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JrMints (Anonymous) says…

Per the CBO, Defense spending is about 20% of the federal budget while Medicare (16%), Medicaid (7%), Social Security (21%), and other mandatory spending (10%) account for 54% of the federal budget. Let's cut back on these entitlement programs first.

JrMints (Anonymous) says…

Health Care is NOT a right! There are insurers who offer policies to individuals and small businesses, so look around and make a decision based on your best financial interest (major coverage only, trade association plans, small business plans, etc.). Your “I want the government to take care of me” plea is sad.
Why would anyone expect “the government” to provide better service than the free market? Just ask soldiers and thier families how much they like the government provided medical program available to them…poor service and long delays are typical comments I hear from soldiers I work with.

JrMints (Anonymous) says…

As an environmental attorney with more than 20 years experience, I can tell you that instead of more enforcement, EPA needs to focus on working collaboratively with industry to promote sustainability. Tallying up number of how many prosecutions and fines are irrelevant if they don't ultimately help the environment. Yes, there are still scofflaws who need to be prosecuted, but most businesses and industry strive to be in compliance and want to engage in good environmental practices. Unfortunately, EPA headquarters is having trouble replacing the “command & control” mindset with a collaborative approach. State agencies are moving towards a more collaborative regulatory approach and are currently frustrated with EPA's resistance. Instead of worrying about the numbers of convictions or numbers of investigators, perhaps you should consider that in the past 30-35 years, since most major environmental laws have been passed, there has been a consistent reduction in air pollution, water pollution, solid and hazardous waste generation, etc. We don't need more sticks:we need more carrots.

JrMints (Anonymous) says…

Dear Just-a-Bozo:
If you did a little research, you might find that there is not scientific justification for your statement, just over-hyped and unscientific media statements.

It is disturbing to hear global warming advocates falsely blame the southern California fires on climate change to fit their political agenda when lives have been lost and homes have been destroyed.

Southern California has a natural cycle of brush fires in dry seasons brought forth by the Santa Ana winds as a result of cool temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. Attempts by activists to make the ongoing California wildfires a global warming issue are patently ridiculous. The modest warming of the twentieth century has resulted in moister soil conditions and reduced drought frequency and severity.

The May 25, 2007 issue of Geophysical Research Letters reports that for twentieth century soil moisture trends, 'An increasing trend is apparent in both model soil moisture and runoff over much of the U.S.' The study adds, “This wetting trend is consistent with the general increase in precipitation in the latter half of the twentieth century. Droughts have, for the most part, become shorter, less frequent, and cover a smaller portion of the country over the last century.”

JrMints (Anonymous) says…

Is Commissioner Dever the only sane commissioner left? He seems to be the only one who consistently resists new taxes. Let's trim more of the fa”T” before we look at raising taxes.

JrMints (Anonymous) says…

I would like to hear from downtown store owners about their opinion on this. I see it as another disincentive to going downtown. If you go to the Plaza in KC it is 100 percent free parking everywhere. If we could get our downtown employees to not take up all the prime parking locations, I would advocate for eliminating the meters everywhere.

JrMints (Anonymous) says…

The first sentence shows that this writer is clueless. Who could possibly believe that “the goverment” can run anything more efficiently and less expensive? If he is worried about administrative costs now, just wait until our federal bureaucracy starts to “manage” it.