NASA Pulls Technical Database Offline During Spy Investigation

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NASA has taken its huge database of technical reports offline in response to the arrest last weekend of a former contractor suspected of spying for China.

The space agency decided to shut down the NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) as part of a broad security review spurred by the arrest of Bo Jiang, who was grabbed by FBI agents Saturday (March 16) on a China-bound plane at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.

"Ive closed down the NASA Technical Reports database while we review whether theres a risk," NASA chief Charles Bolden told the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday (March 20) during a hearing set up to probe possible security lapsesat space agency centers.

Questioning NASA security

Jiang had worked as a contractor for the National Institute of Aerospace at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. He's suspected of attempting to take sensitive technology back to his native China; officials say he lied to law enforcement about the electronics gear he was carrying aboard the plane. [NASA Chief Talks to Congress About Security (Video)]

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) announced Jiang's arrest at a press conference Monday (March 18), during which he also voiced concern about the information freely available in databases like the NTRS.

"NASA should immediately take down all publicly available technical data sources until all documents that have not been subjected to export control review have received such a review and all controlled documents are removed from the system," Wolf said.

At Wednesday's House hearing, Bolden pledged to undertake a broad internal review of space agency security protocols.

NASA has taken other actions in addition to closing down the NTRS, Bolden added. For example, he has tightened access to NASA facilities for people from countries viewed as espionage threats, including China, Burma, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.

No new access will be granted to citizens of those nations until further notice, Bolden said, and the ability of existing NASA workers from those countries to access agency facilities via remote computers has been temporarily suspended.

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NASA Pulls Technical Database Offline During Spy Investigation

NASA ‘s Mars Spacecraft Go Solo Next Month

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An unfavorable planetary alignment will force NASA's fleet of robotic Mars explorers to be a lot more self-sufficient next month.

Mission controllers won't send any commands to the agency's various Marsspacecraft for much of April, because the sun will lie between Earth and the Red Planet during that time. Our star can disrupt and degrade interplanetary communications in such an alignment, which is known as a Mars solar conjunction, so spacecraft handlers won't take any chances.

"Receiving a partial command could confuse the spacecraft, putting them in grave danger," NASA officials explain in a video posted Tuesday (March 19) by the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.

Transmissions from Earth to the Mars rover Curiosityare slated to be suspended from April 4 to May 1, officials said. No commands will be sent to Curiosity's older rover cousin Opportunity or NASA's Mars-orbiting craft Mars Odyssey and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) from April 9 to April 26.

Both rovers will continue to do stationary science work throughout the conjunction period, relying on commands sent up to them beforehand. [How NASA Deals with a Mars Solar Conjunction (Video)]

"We are doing extra science planning work this month to develop almost three weeks of activity sequences for Opportunity to execute throughout conjunction," Opportunity mission manager Alfonso Herrera of JPL said in a statement.

MRO and Mars Odyssey will continue science observations as well, though on a more limited basis. The orbiters will also continue their role as rover communication links, receiving data from Opportunity and Curiosity.

Odyssey will send information its own observations and the rovers' data Earthward throughout the conjunction period, though the mission team anticipates some dropouts, so Odyssey will send the data again later as needed.

Mars Myths & Misconceptions: Quiz

No planet is more steeped in myth and misconception than Mars. This quiz will reveal how much you really know about some of the goofiest claims about the red planet.

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NASA 's Mars Spacecraft Go Solo Next Month

Sequestration forces NASA to hold up educational and outreach efforts

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NASA via Twitter

NASA says the tweets will continue despite a "pause" in educational and public outreach initiatives.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

NASA is putting the brakes on its educational and public outreach efforts, due to the continuing standoff over the federal budget and the resulting sequestration of the agency's funds.

The cutbacks in NASA's activities, including social-media initiatives, were outlined on Friday in a pair of memos from NASA Headquarters in Washington. The independent SpaceRef website published both memos, including one that ordered a suspension and another that provided additional instructions for NASA's Communication Coordinating Council.

