Free Republic

The average government worker now receives hourly pay and benefits that are 44 percent higher than the average private sector worker’s. Those high costs are bankrupting state and local governments—and taxpayers—across the nation.But it doesn't have to be this way. A package of bills being considered by the Arizona legislature would reform this unfair spoils system, protecting workplace freedom, the state's economy, and all Arizona taxpayers.​Scroll down for the latest videos, research and articles on reforming Arizona.Click image to the right for the full-size infographic.

NASHVILLE — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's administration has fired two top officials at the Department of Environment and Conservation, while a third has announced his retirement. The department said in a statement Friday that the changes are "designed to streamline our structure and build management efficiencies." Changes are to include the creation of a single water resources division encompassing the department's pollution control, water supply and groundwater management programs, according to the statement. The fired officials are Mike Apple, head of the department's solid waste management division, and Paul E. Davis, who was in charge of water pollution control. Meanwhile,...

Hillsdale College will host an online town hall entitled, “Our Choice Today: Bureaucratic Despotism or the Constitution,” on Saturday, January 28, 2012, beginning at 11 a.m. EST. It will be broadcast from the College’s Kirby Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C., and can be viewed for free at constitutiontownhall.com. The purpose of the town hall, according to Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn, is “to make clear to Americans that they still have a choice how they will be governed—that the powerful federal bureaucracy which stifles freedom is of relatively recent construction, and remains for now capable...

Hillsdale College will host an online town hall entitled, “Our Choice Today: Bureaucratic Despotism or the Constitution,” on Saturday, January 28, 2012, beginning at 11 a.m. EST. It will be broadcast from the College’s Kirby Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C., and can be viewed for free at constitutiontownhall.com. The purpose of the town hall, according to Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn, is “to make clear to Americans that they still have a choice how they will be governed—that the powerful federal bureaucracy which stifles freedom is of relatively recent construction, and remains for now capable...

The Pepsi Beverages Co. paid a $3.1 million fine to settle federal charges of racial discrimination in its hiring. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) assessed the fine, declaring that “screening job applicants for prior criminal records disproportionately affects blacks and Hispanics.” “Everyone knows that minorities are more likely to be criminals than whites are,” said EEOC spokesman Clem Clodpate. “Consequently, screening for previous criminal history is, ipso facto, discriminatory.” “Besides, Pepsi failed to demonstrate a business need for excluding criminals from being hired,” Clodpate added. “Who’s to say that a person with a criminal record couldn’t adequately perform the...

Introduction The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) is pleased to present its fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget request. The FCC is requesting a budget of $354,181,000 to carry out the FCC’s functions and meet the expectations of Congress. As detailed in this submission, the requested budget includes funding to: (1) support the Commission’s cyber-security role; (2) implement the Broadband Plan; (3) overhaul the Commission’s data systems and processes; and (4) modernize and reform the FCC by ushering in 21st century communications tools and expertise. We project we will require 1980 full-time equivalents (FTEs) from all available resources to carry...

Madison - Wisconsin residents have overwhelmed the state Justice Department with so many concealed weapon permit applications agency officials say they probably won't meet deadlines for issuing approvals this month despite pulling dozens of employees from other tasks to help. A state law that allows Wisconsin residents to carry concealed weapons went into effect Nov. 1. Under the law, state residents 21 or older who submit $50 to the Justice Department, pass an agency background check and prove they have received some firearms training can obtain a permit to carry. The law requires the agency to process applications received before...

In my first piece, Where the Body Is, The Vultures Are Gathered, or, For Whom the Toll Peals Part I, I introduced the work of Hilaire Belloc and his predictions for a post-Communist/post-Capitalist society, and began the discussion of the economics of simple purchases, using the example of a blacksmith shop. In the next piece, Where the Body Is, The Vultures Are Gathered, or, For Whom the Toll Peals Part II, I discussed the complications which intrude when one considers the presence of either multiple blacksmiths, or the presence of assistants, and presented counterexamples to the Marxist labor theory of...

