Ames & Levine column generates apology

Adding to the controversy over a recent column by Mark Ames and Yasha Levine on the TSA saga comes this apology to John Tyner from The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel.

Part of:

As Glenn Greenwald of Salon quickly pointed out (and as other writers echoed), the article wrongly suggested that John Tyner, the libertarian citizen-activist who coined the "don't touch my junk" protest against the TSA's security procedures, might be linked to an Astroturf operation. Ames' and Levine's article didn't directly call Tyner a plant, and they didn't say that he was funded by the Koch brothers. Nonetheless, their article gave that impression--by placing Tyner in the article's lead and by using a generally disparaging tone to refer to him. The article also used innuendo to cast doubt on Tyner's motives, and when Tyner denied any connections to lobbyists and to Koch-funded organizations in an interview, we printed his denial--but we didn't press hard enough to get clarity on his actions and intentions. We should have stopped and done just that, and if Tyner's story checked out, we should have removed him from the piece.
We have published a reply by Ames and Levine that acknowledges some of these problems, but as editor of The Nation, I also want to apologize to John Tyner. The Nation hasn't been--and never will be--in the business of muffling citizen protest.
We are, however, committed to bold reporting and to airing intelligent debates even--or especially--when they challenge our preconceptions and make our readers uncomfortable.

How do you compare libertarianism and the Tea Party conservatism?

The title of this post is a recent item posted for discussion online at the Wall Street Journal.

There are only 23 comments at this point, but a few of them are thought provoking content that you might enjoy.

My skin care secret ...

At 50, approaching 51, you might think I spend time using or looking for the latest face wrinkle cream out there on the market. Most of those who meet me don't believe I'm 50 or that I have two grandchildren. We live frugally, while I do enjoy dressing nicely, I'm not the makeup wearing sort beyond putting some on when I'm going to be on television. What product have I used since I was a teenager? Witch Hazel -- It's a great astringent and it's worked for me.

Some days I forget to even use it, so it's not something I've had to do daily, though it is suggested for daily use.

Libertarians Against the Regime

Almost the opposing view point of some of the myths stated below by Lee Roscoe can be found in Libertarians Against the Regime. Especially related to the Koch brothers:

Because the very idea of Charles and David Koch leading a national resistance movement involving civil disobedience on a massive scale is laughable: to anyone who knows them, or knows of them in more than a glancing way, this can only provoke gales of unrestrained laughter. It is sheer laziness to believe this. Indeed, if only the Brothers Koch, and the plethora of organizations their money has funded, were that radical! Unfortunately, they are not: a stodgy, boring conservatism marks both their methods and their politics, and always has.
Ames and Levine need to do some real research. It was the anti-Koch wing of the libertarian movement, centered around LewRockwell.com, that first gave John Tyner’s act of defiance the publicity and velocity that made it go viral. And if LRC is a front for the Koch brothers, then we have truly entered Bizarro World. In that case, so too is Antiwar.com a Koch front – and so why have we been doing this fundraising campaign for the past two weeks, begging our readers to save us from oblivion?
Gee, it seems like that check from the Kochs got lost in the mail! Charles, could you please look into that? Thanks.

Where progressives and libertarians agree and differ

This was an interesting one since I am admittedly more of a "liberal libertarian" than very liberal or very libertarian -- Seattle PI Blogs:

Both progressives and libertarians oppose government corruption. The difference between progressives and libertarians is that the former still believe that Big Government can be redeemed. Progressives believe that, despite the dangers of corruption and tyranny, we can't forgo the benefits of government. When government isn't corrupted by special interests, it acts as a counter-weight to corporate and private interests. It regulates and polices the private sphere. It performs necessary planning and bailouts and nurturing and research and police work and and health care initiatives and education. It provides a safety net. It supplies certain public goods that the market system can't provide.

zillions for zits

I may be exaggerating a bit when it come to zillions being spent for those searching for the best acne treatment, but the skin care industry is a multi-billion dollar one and could easily extend into the trillion category if you count outside of the U.S. The search for products to make your skin as flawless as possible begins for some before they are teenagers, with some focusing on natural products and others using chemically based products. There's also been a focus on diet by some who believe that is the long term treatment solution.

