http://www.keenefreepress.com/…

By Elaine Brown

Where do we stand today in our country in the matter of freedom? Do we even know what freedom is today? The founders of our country knew, but it took them a couple of years to realize it.

After escaping from Britain and the rules of the king, it took those brave pilgrims some time to fully realize and be able to appreciate the fact that they had no one to whom to answer, save their own conscience and common law (common sense). What joy to know this kind of liberty, which they had never before experienced. They could now conduct themselves as freely as they wished, as long as they honored their contracts and did no harm to another. This is the total of common law; this is the law by which the people, the sovereigns, of this country are to abide, the law we were intended to obey.

Read More…

http://www.bloomberg.com/…

Lori and Steven Siravo earn $56,000 a year and say they can’t afford health insurance. They consider themselves lucky to live in New Jersey, where the family’s income isn’t too high to qualify their 16-year-old daughter, Carlie, for U.S. government-subsidized coverage under the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. “It’s one of the greatest things,” said Lori, 48, a hairdresser who pays $74.50 a month for her daughter’s benefits, less than a third of what she’d have to spend for private insurance. She and her husband, who works for a small construction company, don’t have insurance.

In New Jersey, the most generous of 19 states that expanded eligibility, a family of four earning $72,275 qualifies. This month, the administration denied New York’s request to cover families making up to $82,600.

Lori Siravo has lived all her life in and around Keyport, a central New Jersey town of about 7,500 people. She and her husband own a three-bedroom house six blocks from Raritan Bay. Steven, 49, drives a Chevrolet Caprice Classic that’s almost 20 years old, and she drives a 5-year-old Chevy Monte Carlo. The above-ground pool out back is 17 years old, bought when “we had money” before Carlie was born, Lori said. The one luxury is a full-size pinball machine Steven bought for his wife on her 40th birthday. The family’s monthly bills consume most of their take-home income. Pulling out her checkbook, Lori said there’s the mortgage ($1,500), utilities ($743), phones and Internet service ($200), car insurance and gasoline ($205), property taxes ($230), basic cable television ($48), food ($600) and credit- card payments ($325) on an outstanding $11,000 balance. That’s $46,212 a year, not including clothes, school books and extra- curricular activities for Carlie. There’s also $352 a month on a home-equity loan the Siravos took out to send Carlie to a private Catholic high school. Tuition is $9,000 a year.

This makes me ill. These are ‘poor’ people? They have a $11K credit card bill and yet spend $248 a month on absolutely non-essential cable and internet? Have they ever heard of ‘Triple play’ deals? They double pay for schooling? A $743 utility bill?! They have 3 bedrooms… rent one out! There are so many things messed up with this situation. Someone please please explain to me how this is OK?

http://blogs.zdnet.com/…

I affirm, I really was going to drop this Ron Paul rant I pursued in my earlier post.

But some facts in this morning’s post by my highly respected Washington, D.C.-centric colleague Declan McCullagh entitled Ron Paul: The Internet’s Favorite Candidate” made me realize there are some lessons that still need to be taught to all you Libertarian-leaning fans of the Republican Presidential candidate.

Read More…

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.1453:
I’d rather not pay taxes on Internet access, thank you.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.2478:
‘Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services Act’ : to direct the FTC to prescribe rules prohibiting deceptive advertising of abortion services. Um… what kind of deceptive abortion advertising spurred this bill?

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.2488:
WOOHOO!!! Cheaper booze!! I’m too lazy to look up the unit but it’d drop to $10.50 from $13.50.

http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/S2000/1533_I1.HTM
Appropriates $75 million from Cigarette Tax Securitization
Proceeds Fund to DEP for capital construction projects in State parks, forests,
and wildlife management areas. Is that really the original intent of the cigarette tax? I understand that the money is really a pool from many sources… but still.