Free Republic

ModMark wrote: One of the coal plants shut down in Chicago was built ~90 years ago. While upgraded in the 1950's. it still did not meet EPA standards before Obama was elected. These plants were grandfather in when the clean air act was past. These ancient relics should have been converted to natural gas long ago.Do you really want to live next to one of these ancient plants? –in response to Obama Promise Kept: Coal Plants to go Bankrupt with New EPA Carbon Cap Dear Comrade Mark, The building was built 90 years ago, but the actual power plant generating electricity is considerably...

<p>WASHINGTON—Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a conservative Republican, announced her support Sunday for a bipartisan immigration overhaul plan, lending momentum to the comprehensive measure being debated in the Senate.</p>

American colleges and universities are so flushed with cash that among the top ten schools in terms of the ratio between their endowment money and enrolled students are three schools most of us have never heard of. Colleges are businesses and will grab money from wherever they can. For decades they have worked hand in hand with Congress, (mostly Democrats) to raise tuition and fees knowing student loan money would keep coming from the US Treasury. College presidents have become experts in whining about not having enough money no matter how much they have. They NEVER lower tuitions and fees...

Because he posed a threat to Dick Durbin’s US Senate election in 1996, Illinois Republican Al Salvi was threatened by a United States government official. That official was Lois Lerner and she was using her position as a representative of the Federal Election Commission. In the course of her FEC inquisition of Salvi for alleged election law violations, Lerner made a statement that amounts to extortion. Following the Chicago way, Durbin made a series of FEC complaints against Salvi and Lerner took the point in handling his case. According to Salvi, at one point Lerner made an offer to him...

It was Victoria Day in Canada and the Toronto Blue Jays were hosting the Rays of Tampa Bay. The word “hosting,” however, hardly applied to the treatment that one Yunel Escobar, the Rays shortstop, received, who was lustfully booed each time he came to the plate. When he homered in the 9th inning, he was booed again for employing his signature gesture as he crossed home plate—stretching his arms out to indicate the “safe” sign. Cuban-born, Escobar does not speak English. Through a translator, he expressed his astonishment: “It’s something I do every time I cross home plate.” But...

It is a petition to end what many Tucson drivers describe as a traffic light trap. John Kromko is the man behind the petition. His group, Tucson Traffic Justice, claims the cameras are a scam. ... Ditching the cameras is not as far-fetched as it may seem. More and more cities are shutting down the system including San Diego, Los Angeles and Tempe.

Did the HHS secretary illegally encourage donations from health-industry firms? By Katrina Trinko Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is under fire from congressional Republicans after reports last week that she called health-industry officials and insinuated they should donate to efforts promoting Obamacare.

Just as the Obama administration continues to reel from three major scandals, Republicans are zeroing in on yet one more — this one involving Obamacare as it nears implementation. GOP legislators are targeting Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the solicitations she made to some of the nation’s top insurance companies and other groups for donations to Enroll America, the nonprofit group charged with selling Obamacare to the public. “Our guys on the Hill think this is the fourth scandal,” Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak told Reuters this week. “It fits into that narrative Republicans are building not only about incompetence...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog President Obama had armed SWAT agents raid a law-abiding guitar factory because it was owned by a Republican donor President Obama had armed SWAT agents raid the Gibson guitar factory, ordered the employees to leave, and seized guitars and other property from the factory – and all of this happened without any charges being filed.It was later reported that Gibson had not broken any U.S. laws.Obama’s so-called justification for the raid was that Gibson had broken environmental laws from India regarding the imported wood that Gibson had been using.Gibson claimed that it had not broken any...

Grief and politics don't mix. When raw, aching grief and the dirtiest kind of politics meet, a hot volcano of pain and outrage erupts that is unstoppable. But it is necessary. It is the only way things might ever be clean again. I am thinking of recent casket transfer ceremonies that have taken place at Dover Air Force Base, where senior administration officials have used the solemn occasions -- Benghazi, the shoot-down of Extortion 17 -- less to comfort grieving families than to lay blame; to establish a narrative; to lie. Think of Sean Smith's mother. Think of Tyrone Woods'...

A well-known Southern California lawyer is famous for his menacing legal threats sent on behalf of celebrity clients. But attorney Martin D. "Marty" Singer crossed the line into making an "extortion" attempt in 2011 when he sent a demand letter to a client's business partner, a state-court judge ruled after the recipient sued over the missive. In addition to demanding a forensic accounting and the return of money that allegedly had been embezzled, Singer also threatened in the letter, which attached a copy of a draft civil complaint, to reveal information about the partner's claimed use of company resources for...

