Shelly Roche

All The President’s Wars: How Foreign Policy Became One Man’s Prerogative

Great overview on the President's unchecked and unconstitutional power to declare war: via Reason TV: As Barack Obama announces the beginning of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, a far bigger issue - one that goes to the heart of American history and ...

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Remembering the Real Ayn Rand

I love Ayn Rand.

via WSJ: Tomorrow's release of the movie version of "Atlas Shrugged" is focusing attention on Ayn Rand's 1957 opus and the free-market ideas it espouses. Book sales for "Atlas" have always been brisk—and all the more so in the past few years, as actual events have mirrored Rand's nightmare vision of economic collapse amid massive government expansion. Conservatives are now hailing Rand as a tea party Nostradamus, hence the timing of the movie's premiere on tax day.

When Rand created the character of Wesley Mouch, it's as though she was anticipating Barney Frank (D., Mass). Mouch is the economic czar in "Atlas Shrugged" whose every move weakens the economy, which in turn gives him the excuse to demand broader powers. Mr. Frank steered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to disaster with mandates for more lending to low-income borrowers. After Fannie and Freddie collapsed under the weight of their subprime mortgage books, Mr. Frank proclaimed last year: "The way to cure that is to give us more authority." Mouch couldn't have said it better himself.

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Maine town becomes first to declare food sovereignty

LOVE it: Via GrownInTheCity: The town of Sedgwick, Maine, population 1,012 (according to the 2000 census), has become the first town in the United States to pass a Food Sovereignty ordinance. In doing so, the town declared their right to produce and s...

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Fed’s profits surge to a record-breaking $81.7 billion

Must be nice to operate in total secrecy, accountable to no one! via MarketWatch: The Federal Reserve released earnings for 2010, with the central bank's profit growing to $81.7 billion, a record high, from $53.4 billion, mostly due to growing interest...

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TSA Agent Slips Through Body Scanner With A Gun

Um, yeah: An undercover TSA agent was able to get through security at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport with a handgun during testing of the enhanced-imaging body scanners, according to a high-ranking, inside source at the Transportation Security...

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