Free Republic

I have had these friends for years...they are retired state workers, currently employed teachers, and people who work for universities. I enjoy their company (so long as we stay away from politics) and do stuff together. BUT...they really piss me off...why? Because they chose their job pathway to security and very circumscribed work hours. No overtime. No weekends. Yet...YET...they constantly bitch about people with wealth who have worked for it. Took a chance, and achieve success.

College tuition seems to be going in only one direction: Up. And as grants and financial aid aren’t going as far as they used to, students and parents are having to borrow more to go to college. I wrote about spending per degree for today’s paper, and quoted Kevin Carey, the director of the education-policy program at the New America Foundation, a nonprofit in Washington D.C. that analyzes public policy. He argues that Americans go to college because the “have to,” and after graduation “start moving forward through life attached to a financial ball and chain.” In his opinion, the...

Whole-genome analysis helps identify source of MRSA outbreak on infant ward. A superbug outbreak that plagued a special-care neonatal unit in Cambridge, UK, for several months last year was brought to an end by insights gained from genome sequencing. The case, reported today in Lancet Infectious Disease, marks the first time that scientists have sequenced pathogen genomes to actively control an ongoing outbreak1. Sharon Peacock, a clinical microbiologist at the University of Cambridge, and her team became involved in the outbreak after three infants at nearby Rosie Hospital’s 24-cot special-care baby unit tested positive for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) within...

Hedge fund manager Kyle Bass was on Bloomberg’s Market Makers with Stephanie Ruhle talking about his bearish views on the E.U. and the status of the currency union as a whole. He said that the E.U. is “three times more levered” than the U.S. and that the entire system is “on life support.” He believes that the there's a small window of short-term investment opportunities in the E.U. that are akin to "picking up a dime before a bulldozer." Bass also echoed the popular opinion that Greece needs to leave the E.U. if it is ever going to be competitive....

Despite Gov. Rick Scott’s seven-hour waiting lines in Florida’s minority voting precincts, President Obama won the state’s 29 electoral votes, giving him a 332-206 victory and, more important, a clear mandate to lead America forward. Just two weeks ago, Republicans were told by Fox News’ resident genius Dick Morris the election was in the bag. So, what happened? David Frum may have the answer. “The problem with Republican leaders is that they’re cowards, not that they’re fundamentally mistaken,” said the conservative pundit and former George W. Bush speechwriter. “Republicans have been fleeced and exploited and lied to by a conservative...

Britain's highest court is to debate whether soldiers in battle are entitled to the right to life under human rights legislation. The Supreme Court will reportedly investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Private Phillip Hewett in Iraq in July 2005 and examine whether troops in war zones are covered by Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Private Hewett's mother Sue Smith has fought for justice since the 21-year-old was blown up with two colleagues from the Staffordshire Regiment in a roadside bomb attack on their armoured Snatch Land Rover. In October, the lower Court of Appeal...

Washington (CNN) -- Former CIA Director David Petraeus testified on Capitol Hill on Friday that the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was an act of terrorism committed by al Qaeda-linked militants. U.S. Rep. Peter King of New York, who spoke to reporters after the closed hearing, which lasted an hour and 20 minutes. The account Petraeus gave was different from the description the Obama administration gave on September 14, King said. Then, the attack was described as "spontaneous," the result of a protest against an anti-Muslim film that got out of control outside the compound. Petraeus was...

How Things Are going In England. A light-hearted parody of the famous song Combine Harvester, Brand New Leather Jacket.

Green Bay 6-3 @ Detroit 4-5 at 1:00 p.m. (Line: PACKERS BY 3.5) Packers LB Clay Matthews is out of the lineup this week with a hamstring injury. The Lions are the only team in the NFC North with a losing record, but they are 2-1 at home this season. ---RJ's Pick: Detroit by 2

I'm exploring a startup entrepreneurial, free-enterprise, Judeo-Christian advocacy group, a think tank of, by and for non-elites. If you have either a little time or a little money (or both) that you can dedicate to a strictly right-wing think tank, you may be interested. Some are no doubt familiar with my focus on NGOs (non-governmental organizations), the most infamous of which being the Soros network. While many are leftist, there are also those that purport to be right-wing, though most often they are heavily influenced by big business and academia - and virtually not at all by real-world small business...

