Free Republic

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said Tuesday it will pay as much as $640 million to settle 63 lawsuits over wage-and-hour violations, ending years of dispute. (read more at link...excerpted AP article)

I read a post the other day that a Freeper got from Congressman John Linder, Georgia, stating that he would stand and object to Obama if he doesn't show proof of constitutional eligibility. I emailed Mr. Linder and asked if he did indeed write that email and if he was serious about holding Obama to task on something as serious as this. A few moments ago I received a phone call from Congressman Linder's office confirming that he intends to do exactly that and he is just as intent as us on verifying Obama's eligibility. I told his staffer (very...

"I was appalled and disappointed by what we heard in those transcripts," Barack Obama said Thursday about the documented misconduct of the governor of Illinois. That’s right. He was appalled. And it only took him 48 hours to realize it. If the U.S. attorney is to be believed, we had Rod Blagojevich talking about auctioning off Obama’s old Senate seat. We had him trying to extort a newspaper. We had him trying to parlay a tollway project into a $500,000 contribution from a highway contractor. We even had him trying to shake down a children’s hospital. The reaction from fellow...

The indictment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich wasn't the only thing happening in Illinois last week. Bank of America was the victim of a concerted shake-down operation that could be replicated around the country. Banks apparently now are expected to give money away to failed borrowers. This could become federal policy when Barack Obama, who supported this new example of Chicago blackmail, becomes president. One of the casualties of the faltering housing market is Chicago's Republic Windows and Doors. Bank of America cut off the company's line of credit in response to falling demand. "If the bank saw some light at...

Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich was taken into custody by federal agents in Chicago on corruption charges this morning. As reported by the Chicago Tribune Blagojevich was attempting to sell Pres-elect Barack Hussein Obama’s U.S. Senate chair.

A San Francisco jury acquitted a Mission District auto shop owner Wednesday of homicide charges, finding he acted in self-defense when he fired at an armed man during an apparent extortion attempt. Jaime Gutierrez, 32, shot and killed Abraham Guerra, 37, on July 26, 2007, outside his auto repair shop on 23rd Street near Shotwell Street. Prosecutors said Gutierrez had confronted Guerra with a shotgun. Gutierrez's attorney, Eric Safire, argued that his client was defending himself after Guerra fired a handgun at him. After the shooting, Gutierrez drove Guerra to the Ingleside Police Station and tried to walk away, authorities...

Didn't take long, did it? According to Fox's Cavuto, Obama -- standing behind his psychotic "Office of the President Elect" sign -- is ready to promise a delay on the insane tax hike on "The Rich" (i.e. anyone making more than $100K a year) IF Congress will quickly approve an additional $700B - $1T "stimulus package" to be aimed at causes and business of which he personally approves. I am finding more and more to like about the guy who is burying all his money in PVC tubes in his back yard.

Bad beat of the year: The Danish government wants 73% of Peter Eastgate's WSOP winnings. Peter Eastgate won $9,152,416 in the 2008 WSOP Main Event, but the question is how much of it he will get to keep. Denmark has strict taxation rules for poker winnings - Eastgate has to pay 45% in taxes on winnings up to approximately $520 000 and 75% on the rest (over $8.5 million). The end result will be $6.6 million in taxes, if the Danish government gets what it wants. Eastgate moved to England shortly after reaching the Main Event final table to protect...

Dahlia Lithwick, a Slate senior editor, is newly miffed at the constant Obama fundraising emails she's received. Oh, she didn't mind them as the campaign was going on, she says, but now that Big "O" is fairly elected, Lithwick is tired of them. One gets the feeling, of course, that this has been building in her for some time -- a sneaking dread mounting with each demand for cash. She even ends her Slate piece telling Obama that as far as she is concerned he should consider himself "cutoff" from her wallet. Too bad she seems completely clueless that his...