Automatic spending cuts are taking effect, at NASA and many other federal agencies, as the result of the failure by the White House and Congress to agree on a budget deal. Last month, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told lawmakers that sequestration would reduce NASA's overall budget from the $17.8 billion that Congress approved last year to $16.9 billion.

The space agency already has cut back on travel and training expenses. As a result, some of the space agency's scientists and executives had to pass up this week's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas. The new directives extend the cutbacks to online, multimedia and social-media initiatives as well as publications.

Operational websites and social-media accounts were excluded from the suspension, however which means existing Twitter accounts, including @NASA and @MarsCuriosity, can stay in business. NASA has rapidly expanded its online presence in the past couple of years, winning recognition from the Emmys, theShorty Awardsandthe Webby Awards. Just this month, the Mars Curiosity mission's social-media team won the South by Southwest Interactive Award for best social-media campaign.

Waivers were also granted for mission announcements, media events and products, breaking-news activities and responses to media inquiries. In an emailed response to NBC News' inquiry, NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs said additional guidance would be issued next week, addressing areas that would be exempt from the suspension.

"It's important to point out that it's a suspension, not a cancellation," Jacobs wrote. "The agency's budget for the fiscal year is more that $1 billion below the original request. We are taking prudent steps to ensure the resources expended on outreach activities are done so wisely.

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Sequestration forces NASA to hold up educational and outreach efforts

Budget mess forces NASA to hold up on outreach

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NASA via Twitter

NASA says the tweets will continue despite a "pause" in educational and public outreach initiatives.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

NASA is putting the brakes on its educational and public outreach efforts, due to the continuing standoff over the federal budget and the resulting sequestration of the agency's funds.

The cutbacks in NASA's activities, including social-media initiatives, were outlined on Friday in a pair of memos from NASA Headquarters in Washington. The independent SpaceRef website published both memos, including one that ordered a suspension and another that provided additional instructions for NASA's Communication Coordinating Council.

Automatic spending cuts are taking effect, at NASA and many other federal agencies, as the result of the failure by the White House and Congress to agree on a budget deal. Last month, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told lawmakers that sequestration would reduce NASA's overall budget from the $17.8 billion that Congress approved last year to $16.9 billion.

The space agency already has cut back on travel and training expenses. As a result, some of the space agency's scientists and executives had to pass up this week's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas. The new directives extend the cutbacks to online, multimedia and social-media initiatives as well as publications.

Operational websites and social-media accounts were excluded from the suspension, however which means existing Twitter accounts, including @NASA and @MarsCuriosity, can stay in business. NASA has rapidly expanded its online presence in the past couple of years, winning recognition from the Emmys, theShorty Awardsandthe Webby Awards. Just this month, the Mars Curiosity mission's social-media team won the South by Southwest Interactive Award for best social-media campaign.

Waivers were also granted for mission announcements, media events and products, breaking-news activities and responses to media inquiries. In an emailed response to NBC News' inquiry, NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs said additional guidance would be issued next week, addressing areas that would be exempt from the suspension.

"It's important to point out that it's a suspension, not a cancellation," Jacobs wrote. "The agency's budget for the fiscal year is more that $1 billion below the original request. We are taking prudent steps to ensure the resources expended on outreach activities are done so wisely.

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Budget mess forces NASA to hold up on outreach

NASA Video Captures Comet, Sun Storm and Earth Together

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A new NASA video has captured two cosmic wonders a comet and a massive solar storm with the Earth in the background as seen by a sun-watching spacecraft.

In the video, the Comet Pan-STARRS can be seen streaking through the inner solar system, orbiting the sun over the course of five days (March 10-15). As Pan-STARRS makes its ways into view, acoronal mass ejection(CME) an explosion of plasma from the surface of the star shoots towards Earth.

"The bright light on the left comes from the sun and the bursts from the left represent the solar material erupting off the sun in a CME," officials with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio wrote in a video description.

The dramaticvideo of Comet Pan-STARRS and the sun stormwas captured by one of NASA's twin Stereo spacecraft ( the name is short for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory).. Launched in 2006, the two Stereo probes work together to provide a constant watch on the sun's solar weather events. One Stereo probe orbits just ahead of the Earth while the other trails behind. [How to see the comet]

"While it appears from Stereo's point of view that the CME passes right by the comet, the two are not lying in the same plane, which scientists know since the comets tail didnt move or change in response to the CME's passage," NASA officials wrote.

