Free Republic

Proposals set the stage for debate over federal health law’s impact. Major insurers in some states are proposing hefty rate boosts for plans sold under the federal health law, setting the stage for an intense debate this summer over the law’s impact. In New Mexico, market leader Health Care Service Corp. is asking for an average jump of 51.6% in premiums for 2016. The biggest insurer in Tennessee, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, has requested an average 36.3% increase. In Maryland, market leader CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield wants to raise rates 30.4% across its products. Moda Health, the largest insurer on the...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) spoke at the Family Research Council's annual Watchmen on the Wall pastors' retreat on May 21, 2015 in Washington, D.C. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr) (CNSNews.com) – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Thursday that Democrats are putting the homosexual rights agenda ahead of religious liberty. “The modern Democratic Party has become so radical, so extreme that they have determined that their devotion to mandatory gay marriage in all 50 states trumps any allegiance to religious liberty under the First Amendment,” Cruz said at the Family Research Council’s annual pastor retreat in Washington, D.C. Cruz, who has already launched his campaign for...

In the final decade of the Cold War, President Reagan urged Americans to “trust by verify” when engaged in arms control negotiations with the Soviet Union. When digesting academic research, it might be a good idea to reverse this formula and verify first, and then, if possible, trust, the information offered. Case in point: Harvard historian Naomi Oreskes. In a chapter in the book How Well Do Facts Travel? Oreskes attempts to unearth a connection between global warming skeptics and the energy industry, specifically a company called Western Fuels. Oreskes asserts that she has in her possession “leaked Western Fuels...

On Monday, FreedomWorks and the Center for American Progress (CAP) joined forces to invite bloggers, writers, and some think-tank analysts for a daylong conference on justice reform. One of the aspects I liked about the conference is that it shows on some issues the left and right can agree. It’s disconcerting that we’ve gradually lost the ability to have a conversation with one another–the Indiana RFRA fiasco is a result of this decay in public discourse. So, it didn’t end like the Red Wedding­; it didn’t even turn out like the end of Gangs of New York. In fact,...

MSNBC’s “Hardball” host Chris Matthews wondered if since Franklin Roosevelt “was very secretive and manipulative” knowing that Hillary “is secretive” is “going to help us get any further here” on Thursday.

Asked by Fox News’ Bret Baier about his “flip-flop” on immigration reform, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker responded by unilaterally redefining the term: “A flip would be someone who voted on something — and did something different,” he averred.This is really a remarkable example of political spin. According to Walker’s definition, you can change your mind as many times as you want — on as many hot-button issues as possible — so long as your past public support didn’t involve casting a vote. It’s a pretty convenient argument for a Midwestern county executive, turned governor, to make (although, even this deserves an asterisk).This new rule would...

Ted Cruz is using Chuck Hagel to destroy Chuck Hagel. This is brilliant. #Hagel— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) January 31, 2013 Ted Cruz just pummeled Chuck Hagel…— NoSoup4u (@gstokes13) January 31, 2013 Indeed. Senator Cruz continued his streak of awesome during his questioning of Chuck Hagel at his Secretary of Defense hearing.Ted Cruz notes that Hagel hasn’t been transparent and cooperative with the committee.— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) January 31, 2013 Cruz hits Hagel for lack of disclosure on speeches — transcripts, who paid him, where the money come from.— Andrew Stiles (@AndrewStilesNRO) January 31, 2013 Senator Ted Cruz is smacking...

For three years, Wisconsin prosecutors have been investigating whether Republican Gov. Scott Walker broke campaign finance laws as he battled a 2012 recall effort sparked by his push for a law that undercut the power of public sector unions. Prosecutors allege that Walker and his aides illegally coordinated with conservative groups that were raising money and running ads to support Walker and his Republican allies. At least one group at the center of the probe, the Wisconsin Club for Growth, has gone to court to stop the investigation. Its fate now rests with the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which will rule...

FBI agents can’t point to any major terrorism cases they’ve cracked thanks to the key snooping powers in the Patriot Act, the Justice Department’s inspector general said in a report Thursday that could complicate efforts to keep key parts of the law operating. Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said that between 2004 and 2009, the FBI tripled its use of bulk collection under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which allows government agents to compel businesses to turn over records and documents, and increasingly scooped up records of Americans who had no ties to official terrorism investigations. The FBI did...

Barack Obama says,“We’re not losing,” the war against ISIS in Iraq. Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, May 21, 2015, 10:54 PM Barack Obama says,“We’re not losing,” the war against ISIS in Iraq. Baghdad Barack Tell that to the Ramadi refugees. After ISIS takes Ramadi, Iraq and Palmyra, Syria, Barack Obama insists we are not losing. Yahoo reported: US President Barack Obama has described the loss of key Iraqi territory to Islamic State as a tactical setback, while insisting the war against the jihadist group is not being lost. “I don’t think we’re losing,” Obama said in an interview with...

