Free Republic

Part I: What it IsObamacare's enrollment fiasco has provided endless opportunities for pointless blather from the unwashed masses of the American "right." Talkshow celebrities and the delicate young men who blog for magazine websites cannot contain their outrage. One of them yesterday, the editor of an actual print magazine of moderately large circulation, trumpeted his revelations to the world. The President has lied to us! The more prudent John Boehner, who unlike the pundits and columnists, has a job involving political responsibility, was content with suggesting merely that the President had misled us.The great misleaders, alas, are the political leaders...

The pope is selling his hog. The National Catholic Register reports that Pope Francis is selling his Harley-Davidson motorcycle to raise money to help the homeless in Rome. “It is a precious gift that has once again made us happy in feeling the closeness of our bishop to the poor of the Church of Rome,” Monsignor Enrico Feroci, director of Caritas Rome, said. “We are deeply grateful to Pope Francis for this.” According to The Associated Press, Harley gave Francis two classic white Harleys for the Vatican police force in June when the manufacturer and tens of thousands of Harley...

To those people paying only casual attention, the Occupy movement has become nothing more than a footnote in history. Their ragtag encampments have been removed for the most part, and there is little to indicate they made much of an impact. In Madison, Wisconsin, however, the Occupy movement has suddenly resurfaced, but with a totally new mission: addressing the basic needs of people who are homeless. As issues around collective bargaining rights for public employees and other significant alterations to the social contract were initiated by Governor Walker and the Republican-dominated legislature, Madison became famous for very loud and angry...

“They gave me an opportunity … to become a man.” That’s what a man of color, choked up, says from inside the business he owns on a video produced for the recent 30th anniversary of Step 13 in Denver. And that’s why Step 13’s founder, Bob Coté, who gave this man that opportunity, despised the welfare state and declared in big letters on the front of his homeless shelter's building that his philosophy was "A hand up, not a hand out." ... Colorado developer and philanthropist Steve Schuck is a long-time board member because he is convinced of the truth...

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks as he lends a hand during a visit to Martha's Table, a kitchen that provides meals for the needy, in Washington October 14, 2013. With Obama are furloughed workers Dolly Garcia (L) who works at the U.S. Census Bureau and Chantelle Britton who works at Health and Human Services. Obama said on Monday it appears there has been progress in Senate fiscal impasse negotiations but that there is a good chance the United States will default on its debts if Republicans are unwilling to set aside some partisan concerns. Where's HIS hair net? Why is...

McAuliffe to donate funds from convicted Rhode Island businessman to charity Terry McAuliffe's name popped up today on a list of investors who bought annuities from a Rhode Island businessman who pleaded guilty in 2012 to stealing the identities of terminally ill patients. The convicted businessman, Joseph Caramadre, was also a donor to McAuliffe's failed 2009 bid for the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia. Caramadre donated more than $26 thousand to McAuliffe and hosted a fundraiser for the candidate. Caramadre(Court sketch of Caramadre courtesy of WJAR) According to our NBC affiliate in Providence WJAR, there is no evidence that...

BDAtlanta wrote: Then maybe try to repeal it through a majority vote which is obtained through elections. Sorry you are such babies about this. Obamacare is the law, upheld by the Supreme court. last year's election solidified its standing with the majority (51%) of Americans backing the guy who was President when Obamacare was passed. Grow up. - Obamacare is Killing Us Dear Comrade BD, Yes, we are in the process of attempting to repeal it through a majority vote. That’s what elections are about. That’s what next year’s elections will be about for sure. Thanks for pointing that progressives...

Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul have become the two most important voices in DC politics. They worked together during Rand’s filibuster earlier this year and during Ted’s filibuster this last week. But the most important thing we’ve seen is personal responsibility and good character from them both. Rand Paul gave $600,000 BACK to the federal government from his office. He’s in it to cut spending in any manner possible, even his own office’s budget. And now, Sen. Ted Cruz has made a similar announcement, saying that he will donate his salary to charity for every day the government...

Carol and Willie Fowler had a lavish wedding reception planned for their daughter, Tamara. Or, they did until the nuptials were called off earlier this month with a mere 40 days to spare. Instead of letting the four-course meal planned for September 15 at an upscale Atlanta restaurant go to waste, the Fowlers called a local charity and asked if they could donate the food to a local charity.

Pope Francis urged members of religious orders on Tuesday to use empty convents and other structures to house refugees fleeing war and hardship, not as hotels. The pope spoke during a visit to refugees at a Jesuit-run center in Rome's historic center. Francis urged members of religious orders to welcome refugees "in the empty houses and convents. Dear religious men and women, the church does not need the empty convents to be turned into hotels to earn money....

