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Editorial: Another revolutionary leap forward for federal spending transparency

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Jun 4, 2008 12:00 AM (96 days ago) by The Washington DC Examiner Newspaper
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WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., jointly introduced Tuesday the second phase of the quiet revolution they inaugurated two years ago in federal spending transparency and accountability. Their proposed Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008 (STAFS) builds on the progress begun by the first Coburn-Obama effort, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA) that mandated establishment of the searchable, Googlelike USASpending.gov Web site. There, any citizen with Internet access can find an amazing amount of detail about how the government spends nearly $1 trillion every year on thousands of grants, contracts and awards. The data can be sorted by company name, congressional district, state or county, type of service or product provided, the type of awarding process used and the awarding agency. Perusing the site can be fascinating. For example, searching for contracts awarded to companies whose names contain “Entertainment” turned up 55 receiving more than $34 million in 2007. Search “Consulting” and 1,651 companies are shown getting nearly $5 billion last year. That’s a lot of entertaining and consulting.

The new legislation by Coburn and Obama would improve the USASpending.gov. database in three ways. First, STAFS requires the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, which administers USASpending.gov, to add to the database additional details about agencies, recipients and the nature of the awards. It would also require that the database include a link to a copy of each contract or other spending agreement, including those created by earmarks. The latter improvement alone would significantly enhance the ability of citizens, public policy activists and analysts, and investigative journalists and bloggers to expose scandals such as sweetheart deals awarded to companies whose executives are campaign donors to key congressmen.

Also addressed by STAFS is the problem of insuring the accuracy of the data. It does so by establishing a user-directed error-reporting system so that agency officials, contract and award recipients, and private citizens can report errors and see that they are resolved promptly. This improvement by itself could bolster public confidence in government by involving millions of Americans in spending oversight. Finally, STAFS directs OMB to include in the database information about grant and contract performance by recipients of federal dollars, including whether they have been suspended or debarred from bidding, and whether any civil, criminal or administrative sanctions have been imposed on them.  Presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain was an enthusiastic backer of FFATA and is a co-sponsor of STAFS, too. Soon, every citizen will be a digitally empowered watchdog.

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Comments from Examiner Readers

6:57 PM MST on Wed., Sep. 3, 2008 re: "Wine-and-cheese thuggery"

 For dissent said:
Regarding JADED's comment:I agree that one of the beauties of America is the right to dissent and understand the reasons for it. But know that their are plenty of those liberal/socialists out there that would love to silence our dissent. It is probably doubtful that the second amendment would be around for very long if that crowd has their way unchallenged.

 4 agree | 2 disagree
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6:00 PM MST on Tue., Aug. 26, 2008 re: "No August recess for Congress"

 Examiner Reader said:
something needs to be done with all the corrupt federal judges as well as the lawyers. an investigation needs to be done there without the corrupt judges the corrupt lawyers would not get away with so much.

 8 agree | 5 disagree
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10:05 AM MST on Tue., Aug. 26, 2008 re: "U.S. needs more oil drilling, not higher energy taxes"

 Examiner Reader said:
why do we need more drilling? Most of the oil we drill up in the us is exported. Besides, free energy methods have been available for years. What we need is for people to take the time to think and learn and see what is available instead of just being slaves to the estabished system. Search water car on youtube.. you can get the plans online

 7 agree | 9 disagree
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7:07 AM MST on Fri., Aug. 15, 2008 re: "Fenty jobs program taught wrong lessons"

 DC Teacher said:
Then these kids show up in our schools with these "lessons learned." It is devastating. When you then try to teach them with a real set of standards it is as if you are speaking a foreign language. Paying kids for summer school?? Insanity! Thanks DC Gov!

 13 agree | 12 disagree
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1:37 PM MST on Thu., Aug. 14, 2008 re: "Stop using SWAT teams on civilians"

 HKL said:
Thanks for bringing more attention to misguided SWAT abuses. This is a shameful police state tactic, that has resulted in many wrongful deaths.

 20 agree | 12 disagree
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10:15 AM MST on Thu., Aug. 14, 2008 re: "Stop using SWAT teams on civilians"

 The Undertaker said:
I agree with this editorial. We shouldn't be treated like terrorists.

