Thomas Bleming fought as a mercenary for decades against authoritarian governments, from the jungles of Myanmar and Panama to the shrubland of Zimbabwe. He has now set his sights on a target closer to home: a U.S. Senate seat. And not everyone is happy about it. (more)
The Obama administration, which is dripping in Ivy League-educated academics, made an elementary geographical error during its recent fundraising tour. (more)
Reporting from Cody, Wyo. — It’s been a bad year for grizzly bears, and, if forecasts prove correct, it’s only going to get worse. (more)
In February of 2010, ABC News published an article regarding the 2009 enacted right to carry law in National Parks. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the article struck a tone straight out of a Brady campaign spot. A mosaic of Chicken Little ‘sky is falling’ was painted in broad strokes and platitudes. All in response to a common sense measured signed into law by president Obama allowing citizens to carry a concealed firearm in the nation’s National Parks. (more)
Happy hour – the light at the end of the tunnel that is the work day. Though it seems some states have happier hours than others. (more)
We all know, liberals and conservatives, that the growth of the U.S. national debt is, to use a favorite word of our time, unsustainable. (more)
When it comes to call centers filled with English-speaking employees, India likely comes to mind. Not a tiny town in Wyoming called Ten Sleep, population about 300. (more)
If there is a recurring tale in this new century, it is that the Gulf Coast is where political fortunes go to die. The Gulf in the 21st century has become the delicate-yet-furious eco-nightmare in which central planners and corporate heads get bogged down, before having their heads placed upon the electronic guillotine of cable news. (more)
As wildlife advocates push to restore new herds of wild, free-roaming buffalo across the West, they have been held back in Montana by the presence of the cattle disease brucellosis in Yellowstone bison, the only large, genetically pure, free-roaming herd remaining on its historic lands from a territory that once ranged from Canada to Mexico. (more)
There is an “emerging consensus” that we are headed for a value-added tax (VAT) in the United States. But the more optimistic among the experts and pundits believe it won’t come until after the 2012 election and then only if President Obama is reelected. There is no doubt that something will have to be done about the financial crisis and the federal debt—even if ObamaCare is repealed—and many believe the “hidden” VAT is the politically viable solution. Many openly say that the VAT, with its costs hidden in the price of commercial products, is the only way to get the money to pay for ObamaCare. (more)
Recent polling puts the number of Americans with trust and confidence in Congress at an all-time low of 22 percent. The poll’s margin of error is 22 percent. No wonder the White House, with the consent of Congress, established the Deficit Commission to do what Congress is constitutionally required to do. But if the people don’t trust Congress—that obscure, amorphous body—why should Congress trust Congress? (more)
The National Safety Council has estimated that in 2007, Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) participants saved more than $300 million in private sector injury costs, not to mention the pain avoided. They also saved the government more than $59 million by avoiding injuries. When employers make the significant commitment to safety required by VPP, it allows OSHA to focus its resources where they are most needed. Adding 35 additional inspectors at OSHA won’t do much to improve workplace safety, but a nationwide effort like VPP actually builds cohesive relationships between federal regulators and employers – if it’s allowed to keep working. (more)
America’s air safety and management systems are close to being updated for the better, but may be held up by one company’s insistence on clinging to an outdated labor law that gives it an advantage over its rivals. (more)
Can the Obama administration’s desperate attempts to cover their true far left nature with centrist rhetoric and promises become any more transparent? Yesterday, the President announced “an expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration” in selected areas off the coasts of the United States. The President claims this announcement was made “in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs,” but nobody believes him. Just take a quick look at today’s newspaper reporting: (more)
Personal income in 42 states fell in 2009, the Commerce Department said Thursday. (more)
Maybe it’s a sore subject. (more)
On Nov. 29, 2009, Parade Magazine ran a piece on outdoor smoking bans. It posed an opinion poll to their readership on whether outdoor bans should be enacted. In its traditionally biased fashion, Parade notes the growth in such bans, pending legislation on outdoor smoking, and the proverbial citation of the regurgitated 2006 Surgeon General’s Report. (more)
Whether it’s a correctly called a movement, a backlash or political theater, state declarations of their rights — or in some cases denunciations of federal authority, amounting to the same thing — are on a roll. (more)
Republicans are upping the pressure on Obama diplomatic nominee Mari Carmen Aponte, demanding to see details of her background investigation conducted by the Administration. (more)
The health care summit that transpired at the Blair House Thursday was like most things that go on in Washington, D.C.: it ran late, everyone had party-line “talking points,” and not a trace of bipartisanship could be found. (more)
