WELL, GOOD: Lone Star State Poised to Consider Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform.
Other states could do worse than emulate Texas — on a whole host of issues.
Author Archive: Stephen Green
January 30, 2017
I’M STARTING TO LIKE THE CUT OF HIS JIB: Trump Signs Executive Order to Curtail Regulations.
The “one in, two out” plan requires federal agencies requesting new regulations to cut two existing regulations. Trump said the order will reduce the regulatory burdens on the private sector, particularly small businesses.
“If you have a regulation you want, number one, we’re not going to approve it because it’s already been approved probably in 17 different forms,” Trump said while signing the order surrounded by small business leaders. “But if we do, the only way you have a chance is we have to knock out two regulations for every new regulation. So if there’s a new regulation, they have to knock out two.”
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for all regulations drops to zero.
JUST SAY NO: Why Police Are Saying You Should Hang Up IMMEDIATELY If a Caller Asks ‘Can You Hear Me?’
I get so many spam and scam calls that I rarely use my phone as a phone.
“FACT”-FINDING MISSION: UK Parliament to Launch ‘Fake News’ Inquiry; Cites Threat.
Politicians determining what the news is — what could go wrong?
DON’T LET THAT STOP YOU: ‘Calexit’ would be a disaster for progressive values.
DAVID FRENCH: Trump’s Executive Order on Refugees — Separating Fact from Hysteria
Let’s analyze the key provisions, separate the fact from the hysteria, and introduce just a bit of historical perspective.
First, the order temporarily halts refugee admissions for 120 days to improve the vetting process, then caps refugee admissions at 50,000 per year. Outrageous, right? Not so fast. Before 2016, when Obama dramatically ramped up refugee admissions, Trump’s 50,000 stands roughly in between a typical year of refugee admissions in George W. Bush’s two terms and a typical year in Obama’s two terms. The chart below, from the Migration Policy Institute, is instructive:
In 2002, the United States admitted only 27,131 refugees. It admitted fewer than 50,000 in 2003, 2006, and 2007. As for President Obama, he was slightly more generous than President Bush, but his refugee cap from 2013 to 2015 was a mere 70,000, and in 2011 and 2012 he admitted barely more than 50,000 refugees himself.
The bottom line is that Trump is improving security screening and intends to admit refugees at close to the average rate of the 15 years before Obama’s dramatic expansion in 2016. Obama’s expansion was a departure from recent norms, not Trump’s contraction.
Read the whole thing.
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT ONE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER WAS TOO MANY:
It takes courage to mock a man who isn’t there.
SALENA ZITO: The Democrats’ diversity challenge.
Today the Blue Dogs are decimated, there are only 17 left, only two of them women. And every year they face expensive, heated primary battles from progressives, and are about to face the same onslaught next year from the 2018 Bernie Sanders purists who want them out of “their” party.
Legendary Democratic strategist Dane Strother thinks that is a very bad idea.
“If the Blue Dogs do not have a seat at the table, and if they do not rebuild, the Democrats will never hold the majority again,” he said bluntly.
Strother added that if there is a progressive purity test, “Then we will be in the wilderness for the next forty years,” he said.
“I think the Blue Dogs have to be revived and respected this cycle. There will be a test. If the party does not back the incumbent Democrat Blue Dog in the primary then the Democrats will have a big problem for a long time.”
Progressivism is a jealous god.
PROCUREMENT: Trump calls for more submarines — for less money.
EB and Newport News Shipbuilding build two Virginia-class attack submarines a year. Former Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, in one of his last visits to EB, handed out mock punch cards that said “Buy 9 subs, get the 10th one free!” referencing the $2 billion in savings achieved through a $17.6 billion contract, the largest in Navy shipbuilding history, awarded to EB in April 2014.
When negotiating that contract, certain initiatives were implemented to reduce design costs, the most significant of which was a redesigned bow that included a new sonar array and two larger payload tubes instead of 12 individual, vertical-launch missile tubes. Twenty percent of the ship’s design was changed to save about $100 million per submarine. Other cost-saving measures include the ability to buy materials far in advance.
“Those of us who have worked with EB over the years know that affordability is a factor in their business model,” said Bob Ross, executive director of the state’s Office of Military Affairs.
