Now, this is happening.

This is where the path of relentlessly determined government subsidization of politically-preferred, rather than free-marked-selected, fledgling technologies has brought us: A troubled global solar industry awash in oversupply and rent-seeking, and taxpayer dollars being spent on a lawsuit with a solar company that wants still more taxpayer dollars. The mind reels. Last December, the Inspector [...]

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Phoning it in?

H/t Via Meadia, this Congressman thinks so, and I have to say, my interest is piqued. Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) wants to create a “virtual Congress,” where lawmakers would leverage videoconferencing and other remote work technology to conduct their daily duties in Washington from their home districts. Under a resolution Pearce introduced on Thursday, lawmakers [...]

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To boldly go where no government employee has gone before

Who doesn’t love a good story of the IRS sticking its foot in its mouth? This month’s edition of what is apparently a never ending story finds a rather awkward video from 2010 surfacing in the public domain. CBS news filed a FOIA request and obtained one of two “training videos” produced by the tax [...]

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"Investments."

Let me get my obligatory free-trade qualifier out of the way here first: It’s not so much that there’s anything at all wrong with businesses buying and selling on the international arena, because foreign markets may have demands for products we don’t, and we all stand to make money off of one another in a [...]

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Great work, everybody.

Via the WFB, I missed this a few days back, but regular readers will know and understand that Obama’s Department of Energy holds just such a particularly special place in my heart that I couldn’t let it pass by without at least a little comment. Special agents tasked with protecting the Department of Energy (DOE) [...]

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"Just another example of Newt's arrogance and self-importance."

Newt Gingrich said he’d be in the presidential race until Tampa — and he’s showing every sign of keeping his word. For the most part, his presence in the race is innocent enough. Lingering supporters — who seem to have accepted that their candidate won’t win the nomination — report that they still like to [...]

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What did you always want at your birthday party but never had?

Bankrupting America is out with a parody of the General Services Administration’s planning process for its outrageous Western Regions Conference in Las Vegas. How does a government agency with the stated purpose of streamlining the administrative work of the federal government conceive of a conference that cost taxpayers the equivalent of the entire annual income [...]

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Brazen.

In an obvious attempt to advance the “Republican war on women” narrative, Democrats have picked a fight with their congressional opponents over the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. While Republicans want to use the reauthorization process to ensure that VAWA works as it was intended to work, Democrats want to use the process [...]

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Guess what the taxpayers are covering now

Welcome to scenic and historic Buffalo, New York! It’s a great place, famous for chicken wings and an NFL team which holds a record which may never be broken. But for all its glory, like so many other cities and towns across the Empire State, Buffalo is facing big budget problems. Belts are being tightened [...]

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Hmm.

At the El Paso County Democratic Party 2012 Hall of Fame banquet on Friday night, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi delivered a razzle-dazzle keynote address filled with profound and unprecedented ideas. A sampling: This is “the most important election of our generation.” “The American people want jobs.” “They want us to work together.” [...]

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Must be nice.

Why not a membership to the jelly-of-the-month club? After all, that’s “the gift that keeps on giving!” But, no, nothing so affordable for the members of the staffs of three Vermont congressmen: As demands for fiscal austerity dominated debate in Washington, Vermont’s three congressional lawmakers gave their staffers a combined $236,830 in bonuses last year. … [...]

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More taxpayer dollars wasted.

Yet another example of the federal government’s inefficiency. Administered by the Department of Labor, Job Corps is “a free education and training program that helps young people learn a career, earn a high school diploma or GED, and find and keep a good job,” according to the program website. Especially at a time of 9.1 percent [...]

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