LONDON (AP) — Fantastic fibbers vied at a remote pub in northwestern England on Thursday for the title of world's biggest liar. Judges were deliberating into the night after two hours of competition at the Bridge Inn in the Lake District hamlet of Santon Bridge. Contestants had five minutes to impress the judges with a whopping but convincing lie. Last year's winner was nuclear power plant worker Glen Boyland, for an improbable story about racing snails with Prince Charles.

COLUMBUS, November 16, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The “War on Women” rhetoric received a new twist this week when Ohio State Senator Nina Turner showed up to a Planned Parenthood press conference wearing a t-shirt declaring that GOP stands for “get out of my panties.” GOP, the other name for the Republican Party, is an acronym for “Grand Old Party.” The press conference was called in response to renewed efforts to defund Planned Parenthood in the state, as well as to pass the “Heartbeat Bill,” which would ban abortion after the point when the unborn baby’s heartbeat is detectable. Earlier this...

I am work yesterday and my co-worker tells me that Obama will win a third term and possibly a fourth. Naturally I tell her that would be unconstitutional. She says... I mean that Michelle Obama will run and of course that means Barry is still at the wheel. I pondered for a while and said, well if she does run she probably would be a shoe in.

The colossal devastation and loss of life wrought by Hurricane Sandy makes the storm one of the greatest disasters in U.S. history. The storm and its aftermath have rightfully dominated the weather headlines this year, and Sandy will undoubtedly be remembered as the most notable global weather event of 2012. But shockingly, Sandy is probably not even the deadliest or most expensive weather disaster this year in the United States--Sandy's damages of perhaps $50 billion will likely be overshadowed by the huge costs of the great drought of 2012. While it will be several months before the costs of America's...

Quotes By Will Rogers Return to the Quotes Index Will Rogers on Taxes Income Tax Sales Tax Inheritance Tax (DT = Daily Telegram; WA= Weekly Article) "The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has." WA #17, April 8, 1923 (also WA #99, Nov. 2, 1924) "There is some talk of lowering (the income tax), and they will have to. People are not making enough to pay it." WA #17, April 8, 1923 "Our financial ills will never be settled till you fix it so every man will pay an income tax on what...

The pitch Talk about a rare bird. When it comes to setting the Thanksgiving table, the folks at Ayrshire Farm ( Web site ) in Upperville, Va., suggest that no meal is complete without one of their 20 lb.-and-up mail-order turkeys — for $335 (shipping included). Of course, it’s not just any gobbler, but a “heritage” bird — meaning a breed that goes back before the age of mass-market turkeys on commercial farms. And on top of that, it’s organic and raised to the exacting Certified Humane standards, which guarantees that animals have “shelter, resting areas, sufficient space and the...

ST. LUCIE COUNTY -- Attorneys for Allen West said late Thursday they had discovered possible discrepancies after a review of early and absentee ballot information. Nearly 1,000 votes may be in question, according to Tim Edson, Allen West for Congress campaign manager. In a letter to Secretary of State Ken Detzner, attorneys said 110 early votes were cast in a precinct that didn't have enough early voters to support the number of votes cast. Four hundred eighty-eight people cast early votes in precinct 28, they said, but election returns showed 499 early votes were counted. Attorneys also raised concerns about...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

We stand with Israel and Netanyahu's strength that he wisely uses to protect his country. May he have the wisdom of Solomon as Israel's leadership moves forward. You can keep track of the developments by following @IDFSpokesperson on Twitter.

Herein, we share with to you three differing positions on Spam: those of the convenience fan, the scripture fan, and the health fan. A LDS food storage list or your emergency essentials should contain edible ingredients that will keep for extremely long periods of time without refrigeration. Additionally, a LDS food storage should similarly provide a healthy diet, need no preparation, and have substantial calories.