Free Republic

Activists demand answers to lawmakers' falsification of documents for ObamaCare perks. Americans fed up with the unbridled arrogance of the nation’s “ruling class” are about to be further infuriated. As American Commitment president Phil Kerpen reveals, there’s yet another outrageous scandal occurring on Capitol Hill, where the House and Senate have falsely certified themselves as small businesses so they can fund themselves and their staffs with taxpayer-funded health insurance—sidestepping ObamaCare provisions in the process. “They conspired to break the law,” Kerpen told Front Page. In an interview with Newsmax TV, Kerpen reminded viewers that Americans had “demanded” Congress enter the...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The child protection agency in Hennepin County has been ignoring reports of child abuse to ease its caseload and control its budget, according to a national child welfare group. The group, Casey Family Programs, studied the county's system for months and presented the findings of a report released last week to the Hennepin County board on Thursday. Casey Family Programs director Dee Wilson also told the board that child protection workers commonly screened out abuse reports, which means families weren't visited and services weren't offered, the Star Tribune ( http://strib.mn/1IhwPjh ) reported. Additionally, neglect cases are looked...

Monday’s big election law news came from the Supreme Court’s penultimate decision of the term upholding Arizona’s congressional districts. But before handing down its last three decisions, the court made voting-rights advocates happy by deciding not to review a different election case. “Arizona citizens can continue to participate in voter registration drives without worrying about not having proof of citizenship documents,” Shirley Sandelands, of the League of Women Voters of Arizona, said in a statement Monday. The case, Kobach, et al. v. Election Assistance Commission, et al., was about whether Arizona and Kansas could require voters to prove their citizenship...

Monday’s big election law news came from the Supreme Court’s penultimate decision of the term upholding Arizona’s congressional districts. But before handing down its last three decisions, the court made voting-rights advocates happy by deciding not to review a different election case. “Arizona citizens can continue to participate in voter registration drives without worrying about not having proof of citizenship documents,” Shirley Sandelands, of the League of Women Voters of Arizona, said in a statement Monday. The case, Kobach, et al. v. Election Assistance Commission, et al., was about whether Arizona and Kansas could require voters to prove their citizenship...

The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Thursday credited the civil rights movement for breaking down barriers and bringing the South into the modern world. Thanks to the efforts of activists, the South renewed itself and became attractive to investors and others. And now, in the wake of last week’s mass shooting at Emanuel AME Church, Jackson sees an opportunity to address the systemic problems that have persisted since the 1960s.

NCBA will engage EPA in lawsuit alleging overreach in Waters of the U.S. rule, group says. Concerns of cattlemen regarding the U.S. EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Waters of the U.S. rule released last month are coming true, National Cattlemen's Beef Association Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall said Tuesday, but that's actually generating more support for repeal efforts. We just got some more feedback this last weekend that it's the determination of the EPA that any stock tank or pond that runs around in a flooding type event would be considered a 'water of the United States,'"...

The Small Business Committee, under the chairmanship of Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), today conducted a hearing about how small businesses would be affected by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) and United States Army Corps of Engineers' proposed rule to expand the Clean Water Act. Last week, Graves and Members of the Committee wrote to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy, who oversees the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to urge withdrawal of the pending rule. Among the witnesses' and Members' concerns, the EPA and Corps of Engineers did not adequately assess the impact of...

The Social Security Administration (SSA) paid individuals acting as representatives for disabled beneficiaries nearly $50 million even though they were dead.An audit from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) is just the latest example of the SSA’s inability to figure out who on their rolls is still alive.The audit focused on “representative payees,” or a person who manages another’s finances due to mental or physical limitations. The OIG found that many payees acting on behalf of disability beneficiaries had died.“SSA did not ensure new representative payees were selected when current payees died,” the OIG said. “Based on our sample results,...

NEW YORK – Along with filing financial reports filled with errors and misstatements, “Big Four” accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers neglected to verify whether the Clinton Foundation obtained tax-exempt status for its various sub-entities, including its AIDS charity, contends respected Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel. As WND has reported, Ortel’s six-month investigation indicates the Clintons have diverted tens millions of dollars donated for charitable purposes to the personal enrichment of themselves and their close associates. He says PWC neglected to exercise due diligence in fulfilling its professional responsibilities in conducting even the most basic inquiries required of an honest audit. PWC, he...

Forty hours in a single day? Some excellent reporting here by Diana Stancy of The Daily Signal. I realize that when we start talking about dollars in reference to a federal agency, it’s hard to know what’s excessive. Amtrak pays $200 million in a single year just for overtime? Is that a lot? In the context of a $3.7 trillion federal budget? Short answer: Yes. Amtrak’s entire personnel cost amounts to $1.2 billion, so you’re talking about one-sixth of that in overtime. But it’s when you really dig down into the reporting of hours that it becomes clear some of...

