Dilbert today
Today’s Dilbert strip says it all about the stupidity of the TSA.
Tag: regulation
Man Acquitted of refusing to give his id to police or TSA
Freedom wins! A man who was arrested for refusing to give his ID to TSA agents and videotaping his arrest has been acquitted of all charges. You can watch the videotape at the link. Also, more here.
ObamaCare Waivers Jump from 222 to 729 Covering 2.2 Million Employees
Repeal the damn bill! The number of companies who have received waivers from ObamaCare has jumped from 222 to 729, and now exempts over two million employees.
If the bill was so great, why are more and more companies trying to get out of participating?
NYC Lawmaker Proposes Ban On Talking And Walking
More government foolishness: A New York city lawmaker wants to ban the use of cell phones or any electronic devices while walking on the street.
Verizon challenges FCC’s net neutrality rules
Verizon filed a legal challenge on Thursday of the FCC’s attempt to establish net neutrality rules, taking their suit to the same federal court that last year ruled the FCC did not have the legal authority to do so.
The difficulties of doing business in the socialist state of Berkeley
The difficulties of doing business in the socialist state of Berkeley. Key quote:
When a planner working in design review looked at Dalrymple’s plans, she told her she didn’t think a black and white awning would fit in with the neighborhood, said Dalrymple. The planner didn’t give her any specific recommendations for a different color, but just nixed her idea. . . . “Rules aren’t written down anywhere,” said [Dan Marks, director of the Planning and Development Department]. “But the planner has worked in the neighborhood a long time and she knows what the neighborhood likes.” [emphasis mine]
Congressman says that Congress has the right to force people to buy insurance
Behind the curtain, a dictator: Congressman John Lewis (D-Georgia) said yesterday that he not only thinks that Congress has the power to make people buy insurance according to the Constitution, it is his obligation to force them to do so. In his own words:
“I think people should be required to get health insurance. We require people to get insurance for their automobile state by state but the federal government has an obligation to encourage by law, moral persuasion, to get people to get health insurance,”
By a vote of 245-189, with three Democrats joining all 242 Republicans, ObamaCare repealed in House
Progress! By a vote of 245-189, with three Democrats joining all 242 Republicans, ObamaCare has been repealed in the House.
Text of Obamacare repeal
Here is the text of the bill to repeal Obamacare, as introduced today.
Judge rules against California ammunition law
Good news for California gun-owners: A judge has ruled against the state’s new ammunition law. The law not only required purchasers of ammunition to provide their thumbprint, photo ID, birth date, and address, it also outlawed mail-order sales of pistol ammunition.
Nearly 3000 doctors surveyed believe ObamaCare will hurt care quality and doctor pay
Repeal the damn bill! By large majorities, surveyed doctors believe that ObamaCare will hurt care quality and doctor pay. Key quote:
During the next 5 years, the quality of health care in this country will improve (18%) stay same (17%) deteriorate (65%).
The Affordable Care Act will result in physician reimbursement becoming more fair (9%) neither fair nor unfair (17%) less fair (74%).
Overall, the impact of the Affordable Care Act for patients will be positive (27%) neutral (15%) negative (57%).
Overall, the impact of the Affordable Care Act for physicians will be positive (8%) neutral (14%) negative (78%).
Confessions of a Greenpeace founder
The confessions of a Greenpeace founder. Key quote:
The truth is Greenpeace and I had divergent evolutions. I became a sensible environmentalist; Greenpeace became increasingly senseless as it adopted an agenda that is anti-science, anti-business, and downright anti-human.
Other quotes of interest:
The collapse of world communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall during the 1980s added to the trend toward extremism. The Cold War was over and the peace movement was largely disbanded. The peace movement had been mainly Western-based and anti-American in its leanings. Many of its members moved into the environmental movement, bringing with them their neo-Marxist, far-left agendas. To a considerable extent the environmental movement was hijacked by political and social activists who learned to use green language to cloak agendas that had more to do with anti-capitalism and anti-globalization than with science or ecology.
And:
There is no cause for alarm about climate change. The climate is always changing. Some of the proposed “solutions” would be far worse than any imaginable consequence of global warming, which will likely be mostly positive. Cooling is what we should fear.
Man faces charges for defying TSA agents
Man faces charges for defying TSA agents. Key quote:
“ What’s really at root in this case is whether travel is a right that we have under the Constitution – an ability to move about the country without having to show papers – which has been one of the defining characteristics of American freedom, “ Hasbrouck said.
New TSA Scanner Procedure Is Dumb in a New Way
The new TSA scanner procedure: Dumb in a new way. The quote below actually isn’t the point of the article (which notes other idiotic things about TSA procedures), but I found it telling nonetheless:
For the most part, it has been possible to avoid the scanners just by picking the right line to stand in, which I assume means that the government has determined that terrorists have poor line-picking skills.
TSA: Living on Borrowed Time?
TSA: Living on borrowed time? Key quote:
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year. At TSA headquarters alone, there are 3,526 staff whose average salary tops $106,000. And while the TSA has gotten very good at groping airline passengers and undressing them with full body scans, the organization has yet to prevent a single terrorist attack. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation released last spring revealed that at least 17 known terrorists have been able to pass through TSA security totally unhindered. [emphasis mine]
A nation choking on endless laws
A nation choking on endless laws. I like the subtitle for this article as well: “The rising dictatorship of the bureaucrats.”
Republicans kill global warming committee
Republicans kill House global warming committee.
City contractor mistakenly demolishes Pittsburgh man’s home
Our government at work: City contractor mistakenly demolishes Pittsburgh man’s home.
Obamacare Ends Construction of Doctor-Owned Hospitals
Repeal the damn bill! Obamacare ends the construction of 45 doctor-owned hospitals.
Republican healthcare repeal bill available online
Progress! The Republican bill to repeal ObamaCare is now online [pdf]. It’s only two pages long, and is bluntly titled “Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act.”