Free Republic

Janie VandenBosch's blood boils when she receives telephone solicitations from a group that calls itself the Minnesota Disabled Veterans. The caller has offered to send her plastic bags, lightbulbs and other items in exchange for a donation. Problem is, VandenBosch works for Minnesota Disabled American Veterans (DAV) -- and her group has nothing to do with the calls. "Sometimes I think I should just let them send me the bags so I can see who they are,'' said VandenBosch, who coordinates clothing donations to the state DAV. "But I'm also hearing about them from people who donate clothes to us....

Two months ago the POTUS and his Democratic allies announced with great fanfare a health care breakthrough, a deal with the pharmaceutical industry that will save $80 billion dollars. "The agreement reached today to lower prescription drug costs for seniors will be an important part of the legislation I expect to sign into law in December," Obama said in a statement this afternoon. "This is a tangible example of the type of reform that will lower costs while assuring quality health care for every American." The $80 Billion itself was bogus number, $30 billion (over 10 years) of it was...

As the U.S. jumps on board the cash-for-clunkers bandwagon, the Obama Administration would do well to pay attention to what is happening in Hamburg's sprawling harbor. The seaport city is one of the busiest ports in the world: nearly every car - new or used - passes through its docks on the way out of Germany. And this week, the police charged with patrolling the harbor released evidence showing that Germany's hugely popular cash-for-clunkers program may have some unintended beneficiaries: organized-crime groups and individuals who export the old cars to the Third World instead of crushing them into scrap.

The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Bank of America on Monday of misleading investors about plans to pay billions of dollars in bonuses at Merrill Lynch, the troubled brokerage giant it bought last year. The development once again turns an uncomfortable spotlight on a defining moment of the financial crisis — the ill-starred merger of Bank of America and Merrill — and on Bank of America’s embattled chief executive, Kenneth D. Lewis. The $50 billion merger, completed at the behest of federal officials, has been the subject of heated hearings in Congress, as has the question of who knew what,...

ABINGTON, Mass. - An Abington mother says she found a picture of her baby boy online in an advertisement saying the child was available for adoption. The ad was posted on Craigslist saying: “A CUTE BABY BOY FOR ADOPTION HE IS VERY HEALTHY AND READY FOR ADOPTION FOR MORE YOU COME BACK TO US.” ( SEE THE AD ) Jenni Brennan was told by a stranger that a picture of Brennan’s 7-month-old Jake was used as the “boy for adoption” in the online scam. So Brennan tried responding to the ad herself, and sure enough, an e-mail was sent to...

Call your congress critter and ask if they plan on using ObamaCare themselves instead of their Congressional Perk Cadillac Health care the rest of us can't get. If it's not good enough for servants (them), then it isn't good enough for us. Contact your servants today! Contact Congress

FROM EMAIL SENT TO AARP MEMBERS: AARP Activists Descend Upon Washington, D.C. With the health reform debate in Washington heating up, AARP activists from around the country arrived in the capital this week for critical meetings with their members of Congress. Our "Health Action Now Day on the Hill" has brought together over 50 activists from all walks of life to put the pressure on their representatives in Washington. They have come with a singular message: we need health action now. Join them today by calling your member of Congress using our simple click-to-call tool. Click here and enter your...

Four financial whizzes forged a bond at NYU -- then joined forces to devise an incredibly simple ATM scheme that wound up bilking up to $1 million from scores of banks, authorities said yesterday. The conniving quartet included a well-connected lawyer who interned with the Queens DA's Office, a Vietnamese refugee-turned-financial-broker, and a married bank-executive couple, officials said yesterday. "This was a beaut of a scam," said Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes. The scheme involved the four setting up bank accounts, then disguising themselves when they went to withdraw the money at ATMs and later claiming they were the victims of...

Five of the US Senate's summer pages -- student-aged youngsters getting an inside glimpse of the congress -- have been quarantined because they may have "swine flu," according to officials. In a memorandum to Senate offices late Tuesday, Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer said the pages were resting comfortably "apart from their peers and will not be allowed to return to work until cleared" by doctors. The Senate's Office of Attending Physician "believes that they most likely have influenza, quite possibly the H1N1 virus," Gainer said. -Asked if there were any such cases among White House student workers, spokesman Robert Gibbs said:...

PORTLAND, Ore. – How much are politicians straining to convince people that the government is stimulating the economy? In Oregon, where lawmakers are spending $176 million to supplement the federal stimulus, Democrats are taking credit for a remarkable feat: creating 3,236 new jobs in the program's first three months. But those jobs lasted on average only 35 hours, or about one work week. After that, those workers were effectively back unemployed, according to an Associated Press analysis of state spending and hiring data. By the state's accounting, a job is a job, whether it lasts three hours, three days, three...

