‘Profoundly Evil’
As most people know, documentary filmmaker Michael Moore does not like President Donald Trump or the Republican president before him, George W. Bush. The “Fahrenheit 9/11” director saw that it was the 10-year anniversary of Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi’s throwing both of his shoes at then-President George W. Bush at a press conference in Iraq — and decided it was a good time to point out that he thinks both Trump and Bush are evil.
Former FEC Member Explains Why Trump Didn’t Violate Campaign Finance Laws
Hans Von Spakovsky called out 'the most basic mistake' attorney Michael Cohen and the media are making. President Donald Trump couldn’t have broken campaign finance laws by allowing a hush-money payment because it was not campaign-related, said a former member of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). “The most basic mistake Cohen is making and the media is making, and frankly the U.S. attorney in New York is making, is that the payment of hush money is not a campaign-related expense,” former FEC member Hans Von Spakovsky told host Laura Ingraham on “The Laura Ingraham Show” on Friday morning.
Obamacare Is Ruled Unconstitutional by a Texas Judge
'Remainder of the ACA is non-severable from the individual mandate, meaning the Act must be invalidated,' according to the opinion. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was struck down by a Texas judge on Friday, a move that could suddenly disrupt the health insurance status of millions of Americans. The decision comes amid a six-week open enrollment period for the program.
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from Religion News Service
Nonprofit Organization in Washington, D.C.
Why ‘Silent Night’ and the stories around it endure 200 years later
It was the night before Christmas, and not a creature was stirring. Except for the mice at St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria, who were busy chewing through the bellows of the organ. Their handiwork left the church’s priest, the Rev. Joseph Mohr, scrambling to find music for a Christmas Eve service. So he dashed off a few lines about the night Jesus was born and asked composer Franz Xaver Gruber to set the lyrics to a simple tune, played on guitar. On that night 200 years ago, the two stood in front of the church’s nativity set and performed a song that began with words “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht.”
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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
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