Free Republic

Governor Deal signed Georgia's modest gun law reform today, 23 April, 2014.  Gun law reform has been stalled in Georgia for several years, leading to the measure that makes several modest changes in Georgia's law.   None of the changes are particularly radical.   All, with one possible  exception, have been adopted in other states before this law was passed.  From FoxNews.com: The bill makes several changes to state law. It allows those with a license to carry to bring a gun into a bar without restriction and into some government buildings that don't have certain security measures. It also allows...

  SEE: Tea Party Patriots Use Elections to Push 'Flat' or 'Fair' Tax Monday, 14 Apr 2014 06:05 PM The Tea Party Patriots are pushing a "flat tax" or a "fair tax" rate in the coming elections to stop the endless hiking of taxes on Americans, group President Jenny Beth Martin says. "A flat tax, a fair tax — either one is better than what we have now," Martin told Ed Berliner and Diane Dimond, guests hosts of "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV. "The tax code has grown and grown and grown. It's time to address the fact that...

Freshman Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.), who touted his Christian values while campaigning, says he is the man seen in a grainy video, passionately kissing a woman in his office two days before Christmas. He said, "There’s no doubt I’ve fallen short and I’m asking for forgiveness"

Immigration reform looks to be dead. Again. With the 2014 midterms bearing down and House Republicans standing pat, activists who pushed hard to get a bill passed in this session of Congress are making valedictory speeches about their efforts and looking to the future.MSNBC's Benjy Sarlin spoke to several pro-reform advocates who now expect President Obama to do what he can through executive orders. The strategy extends beyond November to the next presidential contest. "Immigration advocates hope to repeat the cycle by forcing the White House to take unilateral action," Sarlin wrote, "which would set the stage for Latino voters...

The best tax systems include low rates, a wide base and limited exemptions that minimize the distortions caused by policy, while easing the burdens of paying the tax. But many of the provisions that make the tax code so complicated are advocated for, and relied upon, by a variety of special interest groups, meaning changing the system is extremely difficult. But that's what Congressman Dave Camp, R-Midland, is trying to do. The chair of the House Ways and Means Committee has introduced a plan that would overhaul the tax system. U.S. Rep. Camp The plan appears to generally lower rates...

Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI), the House Ways Committee Chairman, released his draft proposal for comprehensive tax reform. The mere proposition of positive tax reform is a welcome development. Even though we clearly lack the votes to enact any tax reform until at least 2017, it is still important to stand on bold colors and offer an alternative vision to the current socialist path from this administration. On the other hand, if we are going to propose Republican ideas for tax reform just for messaging purposes, we should put forth the boldest tax plan possible – one that embraces completely the...

Is it not our duty, more than ever, and as Tea Party Activists, to inform the American People about the brilliance of our Founder’s original tax plan and how our Founders intended to extinguish deficits if imposts, duties and excise taxes were found insufficient to meet Congress’ constitutionally authorized expenditures? In 1995 and 1996 Congress held Hearings on “Replacing the Federal Income Tax”. My submissions before the Committee on Ways and Means which were presented under the heading “American Constitutional Research Service” are part of these recorded hearings, and I recently found they are available on line. My two submissions...

MADISON, Wis.—Wisconsin residents can submit their tax reform ideas under a new website created by Gov. Scott Walker's administration. Creation of the website, taxreform.wi.gov, comes as Walker's Revenue Department secretary and the lieutenant governor are holding meetings with business owners to gather ideas. Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch says the website gives everyone a chance to share their thoughts. The website includes videos from past roundtables in Beloit, Eau Claire, Superior, Green Bay, Platteville, La Crosse and Stevens Point. It also includes information about taxation in Wisconsin and other states. Walker has floated the possibility of eliminating the state's income tax,...

Forget about the 1 percent versus the 99 percent. It’s really more like the 0.000001 percent versus everybody else. A tiny group — mostly comprising the Obama White House, a bunch of Washington Democrats, progressive economists, and the media elite — continues to fixate on income inequality as America’s greatest challenge. Most everybody else, the 99.999999 percent, sees things differently. Surveys continue to show Americans most worried about jobs and economic growth, not the income gap between the top and bottom. It’s a rational view given new employment data from the government. The January jobs report showed only 113,000 net...

SEE: TheBlaze, Feb. 4, 2014 ‘A Pattern of Lawlessness’: Ted Cruz Outlines Why Even Democrats Should Be Concerned About Obama Administration’s Actions "Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) said there is a “pattern of lawlessness” underway by the Obama administration that is truly “breathtaking,” and it should not only concern Republicans. “Suppose the next president says, ‘I’m instructing the Treasury Department [to] no longer collect taxes at a higher rate than 25%,” Cruz remarked on Glenn Beck’s radio program Tuesday. “That happens to be policy I agree with. I would love to see moving towards tax reform and lowering the top...

