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POPSTaxpayers pay for rep's big-screen TVs FTA: Jackson spokesman Kenneth Edmonds said the TVs were purchased through “established, regular procedure” with MRA funds Jackson had left in his account at the end of the year. “They replaced older, bulkier and more cumbersome sets, making it easier for the staff to monitor local and national news as well as to participate in teleconferences,” he said. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) bought 17 hard drives and a laptop for his staff. Rep. George Radanovich (R-Calif.) paid $734 for a video camera. Rep. Patrick J. Murphy (D-Pa.) spent $535.76 to repair a letter-folding machine. Last year, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) treated his colleagues to $1,864.18 worth of barbecue from Red, Hot & Blue and $1,425 of Chinese food from the Meiwah restaurant.
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POPSExplorers, Daredevils & Record Setters of the 30's The Twenties and Thirties have always been an area of interest to me. The Roaring Twenties, where we drank Bathtub Gin and danced the Charleston. Speakeasies everywhere! (One reporter did an experiment in 25 different US Cities where he timed how long it would take to be able to buy illegal liquor. Shortest time was 21 seconds. Longest was 3 hours and 19 minutes. That must have been a "Dry County.") America was in love with the "new" vogue and any fads it could find. Just a few examples: phone booth stuffing (25 college students at University of Chicago), Marathon Dancing, Flagpole Sitting, Racecar Driving, Monopoly, the :"Talkies," Radio Programs, Coney Island, Daredevil Flying, Long-Distance Swimming, Harry Houdini, Solo Flights, Self-Made Millionaires, the Gangster (especially Al Capone who courted the media), Exploring the Unknown, and Political Radical Causes! History is amazing!
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POPSObama's Civilian National Security Force How is it possible their candidate is seeking to create some kind of massive but secret national police force that will be even bigger than the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force put together? Now, maybe he was misquoted by the Congressional Quarterly and the Chicago Tribune. I guess it's possible. If so, you would think he would want to set the record straight. Maybe he misspoke. That has certainly happened before. Again, why wouldn't the rest of my colleagues show some curiosity about such a major and, frankly, bone-chilling proposition? Are we talking about creating a police state here? The U.S. Army alone has nearly 500,000 troops. That doesn't count reserves or National Guard. In 2007, the U.S. Defense budget was $439 billion. Is Obama serious about creating some kind of domestic security force bigger and more expensive than that? If not, why did he say it? What did he mean?