In the latest outrage involving illegal immigration, mentally ill U.S. citizens in Florida are being placed on waiting lists for treatment because public facilities are overcrowded with illegal aliens.

by Steve Palmer

by Thomas E. Woods, LewRockwell.com

Most are familiar with those commercials on television promoting prescription drugs that supposedly offer relief from a variety of ailments, if one would only pressure one’s doctor to obtain them. They have become a source of great entertainment and amusement to some, the kicker coming at the end of each commercial when the FDA-approved medication’s obligatory litany of warnings and dangerous side effects is recited: “Tell your doctor if….” and “Side effects may include…..” Some of the warnings are mild like diarrhea and constipation, some list serious effects like cancer or tuberculosis, and others admit that sometimes even death can result.

The point here is that these are all FDA-approved drugs being advertised and used extensively. Drugs that can cause serious diseases like lymphoma. Drugs that can kill. The FDA’s dismal safety record is well documented; even PBS ran a Frontline special that investigated and exposed the FDA’s unsafe drug record, the influence of Big Pharma inside the FDA, and lack of long-term testing and medical review of many, many dangerous drugs. The FDA seldom removes a drug from the market even after it proves to be harmful or deadly, however they do post quarterly reports with details of the latest potentially dangerous side effects of drugs currently under investigation.

Read the rest.

MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kimberly Yee February 16, 2010 (602) 604-7882

(STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX) – State Treasurer Dean Martin today unveiled a new website to provide government transparency to taxpayers. The new website called AZCheckbook.com provides the daily status and monthly comparisons of the state’s operating cash balance.

“This website is the result of two years of work to provide the greatest level of transparency in Arizona history and is a reflection of my commitment to provide Arizona taxpayers with a searchable, user-friendly website that discloses all revenues and expenditures for Arizona State government,” said Treasurer Dean Martin. “For the first time in Arizona history, we are providing online to the public, in an easy to read and searchable format, the same data that is normally locked away and archived in arcane computer systems.”

AZCheckbook.com provides users with detailed information about how the State of Arizona is spending taxpayer money, and how much they are receiving from all sources, including the federal government. The checkbook data appears as it is recorded in the official state accounting system and will eventually become part of the Annual Financial Report for the State of Arizona. The spending data is captured each month from data collected and stored by the General Accounting Office of the Department of Administration. It will be updated each month as new spending data is available.

“This project has been a two-year labor of love by our staff and has been completed without any special appropriation or budget,” said Treasurer Dean Martin. “Finally, taxpayers will have Arizona’s checkbook at their fingertips. Now they can see exactly where their hard-earned money is being spent by the government.”

On AZCheckbook.com, the Treasurer’s Office will post complete accounting data as it is available each month. However, the Governor’s General Accounting Office would only provide historical data from previous years for a fee of $800 for each and every additional month’s balance requested.

“Unfortunately, we have no appropriation to pay nearly $10,000 per year for this information. We will continue to capture this data monthly going forward, but until the fee is waived or an appropriation provided, year over year comparisons will be limited to fiscal year 2009 and forward,” said Treasurer Dean Martin.

I grew up in New Jersey, and I can assure you this: all over the state, suddenly-embattled Democratic legislators and apparatchiks are now routinely referring to Gov. Christie as “that fat [insert expletive here]” – with a wide range of choices for the expletive. Why?

Because that fat [insert expletive here] just told the unions that elections have consequences, and he’s one of them.

To summarize: Christie is executive-ordering out 2.2 billion from the existing NJ budget to make up for the shortfalls from the previous administration (while noting that the days of optimistic estimated revenue projections from the state government were over); the centerpiece to this is a reduction of school aid by half a billion, tied to existing surpluses in districts – essentially, a spend-what-you-have program. This – coupled with a subsidy cut to NJ Transit, with an explicit instruction to the entity that it’s going to have to revisit its union contracts – is of course infuriating the union wing of the NJ Democratic party, particularly since Christie is not calling for offsetting tax hikes*. Christie’s response?

