Free Republic

Oswaldo Cabrera says he was crusading for the rights of undocumented immigrants. Many of the people he was supposed to be helping say he was just taking their money. Early in May 2010, immigrant rights activist Oswaldo Cabrera announced that he was going on hunger strike. Arizona had just passed its infamous bill targeting undocumented immigrants. Tens of thousands of people had recently gathered in Washington, D.C., to demand comprehensive immigration reform. Democrats, who controlled Congress at the time, were vowing to pass a reform bill, and activists around the country were convinced they could push them to do so....

In budget discussions, Senator Jeff Sessions asks EPA head Gina McCarthy some simple questions about the climate hoax. She is unable to answer, but basically says, her facts matter and others do not.

The FBI and the IRS are investigating a social services group that was shut down last fall after a state audit found its CEO spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money on trips and other perks. Minnesota Public Radio News reported Friday that the federal investigation into Community Action of Minneapolis was revealed in documents filed in Ramsey County District Court. The documents were filed by court-appointed receiver Michael Knight, who is going through Community Action's books. "There are ongoing investigations by the FBI, the IRS and the DOC (Minnesota Department of Commerce) that are draining time and...

Dignitaries gathered on a dry Klamath Falls hillside in August 2011 to celebrate the launch of the largest solar power project ever attempted in Oregon. As then-Gov. John Kitzhaber and others dug their golden shovels into the hard ground, they were adamant that this was not another state-sponsored green energy boondoggle. This $27 million collection of solar arrays would be a boon for the economy as well as the environment. For nearly $12 million in tax credits, state officials said, taxpayers could expect the project developer to buy local and hire local, creating a virtuous circle of energy savings, reduced...

I need some advice from Freeperland folks who are savvy with computer issues. Last evening, I received a call from a "Windows Security Center". They knew my name and obviously my phone number. Gave me a spiel that Windows software security had been compromised/corrupted and according to their records, knew I had Windows 7. To prove they were legit, they had me start my computer and prompted me through a series of commands to bring up my specific Windows license number. She read it off and that license numbers was listed on my machine. She prompted me to run a...

Three counties have a solution to salvage an $88-million-dollar solar project that went bust: borrow more millions to pump into the project and hope it will eventually turn a profit and ease the pain to taxpayers, officials said. Some officials view the solution as damage control. Others are calling it a repeat of a mistake, one they will fight to avoid. Freeholders in Sussex, Morris and Somerset counties will vote on settlement agreements this week that would end multiple lawsuits and get the projects back on track, officials said. But there will be opposition -- and some have even called...

Increased coastal flooding, more intense heat waves and lots of rain are on the horizon for New Yorkers as global greenhouse gases drive manmade climate change and alter weather patterns, a report from the New York City Panel on Climate Change predicts. The report looked at the effects of global warming on the most populated U.S. city, and its results were anything but promising. Among its most startling claims was that by 2050, sea levels around Manhattan could rise 11-21 inches. By the end of the century, that figure jumps to an extraordinary 6 feet, enough to put about 7...

Economic Systems: The alarmists keep telling us their concern about global warming is all about man's stewardship of the environment. But we know that's not true. A United Nations official has now confirmed this. At a news conference last week in Brussels, Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of U.N.'s Framework Convention on Climate Change, admitted that the goal of environmental activists is not to save the world from ecological calamity but to destroy capitalism.

Thousands of Ohioans are getting asked some curious questions online and over the phone lately, such as: How old is your grandchild? What brand of car do you have? How long is your mortgage? Many of these people have a question of their own: What is this—some kind of scam? The answer: The quiz is legit, part of an effort by the state to thwart … scams. Specifically, the filing of phony tax returns. Under the new program, some Ohioans who have filed their taxes get letters in the mail from the state Department of Taxation directing them to take...

Recently the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team which is a part of the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning about a phishing scam related to the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare. Since its inception, there has been much confusion about many aspects of the Affordable Care Act and scammers are taking advantage of this confusion by sending emails to their intended victims that purport to come from a federal agency involved with the Affordable Care Act in which the person receiving the email is asked for personal information or directed to a website by way...

