http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/biggovernment/ en-us Wed, 2 Jul 2008 18:16:42 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039835/posts The Prince George's County Revenue Authority, its tax receipts sputtering as home prices plunge, has adopted a novel way to brake the slide. By cracking down on front lawns that resemble used-car lots and on trucks parked in residential areas, the authority reckons it can collect some of the $15 million in unpaid tickets and make neighborhoods more attractive to potential home buyers and prospective businesses. "A lot of the enforcement is for aesthetics because things are disorderly looking, but we also want to increase property values and make the community more livable," said Troy Thompson, director of parking operations... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039835/posts#comment Wed, 2 Jul 2008 18:16:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037388/posts Sadly enough, this is what life looks like here in grim old Thule: "State environmental protection officials plan to forbid all new development of large shopping centers located outside established retail districts within Norway's cities and towns. The goal is to discourage driving... www.aftenposten.no http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037388/posts#comment Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:58:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036401/posts An illegal immigrant dishwasher who lost $49,000 to the U.S. government as he tried to take it home to Guatemala will get some of the money back, his attorney told CNN Wednesday. Pedro Zapeta, an illegal immigrant, managed to save $59,000 while working as a dishwasher for 11 years. Pedro Zapeta was "very, very happy" when he learned about a federal appeals court ruling that says he is entitled to recover some of the money, said attorney Robert Gershman, who handled the financial end of Zapeta's case. Zapeta was carrying $59,000 in cash when he was stopped at a security... CNN.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036401/posts#comment Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:44:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036136/posts Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd's 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of Americas small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill's managers without debate, would require the nation's payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government. "This is a provision with astonishing reach, and that was slipped into the bill.Not only does it affect nearly every credit card transaction in America, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, but the bill specifically targets payment systems like... http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036136/posts#comment Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:23:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035644/posts CorridorWatch, a Fayette County-based group that has been active in opposing the Trans-Texas Corridor plan, wants to go beyond the Sunset Advisory Commission’s recommended shakeup of state transportation leadership. The group, led by David and Linda Stall, recommends that TxDOT answer to an elected six-member board led by a chairman appointed by the governor. CorridorWatch makes it recommendation, along with various other reactions to the Sunset commission staff’s recent report on TxDOT, in written comments submitted as part of the sunset process. TxDOT, like all state agencies, “sunsets” after 12 years unless the Legislature acts to keep it alive. As... The Austin American-Statesman http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035644/posts#comment Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:48:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035079/posts As the presidential campaign drones on, Barack Obama and the Democrats are fleshing out the promise of "change" with some specific, big-government policy proposals. Many are familiar, perhaps because they already have been tried – in Argentina. That country has gone from South American breadbasket to world-class basket case. For the long version of how it happened and why Americans might not want to try it, hop on a flight to Buenos Aires. The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035079/posts#comment Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:51:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2034137/posts We must hold our leaders accountable for the facts on happiness and refuse to take it lightly when politicians abridge the values of faith, work, family, charity, and freedom. -- Arthur C. Brooks American Enterprise Institute http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2034137/posts#comment Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:26:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033730/posts June 19, 2008 Senate Housing Bill Requires eBay, Amazon, Google, and All Credit Card Companies to Report Transactions to the Government Broad, invasive provision touches nearly every aspect of American commerce. Contact:  Adam Brandon Phone:   (202) 942-7698 Email: abrandon@freedomworks.org Washington, D.C. -  Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd's 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill's managers without debate this week, would require the nation's payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to... freedomworks.