Free Republic

If you are a nonimmigrant American reading this, do you know why your ancestors came to America? The fact is, a large percentage of immigrants were trying to escape various forms of government persecution, including religious and tax persecution. The American Revolution was set off, in part, by a tax on tea that ranged from about 10 percent to 33 percent of its value. That and other grievances were enough to cause people to take up arms against the British. Rather than taking up arms, most people who believe the tax burden now has become too great pick up and...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — They called it “random dancing” but First Lady Michelle Obama broke out some moves that resembled subdued variations of “the Monkey” or “the Jerk” Friday during an appearance at a northern Virginia high school. A screaming, raucous auditorium filled with elementary and middle school students greeted Obama and the cast of the Nickelodeon TV show “iCarly” at Hayfield Secondary School in Fairfax County. The appearance promoted an upcoming episode featuring Obama in which she thanks military families for their sacrifices. On the show, star Miranda Cosgrove plays the daughter of an Air Force colonel deployed overseas....

Study: Illinois, NJ tie for most outbound migration The Associated Press 12:20 PM CST, December 21, 2011 An annual study of interstate moving trends by United Van Lines shows that Illinois and New Jersey tied for the states with the largest outbound migration this year. Americans continue to migrate toward the South and West and away from parts of the Northeast and Midwest, according to United Van Lines, the nation's largest moving company.

The defense and aerospace contractor ATK, Alliant Techsystems, based in Eden Prairie, announced today that it will relocate its corporate headquarters Oct. 1 to Arlington, Va., where the company will expand its existing office space. The company will continue to maintain a strong presence in Minnesota, including approximately 210 Minnesota-based corporate employees. In total, ATK employs approximately 2700 people in Minnesota. ATK currently employs approximately 3,500 people in the Mid-Atlantic region, where it operates facilities in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia

A truck carrying Libyan rebel fighters drives towards the Zawiyah oil refinery. ZAWIYA, Libya—Fighting raged for a fourth straight day in this strategic coastal city 30 miles west of Tripoli on Wednesday, as rebel fighters battled to mop up pockets of loyalist soldiers and laid siege to the regime's last working oil refinery. The roads leading to Zawiya were clogged with rebel fighters pouring toward town and refugees fleeing in the opposite direction. The refugee flow from Zawiya, a city of 200,000 people, and from Tripoli hinted at the possible flood that could pour into rebel-held havens and neighboring Tunisia...

Howdy to the Texas FReepers. It hit me this morning that this country is really really screwed. Our Government takes in around 180 billion a month and borrows 120 billion to get up to it's 300 billion in expenditures. They are intentionally driving the country over a cliff and fast. Not sure if this will look like Argentina or Chile. I'm thinking that Texas is a safe harbor to get my wife and kids through this once it all falls. I'm looking at being near a metro area like Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, or Austin (I know the libs...

Most presidents affect the standing of their political parties. Ronald Reagan advanced his party's standing among young voters. So did Bill Clinton. In his first term, George W. Bush helped Republicans equal Democrats in party identification in the 2004 exit poll -- the first time that happened since polling began. But in his second term, Bush proved toxic to the Republican label. The Pew Research Center showed Democrats with a 51 percent to 39 percent party identification edge over Republicans in its 2008 polls. Now Pew Research has come out with figures for 2011. They're not good news for Barack...

My sister stopped over this morning. We got back to talking about moving to another state....again. She stated Texas has been calling her, she is an RN. The hospital she works at now used to have several booths, recruiting new grads. Now they have none. They are constantly invited to "luncheons", in which they do not participate. They have stopped hiring, as I have found out trying to find a new job. My sister said they are encouraging recent grads to go to Texas, to get their bacholers & RN license. I know, from FR, TX is booming. My sister...

The Bili'in-area security/separation fence is being dismantled, four years after the Supreme Court ordered the government to reroute the barrier and one year after an initial rerouting of the barrier and a first-stage replanting of trees. Palestinian Authority Arabs, accompanied by Israeli and international leftists, have rioted nearly every Friday for years over the barrier, part of which was built to run directly through the village of Bili'in. Once dismantled, the IDF will rebuild the anti-terrorism barrier at a cost of some NIS 26 million, and this time only 400 meters away from Modi'in Illit. The new route enlarges the...