If you’ve been on the internet recently, you’ve probably seen the following ad plastered around your screen, showing a farmer in a red hat with the bold text “Grocery stores fear him!”. But what, really, could grocery stores hate so much about this guy? I decided to investigate for myself to see what was going on, and how a company could afford to spend so much money on this crazy advertisement, because I see it everywhere I look, whether I want to or not.

Many consumers don’t like it when stores check their receipts on the way out of the building, claiming it treats all shoppers like shoplifting suspects. But a trio of scammers had no problem showing their receipt at Lowe’s, running a multi-state shoplifting/return scheme for several months. According to WAVE3, the men would start out from their home base in the Danville, KY, area and then drive the 90-ish miles to Southern Indiana, swiping stuff from various Lowe’s stores along the way. But this wasn’t a simple matter of walking out of the store with power tools and hoping no one...

The U.S. has caused more global warming than any other country. Here’s how the Earth will get its revenge.Last year, we learned what is probably the worst global warming news yet — that we may have irrevocably destabilized the massive ice sheet of West Antarctica, which contains the equivalent of nearly 11 feet of sea level rise. The rate of West Antarctic ice loss has been ominously increasing, and there are fears that if too much goes, the slow and long-term process of ice sheet disintegration could accelerate. Humans have a hard time conceiving of the incredible scale of an...

Mitt Romney: Climate Change Is Real, Human-Induced, And We Must Tackle It

President Obama on Thursday detailed a new $80 billion proposal intended to help more families afford child care as part of a post-State of the Union policy push the White House hopes can win over Republicans and independents. The president called for the federal government to dramatically expand the Child Care and Development Fund, a federal program that provides states grants for childcare assistance programs to help low- and middle-income families. "In today's economy, when having both parents in the workforce is an economic necessity for many families, affordable, high-quality child care and early childhood education — these aren't just...

Crude oil prices have dropped to their lowest levels for six years, at under $50 a barrel. If they stay low throughout 2015 then it will cause headaches for the wind sector. This is one of the findings of our latest report, Wind Finance 2015. There are many reasons why oil prices have crashed, including the parlous state of the eurozone; slowing growth in China; and the decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain high levels of production to put pressure on rivals, including fracking and renewables. The major risk for wind investors is that prolonged low...

Conman guilty of selling urine as whisky • A British conman has been labelled “a danger to public health” and handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting to selling urine as whisky. Nicholas Stewart, 35, tricked holidaymakers in Blackpool into buying bottles of what appeared to be sealed, 1.5 litre bottles of Jack Daniel’s whiskey and Smirnoff vodka. Security staff seized the bottles – which were being sold at £10 each – after they noticed Stewart approaching tourists at the Coral Island slot machine complex. However, scientific analysis revealed that while some bottles contained flat cola, others contained urine and...

Solar panels are being installed on the roofs of homes and businesses all across America at a record pace. The fad is the latest way for families to "go green" — the energy equivalent of blue recycling bins. The Solar Energy Industries Association likes to tout the industry's "amazing success" — but it's holding a "Shout Out For Solar" social media event Friday as it sees an "uncertain future." That's because its continued success depends on a cascade of government subsidies, including a 30% federal investment credit that expires at the end of 2016. Guess what? Taxpayers are paying for...

Co-authored James Doogue and JoNovaEmpirical data withheld by key scientists shows that since 1910 ocean pH levels have not decreased in our oceans as carbon dioxide levels increased. Overall the trend is messy but more up than down, becoming less acidic. So much for those terrifying oceans of acid that were coming our way.What happened to those graphs? Scientists have had pH meters and measurements of the oceans for one hundred years. But experts decided that computer simulations in 2014 were better at measuring the pH in 1910 than the pH meters were. The red line (below) is the models...

This phone number has called my home repeatedly for the past week. I have an unlisted phone number and am on the national do not call list, yet the calling continues. They called again right at 9 o’clock this morning to my unlisted, “do not call” number. The “do not call” part apparently does not apply to political and charitable calls. The caller ID says “Tea Party” and calls from (202) 750-2399. I figured I’d answer and see what was going on. A lady announces that she is calling on behalf of the tea party effort to support Sen. Rand...