Free Republic

Chief Executive Peter Beck said the company founded in 2008 to help commercialize the space business, expected to carry out the first flight of its all-composite Electron launch vehicle and the new Rutherford engine before the end of the year. Beck said the engine was also the first to use 3D printing for all primary components, including its engine chamber, injector, pumps and main propellant valves, all mostly made of titanium and other alloys. The lightweight engine can be 'printed' in three days, compared to about a month if it were built using traditional manufacturing. Rocket Lab, which is based...

RUSH: Dingy Harry is back at it. The last we heard from Dingy Harry he was explaining that some sort of elastic band on an exercise machine in his bathroom malfunctioned and left him blind in his right eye and otherwise severely injured. Prior to that, Dingy Harry was out there suggesting that Mitt Romney had not paid his taxes for ten years. He was on the floor of the Senate claiming a friend of his told him that. The media said (paraphrasing), "Who's your friend?" Dingy Harry said, "Doesn't matter." The media said, "Where's your evidence?" Dingy Harry said,...

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, released the following statement marking Tax Day: "Tax day is upon us again. But this year it’s different. This year, on top of the frustrating reminder that Americans are giving too much of their income to fund too many wasteful government programs, families are now being forced to pay the Obamacare tax for the first time. "Instead of government-run healthcare that increases taxes, limits options, and puts the government between patients and their doctors, imagine a free-market system that enables healthcare to be personal, portable and affordable. Instead of a tax code that crushes innovation...

Pope Francis congratulates Manuel and Lila Igual on their 25th wedding anniversary> Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the family by dedicating this morning's general audience to the difference and complementarity between man and woman, recalling first of all that the Book of Genesis insists that both are the image and semblance of God. “Not only man as such, not only woman as such, but rather man and woman, as a couple, are the image of God. The difference between them is not a question of contrast or subordination, but instead of communion and generation, always in the image and...

VIDEO This is Just sad. On Tuesday in Iowa, Hillary Clinton’s ‘Mystery Machine’ van was seen arriving at her first campaign event when, suddenly, a flock of reporters chased after her. The footage has produced a comedic response of sorts:

In what was billed as a high profile case, the SEC had sought financial and other penalties against three former Freddie Mac executives who allegedly “misled” investors in 2006 by understating the amount of subprime exposure the GSE had on its books while it was simultaneously still sucking up/packaging bad loans. SNIP-- Here’s AP: According to the SEC, Fannie and Freddie misrepresented their exposure to mortgages for borrowers with weak credit in reports, speeches and congressional testimony. The SEC said Freddie told investors in late 2006 that it held between $2 billion and $6 billion of subprime mortgages on its...

Ted Cruz has officially announced his candidacy for president and there’s lots of speculation on his chances of securing the GOP nomination for 2016.Since the Iowa Freedom Summit, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has received the most attention by the media as being the stand-out candidate and many polls have him as the front-runner among likely GOP voters.However, having been in Iowa for a year now I’ve been able to attend a lot of political events where Ted Cruz was one of many present, and I think Ted Cruz is the front-runner. Three events come to mind that show his influence...

US intelligence officials revealed that during the ongoing Iran nuclear negotiations, North Korea has provided several shipments of advanced missile components to the Islamic regime in violation of UN sanctions—and the US hid the violations from the UN. The officials, who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday on condition of anonymity, said more than two shipments of missile parts since last September have been monitored by the US going from North Korea to Iran. One official detailed that the components included large diameter engines, which could be used to build a long-range missile system, potentially capable of bearing...

It has been some time since I gave thought to the day my soon-to-be husband and I bought our wedding rings. But the spectacle over RFRA—all the panting hysteria of a predatory media and toadying politicians aided by timorous clergy—brings it back with great clarity. And even greater poignancy. Our wedding date was set. It was time to pick a ring. But where to look for one? How to shop? The two of us were young, broke, and scrappy. It would be some years yet before we could afford to pay retail. Besides, my intended was a combative shopper, born...

The leaders of the Legislature's budget committee on Wednesday abandoned Gov. Scott Walker's plan to strip the state Natural Resources Board and the state Agriculture Board of their policy-making powers. They also removed 13 other pieces of policy from Walker's budget, including one that would exempt research at the University of Wisconsin System from the open records law. Another one that was dropped would have had property assessment duties shifted from most municipalities to counties. In other action, the Joint Finance Committee voted to cut staff for Secretary of State Doug La Follette and reshape how courts are funded. Wednesday's...

