Free Republic

If Mark Zuckerberg and a janitor who works at Facebook’s headquarters each received a speeding ticket while driving home from work, they’d each owe the government the same amount of money. Mr. Zuckerberg wouldn’t bat an eye. The janitor is another story. For people living on the economic margins, even minor offenses can impose crushing financial obligations, trapping them in a cycle of debt and incarceration for nonpayment. In Ferguson, Mo., for example, a single $151 parking violation sent a black woman struggling with homelessness into a seven-year odyssey of court appearances, arrest warrants and jail time connected to her...

Is there a more brain-dead concept than to empower the government to fight "income inequality"? What sane, normal, rational human being thinks that human talent, drive, interests and opportunity can -- or should -- result in equal outcomes? Despite my love of athletics, I knew in third grade that my friend, Keith, could run much faster than I could. For two years I played Little League ball, and I got better at it. But no matter how hard I tried or how many hours I spent, I could not hit, run or throw as well as my friend Benji. Later...

UC names Cal diversity czar Tanya Schevitz Friday, July 20, 2007 07-20) 04:00 PDT Santa Barbara -- UC Berkeley has hired astrophysics professor Gibor Basri as the campus' new vice chancellor for equity and inclusion. On Thursday, UC's Board of Regents approved the appointment of Basri, 56, to increase diversity among faculty, staff and students. The position, created by UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, carries a $200,000 salary and is one of the first executive positions of its type in the nation. With a $4.5 million budget, Basri is charged with developing a more diverse faculty and staff and a...

Moore to Schwarzenegger: Adopt Austrian health care system Wednesday, June 27, 2007 By: DAVID GERMAIN - Associated Press LOS ANGELES -- Michael Moore has a suggestion to help California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger bring universal health care to the nation's largest state: Just do it the Austrian way. "I would like Gov. Schwarzenegger to say that he wants the citizens of California to have the same, fine, universal health coverage he got as a young man in the country of Austria," Moore said Tuesday of the Austrian-born governor. "That's all we're asking for, governor. Just give us the Austrian plan," Moore...

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