Loss of Freedom Archives - Page 28 of 33

California Assembly Passes Law to Ban Plastic Bags in Stores

If there is one thing as certain as the sun rising in the morning it is that the California legislature will pass laws that make no sense and hurt its economy. The Associated Press reports that the California Assembly just passed a bill the would create a California-wide ban on stores putting merchandise in plastic bags. The law would also require stores to charge customers for paper bags if they do not have their own bags. Rather than dealing with the real problems of the state on the verge of bankruptcy that has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, the incompetent and dangerous California legislature continues to add fuel to the California fire.

There is a lot of misinformation about plastic bags being tossed around. For facts about plastic bags, go to The Trust About Plastic Bags.

Update: “Those reusable grocery bags meant to replace the thin plastic ones can harbor germs and pose a risk to your health, according to a study by the University of Arizona.”

$13,050,826,460,886 = U.S. Debt 6/5/2010

Congrats Americans for our wonderful leaders having amassed a record national debt of $13 trillion, but who’s counting. It’s a gift of life-long debt from us, the indulgent me-generation to our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. We have recklessly and immorally mortgaged the future of our children and descendants. Facts from “Federal debt tops $13 trillion mark” about the national debt:

$2.4 trillion increase in 500 days since President Obama took office
$4.9 billion a day increase since Obama took office
$1.7 billion a day increase under President Bush

An article in the New York Post states:

“Actually, [the $13 trillion is] just part of the debt we have dumped on future generations. That’s because most of what the government owes isn’t on the official books. Social Security, for instance, faces unfunded liabilities of more than $15.8 trillion. . . . it is dwarfed by Medicare’s looming budget shortfall of between $50 trillion and $100 trillion . . . . So the real national debt may be as much as nine times bigger than the official estimate.”

Our great and wise President Abraham Lincoln said:

“You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of many by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men’s initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.”

It is tragic that our leaders are unware of or simply don’t care about the truths spoken by President Lincoln over a century ago.

Obama’s FTC Plan to Reinvent America’s News Media

Los Angeles Times: “a year ago the new Democrat administration of Barack Obama launched a major internal study intended to design a major government rescue plan for the nation’s financially-troubled information media, primarily newspapers.”

“Would you believe: major changes to the copyright law, including government licensing provisions; government pilot programs to investigate potential new media business models, antitrust changes to allow media companies to unite on imposing online pay walls, establish a journalism division of AmeriCorps with government underwriting the training of young journalists, tax incentives per news employee, increased funding of public broadcasting, a 5% tax on consumer electronics and/or assessments on users of public airwaves.”

See “Will journalists wake up in time to save journalism from Obama’s FTC?” “FTC protects journalism’s past,” “How not to save news – Bad gov’t ideas for journalism” and “FTC floats Drudge tax.” See also “Lefties take anti-freedom of speech push to FCC.” The author says Common Cause, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute “seek repeal of the First Amendment’s guarantee of your freedom of speech.”

For a good summary of the FTC report go to “FTC Floats Tax-and-Subsidy Plan for Journalism.”

Here is the actual FTC study called the “POTENTIAL POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS TO SUPPORT THE REINVENTION OF JOURNALISM.”

Is It a Felony In Maryland to Video a Police Arrest?

WJZ 13 TV: “Several Marylanders face felony charges for recording their arrests on camera, and others have been intimidated to shut their cameras off. That’s touched off a legal controversy.”

Food Police Bust 3rd Grader for Eating Candy During School Lunch

If you thought the United States was a free county, here is more evidence to the contrary from KHOU TV in Texas “Jolly Rancher lands Fort Bend County third-grader in detention for a week.”