Free Republic

Vice President Joe Biden's trip to Europe last month led to a hefty tab with over $1 million for hotels for himself, staff and security for two nights in London and Paris, government documents show. As first reported by The Weekly Standard, documents show that the U.S. State Department obtained contracts with two five-star hotels in London and Paris where the vice president stayed for two nights during a five-day tour of Europe last month. "These costs are nothing out of the ordinary. They are in line with high-level travel across multiple administrations," the State Department official said.

HELENA — Too bad everyone can’t work for Congress. Between 2007 and 2008, the average wage for Montana workers went up 3.4 percent, from $32,224 to $33,305, according to numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Not so for congressional staffers. In 2008, the House of Representatives voted to increase the money each member gets to pay their staffs by 9 percent, although it’s up to each representative to decide on the amount of raises for individual employees. That sum also includes expenses like office supplies and travel, but nonetheless it’s still almost three times higher than the rate...

When the federal Liberals lose the next election and Stephane Dion is forced to resign, the words "Green Shift" will no doubt appear prominently in the first paragraph or two of his political obituary. As a cautionary tale, it will rank right up there with John Tory's disastrous religious school funding proposal in Ontario. Ironically, the legacy of this self-described green zealot will be to kill serious environmentalism in this country for years to come. That's too bad, because the concept of a carbon tax actually makes sense --even, dare I say, to conservatives. I am talking here about a...