Health Care Mandate Upheld

The Sixth Circuit upheld the individual mandate:

But the majority agreed with Neal K. Katyal, the acting United States solicitor general, who argued that individual choices to not purchase insurance, when taken in aggregate, have clear commercial effects because they shift the cost of caring for the uninsured to other payers.

The judges adopted Mr. Katyal’s argument that because the need for health care is unpredictable, it is impossible for individuals to opt out of the market. And they agreed that cost-shifting was inevitable so long as the federal government required hospitals to treat those who show up with life-threatening conditions.

An earnest libertarian would question the "must-treat" mandate, which started us on this slippery slope.  IIRC, I did question it somewhere, but Google fails me.

Comments

[Outrage.]

Unpredictability doesn't eliminate choice. Logic fail.

Hospitals must evaluate all who show up. This is common human courtesy and herd maintenance. This particular social phenomenon can be adjusted to eliminate cost shifting by much more subtle tools than the hammer of Obama, Care?
=========

[narciso]

Professor Kingsfield, would beat some one with an hard bound copy of Blackstone, for
such 'full of fluff'

[Chubby]

Doesn't typepad itself offer a search feature for typepad blogs? A few months ago I tried to find a specific JOM post using Google, and I finally gave up. For some reason the thread with the spare rib recipes can be found no problem, but another post I was interested in was impossible to unearth.

[Extraneus]

An earnest libertarian would question the "must-treat" mandate, which started us on this slippery slope.

You don't have to be an honest or any type of libertarian to question the logic here. When the government passes a law saying that we're obliged to provide a job, or a house*, or even a loaf of bread, to anyone who wants one, its curtains.

*Sorry, they already did that, and millions are now sitting on equity nightmares.

[Danube of Thought]

A little late getting started...

[MarkO]

Single payer. Paid by taxes. Not a fake bill that pretends to be something it’s not. If it can pass, so be it. This is a disaster and a fine example of deceit needed to pass such a measure.

[Walter]

This is a well-written decision. Especially if you disagree, the concurring opinion by the Bush appointee explains how a well-meaning jurist can rule for the constitutionality of the law while entertaining the thought that it is poor policy.

[Danube of Thought]

It is, indeed, very frustrating to think that the congress can itself pass a law--the must-treat requirement--that can then be bootstrapped to cloak a subsequent law with the imprimatur of the constitution. I don't think that as a jurist I would buy that for a nanosecond, but then there are good reasons (principally dealing with the pay scale) why I am not a jurist, and in any case it's been a long time since I was in the mainstream.

[Clarice]

Somin and Kerr have it out on this decision at Volokh.

[Danube of Thought]

Very interesting read at Volokh; very interesting discussion by Judge Sutton. He can't be unaware of, and thus must be unconcerned by, the fact that he is saying congress can make you do anything it wants you to do.

The best result in the SCt would be that they not only strike down this law, but that instead of distinguishing Wickard v. Filburn they expressly overrule it.

I can dream, can't I?

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vnjagvet]

Here's the email I just sent to TM:

In the past few days, the resident cut an paste troll has been particularly annoying, chewing up large blocks of space in the JOM comments with verbatim copies of entire off-topic articles. IMO, this creates potential liability for copyright infringement because such wholesale copying could well be considered to exceed fair use.

A number of the regulars have suggested that you might consider giving a few of them authority in Type Pad to delete abusive posts. Abusive would be defined as excessive or excessively long cut and paste comments having nothing to do with the post’s topic.

Some candidates for such authority might be DOT, Clarice, Jane, Janet, and Captain Hate.

From a review of the comments lately, it seems apparent that the offender is maliciously and materially detracting from the commenting experience at JOM, and seems to be enjoying the irritation he is causing.

Sincerely,

Jim Rhoads aka VNJAGVET

[Clarice]

Would it be untoward to suggest we share the same dream, DoT?

[Danube of Thought]

i've always been so presumptuous as to take it for granted that we do, C.

[Clarice]

Heh.

[Clarice]

Jay Cost on why the polls on Republican candidates are so unreliable right now. http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/morning-jay-polling-nonsense_575909.html?nopager=1

[Andy]

article that you fit quite interesting & add new value to me

[narciso]

That's why all the fuss over the Iowa straw poll, which has little impact over the primary, and in turn, the nomination is silly.

