Free Republic

Obama said that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court "is transparent." We don’t doubt that there are good reasons for secrecy at the court, but if you’re going to operate a mostly secret court, you also don’t get to crow about how "transparent" it is. The president can’t have his cake and eat it, too. We rate his claim Pants on Fire.

Vanity, looking for opinions.

Title speaks for itself. This is a pill, you take 2 each day, 60 pills per month, 55K per year, i.e. about $75 per pill (and we wonder why insurance is going up.) It's ridiculous.

Black people, politicians in particular, avoid discussing the problems at the heart of Hadiya Pendleton's death, the heavy toll of black-on-black violence and the moral decay that keeps us trapped.... Empathy and social capital are absent from too many of today's black communities nationwide. In places like Chicago's South Side — where violent teenage gangs have replaced the traditional family — empathy is seen as a weakness and social capital is seen as that warm-and-fuzzy stuff that whites and black traitors practice. Many African-Americans blame urban poverty for this crisis. But poverty does not explain away the lack of a...

Since 2007, distressed homeowners have dodged massive bills due to a tax-time saving grace: The debts they were "forgiven" in foreclosures, short sales or principal reductions were also scrubbed from their dues to Uncle Sam. But that tax break is set to expire Dec. 31, and with it more than $1 billion in tax savings to homeowners in trouble. Foreclosed? You'll pay taxes on the money you owed the bank. Close on a "short sale" for less than you owed on your mortgage? You'll still owe part of it to the IRS. Even homeowners whose loan principals are trimmed would...

Changes are in store for the victorious administration. The election past, three members of Obama's Cabinet have announced plans to leave their posts: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Other changes would not be unusual in the second administration of any president.

The remains of Army Spc. Brittany B. Gordon, the daughter of St. Petersburg assistant police chief Cedric Gordon, arrived early Monday at Dover Air Force Base. Brittany Gordon, 24, is believed to be the first female soldier from the Tampa Bay area killed in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her family was notified of her death Saturday. Details of her death have not been released by the military.