 15 agree | 12 disagree
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12:08 AM MST on Thu., Aug. 14, 2008 re: "Stop using SWAT teams on civilians"

 johnn said:
you have to know the charter of the people you are going to pounce on,and im sure thease offers knew that thease people were no threat,,after all they did have the house staked out for some time,,but where they messed up, not properly investigating the gang responsible for the crime,had they done that they would have known,that they were using innocent people in this drug ring..then there is always those over zelious cops,who think they are john wyane,or pop eye doil,or that guy in the sheild

14 agree | 14 disagree
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9:30 PM MST on Wed., Aug. 13, 2008 re: "Stop using SWAT teams on civilians"

 Examiner Reader said:
Thank you. A policeman who kills an unarmed civilian (as often happens in these paramilitary raids) should be held to the same level of conduct as a civilian who kills another civilian. We should stop making excuses because they are cops. One standard! Cops are not above the law. Cops are not better or more important than civilians. Cops are OUR SERVANTS, not our masters.

26 agree | 16 disagree
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7:21 PM MST on Wed., Aug. 13, 2008 re: "Stop using SWAT teams on civilians"

 Examiner Reader said:
This is jackbboted thugggery at its absolute worst.This was not a police raid it was an illegal home invasion and the perpetrators whould go to jail. They should never be allowed to ever carry a gun again.At least with street criminals we can defend ourselves, but when the cops go rogue and become the judge, jury and executioner, how do we protect ourselves then?

17 agree | 12 disagree
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6:47 PM MST on Wed., Aug. 13, 2008 re: "Stop using SWAT teams on civilians"

 Obbop said:
How else is America's elite class supposed to defend its status quo it devotes so much time and money in brainwashing the masses into accepting that benefits the elites so much if the elite's enforcement arms can not keep the citizenry in a state of fear? Remove the fear and the masses may tire of being spat upon and decide to take action. The Founders mention that blood-shedding is needed from time-to-time to keep things running smoothly. All of the bureaucracies created by the elites to distance themselves from the masses need practice at their jobs; especially the jack-booted thugs. It keeps them trained and contributes to the mental isolation they possess towards the citizenry.

16 agree | 14 disagree
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1:51 PM MST on Wed., Aug. 13, 2008 re: "Stop using SWAT teams on civilians"

 Steve said:
STOP USING SWAT TEAMS ON CIVILIANS: I'm glad the Examiner is writing about this. It's been a few years since we watched US forces invade an American home at gunpoint at dawn on Good Friday / Easter Weekend on behalf of the demands of a Communist government, and the situation only continues and grows worse. It's time for citizens to insist that due process be applied and that our nation's laws be respected; we are NOT a police state by law, only a responsible citizenry will prevent the police authorities from pushing our nation further toward an Orwellian state of martial law.

 20 agree | 14 disagree
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9:25 AM MST on Wed., Aug. 13, 2008 re: "Stop using SWAT teams on civilians"

 Examiner Reader said:
Especially after making so many, many mistakes in the past. The citizens should call for a civilian review board. In Maryland and Virginia. Betting on Football? Hell the state Bookies, sell scratch offs and lotto tickets daily. What we are seeing is how far the envelope will be pushed, before anyone screams STATISM . Whether Democrat or republican this heinous crime should get you off your butts

19 agree | 13 disagree
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6:57 AM MST on Wed., Aug. 13, 2008 re: "Stop using SWAT teams on civilians"

 B Dubya said:
The Founders never properly feared or understood the potential of unelected beaurocrats to undermine the freedoms we so cherish. More and more we surrender to our contabulary forces the right of lethal force, which is bound to be used against us illegally. The second ammendment is the answer to the tyranny of elected governments; it must also serve to answer violent crime and the predations of an unchecked police state. With nanny-statism comes a total removal of individual human rights.

 24 agree | 16 disagree
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5:55 PM MST on Mon., Aug. 11, 2008 re: "Wine-and-cheese thuggery"

 RedneckJD said:
Is anyone surprised that the left would try something such as this? Ever since the first speech code was imposed, they have been working toward, and actually beyond this. Those that have read Solzhenitsyn's works, know that this is right out of the left handbook. If we on the right even had an idea of doing this, the screams of "McCarthyism" would be echoing from the purple mountain majesty. And the funny thing is, "McCarthyism" never really existed, but now the left will use it to their advantage.

 30 agree | 21 disagree
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2:24 PM MST on Mon., Aug. 11, 2008 re: "Wine-and-cheese thuggery"

 Jaded said:
Ehh let them do their stupid silencing of dissent...because the beauty of America is the second amendment and the reason for it is to ensure the government and their minions don't get to big for their britches....there are more of us honest second amendment Americans then there are of the liberal/socialist anti-Americans.