[Danube of Thought]

Well said, Jim Rhoads. I think it is a single, very troubled individual, but whether it is one or two or three this site is just too precious to allow a few deranged foosl to damage it so.

[Danube of Thought]

*fools*

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

This is awful:

According to the White House, the President doesn't work all that much. During the month of May, which included 21 working days, President Obama claims he worked about 92 hours (91.95 to be exact). That's according to the White House schedule, posted on the whitehouse.gov Website. That equates to an exhausting 4.4 hours per day. Excluding his grueling G8 summit travels during the week of May 23 (when he was forced to endure eight hour work days!), Mr. Obama worked an average of 3.25 hours per day when at the White House in May.

[MarkO]

Let's see, 3.25 hours of work equates to about 1.5 billable hours in a law office. That's under 30 per month. (One Cravath lawyer famously billed 27 hours in one day because he flew out to SFO from NYC and picked up 3 hours, he said.)

Maybe President is the only job for which he is qualified.

[bgates]

that they not only strike down this law, but that instead of distinguishing Wickard v. Filburn they expressly overrule it

and as the commerce clause fades back into the obscure role of regulating commerce among the several states, follow-on cases find that there is no Constitutional basis for federal involvement in retirement planning or health care, and in the absence of the need to spend on entitlements the 28th Amendment is passed to repeal the 16th, leaving a federal government that is basically the Pentagon (except funded entirely by import duties).

If you're going to dream, dream big.

[bgates]

Sara, imagine how much damage he could do if he weren't so lazy and stupid.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

This is for Daddy:

Each hybrid contains about 100 pounds of copper -- most of that is in the electrical cables and the electric motor. A conventional car only contains about 50 pounds of copper.

Other "green" technologies also contain lots of copper. A five-megawatt wind turbine is made of nearly five tons of copper and solar panels are up to 60 percent copper.

And

Turns out there's a major discovery of said copper (and gold) near Bristol Bay, Alaska, about 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, that if unearthed, would produce over 80 billion tons of copper. Even though it's still in the planning stages, the Pebble Mine appears to hold some of the largest natural reserves of copper and gold in the world. It is also the home of one of the largest salmon reserves in the world.

Environmental groups are fiercely opposing the proposed mine...

Link

[daddy]

Jim Rhoads,

Great letter to TM.

TM, please consider Jim's advice.

[Lord Moonbatten]

For a while, I've been thinking that King Putt(absolutely love that)can be described in four succinct words: "Carter with an attitude".

Today's presser just reinforced it for me.

[huxley]

Sara @ 12:24 AM: I clicked through to the WH schedule LUN and was flabbergasted.

Is the POTUS schedule usually so empty? Or is it understood that there are a large number of agenda items being handled in the empty spaces?

[narciso]

Yes they've been putting on a full court press, against the Pebble Mine,Sara, most recently in the National geographic, but going back almost three years, yes would you believe there was an ethics complaint
related to an ad, supporting the mine, dismissed of course, that EarthWorks outfit
re the fracking controversy is deeply involved in this,

[daddy]

Hi Sara,

Thanks for the link. The Pebble Mine battles have been ongoing for a number of years. I haven't mentioned them but its exactly the same scenario as the Drilling situation; Lawsuits, EPA, Enviro-catastrophists, protesting Movie Stars, Fed Regulations, more and more and more mandated studies etc. My guess is Pebble will never go through until and unless we have a complete realignment of the White House and the Congress.

Since Oil was mentioned on the preceding Post, here's today's latest from Shell's President in Alaska, (Marvin Odum) highlighting the hurdles they've been trying to get over lo these many years: Shell president optimistic on Arctic, anxious to explore.

---"Shell Oil Co. spent $2.1 billion on Chukchi leases in 2008 but has yet to drill an exploratory well"

---"Shell hopes to drill six exploratory wells in the Chukchi during the short summer open water drilling season...over the next two years...said exploratory drilling should have been allowed this year."

---"there's been 5,000 studies and half a billion dollars or more spent on studies on exactly these issues in the Alaskan Arctic," Odum said. "It's probably the most heavily studied and analyzed area that this country has."

