Feds order New York City to change lettering on every single street sign

(NY Daily News) - The city will change the lettering on every single street sign - at an estimated cost of about $27.5 million - because the feds don't like the font.

Street names will change from all capital letters to a combination of upper and lower case on roads across the country thanks to the pricey federal regulation, officials said Wednesday.

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If Moses had lived in America...

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EPA to crack down on farm dust

OKLAHOMA CITY (News 9) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering a crackdown on farm dust, so senators have signed a letter addressing their concerns on the possible regulations.

The letter dated July 23 to the EPA states, "If approved, would establish the most stringent and unparalleled regulation of dust in our nation's history." It further states, "We respect efforts for a clean and healthy environment, but not at the expense of common sense. These identified levels will be extremely burdensome for farmers and livestock producers to attain. Whether its livestock kicking up dust, soybeans being combined on a dry day in the fall, or driving a car down the gravel road, dust is a naturally occurring event."

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U.S. pockets $20.6 billion in sin taxes in 2009

(Reuters) - Americans armed themselves to the teeth and paid through the nose to have a smoke, according to a U.S. government report released on Wednesday.

The U.S. federal government collected $20.6 billion in taxes on alcohol, tobacco, firearms and ammunition in fiscal year 2009, up 41 percent from the previous fiscal year, according to the annual report of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

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New EPA rule would cost nearly $3 billion a year

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is proposing a new rule to tighten restrictions on pollution from coal-burning power plants in the eastern half of the country, a key step to cut emissions that cause smog.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday the new rule represented its most consequential effort yet to tackle deadly pollution that contributes to smog and soot that hangs over more than half the country. The rule would cost nearly $3 billion a year and those costs are likely to be passed along to consumers, although the rule's effect on specific companies and on consumers was not clear.

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Alabama governor claims Bingo is illegal gambling

(ABC) - Bingo is known to generate a lot of shouting and even some passion, but in Eutaw, Ala., it's stirred up quite a bit more as one small county takes on the governor over whether electronic bingo machines are legal.

The battle came to a head yesterday at the Greenetrack dog racing and electronic bingo facility, when Gov. Bob Riley's gambling task force arrived with a State Supreme Court ruling that heaped criticism on a local county judge and handed the authorities the task of shutting down Greenetrack's 800 bingo machines.

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Who's to blame for the oil spill?

The federal government, of course. The incompetent fools in Washington provided erroneous information regarding the threat of a potential spill, they wouldn't allow BP to drill in shallower water where a spill could be better contained, and they won't allow local communities to do what is necessary to do to clean up or minimize damage from the spill.



The real reason the feds are capitalizing on this tragedy is the same reason they capitalize on every tragedy: more money and more power. Look for Obama to try to use this to push through carbon taxes, cap and trade, and more government control over the oil industry.

Michigan considers law to license journalists

(Fox News) - A Michigan lawmaker wants to license reporters to ensure they’re credible and vet them for “good moral character.”

Senator Bruce Patterson is introducing legislation that will regulate reporters much like the state does with hairdressers, auto mechanics and plumbers. Patterson, who also practices constitutional law, says that the general public is being overwhelmed by an increasing number of media outlets -- traditional, online and citizen generated -- and an even greater amount misinformation.

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Health care law's massive, hidden tax change

NEW YORK (CNN) - An all-but-overlooked provision of the health reform law is threatening to swamp U.S. businesses with a flood of new tax paperwork.

Section 9006 of the health care bill -- just a few lines buried in the 2,409-page document -- mandates that beginning in 2012 all companies will have to issue 1099 tax forms not just to contract workers but to any individual or corporation from which they buy more than $600 in goods or services in a tax year.

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Under financial overhaul, FTC could gain enforcement power over Internet

(Washington Post) - The Federal Trade Commission could become a more powerful watchdog for Internet users under a little-known provision in financial overhaul legislation that would expand the agency's ability to create rules.

An emboldened FTC would stand in stark contrast to a besieged Federal Communications Commission, whose ability to oversee broadband providers has been cast into doubt after a federal court ruled last month that the agency lacked the ability to punish Comcast for violating open-Internet guidelines.

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Poll: 35 percent of Republicans back 'bailout fund'

(Washington Post blog) - Thirty-five percent of Republicans support "requiring large banks and other financial companies to put money into a fund that would cover the cost of taking over and breaking up any large financial company that fails and threatens the broader economy," the part of the bill labeled the "bailout fund" by Republican leaders. Twenty-seven percent support "having the federal government regulate the complex financial instruments known as derivatives." Forty-four percent support "increasing federal oversight of the way banks and other financial companies make consumer loans, such as mortgages and auto loans, and issue credit cards." And a majority, 53 percent, support "stricter federal regulations on the way Wall Street firms conduct their business."

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