Yeah, Things are Bad... But It Could Be Worse

Mike Shedlock | Nov 30, 2013

The employment and pay situation in Spain is so bad that 33% struggle to pay their bills. More importantly, 25% would consider leaving the country for better opportunities.

Via translation from La Vanguardia, please consider One in three Spaniards have no money after paying their bills.

One in three Spanish claims to have no money left after paying the bills, according to a report on consumer payments. The study further reveals that 25% would be think of emigrating because of their economic situation. The same percentage say do not have enough money for a decent life.

Those are the most conclusive findings in the study Consumer Payments 2013, made by the Credit Management firm Intrum Justitia which surveyed 10,000 consumers from 21 European countries with the aim of understanding their payment behavior.

In regard to Spain, the percentage of citizens who say they have no money after paying the bills is higher than the European average, which stands at 26 percent, although some countries like

Greece: The history behind the collapse

Georges Prévélakis

Historically positioning themselves between an unruly, oriental population and the western powers, since 1981 Greek elites have siphoned off EU funds into a bloated public sector favouring corruption, patronage and social climbing. The threat posed to Europe by the breakdown is less contagion to the centre than a wave of anti-western feeling that could exacerbate geopolitical instabilities in the region.

It all started two years ago, in the autumn of 2009. Having won a convincing victory at the head of the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in the parliamentary elections, the new Greek prime minister, George Papandreou suddenly opened a real Pandora's box. Forced to admit to his electors that he would not be in a position to keep his manifesto promises, he accused his New Democracy opponents and predecessors of having concealed the extent of the deficits and debt. To explain the contradiction between his resounding declaration prior to the election ("There's plenty of money!") and the inevitable austerity policy that would follow, he deliberately exaggerated the position and compared Greece to the Titanic.

His announcement had serious consequences. The markets took fright; the government found that it was unable to finance its deficit or to honour debt repayment dates. Threatened with bankruptcy, the effects of which would destabilize the entire European economy, the European Commission, the ECB and the IMF set up a troika that came to Greece's aid by standing in for it in the markets. In exchange, the Greek government was asked to stabilize the situation by reducing the deficit and undertaking structural reforms. This was in spring 2010.^[1]

More than a year later, in summer 2011, there was no mistaking the fact that these measures had failed. Reforms had been carried forward only minimally; the public sector was still acting in a spendthrift fashion, despite cuts in salaries and pensions, whilst the public spending deficit had been only slightly reduced and the ratio of debt to GDP was rising. The Greek government, bogged down in its own contradictions, had taken steps that were too late, utterly inadequate and, very often, counter-productive. The administration, already ineffectual and dysfunctional, was now immobilized by incoherent political reactions. The economy slid into a deep recession that could only partly be accounted for by the absence of state stimulus measures and a shrinkage in the purchasing power of civil servants and pensioners. A series of contradictory statements from the government posed threats to various sections of the population (doctors, lawyers, civil servants, and so

Before the Greek Debt Crisis, Karl Heinz Roth

Apr 10th, 2013 | By Zero Books Editor | Category: Extract

From Greece: what is to be done? – A Pamphlet

In the spring of 2012, the euro crisis intensified dramatically. The epicenter of the crisis is Greece, a country that has been experiencing a severe recession since the beginning of the world economic crisis. What outcome this recession will yield is a decisive question not just for Greece, but for all of Europe and indeed for the entire world economy. We need therefore to consider the story behind this crisis, and the restructuring programs imposed, since May of 2010, by the so-called “troika” (the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund). We also need to consider possible alternatives to these restructuring programs.
In 1981, Greece became a member of the European Community. A spirit of optimism prevailed in the country. The Socialist Party (PASOK), an offshoot of the Pan-Hellenic Resistance Movement against the 1967–1974 military dictatorship, had won the parliamentary elections for the first time. Due to its welfare-oriented platform, PASOK enjoyed widespread popular support.
As the conservative Karamanlis government stepped down, there began an era of social, cultural, scholarly and economic progress. This trend was in no way affected by the monetary restrictions associated with the European Monetary System that had been introduced within the European Community in 1979.[1]
Greece was not to join this system until 1993. Like the currencies of the other new southern European member states (Portugal and Spain), the drachma was kept outside the currency agreement. While the intra-European disparities in economic development entailed certain distortions of competition, the Greek government was able to compensate for their effects by periodically devaluing the Greek currency. Thus

The Origins of the Greek Financial Crisis

Letter from Thessaloniki

By Antonis Kamaras

December 13, 2011

Before the modern Greek state assumed its present day contours in the aftermath of the first world war, communities in the trading cities of Alexandria, Odessa, Salonika, Smyrna, and Trieste, already had a long history of running their own school systems, hospitals, and orphanages. This was partly a legacy of Ottoman rule. With the exception of political stability, the Ottomans were not in the habit of providing public goods so, when it came to public health and economic development, citizens had to fend for themselves. That system worked. Through local and communal organization, by the mid to late nineteenth century, the Greeks were one of the most prosperous and dynamic groups in Southeast Europe.
Once the Greek state was fully formed, however, a central administrative structure took over communal institutions. Powerful new national party machines displaced the local elites who'd successfully served as administrators. In Greece's second largest city, Salonika, this process took a bit more than a decade. Between 1912, when the city was integrated into the Greek Kingdom, and 1925, Salonika's schools, hospitals, and other institutions were nationalized and its local trustees were replaced by centrally appointed bureaucrats. Likewise, the responsibility for funding these institutions passed to the central government. To grasp how dramatic the change was, imagine that Washington nationalized all colleges and universities in the state of Massachusetts, Harvard included, and then ran them through political appointees.
So, as the Greek state expanded territorially it also expanded its responsibilities, undercutting old traditions of localism and community action. Herein lies the root of the country's current crisis. Long-established, autonomous local elites were displaced in the 1920s, their place taken by a new group of people adept at

29 ΦΕΒΡΟΥΑΡΙΟΥ : ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗ ΤΗΣ ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΙΑΣ ΑΝΑΘΕΜΑΤΙΣΜΟΙ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟΥ ΕΘΝΟΥΣ ΨΑΛΛΟΝΤΑΙ ΣΤΙΣ ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΟΣ

Συνημμένο  στο   http://www.koutouzis.gr/xristianismos.htm

          Με ιδιαίτερη λαμπρότητα και με σύσσωμη κατ’ έθιμο τη συμμετοχή της πολιτικής, στρατιωτικής και πνευματικής ηγεσίας του Ελληνικού Κράτους, θα εορτασθεί στις 29 Φεβρουαρίου όπως κάθε χρόνο από της ιδρύσεώς του έως σήμερα την Α΄ Κυριακή της Σαρακοστής, η Κυριακή της Ορθοδοξίας.