---"Shell PLC has been stymied by an appeal of an Environmental Protection Agency clean air permit, a lawsuit that challenged the legitimacy of the lease sale, and a determination by federal regulators to move slowly in the Arctic after the blowout of BP's well in the Gulf of Mexico."

---"Shell hopes the disputes will be resolved so it can drill next summer. The air permit appeal MAY be nearing completion and the company is awaiting a judge's ruling on whether sufficient environmental work has been done, but Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said he will proceed with caution on any decision to lift the government's Arctic drilling suspension."

Why the story is headlined "Shell President Optimistic" beats me. I'm pessimistic as hell.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Daddy: I think the point being made about the copper mine is how much copper green technology uses, while at the same time those who want everyone to go green are the same envirowhackos who are protesting the opening of the copper mine. Hypocrisy!

[(Another) Barbara]

A number of the regulars have suggested that you might consider giving a few of them authority in Type Pad to delete abusive posts.

But then it wouldn't be TM's website, would it?

Who is qualified to decide what is an abusive post? No disrespect to those named, but it is my opinion that the authority belongs to one person, the one who began and maintains Just One Minute.

I continue to believe that trolls would be silenced or at least discouraged, were they not given the attention they seek through arguments, insults, demands to leave, and so on. Each one of those responses provides what they need and there are always one or two or more willing to cooperate.

None of my business, I know. I don't have much to say and am mainly a reader. But what is going on may be more obvious to a lurker than to a frequent participant.

[Ralph L]

Several years ago, someone had an article about the environmental costs of mining the nickel for the Prius' batteries. Newer batteries use lithium, which mostly comes from that environmental giant, China.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

This is for THREADKILLER:

Natural Born Citizen for Dummies (Video)

[Chubby]

some interesting insights on Perry from a Texas tea partier LUN

[Chubby]

Sara

the only problem with that interpretion is that the offspring of military families who are posted overseas would never be considered natural born, and that seems unfair

if I could have it my way, it would be the offspring of 2 citizen parents, period

[Jane]

If Bambi works 4.4 hours a day he is including commuting time.

[Pops]

"""And they agreed that cost-shifting was inevitable so long as the federal government required hospitals to treat those who show up with life-threatening conditions."""

So why don't the feds just pass a law MANDATING people pay for their healthcare, to include the government required treatment. This would be a mandate to pay an ACTUAL cost, not a future potential cost.

If you can mandate buying insurance, then you can mandate paying your bills.

Or just mandate that hospitals and doctors treat patients without conpensation, or better yet, mandate that JUDGES pay the healthcare bills.

[Jane (sit on the couch or save your country)]

I think they should mandate that democrats pay the healthcare bills.

[boris]

"problem with that interpretion is ... that seems unfair"

That's not a rational problem with the interpretation. If the effect was absurd then there might be a point ... such as anchor baby eligibility.

One of the problems with political discourse is the extent "fairness" trumps absurdity. Sense of fairness is an innate trait that varies from person to person and is unreliable as hell.

[Cecil Turner]

Seems to me the critical contention is here:

Furthermore, Congress had a rational basis for concluding that the minimum coverage provision is essential to the Affordable Care Act’s larger reforms to the national markets in health care delivery and health insurance.

Restated: we need to exceed our authority in order to make the law work. (Which many have construed under the "necessary and proper" clause as well.) I think that's flawed because a law can't modify the Constitution, and certainly not in something so fundamental as an enumerated power. The court pleads that health care is a special case because of another law (i.e., the obligation to treat), which seems to suffer the same logical flaw.

I also wonder if the provision in question amounts to an unlawful taking from one class of citizen (young and healthy) to subsidize another (old and unhealthy). The case notes the cost of the uninsured, but neglects to mention that the "fix" is to make them buy a much more expensive policy than they would otherwise require (in order to shift costs from the more expensive coverage, like those with preexisting conditions). But the bottom line is this:

Judge Graham countered in his dissent that if the mandate was allowed, “it is difficult to see what the limits on Congress’s Commerce Clause authority would be.”

Actually, it's fairly easy to see that there are virtually no limits. And that is a fundamental shift of the social contract.

[boris]

Isn't the cost shifting argument a "fairness" argument? Make that seem so unfair it requires a government remedy far more costly than the original "unfairness".

