Free Republic

Americans can do whatever they decide to do. Witness the politiscape littered with the careers of Democrats deposed by determined Americans who have had enough big-government socialism forced upon them. The next challenge for the tea party – and other organizations – is local and state governments that are systematically implementing freedom-robbing policies in the name of comprehensive planning, smart growth, sustainable development and environmental protection. If the word “freedom” is to have any meaning at all, it must mean that people are free to live wherever they choose, and free to use their property as they choose. For nearly...

The ALA in California backs the state's efforts to reduce sprawl and foster a different kind of built environment in the future: "If doctors and other health experts designed our cities, they would look quite different than the sprawling communities we see today," said Sonal R. Patel, M.D., American Lung Association in California Board Member and Director of White Memorial Pediatric Medical Groups Division of Allergy and Immunology in Los Angeles. "Cities would provide more healthy choices, more opportunities for walking and biking, better access to transit, less congestion, more housing close to workplaces, and more parks for kids and...

:SNIP A. Introduction The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the auspices of the Office of Research and Development (ORD), National Center for Environmental Research (NCER), invites submissions to the 8th Annual P3-People, Prosperity & the Planet-Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability. P3 focuses on scientific projects and engineering designs that address the three components of sustainability: people, prosperity and the planet. The P3 Program is intended to support science-based projects and designs developed by interdisciplinary student teams that benefit people by improving their quality of life, promote prosperity by developing local economies, and protect the planet...

From CNS News: In a video interview this week, White House Office of Science and Technology Director John P. Holdren told CNSNews.com that he would use the “free market economy” to implement the “massive campaign” he advocated along with Population Bomb author Paul Ehrlich to “de-develop the United States.” In his role as President Barack Obama’s top science and technology adviser, Holdren deals with issues ranging from global warming to health care. “A massive campaign must be launched to restore a high-quality environment in North America and to de-develop the United States,” Holdren wrote along with Paul and Anne H....

Given the increased importance of biofuels and the new linkages between agricultural and energy markets, increased cereal yields, if achieved, may not necessarily continue to lead to lower cereal prices. Because the world energy market is so much larger than the world grain market, grain prices may be determined by oil prices in the energy market as opposed to being determined by grain supply.Thus, higher priced energy means more hungry people. Yes, it really is that simple. But not so simple, unfortunately, that people like celebrity lion-impersonator Jeremy Irons can understand it. Up above, you’ll see a video he made...

Watch as the Little Rock city council rams Agenda 21 down the peoples throats, despite their obvious objections.... This is going on every day in communities nationwide.

SNIPPET: “Tell me that the comprehensive plan is not about control,” she said. She reiterated concerns she has expressed during city meetings regarding the exclusion of the public from the process. “See, the majority of us were not invited,” Taylor-Restine said. A 21-member steering committee appointed by the City Commission drafted the plan, with the help of a consulting firm. It contains ideas and identifies priorities established during a 14-month process of meetings and hearings that by state law had to be open to the public. Any regulations initiated as a result of the comprehensive plan will have to go...

The Global Biodiversity Assessment Report directed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) calls for urgent action to reverse the effects of unsustainable human activities on global biodiversity, including but not limited to the following: PAGE REFERENCES from "The Global Biodiversity Assessment Report" 337 Ski Runs 350 Grazing of Livestock: cows, sheep, goats, horses 351 Disturbance of the Soil Surface - Page 350 Large hoofed animals, compaction of soil, reducing filtration 351 Fencing of Pastures or Paddocks 728 Agriculture 728 Modern Farm Production Systems 728 Chemical Fertilizers 728 Herbicides 728 Building Materials 730 Industrial Activities 730 Human-Made caves of brick...

Mayor Annise Parker will begin a whirlwind tour of Washington today in which she will try to persuade a skeptical Obama administration not to shelve the Constellation space program, as well as shore up relationships between the city and federal transportation officials. Parker is scheduled to meet with senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Transportation Secretary Roy LaHood, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and members of the local congressional delegation in a two-day blitz. Shortly after she was elected, the administration had invited her to “open dialogue” on certain key issues in Washington, and today's...

The Metropolitan Transit Authority intends to issue an estimated $2.6 billion in bonds in the next four years to help pay for five new light rail lines, about four times the debt capacity voters authorized in a 2003 referendum, Metro officials confirmed Tuesday. Metro leaders insist the borrowing will not exceed the $640 million debt ceiling set by voters because the agency is allowed other borrowing capacity by state law, and much of the bonds will be paid with money from ridership fares. But critics sharply criticized the plans as going far beyond what voters approved, noting that revenues from...

