Free Republic

Under a veil of secrecy, Los Angeles city officials and homeless services providers are rushing to move as many homeless people as possible from Echo Park Lake this week in advance of an expected sweep to remove more than 100 tents and fence the entire park for repairs. City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who has said he planned to close the park, has declined to confirm the timetable, but a source with direct knowledge of the process told The Times that the city plans to clear the encampment Thursday, fence the park and close it for renovations. O’Farrell spokesman Tony Arranaga...

If the nation is going to reduce its out-of-control spending, the first step is to stop spending money on things we do not need. Despite President Obama’s call in his State of the Union speech for linking 80 percent of the nation by high-speed rail, it is hard to imagine a more unnecessary program. For example, people who travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco — along the route planned for one of the nation’s first high-speed-rail projects — already have choices. They can fly, drive, take the bus, or travel by train. True, some would prefer to tax their...

"Congress Votes to Socialize Health Care in United States" Monday, March 22, 2010 By Terence P. Jeffrey, Editor-in-Chief SNIPPET: "According to the CBO, by 2016, the cheapest family health care plan that Americans will be required to buy under the law will cost $12,000 per year. The average family plan will cost $15,200. A family of four making $88,201 per year—or more than 400 percent of the poverty level—will not receive any federal subsidy to purchase such a plan. They will pay taxes, however, to subsidize the health care purchases of people earning less than 400 percent of poverty. According...

In the wake of Katrina, Sen. John McCain says the budget deficit is so dire that the Medicare prescription drug benefit should be scrapped. Gloria Borger reports.

President Bush says he will submit a budget that cuts the deficit in half and mantains strict spending discipline. "We will provide every tool and resource for our military, we will protect the homeland," Bush said. He said he would "maintain strict discipline in spending tax dollars." In the 17th news conference of his presidency, Bush was pushing his second-term agenda. As for Iraq, Bush accused insurgents there of trying to "disrupt the democratic process" but he cautioned that next month's elections were just the first step of a long process in creating a stable, democratic country. "The elections in...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration is expected to scrap the costly signature design for the Bay Bridge's new eastern span and will instead recommend building a simple skyway, sources close to the negotiations said Thursday. The shift away from a single-tower suspension span to a viaduct, similar in concept to the San Mateo and Dumbarton bridges, is expected to be announced today at a press conference in San Francisco, sources in state and local government said on condition they not be identified. The decision to go with a skyway brings the state all the way back to the original design for...

BUSH TO SEEK BIG BUDGET INCREASE FOR NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS... Laura Bush plans to announce the request -- for the largest increase in two decades -- on Thursday... Developing...

66 days until the USOC elects its 2012 candidate. The USOC narrowed the list to New York and San Francisco today in Chicago.