Free Republic

The Democrats exhaled in relief yesterday after the CBO announced the Senate Finance version of health care would only cost 829 billion dollars and even better news...it will help decrease the deficit by 81 billion dollars. Oh happy day! You could feel the enthusiasm and back slapping from Washington D.C. out to the far reaches of the west coast. Obama was right, we could get this thing done for under a trillion dollars and reduce the deficit at the same time. Time to pop the balloons. There's nothing to celebrate here. Politicians in Washington never cease to amaze. They throw...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — General Motors’ new 60-day money back guarantee campaign seems to offer something for everyone — except taxpayers, the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) pointed out today. This Sunday, General Motors launched a new marketing campaign, ‘May the Best Car Win,’ and will offer car buyers a 60-day money-back guarantee. It was broadcasted on nearly every Sunday football game.

The Obama Administration has transfered $200 million directly to the Fatah PA in violation of the criteria of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006. The Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 has very specific criteria that the Palestinian Authority must be in compliance with in order to recieve any U.S. funding. Section 620K contains the following criteria: The President must certify to Congress that 1) no ministry, agency, or instrumentality of the Palestinian Authority is controlled by a foreign terrorist organization and no member of a foreign terrorist organization serves in a senior policy making position in a ministry, agency, or...

Soldiers of the 910th Quartermaster Company sort and count excess items at sorting tables in the Forward Redistribution Point warehouse, Joint Base Balad, July 15. As Coalition bases close throughout Iraq, excess inventory is sent here for processing and redistribution, saving U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars. Photo by Spc. Kiyoshi Freeman, 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). BALAD — Shipping containers arrive here daily filled with every imaginable item: toilet paper, pens, pencils, turbine engines, Humvee repair parts, even a rock climbing wall. As Coalition forces continue their responsible drawdown from Iraq and close bases, Mobile Redistribution Teams (MRTs) comb installations looking...

PENCE AMENDMENT VOTE THIS MORNING - CALL NOW!! Washington, DC (24 July 2009) – We only have a few hours left to strip Planned Parenthood of their Title X cash cow! The Pence Amendment to defund Planned Parenthood of millions of our tax dollars is set for a vote THIS MORNING. PLEASE CALL THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES NOW! 1. Rep. Dan Boren (OK) - (202) 225-2701 2. Rep. Jerry Costello (ILL) - (202) 225-5661 3. Rep. Lincoln Davis (TN) – (202) 225-6831 4. Rep. Joe Donnelly (IN) - (202) 225-3915 5. Rep. Brad Ellsworth (IN) - (202) 225-4636 6. Rep....

Stephen Moore, Mary O'Grady and Dan Henninger join Paul Gigot for a group discussion on the Obama "stimulus" package for the United States economy.

If you don’t understand the uproar in Friendswood about the city’s plan to issue $11 million in debt without voter approval, just ask yourself a couple of questions: What if city leaders are completely right about the legal question? Is it still a good idea to borrow money without asking voters for their approval? Is a good idea to obligate them when they have clearly indicated they want a say about any debt they’d be responsible for? City officials have asked a judge in Travis County for a ruling that says the city can issue certificates of obligation to finance...

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2009 Contact: Nate Bullock Cell: 317-258-6276 E-Mail: nate@signbig.com SIGN BIG LAUNCHES STATEWIDE Tuesday, June 2, 2009 – Yesterday, Sign Big, an Indiana organization focused on taxpayer issues, announced its official launch. “Sign Big has one focus: Hoosier taxpayers,” said Nate Bullock, Sign Big treasurer and spokesperson. “Our top priority now is to inform Hoosiers and get them engaged in the process of fighting inequitable and higher taxes. So, in the spirit of John Hancock, who made his mark larger than life on the Declaration of Independence, we are asking Hoosiers who are...

President Obama has the star power to raise millions of dollars for the candidates and organizations he graces with his stump speech. But when the president hit the road Tuesday for a two-day fundraising tour to pack the party coffers, he also was racking up a $265,000 partisan bill for just one leg of the trip, according to a watchdog group -- part of which taxpayers, regardless of party affiliation, will have to pay.

The Obama administration task force is likely to recommend more aid for struggling U.S. automakers, a senior senator said on Wednesday. Carl Levin of Michigan said on Capitol Hill that "it is clear" more help is on the way and any assistance for General Motors [GM 2.99 -0.21 (-6.56%) ] and Chrysler LLC would be tied to new conditions on restructuring. The Wall Street Journal, citing interviews with task force members, reported late on Wednesday that the panel was preparing a recommendation for more help with new strings attached. The task force has a March 31 deadline to determine whether...

