Free Republic

A classic example of why I don't believe any of the snake oil sales pitch about health care costs. Maybe when you print money all day, it becomes easier to spend. A Republican congressman is taking a hard look at a program in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing that would give hundreds of senior employees $75 gift cards in exchange for their printers, which the government already owns. "It's absurd and demeaning that managers would offer employees gift cards for the simple act of returning office property," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, said...

In 1991, James Payne wrote a book entitled The Culture of Spending. In the front jacket of the book he inscribed for me a quote from the French author and psychologist, Gustave Le Bon: "In politics, the name of things are more important than what they are." I found the quote as I flipped through the book searching for a particular passage I remembered from my original reading of the book. The original passage commented on the oft repeated view of those on the left that a dollar spent by the government is as good as a dollar spent by...

Fixing the financial sys tem so that it doesn't blow up the economy again isn't hard. But complex solutions help Washington and the "too-big-to-fail" financial firms maintain the status quo -- and make future problems worse. The administration and lawmakers are giving us pretend ways to fix finance. The latest came Tuesday from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd -- a 1,136-page plan for bureaucratic "reform," plus new bureaucracy. We'd get a "Consumer Financial Protection Agency" to police things like mortgages. We'd get an "Agency for Financial Stability," which would supposedly stop catastrophic risks, like AAA-rated mortgage securities, before they...

According to source in Chama the State Historical Preservation office (SHPO) sent a fax to the contractor demanding that he 'cease and desist' from any further work because they are not using 'historic' nails. I think SHPO got told where they could stuff it. They approved the project a long time ago, and I doubt they'll be allowed to imperil a historic property by stopping the re-roofing just before the winter. What may have caused this little problem was the pictures on The Goat, and references to use of a nail gun. Some clueless jerk who just wants to stop...

Morton Sloan feels besieged. Over the last several years, the Bronx-based entrepreneur has watched the property taxes on the ten Morton Williams supermarkets he runs in the city swell by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Increasingly aggressive city inspectors now linger in those stores for hours, writing costly citations for items that clerks accidentally mislabel. Some of Sloan’s suppliers say they’ll no longer deliver to New York City because of the Department of Transportation’s frequent parking-ticket blitzes. It gets worse: a new Bloomberg-administration program that encourages fruit and vegetable vendors to set up on street corners has left him scrambling...

Britain is the worst place to live in Europe, according to a new survey. Despite high earnings, our quality of life is sadly lacking. We spend more on putting a roof over our heads than any of our continental neighbours, work longer hours and die earlier. Our grocery and fuel bills are higher and we get fewer holidays than other countries. Researchers compared data from ten European nations. France came top of the league, with Britain rock bottom and Ireland second from last. That probably explains why more and more people who can afford it are getting out. The weather...

Controlling Healthcare Costs The American Way: Not Doing It 08 Oct 2009 In the comments to an earlier post, KennyBoy asks: And Megan, no one on your side of the argument seems willing to answer two simple questions. If every other country (don't split hairs, you know what I mean) can cover ALL of their citizens for LESS than the US does, with better outcomes, why can't we do that? This is a favorite question of would-be reformers. There are two answers, one theoretical, and one empirical. We'll start with the theory, which won't be new to regular readers; I've...

... Often in our daily interactions with government, the occasional absurdities that confound or dehumanize us — the spiteful clerk at the Department of Motor Vehicles, the I.R.S. form that might as well be written in Swahili — overshadow the larger successes we take for granted. Perhaps that’s because they remind us that there is little accountability in the system, no recourse for the wronged. No doubt 30 years of conservative attacks have also conditioned us to seize on any hint of bureaucratic failure in government, even as we let slide the similar ordeals suffered at the hands of banks...