Comet Pan-STARRS put on a brilliant show in the Southern Hemisphere before becoming visible to stargazers in the North during the first part of March. Astronomers using the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (or Pan-STARRS) atop a volcano in Hawaii initially spotted the comet in June 2011.

Pan-STARRS is one of two comets expected to put on a show this year.Since reaching its maximum brightness earlier in March, Comet Pan-STARRS has been getting steadily dimmer, but it should be visible low on the western horizon, just after sunset, to stargazers with binoculars or small telescopes, NASA officials have said.

Comet ISONshould make its first appearance in April, and some astronomers think it could be the brightest comet in a generation.

NASA's Stereo spacecraft are one of several missions that constantly monitor the sun for signs of solar flares and eruptions. The sun is currently in an active phase of its 11-year solar weather cycle. The current cycle is known as Solar Cycle 24 and is expected to reach its peak this year.

Editor's note:If you snap an amazing photo of Comet Pan-STARRS, or any other celestial object, and you'd like to share it for a possible story or image gallery, please send images and comments, including location information, to Managing Editor Tariq Malik atspacephotos@space.com.

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NASA Video Captures Comet, Sun Storm and Earth Together

Tama Waipara – Medicine Man Single And Video Release

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Tama Waipara - Medicine Man Single And Video Release

Tama Waipara releases Medicine Man the first single and music video from his forthcoming album Fill Up The Silence.

Written by Tama Waipara, Medicine Man started out as a very different song about music being the medicine of life.

Says Tama of the final music and video The core of the song and video is to find your voice, and to express yourself, in love and life. It makes me think of Dylan Thomas Do not go gentle into that good night, rage against the dying of the light It is also about looking towards the light and emerging from the darkness. The thread of dance was always crucial to the video as an expression of freedom, joy and the universal bond of rhythm.

Featuring dancers from Atamira Dance Company, Te Waka Huia and White Face Crew, the video was shot over several days in Auckland and directed by Jessica Sanderson whos past work includes Koras Drop Dead Killer.

The single was produced engineered and mixed by ex pat New Zealander Aaron Nevezie from Bunker Studio Brooklyn NYC who have previously worked with Questlove and The Black Keys.

Medicine Man is available on iTunes from today.

Medicine Man - YouTube Medicine Man - iTunes

http://www.facebook.com/tamawaipara http://www.twitter.com/tamawaipara

Tama Waipara Medicine Man Produced / Engineered / Mixed by Aaron Nevezie of Bunker Studio Music Video by: Jessica Sanderson ENDS

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Tama Waipara - Medicine Man Single And Video Release

Photobiomodulation Ranks Among "Hot Topics" in Laser Medicine

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WAUSAU, Wis., March 23, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- "Hot Topics" at Laser 2013 will include a Photobiomodulation Session on Friday, April 5 and Saturday, April 6 as part of the 33rd Annual Conference of the American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery, Inc. (ASLMS), April 3-7, 2013, Boston, MA.

The purpose of the sessions is to present and discuss the latest findings on light tissue interaction and basic mechanisms of photobiomodulation, pre-clinical and clinical investigations on the critical parameters, mechanisms, and effectiveness of light as a therapy for a broad range of clinical applications.

"The photobiomodulation sessions will provide up-to-date information on the underlying science and medical benefits of low-level laser therapy. The preclinical and clinical evidence for exciting new applications of photobiomodulation will be presented including treatment of central nervous system injury and disease, neuropathic pain, and cartilage damage due to osteoarthritis. Research will be presented on the use of photobiomodulation as an effective, adjunctive therapy during cardiac and spinal surgery to accelerate healing and reduce post-surgical complications and patient recovery time. Experimental evidence on the novel use of organic LEDs for effective treatment of chronic cutaneous wounds will be presented. A common thread throughout the photobiomodulation sessions is the effectiveness of low level laser therapy as a non-invasive treatment that alters inflammatory responses, accelerates healing and does not have the negative side effects normally associated with pharmacological agents," noted Juanita J. Anders, Ph.D., Session Director. Dr. Anders is a Professor of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics and Professor of Neuroscience at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. She has held positions within ASLMS since 1991 including, vice president, committee chair, board member, and member of the executive committee.

