Free Republic

Federalized Healthcare- A Tyrannical Power Grab Posted by Brett M Petillo on Sunday, March 21, 2010 1:23:15 AM Tomorrow the United States House of Representatives is set to vote for the single greatest power grab not only in the history of our nation, but arguably, since the dawn of civilization. They are about to pass a law that will encompass at least 16% (in conservative estimates) of the U. S. economy. They are about to undertake the unprecedented feat of criminalizing a) individuals not having health insurance and b) employers not providing health insurance[1]. One company, Caterpillar, estimates that the...

Now that the "temporary" sales tax is heading to the ballot, I think we must shine a light on the predicament we find ourselves in. The legislature kept referring to it as a revenue increase as if they were rolling out some new product line that would increase sales. Government of any kind, at any level, is not a revenue generator, they are overhead. In life you have the revenue generators (in this particular equation, you and me) and then you have the corporate office (the government bureaucracy). After closing my doors last year, I returned to work at a...

When Ian Millar opened up his AOL Instant Messenger program yesterday and linked to the new AIM Triton site, he wasn't prepared for what he saw. "I have been an AIM customer for many years, and although I do not use AOL for my mail client, I have recommended it for relatives and friends," he said in a letter to top executives of the company. "In general, I appreciate AOL and your business savvy." But when Millar saw the company's new slogan, he was shocked and disgusted. He was not alone. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERNET NEWS Is new AOL IM slogan...

So we have taken God so out of our daily lives that even when faced with the irrefutable fact that we at at His mercy, human beings are still trying to rationalize how they (or someone else, as has been the case with all of the finger pointing in the aftermath of Katrina) could have prevented the greatest natural disaster to ever strike the United States. Let's see, man builds a city between three bodies of water, 70 feet below sea level, and holds the water back with what amounts to large piles of dirt and everyone wants to blame...

In the days and now years following 9/11, I like many others have woken up to the reality of terrorism. I watched in horror as my fellow Americans jumped to their certain deaths rather than stay put and die in a furnace that blazed hotter than anything you or I could ever imagine. In the years since, I have decided to educate myself on a daily basis, spending at least two hours a day reading article after article, blog after blog, about how these murderers continue to attack the innocent of not only countries which oppose them, but their own...

As his final American revival meeting continued Saturday, a fragile Billy Graham was met onstage by former President Clinton, who honored the evangelist, calling him "a man I love." Clinton spoke briefly before Graham's sermon and recalled how the man known as America's pastor had refused to preach before a segregated audience in Arkansas decades ago when that state was in a bitter fight over school desegregation. "I was just a little boy and I'll never forget it," said Clinton, who was joined by his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. "I've loved him ever since. God bless you, friend." Graham...

I would like to start a boycott of Pepsico following the comments of their President/ CFO at Columbia University

I am praying that everyone who sees this post will take the few moments needed to view the links below. This woman is alive, attentive, and more responsive than a lot of people that we would never consider putting to death. http://web.tampabay.rr.com/ccb/videos/Terri_music.rm http://web.tampabay.rr.com/ccb/videos/balloon.rm http://web.tampabay.rr.com/ccb/videos/Terri_Big_Eyes.rm http://web.tampabay.rr.com/ccb/videos/hows_that_cold.rm For thsoe that want this woman dead, please just answer me this, why? If she had a will and stated that she would not want to be kept alive by being fed, then that would be a different case entirely. But the fact is there is not. All we have is the word of a...

How can we stop the ACLU? I am serious, so please try and refrain from half-cocked comments. Everyday, it seems, I am reading about another way the ACLU is trampling on the rights of the majority in a wacked out attempt to push its leftist agenda. From getting a cross taken out of the city of Los Angeles' crest (98% of L. A. residents polled wanted to keep it), to attacking a private entity such as the Boy Scouts, to turning the word Christmas into a vulagarity. I have seen and heard enough out of these people. My idea is...

Local school officials in a suburb of Houston, Texas, are investigating how it was possible that a school police officer handed out calendars to students that featured explicit details on satanic and sexual rituals for every day of the month. Parents in Pearland are demanding answers, according to a news report on KHOU-TV. The school police officer who handed out the calendars was supposed to deliver a positive anti-gang message to the students last Monday, according to the report. "September 20th is a 'midnight host' whatever that is," said one unidentified parent reading from the calendar. "You should have a...

People come out in record numbers to show the MSM and the Dems that we, the quiet, hard working Americans will send a resounding message to the Hollywood elitists. You are not normal. Normal is going to work in the morning as you kiss your wife and children good-bye and hoping that this is not the last time you will ever see them. You work hard to earn money to pay for clothes, and shoes, and braces. Not support third world countries. Most of us here in normal America believe that abortion should not be a oopsy form of birth...

More and more over the past weeks we have heard the democratic presidential ticket exude a frightening God Complex. We have heard John Edwards claim to heal the handicapped, John Kerry claiming to prevent any further terror attacks around the world, and we have seen an alarming number of references to the rights granted to people by the elected. These men should be feared in the most dire of ways. President Bush wears his faith on his sleave and is unwaveringly consistent about his faith. In 8 days we will be making the choice between those who believe in God...

Let me start by saying that I am pro-choice. Yes, I believe that women have the inalienable right to choose what takes place with their bodies. However, I do believe that this issue is not a matter of eliminating that woman's choice, but shifting the time frame in which she makes that choice. Sex is a reproductive act. (Gasp from the audience!) So why is everyone so shocked when mother nature does her job? Today, from an alarmingly young age on, evryone knows how a baby is made. So it would make sense that if you do not want a...

