More Liberty

State Superiority

Heat and humidity hang in the Ballston Metro station in Arlington, Virginia.  Passengers wait on the platform to board the next crowded train.

The public address system pops, cutting through the thick air:  "Children, please don't run, play or spit on the escalators.  While riding the escalators, please hold your parent's hand."

This might be an insignificant example, but this announcement reminds me of how often the State comes between parents and their children these days.  Instead of reminding parents to keep their children from running or spitting on escalators, the State imposes itself as the superior authority by directly instructing children while treating parents as a side dish.

Kent Snyder

English Only

"As the national debate over immigration rages, the state House of Representatives approved legislation Wednesday that would make English the official language of Pennsylvania."

"Pa. House approves making English official state language"  AP, 06/28/06

Homes for Everyone

The Maryland Association of Realtors has a 1/2 page ad in today's Washington Post.  Part of the copy reads:  "The Maryland Association of REALTORS believes that anyone who wants to own a home should be able to buy one."

Taxpayers...hold on to your wallets!!

Kent Snyder

Medical Privacy

Twila Brase of the Citizens' Council on Health Care shows how "privacy" means the exact opposite when politicians, bureaucrats and special interests in Washington define that word.

"Congress Set to Override State Medical-Privacy Rights" by Twila Brase

Senate Immigration Bill

"We need to stand back and let Americans understand what the Senate bill does," Feeney said.  "The Senate bill is a travesty."

"Specter counters House in move to save immigration bill"  The Hill, 06/22/06

Career Advancement

Weyant's World, The Hill
06/22/06

"The Dark Side"

An international affairs expert on Capitol Hill told me the recent FRONTLINE program "The Dark Side" is "absolutely brilliant."

Kent Snyder

Home is Where the Heart Is

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay now makes his residence in Alexandria, Virginia; a suburb of Washington, D.C.  (Mr. DeLay voted in last week's Virginia primary.)  He, like so many other career politicians, finds little interest in their "home" districts when they no longer hold elective office.  Instead, they make their real home as members of the Washington establishment.

Kent Snyder

"Saving the GOP from itself"

"It's not that Rep. Ron Paul, one of only six Republicans publicly against the war in Iraq, is estranged from the party, he said Thursday, it's that the party is estranged from its ideals."

The Houston Chronicle, 06/15/06

NAFTA Super Highway

"Quietly but systematically, the Bush Administration is advancing the plan to build a huge NAFTA Super Highway, four football-fields-wide, through the heart of the U.S. along Interstate 35, from the Mexican border at Laredo, Tex., to the Canadian border north of Duluth, Minn."

Human Events, 06/12/06

Immigration Speech

Pete Wilson, former governor of California, spoke at the Hudson Institute about what U.S. immigration policy should be.

Audio File

Iran Next?

"Democrats are not the only ones raising concerns about the timing of the Iran discussions.  In April, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, one of six House Republians to vote against the Iraq war, said, 'It is frightening to see how easily Congress, the media and the people accept many of the same arguments against Iran that were used to justify an invasion of Iraq.'"

The Hill, 06/14/06

Estate Tax

"If you truly own your property, you have the right to dispose of it any way you wish.  You can sell it, give it away, or direct who will receive it when you die.  This control is the essence of property rights.  If you can't control what happens to your property, you don't really own it."

Congressman Ron Paul's Weekly Column, 06/12/06

"Foreign aid should be foreign"

"If it seems that most nations get handouts from American taxpayers it's only because they do.

"About 150 countries (the United Nations has 191 member states) have their grubby hands in Uncle Sam's pockets to fish around and grab as much of the $21 billion in aid this year as they can."

Columnist Dimitri Vassilaros, Tribune Review, 06/11/06

Medical Privacy

Your Medical Privacy...What You Don't Know was the topic of a luncheon meeting of Congressman Ron Paul's Liberty Caucus yesterday.  Jim Pyles, Sue Blevins and Twila Brase explained to members of the caucus how everyone's medical privacy has been drastically diminished, not enhanced, by the federal medical privacy rule (HIPPA).  They also made a presentation to congressional staffers after the luncheon in Dr. Paul's office.

Jim Pyles is an attorney with Powers, Pyles, Sutter & Verville.
Sue Blevins is the president of the Institute for Health Freedom.
Twila Brase is the president of the Citizens' Council on Health Care.

Kent Snyder

(Click on photo for larger version.)

Senate Immigration Bill

"Senate conservatives have emerged as the chief obstacle to an immigration conference committee, but the bill's backers insist they will be able to get around the hard-liners."

The Hill, 06/08/06

Privacy Lost

"All the fretting about the National Security Agency's domestic spying program is understandable, but it misses one spectacularly big point:  domestic privacy in America simply does not exist anymore."

Tom Kellerman, 06/07/06

Immigration Bill

"Lawmakers are shrouding themselves in a thin slip of blue paper as deep divisions on immigration policy are again being laid bare."

The Hill, 06/07/06

Foreign Aid Rip-Off

"Americans concerned about high taxes, out of control gas prices, and economic downturn should think hard about what the US government is doing with the money it takes from them."

Congressman Ron Paul's Weekly Column, 06/05/06

Christianity and the War

Dr. Laurence Vance spoke to a luncheon meeting of Congressman Ron Paul's Liberty Caucus on Thursday, May 25th.  Later that afternoon, he spoke to congressional staffers.  Dr. Vance talked about Christianity and the Iraq war.

Text of Vance's Remarks

"Illegals tax deal could kill bill"

"The long-fought Senate immigration bill that opponents say grants amnesty to 10 million illegal aliens in unconstitutional and appears headed for certain demise, Senate Republicans now say."

The Washington Times, 06/02/06

Update: Tijuana on the Potomac

Politicians and bureaucrats in Washington want you to believe they can solve any problem that faces our country, or the world for that matter.  Whether it be terrorism, poverty, AIDS, global warming, global cooling, illiteracy, traffic congestion, energy shortages, obesity, hurricanes or the bird flu, they can solve it.  The ruling class says, "Trust us to get the job done.  There's no problem too big for us."  Yes, simply give them more money and power and it will be "mission accomplished."

You would think then these competent folks in our nation's capital could solve the problem of unsafe water in the bathrooms of the Capitol Hill office buildings.  But this problem seems to have vexed even the almighty in Washington.

In January of 2005, our nation's problem solvers warned bathroom users not to drink water from the sinks or drinking fountains because of possible lead contamination.  The warning signs were made of 8 1/2 x 11 pieces of white paper with the words "Do Not Drink Water From Restrooms" typed in black, and were taped above the sinks.  Obviously, the warning signs were to be temporary since the problem would no doubt be corrected.

However, over a year later, the temporary signs were replaced with permanent ones.  Mission unaccomplished.

Kent Snyder

(Click on photo for a larger version.)