30 agree | 20 disagree
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2:21 PM MST on Mon., Aug. 11, 2008 re: "Wine-and-cheese thuggery"

 Barely About Barack said:
Who are these senior advisers who "wonder if... they should mount Nuremberg-style 'war crimes trials' against top Bush administration officials", according to the article? If you aren't going to name names, then why on Earth would you even make the charge? These broadsides against unnamed liberals (and antagonistic liberal strawmen like Tom Mattzie) don't make a very persuasive argument.

 22 agree | 46 disagree
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1:30 PM MST on Mon., Aug. 11, 2008 re: "Wine-and-cheese thuggery"

 that guy from colorado said:
could this be a RICO type conspiracy, right up there with the conspiracy to take away the rights of others of a foregone age? Could we go after all the members of Accountable America and charge them with conspiracy to limit the rights of those they sent the letters to, and in so doing seize all their assets, cash and otherwise?

 28 agree | 20 disagree
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10:33 AM MST on Mon., Aug. 11, 2008 re: "Wine-and-cheese thuggery"

 Examiner Reader said:
What a messy editorial. Pick a talking point; ANY talking point. Some liberal doofus wants to spam people. Unnamed advisers within the Barack Obama campaign murmur about “war crimes trials” against top Bush administration officials. Unspecified college campuses have anti-conservation speech codes. Could you be any more random with all of these flailing assertions? Try persuasion, instead of cherry-picking for a change.

 21 agree | 73 disagree
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6:49 AM MST on Mon., Aug. 11, 2008 re: "Wine-and-cheese thuggery"

 Margaret Filbert said:
I think the solutions to the crossword puzzles should be included with the current print copy, i.e., Thursday and Sunday.

20 agree | 19 disagree
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5:29 AM MST on Sun., Aug. 10, 2008 re: "Pelosi is out of touch on energy"

 Examiner Reader said:
The only part of this editorial that I can't agree with is your characterization of Pelosi's management of the House as "efficient" and "effective". Under her leadership, the democratic controlled House has an even lower approval rating (9%) than President Bush, which belies your characterization!

32 agree | 18 disagree
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9:16 AM MST on Fri., Aug. 8, 2008 re: "Dollars for junkets, not for HIV/AIDS"

 Examiner Reader said:
It would seem to me that the only time some people get involved with HIV/AIDS prevention and or care is when they disagree with how money is being spent. It is vital that all people get together and discuss what has worked for them in whatever country they reside in so that others can replicate and tailor it for them and the population they are trying to help. One more thing: perhaps Sen. Coburn from Oklahoma should have thought about the expenses involved when he agreed to bar those people with HIV from entering the U.S. If the AIDS conference could be held in Washington, there would be very little cost associated with such a needed meeting of the minds.

23 agree | 21 disagree
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2:54 PM MST on Thu., Aug. 7, 2008 re: "Baby snatching by Arlington County"

 Nancy Hey said:
You are right, Arlington County, and a lot of others throughout the nation make money by placing children into foster care, or letting them be adopted by upper-middle class families. That money is guaranteed under the Adoption and Safe Families Act. Members of Congress should be encouraged to vote AGAINST renewing this act, as it provides CPS an incentive to tear families apart.

 19 agree | 17 disagree
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11:35 AM MST on Thu., Aug. 7, 2008 re: "Dollars for junkets, not for HIV/AIDS"

 Examiner Reader said:
i would have expected a mujch more thoughtful analysis rather than populist play acting. So all conferences are junkets and a waste of money. Do you know how many millions of dollars are wasted by investing in programs that are not backed by evidence? That do not take into account current trends and research. There may be a legitimate issue with the size of the US delagation but given the US investments in HIV programs it seems reasonable to me. And since when did the position of the Catholic Church on condoms become an issue that the Examiner Editorial Board felt the need ot defend. At least if you are going to defend it explain the issues rather than some dismissive swipe at a group that "dares" to question the Catholic Church. And what does the Church's position on condoms have to do with US government policy? Yes Thailand does have a high HIV prevalence but it the numbers of new infactions are declining - so maybe the sex workers are doing something right

16 agree | 15 disagree
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11:07 AM MST on Tue., Aug. 5, 2008 re: "May God rest heroic Solzhenitsyn’s soul"