Yes, I have my lunatic moments but you people really should be paying more attention to the lucid ones when they pop up. My entire political philosophy is based upon skepticism that a federal bureaucracy can't do much, if anything, well. The genesis of my opposition to President Obama has been the same since he became the front-runner in the campaign last year: most of what he proposes in the way of policy is predicated upon an efficient implementation and administration of programs by the federal government. This, in my less-than-humble opinion, is sheer fantasy. Tolkien couldn't have imagined a...

I have just finished reading William R. Forstchen's new novel One Second After. Briefly, it is about the instantaneous breakdown of American way of life as the result of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) which disables the nation's electrical grid as well as all sophisticated electrical components in cars (they stop), planes (they crash), telecomunications of every sort, etc. leaving the population in a world similar to that of the Eighteenth Century. Shortages of every variety create societal strains, chaos, death and destruction in a matter of weeks and months. Forstchen's book (with a forward written by Newt Gingrich), while fiction,...

Even as late as 1999, if you needed someone’s phone number or address, there were no White Pages or Yellow Pages like in the West. Instead, you had to visit these government-run information services sprinkled throughout the country. Upon receiving the requested information, which might not even be accurate or up-to-date, you paid a fee of about 15 cents per piece of information. Like most government-run services, they are open certain times of the day, and on some days not at all. When I and the friend with whom I was traveling arrived at one of these info service centers...

After speaking at a health care rally in Westwood last Saturday (still waiting to find out who "planted" me there, btw) I ended up in a conversation with three younger, left-leaning, pro Obamacare types who were videotaping the event. They seemed sincere enough, although I haven't checked to see if I've been subjected to some creative editing somewhere on YouTube yet. On the rare occasions that I can have an actual dialogue with anyone on the subject, we can begin to explore the underlying personal philosophies that drive people on both sides of the debate over President Obama's vision of...

Employees of the FAA’s air-traffic-control unit were asked to help, but the Transportation Department stressed Friday that essential safety personnel were not diverted from their duties.

Stimulus bill spending has slowed to a trickle, despite President Obama’s June order to his Cabinet to speed it up. The average stimulus spending per week has dropped severely, to just $4.2 billion over the past month from $9.7 billion during the prior four months. The government spent $2.9 billion in the week ending Aug. 7. Taxpayer groups say the numbers show spending decisions are random and prove that the $787 billion stimulus program has had no effect on the economy. “This is a typical bureaucracy. They don’t operate in an efficient way. They can’t operate in an efficient way...

13 years of age or older to participate. Residents of France and Germany must be 15 years of age or older to participate. Residents of Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland must be 16 years of age or older to participate. Residents of Italy and Japan must be 18 years of age or older to participate. Belgian and Canadian residents must correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question, if selected as a potential winner, in order to claim prize.

ExpressJet Airlines says it's sorry 47 passengers aboard a flight to Minneapolis were forced to spend a night trapped in a grounded plane during the weekend. Airline spokeswoman Kristy Nicholas told Monday's (Minneapolis) Star Tribune that weather problems at Twin Cities International Airport Friday night forced the pilot of a Houston-to-Minneapolis flight to land in Rochester, Minn., where the regional jet sat on the tarmac for nine hours. ExpressJet was operating the plane as a Continental Express flight, the newspaper said. ExpressJet's Web site says it flies more than 200 50-passenger Brazilian-made Embraer ERJ145 aircraft for Continental Airlines. Nicholas told...

If you haven't seen the Republicans flow chart, showing the web of bureaucracy that will come into being if the Democrats are able to push this steaming pile through Congress. House Minority Leader Boehner said today that this is how your health care with look under the Democrats plan to destroy healthcare. What ever happened to: Employer ---$--$--$--> You -$-$-$---> Doctor? Some of the varied stops your taxpayer dollars will make along the way from government to the doctor include the Office of Civil Rights, the Office of Minority Health, the Health Advisory Committee and the "Health Choices Administration," which...

