Free Republic

There has been the usual tax day-related glut of articles from liberal publications urging a federal takeover of the tax preparation business. As always, the ultra-left wing blog Pro Publica took the lead, followed predictably by outlets such as Slate, Vox, and Tax Analysts, as well as respectable news outlets like Bloomberg View and Yahoo!. The basic argument is always the same: the IRS has all this information on you anyway, so wouldn't it just be easier and better if they simply prepared your taxes for you? Wouldn't that be better than having to pay some rent-seeking middleman? This flawed...

After a months-long battle with the city of Irwindale over complaints about a spicy odor, Sriracha sauce creator David Tran said Wednesday that he is now seriously considering moving his factory to another location. Tran responded Wednesday to the politicians and business leaders from 10 states and multiple cities in California who have offered to host the Sriracha factory. He invited them to tour the facility in Irwindale and decide if their communities would complain about the odors that arise during production. Tran stressed that he has not decided whether to move, but would like to explore his options. The...

Jindo, South Korea (CNN) -- There were 46 lifeboats on the sunken South Korean ferry -- but only one was deployed, CNN affiliate YTN reported Thursday. CNN has not been able to independently confirm the report. If true, the report will add to the anger and desperation of families still waiting for word on the fate of 287 missing passengers. Video acquired by another affiliate JTBC showed at least 12 of the white survival capsules still attached to the ferry even as it was keeled over in the water. The survival capsules hold lifeboats.... At one point or another, the...

Key members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform expressed outrage at revelations made in newly released emails showing ex-IRS official Lois Lerner coordinating with the Department of Justice on prosecuting nonprofit groups. One committee member said the emails prove why the IRS is “scared to give up the rest of Lois Lerner’s emails.” IRS commissioner John Koskinen was recently threatened with contempt for stonewalling the committee’s investigation. Koskinen claimed in a hearing that it could take years to provide the documents requested by Oversight. “The release of new documents underscores the political nature of IRS Tea Party...

At the end of the day, we all want Americans to have access to affordable, quality healthcare, but Obamacare is the wrong path to get to that goal. As we begin to review the qualifications and record of President Obama’s new nominee to become HHS Secretary, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, current director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), will have to answer a number of very important questions during her upcoming confirmation hearings before both the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. And while Ms. Burwell was unanimously confirmed to become OMB director,...

A bombshell revelation has brought the IRS scandal to a new level. Judicial Watch has released internal IRS communications revealing that former Tax Exempt Organizations director Lois Lerner was in contact with the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding whether it was possible to criminally prosecute tax-exempt groups she believed had “lied” about their political activity. Judicial Watch obtained the documents by successfully filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the IRS in October 2013, following the agency’s stonewall of four FOIA requests dating back to the previous May. Contained in those documents is an email exchange between Lerner...

Syria's opposition fighters have been supplied with U.S.-made anti-tank missiles, the first time a major American weapons system has appeared in rebel hands. It is unclear how the rebels obtained the wire-guided missiles, which are capable of penetrating heavy armor and fortifications and are standard in the U.S. military arsenal. The United States has sold them in the past to Turkey, among other countries, and the Pentagon approved the sale of 15,000 of the weapons to Saudi Arabia in December. Both countries aid Syrian opposition groups. U.S. officials declined to discuss the origin of the weapons but did not dispute...

UPDATE: Late Wednesday, Colorado Democrats abandoned the radical bill after not having enough votes: Colorado Democrats abandoned their own divisive abortion proposal Wednesday, axing the bill after one lawmaker expressed indecision and it became clear they might not have the votes to pass it in a chamber where every vote matters. Democrats used a legislative maneuver to shelve a bill that would have banned any state regulation of reproductive decisions such as abortion and contraception. It had been scheduled for a vote Wednesday evening in the Senate, where the party holds a slim one-seat majority. The move came after Sen....

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has signed a pro-life bill that the state’s pro-life groups were pressing for her to sign after approval by the state legislature. HB 2284 would make sure that abortion clinics are treated the same as other medical facilities by allowing for unannounced inspections. arizonalogoHere’s what Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod has to say about it in an email to LifeNews: “Arizona’s thriving pro-life movement has had another tremendous victory today as Governor Brewer has signed the Women’s Health Protection Act (HB 2284). This law ensures abortion clinics are subject to the same inspection standards...