          Κάθε χρόνο την ημέρα αυτή, από το 787 μ.Χ. αφ’ ότου η Ζ΄ Οικουμενική Σύνοδος της Νικαίας υπό την προεδρία του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη Ταρασίου διατύπωσε  τα κείμενα του Συνοδικού και τα καθιέρωσε ως μέρος της επίσημης ακολουθίας ψάλλονται σ΄ όλες τις ορθόδοξες εκκλησίες επτά αφορισμοί κατά των Ελλήνων και του Ελληνικού πολιτισμού καθώς κι ένα υβριστικό τροπάριο κι ένας υβριστικός μακαρισμός.

          Τα απαράδεκτα αυτά κείμενα έχουν ως εξής :

1 «Έτι, τοις φρονούσι και λέγουσι κτιστήν είναι πάσαν φυσικήν δύναμιν και ενέργειαν της τρισυπόστατου θεότητος, ως κτιστήν εκ τούτου πάντως και αυτήν την θείαν ονσίαν αναγκαξομένοις δοξάζειν. Κτιστή γαρ κατά τους Αγίους ενέργεια, κτιστήν δηλώσει και φύσιν άκτιστον δέ, άκτιστον χαρακτηρίζει ουσίαν. Καντεύθεν ήδη κινδυνεύουσι εις θείαν παντελή περιπίπτειν, και την ελληνικήν μυθολογίαν και την των κτισμάτων λατρείαν, τη καθαρά και αμώμω των χριστια-νών πίστει προστριβομένοις, μη ομολογοϋσι δε κατά τας αγίας θεοπνεύστους θεολογίας, και το της Εκκλησίας ευσεβές φρόνημα, άκτιστον είναι πάσαν φυσικήν δύναμιν και ενέργειαν της τρισυ­πόστατου θεότητος ανάθεμα τρις».

Δηλαδή ανάθεμα τρεις φορές στους Ορφέα, Θαλή, Αναξίμανδρο, Ανα-ξιμένη, Πυθαγόρα, Ξενοφάνη, Παρμενίδη, Ζήνωνα, Εμπεδοκλή, Ήράκλειτο, Αναξαγόρα, Δημόκριτο, Σωκράτη, Πλάτωνα κ.α..

        2 «Τοις τα ελληνικά διεξιούσι μαθήματα, και μη δια παίδευσιν μόνον ταύτα παιδευομένοις, αλλά και ταις δόξαις αυτών ταις ματαίαις επομένοις, και ως αληθέσι πιστεύουσι και ούτως αυταίς ως το βέβαιον εχούσαις εγκειμένοις, ώστε έτερους ποτέ μεν λάθρα, ποτέ δε φανερώς ενάγειν αυταϊς και διδάσκειν ανενδοιάστως ανάθεμα τρίς».

 3  «Τοις μετά των άλλων μυθικών πλασμάτων, αφ' εαυτών και την καθ' ημάς κλίσιν μεταπλάττουσι, και τάς πλατωνικάς ιδέας ως αληθείς δεχομένοις και ως αυθυπόστατο την ύλην παρά των ιδίων μορφούσθαι λέγουσι, και προφανώς

Ακρόπολις από ψηλά

http://www.airpano.ru/files/Acropolis-Athens-Greece/2-3-2?scene=s2&?ath=-112.04&?atv=34.50&?fov=90.00