State agency's new logo has an anarchist ring to it By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel Posted: July 2, 2009 Madison — As the state agency charged with running elections, the Government Accountability Board can't show favor for Republicans or Democrats. But is it biased toward anarchists? The board recently launched a new logo - an A inside a circle - that looks similar to the traditional symbol for anarchy. "It being an anarchy sign and the government - there's definitely irony there," said Madison's Ear Wax Record Shop owner Rob Cleveland, who is familiar with the anarchy symbol...

I came to Washington in 2001 to take a career job at the Department of Justice after spending many years in the private sector. I thought I could make a small difference in my particular corner of the executive branch, just like Jimmy Stewart’s character did in Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, one of my favorite movies. After I arrived in Washington, I developed a circle of conservative friends (both career employees and political appointees) who work in other federal departments. We all shared the same frustrations at the inability to get liberal policies changed in the government....

An ordinance will be brought before the Elkhart County Plan Commission Friday that looks to dim the lights and cut movement on electronic signs. The ordinance, proposed by county planners, would ban the construction of electronic message boards with flashing or strobing lights, lengthy animations or a bright output. It also limits electronic message boards from being placed in residential or agricultural zones unless they are approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals. "This is forward thinking," said Robert Nemeth, an Elkhart County planner who drafted the ordinance. "Sign prices are dropping and we would like to preserve an Elkhart...

Most adults can remember a few teachers who went beyond their required duties of teaching students: encouraging those who learned quickly to expand their interests, spending time with those having difficulty in learning assigned material. We also remember those who presented material and seemed indifferent to the learning of the students and, unfortunately, those were the majority. There were also those who did as little as possible, maintaining their own positions by giving passing grades to students who had little knowledge of what they were supposed to have been taught. Similarly, everyone has had the experience of dealing with a...

Larry Moore has been attempting to earn his way off the streets of San Francisco by shining shoes. He used to be one of the homeless drunkards bumming change from pedestrians up until about a year ago when he decided to try to pull himself up by the bootstraps, so to speak. While he still sleeps under the Bay Bridge, for the last 11 months he’s cleaned up his act—stopped drinking, bathes everyday, dresses neatly and works diligently at his trade. He’s been saving money to rent a room so he can get out of the ranks of the homeless....

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/art-bell-s-wife-denied-u-s-visa Art Bell's Wife Denied U.S. Visa June 06, 2009 Art Bell's Wife Denied U.S. Visa Airyn Bell, wife of radio talk show legend Art Bell, has been denied a U.S. Visa. Read about their incredible struggle against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). [Click the image on the left for proof the USCIS received the necessary documents from the Bells.] Please also help Art plead his wife's case. Contact the President and his staff at whitehouse.gov. Here's the letter Art Bell wrote to Senator Harry Reid on behalf of his wife Airyn Bell: My name is Arthur W....

John Schiffeler, a 68-year-old retired university instructor on ancient China, was walking his dog on a popular beach south of Carmel earlier this month. And, though he didn't know it, he was about to learn something disconcerting about the higher costs of modern life. Schiffeler recalls that the north end of Monastery Beach was almost deserted, except for himself, his 4-year-old German shepherd, Ares, and a couple. He asked the couple if they would mind if he let Ares off his 30-foot retractable leash. They said no problem. And Schiffeler broke the law: Dogs are supposed to be on a...

Health and Human Service Undersecretary Mortimer Graves cited figures on iatrogenic morbidity and mortality in rebuttal of criticism that national health care would increase delays in treatment. “While, in theory, the extra caution and review that will accompany the President’s reform of health care could cause additional deaths and suffering, the fact is, doctor error killed nearly 100,000 people last year,” Graves said. “It seems to me that when it comes to medicine, haste makes waste. If government intervention impedes access to physicians by elongating the process, less damage will be done.” Graves also contended that “in 90% of cases,...

By a nearly two to one margin, California voters rejected the “compromise” tax hike propositions put on the ballot by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and the Democratic majority of the state assembly. Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) called voters’ rejection of the measures “a tragic error.” “It’s a demonstration of lack of trust in those of us charged with governing this state,” Bass said. “We tried to minimize the pain. Now, it will be severe.” “Now we will get to see how voters like having their kids home early from school, paying for their own medicine, dodging the thousands...

