Free Republic

“It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man who knows what the law is today can guess what it will be tomorrow.” Those words were written by James Madison in 1788 in The Federalist, a series of essays intended to promote the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and were intended to...

The Birth of Bureaucracy At the site of Iklaina, excavations are revealing new evidence of how the Mycenaean state functioned - Pylos, in Greece’s southwestern Peloponnese, is known for its miles of soft sandy beaches, rocky islets soaring out of the water marking the edges of the Bay of Navarino, and the mountains that cut it off from the rest of Greece. The surrounding region, known as Messenia, is also home to dozens of archaeological sites. Since the nineteenth century, Messenia has attracted archaeologists hoping to uncover remains of Greece’s Mycenaean age, the period from approximately 1650 to 1100 B.C.,...

Deltona (Florida) High School student Michael Rudi suffered a potentially life-threatening asthma attack while attending classes. Though an inhaler prescribed by Rudi’s doctor was available, the school nurse withheld it from him because the school could not locate a signed permission form from his parents. The school’s Director of Student Health Services, Cheryl Selesky, defended the nurse’s action saying that “it’s a matter of liability. If we allow him to medicate himself without having the proper papers filled out and he dies, the parents could sue us. If we follow our rules the blame for any ill consequences falls on...

Wayne County groundskeeper John Chevilott was recently fired by County Supervisors from a job he’d held for 23 years. His offense was possession of a firearm on County property. Chevilott found a small pistol in the grass he was mowing. He turned it over to police after he completed his work shift. “There is no question that the gun was in his possession, he admits it was,” asserted County Supervisor Leonard Prickman. “Our policy is clear. No one may carry a firearm on County property. There’s a ‘zero tolerance’ for violators. We cannot allow anyone to skirt the rules for...

The Ten Scariest DMV Horror Stories There is a dark side to driving in the US, and it is known as the DMV. Listen to these ten tales of woe from Jalopnik readers and you'll get a taste of American bureaucracy at its worst. 10.) Counterfeiters get Mustang GTs Suggested By: frankiepoops What happened: Worst experience that I ever had was when the NY DMV decided that my title for my 1996 green Mustang was counterfeit, not the first time I registered it, but when I went back to put it back on the road after parking it for a...

San Francisco businesses whose windows were broken by “Occupy” protesters and whose subsequently boarded-up buildings were spray-painted with graffiti by local hoodlums were advised by city officials that they would be fined $500 a day if “the facilities are not put in acceptable condition within 30 days.” “Rules are rules,” said Otto Lawless, head of the City’s Zoning Enforcement Division. “I have to do my job. Can you imagine how decrepit and dilapidated our city would look if I didn’t.” Lawless said the affected businesses who feel that the police could’ve done more to protect their property in the first...

Current list of California state agencies: California Academic Performance Index (API) * California Access for Infants and Mothers * California Acupuncture Board * California Administrative Office of the Courts * California Adoptions Branch * California African American Museum * California Agricultural Export Program * California Agricultural Labor Relations Board * California Agricultural Statistics Service * California Air Resources Board(CARB) * California Allocation Board * California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority * California Animal Health and Food Safety Services * California Anti-Terrorism Information Center * CaliforniaApprenticeship Council * California Arbitration Certification Program * California Architects Board * California...

VIDEO: Glenn Beck, from his newly created reproduction, "Oval Office," speaks about the "Imperial City," Washington, D.C., our nation's capital, the richest, most prosperous city in America.

When Chief Justice Roberts asked if the defenders of Obamacare expected SCOTUS to review all 2,700 pages of this overreaching law, he posed a question that should have been asked 100 years ago during countless other deliberations. It made no more sense to the Court than it did to Charlie Rangel – or any well-intentioned lawmaker or bureaucrat. Tea Partiers formed committees to take on 20 pages each among them. It wasn’t pretty! Ms. Nancy still claims her Congress took the Constitution into consideration. Lesson 1: Always listen to your local Tea Partier! Lawmakers have their overpaid fun for a...

Ninety-seven percent of the bus and train operators at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority are black, with only six white women out of more than 3,000 drivers, according to Metro documents — a lack of diversity at one of the region’s largest employers that has led to an acknowledgment of failure in affirmative-action documents and spawned a series of lawsuits. The homogeneity, interviews with dozens of current and former Metro workers indicated, is a proxy to a clubby culture of favoritism in which merit has little to do with promotions, and accountability, such as noting safety violations, is a...

Correspondent R.T. is a retired accountant who has resided in Arizona since 2001. Prior to 2001, he resided in California. On March 14, he received a letter from the California Franchise Tax Board (the agency that collects income taxes) claiming that he owed $1,343 for the tax year 2006. This was the first notification he'd ever received of this claim. This was an interesting claim given that R.T.: -- Did not reside in California in 2006 -- Did not file a State income tax return in California in 2006 -- Did not have any outstanding tax issues with California in...

Choking on dozens of new and costly federal regulations, several Republican state attorneys general on Monday pledged to hit the campaign trail against President Obama, calling his administration the most oppressive ever. Their fear: A reelected Obama will unleash more regulations governing health care, the environment and labor relations that now has a majority of the states -- 29 -- suing the federal government for overstepping its authority. “Most people who have to face reelection are usually restrained in their first term because they know they have to face the voters one more time,” said South Carolina Attorney General Alan...

Key Democrats objected to GOP efforts to trim the budget deficit by requiring federal employees to make bigger contributions to their own pensions. This comes despite statistics indicating that government employees’ pensions are far more generous than those of their peers in the private sector. “What my GOP colleagues consistently overlook is the complexity and importance of government work compared to the private sector,” complained Minority Whip, Representative Steny Hoyer (D-Md). “Producing food, clothing, and shelter are the relatively simple tasks we entrust to the private sector. Regulating these tasks is more complicated, difficult, and important. Those charged with these...

The government’s effort to force feed America’s youth with nutritionally approved food raised its ugly head in a North Carolina pre-school this past week. The issue gained notoriety when a mother complained that school officials declared the sack-lunch of a turkey sandwich, fruit, chips, and apple juice she had prepared for her daughter was substandard and gave the child a school meal composed of chicken nuggets, milk, and a vegetable. In the end, the girl ate only the chicken nuggets. The principal of West Hoke Elementary, Jackie Samuels, defended the program as “a crucial step toward ensuring that all children...

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...