Ἐμμανουὴλ Ῥοΐδης - Ἱστορία ἑνὸς σκύλου

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Ὡς νὰ ἦτο χθεσινὴ ἐνθυμοῦμαι τὴν ἤδη τεσσαρακονταετῆ του σκύλου ἐκείνου ἱστορίαν. Ἤμην τότε μαθητὴς τῆς πρώτης τάξεως τοῦ ἑλληνικοῦ σχολείου εἰς τὸ Ἑλληνοαμερικανικὸν Λύκειον τοῦ μακαρίτου Χρήστου Εὐαγγελίδου. Ἐρχόμενος ἐξ Ἰταλίας δὲν εὑρέθην ὅσον ἐφοβούμην εἰς τὴν Σύραν ξενιτευμένος. Πολλοὶ τῷ ὄντι ἀπέμενον ἀκόμη εἰς τὴν ὑμνηθεῖσαν ὑπὸ τοῦ Ὀρφανίδου ξηρόνησον Ἰταλοὶ πατριώται ἐκ τῶν φιλοξενηθέντων μετὰ τὴν ἀποτυχίαν τῆς ἐπαναστάσεως τοῦ 1848. Οἱ Ἰταλοὶ ἦσαν οἱ πλεῖστοι ἀκονηταὶ ξυραφίων, καθαρισταὶ κηλίδων, συγκολληταὶ σπασμένων πινακίων, ἀνακαινισταὶ παλαιῶν ὑποδημάτων, διακοσμηταὶ τῶν νεκρικῶν φερέτρων, εὐνουχισταὶ πετεινῶν, ὑπαίθριοι τηγανισταὶ σμαρίδων καὶ πάντες ἀνεξαιρέτως οἱ ζωγράφοι, λιθοξόοι, χοροδιδάσκαλοι καὶ μουσικοί. Αἱ ἀξιώσεις τῶν καλλιτεχνῶν τούτων περιωρίζοντο εἰς τὸ νὰ μὴ ἀποθάνωσι τῆς πείνης, ὁ δὲ βίος δὲν ἦτο τότε ὅπως σήμερον ἀκριβῶς. Ἀντὶ εἰκοσιπέντε τὸν μῆνα δραχμῶν ἠδύνατό τις νὰ εὕρῃ ὁλόκληρον μονόροφον οἰκίσκον εἰς τὰ βαπόρια καὶ ἀκόμη εὐθηνότερον, ἂν εἶχεν ἀμβλεῖαν τὴν ὄσφρησιν, παρὰ τὰ βυρσοδεψεῖα, καὶ μὲ ἓν μόνον σφάντζικον νὰ χορτάσῃ κεφτέδες, στουφάδον καὶ καπαμᾶ εἰς τὰ αὐτοκαλούμενα «Εὐρωπαϊκὰ ξενοδοχεῖα».
Ἀνάλογος τῆς τοιαύτης τοῦ βίου εὐθηνείας καὶ τῆς πληθώρας διδασκάλων ἦτο τῶν μουσικῶν μαθημάτων ἡ τιμή, οἱ δὲ φιλόμουσοι πάσης κοινωνικῆς τάξεως Ἑρμουπολίται ὠφελοῦντο τῆς εὐκαιρίας, ὅπως διδαχθῶσιν ἕκαστος ἀντὶ μικρᾶς θυσίας τὸ ὄργανον τῆς ἐκλογῆς του. Οὐδέποτε οὐδαμοῦ ἀντήχησαν ὅσα τότε εἰς τὴν Σύραν βιολία, φλάουτα, τρόμπαι, πίφερα, μανδολίνα, κόρνα καὶ κλαρινέτα. Ὁ περιερχόμενος τὰς στενωποὺς τῆς πόλεως, καὶ μάλιστα τὰς Κυριακάς, ἐπνίγετο εἰς κύματα μελῳδίας ἐξορμῶντα ἐκ παντὸς παραθύρου. Οὐδ᾿ ἠδύνατο νὰ καθήσῃ εἰς τὴν ἕδραν κουρείου ἢ τὴν τράπεζαν καφενείου χωρὶς νὰ εὑρεθῇ ἀντιμέτωπος πατριώτου τοῦ Μιχαὴλ Ἀγγέλου καὶ τοῦ Κορεγίου ζητοῦντος τὴν ἄδειαν νὰ εἰκονίση ἀντὶ τριδράχμου «τὴν εὐγενῆ καὶ ἐκφραστικὴν κεφαλήν του» ἢ νὰ ψοφήση ὁ σκύλος, ὁ γάτος ἢ ὁ ψιττακός του χωρὶς νὰ δεχθῆ αὐθημερὸν τὴν ἐπίσκεψιν τοῦ προτείνοντος νὰ βαλσαμώση τὸ λείψανον «τοῦ ἀξιεράστου ζώου». Ἂν δὲ ἐκινδύνευε νὰ μεταβῆ εἰς τὰς αἰωνίους μονὰς διακεκριμένον τῆς Συριανῆς κοινωνίας μέλος, τότε ὄχι νὰ κρυώση, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδὲ κὰν νὰ ξεψυχήση ἐπερίμεναν οἱ προσφερόμενοι νὰ διαιωνίσωσι διὰ γυψίνου ἐκμάγματος τὴν ὄψιν «τοῦ ἐπιφανοῦς μεταστάντος» ἢ νὰ ὑμνήσωσι τὰ ἀλησμόνητα ἔργα τοῦ εἰς τὰ ἔγκριτά της Ἰταλίας φύλλα. Ἀδύνατον εἶναι νὰ ἀνακαλέσω εἰς τὴν μνήμην μου τὰς τοιαύτας παρὰ τὴν θύραν παντὸς ἑτοιμοθανάτου συνελεύσεις πειναλέων Ἰταλῶν, χωρὶς νὰ ἐνθυμηθῶ συγχρόνως τὸ δημοτικὸν δίστιχον·
Ὡσάν κοράκοι κάθουνται τριγύρω τοῦ κραββάτου
καὶ καρτεροῦν κι᾿ ἐγδέχονται τὸ πότες θὰ ψοφήση.
Τὸ δὲ κακὸν ἦτο, ὅτι δὲν περιωρίζοντο μόνους τοὺς νεκροὺς ν᾿ ἀνυμνῶσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ζώντων διέστρεφον τὸν νοῦν διὰ τῶν ὀγκωδεστάτων ἐγκωμίων. Οἱ Λατῖνοι ποιηταὶ ἐσατύρισαν ἀσπλάγχνως

ΕΠΑΜ, Δ.Καζάκης στο ΚΟΝΤRΑ Channel, 27 Νοεμβρίου 2013

Ἐμμανουὴλ Ῥοΐδης - Αἱ ἐξοχαὶ τῶν Ἀθηνῶν

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Ἐκεῖνο τὸ ὁποῖον πρὸ πάντων ἀρέσκει εἰς τοὺς ἐπισκεπτομένους τὸ ἄστυ ἡμῶν ξένους εἶναι ὅτι δὲν ἔχει προάστια. Πρὶν εἰσέλθη τις εἰς πᾶσαν ἄλλην πρωτεύουσαν ἢ ἐξέλθη αὐτῆς ἀναγκάζεται νὰ διαβῇ τόπους οἵτινες οὔτε πόλις εἶναι οὔτε ἐξοχή, ἀλλ᾿ εἶδος προθαλάμου χρησιμεύοντος εἰς τοποθέτησιν πάντων ὅσα θὰ ἀσχήμιζον τὴν πόλιν ἢ θὰ ἦσαν ὀχληρὰ εἰς τῶν πολιτῶν τὴν ὅρασιν, τὴν ὄσφρησιν ἢ τὴν ἀκοήν. Ἐκεῖ εὑρίσκονται αἱ ἀποθῆκαι, τὰ σιδηρουργεῖα, τὰ ἀτμοκίνητα ἐργοστάσια, τὰ σφαγεῖα, τὰ ζωοστάσια καὶ ὅσ᾿ ἄλλα ἀναγκάζονται παρ᾿ ἡμῖν οἱ δυστυχεῖς κάτοικοι τῆς ὁδοῦ Ἡφαίστου, τῆς Πλάκας, τῆς Βάθειας καὶ τοῦ Ψυρρῆ ν᾿ ἀνέχωνται περὶ αὐτούς. Χάρις εἰς τὴν ἀνοχὴν ταύτην τῶν πτωχῶν, ἔχουσιν ἐν Ἀθήναις αἱ ἀριστοκρατικαὶ συνοικίαι τὸ μοναδικὸν πλεονέκτημα τῆς ἀμέσου συγκοινωνίας πρὸς τοὺς ἀγρούς. Τὰ τελευταῖα μέγαρα τῶν λεωφόρων Ἀμαλίας, Πατησίων καὶ Κηφισσίας εἶναι σχεδὸν ἐξοχικά, οὐδ᾿ ἀπαιτοῦνται περισσότερα τῶν δέκα λεπτῶν διὰ νὰ ἐκπηδήσῃ τις ἀπὸ τῆς πλατείας τοῦ Συντάγματος εἰς τοὺς θάμνους τοῦ Λυκαβηττοῦ ἢ τοὺς περὶ τὴν Ἀκρόπολιν ἀγρούς. Ἀληθὲς εἶναι ὅτι οὐδ᾿ ἐκεῖ εὑρίσκει δένδρα καὶ νερά, ἀλλὰ τουλάχιστον αἶγας, φασκόμηλα, θυμάρια, χαμόμηλα καὶ ἀνεμώνας.
Ταῦτα δύναται νὰ θεωρήση ἀνεπαρκῆ μόνον ὁ μὴ λησμονήσας τὰ σχολικά του ἀναγνώσματα, τὰ παριλίσσια ἄλση, τὰ παρέχοντα σκιὰν καὶ δρόσον εἰς τοῦ Πλάτωνος καὶ τοῦ Ἀριστοτέλους τοὺς μαθητάς, τὰς περιγραφὰς τοῦ Φαίδρου, «τὰς ἀΰπνους κρήνας», τὰς «χλωρὰς βάσσας», τὸν «καλλίβοτρυν νάρκισσον», καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα εὔμορφα καὶ δροσερὰ πράγματα ὕμνησε δι᾿ ἀθανάτων στροφῶν ὁ Σοφοκλῆς.
Πάντα ταῦτα οὐδαμοῦ πλέον δύναται σήμερον ν᾿ ἀνευρεθῶσι παρὰ εἰς μόνα τὰ συγγράμματα τῶν ἀρχαίων. Μάτην ἐζήτησα παρὰ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀρχαιολόγων νὰ μοὶ ὑποδείξωσι ποῦ ἔρρεε τὸ προσφιλὲς εἰς τὰς Ἀθηναίας παρθένους «πολὺ καὶ καλὸν ὕδωρ τοῦ Ἠριδανοῦ»· ἡ Ἐννεάκρουνος Καλλιρρόη σπανίως παρέχει ὕδωρ ἐπαρκὲς διὰ νὰ πλύνωσι τ᾿ ἀσπρόρρουχά των εἰς τὰς οἰκοκυρὰς τοῦ Βατραχονησίου, οὐδὲ θὰ ἠδύνατο σήμερον ὁ Σωκράτης νὰ δροσίσῃ τοὺς πόδας του εἰς τὸ ῥεῖθρον τοῦ Ἰλισσοῦ, ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν χειμῶνα θὰ ἐβύθιζεν αὐτοὺς εἰς κίτρινον πηλόν, τὸ δὲ θέρος θὰ ἔκαιον τὰς πτέρνας του χάλικες πυρακτωμένοι.
Ἡ τοιαύτη γειτνίασις εἰς τὴν πόλιν εἴδους τινὸς ἐξοχῆς καὶ ἡ μικρὰ μεταξὺ αὐτῆς καὶ τῶν ἀπωτέρων διαφορὰ δύναται νὰ ἐξηγήση πῶς συμβαίνει νὰ εἶναι ὀλιγώτερον παντὸς ἄλλου λαοῦ φιλάγραυλοι οἱ

