Free Republic

The Republican National Committee, keeping up on their social media campaigns like we haven’t seen before in a presidential election, have already released an ad absolutely belittling Obama for saying that families making under $250,000 a year would not see a tax increase. Well, Mr. Obama, your little tax increase yesterday may just come back and bite you in the bum. As pointed out in this article, the penalty for not following the direction of the individual mandate requiring all Americans to purchase health care coverage is not a fine, but a tax.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: The states under ObamaTax, have to pay for all of that new insurance coverage for the people who aren't insured via Medicaid. Well, the problem is many of the states have their own fiscal emergencies. California and others have already been buried by unfunded liabilities when it comes to public employee pensions and health care. You make 125 grand a year working for the state, you retire at age 50, you get 90% of your salary for the rest of your life and free health care for the rest of your life, times tens of millions of...

Now that Obamacare has been ruled a tax by the U.S. Supreme Court, reality is starting to sink in for all those who emotionally supported it. Promoted as a way to provide either free health care or low-cost health care to the masses, the sobering reality is that under Obamacare, health insurance prices keep rising, not falling. That's no surprise, of course, since the Obamacare legislation was practically written by the health insurance companies, and they sure didn't put their weight behind a sweeping new law that would earn them less profit. In an era when the so-called "99%" are...

Would you want to survive the end of civilization? Let's say the end of the world as we know it is coming — but someone offers you a priceless spot in their guaranteed-to-be-safe bunker, so you can be one of the chosen few who rebuilds the Earth. Would you want to survive, and emerge into the post-apocalyptic wasteland? Would the positives of playing a role in a new society outweigh the loss of creature comforts? Or would you rather just go out with the majority of the human race? I wouldn't last long in a Mad Max-style world — the...

A record of 8,733,461 workers took federal disability insurance payments in June 2012, according to the Social Security Administration. That was up from 8,707,185 in May. There has been a dramatic shrinkage in the United States over the past 20 years in the number of workers actually employed and earning paychecks per worker who is not employed and is taking federal disability insurance payments. n June 1992, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 118,419,000 people employed in the United States, and, according to the Social Security Administration, there were 3,334,333 workers taking federal disability payments. That equaled...

I’m about to venture into dangerous territory. It is territory that is doubly dangerous because it has to do with women’s fashions, AND weddings, two areas where men should never seek to render any opinion whatsoever. I don’t know if it helps to point out that the idea I am about to brook came from a woman, but in case it helps, I offer this character witness on my behalf.Even more dangerously I am going to suggest something about THE most critical aspect of wedding fashions: “The Dress,” as in, “The WEDDING DRESS.” Yes, I must go delicately into that...

It's Fourth of July week, a kind of All-Star break for the presidential campaign. The economy is still sagging, unemployment remains above 8% and the Fed just lowered its forecast for economic growth this year. Pretty bleak stuff for President Barack Obama. Yet he still enjoys a modest lead in most presidential-campaign polls. Multiple factors account for that, obviously, but the president reaches this stage with three distinct advantages that are serving him well: The swing-state edge. If a candidate is going to do well anywhere, obviously the place to beat expectations is in the swing states that will decide

I once "oohed" and "ahhed" over fireworks, but that was before I knew how our annual celebrations of freedom wreak havoc on other species. For animals, Fourth of July fireworks aren't festive - they're frightening and sometimes even fatal. Animals' ears are far more sensitive than ours. Deafening blasts can cause them intense pain and even damage their hearing. The endless bangs and booms cause many dogs and cats to panic and jump over backyard fences, slip out of their collars, break free from their chains, dig out of yards, tear through screened windows or doors and even crash through...

Newly uncovered documents posted on a blog show that two ancestors of Massachusetts U.S. Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren were listed on government forms as “white,” despite the Democratic candidate repeatedly saying that she comes from Native American heritage. Cherokee genealogist Twila Barnes posted census data on her blog this weekend that she says shows that Warren’s mother, Pauline Herring, listed herself as “white” in 1940. Barnes also posted a death certificate for Warren’s “Aunt Bea,” who was listed as “white” on the form. Elizabeth Warren’s name is listed on the death certificate. The Democratic candidate once famously cited her Aunt...

