Free Republic

All over the country, people are worried about how Obamacare will affect the cost and quality of their health coverage. Members of Congress and their staffs were especially panicked, because it appeared that the Affordable Care Act required them to purchase coverage on the law’s new insurance exchanges, but without the generous subsidy they receive for their current coverage. Capitol Hill collectively exhaled yesterday, when it came out that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management would allow members and their staffs to keep their insurance subsidies. Obama gets personally involved According to John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman of Politico, President...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog Here are 226 examples of Barack Obama’s lying, lawbreaking, corruption, cronyism, etc. In the 2008 United States election, I wrote in Ron Paul for President. In the 2012 election, I voted for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson. Those who are of a more leftist persuasion than myself might want to consider voting for the Green Party in future elections. Some of the things on this list are major events that should scare the daylights out of any true liberal who cares about civil liberties.Other things on this list are medium things that some Obama supporters may...

The Obama Administration will hire tens of thousands of health care professionals, union workers and community activists as “navigators” to help Americans choose Obamacare options. The “navigators” will be paid $20 to $48 per hour plus benefits. The Washington Examiner reported, via I Own the World: Tens of thousands of health care professionals, union workers and community activists hired as “navigators” to help Americans choose Obamacare options starting Oct. 1 could earn $20 an hour or more, according to new regulations issued Wednesday. The 63-page rule covering navigators, drawn up by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, also said...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The founder of bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra will likely avoid criminal charges even if charges are brought against other former executives of the company, according to several people familiar with the investigation. Christian Gronet founded the company in 2005 and was its chief executive until 2010. Solyndra filed for bankruptcy protection in 2011 after receiving $528 million in federal loans. Its demise triggered a criminal probe into what Solyndra told federal authorities during the loan application process, along with intense criticism from Republican lawmakers who opposed the Obama Administration's efforts to support the green energy...

A new bill that would rename and expand formerly failed economic development programs has passed the Michigan Senate nearly unanimously and now moves on to the House of Representatives. Sponsored by Sen. Virgil Smith, D-Detroit, Senate Bill 271, would "increase maximum amount of state 'community revitalization' grants (formerly 'brownfield' and 'historic preservation' tax credits) that can be awarded to a particular developer, corporation or other special interest from $1 million to $2.5 million; allow four annual loans of up to $20 million each to particular interests for this purpose; and in general, remove various statutory prescriptions and restrictions on how...

Wow! Governor Palin just posted the following on Facebook, along with a link to the article over at Breitbart that we posted last night:Please take a look at the article linked below to understand how the amnesty bill the Senate passed yesterday is a sad betrayal of working class Americans of every ethnicity who will see their wages lowered and their upward mobility lowered too. And yet we still do not have a secured border. This Senate-approved amnesty bill rewards lawbreakers and won’t solve any problems – as the CBO report notes that millions of more illegal immigrants will continue...

During a Friday floor speech, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said the Corker-Hoeven border security amendment would be a boon to the corporate interests who are quietly backing the immigration reform bill. Leahy, who says he will begrudgingly support the Corker-Hoeven immigration amendment offered by the so-called “Gang of Two”—Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and John Hoeven (R-ND)—says it “reads like a Christmas wish list for Halliburton.” Leahy said the Corker-Hoeven amendment, touted as a "surge" to border security, amounts to a crony capitalist giveaway to the many big money interests quietly backing immigration reform. “I am sure there are...

On Monday, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh exposed the Republican politicians, donors, and consultants in the permanent political class that want the immigration bill to pass so they can benefit at the expense of American workers. He said "big money" has trumped politics and principles in the push for "amnesty." "I think a number of elected Republicans are taking a look at their donors, and are listening to their consultants, and they are seeing that people that are donating big amounts of money to them want amnesty," Limbaugh said on his show on Monday.

I attended a conference in New York City on Thursday regarding the future of housing finance. While all the proposals were interesting, I asked if this will mutate into another Obamacare debacle at 13,000 pages or the 1,000 page plus immigration bill. And I warned that government policies will assert themselves to control and manipulate whatever is decided, regardless of how ironclad one thinks it will be. As an example, I mention the recent story where millionaires wanting to buy a home on Martha’s Vineyard are eligible for a zero percentage down payment mortgage from the USDA! The US Department...