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)80% cast the deciding vote for Obamatrade on Tuesday as it squeeked through the U.S. Senate 60-37, and his Senate office is still outright refusing to answer whether he even knew what he was voting on.

The Senate on Tuesday voted to advance President Obama’s trade agenda, approving a measure to end debate on fast-track authority. The 60-37 motion sets up a vote on final passage on Wednesday. If the Senate approves fast-track or trade promotion authority (TPA), it would then be sent to Obama’s desk to become law. Fast-track authority would allow Obama to send trade deals to Congress for up-or-down votes. The White House wants the authority to conclude negotiations on a sweeping trans-Pacific trade deal. Thirteen Democrats backed fast-track in Tuesday’s vote, handing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) a major legislative victory....

Boulder County is falsifying road maintenance data, and the Colorado Department of Transportation is refusing to verify the filings, some residents of the county’s subdivisions say. Chuck Wibby, chairman of the Boulder County Fairness in Road Maintenance community group, provided Watchdog.org with nearly a dozen examples of roads Boulder County rated as good in its 2012 road inventory report to CDOT – roads the county’s own contractor rated as fair to poor that year. “It’s sort of the textbook definition of fraud,” he said, adding the group sent state officials a letter with his allegations against the county. “The county...

Most curators hope to get glowing reviews and popular acclaim when they mount an exhibit. Michael Kamber, on the other hand, is expecting some blowback for his latest show, “Altered Images: 150 Years of Posed and Manipulated Documentary Photography,” which opens this weekend at the Bronx Documentary Center. And he’s perfectly O.K. with that. “I think there will be some unhappy people,” said Mr. Kamber, a photojournalist and founder of the center. “That’s good. If people would stop faking photos, then they wouldn’t have to be worried about being called out.” The exhibit, a selection of well-known images that have...

The Clinton confidant under scrutiny on Capitol Hill over detailed Libya memos he sent to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told lawmakers earlier this week he has been pulling in $200,000 a year from Clinton ally David Brock's media operation, congressional sources tell FoxNews.com. The figure is far higher than initially reported. While the payments to Sidney Blumenthal may not reflect any apparent conflict of interest, his work with Brock's liberal advocacy and media groups was a focus of his high-profile deposition on Tuesday before the House Benghazi committee. Republicans' rationale for the questioning was that his financial and political...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled its proposal for new fuel-economy standards that apply to big rigs and other heavy-duty trucks, marking another step in the Obama administration’s push for stricter climate regulations. Based on a draft released Friday, the federal rules will require that tractors use 24% less fuel compared to projected 2018 levels. Heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans must achieve a 16% reduction. The pending rules impact large diesel-powered vehicles like 18-wheelers, buses, garbage trucks and heavy-duty pickups. These commercial vehicles account for roughly 7% of all vehicles on U.S. roads but 25% of fuel consumption. Friday’s draft...

Twelve Chicago area medical professionals have been charged as part of a nationwide Medicare fraud takedown by the U.S. attorney’s office. The nationwide takedown by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force operated in 17 districts and resulted in charges against 243 people, according to the statement. According to prosecutors, the takedown is the largest in strike force history in terms of the loss amount, $712 million, and the number of defendants charged.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Televangelist Joel Osteen was preaching tolerance on a visit to San Francisco on Monday. Osteen said his ministry is about uplifting people and letting people find their own journey. Osteen’s acceptance of the LGBT community puts him at odds with some of his fellow Christian teleevangelists such as Franklin Graham.

The payments couldn’t help but catch the attention of the top procurement official at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Employees in the purchasing department of a VA hospital in the Bronx had used government purchase cards like credit cards at least 2,000 times to buy prosthetic legs and arms for veterans. Each time they swiped the cards, it was for $24,999. That was precisely one dollar below VA’s charging limit for purchase cards. When word reached Congress about the $54,435,743 worth of prosthetics bought under such odd circumstances over two years — the subject of an inspector general investigation announced...

By most accounts, there should be no nexus between the spaces occupied by Lord Acton, and Willie Sutton. It was Lord Acton, 19th century English Catholic historian and statesman whose quarrel with Anglican Archbishop Mandell Creighton prompted Acton’s famous axiom: “ Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Willie Sutton, 20th century legendary American bank robber whose appetite for vacuuming bank vaults, cashiers’ drawers, and jewelry cases, provoked lifelong unrepentant recidivism, when asked why he robbed banks, quipped: “ Because that’s where the money is.” With gymnastics perhaps unmatched by any political duo in U.S. history, Hillary Clinton,...