Free Republic

FAIRFIELD, Idaho — Great Pyrenees dogs that are working to protect flocks of sheep in the southern Idaho wilderness keep getting “rescued” by people who think the dogs are lost. Flat Top sheep rancher Cory Peavey is frustrated because he is spending a lot of time picking up his expensive dogs that he uses to protect his herd from shelters or people’s homes. There are many sheep ranchers in Idaho, and many use Great Pyrenees dogs, something that might look out of the ordinary in the woods to someone camping. Peavy understands that it might be strange to see a...

The millions donated to Ethiopia in 1985 thanks to Live Aid were supposed to go towards relieving a natural disaster. In reality, donors became participants in a civil war. Many lives were saved, but even more may have been lost in Live Aid's unwitting support of a Stalinist-style resettlement project Isn't it better to do something rather than give in to despair or cynicism and do nothing? This is the reproachful question familiar to anyone who has criticised organisations that view themselves as dedicated to doing good in the world. To those UN agencies, relief organisations and development groups working...

Gunmen waylaid a group of volunteers bringing aid to earthquake victims in Mexico, shooting one, raping another and beating several, all for $2,000 and a few cellphones. The group of Catholic youth volunteers left Mexico City in three pickup trucks loaded with food and relief aid for communities affected by the earthquakes in Oaxaca Tuesday morning, but a group of unidentified gunmen intercepted them and shot up their cars, wounding one of the volunteers, according to Siame. The gunmen raped one of the girls, beat one of the young men so severely that he almost died, and left with the...

(Snip) The middle and upper classes have been the ones out there pushing for decriminalization and legalization measures, and they have also tried to demolish the cultural taboo against smoking pot. But they themselves have chosen not to partake very much. Which is not surprising. Middle-class men and women who have jobs and families know that this is not a habit they want to take up with any regularity because it will interfere with their ability to do their jobs and take care of their families. But the poor, who already have a hard time holding down jobs and taking...

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his stance in favor of eminent domain — a view not shared by many in his party.   "Eminent domain, when it comes to jobs, roads, the public good, I think it's a wonderful thing," Trump told Fox News' Bret Baier.    ADVERTISEMENT “You're not taking property. … You're paying a fortune for that property,” he said of the process, adding that homeowners can be paid “four, five, six, ten times” their property’s value.   Trump, a real estate mogul, noted that he’s dealt with eminent domain a lot in building developments...

It's getting difficult and slinking toward impossible to defend the Affordable Care Act. The latest blow to Democratic candidates, liberal activists, and naïve columnists like me came Monday from the White House, which announced yet another delay in the Obamacare implementation. For the second time in a year, certain businesses were given more time before being forced to offer health insurance to most of their full-time workers. Employers with 50 to 99 workers were given until 2016 to comply, two years longer than required by law. During a yearlong grace period, larger companies will be required to insure fewer employees...

"Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters." – Daniel Webster (1782-1852)

In the wonderfully funny movie “Mom and Dad Save the World,” one of the heroes admits that his people are not so bright. “But what we lack in brains,” he says, “we make up for in ...good intentions.” Gentle mocking here of the frequent appeal of the incompetent for tolerance of their mistakes: How can you blame us if our intentions are good? The trouble is that much of what's really rotten in the world is due to people who thought that their good intentions would ensure a favorable result. Maybe the best example of this: former president Jimmy Carter....

Anyone heard this bit of audio? Economic crisis President Bush mortgage speech 2002 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW9viaJatpo

FORT EUSTIS, Va. - Soldiers from the 97th Transportation Company recently returned from an unconventional mission - recovering thousands of tires from off the Florida coast in an effort to dismantle the world's largest man-made reef. The 15 Soldiers spent two and a half months off the Florida coast, conducting training operations for dive teams. They then traveled down coast to Fort Lauderdale, where they began a historic effort in environmental preservation. "In 1972, a number of organizations with good intentions dropped about two million tires in the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to build the world's largest man-made reef,"...

The numbers just don't add up. On "Meet the Press" Sunday morning, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said "the next big challenge" for the state is to obtain health insurance for the 6.7 million Californians without it. ... But just last week, the governor was saying he wanted to get health insurance for only half that number of people. So the coverage, and the cost, effectively have doubled in a week. Host Tim Russert asked the governor where the money would come from in a state that still has a structural budget deficit of more than $5 billion. And Mr. Russert quoted...

British town's pubs scan fingerprints to spot louts Fri Apr 28, 1:42 PM ET LONDON (AFP) - Revellers in a British town are to have their fingerprints scanned when they enter pubs and clubs in a scheme aimed at weeding out drunken troublemakers. The "In Touch" project is the first of its kind in Britain. Biometric finger-scanning machines have been installed at six venues in Yeovil, southwest England. Clubbers will be asked to have their right index finger scanned and show picture identification to register on the system. The data is then stored on a computer network which other pubs...

In the 1930s, the government decided to take on the task of building all the roads on which we traveled. In the 1950s, Governor Pat Brown undertook the construction of a world class freeway system in California, and by the time he left office, California had planned for and begun construction on that system. Ronald Reagan continued the construction, and improved on Governor Pat Brown’s plan. Then, like a Suburban in a sig-alert, California came to a grinding halt. In the 1970s, under the throes of the “progressive” leadership of Governor Jerry Brown and his leftist friends in the Legislature,...

Perils of Good Intentions Roh's idealism has turned South Korea into a debtor state By B. J. Lee Newsweek International Sept. 6-13 issue - South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun came to power last year as a populist outsider, and in recent months has spelled out spending plans that deliver on his promises in a big way—some say too big. The total amounts to as much as $300 billion over 10 years, a vast sum for a $600 billion economy with an annual government budget of $150 billion. There's $100 billion to support financially troubled farmers and fishermen, $52 billion...

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=abP2bh88Jrgo&refer=us Schwarzenegger's Punitive Award Fund Part of Budget (Update1) July 29 (Bloomberg) -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to take 75 percent of punitive damage awards made it into the state budget in a form that placated trial attorneys and disappointed supporters of tort reform. Schwarzenegger estimates that the state may raise as much as $450 million from the punitive damages fund. That amount might be optimistic because the law applies only to suits filed after the budget is signed and judgments that are paid by June 2006. ``The courts would have to turn into a dry cleaners -- in...

<p>A relatively new government program meant to ease emotional pain in young people, treat serious mental illness and keep disturbed children from needing institutional care has grown from a speck in the budget to more than $800 million in less than 10 years.</p>