Legislation is being drafted in the Michigan House that includes an attempt to bring more transparency to the Michigan Economic Development Corp. The development corporation is a quasi-governmental and private entity that is supposed to spur economic activity and promote the state of Michigan. Although the amount of funds the MEDC spends annually has been significantly reduced under Gov. Rick Snyder, it continues to have access to millions of taxpayer dollars. The MEDC has a history of investing tax dollars in companies that do not live up their job promises and in industries that survive largely because of government funding....

America is only four months into the second term of Barack Obama and already one of its most promising industries is suffering from a pair of grossly obtuse government agencies who have banded together to aid a foreign state-owned company at the expense of domestic firms. It all begins and ends with Etihad Airways, the government-owned flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates that has enjoyed uncommonly generous subsidies and courtesies from the U.S. government. The Department of Homeland Security announced earlier this year it had designs on establishing a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pre-clearance facility at Abu Dhabi...

Is your business involved in manufacturing, research and development, clean or renewable energy, generating electricity, or nuclear power? Did it open after January 1, 2002? Is it creating jobs that provide health care benefits conforming to the requirements laid out in Obamacare? Congratulations; under Texas House Bill 3390, your company may qualify for a break on its school district taxes. For everyone else, bad news; the albatross that is Obamacare still hangs around your neck. The new legislation, just placed on the House agenda Thursday, decries the difficulty our state’s high property taxes create for attracting capital-intensive industries like manufacturing....

Those who dare to step out and report on well-heeled and well-connected Washington insiders like liberal Democrat Terry McAuliffe, the founder and former chairman of GreenTech, find themselves the victims of smear campaigns and lawsuits...

Out of the entire universe of those who could have won the first phase construction contract for California’s high speed rail boondoggle, who would stand out as the last person who would win it if there were no political patronage. Put another way, who is the most likely person to win it if there is political patronage? Both questions have the same answer: Richard Blum, the husband of California senator Diane Feinstein. So, who won the contract? Blum, of course, as the principle owner of Tutor Perini, the lead firm in the three-firm consortium selected by the California High Speed...

Dirty Business as Usual at California High Speed Rail From the article: Out of the entire universe of those who could have won the first phase construction contract for California’s high speed rail boondoggle, who would stand out as the last person who would win it if there were no political patronage. Put another way, who is the most likely person to win it if there is political patronage? Both questions have the same answer: Richard Blum, the husband of California senator Diane Feinstein. So, who won the contract? Blum, of course, as the principle owner of Tutor Perini, the...

According to the study, the current food stamp Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card industry is dominated by three main players: J.P. Morgan Electronic Financial Services, Affiliated Computer Services, and eFunds. Together they collect money from 49 states and three territories. In fact, since 2004, 18 of 24 states that contract with J.P. Morgan have paid more than $560 million to the financial monolith.

Since last weekend, Mr and Mrs Regular Citizen have been denied the access people used to be granted to tour the White House, purportedly because of the clampdown on federal spending since the "sequester" that imposed cuts across the board. And their cancellation is an austerity measure that saves a pittance, while more frivolous taxpayer funding for items like the White House dog walker continues. Meanwhile, noble Americans can buy time with the president for a suggested donation of $500,000 to his new campaign group, Organising for Action.

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Terry McAuliffe has touted his business expertise as a qualification for office despite criticisms that he has opened plants outside of the Old Dominion and relied on cronyism to fuel his success in the private sector. Speaking at a Saturday gathering of Arlington County, Va., Democrats, McAuliffe recounted a long business career, starting at age 14 when he wheeled buckets of tar around Syracuse, N.Y., filling potholes.McAuliffe told the crowd he would put in place policies to spur employment. “We want our five children to stay in Virginia,” which requires a strong job market, he said.“Other...

A health insurance company headed by an old friend from Obama's days as a community organizer got a $340 million federal loan to establish Obamacare co-ops in New York, New Jersey and Oregon despite having a chronic record of consumer and regulatory complaints. The New York-based Freelancers Insurance Company has been rated the "worst" insurer for two straight years by state regulators, and data compiled by a national insurance association show an extremely high rate of consumer complaints. The firm was founded in 2008 by Sara Horowitz, who worked with Obama before his career in elective politics to launch Demos,...

<p>Obama — ticked off by Rice’s treatment and still emboldened by his convincing victory over Mitt Romney — courted confrontation when he tapped Hagel.</p> <p>If true, this is outlandish. The president would imperil national security out of spite? .........</p>