Philadelphia tore down 21. Chicago leveled 79. Baltimore took down 21 as well, and when six of them came down in one day in 1995, it threw a parade. Since the 1990s, public housing high-rise buildings have come tumbling down by the dozens across the country as cities replaced them with smaller suburban-style homes that did not carry the stigma of looming urban despair and poverty.

Using biofuel in cars 'may accelerate loss of rainforest' Ben Webster, Environment Editor Harvesting of palm oil, the production of which is leading to loss of rainforest Using biofuel in vehicles may be accelerating the destruction of rainforest and resulting in higher greenhouse gas emissions than burning pure petrol and diesel, a watchdog said yesterday. The Renewable Fuels Agency also warned that pump prices could rise in April because of the Government’s policy of requiring fuel companies to add biofuel to petrol and diesel. More than 1.3 million hectares of land — twice the area of Devon — was used...

Besides alternative energy, on my FBN show tonight, I cover government rail projects. Politicians love spending your money on rail. They claim it cleans the air and reduces traffic jams. Joe Biden said last year: "if you're going to create jobs with a long-lasting platform for the future, it's rail, rail, rail, and rail." But it turns out that, in most places, rail is terribly inefficient. Amtrak loses $32 for every ticket it sells. So few people ride the line from New Orleans to Los Angeles that it manages to lose $462 per passenger.

Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline. The government looking at expanding a pioneering scheme in Flint, one of the poorest US cities, which involves razing entire districts and returning the land to nature. Local politicians believe the city must contract by as much as 40 per cent, concentrating the dwindling population and local services into a more viable area. The radical experiment is the brainchild of Dan Kildee, treasurer of Genesee County, which includes Flint. Having outlined his strategy...

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood defended the pro-mass transit policies of the Obama administration today, and fired back at conservative writer George Will, who devoted an entire column to attacking LaHood earlier this week. "We have to create opportunities for people who want to ride a bike or walk or take a streetcar," he said. "The only person that I've heard of who objects to this is George Will." Will wrote a column in Newsweek magazine criticizing the secretary, whom he dubbed "Secretary of Behavior Modification," for supporting measures to wean commuters off automobiles. LaHood, a former Republican congressman from Illinois,...

Those who promote Smart Growth must think everyone reading their propaganda is dumb. How are we to explain the gross twisting of geographic data that continues to pour out of the Smart Growther's think tanks and blogs other than it is agenda-driven propaganda? Like the backwards political slogan "Ignorance is Strength" in George Orwell's novel 1984, the Smart Growthers want to you to believe that "Smart Growth is Environmentally Sustainable" and vice versa. To Smart Growthers environmental reality is often twisted to be the opposite of what they portray. Recent case in point is "How Smart Growth Protects Watersheds, and...

IF YOU LOOK at projections for the Pacific Northwest, through the 21st century, a population equivalent to 15 Seattles will move into this "livable" corner of the planet. "We have one last chance to get this right," says Gene Duvernoy, president of the Cascade Land Conservancy. What is "right?" The answer -- strike a balance that preserves what makes us "livable." According to a recent Pew Research poll, spaces and cities of the West exert a powerful draw on Americans. Denver, Seattle and San Diego topped the list of where folks would like to move. So as not to wreck...

The Suburbs -- Hollywood Image and Mission Reality Posted: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 at 4:34 am ET America is a nation transformed by demographics. Flash back just over a century and a majority of Americans live on farms and in rural settings. Today, a clear majority of Americans live in metropolitan settings. Cities are now surrounded by vast rings of settlements and clusters known as suburbs -- and Hollywood doesn't like it. Something significant is represented in Hollywood's depiction of the suburbs as soul-killing enclaves of those unwilling to brave the "authentic" culture of the city itself. A current example...

Democrats have two goals when it comes to writing a stimulus package: Kick-start the economy, and make it a greener one. But a list of “shovel-ready” road and bridge construction projects pushed by state highway officials to boost the economy and create jobs is a depressingly familiar shade of gray to a group of transit, environmental and “smart growth” advocates. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) said there are 5,000 ready-to-go projects, worth $64 billion. Fully funded, the projects would support 1.8 million jobs, the group said. New roads and bridges translate into more cars on...

Houston Mayor Bill White used a Web video to announce his plan to run for U.S. Senate today.... He cites turbulent economic times, a rising federal deficit and high unemployment rates in the video, saying "this may be an opportunity for our nation to do things it has only dreamed of before..." White previously worked as deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Energy under President Clinton and as chief executive of the Wedge Group, a Houston-based holding company with interests in oil-field services, engineering and real estate. In comments today, he also highlighted signature domestic issues such as health...