Free Republic

Residents of a Washington county where 31 people have tested positive for coronavirus and nine people have died are being advised to work from home to avoid possible exposure to the killer strain. Public health officials in King County, which includes Seattle and is home to over 2.2 million people, have urged local businesses to allow employees to telecommute for the next three weeks in an effort to curb the COVID-19 outbreak. They are also recommending that higher-risk groups - including people over the age of 60, pregnant women and people with underlying health conditions or weakened immune systems -...

Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) wants to create a "virtual Congress," where lawmakers would leverage videoconferencing and other remote work technology to conduct their daily duties in Washington from their home districts. Under a resolution Pearce introduced on Thursday, lawmakers would be able to hold hearings, debate and vote on legislation virtually from their district offices.

Why stay? President, Congress should just go home until after the election By Judd Gregg - 04/23/12 05:44 AM ET The president is in full campaign mode. So is Congress. The federal government has been put into a holding pattern until the November elections. Like “Major, Major, Major” from “Catch-22,” it appears that although everyone in Washington is still there, no one is actually there. This being the situation, one might ask — Why don’t they all go home? They could leave Washington to the pundits and lobbyists. President Obama could go back to Chicago and campaign from there, reconnecting...

Despite the media firestorm over her military travel abuses, Nancy Pelosi continued to use the United States Air Force as her own personal travel agency right up until her final days as House Speaker according to documents we uncovered from the Air Force. According to these new documents, which we obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Pelosi used Air Force aircraft for 43 flights from January 1 to October 1, 2010. By comparison, Nancy Pelosi logged 47 flights in the previous nine-month period, April 1, 2009, to January 1, 2010, according to previous documents we uncovered. So, in...

It’s a stocking stuffer many federal workers in the Capital region have been anticipating for years – the authorization and ability to work for the government from home. On Nov. 18, the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 254-152 adopted the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, a bill that improves and expands teleworking in federal agencies by requiring them to establish a policy under which eligible government employees are approved to telecommute. The bill also instructs federal agencies to notify their workers of their eligibility to telework, and it establishes a Telework Managing Officer to develop and implement...

Namaste India! In all likelihood that will be silver-tongued Barack Obama's opening line when he addresses the Indian parliament next week. But to help him pronounce Hindi words correctly will be a teleprompter which the US president uses ever so often for his hypnotising speeches. According to parliament sources, a technical team from the US has helped the Lok Sabha secretariat install textbook-sized panes of glass around the podium that will give cues to Obama on his prepared remarks to 780 Indian MPs on the evening of Nov 8. ----> snip <---- Indian politicians are known for making impromptu long...

Poll: Should Congress telecommute? A Daily Poll.

Reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil, dangit!

Rising fuel costs are being blamed for everything from soaring utility costs to lower retail sales and higher airline tickets. And now, experts say high gas prices could reshape U.S. cities. "Most analysts believe that crude oil prices in the $50s and $60s will be with us for some time," says Stuart Gabriel, director of the Lusk Center, a think tank at the University of Southern California devoted to studying real estate forces and trends. There's even talk of crude hitting $100 per barrel -- or 10 times what it sold for in the summer of 2005. Once the realization...

At Georgia Power headquarters on Ralph McGill Boulevard in downtown Atlanta, a group of employees received the keys to their new van, bringing the number of vanpool vans to 66, with eight more groups still on the waiting list. Vanpooling is completely free to Georgia Power employees. Vans meet at a predetermined location at a specific time. Nine to 15 employees ride to and from work together. But Georgia Power provides incentives to all employees willing to try alternative transportation. Carpoolers get free parking and gas vouchers. Transit users ride for free. And once at work without a car, Georgia...