WASHINGTON – The top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee says the Obama administration is on the right course to save the nation's financial system. But Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire also says President Barack Obama's massive budget proposal will bankrupt the country. Gregg says he has no regrets in withdrawing his nomination to become commerce secretary. He pulled out after deciding he could not fully back the administration's economic policies. The senator said Obama's spending plan in the midst of a prolonged recession would leave the next generation with a country too expensive to live in. Gregg appeared...

Billions of American taxpayer dollars used to bailout insurance giant AIG are flowing to some of the largest foreign banks in the world, according to new documents released by beleaguered company Sunday. The revelation seemed sure to cause political complications for President Barack Obama and his economic team, already on the defensive Sunday over why they couldn’t stop AIG from doling out $165 million in bonuses to some of its top corporate officials – even as the company was receiving a massive infusion of taxpayer funds. The documents AIG released account for some of the more than $180 billion in...

By the choices we make we define ourselves. We reveal our biases and beliefs. And so, too, do our institutions. In writing the $789 billion stimulus bill, Congress revealed that, for all its "Buy American" blather, it does not truly put America first. It does not believe that 10 million jobless Americans, in the country their fathers built, should receive any preference in hiring 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens who broke into this country and owe her no loyalty, allegiance or love. Is this a slur on the patriotism of some of our congressmen? You betcha. What other...

Call, e-mail, or fax your Congressman and tell them to oppose $900 million U.S. tax dollars Obama wants for Islamists in Gaza, who voted for Hamas and danced in the streets on 9/11. It is bad enough that taxpayers have to pay for the irresponsible lending practices of some financial institutions in this country. It is worse when we have to pay for damage in Gaza as a result of Islamic terrorists and their supporters who brought Israel's counter-terror operation upon themselves. No U.S. taxpayer "bailout" for Gaza or the Fatah PA! Contrary to what is reported in the media,...

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter was greeted with jeers at a press conference in Cranberry Township. Conservatives are fuming after Specter cast the deciding vote that led to the passage of President Barack Obama's stimulus plan. Specter, 79, acknowledges his run for re-election will be tough. He says he's not completely happy with Obama's plans but he points out that he was able to cut the price tag by over $100 billion and he says he was able to increase the amount of tax cuts. Even so, Specter acknowledges the Republican Party's conservative wing will attempt to unseat...

As posted on the CNBC website: Link to Poll

At the request of President Reagan, Grover Norquist founded Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) in 1985. ATR believes in a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today. The government's power to control one's life derives from its power to tax. ATR believes that power should be minimized. ATR 's projects include the Taxpayer Protection Pledge that politicians sign pledging no new taxes. You can view the pledge on the website along with other tax reform news and information.

The trading floor buzz on whether the government's plan to save the economy will actually help the markets, with Jason Roney, Sharmac Capital; Wilbur Ross Jr., WL Ross & Co. and CNBC's Rick Santelli

Pelosi, Frank to Automakers: Restructuring Plan Must Demonstrate Viability and Protect Taxpayer Investments WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2009 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank sent the following letters today to Robert L. Nardelli, Chairman and CEO of Chrysler, and Rick Wagoner Jr., Chairman and CEO of General Motors, regarding their company restructuring plans, which are due next week. In the letter, Pelosi and Frank write: "We trust that your restructuring plan will demonstrate to the world that you are willing to make the tough decisions that modernize your operations, restructure your debt, enhance your competitive status...

That’s one of the big-ticket items in the porkulus stimulus plan: building schools in districts that already have buildings sitting unused. NRO notes that the Minneapolis school district is an egregious example of this. But should one be surprised? Not at all. Bureaucrats are nothing if not the kings of inanity. Let’s build schools for no students; let’s create “scholars” no one heeds (what will we do with all those gender-studies majors?); let’s pave roads for no drivers; let’s build windmills with no place to store the energy (oh wait, can’t do that; no one wants to look at them)…hell,...

An Exclusive for Right Side News by JBWilliams ©2009 USA One of many Bush Administration policies being immediately overturned by the new Obama cabal is the existing ban on the use of federal tax dollars to promote and fund abortions here and abroad. Obama planned to sign an executive order pouring US taxpayer funds into abortion practices all over the world on his first day in office. But as the March for Life [1] on Washington DC was scheduled for January 21st, he decided to delay the signing of this peculiar executive order for a couple of days. The March...