£2.8m railway ransom By Philip Delves Broughton in Paris (Filed: 04/03/2004) A terrorist group is blackmailing the French government, threatening to explode 10 bombs it says are already planted beneath railway lines throughout France unless it receives a £2.8 million ransom. French gendarmes patrol railway lines after bomb threats The group, which calls itself AZF after a chemical factory that exploded in Toulouse in September 2001 killing 31 people, has been in contact with the interior ministry since December when it sent its first letter. As a demonstration of intent, on Feb 21 the group directed the police to a...

Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plan to aid troubled U.S. automakers threatens to spark a final clash with President George W. Bush before he leaves the White House in January. Pelosi said yesterday she wants ``immediate action'' to give automakers additional assistance as shares of General Motors Corp. hit their lowest level since 1943 and analysts said the company faces possible bankruptcy. Bush hasn't said he would approve any further aid to those companies. Richard Shelby, the Senate Banking Committee's top Republican, opposes the measure. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid made clear the bill's prospects of winning...

harmacy-benefits manager Express Scripts Inc. said some of its clients have received anonymous letters threatening to expose the personal information of patients. Express Scripts said it believes the threats, which were sent to sponsors who offer its prescription-drug plans rather than directly to patients, are related to an extortion attempt it disclosed last week. The letters include personal details about patients, such as names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers, Express Scripts spokesman Steve Littlejohn said. They are similar to an extortion letter Express Scripts received in early October threatening to expose personal data about "millions" of patients covered...

This is a blog excert from Wade Rathke, the founder and Chief Organizer of ACORN International and SEIU Local 100, AFL-CIO, etc. ACORN’s foreclosure prevention negotiations have picked up momentum behind the scenes again recently. Last week solid progress made with teams at Merrill Lynch in New York and WAMU in Seattle. Next week another face-to-face round in Dallas with GMAC and other metroplex area servicers on the docket. A call with Wells this week to finally get them into the game and discuss much needed streamlining is now set. Ocwen, a target not long ago, is piloting in three...

Barack Obama's presidential campaign is getting a bargain for the half-hour of Oct. 29 primetime it's bought on CBS and NBC. The Democratic presidential candidate's camp is paying under $1 million to each network to run the programming it will produce for the first half-hour of primetime that Wednesday night, less than a week before the election. This is considerably less than the networks would otherwise get for the 10-11 ad "units" they run during that half hour, between 8 and 8:30 p.m. Obama is not getting a price break; the campaign will be charged what's called the "lowest unit...

Racism, naturally, plays a part in the conversation. "I've never forgotten that he is a smart, articulate black man with a smart, articulate black wife," says Linda Wright, 34, a nurse's assistant from Houston."You think white people were just going to turn over the keys to the most important job in the land without a fight?" The overriding feeling is apprehension, a vague fear of losing something people thought was theirs to keep. "My kids love Obama and they think it's so obvious he should be the president," says actor D. L. Hughley. "I was just honest in saying life...

I wonder how many can remember James Carvile looking at the TV camera with an almost demonic expression of contempt, spewing “It’s the economy, stupid”? Well, this election it is about the economy, again. But it is a democrat enterprise which has nearly aborted the economy of America … and if our economy is aborted, so is our power and reach around the world, particularly against oil funded terrorists. When the topic of the economy is discussed at conservative websites like FreeRepublic.com, there is always a voice waiting to interject ‘Yeah, the Republican administration did this to our economy and...

Pirates who seized a Ukrainian ship off the coast of Somalia have reportedly demanded a ransom of $35m (£19m) to release the vessel and its crew.The pirates earlier warned against any attempt to rescue the crew or cargo of the MV Faina, which is carrying 33 battle tanks destined for Kenya. Pirates have seized dozens of ships near Somalia's coast in recent months. A Russian Navy vessel is heading to the region and the US says it is monitoring developments in the area. A spokesman for the pirates, who gave his name as Jalal Jama Ali, told a Somali website...

