Free Republic

A Bosnian couple who arranged a 13-year-old bride for their mentally disabled son were sentenced to five years in jail by an Austrian court for abetting the sexual abuse of a minor. The parents, both 44 and residents of Austria for 26 years, had paid the poverty-stricken Bosnian girl's parents 2,500 euros ($3,400) in 2011 to arrange the marriage to their 17-year-old son, the Korneuburg prosecutors' spokesman said on Wednesday.

Hey, why not? Those rockets they keep firing into Israel ain't cheap.US gives $75 million more in aid to Palestinians AP November 6, 2013 BETHLEHEM, West Bank: US secretary of state John Kerry has said that the United State will provide an additional $75 million in aid to create Palestinian jobs and help them improve roads, schools and other infrastructure. US officials say the aid is intended to boost Palestinian public support for faltering peace talks with Israel by showing them tangible benefits from the process. In other words, it's a bribe. Kerry announced the aid on Wednesday in Bethlehem,...

At a White House Diwali celebration on Tuesday afternoon, First Lady Michelle Obama said that she and her husband wanted to celebrate all the faith and culture traditions “that make us who we are as Americans.” Even as she was saying this, there were 200 plaintiffs pursuing 77 lawsuits asking federal courts to protect their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion from a regulation issued by the administration under Obamacare that requires health insurance plans to cover sterilizations, contraceptives and abortion inducing drugs and devices. …

A Medicare official who oversaw HealthCare.gov's botched launch will leave the federal government for the private sector, according to an e-mail sent late Tuesday to Medicare employees. Tony Trenkle is the chief information officer at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that built the Affordable Care Act's online portal. He is in charge of Henry Chao, a deputy chief information officer at Medicare whose name came up in congressional hearings as the source of key HealthCare.gov decisions.

The sweeping re-election of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie proves moderates are an integral part of the Republican Party, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky says. “There’s room in the Republican Party for moderates, like Chris Christie. They seem to be the only ones that are winning in the Northeast,” Paul told “The Steve Malzberg Show” on Newsmax TV. “The other thing that might happen in the Northeast if we had a little more libertarian-leaning Republicans, they would have a chance in the Northeast. But there’s room for moderates, like Chris Christie, and he’s got a place in the party.” …

Every week, New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich talks with contributor Eric Benson about the biggest stories in politics and culture. This week: Christie's 2016 prospects, Rand Paul's Jonah Lehrer problem, McAuliffe's underwhelming victory, and De Blasio's first challenges. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie won a landslide reelection yesterday, significantly outperforming the national Republican Party among black, Hispanic, and female voters. Christie has been viewed as too moderate to win a Republican presidential primary, but he's popular, pragmatic, and has lots of momentum. Is he the 2016 GOP front-runner? There is no front-runner for 2016. But the excessive valuation given...

As telegraphed, the president used the appearance to ramp up pressure on Gov. Rick Perry to expand Medicaid. “There’s no state that actually needs this more than Texas,” Obama said. “…Here in just the Dallas area, 133,000 people who don’t currently have health insurance would immediate get health insurance without even having to go through the website” if Texas would just expand Medicaid. He noted that neighboring states have done that because “this is a no-brainer.” Arkansas, alone, he said, cut the number of uninsured by 14 percent in the first month by expanding Medicaid. “Across this state you’ve got...

By electing Democrat Terry McAuliffe yesterday, Virginia residents narrowly avoided life under one of the most radically anti-choice candidates in recent history, Ken Cuccinelli. (He has compared abortion to slavery.) Thank God women turned out at the polls to defend reproductive justice, just like in 2012, right? Not exactly. The New York Times broke down exit polls by gender and ethnicity, revealing a majority of white women — 54 percent — voted for Cuccinelli, patron of crisis pregnancy centers. Meanwhile, a whopping 91 percent of black women and 90 percent of black men voted for McAuliffe. According to the Daily...

In his remarks to the Robert L. Bartley Gala Dinner on October 23, Senator Ted Cruz disparaged the notion of a “grand bargain,” which would raise taxes and (supposedly) cut spending. Cruz went on to say: “ “I’m going to tell you my view, which is I think that we ought to be relentlessly, tirelessly, exclusively focused on growth, because every other priority we have depends on growth.”(continued)

SAN JOSE -- After listening Tuesday to more than 60 impassioned activists, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to stick to the status quo on immigration, rejecting a proposal to turn over jailed illegal immigrants with a history of serious or violent crime to federal agents for possible deportation. The proposal by Supervisor Joe Simitian to change the current policy and hold "the worst of the worst" inmates for 24 hours past their release date failed on a 3-2 vote. Only Supervisor Mike Wasserman, who opposed the no-holds policy two years ago on the grounds that public safety...