The cost burden on paying clients for hospitals to provide emergency room treatment to anybody in need is small compared to some pay more get less solution that is "more fair". People who have to take advantage of the feature are aware they receive at others expense. Most people who can thereafter provide for themselves will. The few remaining without recourse (or sociopathic) are going to be a burden on the productive anyway no matter what system is used.

[jimmyk]

Restated: we need to exceed our authority in order to make the law work. (Which many have construed under the "necessary and proper" clause as well.) I think that's flawed because a law can't modify the Constitution, and certainly not in something so fundamental as an enumerated power.

Exactly. Think of the slippery slope this creates: Any time the government wants to exceed its constitutional authority, it passes a regulation which, in order to make it work, requires unconstitutional power.

It should be the reverse: Any regulation that can only be effective if the government can exceed its constitutional powers should itself be considered unconstitutional.

[Chubby]

Boris

everything you said can be applied to the word "just" as well.

a career that specifically protects the Constitution sends people to foreign shores thus debarring their children from being able to be president? that is not only unfair, it is unjust AND absurd. And dangerous because I think it would undermine military morale and loyalty.

[Janet]

some interesting insights on Perry from a Texas tea partier

Chubby, that is how my sister-in-law (my political & faith soul mate) described Perry...he is "okay". The TX legislature is who's conservative. Also, the legislature doesn't meet that much so there is limited mischief that government can do.

Seems like half the problem is getting government (local, state, & fed.)to go home & leave us alone.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Chubby: Unless you consider U.S. military bases and embassies as American soil.

[Chubby]

Sara, if they are considered that in law, then I see no problem. It would appear they are since McCain was allowed to run.

[Janet]

Maybe Obama's 4.4 hr work day is a good thing...now to get Congress on board.

[Threadkiller]

Or, with careful planing (9 month window?), the wife hops on a magic silver bird, and has the kid here. If the wife is the one serving, I doubt she will be needed on the front line. Don't get knocked up, Don't tell? Please. The military will get her stateside.

[Clarice]

Mark Halperin (Time Editor) called O a "Dick" the other day on tv. He quickly apologized, but can you doubt the tide is turning?

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Via JammyWearingFool:

Well, if the name fits...Mark Halperin, editor-at-large for Time, called President Obama “a dick” on Thursday on a popular MSNBC morning show and then quickly apologized.“I thought he was a dick yesterday,” Halperin, who also is a senior political analyst for MSNBC, said on Morning Joe, referring to the President’s conduct during his press conference.

[daddy]

It's a shame that the Framers didn't just make it simpler and obviously say:

"Here is your Constitution. We added in all these qualifications and amendment clauses that appear to be designed to limit the authority of the Federal Government, but that was all just verbiage. We actually intended for the Fed's (Congress and the President) to have the unobstructed authority to do whatever the hell they want to do, and all you citizens from here on out are completely subservient to whatever the Federal Government says. Have a nice day:)"

[boris]

can be applied to the word "just"

Perhaps a reason the judicial system makes a sincere effort be logically sound. You may have missed the symbolism of the scales and the blindfold.

[Threadkiller]

DoT's one condition, McCain never met. The electors and congress never swore him in. Just running for Pres. it is not necessary to test for "natural born". You wait for the candidate to be sworn in and, barring any complaints, taa-daa, natural born!

[centralcal]

I saw that video clip, Clarice. Since O is a dick on nearly every day, I am curious about what specific "dick-i-ness" O did that led to this bit of honesty from Halperin.

[narciso]

Well the brain slug, having been sated, gave him a moment of clarity, one minor
little tidbit, Obama got the age of his oldest child wrong, she's not 13 yet.

I don't know about Judge Meskill, but how
does someone who clerked for both Powell
and Scalia, get things so wrong, as Judge
Sutton, did.

[pagar]

Janet, You said something about Republicans before and I can't find it now, but IMO many are voting Republican because they don't want to vote Democrat.

The character and individual thoughts of a person who is running as a Democrat,make no difference because once they are elected their votes promote the national plans of The only way (at the present time) is to vote Republican.

IMO, talking about independents is a waste of time. The minute the Republican candidate is named I believe 99% of the voters know who they want in office for the next four years.

