Free Republic

A public interest advocacy group has identified the country’s “most wasteful and pointless” transportation projects, which are costing taxpayers $25 billion. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) cites among “the biggest boondoggles” a $2.2 billion widening of Interstate 81 in Virginia, a $7 billion interstate project in Houston and a $802 million “Connecting Miami” redesign of city highways. According to PIRG, widening highways to reduce gridlock fails for several reasons. Multiple studies show that more road space over time leads to further congestion because of a phenomenon called “induced demand.” “We’re stuck in a car-centric rut in the United...

Maryland’s $9 billion plan to expand the Beltway and Interstate 270 is among the nation’s biggest boondoggles, a public-interest advocacy group said Tuesday in a new report. The report — issued by U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group — highlights nine highway projects, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s plan to widen certain roadways using public-private partnerships and tolling to pay for them. The advocates say these projects are unwise for several reasons. They say expanding or building new highways always leads to more congestion over time through the wholly predictable phenomenon of “induced demand”: When new capacity opens up,...

Talk about "manufactured outrage!" These people could give the right lessons in how to do it!Thanks "Missy" for passing this along: Now is our chance to make health care work. America’s health care system is broken. Health care costs are spiraling out of control, throwing families, businesses and government into financial crisis. Families are worried their health coverage won’t be there when they need it. Our country can’t afford to wait for health reform that keeps costs down and protects consumers. We can’t wait for affordable, dependable health care. We’re fighting for health care that will protect families’ financial health,...

Job opportunites working on urgent grassroots campaigns This summer we have the opportunity to make huge gains on critical issues, from repowering America with clean, renewable energy and reducing our dependence on oil, to fixing the high cost of health care, to winning the battle for equal rights. America’s leading advocacy groups are gearing up to meet these challenges this summer. In order to win, they need citizen support and grassroots action. That’s where we come in. At the Fund for the Public Interest, we’ve been organizing campaigns to protect the environment, stand up for the public interest, and defend...

FROM CRAIGSLIST! Fight the Status Quo! $400-$600 Per Week (Minneapolis, MN) Date: 2009-07-27, 12:12PM CDT Reply to: see below You can help leading organizations win historic changes on issues that you care about and that are important to America. Build support for health care reform with U.S. PIRG. Mobilize activists to cut the cost of health care, expand coverage, and stop sick from getting dropped by insurance companies. Go out in your community and make change happen. Make friends and money along the way. Earn $400-$600 per week. To apply for a job, call Chris at 612-331-1434. The Fund for...

THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG   Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 at 12:10 pm "Words and Deeds" Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, drops by to talk about progress on ethics and transparency since the President was sworn in. The President promised across-the-board change in Washington and all of us in the White House have been pleased to help deliver. In the ethics and government reform arena, we have worked hard to help the President impose strict new ethics rules for all employees; foster a culture of compliance and respect for the law; promote greater transparency (including...

2008-09-22 13:48:00 Leading Consumer, Labor and Civil Rights Groups: Bailout Must Include Relief for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure, Not Just Wall Street WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following letter was sent today by 35 major U.S. consumer, labor, civil rights groups: "Dear Member of Congress: The undersigned organizations strongly urge you to include court-supervised mortgage restructuring for American homeowners to allow them to save their homes in any legislation that would use our tax dollars to bail out the financial services industry from its self-imposed crisis. Purchasing subprime and Alt A private securities will not provide the government with any...

G'day, Today in D.C. there was another one of those organized, bought and paid for, anti-capitalist, pro-socialist greenie protests at an Exxon gas station located at 2nd and Massachusetts Avenue (next to Union Station and down the street from the Heritage Foundation). After spending nigh onto 40 minutes driving around for a parking spot, I snagged one and headed to the Exxon station. I had gotten word from Reagan Girl that the same people we faced in Dallas would also be here. Promptly at 10 O'Clock, I noticed a large crowd carrying signs and marching back and forth at the...