EPA Secretly Changing MPG Numbers Ahead Of Cash For Clunkers, Screwing Consumers By Matt Hardigree, 3:30 PM on Mon Consumers hoping to trade in their old "clunkers" for new vehicles through the Cash for Clunkers (or CARS) program are discovering the EPA changed fuel economy numbers for some cars last week, making it impossible to trade them in! New Jersey resident Jeff Chase was considering trading in his 1989 Mazda 929 for a new car and checked the government's FuelEconomy.gov website and it said it met the 18 MPG threshold to be considered a gas-guzzling clunker. He went back later...

One of the sneaky acts President Obama likes to pull when he is confronted on raising taxes to help the poor is to claim that what he is doing is the "community" thing to do. Sometimes he calls it the "neighborly" thing to do. He pulled this off in an interview with Bill O'Reilly back in September 2008 and he just pulled it off last week with Meredith Vieira on NBC's Today Show. On the O'Reilly clip it is roughly 6:00 in, and he uses the word "neighborly". On the Vieira clip, it is roughly 6:30 in, and he uses...

In Obamaland, a “town hall meeting” admits only invited fans and worshipers who can be counted on to provide a friendly reception. So how does the scam work? According to a story in our local newsrag [link], Obama will appear at “a town-hall style meeting” at a Kroger store in Bristol, Virginia, this coming Wednesday to push for “sweeping health care reform legislation.” Then: “Only those with tickets will be allowed to participate in the meeting, and the tickets have been reserved for Kroger employees.” Kroger is the only unionized grocery chain in Southwest Virginia and one of the few...

United Nations Trust Fund Switzerland Department of Humanitarian Affairs Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland. Congratulations Beneficiary, Your email has been selected by the United Nations(UN) for a cash grant award of Six Hundred And Fifty Thousand Five hundred United States Dollars,($650,500.00usd)for this year 2009 Grant Award.Your email address was selected during our random email balloting for the cash grant and if you received this notification,it means that you are a lucky beneficiary of our cash grant award. The united nations authorities has decided to give this award to 15 beneficiaries from all over the world to help fascilitate...

Auto sales are slumping, yet on dealer lots across the country, customers are paying more. The phenomenon -- sales down, prices up -- is based on a long-term strategy to charge customers more for their vehicles, especially as the major auto companies seek profitability on lower overall volumes. Soon auto makers also will be forced to pass along to consumers a good portion of the rising regulatory costs for meeting more-stringent fuel-economy standards.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has sued several businesses and their owners over what he claims was a mortgage assistance scam that netted millions nationwide. McCollum's office filed the lawsuit Monday in Palm Beach County Circuit court against 34-year-old Jason Vitulano, his South Florida company, FHA All Day, and several other entities. McCollum said Tuesday the businesses solicited clients through cold calls and on the Internet, charging up to $5,000 in upfront fees. He says the businesses claimed they would lower mortgage payments or dissolve entire loans, but nothing was ever done. In some recorded...

Ohio man faces terrorism charge over phone call Tuesday, July 21, 2009 4:06 PM ASSOCIATED PRESS ST. LOUIS -- A northwest Ohio man has been jailed on a terrorist charge after allegedly threatening in a phone conversation to set fire to a firm selling extended car warranties. Charles Papenfus, 43, called a telemarketing firm in St. Louis in May after receiving a mailing that said a factory warranty had expired on a Ford Taurus driven by his 23-year-old son, his wife, Tracie Papenfus, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The car had been purchased as-is for $3,000 and hadn't had a...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The eBay seller who first offered – and then promised to reveal to WND – an alleged Barack Obama birth certificate from Mombasa, Kenya, has dropped communications with a team of people offering to help him verify the document, only fueling belief the sale was a scam. As WND reported, an eBay seller known originally as "colmado_naranja" claimed to have an authentic document from Coast Provincial Hospital in Mombasa proving Obama's birth there at 7:24 p.m. on Aug. 4, 1961.

Delta Air Lines has added a $5 surcharge for paying checked baggage fees at the airport instead of online, matching moves by some other airlines. Atlanta-based Delta already charges $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second checked bag on domestic flights. But starting Aug. 4, Delta will start charging those who pay for checked bags at airport ticket counters, kiosks and curbs $20 for the first checked bag and $30 for the second checked bag, for tickets purchased July 15 or later. The fees for paying for checked bags online remain the same.

Bangkok's showcase new international airport is no stranger to controversy. Built between 2002 and 2006, under the governments of then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the opening date was repeatedly delayed. It has been dogged by allegations of corruption, as well as criticism of the design and poor quality of construction. Then, at the end of last year, the airport was shut down for a week after being occupied by anti-government protesters. Now new allegations have been made that a number of passengers are being detained every month in the duty free area on suspicion of shoplifting, and then held by the...

WATERLOO - On Friday the Republican Party of Iowa called for Democratic Waterloo Representative Kerry Burt to resign. Just one day after the state released a study saying Burt lied about his address in order to pay less for his kids' private school tuition, opponents say he shouldn't be representing the people of Waterloo at the Capitol. Burt's home address is listed int he state's on-line directory, as 150 Hawthorne Ave, Waterloo. But his kids go to a prestigious school in Cedar Falls, and because he doesn't live in the district, he is supposed to pay a fee. However, the...

Here is video of President Obama speaking this afternoon to push his Health Care Reform Bill that would bring socialized medicine to America. Obama said that those who are "betting against Health Care" are "mistaken." Obama claims that two-thirds of the cost of Government Health Care will come from savings in the government not having to make payments to insurance companies. The other one-third he said would have to be found by some solution arrived at by Congress (that would be TAXES!). Obama was trying to prop up Democrats who are wavering as the weekend approaches. He wants both the...

Arkansas blue dogs: No timetable for health care reform legislationBy John Lyon / Arkansas News Bureau Thursday, July 16, 2009 12:22 PM CDT LITTLE ROCK — Two members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation who helped put the breaks on legislation to reform the nation’s health care system said Friday they don’t believe the reform effort should follow a timetable. U.S. Reps. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, and Marion Berry, D-Gillett, were among 40 members of the Blue Dog Coalition of centrist Democrats who wrote to Democrat Party leaders Thursday demanding changes in health care legislation the leadership was drafting. Party leaders had said...

How far has Ben Stein sunk? Far enough that I feel compelled to resuscitate the Ben Stein Watch, just to share this unfunny and positively harmful TV ad which is now being aired: "I went to freescore.com and found out my score for free", says Ben, while an annoying squirrel holds up a sign with the word "FREE" in some horrible brush-script font. A few points are worth noting here. First, the score itself is not very useful to consumers. What's useful is the report — if there's an error on the report, then the consumer can try to rectify...

As cap-and-trade advocates tie their knickers in knots over so-called ``global warming," Mother Nature refuses to cooperate. Earth's temperatures continue a chill that began 11 years ago. As global cooling accelerates, global-warmists kick, scream, and push their pet theory ― just like little kids who cover their ears and stomp their feet when older children tell them not to bother waiting up for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Consider how the globe cooled last month: ― June in Manhattan averaged 67.5 degrees Fahrenheit, 3.7 degrees below normal _ the coldest average since 1958. The National Weather Service stated July 1:...

Climate change is rapidly expanding the size of the world's tropical zone, threatening to bring disease and drought to heavily populated areas, an Australian study has found. Researchers at James Cook University concluded the tropics had widened by up to 500 kilometres (310 miles) in the past 25 years after examining 70 peer-reviewed scientific articles. They looked at findings from long-term satellite measurements, weather balloon data, climate models and sea temperature studies to determine how global warming was impacting on the tropical zone. The findings showed it now extended well beyond the traditional definition of the tropics, the equatorial band...

It's not easy living in the DC area. The place is a 60 square mile enclave bordered by reality, where the phrase "I voted for George Bush" gets you looked at like you have two heads, while being a gay vegan is considered perfectly normal. No, really! You can imagine how irritating it gets when out trying to enjoy a beer and one of Al Gore's cult followers begins proselytizing to the cause of Global Warming. But I've discovered that like the followers of any other religion, debating someone's belief system is pointless. Pointing out how Climate Change is based...

Kidney donor cries foul when recipient ditches Christianity TUPELO — Aleta Smith, who donated her kidney to a 20-year-old college student last year, wants it back now that the student has changed religions. Smith, a self-described "on-fire Christian," gave her kidney to Hannah Felks, a Lutheran and regular Christian camp counselor, last year after seeing Felks on the local news. "She was going to die unless she got a kidney," Smith says, sitting on the porch at her home. "They portrayed her as this nice Christian girl who works with kids. I saw it as a great opportunity to help...

