Happy Easter! Hopefully Townhall readers are celebrating by spending time with family today, going to church and having an Easter egg hunt later. Something that the Easter bunny won't be able to bring, though, is Kinder Eggs. They are chocolate eggs with a toy inside, and they are unavailable in the United States because the toy makes them "unsafe for children under three". Customs and Border Protection issued a reminder this week that these dangerous items are still illegal. From CNN.com:

Kinder Eggs, a popular European chocolate egg that contains a toy inside, is banned from importation into the United States because it contains a "non-nutritive object embedded in it."

With the Easter holiday around the corner, the agency issued the reminder this week, warning that the candy is considered unsafe for children under 3. Last year, Customs and Border Protection seized 25,000 of them in 1,700 incidents.

The hollow egg, which is sold by the Italian confectioner Ferrero, is available in Europe, Canada, Australia and parts of Latin America under various names including Kinder Surprise and Kinder Sorpresa. It has taken on a cult status among adults who collect the toys, which vary from rings to animals and cartoon characters.

So these milk chocolate eggs are banned because they have a toy inside them. Parents obviously can't handle making sure that their kids won't eat the toy and choke, so it's the government's job to do it for them.

The article goes on to describe "commercial size raids" on these things, as though they are weapons or drugs, not chocolate. Doesn't a border protection agency have anything better to do?

Happy Easter from US Customs and Border Protection!

Steven Crowder hits back at Wonkette for their disgusting attack on Trig Palin.

Happy Earth Day! This years theme, according to earthday.org is "A Billion Acts of Green", and everyone is encouraged to do something 'green'.

Instead of reflecting on women and the environment or buying a lightbulb full of mercury (two suggestions from the website), I am going to watch The False Promise of Green Energy, an event hosted yesterday at the Cato Institute. It also seems like a good day to read "I Recycle", a short essay on recycling, written by Don Boudreaux, an economics professor at George Mason University:

Consider a typical day.

After I awaken, I shower and dry myself with a towel that I’ve had for a few years. I use this towel day after day. I don’t discard it after one use. When it gets dirty, I toss it in the washing machine to clean it for further use. I recycle my towel.

Then I brew coffee and fix breakfast. Each day I use the same coffeemaker that I used the day before. I clean it after each use, recycling it for the next time. My wife and I drink the coffee from mugs that have been used many times in the past. (Actually, one set of our coffee mugs was handed down to us after my wife’s parents used them for several years.) We also eat our breakfasts using dishes and utensils that are recycled from countless past uses. After breakfast, we don’t throw our mugs, dishes, and utensils away; instead we put them in the dishwasher to be recycled for yet another use.

...

Reflecting on the impressive amount of recycling that actually takes place daily casts doubt on the prevailing misperception that people are naturally wasteful and mindlessly irresponsible. In fact, market prices compel us to recycle when recycling is appropriate and to not recycle when recycling is inappropriate.

In the current budget debate, Democrats have belatedly acknowledged that we face serious deficit problems but they invoke the slogan “equal sacrifice” to justify their preferred solutions. They make the point that tax hikes must accompany any spending cuts—thereby equating the money that government takes from taxpayers with the money the government gives to those who benefit from entitlements and social programs.

This is dishonest and illogical: the fact that some people receive less from government, doesn’t mean others must give more. Letting people keep money they earned themselves maximizes freedom; giving out money that people never earned maximizes dependency.

Unfortunately, the “equal sacrifice” crowd never expects government itself to cut back on its power – by reducing its control through lowering crushing taxes, and trimming its influence by giving out fewer unearned rewards. 

Who is Peter Singleton?

DES MOINES, Iowa—Prominent Republicans here pretty much splinter into two camps on the question of whether Sarah Palin will jump into the 2012 presidential race.

One side points to a mysterious California lawyer named Peter Singleton as proof the former Alaska governor will definitely run. The other side points to Mr. Singleton as proof she won't.

"When it comes to Palin in Iowa, it's pretty much Peter Singleton," said Iowa Tea Party Director Ryan Rhodes.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Singleton is "visiting obscure county GOP chairmen, befriending tea-party activists, buttonholing lawmakers in the lobby of the state Capitol, and amassing a database of potential Palin supporters."

Is he some sort of Palinista working on the sly? No one knows for sure.

Mr. Singleton swears he has never met Ms. Palin and has no contact with her team. "I'm just a dedicated activist working on my own," he said.

Ms. Palin's aides concur, insisting that she hasn't met with Mr. Singleton and that he is in no way coordinating with her political-action committee.

But not many Republicans here buy the lone-wolf theory.

