Thursday, October 20, 2011  |  WLF Resources

“Voluntary” Food Marketing Limits: A Hazard To Philanthropy’s Health

WLF Legal Opinion Letter by Cory Andrews, Washington Legal Foundation

Repsonse

Repsonse

Repsonse

Repsonse

Repsonse

Dear Friends,

Happy Chanukah! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year’s! And most importantly, Happy College Bowl Season!

Yes, ‘tis the season when I can permissibly subject you to two short notes.  If you haven’t yet received the first—in the form of a Christmas/Holiday Card—it’s because I’ve either 1) found a particularly engrossing fiction read, 2) haven’t yet tracked down your address this year, or 3) because I’ve overdosed on holiday parties and eggnog.  If you fear that reason 2 is the culprit (or if you just want to save me the hassle of searching past emails, text messages, and business cards), please email me with your address!

But more importantly is the second piece of correspondence: an invitation to participate in the FIFTH annual SIR College Bowl Pick Em’ Contest.

For those of you who have not played before, this is a fairly simple process.  I’ve attached (Download Bowl Spreadsheet) a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. In the first two columns are the two opposing teams, column C has the date of the game, and column D lists the bowl names. In column E, you have to list which team you think you will win.  Each correct pick is worth one point, except the BCS games which are worth two points each (the five BCS games are highlighted in red).  Also, for tie-breaking purposes, please list your undergraduate school and your home state (I will explain this later for those who sign up).

When you have predicted a winner for each game, please save the spreadsheet as your name (e.g. HARRYJAMESPOTTER) and send it to me at Stephen.richer@gmail.com. This email must be sent by 3:00 PM EST on December 19.

Per usual, fantastic prizes will be given to the top finishers.  In past years, winners have received books, menorahs, t-shirts, memorabilia from wherever I’m currently living, etc. I have pretty nice noise-cancellation headphones that I got from a corporate wellness program that I never opened—I think they might be a top prize.  If you have anything lying around your house that you want to donate as a prize, please let me know.

But the real prize is being able to see your name atop the list of competitors, many of whom are known for a good deal of trash-talking.

Please invite others. To qualify to participate, I have to have interacted with you at least once, or I have to have heard your name at least twice from another friend. (e.g. if you are Colorado friend of Kevin Lander’s, I promise I have heard your name).

There is of course no entrance fee. But if you want to send me a check just for fun, please make it out to StephenRicherForCongress2024.

Happy Holidays!

SIR

Download Bowl Spreadsheet

Review of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol

To all outward appearances, the United States government did not have its best performance last week.  President Obama canceled the missile defense program, effectively placing Poland and the Czech Republic back under the Russian sphere of influence; George Mitchell returned home after failing to find common ground in Jerusalem, and the healthcare debate continued to focus on coverage and death panels instead of competition and cost.

But not all went wrong.  Thanks to Robert Langdon, the U.S. government avoided a potentially devastating scandal.

In The Lost Symbol—Dan Brown’s new bestseller—protagonist Robert Langdon this time takes to Washington D.C., where he discovers secrets far greater than why the Nationals baseball team is so bad.

The book is in essence very similar to Brown’s Angels & Demons and DaVinci Code—braniac professor thwarts exotic bad guy by solving a series of puzzles while running around with a similarly smart and attractive woman, both of whom overwhelm the reader with facts delivered in discordant lectures, most of which exist not to advance the story line, but to prove that Brown spent more time researching his fiction than Jimmy Carter does his non-fiction.

Unfortunately the book lacks some of the twists and turns of Brown’s previous novels—there is no hidden bad guy waiting to be revealed at the last moment; it’s fairly obvious where the final clue is located; and the killer’s link to the central Solomon family is also transparent.

But the book is still an enjoyable (and incredibly fast) read.  And more important than its literary merits are the effects it will undoubtedly have on Washington D.C. and the United States.  First, as cited by the Washington Post, Symbol will undoubtedly boost D.C. tourism, just as Demons and DaVinci created huge new interest in Rome and Paris.  It won’t be long before D.C. has specialized Dan Brown tours.  Fortunately, this will provide families with a less-expensive substitute for European vacations, and it will help the United States catch France (the leader) in international tourism.  The only real losers on this front are the congressional interns, “No ma’am, I cannot take you down to the secret basement vaults in Congress.”

(Note: If you are a D.C. resident, visit these sites before it is too late: Sixteenth Street Masonic Temple, King Street Masonic Temple, Capitol, Library of Congress, top of Washington Monument).

The second thing to look out for is another rise in art history majors.  I still remember being frustrated with a requisite microeconomics class that kept me from taking Intro To Art History on the heels of the DaVinci Code.  Some might complain that what our country really needs is scientists and engineers.  But if art majors discover the truth of the Holy Grail or save the Vatican from destruction, who can complain that they will never patent new technology?

Lastly, The Lost Symbol’s focus on the Masons and other secret societies ensures that conspiracy theories will not be leaving our country any time soon.  Considering the annoyances of the “birthers” on the right and the “truthers” on the left, I almost wish I was back in high school where the most popular conspiracy theory—that the Mormon Church ran our state—seemed at least somewhat reasonable.

But for good or bad, the dam has burst—The Lost Symbol is out, and considering the first printing is for 6.5 million copies, it’s bound to make its mark.

Since the 2008 election, Republican leaders have been playing an odd game of musical chairs. Mitt Romney has altered the game so that instead of running when the music starts, he sits calmly in his gold-covered chair, only shifting his position when it comes close to election time. Sarah Palin gave up her chair, but she claims she can play the game (even better) without one. Newt Gingrich prefers book-publishing to chair-chasing, but his supporters have saved him a chair anyway. And Michael Steele is currently redesigning the chairs in the hope that his bottom will be the only one that properly fits.

