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____________________________________ CHUCK MUTH�S NEWS & VIEWS March 24, 2004 To view the HTML version of today�s News & Views, just go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsandviews/nv.cfm To subscribe, just go to: http://www.chuckmuth.com/newsletter/ To reach our 7-day News & Views archive, go to www.citizenoutreach.com _____________________________________ WHY PEOPLE THINK THE ACLU IS NUTS �Linda Hills of the San Diego ACLU put it this way: �While we deplore the Boy Scout's desire to exclude gays, atheists, and agnostics from their membership, the Court has clearly said that such a policy is protected by the Constitution. That being the case, the Boy Scouts have no more business receiving a taxpayer subsidy than does the Ku Klux Klan.� Does comparing the Scouts to the KKK sound exaggerated� - Columnist William McGurn GROOVY, BABY If you haven�t seen the much-talked about RNC web-video titled, �John Kerry: International Man of Mystery,� check it out here: http://www.rnc.org/News/MultiMedia/VideoPlayer.aspx?ID=800&T=2 READERS WRITE News & Views reader �Joe� writes: �Chuck:� This morning on �Imus in the Morning� it was reported that John Kerry had been seriously injured while trying to ski down both sides of the mountain.� Chimed in News & Views reader John Gagne: �Chuck. Actually, it takes five Kerry's to change a light bulb rather than four. One to repeatedly say, �by the way, I fought in Vietnam.� � Gagne, by the way, fought in Vietnam. WAAHHHHHH!!! Here�s a point that needs to be made over and over again. For months now, John �Effing� Kerry has been taunting President Bush with his smarmy, contemptuous �Bring...it...on� mantra from the campaign trail. Well, now that the White House has, indeed, brought it on - through a series of devastatingly effective TV commercials pointing out Kerry�s miserable Senate record on defense and taxes - the Kerry-ites are crying like babies. �Boo-hoo. That mean old Bush is picking on us. Waahhhhhh!!!� Reminds us of the old saying about wusses who can dish it out but can�t take it. WHY SADDAM WANTS KERRY TO WIN �If John Kerry had been president of the United States with that vote (authorizing use of force in Iraq), we never, I don't believe, gone to war�� - Sen. Ted Kennedy, �Meet the Press,� 3/21/04 WHY THE FRENCH WANT KERRY TO WIN �Last week, the New York Sun interviewed many French political observers who noted that Mr. Kerry is the kind of American that the French have always appreciated--someone who speaks foreign languages and is urbane and sophisticated. �He is the closest thing that you will have to a French politician, with a certain diplomacy, a certain elegance,� says Guillaume Parmentier, the director of the French Center on the United States. �[Mr. Bush] is perceived as being non-presidential; even his demeanor makes Europeans uneasy.� Asked in what way Mr. Kerry was different, Mr. Parmentier laughed and said, �Well, he doesn't look Texan.� Such comments won't go down well with many Americans, and not merely those who crack jokes about the French being �cheese-eating surrender monkeys.� " - John Fund on the Trail, 3/22/04 WITH APPEASEMENT FRIENDS LIKE THESE... �Bush either lied about WMD in Iraq, or he was stupid. In either case it is unacceptable to vote for him again, starting a war on that basis.� - Mike Holmes of the Republican Liberty Caucus at a March 20th anti-war peacenik rally in Crawford, Texas MACRO-SHAFTING MICROSOFT �Last week, negotiations broke down between Microsoft and European Commission antitrust regulators -- led by competition czar Mario Monti -- to settle the European antitrust case. This week, it is all but certain that the commission will declare Microsoft in violation of competition laws, fine the company and impose enormous restrictions on how Microsoft does business. . . . Simply put, this ruling is bad for technology, bad for the competitive marketplace, bad for European-U.S. relations and bad for consumers. While there have been signs pointing to this impasse, the EU has now made it very clear that it will put the interests of Microsoft's competitors above the interests of consumers, competition and economic growth.� - C. Boyden Gray of Citizens for a Sound Economy OLD EUROPE�S OLD THINKING �Mario Monti, the (European Union) commission's antitrust chief, wants to force Microsoft to offer a version of Windows without Windows Media Player, and to disclose more technical information about Windows to other software makers. The real meat of the case, however -- and the reason no settlement emerged last week -- is Mr. Monti's insistence that a settlement govern �future conduct.� �...We made our minds up about this one a while ago: The idea of freezing an operating system in place is bad for consumers. . . . Let's talk plain: The last decade's technological boom could never have taken place in Europe, which seems to lack the necessary ingredients for the hard-driving entrepreneurial culture that drove that boom.