In a prior piece, Where the Body Is, The Vultures Are Gathered, or, For Whom the Toll Peals Part I, I introduced the concept of transactions, values, and prices, for both labor and finished goods. In this section, I continue, looking at the Marxist theory of value and its applications and misapplication to the present day, and then move on to newer and/or more complex economic situations. We have seen how quickly an example of a simple exchange, between a blacksmith and a villager, becomes very complex with just the addition of more villagers, more than one blacksmith, and the...

The celebrated British apologist and essayist, G.K. Chesterton, had a good friend, Hilaire Belloc, who is now largely forgotten, but whose fame in his day caused George Bernard Shaw to refer to the pair as the “Chesterbelloc.” Among his many interests (such as writing a Foreword to a collection of P.G. Wodehouse short stories!), Belloc wrote a number of books and articles on the subject of economics. One of his most intriguing works was a book entitled The Servile State. In this book, written before the fall of the Russian Tsar and the rise of the Bolsheviks in Russia, Belloc...

As protesters festively (oops! I mean “heroically”) rally on college quads across California in the wake of the gratuitous macing of a dozen Occupy Wall Street wannabes at University of California–Davis last Friday, UC Berkeley’s Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion declared that the rising tuition at California’s public universities is giving him “heartburn.” It should, since Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion Gibor Basri and his fellow diversity bureaucrats are a large cause of those skyrocketing college fees, not just in California but nationally. It is to be expected that students will be immaculately ignorant of the matters they...

The National Labor Relations Board, the subject of particularly intense partisan sniping this year, could soon be completely paralyzed. The labor board's sole Republican member, Brian E. Hayes, has threatened to resign to deny the N.L.R.B. the three-person quorum it needs to make any decisions, according to board officials. Mr. Hayes has made his threat expressly to block the Democratic-dominated board from adopting new rules to speed up unionization elections, which the board's other current members, both Democrats, intend to pass Nov. 30.

Think Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is just non-peaceable assembly of malcontents and miscreants literally infesting American cities? Think again. The OWS agenda is now law of the land in the form of a government agency called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB was created under the Dodd-Frank financial -- ahem -- "reform" legislation when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress in 2009. The law was signed by President Obama, who simultaneously manages to be Goldman-Sachs’ best friend and an OWS sympathizer. Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren, who is now running for the senate seat held by Sen. Scott...

The State Department is creating a bureau to focus exclusively on energy, a sign of the growing importance of energy issues to U.S. foreign policy and national security. The new Bureau of Energy Resources, which opens shop Wednesday, is designed to help shore up stable supplies of affordable energy for the U.S. and avoid crippling effects of supply shocks and disruptions. The agency also will promote clean energy and changes in markets to make alternative-energy technology more competitive, an effort to open the door for U.S. exports in a fast-growing sector. It will also promote sustainable energy in developing countries...

Commission on Security Cooperation in Europe (CSCE):  Also known as the Helsinki Commission, their job is to monitor European compliance with the Helsinki Final Act, which served to dilute Cold War tensions. Maybe somebody needs to tell them that the USSR ceased to exist over 20 years ago... and that Obama's already abandoned Eastern Europe to current Russian regime anyway. Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC):  Visitors to the FCIC website can find useful info on topics ranging from how to purchase a new car to how to save $ for college... and all the same as you can find on zillions...

86CV00509 Div4 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS CIVIL COURT DEPARTMENT JOURNAL ENTRY OF CONTEMPT HEARING NOW on this 25th day of October, 2011, the above entitled matter comes before the Court for hearing. District Court Trustee by: Dana Edwards In The Matter Of Case No: 1986CV000509 Division: 4 Chapter: 60 IVD: N46-29999 P- 113644 Appear for Hearing in Room 336 3rd Floor SUSAN ANNETTE JONES And MARVIN LEE JONES Obligee: ( ) Obligor: ( ) present ( X ) not present ( ) By ____________________ not present ( ) By ____________________ ( ) In custody present (...