But despite these antics, the game still mirrors the one played in first grade—one player loses a chair each round when the music stops.

For Bobby Jindal, the music stopped just when it should have started—during his rebuttal to President Obama’s State of The Union. Mark Sanford lost his chair somewhere in the Appalachian Trail, and John Ensign lost his chair despite the best effort of his parents.

This week’s dropout is Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.—President Obama’s pick for ambassador to China.

Unfortunately, Huntsman is exactly the type of competent conservative that the Republican Party needs. Evidence? According to the Pew Center on the States, Utah is the “The Best Managed State in the Nation.” In May 2008, Forbes Magazine named Salt Lake City one of the top 10 “recession proof cities,” and it goes on to describe Utah as the second best state for business. Throughout most of his tenure, Huntsman held approval ratings above 80 percent, and he won reelection in 2008 with 77.6 percent of the vote. Governor Huntsman is intelligent, has strong conservative credentials, is free of controversy, and, as an added bonus, he is wealthy enough to make his own waves.

National recognition of Huntsman had just begun to grow prior to Obama’s appointment. The Washington Post and USA Today both named him as one of the “top Republicans” in the months following the election, and the New York Times called him one of the leaders of “New Republicanism.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/us/14utah.html. Prominent figures ranging from John McCain to John Kerry acknowledge Huntsman as a competent, knowledgeable, and eloquent leader.

So what happened?

First, and most obviously, President Obama nominated Huntsman to be Ambassador to China—and when the President asks you to serve in a position of high importance, it’s hard to say “no” even if he is of the other party. Some commentators say Obama deserves praise for ignoring party line to pick a Republican, but as Andrew Sullivan http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/05/the-huntsman-coup.htmland others have pointed out, the nomination could be seen as an Obama stratagem to eliminate a strong 2012 rival.

Second, Huntsman’s decision to leave the United States and Republican politics is partially self-motivated. The Governor has long had an interest in China—he served a two-year LDS mission in Taiwan and has returned to China and Taiwan many times on behalf of the United States government. After a year spent as the ambassador to Singapore (1992-93), he lobbied for the Chinese embassy—a wish that has now come true. Furthermore, if Huntsman does have an eye on the oval office, 2012 is not the right year. The field is already crowded with leftovers from 2008, and Mitt Romney is firmly entrenched as the “Mormon candidate.”

The third and final factor contributing to Huntsman’s departure is the attitude of the Republican Party. David Frum has previously noted that the Party may not yet be ready for Huntsman’s brand of moderate Republicanism (http://www.newmajority.com/kiss-another-reformist-goodbye/). This became especially apparent after the Grand Rapids Republican “unvitation” due to Huntsman’s endorsement of civil unions and the following reasonable statement:

“We must embrace all citizens as equals; I’ve always stood tall on this.”- New York Times

The Republican Party also continues to display a sad skepticism toward members of the Mormon (LDS) faith. Mike Huckabee did a masterful underhanded job of painting Mitt Romney as a cult member—Governor Huntsman would face the same charge if he moved into the national spotlight.

If the Republican Party has played a role in casting out one qualified leader, let’s make sure we don’t unjustly eliminate any more—heavens knows there are already too few chairs left in the game.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/09/AR2009060902992.html

Obama visits Denny’s

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/obama_drastically_scales_back?utm_source=a-section

On taxation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekKk4SkiC-w&eurl

On McDonalds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5H7IYPw40Q&feature=related

On mac vs. pc: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkrn6ecxthM&NR=1

Driving through districts:

http://volokh.com/posts/1242140642.shtml
Cleveland Television counts Lebron out a bit early…
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/05/24/lebron-james-cant-be-jinxed/

Ilya Shapiro on Sotomayor (CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/27/shapiro.scotus.identity/index.html

David Brooks on Obama administration (NY Times):
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/opinion/26brooks.html?_r=1

Washington Nationals. The worst show in baseball (WSJ):
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124278645494837629.html

Hey, we might not be the greatest every year, but at least I went to a school with a real football team.
http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/the-quad-countdown-no-107-tulane-for-sunday/

Vaclav Havel on the UN (NY TIMES):
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/opinion/11havel.html?_r=2

New Running Shoes
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-380-383–13012-1-1X2-3,00.html

Running… Running Around in Circles…
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297–13032-0,00.html

Maureen Dowd on Twitter:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/opinion/22dowd.html?_r=2

Here is my response (though I consider myself far-from-expert on anything pertaining to religion):

Judaism is like the matrix, you can’t be told about it; you have to see it/experience it for yourself. As such, I can only hazard a “necessary but not sufficient” explanation of Judaism. Judaism necessitates the existence of others; it cannot exist in a vacuum. Religious Judaism proscribes 613 mitzvah that are supposed to be done “unto others (or God).” Hillel, while standing on one foot, said that Judaism is about one thing: “Do not unto others what you would not do to yourself.” The Tanakh and Talmud only open up to us when we are paired in study. Secular Judaism is likewise centered around shared experiences—Judaism can flourish through a shared passion for Israel, Jewish literature, or even Fiddler on The Roof. In sum, Judaism knew well before John Donne existed that “no man is an island.”

There are other arguments against compensation of course, but I haven’t seen a truly convincing one yet. If you have a favorite, send it my way, and I will try to field an answer for it.
Will such a “half-market” solve the organ demand? Probably not, but it will go a long to way to relieving some of the suffering that is produced by 100,000 people waiting in line…
 
Most of the logic and data here is taken from my friend’s recent book on the subject:
 
When Altruism Isn’t Enough: The Case For Compensating Kidney Donors – Sally Satel
SIR