Text Message and Email Scams There is an email and text message going around claiming to be Prairieland Federal Credit Union asking for credit card information. This is a scam do NOT give them your information. We will never ask for any credit card or account information. If you do give your information out contact us immediately! If you do not have an account with us, but gave your credit card information out, call that financial institution. If you do receive an email, please forward it to bmorris@notyournormalbank.com

The United States is prepared to provide more military observers, police, and civilian staff to beef up the U.N.'s far-flung peacekeeping operations, the U.S. ambassador said Monday. The United Nations has nearly 115,000 troops, police and civilians deployed in 16 peacekeeping missions from Africa and the Mideast to Cyprus, Kosovo, Western Sahara and Haiti, but it has had trouble finding soldiers, helicopters and other key assets for several important operations.

Embezzler Bernard Madoff, who swindled clients out of at least $50 billion, was sentenced to 150 years imprisonment Monday. Very few media reports have focused on the damage that Madoff did to left-leaning foundations and political causes. I wrote about this topic in the American Spectator in January. The record-breaking fraud is forcing the closing of the JEHT and Picower foundations, longtime supporters of leftist groups. Left-wing groups funded by those charities include ACORN (known for its massive voter-fraud campaigns), the Center for Constitutional Rights (a pro-Castro member of the open borders lobby), and Alliance for Justice (which supports habeas...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- On a sunny June morning in downtown Manhattan, the kids at the Columbus Park playground had to share their swings, slides and benches with photographers, reporters, cameramen and the people they had come to see: Bernie Madoff victims. There is not enough room on the sidewalk in front of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse on Pearl Street to contain the Cirque de Madoff. When Bernie the Smirk is making his way inside -- as he was Monday to receive his 150-year jail sentence -- the crowd is so large it must expand across the...

Bernard Madoff is an evil con man. He should spend the nearly all the rest of his miserable life in prison. But the 150-year sentence he received is too long. In fact, the something close to 12-year sentence his defense attorney recommended is pretty reasonable. Let's begin with the basics. Penologists typically see three purposes for putting people in prison: Protection of society, deterrence, and punishment. Putting Madoff in prison, of course, does nothing to protect society. He harmed people through the bloodless act of stealing their money. So long as he doesn't start an investment firm -- something that's...

I posted an ad in Craig's List a few days ago, selling a laptop computer. I received numberous suspicious responses asking for my Paypal account number, such as the one below: I'm interesting in purchasing this item for my inlaw, what is the present condition and get back to me if its available for sale.i will make a good offer. I had already received several of these fractured-English inquiries, and was suspicious right off the bat. Here's my reply: As I am interesting in selling it to you. I expecting hopefully good offer. Here is the reply I got: to...

Will Congress Read Bills Before Voting?June 24, 2009 5:33 PM Posted by Stephanie Condon Last month, when Republicans tried to stall energy legislation with hundreds of amendments, Democrats hired a speed reader to get through them all. Now, with Democratic leadership barreling through its hefty agenda this summer, it looks as if the speed reader's services may be needed once more. Various grassroots organizations are blasting Congress for not taking the time to properly consider the energy bill or health care reform -- two very significant pieces of legislation. Let Freedom Ring, a non-profit, grassroots organization that supports a conservative...

Washington, D.C., June 26, 2009—The Competitive Enterprise Institute is today making public an internal study on climate science which was suppressed by the Environmental Protection Agency. Internal EPA email messages, released by CEI earlier in the week, indicate that the report was kept under wraps and its author silenced because of pressure to support the Administration’s agenda of regulating carbon dioxide. The report finds that EPA, by adopting the United Nations’ 2007 “Fourth Assessment” report, is relying on outdated research and is ignoring major new developments. Those developments include a continued decline in global temperatures, a new consensus that future...

For those interested in such things. Freepers that have farm experience are aware of how efficient diesel tractors are. I put five gallons in mine and bush hog all summer. Here is a link to some guys that convert vehicles to tractor power and have gotten as much as 50mpg from a full size pickup! http://www.shadetreeconversions.com/

We have studied your CV. We are a small consultancy company situated in Poland, Warsaw. In current moment we have an open position of Financial Manager. Position of Financial Manager requires part-time work from the candidate. The job consists in remittance of pay-offs from our customers. Activity description: because of our local legislation we are hindered in acquirement of pay-offs from our United States based customers. However customers from United States compose the main part of our consultant business. In current moment we do not possess a representation of our Firm in USA, that why we need a Financial Manager,...

... The CBO estimate says that, under the cap-n-trade plan currently being considered in the House, the average family will face additional costs of about $165 a year. Families in the lowest income quintile will actually see a benefit of $40, largely because some portion of the revenue will be used to fund a rebate and tax credit for low income families. Families in the top quintile will pay an extra $245 dollars a year. That looks pretty progressive. But families in the second highest quintile will end up with an additional burden of $340 a year -- more than...