Europe is facing its largest human rights crisis in over two decades, according to the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe (CoE). The human rights watchdog, in a report published on Wednesday (16), says corruption, human trafficking, racism and discrimination persist across Europe. […] CoE secretary general Thorbjørn Jagland—in a statement entitled “Europe in biggest human rights crisis since Cold War”—said the lack of democratic checks and balances, free media and an independent judiciary is the cause of widespread corruption and misuse of power. He is calling for a “new pan-European security agenda” to help stem the abuse. …

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: From Katie Pavlich at Town Hall.com: "According to new IRS emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request from Judicial Watch, former head of tax exempt groups at the IRS Lois Lerner was in contact with the Department of Justice in May 2013 about whether tax exempt groups could be criminally prosecuted for 'lying' about political activity." So Eric Holder and Lois Lerner not only are liars, they're in cahoots. Lois Lerner was asking the Department of Justice to criminally prosecute people like Catherine Engelbrecht. This woman, this Lerner, this is a witch. This is a...

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The Arizona Senate has approved a bill that would allow cities and towns to enter restricted federal land without permission in emergencies. ... Republican bill sponsor Rep. Kelly Townsend of Mesa says she was inspired by the battle between the city of Tombstone and the federal government over access to repair its water supply system in the Coronado National Forest. She says local authorities should have the right to go in where needed without being granted approval first in cases of emergency.

Los Angeles police officers tampered with voice recording equipment in dozens of patrol cars in an effort to avoid being monitored while on duty, according to records and interviews. An inspection by Los Angeles Police Department investigators found about half of the estimated 80 cars in one South L.A. patrol division were missing antennas, which help capture what officers say in the field. The antennas in at least 10 more cars in nearby divisions had also been removed. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and other top officials learned of the problem last summer but chose not to investigate which officers were...

A popular place to buy Easter candy was shut down by the city of Philadelphia on Wednesday. The shelves of Blasius Chocolate Factory on the 1800 block of East Venango Street in Kensington are stocked. However on Wednesday, no one was able to buy anything after the City of Philadelphia moved in with police to shut down the well-known business. “These last four days make or break me. I don’t think I will be able to survive this year,” said Philip Kerwick, owner. Kerwick admits he’s racked up a $12,000 delinquent tax bill. […] Kerwick says he’s tried to negotiate...

The outlook for the president’s health care overhaul suddenly appears brighter, and some Democrats are saying it’s time for the party to openly embrace the law that Republicans consider their best campaign weapon. Activists in one Senate race are doing just that. Other Democratic candidates, however, remain wary, unsure that a modest dose of good news will be enough to offset countless TV ads denouncing “Obamacare.” Those worries are well founded, say Republicans who shrug off the developments Democrats tout. […] Republicans already were pushing their luck by vowing to “repeal and replace” the health care law without having a...

Radio Interview with the heroic yet humble Clive Bundy. Must hear1

On April 16th – the same day Michael Bloomberg told NBC's Today show that his gun control push "isn't gun control" – he released a new ad targeting parents who have kids in the home yet own guns. The ad is an emotional appeal aimed at building support for new gun control restrictions on gun owners with kids in the home, specifically focused on having guns in the home locked up. In the ad, a young girl and her brother play hide and seek. The girl hides in her parents' closet and finds a pistol that the parents kept in...

Final Four most outstanding player Shabazz Napier complained on the eve of UConn's tournament win over Kentucky that he sometimes goes to bed "starving" as a student-athlete. The NCAA has heard the growls of Shabazz's stomach. The NCAA announced that schools can now provide student-athletes with unlimited food. The NCAA release called the Division 1 rule revision "an effort to meet the nutritional needs of all student-athletes." Prior to Tuesday's change, schools could provide their competitors with a stipend or dining hall pass good for three meals a day, a deprivation which sent Mr. Shabazz to sleep starving. Other changes...

Scientists at CERN have confirmed the existence of a new 'exotic' particle International team used the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) detector The particle was first detected in 2007 but it has only now been confirmed Dubbed Z(4430), the discovery challenges existing models of physics It may also indicate that a new type of neutron star, a quark star, existsIn the early 1930s, scientists were fairly confident they understood subatomic physics. That was until dozens of new elementary particles were discovered in the 1950s, forcing scientists to rewrite their models. Now a new particle, first detected in 2007 but not...