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033730/posts#comment Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:34:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033459/posts Happy Days are Here Again! by Lisa Fabrizio After Obama takes office, happy days will be here again. Although much of the country dreads it like the plague, there is a chance that if Barack Obama wins the White House, Democrats would control the Legislative and Executive branches of our government, as did the Republicans during half of President Bush’s two terms. But there is also the chilling prospect that they will reach the magic number of 60 votes in the Senate, which would give them the filibuster-proof power that the GOP could only dream about. But there is, as... Intellectual Conservative http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033459/posts#comment Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:44:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2030991/posts Last week’s Senate debate over Lieberman-Warner – the America’s Climate Security Act – brought to national attention an under-recognized yet rising threat to liberty and limited government: corporate America. Several of the largest corporations worked with environmental special interest groups and left-wing politicians to pass so-called “cap-and-trade” legislation to address global warming concerns. By pushing for the legislation, these companies hoped to get revenue in the form of government subsidies plus accolades from the media for taking measures to “save the planet.” Never mind the impact on the everyday citizen, who pays for it all with higher taxes and increased... Town Hall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2030991/posts#comment Sat, 14 Jun 2008 11:08:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029288/posts Costly cleanup Comments 3 | Recommend 0 Local landowner says he shouldn't have to pay for contaminants June 7, 2008 - 3:49PM BY CHRISTINE STANLEY All Ronnie Lewis wanted to do was put up a billboard. So he bought a 50-by-100 foot piece of land north of 48th Street on the west side of Andrews Highway, a prime location to call attention to Dos Amigos, the club he used to own. That was back in 1999. He spent about $4,500. Nearly 10 years later, his little purchase has turned into a big mess. Lewis said he didn't know it at... Odessa American http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029288/posts#comment Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:29:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027271/posts Vallejo, Calif., took the extreme step of filing for bankruptcy to get out of generous obligations to public employees. Other cities and states are watchingThe jig is up. For years, politicians have been playing what amounts to a multi-trillion-dollar shell game with state and local pensions. They've doled out lush retiree benefits to their heavily unionized workforces, knowing that they could shove the cost for those benefits onto future generations of taxpayers. But a recent financial bombshell dropped by a San Francisco suburb shows why that shell game is now starting to unravel in a nasty way. And it's a... Money Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027271/posts#comment Fri, 6 Jun 2008 20:16:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2026239/posts ONE OF THE BIGGEST SHORTCOMINGS of the conservative mind is that conservatives generally have moderate intellectual temperaments and therefore don't really grasp the radicalism of the opposition. When the opposition says something that would be absurd if taken to its logical conclusion, we tend to assume that they won't take it there, simply because we wouldn't if we were in their position. Nowhere is this clearer than on the issue of sexual mores. I must caution the reader that the content of this article is shocking and absurd, (not to mention unsuitable for children) but I regrettably cannot say that... Frontpage Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2026239/posts#comment Thu, 5 Jun 2008 02:19:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019792/posts SAN ANGELO, Texas - A state appellate court has ruled that child welfare officials had no right to seize more than 400 children living at a polygamist sect's ranch. The Third Court of Appeals in Austin ruled that the grounds for removing the children were "legally and factually insufficient" under Texas law. They did not immediately order the return of the children. Child welfare officials removed the children on the grounds that the sect pushed underage girls into marriage and sex and trained boys to become future perpetrators. The appellate court ruled the chaotic hearing held last month did not... AP via Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019792/posts#comment Thu, 22 May 2008 17:46:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016295/posts . . . Democrats will control Congress. If they also control the White House, we will have a series of legislative packages that will make the Great Society look like a libertarian government. . . . The country is in trouble. We have forgotten our founding principles, and we move inexorably toward a European style socialist state, with the only winners being an enormous bureaucracy. This will accelerate the economic decline. The argument is to give the Democrats their head, and pick up the pieces after the inevitable crash. I think that overlooks the resilience of tax and tax, spend... The View from Chaos Manor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016295/posts#comment Thu, 15 May 2008 13:27:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015048/posts The 50 U.S. states are holding more than $32 billion worth of unclaimed property that they're supposed to safeguard for their citizens. But a "Good Morning America" investigation found some states aggressively seize property that isn't really unclaimed and then use the money -- your money -- to balance their budgets. Unclaimed property consists of things like forgotten apartment security deposits, uncashed dividend checks and safe-deposit boxes abandoned when an elderly relative dies. Banks and other businesses are required to turn that property over to the state for safekeeping. The problem is that the states return less than a quarter... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015048/posts#comment Tue, 13 May 2008 01:34:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2006521/posts Lately I've been thinking of four left wing incidents that happened in Maine over the course of two years. I feel I should get them off my chest I think some of them would be interesting and I think others should know about them. The first one involves an incident that took place in the Bangor metro area two years ago. This freind of mine and his family were having trouble. He had difficulty getting by and he worked at Edwards Shop'n'save in Hampden outside Bangor. He was on food stamps and his wife was laid off and couldn't get... