Welcome to the September 30, 2007 edition of carnival of political punditry. Please remember that your readers will want to see the opinions of others. Please share this link with them. Tiffany Washko presents Our Priorities – Big Oil, Junk Food, and Wal-Mart posted at Natural Family Living Blog. Phil B. presents The True Reasons [...]

Chart: See what the national debt means to you In a flurry of business to close out the fiscal year, Congress raised the debt limit by $850 billion to $9.815 trillion. Without this move, the federal government’s credit card would have maxed out on October 1 with an outstanding balance of $9 trillion. This staggering [...]

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, President Bush urged the nations of the world to work together “to free people from tyranny and violence, hunger and disease, illiteracy and ignorance, and poverty and despair.” That message echoes the enduring confidence that Americans have in freedom as a moral and [...]

Washington, D.C. – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) and the Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR) today criticized the Tennessee state government for beginning a cigarette surveillance program to enforce a new cigarette tax. The state increased taxes on cigarettes by 42 cents to a total of 62 cents per pack on July 1, 2007 [...]

CAGW Irate Over Democratic Leadership’s Cynical Shell Game at Taxpayers’ Expense Washington, D.C. – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today blasted the Senate leadership for its recent furtive attempts to roll back and undermine the earmark transparency and accountability provisions of S. 1, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, which was signed [...]

From National Taxpayers Union  September 27, 2007 Dear Member of Congress: On behalf of the millions of Americans represented by our respective organizations, we write in strong support of the House discharge petition (H. Res. 559) to call a vote on H. Res. 479. This resolution would ensure all earmarks are publicly disclosed and subject [...]

Thursday, September 27, 2007 By: Ben Giovine Wastewatcher, September 2007 Since its creation in March 2003, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been dogged by criticism of its ability to fight waste, abuse and mismanagement. On September 6, 2007, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its latest report with recommendations (on top of the [...]

Thursday, September 27, 2007 By: David Williams Wastewatcher, September 2007 When many Americans think of Europe, they conjure up images of slow-moving socialist bureaucracies. While this type of government exists in some countries, there is a growing free market and taxpayer movement spreading throughout the continent. Since 2003, taxpayer and free market groups have gathered [...]

Thursday, September 27, 2007 By: Alexa Moutevelis Wastewatcher, September 2007 Congress is considering changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) as well as increasing the availability of state-sponsored insurance funds.  Both initiatives would expose taxpayers to massive costs. The Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007, H.R. 3121, reauthorizes the NFIP for five [...]

Thursday, September 27, 2007 By: Leslie K. Paige Wastewatcher, September 2007 The I-35 Bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which resulted in the deaths of 13 people, dominated several news cycles and gave politicians the kind of somber photo ops they can rarely resist.  In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee [...]