A government powerful enough to give you everything you want is powerful enough to take away everything you have.

An interior monologue by North Korea’s dictator might go something like this: I can see myself as if I were back at the Liebefeld-Steinholzi school in Bern, Switzerland, with everyone convinced I was crazy because I talked little and was fixated on my PlayStation, keeping quiet for hours on end, observing others. What is…
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This past summer, some 200 South Korean activists and North Korean defectors launched 50 balloons into North Korea. The purpose? To deliver 10,000 Choco Pies—a cake and marshmallow combination coated in chocolate (think Moon Pie)—to the citizens of North Korea. The pies saw their introduction in North Korea in 2004. The treats were given…
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Pope Francis recently urged all people to have greater compassion for the poor. And to his credit he emphasized the moral imperative of helping to reduce poverty around the world. Unfortunately, the approach advocated by Francis would result in more human suffering, not less. In his strongly worded apostolic exhortation “Evangelii gaudium” or “The…
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This is a bizarre story that challenges any logical explanation. Any? Well, not exactly. We are inclined to believe that our personal sense of risk and rewards is shared by everyone. We are wrong. Totalitarian and fascist leaders have their own logic for approaching reality. Friends and foes of the Cuban government were recently puzzled…
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Here is “Uncle Jay” this week on Obama’s new corporatist GM (a.k.a., Government Motors) and nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court:

You’ve got to be kidding. What a horrifying poll result. Obama’s rhetoric is quite bellicose too. Let’s hope that an appreciation for reality will prevail and nothing too insane will transpire. Another Korean War is the last thing we need, but with this government, it’s hard to rule anything out.