Free Republic

Well, that escalated quickly. I guess we’re just going to cancel the utopia? How can you have a utopia that arrests people simply for living on the streets in tents and shooting up fentanyl in front of children? It’s fascism.

Nearly 5 million taxpayers who have unpaid tax bills from 2020 and 2021 will have almost $1 billion in penalty fees waived by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS announced penalty relief in December for taxpayers who had outstanding tax bills but were not sent automated collection reminder notices during the pandemic. Though the notices did not go out in 2020 and 2021, the failure-to-pay penalty accrued for taxpayers who did not fully pay their bills. "As the IRS has been preparing to return to normal collection mailings, we have been concerned about taxpayers who haven't heard from us...

The Biden administration proposal to hike fuel economy standards through 2032 is not feasible and could cost automakers a total of more than $14 billion in fines, an automotive group said Friday. ...The record-setting penalties include $235.5 million for Stellantis for the 2018 and 2019 model years and $128.2 million for GM covering 2016 and 2017.

FEDERAL BRIBERY CHARGES The intent of the provision under 18 USC § 201 is to impose prohibitions involving two acts constituting bribery. It is unlawful to commit the following acts that may result in the punishment of the giver and the receiver of the bribe. - As to the giver, there must be a showing of the intention of giving something of value, or promising or offering something valuable to the public officer. - As to the receiver, who must be a public officer, there is a showing of demanding, receiving or accepting something of value from another person -...

Beyoncé is going up against the Internal Revenue Service in a recent petition filed in United States Tax Court contesting the nearly $2.7 million taxes and penalties the agency alleged she owes. Earlier this month, the "Break My Soul" singer, 41, petitioned for the court to reconsider a January Notice of Deficiency assessed by the IRS. The notice claimed Beyoncé owes over $1.4 million in additional tax and over $288,000 in penalty for 2019. For 2018, it alleged the singer owes about $805,000 in additional tax and $161,000 in penalty, according to Forbes. In her 20-page petition, Beyoncé argues that...

Two teachers challenging the constitutionality of compelled antiracism training have been ordered to pay nearly $313,000 in their Missouri school district's legal fees, under a ruling their lawyers called "overtly hostile" and "meant to scare off future lawsuits by parents and teachers." The Southeastern Legal Foundation is appealing U.S. District Judge Douglas Harpool's summary judgment in favor of Springfield Public Schools and the six-figure award against their clients Brooke Henderson and Jennifer Lumley, according to an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals notice Friday. The public interest litigation firm "has never faced attorney fees sanctions for challenging unconstitutional government action...

"I don't think there is a prison, a hole underneath a prison, deep enough to throw that individual in." House Democrats appear to be unconcerned about the optics of shutting down an effort to increase penalties for child sex traffickers in an election year. On Wednesday, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee unanimously shot down such a measure. "A question about his amendment first," Congressman Ken Buck (R-CO) said. "I want to thank Mr. Roy for this common sense amendment that deals with the overall issue, as opposed to trying to piecemeal this out. And I suspect we won't deal...

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) on Saturday announced a six-day grace period beyond the Jan. 4 deadline for compliance with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private employers, saying that it would not issue citations to give employers more time to adjust.OSHA said in a Dec. 18 statement that it would not be issuing citations to businesses for noncompliance with any requirements of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine-or-test mandate for private companies employing 100 or more people until Jan. 10. It will also not issue any citations for noncompliance with the mandate’s testing requirements until Feb. 9.COVID-19 is the...

It would be an understatement to observe how the ruling class response to Covid has wreaked havoc on life and liberty. These God-given rights were supposed to be preserved by the government and its handlers; indeed, this basic function is one of the limited powers we the people initially granted to our overseers. Instead, the ever-more-powerful state has seen to it that both life and liberty are subjugated to the political fancies of elitists that possess neither the moral guidance nor the intellectual acumen to carry out their mission. Among the many frustrating aspects of government overreach since March 2020...

Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday he is "concerned" that some of the sentences being brought against defendants in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection are not high enough. While speaking with Wolf Blitzer at CNN's Citizen Conference, Holder was asked if he believed federal authorities are being aggressive enough towards the rioters. "I do think that the Department of Justice is doing a good job. This is a resource-intense issue. You know, I guess there have been I guess 400 people or so charged at this point, potentially more," Holder said. "Anybody who participated in that coup attempt on...

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga officially expanded and extended the nation’s coronavirus state of emergency on Tuesday, as government advisers recommended legal changes that would allow penalties for violations. The measures, approved by a government task force, add seven prefectures to the six areas already under a state of emergency and extend it to Sept. 12. Ten other prefectures were put under a “quasi-emergency,” which had previously encompassed six prefectures, bringing about two-thirds of the nation under some form of emergency as COVID-19 infections “explode” across the nation, in Suga’s words. Hospitals have been stretched thin and some...