The company is “well aware” of how “incredibly expensive” it is to build submarines, and works “very hard to be as efficient and affordable as they can,” Ross said.But he noted that a high price tag is inevitable, given the advanced technology being built.
“There’s more technology in the Virginia-class submarines than in the space shuttle program. It’s never going to be a low number,” he said.
The Virginia-class attack subs have been a rare post-Cold War procurement success for the Navy, with boats coming in ahead of schedule and under budget. I’m not sure how much more in savings Electric Boat can wring out of the program, particularly Congress approves an increased production rate and the increased facility investments that would be required.
HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY: NYT and WaPo reporters confess incompetence on Twitter.
Really, it isn’t so much honesty as it is self-beclownment by Maggie Haberman and Glenn Kessler.
MICHELLE BACHMAN: ‘I Don’t Care What Age They Are or Whatever,’ Trump ‘Needs to Deport’
KNOWN WOLF? Suspect in Quebec mosque terror attack was of Moroccan origin, report shows.
One of two gunmen who shouted ‘Allahu akbar!’ as they opened fire at a mosque in Quebec City was of Moroccan origin, a witness and local media reported Monday, revealing the first details about the attackers in the massacre that killed six people.
The terror suspects were identified as Mohamed Khadir and Alexandre Bissonnette, the Canadian TV network TVA Nouvelles reported. They were arrested soon after the shooting at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre Sunday night and were expected to appear in court later Monday, police told reporters.
One of the gunman actually turned himself in, calling 911 less than 20 minutes later and giving officers his location in d’Orleans so they could arrest him, police said.
More to come.
UPDATE (From Glenn): Apparently, the only shooter was Bissonette, with Khadir being uninvolved. Authorities won’t give a motive.
BREAKING: Trump to announce Supreme Court pick at 8pm Eastern tonight.
CORRECTION: Tomorrow night.
JAYVEE: ISIL has evolved into something more dangerous.
This is what happens when you allow a terror group years to recruit and perfect their techniques.
OH, CANADA: Canada says Quebec City mosque attack that killed 6 is terrorism.
“We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a center of worship and refuge,” Justin Trudeau said in a statement. “It is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence. Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear.”
The incident took place Sunday night. More than 50 people were in the mosque at the time of the assault. Police said two suspects were arrested and they don’t believe there are further suspected perpetrators at large.
The identities of the suspects were not released and a motive has not been been established. Mass shootings in Canada are relatively rare.
If the suspects aren’t part of a larger group, their identities ought to be revealed.
JONATHAN TOBIN: Why the Supreme Court fight is sure to go nuclear.
The so-called nuclear option would happen if Republicans fully quash the filibuster, a process Democrats began eroding in 2013 when they nuked the filibuster for most judicial and executive-branch nominees.
The Democrats had the majority then, and heedless of the possibility that the tables might soon be turned, former leader Harry Reid decided to short-circuit the ability of the minority to frustrate the will of President Obama by forcing Democrats to get 60 votes on nominees.
The Democrats used the shift to pack the lower courts with Obama nominees. But, as Schumer now admits ruefully, that gives Republicans an edge now that they control Congress and the White House. It means that no matter how much Democrats rail against Trump’s Cabinet choices, every single one of them is likely to be confirmed.
However, Reid left one exception when he altered the rules: the Supreme Court. So while Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell might abhor trashing tradition, he might have no choice but to use his power to end the filibuster altogether.
Unless he can persuade eight Democrats to back Trump’s SCOTUS nominee while keeping all 52 Republicans in line, McConnell will have to go nuclear.
After all the outrage over Trump’s immigration “ban,” will anyone still be listening to the Left when they howl over the nuclear option which they themselves made possible?
RECRUITING: The British Army Can’t Find Enough Soldiers.
Much like the U.S. military across the pond, the British military is struggling to find new recruits to take on new missions. Figures show 15,140 regular troops left the British military during the past 12 months, but only 13,450 new troops came in.
It’s a particularly acute problem for the British Army. The British parliament released data showing that 6,910 new recruits joined the Army over the past 12 months. The target was 9,580 — adding up to a shortfall of 28 percent.
Most notably, 2,380 troops signed up for the infantry against a target of 3,480 — the largest gap.
These are not large numbers Britain requires, particularly for a nation of some 61 million people.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DOCTORS ONLY TAKE CASH? Everybody, Especially Patients, Wins.