HOENIX (CBS5) - Arizona remains front and center in the debate over immigration, but the big news this week came from Washington D.C., when U.S. House Speaker John Boehner cast doubts on whether immigration reform will happen this year. Immigration reform activist Erica Andiola was not surprised. The undocumented immigrant and co-founder of the Dream Action Coalition has been leading the fight for change. "We want to be able to understand the politics, but at the same time it's frustrating," said Andiola. "I know they're still thinking about elections and how it will affect their party, but for us undocumented...

SEE: Ted Cruz readies for next round of tea party-fueled fight Gromer Jeffers Jr. 03 February 2014 10:36 PM Now, Cruz said, he wants to engage voters on other issues as well. He said he hoped Congress would use this year to overhaul tax and regulatory policy. And later he expressed his support for ideas like a flat federal income tax rate for everyone, saying people should mail back their tax returns on a postcard. “We need to get back to the policies that work, like fundamental tax reform,” he said. This is very disturbing. What we really need to...

by John Urban | TopRight News A potentially disastrous security breach by the Pentagon was discovered by sheriff's deputies during a routine traffic stop in Southern Arizona. Pinal County deputies stopped a 2006 Ford Expedition for a traffic violation. The Mexican national initially presented an Arizona Identification Card, in the name of Armando Villalobos of Phoenix. A records check revealed that not only did the illegal alien have no driver's license, but there were outstanding felony warrants for his arrest in Texas.The suspect eventually told the deputy that his real name was in fact Mario Bustamante, 37, and that he was in...

WASHINGTON — House speaker John A. Boehner told rank-and-file Republicans that his leadership team was drafting “principles” for overhauling immigration laws that will be presented in coming weeks. Boehner made the remarks Wednesday during the first private meeting of House Republicans in the new year. House Republicans have struggled to respond to the Senate's immigration bill that passed in June, which would create a path to citizenship for 11 million immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally. Boehner refused to bring the Senate bill up for a vote in the House last year and instead said the House should consider a...

The often stale British political system is being rocked by its very own Tea Party. The UK Independence Party (UKIP), formed in 1993 opposing Britain’s entry into the European Union, failed to make an electoral dent for a long time. However UKIP has built up steam in recent years and is spearheading a seismic shift in the British political spectrum. In this year’s local elections – the British version of midterms -- UKIP took a stunning 23 percent of the vote, up from the 3.1 percent they won in the 2010 national election. Their leader, Nigel Farage, is buoyed by...

With the new year comes new insane laws from California, making it officially America's Sanctuary State -- treating illegal aliens who broke the law to enter the U.S. as well as law-abiding citizens, protecting illegals from deportation, and putting public safety at grave risk. In October, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D), signed eight bills handing special rights to illegal aliens. The controversial legislation includes allowing illegal alien obtain driver's licenses, preventing employers from denying jobs based on "immigration status", and barring state and local law enforcement from detaining illegal aliens when directed by ICE, DHS or Border Patrol. The legislation claims that...

An even split of Democratic and Republican legislators back a bill supported by Rep. Justin Amash, aiming to end the country's domestic surveillance programs. The legislation, titled The USA Freedom Act, would, if signed into law, curb the National Security Agency's ability to conduct communications sweeps and close a "back door" to information by requiring a court order when performing searches of Americans in data already collected without warrants. The Hill reported during the weekend that the bill has at least 102 cosponsors, including 51 Democrats and 51 Republicans... According to The Hill, members of Congress are placing increased pressure...

It doesn’t look like any GSE (housing finance) reform will be taken up in 2013. Partly because the leading contender, the Corker-Warner housing finance “reform” bill is so flawed. What does Corker-Warner do exactly? It shuts down two enormous mortgage insurance companies (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and creates one gargantuan government insurance company (Federal Mortgage Insurance Corporation). Ah, nationalized mortgage insurance. This is particularly bizarre given that the FHA already exists as a national mortgage insurance agency for mortgages. Like single-payer healthcare systems (as in UK’s NHS), you take what the government decrees for you. But Obamacare is really...

For Chicago lawmakers who thought Tuesday's pension vote was politically dangerous, just wait until next year. Then on the docket in Springfield: gravely needed reforms for the retirement systems that benefit Chicago teachers, city workers, laborers, firefighters and police. **SNIP** Combined, the city of Chicago's four pension funds are $19.5 billion in the hole and only 36 percent funded. Add another $9.5 billion in unfunded liability from the Chicago teachers' fund for a grand total of $29 billion.

I fondly remember the days of Milton Friedman with his book and PBS series “Free to Choose.” That was in 1980 at the end of Carter-era and the beginning of the Reagan Revolution. Fast forward to 2013. We now have less freedom of choice, thanks to Congress and the Administration. Take for example healthcare insurance. Now, everyone must have healthcare insurance, even if you don’t want it. I went to healthcare.gov and saw that my choices were slim and my insurance premium rose to $1,366 per month. And no subsidy. Plus, I get to pay for sex change operations, Sandra...