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Thinking of having a yard sale this weekend? Before you do, be sure to consult CSPC Publication #254 [PDF]. This handy 28-pager from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reminds the American people that, thanks to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, the government is totally in charge of your yard sale: This handbook will help sellers of used products identify types of potentially hazardous products that could harm children or others. CPSC’s laws and regulations apply to anyone who sells or distributes consumer products. This includes thrift stores, consignment stores, charities, and individuals holding yard sales and flea markets....

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2009 – U.S. forces in Iraq are equipping Iraqis with the skills they need to assume a greater role in their nation’s security. A bonfire lights the sky as noncommissioned officers from the 172nd Infantry Brigade welcome 22 graduates of the Blackhawk Warrior Leader Course into the leadership ranks at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq, March 7, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Bethany L. Little  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. An integral part of that process is training, and U.S. forces are arming themselves with knowledge so they, in turn, can help outfit Iraqis...

Unemployed for a year and with an ailing wife at home, Mike Hammer stepped out of his truck in a Concord strip mall and walked into the heart of one of the most sophisticated private welfare systems in the country. Here, in a plain white box of a building, Hammer and other Mormons come to get groceries - everything from produce to meats, much of which comes from Mormon-owned farms and cattle ranches. Others come for counseling, employment help and a self-canning facility, where observant Mormons can up to a year's worth of food supplies in the event of an...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, July 30, 2008 – Last month, Iraqi soldiers in Taji recovered two broken-down Humvees on their own and restored them without any help from coalition maintenance personnel. Small accomplishments like that are becoming more and more common, and cumulatively they mark milestones toward the Iraqi security forces becoming self-sufficient. A member of the Iraqi security forces pulls security duty during the inauguration ceremony for the Najaf International Airport, July 20, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michel Sauret, Multinational Division Center  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The difference between the partnership he experienced with...

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2008 – Various enabling capabilities for Iraq’s security forces must mature before the country is capable of handling internal and external threats without help, a senior military official said yesterday. The Iraqi government does not expect to be prepared to counter internal threats without coalition assistance before 2012, U.S. Air Force Col. Dean Clemons, military advisor to Iraqi Defense Minister Adul Kader, said in a teleconference with online journalists and “bloggers.” Clemons noted that in Capitol Hill testimony in January, Kader also said he believes Iraq won’t be ready to independently defend against external threats until sometime...

Do people on the dole have a reasonable expectation of privacy vis-à-vis their financial affairs? No. That question, though not always my answer, is coming up frequently as defenders of the Democratic Party's $35 billion SCHIP expansion proposal condemn bloggers and talk show hosts, including Rush Limbaugh, who have examined the statement penned by aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and delivered as the official Democratic Party rebuttal to President Bush's weekly radio address by 12-year-old Graeme Frost, that the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is for "families like mine." The questioners' question: If Graeme Frost's family isn't...

If you're having money problems, you probably have good reasons. Maybe you're getting less overtime or your expenses have unexpectedly climbed. Perhaps your ex left you with big debts. Maybe your parents never taught you about money. You might blame the economy for the fix you're in. Then there's the whole credit industry, which hands out credit cards like confetti before slapping you with interest rates that would make a loan shark blush. Or maybe you're just not good with numbers. You may comfort yourself with the idea that your money fix isn't entirely your fault. Here's the thing, though:...

A poor Iowa farm boy became one of humanity's greatest benefactors. --- Who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970? You may be forgiven for not remembering, given some of the prize's dubious recipients over the years (e.g., Yasser Arafat). Well, then: Who has saved perhaps more lives than anyone else in history? The answer to both questions is, of course, Norman Borlaug. Who? Norman Borlaug, 92, is the father of the "Green Revolution," the dramatic improvement in agricultural productivity that swept the globe in the 1960s. He is now the subject of an admiring biography by Leon Hesser... "The...

Americans ought to regard the word "growth" with trepidation. When invoked by presidents and economists, it is meant to imply ideas like "more" or "better." It's a habit of thinking left over from the exuberant phase of the industrial age, when there was always more of everything to get. Nowadays, though, as we enter terminal years of cheap energy, the word "growth" invokes a new set ideas. For instance, "impossible." With the price of oil edging toward $70-a-barrel now, and likely to flirt with $100 by the end of the year, the effect will be higher costs for virtually all...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2005 – Those who question why it seems to be taking so long to build Iraq's security forces don't fully understand the magnitude of the challenge, a general who recently returned from training them explained during a recent interview with the Pentagon Channel and the American Forces Press Service. Creating highly trained Iraqi security forces involves far more than simply channeling recruits through a basic training course, said Army Brig. Gen. Richard J. Sherlock, who recently took the reins as the Army Reserve's deputy chief. The task requires building leadership capabilities at all levels and molding members...