Diesel rules OK'd despite scientist's deception According to a document provided this week by the California Air Resources Board, on Dec. 10, 2008, air board scientist Hien T. Tran admitted to Bart Croes, head of the air board's research department, that he had lied about having a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of California Davis. Tran was no minor player in the air board hierarchy. He was the lead scientist and coordinator of an ambitious, far-reaching study on diesel emissions that air board leaders thought made a powerful case for sweeping new rules governing the heavy-duty trucks responsible for...

Stung by criticism that his spending program will bankrupt the country, President Barack Obama promised to “put the screws to the bureaucracy” by asking his cabinet heads to “try to find, if you can, either a way to cut $100 million from the operating budget or to plausibly justify why it is impossible.” Despite skepticism in many circles, the President said he was optimistic “we can get this done, probably.” One idea gaining favor is to send out Social Security checks “postage due.” “It would save the government only 42 cents per mailing,” Obama admitted, “But there are millions of...

Pierre Lemieux is a libertarian Quebecer, which makes him a member of what may be North America's least electorally significant minority. He's a gun owner, and a couple of years back he was obliged to fill in the relevant government paperwork: Before renewing his gun permit in 2007, the authorities decided to inquire into Lemieux's bedroom history. Did he divorce anyone in the last two years? Did he break up with a girlfriend? If yes, use a separate sheet to explain. Pardon me? Explain? Well, it was nothing personal . Apparently, Canada's government feels it ought to know the romantic...

Finally, Americans are beginning to push back from the ideas, legislation, rules, regulations and directives, lack of control, abuse and intimidation brought upon us by Politicians and Governmental Bureaucrats. Much of America is ANGRY! It appears that much of the anger is being directed at our Federal Government and its probable abuse of our precious Constitution. The Federal Government certainly deserves this attention; however, I believe that Taxpayer displeasure should also be directed at State, County and local governments, School Boards and a multitude of other Governmental Authorities and Boards. Several hundred, perhaps over a thousand Tea Parties are being...

SACRAMENTO — An issue that briefly brought President Barack Obama ridicule on the campaign trail last year is gaining traction in California, where air regulators are seeking to mandate proper tire inflation as a way to reduce fuel consumption. The state Air Resources Board today adopted a resolution requiring auto repair shops to check tire pressure every time drivers bring in their vehicle for maintenance, oil changes and smog tests. The next step is to develop detailed rules to implement the mandate, which will take effect in July 2010. Regulators say widespread awareness of having properly inflated tires could lead...

The U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington ruled that the Clean Air Act authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate agriculture in the United States. The case stemmed from the American Farm Bureau Federation’s appeal of a 2006 EPA effort to hold farms to the same standards as cities with regard to particulate air pollution. EPA spokeswoman Virginia Landers lauded the court for rejecting the argument that farming naturally entails stirring up dust. “When you get right down to it, the whole agricultural process of turning over the soil to plant crops is unnatural,” Landers observed. “No plant sows...

The state is trying to shut down a New York City doctor's ambitious plan to treat uninsured patients for around $1,000 a year. Dr. John Muney offers his patients everything from mammograms to mole removal at his AMG Medical Group clinics, which operate in all five boroughs. "I'm trying to help uninsured people here," he said. His patients agree to pay $79 a month for a year in return for unlimited office visits with a $10 co-pay. But his plan landed him in the crosshairs of the state Insurance Department, which ordered him to drop his fixed-rate plan - which...

It was some years that I sat at the bar of a rural pub in southeastern England; a night in mid-winter when it was dark both outside and within, culling through piles of coins I had laid on the bar. Decimalization of British currency had occurred some years before, but the old one-shilling and two-shilling (12 pence and 24 pence, respectively) coins were still monetized, serving as 5 pence and 10 pence pieces under the new system. I was looking for those, and much to my gratification, finding many of them; even silver ones, even a few pieces dating back...

