Free Republic

Perhaps the saddest thing -as we watch Iraq's hard-won democracy/liberty collapse before our eyes- is that the takeover of large swathes of territory by an 7th century Medieval savages could have been prevented. In fact, the Iraqi government had been begging the head-up-their-ass Obama Administration for air support since last November (2013), only to be utterly ignored (welcome to the club)... Today we see the rotten fruit of horrendously foolish Obama foreign policy over the last six years dropping all around the globe, yet this Iraq debacle -erasing nearly all US war gains- really takes the cake: not only...

Big money couldn’t save Eric Cantor. The darling of big Wall Street donors, the K Street business types and the Republican establishment went down in flames Tuesday, all the while crushing his no-name opponent with a 26-to-1 cash advantage in the money race. Cantor, the House majority leader, raised nearly $5.5 million during the cycle, bolstered by investments from the American Chemistry Council, the American College of Radiology, the National Rifle Association, and the National Association of Realtors. He lost to Dave Brat, a college professor with a $200,000 shoestring budget. The result should be a wakeup call that with...

Bitcoin fanboys have long cheered the fact that Bitcoin global transfer capabilities at cheap prices make using Bitcoin, as a method of global money transfer, superior to any other transfer system, on the basis of cost. Enter Richard Branson. Sir Richard Branson is providing funding for London-based money transfer start-up TransferWise, reports FT. It has raised $25m to expand its marketing efforts, with Sir Richard contributing a significant but undisclosed share of the funds. He was joined by existing shareholders including Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, venture capitalists Index Ventures and Kima Ventures, the investment group co-founded by the...

The billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, known best for shepherding big money to conservative causes and candidates, have given a $25 million grant to the United Negro College Fund, the organization announced Friday. The money will come from Koch Industries Inc. and the Charles Koch Foundation, which are headed by the brothers. Most of the money ($18.5 million) will go toward a scholarship program. The other $6.5 million is provided for general support to historically black colleges and universities and the UNCF, with $4 million set aside for loan assistance. The UNCF is the nation's largest minority education group. Such a...

By Daily News POSTED: 05/29/14, 7:59 PM PDT | 0 COMMENTS The first @HiddenCash envelope has been found this evening in Burbank, only a short time after the mysterious benefactor tweeted a series of clues leading to the Empire Center shopping complex. The unknown person behind the Twitter account has been dropping envelopes of cash around the Bay area and this week started up in Los Angeles. Clues he sent out this evening led followers first to Burbank, then to the 5 Freeway/Empire Avenue area, then finally to an area near a Staples store near the Empire Center. A man...

Ask Alan Lane. In October, the president and CEO of Silvergate Bank in La Jolla, Calif., was up in Sacramento for a roundtable convened by the California Bankers Association and the state's Department of Business Oversight. Reading a laundry list of about a dozen issues on the department's radar, Commissioner Jan Lynn Owen mentioned Bitcoin — the Internet currency, payment system and technology that's been grabbing headlines, igniting controversy and inspiring innovation across the globe. Lane pricked up his ears, in part because the $616 million-asset Silvergate had been in discussions about banking a Bitcoin startup.

"WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Americans would no longer get mail delivered to their door but would have to go to communal or curbside boxes instead under a proposal advancing through Congress. The Republican-controlled House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on an 18-13 party-line vote, approved a bill Wednesday to direct the U.S. Postal Service to convert 15 million addresses over the next decade to the less costly, but also less convenient delivery method."

One of the biggest myths in politics is that Republicans are the "party of the rich." If only....then the rich might be voting for us and pouring massive money into the Republican Party. But, but, but...KOCH BROTHERS! Yes, the evil, terrible, awful Koch Brothers who live in Harry Reid's head for free and eat the dreams of Occupy protesters. In actuality, those guys are only the 59th biggest donors in American politics. Just the six biggest union donors in American politics combined give 15 times more money than the Koch brothers have – and, of course, that money went almost...

Appearing to confirm rumours of a $3.2 billion Apple buyout, the Beats co-founder says the Forbes rich list has changed "in a big way".