Top myths in American politics

Recommended article by Lee Roscoe -- LINK. The myths:

• That Democrats are socialists. We should wish they were. It is a failure to move to a redistributive economy with legislated limits to greed (and to corporate funding of elections) that is pushing America on the road to ruin.
• That socialism is a bad thing. Modern socialism has nothing to do with totalitarian communism. The countries that are doing the best for their citizens in terms of schools, health and child care, vacations, full employment, full housing, clean energy, and caps on CEO salary are, in fact, socialist in their economies, democratic in their governments. They have not done away with capitalism, but simply have turned it to the common good. This is the case in much of Scandinavia and many EU countries, such as Germany.
• That the government should not spend money and get us into debt. The mantra that so-called fiscal conservatism is good for this country is at this point nothing more than a slander. It shows a basic misunderstanding of the way capitalism works. The government must spend money, as FDR did for a massive jobs program, if we are to have an economy again.
• That the Republicans want less government and the Democrats want more. The Republicans have created more government, such as the Patriot Act, which is a totalitarian blueprint, and the huge Homeland Security apparatus (employing over 800,000 people — ironically this spy network is the only growth industry in the U.S.). Republicans are fine with huge subsidies of taxpayer monies for agribusiness, big pharma, the defense industry and other corporations. They are fine with huge tax cuts for the rich and increased taxes for the middle and working class. They want more government for the rich and less for the rest of us.
• That we have a "liberal press." In fact huge corporations, almost always larger contributors to Republicans than to Democrats, own the major networks and cable companies, and many of what few newspapers are left.
• That the tea party is just a group of angry but benign folks. NAACP reports just issued show that the tea party has a large preponderance of leaders affiliated with white nationalist movements which consider Jews to be Satanic, and blacks to be subhuman (and who hate Obama for being black). The tea party is funded by such as the Koch family, huge oil and corporate interests that want no protection for the environment or workers, and no benefits — except for themselves.

David Nolan dies

David F. Nolan, who co-founded the national Libertarian Party and helped guide it for four decades while remaining active in politics as a candidate, including a recent run for the U.S. Senate, has died. He was 66.

Nolan died in Tucson, where he lived, according to a statement released Friday by the party.

His vehicle was found off the side of a roadway on Saturday evening, and emergency crews had to break in to help him, the party said. He died in a hospital the next day of unknown causes.

Nolan helped found the Libertarian Party with a group of colleagues in Colorado on Dec. 11, 1971. He remained a member of the Libertarian National Committee until his death.

Libertarians espouse limited government intervention in the economy, civil liberties and personal freedom, arguing that government’s only role should be to help individuals protect themselves from force or fraud. The party pushes a non-interventional foreign policy and free trade.

"He not only helped found the Libertarian Party but remained active and helped to guide our party for the last 40 years," Mark Hinkle, chairman of the Libertarian Party, said in the statement. "We are now the third-largest political party in America, and one of the most persistent and successful third parties in American history, thanks in large part to David Nolan."

TSA released Meg McClain security video

Unfortunately every group has those that do things that make you shake your head. Those who claim to be Libertarians are no different in that regard. However, it's not a good idea to make claims when there are video cameras out there that can tell the whole story:

This Libertarian Radio Host Lied About TSA Harassment. What I find interesting is that the TSA released the video in response to the accusations, it's not something they normally do. If the video had sound, it would be a much better indication of exactly what took place.

After watching both videos, I find it hard to agree with the few out there that claim the video shows she was handcuffed, though it does appear that particular airport has too many TSA employees for them to stand around with nothing to do.

But does it work ...

