Free Republic

The rationale for the federal government’s “Head Start” program is to give disadvantaged students a boost with their school work. Sadly, though, a recently completed research study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reveals that students enrolled in the program actually do worse than similarly disadvantaged peers not in the program. The biggest deficits show up in math and behavior. Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urged that “we should not read too much into these findings. Given our society’s widespread access to computers, calculators, and cash registers that can do the math for us, proficiency in math may not...

Stung by being called an “idiot” by Senator David Vitter (R-Louisiana) for his claim that victims of 2012′s Hurricane Sandy suffered more than victims of 2005′s Hurricane Katrina, Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev) attempted to explain his way out the scathing characterization. “My colleague’s focus on quantitative data overlooks qualitative differences between the two events,” Reid argued. “First, New Jersey and New York are states where many important people live. Many of the homes that were destroyed were million dollar properties. The same could be said for the businesses.” “Most of the properties destroyed by Katrina were more like broken down...

This is a guest post by Senator Ima Librul (D., Utopia) on the fine art of growing pineapples. I am a Librul and justly proud of the great good we are doing for the entire World. This is my creed: it is irresponsible to be concerned about the future when our own leaders and our other experts tell us that only good things will happen if we do exactly as they say. The brightest and best, we are never wrong! Don't think. Don't question. Just follow our Dear Leader. My small garden had thirty pineapple plants. Twenty of them had...

“I don’t think legitimate sportsmen are going to say, ‘I need an assault weapon to go hunting,’” Cuomo said, according to the New York Times. “There is a balance here — I understand the rights of gun owners; I understand the rights of hunters.” Cuomo indicated the state will likely force some kind of permit process on owners of semi-automatic “assault weapons.” In addition to generating revenue and expanding the size and reach of government, the effort will allow the state to confiscate the weapons of citizens who do not comply. “Confiscation could be an option. Mandatory sale to the...

"On this Thanksgiving Day, let me say this: God Bless America the only country on this [bleep] planet where you still have the freedom to build AKs in defense of Motherland! The only country where a [bleep] shovel can become an awesome weapon of death and destruction."

After finding a portrait subject, he asks her to put together a hot-pot meal using veggies and ingredients native to her country. They then assemble the foods into the shape of a gun and do a portrait shoot. Once the photograph is made, Ozawa and his model disassemble the delicious weapon, cook the ingredients, and share a meal together.

If President Obama is reelected, redistribution will go into even higher gear. I want His promise that I'll get mine. Now, so I will know how to vote. As President Obama well knows, the best socio-economic system ever devised is based on the premise "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." Now old and creaky, my abilities are few and my needs are great. When President Obama again makes history by being sworn in as our first reelected President of this century on January 20th, soon to be celebrated annually as ChristObamamas, there are some...

I just saw a funny Tweet from @jimnorton, in which he “condemns� Mitt Romney’s father for “murdering roses� when he placed one on his wife’s bedstand every night. (Romney scored emotionally in last night’s speech when he recalled that his mother found out his father had died because the rose was missing.)Thing is, Norton’s jibe is not quite as off the wall as some might think. Switzerland has, for instance, placed the “dignity� of individual plants in its constitution. The government then asked a big brained bioethics commission to explain why individual plants have dignity (they share molecular material with...

A funny thing happened on the way to economic Armageddon: Iceland’s very desperation made conventional behavior impossible, freeing the nation to break the rules. Where everyone else bailed out the bankers and made the public pay the price, Iceland let the banks go bust and actually expanded its social safety net. Where everyone else was fixated on trying to placate international investors, Iceland imposed temporary controls on the movement of capital to give itself room to maneuver.

Former Marine Raub Brandon was taken by FBI and Secret Service last night (8/15/12) for his patriotic Facebook Posts. Now being held in mental hospital...DEVELOPING STORY!! Video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UCQ1VwhdRU&feature=player_profilepage

Pressure is increasing on Uncle Joe to step aside and allow Barack to pick a less embarrassing Democrat for the number two position on the ticket. Until such an event occurs, the Romney-Ryan team will have to prepare for a bout with numb-skulled Joe. Romney's debate experts, tasked with finding the best proxy opponent to practice against, winnowed their choices down to a bag of damp sand and a butternut squash. The verbal feint, thrust and parry abilities were identical for the sand and squash, but in the final analysis, the butternut's penchant for wildly disconnected false accusation won the...