The shoe drops. This mug shot of Democratic state Treasurer Martha Shoffner appeared on the Pulaski County sheriff's office jail intake page late this afternoon. (She looked a little distracted when I saw her looking over the cottage cheese in a case at Kroger's earlier this week.) Sorry: I originally called her auditor incorrectly. I have many calls out for more information. Shoffner has been under scrutiny for a variety of issues including charges of favoritism in handling of state investments with a securities firm and also in sloppy reporting and spending of state campaign finance money. She's been subject,...

TAMPA BAY, Florida (WTSP) -- A subtle, but significant tweak to Florida's rules regarding traffic signals has allowed local cities and counties to shorten yellow light intervals, resulting in millions of dollars in additional red light camera fines. The 10 News Investigators discovered the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) quietly changed the state's policy on yellow intervals in 2011, reducing the minimum below federal recommendations. The rule change was followed by engineers, both from FDOT and local municipalities, collaborating to shorten the length of yellow lights at key intersections, specifically those with red light cameras (RLCs). While yellow light times...

A series of signs critical of President Obama may cost the State of Washington its share of federal aid for highway construction. The signs are on private property but can be seen by travelers on I-5 about 90 miles south of Seattle near the town of Chehalis. “Interstate highways are 90% funded by the federal government,” said USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood. “It is improper that they be exploited for the communication of messages opposing the government.” The Secretary added “we’d regret having to resort to withholding funds, but when people don’t show the appropriate respect for all the President is...

Maryland lawmakers agreed this week to require public school teachers to pay union fees – a move that bolsters the state’s connection to organized labor as others move toward a right-to-work status. The bill passed Thursday in the General Assembly and is headed to the desk of Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley for signing after Monday, the final day of Maryland’s 2013 legislative session. The bill is also part of a larger progressive agenda put fourth this year by leaders of the Democrat-controlled Assembly that includes the approval of tax increases and one of the toughest gun-control proposals in the country.

<p>SANFORD - Trayvon Martin's parents have settled a wrongful death claim for an amount believed to be more than $1 million against the homeowners association of the Sanford subdivision where their teenage son was killed.</p> <p>Their attorney, Benjamin Crump, filed that paperwork at the Seminole County Courthouse, a portion of which was made public today.</p>

In that email, it said, "The Senate majority leadership (the Dems)are very upset with your testimony and opposition on the gun bills", and they are stating that basically we should reconsider our positions to gain a more favorable light for salary support from the Dems...

If students want to pass John Banzhaf’s law class, they’ll have to fight for increased government regulation in the food and beverages industry.Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University, will require his students to lobby state and local governments to ban sugary beverages, according to a press release. The release was put out by Banzhaf himself, who summarized the objective as “Undergrads Required to Lobby for Obama Policy.”“Some 200 undergrads will be asked to contact legislators in their home cities, counties, or states asking them to adopt legislation similar to that already adopted in New York City … banning...

Dr. John Natale of Illinois graduated with honors from Loyola University, graduated medical school from Northwestern University School of Medicine and went on to complete eight years of arduous postgraduate study to become a highly trained thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon. For over 20 years he practiced his specialty at a hospital in Illinois, doing extremely complicated cases, including treating ruptured aortic aneurysms. Although these cases have greater than 10 percent intraoperative mortality in the recognized medical literature, Dr. Natale never lost a patient on the operating table.

Dr. John Natale of Illinois graduated with honors from Loyola University, graduated medical school from Northwestern University School of Medicine and went on to complete eight years of arduous postgraduate study to become a highly trained thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon. For over 20 years he practiced his specialty at a hospital in Illinois, doing extremely complicated cases, including treating ruptured aortic aneurysms. Although these cases have greater than 10 percent intraoperative mortality in the recognized medical literature, Dr. Natale never lost a patient on the operating table.

Minneapolis Mayor, R.T. Rybak, has a strong message for makers of guns and ammunition who do business with the city. Mayor Rybak says he wants them to be partners in the pursuit of "common sense" gun control reform. The city buys about a million dollars worth of guns and ammunition each year for police. The primary vendors are Remington, Federal Ammunition and Smith & Wesson. The Mayor says he wants to dig a little deeper into the backgrounds of those companies. Mayor Rybak tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, "if they want to be partners with us, we will work with them....