Joe Biden ended his own presidential bid after coming in fifth in the Iowa caucuses more than a year ago. But his presidential campaign lived on – and continued receiving taxpayer money – well after he was elected vice president. The vice president is not gearing up to challenge President Barack Obama in the 2012 Democratic primaries, though. Rather, he’s keeping his committee, Biden for President Inc., open to tidy up loose ends in preparation for a mandatory federal audit, which could become expensive to defend. So, Biden continued requesting federal funds for his campaign – through the so-called primary...

Taxation: The national taxpayer advocate recommends that "Congress substantially simplify the Internal Revenue Code." Is anyone on Capitol Hill listening?In its yearly report released last week, the Taxpayer Advocate Service notes what the public has known for decades: "America's taxpayers deserve a simpler and less burdensome tax system that enables them to comply with their tax obligations expeditiously." The only people in the nation who seem oblivious to this are the members of the U.S. Congress — save for Rep. Charles Rangel, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who has been forced to become familiar with the...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush said Monday President-elect Barack Obama hasn't asked him to seek the second half of the funds designated for economic recovery. "I don't intend to make the request" for $350 billion of the $700 billion package approved to help unfreeze credit markets unless Obama asks, Bush said in a wide-ranging, candid and final news conference of his presidency. Bush said he and Obama, who takes over Jan. 20, have discussed the matter. "I told him that if he felt that he needed the $350 billion, I would be willing to ask for...

Senior Bush administration officials are preparing to ask lawmakers for the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue package despite intense opposition in Congress and then have President Bush use his veto if the request is voted down, three sources familiar with the matter said. The initiative, which is being coordinated with the Obama transition team, may be taken within days, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made. Democratic Senate aides were notified in a meeting this afternoon that the request could come as soon as this weekend and that a vote...

Removing All Doubt Obama Would Cede Southwest to Mexico American Patrol Report -- December 19 "We are all Americans, whether you are legalized or not" Anyone who still doubts that Barack Obama is determined to grant de-facto amnesty to millions of illegal aliens should explain to the rest of us why he picked Hilda Solis to be Secretary of Labor. A long-time supporter of la Reconquista, the Mexican takeover of the American Southwest, Solis is also a leader in the movement to silence Americans who speaks out against the invasion, specifically Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly. At a...

Yesterday the American Patrol Report focused on Barack Obama's links to the Service Employee International Union (SEIU). Within hours we learned that the SEIU was intimately involved in the Gov. Blagojevich's selling of Obama's Senate seat. "Among the revelations contained in the complaint brought against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich yesterday was the description of an official with the Service Employees International Union acting as an apparent intermediary between the governor and Barack Obama's camp in discussions over Obama's http://www.americanpatrol.com/

When Barack Obama announced that he was running for president, he was clear that, if elected, he planned "not just to hold an office, but to gather with you to transform a nation." Twenty months after that statement in Springfield, Ill., we have a much clearer view of what he means by "change we can believe in." In a campaign of soaring generalizations on mostly centrist themes, Obama has described the details of the transformation with almost surgical precision. What he offers may be, in substance and in spirit, a radical departure from the principles of the America Dream that...

According to David Bossie, President of the group 'Citizens United for American Sovereignty', based out of Merrifield Virginia, the above- mentioned Senate Bill (S. 2433) is a piece of legislation in the works that all Americans need to know about and know now!

"Several years ago I was one evening standing on the steps of the Capitol with some other members of Congress, when our attention was attracted by a great light over in Georgetown. It was evidently a large fire. We jumped into the hack and drove over as fast as we could. When we got there, I went to work, and I never worked as hard in my life as I did there for several hours. But, in spite of all that could be done, many houses were burned and many families made houseless, and, besides, some of them had lost...

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Former Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin sharply questioned expanding the federal economic bailout plan Thursday during her first extended remarks since the end of the presidential campaign. Addressing fellow GOP governors and party leaders at the Republican Governors Association convention in Miami, Florida, Palin criticized the growing list of industries and others seeking federal assistance. "We're hearing now more talk of additional taxpayer bailouts ... for companies, for corporations, perhaps even states now who may be standing in line with their hands out despite, perhaps, some poor management decisions on their part that helped...

We have confronted the first financial panic of the “New Global Economy” – an economy spawned by the fall of the Berlin Wall; and the precedent we set will affect our prosperity, liberty and posterity for generations. Unconscionably we have rushed to misjudgment and approved a $700 billion Wall Street Bailout the American people know is intrinsically unfair to them. This truth is self-evident in how, initially, an exiting President and his Treasury Secretary incited a panic amongst our people and the world, all to compel a compliant Congress to deliver upon this demand: “Main Street must bail out Wall...