•It seems that recently Rahm came home and found a brown paper bag sitting on his front porch and demanded to know how it got there and what it was from his security detail. After all, there are police guarding his house front and rear 24/7. The police are not supposed to come on the front porch and the 1st watch detail knew nothing about it. Looking inside it was determined that it contained tomatoes and various vegetables. And the Case of the Killer Tomatoes was closed with no evil consequence. And so far as can be determined, just one...

A $348 million contract to maintain the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was awarded this week by the U.S. Department of State to PAE Government Services, which will be tasked with delivering operations and maintenance services for the 104-acre compound. An unspecified portion of that amount will be devoted to providing a residence manager, two cooks, two waiters, and four housekeepers to serve the U.S. ambassador and deputy chief of mission. It also remains unclear how much will be spent on lawn maintenance, though The Peacock Report -- U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor's predecessor site -- reported back in 2005 that...

How's that workin-out... The Congressional Budget Office never did quite buy-into the Obamacare 'savings' spiel; their far-more sober assessment after 'finding out what's in it' produced a federal cost estimate of $944B for the decade (2010-2019).   Yet last week Forbes took a fresh look at the CBO's lastest and found forecasts in a clear uptrend over the last two years, so much so that Obamacare's total decade cost now stands at an eye-watering $1.856 TRILLION, with over $1.3B of that deficit spending, not-at-all paid-for yet. Although the costs have already doubled, the article made it abundantly clear that most of...

Here is my GARDEN SIGN that I put up just after the Supreme Court travesty/gaffe-cision.

It’s distressing that the Michigan Senator chairing the U.S. Senate Agricultural committee doesn’t know that, despite rumors, Michigan’s agriculture does not represent the state’s second-largest industry. In a recent press release on proposed assistance to agricultural industries, Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s office claimed: “Bio-based manufacturing is a key sector of Michigan's agriculture industry, which is Michigan's second largest industry, supporting nearly one out of every four jobs.” But these statistics being used by the Democrat from Lansing are a hypothetical guess using an inflated definition of agriculture and a multiplier factor. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, there are 63,667...

In a recent interview with The Guardian, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, stated that it is not her policies that are driving coal-fired power plants out of business, but rather organic changes in the American electricity market. Scapegoating natural gas, Jackson claims that low natural-gas prices and booming gas production are depressing coal consumption. But what Jackson fails to mention is that explicitly due to the EPA’s stringent regulations that some coal production is now non-econommical. The price coal-fired power plants would have to pay to comply with new, burdensome regulations is so expensive, that many coal mines are forced to...

As it turns out, new research has determined that a judgmental attitude may just go hand in hand with exposure to organic foods. In fact, a new study published this week in the journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science, has found that organic food may just make people act a bit like jerks.

Despite being prohibited by no less than the United States Constitution, cruel and unusual punishment is apparently in vogue at the EPA. Obviously former EPA administrator Al Almendariz meant figurative crucifixion, but his negative attitude betrays an alarming view towards oil and natural gas companies that provide over 90 percent of primary residential energy consumption. Thankfully Al Almendariz resigned when his comments recently came to light nearly two years after he made them. That’s two years of crucifying oil and natural gas companies while Obama wastes money Solyndra and other on failed green collar projects. Green energy provides less than...

Evidently a spending increase just shy of $1 billion is not enough for Governor Martin O’Malley and the Democrat leadership in Maryland’s General Assembly. Today, May 14, lawmakers will return to Annapolis to pass the Governor’s tax hike proposal, allowing Gov. O’Malley to increase spending by over $1 billion from last year’s budget. Under Gov. O’Malley’s proposal, about one in five Marylanders will see their taxes rise. WBAL is reporting that the proposal will set new income tax rates on Marylanders making over $100,000 a year. However, there is a potential House-Senate compromise that could lower the threshold to just...

If jobs are any measure, 14 Michigan "green" companies that were awarded $34.5 million in taxpayer funded grants and loans aren't generating much heat. According to the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the companies have reported a total of 183 jobs. While a final report will not be issued until June, calls and emails to the companies indicate the total number will not be much higher. The state awarded the grants and loans in 2009 and 2010 under its Clean Energy Advanced Manufacturing Program. The money came from federal stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The federal government...

FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 10 AM EDT SUNDAY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A FREEZE WARNING... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 10 AM EDT SUNDAY. THE FREEZE WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. * LOCATIONS... NORTHERN CONNECTICUT... NORTHERN RHODE ISLAND AND MUCH OF MASSACHUSETTS. * HAZARDS... FREEZING TEMPERATURES. * TEMPERATURES... RANGING FROM THE MID 20S TO THE LOW 30S. * TIMING... AFTER MIDNIGHT THROUGH 10 AM. * IMPACTS... FREEZING CONDITIONS COULD KILL ANY CROPS OR OTHER SENSITIVE VEGETATION.

Hundreds of OWS training workshops took place this month throughout the country, in all 50 states, including small rural areas. Inside one of the training workshops, attendees report that OWS is “specifically instructed to go to any and all Tea Party gatherings, rallies, etc., to be confrontational and create havoc and disruption.” They are being trained to recruit and enlarge their numbers in their assigned geographic locations, to use the correct messaging, to incite any opponents, engage in confrontation, employ tactics to evade police blockades and create gridlock. OWS workshops are extremely organized and clearly well funded. Each workshop had...

Over $200,000 in federal stimulus funds were used to relocate one manzanita bush from a highway median in San Francisco. This feat was undertaken even though the normal practice is simply to bulldoze unwanted vegetation in the path of roadway expansion. “Every life is precious,” explained Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) in whose district the expenditure was made. “Just because the same plant can be bought from a commercial nursery for under $20 doesn’t mean we should wantonly kill one merely because it is unwanted. Luckily, we were able to find it an adoptive home.” The plant’s new home will be...

So, is there anyone left who still doesn’t recognize the absurd upside-down priorities of government driven by political correctness and environmental extremism? If so, get a gander at this news out of San Franciso (where else?): (CNSNews.com) – The government spent at least $205,075 in 2010 to ‘translocate’ a single bush in San Francisco that stood in the path of a$1.045-billion highway-renovation project that was partially funded by the economic stimulus legislation President Barack Obama signed in 2009. Yeah, a couple hundred grand of your tax money to move a bush. “Why?” you might ask. . .

In January 2012 a [then] quiet deal was struck between SOE Software (then the leading US vote tabulation company. Scytl is said to be strongly linked to George Soros. The Obama syndicate members arranged the deal and Obama’s now wholly-owned rubber-stamp Congress agreed to it. That’s right. A foreign company may now, ostensibly and unconstitutionally, determine who wins US “elections.” Of extreme interest, Scytl’s CEO, Pere Valles, was the former VP and CFO of GlobalNet whose headquarters were based in Obama’s then base of operations Chicago. Although apparently scrubbed from Obama’s donor list (as so many negative and potentially negative-to-Obama...

Any serious strike against Tehran would almost certainly trigger a larger Middle East war... and time is not on the Israelis' side: here's how the IDF is likely planning to win, and win BIG: The Assad regime in Damascus has long been one of a number of deterrents to any Israeli military strike on the Iranian nuclear program. They -along with their Hezbollah allies in Lebanon- would likely launch a vicious missile barrage (at minimum) against the world's only Jewish state if Iran was attacked. Israel may possess the world's most comprehensive anti-missile defenses, but considering Iranian proxy Hezbollah now has over...

It is now more obvious than ever that Newt Gingrich should stay in this race. If for no other reason he needs to do so to keep repeating his questions and answers on fuel. Over the coming months he needs to get others to repeat and spread the truth about our oil capacities and this is the way to do it. Keeping the debate going will spotlight the current debacle that is the Administration’s oil policy, the effects of Obama’s unemployment rates; the rest of the economic questions that plague us because of Obama, front and center in the MSM...

I’m watching Justice with Judge Jeanine Pirro. She personally seems to be impartial but she has this panel of three guests who are all dumping on Rick Santorum. They are mocking him for his stance on moral issues. The fact that Santorum is –doing well in the Michigan Polls is impressive – yet they are all talking about it as though it is a negative. They are acting, spinning this as though Santorum was the FAVORITE going into Michigan and he should be leading by a landslide! Following those three shills, her next guest was Joe Piscopo, who was the...

