Free Republic

The number of homeless families living in motels funded by the state now tops more than 1,000, a dramatic 37 percent increase since June 1, ... at a monthly cost of about $2.8 million for taxpayers. The recession, high unemployment, and continuing foreclosure crisis are forcing more families to seek help. The state has been placing families in motels since 2007, when the 2,000 rooms in the homeless shelter system reached capacity.

NATO-led forces are investigating the death of four Marines in eastern Afghanistan after their commanders reportedly rejected requests for artillery fire in a battle with insurgents, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. Tuesday's incident was "under investigation" and details remained unclear, press secretary Geoff Morrell told a news conference. A McClatchy newspapers' journalist who witnessed the battle reported that a team of Marine trainers made repeated appeals for air and artillery support after being pinned down by insurgents in the village of Ganjgal in eastern Kunar province. The U.S. troops had to wait more than an hour for attack helicopters to...

WILKES-BARRE – Attorneys for a woman accused of piercing the bodies of three stray kittens have asked a judge to dismiss the case, saying that charges of cruelty to animals and criminal conspiracy are “unconstitutionally vague.” Lawyers for Holly Crawford, 34, of Dobson Road, Ross Township, filed court papers Tuesday asking for the dismissal, stating prosecutors “failed to provide reasonable notice of the conduct” that Crawford is charged with. Three counts each of cruelty to animals and criminal conspiracy were filed after humane officers and state police searched Crawford’s home on Dec. 17 and seized three kittens with ear, neck...

Following Bernanke's remarks yesterday that in his opinion the recession is over, the market indices all moved up about a half percent yesterday. Technically, we need two straight quarters of economic growth as measured by GDP. Yet, Bernanke is using the new economic math as I described yesterday. Back when I first learned economics, recessions and other economic measures had objective measures. In this case, a recession ends when there are two straight quarters of growth. Yet, now, economists like Bernanke come up with their own dubious measures that have no objectivity.

Fellow conservative,In the past few days we've seen overwhelming evidence that ACORN is a blatantly corrupt organization.  This comes on top of years of documentation that the group has been involved in everything from voter fraud to fraudulent loans.Now comes video evidence that ACORN employees from at least three different offices conspired to help an alleged "pimp" obtain a loan to buy a house to use as a brothel - with underage girls working as prostitutes!This is being done by an organization that has operated off of our tax dollars for years!In light of the new evidence, the US Census...

The media may be trying as hard as possible to ignore the series of undercover videos taken at ACORN offices around the nation, but politicians don’t have that luxury. Even in New York, both state and city officials have reacted to voter outrage over the actions of ACORN staffers offering advice on hiding tax evasion and child prostitution, especially since these offices run in part on taxpayer money. The New York Post reports that the city council in NYC have suspended payments to ACORN pending further investigation, and that Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo has launched an investigation...

The House of Representatives yesterday passed a Resolution of Disapproval aimed at Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) for his outburst on the House floor during the Obama health care speech to a joint session of Congress last week.  The resolution passed by a vote of 240-179. Seven Republicans voted in favor of the admonition. They are: Joseph Cao (La.)Jo Ann Emerson (Mo.)Jeff  Flake (Az.)Bob Inglis (S.C.)Walter Jones (N.C.)Thomas Petri (Wisc.)Dana Rohrabacher (Ca.) Twelve Democrats crossed over to vote against.   Michael Arcuri (N.Y.)William Delahunt (Mass.)Gabrielle Giffords (Az.)Maurice Hinchey (N.Y.) Paul Hodes (N.H.)Dennis Kucinich (Ohio)Daniel Maffei (N.Y.)Eric Massa (N.Y.)Jim McDermott (Wash.)Gwen Moore...

WASHINGTON DC – The NAACP announced today, unwavering support for Tom Perez for Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. In a letter to the United States Senate, the NAACP urged the Senate to confirm Perez expeditiously. “The NAACP strongly urges the United States Senate to confirm Tom Perez for Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. His breadth and depth of experience on the local, state and federal level make him the best candidate to work with Attorney General Eric Holder to rebuild the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice,” stated Hilary O. Shelton, Senior Vice President for...

Chairman’s Mark The Chairman‘s Mark would establish Federal rating, issue, renewability, and pre-existing condition rules for the individual market. Issuers in the individual market could vary premiums based only on the following characteristics: tobacco use, age, and family composition. Specifically, premiums could vary no more than the ratio specified for each characteristic:  Tobacco use – 1.5:1  Age – 5:1  Family composition: o Single – 1:1 o Adult with child – 1.8:1 o Two adults – 2:1 o Family – 3:1 Premiums could also vary among, but not within, rating areas to reflect geographic differences. States would define...