By now every person awake, as opposed to “woke,” knows the dangers of Big Tech. Through algorithmic manipulation, de-platforming and other noxious off-shoots of the tyrannical cancel culture these companies are changing history, reversing freedoms hard won since the Magna Carta, while having an unconscious numbing effect on our brains that eventually would render us a race of drones. Something has to be done. The federal government seems to be able to do no more than hold hearings. Those that might actually want to do something, like Sens. Hawley and Blackburn, are thwarted by the Democrats who, though they pay...

Purdue University now considers failure to wash hands, properly social distance, and getting a flu vaccination equally as severe and "in the same category" as academic dishonesty, drug distribution, and destruction of university property. On August 19, Purdue University announced that students found violating the Protect Purdue Pledge would be subject to disciplinary action under the same guidelines as hazing and drug use. Additionally, hosting or attending a party could get students suspended or expelled. “Organizing and/or hosting, either individually or with others, an event, party or other gathering (“Event”) or attending such an event, where the attendees are not...

ORLANDO, Fla. - One state lawmaker isn’t ruling out the possibility of an investigation, while thousands of customers wait for tolls to start posting to their SunPass accounts.SunPass conducted a major upgrade earlier this month, and since June 1st, many drivers haven’t seen any charges yet. Officials had promised to post those toll charges gradually, so as not to overwhelm the system.This delay is already causing concern for some drivers—like Mark Hammonds, who we caught in between trips that often take him on the turnpike. “You’re at risk of not being reimbursed if you don’t file them timely,” he said. The state...

Cashless payment systems like E-ZPass have helped make highway driving a less irksome experience by speeding up lines. Rental car companies even offer this option so you don’t have to worry about an embarrassing last-minute scrounge for change at the tollbooth, but rental car customers are now realizing that this convenience can come at a huge price.We’ve previously told you about some of the steep fees involved in using a rental company’s toll-paying device, but those fees could be small change compared to penalties for drivers who use the car’s device without even realizing it.The Pew’s Stateline recently took a...

Four million people paid Affordable Care Act penalties averaging $708 for not having insurance in 2016, according to preliminary figures released by the Internal Revenue Service. The average is just over the base penalty of $695 imposed for a whole year without coverage; those with higher incomes paid more. Overall, that's about $2.8 billion. The agency noted that those numbers are subject to change as processing continues. The penalty started in 2014 with a base penalty of $95. The IRS reported that 7.9 million people paid an average of $210 that year, for a total of $1.6 billion. In 2015...

The rapidly escalating tollway fines that have left some Texans owing thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars could be a thing of the past, based on an amendment that surprisingly found its way into a Texas Department of Transportation bill this week. But the impact to your pocketbook would depend on which tollway you’re driving. Under the amendment, a car owner who has driven on a tollway without paying — even hundreds of times — would owe at most $73 in fines every six months, plus the unpaid tolls. But that change, proposed by Rep. Ina Minjarez, D-San...

HOUSTON - The teachers at Spring Forest Middle School asked KHOU 11's Verify team whether Beltway 8 has been paid off and if the tolls will ever go away in the foreseeable future. "Why do we still pay for toll roads?" wondered 7th grade teacher Rebecca Mustachio. "To be honest, I thought we would be done paying for toll roads." We are not even close to paying the bill for those roads, according to Roxana Sibrian of the Harris County Toll Road Authority. In a statement emailed to KHOU, the authority says it will be paying off construction debt until...

..Accidentally, of course. We’ve all seen the clips. A mob of protesters rioters shuffles down the center of a three-lane highway like a scene from The Walking Dead. They block traffic, delay safety and rescue vehicles, and generally cause havoc in the name of their cause du jour. Many have wondered “what happens if you just plow into them?” Well, usually what happens is you go to jail. However, in North Dakota, that may soon be a thing of the past. OK, not exactly. Before you go all David Carradine in Death Race 2000, you should know that purposely running...

The panic over ObamaCare premiums is putting new focus on the individual mandate and how much people should pay when they don't obey it. Under current law, the penalty for being uninsured is 2.5 percent of a person's taxable income or $695 -- whichever is greater. Jonathan Gruber, a key ObamaCare adviser, declared Wednesday that he thinks that penalty needs to be greater. In an interview with CNN, Gruber pointed directly to the penalties when asked what part of the law he would change if he could go back. "I think probably the most important thing experts would agree is...