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Federal
Register Watch by Nick Ebinger November
24 - 28, 2003
The Federal
Register is the official daily publication for Rules, Proposed Rules,
and Notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as Executive
Orders and other Presidential Documents.
This column attempts to summarize the highlights (or lowlights)
of the Federal Register during the preceding week. Instructions
for subscribing to the Federal Register can be found at the end of the
column. FEDERAL
TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) - FINAL RULES ON CLOTHES WASHER REGULATION I
covered the
absurdity of this several weeks ago, but it's worth noting again,
now that this rule has been finalized.
The federal government is establishing additional regulations
with regard to how clothes washers work.
I showed what buncombe taxpayer interference in this is, as the
private sector can provide such regulation much more efficiently . . .
but, then I'm not up for reelection, am I? The
state intrudes everywhere, even into the spin cycle. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-29102.htm DEPARTMENT
OF STATE - RESTRICTION OF TRAVEL FOR U.S. CITIZENS The
Department of State is renewing its ban on using the What
danger exists to the safety of individuals is of no importance to anyone
but the individuals themselves.
If people choose to enter the country, it should be at their own
risk, not ours (for if they do, they risk imprisonment at our expense,
as taxpayers). The
Libyan state, while run by a megalomaniacal
dictator, has not been proven a threat to each and every American
individual. Qaddafi
(sp?) may harbor strong feelings against the American government, and
perhaps even against most Americans in general, but this does not
legitimize the federal government's ban on the individual's right to
travel as he or she chooses. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-29311.htm
NUMEROUS
DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES - REQUIREMENTS FOR A DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE Certainly,
the truly impaired employee should be verboten
in any workplace. But the
government's idea of drug-free? C'mon!
You know as well as I do that that is a joke. The
state arbitrarily establishes certain drugs as illegal and others legal.
Those not prescribable by doctors (the AMA cartel) are proscribed
as illegal by the FDA (at the behest of the pharmaceutical companies,
ever generous to politicians) . . . that is, Ambien: kosher; poppers:
jail time . . . etc., etc. People
use drugs because they're fun. There
is nothing morally wrong with using drugs recreationally. . . or
perhaps, according to your set of beliefs, there is.
But it is certainly immoral to deny others the right to introduce
whatever chemicals into their bodies that they choose. So,
if someone enjoys the occasional mind-altering substance, no matter
whether it is illegal or not (morality and the law are rarely in
league), why should that person be denied one's work, so long as such
playtime does not interfere with the job?
Then
again, once someone realizes the disconnect between common sense and
state law, why would one pursue government employment? http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-28454.htm THANKSGIVING
DAY - NO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY If
you prayed on this day, or are praying anytime soon, pray for the boys
and girls (the dreaded g-word, but have you seen how young our troops
look?) abroad. Four
hundred thirty-six Americans, and several dozen others, have
already died in the Iraqi fiasco . . . how many more will be lost? AGRICULTURAL
MARKETING SERVICE (AMS) - THE AMS STRIKES AGAIN The
AMS here establishes certain rules regarding pooling provisions for
dairy producers. This is
typical; the state reserves for itself the right to monopolize or, in
this case, cartelize. The
Agricultural Marketing Service gets very little publicity, but it
intrudes in our lives every day through the prices of our meals.
Food costs are increased by its bureaucratic (read: unlegislated,
unaffected by your vote) rules, but the media would rather focus on men
marrying each rather than increasing food prices squeezing the budgets
of the working class. Change
the focus; win the vote. http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-29624.htm To
subscribe to the Federal Register Table of Contents LISTSERV electronic
mailing list, go to http://listserv.access.gpo.gov
and select Online mailing list archives, FEDREGTOC-L, Join or leave the
list (or change settings); then follow the instructions.
Nick Ebinger
lives in Federal Register Watch Archive
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