Free Republic

HALTOM CITY, Texas (AP) - Shon Newsome almost got tricked into paying a toll for a third time. But on a recent afternoon, just before she was about to drive onto a Loop 820 on-ramp that would have required her to pay a toll, the sales executive pulled off the highway in Haltom City and asked a bystander for directions. She was trying to figure out which lane on the two-lane ramp would take her to the toll-free lanes - but the answer wasn’t clear.

Hillary Clinton owes Iowa police THOUSANDS of dollars in unpaid bills for providing security at Katy Perry concert six months ago Hillary Clinton owes Iowa police thousands of dollars for provided security at a Katy Perry-headlined event and two rallies. Despite raising more than $130 million for her presidential campaign, the former Secretary of State has yet to pay Des Moines police $1,800 for manning the concert on October 24, the force claims. Meanwhile, officers in the neighboring city of Marshalltown claim the Democrat frontrunner owes them $2,700 for working overtime at a January 15 event with Bill Clinton and...

Last night, in response to a question from Hugh Hewitt as to whether he would make a deal with liberals on religious liberty, Donald Trump decided to defend the judicial record of his sister, federal appeals court judge Maryanne Trump Barry, on abortion. In doing so, Trump displayed his characteristic ignorance and dishonesty. Here was the exchange: TRUMP: Now, Ted’s been very critical — I have a sister who’s a brilliant . . . HEWITT: Mr. Cruz, will you make a deal about religious liberty? TRUMP: . . . excuse me. She’s a brilliant judge. He’s been criticizing — he’s...

Tennessee's rule factory is cranking at full tilt, and Nashville lawmakers want to tell Memphians how to pay for bike lanes, what monuments we can move, and whether or not we can own skunks (seriously). No gas tax for bike lanes A new bill would prohibit spending any gas tax revenues on bike lanes, pedestrian walkways, and "other non-vehicular facilities." Portions of the state gas tax are required to go to cities and counties. Those governments sometimes use the gas tax funds for matching dollars to get federal money for bike and pedestrian projects. The new bill says all of...

n 2015, the U.S. saw 16 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity installed, which accounted for two-thirds of the total. Solar alone accounted for about one-third of new capacity last year. Natural gas only captured 25 percent of the newly installed capacity despite several years of incredibly low prices. The banner year for clean energy occurred while 11 gigawatts of coal-fired electricity came offline as old plants were retired amid rising costs and stricter environmental regulation. The clean energy transition is very much underway. But the backlash from incumbent industries has also sprung to life. With solar and wind suddenly...

**SNIP** But Bernie Sanders also kept busy by co-sponsoring a bill to "designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1 Marble Street in Fair Haven, Vermont, as the "Matthew Lyon Post Office Building". If you guessed that Matthew Lyon was an otherwise obscure progressive hero who was mainly known for making an ass out of himself, also being sent to prison under the Alien and Sedition Act, you would be correct. The Lyon post office renaming bill happened in 2005-2006. Then Bernie Sanders rested on his laurels for 7 years, before buckling down and renaming the...

immediately after the regular season ends. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has already made the decision to fire coach Mike Pettine, multiple sources say, and it is likely general manager Ray Farmer will be shown the door, as well. Pettine leaves after just two seasons full of quarterback movement and a woeful defense. Farmer likely will leave despite never hiring his own head coach. Haslam has already laid the groundwork for the move, doing work on potential candidates and seeing who will be available to him. It ends a tumultuous tenure for Cleveland, filled with dysfunction, in-fighting, failed player acquisitions and...

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is known for sticking to his principles, but that might trip him up if he were to become president, a position that requires compromise, said CNN host Dana Bash. "Give me an example where you have successfully compromised in the United States Senate with Democrats," Bash asked Cruz on CNN’s State of the Union March 29. Cruz mentioned his sponsorship of a bill that denied admission to the United States any United Nations representative who poses a national security threat (a response to Iran’s chosen U.N. representative). The bill passed unanimously in both the Senate...

It is no secret that I am not a Donald Trump fan. That is an understatement. From the first days that he began his “campaign”, he has demonstrated that he is not deserving to serve as President or anything else. His demeanor is repulsive, his positions are nonexistent, except for his distaste for Mexico, and his policy positions (oh wait, I should use the singular – his ONE policy position – immigration) are fantasies. I am not interested in voting for or heaven forbid, electing, a Kardashian with a combover as POTUS. And be not mistaken, this is precisely what...

Bankrupt 50 Cent seeks court's permission to pay basic bills for his lavish mansion... which costs 72K a month to maintain Bankrupt 50 Cent has asked the court to let him keep paying the bills for the upkeep of his lavish mansion. The entertainer, real name Curtis Jackson III, ususally shells out $72,000 in monthly expenses at his Connecticut estate. But after filing for bankruptcy in July, the 40-year-old rapper must now get court permission to pay all bills, no matter how basic, reportsTMZ.

