Today’s Links: December 23, 2011

OPINION

PETER FERRARA: “The Way the World – and the Free Market – Works”
“Free market economics is not about a few winners doing really well and then prosperity trickling down to everyone else.  President Kennedy understood what the miseducated Obama doesn’t.  As Kennedy explained the American experience since the early 1700s, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’  The booming economic growth of the free market is the only means of benefitting working people and the poor, far more effective than counterproductive redistribution, which only retards the prosperity of working people, and consigns the poor to a lifetime of dependency.”

INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: “The EPA’s Mercury Madness”
“The EPA thinks it’s worth spending billions of dollars each year to reduce already minuscule amounts of mercury in the outside air. So why is it trying to shove mercury-laced fluorescent bulbs into everyone’s homes?”

CHRISTIE ASCHWANDEN: “Kiddie Cholesterol”
“From the time they exit the womb, American children are tested. It begins with the neonatal heel prick, which draws blood to test for phenylketonuria, cystic fibrosis, and an array of other conditions. The testing continues as the child grows: hearing tests, blood lead levels, scoliosis. Now the list will include yet another item: Last month, a panel convened by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommended screening all children for high cholesterol before the age of 11. The American Academy of Pediatrics endorsed the recommendation, ensuring that doctors will take note.”

NEWS

MARRIAGE – Gay Community Apologizes to Amy Koch for Ruining Her Marriage
“The gay and lesbian community of Minnesota has issued a letter of apology to recently resigned Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch for ruining the institution of marriage and causing her to stray from her husband and engage in an ‘inappropriate relationship.'”

TELECOMMUNICATIONS – Bell Canada Drops Traffic Shaping in Favor of an “Economic” Approach
“Traffic shaping along Bell Canada and Bell Aliant’s ISP lines came in with a bang three years ago, infuriating consumers and advocates. ‘Unacceptable,’ critics called it—a ‘symptom of Bell’s arrogance’ and ‘blatant censorship.’ But Canada’s telecommunications regulators gave the practice a provisional go-ahead, so the companies throttled away, the focus being on P2P use between 4:30pm and 2am.”