If you wish to travel far and fast;
travel light.
Take off all your
- envies
- jealousies
- unforgiveness
- selfishness, and
- fears.
Robert P. George and David L. Tubbs / NR,
"Judicial Usurpation: Then and Now"
The authors here use the Eisenstadt v. Baird, a follow-up to Griswold which argued that banning the sale of contraceptives to unmarried people violated a more generally applicable right. The gist of the argument is a Tenth Amendment one where restrictions to contraception uphold social moral preferences like sex within marriage under traditional police power of states. (The argument seems to be that contraceptives facilitate the propagation of indulgent extramarital sexual behavior; I think of regulation of morals in the context of things like sexual behavior in public.)
Whereas I'm generally sympathetic to deference to state/local versus federal authority, I would argue personal liberty can be threatened by majoritarian fiat by the state. For example, the nondiscriminatory sale of contraceptives makes the spread of STD's or illegitimate births less likely; hence the use of contraceptives by unmarried people, is linked to personal responsibility and/or public health concerns.
The direct regulation of private sexual behavior between consenting adults is unenforceable. I am not convinced by a track record of state meddling in internal, personal matters. I think that the authors are more concerned about the judiciary engaging in backdoor policy making, say in tampering with the traditional institution of marriage. I think that the authors are on firmer ground when judges with presentist bias start meddling with the traditional institutions of marriage and family promoting social stability and self-preservation.
Strikers Do What Michelle Obama Couldn't:
Put Hostess Snacks Out of Business
To be honest I don't recall my folks on a tight budget buying us Hostess snack treats (Mom did bake desserts); I know I've tried them on occasion (social settings?). I have tried some of the Wonder Whole Wheat breads, but fighting weight issues since college I rarely have bought snacks or desserts (and over the past decade, the "white foods"). I think my grandfather stocked brand items in his grocery store, but mostly remember the ubiquitous ads particularly on children's programming.
The unions here were in a state of denial over compensation in a mature, highly competitive industry and lost their jobs in a tough economy. Most likely established product lines like Twinkies and the flagship Wonder Bread brand will be bought by private equity and/or competitors.
From a relevant company statement
The BCTGM (the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union) in September rejected a last, best and final offer from Hostess Brands designed to lower costs. Hostess Brands is unprofitable under its current cost structure, much of which is determined by union wages and pension costs. The offer to the BCTGM included wage, benefit and work rule concessions but also gave Hostess Brands’ 12 unions a 25 percent ownership stake in the company, representation on its Board of Directors and $100 million in reorganized Hostess Brands’ debt.From Hostess Brands:
Hostess Brands will sell its popular cake snack brands, including Twinkies®, CupCakes®, Ding Dongs®, Ho Ho’s®, Sno Balls®, Donettes®, Drake's® cakes and Dolly Madison®. Bread brands to be sold include Wonder®, Nature’s Pride®, Merita®, Home Pride®, Butternut®, and Millbrook®, among others.
Again: The Futility of Raising Marginal Tax Rates
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Carpenters, "A Kind of Hush". Another #1 adult-contemporary hit, their last hit to approach the top 10. A brilliant remake of the Herman's Hermits classic; with Richard's arrangements and Karen's pipes, they could have charted with ad jingles. However, given a fickle pop audience wanting new, fresh material, there is a risk in recycling too many older songs (granted, Linda Ronstadt did it very well in the late 70's). Oddly enough, Barry Manilow turned the tables on the Carpenters turning a song they didn't release into one of his biggest hits, which I'll cover next. I think they were also trying to transition, not unlike the Beatles. I personally preferred the Phase 1/love song/red album Beatles, whom dominated the charts, at one point occupying an unprecedented 9 of the top 10. I wish the Carpenters could have cranked out 1970-3 quality material forever.
