Free Republic

Lois Lerner, the controversial director of the tax-exempt organizations division at the Internal Revenue Service, has a long sordid history of targeting conservatives. Under the direction of Lois Lerner, the Federal Election Commission sued the Christian Coalition in the 1990s. She harassed the Christian Coalition for three election cycles. Eventually, she lost her case. At one point Lerner even asked a targeted conservative if Pat Robertson prayed over him. (Sound familiar?)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy barely grew in the fourth quarter although a slightly better performance in exports and fewer imports led the government to scratch an earlier estimate that showed an economic contraction. Another report on Thursday showed a drop in new claims for unemployment benefits last week, adding to a string of data that suggests the economy improved early this year. Gross domestic product expanded at a 0.1 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said, missing the 0.5 percent gain forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll. The growth rate was the slowest since the first quarter...

More than half of oceangoing vessels serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been skirting traditional shipping lanes to avoid air pollution curbs, prompting California officials Thursday to extend the state's clean-fuel zone beyond the Channel Islands. The unanimous vote by the California Air Resources Board came after strong protests from the U.S. Navy that the jump in commercial ship traffic across the Point Mugu Sea Range was "seriously jeopardizing successful completion of vital Department of Defense testing and training missions." California's clean-fuel zone, which took effect in July 2009, is the toughest ship pollution rule in...

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A program to expand the busiest commercial crossing over the U.S.-Mexico border was inaugurated on Friday, nearly doubling the capacity for trucks entering Laredo, Texas, from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, authorities said. The program increased the number of truck lanes at the World Trade Bridge into Laredo, to 15 from eight, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said. The expansion also added an additional exit lane for vehicles leaving the facility, which currently handles around 5,000 trucks a day and has been so busy that trucks were delayed several hours. "It is going to be a...

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton is expanding his investigation into the meetings between special interest groups and the Obama White House that set the stage for the passage of Obamacare, sending document requests to 11 industry groups and unions that played a key role in the negotiations. In April 11 letters to the groups, Upton asks for extensive details and documents about each organization’s interactions with the White House in regards to the health care law. The requests come as the Obama White House has so far declined to provide its documents about the meetings. At issue...

Cinangka, Banten. The crater of Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait has expanded to a diameter of 25-26 meters, an Indonesian volcanologist says. The news comes as the frequency of eruptions of the volcano, once misidentified as Krakatoa, increases: On Friday there were 615 eruptions, on Saturday 623 eruptions, and on Sunday 668. Anton S Pambudi, a official from Banten province monitoring the eruptions, said the eruptions over the past two weeks had changed the shape of the crater. He said the team would continue to monitor the volcano. Banten Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah said she believed that Anak Krakatau...

The other day, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked what will happen if the people running BP decline to go along with everything the administration demands of it. "The president," he replied with chilly menace, "has the legal authority to compel them to do so, and if they don't, he will." As a matter of strict truth, Barack Obama may not have all the legal authority he would need. But punctilious adherence to the law is rarely the hallmark of American presidents.

Not only does the Democratic health care bill include tax hikes, as reported by Americans for Tax Reform, it also would expand the role of the Internal Revenue Service. From Kaiser Health News: Under the proposed health care legislation, they would get another assignment: checking to see whether Americans have health insurance. The House and Senate bills require most Americans to have health insurance and to prove it on their annual federal tax return. Those who don’t would pay a penalty to the IRS.

WASHINGTON – The House ethics committee is expanding an investigation of Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. The ethics panel issued a statement Tuesday saying it had voted to expand an already far-ranging probe into the New York Democrat to examine whether he protected an oil drilling company from a big tax bill when the head of that company pledged a $1 million donation to a college center named after the congressman. The move means the Rangel inquiry will likely stretch well past early January, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had previously said she...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, announced Monday it would expand its discounted prescription drug program to offer 90-day supplies for $10 and add several women's medications at a discount. It also said it would lower the price of more than 1,000 over-the-counter drugs. The move marks the third phase of a company program that began in 2006 to provide a 30-day supply of generic prescription drugs for $4. The Bentonville-based company said the program has saved customers more than $1 billion. With the expansion, the company began filling prescriptions Monday for up to 350...

AL KUT — Finding a good auto mechanic, air conditioning repairman or electrician in Wassit province just got easier. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is managing an Al Kut vocational technical school expansion and renovation to facilities that will help equip students with trade skills to improve their livelihood and contribute to the local economy, adding to Iraq’s sustainment capability. The $788,852 Commander’s Emergency Response Program funded project at the Al Kut Vocational Technical Center supports the Multi-National Division-Central and 3rd Infantry Division’s objectives for the Wassit province. Maj. Clay Morgan, resident engineer of the Wassit Resident Office of...