Μπαχαρικά: Κάνουν καλό και στην υγεία μας!

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 Τα μπαχαρικά και τα καρυκεύματα είχαν πάντα μια ιδιαίτερη μαγεία. Κάποτε η χρήση τους θεωρούνταν πολυτέλεια και μπορούσαν να τα απολαύσουν λίγοι και πλούσιοι. Βασική τους ιδιότητα είναι να προσδίδουν ιδιαίτερη γεύση σε κάθε τροφή, αλλά παράλληλα έχουν και θρεπτική αξία. Όλα τα μπαχαρικά προέρχονται από φυτά, όπως λουλούδια – γαρύφαλλο, καρπούς – πιπερίτσες τσίλι, σπόρους – κορίανδρο, ρίζες – πιπερόριζα (τζίντζερ), φύλλα – φύλλο κάρρυ, φλοιούς – κανέλα και άλλα πολλά. Κάθε ένα από αυτά, ξεχωρίζει για το μοναδικό του άρωμα και την χαρακτηριστική του γεύση.  Τόσο τα μπαχαρικά, όσο και τα καρυκεύματα, χρησιμοποιούνται κυρίως για την ενίσχυση της γεύσης των φαγητών, όμως η προσφορά τους δεν είναι μόνον η ωραία γεύση, αλλά λειτουργούν ως φυσικά συντηρητικά τροφίμων, για μεγάλες περιόδους.
Αυτό οφείλεται στις αντιβακτηριακές ιδιότητες που διαθέτουν τα μπαχαρικά. Το άρωμά τους διεγείρει τους σιελογόνους αδένες και τις εκκρίσεις γαστρικού οξέως, βοηθώντας έτσι την πέψη. Τα περισσότερα βότανα και μπαχαρικά περιέχουν βιταμίνες του συμπλέγματος Β και μέταλλα όπως ο σίδηρος και το ασβέστιο σε αισθητές ποσότητες. Όμως οι αναλογία ποσοτήτων μπαχαρικών που καταναλώνουμε με τα γεύματά μας είναι πολύ μικρές για να είναι σημαντικές. Η ενέργεια και οι πρωτεΐνες που περιέχονται είναι αμελητέες, καθώς τα φαγητά γίνονται νοστιμότερα, οι άνθρωποι καταναλώνουν μεγαλύτερες ποσότητες τροφής κι έτσι απορροφώνται και μεγαλύτερες ποσότητες θρεπτικών ουσιών. Κάποια από τα μπαχαρικά, όπως η πράσινη καυτερή πιπεριά, είναι πλούσια σε βιταμίνη C κι έτσι εμπλουτίζεται η διατροφή των φτωχών οικογενειών. 30 γραμμάρια πράσινων καυτερών πιπιεριών είναι αρκετά για να καλύψουν τις ημερήσιες ανάγκες σε βιταμίνη C, ενός ενήλικα. Τα μπαχαρικά γενικώς διαλύουν τα αέρια του στομάχου, βοηθούν άτομα που πάσχουν από

Thanksgiving

Milton Friedman on JFK's Inaugural Speech

By Philip Klein on 1.20.11 | 6:46AM

On the 50th Anniversary of John F. Kennedy's innaugural address, I couldn't help but think of Milton Friedman's take on the speech's most famous line, which served as the opening of Friedman's 1962 classic Capitalism and Freedom:

"In a much quoted passage in his inaugural address, President Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." Neither half of the statement expresses a relation between the citizen and his government that is worthy of the ideals of free men in a free society. The paternalistic "what your country can do for you" implies that government is the patron, the citizen the ward, a view that is at odds with the free man's belief in his own responsibility for his own destiny. The organismic, "what you can do for your 'country" implies the government is the master or the deity, the citizen, the servant or the votary. 

To the free man, the country is the collection of individuals who compose it, not something over and above them. He is proud of a common heritage and loyal to common traditions. But he regards government as a means, an instrumentality, neither a grantor of favors and gifts, nor a master or god to be blindly worshipped and served. He recognizes no national goal except as it is the consensus of the goals that the citizens severally serve. He recognizes no national purpose except as it is the cconsensus of the purposes for which the citizens severally strive.