Barack Obama: Bravely taxing the future. Barack Obama, presidential candidate and time traveller, said he has seen the future and its taxes were much, much too low. Obama, his financial adviser, and a time portal keeper named, Rolf, have recently returned from a fact-finding mission 11 years into the future and bravely raised social security taxes on this future world. "This is about fairness," Obama said. "The rich people in the future are out there with their suitcase cars and phasers locked on stun, paid for by the middle class American people of the present." Frank Tarleton, Obama's future tax...

Mayor Ray Nagin told the City Council this morning that the city has found 90 properties where storm remediation work that was supposed to be conducted by taxpayer-financed contractors was not done. Nagin said his staff visited all 870 properties enrolled in a now-defunct home remediation program run by the nonprofit New Orleans Affordable Homeownership Corp. Of the 90 properties where "discrepancies" were found, contractors involved with the program billed the city for work on 46. The city has notified those contractors of the problems and asked for reimbursement or documentation of work, Nagin said. While Nagin acknowledged that his...

Mary Easley's 88 percent pay raise questionedWednesday, July 02, 2008 | 6:41 PM By Ed Crump Wife of N.C. Governor Mike Easley.RALEIGH (WTVD) -- There is more controversy surrounding First Lady Mary Easley in the wake of expensive taxpayer funded trips abroad by both the first lady and Governor Mike Easley. Eyewitness News has learned that Mary Easley got an 88 percent raise at her job at N.C. State University. Until this week, Mary Easley got paid $90,000 a year to recruit speakers to come to campus. Now her job duties have expanded to include directing a public safety program...

Cheap Tomatoes And Cheap Labor CHEAP TOMATOES? This should make everyone think, be you Democrat, Republican or Independent. From a California school teacher - - - 'As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of: I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower social economic and income levels. Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens , Huntington Park , etc.,...

Facts Please, Just the Facts : Politicians should use taxpayer funds to inform, not self-promote by Clint Bolick, In a state with subsidized elections and draconian limits on campaign contributions, every advantage counts. One in particular is a whopper: self-promotion by elected officials at taxpayer expense. The abuse is ubiquitous and transcends party lines. Publications and public-service announcements that happen to prominently bear the name and likeness of an elected official are all too frequent. The officials defend the need for the publications, which misses the point. However legitimate a particular publication, the photo and name are wholly gratuitous, providing...

One of the most significant taxpayer lawsuits is about to go to jury-trial in Austin, but Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has thus far refused to be deposed -- despite being a defendant in the case.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced that U.S. taxpayers will be footing the startup costs of a program to install satellite tracking technology on vehicles taking part in the Mexican Truck Demonstration Program. The announcement confirmed the U.S. government would "initially spend approximately $367,000 to outfit all trucks from the United States and Mexico that take part in the program."

Spitzer hiring city lawyer on taxpayer expense in TroopergateBY JOE MAHONEY DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF Saturday, October 13th 2007, 4:00 AM ALBANY - Gov. Spitzer has lined up a Manhattan lawyer - at taxpayer expense - to help him quash subpoenas sent to his office by a GOP-controlled panel investigating the Troopergate scandal. Spitzer's office confirmed that Dietrich Snell, a former deputy attorney general, will help the administration as it seeks to block the Senate Investigations Committee's push for e-mails and other documents related to an effort by the governor's aides to discredit Senate GOP leader Joe Bruno. An...

by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com EditorOctober 2, 2007Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Rudy Giuliani has tried every trick in the book in order to persuade pro-life voters to consider him for the Republican nomination for president. Now a congressman with a long record of opposing abortion has labeled the former mayor pro-life and said he would have voted mostly pro-life if he had been a congressman as well.Rep. Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican, says that if Giuliani were a member of Congress today, he'd be considered pro-life."In a hypothetical comparison of congressional votes, Mayor Giuliani's voting record would mirror the voting record of...

Philippine Population Control Groups Launch Suit Against Pro-Life Manila Former Mayor By Hilary White MANILA, Philippines, October 2, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Lito Atienza, the former mayor of the Philippine capital Manila, who has earned the wrath of abortionists and population control groups for his opposition to the killer abortion drug RU-486, is facing a lawsuit by those same groups. According to Elizabeth Pangalangan, executive director of the Reproductive Health, Rights and Ethics Center at the University of the Philippines, the suit aims to "hold [Atienza] liable for acts which caused injury to women." Atienza, who is now the Environment Secretary...