An immigration enforcement organization is calling on President Barack Obama to publicly apologize to Congress, the media, and the entire nation for lying about illegal immigrants not having access to healthcare reform benefits. The grassroots group is standing behind Congressman Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina), who shouted "You lie!" during the president's healthcare speech last week. Even though Wilson apologized to the president, House Democrats are demanding that he apologize again -- this time on the House floor. And if he refuses, they are planning to introduce a resolution of disapproval. Wilson has said he has no plans to apologize further,...

Treasury says it will wind down emergency program Treasury says it will start winding down emergency rescue program to buy time for debt ceiling By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer On Wednesday September 16, 2009, 8:19 am EDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Treasury Department said Wednesday it will begin winding down one of the emergency programs created at the height of the financial crisis to give the government more time before it hits the national debt limit.

Twelve percent (12%) of voters nationwide believe that most opponents of President Obama’s health care reform plan are racist. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 67% of voters disagree, and 21% are not sure. In recent days, several Democrats have suggested that racism is a factor. The most prominent to make that accusation is former President Jimmy Carter. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of Republicans reject the notion that most of the opponents are racist. So do 78% of voters not affiliated with either major party. However, just 39% of Democrats share that view. Twenty-two percent (22%) of those...

There is no finer Constitutional mind in America today than Mark R. Levin. He has indeed become the Constitutional engine of conservatism and is an undeniable genius. For his cause is an American cause, and his book—Liberty & Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto—is a book of historic proportions, not only to America, but to every citizen of the world that longs for liberty. In today’s America, we once again struggle against tyranny—not the tyranny of the sword the Founding Fathers faced; rather, we face a soft tyranny that threatens individual liberty to every man, woman and child born and unborn. It...

Everybody expects Jay Leno's new primetime comedy show to drop significantly this week following its highly rated premiere. The question is how fast, how far. For its second episode, "The Jay Leno Show" drew a metered-market household rating of 8.0 and 13 share -- down 34% from his Monday debut. The episode featured an interview with Michael Moore

The cry of racism has been diluted to the point of meaninglessness. The time is ripe to mercilessly ridicule all cries of racism and to repeatedly paint anyone who cries racism as an imbecile. AND NEVER LET UP. No conservative should let a broadcast conversation or interview continue that even implies racism without merciless ridicule. Make them take you off the air. Never let up. This issue is a huge win for conservatives if they play it right. From CNN: "Former President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday that racial politics played a role in South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst during...

The month after Barbara Ann Stanislav and William J. Papp Jr. saw each other's profiles on the Internet dating site Match.com in 2005, the two horse lovers made plans to go on a date to a Westchester, N.Y., stable. According to Stanislav, whose equestrian skills were a bit rusty, Papp assured her that he would give her a gentle, safe horse to ride. But on their third date, when the two met on a winter afternoon, the day took a tragic turn. As Papp and another rider were performing jumps, Stanislav was seriously injured when her horse "Teddy" suddenly lunged...

Here's your chance to let the media know where the people stand on our faith in God, as a nation.. NBC is presently taking a poll on "In God We Trust" to stay on our American currency.Do your part and tell them what you think.

Congressman Spencer Bachus comments on ACORNBy Shannon Delcambre Assignment Manager Published: September 16, 2009 Press release from U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus Office: Congressman Spencer Bachus (AL-6) Tuesday called for an end to federal funding for ACORN, a leftwing activist group linked to voter registration fraud and other criminal activity. Bachus became an original cosponsor of the Defund ACORN Act, which would eliminate all ties, including financial support, between the government and the organization. He also signed a letter to President Obama demanding a termination of taxpayer assistance to the group. Congressman Bachus said, “Taxpayer funding for ACORN’s far left agenda...

SCRANTON - Federal prosecutors fear former Luzerne County judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. have tried to hide some of their assets to protect them from forfeiture in the racketeering case against them. Prosecutors unsuccessfully sought new bail conditions - including the posting of a $500,000 bond and a requirement that the judges wear electronic monitors - when Conahan and Ciavarella appeared in U.S. District Court to plead not guilty to a 48-count indictment Tuesday. Read the indictment When they pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy in February for allegedly taking $2.8 million in kickbacks, the judges...

Scott McNealy, former CEO of Sun Microsystems (JAVA), met me for breakfast at an unassuming little restaurant in a strip mall tucked into the woods a few minutes' drive from his house. We discussed one of his recent passions: applying technology's open-source model to education. Sun was an early proponent of open source, giving the concept a huge boost when it opened up its Java software. And McNealy funded and helped promote a project called Curriki to create open-source textbooks that will ultimately be free, via the Internet. Over an omelet and fruit, McNealy made it clear that possibilities in...