Free Republic

Did you realize that if you have a dollar bill in your pocket, you actually have a fairly reliable standard of measurement? You see the long side of a dollar bill laid flat on a surface, measures exactly six inches long. Practically speaking, this means that if you have a dollar in your pocket you have a very reliable six-inch ruler at your disposal. Regrettably, what you don’t have at your disposal is a dollar. You see, as a standard of linear measurement, the dollar bill might be a reliable tool, but as a measure of wealth the dollar bill...

It isn’t surprising, when you think about it, that the president’s debt-reduction commission has come out with a plan that proposes to inflict the greatest pain on contributor benefits (Social Security and Medicare), household budgets, and national defense. The commission was asked to propose ways to reduce debt. It wasn’t asked to rethink the size, scope, or charter of government.If the latter had been its assigned objective, the panel might have come up with proposals that don’t concentrate most of the pain of sustaining our current level of government on middle-class household budgets and small businesses. There is no question...

I got an email from Senator John Cornyn which says, in part, "Despite my concerns with the Democrats’ budget and its reckless spending and misguided priorities, I was encouraged that my amendment to bring a little Texas sunshine to Washington unanimously passed the Budget Committee. My measure, based on the successful Texas model, which has led to the elimination of more than 50 agencies and saved Texans more than $700 million, lays the groundwork for the establishment of a Federal Sunset Commission to review federal programs. It will determine their efficiency, and make recommendations on whether they need reform or...