Free Republic

Chevron Corp. turned out to be one of the top performing assets David Root included this year in the workplace retirement portfolios his firm manages for companies that offer employee 401k plans. And he makes no apologies for the investment. “If you didn’t have energy as part of your portfolio this year — which averaged 35% to 40% returns — you had no chance of outperforming the S&P 500,” said Mr. Root, CEO of DBR & Co., Downtown. Some fund managers guided by their environmental, social and governance values rather than pure financial considerations might have ruled out an investment...

Bouncing off of what I posted yesterday, I think it might be a wise discussion to have that we can use the progressives' own rules against them. Alinsky 101 if you will. Progressives have set it up so that when we purchase software, we subsidize progressivism, and opensecrets.org proves this to be an undeniable truth. Well, then, clearly the opposite is also the truth. When we use free open source software, progressivism subsidizes us. Your bank account is to smile upon thee. Are you subsidized by progressivism? You can be. Maybe embracing "free stuff" isn't so bad after all.

Deep State has been after President Trump from the before his presidency, and its latest trick has been in orchestrating a rules change to ensure that any deep-stater can come forward with secondhand information, as a "whistleblower.It's supposedly to ensure that wrongdoing bruited about at the spy agency water coolers gets into the hands of authorities. Problem one: Spy agencies don't do water cooler talk. But politics is always a topic, so now we have one or two leakers from the ranks of the still-embittered Deep State, taking the cover of 'whistleblower' as a result of that rules change, with a...

The Obama administration’s proposed regulatory amendment regarding background checks for principal officers of gun trusts will still require a chief law enforcement officer sign-off, and the rule change itself was initiated by a petition from a group representing National Firearms Act gun collectors. That information comes from a draft Department of Justice notice made public this morning by firearms industry consulting attorney Joshua Prince. Gun Rights Examiner reported on the proposed regulation change last Friday, relying on the government’s summary as posted on the Executive Office of the President’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website, which stated: The proposed...

(Reuters) - The Internal Revenue Service has released new rules for investment income taxes on capital gains and dividends earned by high-income individuals that passed Congress as part of the 2010 healthcare reform law. The 3.8 percent surtax on investment income, meant to help pay for healthcare, goes into effect in 2013. It is the first surtax to be applied to capital gains and dividend income. The tax affects only individuals with more than $200,000 in modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), and married couples filing jointly with more than $250,000 of MAGI. The tax applies to a broad range of...

Signed by governor before many took notice, new law shrinks county's central committee from 54 to 30 VICTORVILLE — Recent changes in how San Bernardino County Republican Party Central Committee members are elected is drawing pointed criticism and concern from Republicans not informed of the changes until after they became law. A new law, sponsored by Assemblyman Russ Bogh, R-Yucaipa, and signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger shrinks the size of the county's Republican Central Committee from 54 to 30 members. And membership will be based on county supervisors' districts — not state Assembly Districts. "It substantially changes the...

The Senate approved a historic change in the filibuster rule last night after seven weeks of angry debate. It voted 56 to 27 to reduce the number of senators needed to cut off a filibuster from two-thirds of those present and voting to a permanent "constitutional" threefifths (60 senators).

Jan. 5, 2005 5:41 | Updated Jan. 5, 2005 19:13 42 Likud MKs could lose their jobs By GIL HOFFMAN Nearly half the Likud's 42 MKs and ministers could lose their jobs if the Likud central committee approves a proposal to reserve slots 25 to 35 on the party's Knesset list for newcomers. The proposal guarantees additional reserved slots for representatives of different regions, women, an immigrant and a minority candidate. The committee is set to convene on Wednesday night at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds to discuss amendments to the Likud constitution and hear speeches from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon...

Yellow-flag finishes are all but finished in NASCAR. The sanctioning body said Thursday it will go to a green-white-checkered format, hoping all Nextel Cup and Busch series events will end with the cars racing. The new rule will take effect with the races July 24-25 at New Hampshire International Speedway. The truck series already has the rule in place. ``The green-white-checkered format is an attempt to achieve everyone's goals -- a green-flag finish,'' NASCAR president Mike Helton said. ``This change, hopefully, will provide competitive finishes in the relatively rare occasions it is warranted. ``This format has been successful in the...

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WASHINGTON -- A Bush administration overhaul of decades-old labor regulations could force many Americans to work longer hours without overtime pay. The administration argues that the pillars of American labor law, which established the 40-hour work week, a minimum wage and overtime pay, are antiquated. The changes, Labor Department officials say, would make more lower-income workers eligible for overtime. But labor unions fear changes would severely restrict who is legally required to be paid for overtime work.