Anonymous, a band of online vigilante activists, has turned its ire on the U.S. Department of Justice, threatening to release secret, internal documents the group hacked in memory of Aaron Swartz, the Internet prodigy who committed suicide before his federal trial. “With Aaron’s death we can wait no longer. The time has come to show the United States Department of Justice and its affiliates the true meaning of infiltration. The time has come to give this system a taste of its own medicine,” read part of the message and video posted on the U.S. Sentencing Commission website, which the activist...

Hacktivist group Anonymous took control of the U.S. Sentencing Commission website Friday, January 25 in a new campaign called "Operation Last Resort." The first attack on the website was early Friday morning. The second - successful - attack came around 9pm PST that evening. anonymous By 3am PST ussc.gov was down (it has since been dropped from the DNS), yet as of this writing the IP address (66.153.19.162) still returns the defaced site's contents. It appears that via the U.S. government website, Anonymous had distributed encrypted government files and left a statement on the website that de-encryption keys would be...

SNIP Hagel, however, has friends in Democratic lobbying circles. The powerful Washington D.C. organization known as the Podesta Group is reportedly asking defense contractors for financial support to run ads defending the Hagel nomination. Fox News White House Chief White House Correspondent Ed Henry reported on Friday: (2:15 in) "Sources confirm to Fox [that] Democratic super lobbyist Tony Podesta has been hired by a firm known as the Bipartisan Group to help mobilize support for Hagel. And defense contractors received calls this week urging them to be ready for a Hagel pick as soon as Monday, and asking them for...

A news roundup from today’s Sydney Morning Herald, giving another bracing insight into the success of our immigration program. Item one: When two men in traditional Middle Eastern dress sat down with the owner of a Bankstown restaurant recently, they were after only one thing. At first they shared a hookah pipe and chatted amiably about religion, but the conversation quickly turned to extortion: they wanted $50,000 in exchange for ‘’protection’’. The terrified restaurant owner told Fairfax Media they asked him a menacing question he was sure was rhetoric: ‘’Have you heard of Brothers 4 Life?’’ It’s a question many...

This article analyzes the history of labor union violence, and how Rep. Capuano's comments are a perfect continuation of this historical truth. Labor Unions: A History of Murder and Sabotage The New American 28 February 2011 The raging union-led protests in Wisconsin have resulted in many Americans taking a closer, more critical look at labor unions and their political clout and influence in shaping policy. With the ubiquitous announcement from AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka that he is granted an audience at the White House “nearly every day,” the American people have become more skeptical of unions and the role...

The human cost of the War of 1812 was dramatic. Some 35,000 people were killed, wounded or missing at the end of the war. York (now Toronto), Niagara (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) and Washington, D.C. were torched. Elsewhere, homes and properties were looted and damaged and family lives were thrown into chaos. The borders between British North America and the United States might not have changed when the fighting stopped — the old lines were reconfirmed in the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war on December 24, 1814. But once the treaty was signed, there wasn’t simply a return to the...

Mark Levin has had enough, saying that Huelskamp was elected by American citizens in his district who sent him there to vote the way he pledged to them he’d vote, and now Huelskamp is being treated like crap from Speaker Boehner because he’s not falling in line? Levin asks “who the hell does Speaker Boehner think he is?” Listen below:

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer on Tuesday said the White House used David Petraeus’s affair to get the CIA director to give testimony about the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that was in line with the administration’s position on the matter. Appearing on Fox News's Special Report, Krauthammer said, "The sword was lowered on Election Day" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Greedy N.Korea Is Shooting Itself in the Foot North Korea revised tax regulations in August for South Korean businesses operating in the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex. The regime said that it will impose hefty fines on companies if caught dodging taxes, and that they would amount to 200 times the tax amount they attempt to evade. According to original regulations that were agreed in 2003 when both Koreas were working to open the complex, Pyongyang is required to negotiate with Seoul any changes to the relevant tax laws. But the North made the revisions arbitrarily without consulting the South. Then...

How 'bout a little refresher re. Obama political Godfather  and actual (16-count!) convicted felon Tony Rezko...? The Syrian-born Rezko is an infamous Chicago slumlord, fast-food restauranteur, and sleazy political operator who played a key role in the Blagojevich case- as well as the unlikley ascension to power of Barrack Hussein Obama.Obama's longtime ally, friend, and top fundraiser was found guilty of 16/24 counts of felony influence peddling back in June 2008. Of course the story was mostly buried/detached from his bud Barry in the run-up to that year's most unfortunate (for us) presidential election whilst the jury convicted Rezko of wire...

