Free Republic

Breaking news from the US – h/t Watts Up With That? – where a leaked draft of the IPCC's latest report AR5 admits what some of us have suspected for a very long time: that the case for man-made global warming is looking weaker by the day and that the sun plays a much more significant role in "climate change" than the scientific "consensus" has previously been prepared to concede. [...] The admission of strong evidence for enhanced solar forcing changes everything. The climate alarmists can’t continue to claim that warming was almost entirely due to human activity over a...

It may be time to take the tax hit and withdraw funds from private retirement accounts before they are forced into long term T-bonds. The Obama administration is reportedly quickly moving on plans to nationalize private 401k and IRA retirement accounts, and replace them with government sponsored annuities(aka Treasury bonds that the Treasury currently can’t sell to anyone but the Fed). National Seniors Council Director Robert Crone warns: “This whole issue is moving forward very quickly. Already there is a bill requiring all businesses to automatically enroll their employees in IRA plans in which part of every employee’s paycheck would...

Earlier this month, European Union regulators informed Google that they’re unhappy with Google’s new privacy policy and that it will need to make changes to better protect the privacy of its users. The concern arises over how Google is collecting users' data and what they’re doing with it, and in turn how they’re informing their users on how they’re collecting and what they’re using it for. The EU would like clearer language, in a more understandable less legalese format, so that the average user can clearly understand what’s taking place when the use Google products.This all comes about because of...

For those interested, you can watch the live stream of the Romney / Ryan Red Rocks rally.

Security experts are cautioning computer users that they could be targeted by a malicious SOPA “ransomware” virus that rekindles the witch-hunt targeting information sharing introduced last year by congressional lawmakers. Hackers have brought the failed Stop Online Piracy Act back to center stage, this time by distributing a virus that demands the owners of infected computers pay a $200 fine for sharing copyrighted files, lest they want their hard drives destroyed.

On September 15, 2012, the Saudi daily Al-Shuroukh published a document authored by Muhammad Al-Zawahiri, the brother of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, proposing a 10-year hudna to the U.S. the West. The document's publication followed Al-Zawahiri's presentation of the main points of the initiative in interviews with Western media. In the preface to the document, Al-Zawahiri put himself forward as mediator, and explains the need for the initiative, and the reasoning behind it. He presented himself as a member of what he referred to generally as "the Islamic movement," and noted that the initiative aims to serve the interests of...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Speakers at the Democratic National Convention portrayed President Barack Obama's presidency in glowing terms Tuesday evening, but sometimes left out important details or embellished his record. Others mischaracterized programs backed by Republican challenger Mitt Romney and GOP running mate Paul Ryan. Obama's landmark health care overhaul, which Republicans lacerated at their convention last week, and his job-creation performance were among the initiatives burnished the most.

Nickelodeon, the kids’ TV channel, apparently sees no problem with directing children to the Twitter feed of one of its voiceover stars, Jason Biggs – even if Biggs tweets reprehensible things about the anuses of conservative political women like Janna Ryan, wife of VP candidate Paul Ryan. It would be difficult to describe Biggs’ tweets as anything other than the worst sort of cyber bullying. But Nickelodeon doesn’t seem to care.

If Veronica became a citizen in September 2011, what was she doing donating to Colorado Democrats for the year preceding that? [...] A quick check of donation records in Colorado turns up at least four donations made before she was a legal citizen. Her voter registration is under the name Veronica Fleischer. When liberals put up someone to complain about Gessler's attempts to clean up the voter rolls, maybe they shouldn't push a person who has already violated election laws?

The records – which should have been produced months ago pursuant to a court order in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed on January 21, 2012 – include records from a “stack” of “overlooked” documents discovered by the CIA in July 2012. [...] “These new documents provide more backing to the serious charge that the Obama administration played fast and loose with national security information to help Hollywood filmmakers,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “No wonder we’ve had to fight one year of stonewalling from the administration. These new documents show there is no doubt that Obama...

Russell Nevins – I am Chief of Surgery at one of the largest hospitals in Las Vegas and lucky enough to be a small business owner. I am by no means independently wealthy, nor have any desire to pad a Swiss bank account on the back of anyone, even “the middle class”. The introduction is based on a letter I sent to Bill O’Reilly. This explains the purpose of this web site. I believe I can help Romney get elected. I call it the “Nevins Small Business Pledge”. I, as a small business owner, am pledging to create a new...

[bold added] Today, the University of Colorado released an analysis of “state-by-state factors leading to the Electoral College selection of every U.S. president since 1980” and found that these factors add up to a Romney victory in 2012 with an Obama loss in Colorado. When just the two major parties are considered, their analysis predicts that Romney will receive 51.9% of the vote compared to Obama’s predicted 48.1% nationally. According to the two political science professors Kenneth Bickers and Michael Berry, the “key is the economy”. The two explained their “prediction model”: “[The] prediction model stresses economic data from the...

A federal appeals court has ruled that part of Alabama's tough immigration law that ordered public schools to check the citizenship status of new students is unconstitutional. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the provision wrongly singles out children who are in the country illegally. Alabama was the only state that passed such a requirement. The 11th Circuit says a lower court should have blocked that part of the law. The court separately says Alabama police can continue checking immigration documents for people they stop. Both private groups and the Obama administration filed lawsuits to block the...

State lawmakers today kicked out a West Side Democrat accused of taking a $7,000 bribe, marking the first expulsion from the Illinois House since 1905. Rep. Derrick Smith failed to show up to defend himself or hear his fellow House lawmakers condemn his alleged actions before the 100-6 vote was taken. Three lawmakers voted present (see roll call here). [...] The disciplinary action against Smith required the votes of 79 members of the 118-member House. Smith was arrested March 13 by federal agents who alleged he used his office stationery to push for a $50,000 grant for a fictitious operator...