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*********************************** Go Forth and e-Multiply If you know someone who might like to receive News & Views, you can sign 'em up at: http://www.chuckmuth.com. *********************************** Airport Insecurity Well, there they go again...or still. I left home early yesterday morning to jet up to Albany, New York to speak at Mike Long's New York Conservative Party convention. First time I've flown since last summer. Sadly to say, the government's war on air travel continues unabated. New procedures at BWI Airport in Baltimore meant the lines leading up to the security checkpoint were now 2 miles long instead of "just" 1.5 miles long. The exact same ID was checked three times by three different people in the same line. Laptop out, disrobe, remove shoes and do the hokey-pokey. What a sick joke. Things were not much better coming back from Albany. First, there appeared to be 2 TSA agents milling around doing...well, nothing, for every actual passenger. Nevertheless, one unfortunate 3-year-old little boy was terrorized by the enhanced security procedures which led the poor little tyke into thinking someone was taking his jacket and not giving it back. The little fella was crying his eyes out and refused to walk through the metal detector until he was lured through...with his own coat. I felt so sorry for both the kid and his poor mom. If I thought this crap might actually result in enhanced security, that would be one thing. I'd probably still object, but maybe not quite so viscerally. But as far as I can tell this is nothing more than a way to unnecessarily inconvenience air travelers while boosting the ranks of heartless (and brainless) government-employed automatons. No wonder so many airlines are on the verge of going BK. Who wants to subject themselves to this crud? - Chuck Muth, Editor *********************************** The Difference an Election Makes "Under the Democrats, the (Senate Judiciary) committee aggressively challenged Mr. Bush's choices for the federal bench, twice defeating nominees on party line votes. Last week, for the first time in the new Congress, the committee voted on a judicial nominee - (Miguel) Estrada, who has been designated for the federal appeals court in Washington. Again, the vote fell along party lines, 10 to 9, but this time, thanks to the Republican advantage, it was one of approval. "No one doubts that, had Democrats retained control of the Senate, Mr. Estrada would be destined to remain a lawyer in private practice. . . . The Estrada case confirms the importance to judicial appointments of the Senate' s composition." - Columnist Terry Eastland *********************************** Burger King Budget "With war on the horizon and massive government spending proposed by both Democrats and Republicans, there is no question that President Bush's new budget is a runaway train. Reading the expenditure list would give anyone a massive headache (for which government will provide medicine), but suffice it to say that record deficits are in the air, much like a squad of circling turkey buzzards. "Mr. Bush is rightly expanding the war on terror to confront chronic villains overseas, but here at home he is practicing a 'Burger King' budgetary policy: 'Have It Your Way.' "Want subsidized medical care, the government is with you. How about cheaper prescription drugs? Sounds good. Money to fight AIDS in Africa, Mr. Bush has the checkbook out. High-tech military stuff and missile shields, all day long." - Columnist Bill O'Reilly *********************************** The Tax Goobers Cometh "'A looming worry this year is how much economic damage will be done by state tax increases, perhaps enough to offset the stimulus in President Bush 's tax cuts,' the Wall Street Journal says. 'The news is that some of the worst offenders are Republican governors.' "...(T)oo many Republican governors 'are listening to the siren songs of special interests and acting like, well, traditional liberals,' the newspaper said, pointing an accusing finger at Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, John G. Rowland of Connecticut, Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho, Bob Taft of Ohio and, especially Kenny Guinn of Nevada." - Greg Pierce's "Inside Politics," 2/10/03 ************************************ Long Savings on Long Distance Just 4.97 cents/minute (5.97 cents for some non-regional bell companies) * All state-to-state calls in the continental U.S. * Residential or commercial * 6-second billing increments after the first 18 seconds * 24 hours/day * 7 days/week * No access codes * No minimums * No activation fees * No monthly service charge unless your bill is less than $20.00 a month (then a $2.50 service charge will apply) * No need to change your local phone company * No hassles * Easy sign-up. *And a small portion of each bill goes to help continue publishing our FREE Chuck Muth's News & Views e-newsletter. go to <http://www.GOPLongDistance.com> today. *********************************** 2002 True Stella Award Winner "Sisters Janice Bird, Dayle Bird Edgmon and Kim Bird Moran sued their mother's doctors and a hospital after Janice accompanied her mother, Nita Bird, to a minor medical