Time has a great story about bringing basic market forces to medicine. Titled “What Happens When Doctors Only Take Cash,” the article uses the Oklahoma City Surgery Center as a model for a different way of doing business. Co-founded by the outspoken libertarian Keith Smith and Steven Lantier, two anesthesiologists, the center takes no insurance whatsoever. Instead, they take cash only and advertise and guarantee their prices and services. The result is pretty goddamned amazing:
The all-inclusive price for every operation is listed on the website. A rotator-cuff repair for the shoulder costs $8,260. A surgical procedure for carpal tunnel syndrome is $2,750. Setting and casting a basic broken leg: $1,925….
The Surgery Center would charge $19,000 for [patient Art Villa’s] whole-knee replacement, a discount of nearly 50% on what Villa expected to be charged at his local hospital. And that price would include everything from airfare to the organization’s only facility, in Oklahoma City, to medications and physical therapy. If unforeseen complications arose during or after the procedure, the Surgery Center would cover those costs. Villa wouldn’t see another bill.
The savings for Villa’s surgery were so awesome that his company footed the bill. Others are following suit.
Faster please — the insurance-for-everything model has been a disaster.
WE SHOULD BE SO LUCKY: The Final Obama Scandal.
For years, the Obama administration told the American people that the haul from the bin Laden compound was massive and important. In an interview on Meet the Press just days after the raid, Barack Obama’s national security adviser, Thomas Donilon, said the material could fill “a small college library.” A senior military intelligence official who briefed reporters at the Pentagon on May 7, 2011, said: “As a result of the raid, we’ve acquired the single largest collection of senior terrorist materials ever.” Sources who have described the cache to THE WEEKLY STANDARD over the years have claimed that the number of captured documents, including even extraneous materials and duplicates, totals more than 1 million.
Can it really be the case that this release “closes the book”? The short answer: No, it can’t.
“[Director of National Intelligence James] Clapper and the old administration may want this to be closed, but it’s far from closed,” says Representative Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). “Now the truth will begin to come out. It’s just the beginning.”
Anything not exposing sources, revealing methods, or threatening current operations ought to be released.
#DELETEUBER: Resist Trump or ‘Pay a Price’
Dan O’Sullivan inadvertently created a playbook for getting corporations to stop playing nice with Donald Trump.
O’Sullivan was the first to tweet the hashtag #DeleteUber, although he insists he didn’t invent the idea for an Uber boycott and doesn’t take credit for the phenomenon the hashtag became. His initial string of #DeleteUber tweets, all replies to Uber’s surge pricing announcement, have over 7,000 retweets.
congrats to @Uber_NYC on breaking a strike to profit off of refugees being consigned to Hell. eat shit and die https://t.co/19gbpIc9m9
— HUNTER S. FAILSON (@Bro_Pair) January 29, 2017“Let this be a warning: if you are a corporation who thinks you will ride out Trump, and quietly make money at his side, you will be made to pay a price,” O’Sullivan told The Daily Beast.
#DeleteUber wound up becoming the No. 1 trend in the country on Saturday night after the company turned off surge pricing to and from JFK International Airport, where thousands were protesting the Muslim ban.
Uber did what it always does during surge demand — raised prices to ensure that there would be enough drivers to meet the extra demand created by anti-Trump protestors.
Next time they can stand in the rain and wait for the bus.
January 28, 2017
LYSERGIC BLISS: LSD May Help Reveal What Makes Music Meaningful.
In the study, researchers asked people to take the drug lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, and then were able to pinpoint how people’s brains ascribed meaning to specific factors, such as songs, in their environment.
It turns out that this connection to meaning may involve certain areas of the brain that previous research has tied to how people experience their sense of self, the researchers said.
The new findings show which cells, chemicals and regions in the brain “are involved when we perceive our environment as meaningful and relevant,” study co-author Katrin Preller, a psychology and neuroscience researcher at the Zürich University Hospital for Psychiatry in Switzerland, said in a statement.
“This is important to understand, since it can reveal potential targets for the treatment of psychiatric illnesses,” Preller told Live Science.
Certain people (such as our esteemed host, Glenn) can enjoy musical synesthesia without the help of hallucinogens — and they’re often found working in the music industry. It may well prove that their unusual talent is tied into their sense of well-being, which would make music a perfectly tuned pursuit.