The city of Manassas and the Manassas City Schools and School Board reached a settlement this week in regards to the year-old Equal Rights Center lawsuit. The city will pay the plaintiffs $625,000 while the city schools will pay $150,000. There are also several stipulations that Manassas must abide by, including the hiring of a housing manager/advocate position. Manassas will also pay Virginia non-profit organization Housing Opportunities Made Equal $60,000 as part of the settlement. On Monday, the city council passed a resolution approving the settlement on a 5-1 vote with only councilman Marc Aveni opposing. The 2007 lawsuit stemmed...

Excerpt from article (since I am not sure what the reprint rules are ... [Rangel] slipped this horrendous tax into a popular military and veterans pension/pay bill, (without hearings or public notice) and on June 4, 2008, President Bush, not wanting to upset the veterans' lobby, signed it into law. The Rangel exit tax presumes that anyone who ends his or her U.S. citizenship and; (1) who paid more than $124,000 in net taxes for the previous five years, or (2) has a net worth of more than $2 million, is a tax traitor who did so with the intent...

Christian and other religious groups opposed to abortion were allowed to advertise on Google for the first time from today, after the search engine capitulated in the face of a legal challenge. Google had banned pro-life religious groups from buying adverts against search terms such as “abortion” and “abortion help” but was forced to abandon its policy after it was accused of breaching equalities legislation. The challenge was brought by the Christian Institute, a cross-denominational pressure group, who said that Google’s change of heart was an acknowledgement of the rights of everybody to hold an opinion on the subject. Mike...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The state is warning parents delinquent on child support payments that they risk losing drivers licenses, professional licenses and hunting and fishing licenses if they don't pay. A news release from the Department of Human Services Tuesday says letters are being delivered to parents across the state behind at least $500 and haven't made a payment in more than 90 days. More than 7,000 licenses were revoked last year for failure to pay, and there are more than 20,000 licenses currently at risk. Professional licenses that could be revoked include those of registered nurses, real estate agents,...

An anxious murmur is rising among black voters as the presidential race tightens: What if Barack Obama loses? Black talk-show hosts and black-themed Web sites are being flooded with callers and bloggers reflecting a nervousness -- and anger -- over the campaign. Bev Smith, a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host, devoted her entire three-hour show Monday night to the question: "If Obama doesn't win, what will you think?" "My audience is upset," she said in an interview. "Some people said they would be so angry it would be reminiscent of the [1960s] riots -- that is how despondent they would...

DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh wants rich nations to pay the billions of dollars it says it needs to help fight the effects of climate change because they are the biggest environmental culprits. The impoverished South Asian nation -- one of the world's lowest emitters of greenhouse gases -- will highlight its plight to the British government and other international donors in London on September 10. Bangladesh environment secretary A.H.M Rezaul Kabir told AFP that a study by the World Bank, leading donors and the Bangladeshi government had found the country urgently needed huge amounts of money to ensure its survival....

DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh wants rich nations to pay the billions of dollars it says it needs to help fight the effects of climate change because they are the biggest environmental culprits. < > "We need at least four billion dollars at least by 2020 to build dams, cyclone shelters, plant trees along the coast and build infrastructure and capacities to adapt to increasing number of natural disasters," Kabir said. < > "We hope Western countries will grant the money as compensation for being the biggest carbon emitters," Kabir said. "They are responsible for our woes and the increasing number...

(IsraelNN.com) A Nigerian group threatened to break off negotiations for the release of kidnapped Israeli businessman on Thursday night, using the excuse that Israel National News had referred to its members as "terrorists" in a story published earlier Thursday. The group, the "Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta" (MEND), denied responsibility for kidnapping the 60-year-old Israeli businessman who was working in Nigeria but offered assistance in negotiations for his release. According to a report in Reuters, MEND, which is comprised of indigenous gunmen, said Thursday evening that the Israeli hostage "has been located and seems to be a...