UPDATE: The three top officials seeking 5 percent raises also got 5 percent cost-of-living increases this year. So this request would bring their raises to 10 percent. The vote is tonight. Stay tuned. Fort Lauderdale city commissioners will talk Tuesday about giving 5 percent raises to three of their top officials. Namely, Mr. No. 1 on the list of 100 Highest Paid Employees in the city government, Harry Stewart, the city attorney. And the city auditor and city clerk. Police and fire union members already got their 5 percent raises. That's the going rate in Fort Lauderdale City Hall. Stewart's...

Expect chilly temperatures in Hell (more commonly known as Michigan) tomorrow, when Republican Drain Commissioner Dennis Lennox will ask that his office be terminated in order to save taxpayers funds, according to a spokesman for the politician. CHEBOYGAN, Mich. (Feb. 8) -- County Drain Commissioner Dennis Lennox will ask the Board of Commissioners to fire him by passing a resolution to abolish his office during Wednesday's session, which is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. While drain commissioners play a role in agriculture-dominated counties, Cheboygan County has little need for the position... "There is nothing for the drain commissioner to...

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ inefficiency turned U.S. law and order into a travesty There is another crisis on the verge of catching fire in America and the bailout has already begun. It is the bailout to fix the costly fallout created by decades of failed immigration policies that taxpayers have been funding and will continue to fund to mop up the mess. Last November, a fraction of the bailout went to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a $2.6 billion a-year agency. The USCIS received $500 million over five years to modernize its case management system. This agency...

State-mandated regulations on sprinklers aim to conserve water but also could lead to a dramatic spike in the cost of new systems. Some in the industry say that, long-term, the new regulations should benefit irrigation installers and property owners. But the higher costs and slower turnaround time could hurt them, especially in a slumping economy. "What used to be $2,500 for an average installation is now going to be about $4,000," said Steve Campbell, owner of Collin County Sprinkler & Lighting in Frisco. "I'm afraid that people will just decide not to put in a sprinkler system." City officials, who...

When times are tough - and these are unquestionably very, very tough times - our fearless politicians in Washington can be counted on to call upon the American public to "make sacrifices." This then begs the question: "What sacrifices are they making?" Let's get real. The "sacrifices" our intrepid leaders in Washington are calling on you and me to make are not voluntary, but forced upon us by the irresponsible conduct on the part of congressional lawmakers of both parties. As I see it, if the working men and women and those who are retired and living on a fixed...

Recycling ordinance is move in right direction In the past, the traditional "Three Rs" were reading, writing and arithmetic -- and obviously not spelling. But outside the classroom today, people are adopting another R trinity: reduce, reuse and recycle. The importance of this new mantra is becoming increasingly clear. (The school budget is over by $2.1 Million and the kids still can't pas the state FCAT exams) The Key West City Commission (Led by Mendacious McPherson RINO), at its Jan. 6 meeting, will be considering a proposed recycling ordinance. The main focus of this ordinance is to increase the percentage...

Lee set to get tough with leftist forces: Cheong Wa Dae By Yoo Cheong-mo SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak is determined to crack down on intensifying ideological provocation by domestic left-leaning forces, viewing it as a threat to South Korea's national identity, presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan told reporters Tuesday. "President Lee is concerned that the constitutional values of the Republic of Korea are increasingly challenged by leftist forces seeking to promote anti-U.S., pro-North Korea and anti-market viewpoints across society," said the spokesman, referring to President Lee's statement on Tuesday that the national identity has been under attack....

