Cass Sunstein anyone?

Glenn Reynolds thinks it is unfair to spin Cass' "presumed consent" as "mandatory organ donation."  Ed Morrissey at Hotair seems to see things the way that Prof Reynolds does.

Presumed consent means that the government presumes that you have given your consent to be an organ donor unless you have specifically opted out of the program.  The practical upshot is that if you die and your driver's license doesn't happen to be stuck to your forehead "non-organ donor" side out - then you will be harvested for everything they can take.

Stew's view:
I really don't care what Europeans do.  Ed mentions that this system is the one they have in Spain.  The United States isn't Spain.  Presumed consent means that my government presumes a property claim on my body, before that of my heirs - how is this possible?
I am an organ donor now.  This will change if my government adopts a presumed consent policy.  My organs belong to me and my heirs; my government has no business in the transaction.  If this policy passes, I will opt out immediately until such time as my heirs can be compensated for the donation.  If we want to solve our organ shortage, permit people to sell them.

In any event - Devotees of Roe v. Wade better pay attention to this debate because it is another erosion of the right to privacy found in that Supreme Court decision.  Just like the public option or any form of nationalized healthcare.

Addl Van Jones Idiocy

Van Jones, President Obama's Green Jobs Czar, was compelled to retire because of the content of his character (h/t Ed Driscoll).

Pat at So It goes in Shreveport unearths the only excuse being given for Van Jones resignation by those on the left: The color of his skin.
From HuffPo's Carl Pope:

There are three possible reasons. They are connected, and it is their connection that is important.

1) Van Jones, unlike everyone else I have quoted on the topic of our oil addiction and George Bush's complicity with it, is African-American.

2) By specifying that Bush's addiction was "crack-head"-like, Jones linked Bush to a drug largely used in the black community.

3) Van Jones works for the first black man to be elected president.

Carl continues, "This is about politics, but it is empowered by race. If you doubt that, consider that Fox and Glenn Beck have been after Jones for a month -- but only since Beck began losing advertisers over his accusations that Obama was a racist."

Stew's View:

The epithet "racist" is already the worst thing that can be said of someone in the US. The left is now (and has always) used it as the argument of last resort. It is being overused - and will soon lose its power to persuade all but the truly radical. But it will remain the the worst thing you can say about someone, with predictable results - to whit, the first person to use it in an argument, absent any evidence in support of it, will be presumed to have lost.

As an aside, My home state of Louisiana once had the choice between a Racist and a Crook for Governor. The crook won overwhelmingly.

ElBaradei Says I.A.E.A. Is in ‘Stalemate’ With Iran - NYTimes.com

ElBaradei Says I.A.E.A. Is in ‘Stalemate’ With Iran - NYTimes.com

A stalemate occurs when the player whose turn it is to move is not in check and has no legal moves - Chess.
The analogy fails here, because:

1. There are no overriding rules that both the IAEA and Iran have agreed to 'play' under.
2. Iran has (or will shortly obtain) the material it needs to complete a bomb.
3. The IAEA lacks both the capability and the will to compel compliance.

A better analogy is that we are in the endgame portion, with Iran clearly in control of the board.
 

Amazon goes beyond apology.

This summer, Amazon found that one of its ebook retailers was selling 1984 and other books that it did not have the rights to.  Amazon responded by banning the seller and deleting the books from each purchaser's Kindle.

Furor erupts.

Jeff Bezos Apologized.

Now Amazon is offering to return the book, give a $30 gift certificate, or a $30 check.

How Kooky are you?

Tunku Varadarajan has an article in Forbes this morning where he dismisses those of us who are distrustful of President Obama's speech to our children as "Demented."

Ht Instapundit.