While I tend to write mostly about healthcare issues, a November 27 article from Investor’s Business Daily, entitled “Obama Taking Hard Line, Blows Up Bipartisan Tax Deal,” provides a brief look into what the next two years will be like. Says Investor’s: The White House move this week to torpedo a deal between House Republicans […]
MR. GRUBER – COME ON DOWN!
On November 20, 2014, Chairman Darrel Issa of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee sent letters to Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Director Marilyn Tavenner and Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) professor Jonathan Gruber asking them to testify before his committee on December 9 at 9:30 AM. The topic: to examine the […]
Ding, Ding, Ding – Arlington, Virginia Hops Off the Trolley
Good for Arlington, Virginia for pulling the plug on its wasteful trolley project. May the action of a few sages in Arlington become a beacon of light to other municipalities, which may be experiencing the intense pressure of the “smart growth,” mass transit zealots, but really don’t want to bleed scarce tax dollars on projects […]
DOE Doublespeak: The “Profit” in Solar Energy Loan Programs?
George Orwell would feel vindicated. As he wrote in his blistering essay, “Politics and the English Language” (1946), “…[the English language] becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts… In our time, political speech and writing are largely the […]
Family Feud
On October 22, 2014, Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-Okla.) released his annual “Wastebook 2014: What Washington Doesn’t Want You To Read.” The report listed 100 wasteful spending programs that cost taxpayers $25 billion annually. The Wastebook always brings chuckles and disbelief that the government could dish out so much money so foolishly. On the other hand, […]
Innovation = Jobs
Innovation creates jobs. That is the central premise of Jay Walker’s keynote address, “Making Innovation Work for America and Americans,” at the first meeting of the IP Dealmakers Forum on November 6, 2014. The forum linked investors together with intellectual property (IP) information and opportunities. Walker’s speech is particularly timely given the release on November […]
New CAGW Report on Intellectual Property
On November 17, 2014, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) will release its latest report, “Intellectual Property: Making It Personal.” Co-authored by CAGW President Tom Schatz and Director of Technology and Telecommunications Policy Deborah Collier, the report describes the positive effects of intellectual property (IP) for individuals, companies, and the U.S. economy, as well as the negative consequences of IP theft.
Procurement Legacies of the Afghan War
One of the most vivid and enduring images of the U.S. departure from Vietnam remains the Navy offloading perfectly good helicopters into the South China Sea as the last of its ships sailed away. The ongoing U.S. exodus from Afghanistan has produced a similar moment, albeit for a less useful aircraft.
A Glimmer of Hope at Yucca Mountain
On October 16, 2014, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued its Yucca Mountain Safety Evaluation Report 3, which confirmed what unbiased observers have long known: the facility meets the government’s long-term regulatory and safety requirements as a nuclear-waste repository. Progress on opening Yucca has continually stalled due to a variety of factors, but chief among them has been the opposition of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who has used his position of power to thwart efforts to open the site. Now that the Republican Party has captured the majority in the Senate, common sense may finally win the day.
Blaming Republicans for Ebola: A Seedy Campaign Ploy
Less than two weeks after the first person with Ebola in the United States was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on September 30, 2014, Democrats and their allies began blaming Republicans for his plight and everything else connected with preventing and treating the disease.