 Solzhenitsyn an Ignorable Russofascist said:
Solzhenitsyn was an ignorable Russofascist who clung to the most primitive and backward worldview and was ultimately deprived of his Soviet citizenship and deported from the USSR. While Stalin's crimes were indefensible, Solzhenitsyn exploited his status as a former inmate of the gulag to establish a toehold in the Soviet intelligensia of the early 1960s, when Khruschev embarked upon the process of de-Stalinization. Reagan was an imperialist warmonger whose policies led directly to millions dying throughout the globe, esp. in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Grenada. He shed crocodile tears for the virulent anti-Semitic Walesa in Poland as he funded the Contras, right-wing Nicaraguan fanatics who butchered children and nuns among others, and "constructively engaged" the apartheid regime in South Africa. And of course, he created Osama bin Laden and his band of merry terrorists, lavishing weapons and money upon them in Afghanistan. And Pope John Paul? Don't get me started.

16 agree | 47 disagree
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3:58 PM MST on Mon., Aug. 4, 2008 re: "No August recess for Congress"

 Examiner Reader said:
I think the president should call'm back, to at least get the vote. then it would be ddone correctly and politcally. John

 17 agree | 16 disagree
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11:26 AM MST on Mon., Aug. 4, 2008 re: "Baby snatching by Arlington County"

 Examiner Reader said:
From the 18 April 2008 Editorial about the Arlington Courts "Baby Snatching" realize that on 7 April 2008, all four "regular" judges of Arlington Circuit Court signed an ORDER: Disqualification of Judges for admitted and demonstrated bias against a Pro Se litigant. Watergate's Deep Throat (former Deputy FBI Director Mark Felt) warned, "Follow the Money!" Ask Arlington how much MONEY it makes by assigning a child to foster care in federal Department of Justice grants. Look at how much MONEY is received by Arlington from VAWA false charges of DV. Look at how much MONEY is received in grant money by Arlington from inflated Child Support amounts and "Purge" fees that jail countless fathers. THEN Look at two state judges in LA, in the "BROKEN GAVEL" for RICO violations for excessive bail amounts (an 8th Amendment VIOLATION) and kickbacks from bail bondsmen. Get the picture of how Judges and the system make MONEY violating RIGHTS of CITIZENS??

 18 agree | 17 disagree
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8:06 PM MST on Sun., Aug. 3, 2008 re: "Cooling Earth is inconvenient fact"

 Examiner Reader said:
It is about time that the facts appeared in the media. Thank you for the brave effort suggesting that AGW does not match up with the real world.

 16 agree | 16 disagree
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10:58 PM MST on Sat., Aug. 2, 2008 re: "Support grows for putting public spending online"

 College of DuPage - get real! said:
How dare you write anything about transparency and College of DuPage. The FBI should be investigating the problems at that college, which have caused two trustees to resign, alleging corruption.

 15 agree | 16 disagree
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12:50 PM MST on Sat., Aug. 2, 2008 re: "No August recess for Congress"

 Examiner Reader said:
I think it would be best to abandon these 2 parties and each individual would have to defend him/her selves. Too bad that we have 2 shells to hide behind to protect our B-hinds.

 15 agree | 16 disagree
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10:52 PM MST on Fri., Aug. 1, 2008 re: "No August recess for Congress"

 Examiner Reader said:
The President needs to fill the judicial positions since the Congress has recessed. The people of this country need to write the Speaker and tell her they want an up or down vote on off-shore drilling. Election of Democrats in races this fall depend on immediate actions and not next term!

 17 agree | 17 disagree
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10:41 AM MST on Fri., Aug. 1, 2008 re: "Revive Fairness Doctrine and kill free speech"

 Reader said:
The Democrats want to revive this because they can't stand the fact that conservative news pundits and commentators get the whole truth out to the citizens instead of just the biased left wing, democratic spin. Fox News Channel has a bigger audience that MSNBC and its cohorts, and the dems hate it. The O'Reilly Factor and Hannity & Colmes are big draws. The dems hate them, especially Bill O'Reilly. He may be overbearing to guests, and cuts them off, but by golly he gets the message out. And he is really hammering on the states, especially Vermont, that refuses to sign into legislation Jessica's Law, which would give tough sentences to child molesters. The democrats are not about democracy and justice.

20 agree | 17 disagree
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8:18 PM MST on Thu., Jul. 31, 2008 re: "No August recess for Congress"

 Richard Z said:
Hey November is coming up. If we didn't do our jobs and went home we'd be fired maybe this November we should fire Congress. What do you think?