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Think Government Is Corrupt? You May Face 10 Years In Jail

Terrorists who want to overthrow the United States government must now register with South Carolina’s Secretary of State and declare their intentions — or face a $25,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison.

The state’s “Subversive Activities Registration Act,” passed last year and now officially on the books, states that “every member of a subversive organization, or an organization subject to foreign control, every foreign agent and every person who advocates, teaches, advises or practices the duty, necessity or propriety of controlling, conducting, seizing or overthrowing the government of the United States … shall register with the Secretary of State.”

There’s even a $5 filing fee.

By “subversive organization,” the law means “every corporation, society, association, camp, group, bund, political party, assembly, body or organization, composed of two or more persons, which directly or indirectly advocates, advises, teaches or practices the duty, necessity or propriety of controlling, conducting, seizing or overthrowing the government of the United States [or] of this State.”

Read the rest.

by Michael Boldin

Wyoming Bill Seeks to Combat Federal Distortions of Commerce Clause, 2nd Amendment – Includes Penalties of up to Two Years in Prison for Federal Agents Violating the Law.

Wyoming State Representative Allen Jaggi has introduced a “Firearms Freedom Act” (FFA) for the state – it’s filed as House Bill 95 (HB95).

While the FFA’s title focuses on gun regulations, it has far more to do with the federal violations of the commerce clause, which D.C. has used as an excuse to prohibit and regulate everything from wheat, to marijuana to guns.

If passed, the will would provide “that specified firearms that are manufactured, sold, purchased, possessed and used exclusively within Wyoming shall be exempt from federal regulation, including registration requirements”

Some supporters of the legislation say that a successful application of such a state-law would set a strong precedent and open the door for states to take their own positions on a wide range of other activities that they see as not being authorized to the Federal Government by the Constitution.

by Michael Boldin

Right Side News

Around the country, twenty two states are currently considering a bill known as the “Firearms Freedom Act.” This bill declares that guns, accessories, and ammunition made within a state, sold within that state and kept in that state are not subject to federal laws or regulations under the “Interstate Commerce Clause” of the Constitution.

Montana and Tennessee passed a Firearms Freedom Act into law in 2009, and a number of states are moving that direction in the 2010 legislative session. In South Carolina, where a Firearms Freedom Act was also introduced in 2009, some representatives have taken things a step further.

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Byron Schlomach

I recently attended a meeting with Maurice McTigue, director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, a former member of the New Zealand Parliament, and a man with wide experience in government reform. Attendance at the meeting, arranged by State Senator Sylvia Allen, should have been required for everyone in our state government.

Prior to comprehensive reforms 20 years ago, New Zealand was an economic mess, suffering from debt, continual deficits, and a stagnating economy. Out of desperation, New Zealand’s political leaders reduced government spending and enacted fundamental, wide-ranging reform. Since then, New Zealand’s national government has seen a single deficit; it was this year and due to the worldwide recession.

One instructive example given by Mr. McTigue concerned agriculture subsidies, which, among other things, were artificially inflating land prices. Everybody knew land prices would collapse when those subsidies ended. Some estimated 31 percent of farmers and at least seven major banks would go bankrupt. Yet, with no bailout or any other government involvement, only one-half of 1 percent of farmers went bankrupt. And not a single bank went under.

An outbreak of “spontaneous economic order,” as Mr. McTigue described it, resulted. Banks re-valued loans to avoid defaults. Farmers renegotiated payment schedules. People figured out how to navigate the changing economy without government intervention.

This example may seem most applicable to federal financial policies in response to the U.S. real estate meltdown; but, the lesson is broader. We commonly hear stories that if Arizona cuts spending on parks or education or health care, our economy will collapse. Yet New Zealand’s experience illustrates that fundamental reform, rethinking, and shrinking of government should be welcomed, not feared.

Byron Schlomach, Ph.D., is the director of the Goldwater Institute’s Center for Economic Prosperity.

Learn More:

New Zealand Herald: Survey ranks NZ in top six for economic freedom

New Zealand Herald: Unemployment at record low as job growth surges

Doing Business: Economy Rankings