procedure. When something went wrong, Janice and Dayle witnessed doctors rushing their mother to emergency surgery. Rather that suing for malpractice, the lawsuit claimed 'negligent infliction of emotional distress' -- not for causing distress to their mother, but for causing distress to THEM for having to SEE the doctors rushing to help their mother. "The case was fought all the way to the California Supreme Court, which finally ruled against the women. Which is a good thing, since if they had prevailed doctors and hospitals would have had no choice but to keep YOU from being anywhere near your family members during medical procedures just in case something goes wrong. In their greed, the Bird sisters risked everyone's right to have family members with them in emergencies." - Randy Cassingham, The True Stella Awards, 2/9/03 *********************************** Winners of the Tarnished Halo Award "The United States' most notorious environmental scaremongers, celebrity busybodies, self-anointed public interest advocates, trial lawyers and others who say they know what's best for the rest of us are recipients of the 2002 Tarnished Halo awards presented by the Center for Consumer Freedom in Washington. "All of the above are known to use misinformation, duplicity and even violence to further a political agenda or fatten their wallets. '2002 was a banner year for misguided activists, and the field of nominees was unusually rich, says CCF, which announces: "The 'Billions and Billions Sought' Award, presented to legal sharks Samuel Hirsch and John Banzhaf for suing fast-food chains on the basis that restaurants are responsible for customers' lack of discipline and common sense." - John McCaslin's "Inside the Beltway," 2/10/03 *********************************** Subscribe Now to Litigation Nation Online The issue of lawsuit abuse is so critical and so big that we now publish a completely separate e-newsletter dedicated strictly to this subject titled "Litigation Nation Online." The newsletter is published weekly, with important, timely breaking news as it develops. If this is an issue of importance to you, subscribe to Litigation Nation Online at: http://www.chuckmuth.com/junklawsuits/ *********************************** WTC Alternative "The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation yesterday named Studio Daniel Libeskind and THINK Designs as semi-finalists in its quest for a new World Trade Center. With its pointed, sharp angles, Libeskind's project is a high-rise knife attack. Though more sublime, THINK's skeletal lattice-work filled with cultural structures seems both otherworldly and insufficiently commercial for Manhattan's financial district. "In any case, both plans fail to do what Northwestern University's Justin Berzon has done. He has created something seemingly impossible: a concrete plan that restores the Twin Towers in a way that should satisfy the various constituencies currently feuding over the future of Ground Zero.. . . He has produced a solution to the rebuilding challenge that is so elegant and simple as to make one whack his own forehead and wonder, 'Why didn't I think of that?' "Berzon's plan, which he calls 'Standing Tall,' moves the Towers from the west and southwest portions of the WTC's 16-acres to its northeast corner. That simple shift makes way for just about everything that various groups have expected to spring from that gaping hole: untouched footprints of the original Towers, restoration of Greenwich Street, ample space for a memorial and September 11 museum, a transportation superhub below ground and room, Berzon says, for some 90 percent of the office space demolished in al-Qaeda's barbaric attack. "...Americans who want to see the Twin Towers return to Manhattan's skyline should rally around Justin Berzon's 'Standing Tall' plan. His serious, practical proposal brings back the Twins in a way that should satisfy the myriad voices concerned with the future of Ground Zero." - Columnist Deroy Murdock *********************************** The Goldwater Doctrine "I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution, or that have failed in their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is 'needed' before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents' interests, I shall reply that I was informed their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can." - Barry Goldwater, "The Conscience of a Conservative" To help promote the "Goldwater Doctrine" in public policy and government, join the Goldwater Club by going to: http://chuckmuth.com/goldwater.htm ********************************* ********************************* Published by The Goldwater Club Chuck Muth Editor/Publisher P.O. Box 15307 Middle River, MD 21220 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The opinions and views expressed in Chuck Muth's News & Views reflect those of the writers, editors and columnists therein and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the sponsors, advertisers ... heck, even some of our readers. To be REMOVED, go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsletter/ and complete the removal request instructions you'll find there. Or send your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # #