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Six years after the first U.S. bombs began falling on Afghanistan's Taliban government and its al-Qaida guests, America is planning for a long stay. Originally envisioned as a temporary home for invading U.S. forces, the sprawling American base at Bagram, a former Soviet outpost in the shadow of the towering Hindu Kush mountains, is growing in size by nearly a third. Today the U.S. has about 25,000 troops in the country, and other NATO nations contribute another 25,000, more than three times the number of international troops in the country four years ago, when the Taliban appeared...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2006 – Iraqi and coalition forces captured a key al Qaeda operative and some 70 more terror suspects in Iraq during a series of 25 raids in and around Baghdad Sept. 12, a senior Multinational Force Iraq spokesman told reporters in Baghdad today. The raids netted a personal associate of Abu Ayyoub al-Masri, Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said. Masri took control of al Qaeda in Iraq after a U.S.-led air strike killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in early June. While not revealing the detainee’s name, Caldwell called him “the leader of assassination, kidnapping and IED (improvised explosive...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2006 – Iraqi security forces, supported by Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers, expanded their combined security effort into the Adhamiyah neighborhood of northeast Baghdad today in support of “Operation Together Forward.” The combined operations are being led by the soldiers of 1st Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division and 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, officials in Iraq said. They are supported by Iraqi National Police from 1st Brigade, 1st National Police Division and soldiers from 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The operations are designed to reduce the level of murders, kidnappings, assassinations, terrorism and sectarian violence in northern...

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. - President Bush urged Congress on Thursday to give new life to a research and development tax credit for business to better compete with China, Indian and other rising global economies. At a 3M Corp. plant outside Minneapolis, Bush said the United States needs to embrace technological innovation and emphasize math and science education. That was a theme of his State of the Union address and one he intended to promote Friday in Albuquerque, N.M., and Dallas. "Congress needs to understand that nations like China and India and Japan and Korea and Canada all offer tax incentives that...

Freedom fears as the DNA database expands By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor (Filed: 05/01/2006) The government was accused last night of compiling a national DNA database "by stealth" as police reported a rapid increase in genetic profiling in recent years. New Home Office figures estimate that by 2008, the samples of some 4.2 million people - seven per cent of the population - will be contained on a central criminal database, which is growing by about half a million a year. Damian Green: Alarmed at how fast the database has grown The system, which held only 700,000 samples when...

ALBUQUERQUE - Federal prosecutors charged New Mexico's state treasurer with 19 counts of extortion Wednesday, alleging he pocketed $265,000 in kickbacks while investing public money. Treasurer Robert Vigil had pleaded not guilty to two earlier counts of extortion in the case and maintains his innocence, attorney Sam Bregman said. He called the FBI's and U.S. attorney's evidence in support of the indictment "pathetic." "I've never been more sure of an outcome in a criminal case than I am today. And that outcome will be not guilty," Bregman said. Prosecutors also have charged former Treasurer Michael Montoya in the alleged scheme,...

10/3/2005 - ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- The magazine selection has not changed, but everything else about the 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron medical clinic here has. Fifteen Airmen from several occupational specialties came together recently to double the clinic’s work space. Patients now have more privacy during screenings and treatment, a clinic waiting area and the six-person clinic staff is not tripping over each other during sick call. “It was a truly amazing effort,” said Lt. Col. (Dr.) Anthony Ghim, a 777th EAS flight surgeon deployed from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. “Civil engineering carpenters, electricians, air conditioner technicians, heavy equipment...

Launching one of the broadest probes of wrongdoing in San Jose government history, the city council Tuesday appointed an independent investigator to determine if the mayor, city manager, city attorney or any council member acted inappropriately in San Jose's bungled deal to install Cisco Systems' equipment in the new City Hall. The sweeping civil investigation of San Jose's top elected officials came as Santa Clara County District Attorney George Kennedy said his criminal inquiry into the failed $8 million deal has expanded into a full-fledged investigation. ...(snip) Mayor Ron Gonzales said that for the city's part, turning the matter over...

U.S. Expands Data Gleaning in Terror Hunt Friday May 28, 2004 2:46 AM By ADAM ASHTON Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Government agencies are using or planning nearly 200 computer projects that identify terrorists, analyze scientific information and detect fraud, a congressional survey said. Most of the programs, 122 out of 199, can access private documents such as student loan applications, bank account numbers and credit card information, said the report by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress. More than 50 of these projects relied on private databases for information while 77 collected data from other...