Environmental Consultant Rich Trzupek pushes his book, "Regulators Gone Wild" on Fox and Friends this morning:Click to view

Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge Patrick Fiedler ruled against families’ right to consume milk from their own cows. The ruling came in a dispute between the state’s Department of Agriculture and the families over how milk is to be produced, distributed and consumed in Wisconsin. Fiedler rejected the plaintiffs’ contention that they had a fundamental and inherent right to consume milk from their own cows. “What foods may be grown or consumed is an issue subject to the discretion of the government,” Fiedler said. “Neither the state nor the federal Constitution grants individuals an explicit right to determine what they shall...

The desperate search for an acceptable Republican Party presidential candidate continues. Republican leaders apparently are pushing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who previously said no, to jump into the race. The GOP's frustration is palpable. Mitt Romney has been running for four years but generates little enthusiasm. Rick Perry was an instant front-runner before losing much of his support after unimpressive debate performances. Michelle Bachmann briefly streaked across the political firmament but now barely registers in the polls. Newt Gingrich committed political seppuku shortly after announcing his candidacy. Ron Paul's support is fervent but limited. However, the real Republican problem...

The Memphis District Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed suit against the Old Dominion Freight Line trucking company contending that its policy against hiring alcoholics to drive their trucks violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Katharine Kores, director of the EEOC’s Memphis District Office, maintains that “alcoholism is a disability. As such, it cannot be used as a reason for barring a person from employment.” To counter the company’s claim that putting an alcoholic behind the wheel of a 40-ton truck would be unsafe, the EEOC’s suit argues that “there are other ways the firm can promote...

A Salem, Oregon woman’s desperate efforts to raise funds to treat her bone cancer were stifled by City officials. Jan Cline had been holding weekly yard sales trading her possessions for the cash she needs to pay medical bills. City rules limit the number of yard sales per address to three per year. Harden Callas, spokesman for the City’s Community Development Department urged people “to not lose sight of the bigger picture here. We know a lot of people are going to feel sympathetic toward Ms. Cline. But we can’t let her or anyone else put their own personal needs...

Gov. Jerry Brown has a new "senior jobs adviser." Michael Rossi, a retired Bank of America executive from Pebble Beach, will be "the point of contact between California's business and workforce leaders and the administration," Brown's office announced Wednesday. Operating out of the governor's office, Rossi will be asked to "streamline the state's economic development infrastructure" and advise Brown on regulatory, legislative and executive actions needed to improve the job market, according to the announcement. OK, but wait. Wasn't that what Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom's "growth and competitiveness agenda," introduced three weeks ago, was supposed to do? "Blindsided," said a...

They passed it, and now we are finding out what is in it.  For over a year now experts have been painstakingly poring through the 2500+ pages of legislation and mandates created in The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR 3590) and The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HR 4872) and the debate continues on whether to repeal or fix it.  As the timeline rolls out for compliance over the next few years it will become increasingly clear that there are quite a few mandates thrown in that our representatives will deny having any knowledge of,...

Complete title: Right Out of Atlas Shrugged’: Hear an Exasperated Alabama Businessman Tell the Feds – ‘I’m Just Quitting’ *** Leaning against a wall during a recent Birmingham, Alabama, public hearing, Bryant listened to an overflow crowd pepper federal officials with concerns about businesses polluting the drinking water and causing cases of cancer. After two hours, Bryant—a coal mine owner from Jasper—had heard enough and, in a moment being described as “right out of Atlas Shrugged,” took his turn at the microphone: Audio .. (turn up volume) (note from audio site: For readers of my website, this is the audio...

As the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officially opened its doors Thursday, the House was considering legislation that could restrict its authority to act against abuses of the financial system. Republican sponsors of the bill say they are simply trying to promote transparency and accountability in the agency that was created a year ago as part of President Barack Obama's overhaul of the rules governing financial markets. But the White House has threatened to veto the legislation, saying it would expose consumers to the same risks that led to the 2008 financial meltdown. The Democratic-controlled Senate is unlikely to take...