� - Wall Street Journal, 3/22/04 TOUR de LANCE REACHES END OF THE LINE Why, it seems like only last weekend that I wrote: �Since no private business is allowed to compete with USPS for the delivery of mail, why do they need to spend millions of dollars on Lance Armstrong�s bike team?� And apparently from my word-processor to the post office�s ears, because UPI reported yesterday that USPS is canceling its sponsorship of Armstrong�s cycling team. OK, we�re pretty sure the post office didn�t just decide to dump Lance because of our op/ed on Sunday, but with the timing so coincidental...what the heck, we�ll do like a Democrat take the credit. Seriously though, it was high time for USPS to pull the plug on this ridiculous sponsorship. As our friend Rick Merritt of PostalWatch said, �They raised domestic monopoly rates three times while forcing captive ratepayers to pay more than $50 million to sponsor a European sporting event." Jettisoning Team Armstrong is a small but long overdue step in the right direction. ENDING USPS MISSION CREEP �The U.S. Postal Service recently announced that it will soon discontinue USPS eBillPay, an on-line bill payment service, and two related ventures. Like several other products the government-owned Postal Service has rolled out and then terminated in the last several years, these services have virtually no connection with the agency�s core mission, which is the hard-copy delivery of non-urgent letters and periodicals. The government agency�s non-core operations serve no worthwhile public policy purpose. They often yield poor financial results, which weaken the agency, burdens ratepayers within the postal monopoly, and threatens taxpayers. They also tend to be inefficient and are unfair to the private-sector businesses against which the government agency competes. The Postal Service should stick to its central mission." - Economist Michael Schuyler IT�S BROKE...FIX IT �Reform of the postal service is much needed.� Costs need to be cut, and the postal commission�s recommendations provide a good guide for doing this.� Its suggestion that a base-closure style commission for identifying which facilities should be closed is especially promising.� Increased flexibility for postal management would also be helpful, but should be paired with other reforms.� Postal management should not be granted increased flexibility until these safeguards are established.� In the longer term, the postal service�s privileges should be eliminated, and USPS treated just like any private firm." - Heritage Foundation briefing READERS WRITE News & Views reader �Jack in Phoenix� writes: �Chuck, what is your take on the difference in the price of identical drugs from the same manufacturer from one country to the next?� I�ll answer that question with another question: What�s your position on the guy sitting in seat 17-A on a flight from New York to Chicago paying hundreds of dollars more than the guy sitting in the identical seat 17-B next to him on the same flight? The bottom line is that drugs are often cheaper in Canada because Canada has a Hillary-type health care system including government mandated price controls. That also means health care in Canada is RATIONED. So we wouldn�t just be importing cheaper drugs, but Hillary-Care, as well. Thanks...but no thanks. �THE BODY� BODY-SLAMS MARRIAGE AMENDMENT �Massachusetts lawmakers who support amending the state constitution to bar same-sex marriage got a beating from Jesse 'The Body' Ventura Monday. The onetime wrestler and former Gov. of Minnesota accused state representatives of copping out in their desire to put the gay marriage issue to voters. �We have a representative-style government. Represent your people and vote and stand by what you believe in,� said Ventura, who as a professional wrestler was known for his flamboyant costumes. �Civil rights issues should not be put on the ballot.�� - Margo Williams, 3/22/04 READING IS FUNDAMENTAL * �The Threat From Lawyers Is No Joke� writes Walter Olson in an excellent column about the absurd lawsuits being brought by lawyers today and the cost of these frivolous lawsuits on society. Check it out at: http://www.hillsdale.edu/newimprimis/default.htm ___________________________________ THIS WEEK�S �MUTH�S TRUTHS� Microsoft, prescription drugs and postal reform are all featured on our Discussion Board this week. Check it out. Weigh in. Join us at: http://blog.chuckmuth.com/blog/ ____________________________________ SURVEY SAYS! This week�s online poll: Do you think it's OK for a state to raise taxes on tobacco products as long as it lowers the taxes on something else, making the net result revenue neutral? * Yes, tobacco products are bad for you * No, a tax hike is a tax hike * I'm a Kerry Democrat: Yes AND No Cast your vote by clicking the �Survey Says!� tab at www.citizenoutreach.com _________________________________________ Chuck Muth�s News & Views is published by Citizen Outreach, a non-partisan, 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. 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 Citizen Outreach, its officers, directors or employees. 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