[Chubby]

((Mark Halperin (Time Editor) called O a "Dick" the other day on tv))

Clarice, after you posted that about Halperin I just had to look it up. It happened on Morning Joe. After Halperin said, --I thought the president was kind of a dick yesterday -- not an exact quote -- the panel went berserk. including a panicked "Was that on delay?" Goes without saying that if it had been about President Bush the comment would have elicited nothing but strong affirmation and much juvenile giggling.

[BR]

JimR, thank you.

Sara's: "...White House schedule, posted on the whitehouse.gov Website. That equates to an exhausting 4.4 hours per day."

Maybe if we correlate the troll's posting times with Obama's schedule, we'll find they're one and the same.

[daddy]

George Washington--- "Hey Ben, Did you see what those schmucks down there are doing? They actually believe that when we said "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people," that we actually meant it.

Ben Franklin---"No shit? What a pack of morons, George. Has Tom Jefferson and John Adam's and Hamilton and Madison and the other boys seen that yet?"

G. Washington---"Not yet, but man when I point it out, boy will they get a kick out of seeing those stupid people believing that we actually meant what we said in the 10th Amendment."

Ben Franklin--- "Lordy. Next thing you know those dumb-asses will be saying they still believe they have a right to keep and bear arms."

G. Washington---"Ha ha ha, Oh stop, Ben please stop. Man you are killing me with your humor today. Hell, next thing you'll know , somebody will be saying we actually tried to combat the Institution of Slavery."

[narciso]

So, the Pakistani defense minister, (re the FT) says he has barred US forces from using the Shamsi AB, after 'Neptune's Spear', oTOH, this was the same base, revealed by one of Feinstein's staffers, in 2009, so this may be a hollow gesture.

[Old Lurker]

Thank you for sending that Jim.

[Clarice]

Ditto, Jim.

[Cajunkate]

"some interesting insights on Perry from a Texas tea partier"

While I agree with most of the analysis, one thing that was completely missing was mention of Perry's performance on the economy. It has been boffo!

As a Texan I say Run Rick Run!

[Danube of Thought]

But then it wouldn't be TM's website, would it?

Sure it would. He still writes the topics for each thread. It would just be a matter of his delegating the authority to one or more regulars.

[centralcal]

About Clarice's earlier post on the Halperin "dick" comment, comes this rather nauseating apology fest from the whole MessNBC group. But, hang in there, the last apology is probably the best and most accurate of all! LMAO

Morning Apologalooza

[narciso]

FRom the Hill, General Honore's statements seem apt:

ATF's ‘Fast and Furious’ gun-tracking program prompts gun laws debate
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) released a report Thursday pushing lawmakers to strengthen the country’s gun laws and regulations to better equip law enforcement agents in their fight against illegal weapons trafficking.

The 26-page report, titled, “Outgunned: Law Enforcement Agents Warn Congress They Lack Adequate Tools to Counter Illegal Firearms Trafficking,” was released ahead of Cummings’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Thursday.

[Cecil Turner]

The 26-page report, titled, “Outgunned: Law Enforcement Agents Warn Congress They Lack Adequate Tools to Counter Illegal Firearms Trafficking,” was released ahead of Cummings’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Thursday.

Hey, I know. Pass a law saying all LEOs have to have better guns than the citizenry, and use that as justification to ban all guns amongst the citizenry.

[centralcal]

Plus, DoT, TM has already indicated in prior comment threads that he doesn't really have the time or desire to spend the time in policing our two serial cut and pasters. I think a delegate for this purpose would help him out alot. It would certainly clean up the crap that is overwhelming the comment threads.

[Ignatz]

--I continue to believe that trolls would be silenced or at least discouraged, were they not given the attention they seek through arguments, insults, demands to leave, and so on. Each one of those responses provides what they need and there are always one or two or more willing to cooperate.--

As a recovering kick-a-trollaholic who has fallen off the wagon many times I consider it unlikely they will ever be ignored.
Secondly, even with perfect sobriety on the part of troll kickers, they might post less but they will still post their drivel and how much we really don't know.
And not responding at all to whatever volume of drivel is posted means allowing the most vile lies to remain there, unrebutted by the truth. I wouldn't just ignore some taggers vandalizing my house with vile graffiti, which is the blog equivalent of what anduril and cleo do, so I have a problem, both practically and philosophically with the idea that simply SOB the SOBs is a solution.
This is TM's place and if he doesn't value it enough to make sure its sewage system works, or to even install one, then it's going to stink and lose value in the eyes of those whom he presumably wishes to reach.

