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The opinions expressed in guest op-eds are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.Humans have been using fire to cook with for thousands of years, but that could soon end for millions of Americans if the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has its way and bans gas stoves.Last October, CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. let the cat out of the bag when he said gas stoves are “a hidden hazard.” He added, “Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”According to the CPSC, gas stoves are dangerous...

Get ready for another front on the debate over privacy, consumption, and the trade-off between them. Yesterday, Judicial Watch announced that they had received data through a FOIA demand that showed warrantless surveillance on 5 million American consumers — not for national-security reasons, but for the new Consumer Financial Protection Board. The documents show that the controversial panel has contracted out the service of trawling through millions of transactions, emphases in original: Judicial Watch announced today that it has obtained records from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) revealing that the agency has spent millions of dollars for the warrantless...

Department of Consumer Affairs Director Carrie Lopez submitted her resignation Friday after an internal audit determined she made "questionable" travel expense claims. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Lopez to the $142,965-a-year post in 2007. "A Department of Finance audit of her travel found questionable expenses," said Schwarzenegger press secretary Aaron McLear. "When presented with the findings, she offered her resignation. She will have the opportunity to justify those expenses and will repay the state for any expenses she cannot justify." McLear would not offer specifics of her expense problems because he said Lopez needs time to review them before they are...

Rosario Marin Accepted Money For Speeches, Governor's Office Says SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California's secretary for the State and Consumer Services Agency has resigned after accepting money for giving speeches, the governor's office said Thursday. Rosario Marin heads the agency that oversees the Franchise Tax Board and the Department of Consumer Affairs. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office does not permit cabinet members to receive income for making speeches because it presents a potential conflict of interest. Marin gave speeches to private companies, including those doing business with the agency. She was paid for a speaking engagement with pharmaceutical companies shortly after her...

Despite a ban on nonessential travel, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's top administrative officials charged taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars for airfare, hotel stays and meals with virtually no oversight, according to a published report. Expense reports and calendars for 10 high-ranking staff members from Southern California — including three cabinet members — show many of the expenses were incurred after the governor issued an executive order a year ago requiring state agencies to reduce travel costs due to California's budget crisis, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site late Friday. ....Carrie Lopez, the director of the Department of...

Reporting from Sacramento -- John Cruz, the appointments secretary for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, lives hundreds of miles from the state Capitol, where his staff scrutinizes candidates for California's many boards and commissions. When Cruz works there, he goes by plane. He has charged taxpayers for his flights and for hotel bills of up to $382 a night on regular trips between his Orange County home and Sacramento, records show. Carrie Lopez, director of the Department of Consumer Affairs, charged taxpayers to fly from Sacramento, where she works, to Los Angeles, where she lives, to attend a Justin Timberlake concert with...

by Mark Finkelstein August 15, 2006 - 21:45 I'll get to the good stuff in a minute. But before I tell you just how Mark Green went about slurring VP Cheney, President Bush and religious conservatives, let me explain why he went out of his way to defame them in the most obnoxious possible manner on this evening's Hardball. Mark Green is about to lose to Andrew Cuomo in next month's New York Democratic primary for Attorney General. The latest poll has him eating Cuomo's dust by 18 points. And that was before the final nail in his coffin -...

Last Friday evening, John Stossel came to the Barnes & Noble at 82nd Street and Broadway in Manhattan to sell and sign his new book, Give Me a Break. I was there along with a full house, about a hundred assorted Upper West Siders. Mr. Stossel is a resident of the neighborhood, too, and his present place of employment, ABC, has extensive facilities about a mile downtown. It was a good natured, mostly mature group. Mature, gray hair--but no walkers. After a short introduction by a Barnes & Noble staffer, Mr. Stossel took the lectern and introduced himself. He looks...