Everyday I comb through stories using Google Reader. I’m such a news junkie that if I let my reader fill up without periodically looking through by the end of the day I’ll have a backlog of well over 1,000 stories waiting for me. Here are little nuggets of what I’m reading today:

» The Attack On Coal Continues: Trashing Coal Ash Recycling – Big Journalism

“If you live in a coal state, make no mistake about it: Barack Obama and the Administrator of his USEPA, Lisa Jackson, are looking to take you down, by any means – direct or indirect – at their disposal. Among the schemes in the pipeline is this: a proposal that would make burning coal to produce power a much more expensive proposition, by attaching billions of dollars more costs before the residue of the coal-burning process could be reused or disposed of. Ironically, Obama and Jackson are on the threshold of making an ill-considered decision that would undermine one of the most successful recycling programs in the history of the nation.’

Rockefeller: Weak public option has ‘no value’ – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room

“Any watered-down version of the public option isn’t worth the political fight to make it part of healthcare reform, according to Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.). Rockefeller, who had been one of the most stalwart proponents of creating a government-run public option health insurance program, shocked liberals on Monday by declaring he did not support a growing effort by Democrats to revive the proposal.”

Boudreaux on Why The Stimulus is a Bad Idea – Hit & Run : Reason Magazine

“I’d question (Don) Boudreaux on whether his is the minority camp regarding the stimulus, as only about 6 percent of Americans in one survey believed the stimulus created any jobs at all. The CBO has put the number of jobs created or saved (emphasis on the latter!) at anywhere between 600,000 and 1.6 million, which is tantamount to admitting they have no idea (which they have admitted elsewhere). In any case, Boudreaux’s point holds: The stimulus funds so far have gone to mostly propping up existing public sector positions that cannot sustain themselves once stimulus funds stop coming.”

» View of Unions ‘Plummeted’ Since 07 – Big Government

“According to Pew, “Favorable views of labor unions have plummeted since 2007, amid growing public skepticism about unions’ purpose and power.” One hates to surmise, but it seems probable such a shift comes from such little things as crippling the Big 3, pushing card check on working Americans, cutting disgusting deals to exempt their members from a new tax on healthcare plans, pimping ACORN, and just being all-around-un-swell guys.”

HOMELAND SECURITY LOSES OVER 1,000 COMPUTERS IN ONE FISCAL YEAR – Independence Investigates

“New documents reveal that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to lose hundreds of computers per year. At least one DHS component agency maintains that the losses fall within accepted accounting standards. In fiscal year 2008, inventories of lost, stolen, and damaged equipment show that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) combined to lose no fewer than 985 computers. Meanwhile, the lost, stolen and damaged report for ICE shows 13 vehicles classified as “lost” or “not found during physical inventory.” CBP’s total inventory of lost stolen and damaged equipment tallies 1,975 pieces at a total valuation of $7.5 million.”

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