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Bypassing Congress, the Obama administration has issued a proposed administrative rule, which if adopted, would mandate the installation of “black boxes” in all automobiles and light trucks beginning in 2014. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed the regulation on Dec. 7, which it said “would capture valuable safety-related data in the seconds before and during a motor vehicle crash.” The proposed standard would require automakers to install event data recorders (EDRs)—so-called “black box devices”—to collect specific safety-related data in all light passenger vehicles beginning Sept. 1, 2014. …

Barack Obama keeps claiming that he wants a "balanced" approach to deficit reform, but the editors of the Washington Post have a little difficulty trying to figure out what he means by "balanced" --- since his proposals have had a 4:1 ratio of tax hikes to spending cuts. The Post also notes that Obama has backed away from even the inadequate entitlement reforms he's previously embraced. Why, the Post's editors suggest, Obama may not really be serious about this whole deficit-reform idea.You think? Since the election last month, a few modest proposals have been floated to slow the growth in...

The "King of Calypso," Hugo Chávez enthusiast, and "Banana Boat" crooner, octogenarian Harry Belafonte is so thrilled with the reelection of Barack Obama that he's taken to cable "news" network MSNBC to share his views on how President Obama should deal with political nemeses. In addition to singing, acting and songwriting, throughout his career Harry "Viva la revolucion" Belafonte has also promoted himself as a civil rights advocate and humanitarian. In addition to issuing indictments like: "Our foreign policy has made a wreck of this planet," Mr. Belafonte also heartily endorses the ailing Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's socialist revolution. Once,...

Here’s more evidence that government “cures” are inevitably worse than the “diseases” they seek to wipe out. Buried in the trillion-dollar stimulus law of 2009 was an electronic-medical-records “incentive” program. Like most of President Obama’s health-care rules, this top-down electronic record-sharing scheme is a big fat bust. Oversight is lax. Cronyism is rife. The job-killing and privacy-undermining consequences have only just begun. The program was originally sold as a cost-saving measure. In theory, modernizing record-collection is a good idea, and many private health-care providers have already made the change. But as with many government “incentive” programs, the EMR bribe is...

I know some of you are still wondering how Big Guy won his reelection. Well, I have a small insight for you: first, there is nothing – no matter how large or small, sacred or profane – that cannot be used for your political purposes. Take Hanukkah for example: First, you invite 600 of your best Jewish friends and benefactors, then you follow the White House tradition of selecting a menorah with some kind of meaningful history. “Meaningful history” used to mean having something to do with the survival of the Jewish people following the Diaspora or the Holocaust. Since...

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, fellow congressmen and women, and my fellow citizens. I'm pleased to take up the gavel as your new Majority Leader and Speaker of the House of Representatives. I wish my predecessor all the best as he resumes his duties as a member of the House from Ohio.

On tonight's broadcast of MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow" show, guest Dan Rather was disappointed with President Obama after Susan Rice decided to withdraw herself from Secretary of State considerations. Rather said Obama talked tough, but didn't back it up. "He indicated in his press conference just after the election -- he made a lot of tough talk, didn't back it up," Rather said. "So there are people who say, 'Listen, the kind of leader we want is one who will fight to the finish, never give in.' On the other hand, one could make the case that President Obama has said...

ANDREA MITCHELL: A lot of Democrats are saying that the president did not show enough loyalty. A lot of women in the administration are very angry tonight, and I'm saying this at a very high level. Angry because they feel that she was not treated with respect, she was not given the support she needed and she was left to twist in the wind. RACHEL MADDOW: They're angry, with whom though? MITCHELL: Angry with the White House. And with the boss, with the president, for not be willing to fight this out. That he's backed down in the face of...

While I'm thankful this abhorrent woman won't become Secretary of State I can only wonder the timing of this especially since Hillary Clinton is due to testify about Benghazi next week. Isn't that interesting: U.N. Ambassador Susan E. Rice withdrew her name Thursday as President Obama’s leading candidate for secretary of state, saying the administration could not afford a “lengthy, disruptive and costly” confirmation fight over statements she made about the extremist attack in Libya that killed four Americans. Rice called Obama on Thursday morning, before sending him a letter officially withdrawing from consideration. Rice said in an interview that...

Remember when government needed something called a warrant or even probable cause to look at your records? Good times, good times. I’m nostalgic for the halcyon days of, er, February of this year, before the Attorney General of the United States signed off on an order allowing the government to access pretty much everything it wanted in the name of counterterrorism. The Wall Street Journal found out about the order and got a FOIA request to force its exposure: Top U.S. intelligence officials gathered in the White House Situation Room in March to debate a controversial proposal. Counterterrorism officials wanted...

With all the chatter about the fiscal cliff, you may not have heard of a tax change that will take effect on January 1 — and why going to the dentist now may be the right response to it. If you’re under 65, on January 1 your medical tax deduction rate (including expenses for dental work) will take a big jump from 7.5% of gross income to 10%. (No change for folks 65 and older.) If you’re like me, your health insurance pays a minimal amount for routine dental work — with most of the dentist’s bill being paid out...

On Thursday I asked that President Obama no longer consider me for the job of secretary of state. I made this decision because it is the right step for this country I love. I have never shied away from a fight for a cause I believe in. But, as it became clear that my potential nomination would spark an enduring partisan battle, I concluded that it would be wrong to allow this debate to continue distracting from urgent national priorities — creating jobs, growing our economy, addressing our deficit, reforming our immigration system and protecting our national security. These are...

Note:  The following letter is co-signed by 185 of the nation's economists including Dr. Sanjai Bhagat, Provost Professor of Finance, University of Colorado, and Contributing Editor to A Line of Sight.  http://sanjaibhagat.com  Further information is available from the National Taxpayers Union, click here.  An Open Letter to Congress: December 11, 2012Dear Members of Congress:As the nation approaches the so-called "fiscal cliff," we, the undersigned economists, urge Congress to carefully consider the relative merits of tax increases and spending restraint. Increasing taxes would likely slow or reverse our nation's fragile economic recovery and undermine long-term growth. Restraining the growth of expenditures,...

Opinion: Obama's Negotiating Arrogance Dec 7, 2012 Columnist Kim Strassel gives an update on the fiscal cliff negotiations and President Obama's demand that Republicans give him the power to raise the debt ceiling whenever he wants. 12/07/12 WSJ Video

It is the ultimate example of how you reap what you sow: Huge numbers of American workers who voted for Obama are now seeing their own jobs slashed below 30 hours a week as employers desperately try to avoid "Obamacare bankruptcy." Obamacare mandates for businesses only apply to those working 30 hours a week or more, and while many businesses do not want to cut workers' hours, they are being forced to in order to stay afloat. This necessary action is causing businesses to lose money and become less competitive while at the same time destroying American jobs. Some businesses...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: We have some news here. It's not surprising to me. "US small business owners' net capital spending intentions for the next 12 months plunged to -14 in November, the lowest level in more than two years, according to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index. This is down from net capital spending intentions of -1 in July and suggests the nation's small business owners are likely to pull back on their business investments even more, given their negative expectations for the next 12 months." Now, I give you an illustration. In 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, this index --...

Haven't posted here for a while. Some of you might know me as co-founder of Hear Us Now which organized the Tax Day Tea Parties (among other events) at the Colorado State Capitol. I brought Hear Us Now to an end in March of this year. The next project, Liberty Cast. 24 hour online streaming Activist/political radio. Liberty Cast has been under way on a tiny scale for sometime. Producing podcasts for others, and hosting two pdcasts. One being the podcast for Grassroots Radio Colorado (http://libertycast.net/grc/index.htm). Please visit the following page, give some consideration to the request and share the...

Question,...Is it possible, that we could make some sort of statement, that if Obama is found out to be illegally elected, we could prosecute some of the people that covered up his lies to get him elected? It's too late to stop anything now, IMHO, but later, investigations could turn up some evidence that may be accepted. To have Arapio say, positively, that Obama's records are fake and no one even looks at it is criminal, in my mind. If some knew we were coming after them no matter how long it takes, maybe someone would crack. Someone has to...

Top U.S. intelligence officials gathered in the White House Situation Room in March to debate a controversial proposal. Counterterrorism officials wanted to create a government dragnet, sweeping up millions of records about U.S. citizens—even people suspected of no crime. ~ snip ~ The rules now allow the little-known National Counterterrorism Center to examine the government files of U.S. citizens for possible criminal behavior, even if there is no reason to suspect them. That is a departure from past practice, which barred the agency from storing information about ordinary Americans unless a person was a terror suspect or related to an...

Obama proposed this last year and now its back on the table: This week, the Wall Street Journal’s John D. McKinnon and Andrew Ackerman are reporting that House Speaker John Boehner “is willing to consider curbing the tax-exempt status of municipal-bond interest, subject to negotiations with the White House.” Reality check...the only reason investors buy muni bonds is because of the tax exempt status. They pay less interest than other bonds that are already taxed so if they are gonna tax the muni's....might as well get the higher interest rate. So what happens then? Local, county and state municipalities will...