An Australian mother claims she received an angry letter from a group of friends who apparently asked her to stop with the constant updates and “baby spamming” on social media about her 6-month-old baby. Jade Ruthven sent the letter to Australian writer Em Rusciano, who shared it on Facebook on Tuesday.

"Happy" April 15th. Just getting mine started. :) I truly USED to be the most organized, with-it person. lol. Hope you all are having a great day. Gonna make my procrastination fun. Wish me luck. Say a prayer if so inclined. ;)

Even if Manny Pacquiao is conquered by Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2, he's still got a pretty meaningful future ahead of him -- a future full of interviews, strategists, and savvy opponents. According to promoter Bob Arum, when Pacquiao decides to step out of the ring for good, he'll turn to politics. But his ambition isn't limited to being a congressman -- his current political status -- or a senator. Instead, as Arum told, Pacquiao will run to be the President of the Philippines at some point in the future. "Forgot that," Arum said after being asked about Pacquiao's...

In the last week or so we are beginning to see the outlines of the 2016 Presidential campaign. Ted Cruz is showing Jeb Bush that he can raise a lot of money by coming up with $31 million in a short period of time. According to the “National Review”, Long Island billionaire Robert Mercer will control one of the four Super PACs donating money to Cruz. Mercer’s hedge fund has been accused of underestimating what it owes the IRS by $6 billion. And Cruz has called for the abolish of the IRS. So Mr. Mercer’s support of Cruz is just...

<p>ISTANBUL -- Adding to angry comments about the Pope Francis' description of the Ottoman-era killing of Armenians as genocide, Turkey's prime minister said Wednesday that the pontiff has joined "an evil front" plotting against Turkey.</p> <p>Ahmet Davutoglu made the comments at an event in Ankara outlining the ruling party's platform for June parliamentary elections and presenting its candidates. He called the pope's description of the killings of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians as "the first genocide of the 20th century" unjust. Turkey responded to the pope's words Sunday by recalling its ambassador to the Vatican.</p>

Gov. Snyder recently sent a letter to Michigan House Speaker Kevin Cotter and Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof explaining some of the problems of occupational licensure. The governor summarizes some of the good work the Legislature has done, and outlines the principles he'll use in "determining whether to support any legislation providing for additional occupation regulation.” Below are these principles: There must be a substantial harm or danger to the public health, safety, or welfare as a result of unregulated practice, which will be abated through licensure. The practice of the occupation must require highly specialized education or training. The...

For the eighth consecutive year the Town of Halton Hills experienced an overall reduction in the amount of energy used during Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28. Earth Hour links communities across the world in bringing awareness to climate change. This is also an opportunity to reflect on the importance of year-round energy conservation and the need to take actions that benefit the health of our planet.

The 2016 candidate criticizes bill for adding to federal deficit, says it "expands Obamacare policies that harm patients and their doctors." Sen. Ted Cruz will oppose the House's permanent doc-fix bill, which is expected to get a vote in the Senate in the next few days, as the upper chamber's Republican presidential aspirants prepare to vote on legislation that its party leaders are touting as major entitlement reform but that some fiscal conservatives vigorously oppose. "While I appreciate the work done by my colleagues in the House, I cannot support the Boehner-Pelosi bill, which institutionalizes and expands Obamacare policies that...

Sen. Rand Paul’s abortion question is beginning to haunt Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz – thanks to some in the media. During a CNN interview on April 14, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) refused to cite any acceptable restrictions on abortion – and deemed the decision to abort a 7-pound baby a “personal liberty.” The abortion question continued to follow her during a Fox interview where she couldn’t pick a “specific date and time” for when life begins. The issue arose when a New Hampshire journalist asked Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) about his stance on abortion April 8. The 2016...

“What happened here was the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to being governed by surprise; to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believing that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand”, wrote Milton Mayer in his book They Thought They Were Free published in 1955. What Mayer was describing in his book was the ever widening gap between the government and the people that happened “so gradually and so insensibly” no one seemed to notice. “Each step disguised (perhaps not even intentionally) notes Mayer, “as...