The free man will ask neither what his country can do for him nor what he can do for his country. He will ask rather "What can I and my compatriots do through government" to help us discharge our individual responsibilities, to achieve our several goals and purposes, and above all, to protect our freedom?  And he will accompany this question with another: How can we keep the government we create from becoming a Frankenstein that will destroy the very freedom we establish it to protect?

John Wayne on Liberty, Freedom, and the Role of Government

10 βότανα κατά των φλεγμονών

• 

10 βότανα τα οποία συμβάλλουν στην καταπολέμηση των φλεγμονων. Υπαρχουν πολλά αλλά εμείς θα σας προτείνουμε τα πιο γνωστά.
Η καταπολέμηση των φλεγμονών ήταν από την αρχαιότητα μία από τις βασικές προτεραιότητες των γιατρών. Η δημιουργία φλεγμονής είναι απόλυτα φυσιολογική διαδικασία του οργανισμού. Η δημιουργία της σηματοδοτεί και την πρώτη απόπειρα του ανοσοποιητικού συστήματος να καταπολεμήσει το πρόβλημα υγείας που έχει προκύψει.Οι φλεγμονές, ωστόσο, χαρακτηρίζονται από δυνατούς πόνους, πρήξιμο και κοκκίνισμα, που δυσκολεύουν αφάνταστα την καθημερινότητα του ασθενούς.Αν μάλιστα οι φλεγμονές δεν ελεγχθούν έγκαιρα, μπορούν να προκαλέσουν καταστροφή ιστών και χρόνιους πόνους..
Αγριοκαστανιά
Η αγριοκαστανιά είναι ιθαγενές δέντρο της Ινδίας που απαντάται και στην Ευρώπη. Φυτρώνει σχεδόν σε όλα τα δάση της χώρας μας που βρίσκονται σε υψόμετρο 1.000-1.300 μέτρων. Η χρήση του κάστανου έχει καλή αντιφλεγμονική δράση κυρίως σε ό,τι αφορά τις διαταραχές της φλεβικής κυκλοφορίας, όπως είναι οι κιρσοί και οι αιμορροΐδες. Το βάμμα των σπόρων είναι το καλύτερο καταπραϋντικό για τις αιμορροΐδες, αφού μειώνει τον πόνο και ελαττώνει τον όγκο τους. Παρασκευάζεται με 120 γραμμάρια κοπανισμένης φλούδας τα οποία τοποθετούνται σε 450 γραμμάρια οινόπνευμα για δύο εβδομάδες, κατά τη διάρκεια των οποίων το μείγμα πρέπει να ανακατεύεται τακτικά. Στη συνέχεια γίνεται φιλτράρισμα, ενώ η συνιστώμενη δόση είναι δύο κουτάλια της σούπας την ημέρα. Πάντως δεν πρέπει να γίνεται κατάχρηση του φυτού, γιατί έχουν καταγραφεί περιπτώσεις δηλητηρίασης που εκδηλώνονται με γαστρεντερίτιδα, υπνηλία, κοκκίνισμα

Caribbean Junkets: You Pay While Bureaucrats Play

November 24, 2013 by Dan Mitchell

One of my first blog posts, way back in 2009, was about bureaucrats from the Social Security Administration squandering more than $700,000 on a boondoggle conference at a fancy Arizona resort.
To pick a more recent example, taxpayers have plenty of reasons to be upset about IRS bureaucrats partying at their fancy conferences (including line dances, the real message of which is captured by this Lisa Benson cartoon).
The General Services Administration, meanwhile, had a good time on our dime at a posh confab in Las Vegas.
So did revelations about all this waste cause programs, agencies, and departments to be more careful with our tax money? As you can imagine, the answer is a big fat no.
The latest scandal to be unearthed is that “public servants” from a bunch of government agencies have been enjoying fun times in the Caribbean. Here are some excerpts from a Washington Times expose.

A group of federal officials skipped chilly Washington this month for a taxpayer-funded trip to the Virgin Islands in the name of protecting the world’s coral reef. The organizer, the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, isn’t saying much about the total cost or reasons for the trip or why officials chose the St. Croix beachfront resort Buccaneer Hotel (made famous by an episode of TV’s “The Bachelor”) as their destination. But life couldn’t have been too bad for the G-men and G-women at the swanky resort, which is surrounded by a lush green golf course and boasts

Ben Stein on Obama: Should Be "Charged With Criminal Fraud" for the Repeated Lies

Actor and author Ben Stein is the latest pundit to point out the Obama regime's criminal behavior. Stein told the Cavuto panel this morning if the administration were a bank they would be charged with criminal fraud for their repeated lies to the American public.

Taxpayers Lose $139 Million After Energy Dept. Loan to Electric Car Maker is Sold

Leah Barkoukis | Nov 23, 2013

The Department of Energy sold part of its $192 million loan to electric carmaker Fisker Automotive on Friday to a Chinese investor. The sale represents yet another loss for American taxpayers over a stimulus-backed “green” initiative—this time to the tune of $139 million.
The Daily Caller has the details:

Including the $25 million loan sale, the DOE has recovered only $53 million of the original $192 million disbursed — netting taxpayers a $139 million loss.
Fisker was awarded a $529 million loan guarantee by the Obama administration in 2009 to produce a luxury hybrid car, the Karma, which sold for a $103,000 per unit. However, failure to meet Energy Department benchmarks to receive funding resulted in the company losing its loan guarantee in 2011. The company drew down on $192 million before having its federal funding pulled. The Obama administration seized $21 million from the company in April to help repay taxpayers for its loan.

Earlier this year, reports came out that Fisker had violated its loan agreements multiple times before being cut off by the Obama administration in 2011. Bloomberg reported that Fisker’s technical defaults began in 2011 partly due to “lower-than-required earnings before interest,

The Essence of Government, as Captured by Cartoons

Daniel J. Mitchell | Nov 23, 2013

I greatly admire the way some political cartoonists are able to effectively capture the essence of an issue.
And when it comes to government, I’ve always enjoyed the cartoons that portray the state as a blundering, often-malicious, overweight nitwit. You can see some of my favorite examples here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
But I don’t recall ever seeing a cartoon that manages to illustrate the real nature of politics.
Until now, that is. Enjoy this Glenn McCoy cartoon, which cleverly shows the attitude of Washington’s ruling class when confronted by ordinary citizens who band together to defend themselves from predatory politicians.