The sessions are designed for scientists, engineers, medical practitioners, individuals in industry and other health care professionals involved in biomedical applications of light. Session participants should have an understanding of light interaction with biological tissues and basic and clinical research.

"The photobiomodulation sessions at the conference will provide up-to-date information on the underlying science and medical benefits of low-level laser (light) therapy. Particular attention will be paid to the applications of photobiomodulation in dermatology, neurology (including traumatic brain injury and pain reduction), wound healing, kidney disease, and lung function. In the future, many of these medical applications may be performed using inexpensive home-use consumer devices containing safe effective light-emitting diodes," said Michael R. Hamblin, Ph.D., Co-Director. Dr. Hamblin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School, Principal Investigator at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Member of Affiliated Faculty at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology.

Maria Cristina Chavantes, M.D., Ph.D. will also serve as Co-Director.

Conference Registration is $490 for members or applicants, $525 for active members of the U.S. military and $750 for non-members. Students and residents are admitted free of charge.

To register or for more information visit http://www.aslms.org/annualconference/annualconference, call 877-258-6028 or email information@aslms.org.

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tel 715-301-1634 mobile 715-498-1242 fax 715-848-2493 email matt@aslms.org web http://www.aslms.org

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MedicalSchoolsInUSA.com Releases Review of Core Medical School Requirements, Prerequisites for the Upcoming …

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Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) March 22, 2013

As the season gradually transitions into spring, a number of aspiring medical school candidates have begun finalizing a checklist for the upcoming medical school admissions process.

According to experts at MedicalSchoolsInUSA.com, although prospective med school students will start to send in their application packets sometime this late summer or early fall, the season for medical school final preparation, review and assessment have started to heat up.

And to aid aspiring medical school students in their review, MedicalSchoolsInUSA.com, a leading source for medical school resources, rankings and advice, has compiled an informative guide for medical school requirements and prerequisites.

"The months leading up to the big medical school application wave can be the most stressful for a lot of prospective medical school students," explained Ben Davidson, a spokesperson for MedicalSchoolsInUSA.com. "There's a lot they'll be needing to factor into their medical school requirements. From the perfect MCAT score to stellar letters of recommendation, it can certainly be a daunting process."

However, according to Davidson, the key to beginning a medical school application prep is to hone in on the basics before anything else.

"Individuals interested in applying for medical school this fall will need to take the time to thoroughly review and assess where they stand in terms of gaining acceptance to their dream school," he explained. "Prospective med school candidates will need to figure out where they stand in terms of core medical school requirements and prerequisites."

According to experts at MedicalSchoolsInUSA.com, there are a few basic components to any medical school application.

The first, not surprisingly, is proof of a previous degree. While this most commonly comes in the form of a bachelor's degree from a four-year university, according to Davidson, that requirement isn't necessarily black and white.

"Medical school applicants need to show dedication and passion, regardless of the institution they've attended," he stressed. "Although the prestige of your undergraduate university will have a major say in the way that admissions teams assess your application, so long as you're showing consistency and dedication to your craft, you'll be fine."

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The Countdown to GTA V Part 198: (GTA Liberty City Stories Playthrough Ending+ Credits) – Video

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The Countdown to GTA V Part 198: (GTA Liberty City Stories Playthrough Ending+ Credits)
Welcome fans and viewers to one of the biggest series I have undertaken, the Countdown to GTA V! In this series, I will be playing EVERY single Grand Theft A...

By: TheAireaidLord

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The Countdown to GTA V Part 198: (GTA Liberty City Stories Playthrough Ending+ Credits) - Video

Statue of Liberty security post being moved over NYPD objections

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By Anna Hiatt

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. National Park Service is relocating security operations for the Statue of Liberty over the objections of the New York Police Department, saying on Friday it will move screening to Ellis Island from Manhattan when the statue reopens on July 4.

