A recent Reuters article describes just one more liberal-led intrusion by the federal government into what should be a mostly-private national economy:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate rejected on Thursday an attempt to strip a $1 billion program aimed at spurring flagging U.S. car sales from a pending $106 billion war funding bill.

The Senate voted 60-36 to keep the program that would provide vouchers of up to $4,500 for consumers to trade in their less fuel-efficient cars for ones that get better mileage, a program known as “cash for clunkers.”

It must be asked: why has Obama repeatedly stated that he does not wish for the federal government to permanently run General Motors; and rather than approving of this voucher for used cars, why are Congressional Democrats not instead telling us exactly which cars to buy?

A car is a complex piece of equipment. We are told by nearly every level of American authority — federal, state, and local governments, most local Chambers of Commerce, Johnson County Republican Party Chairman Ronnie Metsker — that parents are too stupid to be able to choose where to send their children to school.  In terms of providing the service of education, the elites tell us that parents are either ill-equipped, or worse, that their religiosity cannot be trusted.

Cars are also more dangerous in the short-term: sure, the lives of children may be slowly ruined within government-run schools, particularly those operating in the inner cities, but a passenger can die instantly in a car.  Shouldn’t Congress instead be telling individual Americans exactly which cars we should be purchasing?  And shouldn’t Congress be permanently operating automobile companies, just as they are permanently operating our providers of education?

Meadowlark:

A reception was held today to honor Karen Browning, who retired as Assistant Johnson County Election Commissioner after more than 40 years of service with the Johnson County Election Office.

Browning said she had a sense of the importance of voting long before she joined the Election Office staff.

“My folks always talked about voting and how important it was,” she said. “I started when I was young. Voting was already an important part of my life.”

CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed snags in Senate health care reform negotiations and insisted Thursday the House will pass a bill that includes a government run health care option to compete with private insurers. (more…)

Source:

This has been a tough week for the hopeful ones who believed President Obama’s vow to break with the old politics. Every day, it seems, the president caved in to another Democratic interest group working against the public weal. (more…)

Fox News:

The U.S. military is tracking a flagged North Korean ship suspected of proliferating weapons material in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last Friday, FOX News has learned. (more…)

Mark Perry:

The Philadelphia Fed reports today that the Six-Month Forecast Indicators Show Continued Improvement:

Broad indicators of future activity showed significant improvement this month. The future general activity index remained positive for the sixth consecutive month and increased markedly from 47.5 in May to 60.1, its highest reading since September 2003 (see chart above). The index has now increased 71 points since its trough in December. (more…)

Big Hollywood:

On Dec. 12, 1974, my grandparents were driving home when a vehicle traveling 50 miles per hour hit them. On March 17, 2002, I was driving home when a vehicle driving traveling 50 miles per hour hit me. (more…)

Prime Buzz:

McCaskill just released a statement (below) saying the Obama administration is now in “full compliance” with the law.

Source:

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Research In Motion Ltd. shares dropped late Thursday, with the lower end of the mobile-device maker’s second-quarter forecast coming in just under Wall Street’s projections. (more…)

Rasmussen:

With surprising democratic election turmoil in Iran just days after President Obama’s outreach to Muslims in a speech in Egypt, U.S. voters are slightly more conflicted about America’s relationship with the Muslim world. (more…)

Larry Kudlow:

Senator Landrieu agrees with me on drill, drill, drill. She’s on the right side of this issue, with retail gas prices rising at the pump to $2.62. (more…)

Source:

Fallen pageant queen Carrie Prejean isn’t finished playing the blame game.

The former Miss California‘s lawyer, Charles LiMandri, is going on the offensive againststate pageant organization and director Keith Lewis, claiming to E! News that Lewis plotted Prejean’s downfall by knowingly sending her lists of events and opportunities that were beyond the typical expected duties. (more…)

Source:

“It’s long past due. A national apology by the representative body of the people is a necessary collective response to a past collective injustice,” Harkin said. “So it is both appropriate and imperative that Congress fulfill its moral obligation and officially apologize for slavery and Jim Crow laws.” (more…)

Marathon Pundit:

But she didn’t have the necessary Maternity Exemption Certificate from the National Health Service.

CNN:

(CNN) - In his most critical comments to date of the Obama administration’s policies, former President George Bush Wednesday warned against the nationalization of healthcare, government overreach in the country’s financial system, and the potential effects of closing the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay. (more…)

Rasmussen:

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 42% of U.S. voters now believe human activity is the cause of global warming, while 40% say it is caused by long-term planetary trends. (more…)

Mark Perry:

(more…)

Source:

(more…)

UK Daily Mail:

Gipsies and travellers should be given priority in NHS hospitals and GP surgeries, doctors have been told.

They will be fast-tracked for doctors, nurses and even some dentist appointments above all other patients.

GPs have also been told to see any travellers who simply walk in without an appointment, even if all consultation times for the day are full.