Some of the trucks, front-end loaders, and giant back-hoes provided by the Non-Construction Sector for ongoing maintenance of the Sweet Water Canal in southern Iraq. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Division photo. Canal Projects Deliver Water, Self-sufficiency Work to ensure the Sweet Water Canal water quality and reliability also provides local Iraqis the tools necessary to maintain this resource. By Denise CalabriaGulf Region DivisionU.S. Army Corps of Engineers BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 5, 2005 — Due to the desert-like climate and high salinity of water in southern Iraq, two million residents of Basrah have long relied upon the...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. VHeadline.com's roving commentarist Fred Cederholm writes: I've been thinking about dependence ... about our deficits with oil, manufactured goods, capital, and China. The forthcoming July 4 holiday was supposed to be a celebration of American Independence. The self-sufficient America of bygone days has devolved from a "production engine" to a "consumption sump" for the world's energy, goods and capital. The world's greatest creditor nation has become the largest debtor nation. Freedom of choices and actions at home (and abroad) are now governed by these our dependencies. You see, when you are...

Whatever happened to compassionate conservatism? Despite the Bush administration’s focus on the war against terror, the idea didn’t disappear. But as White House thinking developed, it got incorporated into a larger, more profound domestic theory. Yes, we need a safety net, the current view seems to go; but we don’t need a European-style welfare state. What’s called for is the traditional American opportunity society, as much a boon to the poor as to everyone else. Implicit in compassionate conservatism was an epochal paradigm shift that is now all but explicit. Taken together, compassionate conservatism’s elements added up to a sweeping...

Flood damage busts township budget, so he works without pay When Donegal police Chief Ethan Ward went to work Friday, he got paid for the first time since Thanksgiving. Ward, who also is chief for two other rural municipalities in western Washington County, long has had a reputation for watching taxpayer dollars as carefully as homicide suspects. But when the Sept. 17 flooding severely damaged Donegal's roads and broke the township's budget, Ward took his penny-pinching to a level that shocked even some closest to him. He said he'd work without pay until federal and state officials reimbursed the township...

The Age of "King Coal" America's coal energized the development of a young nation. It fueled factories, warmed homes, and powered mighty trains and ships that made our country an economic giant. Coal earned its nickname of the 19th century, "King Coal."  Today, however, despite the presence of enormous coal reserves, World Recoverable Coal Resources America relies on oil for the largest part of its energy demands. But our growing need for energy has outstripped our ability to rely on domestic supplies of oil, forcing us to resort to foreign imports. Foreign Dependency: Hazardous to Our Economic HealthOver half of...

<p>The law has divided pro-life and pro-family groups. Some pro-family groups oppose welfare and extra public funding for welfare moms, while pro-life groups say the family caps have been proven to encourage poor women to have abortions.</p> <p>The court, in a 7-0 decision, upheld the family caps.</p>

Over six years ago, Congress overhauled much of the nation's welfare system. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 19961 replaced the failed social program called Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). The reform legislation had three primary goals: (1) reduce welfare dependence and increase employment, (2) reduce child poverty, and (3) reduce illegitimacy and strengthen marriage. At the time of the law's enactment, many liberal groups made dire predictions about the terrible effect these reforms would have on America's children. In particular, the Children's Defense Fund claimed that welfare...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. CLARKESVILLE, Ga. -- Residents of this rural northeast Georgia town have relied on a Depression-era cannery for decades to store homegrown crops. Now a proposed shutdown of the 69-year-old plant has older residents fighting to save it. I cannot remember the last time I did not use it, Habersham County native John Barrett said. He and his wife, Jan, have used the cannery to store extra crops since they were married 41 years ago. The Barretts and at least 50 other residents have pleaded with county officials not to close the...

In an attempt to close what they called "glaring loopholes," two assemblymen from Westchester County yesterday proposed that private security guards at New York State's nuclear power plants be allowed to carry automatic weapons. It was the second measure introduced in the Legislature this week to bolster security at six active nuclear reactors being operated at four sites around the state. Earlier this week, State Senator James W. Wright, a Republican of Watertown, introduced a bill to grant private security guards who patrol nuclear and electric generating plants peace officer status, allowing them to carry automatic weapons and make arrests....