 22 agree | 18 disagree
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3:54 PM MST on Thu., Jul. 31, 2008 re: "The Harry Reid protection racket"

 H. GARY NEWSOM said:
This is typical of the Senate and Congress ever the since Reagan. They no longer serve the people as chartered by the Constitution. Instead they serve themselves and there Parties. They are no better than the Sunnis and the Shiites in Iraq (except they haven’t started shooting each other yet.) There are several Problems faced by this nation, that all of the last the last three Presidents have ask them to solve. Social Security, Health Care / Tort Reform, Illegal Immigration and a Comprehensive Energy Program. They have done nothing! They are worthless! We need a new Congress far more than we need a new President

24 agree | 21 disagree
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4:58 PM MST on Tue., Jul. 29, 2008 re: "No August recess for Congress"

 James Slager said:
Right on! Wake up America, Democrats are the cause of our problem's, not the solution

 26 agree | 22 disagree
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9:12 AM MST on Tue., Jul. 29, 2008 re: "Cooling Earth is inconvenient fact"

 Lies, Damned Lies, and Demographics said:
"There's a whole lot more evidence for global cooling than just what is written in this editorial."... The problem is, the Anchorage anecdote just highlights the idea that the editorial writer has already made up her mind about climate change, using extremely weak statistical analysis and talking points in place of sturdier scientific inquiry. Every week or so, Barbara Hollingsworth cherry picks these lousy talking points and dumps them into her editorials, embarassing this publication in the process. Maybe these editors should stop drinking the contrarian Kool-Aid on this issue. YOU are the journalists. DO THE RESEARCH! I'm not being paid to do it for you, so why is your data so easily refuted by the most superficial analysis I can stand to post on these comment boards?

 22 agree | 24 disagree
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6:15 AM MST on Tue., Jul. 29, 2008 re: "Cooling Earth is inconvenient fact"

 Examiner Reader said:
Great editorial! There are as many scientists who have disproven this "global warming" myth as have "proven" it. Good for the Examiner...thanks for publishing! It takes balls to publish something like this in this liberal city.....

28 agree | 25 disagree
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4:14 AM MST on Tue., Jul. 29, 2008 re: "Cooling Earth is inconvenient fact"

 Examiner Reader said:
To the previous poster of "Lies, Damned Lies, and Demographics". There's a whole lot more evidence for global cooling than just what is written in this editorial. Maybe you need to get out of the kool-aid pitcher and look for it. Annual temperatures have been trending cooler over the last decade. By the way, 1934 was the warmest year 'on record' and since then we've had cooler periods and we've had warmer periods. Climate temperatures fluctuate and in actuality we're heading back into a cooling period. www.icecap.us

28 agree | 23 disagree
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10:06 AM MST on Mon., Jul. 28, 2008 re: "Cooling Earth is inconvenient fact"

 Lies, Damned Lies, and Demographics said:
If you had avoided the Anchroage anecdote, this editorial might have amounted to something. Unfortunately, you lead off your argument with a horribly limited data point that disproves nothing. So anchorage is having fewer hot summer days. Is the annual average higher than normal? Are the annual temperatures trending hotter over the past few decades? You could just as easily have pointed to a city in the Northern Hemisphere that is having one of its hottest summers ever. More sloppy statistical analysis; a high-school course could poke more holes in it.

 23 agree | 30 disagree
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6:40 AM MST on Mon., Jul. 28, 2008 re: "Cooling Earth is inconvenient fact"

 Examiner Reader said:
This editorial is sheer idiocy.

 22 agree | 26 disagree
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2:50 AM MST on Sat., Jul. 26, 2008 re: "Let’s use tolls to finance roads"

 Examiner Reader said:
The developers who build housing in exurbs should pay heavy impact fees earmarked for transit and road improvements.

20 agree | 21 disagree
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12:49 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 25, 2008 re: "Stop the energy-hogging Dulles Rail project"

 Examiner Reader said:
Before you go beating up on Oberstar and his like, take a deep breath and and see how we got where we are - cars to go 1/4 mile for mundane chores? Please!Any photograph of the 1930's and 40's will show American towns with street cars moving people around and connecting them with train stations and busses to and from work and shopping. If the Auto industry hadn't lobbied for "highways to nowhere" which suited our pork barrell politicans of the time just fine, we would probably have a nationwide network of highly effecient public transportation today like our friends in Europe. Perhaps when we reach $10 a gallon gas, you will climb on board and enjoy the ride.