The Democratic montra continues to be "Bush has failed at the economy. We are in a dire situation. Doom, gloom, doom, gloom..." According to todays Washington Post the Dow is down to the four year low it reached in July. The Nasdaq composite index hit a six-year low. Now, admittedly, I am not a mathmatician, but wasn't Bill Clinton president four years ago? If I'm not mistaken, he was president 6 years ago as well. The democratic rhetoric for 10 years now has been how great the economy was under the Clinton administration. So why is the Dow Jones Average...

>DO NOT FORGET" > >I sat in a movie theater watching "Schindler's List," asked myself, >"Why didn't the Jews fight back?" Now I know why. > >I sat in a movie theater, watching "Pearl Harbor" and asked myself, >"Why weren't we prepared?" Now I know why. > >Civilized people cannot fathom, much less predict, the actions of evil >people. > >On September 11, dozens of capable airplane passengers allowed >themselves to be overpowered by a handful of poorly armed terrorists >because they did not comprehend the depth of hatred that motivated >their captors. > >On September 11, thousands of innocent...

Have you ever noticed how people that are secure in themselves, do not feel the need to for the approval of those around them? We now have a President who has great moral fortitude. He understands when the dust settles and his time has passed, the "media" is not going to grant him entrance into the Kingdom of God. Most left wing intellectuals cannot fathom this concept. They are correct when they refer to our President as simple. Choosing between right and wrong, good and evil, is simple. It becomes convoluted when you try to please those around you instead...

If a man who you know has a gun, and has been convicted of using that gun to kill people before, comes out to all of his buddies and says for all to hear,"I am going to kill you and your family." What do you do? Do you sit back and discuss whether or not you should call the police? And when you call the police and they try to get into this man's house, with a search warrant, and he won't let them in, what do the police do? Walk away and discuss whether or not he really has...

<p>HOUSTON — The Rev. Jesse Jackson yesterday called President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft "the most threatening combination in our lifetime," at the 93rd annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Top Stories Mr. Jackson also called the president's comparison of a recent Supreme Court ruling favoring school vouchers in Cleveland to the 1954 desegregation order in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas "unliterate" and "fuzzy history." The crowd of about 3,000 in a ballroom at the George R. Brown Convention Center cheered Mr. Jackson's attacks, the second day of snipes at the Bush administration. Mr. Jackson's remarks followed those Sunday night by NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, who accused the president of selling "snake oil" and asserted that Mr. Bush was part of a "right-wing conspiracy." Mr. Bush gave a dismissive shake of his head when asked at a press conference yesterday about the attacks on his civil rights record. "Let's see," the president said before quickly moving on to the next question. "There I was sitting around the leader — the table with foreign leaders, looking at Colin Powell and Condi Rice," as his voice trailed off. The NAACP maintains it is nonpartisan, a requirement it must fulfill to keep its tax-exempt status, but critics have long accused the 500,000-member organization of being a tool for liberal causes. Indeed, the NAACP's legislative agenda closely follows that of the Democratic Party, including adamant opposition to school vouchers and a call for stronger national hate-crime laws. Additionally, the NAACP has boasted of being the main source of a successful get-out-the-black-vote effort during the 2000 presidential election, in which Mr. Bush received just 8 percent of the black vote. The organization also ran a presidential-campaign ad against Mr. Bush that equated his opposition to a hate-crime bill with the east Texas dragging death of a black man. As a result, the group has found itself at odds with many Republicans. And with a Republican administration in power in Washington, the convention this year has few big-name attractions. In past years, speakers have included sitting presidents and Cabinet members. One NAACP organizer noted that this year the esteemed speaker list is "very short." NAACP officials said yesterday that Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, did not accept an invitation to appear at the opening plenary session yesterday. But a spokeswoman for Mr. Perry said the governor never received an invitation. Among the invited Cabinet members was Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who also declined. President Bush for the second year in a row did not accept the group's offer to appear. Last year he submitted a five-minute videotape in his place, but this year he offered a letter. The missive — a simple message that paid tribute to the NAACP for its "commitment to public service" and its "important efforts to support civil rights" — was read to the gathering and received tepid applause. The five-day convention ends Thursday. Yesterday, NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, in his first public speech of the conference, attacked Mr. Bush for refusing to meet with him. "I like George Bush, I think he's a likable person," Mr. Mfume said. "But I don't like his presidential practice of divide and conquer when it comes to black organizations. "There is a reason that George Bush has not had time in his two years in office to devote even 30 minutes to a dialogue with us. In spite of that we continue to reach out to invite." "And there is a reason that the Republican Party has not urged him to do so. But you can't be president when you only want to deal with some of the people." In response, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee accused the NAACP of fostering "divisiveness" and of ignoring the president's efforts to address achievement gaps between blacks and whites. The NAACP "refuses to acknowledge the Leave No Child Behind Act and the president's home-ownership objective," Pamela Mantis said. "These were both designed to help African Americans."</p>

Can anyone answer this question for me? I would love nothing more then to enlist in the armed forces. I believe this dire situation will get far worse before it gets better. I feel a need to do my part to ensure that my daughter grows up in a world where she is not afraid to go to the mall because she may be blown up by people who hate us simply because we are free. However, I would be unable to do this because I supply 95% of our income. I pay the mortgage, car and utility bills. If...

Is Mike Piazza, or any other baseball player for that matter, gay? I DON'T CARE! I am so tired of hearing about homosexuality, who is and who isn't. Do I agree with it? No, I believe it is wrong. Do I hate the people who are? No, I have a difference of opinion with them. I am not egotistical enough to judge others based on what they do in the bedroom. Everyone of us will one day meet God and we will be judged for all of the things that we took part in in this life. Let him decide....