Free Republic

So you’ve all seen and kept up with the latest happenings on Sarah, right? A lot of people in the media and the blogosphere declared her resignation “bizarre,” and a lot of others thought that, frankly, she was insane. Even many of Palin’s supporters were puzzled by this decision at first. Why would this woman, who was doing perfectly well building her resume and experience as governor of Alaska, abruptly resign? It makes a lot more sense now. A few days ago, Palin scheduled a press conference, and none other than ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Time, and countless other media...

As Congress considers a surtax on the nation's top earners to fund an expansion in federal health care, a new Tax Foundation analysis shows that 33 states would see top tax rates exceed 50%. One new funding proposal being floated by the House Ways and Means Committee is a 4% surtax levied on couples with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) over $250,000 and individuals earning more than $200,000. "Combining top federal and state rates, and factoring in all deductions, the government would be taking over half of every additional dollar from high-income taxpayers in two-thirds of the states under this latest...

SAN FRANCISCO—Doughnuts could be a distant memory for San Francisco city workers. They must now follow "healthy meeting" guidelines under a sweeping initiative unveiled by Mayor Gavin Newsom Thursday to encourage better eating. That means less junk food and smaller portions at staff meetings. The mayor is also ordering all city departments to help locate vacant or unused city-owned land that could be used to grow food. Vendors that offer healthy food will get preference for city contracts and permits. All vending machines on city property additionally will have to meet new nutrition standards.

As nature and science continue to take the steam out of the global-warming balloon, the recent G8 summit produced a tentative promise that leading industrialized nations won't let the planet's temperature rise higher than 3.6 F above some arbitrary period before tailpipes. Since the earth has cooled 1.8 F (1 C) since 1998, it's unlikely action will be required anytime soon. So what do the "leaders" propose to do if on some distant date the planet exceeds their capricious temperature limit? They didn't say. But warmists' unshakable egoism notwithstanding, humans are powerless to alter the climate, intentionally or otherwise. How...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has contacted the US State Department's point man on Latin America to discuss the crisis in Honduras, US officials confirmed. Chavez called Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon late Thursday "to discuss the current situation in Honduras and the ongoing negotiations mediated by Costa Rica's President Oscar Arias," the State Department said in a statement. The call came in the midst of San Jose-brokered talks between aides of ousted President Manuel Zelaya and interim Honduran leader Roberto Micheletti. The talks ended late Friday with no breakthrough. In a sign of the pair's...

David Paterson took the oath as governor of New York on March 17, 2008, succeeding the disgraced Eliot Spitzer on the same day that Bear Stearns collapsed. Paterson spent the spring and summer warning that the state faced its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and by early autumn, he was looking downright prophetic. As tax revenues nose-dived and New York’s budget deficit ballooned from $4 billion to over $13 billion, the new governor didn’t simply blame the problem on economic forces beyond his control. “This is the result of our increased spending over years and years,” he said...

In the ongoing quest to determine the exact birthplace of Barack Obama, the president's alleged personal effort to put the matter to rest is raising some interesting new questions. The latest concerns focus on a letter purportedly sent by Obama to Honolulu's Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children in which the commander in chief outright declares his birth at the facility. (Within an hour of the posting of this story, Kapi'olani removed the image of the letter from its website.)

Two days of talks in Costa Rica aimed at ending the political crisis in Honduras have ended without agreement. Mediators from the host country said the two sides had agreed to resume talks shortly but some regional leaders said they saw little sign of progress. Ousted President Manuel Zelaya and interim leader Roberto Micheletti had refused to meet but held separate talks with Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. Correspondents say the former allies' positions remain far apart.

The tiny mouse that became a hotly disputed symbol of wasteful spending in the $787 billion economic stimulus bill has returned to pester House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Obama administration revealed last week that as much as $16.1 million from the stimulus program is going to save the San Francisco Bay Area habitat of, among other things, the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse. That has revived Republican criticism that the pet project was an "invisible earmark" in the massive spending bill for Mrs. Pelosi, whose San Francisco district abuts the Bay, and epitomizes what Republicans say is the failure of...

