Free Republic

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., frustrated at federally mandated pay caps, has been plotting for months to get out from under the government's thumb. On Monday, Goldman took fresh steps to break free: It announced, as expected, that it plans to raise $5 billion by selling new common shares to investors, and that it would like to use the money to repay government bailout money received last year. The firm also reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings of $1.81 billion. Goldman managers have a big incentive to escape the state's clutches. Last year, 953 Goldman employees -- nearly one in 30 --...

President Obama and congressional Democrats are avidly pursuing a sweeping agenda they claim is justified by the need for greater "fairness." This invites scrutiny of the various programs to verify if they do, in fact, promote fairness. "Free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice" is the standard meaning of fairness, which requires treating people similarly, perhaps not identically, but certainly not with purposeful difference. Apply this test to the tax changes proposed in President Obama's budget, and it seems clear he wants to punish higher-income earners for the benefit of others, namely lower and middle-income earners. Let's understand the pre-Obama tax...

Discussion Topic: Virginia Gun Shop Gets Sex-Shop Justice From The Washington Post: "To many in Old Town Alexandria, the sex shop that opened recently on King Street is nothing short of scandalous. . . . But to Michael Zarlenga, it's justice. Zarlenga spent $350,000 on plans to expand his hunting and fishing store, the Trophy Room. He worked with city officials for almost two years and thought he had their support -- until the architectural review board told him he couldn't alter the historic property. Furious and out of money, Zarlenga rented the space to its newest occupant, Le Tache....

Dear (Right to Work Supporter): This week, the CEOs of Costco, Whole Foods, and Starbucks plan to throw you and their employees "under the bus" to appease Big Labor, offering a so-called "compromise version" of Big Labor's top legislative priority: the "Card Check" Forced Unionism Bill. It's vital you act right now to help fight back against their scheme -- which will leave workers vulnerable to union-boss intimidation and make you pay the price in higher costs. With our economy already blasted with recession and nearly constant political agitation, attempts to "compromise" over forced unionism really could push our economy...

Senator Barack Obama received a $101,332 bonus from American International Group in the form of political contributions according to Opensecrets.org. The two biggest Congressional recipients of bonuses from the A.I.G. are - Senators Chris Dodd and Senator Barack Obama.

41 Senate Republicans Send Letter To President Obama Urging Consultation On Judicial Nominees March 2, 2009 President Barack H. Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C.  20500 Dear Mr. President: We look forward to working with you as you consider nominees for the federal judiciary.  Unfortunately, the judicial appointments process has become needlessly acrimonious.  We would very much like to improve this process, and we know you would as well.  It is in that spirit that we write early on to suggest two steps your Administration can take to achieve that shared goal.   First, in the beginning...

One of the things liberals love to do when making shrills against conservatives is to claim that they are backed by big business corporate capitalist elitists. Conservatives they say are interested in advancing the agenda of the rich against the poor. Conservatives are champions of the rich while they crap all over the poor. They only want to protect the privileged and elite. They give tax cuts to the super rich by cutting programs and putting our nation in debt. Also according to liberals, by electing Barack Obama, we would undo this and require that the rich pay their share....

Foundation VP Stefan Gleason appeared on CNN Wednesday with Lou Dobbs as part of a (piece) on the Obama Administration's new (Project Labor Agreement Executive Order), which discriminates against the vast majority of construction workers who have not chosen to unionize. The executive order is likely to result in hundreds of millions of dollars in new forced union dues, while jacking up the costs shouldered by taxpayers. Check it out:

Dear Rush On Wednesday you spoke about conservatives taking power and visiting a heavy payback on the left (Our Time Will Come, Liberals). I must agree that the right has been far, far too passive and accommodating and the desire for payback is fully understandable. I fully support going after the left using all the tools available to maximum effect within the bounds of what is moral, legal, ethical, and in harmony with conservative values. It sounded to me like what you called for was to go much further than that. That shocked me and made me fear for the...