A North Texas man is fighting the North Texas Tollway Authority over $1,436 in tolls for a car he insists he no longer owns. David Barlett, of Kemp, said he sold his 2002 Nissan Maxima in October 2013 to a man who responded to a Craigslist ad. InvestigativeTarrant County Ordered to Stop Issuing Passports "I signed the title over to him and didn't really think much else about it – until I started getting bills from the tollway," Bartlett said. The buyer never turned in the title to the state and kept the same license plates. So on paper, Bartlett...

Excessive cynicism can be an occupational hazard of those who pay close attention to actions of legislatures and politicians. Honest debate over important policy issues is important, but political observers can be quite disappointed if they consider everything their elected officials work to decide. For example, on April 28 Rep. Edward McBroom (R) introduced a bill to establish the ladybug as the official insect of Michigan. The proposed legislation does not specify any particular variety, although Wikipedia reports some 5,000 types worldwide. The bill could trigger a Battle of the Bugs on the House floor, because in recent years no...

The 2015-16 session of the Michigan Legislature is underway, and like a new baseball season anticipation and hope are in the air. House Republicans recently unveiled an ambitious action plan that seeks to continue Michigan’s recovery. Many of the proposals in the House agenda are ideas recommended by Mackinac Center experts: Safeguard public employees’ retirement and protect taxpayers by closing the underfunded pension system and moving public employees to a 401(k)-style system. The school employee pension system is $25 billion in the red, while Michigan’s 50 largest cities have an additional $3.4 billion in unfunded liabilities. Stretch public resources by...

Yesterday was a good day for gun rights in Minnesota. A bipartisan group of Representatives at the State Capitol passed several bills protecting and enhancing the Second Amendment. Bills enhancing the Second Amendment include: ⦁ Emergency Powers Act ⦁ (HF 722) - Protects private property rights by prohibiting government officials from confiscating firearms during a declared state of emergency.

It was a tough morning for NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. Their Twitter timeline was just depressing. Three state senators introduced three distinct pro-abortion bills in Richmond, only to have them defeated one-by-one by the Senate Education & Health committee. The first proposed bill up for debate was SB 733, which would have repealed the mandatory ultrasound law that requires women to view an ultrasound before having an abortion. Senator Mamie Locke (D-VA 2), who introduced the legislation, tried arguing that ultrasounds are unnecessary because “women have already made their decision.” Locke’s logic is very faulty here. In reality, 78 percent of...

Dwyane Wade reportedly makes around $30 million a year -- his estimated worth is approximately $100 mil -- which makes it pretty shocking his $1.2 million Chicago pad is in foreclosure. According to legal docs -- obtained by TMZ Sports -- Wade stopped making payments on the $225K mortgage ... the docs don't say how much he's behind.

As he stepped out on stage last year to hawk his big TV comeback in front of advertisers, comedy great Robin Williams joked it was 'nice to have a job where the checks will clear.' After making his name as the eccentric and beloved alien on 1970s TV hit Mork and Mindy, Robin transferred his attentions to Hollywood with a stream of box office hits. But after acclaim and an Oscar, the movie career started to dry up and the actor signed up for CBS show The Crazy Ones, a small-screen comedy about a 'renowned and slightly unhinged' advertising genius/madman....

The House passed a pair of bills Thursday to provide tax breaks to businesses. One bill, H.R. 4457, “America's Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014,” would permanently extend Section 179 expensing of up to $500,000 after the generous bonus depreciation limit expired last year. It passed by a vote of 272 to 144. The other bill, H.R. 4453, the “S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act of 2014,” makes permanent the shortening of the built-in gains tax-holding period for S corporations from 10 years to five years to give S corps quicker access to capital. It also contains a basis...

The Buffalo Bills have agreed to pay up to $3 million – largely in the form of debit cards redeemable only at the team store – to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused the team of sending too many alerts to fans who signed up for a text-messaging service. Jerry Wojcik, a Bills fan and area native now living in Florida, contended in his October 2012 suit that the team violated the terms of its text service by sending him 13 messages over two weeks when it promised to send no more than five per week. The lawsuit was panned...

Legislation aimed at cracking down on human trafficking could result in government taking more property from citizens in Michigan. At issue is a "willful blindness" clause inserted into House Bills 5230 and 5233 that would allow government officials to take property from people who, while not involved with a crime, benefit by getting property as a result of some form of criminal activity. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan opposes the bills, saying the legislation expands the ability of government to force people to forfeit property without clearly written rules for doing so. Rep. Klint Kesto, R-Commerce Township, sponsored...