A young woman who is starving to death after being diagnosed with a paralysed stomach has been told that NHS bosses refuse to fund an operation to save her. Rudi Hargreaves, 22, has shrunk from a healthy 10st to a skeletal 5st 10lb after being diagnosed with the crippling condition last year. Within weeks of being diagnosed with gastroparesis, Rudi found her size 12 clothes were hanging off her - as her stomach became unable to digest food at a normal rate. The condition can be treated with a £14,000 operation to fit a gastric pacemaker - although this is...

With the federal debt bumping up against the legal maximum, the federal deficit exceeding a trillion dollars each year, official unemployment at 9% and unofficial unemployment twice as high, one might expect some belt-tightening among the governing class. Such expectations have not borne out when it comes to Obama’s minions. More than 75% of the White House staff got raises this year. The average salary increase was 8%. These statistics would seem to contradict Administration claims that salaries have been “frozen.” Presidential Press Secretary Jay Carney contended that “in the context of the nearly four trillion dollars being spent by...

Oak Park, Michigan resident Julie Bass faces a possible 90-day jail sentence for planting an “unsuitable” vegetable garden in the front yard of her home. “We came up with the idea as both a way to cut back on our food bill and to teach our kids some useful skills,” Bass said. “Now, every kid in the neighborhood is over here playing ‘farmer.’ They’re also a lot more eager to eat their vegetables after growing them themselves.” Oak Park City Planner Kevin Rulkowski has ruled that the garden violates city code. “Ms. Bass’s household budget, nutritional and educational objectives are...

Second in a series (I hope- it's a lot of work to make them) on this awful town, the result of decades of liberal rule. A microcosm for the USA today. I tried to post this earlier, but the link didn' work, so I'm trying again. Hope that is ok.

Richard Cornuelle coined the term “independent sector,” yet when he died on April 26, he was largely forgotten by that very sector. Better evidence of what’s wrong with the sector — and America in general – is hard to find. Cornuelle believed that ordinary people in ordinary places should have a large scope for action, whether they are raising their families, building their businesses, running local governments, or coming to the aid of their neighbors. The threat to such local independence comes from the “scientific,” centralized bureaucracies that from mid-twentieth century onward have grown ever more powerful – in government,...

On Tuesday, President Obama signed an Executive Order creating SelectUSA, a new government-wide initiative that will promote the United States as the premier place to do business globally and help attract business operations to the U.S., in order to spur economic growth and job creation. Yesterday, I launched this important new initiative with the President of the Business Roundtable, John Engler, and CEOs from a number of multinational companies. SelectUSA comes at a critical juncture in our nation’s economic recovery. In order to encourage foreign firms to do business and U.S. firms to keep their business here in America, SelectUSA...

Senator David Vitter (R-La) was assailed by Democrats for blocking a proposed $20,000 pay raise for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. “A lot of Americans are unemployed, people are losing their homes, and the federal government has a humungous deficit,” Vitter observed. “For a government bureaucrat to get a pay hike at a time like this would need to be preceded by an exemplary job performance. In Secretary Salazar’s case I just don’t see that. The weak economy has been pummeled by rising gas prices, yet Mr. Salazar hasn’t issued new oil drilling permits.” Salazar characterized Vitter’s stance as “extortion.” “In...

No matter how you slice it, the days of milk and cookies are long gone as schools aim to provide students with healthy fruits and vegetables as snacks. But raw onions? That's what several classes of students at Southeast DC's Turner Elementary were fed Tuesday, instead of the zucchini slices the school's food provider, Chartwells, said it would serve as part of a federal initiative to provide healthy food to young learners. When Trevor Rill picked up the snack bags from the cafeteria for his third-grade class, he found bundles of raw scallions... "I asked the cafeteria workers, 'Are you...