"I came away from our conversation convinced Mr. Singleton is organizing for her, and has an inside track on her 2012 campaign," said Jeff Jorgensen, GOP chairman of Pottawattamie County in the state's southwestern corner. He met Mr. Singleton for breakfast last month.

Regardless who he's really working for, the Sarah rumors in Iowa -- and across the country -- are growing fast and furious.

For the full lowdown on the possible Sarah run, check out the cover story in the May issue of Townhall Magazine.

In this piece, Obama's friends at The New York Times are warning him that he has serious "issues" according to the newest NYT/CBS News poll.

I mentioned earlier that President Obama's response to rising gas prices is to appoint a task force. This has been an ongoing theme in his administration: when in doubt, punt responsibility to a group of other people. Well, after punting to a deficit commission last year and then disowning that commission's findings because it didn't jibe with what he wanted, we now have the Biden Task Force to come up with long-term budget solutions.

Last year's commission wasn't successful by its own standards (there were no 'official recommendations' made to Congress), and the Biden Task Force is facing immediate obstacles as well.

“I’m at a loss to understand what the purpose is,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Thursday in an interview. He said Obama had not set a timeline for any decisions, although lawmakers from both parties are calling for some agreement on deficit reduction before the government reaches a limit in the coming months on how much money it can borrow.

Several members said it was unclear whether the commission, to be chaired by Vice President Biden, will become the source of a bipartisan deal on cutting the deficit or simply serve as a diversion while an agreement is quietly negotiated elsewhere.

Anyone have high hopes for yet another commission appointed by Obama to actually get something meaningful done?

High Gas Prices? Must Be Evil Corporations! Gas prices have been on a precipitous rise across the country over the last few months. And things won't get better anytime soon; summer months are typically high-demand for energy. With this in mind, Barack Obama has taken bold, decisive action: he's appointed a task force.

Not just any task force, mind you, but one whose premise is not that the U.S. government's energy policy has stifled domestic supply of oil and contributed to rising prices. Oh, no, that would be too easy of an explanation. Turns out the Obama administration believes there's a worldwide corporate conspiracy by "speculators" and "oil futures traders" to drive prices higher.

The group, which will be part of the administration’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, will focus on any manipulation of oil and gas prices, collusion, fraud, or other violations of state and federal laws, [Eric] Holder said in a memo.

They also talked about “areas that require additional exploration, including whether there is any evidence of unlawful price manipulation at the supplier level or higher,” Holder said.

So there you have it. Despite encouraging other countries to drill domestically in order to increase their own supplies, Obama thinks America's gas woes must be the result of illegal corporate market manipulation.

Roll Call is reporting that Nevada Sen. John Ensign will resign his Senate seat tomorrow amid ethics investigations.

Sen. John Ensign will announce within the next 24 hours that he plans to resign from the Senate, according to a well-placed source... Ensign's resignation comes amid continuing fallout from the scandal involving his affair with Cynthia Hampton, a campaign staff member married to Ensign's former senior aide, Doug Hampton.

Ensign wasn't planning on running for re-election in 2012 anyway, and his position in the Senate will be filled by gubernatorial appointment, not a special election. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, who defeated Harry Reid's son Rory in the 2010 Nevada election, will be the one to make that appointment.

As far as pure electoral politics goes, this might be a win for the GOP. Incumbency is a powerful force in Congressional elections, and having an incumbent, as opposed to a wide-open (and likely difficult) 2012 Nevada Senate race could be a good thing. The downside is, of course, that this casts an ethical shadow across the GOP in general. It's not that the Democrats are the 'clean' ethical party, but the most-recent-scandal is always prominent in voters' minds.

My coworker Katie Pavlich pointed out this story on Fox News: A baby who may be the "youngest surviving premature baby in the world," born at 21 weeks, was just allowed to go home Thursday:

"She was not initially expected to survive, as experts generally believe that babies born before the 22nd week of pregnancy will not live. Pregnancies usually last 40 weeks."

According to scientific standards, this child should should still be in the womb, yet, as Katie observed in our discussion, she's clearly a person, and being inside or outside the womb shouldn't make a difference in that fact. Yet our current law does and declares these lives free to be taken at the mother's convenience. No other part of our law says an innocent person should lose his or her life simply because it inconveniences someone else. So much for a person's right to life.

I have to hand it to him - if there is anything that President Obama knows how to do correctly, it is courting the youth vote. In the November 2008 elections, a record number of under-25s showed up to vote Democrat, and Obama clearly hopes to keep riding that wave through to November 2012.