[daddy]

Bummer. A new theory for unexpectedly rapid melting of Arctic sea ice:

"Scientists who walked more than 300 miles across the Arctic ice cap from near the North Pole have...discovered unexpected anomalies in water temperature beneath the ice."

And all this time I thought "the Science was settled."

[Ignatz]

--But, hang in there, the last apology is probably the best and most accurate of all! LMAO--

I didn't have the stomach to read it but let me guess; "Sure Barry's a dick, but we suck."

[Danube of Thought]

It would appear they are since McCain was allowed to run.

See Title 8 U.S. Code Section 1401:

§ 1401. Nationals and citizens of United States at birth

The following shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth:

* * * *

(c) a person born outside of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents both of whom are citizens of the United States and one of whom has had a residence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions, prior to the birth of such person;

* * * *

(g) a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years: Provided, That any periods of honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or periods of employment with the United States Government or with an international organization as that term is defined in section 288 of title 22 by such citizen parent, or any periods during which such citizen parent is physically present abroad as the dependent unmarried son or daughter and a member of the household of a person

(A) honorably serving with the Armed Forces of the United States,...

...may be included in order to satisfy the physical-presence requirement of this paragraph.

[Danube of Thought]

Minus 18 at Raz today.

[narciso]

Well that's more reassuring, he was born to two US citizens, in the Canal Zone, how was
this even a question,

[anduril]

I would endorse Jim Rhoads' monitoring criteria, if not his solution. The problem as I see it is the copying and pasting of entire and lengthy articles, and with no value added in the form of comments. What is needed in a moderator is someone of known integrity who could be trusted to be impartial. While it would be rather a burden on my time, in the spirit of service I suggest that I'm the guy for the job.

[narciso]

Bob Owens, at PJM, gives a clue as to how the Dems want to spin the ATF hearings.

[Sue]

If we are taking a vote, I vote to leave JOM alone. Surely we can SOB posts that don't interest us. I don't want someone other than Tom deciding what should be deleted. TK would have been deleted and I don't think he is being abusive just persistent and consistent. Ignore, ignore, ignore. It is your friend when trolls show up.

[Old Lurker]

DoT be sure to check the lead editorial at WSJ today regarding our discussion of taxes as percent of GDP. Sorry I cannot LUN it since it is behind their wall.

[pagar]

The posts about Obama's working hours ignore the fact that he has underlings that are adding Israel to the list of nations that are "promoting, protecting,or producing terrorists. (From Gateway Pundit).
One should be aware that North Korea is not one that list.

Meanwhile, the UN which the Obama Admin apparently believes should be the decider of all of America's interest, has decided that North Korea is the nation best suited to head the Conference on Disarmament.

LUN

[Chubby]

Dot, I really, really, really don't want this topic to monopolize the thead, however ... they're being deemed citizens still doesn't solve the problem of whether or not the children of military are "natural born" citizens.
Unless the following makes sense...

§ 1401. Nationals and [natural born] citizens of United States at birth
The following shall be nationals and [natural born] citizens of the United States at birth:

* * * *

(c) a person born outside of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents both of whom are citizens of the United States and one of whom has had a residence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions, prior to the [natural born] birth of such person;

* * * *

(g) a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the [natural born] birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years: Provided, That any periods of honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or periods of employment with the United States Government or with an international organization as that term is defined in section 288 of title 22 by such citizen parent, or any periods during which such citizen parent is physically present abroad as the dependent unmarried son or daughter and a member of the household of a person

(A) honorably serving with the Armed Forces of the United States,...

...may be included in order to satisfy the physical-presence requirement of this paragraph

[Melinda Romanoff]

OL-

Usually the opinion pieces are not behind the paywall, and here's the Revenue OpEd.

[Danube of Thought]

TK would have been deleted and I don't think he is being abusive just persistent and consistent.

I don't think so. I the problem is a single individual (I don't count Anduril because the narcisolator blocks him out) who contributes nothing and has no intention of contributing.