An attempt to erect a monument to U.S. soldiers killed in combat ran into a snag when the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) forbade the display of the American flag at the site. The site is located between a highway exit ramp and a park-and-ride lot in the town of Orcutt, California. “Transportation facilities serve travelers from many nations,” CalTrans spokesman Alfred Dimson pointed out. “American troops have killed the soldiers of many of these countries. A flag celebrating only American troops is a non-neutral expression of support for a single side in events where others took an opposing side....

SACRAMENTO -- As part of his revised budget, Gov. Jerry Brown will propose eliminating a state board that has been criticized for providing a highly paid landing spot for termed-out lawmakers looking for work. Brown will propose eliminating the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board as part of his revised budget plan to help close the state's remaining $15.4 billion deficit. The Democratic governor will release the full plan on Monday. Administration spokesman Gil Duran says the move will save $1.2 million a year, but it's also symbolic. Six of the board's seven members are former lawmakers. They each make $128,109...

The authoritarian nanny state of New York City has reached the point where it is almost impossible for bureauweenies to find new things to ban. They've become so desperate, they may resort to forbidding neckties: Some New York lawmakers are proposing a law that would prohibit doctors from wearing neckties while working. The proposal quotes a study that shows bacteria may build-up on neckties and lead to infection.The Independent Democratic Conference in the state Senate is calling for the legislation to readdress what they consider a fashion emergency. One place where bacteria really does build up is in the reusable...

Tepublican Governor Jan Brewer vetoed legislation that would have opened Arizonato interstate competition in the provision of health insurance. “This legislation would have exposed Arizonans to a plethora of choices that most are unqualified to assess,” Brewer argued. “Decisions about what coverage to buy and what price to pay would have been left to ill-prepared individuals. Rather than a ‘knee-jerk’ response in favor of ‘freedom’ I determined that it is best that such decisions be handled by experts in the Department of Insurance.” read more... http://azconserv1.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/president-says-tornadoes-may-be-a-blessing-in-disguise/

MARKETS APRIL 15, 2011. Political Overlords Shackle China's Monetary Mandarins By BOB DAVIS BEIJING—China's premier, Wen Jiabao, warned last month that inflation is like a tiger—once unleashed, it is "very hard to cage again." Amid growing worries over inflation in China, many question what the People's Bank of China can do to put on the brakes without dampening rapid economic growth. WSJ's Bob Davis explains to David Reilly the complications of adjusting policy in the country. Yet Beijing has been slow to pounce, even though food prices are rising at a nearly 12% annual clip and overall inflation hit 5.4%...

Republican leaders in Congress think so, and they are calling for an overhaul of the entire federal pay system to help slash government spending. Democrats and other defenders of the government work force say federal workers are actually underpaid compared with their private counterparts. A closer look at the data shows that both sides have a point but that supporters of federal workers are a bit closer to reality.... That argument is backed up by a 2002 study of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. It found that federal salaries for most professional and administrative jobs lagged well behind compensation offered...

In 1958, Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong launched his “Great Leap Forward,” a plan to radically change the economy of China. Mao and his central planners cooked up an imaginative scheme designed to increase industrial and agricultural production and to make China into a workers' paradise. In agriculture, especially, there would be dramatic changes. Farms would be collectivized instead of left to individual farmers. By adopting new, scientific, government-approved approaches to farming, the collectives would be able to ensure record harvests year after year. To bring about collectivization farmers were held for hour upon hour until they “voluntarily” agreed to...

With the federal budget deeply in deficit you’d think that every effort would be made to tighten up efficiency. Well, you’d be wrong. Despite a survey of federal workers in which the workers themselves judged over 14% of their fellow employees to be performing below reasonably expected levels, less than one-tenth of one-percent were denied raises last year. That means that more than 99.9% got raises. “You can’t compare compensation policies of the government to those in private business,” said Presidential Press Secretary Jay Carney. “It’s a whole different animal.” As for the notion that 99.9% would merit raises given...