Glenn McCoy, by the way, had a very respectable showing in my poll allowing readers to pick their favorite

Obamanomics, as Captured by Cartoonists

August 22, 2013 by Dan Mitchell

As evidenced by my political cartoon contest, I’m a big fan of that form of satire.
And if I’m looking at cartoons specifically about statist economic policy, my favorites include Chuck Asay’s dead pig cartoon, as well as his cartoon about the big bad wolf.
And this Michael Ramirez headwinds cartoon is one of the most-viewed posts in the history of my blog, though I personally prefer his European lemming cartoon.
Now let’s add some more cartoons to the collection, beginning with a Michael Ramirez gem about Detroit.

As with most clever humor, there’s a strong element of truth in this image. Thanks to Obamanomics, Detroit and Washington have some unfortunate similarities.
Next we have a good contribution from Lisa Benson.

For obvious reasons, I like cartoons that portray Washington as a bloated slob. For other good examples, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
This Gary Varvel cartoon may be the best of today’s group.

It reminds me, for some reason, of this Chuck Asay tractor cartoon.
And given Obama’s miserable record on jobs, let’s close with this Glenn McCoy cartoon.

I guess this is sort of like giving all the 5-year olds on a soccer team a participation trophy. And I think press-as-cheerleader is a good touch. Which reminds me of my favorite Glenn McCoy cartoon about the unobtainable fox.
If I haven’t exhausted your interest in economic cartoons, I also recommend this Henry Payne classic about Obama and Greece, a first-rate cartoon on Keynesian stimulus by Scott Stantis, and this Eric Allie iceberg cartoon.

Ο Stephen Fry μιλά για την επιστροφή των Μαρμάρων του Παρθενώνα VideoMan

obamascare

Dana CarveyVerified account ‏@danacarvey

My brother Scott sent me another funny picture. 'Tech team arrives to fix the computer glitches for Obama care!' pic.twitter.com/1AHA42b9pq

Knockout Game

By Glenn McCoy - November 22, 2013

John Stossel -Freeloaders

Has Obamacare Slowed Health Care Costs?

Marguerite Bowling

AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKIBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

In need of something positive to say about Obamacare, the Obama administration is trying to convince people that Obamacare has lowered health care costs. While it’s true that per capita spending on health care has slowed, it remains unclear how much of that can be attributed to Obamacare’s overhaul of the private health sector.
Yesterday, the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors released a report suggesting that Obamacare had influenced the slowdown in spending while improving quality of care. The report noted that health care spending per capita has grown an estimated annual rate of 1.3 percent since 2010.
But, as Heritage Foundation health economist Drew Gonshorowski points out, the report cites other factors that have affected health care spending:

• It features several sources that credit the recession as 50 percent to 77 percent of the reason U.S. health spending has slowed in growth.
• It notes an increase in cost sharing—or deductibles increasing noticeably in job-based health plans.
• It highlights that many brand-name prescription drugs are coming off their patents, meaning people are

They Got Away With It

As President Obama said, they got away with it.
Harry Reid and the Democrat-controlled Senate got away with changing the Senate’s rules so that they can shove through anything they want without having to worry about Republicans filibustering against it.
Just a few short years ago, then-Senator Obama spoke forcefully against doing what Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) just did. When Republicans talked about a similar rule change in 2005, Obama said (emphasis added):

I urge my Republican colleagues not to go through with changing these rules. In the long run, it is not a good result for either party. One day Democrats will be in the majority again, and this rule change will be no fairer to a Republican minority than it is to a Democratic minority. I sense that talk of the nuclear option is more about power than about fairness. I believe some of my colleagues propose this rule change because they can get away with it rather than because they know it is good for our democracy.

Yesterday, the President’s strong words in support of the filibuster were but a memory, as he declared his about-face in favor of the Democratic majority seizing power. “I support the step a majority of Senators today took to change the way that Washington is doing business,” he said, describing Reid’s power grab in lofty, for-the-people terms.
Obama’s 180-degree turn on this issue—based on who’s in the Senate majority—is perhaps most amusing when you see that he invoked the American Founders in defense of both positions.
In 2005, getting rid of the filibuster “certainly is not what the patriots who founded this democracy had in mind.”
But today, using the filibuster is “not what our Founders envisioned.”

Now, whatever the Democratic majority in the Senate wants, it can be done. The rule change means that instead of needing 60 votes to cut off debate on a nomination, Reid needs only 51. He has 55 Democratic Senators.
As Heritage legal analyst Elizabeth Slattery noted, “Though the rule purportedly applies only to executive branch and judicial nominations—excluding Supreme Court nominations (for now, anyway)—it would seem with 51 votes, Reid can do just about anything.”
The change could be undone again with another simple majority vote. But the minority may just want to wait it out until they get their turn—Senator Chuck Grassley (R–IA) has said, “Go ahead. There are a lot more

Obamacare

By Jerry Holbert - November 22, 2013

..........

The War Against Achievement

Thomas Sowell | Nov 19, 2013

 

A friend recently sent me a link to an inspiring video about an upbeat young black man who was born without arms. It showed him going to work -- unlike the record number of people living on government payments for "disabilities" that are far less serious, if not fictitious.
How is this young man getting to work? He gets into his car and drives there -- using controls set up so that he can operate the car with his feet.
What kind of work does he do, and how does he do it? He is involved in the design of racing cars. He sits at his computer, looking at the screen, with the keyboard on the floor, where he uses his toes as others use their fingers.
His story recalls the story of Helen Keller, who went to an elite college and on to a career, despite being both deaf and blind. Her story was celebrated in books, in television documentaries and in an inspiring movie, "The Miracle Worker."
But our culture has changed so much over the years that the young man with no arms is unlikely to get comparable publicity. Helen Keller's achievement was seen as an inspiration for others, but this young man's achievement is more like a threat to the prevailing ideology of our times.
The vision on which the all-encompassing and all-controlling welfare state was built is a vision of widespread helplessness, requiring ever more expanding big government. Our "compassionate" statists would probably have wanted to take this young man without arms, early on, and put him in some government institution.
But to celebrate him in the mainstream media today would undermine a whole ideological vision of the world -- and of the vast government bureaucracies built on that vision. It might even cause people to think twice about giving money to able-bodied men who are standing on street corners, begging.
The last thing the political left needs, or can even afford, are self-reliant individuals. If such people became the norm, that would destroy not only the agenda and the careers of those on the left, but even their flattering

Gabriella's Words of Wisdom: Sugar, Protein and the Need for Constant Awareness

Death and Taxes

Click on the picture to enlarge

Νέα επιχείρηση τύπου «Κόκκινη Προβιά» μυρίζει η πρωτοεμφανιζόμενη τρομοκρατική οργάνωση

Πρωτοεμφανιζόμενη οργάνωση που υπογράφει ως «Μαχόμενες Λαϊκές Επαναστατικές Δυνάμεις» ανέλαβε την ευθύνη για τη δολοφονική επίθεση με δύο νεκρούς στα γραφεία της Χρυσής Αυγής στο Νέο Ηράκλειο. Η προκήρυξη βρέθηκε στο Σκοπευτήριο Καισαριανής και η Αντιτρομοκρατική Υπηρεσία την θεωρεί γνήσια. Κάτι θα ξέρει, μιας και την φωτογράφιζε όλη αυτή την περίοδο χωρίς να έχει ούτε ένα στοιχείο. Μόνο διαρρέουσες εικασίες για «νέο αντάρτικο πόλης» κι άλλες τέτοιες ανοησίες.