The designation this summer of $465 million in U.S. aid to combat drug trafficking in Mexico and Central America — along with the valuable cross-border dialogue that helped bring about this Merida Initiative — is a step in the right direction....But given the urgency of the problems we face, this step is disappointingly small...The Merida Initiative is stingy by any standard but especially by U.S. standardsFighting drug traffickers is not only a Latin American responsibility, it is also an American responsibility...Like all developed nations, the U.S. must confront the fact that no country can be safe while poverty, illiteracy, violence,...

Republicans called for a criminal probe of Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith for allegedly threatening lobbyists who fail to contribute to Democratic campaigns. "It borders on criminality," said Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. "You cannot threaten people to give contributions. That's thuggery. Quid pro quo is a crime - you go to jail." Senate Investigations Committee Chair George Winner said Smith, of Queens, "may have broken several laws - including coercion, official misconduct, attempted bribery and even conspiracy." Smith told a group of lobbyists at a fund-raiser for Senate Democrats in that their clients would be shut out of a...

Long ago the Union movement served a noble purpose to end exploitation and unsafe working conditions at the workplace. Now they are being used to extort money from companies and drive our jobs overseas. In addition workers are involunatrily forced on these Unions and are now suffering from Union Bosses. Go to www.unionfacts.com to learn the politically correct facts about how unions are destroying our economy.

COLLECT CALL: Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith allegedly said he would send Sen Jeff Klein as an "enforcer" against lobbyists who didn’t donate to Democrats. Smith, the married father of two fathered an out-of-wedlock child with a woman other than his wife three years ago. Smith told lobbyists that their clients would be shut out of a Democrat-controlled Senate in January if they didn't pony up large contributions now, a "shocked" longtime lobbyist has told The Post. "It was a shocking set of remarks and people were looking around the room in disbelief," said the well-known lobbyist, who has...

Judicial Watch Launches Investigation of Effort to Intimidate Conservatives Threat Letters by Liberal Group May Violate Ku Klux Klan Act (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it is launching an investigation into a nationwide effort by a liberal activist group to intimidate supporters of Republican and conservative causes. According the August 8 edition of The New York Times, Accountable America, a liberal group, plans to send a letter “to confront donors to conservative groups, hoping to create a chilling effect that will dry up contributions…The warning letter is...

Actually, I don't think the right has played as dirty as this. A Times article by Michael Luo this morning unveils a new netroots enterprise, Accountable America, the unabashed purpose of which is to terrify conservatives from giving campaign money to Republican causes and Republican candidates. It's actually ingenuous. You get a list of past Republican donors and send each of them one, two, many e-mails with the explicit warning that contributing to conservative campaigns may be dangerous to the donor's health. Or, as Luo puts it, "The warning letter is intended as a first step, alerting donors who might...

Today's New York Times article begins: Nearly 10,000 of the biggest donors to Republican candidates and causes across the country will probably receive a foreboding “warning” letter in the mail next week.and goes on to describe a newly formed group composed of veteran Democratic activists who intend to run a campaign to try to intimidate GOP donors and chill their activities on behalf of Republican candidates. The letters will be a mere first step with increasingly harsh attacks promised if the GOP supporters actually exercise their democratic rights-these steps include legal trouble, public exposure and watchdog groups that will "dig...

The Democratic National Committee may be trying to get some mileage out of recent news about oil industry contributions to Republican Sen. John McCain, launching a web site spoofing the idea of McCain sharing his presidential ticket with Exxon. But they may have found an unwelcome surprise in a just-released analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics. Turns out, the biggest recipient of contributions from Exxon executives and employees during this campaign is not McCain. It's Obama. The non-partisan center writes: "Through June, Exxon employees have given Obama $42,100 to McCain's $35,166. Chevron favors Obama $35,157 to $28,500, and Obama...

