Free Republic

The House Oversight Committee wants to find out why the Park Service behaved so bizarrely. ... Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, a former prosecutor, almost drove National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis into incoherence with his relentless questioning. Gowdy wanted to know why Jarvis had allowed “pot-smoking” Occupy Wall Street protesters to camp overnight illegally in Washington’s McPherson Square park for 100 days, yet put up barricades to keep veterans out of war memorials on the first day of the shutdown. By not issuing a single citation to the Occupy campers, Gowdy argued, the Park Service was treating them...

The shortcomings of ObamaCare continue to seep into the light, putting the lie to virtually every claim made by Barack Hussein about his namesake “healthcare” scheme. But one part of the law remains as much a mystery now as when it was written. Section 1555 of the Affordable Care Act is quite short. It reads: “No individual, company, business, nonprofit entity, or health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall be required to participate in any Federal health insurance program created under this Act (or any amendments made by this Act), or in any Federal health insurance...

Recently, I wrote about “Stealth Socialism” in the US. That is a termed coined by Florida Democrat Alan Grayson. It refers to the Federal government takeover of the healthcare industry (Obamacare), the Treasury market (Fed manipulation), bailouts (GM, Chrysler, banks, etc), etc., etc. Remember, the architects of Obamacare, the Center for American Progress, estimate that Obamacare will create 4 million new jobs over the next ten years. And then there is another Stealth Socialism boondoggle for government cronies: green energy! First, the Obama Administration declared war on coal powered plants and is shutting down even more … even though the...

Carrick Mollenkamp had an interesting piece today called “Special Report: Pimco shook hands with the Fed – and made a killing.” In short, the fund-management firm, led by co-founder Bill Gross, started buying tens of billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by federally sponsored agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In the third quarter of 2011 alone, Pimco’s flagship Total Return Fund, the world’s largest mutual fund, doubled its holdings of these securities to $80 billion, according to a Reuters review of trading and other data. While Pimco was building its hoard, the Fed, in a surprise move...

Taxpayers are constantly told that film incentives are supposed to be a “temporary” subsidy to “plant and grow” an industry. But as Milton Friedman once observed, “Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.” In North Carolina, the legislature has cut the state incentive program, once among the most generous in the nation, down to zero starting in 2014. While debating the budget, the Motion Picture Association of America, sent a letter to the state that read: “[W]ithout an extension of the production incentive program, North Carolina will no longer be considered for major feature films.” The MPAA represents...

In 2003, the Hyundai Tech Center in Superior Township was approved for up to $22.2 million in state incentives with the claim 400 jobs would be created. Two years later, Hyundai Tech Center officials announced they were going to expand the facility and add 600 more jobs; the state offered $32.6 million more in incentives. However, only 124 jobs have come to fruition, according to company officials, far short of the projected 1,000 that were touted in the two deals with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Yet, despite only a fraction of the projected jobs becoming a reality at the...

Paul Krugman has an interesting piece in the New York Times entitled “Years of Tragic Waste.” I thought for a brief second that Krugman was going to mention the reckless waste by the Obama Administration on green energy initiatives like GM’s VOLT, Solyndra or Fisker. Or high speed rail fantasies. But no. Krugman is whining that Congress and the Administration didn’t waste even MORE money! Take the recent example of VPG. From AP: The Energy Department conceded Friday that the federal government will lose $42 million on a loan to a shuttered Michigan van manufacturer — part of the same...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A woman who embezzled $320,000 from a California state agency was later hired by the state's High-Speed Rail Authority — and she says nobody asked about her background. The Sacramento Bee (http://bit.ly/141r1Z6 ) says Carey Moore spent two years in prison after pleading no contest to grand theft in 2007. Prosecutors say she embezzled from the Department of Child Support Services. In 2011, Moore was hired by the High-Speed Rail Authority. Her job included making travel plans for officials. Her state job application didn't ask whether she'd been convicted of a crime and Moore says nobody...

The Federal Reserves zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) and quantitative easing has clearly had an effect on the market. The stock market to be more specific. spxfedfundstraget Manhattan dwellers with budgets that would buy mansions in most of America are discovering it’s tough to find even a two-bedroom apartment in New York as the inventory of homes shrinks. The number of available units for less than $3 million — those generally considered nonluxury — has plunged by the most on record, creating a shortage that’s unlikely to be alleviated any time soon as developers focus on ultra high-end condos that...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog Here are 239 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...

Loopholes in California and Colorado laws designed to keep criminals from hunting down cops and other public employees are being used by local officials and their extended family as a way to avoid paying thousands of dollars in traffic and parking fines. In Colorado, special license plates issued to 100 state lawmakers and representatives not only shield them from radar tickets for speeding, but also prevent collection notices on past-due parking tickets. That’s because the legislative plates in Colorado aren’t entered into the Division of Motor Vehicles database. If someone with a special license plate blows through the speed limit...

More than a thousand conservative lawmakers and business executives are gathering this week for conference that could shape a new wave of Republican legislation in state capitols pushing for deeper tax cuts, limits on union powers and a private-sector makeover for government Medicaid programs. Attendees at the American Legislative Exchange Council were countered Thursday by a roughly equal number of protesters upset by the close ties between big businesses and lawmakers. … The conservative organization’s 40th annual meeting comes as it is experiencing increased influence due to a growth in Republican-led legislatures and enhanced opposition from liberal-leaning groups that have...

House Republicans are facing heavy pressure from both sides of the immigration debate as they return to their home districts for August recess with no clear indication as to how they’ll vote on the issue. The decision to pass comprehensive immigration reform has essentially been in the hands of the Republican-controlled House since the Democrat-led Senate passed such a bill in June. House Republicans were under pressure before they even left their Capitol Hill offices to start the five-week recess, which is traditionally dedicated to face-to-face talks with hometown voters. The American Federation of Government Employees sent a letter...

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...