As reported by the AP, Congress failed to reduce the mad subsidy it shells out to Amtrak. So, Amtrak has never operated in the black (which is the same as ALL other government rail programs), and yet they continue to get your cash, even if you don't choose to ride. You are subsidizing the rides of others, who would have to pay more if the full economic weight of Amtrak were given to Amtrak to support. If this were a market system, Amtrak would be out of business, or operating in a much different way. If it were a market system, there would also be no Constitutional questions about its existence. What's that? You haven't heard any Constitutional questions? Take that as a sign of the times for journalists and politicians. Here is the piece, from the AP:

As noted by Gard, Ian and Mark on Free Talk Live, a recent Executive Order issued by President Bush not only runs counter to the US Constitution due to its status as de-facto "law" (executive orders were originally supposed to be house-keeping orders for the proper functioning of the executive branch -- moving guards, hiring new accountants, etc, -- but Congress has broken the Constitution and allowed the orders to act as de-facto law since the days of Teddy Roosevelt), it is so ambiguous it will allow the President to seize the property of anyone opposing federal spending for "Iraqi" reconstruction.

Okay. So let's say you are oriented towards the superficial side of these issues. You look at the Constitution as a piece of toilet paper, a mere speedbump in the road towards uniting America behind one health "care" standard, run, of course, by the efficient and honest politicians in Washington. Let's further stipulate that you are pro-abortion, and believe the Supreme Court's invention of a "penumbra" of unenumerated rights as spelled out in the Roe v. Wade and Griswold decisions is valid. It would make sense, then, that you would consider abortion a "medical procedure" which ought to be covered just like removal of tonsils or care for broken bones.

A few months ago, Gard wrote a piece for the Foundation for Economic Education which centered on the coercion of Richard Branson by the federal government. Only if Branson decreased the percentage of his OWN ownership in his company could he begin operations of Virgin America Air. Why? Because there are FEDERAL REGULATIONS that prevent foreigners from operating domestic airlines.

Nice.

So Richard is going to have to stay away from his own unveiling for Virgin America.

It is stunning that in these United States, the federal government tells us whether we can frequent a business run by a foreigner. What's next, Chinese retaurants must have a certain percentage of native Americans?

Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons In Life (Quick Reads)

Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way

Who would have thought that a federal agency might cover up mistakes, and that it would take years to uncover them?

Oh, no, we certainly shouldn't have the market involved in air security! Noooooo! We need bureaucrats who are insulated from market competition to handle our lives.

Here is the piece from the Washington Post:

_______

FAA Accused Of Hiding Controllers' Mistakes

By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 14, 2007; D01

Two Federal Aviation Administration employees have accused the agency of "covering up" serious incidents in which planes got too close to each other in the Dallas area, according to a government investigator who suggested that such practices might extend to other parts of the country.

Sorry Robespierre was a Roussouian rather than a fan of Locke and private property, it might have worked out differently, eh?

Reuters is reporting that "researchers" at Oxford University want the UK to impose a "fat tax" on foods rich in lipids. Of course, their rationale for the proposal is that such a tax would "save" many lives and save lots of money for their socialized medical system.

So would the abolition of the automobile.

But, the proponents might say, the car is "necessary", while lipid-rich foods are not.

While this point is historically unfounded (people once used horses and buggies; cars are simply more efficient, not necessary for survival), we understand the silly argument. So let's look at serving size per body weight and expenditure of calories per day. If the UK government is interested in surveying what people have the capability of eating, then deciding what is or is not "good for them", they must also look at the quantity of that food, right? Certainly one cannot argue that one french fry a day is hazardous to one's health. At what level does it become hazardous, and if one is four-foot, ten inches, and 100 pounds, can one only eat a few greasy foods per week, versus someone who is 6'-5", and 250?

The list of detractors continues to grow.

(No we don't need to mention Al Gore's son, Al Gore Jr. the Third, AKA "Mini-me". That story is left to you to consider. But we can only think that perhaps, if Al and Flipper had just gotten those "indecent content" labels on CDs a few months earlier, the young man might have been saved from the influence of EVIL music!)

Here is the story form the AP. Best line, Roger Daltry, of The Who: "The last thing the planet needs is a rock concert.":
________

Rock group Arctic Monkeys have become the latest music industry stars to question whether the performers taking part in Live Earth on Saturday are suitable climate change activists.

Anderson Cooper and his staff recently took on Congress, which, in a recent poll, stands at only 14% approval among likely voters.
Cooper and the "360" team decided to check on Nancy Pelosi's claim that the Democrat Congress would be the most transparent and open ever when it came to revealing "earmarks", i.e. padding in the budget for special "projects" that bring tax money to favored districts and help Congressmen and Congresswomen get reelected.

For three days, Cooper and his staff called all 435 members of Congress to ask them if they would be willing to tell their audience exactly what "earmarks" they had added to the budget. Of those 435, only 31 agreed to offer the information!

In a blow to the primacy of private property, NH Governor John "Gosh, We're Bi-partisan!" Lynch yesterday signed into law a ban on smoking in all private restaurants and bars.

"I'm a fascist," he said... Just kidding. But technically speaking, what he has done IS fascistic, in the strict political definition. It also buys into the Marxist idea that the owners of the means of production EXPLOIT workers, which is baseless and false. Business people do not force anyone to work for them, and to have government step in to "protect workers" from the conditions which they VOLUNTARILY accept as part of their jobs is something Marx would have loved.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington yesterday released what we might have expected, nearly 100 members of Congress splatter federal funds on family members and/or their businesses. While this is not necessarily an indictable offense in every instance, it is a nice entry point into the ethics of US politicians.