My vote is for granting authority to delete him.

[Old Lurker]

Thanks Mel...did not know that.

[Extraneus]

I'd vote for registration. On registered sites, like HotAir, you can choose to always stay logged on, so you don't have to re-login every time you visit.

The blog owner can ban a registered poster if he wants to, and even collect posters' email ID before authorizing them, in order to prevent one person from requesting multiple registered IDs, for example.

As far as I know, TM would have only banned two posters.

[Hoppy]

Legal Insurrection

Senior Hezbollah Officials Indicted In Killing of Rafik Hariri

Posted by William A. Jacobson Thursday, June 30,

Lebanon has been pushed closer to the brink, as four senior members of Hezbollah have been indicted by a U.N. prosecutor:

Four Hezbollah members have been indicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Lebanese media outlets reported on Thursday.

A delegation from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon filed an indictment in the assassination of Hariri to Lebanon’s Attorney General Said Mirza.

Members of the UN backed tribunal met Mirza on Thursday and handed him the 163-page report, which includes four arrest warrants against Hezbollah memebers.

The Lebanese LBC channel reported that one of the main suspects named in the indictment is Hezbollah senior member Mustafa Badr Aldin, who is also the brother in-law of the organization’s former “chief of staff” Imad Mughniyah.

The state prosecutor of Lebanon now is supposed to arrest the suspects. If there is any attempt to do so, expect bloodshed. But it is not clear if there even will be an attempt, with Hezbollah and its allies controlling the government.

The Prime Minister of Lebanon, an ally of Hezbollah, already has signalled a “wait and see” attitude:

The Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance, which holds a majority in [Najib] Mikati’s Cabinet, has repeatedly questioned the tribunal’s credibility and described it as an “American-Israeli project” aimed at targeting the resistance.

During the news conference, Mikati stressed that Lebanon’s interests should supersede all others.

“Today’s reality requires us to study this issue in a wise manner by placing the country’s interests, civil peace … above all other issues,” Mikati told reporters hours after the STL delegation’s visit to Mirza. Mikati added that the indictment needed to be based on irrefutable evidence.

“Whoever bet on the indictment dividing the country has been proven wrong,” Mikati said.

Regardless of what else happens, this will have the effect of putting pressure on Hezbollah, which already has lost support among the population of Syria because of Hezbollah’s support of the Assad crackdown on protesters.

[Chubby]

It might be a good idea to establish as a rule for deleting: full articles not permitted, only a few lines and a link.

[Ignatz]

--Thanks Mel...did not know that.--

Me neither. I had stopped going there because so many of the opinion pieces were locked up, including most of their regular columnists.
In looking today it seems they have loosened things up considerably in the last few months.

[anduril]

Interesting--if unsurprising--information about Who is raping whom in Norway?

Would that all life's problems could be solved as easily as this one could.

[Danube of Thought]

Chubby, if you believe that "citizen at birth" is synonymous with "natural born citizen" (as I do, and as Judge Alsup did in dismissing a suit challenging McCain's eligibility), you wouldn't have to insert your words into the statute.

[Danube of Thought]

I'd also vote for registration if it can be done on Typepad.

[Danube of Thought]

Seems Huma is taking some time off, away from that pig she's married to.

[Clarice]

No one wants a thread nanny..and rules about posting would lead to that. Nor would the email ban work as I suspect the most recent spammaramer changes his regularly. There was not a close call about his conduct.

[Al Asad]

"--I continue to believe that trolls would be silenced or at least discouraged, were they not given the attention they seek through arguments, insults, demands to leave, and so on. Each one of those responses provides what they need and there are always one or two or more willing to cooperate.--"

You people must think your magnetic personalities are drawing unwanted attention.

My activities here have been explained and re-explained, so I will not repeat again. My interest is not your responses, but your dilly-dallying and self-titillating commentary screams for some context.

I prefer not to be distracted by answering your pap-filled questions. So; please don't respond to my comments. Really, don't talk to me. Most of you are not that interesting, anyway.

