http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/govwatch/ en-us Mon, 6 Jul 2009 04:48:09 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286304/posts Grand Strand marketers turn eyes toward Europe. BY MIKE CHERNEY MYRTLE BEACH — When it comes to attracting foreign visitors to the Grand Strand, some local tourism leaders are looking to Congress for help. The Travel Promotion Act of 2009, which has been introduced in the House and Senate, would create a nonprofit corporation to advertise the U.S. as a travel destination in foreign countries. The campaign would be funded by industry contributions and a $10 fee on foreign travelers who do not have to pay for a visa. The travel industry, including the U.S. Travel Association and the American... McClatchy / The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286304/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 04:48:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284585/posts WASHINGTON (AP) -- Six Illinois banks and one bank in Texas were shuttered Thursday as government regulators proposed new rules for private equity firms seeking to take over failed banks. That brought the number of U.S. bank failures this year to 52. That's more than double the 25 which failed in all of 2008 and the three closed in 2007. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of all seven. The total cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund from the seven closings will be $314.3 million, the FDIC said. The assets of most of the failed banks will be... AP via Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284585/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 02:50:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284615/posts 7 more banks fail as FDIC seeks stronger rules for buyers of failed banks. BY STEPHEN MANNING and DAVID PITT WASHINGTON (AP) -- Six Illinois banks and one bank in Texas were shuttered Thursday as government regulators proposed new rules for private equity firms seeking to take over failed banks. That brought the number of U.S. bank failures this year to 52. That's more than double the 25 which failed in all of 2008 and the three closed in 2007. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of all seven. The total cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund from... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284615/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 03:43:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281429/posts Of all the misguided schemes put forth lately to save newspapers (micropayments! blame Google!), the one put forth by Judge Richard Posner has to be the most jaw-dropping. He suggests that linking to copyrighted material should be outlawed. No, Posner does not work for the Associated Press (which also has some strange ideas on linking). He is (normally) considered to be one of the great legal minds of our time. Posner is a United States Court of Appeals judge in Chicago and legal scholar who was once considered a potential Supreme Court nominee. He is someone who should know better.... Tech Crunch / Slashdot http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281429/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:54:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281035/posts In the midst of the longest, and probably deepest, postwar recession last year, the U.S. investment position with the rest of the world sharply deteriorated. At the end of 2008, America's net international investment position was minus $3.47 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Friday. That represents the difference between the value of U.S. assets owned by foreigners ($23.36 trillion) and the value of foreign assets owned by Americans ($19.89 trillion). At the end of 2007, the U.S. net international investment position was minus $2.14 trillion. Thus, America's net indebtedness with the rest of the world increased by $1.33 trillion, or... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281035/posts#comment Sun, 28 Jun 2009 07:49:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2275017/posts What did you do when capitalism died, Daddy? I won't be surprised to hear that question from my daughter by the time she gets out of college, or should I say the State Mandatory Voluntarism Training Facility. When liberals hear conservatives decry the death of capitalism, they titter and roll their eyes. "Oh, you paranoid right-wingers! You see Bolsheviks around every corner." But such exasperation is the exhalation of concentrated ignorance. The absence of free markets isn't necessarily Bolshevism, or even socialism. Capitalism's death can come in many forms, by many different hands. After all, not all of Julius Caesar's... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2275017/posts#comment Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:18:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2274537/posts As Congress moves ahead with climate-change legislation touching almost every corner of the energy industry, a number of lawmakers shaping the debate have investments in companies that would be affected by the results. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D., Mass.), one of the lead authors of a House bill that would favor alternative-energy sources, had investments of between $51,000 and $115,000 in the Firsthand Technology Value Fund at the end of last year. Three of the top 10 holdings in the Ohio fund are solar-energy manufacturers. Some House and Senate leaders also held stakes in the energy sector. In 2008, House... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2274537/posts#comment Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:36:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2274101/posts My Friends, Health care is a problem of growing importance across America. From kitchen tables, to state governments, to our government here in Washington, the growing cost of health care and the shortcomings of the current system are issues of extreme concern. With polls showing that a majority of Americans now support Congress enacting a major overhaul of the U.S. health care system, it is clear that we must begin working towards a bi-partisan solution to address the need for reform. In the coming weeks, Congress will begin the hard work of debating health care legislation that will provide all... Country First PAC via Norfolk (Va.) Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2274101/posts#comment Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:15:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2267789/posts http://standourground.org/2009/06/eminent-domain-or-theft-city-of-less-than-3000-people-condemns-235-acres-of-farmland-for-city-use/ times news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2267789/posts#comment Tue, 9 Jun 2009 05:37:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2265928/posts Bank of Lincolnwood becomes the 37th bank to be closed by regulators this year. BY BEN ROONEY NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Bank of Lincolnwood was shuttered by Illinois regulators Friday, bringing the number of failed banks this year to 37 and costing the Federal Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s deposit insurance fund $83 million. The two offices of Lincolnwood, Ill.-based bank will reopen Saturday as branches of Republic Bank of Chicago. Bank of Lincolnwood customers will retain their deposit insurance coverage, the FDIC said. As of late last month, Bank of Lincolnwood had total assets of about $214 million and total... CNN / AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2265928/posts#comment Sat, 6 Jun 2009 01:09:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2261525/posts Open Space Authority to Return Assessment Funds San Jose, CA, May 29, 2009 – Property owners who have property within the jurisdiction of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority will soon be able to claim refunds of an assessment charged by the Authority on their real estate tax bills between 2002 and 2008. In 2001, the Authority approved a $20 annual assessment on single-family homes located within the Authority’s territory to help purchase and maintain open space and parkland. Higher amounts were charged for multi-family and commercial properties. The Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, and... Open Space Authority http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2261525/posts#comment Sun, 31 May 2009 07:44:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2260842/posts Regulators slapped Greater Atlantic Bank with a prompt corrective action directive, warning the troubled bank that it will be seized if it does not quickly find capital or a merger partner, according to a Wednesday securities filing. The Reston-based bank, a subsidiary of Greater Atlantic Financial Corp. (Pink Sheets: GAFC), has been in hot water with its regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision, since April 2008, when it was hit with a cease and desist enforcement order. The bank was undercapitalized in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the bank said it was “critically undercapitalized” as of March 31. The... The Washington Business Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2260842/posts#comment Fri, 29 May 2009 21:20:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258817/posts The uses for the Title I stimulus money outlined to the school board Tuesday include: * $214,300 to hire a coordinator and half-time bookkeeper to help administer Title I programs started with stimulus money. * $642,675 for professional development programs, including Quantum Learning, which applies brain-based research to student learning, and a program to help teachers promote social and emotional growth. * $450,000 to hire three social workers to join the 14 the district now employs. * $200,000 to contract with mental health agencies to work with students with mental health issues. * $1.05 million to hire math coaches, kindergarten... Lincoln Journal Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258817/posts#comment Wed, 27 May 2009 03:47:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258846/posts Standard and PoorÂ’s decision to downgrade its outlook for British sovereign debt from “stable” to “negative” should be a wake-up call for the US Congress and administration. Let us hope they wake up. Under President Barack ObamaÂ’s budget plan, the federal debt is exploding. To be precise, it is rising – and will continue to rise – much faster than gross domestic product, a measure of AmericaÂ’s ability to service it. The federal debt was equivalent to 41 per cent of GDP at the end of 2008; the Congressional Budget Office projects it will increase to 82 per cent of... Financial Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258846/posts#comment Wed, 27 May 2009 04:57:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258812/posts Selling any used cribs or playpens at your upcoming garage sale? Children’s clothes with drawstrings or zippers? Pre-1985 books? Rubber duckies or pool floaties? Better check them twice. Just like megasize toy manufacturers and stores that sell products from China, the notoriously broad and confusing federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act applies to you and your front yard kansascity.