Yesterday, the President co-hosted a town hall event with the founder of Facebook in Palo Alto, California. I mean, a friendly repartee with Mark Zuckerberg? Jackets off? First-name basis? He has carefully crafted such a cool, hip image, that the celebrity-worshiping, liberal-arts-educated, green-smitten youth herd cannot help being infatuated with him. Who needs critical thinking when President Hope-and-Change is on the job?




Later on in the town hall: "I do think Mr. Ryan is sincere... but I think that what he and the other Republicans in the House of Representatives also want to do is change our social compact in a pretty fundamental way. Yes, I think it's fair to say that their vision is radical. No, I don't think it's particularly courageous, 'cause the last point I'll make is this: nothing is easier than solving a problem on the backs of people who are poor, or people who are powerless, or people who don't have lobbyists or don't have clout. I don't think that's particularly courageous." Boy, when the President is surrounded by his adoring devotees, he can really share some stuff.

It's on the minds of virtually everyone watching the 2012 GOP presidential field: Is Sarah Palin in or out?


The storyline has been building since John McCain lost to Obama in 2008. From that moment, Sarah Palin has been courted by the grassroots tea party movement and lampooned by both the Left and the GOP establishment.

Despite being constantly in the media's crosshairs, Palin has managed to keep any thoughts of a 2012 run for the White House under wraps, which ironically has fueled the Palin rumor mill even more.

The the May issue, which is shipping to subscribers now, Townhall's Elisabeth Meinecke and Katie Pavlich take a look at the "Sarah question." Their cover story "Is She In or Out" examines why many believe she should run, her critics' case against her, and whether she can actually win.

The full story is available in the next issue of Townhall Magazine. Here are a few excerpts:


Despite those who have written Palin off as an unserious politician, she has substantial executive experience. During her time as governor, Palin vetoed millions of dollars in spending and put $1 billion of her state's surplus into a "rainy day" fund for Alaska. She made bidding competitive on the natural gas pipeline in Alaska -- which would reach to the 48 contiguous states -- and opened up the process to any company wanting to get involved rather than cutting sweetheart deals with the big three oil companies, as her Republican colleagues had done for years.

Her strong energy policy also would give America an advantage in national security. Democrats and Republicans both criticize America's dependence on foreign oil, and Palin is actually promoting a policy that works: drill in the United States. With gas near $4 per gallon and the unrest in the Middle East, there is a need to have someone in the Oval Office with a strong track record on energy, as well as a commitment to small-government policies in good times and bad. Palin's record couldn't be more different from the incoherent policy coming out of the Obama administration, which has waffled on recent uprisings in Egypt and Libya and pushed alternative forms of energy that are unproven at the expense of American jobs, economic growth and responsible energy sources that actually do work. ...

On social issues, Palin is a reliable pro-life vote. In Alaska, she signed a law that would require parents be notified if their underage child was considering an abortion and gave parents the authority to veto the decision. And when the Alaska Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional, Palin showed a willingness to fight for the law. ...


Policy aside, it also takes money to win elections, and SarahPAC currently sits on a massive war chest of funds. In the 2010 cycle, the PAC spent almost $4.4 million but took in approximately $5.7 million, leaving more than $1 million cash in hand as of Dec. 31. Nearly three-quarters of donations to Palin's PAC are contributions of less than $200, which is similar to Obama's fundraising strategy and success in 2008. ...

Since the failed 2008 GOP ticket, Palin has seen her star rise even further -- both financially and politically. In fact, Palin is so successful that some argue a run for president would be too much of a step down for her, rather than too far of a step up.

"I think the presidency is beneath her," Andrew Breitbart told GQ's Lisa DePaulo. "There's more power in being Oprah Winfrey than in being Barack Obama. It would be my goal for Palin to become Oprah and be the ultimate kingmaker for 20-odd years. Oprah anointed Barack Obama."

Ann Coulter, whose record is decidedly pro-Palin, gave her the highest of Coulter compliments, saying she's jealous of Palin's enemies, while suggesting the former governor look down her nose at a White House run. "I think she could win the nomination," Coulter said during an MSNBC appearance. "But I think it would be a step down for her to run for president. ... She's huge, she has enormous power." ...

The opposition to a Palin presidential run doesn't come from only the Left; Republican elites have been taking shots, too. ... But Palin's track record shows she couldn't care less about gaining Republican establishment support. And that's a good thing if she does decide to run in 2012, because finding allies for Palin among GOP leaders is akin to looking for Jimmy Hoffa's body. ...


So, what does Sarah think about a 2012 run?

Palin told Fox News recently that she's "tempted" to make a 2012 run: "I am still wondering who is going to be out there with a servant's heart, willing to serve the American people for the right reason -- not for ego, not for special interests. ... I'm waiting to see who else is out there who wants to do this." And she said in a New York Times Magazine article at the end of 2010 that her family was the "most important consideration" in the decision. ...