William Jefferson corruption trial shifts to other 'schemes'by Bruce Alpert, The Times-Picayune Friday July 10, 2009, 7:12 AM ALEXANDRIA, VA. -- After more than three weeks of testimony about William Jefferson's efforts to bring telecommunications projects to western Africa in return for what prosecutors labeled bribes, the jury Thursday heard about several of the other 11 alleged schemes in the corruption indictment against the nine-term former congressman. The trial, which began on June 9 with jury selection, finally appears to be moving closer to completion. Lead prosecutor Mark Lytle said he hopes to finish the government's case on July 17...

A green light UFO was spotted July 6 by multiple witnesses over Boca Raton, Florida, according to witness reports filed with the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database. One witness said it was "a green glowing diamond shaped object, about 100ft above us, floating"

Sonia Sotomayor will begin her confirmation hearings next week with some of the highest levels of public opposition of any Supreme Court nominee in the last two decades, according to a new poll by the CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation. In fact, only one nominee had a higher level of opposition: Harriet Miers, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005. Miers later withdrew her nomination under questions about her qualifications from both the political left and right. Forty-seven percent of respondents to the poll say they would like to see the U.S. Senate vote to confirm...

Emerging shakily from hospital 12 days ago with her left arm in a sling, Baroness Thatcher was asked by her daughter, Carol: 'Are you all right, Mum?' Back came the pithy retort: 'Why shouldn't I be?' At 83, Margaret Thatcher might be frail, both mentally and physically, but, clearly, a lot of the old Iron Lady is still there as she recovers from a fall in which she broke her upper arm, necessitating 17 days in hospital. For the time being, however, she is not leaving her home in Belgravia - not even to make a brief, invited return to...

Changes in student loans could mean savings for youJEAN CHATZKY TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Published: July 9, 2009 **SNIP** Graduates in the Class of 2009 have an even better deal, says Edie Irons, communications director of the Project on Student Debt. "If you consolidate during your grace period, which is the six months after you graduate, you can lock in a rate of 1.88 percent." New borrowers of subsidized (need-based) Stafford loans are also going to see lower rates. Because of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, the interest rate on these loans for 2009-2010 is going to be...

Carl Cannon is also saying that Joe Biden simply wasn’t held to the same standard as Sarah was. As if that’s a surprise. When has there not been a double standard for Republicans and Demcorats. It is just more pronounced with Palin. In the 2008 election, we took sides, straight and simple, particularly with regard to the vice presidential race. I don’t know that we played a decisive role in that campaign, and I’m not saying the better side lost. What I am saying is that we simply didn’t hold Joe Biden to the same standard as Sarah Palin, and...

In an interview to be published in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she thought the landmark Roe v. Wade decision on abortion was predicated on the Supreme Court majority's desire to diminish “populations that we don’t want to have too many of.” In the 90-minute interview in Ginsburg’s temporary chambers, Ginsburg gave the Times her perspective on Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s first high court nomination. She also discussed her views on abortion. Her comment about her belief that the court had wanted to limit certain populations through abortion came after the interviewer...

Timo Niroma, a physicist from Finland, publishes a Solar Report each month. He has given his permission to use it and distribute it to all so here it is. It will be a regular feature here and I hope you look forward to it as much as I do. The report is not written in the usual user-friendly way, but is rather intended for scientists that are familiar with the information contained in it. I will attempt to simplify and explain the details of the report and how it could impact you and, of course, Al Gore and company. As...

...Section 286 proposes “additional credit for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac housing goals for energy efficient and location efficient mortgages.” In effect, this section plans to give a more than 125 percent credit for government-backed mortgages to people with homes that comply with energy-efficiency regulations...

Police community support officers have startled homeowners by wandering uninvited into their properties during a burglary crackdown. If doors were left open, the civilian officers - nicknamed 'Blunkett's Bobbies' after the Home Secretary who created them - walked straight into homes. On occasions, they came face-toface with residents who were pottering around at home in the seaside resort of Hove in East Sussex. Critics claim the move is an abuse of power and could amount to trespass. One resident, who came face to face with a PCSO in her home, said she was 'totally shocked' when she met the officer...

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The Honduran armed forces chief who ousted President Manuel Zelaya said the decision to throw him out of the country was made by "the state" to save lives, because violence would have erupted had he remained. General Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, leader of the joint chiefs of staff, told Reuters it was a difficult decision for him to topple Zelaya on June 28, because the two were friends. But he said he was following orders from the Supreme Court and Congress, which have accused Zelaya of violating the constitution by trying to lift presidential term limits. "The outside...