Free Republic

...One particular problem with the toll increase plan in Maryland is that, being a relatively small state, travelers will find it easy to reroute themselves through neighboring states or use alternate routes. One Maryland resident noted, at one of the MTA’s public hearings, that he will be forced to drive his RV through cities to avoid the high tolls: “I can go up (Interstate) 95 and take Route 1, so I would miss every toll I would have to come through. If that's what they want, they'll have a big traffic jam in the city with big campers and trucks.”...

In Convention Mr. RUTLIDGE moved to postpone the 6th Resolution, defining the powers of Congs. in order to take up the 7 & 8 which involved the most fundamental points; the rules of suffrage in the 2 branches which was agreed to nem. con. A question being proposed on Resol: 7 [FN1]: declaring that the suffrage in the first branch sd. be according to an equitable ratio. Mr. L. MARTIN contended at great length and with great eagerness that the General Govt. was meant merely to preserve the State Governts.: not to govern individuals: that its powers ought to be...

On the Precipice of Democracy. Madison Speech. Fourth Resolution. Length of Terms. Lifetime? Purpose of Second Branch. Six Year Terms. Senatorial Salaries. Who pays? Minimum Wealth Requirement. Subsequent Office Eligibility. Fifth Resolution, Originating Acts. In Convention The duration of the 2d. branch [FN1] under consideration. Mr. GHORUM moved to fill the blank with "six years," one third of the members to go out every second year. Mr. WILSON 2ded. the motion. Genl. PINKNEY opposed six years in favor of four years. The States he said had different interests. Those of the Southern, and of S. Carolina in particular were different...

Fourth Resolution. Superb Pinckney Speech. Parliament. Appointment to Second Branch by State Legislatures. Minimum Age Requirement. Length of Terms. In Convention Resolution 4. [FN1] being taken up. Mr. PINKNEY [FN2] spoke as follows- The efficacy of the System will depend on this article. In order to form a right judgmt. in the case, it will be proper to examine the situation of this Country more accurately than it has yet been done. The people of the U. States are perhaps the most singular of any we are acquainted with. Among them there are fewer distinctions of fortune & less of...

With the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office releasing its updated Budget Outlook on Wednesday, the debt limit discussions led by Vice President Joe Biden were forced to a halt, as Democrats’ arguments that taxes could close the budget deficit were unequivocally muted. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Senate Minority Whip John Kyl were forced to pull out of the debt limit discussions when Democrats refused to get serious about the government’s spending crisis. Democrats proved unwilling to focus on the trillions in savings needed to pull the government back from collapse; instead Democrats are willing to let the country default...

...Page after page of the report gives evidence proving that lower, flatter tax rates spur economic growth and create jobs. Starting in the preface, it gives “10 Golden Rules for Effective Taxation”, such as Rule #8: “An economically efficient tax system has a sensible, broad tax base and a low tax rate”. A chapter on “The State of the States” gives academic statistics from the Mercatus Center on the importance of saying no to spending and concludes stating that “The overall level of taxation has an inverse relationship to economic growth in a state”. The second chapter, with highlights and...

Third Resolution, a Kingdom Divided. First Branch Salaries. Corruption. Subsequent Office Eligibility. In Convention The 3. Resol: resumed. [FN1] On [FN2] Question yesterday postponed by S. Carol: for agreeing to the whole sentence "for allowing an adequate compensation to be paid out of the Treasury of the U. States" Masts. ay. Cont. no. N. Y. no. N. J. ay. Pena. ay Del. no. Md. ay. Va. ay. N. C. no. S. C. no. Geo divided. [FN3] So the question was lost, & the sentence not inserted: Genl. PINKNEY moves to strike out the ineligibility of members of the 1st. branch...

...Primarily, the GPS Act would require that government agencies demonstrate probable cause and obtain a warrant before being allowed access to an individual’s geolocation information. It also defines exceptions for requiring a warrant, including in national emergencies (mirroring existing wiretapping law), the monitoring of children by their parents, and emergency calling systems (e.g., 9-1-1). The GPS Act is vitally important not only to protect 4th Amendment rights, but also to provide clear, consistent, and understandable standards for law enforcement and wireless carriers. Without it, the government will maintain its vague and near limitless authority over the wireless data of American...

...Tax brackets and other tax benefits are tied to the consumer price index (CPI). There are several ways to measure CPI, including a measurement which is less fast-paced than the CPI measurement used today. The idea is to use this alternative definition of CPI to slow down the inflation adjustments in the tax code. This would mean that tax bracket thresholds would grow more slowly. This would be a legislated tax change scored by the Joint Tax Committee as a net tax hike, and for good reason: it would change tax law, forcing people to pay more in taxes than...

World history is the progress of the consciousness of freedom. Stunning The New York Times has published a bitter, whining screed that has to be one of the most amazing pieces ever to appear in its pages. Written by a journalist, it is, in essence, a complaint with a purpose: it decries a politician’s view of the news media, and then does all it can to disqualify that politician as a candidate for public office. Just how goofy or extreme would a politician’s denunciation have to be to provoke a journalist into reacting that strongly? It seems reasonable to assume...