But, like Kipling's cat, Palin will walk by herself when it comes to following a presidential campaign playbook. ...

Meanwhile, conservatives, Republicans and political junkies await her decision.

Order Townhall Magazine today to ensure you get the full Sarah Palin cover story, and much more, in the May issue.

Eric Heyl, a columnist at the Pittsburgh Tribune, doesn't believe sales of firearms or attendance at the annual NRA Meetings and Exhibits Convention will increase among women because packing isn't "fashionable," saying the NRA's effort to attract women is "off target." 

To most women, such a seminar probably wouldn't have the same appeal as, say, a holistic facial at the day spa. But providing people with relaxed, radiant faces isn't part of the NRA's mission.

Before more women start attending the NRA convention, more of them will have to be armed.

The industry is unlikely to successfully tap that market until it conquers the pesky preconceived notions that likely turn off many females to the idea of gun ownership. Women likely won't consider packing pistols if they are concerned that:

-- Spending several hundred dollars on a serviceable handgun might leave them without enough money to get the full treatment at that next visit to the day spa.

-- Carrying a gun in a small purse would leave less room for more important items, such as lipstick or compact.

-- The baggy clothing required to successfully conceal most holsters would make them appear frumpy.

-- Gunpowder residue might stain the new Karen Scott blouse they just bought at Macy's.

-- The gunpowder smell when the weapon is fired could totally overwhelm the Chanel they're wearing.

-- Most firearm accessories come only in one boring color: black.

-- Target practice earplugs simply aren't sexy.

Clearly, Mr. Heyl missed the story about 25-year old beauty queen Meghan Brown in Florida, who shot and killed a home intruder with her hot pink .38 special. I'd say that is quite the fashion statement and as a card carrying NRA member, I wish they would put the smell of gunpowder into a perfume bottle, not to mention bright red lipstick and a black sidearm look pretty darn good together. On the "frumpy" comment, Mr. Heyl must have missed Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider and also missed that black is a classic, timeless and sexy color. If he thinks women are really worried about soiling the blouse they bought at Macy's while shooting, or for that matter in the heat of the moment while trying to stop an aggressor, women can simply Google "gun apparel for women," and choose from many different sites offering feminine shooting attire in addition to finding purses specially designed  to accommodate a small firearm while having the capacity to carry lipstick and a compact at the same time. 

Let me provide Mr. Heyl with just a few reasons why women may be turned on by the idea of owning and carrying a gun:

-Biologically, men are stronger than women and therefore women need something extra to protect themselves from men who want to rape and kill them

-Carrying and knowing how to use a gun reduces the chance of a woman becoming a statistic and joining the hundreds of women abducted and raped every year

-Carrying and knowing how to use a gun allows women to protect themselves rather than relying on someone else or the police after a violent incident has occurred

The NRA is absolutely on target in trying to reach women. If the NRA is going to target any group, it should be the most vulnerable to violent rapes and crimes: women.

In the end, protecting yourself from violent criminals is more than a fashion statement and women looking hot while doing so isn't a bad thing either.

Apparently, the TSA is partnering with local law enforcement to inspect different transportation outlets "during major events or as a random deterrent," according to this article from news station WTPV in West Palm Beach:

"Hoping to keep terrorists and others off-guard Transportation Security Administration conducted what it calls a random "Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response Operation" on Thursday morning at the West Palm Beach Tri-Rail station."

The article did not mention specifically what the operation involved, although I'm assuming this did not include patdowns.

But I thought the beauty of using rail as a form of transportation was avoiding TSA procedures, as The Hill remembers Obama saying in his State of the Union address this year: "Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail, which could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car," he said. "For some trips, it will be faster than flying – without the pat-down."

Ann Coulter appeared on Hannity last night and commented on the potential GOP 2012 field.

Apple has been named the "least green" technology company by Greenpeace.... Al Gore sits on Apple's board of directors.

Apple has come bottom of the most comprehensive green league table of technology companies because of its heavy reliance on "dirty data" centres.

The list, which is compiled by Greenpeace and released in San Francisco on Thursday, shows that the company relies heavily on highly polluting coal power at the sites that house its banks of servers.

Gary Cook, Greenpeace's IT policy analyst and lead author of the report, said: "Consumers want to know that when they upload a video or change their Facebook status that they are not contributing to global warming or future Fukushimas."

Surprising? No. Hypocritical? Yes.