Another example of the way the child support system leads to the abuse/jailing of ordinary citizens. From British university lecturer thrown into crowded Brazilian jail for not paying ex-wife £20,000 child support (Daily Mail, 7/30/08): Martin Boyle is being held in a Sao Paulo prison over unpaid child support. A British university lecturer has been thrown into a rat-infested Brazilian prison over claims that he owes £20,000 in child support. Martin Boyle, 45, is in a cell with ten other inmates in Sao Paulo while his family in Britain face ever-increasing demands for cash. He flew to the South American...

The weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal highlighted the growing menace of groups like California's Greenlining Institute. Greenlining is a left-wing pressure group that threatens adverse public relations campaigns against lenders that refuse to bow to its agenda. The Journal editorial begins: Readers who run a foundation, serve on a board or are thinking of starting such a charitable effort should know about the gauntlet of shakedown artists forming up to demand a piece of the action. As with so many marginal ideas, this one is coming out of California. A proposed bill there would have required foundations with...

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wants domestic energy producers to forfeit profits to the government in order to issue $500 and $1,000 checks to consumers to help them keep up with rising energy costs. “This rebate will be enough to offset the increased cost of gas for a working family over the next four months,” Obama said in a Florida speech Friday morning. “Or, if you live in a state where it gets very cold in the winter, it will be enough to cover the entire increase in your heating bills. Or you could use the rebate for any of...

Friday, August 1st, Barack Obama announced that he intended on seizing “excess” profits from oil companies to give families in the form of $1000 checks per family. Granted, the oil companies did make a tremendous profit this year. Obama, who has never held a job in the private sector, probably thinks that profits from oil corporations are stuffed into pillow cases and squeezed into the closets filled with other ill-gotten gain by evil Texas oil tycoons. He pictures them snickering, as they stuff it all in, reaching for more pillowcases, being careful not to inadvertently grab their Ku Klux Klan...

A group of anarchists that plans to disrupt the Democratic National Convention is promising to go away if the $50 million federal grant that Denver received to pay for convention security is invested in the community instead. (snip) Simons said the group's offer to sit out the convention if the city, the federal government and the DNC all agree to "redirect" the $50 million to things like health care is not a publicity stunt. "We understand that it's farfetched, but it's a sincere offer, and the goal of doing this is to really show what our priorities are," said Simons,...

...As with so many marginal ideas, this one is coming out of California. A proposed bill there would have required foundations with more than $250 million in assets to report the racial, gender and sexual orientation of their board members, staffs and grantees. The bill's sponsors recently agreed to drop the issue in return for a political payoff of millions of dollars from 10 of the state's biggest charities...

WASHINGTON – Blacks are more likely to be hurt by global warming than other Americans, according to a report issued Thursday. The report was authored by the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative, a climate justice advocacy group, and Redefining Progress, a nonprofit policy institute. It detailed various aspects of climate change, such as air pollution and rising temperatures, which it said disproportionately affect blacks, minorities and low-income communities in terms of poor health and economic loss. “Right now we have an opportunity to see climate change in a different light; to see it for what it is, a human...

(SNIP) Among those following the campaign is Shera Greenwich, a mother of two living at a shelter run by the Henry St. Settlement in New York City. As she waits to move into a subsidized apartment, she says issues including economic security and obtaining quality healthcare are her focus, and she plans to vote Democratic. "I see so much change in the future if Obama is elected President," she said. "I think he can get America back on track." OBSTACLES TO VOTING Advocacy groups campaign each election season to get the homeless to register to vote, noting they often face...

Omaha, NE (KFAB-AM) - McDonald's is all ears after a lawsuit from a customer hard of hearing. Karen Tumeh recently visited a McDonald's in Omaha and tried to place an order at the pick up window at the drive thru. Tumeh is hearing impaired and she states that she could not understand the speaker at the order menu board. The restaurant told her that she had to go back to the menu board to place her order or come inside. The lawsuit would force McDonald's to make special accommodations for those hearing impaired so they too could use the drive-thru....