Here is the link to the overview:

http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/29095

In a speech delivered to a large crowd at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, NH, the subject of the Sonics' song "The Witch" once more offered here striking take on the ethics of taxation and redistribution. This time telling people to shut up if they might have a few qualms about the majority taking their money to pay for fetal stem cell research.

She actually had the gall to say she wanted "religion out of the stem cell debate," as if that could EVER happen, not only for the stem cell debate, but for many other unconstitutional and unethical federal programs. Regardless of whether fetal stem cell research currently kills and will continue to kill unborn human beings (scientifically speaking, this is the case, you decide how you feel about that reality, but it is a fact), morality and religion also play a part in thoughts on things like, oh... THEFT.

The Witches

The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy's Dossier on Hillary Clinton

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

High as Hell

Witch

As Conspirators know, we have a slightly different take on the immigration debate (we actually consider things like the US Constitution and economics) than most "conservatives", but we were of the evidently misguided opinion that those "conservatives" like Trent Lott supported free speech for talk radio hosts.

As you will see in this New York Times article, Senator Lott is far from an ally, even on that issue. Read on, MacDuff! ---
_____

Senate Leaders Agree to Revive Immigration Bill

By ROBERT PEAR and JEFF ZELENY
Published: June 15, 2007

WASHINGTON, June 14 — Senate Democratic and Republican leaders announced on Thursday that they had agreed on a way to revive a comprehensive immigration bill that was pulled off the Senate floor seven days ago.

Check this out. Anyone remember the PMRC hearings of the late '80's?
_______
Jun 11, 11:29 AM (ET)

By ERIK SCHELZIG

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - If you saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers whispering to Al Gore when they accepted their Grammy Award for best rock album in February, that's the moment they committed to playing Live Earth.

Gore said he met with band members for more than an hour before this year's televised awards show, trying to persuade them to perform at one of the concerts.

While receptive to the idea, they weren't sure they could fit the July 7 concert into their schedule, Gore said Friday.

Here is the story, from Tom Fahey, of the Union Leader:

_____

Lynch launches last-minute rescue
By TOM FAHEY
State House Bureau Chief
16 hours, 11 minutes ago

CONCORD – Gov. John Lynch yesterday launched a rescue effort for a constitutional amendment on school funding.

Lynch persuaded members of the state Senate to suspend their rules so that an amendment can be introduced before the end of this month.

Lynch said shortly after a 17-7 vote in the Senate that he had spoken to Senate members about the importance of keeping a constitutional amendment alive.

Lynch has said he hopes to pass an amendment that would allow the state to more easily target aid to needy school districts at the same time it recognizes that the court has a role in school funding issues.

Many thanks to Ian and Mark of Free Talk Live (www.freetalklive.com) for asking Gard to fill in (tonight), Friday, and Saturday nights. He will be on with Free Stater Julia beginning at 7pm and will welcome Sheldon Richman, of the Foundation for Economic Education, to talk about the Republican Debates, energy policy, and even the travesty of US participation in World War I!

Check it out, and feel free to call!

As many Conspirators know, governor John Lynch's attempt to centralize education decision-making in NH by amending the NH Constitution was resoundingly defeated yesterday, June 6 (D-Day).

House Republican minority leader Mike Whalley believes this will lead us to an income tax, but, in fact, Lynch's amendment would have done that, and codified in the Constitution the destruction of local control. Whalley's alternative amendment would not have been any better, and would not have stopped future lawsuits, as he and his supporters claimed.

The best alternative is a proposal by Representative Paul Ingbretson to write into the NH Constitution explicit language that reiterates Section One Article Six, which gives the towns the power to contract with their teaching professionals and pay them according to their own plans. In Ingbretson's amendment, the State could provide supplimental funds when needed, and the court would be locked out.

Here is the AP/Breitbart story on the posing of the Dems. Chris Dodd is particularly cute with his "restore the Constitution" blather. What a massive, deceptive, hypocritical squirrel this man sounds like. Bill (I guess I wasn't recruited by a pro baseball team when I was young) Richardson almost did him one better when he called for a federally mandated $40,000 per year minimum wage for teachers.

HAVE ANY OF THESE PEOPLE CONNECTED THE FREE MARKET, FREEDOM, and the LIMITATIONS PLACED ON THE FEDERAL GUB-MENT? ANY OF THEM?.... Hellooooooo?

Foul, sick, distasteful. But important to dissect. Listen to Free Talk Live tomorrow night (6-4-07) to get more. Gard will be with Ian and Mark to get deeper into it. For now, here is the piece on the wonderful saviors of the world in the Democrat party. Nice.

Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News

And That's the Way It Isn't: A Reference Guide to Media Bias

The Law

Congressman Paul was recently interviewed by the insightful Dennis Miller.

A smart listener posted the audio on Youtube:

Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq2Q848P0h8

The NH Constitution states, in Section Two, Article 83, that the state may regulate monopolies and companies that are collusively pricing. This does not include restaurants does it... This does not include bars.

The legislators who voted in favor of this bill have broken their oath to uphold the NH Constitution. Never vote for them, oppose them with every ounce of strength you have, tell others about them. Affirm the sanctity of private contract, and private property.

Here is the story, by John diStaso, of the Union Leader:

Concord – The New Hampshire House today approved a ban on smoking in restaurants, cocktail lounges and some other public places, moving the bill to Gov. John Lynch, who is expected to sign it into law.