One of the top questions that I get asked when I write about diet products is, Are there diet pills that actually work? The answer would be yes, there are some diet pills that will help you lose weight. There are however no magic cure pills that you can just pop and watch the pounds melt off without watching what you eat and/or increasing your physical activity. Diet pills can also give you a slight ego boost at the beginning by helping you to lose water weight, and for many that is an additional confidence builder that helps them stick to a larger diet plan.

Red light means go

“That’s the first sign you know you’re a libertarian. You see the red light. You stop. You realize that there’s not a car in sight. And you put your foot on the gas.” - Gary Johnson

Quote that I read on The Liberty Papers as part of a blog post that talked about why it's time to start looking at Gary Johnson as a potential 2012 Presidential candidate.

Say I love you with flowers

You can right now from your computer tell someone you love them, you are thinking of them, you are sorry or just because you want to brighten their day -- order flowers. Websites like proflower.com make it easy to pick the exact type of flower, vase, or other specialty arrangement you want. I've actually used them to send flowers to my oldest daughter and the flowers that arrive look like the ones pictured ... It's that simple.

Viguerie says hands off ...

Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, has launched a petition drive to House Republican leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor urging them not to intervene to keep Congresswoman Michele Bachmann from being elected as Chairwoman of the House Republican Caucus.

News reports indicate that Boehner and Cantor are trying to keep Bachmann from being elected to the 4th highest ranking position in the House GOP leadership. The petition asks them to keep "hands off" the race.

In a letter to conservative activists, Viguerie wrote:

"Michele Bachmann and Jeb Hensarling are both small-government, constitutional conservatives. They deserve an equal shot at chairing the House Republican Conference. Unfortunately, Boehner and Cantor are working to derail the Bachmann candidacy by vocally supporting Hensarling…

"Bachmann was one of the few House Republicans who wasn't afraid to take the Tea Party message to the airwaves and nationalize the election in favor of constitutional, small government principles in 2010. Her message connected with voters across America and significantly contributed to the massive 60-plus seat pickup on Election Night."

The petition is online at http://conservativehq.com/bachmannpetition

NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called "one of the creators of the modern conservative movement" (The Nation magazine) and one of the "conservatives of the century" ( Washington Times ). He is the author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause.

Assistance in social security disability filings

The amount of paperwork and red tape that you have to go through to file a claim for social security disability can be a daunting task. It's why many who may qualify don't try to apply and why some who do apply are wrongfully denied benefits that they truly are eligible for. Companies like Allsup exist to help consumers through the process and have a higher success rate in getting people the payments they are entitled to than those who try to file on their own ...

NIA on Palin comments about food prices

NIA Addresses Sarah Palin Food Inflation Controversy

FORT LEE, N.J., Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Inflation Association - http://inflation.us - today released the following statement regarding the Sarah Palin food inflation controversy:

Sarah Palin on Monday made a speech at a trade-association convention in Phoenix urging Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to "cease and desist" his "pump priming." Palin said the United States, "shouldn't be playing around with inflation." She went on to say, "All this pump priming will come at a serious price. And I mean that literally: everyone who ever goes out shopping for groceries knows that prices have risen significantly over the past year or so. Pump priming would push them even higher."

After obtaining a copy of her speech, the Wall Street Journal's Sudeep Reddy wrote an article criticizing Palin's comments about food inflation, saying that, "Grocery prices haven't risen all that significantly, in fact. The consumer price index's measure of food and beverages for the first nine months of this year showed average annual inflation of less than 0.6%, the slowest pace on record." NIA finds it unfortunate that Reddy has been brainwashed into believing the government's phony consumer price index (CPI) numbers.

The superficial...

It's interesting to watch how the looks of a female candidate or elected official becomes so much more of an issue than with a male counterpart. Where a woman will be told she needs to lose weight or seek out products like lipofuse as well as having their style of dress, even hair called into question, men typically don't face it.

Photoshopping happens to make women look unattractive with men it's typically done to make them look unintelligent.