The statue has been closed to the public since late October because of Superstorm Sandy.

The landmark has been presumed to be a potential target since the hijacked-airliner attacks of September 11, 2001. Officials closed access to the inside of the statue after the attacks and did not reopen it for almost eight years.

The nearly 4 million tourists a year who visit Liberty Island, home of the statue in New York Harbor, previously went through airport-style screening in Manhattan before boarding ferries. That screening will move to Ellis Island, which sits next to Liberty Island and is home to an immigration museum.

"The Park Service's decision to reopen the Statue of Liberty without screening in Manhattan was made against the NYPD's recommendation and leaves unresolved the vulnerability to attack on ferry passengers en route to both Liberty and Ellis Islands," NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said.

The decision to move security operations came after a lengthy review, said Linda Friar, a spokesperson for the National Park Service.

The contract for the Manhattan security tent, which was badly damaged in the hurricane, expires at the end of March. Even before Sandy hit, the city's Parks and Recreation Department had asked the Park Service to remove the tent, Friar said.

The initial security facilities on Ellis Island will be temporary and the Park Service plans to build a permanent structure that can handle extreme weather.

U.S. officials announced plans on Tuesday to reopen the Statue of Liberty to tourists on the Independence Day holiday after a $59 million project to repair damage on Liberty and Ellis islands caused by Sandy.

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Liberty Media Walks a Tightrope

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We reiterate our long-term Neutral recommendation on Liberty Media Corp. (LMCA). The company is gradually restructuring its business model, targeting to control the subscription-based companies.

Why Kept at Neutral?

During the last six months, Liberty Media has been restructuring its business model. In Jan 2013, the company spun off its Starz Entertainment segment as a separate entity. Starz is famous for its premium movie channels. Management stated that this will unlock the latters value by optimizing its capital structure and enabling Starz to find several alternative ways and partnerships for both content creation and distribution.

Starz is famous for its premium movie channels. At the end of 2012, total subscribers base of Starz increased 9% to 21.2 million while its sister TV channel, Encore, had 34.8 million subscribers, up 5% year over year.

In the same month, Liberty Media acquired more than 50% controlling stake of SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (SIRI), the largest satellite radio broadcaster of the U.S. The company also raised its stake to 27% in Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (LYV), the largest concert promoter and ticketing company in the U.S.

Recently, Liberty Media has entered into an agreement with several private equity firms to acquire a 27.3% stake of Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) for a consideration of $2.617 billion. Charter Communications is currently the eighth largest pay-TV operator in the U.S. with around 5.2 million video subscribers.

After this acquisition, Liberty Media will get a solid foothold in the U.S. pay-TV market. Liberty Media currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Read the Full Research Report on SIRI

Read the Full Research Report on CHTR

Read the Full Research Report on LYV

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Liberty Media Walks a Tightrope

Liberty hire 4 former players to coaching staff

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NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Liberty have added four former players to the coaching staff, hiring Barbara Farris and Taj McWilliams-Franklin as assistants and Teresa Weatherspoon and Tamika Whitmore as associate coaches for training camp and various times during the season.

Farris and McWilliams-Franklin both won WNBA championships with the Detroit Shock under Liberty coach Bill Laimbeer before each subsequently came to New York. Farris, who spent six seasons in Detroit and was on the Shock's 2003 WNBA championship team, played for the Liberty in 2006-07. McWilliams-Franklin won a title with Detroit in 2008, and played in New York in 2010 before spending the last two seasons in Minnesota - winning another championship in 2011.

''I wanted assistant coaches that played the game and understand what championship teams are all about,'' Laimbeer said in a release announcing the hirings. ''Taj and Barb are both familiar with my coaching style and know what it takes to win a championship.''

McWilliams-Franklin ended her 14-year playing career after helping the Lynx reach the Finals for the second straight year last season before they lost to Indiana. One of two players in league history - along with Lisa Leslie - to have 5,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 400 blocked shots, she was an assistant at Rice during the 2012-13 season.

