Free Republic

...This bill is redundant, expense and wasteful. It would authorize $5 billion for various energy retrofit projects, an enterprise the government has little business subsidizing – if these loans were profitable to make, private industry would be making them. Other areas of concern we have with the bill are: The bill is duplicative because there are already many government projects that are supposed to fund energy efficient projectsThe stimulus bill allotted $4.7 billion for weatherization and only $368 million of that has been spent for that purpose after one year, due mainly to illegitimate and inefficient use of the moneyIn...

Succeeding in business is tough. You have to create a product that people want and then hope that they want it more than they want your competitors’ products. Superior workmanship, innovation, advertising and customer service might accomplish that, but if you want a special advantage, it sure helps to have a few friends in high places. In this week's syndicated column, I write again about Serious Materials, a "green" window manufacturer that got serious attention from Vice President Biden: Biden laid it on pretty thick for Serious Materials: "This is a story of how a new economy predicated on innovation...

The Federal Election Commission is unlikely to conduct a potentially embarrassing audit of how Barack Obama raised and spent his presidential campaign’s record-shattering windfall, despite allegations of questionable donations and accounting that had the McCain campaign crying foul. Adding insult to injury for Republicans: The FEC is obligated to complete a rigorous audit of McCain’s campaign coffers, which will take months, if not years, and cost McCain millions of dollars to defend.

Surfer's Baja tale is warning to others Camping trip ended in robbery, assault By Terry Rodgers UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER November 19, 2007 Pat Weber didn't plan on being part of a crime trend that has generated worldwide buzz this past week, but he didn't have much choice. The Encinitas resident and surfing instructor got lost on a dirt road in Baja California last month while looking for a surfing spot called Cuatro Casas. He and his girlfriend decided to park for the night on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Just after sundown, two men wearing ski masks approached Weber's motor...