Rand Paul win tops Kentucky's 2010 news

Paul victory tops Kentucky's 2010 news | KyPost.com:
"A small town eye doctor's rise from relative obscurity to become one of the most recognized political faces in the country has been selected by The Associated Press as Kentucky's top news story of 2010.

"Republican Rand Paul was swept into the U.S. Senate by a conservative political tsunami, trouncing Republican and Democratic contenders in the primary and general elections. Voters, exhibiting disdain for business as usual in Washington, backed the tea party favorite in what devolved into one of the most contentious, bitter political campaigns in the country.

"Jerry Boggs, editor of the Appalachian News-Express in Pikeville, said Paul's 'roller coaster ride' to the Senate was the 'logical choice' for the state's top story."

Help for the Jaworski family

Finally some good news for the Jaworskis of Clarendon, Ontario, threatened with a crippling penalty for letting their son Peter host Canada's annual Liberty Summer Seminar on their rural property. They face a $50,000 fine if convicted. Read the details here:  http://willowpond.ca/?page_id=126

On Dec. 16, the Canadian Constitutional Foundation (CCF) announced that it will be providing pro bono legal counsel to the family. The CCF also served notice on the Canadian and Ontario attorneys-general that it intends to argue that the municipal bylaw under which the Jaworskis were charged, and its enabling provincial legislation, both violate the freedom of peaceful assembly guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Says CCF Executive Director Chris Schafer: “The Jaworskis escaped Poland in 1984 fearing persecution by the government for distributing pro-freedom literature. It’s ironic that they are now facing charges in Canada for allowing their son to host an event in support of freedom on their property."

Read the full release here:  http://www.wireservice.ca/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=4106

You can donate to the Jaworski family's legal defence fund via CCF here:    https://secure.lexi.net/ccf/gift_of_freedom.php

Senator Tea Party

The American Conservative » Senator Tea Party - by Jack Hunter - Dec. 13, 2010:

"Rand points out that Democrats always want to cut the military but never the welfare queen, and Republicans are always for reducing the welfare queen but never the military — yet to overcome the debt we would have to look at paring down everything. This was never a shocking message to Tea Party ears, however unsettling it might have been for the big-government hawks who had long controlled the Republican Party’s foreign policy.

"This is a large part of what makes Rand unique not only among Republicans but even among Tea Party paladins. Many outsider candidates give voice to voter discontent with the status quo, but Rand does so while offering a deeper philosophy that ventures beyond mere populism: a substantive conservative politics. The continuing mixture of Rand’s ideas and the Tea Party could produce a more comprehensively conservative grassroots movement, just as the Tea Party has already produced a more politically successful Paul. Achieving this cross-pollination will require addressing the contradictions within the Tea Party — particularly its willingness to tolerate big government under the Department of Defense banner."

Bill of Rights Day | Naples Daily News

Guest commentary: Honoring Bill of Rights Day — and Responsibility » Naples Daily News, Dec. 13, 2010, by Mark W. Hendrickson, :

"Wednesday, Dec. 15, is Bill of Rights Day, and we are in the midst of Bill of Rights Week....

      "To the founders, government’s sole legitimate purpose is to protect our rights. The Declaration of Independence specifies two essential points we need to understand about our rights: 1) They are God-given; 2) they are inalienable.

      "Divine authority is a stumbling block for some Americans, but it is the second point that is the immediate issue. That our basic rights are inalienable means, simply and unequivocally: No person or group of persons, including government, is justified (or authorized: see the Fifth Amendment) in trespassing upon anyone’s rights—that is, in taking life, liberty or property from another — except via due process of law as a penalty for having harmed or violated someone else’s life, liberty, or property. One person’s rights end where another person’s rights begin. Nobody’s rights trump anyone else’s.
      "The clear understanding of our fundamental rights has eroded over the decades. The property right has suffered the greatest damage. Under the influence of progressive/socialist ideas, the traditional American negative right to NOT have somebody take one’s property has been corrupted and inverted into a positive premise. Now, people often claim a 'right' to have certain things."...

Struggle for the Soul of the Tea Party

"The Soul of the Tea Party" - Newsweek - by Colin Woodard, Dec. 1, 2010:

"And so, the fight is on for the soul of the Tea Party. On one side: libertarian-minded grassroots activists. On the other: the leaders of the wealthy, powerful, and better-established Christian right, who’ve dominated conservative populism in the United States for decades. Roughly half the people who say they support the Tea Party also say they are part of the religious right. Christian conservative leaders have long espoused limiting government intrusion in the economy — Jerry Falwell regularly condemned social programs and praised Milton Friedman — making the Tea Party attractive to their followers. But many of them also want government to enforce moral standards — banning abortion and gay marriage, for instance — a notion that’s anathema to libertarians who want government off their backs."

Health-care plan ruled unconstitutional

Obama health-care plan unconstitutional, judge rules - National Post, Dec. 13, 2010:

"In a 42-page decision, Judge Henry Hudson of Virginia’s eastern district found the federal government does not have the authority to impose an “individual mandate” forcing Americans to purchase health-care insurance....

"Under the law, most Americans would be required to purchase health-care insurance by 2014 or face a $695 annual fine. The bill also provides subsidies, on a sliding scale, to families earning up to $88,000 a year to make purchasing insurance more affordable.

"The individual mandate is considered vital to the legislation’s goal of providing coverage to 32 million Americans who currently do not have health insurance. It creates a much larger pool of customers for private health insurance companies that, starting in 2014, will be legally banned from refusing coverage to Americans with pre-existing medical conditions.

"Without healthier, low-risk customers purchasing health care, insurance companies had argued they would not be able to afford payouts to others in greater need of coverage."

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/Obama+health+care+plan+unconstitutional+judge+rules/3970952/story.html#ixzz182ihz01v

New pic for Amash article

I've found another picture, this one on Flickr, for my November article on Justin Amash: his supporters marching in the Hollyhock Parade, July 3, 2010, with what looks like Rep. Amash on the extreme right.  As it's licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY, I should add that it was taken by Steven Depolo.