President Obama, I oppose your appointment of Michael Taylor, a former VP and Lobbyist for Monsanto, the widely criticized Genetically Modified (GM) food multinational, as Senior Advisor to the Commissioner at the FDA. Taylor is the same person who was Food Safety Czar at the FDA when Genetically Modified Organisms were allowed into the US food supply without undergoing a single test to determine their safety or risks. This is a travesty. Taylor was in charge of policy for Monsanto's now-discredited GM Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) which is directly linked to cancer and opposed by many medical and hospital organizations.

Well, here’s the totalitarian state, right before my eyes! Today in the mail came a largish envelop for me from The “National Agricultural Statistics Service”, postage and fees paid by USDA Permit No. G-38. A prominant blocked off area on the envelop front stated in large bold letters, “YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED BY LAW.” Also on the envelop and several places inside I find Obama-style logos for the USDA, and one with “AGRICULTURE COUNTS” around the outside, and at the base of the rolling landscape “NASS,” which stands for National Agricultural Statistics Service. That’s right: now we have a National...

I found this watering can over the weekend, I think it had a special use because of its shape and tiny pour spout. https://plus.google.com/photos/104740570180750966610/albums/5695710428831171889

From Payback Pictures™ comes a tale of intrigue, revenge and blood thirsty politics. The Shores of Lake Winnipesaukee is a movie that’s so dark that only political junkies will enjoy this incestuous hotbed of RINO politics. It is the story of one Republican’s maniacal pursuit of revenge on his fellow Republican candidate – a man so driven that he is willing to derail his candidacy for the sake of eliminating the competition. If you liked Santorum Spanked The Establishment, you’ll love The Shores Of Lake Winnipesaukee.

At Carolina Readiness Supply in Waynesville you can buy freeze-dried macaroni and cheese by the 20-ounce can and a solar oven in which to warm it. You can get a woven bracelet in a variety of fashionable colors that converts into handy lengths of cord. Then, in theory at least, you are prepared for almost anything: making simple repairs to your backpack, starting a fire with a friction bow or fashioning a ladder for an elaborate escape from some futureristic prison. You can buy emergency kits that contain quick-assemble shelter and his-her hygiene necessities, water purification systems, lanterns of every...

We just recently purchased 6 Buff Orpington hens that are getting ready to turn 8 months old and were already laying. Yesterday I noticed one of the girls has a black diarrhea. Not sure if it's a "stress" or if it's food or illness causing it. We currently give them layer crumble and have recently given them stale bread ( OMG They're like my labs with food , when it comes to stale bread lol ) and some cabbage leaves. Just was wondering if anyone has had experience with black diarrhea in your hens and could offer some tips.

A few years ago I swore off of writing on political topics. The frustration level just got to be too much to bear. But the recent advent of the “Occupy Wall Street” protests and the attack on capitalism has prompted back into political action. Those who know me well know that gardening is one of my passions and I’ve found over the years, and used, gardening as a fantastic metaphor for so many things in life. I want to relate a conversation I had nearly 20 years with an old neighbor of mine when I lived in the rich low-country...

At 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue the lines between trick and treat are being blurred beyond recognition. White House occupiers Barack and Michelle Obama are getting all reanimated over the approach of Liberal Christmas. Halloween, the one night of the year when extortion by threat of vandalism is alive in the streets. The rest of the year, it's just called domestic policy.

Michelle Obama will be a published author in April, when a book about her White House garden is released, Crown Publishing Group announced on Monday. The first lady’s book, “American Grown: How the White House Kitchen Garden Inspires Families, Schools and Communities” will be available on April 10, 2012, the publisher said. In the hardcover book, Obama — who launched a childhood obesity initiative in 2010 — will discuss how “increased access to healthy, affordable food can promote better eating habits and improve health of families and communities across America,” according to a press release sent from the publishing house...

As the national media continues to promote the idea that these absurd "Occupy" protests demonstrate some groundswell of popular opinion, reports continue to emerge from localized media showing how ugly these encampments are becoming. A report out of Cleveland that  police are investigating a rape claim made by a 19-year-old woman last weekend has received little attention. Do you suppose if a rape claim was made against a tea partier that it would receive more attention?It's gotten so bad in Baltimore that organizers are discouraging alleged victims from going to the police (maybe they should go to Sheriff Biden).Meanwhile,...

