de Blasio time: "Bill de Blasio Hates Freedom"

NRO:  This week, New York mayor Bill de Blasio signed a ban on using snuff or chewing tobacco at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. It sounds trivial, but this is actually a damned big deal...

In a free country, many things happen in many places that might bother you. If you’re in a bar and you don’t like second-hand smoke, or profanity, or strippers, or liquor, you leave. No one forces you to be there. If you’re in a park and you don’t like second-hand smoke, or scantily clad sunbathers, or a hippie giving a speech on a soap box, you walk away. No one is forcing you to be there either. The freedom to do things other people don’t like is the essence of a free country. You’d think New York’s politicos would have heard that.

The mayor of America’s largest city believes he has the power to forbid you to do things that are linked to gum disease...

Of course, Bloomberg tried the same thing, in 2012, when he persuaded the New York City Board of Health to ban sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. The ban was struck down following a lawsuit from the soft-drink lobby. Who’s going to stand up for snuff and dip? Roughly 150 million Americans drink soda every day; only 1 million Americans use smokeless tobacco at all. Personally, I find it repulsive. But I don’t want to be in the position of saying, First they came for the tobacco chewers, and I didn’t speak out, because I didn’t chew tobacco . . . 

Frankly, conservatives have been much too casual in the defense of small freedoms, and much too passive in accepting bureaucratic edicts. We focus on the big fights — the right to bear arms, for instance — and forget about the littler ones.

"Federal Employees' Wages Growing Faster Than Everybody Else’s"

"Pay freeze over, for government types anyway."

Only three worker categories have higher average wages than civilian federal government employees: company management, utilities, and mining. Even the high-demand information technology and finance fields offer lower average wages.

The latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show that wages rose 2.9 percent in the federal government in 2014, on average, compared to 1.7 percent in the private sector.

When benefits such as pensions and health care are included, federal compensation increased 2.8 percent, on average, compared to 1.3 percent in the private sector.

Federal civilian workers had an average wage of $84,153 in 2014, compared to an average in the private sector of $56,350. The federal advantage in overall compensation (wages plus benefits) is even greater. Federal compensation averaged $119,934 in 2014, which was 78 percent higher than the private-sector average of $67,246.

Cato

Kevin Moor, the man who recorded Freddie Gray video, arrested by Baltimore police

That's bad.

Okay, now what happens to the guy who recorded this arrest?  

Baby Huey government grown so big so obese it merely rolls over and smashes you. So defensive it cannot tolerate observation nor discussion of itself by its subjects. This is the government your grandparents wed, it worked for them or seemed to, and whereas they died and your parents grew old Baby Huey government only kept getting bigger. You are born into the government they wanted but they did not know it would come to this. 

March 5 is election day in Denver. Progs have taken over the town, the town being the capital they've taken over the state. There is not much on the ballot. I have it right here. The trick is pretend to be independent. Everybody claims middle ground. Then when you see them on t.v. they say things like this.

We noticed a little economic activity there and something must be done. We must see how to regulate this. 

Bless your pointed head, you noticed a little girl's lemonade stand and you forgot to say "taxed!"  For once the subject was not marijuana, and it was nothing so serious as concession stand carts. It was something quite minor indeed that made me realize, Man, this chick is really twisted, a real crackpot control freak. That's who's attracted to state politics. And this is why.  I formed the impression of state government populated by such so overarching so jealous that it MUST have its grubby mitts in absolutely every single activity under its protective dome. Drive into the state pass the border marker, BLAM, you're now married to Colorado.

And Colorado is one demented hippie chick control freak with frizzy red hair and a snappy unhappy parliamentarian air to her. Perhaps Gollum is a better analogy, although the woman I noticed that day really is frizzy red hair hippy control freak parliamentarian, her speaking she was more like, "my precious, my precious."

Only five categories on the ballot, mayor, auditor, clerk, council members at large, and the worst, council member district 10 UGH they're all screaming Democrats so that category gets no votes, let the jackals bite it out amongst themselves.

How screaming?

Their online profiles show them to be so quite clearly and upfront. So screaming you can tell by results page. It's all there. They may claim independence and laugh as they claim it, then look at them online and they stick right out. They join dozens of groups with words like "democracy" in them and other carved out special concerns, "environment," "women's," "minority," what have you. See all those buzz words cluttering the whole results page and that tells you ding ding ding crackpot. One who needs government to do things. It's their life.

The great thing about politics is you use everybody's money to do your group's things. You impose your will, the will of your group, on the entire population and use their money doing it and that's what gives psychologically damaged crackpots their thrills.

Others are more difficult to pin down, they're more sensible. Their projects are specific and goal-oriented usually quite narrow and measurable and not all that much to brag about. Their degrees are in unusual things, hard things, science-y things sometimes far from politics. People interested in other things altogether, later in life attracted to some lower political position.

One candidate cited his ambition for auditor, "I want to expand the scope of the office to include..." That will be "no" to you, Mr. Ambitious. Now, had you said your goal was to refocus the office to its core reason for being for the purpose of shrinking the office to improved productivity then I'd be willing to listen. So it went. Short enough. Not too much research weeding out the people who want government for its control.

States Consider GPS Tracking Cars to Levy 'Fairer' Gas Tax

At least 18 states are now considering bills to do just this, and Oregon has initiated a pilot program. CBS News reports, "The Oregon pilot programs seeks to demonstrate whether a per-mile tax is a practical possibility. The state is finding 5,000 volunteers to pay 1.5-cents-per-mile tax instead of the 30 cents-per-gallon gas tax. Devices will report their mileage to the state.

Consider this: The programs being suggested or tested to track your mileage involve installing a GPS tracking device to determine not just how far you go, but which roads you use, how fast you go, and whether or not you're a "good" driver, i.e., how fast you come up to stops.

In addition to Oregon, California is considering a mileage "fee" plan as well. Here again, as The Los Angeles Times reports, "Millions of vehicles also would have to be equipped with odometer readers, smartphone applications or global positioning technology that would transmit data to state officials or a contractor, who would then bill owners for the miles traveled. Privacy advocates are especially concerned that — in this era of data mining and well-publicized credit card breaches — the technology could be used to learn not only how far people go, but when and where." (read more)

"Seattle Passes Laws to Keep Residents From Wasting Food"

"The City of Seattle just passed a new trash ordinance that would fine residents and businesses for throwing away too much food."

The new rules would allow garbage collectors to inspect trash cans and ticket offending parties if food and compostable material makes up 10 percent or more of the trash.

The fines will begin at $1 for residents and $50 for businesses and apartment buildings, according to the Seattle Times.

Seattle Public Utilities requested the new rules after falling short of its recycling goals of 60 percent of trash by 2015, according to the Times. The recycling rate in 2013 was 56 percent.

The Seattle city council vote on the new rules was 9-0.

"Record High in U.S. Say Big Government Greatest Threat"

"Seventy-two percent of Americans say big government is a greater threat to the U.S. in the future than is big business or big labor, a record high in the nearly 50-year history of this question. The prior high for big government was 65% in 1999 and 2000. Big government has always topped big business and big labor, including in the initial asking in 1965, but just 35% named it at that time."

Gallup