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2006521/posts#comment Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:11:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1994003/posts WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congressional leaders are racing to push through an array of election-year housing measures that already have stirred up much political wrangling and the White House is examining its own plan to further help homeowners caught in the mortgage meltdown. With foreclosure signs prevalent and a Wall Street rescue reverberating, majority Democrats want the government to step in and back up to $400 billion in troubled loans. The goal is to help strapped borrowers and thaw a credit market plagued by uncertainty about the value of subprime mortgages made to people with spotty credit or low incomes. As... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1994003/posts#comment Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:53:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1993695/posts RFFM.org Commentary Most of us who fall within the category of baby boomers can explain why small government and low taxation served our nation very well. At least we should be able to. A little more than a quarter century ago, the norm included one parent who brought home an income which supported an entire family. Of course, government programs, including the GI Bill, made it possible for millions of families to join the middle class after World War II. But, all the same, jobs in manufacturing were sufficient to bring reality to the well-turned phrase, "a rising tide lifts... RFFM.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1993695/posts#comment Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:15:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987051/posts I have a feeling that this Presidential election is about a lot more than whether we have the first woman president, or the first black president, or the first prisoner of war president. I think it's about whether whoever we elect has the strategic ability to understand that the era of big government is over, that tax cuts are better than tax raises, that there are no more family farms and nobody cares except the people in Iowa who are trying to convert them to ethanol ranches anyway, and that there are asymmetric threats to the peace of the world... The Uncommon Sense Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1987051/posts#comment Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:28:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1981920/posts He may be down and finally out but Mike Huckabee's longevity in the presidential race has been the surprise of campaign season. He was the favorite of evangelicals, finished with a much higher than expected delegate count, and outlasted such better-funded rivals as Mitt Romney. Huckabee lost because he never connected with non-evangelical Republicans, particularly economic conservatives who doubted his commitment to limited government. On the campaign trail, Huckabee mused about fighting poverty and signing a national smoking ban. In Arkansas, he approved tax increases. But these weren't just the candidate's personal tics. Hucakbee was following his evangelical flock. Supportive... The American Spectator http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1981920/posts#comment Fri, 7 Mar 2008 15:30:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980587/posts Historical facts clearly prove the murderous evils of atheism and big government At a minimum, atheist dictators in the Soviet Union, Red China, Cambodia, North Korea, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia murdered 105 million people in the 20th Century, more than 60% of the mass murders, genocide and political murders in that time. In comparison, only about 2% of the 169 million examples of democide in the 20th Century were due to religious conflict. Also in comparison, the Crusades murdered only 1 million people over several centuries, the Spanish Inquisition only murdered 350,000 people over several centuries, and the witch hunts added... Movieguide® http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980587/posts#comment Wed, 5 Mar 2008 08:28:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976854/posts LOS ANGELES - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday signed one of the nation's toughest laws on pet sterilization, requiring most dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered by the time they are 4 months old. The ordinance is aimed at reducing and eventually eliminating the thousands of euthanizations conducted in Los Angeles' animal shelters every year. "We will, sooner rather than later, become a no-kill city and this is the greatest step in that direction," Councilman Tony Cardenas said as he held a kitten at a City Hall news conference. The ordinance does exempt some animals, including those that... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976854/posts#comment Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:15:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1973116/posts Obama’s Big-Government Vision By Lawrence Kudlow Tuesday, February 19, 2008 Senator Barack Obama is very gloomy about America, and he’s aligning himself with the liberal wing of the Democratic party in hopes of coming to the nation’s rescue. His proposal? Big-government planning, spending, and taxing -- exactly what the nation and the stock market doesn’t want to hear. Obama unveiled much of his economic strategy in Wisconsin this week: He wants to spend $150 billion on a green-energy plan. He wants to establish an infrastructure investment bank to the tune of $60 billion. He wants to expand health insurance by... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1973116/posts#comment Wed, 20 Feb 2008 02:18:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968352/posts On Super Tuesday, Jonn McCain secured the Republican nomination. How did that happen? The reason is George W. Bush. He redefined conservatism with a "compassionate" variant that is a distinct departure from classic Reaganism. Bush muddled the ideological waters of conservatism. It was Bush who teamed with Kennedy to pass No Child Left Behind, a federal venture into education that would have been anathema to Reagan. It was Bush who signed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform. It was Bush who strongly supported the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill. It was Bush who on his own created a vast new entitlement program, the... JWR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968352/posts#comment Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:27:11 GMT