Free Republic

The Supreme Court upheld Obamacare. A close read of the actual language reveals that the individual "mandate" applies to any "applicable individual" which is defined as anyone other than...(a) certain religious exemptions, (b) people in jail (they already get free healthcare), or (c) read carefully.... "(3) INDIVIDUALS NOT LAWFULLY PRESENT. Such term shall not include an individual for any month if for the month the individual is not a citizen or national of the United States or an alien lawfully present in the United States." SEE: 26 USC 5000A(d)(3) Meanwhile, Obama just ruled by executive edict that immigration laws would...

I wish I had thought of this sooner. But you know, we all ought to start calling Obamacare by a new name, the "Barack Obama Health Insurance Commerce Act". BOHICA. I guess Sarah Palin won't be losing any sleep over this, what with her "Death Panels" tweet and all. Still, every little bit helps.

The European Union and the United States are giving serious thought to starting talks on a free trade agreement covering all business sectors, including agriculture, a traditional source of friction between the two sides, a top US trade official said. "A comprehensive agreement is obviously an important option to consider. It's one that we're taking a very close look at," Deputy US Trade Representative Miriam Sapiro told Reuters. The United States and the 27 countries of the European Union already have the largest economic relationship in the world. Two-way trade was about €490 billion in 2011 and investment by US...

As pressure on the eurozone eases, Europe and the United States are becoming increasingly convinced that they need to strengthen their partnership in order to maintain a leading competitive edge in the global economy. “The old boys need to say clearly that they are still in business,” said EU Ambassador to Washington João Vale de Almeida, speaking at an event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmCham EU). The state of the transatlantic economy has suffered the blow of the euro crisis but remains the largest and wealthiest in the world, with over 50% of world...

......Deference to leaders who do not necessarily share your background or agree with you on everything is in the fiber of representative government. It is enshrined in the Constitution. In fact, there probably never would have been a Constitution if the Americans of 1787 hadn't been willing to defer to the "assembly of demigods" (as Jefferson described them) that convened in Philadelphia, closed the doors to the press, sealed the windows to eavesdroppers, and privately debated the future of the nation. ....What the Tea Party needs to do is look for allies. There are other people in the country who...

CONROE, Texas -- A Houston area law enforcement agency is prepared to launch an unmanned drone that could someday carry weapons, Local 2 Investigates reported Friday. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office in Conroe paid $300,000 in federal homeland security grant money and Friday it received the ShadowHawk unmanned helicopter made by Vanguard Defense Industries of Spring. A laptop computer is used to control the 50-pound unmanned chopper, and a game-like console is used to aim and zoom a powerful camera and infrared heat-seeking device mounted on the front. "To be in on the ground floor of this is pretty exciting...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. hospital and drug industries lashed out at provisions of President Barack Obama's deficit reduction plan that would saddle them with more than $200 billion in federal healthcare spending cuts. Lobbyists vowed to fight proposals for Medicare, which covers the elderly, that are aimed at saving $135 billion on prescriptions by requiring drugmakers to provide steeper rebates similar to those for Medicaid, which covers the poor.

The Obama administration is considering further actions to strengthen the housing market, but the bar is high: plans must help a broad swath of homeowners, stimulate the economy and cost next to nothing. One proposal would allow millions of homeowners with government-backed mortgages to refinance them at today’s lower interest rates, about 4 percent, according to two people briefed on the administration’s discussions who asked not to be identified because they were not allowed to talk about the information. A wave of refinancing could be a strong stimulus to the economy, because it would lower consumers’ mortgage bills right away...

<p>The US Federal Reserve’s meeting on Tuesday is likely to be one of its most difficult and divisive since, well, last August.</p> <p>Sharply weaker economic data in recent weeks, a new peak in the eurozone debt crisis, and a downgrade to the triple A credit rating of the US have shaken confidence in a way that could spiral towards a new recession. The Fed will be forced to consider fresh stimulus in response.</p>

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja would like weapons to disappear from private homes, reports Social Democratic newspaper Uutispäivä Demari. Tuomioja says there is no need to keep weapons at home, adding that weapons obtained for hobby purposes, like hunting and shooting, can be stored on the premises of monitored clubs. He notes that such hobbies do not require automatic weapons or repeating firearms. According to the minister, the gun law reform that came into force in June was a step in the right direction, but there is still a way to go.