I disagree with Greenpeace demonizing Apple for using coal as an energy source to produce amazing products like the Ipod, Ipad, Iphone and other top of the line products. Without coal energy, those products would not exist, however, it is important to point out the hypocrisy of Apple as a liberal leaning company, their "green" agenda and considering Al Gore is at the head of the environmental movement, it should be noted that he is once again practicing,"Do as I say, not as I do." 

The first hat has been cast into the ring for the GOP 2012 nomination, and it's former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. This isn't too surprising; it's a way to generate a little buzz for Johnson, who is currently languishing behind most of the other potential candidates as far as name recognition goes.

In fact, according to Gallup, Johnson is bringing up the rear as far as both name recognition and intensity goes. Despite a third-place finish at the CPAC Straw Poll, he's fallen in intensity in the last few months, and has come in near the bottom on Townhall's Presidential Straw Poll. Obviously, he's looking to build a little more recognition and name brand as the first GOP debates rapidly approach.

He made his announcement today in New Hampshire, where he said, "America needs a ‘President Veto’ right now – someone who will say ‘no’ to insane spending and stop the madness that has become Washington. That’s why I am here today to announce that I’m running for President of the United States. And I don’t do so lightly."

Check out the interview we did with Gov. Johnson in February at CPAC, where he said his main aims were to bring debt, deficit and spending issues to the forefront. He does hold some controversial views on the War on Drugs and foreign policy, which may turn out to hamper his performance amongst the GOP base in the primaries.

Tax dollars at work ladies and gentlemen! The Environmental Protection Agency is out with a new "rap" that suggests ideas about how people can help the environment and prevent climate change.



A lot of the ideas in the rap are common sense but we don't need the nanny state telling us how and when to turn our lights off, especially to prevent "climate-change."
 
Meanwhile, the Heritage Foundation has found the Department of Energy budget has increased by 76 percent in just 10 years, a staggering $11 billion expansion.

Well, this certainly is a horrifying story. Michigan State Police have technology that can download cell phone data wirelessly during a routine traffic stop. So if you're pulled over for rolling through a stop sign, the cops can now take everything on your cell phone against your will and without even telling you about it. This was uncovered and is now the subject of an ACLU request which, of course, the state police refuse to grant.  Via Duane Lester:

"Law enforcement officers are known, on occasion, to encourage citizens to cooperate if they have nothing to hide," ACLU staff attorney Mark P. Fancher wrote. "No less should be expected of law enforcement, and the Michigan State Police should be willing to assuage concerns that these powerful extraction devices are being used illegally by honoring our requests for cooperation and disclosure."

A US Department of Justice test of the CelleBrite UFED used by Michigan police found the device could grab all of the photos and video off of an iPhone within one-and-a-half minutes. The device works with 3000 different phone models and can even defeat password protections.

This has been described as a blatant violation of the prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure outlined in the Fourth Amendment. Beyond Clause 8, a project of the Michigan State University College of Law, has a long description of the worrisome ramifications of this new policy.

No, Michigan State Police Officer, you absolutely, without a doubt, positively, MAY NOT suck all the data out of my cell phone with your handy "extraction device." … The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Since we’ve got government actors in the form of state police officers, the Fourth Amendment applies. The first question is whether cell phone owners have a reasonable expectation of privacy in what is stored on their phone when they are pulled over. The reasonable expectation has long been defined by the Supreme Court in Katz. Justice Harlan explained that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy if 1) the subject of a search expected privacy, and 2) society generally agrees that such an expectation of privacy exists.

Drive safely, dear readers. Drive carefully. If not, Big Brother could have records of all your cell phone calls and, considering smartphone technology, your personal emails, photos, videos, and even highly secure data (the extraction devices have "password workaround technology."

This is an outrage, and the flagrant violation of personal privacy involved is reprehensible. The Michigan State Police have a lot of explaining and apologizing to do.

Not sure how anyone couldn't be ashamed of this -- the blog Wonkette published a post making fun of Trig Palin having Down Syndrome. The post is so disgusting that it's not even worth being linked to and giving it the traffic. It's an entire post dedicated to crude comments that definitely wouldn't pass any Leftist sensitivity test.  Here's a choice one:

 "“Why just celebrate tax day today, April 18th? It’s also Trig Paxson Van Palin’s 3rd birthday. His mom went to a lot of trouble to leak amniotic fluid over 8 states to make sure that he arrived in this world somewhat alive,” writes Wonkette operative “Barbara_i,” reminding us of the occasion. “Sarah went to a whole lot of trouble to name him ‘Van Palin,’ a ‘Van Halen’ reference he will never get.” Indeed."

Apparently, what precipitated the post was the fact that it was Trig Palin's birthday, and Team Sarah made a post celebrating that fact on the website.

Slow news day, Wonkette?