Free Republic

Almost 100 years' worth of rare British Airways maps, adverts and pilot charts have been compiled into a fascinating new book. Created by the curator of the British Airways' Heritage Centre, Paul Jarvis, Mapping The Airways reveals the intriguing charts that guided aviators and adverts that showed passengers where they could jet off to. From early advertisements for routes from London to Paris to state-of-the-art on-board moving maps, the 160-page book reveals 92-years' worth of intriguing aviation history.

<p>The chief of the National Park Service knew his book project would be squelched by agency ethics officers, so he went ahead and wrote it anyway without bothering to ask for permission, investigators said Thursday in a report detailing a striking level of negligence.</p>

The National Park Service’s closure of the World War II and other memorials violates rules requiring them to stay open, 93 House members charge in a letter to the agency. Led by Michigan Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga, they claim that Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis is simply making up closure rules to punish the public during the government shut down and they question the costs of the random closures in Washington where not all memorials are being closed. "The National Park Service continues to act in an arbitrary and punitive manner to exclude veterans from memorials built in their honor...

Betty Reid Soskin couldn't be more delighted to be dressing for work and getting ready to head into the office.Betty Reid Soskin couldn't be more delighted to be dressing for work and getting ready to head into the office. For Soskin, the "office" is the the visitor's center at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond, Calif., which has been shuttered since Oct. 1 because of the partial government shutdown. "I'm absolutely delighted," she told NBC Bay Area on Thursday morning, after Congress voted to end the shutdown late Wednesday night. "Right now, I'm...

Rep. Trey Goudy compares Occupy camping for 100 days vs. Shutdown blocking access to Veteran Monuments.

House Republicans on Wednesday pilloried National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis for his handling of national park and land closures during the government shutdown, raising questions about whether the agency’s reputation has been sullied by images of landmarks being barricaded to keep the American people off their own land. A tense joint hearing of the House oversight and natural-resource committees took place Wednesday following allegations that the NPS and its rangers had allowed themselves to become a political arm of the Obama administration, erecting the barriers to score political points and remind Americans of the primacy of government stewardship.

House Republicans on Wednesday assailed the National Park Service director for erecting barriers at national monuments during the government shutdown. They accused Jonathan Jarvis of violating federal law by putting up the barricades at 401 national monuments and parks with no apparent imminent threat. In a joint hearing Wednesday, the House Natural Resources, and Oversight and Government Reform committees met to review the actions of the Park Service since the government shutdown took effect Oct. 1. Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) charged the NPS with violating the Antideficiency Act in barring visitors from the parks during the shutdown. The law prohibits...

National Park Service director Jarvis said he discussed closing the open-air monuments and memorials with the White House, as well as the secretary of the Interior Department.

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Never underestimate the anti-tax wrath of California voters. Years ago, Californians were struggling under higher and higher property taxes that were continually getting reassessed and raised, and at one point they had had enough. In 1978, Proposition 13 was proposed to cap property taxes and limit reassessments, and it passed with a huge margin despite a firestorm of opposition from every politician around. The author and chief proponent of Prop 13, gadfly Howard Jarvis, became a minor celebrity and helped author similar ballot measures in other states.

Less than a week after Gov. Jerry Brown started using robotic telephone calls and mailers to gather signatures for his ballot initiative to raise taxes, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association plans to launch its anti-tax campaign today on the conservative "John and Ken" talk radio show. The taxpayers group this morning posted a red banner on its website inviting viewers to join a "Don't Sign the Petition" campaign. The banner links to a campaign website opposing Brown's effort to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

It may not be as provocative as comedian George Carlin's "Seven Dirty Words," a free-speech case that went to the Supreme Court in the 1970s. But a Washington area nonprofit group wants to take the U.S. government to the high court for banning the use of "Social Security" on its mailing envelopes.

HJTA's Ballot Recommendations For the November 8 Special Election HJTA recommends a YES vote on the following measures that appear on the November 8 special election ballot: Prop. 74 -- Extends length of evaluation for period before public school teaches are given permanent status. Prop. 75 -- Provides paycheck protection for public union workers by requiring employee consent before their dues can be used for political contributions. Prop. 76 -- The Live Within Our Means Act would slow down increases in state spending. Prop. 77 -- Reapportionment; would bar politicians from drawing lines that guarantee their re-election. HJTA recommends a...

Twelve members of the U.S. Senate are leading a "Coalition of Compromise" determined to forge a deal that allows the unconstitutional filibuster of President Bush's judicial nominees to continue. Lady Margaret Thatcher once said: “To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects.” It’s about time twelve members of the United States Senate were reminded of that quote. The following twelve members of the United Senate are working behind the scenes to literally forge a compromise of the...

The battle over the filibustering of judges is not merely a “political” battle. It is actually a battle over the US Constitution and this is not a battle Americans can afford to lose. You have heard the arguments against filibusters on judge nominations: “This overturns 200 years of Senate tradition;” “We demand fairness;” and “The President’s nominees deserve an up-or-down vote.” The fact is, “tradition,” “fairness,” and “deserving” are not sufficient arguments against those fighting viciously to undermine our Constitution. It’s the Constitution, Senator!

The battle over the filibustering of judges is not merely a “political” battle. It is actually a battle over the US Constitution and this is not a battle Americans can afford to lose. You have heard the arguments against filibusters on judge nominations: “This overturns 200 years of Senate tradition;” “We demand fairness;” and “The President’s nominees deserve an up-or-down vote.” The fact is, “tradition,” “fairness,” and “deserving” are not sufficient arguments against those fighting viciously to undermine our Constitution. It’s the Constitution, Senator!

Fact #1: In 1994 AARP was forced in a settlement with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to pay $135 million dollars. Even while negotiating this settlement and while not paying the taxes that force them into the settlement: Fact #2: The AARP made it possible for Social Security benefits to be taxed – first in 1984 then again in 1993 by refusing to work to eliminate this tax. Fact #3: The AARP allowed for Social Security payroll tax increases on hardworking Americans (more than 18 over the last four decades). Fact #4: The AARP was taking millions in taxpayer dollars...

A battle of the Social Security polls has developed, with supporters of private accounts accusing the AARP of distorting the issue when polling its members and the AARP charging that supporters of the president's plan continually gloss over possible pitfalls in its surveys... Charlie Jarvis, chairman and chief executive of USA Next -- a conservative senior citizens group that sees itself as a foil to the AARP -- called the AARP poll "despicable," saying its "emotional language" was designed to "guide them to a preselected answer." "It's a classic push poll," Mr. Jarvis said. "Their polls are completely manipulated surveys...

AARP, more than any other group in America, bears primary responsibility for the developing financial crisis of Social Security. That’s right. This fact surprises some people, but it’s true. For four decades AARP has claimed to represent seniors. In its leadership role, this political behemoth ($20 million spent annually on lobbyists) bears responsibility for every major policy action taken on Social Security since the early sixties. AARP should be excoriated for enabling and creating the financial problems in Social Security for which they now claim to have solutions. Unfortunately, AARP’s “solutions” are the very same bad policies that turned Social...

Dear AARP Members, Sometimes the things you DON’T do hurt people more than the things you do. The examples are endless. Turning a blind eye while someone is robbed when you have the ability to stop it – or at least call 911. Staying quiet when people verbally attack a friend with facts you know are not true. Or even simply sitting by and watching as a child follows the wrong crowd down a path you know will lead to trouble.