Third Resolution. First Branch Salaries. Minimum Age Requirement. Subsequent Office Eligibility. In Convention The clause in Resol. 3. [FN1] "to receive fixed stipends to be paid out of the Nationl. Treasury" [FN2] considered. Mr. ELSEWORTH, moved to substitute payment by the States out of their own Treasurys: observing that the manners of different States were very different in the Stile of living and in the profits accruing from the exercise of like talents. What would be deemed therefore a reasonable compensation in some States, in others would be very unpopular, and might impede the system of which it made a...

Update: As I stated earlier today (below), the Zogby poll I saw yesterday that did not include Palin popped up today and showed, SHOCK, that Bachmann “surges” into the lead. As I also pointed, this poll is 100% unscientific as anyone can sign up to participate in the poll and is not a “random” sample. It’s about as valid as a Bill O’Reilly internet poll. Previous leaders have included Herman Cain and Chris Christie. Michele Bachmann had 24% (yeeeaaah) ahead of Romney and Cain’s 15%. In what is starting to look like a trend, pollsters are now removing Sarah Palin...

...With August 2nd quickly approaching, negotiations on the debt ceiling are coming down to the wire. Senate Republicans face pressure from the left to make concessions on massive tax increases in return for promised spending cuts. The budget compromise fiascos of 1982 and 1990 are classic examples of what Congressional Republicans should strive to avoid. In both cases, spending cuts and tax increases were agreed upon, but the spending cuts never materialized. For this reason, all forms of tax increases should be off the table when it comes to confronting the government’s severe overspending problem. Read more: http://www.atr.org/senate-republicans-holding-firm-against-tax-a6264#ixzz1PwYYlMCj

Danger from States to National Government. Small v. Large States. Two Branch Legislature. Third Resolution. Popular Election of First Branch. Length of Terms. In Convention Mr. Jonathan Dayton from N. Jersey took his seat. [FN1] [FN3] Docr. JOHNSON. On a comparison of the two plans which had been proposed from Virginia & N. Jersey, it appeared that the peculiarity which characterized the latter was its being calculated to preserve the individuality of the States. The plan from Va. did not profess to destroy this individuality altogether, but was charged with such a tendency. One Gentleman alone (Col. Hamilton) in his...

This is the best montage piece I’ve seen in a long time, maybe evah! It’s the best way you’ll spend 9 minutes today. Enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wJfsLafye4&feature=player_embedded

...O’DONNELL: “We actually just heard a conservative Republican say that we're going to fix the country, and some of that is gonna be through revenue increases, tax increases. Doesn't want to use the word ‘tax’ but that's what it is. We’ve got a Republican here talking about tax increases. Is this the first flicker of hope that the Republican tax cut fever might be fading?” ROBERT REICH: “Lawrence, I think that it is a big deal…We’ve got to be practical, we’ve got to be reasonable, we’ve got to deal with this budget deficit’. And maybe we are seeing the beginning...

The fact that every level of government taxes our income, consumption and property prompted John R. Smith to ask in the title of a recent BizPacReview post, “Why don’t they just tax our corpses?” Owning an automobile requires that we pay a sales tax, title and registration fees, annual registration fees, ad valorem taxes, state and federal gas taxes, and, if we want to avoid the “I-95 parking lot,” we pay a turnpike toll. Even if we don’t own an automobile, our taxes help pay for our neighbor’s hybrid car, and for the ethanol he pumps into it. Apparently, this...

First and Second Resolutions. Lansing Speech. State or National Supremacy. Mason Speech. Attributes of Federal v. Republican Governments. IN CONVENTION Mr. William Blount from N. Carolina took his seat. 1st. propos: [FN2] of the Report of Come. of the whole [FN3] before the House. Mr. ELSEWORTH 2ded. by Mr. GORHAM, moves to alter it so as to run "that the Government of the United States ought to consist of a supreme legislative, Executive and Judiciary." This alteration he said would drop the word national, and retain the proper title "the United States." He could not admit the doctrine that a...

Listen to the pledge of allegiance that runs alongside the patriotic images, and later to the one that overlays video of previous U.S. Open winners: (VIDEO)

Madison Speech. End of NJ/Patterson Plan. Randolph Plan as Amended. In Committee of the Whole On the Propositions of Mr. Patterson [FN1] The substitute offered yesterday by Mr. Dickenson being rejected by a vote now taken on it; Con. N. Y. N. J. Del. ay. [FN2] Mas. Pa. V. N. C. S. C. Geo. no. [FN3] Mayd. divided. Mr. PATTERSON's plan was again at large before the Committee. Mr. MADISON. Much stress had [FN4] been laid by some gentlemen on the want of power in the Convention to propose any other than a federal plan. To what had been answered...