Beaver had June and Ward. Ricky had Ozzie and Harriet. Mom and Dad, same-sex couples or blended families, California law is clear: No more than two legal parents per child. When adults fight over parenthood, a judge must decide which two have that right and responsibility – but that could end soon. State Sen. Mark Leno is pushing legislation to allow a child to have multiple parents. "The bill brings California into the 21st century, recognizing that there are more than Ozzie and Harriet families today," the San Francisco Democrat said. Surrogate births, same-sex parenthood and assisted reproduction are changing...

He insulted the mother of God, the Eucharist and the Church. It is a foretaste of what is to come from the post-conciliar church headed by Benedict XVI (Cathcon- small modification of the text here as kreuz.net expressed themselves in rather more vivid terms than I would be prepared- but the catastrophe of this appointment cannot be hidden, along with the appointment of Annibale Bugnini's reincarnation, Bishop Roche to be Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship- although Bugnini for all his grave errors had studied the liturgy very thoroughly) Today at noon is the Vatican announced the appointment of...

A rare case in which a news outlet actually tries to undermine its own poll by pointing out problems in its methodology. Is that because it's terrible for the Unicorn Prince or because, to be fair, it's hard to draw any conclusions from numbers these vague?I'm not putting any stock in it but let's blog it anyway. After last week's SCOTUS groin-punch, we need something to be happy about. About a third of all Americans live in states that are not considered safe Republican or safe Democratic strongholds, including toss-ups states (like Florida and Ohio) as well as states that...

By Dr. Phil Taverna I ran across this book in my travels. And it peaked my interest. Who was the Forgotten Man? According to Amity Shlaes, her book, The Forgotten Man  is someone that will peak your interest for sure. When I first saw the expression, I expected to see a book written by a commie liberal and it was about the plight of the blacks and minorities who can't seem to get a fair share no matter how much money we throw at them.This book is mainly about FDR the biggest commie of the 40's but it also gives you...

As a member of the recently-graduated demographic crowd, I can attest that I've got a fair number of friends --- well-educated, hardworking friends --- who are currently living at home with their parents. (Not that I think having a college degree entitles you to a job, and certainly no more or less than anyone else, but I do hear that back in the good ol' days, there was a solid market for such qualifications.) They're underemployed, they're working part-time, they're volunteering, or they don't have jobs at all.It's frustrating, and I'm frustrated for them ... and it can't be any...

Hollywood’s brightest stars came out for the annual BET Awards Sunday night and once again took time to honor the late Whitney Houston. --snip-- ...Rev. Al Sharpton received the humanitarian award, and urged the crowd to vote this November. "This election is not just about Obama, this is about your momma," he said....

Actress Mila Kunis has an interesting way of showing her support for President Barack Obama, she recently told Glamour magazine: Glamour: Do you fund-raise for Obama? Mila Kunis: More like street-art-based stuff in Los Angeles that I can’t talk about…because I’m pretty sure it’s illegal. Glamour: You graffiti? Mila Kunis: Mm-hmm. I’d rather do that. I don’t need attention for it. What I truly believe in I will do privately.

Border Police officials on Monday ordered an investigation into one of its officers after video footage surfaced showing him delivering a kick to an Arab boy, aged 9. The video, taken on June 29, shows one Border Policeman apprehending the boy, named as Abd al-Rahman Burkan, near the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Burkan is shown lying down on the ground when he is caught. A second policeman is then seen approaching the child and kicking him. Burkan was then released and he is shown running away. He was suspected of throwing stones at police in Hevron. Such incidents have sharply...

Early in 2011, the London Bullion Market Association began to push for gold to be recognised by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision as the ultimate high-quality liquid asset. It has been a planned approach involving the wider financial community, with the European Parliament voting unanimously to recommend that central counterparties (basically regulated settlement intermediaries for securities markets) accept gold as collateral under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). Lobbying by the LBMA certainly contributed to this favourable outcome. A growing acceptance of gold as collateral in regulated markets is forcing the Basel Committee to reconsider the position of gold...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: And looky here, folks, from the Cybercast News Service: "Obama Contributor, Who Helped Enact Assault Weapons Ban, Ran ‘Fast and Furious’" Did you hear that? Let me repeat that for you. Cybercast News Service: "Obama Contributor, Who Helped Enact Assault Weapons Ban, Ran ‘Fast and Furious’ -- Dennis K. Burke, who as a lawyer for the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the 1990s was a key player behind the enactment of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, and who then went on to become Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano’s chief of staff, and a contributor to Barack...