Father Gary still needs your help. His car has broken down and it will cost him over $1000 to fix it. His Social Security check and small retirement pension only cover his basic living expenses. His health no longer permits him to work as a supply priest at the local parish, so he has no other income. A kindly neighbor must use his vehicle to drive him to the doctors and for his necessities. He has no other form of transportation to assist him. His diocese cannot afford to give him the funds he needs for his car repairs, so...

What would you do if a police officer threatened to arrest you for trying to share a sandwich with a desperately hungry homeless woman that really needed it? Such a notion sounds absolutely bizarre, but this is actually happening in major cities all over the United States. More than 50 large U.S. cities have adopted "anti-camping" or "anti-food sharing" laws in recent years, and in many of these cities the police are strictly enforcing these laws. Sometimes the goal appears to be to get the homeless people to go away. Apparently the heartless politicians that are passing these laws...

The assault on America’s churches has begun, with commentators like Dylan Matthews of the Washington Post and Matthew Yglesias of Slate calling on the government to tax churches. “Whichever faith you think is the one true faith, it’s undeniable that the majority of this church-spending is going to support false doctrines,” Yglesias wrote on Thursday. He added, “upgrading a church’s physical plant doesn’t enhance the soul-saving capacity of its clergy.” This is part of the new assault on religion in America that has seen its apex in the New Mexico Supreme Court decision to force religious photographers to cover same-sex...

Is the New York Times being guest edited by Rush Limbaugh? Today it runs with a fascinating takedown of the Clinton Foundation – that vast vanity project that conservatives are wary of criticising for being seen to attack a body that tries to do good. But the liberal NYT has no such scruples. The killer quote is this: "For all of its successes, the Clinton Foundation had become a sprawling concern, supervised by a rotating board of old Clinton hands, vulnerable to distraction and threatened by conflicts of interest. It ran multimillion-dollar deficits for several years, despite vast amounts of...

You are a homeless person. You are sick and you know it is bad. You stagger into the ER of St. Ipsidipsy Catholic Hospital in Tall Tree Circle. You have no insurance, health coverage, or money. You are seen by a doctor and treated.The Obama Administration then punishes the hospital for treating you, a person without government-approved obligatory Obamacare.From the Daily Caller: Obamacare installs new scrutiny, fines for charitable hospitals that treat uninsured peopleCharitable hospitals that treat uninsured Americans will be subjected to new levels of scrutiny of their nonprofit status and could face sizable new fines under Obamacare. A...

SAN ANTONIO --The talk of the Knights of Columbus convention here, which I attended as an invited speaker, were missionaries from the Philippines. The Marikina Valley Council in Luzon traveled by foot for an hour and a half, each way, to establish a relationship with an indigenous Dumagat tribe living in the remote mountains despite the physical and language challenges. Severo S. Del Rosario doesn't really understand what the big deal is. They were just doing what good Christian men do: helping, sharing their goods and skills and spreading their faith. Offerings of food and clothes -- the men and...

The handwritten apology from burglars who returned their stolen loot after they discovered they had robbed a charity. In a gesture police in San Bernardino, Calif., say they have never witnessed before, a group of remorseful burglars who plundered an area nonprofit of their computers and other valuables returned the loot with an apology when they learned it was dedicated to helping victims of sexual violence."We had no idea what we were takeing (sic). Here your stuff back. We hope that you guys can continue to make a difference in peoples (sic) lives God Bless," said the burglars in a...

GRAND RAPIDS — The ban on recycling bins on private property here appears to be the work of a handful of individuals, including an employee from a thrift shop that benefits from the ban, according to documents obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request. Using the FOIA law, Michigan Capitol Confidential requested emails, written correspondence and phone logs of all recycling bin complaints in the city of Grand Rapids over the past year. In compliance with the FOIA request, a city attorney said he spent 15 hours sifting through more than 20,000 thousand emails. The search revealed that two...

When I’m in Europe giving speeches and participating in conferences, it’s quite common that folks on the left will attempt to discredit my views by asserting that Americans are selfish and greedy.Since I’m generally sympathetic to Ayn Rand’s writings, I don’t see anything wrong with people striving to make themselves better off. Moreover, Adam Smith noted back in 1776 that the desire to earn more money leads other people to make our lives better. One of his most famous observations is that, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their...

When billionaire Warren Buffett pledged to give away 85 per cent of his fortune in 2006, as part of a Giving Pledge where some of the country's wealthiest people would do more to help charity, he was applauded. But, seven years on, his son Peter warns that just throwing funds at problems in society such as poverty and ill health can prevent a more permanent solution from being found. In an opinion piece in the New York Times, the composer and chairman of the NoVo Foundation warned that a donor's desire to 'save the day' could have 'unintended consequences. Mr...