"…if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden…" These days on the cusp between September and October have been gloriously sunny and warm so it seemed appropriate for us to take a wander around nearby Sheffield Park. With grassy slopes, peaceful lakes and sweeping trees it’s a fitting memorial to the genius of Lancelot “Capability” Brown who originally laid it out 250 years ago.

ACTIONS speak louder than words. Let's see if Schultz stands firm or rejects his own rhetoric going forward.

When someone says “survival food preps” or “stockpiling survival food“, what do you think of? Do you think of tons of dried rice and beans stored in mylar bags? How about a basement full of #10 cans, does that come to mind? Or is it a combination of several things? When I was thinking of writing an article about survival food preps, the first thing that popped into my head was – MREs, canned goods and garden seeds. But where does perishable goods fit into that narrow picture? For the first week or so people are going to be eating...

I have lived in many countries over the years, and have always had a vegetable garden. Not just for cost, as many of the countries I have lived in have had what we considered dirt cheap food, but for the quality. Nothing compares to the taste of veggies fresh from the garden. Recently, some friends told me about the bad drought in Texas. Their gardens are blackened and burnt, with food only coming in, grudgingly, thanks to heavy watering every other day. It immediately took me back to two of the hardest places I have ever tried to raise food....

It is possible to create jobs, have healthier diets and improve the local economy by re-birthing local agriculture on small plots of land. Each pound of lettuce or eggs or beef shipped from California, Latin America or Mexico raises our dependency on foreign oil. And buying food from far away costs us jobs locally. Some communities have figured out a new path forward that fixes all that. North Carolina’s Rutherford County has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Yet some 6,000 families own between 5 and 20 acres of land, and chefs in nearby Charlotte are in...

We eat with our eyes first, don’t we? God made food attractive so we would choose to eat what’s good for us. As you walk into the produce section of your grocery store, you can’t help but notice the beautiful colors of the vegetables and fruits. It’s like a painter’s palette with its rich display of color. Green, red, yellow, purple and orange, with some of those variegated together. It’s a pretty fresh looking sight, but did you know that the colors of your acid/alkaline vegetables and fruits are important to your health. Let’s learn how you can benefit from...

Rick Perry’s promise “I’ll work every day to make Washington, D.C. as inconsequential in your life as I can.

(Or just some other kinda ordinary farm kids? My brothers and I dairied well over 40 hours a summer week when we were still in elementary school.) Nearly two years after ABC News cameras uncovered young children toiling away in Michigan's blueberry fields, federal investigators have found yet another disturbing example of illegal use of child labor in the berry industry. Three southwest Washington strawberry growers were fined $73,000 last week after the U.S. Department of Labor found children between the ages of six and 11 working in their strawberries fields in June. While an exemption in the federal child...

Again we have to ask ourselves who is vetting the hostile invaders we are alllowing to enter this country. And why isn't the press clamoring to blame the ideology that inspires these acts of war? Rep. King: More than 40 U.S. nationals have gone to Somalia to join jihad Jihad Watch Come for the jihad, stay for the samosas -- wait, what? Awww, maaaaan! "Lawmaker: 40 Americans Joined Somali Al-Qaida Linked-terror Group," from the Associated Press, July 26 (thanks to Weasel Zippers): WASHINGTON (AP) _ The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says more than 40 Americans have been...

Tim DeChristopher, a University of Utah economics major student will be sentenced Tuesday, July 26 for fraudulantly bidding at a Bureau of Land Management Auction more than two years ago. DeChristopher is an environmental, climate change justice activist who posed as a bidder for leases for oil drilling in eastern Utah. He kept bidding and bidding, even though he did not have the cash or the intent to pay for the lease. His whole fraud activity upset the normal procedures of federal government business with the private sector. Those who side with him believe that he is a hero saving...

Bats, as scary as they are to some, are one of the more useful mammals in creation. The diets of those species common in Pennsylvania consist of mosquitoes and other insect pests including the ones that damage crops. A colony of 100 brown bats can consume of a quarter-million insects in a single night. Science magazine has estimated the pest control service provided by bats can save farmers about $74 per acre. Well, the unattractive wind turbines built at the hectoring of the nature worshipers who've managed to convince most that they are the arbiters of all dogma scientific are...