Free Republic

That's the title of a new book by Fred Jerome, a compilation of essays from these and other noteworthies: This anthology features essays by revolutionary thinkers, activists, and artists-including Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore, civil rights activist Angela Davis, incarcerated journalist Mumia Abu Jamal, and economist Rick Wolff- addressing various aspects of a new society and, crucially, how to get from where we are now to where we want to be, living in a society that is truly fair and just. I suppose that's one way to describe their vision. I might ask the question, "fair and just for whom"?...

To hell with a million man march. We need a TEN MILLION man march!! Fill the mall and every street in DC!! Time to raise the pucker factor in DC until no one in congress can even raise up from his chair. When the people fear their government there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, we have Liberty!! Tea Party leaders, right-wing groups, 2nd amendment groups, pro-life religious leaders, Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, Levin: Gentlemen start your engines!! It's time to unite and turnout freedom loving Americans of every political stripe to run the statist bums out and restore...

We the people can nullify Obama’s unconstitutional communist POS by simply refusing to submit. If the majority of the people don’t sign up for it, it dies on the vine. In fact it wouldn’t take anywhere close to a majority. Twenty to thirty percent ought to do it. It's not going to work anyway. Socialism never works. We need to kill if it we want to save our constitutional republic! No surrender, no retreat!! Do not sign away your freedom!! Do not submit to the godless leftist wannabe dictators!! We are the resistance!!

Although Mayor Annise Parker has vowed that she and her longtime partner, Kathy Hubbard, will not wed until gay marriage is legal in Texas, in recent interviews the mayor has softened her stance. "The world is changing so fast, maybe I won't wait that long," Parker said last week in a year-end interview with CultureMap when asked when she would marry. "I'm no longer worried that (gay marriage in Texas) is not going to happen in my lifetime. After the Supreme Court ruling and the number of states that now have equal marriage, it's coming." Since then CultureMap has learned...

The New Jersey Legislature approved legislation on Thursday that would allow students without legal immigration status to pay in-state college tuition. Gov. Chris Christie planned to sign it on Friday, a spokesman said. During Mr. Christie’s re-election campaign this year, he spoke favorably of tuition equality. The compromise bill will allow access to in-state tuition for immigrants without legal status who have graduated from a New Jersey high school after at least three years of attendance. Mr. Christie said the legislation would become effective immediately, allowing students to take advantage of it in time for the spring semester.

The Obama administration Thursday night significantly relaxed the rules of the health-care law for millions of consumers whose individual insurance policies have been canceled, saying they could buy bare-bones health plans or entirely avoid the requirement that most Americans have health insurance. The surprise announcement, four days before the Dec. 23 deadline for people to choose coverage that begins on Jan. 1, triggered an immediate backlash from the health insurance industry and raised new fairness questions about a law intended to promote affordable and comprehensive coverage.

Fully 55 of the 62 sheriffs that serve in Colorado have outright refused to enforce the state’s new gun laws — the requirement for universal background checks and the ban on ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds. They say the laws are unconstitutional and too vague. ... These are the same 55 sheriffs who, in May, tried to challenge the constitutionality of the state laws in a federal court. U.S. District Judge Marcia Kreiger told the sheriffs that they don’t have standing — or legal authority — to challenge the laws as a group. But the legal challenge...

A federal judge ruled Monday that the National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records likely violates the Constitution, in a major setback for the controversial spy agency. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon granted a preliminary injunction sought by plaintiffs Larry Klayman and Charles Strange. However, he also stayed his decision "pending appeal," giving the U.S. government time to fight the decision over the next several months.

“If an individual tries to sign up by Dec. 23rd but experiences an issue with the marketplace, they qualify for a special enrollment period and gain coverage as soon as possible,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in new guidance HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius also said that insurers would be required to provide coverage to individuals who pay for their plans by Dec. 31. Previously, insurance companies could have set an earlier deadline for payment. At the same time, the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Program — which was supposed to expire at the end of this year — will...