Waco police took issue with online conspiracy theories regarding Sunday's shooting at a Twin Peaks restaurant, with a spokesman saying Thursday the department "can't wait" to show the public "what truly happened." Police have said after a disturbance in the parking lot Sunday, a fight began in the restaurant's bathroom that quickly escalated into an armed brawl and shootout that left nine motorcycle gang members dead and another 18 injured. According to Waco police, the deadly altercation began after one gang of bikers showed up uninvited to a planned meeting of other motorcycle groups at the restaurant. "You will eventually...

In all this talk about whether the economy will be strong enough to support the first policy change of this cycle, and how utterly sad it is to even have to argue about it, the larger issues about the exact operational framework remain largely unexamined. The intent of the FOMC is to undergo an orderly transition from extraordinary policy positions toward a setting more like normal. To go from A to B is not as simple as plugging in a new number, a fact that Federal Reserve officials are very quietly dealing with. The Fed has a repo problem, one...

Why Scott Walker FLip-Flopped. One of the few intelligent and worthwhile things that John Maynard Keynes contributed to society is the following quote “When my information changes, I alter my conclusions. What do you do, sir?” Governor Scott Walker’s information has recently changed. Remember that Governor Walker had the guts to back down the Progressive Establishment in The Democratic Party of Wisconsin. It thus comes as no surprise that he also has the guts to take on the increasingly progressive and less pro-American pro-immigration caucus in the GOP. Walker explains his qualms concerning this headlong rush to replace domestic American...

You can hardly blame the public for its lack of enthusiasm in bringing the 2024 Summer Olympics to Boston. People have memories, short and long. Still fresh in their minds is the breakdown of mass transportation in Greater Boston when the MBTA and its commuter rail network shut down during the series of snowstorms that paralyzed the city. Yes, there was a failure of equipment that had not been properly maintained, but there was also a failure of management leadership

Hillary Clinton has posted her resume on LinkedIn. After all, she is “looking for a new job.” But Hillary’s resume is incomplete, a Free Beacon analysis found. She appears to have omitted a crucial element of her recent work experience: her failed presidential candidacy (2007—2008).

ANOTHER REASON WHY HILLARY CLINTON DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE PRESIDENT Anti-Hillary Clinton political ads are writing themselves on a weekly basis. The latest source is this New York Times report that Hillary’s private email account contained sensitive information. The official name for the information is “sensitive but unclassified” (SBU). What sensitive but unclassified information did Hillary have in her private account. According to the Times, “that information included the whereabouts and travel plans of American officials in Libya as security there deteriorated during the uprising against the leadership of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011.” Considering the fate of Christopher...

A number of states are quietly considering merging their healthcare exchanges under ObamaCare amid big questions about their cost and viability. Many of the 13 state-run ObamaCare exchanges are worried about how they’ll survive once federal dollars supporting them run dry next year. Others are contemplating creating multi-state exchanges as a contingency plan for a looming Supreme Court ruling expected next month that could prevent people from getting subsidies to buy ObamaCare on the federal exchange. The idea is still only in the infancy stage. It’s unclear whether a California-Oregon or New York-Connecticut health exchange is on the horizon. But...

Police are warning about an old scam with a new a very dangerous twist and Wednesday night, a Church Hill woman became a victim. Nicole Smith got a call that said she owed almost $1,000 to the IRS. When she refused to pay the scammers, they called the police on her. (snip) Smith then called her ex-husband to tell him what happened, but the ordeal wasn't over. The same person called back telling her to look out her window. "There were four police cars outside my window! I was panicked because I couldn't believe, how did he get four police...

“A dictatorship was impossible in our Republic because power was widely diffused. Today, as we approach Democratic Socialism, all power is being centralized at the apex of the executive branch of the federal government. This concentration of power makes a dictatorship inevitable.” (Gary Allen, “None Dare Call it Conspiracy,” page 34) The aforementioned quote and book were written in 1971. Good Day to you, SHTF readers. This article is going to mention some of the “finer points” utilized by the executive branch (Obama) toward the totalitarian end-state he desires. The end state of slavery he erroneously (and intentionally) labels a...

A few broad distinctions have defined the United States' two main parties for decades. Republicans advocate smaller government, less taxation, and less regulation. According to the Pew Research Center, their supporters tend to be whiter, older, and more likely to identify as Christian than the average American. Democrats see the potential to alleviate certain perceived social ills through regulation and legislation, funded by taxation. They rely more on young people and ethnic and religious minorities for support. This familiar conservative-liberal political axis has been augmented in recent years by a second axis, which contrasts establishment and anti-establishment agendas. Anti-establishment groups...