New York’s Governor David Paterson dismissed criticism of his proposed deficit-closing $4,000/household tax-hike package as “socially unacceptable.” “First, let me point out that only those who still have money will be affected,” Paterson said. “Those who’ve already been thrown into the streets will, naturally be exempt from this tax increase.” “Second, the absence of widespread protests against the outrageously insensitive portrayal of me on Saturday Night Live is evidence of a callous indifference marking my fellow New Yorkers as worthy of a sharp rebuke,” Paterson alleged. “A tax hike during these otherwise hard economic times is, in my mind, a...

New York City authorities have issued warnings to local churches to cease providing shelter to the homeless. “Our contracts require that shelters must be open at least five days a week,” explained city Housing Administrator, Ara Siliman. “There must be uniformity of service parameters throughout the region.” The church facilities ordered to close down, however, are not under contract with the city. Some, staffed by volunteers, cannot manage to stay open the requisite number of days. “This mentality would’ve had Joseph and Mary thrown into the street because the stable wasn’t a five-day-a-week accommodation,” observed Fr. Ignacious O’Connor of the...

One of the more astute observations on the role of government in farm policy ever uttered was offered by then-congressman, later (from 1991-93) secretary of agriculture, Ed Madigan. “The majority of farmers,” Madigan, a moderate Republican, told me in a September 1984 interview between campaigning around his central Illinois district, “just want to be left alone.” So, added the Ranking Member of the House ag committee, “I leave ’em alone.” Twenty-five years and hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars later, Madigan’s leave-’em-alone admonition remains as true as it is unheeded. A generation of expensive, expansive policy has delivered a corporate...

ROME – The U.N.'s food agency will slim down its bureaucracy, work to cut costs and make investments that will improve efficiency as part of a reform plan adopted by member nations on Wednesday. The Rome-based agency's director-general, Jacques Diouf, also called on members to come up with an immediate $21.8 million (euro17.26 million) as part of the funding needed for the three-year plan, which was approved by the agency's highest governing body. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization was founded in 1945 with a mandate to raise nutritional standards and living conditions around the world. It has 191 member...

An inmate escaped from jail in Germany by posting himself out of prison in a giant FedEx box of dirty laundry...

With visions of a massive liberal majority in the next Congress and the power to remake economic policy for the next generation, Democrats are dusting off their New Deal history books and openly discussing the idea of re-engineering Depression-era agencies for the 21st century. Several lawmakers want to bring back the Home Ownership Loan Corp., and others have discussed resurrecting the defunct Reconstruction Finance Corp., a federal program that made direct loans to businesses. Others see a lame-duck stimulus bill less as a short-term cash infusion for the economy and more as a long-term, government-driven jobs creator — a kind...

My career at the Arizona Department of Transportation (AzDOT) wasn't planned from the start. I had some academic training in economics, but no background or training in transportation. As a libertarian, I had an instinctual aversion to government. However, after a lengthy dose of unemployment, I broke down and took what I felt would be a temporary position with AzDOT in 1976. My suspicions about government were confirmed early on in my employment. One of my first assignments was to analyze the "need" for commuter airline service subsidies in Arizona. I went into this study with virtually no knowledge of...

OUTTA SIGHT! [PART ONE] The Winnowing of the Candidates By John W. Cassell Where have all the candidates gone…short time passing? This is my attempt at an answer to the question “where has the spontaneity gone” asked earlier. This is where it gets tricky, folks. This is the part we never see. They don’t cast any blinking, blinding bright lights on THIS process…no music and special effects psychologically calculated to bring a human being to the point of joyful tears, no matter WHAT is going on at the podium. This is where both the spontaneity went and the real power...

OUTTA SIGHT! [PART ONE] The Winnowing of the Candidates By John W. Cassell Where have all the candidates gone…short time passing? This is my attempt at an answer to the question “where has the spontaneity gone” asked earlier. This is where it gets tricky, folks. This is the part we never see. They don’t cast any blinking, blinding bright lights on THIS process…no music and special effects psychologically calculated to bring a human being to the point of joyful tears, no matter WHAT is going on at the podium. This is where both the spontaneity went and the real power...