To clarify, for a non-Rochester audience, during the "cool sweeps" the firefighters would open hydrants for kids to play in the water. Doesn't seem worth taking to court, does it? Due to a monopoly on firefighting by the government-run department, these types of things are determined by politicians instead of by the market.

The real news story:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090...

I made my first political campaign donation to Ron Paul. I can't wait to support his son!

By the way, McCain voted for the Bailout but I don't hear too many Republicans worried about that. Oh yeah, Bush tripled the size of government in 8 years, but it's ok because he's a Republican, right?

I'm working on a follow-up to this article. Please head over to http://riseuprochester.org/2009/05/07/yes-legaliz... to see the interesting comment thread there as well. I'm going to incorporate some of the comments and criticism and try to expand the argument. :o

The sad thing I would say about this article is that 'encroachment' seems to be entirely the wrong word. government is so far into healthcare that it's almost impossible to do anything without some form of government payment, regulation, etc. I've heard the figure that government pays for 75% of transactions but only pays half the bill, leaving private payers to pay 200% more than they should have to. Socialized medicine? It's already here.

You've done an excellent job breaking down why exactly the Fed needs to be audited. I believe that people who are already aware of this topic understand why the Fed should be audited, at minimum, but trying to explain this topic to someone else can be quite difficult. I've gotten anything from blank stares to strong defenses of the Fed. Very few supporters of the Fed's policies, however, actually understand just HOW secretive the Fed's activities are.
As Glenn Jacobs said in a recent interview, if we are going to have government-controlled fiat currency (which we shouldn't) then it is absolutely critical that there is complete transparency at every level. Of course, it's impossible to have complete transparency with the only agency that PRINTS ITS OWN BUDGET. I mean, as bad as the "alphabet soup from hell" is, at least none of them get to print their own budget and then not tell anyone how much they printed.
You've pointed out quite correctly that the Fed is miserable at 'controlling inflation' in the sense of keeping it low. I always try to point out that the Fed's only purpose is to print money, which by definition inflates the money supply. So in fact, in the most Orwellian of ways, the Fed operates in exact opposition to its stated purpose! But again, that doesn't surprise any of us... =/

I suppose you're right. I thought I might be going down that road when I made that proposition, but I'll stick to it. Why should a doctor be anything more than a consultant for medications? Wouldn't it be in the interests of drug companies to control prescription refills to prevent overdosing in order to avoid liability lawsuits? Is it a good use of tax dollars to spy in everyone's medicine cabinets to make sure they are clean when it comes to drugs?

If you think the Feds are leaving the states alone you might want to check out this: http://riseuprochester.org/2009/01/29/dea-makes-f...

You're the one that thinks a retarded person can produce a feature-length documentary.

Thanks Bill for bringing more facts to the table. I believe that these issues should be argued on principle and if the principles are solid then the empirical evidence will back up the reasoning. I will work on a follow-up article to include the helpful input from all of those who left a comment. Thanks again. :)

It's only worth being patriotic if there's something worth being proud of. Claiming that our plot of land with a certain flag that represents it is better than another plot of land with a different flag is arbitrary and pointless. If you stand for liberty, free speech, self-ownership and the rest, then I'm with you. If you're for cheerleeding every action of the government while waving an American flag than I must say that is not patriotism.