. . . because it is not only the right of Amtrak passengers to be subsidized $6.50 from my taxes every time they order a crappy burger, but it would also be insensitive to contract out the food service to a company that might do it cheaper because . . . Well, here, read for yourself: I live in  New York  City, so I've eaten my share of $16 hamburgers. If a hamburger costs that much, it's usually pretty good. It had better be! But that's not true if you're on  Amtrak . At a  congressional hearing yesterday , we learned that the agency's on-board, microwave-in-bag hamburgers cost $16 to serve, even though the agency only charges travelers $9.50 to buy one. The purpose of the hearing was to examine why Amtrak's food service operations have lost $800 million over the last 10 years. The answer is, apparently, that it costs Amtrak a ton of money to serve food that is mostly pretty terrible. Selling edible food at a profit is not rocket science. Even the air...

The first color image from Curiosity. Imagine standing on another world:  I used to hope our generation would do it.  Now I can still hope for my children or grandchildren. But at least I have seen.

From WGMD: Libertarians Meet & Greet at Grotto’s in Long Neck Thurs    Several Libertarian candidates for local and statewide office will be available Thursday for a meet and greet during the monthly meeting of the Sussex Chapter, Libertarian Party of Delaware. The event will be held from 6 until 8 p.m. at Grotto’s Pizza in Long Neck. Among the candidates expected to attend include David Eisenhour, Wendy Jones, Margaret Melson and Ronnie Fitzgerald. WGMD News will be speaking with the candidates that night and will have more from them on Friday morning.

Independent Party of Delaware endorses Libertarian Scott Gesty for US House For immediate release In a move creating the strongest “third-party” ticket that Delaware has ever seen, the Independent Party of Delaware has endorsed Libertarian Scott Gesty for US House of Representatives.   The endorsement potentially pairs Gesty with IPOD’s high-profile US Senate candidate, Alex Pires of Dewey Beach. “ Scott’s commitment to individual Liberty, the Constitution, truth, justice and economic freedom make him a viable alternative to politics as usual,” said IPOD Chair Wolfgang von Baumgart in a Sunday evening statement.   “Delaware needs a true representative of the people, not special interests.” Gesty is Director of Training and Development for BNY Mellon, and a longtime activist with the Delaware Campaign for Liberty.   Along with his wife Maria and daughter Virginia he lives in Brandywine Hundred. “I’m going to campaign on my beliefs and John Carney’s...

From the Cape Gazette today: Libertarians say UD debates exclude third parties October debates sponsored by the University of Delaware and Delaware First Media are a major opportunity for candidates for statewide office to let the public know where they stand on certain issues. But Libertarians say the media event excludes third party candidates. UD Distinguished Journalist in Residence Ralph Begleiter and Delaware First Media President Michelle Boudreau recently informed ballot-qualified candidates of inclusion criteria for the debate. Begleiter and Boudreau say the qualifications insure participants are serious and have significant public support. In an Aug. 5 press release, Scott Gesty, Libertarian candidate for Congress said, “To be invited, I’d have to raise $125,500 from 2,511 different donors, have already received 40,000 votes in a previous election or pay thousands for a poll proving at least 10 percent of Delaware voters already support me.” New Castle County Cha...

It  never ceases to amaze me that people who will go out and become activists for better health insurance or raising/lowering our taxes apparently have absolutely no understanding of the fact that those debates are all entirely moot. What President Obama and Governor Romney have an unspoken agreement not to discuss is that fact that what is pushing our economy off the cliff, bankrupting our Treasury, and ultimately betraying the American experiment in freedom and democratic values is our foreign wars. And it is not surprising to find out (gasp!) that the government has been lying to us all along (under both Bush and Obama) about what it all costs. Here, reference a study at Brown University, is a first approach at the truth: A new report out of Brown University estimates that the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq–together with the counterinsurgency efforts in Pakistan–will, all told, cost $4 trillion and leave 225,000 dead, both civilians and soldiers. The grou...