[Ignatz]

Let's see how many links I can put in one comment:
All at RealClearMarkets:
Louis Woodhill and John Tamny on how the Greek bailout is really once again a bank bailout and how such bailouts have prevented the market from properly disposing of banks, most of which we no longer need.
Diana Furchtgott-Roth on the NYT's phony war on shale gas.
Howard Rich on the utter bankruptcy of Keynesianism.
And finally Peter Wallison dismantles the perpetually slimy Phil Angeleides' tissue of lies previously C&Ped by one of our resident creeps.

[narciso]

Well she's been doing such a 'bang up' job, on Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, et al, she deserves a break,

So the UK and France, is freely admitting something that was already patently obvious,
they are in the arming the Libyan rebels, watch how this becomes the overseas version
of 'Fast and Furious' with AQ getting the bulk of the weapons.

[poster boy]

Politics
Bachmann Backers Edit John Quincy Adams’ Wikipedia Page, Emulate Palin Camp
By Andrew Belonsky Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Gaffe-prone presidential candidate Michele Bachmann‘s supporters are changing history to support her claim that John Quincy Adams was one of our nation’s Founding Fathers.

Defending her erroneous comments that the Founding Fathers tried to end slavery, Bachmann told ‘Good Morning America’ host George Stephanopoulos today, “If you look at one of our Founding Fathers, John Quincy Adams, that’s absolutely true…. He tirelessly worked throughout his life to make sure that we did in fact one day eradicate slavery.”

Stephanopoulos rightly points out that Adams, a nine-year old when the Revolutionary War began, does not qualify as a Founding Father, to which Bachmann replied, “John Quincy Adams most certainly was a part of the Revolutionary War era. He was a young boy but he was actively involved.” So, Bachmann’s basically saying that since Adams was alive and his family was part of revolution, he was, too. That’s like saying that because my father fled Apartheid, I was a South African liberation fighter.

As the media attention about Bachmann’s Adams claim grows, her supporters are editing Wikipedia to make sure the Adams entry reflects the candidate’s anachronistic perspective.

Tanya Somanader reports: “One edit, for example, changes his description from ‘John Adams was the sixth President of the United States’ to ‘John Adams, a founding father, was the sixth President of the United States.’”

She also points out another, more amusing annotation, “But even as an embryo, John Quincy Adams could feel pain and was a Founding Father.”

The John Quincy Adams alterations have already spawned an irritated note from the page’s administrator, “Please don’t edit an historical article based on current events.”

This case is identical to when Sarah Palin’s fans rewrote Paul Revere’s entry to match her convoluted and equally untrue claim that the revolutionary “warned the British” of the colonial unrest, and further illuminates how revisionist history, especially in the digital age, can be used for political gain. It also reveals the lengths some people, in this case Bachmann’s backers, will go to save their candidate’s hide.

Just imagine what would happen if we had time machines.

[Danube of Thought]

Dick Durbin seems to have some ideas all his own about presidential eligibility:

After using illegal immigrants as props to push the DREAM Act, Sen. Durbin (D-IL) made the following statement at a Senate committee hearing:

"When I look around this room, I see America's future. Our doctors, our teachers, our nurses, our engineers, our scientists, our soldiers, our Congressman, our Senators and maybe our President."

[Rob Crawford]

I continue to believe that trolls would be silenced or at least discouraged, were they not given the attention they seek through arguments, insults, demands to leave, and so on.

Never works. Someone always cracks, and the trolls just get more and more extreme in order to provoke a reaction. You either ban them or the place dies.

(Between the birfers and trolls, this and the previous thread are close to 50% 'kill' for me. I give you birfers another chance every once in a while, because I know most of you are capable of talking about other things. But you keep going back to the f@#$@# waste of time like you're leftists whining about Bush.)

[MarkO]

That Durbin is a Dick. Oh, was the mic on?

Obama can't remember how old his kids are. Great. I can hear him now reporting his golf score, "Put me down for a 5."

Will his failure to recall the ages of his children be part of that intellectual stammer scam? Brilliant people just can't remember their own children's ages or names. We don't need LSAT scores or grades. Obama merely proved one thing: he's just not that smart.

[Chubby]

((No one wants a thread nanny..and rules about posting would lead to that.)))

Delphi forums religously enforces the few lines and a link rule ostensibly to protect their butts from being sued for copyright violation. I looked up Typepad's policy on copyright violation and learned that they only take it up if the original publisher files a complaint.