Bureaucracy, hoarding gum up fuel delivery The Yomiuri Shimbun A shortage of fuel is hampering the shipment of urgently needed disaster aid to stricken regions, and while damage from last week's earthquake and tsunami is playing a major role in the problem, rigid government regulations are also slowing down the process. Supply is not the problem, as primary oil distributors are reportedly working around the clock and the government has urged the private sector to release stockpiles. But still, many consumers even in unaffected areas have rushed to fill their gas tanks and scoop up other fuel. /snip "We have...

...In 1996, top-loaders were pretty much the only type of washer around...Consumer Reports tested 18 models, 13 were "excellent" and five were "very good." By 2007, though, not one was excellent and seven out of 21 were "fair" or "poor." ...The culprit is the federal government's obsession with energy efficiency...washer standards demonstrate the harmfulness of the ever-growing body of efficiency mandates.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called Tuesday for the elimination of the Environmental Protection Agency, which he wants to replace with a new organization that would work more closely with businesses and be more aggressive in using science and technology. In an interview with The Associated Press, Gingrich said the EPA was rarely innovative and focused only on issuing regulations and litigation. "What you have is a very expensive bureaucracy that across the board makes it harder to solve problems, slows down the development of new innovations," Gingrich said. Gingrich, who has acknowledged that he's mulling...

...two new, independent agencies that will carry out the offshore energy management and enforcement functions once assigned to the former Minerals Management Service (MMS). ...“The former MMS was saddled with the conflicting missions of promoting resource development, enforcing safety regulations, and maximizing revenues from offshore operations,” ...The new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will be responsible for managing development of the nation’s offshore resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way. Functions will include: Leasing, Plan Administration, Environmental Studies, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Analysis, Resource Evaluation, Economic Analysis and the Renewable Energy Program. ...The new Bureau of Safety...

Why are so many of the most talented officers now abandoning military life for the private sector? An exclusive survey of West Point graduates shows that it’s not just money. Increasingly, the military is creating a command structure that rewards conformism and ignores merit. As a result, it’s losing its vaunted ability to cultivate entrepreneurs in uniform.

The unreasonable standard is being applied to both private sector health insurers and companies that provide Internet service. But expect the White House to impose the standard on a lot more industries as the Obama blob continues to absorb every aspect of the economy. What it means is that we are abandoning the rule of law for the rule by bureaucrats. Unelected officials have been given the power to fundamentally remake industries based on their political and value judgments. Here, folks, we see the usual pattern of liberal, big-government demagogues. They proclaim that they - as the protectors of the...

When I learned today that the federal bureaucracy had promulgated a rule compensating physicians for the time they spend counseling patients on end-of-life health-care decisions, I wasn’t surprised. A similar provision was dropped from the Obamacare bill, but anyone who understands the profoundly bureaucratic nature of contemporary government knew that that was not necessarily the end of it. The 2,700-page law is destined — if it is not rolled way back or repealed — to generate over 100,000 pages of enabling regulations. In such a milieu, that which can’t be obtained legislatively, can often be gotten through the bureaucratic back...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Thursday issued its latest hours-of-service proposal, though the agency has yet to decide if truckers should be allowed 10 or 11 hours of daily driving time. The proposal retains the 34-hour restart provision that allows drivers to restart their weekly clocks after 34 consecutive off-duty hours. However, FMCSA said the restart will have to include two consecutive off-duty periods from midnight to 6:00 a.m. In addition, FMCSA said drivers will be allowed to use the restart only once during any seven-day period. As part of an earlier court settlement, FMCSA must publish a...

The Busy Little Termites of the Modern American Left When every federal agency becomes a regulator-at-large By John F. Di Leo At the White House Forum on Environmental Justice, Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano (D, Pluto) proudly demonstrated her department’s commitment to the issue by announcing that the DHS was forming a Climate Change and Adaptation Task Force. Where to begin? We can’t discuss how outrageous, how out of the mainstream this conference was, because five cabinet members participated. Yes, five. The Attorney General and the Secretaries of the Interior, Labor, Health and Human Services, and, yes, Homeland Security all played...