In the caveat emptor category... Lead in ginkgo pills. Arsenic in herbals. Bugs in a baby's colic and teething syrup. Toxic metals and parasites are part of nature, and all of these have been found in "natural" products and dietary supplements in recent years. "There's at least 10 times more hoodia sold in this country than made in the world, so people are not getting hoodia," said Dr. Mehmet Oz, a heart surgeon and frequent Oprah Winfrey guest who occasionally has touted the stuff. (Source: Breitbart)Multinationals ravage third-world biospheres at the behest of Oprah watchers. A snake oil salesman appeared...

MIAMI, FL -- Marlon Moore is in federal custody and is scheduled to go before a federal judge on Thursday. The US Attorney's Office says that Moore sent fraudulent documents to the US Treasury Department and the IRS seeking payments for over $14 trillion. Federal investigators also say that Moore claimed he was owed a $10 million refund on his income tax return. Marlon Moore is facing charges that he obstructed and impeded IRS laws.

The CBO has just released its initial cost estimates on the Democratic health care proposal coming out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee chaired by Ted Kennedy, and found that it would increase deficits by at least $1 trillion. In addition, the CBO report undercuts President Obama's insistence that those who like the coverage they have can keep it, as it projects millions of Americans would lose their current coverage

BEIJING -- George Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management, said Saturday he has confidence in China's economy and believes it is recovering fast from the economic downturn. Soros made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua after meeting with Chen Feng, chairman of China's HNA Group. Soros has invested 50 million US dollars into Hainan Airlines, a subsidiary of the group. Soros said China's economic growth had benefited from globalization, and China benefited from the financial crisis because it was not directly affected. "Its financial institutions are largely unaffected," Soros said, noting that with a good balance sheet, China was...

You answer the phone, and it's a recorded message: "By now you should have received your written note regarding your vehicle warranty expiring. This call is to give you a final opportunity to extend coverage before it is too late. Press '1' now to speak to a warranty specialist regarding your options on your vehicle." Upon pressing "1," you are transferred to a "warranty specialist" who lies to you, telling you he is affiliated with an automobile dealer or manufacturer and that your warranty is up. And before long, you may have agreed to put $450 down on an extended...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude oil futures on Thursday extended their rally to a third day, propelled by a weak dollar and a forecast from the International Energy Agency for stronger demand. Light, sweet crude for July delivery settled at $72.68 a barrel, climbing $1.35, or 1.9%, on the New York Mercantile Exchange and notching a fresh seven-month high. Brent crude on the ICE Futures exchange settled 99 cents, or 1.4%, higher at $71.79 a barrel.

Phone scam going around.

A price tag is now emerging for what last year's collapse of investment giant Lehman Brothers could cost the state of Florida: more than $1 billion. The losses could make Florida and its citizens among the biggest casualties in the biggest bankruptcy ever. More than $440 million disappeared from the pension fund that pays benefits for some 1 million retirees and public employees. Counties, cities and school districts face a loss of more than $300 million for roads, sewers and schools. The state has $290 million less to pay for everything from hurricane claims to health care, community colleges and...

Music fans who buy concert tickets during Live Nation's "No Service Fee Wednesday" may be surprised when they check their receipt and see some service fees were charged. Live Nation's announcement for the promotion -- and stories based on their news release -- did not mention the concert promoter's narrow definition of a "service fee." "Fans will still be asked to pay parking fees (usually $6) as well as in some cases facility fees and/or charity fees," Live Nation spokesman John Vlautin wrote in a reply to CNN's request for clarification. Still, the promotion will save consumers several dollars on...

Two federal studies add up the corn fuel's exorbitant cost. The Obama Administration is pushing a big expansion in ethanol, including a mandate to increase the share of the corn-based fuel required in gasoline to 15% from 10%. Apparently no one in the Administration has read a pair of new studies, one from its own EPA, that expose ethanol as a bad deal for consumers with little environmental benefit. The biofuels industry already receives a 45 cent tax credit for every gallon of ethanol produced, or about $3 billion a year. Meanwhile, import tariffs of 54 cents a gallon and...

Bankrupt Bernard Madoff's victim list grew; a court filing identified 232 of "all known creditors" ......bilked businesses are a Who's Who of high-tech, finance and communications -- IBM, Microsoft, Merrill Lynch, Bloomberg, Reuters and Verizon. The 10-page Bankruptcy Court filing of corporate creditors reveals perks Madoff enjoyed before his $65B Ponzi scheme collapse -- debts to Sherry-Lehmann Wines, and a limo service.....ownership of two Mercedes listed in wife Ruth's name. The scamster was in arrears to the Universal Safe Deposit Corp. and to Iron Mountain, which specializes in "secure" document shredding.