Free Republic

When Monti Price arrived for work at the Hope Center in Woodstock Wednesday morning, she was struck by what she did not see. “I noticed a big empty space in our parking lot where our trailer used to be,” she said. Inside that trailer, five brand new cribs intended for needy mothers like Angela, who earned them by attending parenting classes. Angela arrived at the ministry for pregnant women and new mothers on Thursday afternoon, hoping to pick up the crib for her three-month old son, David. “Just to find out this,” she said, shaking her head in sad surprise,...

Dr Wayne Dyer describes people as eagles and ducks. With a majority of Americans voting to give the undeserving Obama a second term, I felt like the odd-man-out voting against him. It occurred to me that I have a history of being odd-man-out, not in sync with the thinking of my family and friends. When I was in junior high school, my dad acknowledged my artistic talent and encouraged me to pursue a career in that field. Dad said, “You could be a great black artist someday.” While I appreciated Dad's support, I thought, “ Why can't I simply be...

<p>Hurricane Sandy brought out the worst yesterday in some sleazy New Yorkers, who looted stores and homes across the city.</p> <p>Some posed as Con Ed workers to dupe their victims.</p> <p>Police arrested more than a dozen looters in the Rockaways and Coney Island, which had been evacuated, and stood guard outside ravaged stores at the South Street Seaport. “This morning when they told us the water receded, I walked back to the house to feed [my pets],” said Eric Martine, 33, a cabby who lives in Brooklyn’s Gerritsen Beach. “Guys were looting, pretending they were Con Ed and holding people up. It was sick.” Residents said police warned them to beware of crooks pretending to be utility workers...</p>

It's all anecdotal at this point, but if crime reports following hurricanes Katrina and Irene are any indication, the East Coast is in for a crime wave, post-Sandy. No reports of looting or Hurricane Sandy-related crimes have been reported yet but that doesn't mean we won't see some soon. Following Hurricane Katrina, the most devastating hurricane in modern memory, New Orleans was besieged with reports of looting, rape, and murder, causing delayed troop deployments, delayed medical evacuations, and police department mutiny, The New York Times reported in 2005....(excerpt)

Putting Paul Ryan on the GOP ticket ensured that the presidential campaign would focus some attention on Medicare's fiscal challenges. But that debate barely touches the scope or depth of the entitlement challenges facing the U.S. economy. The fiscal cliff coming at the end of the year pales vs. the entitlement cliff forced on us by a multitude of entitlement programs that we can't afford. Most people think of entitlement programs as Social Security and Medicare for seniors, Medicaid and perhaps some other means-tested welfare programs. But there are many more: veteran benefits, unemployment, the children's health insurance program, disability...

Amanda Clayton made the news last fall for winning $1 million in Michigan’s ‘Make Me Rich’ lottery game. The reason she made the news was that even after winning the lottery she continued to receive public assistance. Now Clayton is back in the news after she was found dead this past weekend in a Detroit suburb. Clayton, 25, was at home with her daughter in Ecorse when she died of an apparent drug overdose. “Her daughter was right next to her sleeping. They were watching a movie together. She started crying, and that’s when Rachel walked in and she tried...

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney got into trouble this week for a leaked video of his remarks at a private fundraiser, where he indicted (and wrote off electorally) roughly half the country as government dependents subsisting on entitlements. The video prompted a hue and cry from media observers that Romney has (once again) blown the election. Their judgments are mitigated slightly by their multiple previous claims that Romney had already said something to blow the election. But the politics of Romney’s remarks may not be as bad as many in the media suggest. Here’s the portion of Romney’s statement that...

Mitt Sees the Emperor Without His Clothes. Will the Rest of America Listen? There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what ... there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing ... Mitt Romney In our relatively short 200+ year history, America has experienced a handful of watershed events. The Civil War was probably chief among them,...

Republicans and Democrats have been guilty of buying votes by promising FREE STUFF to potential voters according to the dictate of Karl Marx: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." This has led to a Polarized America. This polarization has increased as the number of those with ability has decreased and the number of those with needs has increased. Romney is correct that 47 % of voters pay no Personal Federal Income Tax. Romney is probably correct that these same 47 % will vote for Obama no matter what. The Liberal Agenda Media, (LAM), supports...

'I wouldn't do all this nonsense  if the government gave us more money' Hopenchange + Don King = this? There's clearly something wrong with 82-y.o. klepto/Angelino Doris Thompson: first off, she's got a 20-page criminal record dating back to the Eisenhower era, primarily due to the fact that nothing else seems to interest her nearly as much as stealing money. Alas -since she's not particularly clever- Thompson displays a consistent propensity to get caught. She also seems to be missing the guilt chromosome, and mistakenly believes -like so many other losers these days- that the world owes her a living. The...