Good stuff from Jonathan Turley at today’s House hearing on executive power, although I regret that I couldn’t find a more user-friendly format for you to watch. There’s no compilation clip; you’ll have to make do with the C-SPAN embed by fast-forwarding to the time cues I give you and being patient while the vid buffers (and buffers, and buffers). At 1:10:55 he describes the “royal prerogative” that the Constitution was designed to eliminate but which Obama, through the growth of the administrative state and his own expansive view of executive discretion, is now flirting with. At 2:53:45, he applies...

On Monday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that Obamacare will place a special focus on members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community because "for too long...[they] were pushed to the side," Paul Bedard reported at the Washington Examiner. "LGBT individuals have faced limited access to health care and insurance. They have been less likely to get the preventive care they need to stay healthy, they have higher rates of tobacco use, and they are often at increased risk for mental health illness," she said. To counter this, the administration is drawing attention to new benefits...

I believe there is a principle of law under which a person may unwittingly waive constitutional rights. An example of this is when invoking the 5th Amendment right against self incrimination. One may waive this right by answering any questions rather than repeatedly invoking the right when asked questions. Does this apply to the Obamacare website, and once a person signs up, they actually place themselves under the federal government’s jurisdiction with regard to Obamacare by signing up and in the process waive constitutionally protected rights? It seems to me that there is no provision in our federal Constitution granting...

Microsoft is moving toward a major new effort to encrypt its Internet traffic amid fears that the National Security Agency may have broken into its global communications links, said people familiar with the emerging plans. Suspicions at Microsoft, while building for several months, sharpened in October when it was reported that the NSA was intercepting traffic inside the private networks of Google and Yahoo, two industry rivals with similar global infrastructures, said people with direct knowledge of the company’s deliberations. They said top Microsoft executives are meeting this week to decide what encryption initiatives to deploy and how quickly.

The Times Of Israel is reporting that a team of negotiators led by White House adviser Valerie Jarrett has been conducting secret talks with Iran about it's nuclear weapons program for the past year. The report states the deal submitted in Geneva earlier this month was a direct result of these secret year-long negotiations between teams headed by Jarrett and Iran's Ali Akbar Salehi. That deal was ultimately rejected when France and Israel raised strong objections,and talks are expected to resume this Wednesday. The White House was very quick to issue a categorical denial of the report. According to White...

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/howard-dean-i-wonder-if-obama-has-legal-authority-do_767096.html

Lyle Denniston looks at four potentially very significant new challenges under way to Obamacare, including one argument that is growing in popularity with the law’s critics. THE STATEMENTS AT ISSUE: “My jaw dropped when I first saw this. This has the potential to sink Obamacare. It could make the current website problems seem minor by comparison.” – Michael F. Cannon, health policy analyst at the Cato Institute in Washington, discussing a series of lawsuits challenging the Internal Revenue Service’s interpretation of a key provision in the new federal health care law, as quoted in an October 25 story by David...

WASHINGTON — As America's road planners struggle to find the cash to mend a crumbling highway system, many are beginning to see a solution in a little black box that fits neatly by the dashboard of your car. The devices, which track every mile a motorist drives and transmit that information to bureaucrats, are at the center of a controversial attempt in Washington and state planning offices to overhaul the outdated system for funding America's major roads.

According to Yahoo answers: The dogs may bark but the caravan moves on. First, know that a dog in Persia is not an animal held in high esteem. It means that the lowly may criticize and complain, but that doesn't stop the flow of events as determined by those of worth.

Over 2.6 million illegal immigrants reside in California and Gov. Jerry Brown is signing more illegal laws to give them the same rights as U.S. citizens. On Thursday, he signed a bill that will allow up to 1.3 million illegals up to obtain CA drivers licenses. Another bill signed by Brown prohibits employers to retaliate against workers because of their lack of citizenship. The CA Governor also signed the “Trust Act” which halts the deportation of illegals when arrested for minor crimes and prohibits law enforcement to contact I.C.E. agents. To add to the illegal bills signed by Gov. Brown,...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said he does not expect to have to take any unusual steps to prevent the United States from defaulting on its debt because he believes Congress will raise the debt ceiling before a looming October 17 deadline. "I don't expect to get there," Obama said in an interview with the Associated Press released on Saturday. "There were at least some quotes yesterday that (House of Representatives) Speaker (John) Boehner is willing to make sure that we don't default," he said.