Η προκήρυξη βρέθηκε αργά το απόγευμα του Σαββάτου, όταν άγνωστος τηλεφώνησε στο zougla.gr και ανέφερε ότι στο μνημείο πεσόντων στο Σκοπευτήριο της Καισαριανής υπάρχει φάκελος, μέσα στον οποίο βρίσκεται usb με την προκήρυξη για την ανάληψη ευθύνης της επίθεσης στα γραφεία της Χρυσής Αυγής.

Η προκήρυξη αυτή στάλθηκε τρεις εβδομάδες σχεδόν μετά την δολοφονική επίθεση. Παραμονές της πορείας του Πολυτεχνείου. Προφανώς οι φερόμενοι ως τρομοκράτες είχαν πρόβλημα δακτυλογράφησης. Δεν πρέπει να είναι και τόσο εξοικειωμένοι με τους υπολογιστές. Γι’ αυτό και άργησαν να στείλουν την προκήρυξη. Αφήστε που ήταν ιδιαίτερα χρονοβόρο να βρουν υπολογιστή και usb. Που το πας αυτό;

Μια προκήρυξη που προδίδει πολλά για τους συντάχτες της

Η προκήρυξη συντάχθηκε σε διάλεχτο που μοιάζεi με αυτή των antifa, αλλά δεν είναι. Ο συγκεκριμένος χώρος δεν συγκινείται ιδιαίτερα ούτε από το Σκοπευτήριο της Καισαριανής, ούτε από το Πολυτεχνείο και τον συμβολισμό τους για τους αγώνες του έθνους εναντίον του ναζί κατακτητή

Krauthammer: Obamacare was Designed to Maximize Number of People Who Lose Insurance

Η Συνέχεια.....

Policy cancellation notifications, by state

AP News 

Millions of Americans who buy their own health insurance have been informed that their policies will no longer be offered starting next year because they do not meet the higher standards of the Affordable Care Act. The actual number of people receiving the notices is unclear, in part because officials in 20 states say they do not have the information or are not tracking it.
Some states are tracking the policy notifications through their insurance departments or health care exchanges. In other states, the largest private insurers are releasing the number of discontinuation notices they have issued.
This chart shows that at least 4.2 million Americans have received the notices so far. It reflects reporting by AP staffers in each state and the District of Columbia, as of Thursday, and does not include policy cancelations in the small-business insurance market.

	State	Number of people with discontinued policies
Alabama	90,000
Alaska	5,400
Arizona	State not tracking
Arkansas	State not tracking
California	1.1 million
Colorado	106,000
Connecticut	State not tracking
Delaware	12,000
District of Columbia	21,300
Florida	330,000
Georgia	400,000
Hawaii	State not tracking

Milton Friedman Schools Young Idealist (Stanford)

Στην τελική ευθεία η ίδρυση έδρας Εβραϊκών Σπουδών

Ο πρύτανης του ΑΠΘ τόνισε πως η αποκατάσταση της ιστορικής μνήμης είναι χρέος του πανεπιστημίου
Ο συντονισμός των δράσεων, ώστε να λειτουργήσει όσο το δυνατόν πιο γρήγορα επώνυμη έδρα Εβραϊκών Σπουδών, ήταν το αντικείμενο της συνάντησης του πρύτανη του ΑΠΘ Γιάννη Μυλόπουλου και του Κοσμήτορα της Φιλοσοφικής Σχολής Μίλτου Παπανικολάου με εκπροσώπους της Ισραηλιτικής Κοινότητας Θεσσαλονίκης.
Ο πρύτανης του ΑΠΘ τόνισε πως η αποκατάσταση της ιστορικής μνήμης είναι χρέος του πανεπιστημίου. Ο κ. Μυλόπουλος και ο κ. Παπανικολάου ενημέρωσαν τους εκπροσώπους της ΙΚΘ ότι η απόφαση για ίδρυση της Έδρας Εβραϊκών Σπουδών έχει ήδη εγκριθεί τόσο από την Κοσμητεία της Φιλοσοφικής Σχολής, όσο και από τη Σύγκλητο του ιδρύματος, υπενθυμίζοντας ότι στο ΑΠΘ υπήρχε έδρα Εβραϊκής Ιστορίας και Πολιτισμού, η οποία καταργήθηκε επί δικτατορίας Μεταξά. Παράλληλα, τόνισαν πως η βούληση του πανεπιστημίου είναι εκπεφρασμένη, ενώ δεν υπάρχουν νομικά προβλήματα για την ίδρυση της

Remember!

Margaret Thatcher No No No

Secret, Dirty Cost of Obama's Green Power Push

Former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino: Obama Presidency is 'Worse Than People Know'

• Kyle Becker
• On November 11, 2013
• http://kylenbecker.com

Former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino once protect the life of President Barack Obama. But the incessant scandals of the administration pushed him to turn in his badge and seek Congressional office in Maryland as a Republican.
As ABC News reported about Dan Bongino, while attempting to discredit him:

Bongino, 39, is careful not to say too much about exactly what he saw and heard while protecting the president, but hints that “It’s worse than people know. They’d be shocked, scared, if they knew everything.”

“Being a Secret Service agent, I have an obligation not to disclose personal conversations and security details,” he told ABCNews.com. “But that doesn’t prevent me from speaking generally about foundational principles and the system of patronage and punishment I saw in the Obama administration.”

WRKO radio host Jeff Kuhner interviewed Bongino this week and he shared some insight into what he called the “dangerous” Obama administration. Bongino discussed the threat to Jeff Kuhner:

“No, don’t trust them with your civil liberties,” he continued, “They don’t govern, all they do is campaign, and everything to them is division capital. How do we divide people and not get them to vote for us but to get them to vote against the other guy. They’re doing it now with ObamaCare. The website broke – oh, it’s the website designer. It’s not the fact that the whole system was designed poorly, ObamaCare, and now it’s, uh, ‘the Republicans are doing it, they’re holding it up,’ it’s all nonsense.