(Just Asking) Is the entitlement class the oligarch and puppet master of an unsuspecting and diverse liberal plutocracy? Is the entitlement class the ultimate oligarch and puppet master of an unsuspecting and diverse liberal plutocracy manipulated into providing free cable TV, free money, cheap illegal drugs and politically connected corporately produced Scooby Snacks? Or does something else drive the entitled where they are going? Most economists say there is but one variable to the economic equation of the United States: the three letter word “jobs”. Without jobs we are without the gluttonous want that needs to be taxed to keep...

PENN HILLS, Pa. — Police said a 14-year-old stole a car on Sunday then led officers on a chase that ended in a crash on a Parkway East ramp. . . Channel 11's Dave Bondy spoke to the mother of the 14-year-old accused of stealing the car. She said what her son did was wrong, but the owner of the car made it too easy for her car to be stolen. "My son was wrong for taking that vehicle but someone jumped out of their car and a 14-year-old seen the opportunity to take the car. He didn't break the...

On the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk harbor, a coatless Mitt Romney named a tieless Paul Ryan as his vice presidential nominee. Romney's choice was not much of a surprise after he told NBC's Chuck Todd on Thursday that he wanted someone with a "vision for the country, that adds something to the political discourse about the direction of the country. I mean, I happen to believe this is a defining election for America, that we're going to be voting for what kind of America we're going to have." This arguably describes some of the others mentioned as possible nominees, but...

We, the liberals of the United States, clearly knowing what’s best for you, have declared that the following rights to be indisputable for a truly progressive and enlightened society. These rights shall be implemented immediately, without argument or qualification, to ensure that America will be a better place for US to live in. So, we present to you – Your Liberal Bill of Rights.

'I deserved it' Shocking it is that millions of handout-junkies could be so shameless, even contemptuous while sponging off you their whole sad life... alas, it seems they learned it from their 'progressive' masters- such as with Michelle Obama and her permanent vacation... Both then go to great lengths to defend each other's privilege and benefits while vilifying those who are forced to underwrite it all, perfect example being the recent case of disgraced Washington DC City Councilman Harry Thomas Jr., forced to resign in January when faced with federal charges for theft and filing of false tax returns- the first such resignation in DC Council...

A convenience store clerk who was fired recently for refusing to sell cigarettes to a customer trying to pay for them with state welfare benefits has been fired, but her story has gained traction in local and national media. According to press reports, Jackie Whiton was working at a C.N. Brown Big Apple convenience store recently when a man in his 20s attempted to purchase cigarettes using an electronic benefit transfer card, which is issued to families in New Hampshire and Maine who are on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF program. Whiton, a six-year employee of the...

More than one in seven Americans are on food stamps, but the federal government wants even more people to sign up for the safety net program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been running radio ads for the past four months encouraging those eligible to enroll. The campaign is targeted at the elderly, working poor, the unemployed and Hispanics. The department is spending between $2.5 million and $3 million on paid spots, and free public service announcements are also airing. The campaign can be heard in California, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, and the New York metro area. "Research...

We’d been hearing good things over the weekend about Wellesley High School English teacher David McCullough, Jr.’s faculty speech to the Class of 2012 last Friday. Here it is, in its entirety, courtesy of Mr. McCullough: Dr. Wong, Dr. Keough, Mrs. Novogroski, Ms. Curran, members of the board of education, family and friends of the graduates, ladies and gentlemen of the Wellesley High School class of 2012, for the privilege of speaking to you this afternoon, I am honored and grateful. Thank you. So here we are… commencement… life’s great forward-looking ceremony. (And don’t say, “What about weddings?” Weddings are...

......I've often thought that God has a particularly acerbic wit. After all, FriedrichNietzsche, who famously proclaimed God is Dead, badly wanted to be known as a famous writer. He was granted his wish -after he became too insane to enjoy his fame. Obama seems to have wanted to become an uber-celebritycumpolitician in the worst possible way. How fitting it would be if presides over the bankruptcy of both systems. ..fabulists rising to some of the most esteemed positions in our society have potential impact far beyond what people suspect. They lay bare a rottenness at the heart of academia, the...

Are you getting your money’s worth when you buy dinner? Probably, or you wouldn’t keep paying that price, and go somewhere elsewhere to eat out. The same applies to clothing and shelter. Almost no one continues to pay more for something than they feel it is worth. In fact, that’s the meaning of un-affordable – something that doesn’t give you equal value for what you are able to pay. The Tax Foundation has a report that might open your eyes. It says Americans are paying more in taxes than they pay for food, clothing and shelter combined...