by Bob Barr | Feb 21, 2018 | Uncategorized |
Investor’s Business Daily America’s wireless spectrum — that long-neglected part of our vital national infrastructure – finally is receiving much needed attention by the Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). XChanges that are important for broadband modernization, however, could be short-circuited by Washington’s continuing budgetary mess. The changes also could become an unintended victim to debates surrounding the creation of a new, “5G” network. Citizens everywhere, especially those in rural parts of the country, have a stake in ensuring that neither contingency occurs. Most of the attention paid to “infrastructure,” including by President Trump in his recent state of the union address, focuses on our physical infrastructure — bridges, highways, water systems, and rail. Just as important, but far less noticed, is a vital but largely invisible component of America’s infrastructure — the wireless spectrum. Just like a concrete interstate highway, the wireless spectrum has a finite capacity. Sooner or later, only so many users can “ride” its frequencies before it becomes overcrowded, clogged, and eventually, unusable. Unfortunately, while a highway can be widened and more lanes added, the wireless spectrum used by broadcasters cannot. There are only so many megahertz “lanes” or frequencies available for use. Because demand for space has skyrocketed in this digital age — with cell phones, social media, television, radio, law enforcement, 911 emergency systems, and more competing for signal strength — something had to be done to modernize the spectrum so it did not “collapse” under the weight of massively increased demand. These problems demanded the attention of the federal government, which controls the wireless spectrum in the “public interest,” and in 2012 the Congress responded appropriately,...
by Bob Barr | Feb 16, 2018 | Uncategorized |
School Shooting letter to President Trump
by Bob Barr | Feb 15, 2018 | Uncategorized |
Daily Caller Every once in a while — some would say in a long, long while — the federal government comes up with a good idea. For my Baby Boomer generation, many would say the Apollo Space Program merits such classification. More recently, though on a much smaller scale, airline travelers might suggest the TSA Precheck Program and its Global Entry cousin are examples of successful and timely government initiatives. In the category of immigration, examples of “good” government programs arguably are among the rarest of all. There is, however, one program that, over the course of its quarter century existence, has delivered consistently on its promise of bringing lawful immigrants to our shores as investors and job creators: the EB-5 visa program (“EB-5” is shorthand for the fifth category of employment-based immigrant visas). The EB-5 program exemplifies the focused, vetted and merit-based immigration policy which President Donald Trump repeatedly has endorsed; most recently in his State of the Union speech last month. Those waiting for the perfect government program will be forever doomed to disappointment; and the EB-5 visa program is no exception. Despite its flaws, however, the program on balance possesses an indisputable track record of accomplishing its goals; among which are producing some $20 billion in investments in the United States just since the great recession rolled across the country in 2008, and creating more than 174,000 jobs. Some estimates peg the cumulative economic effects of EB-5 based investments, just in terms of tax revenues generated for federal, state and local governments, to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Perhaps as...
by Bob Barr | Feb 10, 2018 | Uncategorized |
FoxNews.com What does marijuana have in common with Schedule I controlled substances like heroin, LSD, and “date-rape” drugs? “Nothing,” the average American would likely reply. I agree. Unfortunately, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions holds the opposite view and continues to lump pot in with far more dangerous drugs. It appears that Sessions is using federal law enforcement to further his personal view that all marijuana use is wrong. This is the same mindset behind the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the U.S. from 1920 to1933. That proved unsustainable, just as the total federal ban on marijuana has been shown to be a failure. Since President Nixon launched the War on Drugs more than four decades ago, billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent each year fighting the perceived scourge of marijuana, employing the same fundamental strategy decade after decade. And year after year, Americans continue to smoke marijuana in increasing numbers, according to the government’s own figures. Common sense tells us that not all illegal drugs are alike. Heroin is far more dangerous and addictive than marijuana. LSD is powerful hallucinogen that is far more incapacitating than pot. And anyone using a drug to leave a woman helpless so he can rape her is committing a terrible crime far more serious than smoking a joint. Moreover, Americans generally are aware that numerous medical studies have established that THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the primary active ingredient in marijuana, possesses significant positive properties for certain maladies, including glaucoma, cancers, seizures and post-traumatic stress disorder. Even many people who oppose recreational marijuana use don’t want to deny the drug to sick people who...
by Bob Barr | Feb 7, 2018 | Uncategorized |
Townhall.com It was to be the “Memo heard round the world”; one that would rival the impact of the “Pentagon Papers” disclosures that ultimately brought down a president in the Watergate scandal. The “explosive” memo was “set to rock D.C.” as headlines screamed, building the anticipation for its release. Instead, like most “[insert buzz word]-gates” peddled by Beltway bureaucrats and Mainstream Media gossip queens who fancy themselves dramatic and knowledgeable actors on an international stage, the memo came and went, with each side jockeying for camera time to claim its earth-shattering importance or its triviality. Sadly, once again amidst the partisan squabbling, the real point of it all has been largely missed. Whether the memo vindicates Republican claims that Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was targeted out of partisan corruption, or as Democrats suggest, it is merely a work of political fiction designed to discredit Robert Mueller’s “Russia Probe,” depends entirely on a subjective and political interpretation of the memo’s contents. In other words, those reading the memo for partisan points will extract from it precisely what they wish. In so doing, however, these readers will miss a far more important – and chilling – undercurrent, with substantive implications considerably more important than who, or which party, wins the next election. Here is what the “Nunes Memo,” named after its original author, California Rep. Devin Nunes, objectively tells us. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), using a widely discredited and unsubstantiated “dossier” created for use in the 2016 presidential election against Trump, served as the basis for obtaining a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant, which gave the agency power to surreptitiously surveil the campaign....
by Bob Barr | Jan 31, 2018 | Uncategorized |
Townhall.com Bob Barr Depending who you ask about the success or failure of President Donald Trump’s first year in office, you are likely to either get an earful about all the offensive things he has said as president, or hear about all the “winning,” delivered as promised. The reason for the dichotomy in responses certainly is related to one’s partisan beliefs; but, perhaps more important is whether the observer is able to separate Trump the Man, from Trump the Manager. As a man, Trump is brash, turbulent, and lurches from one gaffe to another as he speaks and tweets whatever appears to occupy his mind. Trump the manager, however, is calculated, driven, and while superficially engaged in squabbles with his opponents, has expertly flouted the D.C. establishment to start a regulatory upheaval unlike anything we have ever seen from a Republican president; including Ronald Reagan. The reason for Trump’s resounding regulatory successes is no accident. While critics fully expected Trump to surround himself with inexperienced yes-men meant to do nothing more than fluff his ego, Trump instead modeled his administration as an elite football program; where as head coach he could focus on the big picture, leaving the execution of his vision to talented support staff heading the various agencies and positions within the Executive. Almost immediately, they quietly went to work. Mick Mulvaney, while serving in the cabinet as the director of the Office of Management and Budget, also has made quick work of gutting the onerous Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as its interim director. Trump’s pick for Interior Department Secretary, Ryan Zinke, recently announced “revolutionary” plans to reduce the...