Does the Treaty Power Threaten Our System of Limited Government?

Snip- Snip

Why Conservatives and the Business Lobby Can’t Just Get Along

Geoffrey Lysaught

Photo credit: RICHARD B. LEVINE/Newscom

Even before Democrat Terry McAuliffe narrowly defeated Republican Ken Cuccinelli in the Virginia governor’s race, lobbyists representing the business community were rethinking their relationship with the GOP and planning to challenge conservative incumbents in next year’s primaries.
Their goal: to replace principled conservatives with candidates who will be more protective of Big Business interests. As U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue put it, his group will get involved in primary races to produce a “more governable Republican party.”
Which is why the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which says it’s strictly in “the wins business,” is threatening more electoral intervention. “There’s no rules,” NRSC executive director Rob Collins said. “The path to getting a general election candidate who can win is the only thing we care about.”
This shift will certainly surprise those who naively believed that the grassroots Tea Party movement was a creation of big business. But “Tea Party as Wall Street front group” has been a popular belief among the left for years.
When the Tea Party first emerged in 2009, the phenomenon so dumbfounded liberals that the only explanation they could fathom was conspiratorial — these groups must have been bought and paid for by evil capitalists. “It’s not really a grassroots movement,” proclaimed then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. “It’s Astroturf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class.”
In the real world, however, entrenched corporate elites have always viewed conservatives with some trepidation. Now their lobbyists are readying for war against those who promote principles like limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty. And liberals are cheering them on.
This potential bootleggers-and-Baptists alliance could be a powerful combination — one that could render our economy even more sclerotic, weakening innovation, job creation, and living standards. And for what? Anemic long-term GDP growth, predictable earnings targets, and business as usual in Washington.
America is already at risk of falling behind as an innovator and job creator not because of conservative policy ideas or Tea Party activists but because of the increased influence of those businesses who lobby

TIME-CHART OF EUROPEAN ECONOMIC HISTORY, 1300 - 1750

http://www.economics.utoronto.ca/munro5/timecht2.htm

Mike Lee's New Republican Party

Conn Carroll 

On February 6, 1977, a former-governor of California told a packed hotel ballroom in Washington, DC, "The New Republican Party I envision will not be, and cannot, be one limited to the country club-big business image that, for reasons both fair and unfair, it is burdened with today."
"The New Republican Party I am speaking about is going to have room for the man and the woman in the factories, for the farmer, for the cop on the beat and the millions of Americans who may never have thought of joining our party before, but whose interests coincide with those represented by principled Republicanism."
More than three years later, that former-governor, Ronald Reagan, was elected as the 40th President of the United States, ushering a decade of conservative dominance in Washington.
Yesterday, at The Heritage Foundation, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) quoted from that very same Reagan speech, reminding his party, "If we truly believe in our principles, we should sit down and talk. Talk with anyone, anywhere, at any time if it means talking about the principles for the Republican Party. Conservatism is not a narrow ideology, nor is it the exclusive property of conservative activists."
For some political commentators, Lee's speech seemed like an abrupt turn from the senator's recent fight to defund Obamacare through a government shutdown. And for those that only sporadically pay attention to Lee, that impression is fair. But if you follow Lee closely, then you would know that yesterday's speech was part of a much larger and long-term effort formulate a conservative policy agenda that can unite the party and govern the country in the next century.
Lee kicked off this debate with an April 2013 speech, also at The Heritage Foundation, that sought to reorieantate the party away from some of the failed messages of the 2012 Romney campaign.
"In the last few years, we conservatives seem to have abandoned words like 'together,' 'compassion,' and 'community,' as if their only possible meanings were a secret code for statism," Lee said. "This is a mistake. Collective action doesn’t only—or even usually—mean government action."
"Ours has never been a vision of isolated, atomized loners," Lee continued. "It is a vision of husbands and

Strategic Move Exempts Health Law From Broader U.S. Statute

Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Obama discussed the Affordable Care Act at a dinner in Washington. The administration has ruled that the law is not subject to a specific anti-fraud statute.

By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON — The Affordable Care Act is the biggest new health care program in decades, but the Obama administration has ruled that neither the federal insurance exchange nor the federal subsidies paid to insurance companies on behalf of low-income people are “federal health care programs.”

The surprise decision, disclosed last week, exempts subsidized health insurance from a law that bans rebates, kickbacks, bribes and certain other financial arrangements in federal health programs, stripping law enforcement of a powerful tool used to fight fraud in other health care programs, like Medicare.

The main purpose of the anti-kickback law, as described by federal courts in scores of Medicare cases, is to protect patients and taxpayers against the undue influence of money on medical decisions.

Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, disclosed her interpretation of the law in a letter to Representative Jim McDermott, Democrat of Washington, who had asked her views. She did not explain the legal rationale for her decision, which followed a spirited debate within the administration.

Under the Affordable Care Act, millions of people will be able to buy insurance from “qualified health plans” offered on exchanges, or marketplaces, run by the federal government and by some states.

Most of the buyers are expected to be eligible for subsidies to make insurance more affordable. The subsidies, paid directly to insurers from the United States Treasury, start in January and are expected to total

The European Crisis (and American Future?) of too Many Over-Compensated Bureaucrats

Daniel J. Mitchell | Nov 10, 2013

The only sustainable way of achieving more prosperity and higher living standards is to increase the quality and quantity of labor and capital in the economy.
This may sound like boring econo-speak, but labor and capital are the two “factors of production” and our ability to consume is limited by what we can produce.
That’s one of the reasons why it’s important to reduce the burden of government spending.
People sometimes assume it’s important to reduce the budget to lower the threat of tax hikes. That is a good reason to impose fiscal discipline, but it’s presumably even more important to restrain spending because we don’t want labor and capital being misallocated by fiscal policy.
A big public sector, after all, presumably means a large bureaucracy. And when you have lots of people employed by government, that means that they’re not working in the private sector. In other words, they’re consuming economic output rather than adding to economic output.*
Or, as these cartoons illustrate, they’re riding in the wagon rather than pulling the wagon.
This is why advocates of economic growth should strive to limit the amount of bureaucrats and how much they’re paid. The bad news is that the public sector is far too large in the United States, and that means (as explained in this video) we have too many over-compensated bureaucrats.
The good news, however, is that we’re not Denmark, which has the most expensive bureaucracy of all developed nations.
But it’s important to look at what’s happening Europe because BIS, OECD, and IMF data all show that we are going to become a European-style welfare state if nothing is done to reform our poorly designed entitlement programs.
That’s why a new study from the European Commission is worth a look. The report measures both the size