Chris Christie won reelection in a blue state by a million points last night, another triumph on his road to the 2016 presidential race. And yet, amid the sweet euphoria of victory, something was eating away at Christie. There was an emptiness, a void. That's right: President Obama didn't call to congratulate Christie last night — even after Christie called Obama last November to congratulate him on his win over Mitt Romney. It just makes Christie wonder if he's the only one putting any effort into this relationship. Though hurt and upset, this afternoon Christie was still strongly suggesting that...

The first I'd heard from him in a long time was when he called the wrong winner of last nights Boston mayoral race...clearly he's distracted with other things...

Oakland high schooler and gender-identity activist whose skirt was set ablaze on an AC Transit bus was scheduled to begin a series of surgeries Wednesday as Alameda County prosecutors weighed potential charges against a 16-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of assault.

If on Election Day 2014, 24% of Americans make Obamacare their #1 issue, Dems would be staring at a massive defeat. But keen political analyst Ed Schultz, doing an endzone dance over Terry McAuliffe's victory, absolutely exulted today over the fact that "only" 24% of Virginians put Obamacare at the top of their issue list. Ken Cuccinelli closed a double-digit deficit down to three fingernail-biting points last night thanks to Obamacare. Extrapolate that kind of effect across the country and you have a tidal wave sweeping Dems out of office. But good old Ed gloated over the "only" 24%. View...

Just minutes after the election returns arrived in Boston Tuesday night, Martin Walsh’s cellphone rang. It was the vice president of the United States, Joseph R. Biden, offering his congratulations. “You son of a gun, Marty!” he thundered. “You did it!” The only problem was, it was the wrong Marty Walsh. Biden had called the cellphone of Marty Walsh, a former aide to US Senator Edward M. Kennedy who is now the president of Gateway Public Solutions, a government relations firm in Boston

I've been following it all day watching is lead grow then in the last hour they SUBTRACTED 1,000 votes! He was overs 1,101,000, now he is under and behind

The Obama administration has found a way to give unions relief from an Obamacare tax nearly three weeks after Republicans rejected a Democratic push to include the labor carve-out in the latest budget deal.The Department of Health and Human Services quietly released a final rule last week that includes an intention to exempt some union insurance plans from a substantial new tax known as the reinsurance fee.As part of Obamacare, the tax was supposed to be levied against all insurance plans to share the risk for insurers taking on the sickest patients next year.But unions, which were among the strongest...

In one giant leap for gender equality, an expert says that women are more meticulous, thorough and advanced than their male counterparts when it comes to murder. During an interview with Der Spiegel's Rainer Leurs, forensic scientist Sigrun Rossmanith said her work with female killers revealed that they're simply superior from a tactical standpoint. Keeping the stereotypes alive, Rossmanith said that men occasionally target total strangers and often rely on brute strength to execute their kills. As for women, she says their victims are hardly ever strangers and they account for their lack of strength and size by incapacitating them....

In 2009, the Republican National Committee spent $9 million on then-Virginia Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bob McDonnell. But during the 2013 cycle in a battle for the same seat, the RNC reportedly only put $3 million behind Republican nominee Ken Cuccinelli’s effort.A report by National Review’s Jonathan Strong cited a Republican source blaming former RNC chair Michael Steele for the lack of participation by the RNC in this cycle for having spent too much in 2009.On Derek Hunter’s WBAL radio show in Baltimore on Wednesday, Steele responded to that attack and Monday morning quarterbacked yesterday’s election by pointed out some lessons...

Obamacare Restrictions Lead Brooklyn Couple To Consider Divorce 'We Would Save Thousands Of Dollars If We Got Divorced,' Woman Says November 6, 2013 5:23 PM NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — From website crashes to long holds on calls, the issues involved with the unveiling of the Affordable Care Act are well documented. But now, could it be breaking couples up? CBS 2’s Don Champion spoke to one Brooklyn couple on Wednesday who said they may be forced to get a divorce to get health insurance. Nona Willis Aronowitz and Aaron Cassara’s love affair began at a party in 2008. “We kissed...