The push is on Planned Parenthood mounts campaign to pressure Gov. Schwarzenegger into signing bill that would provide millions more in state funding for family planning Planned Parenthood affiliates across California have geared up their PR machines once again, this time in an effort to persuade Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a bill that could result in the state spending another $3.2 million a year on “family planning services.” Planned Parenthood, whose California affiliates typically end each fiscal year with budget surpluses in the millions, want the governor to sign SB-94, sponsored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles. The...

Catholic Pro-Abortion Ontario Premier Confronted at Campaign Debate by Pro-Life Candidate Pro-life singer David MacDonald runs against Premier Dalton McGuinty in Ottawa South By Paul Lauzon and John-Henry Westen OTTAWA, September 28, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In Ottawa South, Liberal Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's riding, well-known pro-life singer David MacDonald is running for the Family Coalition Party. MacDonald has posted numerous signs and delivered over 10,000 pro-life and pro-family flyers in the riding. In a moving and dynamic presentation at an all candidates debate Wednesday - with Premier Dalton McGuinty looking on - MacDonald spoke of his experiences as a Broadway...

Abortion Debate Enters Ontario Election - Premier McGuinty "I fully support" Abortion By John-Henry Westen TORONTO, September 26, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A lengthy article published in the Ottawa Citizen Monday, which is being seen by some as a crassly one-sided pro-abortion propaganda piece, decried wait times for abortions in the city.  The article points out that the Ontario Liberal Government has given the private Morgentaler abortion centre in Ottawa enough taxpayer dollars to pay for thousands abortions this year alone.  "A.G. Klei, spokesman for the Ontario Ministry for Health and Long-Term Care, says the ministry provided enough money for the...

U.S. Christian Camp Loses Tax-Exempt Status over Same-Sex Civil-Union Ceremony By John Jalsevac OCEAN GROVE, N.J., September 19, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced on Monday that it was stripping the Methodist Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association of its tax-exempt status for part of its property. The Methodist camp made the news earlier this year after it refused, for religious reasons, to allow a lesbian couple to hold a "civil-union" ceremony at a pavilion on the camp's property. The pavilion, said Scott Hoffman, the camp's chief administrative officer to LifeSiteNews, "is a facility we...

"Pro-Life" Casey Votes Twice to Enable US Funding for Abortion Overseas By Meg Jalsevac WASHINGTON, DC, September 14, 2007, (LifeSiteNews.com) - Last week Senator Bob Casey, Jr. (Democrat-Pennsylvania) actively contradicted his largely pro-life campaign promises by voting to approve a funding appropriations bill that would provide US funding to foreign organizations that promote and provide abortions.       The funding bill (HR 2764) would effectively overturn the Mexico City Policy, a foreign aid policy which expressly prohibits the funding of overseas agencies involved in abortion.  The policy was first adopted by President Ronald Reagan and continued in the presidency of Bush, Sr. ...

Democrat Dominated US Senate Votes to Resume Funding to International Abortion Agencies President Bush has warned he would veto any attempts to fund abortion By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman WASHINGTON, September 12, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com)--The US Senate voted last week to resume funding to international groups that conduct abortions, rejecting the "Mexico City policy" that disallows such funding. Although the Bush administration hasn't made a formal statement about the measure, president Bush has publicly warned the Democratic leadership in the Congress that he will veto any attempts to fund abortion. "After witnessing their good sense on the Kemp-Kasten provision, I am extremely...

For Sixth Year in a Row Bush Denies Funding to United Nations Population Fund Democrats almost defeat Kemp-Kasten Amendment that has prohibited such funding By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman WASHINGTON, September 13, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com)--White house Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte announced last week that the Bush Administration would deny funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for a sixth year in a row, on the grounds that the program cooperates with forced abortion and sterilization in China. The decision follows a congressional vote narrowly approving the Kemp-Kasten Amendment, a measure that prohibits funding for coercive population control programs.  The...

Conservative Leader John Tory: Evolution Must be Taught in Science Class; Creation only for Religion Classes Tory plan seen by some as first step to forcing all private schools to absorb Ontario government's full secular curriculum By John-Henry Westen and Elizabeth O'Brien TORONTO, September 6, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Conservative Leader John Tory's election promise to give public funding to faith-based schools began to unravel at the seams yesterday as he spoke about evolution in the classroom.  Asked by a radio interviewer if creation would be permitted to be taught in the classroom, Tory replied, "The Christian-based school would have to...