Simmering labor legislation reached a boiling point on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, February 4. Hundreds of union workers and other supporters of a bill that would make it easier for employees to establish bargaining units gathered in a rally across the street from the Senate. The event marked the launch of an aggressive effort by organized labor to gain congressional approval—and a presidential signature—for the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that will be introduced soon. The measure would allow workers to form a union by signing cards and prevent companies from demanding a secret-ballot election supervised by the National...

GULFPORT — Jessica LeBlanc said she went to work Thursday with a butcher knife and wished she had had it with her the day before. LeBlanc, 22, said she is the victim of an alleged kidnapping Wednesday at a law firm on 21st Avenue. LeBlanc said she stabbed her assailant in the back with scissors and stabbed him under the left eye. “I threw the scissors at him as he ran out the door,” LeBlanc said. “If I hadn’t defended myself, I could be dead or raped.” Police said Paul William Boykin, a fugitive wanted in St. Paul, Minn.,...

Don't Blame Me. I voted forMcCainPALIN!

Saves money for the court system that's for sure.

Penny Pritzker is connected to the Hyatt family. She was head of Superior Bank in Chicago that went under and cost shareholders millions. She also helped develop sub prime bundling schemes. Oh, and she was one of Obama's campaign finance helpers. AND, NOW....she'll be running the COMMERCE DEPARTMENT!

Hispanics in swing states like Florida who boosted Barack Obama into the White House are now looking for a place at the table -- and within the Cabinet and federal agencies as well. As the president-elect's transition team plows through stacks of résumés to fill almost 10,000 federal jobs -- from the high-profile secretary of state to the less glitzy director of the Office of Personnel Management -- Hispanic groups are mobilizing to ensure that the nation's fastest-growing electorate is well represented in the new executive branch. ''We're calling for an administration that looks like America,'' said Peter Zamora, an...

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats are pushing legislation to send $25 billion in emergency loans to the beleaguered auto industry in exchange for a government ownership stake in the Big Three car companies. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., hope for quick passage of the auto bailout during a postelection session that begins Monday. Legislation being drafted by Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, would dip into the $700 billion Wall Street rescue money, approved by Congress last month, for the auto aid. President Bush is cool to that idea. But...

Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plan to aid troubled U.S. automakers threatens to spark a final clash with President George W. Bush before he leaves the White House in January. Pelosi said yesterday she wants ``immediate action'' to give automakers additional assistance as shares of General Motors Corp. hit their lowest level since 1943 and analysts said the company faces possible bankruptcy. Bush hasn't said he would approve any further aid to those companies. Richard Shelby, the Senate Banking Committee's top Republican, opposes the measure. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid made clear the bill's prospects of winning...

For the nation's labor union leaders, it's time to cash in. Having mobilized an army of workers to help elect Barack Obama, top union officials have not been shy about their plans to push a legislative wish list blocked under President Bush, and they say they will not wait. On the other hand, business leaders have not been shy about warning the president-elect against such early moves. "American workers turned out for the election. American voters voted for Barack Obama. And American workers won this election," Anna Burger, chairman of Change to Win, an activist coalition of unions including the...

Mountain View police said someone is attacking registered sex offenders in the city and the attacks may be related. Two crimes against sex offenders have taken place in the past month. Detectives described the attacks as similar. The first crime occurred on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008, at 9:39 a.m., at an apartment complex on the west side of the city, officers said. A witness saw a man carrying a bat and placing a Molotov cocktail-type device at the front door of a registered sex offender. When confronted by the witness, the man indicated he was targeting the person living in...

DETROIT, Nov 6 (Reuters) - United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger on Thursday urged the U.S. government to provide another $25 billion in loans to struggling U.S. automakers so that they can meet their health care obligations to over 780,000 retirees and their dependents. "The U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve can help immediately by taking steps to provide liquidity to auto manufacturers so they can get through the difficulties caused by an across-the-board decline in auto sales," Gettelfinger said in a statement released by the union. Gettelfinger joined the chief executives of General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research,...