WASHINGTON — When the U.S. State Department announced this week that it finally is going to designate the Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist organization, it was a nonevent for most of our countrymen. That's because few Americans know how deadly the organization is. For that we can thank those at Foggy Bottom who are wedded to the naive hope of a near-term "diplomatic breakthrough" in Afghanistan. Couple that misguided belief with the Obama administration's self-deception that the radical Islamic jihad against the West ended with the demise of Osama bin Laden and it's understandable why the Haqqani network...

‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? "Oregon farmers and state officials are furious with the U.S. Labor Department after federal authorities in July put a hold on thousands of dollars worth of blueberries, citing “widespread” record-keeping and minimum wage violations, Eric Mortenson reports for The Oregonian. “[T]he department invoked a “hot goods” provision of labor law that prohibited shipment of the berries. Labor officials also notified wholesalers that berries from the farms would be subject to the order and should not be processed or shipped,” according to the report. “Hot goods” orders are used...

Did you get here Googling "exotic wood raids?" Is this not what you expected? I'm sorry. Settle in for some hot public policy.Last we checked in with Gibson, the famed Tennessee guitar maker had been raided twice by armed federal agents, who seized almost $500,000 in exotic wood imported from India and Madagascar and shut down production. The ebony and rosewood in question have been used for decades to make the instrument's fingerboards and are integral to their style and sound, the company said. (Great video background from Reason, here.)This week, Gibson settled with the government in a "criminal enforcement...

Chicago Alderman Anthony Beale gave new meaning to constituent advocacy yesterday when he told Metra’s executive director “people are going to get hurt” in the dispute over how many minorities they decide to hire for a railroad bridge project, the “Englewood Flyer.” The Chicago Sun-Times reports Beale did not specify who would “get hurt” or who would do the hurting. No matter the victims or perpetrators, this is a rather alarming prediction for a locally elected official to make. Beal warned, “I’m trying to help you help yourself. When I say that, problems could arise.

PROVO — Police here have arrested a man, accused of trying to blackmail a Brigham Young University student for sex and money by threatening to “out” him to his family, fiance and the LDS Church-owned university’s Honor Code Office. Brad Ray Adams, 36, was arrested last week on suspicion of extortion and attempted forcible sodomy. He was expected to make an appearance before a judge in Provo’s 4th District Court later this week. Police said it began last month, when the alleged victim met Adams over Craigslist. The two began texting and e-mailing and the two arranged a sexual encounter,...

For the past 10 years, California has struggled with huge budget deficits and wrenching cuts. Suddenly, however, the state is poised to raise billions from an unusual new source: the proceeds from its landmark global warming law. The windfall could come as soon as this fall, when state officials are set to begin auctioning off pollution credits to oil refineries, power plants and other major polluters as part of a new "cap-and-trade" system. The amounts are potentially enormous: from $1 billion to $3 billion a year in 2012 and 2013, jumping to as high as $14 billion a year by...

”That thing was greased,” as they say in Chicago, referring to a political phenomenon known as “being handled before table.” Well, bloggers are asking, was it? Word now coming out reveals just two days after Secretary of State Brian Kemp gave Barack Obama the green light to appear on Georgia election ballots,, the Department of Energy awarded Kemp’s state an eye popping $8.3 billion loan guarantee to begin construction on two nuclear plants. In the face of “a shocking dissent by Nuclear Regulatory Commission CHAIRMAN Director Gregory B. Jazcko,” four other commissioners approved awarding Southern Energy the first nuclear construction...

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu — who became the face of Arizona border security nationally after he started stridently opposing illegal immigration — threatened his Mexican ex-lover with deportation when the man refused to promise never to disclose their years-long relationship, the former boyfriend and his lawyer tell New Times.

In the seventh paragraph of an article on page A7, the Washington Post acknowledges that a bit of administration spin is particularly unconvincing: “Aides said Obama is focused on governing, not campaigning, but he has held five fundraisers this week alone.” Obama held 69 fundraisers between January 1 and December 1 of 2011, an average of one every five days. Then again, perhaps Obama sees fundraising as a form of governing.