Weatherspoon was a four-time All-Star while playing for the Liberty during the league's first seven seasons and led New York to four WNBA Finals appearances (1997, '99, '00 and '02). Whitmore spent five seasons with the Liberty, appearing in the Finals three times.

''I reached out to Teresa and Tamika to understand the Liberty culture, it's important to respect past success,'' said Laimbeer. ''Both are hard-nose competitors, which is what I believe the culture has been and will continue to be with this team.''

Weatherspoon, inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, has been the women's coach at Louisiana Tech since 1999 and will continue in that capacity.

''This is a great opportunity for me to learn from someone like Bill Laimbeer, and I can't thank Louisiana Tech enough for allowing me to take this opportunity to grow as a coach,'' she said. ''Words cannot express what it feels like to return to a place that is so special and dear to me.''

The Liberty open training camp on May 6, and visit Connecticut in the season opener on May 25. New York's home opener is May 31 against Tulsa.

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Liberty hire 4 former players to coaching staff

GOP rebranding: Fire up the libertarian iron

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HOUSTON Most old school Republicans remind me of a man running for mayor on a platform of outlawing dancing at the high school prom. Obama reminds me of the guy you have dinner with who orders an expensive wine and then makes sure he's in the bathroom when the bill comes.

What if there was a party that espoused fiscal responsibility and minimal government, like the GOP says it wants, and kept its nose out of your personal business as the Democrats purport to? There is.It's called the libertarian party.

Republicans did an autopsy on why they keep losing to Democrats.Theysay they need to re-brand. I suggest the libertarian brand; it is currently not being used.

Instead of staying with an agenda of minimal government and concentrating on economic issues, the GOP always gets itself in the weeds on social issues and drives moderates and libertarians back to the "undecided" camp.

Republicans seem judgmental and odd, finding themselves out of touch with more and more Americans as they attempt to appease those social conservatives of their party who vote in primaries. The early straw polls are taken at the Iowa State Fair, presumably by Iowa fairgoers. They are given a choice while attending the fair: get in line to pick the GOP presidential candidate or buy a corn dog. Most decide what to do by which line is shorter.

Old school Republicans need to step aside or defer to fresher ideas instead of rejecting anyone or anything new. John McCain resented Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., calling him a wacko bird when Paul took a principled stand on the use of drones against U.S. citizens on American soil.

Perhaps Sen. McCain was just envious of Rand Pauls delivering a 13-hour filibuster speech without going to the restroom. It was a feat the aged "Flomax" McCain, whose Senate seat is located nearest the Senate mens room, could only imagine. Rands filibuster was one the ACLU and Democrats, if they had any intellectual integrity, should have staged.

Strom Thurmond still holds the record with his filibuster against the Civil Rights Act. Strom went on for 24 hours, stopping only briefly to father his biracial baby and demonstrate his sense of irony. Strom was nothing if not Jeffersonian.

Libertarians have the better argument on almost all issues. The Democrats are no longer a party with principles. They have turned into a Chicago-style political machine that rewards friends and punishes enemies under the pretense of high-minded ideology.

Obamas entire national defense strategy seems to be drone spying and bombing, combined with threatening not to pay anyone back on our debts. He is determined to destroy capitalism, successful people, and the free market system. Yet he is so bad at it, the stock market has attained new highs.

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A libertarian nightmare: Bitcoin meets Big Government

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For starters, Bitcoins are as cyberpunk as William Gibsons wildest dream: a form of monetary exchange invented in 2009 by a mysterious character who called himself Satoshi Nakamoto but then disappeared from view after unleashing his virtual currency upon the world. Bitcoins are undeniably cool: marvelously mined from the ore of computer processing power and electricity; more ready for prime time than any previous experiment in purely digital money. And Bitcoins, increasingly, are a success. At a Thursday afternoon all-time-high valuation of $72 per Bitcoin, there werearound $700 million worth of Bitcoins in circulation. People are using Bitcoins to buy real goods and services, to hedge against European financial calamity, and to score drugs. Thats money.

