CFIF (Center For Individual Freedom) 08/02/2013

	"Recovery Summer," Episode V – New Government Report Shows U.S. Economy Stalling Five Years into Recovery Three long years ago this week, on August 2, 2010, former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced unambiguously in The New York Times, "Welcome to the Recovery." That was during the second of the Obama Administration's so-called "Recovery Summers." Now into our fifth such summer, Americans still await an actual recovery. That unfortunate reality was reinforced this week, when the U.S. Commerce Department announced second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth of just 1.7%. Read more now.
	Detroit's ObamaCare Bailout Could Bankrupt the Young and Healthy With the Obama administration gearing up to spend $700 million on an advertising blitz to convince the young and healthy to sign-up for insurance under ObamaCare, cash-strapped cities like Detroit are emerging as the biggest obstacle. The reason: Tens of thousands of retired public employees are owed billions in lifetime health care coverage. Read more now.
	Obama Gripped by Intellectual Exhaustion This is what a president in the grips of intellectual exhaustion looks like. Obama has already fired most of liberalism's big guns. He's turned healthcare essentially into a public utility. He's raised taxes. He's expanded regulation. He's tried a nearly trillion-dollar stimulus. He's shoveled money out the door to alternative energy companies. None of it has worked. And now all he's left with is liberal detritus. Read more now.
	Podcast: Lessons Learned the Hard Way in Detroit CFIF Senior Vice President Timothy Lee discusses the liberal policy decisions, which spanned multiple decades, that contributed to Detroit's bankruptcy and compares them to the limited-government policies in Houston, Texas, a city that is thriving. Listen to the interview now.
EDITORIAL CARTOONS View more of Michael Ramirez's latest cartoons now. QUESTION OF THE WEEK Which one of the following is the highest U.S. elected office denied a candidate as a result of a sex scandal? A) President of the United States B) Vice President C) U.S. Senator D) State Governor Get the correct answer now.
	JESTER'S COURTROOM Into the Deep End An Ohio couple is being sued by the local electric utility company because of the placement of their swimming pool. According to news sources, Ohio Edison Co. is suing Joseph and Marsha Bettura of Boardman, Ohio, claiming their in-ground swimming pool interferes with safe and reliable electricity delivery over the company's 69,000-volt overhead transmission lines. Yet, the pool has been there for 21 years. "Why now?" Joseph Bettura asked. Read more now.
	QUOTE OF THE WEEK Michael Tanner, Cato Institute Senior Fellow, On Finding the Courage to Defund ObamaCare: "[S]ometimes lawmakers really should stand for something more important than their own reelection. Obamacare is such a fundamental transformation of the American health-care system, and its consequences for patients, providers, taxpayers, and the economy are so grave, that if this is not an issue that Republicans are willing to lose their jobs over, what is? ... "At the very least, Republicans ought to try something. As Senator Lee told Fox News, 'Maybe we can't repeal [Obamacare] right now, but we can delay its funding. And if we can delay it, we can stop its consequences, at least for now.'" Read more of this week's notable quotes now.
	FREEDOM LINE HIGHLIGHTS Ramirez Cartoon: The Holder Justice Department Killing ... with Kindness New Survey: Americans Overwhelmingly Support Intellectual Property Rights, Efforts to Fight Piracy ObamaCare Bites Its Handler Howard Dean: "Repeal IPAB" Gallup: Fed Unemployment Formula Distorts Jobs Picture Another New Study Shows Destructive Impact of LEED Standard on Jobs, Domestic Timber Industry What If Spitzer Becomes NYC's Comptroller? Wisconsin's Walker Previews Potential 2016 Message