Mideast: As the president sneaks more money in the budget for Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood thugs he helped install in Cairo show their gratitude by threatening to attack Israel. For three decades, the U.S. essentially paid Egypt not to attack our closest ally in the region. The policy worked to maintain peace. But Obama nullified that deal by backing Islamist revolutionaries against reliably pro-U.S. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Now the bribe has lost its effect. The new Egyptian leadership, led by the virulently anti-Jewish Muslim Brotherhood, this week issued a warning to Washington that it should understand that "what was...

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman is charged with extortion in an alleged plot to get Discovery Communications Inc. to cancel the TLC show "19 Kids and Counting" or pay her $10,000 in exchange for not revealing compromising photos of a cast member, according to federal court documents. Teresa Hunt, of Bettendorf, is accused of threatening to release photos of a cast member in "apparently intimate situations" to a magazine. Hunt was arrested Feb. 1 after she apparently sent television executives typed and handwritten letters demanding the show be canceled, along with a business card for "Perfect Pictures." The...

ROME—Organized crime has tightened its grip on the Italian economy during the economic crisis, making the Mafia the country's biggest "bank" and squeezing the life out of thousands of small firms, according to a report on Tuesday. Extortionate lending by criminal groups had become a "national emergency," said the report by anti-crime group SOS Impresa. Organized crime now generated annual turnover of about €140 billion ($178.89 billion) and profits of more than €100 billion, it added. "With €65 billion in liquidity, the Mafia is Italy's number one bank," said a statement from the group, which was set up in Palermo...

Attorney General Eric Holder said a federal probe found discrimination against at least 200,000 qualified African American and Latino borrowers from 2004 to 2008, during the height of the housing market boom. He said that minority borrowers who qualified for prime loans were steered into higher-interest-rate subprime loans.

Gosh. Who knew that a massive tax could solve all imagined climate problems? David L. Hagen writes: The UN is demanding control over $1.6 trillion per year to control climate. Extract: 47. The provision of the amount of funds to be made available annually to developing country Parties, which shall be equivalent to the budget that developed countries spend on defence, security, and warfare. Fifty per cent of that amount shall be for adaptation, 20 per cent for mitigation, 15 per cent for technology development and transfer and 15 per cent for forest-related actions in developing country Parties;

Has anybody know anything as to why Cantor tabled the Inside Trading Bill. He said something about the bill needs more looking into? Hay, Cantor let me write the bill. Even a Elected Elite would understand. 1)All Federal elected personal and immediate family are subject to inside trading laws and bribing laws. 2)All Federal employees and immediate family are subject to inside trading laws and bribing laws. 3)All Non Paid Staff members and immediate family are subject to inside trading laws and bribing laws.

AFP - British Prime Minister David Cameron threatened to block a new European Union treaty designed to save the euro from the debt crisis if London's demands are not met. Cameron said Britain's huge financial sector and the single market would have to be protected if he were to sign up to a new EU-wide treaty aimed at resolving the crisis in the euro, which Britain does not use. His threat increases the likelihood that France and Germany, who proposed rewriting the treaty Monday, will end up pushing for an agreement between just the 17 nations who use the euro...

In a push to expand across California without interference, Walmart is increasingly taking advantage of the state's initiative system to threaten elected officials with costly special elections and to avoid environmental lawsuits. The Arkansas-based retailer has hired paid signature gatherers to circulate petitions to build new superstores or repeal local restrictions on big-box stores. Once 15 percent of eligible voters sign the petitions, state election law puts cash-strapped cities in a bind: City councils must either approve the Walmart-drafted measure without changes or put it to a special election. As local officials grapple with whether to spend tens of thousands...

One of the recurring scourges facing small-business owners in the Bay Area is the often frivolous lawsuits filed under provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Chronicle has done a number of stories about the problem, relating the travails of bookstore, restaurant and retail store owners in San Francisco who have either been put out of business or essentially extorted to cough up thousands of dollars - which go into the plaintiffs' and lawyers' pockets - to settle the complaints out of court. Now, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is getting into the act, initially on behalf of Latino...

A woman who settled a sexual harassment complaint against GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain in 1999 complained three years later at her next job about unfair treatment, saying she should be allowed to work from home after a serious car accident and accusing a manager of circulating a sexually charged email, The Associated Press has learned. Karen Kraushaar, 55, filed the complaint while working as a spokeswoman at the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Justice Department in late 2002 or early 2003, with the assistance of her lawyer, Joel Bennett, who also handled her earlier sexual harassment complaint against...