This remarkable young woman and her teammates, who have trained to compete at the highest level of their sport at such a very young age, have managed to retain the emotional faculties to be so cognizant, even in the heady rush of victory, of the suffering of others. So much lip service is paid to the hollow cliche that the word “sportsmanship” has become, but it took a young woman who may not even have her driver’s license yet to remind us what it can truly mean.

True rights, such as those in our Constitution, or those considered to be natural or human rights, exist simultaneously among people. That means exercise of a right by one person does not diminish those held by another. In other words, my rights to speech or travel impose no obligations on another except those of non-interference. If we apply ideas behind rights to health care to my rights to speech or travel, my free speech rights would require government-imposed obligations on others to provide me with an auditorium, television studio or radio station.

P.J. O’Rourke crystallized the basic concept in the “Liberty Manifesto” speech to the Cato Institute some time ago:

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.

Ronald Bailey investigates the question of cultural polarization for reason.com

Why do members of the public disagree—sharply and persistently—about facts on which expert scientists largely agree?

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Like many people we have been struggling to figure out what we should do to help.  With so many groups collecting donations, and some past accusations of waste and outright fraud, we’d like to be able to provide real assistance.

We know that Americans are one of the most generous societies that the world has ever known.  Many, many people will do what they can to help.  We encourage all who have the means to donate what you can.  There are many good, honest groups if you wish to get involved.  If you are unsure of which direction to follow, we suggest that this is a good one.

We have made a donation to the group discussed in this article (clck the headline below to go to the link):

Ex-UW football player launches personal Haiti relief effort

“I knew I’d come out of retirement at some point …”

With those words, Jake Wood began a recent blog post, explaining his latest mission to Haiti to his many faithful followers on the Internet.

Wood is a former University of Wisconsin football player who enlisted in the Marines after graduating from college in 2004. His tour of duty complete, Wood sprang back into action after Tuesday’s devastating earthquake in Haiti.

In a matter of 96 hours, Wood put together his own relief team, then hopped on a plane on Saturday to go do what he can to help the victims.

As they say, “Read the whole thing.”

The most important statement is made at the very end of the video.  Don’t believe anyone, do your own research.

The Warrior Song.

The main points are still valid, if not critical, in today’s environment.