Over the years, Bitcoin has experienced ups and downs; the currency has been targeted by hackers and thieves and botnets and been victim to more than one embarrassing software glitch. But it has persevered, and this week, one can fairly say that Bitcoin came of age. On Monday, the U.S. Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released its first guidance as to how de-centralized virtual currencies should fit into the larger regulatory regime under which currencies of all kinds are required to operate. The word Bitcoin is never mentioned in FinCENs release, but thats just a technicality. Everyone in the Bitcoin community knew who the guidance was aimed at. Bitcoin is a big boy now. The State is paying attention.

But while some observers have applauded FinCENs guidance as acknowledgment that Bitcoin isnt illegal or considered a threat by the government, not everyone is cheering the news. Because theres a problem here. Bitcoin isnt just an elegant way to create money using peer-to-peer networks and cryptography. Bitcoin is a currency with an ideology. From the beginning, Bitcoin was envisioned as a form of monetary exchange that didnt need third-party financial institutions or central banks or even governments to validate it or back it up. Bitcoin is the fulfillment of a libertarian dream, a currency created out of the workings of the free market, unaffiliated with any state authority, respectful and protective of user privacy and anonymity, and designed to resist inflationary pressures. By its very nature, Bitcoin is made for people who dont want other people to know what they are doing.

Bitcoin, says financial pundit Max Keiser, is the currency of resistance.

Thats all fine and dandy, but then here comes the government with its strong suggestion that any organization that facilitates the exchange of Bitcoins into other non-virtual currencies needs to register with the proper authorities and start keeping a lot of bureaucratic paperwork. How does that fit in with the idea of resistance?

Not very well, as we can learn from one Redditor who chastised his fellow Bitcoin fans for celebrating the legitimacy conferred upon Bitcoin by FinCENs guidance.

From this situation to total government tracking of money flows and zero possibility to escape their theft, it is but a small step. The tax farmers have co-opted all of you into even more total servitude. But you celebrate that. How servile.

Sigh. Slave-minded idiots, nearly all of you, naively happy because the eye of Sauron has finally locked its sight on you, celebrating defeat as if it was a victory, cheering like mad cows as your farmers line all of you up at the slaughterhouse. May you get the cages you foolishly cheered for.

Mr. Eye of Sauron might be a little overheated, but theres a nugget of sense buried in his rage. Theres a contradiction at the heart of Bitcoin. The more popular Bitcoin gets, whether as a symbol of resistance or a perceived safe haven in financially troubled times, the more government attention it will inevitably draw, and the more inexorably it will be sucked into existing regulatory structures. Incomes denominated in Bitcoins will be taxed. Efforts at money laundering will be cracked down upon. Its the price of success. Resistance is futile.

* * *

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A libertarian nightmare: Bitcoin meets Big Government

Libertarian Party that helped Hudak to victory now wants lawmaker out of office

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Talk about irony. The party that assured Sen. Evie Hudak another term at the state legislature has joined a recall effort to get the Westminster Democrat out of office.

The Libertarian Party of Colorado is backing a recall effort spearheaded by Fire Arms for Colorado and ignited by the introduction and passage of Democratic-sponsored gun control measures.

Hudak narrowly won reelection last November against Republican challenger Lang Sias 47.2 percent to 46.2 percent. And, Libertarian candidate Lloyd Sweeny, received 6.7 percent of the vote.

Political analysts have said Libertarians tend to take more votes from Republicans than Democrats in elections.

Since Democrats introduced and passed stricter gun laws, several have been subjected to recall petitions, despite polls that note public support for some new firearms laws.

Two other lawmakers, Rep. Mike MacLachlan, D-Durango, and Sen. John Morse, also have been threatened with recalls.

Hudak drew criticism during the gun debate when in a committee hearing on a measure to ban concealed weapons on college campuses, she told a rape victim statistics are not on your side even if you had had a gun.

She later apologized.

Firearms for Colorado plans to hold an organizing meeting on the recall effort next week.

Follow Kurtis on Twitter: @kurtisalee

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Libertarian Party that helped Hudak to victory now wants lawmaker out of office