Free Republic

Rush Limbaugh says Obama's “Nudge Squad” is designed to promote certain behavior. I'm sure he just misspoke. The Nudgers themselves admit they are attempting to do much more than just promote. Government can and already does produce commercials that merely promote an agenda. No, the “Nudge Squad” is not a promotional group. These “behavioral scientists” are charged with steering us into making the “correct” decisions.And who gets to determine what’s the correct decision? Why, the administration. They are the arbiters of right and wrong, good and bad behavior.Do you recall the statement by Bill Clinton, circa 1999? Thanks to the...

The White House has kicked off several federal projects aimed at influencing how Americans react to certain policy reforms, going so far as to solicit behavior experts to join a British-style “Behavioral Insights Team” to help nudge voters into accepting key political programs. “Behavioral sciences can be used to help design public policies that work better, cost less and help people to achieve their goals,” a document on the government program states, Fox News reported. The document, emailed by White House senior adviser Maya Shankar and obtained by Fox News, also seeks applicants to join the federal government’s behavior modification...

Ravi Shankar, the Indian sitarist and composer whose collaborations with Western classical musicians as well as rock stars helped foster a worldwide appreciation of India’s traditional music, died Tuesday in a hospital near his home in Southern California. He was 92. Mr. Shankar had suffered from upper respiratory and heart ailments in the last year and underwent heart-valve replacement surgery last Thursday, his family said in a statement. Mr. Shankar, a soft-spoken, eloquent man whose performance style embodied a virtuosity that transcended musical languages, was trained in both Eastern and Western musical traditions. Although Western audiences were often mystified by...

India's ambassador to US has been pulled from an airport security line and frisked by a security agent in Mississippi, it has emerged. The hands-on search took place last week even after Meera Shankar's diplomatic status was revealed. Some reports said Ms Shankar, who was on her way from a conference, was singled out because she was wearing a sari. The Indian embassy in Washington has strongly protested about the incident.