Alan Horn net worth and salary: Alan Horn is an American entertainment executive with an estimated net worth of $50 million dollars. Born in Long Island, New York, Alan Horn graduated from Union College in the mid 80s.

Obama is departing Wednesday on a three-day West Coast trip to glad-hand donors at five or more fundraising events, including four events in one day. The trip highlights the president’s focus on the 2014 race, where the GOP is on track to win a slight majority of the Senate and to slightly increase its majority in the House.

Money Paul Frees

Most people, perhaps even the super-wealthy, who are usually accountable to auditors, want to know where their money goes. This is especially true when they detect money for which they can't account. Not so with the federal government. Some recent headlines reflect a disturbing pattern that has contributed to our $17 trillion debt and to a growing cynicism among the public, which increasingly regards government in a negative light. Here are just a few recent gems gleaned from reading newspaper stories and wire service reports: "Pentagon to destroy $1 billion in ammunition." This USA Today story says, "It is impossible...

White House adviser John Podesta told reporters Monday afternoon that Congress could not derail the Obama administration’s efforts to unilaterally enact policies to fight global warming. Podesta said that the president was committed to using executive orders to pass regulations under the Clean Air Act to limit carbon dioxide emissions that they say cause global warming.

SPRINGFIELD — Described by the prosecution as a “scourge” on Chicago, ex-Country Clubs Hills Police Chief Regina Evans was sentenced late Thursday to five years in prison for stealing more than $900,000 in state grant money. Opting against the 10-year, one-month sentence that federal prosecutors sought, U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough nonetheless told Evans that she “broke the law in magnificent fashion with a magnificent fraud.” The heart of the government’s fraud case against Evans centered on her misuse of a $1.25 million state work-training grant that was part of her effort to revive the Regal Theater on the South...

...the Obama administration Tuesday opened the door for states to collect tolls on interstate highways to raise revenue for roadway repairs. The proposal, contained in a four-year, $302 billion White House transportation bill, would reverse a long-standing federal prohibition on most interstate tolling.

**SNIP** In a statement, the Democratic senator said her 2006 GOMESA legislation has already secured millions for the state, and she noted her committee already has held a hearing on her revenue sharing legislation. "I am sure the people of Louisiana are happy that Bill Cassidy has finally joined the fight for revenue sharing for the Gulf Coast," Landrieu said. She added: "Unfortunately, Rep. Cassidy voted for a bill that makes Louisiana wait to share in this revenue, and that is inconceivable and unacceptable." Over the years, state officials have argued Louisiana was owed a greater share of the offshore...

What defines low socioeconomic status? Objectively, it means fewer economic resources and educational opportunities, less access to elite schools and clubs, more subordinate positions in the workplace, and increased levels of stress. For the upper-class, it’s just the inverse: more resources, more leisure, less stress. ......................................................... From the realities facing each group, you might assume that members of the lower-class would be more focused on meeting their own survival needs and, thereby, prioritize their needs over those of others. As a result, you might also expect them to be less trustworthy as compared to members of the upper-class who, given...

As the statewide debate over school funding continues, an Oakland County superintendent whose district receives about $515 more per student today than it did in 2010 says the district is getting less money from the state. West Bloomfield School District Superintendent Gerald Hill made his claim on April 11 in MIRS, a Lansing-based news site. The district is receiving less in the "state foundation allowance," which has dropped from $9,116 per student in 2009-10 to $8,676 per student in 2013-14. But the state foundation allowance is only a part of the state funding a school district receives. West Bloomfield received...

Cliven Bundy, can a cowboy defeat the Marxists? In the end, there is only one reason why the Bundy ranch was besieged. President Obama had to have taken the lead. He knew it was going on and he sanctioned it. Beyond oil, solar, and Chinese Communists with money, lurks Obama’s Agenda. InfoWars has found a smoking gun in the case of embattled rancher Cliven Bundy. A lucrative contract – which will benefit Harry Reid and his son Rory Reid – specifically mentions the need to rid the land of Cliven Bundy. In addition, Natural News pointed out that the BLM...