<p>The leader of a large group of House conservatives said Tuesday he was "confident" there weren't enough GOP lawmakers to pass a plan by Republican House Speaker John Boehner to increase the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit.</p> <p>Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), who said the Boehner plan didn't cut spending enough, heads a group that includes 178 of the 240 Republican House lawmakers.</p>

As federal criminal statutes have ballooned, it has become increasingly easy for Americans to end up on the wrong side of the law. Many of the new federal laws also set a lower bar for conviction than in the past: Prosecutors don't necessarily need to show that the defendant had criminal intent.

Double Red Alert Posted by Ann Barnhardt - June 24, AD 2011 9:01 AM MST Two HUGE intel leads in my email box this morning from way-back contacts that I've had for years, that are actually somewhat connected concepts. 1. File this one under "Now It All Makes Sense". A Missouri farming and ranching contact just got off a conference call wherein he was informed that the federal government is sending out letters to all of the flooded out farmers in the Missouri River flood plain and bottoms notifying them that the Army Corps of Engineers will offer to BUY...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The outlines of a deal that would allow the United States to avert a debt default emerged on Thursday as top Republican and Democratic lawmakers held their first meeting aimed at cutting the bloated U.S. deficit. Republicans edged toward a White House plan that would cut some spending now and set long-term deficit reduction targets, but said more difficult decisions on taxes and healthcare spending would have to wait until after the 2012 election. A top Republican lawmaker, Paul Ryan, said there would be no immediate "grand slam" agreement on tackling the budget deficit, expected to reach...

On top of everything else, some potentially troublesome environmental news out of the Gulf of Mexico again. The Times Picayune is reporting that the Coast Guard is investigating reports of a brand new deepwater oil spill. Multiple callers have reported that they have seen a huge sheen of oil not far from a deepwater rig....

Arizona Sen. John McCain and his Republican colleagues have long said they will only join Democrats on a comprehensive immigration reform deal if and when the southwest border is secured. Now McCain says he wants to develop a mutually-agreeable set of benchmarks with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for what level of security is sufficient and how to determine when that goal has been met. “We have to agree on certain criteria on what is successful securing of our border,” McCain said today during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing. “I think it would be very helpful to all of...

First Lady Michelle Obama called on the Latino community to put pressure on Republicans to support comprehensive immigration legislation. In an interview with Univision, the first lady said President Obama wanted to pass immigration legislation, but could not find enough support among Republicans to move a bill. The DREAM Act, a bill to give undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children and are pursuing higher education an opportunity to become U.S. citizens, had little support among Republicans, she said. The latest attempt to pass the legislation failed in December. “So I urge the Latino community, he needs help,...

Developing: Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot along with three of her aides by a gunman Saturday morning outside a grocery store in Tucson while holding a public event, Fox News has confirmed. Twelve others were shot as well at Giffords' first public event called "Your Corner." The gunman is in custody. Giffords was taken to a hospital but the condition of those shot was not immediately known, a senior congressional aide told Fox News.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and six others died after a gunman opened fire at a public event on Saturday, the Pima County, Ariz., sheriff's office confirms. The 40-year-old Democrat, who was re-elected to her third term in November, was hosting a "Congress on Your Corner" event at a Safeway in northwest Tucson when a gunman ran up and started shooting, according to Peter Michaels, news director of Arizona Public Media. At least three other people, including members of her staff, were injured. Giffords was transported to University Medical Center in Tucson. Her condition was not immediately known. Giffords was talking to...

Sacramento -- As California faces a budget deficit that could top $28 billion over the next 18 months, Gov. Jerry Brown and other state leaders are poised to shift the responsibility for providing some services from the state to counties and cities. In one of his first meetings as governor, Brown spoke with county leaders Tuesday about significantly restructuring government. He also attempted to allay the fears of some local officials that the state could pass off duties without providing sufficient means to pay for them."We're going to shift funding to the local level, we're going to make sure there's...