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2258812/posts#comment Wed, 27 May 2009 03:42:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2257113/posts FAYETTEVILLE, Ohio -- A broken road reflector cost Paul Holden the price a new tire, and now it could cost him his home. That's the threat from the Ohio Attorney General if Holden doesn't pay another $24.66 the state says it spent investigating his claim for the flat tire. > Then more bills started coming from the state. The first was for an additional $22.00 for the state's investigation. Ohio officials were even charging Holden more than $6.00 in postage for letters they sent to him, including the bills. Each subsequent bill added more fees, and a few cents in... WCPO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2257113/posts#comment Sat, 23 May 2009 23:46:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255820/posts The Office of Thrift Supervision on Thursday closed BankUnited of Coral Gables and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as receiver. BankUnited was "critically undercapitalized and in an unsafe condition to conduct business," the OTS said in a statement. The bank reported losses of $1.2 billion in 2008. BankUnited had $8.7 billion in deposits and 85 branches, including 23 in Broward County and 16 in Palm Beach County. The Sun-Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255820/posts#comment Thu, 21 May 2009 21:40:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255803/posts Why U.S. Treasuries look increasingly unattractive. BY TIERNAN RAY OOOF! It's a tough day for sovereign credit. Rating agency Standard and Poor's this morning lowered its outlook on the U.K.'s debt from Stable to Negative on concerns that the Kingdom's borrowing could reach 100% of its gross domestic product by 2013. This is a potential prelude to an eventual cut in the U.K.'s triple-A rating. The U.S. may not be as close to the U.K. at getting its credit spanked, but the U.S.'s ballooning deficits and heavy borrowing make U.S. Treasuries increasingly look unappealing. Barron's / Dow Jones http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2255803/posts#comment Thu, 21 May 2009 21:20:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2251398/posts Thousands of Home Valley Bank customers recently learned that their Presidential Guarantee accounts have become decidedly less presidential. Instead of paying a promised 3 percent interest yield annually on the special checking accounts, the southern Oregon bank in mid-April unilaterally cut the rate to 2.02 percent. Don't blame us, Home Valley executives said. Blame the FDIC. In February, the federal agency that insures deposits approved a one-time special assessment that will increase the annual charge paid by many Northwest banks by three times or more. That leaves Home Valley and the other 8,300 banks across the country facing a significant... The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2251398/posts#comment Fri, 15 May 2009 08:08:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2250203/posts On a vote that was so close that Farmington Mayor William Standley had to cast the tie breaker, officials of the Four Corners community rejected installing red-light cameras ... There are three municipalities in the state that use or are planning to use red-light cameras to enforce traffic laws: Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe. Eyewitness News 4 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2250203/posts#comment Wed, 13 May 2009 19:21:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2249345/posts Farmington attorney who opposes red-light cameras in Farmington is fighting two tickets he received after his cars were caught on camera zipping through Albuquerque intersections. He contends Albuquerque’s ordinance violates state law and the federal constitution. He says he wasn’t driving but purposely hasn’t asked family members who was. Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2249345/posts#comment Tue, 12 May 2009 17:17:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2248629/posts Government obligations for Social Security and Medicare may soon exceed the combined net worth of every household and nonprofit organization in the country. Prices dropped last year. But we still need to invest to protect ourselves from inflation. That's why our retirement-plan investing needs an inflation "tilt." You'll understand why in a few paragraphs. How bad will future inflation be? I don't know. Neither does anyone else. It could be a normal inflation of 3% to 4% a year. It could also be a banana-republic 10% a month. What we know is that all governments make promises they can't fulfill.... MSN Money http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2248629/posts#comment Mon, 11 May 2009 17:32:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2247652/posts The U.S. Department of Education has just released the latest findings from the “Nation’s Report Card,” the leading nationwide measurement of educational outcomes. The findings contained good news for critics of the 2001 federal education law No Child Left Behind (NCLB). But supporters of the law got good news of their own. The good news for the critics is that the Nation’s Report Card shows reading and math scores still have not substantially changed since 1971. The good news for supporters is that the Nation’s Report Card shows reading and math scores still have not substantially changed since 1971. Welcome... Pajamas Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2247652/posts#comment Sat, 9 May 2009 18:26:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2247425/posts Regulators seized a Bremerton, Wash., bank late Friday as the financial crisis claimed its 33rd federally insured financial institution of 2009. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. estimated that the failure of Westsound Bank would cost its deposit-insurance fund $108 million. Westsound is the second Washington bank to be closed by regulators so far this year. Westsound had total assets of $334.6 million and total deposits of $304.5 million as of March 31. The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2247425/posts#comment Sat, 9 May 2009 05:23:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2245733/posts (snip) SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Well, first of all, Neil, they should not be eligible for any benefits. That would be crazy. But the major point here is that President Obama, with great fanfare, announced the closure of Guantanamo Bay, the prison at Gitmo, as we know it, and then, nothing. In other words, they did what, you know, that everybody would like to see done at least around the world, et cetera, but then no addressing of the fundamental issues associated with it. What do you do with the detainees? What sort of system of trials do you... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2245733/posts#comment Thu, 7 May 2009 00:25:30 GMT