 20 agree | 18 disagree
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1:20 PM MST on Wed., Jul. 23, 2008 re: "Metro scam is worst kind, at worst time for agency"

 Examiner Reader said:
The editorial in today’s Washington Examiner about last week’s theft scam against Metro is full of inaccuracies. The worst of them is the accusation that Metro employees are responsible for a counterfeit-farecard scam when the editorial made the claim that the case “strongly suggests an inside job.” Shame on The Examiner! Metro General Manager John Catoe and Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn specifically told reporters at a press conference Friday, July 18, that there was no evidence to suggest that employees were involved. Yesterday, editorial writer Barbara Hollingsworth called Metro and asked one question: Were employees involved? She was specifically told that “there is absolutely no evidence” of employee involvement. So far, six people have been arrested by Transit Police. None of them are Metro employees. For The Examiner to make speculative allegations that Metro employees were involved demonstrates the highest level of irresponsibility. To read more visit: www.wmata.com

 21 agree | 19 disagree
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4:25 PM MST on Tue., Jul. 22, 2008 re: "McCain’s straight talk on D.C. schools"

 Examiner Reader said:
And the proof of success in charter schools is..... No one can seem to answer that question

21 agree | 21 disagree
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10:32 AM MST on Tue., Jul. 22, 2008 re: "Stop the energy-hogging Dulles Rail project"

 Examiner Reader said:
"Empty trains are not efficient." True, but full trains can make up for it. If you reduce service (or number of cars) during off-peak hours, and increase service during peak times, the trains become more efficient. Of course, some people HAVE to drive to get around. Trains are for people like myself, who don't. Encouraging rail ridership isn't that hard or expensive, given the alternative costs of gas, insurance, maintenance, and outright car ownership/leasing.

 23 agree | 21 disagree
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7:52 AM MST on Tue., Jul. 22, 2008 re: "McCain’s straight talk on D.C. schools"

 Examiner Reader said:
"As an employee in the energy industry, I can assure ANY rail (heavy or light) is more efficient at moving people in cost per person after 5 years of starting service." Spoken like an engineer. Unfortunately that is only true if you can force people onto the rail, which you cant. Empty trains are not efficient.

 22 agree | 24 disagree
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11:30 AM MST on Sat., Jul. 19, 2008 re: "Stop the energy-hogging Dulles Rail project"

 Examiner Reader said:
I completely agree. We need the Metro. I will stop driving to DC and make the Metro.

 22 agree | 21 disagree
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5:39 AM MST on Sat., Jul. 19, 2008 re: "Stop the energy-hogging Dulles Rail project"

 Read the study said:
The study on transit and energy by the Cato Fellow was actually well written and should be of use. The authors conclusions are somewhat skewed towards a typical Cato libertarian (conservative view). Really the problem he identifies is low ridership on transit. Also he suggests that technology not human behavior is easier to change. What is glarinly left out is whether it is easir to get people to by a Prius instead of a minivan or to just by the same car they normally would and use rail for their commute.

21 agree | 22 disagree
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2:38 PM MST on Fri., Jul. 18, 2008 re: "Stop the energy-hogging Dulles Rail project"

 Study science, not politics said:
I don't know what crackpot you paid for your "study." As an employee in the energy industry, I can assure ANY rail (heavy or light) is more efficient at moving people in cost per person after 5 years of starting service. In addition to transportation, rapid transit makes modern, walkable communities feasible. It employs people and supports domestic industry and infrastructure. And besides that, it is embarassing that the world's richest nation does not have rail service to its capital airport. This project is good for the country in so many ways.

 29 agree | 25 disagree
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2:12 PM MST on Thu., Jul. 17, 2008 re: "Four keys to lower energy costs"

 Examiner Reader said:
There are 5 keys not 4. The most important one being to get rid of and vote out people like Pelosi and Reid. Remember, this is a DEMOCRATICALLY-controlled Congress. Even the Republicans, had a better score. If you want to see lower oil prices and less dependence, vote the SOBs out, now!

29 agree | 22 disagree
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7:43 PM MST on Sun., Jul. 13, 2008 re: "Tony Snow, RIP"

 Examiner Reader said:
Thank you. I've been a fan of Tony Snow's since he was with the WTimes. When I was in China, I'd stay up late into the night listening to Tony via 'net radio, enjoying his delight in his audience, his humor, and keen analysis. Though I didn't know Tony personally, he touched my life immeasurably. My prayers are with his family and friends. They've lost a wonder of a man.

 25 agree | 22 disagree
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