Ok, I am from NJ. Between the high taxes, strict gun laws and crazy liberals I am seriously thinking about moving... have been thinking this for quite some time. Right now I have three children and have to pay for private schooling for all three because the public school's agenda's here are disingenuous and horrible. I want to make sure I do not go from the frying pan into the fire. I have a few choices for job transfers to NC, TX and OH. I need to be in a good area as I have a Neurological disorder and need...

"We're seeing one of the lowest mobility rates in a century," says Nathaniel Karp, chief economist for banking firm BBVA Compass. Karp says the recession has forced many people to stay put because they are unable to sell their homes, cannot find jobs or are unwilling to relocate for work if it means sacrificing a partner's stable position. The slowdown makes the question of who's moving and why even more significant than in years past. Using 2010 projections by Moody's Economy.com, Forbes ranked the states in which people are leaving faster than they are arriving. Economists report several overlapping trends...

People often turn to their faith to ease their minds. Now first lady Michelle Obama is hoping people will turn to churches, temples and synagogues to lose weight as well. The first lady launched a new addition to her Let's Move! campaign. Things might be changing at local services. Starting Monday, faith-based organizations of all kinds will begin a new crusade to end childhood obesity in a generation. It's called Let's Move: Faith and Communities, and the First AME Church of Los Angeles is leading the charge....

Did you see the new FNC commericial where in the dialoge, the voice says " We don't..*lean"...we *move*..forward!"... What a hoot! >BOD

TYLER, Texas — Most political candidates promise to start a new program or policy on their first day in office, but Bill White has different plans if elected Texas governor. The Democrat says his first bold move would be into a mobile home. In another jab at Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who is costing taxpayers $10,000 a month by renting a mansion outside Austin, White vowed during a swing through East Texas on Wednesday to move into a trailer home if elected. The millionaire businessman and former Houston mayor currently lives in a 4,122-square-foot home appraised at $2.1 million, but...

I would never expect the President nor his liberal Democratic allies to waste their time aggressively campaigning for the military vote. I do however expect the President to uphold the law and protect the right of every person serving overseas to have their vote counted in our elections. Now once again it seems many of our deployed men and women will again be disenfranchised by an unconcerned administration and a DOJ that has too many other important issues than worrying about whether the armed services overseas get to vote. Could it be that maybe the majority of them won't vote...

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, known for his smoothness and precision, seems to have erred egregiously twice in just weeks. First, he speculated on TV that Democrats might lose the House, an inexcusable blunder because it is his job to omit the truth — not lie, just omit the truth — when the truth hurts. Then, there he was in print this week, deriding “professional liberals” who label President Barack Obama too moderate, saying they need “to be drug tested.” Gibbs should have expected this would enrage liberals. Maybe that’s just what he planned. Facing reporters Wednesday, Gibbs neither...

The Department of Justice denied accusations by former voting section attorneys who say states are being encouraged to use waivers to bypass the new federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act. The accusations prompted Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) to write a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, dated July 26, demanding answers and requesting specific information about how the agency was going to enforce the MOVE Act provision that requires states to send military and overseas voters absentee ballots 45 days prior to elections. Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich responded with a letter dated July 30. "The Department of...

An article from the Denver Post highlighting Colorado’s waiver request reveals that the supposed lack of time between the Colorado primary and General election to send ballots to overseas voters is not actually the impediment to enfranchising remote military voters.  In fact, the article states, “Colorado's Aug. 10 primary leaves 84 days to comply. However, under Colorado law, election officials can wait until 32 days before the election to deliver ballots to election offices.”   So despite a fairly early Primary and plenty of time to hand-draw the ballots and print every single ballot with a laser printer, the Colorado SOS...

Once upon a time you could count on the Washington Post to be accurate, even if everyone knew they were biased.   Greg Sargent of the Washington Post proves today that is no longer true.  For his latest piece has both bias and inaccuracy.  Mr. Sargent’s lack of accuracy demonstrates why the Post doesn’t have a rosy future – bias and inaccuracy is the death knell of dead-trees journalism.  The cost structure doesn’t have enough of a market that enjoys both bias and inaccuracy in their product. For starters, he reports that no states have applied for waivers from military voting...

Dumb question, but can I include my guns in my household move or do I have to send them through firearm dealers.