Free Talk Live

The fiscal 2011 funding bill roundly hailed for its "historic" spending cuts actually raised government spending by more than $3 billion, according to a new report.The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded Monday evening, "Total discretionary outlays in 2011 will be $3.2 billion higher as a result of the legislation, CBO estimates—an increase of $7.5 billion for defense programs, partially offset by a net reduction of $4.4 billion in other spending."

“Police officer perjury in court to justify illegal dope searches is commonplace. One of the dirty little not-so-secret secrets of the criminal justice system is undercover narcotics officers intentionally lying under oath. It is a perversion of the American justice system that strikes directly at the rule of law. Yet it is the routine way of doing business in courtrooms everywhere in America.”

COLORADO SPRINGS — This tax-averse city is about to learn what it looks and feels like when budget cuts slash services most Americans consider part of the urban fabric.

More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops — dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled.

The parks department removed trash cans last week, replacing them with signs urging users to pack out their own litter.

Congress got back from getaway Monday and made Bush tax cuts the first thing to talk about. There is the expectation that Congress will not do anything. This is because lawmakers could be more focused on campaigning for mid-term elections in about four weeks. Democrats suggested that the Tax cuts by Bush be repealed unless one is making over $250,000 a year.

Things are getting so bad in Newark that the mayor has ordered the government to stop buying toilet paper.... The city budget shortfall is $70 million and (Mayor) Booker plans to meet the revenue shortfall with budget cuts instead of property tax increases. "Taxes can not be the answer," Booker said.

The Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston, MA have summoned a family pet named Sal to "serve" as a juror, and refuse to exempt the cat on grounds of being an animal. I suspect a cat can make as much sense of this country's ludicrous legal system as anyone else.

Can You Fix the U.S. Budget? Test Yourself

If you haven't tried The New York Times's Budget Puzzle yet, give it a shot. It's a quick interactive exercise that lets you make all the hard decisions (or easy, politically unpopular decisions, as the case may be) to see if you can come up with a combination of cuts and taxes that balance the books.

Federal prosecutors are supposed to seek justice, not merely score convictions. But a USA TODAY investigation found that prosecutors repeatedly have violated that duty in courtrooms across the nation. The abuses have put innocent people in prison, set guilty people free and cost taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees and sanctions.

For more than 20 years as a police officer, Thomas Kuechler sat in Lower Bucks courtrooms testifying against alleged criminals.
On Friday, the 64-year-old retired Middletown kop was on the other side of the courtroom, facing allegations of molesting three young girls.
It makes one wonder if this was the first time it happened or the first time this thug got caught.