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A police lieutenant in Daytona Beach was fired over accusations that he threatened slower emergency response times if he was not given complimentary specialty Starbucks coffee drinks. An internal police investigation found that Daytona Lt. Major Garvin received free coffee for about two years from a city Starbucks coffee store. However, when recently denied free coffee from new management, Garvin allegedly told managers that he could change the police department's response time if they refuse to give him complimentary drinks. Garvin is accused of saying, "If something happens, either we can respond really fast or we...

Congress increases the ransom expats must pay to escape the taxman QUEUES of frustrated foreigners crowd many an American consulate around the world hoping to get into the United States. Less noticed are the heavily taxed American expatriates wanting to get out—by renouncing their citizenship. In Hong Kong just now, they cannot. “Please note that this office cannot accept renunciation applications at this time,” the consulate's website states. Apart from sounding like East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the closure is unfortunately timed. Because of pending legislation on President Bush's desk that is expected to become law...

......far-left radical activist group ACORN is embroiled in financial corruption and cover-up.... The NY Times reports that Dale Rathke - whose brother started the group back in 1970 to help low-income people - embezzled nearly $1M back in 1999 and 2000. ACORN disguised it on the books as a loan and let Rathke's family make restitution at $30,000 a year. (An anonymous donor reportedly has agreed to pick up the remaining $800,000 tab.) ACORN also kept Rathke on the payroll at $38,000-a-year.....the Times reports most of the people who covered-up the embezzlement are still working for ACORN. Michelle Malkin wrote...

Consumer Protection or Legal Extortion? Daily Article by S.M. Oliva   |   Posted on 7/10/2008 On April Fool's Day of this year, New Mexico resident Mark Hershiser received a letter from Erika Wodinsky, a San Francisco attorney, demanding Hershiser turn over all revenue from Native Essence Herb Company, a small business co-owned by Hershiser and his wife Marianne. The letter was not a joke or a mistake. It was a premeditated act of extortion by Ms. Wodinsky. She had never met or spoken with Hershiser; her staff discovered Native Essence through its modest website.Internet scams and predators are...

Facing bad publicity and a dwindling campaign account, U.S. Rep. Don Young last year turned to the "AK Wolfpack," a group of more than 20 lobbyists, including former Young staffers and retired former congressmen, with close ties to the Alaska Republican. Young's chief of staff, Mike Anderson, sent the Wolfpack an e-mail to tell them that national Democrats planned aggressive fundraising and claims of misconduct by Young to topple the 35-year incumbent congressman and his fellow Alaska Republican, U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. If they succeed, Anderson warned, "you and your clients will be impacted." Anderson e-mailed the fundraising appeal on...

Segments of Americans are gearing up to oppose Senator Barack Obama because they fear he will be more considerate of the debt America owes to Blacks. Anti-Obama whites, in particular, are concerned he’ll get into the White House and put Blacks on track for “a reparations gravy train.” CNN debate moderator Anderson Cooper put Black Reparations on track to be a part of the presidential dialogue during the South Carolina Primaries. The African-American vote in South Carolina was very important, and that made the reparations question relevant in the Democratic Debate. At that event former Senator John Edwards said “...

Anheuser-Busch Cos. will stop making and selling caffeinated alcoholic drinks as part of a settlement with 11 state attorneys general, the attorneys general said Thursday. The states' top lawyers began an investigation of the U.S.'s largest brewer by sales a year ago. They alleged that the St. Louis company had failed to adequately disclose negative health effects of its Tilt and Bud Extra drinks on their labels, made false or misleading marketing claims that they help users stay up late for partying, and illegally targeted minors with its advertising. "Quite simply, alcohol mixed with high amounts of caffeine is a...

It's official: Obama will back a filibuster of any Senate FISA legislation containing telecom immunity, his campaign has just told Election Central. The Obama campaign has just sent over the following statement from spokesman Bill Burton: "To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies."