Free Republic

Of all the federal agencies that ought to have their budgets zeroed out, HUD should be the first. There is no bureaucracy in the "anti-poverty" business that does more than HUD to take people perfectly capable of self-sufficiency and intentionally turn them into lifelong government dependents. And, in the "bang for the buck" category, no other bureaucracy could possibly outdo HUD for futility. No housing grant, subsidy or other initiative counts for as much as a penny in the income of any recipient. Therefore, if somebody was poor before receiving an HUD grant or subsidy, it is one hundred percent...

Software Insecurity Outsourcing and defense fear of "foreign influence" By Daniel G. Dupont In February 2005 a group of Pentagon industry advisers warned that the "migration of critical microelectronics manufacturing" from the U.S. to other countries compromised national security. To ensure a steady supply of safe microchips, the Defense Science Board--which advises senior defense officials--recommended establishing "trusted foundries" to make critical hardware. But that is only part of the picture. According to the science board, any effort to improve the safety and supply of microchips would be of "limited utility" without a comparable focus on software--especially on what the Pentagon...

Smoot Hawley, Chinese Style By: George Gilder Forbes.com May 20, 2005 Original Article In his insightful new book, The World Is Flat, Tom Friedman of The New York Times, though generally disdainful of anything conservative, somehow brings himself to cite an exemplary Heritage Foundation study of U.S. companies with facilities in China. These firms are not an unhealthy set of "Benedict Arnolds," as they were quaintly dubbed by Sen. John Kerry during the last presidential campaign. They are the heart of the U.S. economy and the spearhead of global economic growth. As Friedman explains, these manufacturing outsourcers together generate...

When Elizabeth Reed drove to her neighborhood gas station in Arlington last year, she expected her car to pass inspection with no problem. So Reed, 67, was startled when the mechanic said her 1990 Mazda Protege had failed the emissions test. There were leaks in the exhaust pipe, she was told, and the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. Reed, who said she earns about $1,100 a month, used her credit card to pay for the repairs. She took the car back for inspection. It failed again. This time, she was told that the car had a leaking distributor cap...