Free Republic

<\snip> The simplest short-term (but also long-term) stimulant to employment would be to reduce the minimum wage, which has risen greatly in recent years. This would reduce the cost of labor to employers and hence encourage the substitution of labor for capital inputs. <\snip> A simple way to stimulate employment would be suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires federal government contractors to pay “prevailing wages” often tied to inflated union-negotiated pay scales. And along with that, reversal of efforts by the Democratic-controlled National Labor Relations Board to enourage unionization, which by driving up wages reduces the demand for labor....

The Khan Academy has its roots in a series of educational YouTube videos that founder Sal Khan began making several years ago to tutor his cousin. The videos struck a chord among those who came across them, Sinha said. As the videos became increasingly popular, the organization got a big break last fall, when it received a total of about $3.5 million in grants from Google and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The nonprofit Advertisement now has a Mountain View office and a half-dozen staff members. It's still attracting attention -- NBC Nightly News recently featured the program and...

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter. The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel.The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups: 1. Liberals; and 2. Conservatives. Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that...

[SNIP] Craigslist.org gets more than 4 million classified ads and 1 million forums postings each month, and Newmark — who no longer runs it but remains one of three board members — is often blamed for decimating classified advertising revenue at regional newspapers. But he says he has no desire to steal readers from mainstream media. But he believes the reason why newspapers are losing circulation is that too many traditional journalists are willing to quote politicians and business executives even if they're blatantly lying — merely for the sake of perceived objectivity. He'd prefer an "open source" model of...

When asked how long it will take for the world's population to double, nearly half of all Americans say 20 years or less. That's hardly surprising, given the crowding many of us encounter in everyday life and the reports we hear of teeming Third World megacities. Yet forecasts by the United Nations and others show that world population, currently at a little over six billion, is unlikely to double—ever. Indeed, demographers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, a nongovernmental research organization in Laxenburg, Austria, predict that world population will peak at nine billion within the lifetime of today's...

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!! LET THE FESTIVITES BEGIN...

Sitting in her modest two-bedroom home on the west Florida coast, Faith Fippinger begins to cry as she talks about the prospect of going to jail. This spring, the 62-year-old retired schoolteacher decided to travel to Iraq as a human shield. To many she is a humanitarian, but in the eyes of the US Government she is a criminal. Link to rest of article

LIFE CYCLE OF A NEWS STORY.

Yanked from a private e-mail thread. >My question to all y'all peaceniks is - do YOU support sending the troops in(to Liberia)? Reply: I assume I am not one of the peaceniks, but I can speak, to wit, for them: We should first check if there is any oil, gold, uranium, or anything that may remotely give the US any profit. Having established that there is no profit motive, we should then check for dictators. If there are any brutal dictators lying around, we should let them stay in power. Dictatorship is a cultural thing over there. Who are we...

The former United States president Jimmy Carter says the US, which has taken the lead in urging such countries as Iraq and North Korea to destroy their weapons of mass destruction, should also disarm. "One of the things that the United States Government has not done is to try to comply with and enforce international efforts targeted to prohibit the arsenals of biological weapons that we ourselves have," Mr Carter told CNN. "The major powers need to set an example," Mr Carter said, as the US confronts Iraq over its possession of such banned weapons. "Quite often the big countries...

FREEPER GotDangGenius WON HIS RACE IN MONTANA. LET US CONGRATULATE HIM! District 81 Lincoln 11 of 11 precincts - 100 percent x-Rick Maedje, GOP 2,075 - 62 percent Pete Zarnowski, Ind 1,268 - 38 percent Check the local page for Montana State in FR.

Anyone who thought President George W. Bush had lost the thread of the "war against terror" over the summer is welcome now to retire from punditry. The time was spent making large preparations, as far as possible from the public eye. Especially through the traditional dead month of August, he left sceptics and opponents to make their best case, without a hint of objection; with judicious leaks to lead them as far from the scent as possible. They complained that he didn't have his ducks in order, all the while he was lining up his ducks. Now he has returned...

Teenage son of my friend is missing since 11/26/2001. He is 15 years old and is from Salina, Kansas. Before he disappeared, he told his friends that he was going to Topeka, Kansas. Because the boy is of an age where he can take care of himself, the PD has already told the parents that they have to do most of the leg work in this case. The parents are devastated and are looking into all possible sources for help. That is the reason for this post. The flyer that is being circulated in her local area is posted below. ...

Anyone watching MSNBC? Who is this Barbara Lemming? The topic is about how the VP's location is kept a secret for his protection. This lady, Barbara Lemming is talking about how Mrs. Kennedy was courageous enough to walk along the casket of President JFK, during his funeral against the requests of the secret service. And she goes on to tell that, Mrs. Kennedy led the other world leader to shed their protection and followed her in the funeral procession. What is she trying to say? Why the heck is that being compared to VP's current security plan? I totally lost ...

I cannot post in it after CMSGOP asked for some tequila.

I decided this Saturday to drive down to San Francisco, to show our support to our troops and if possible engage in civilized debate with the anti-war protesters to open their eyes, with some fellow Freepers. This gave me a good chance to drive down to San Francisco to give the local tour of the city to my friend from Dallas. Only after I went to the venue of this Anti-War rally did I realize that this was one of the most disgusting events you have come across. While we are still clearing debris in NYC and Pentagon, the country ...

More pictures that I got from the Video Tape of FReeper Alameda BATCH IV.One more Tape to go!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Hear Ye! C-SPAN IS GOING TO COVER THIS EVENT! YES! C-SPAN IS COMING TO THE HOME OF FR TO COVER THIS VICTORY BRUNCH! MARKS ANOTHER VICTORY FOR FREE REPUBLIC You are cordially invited to attend a "Free Republic Post-Inaugural Victory Brunch" in celebration of the recent election and inauguration of President George W. Bush on Sunday February 11th, 2001 between 11:30 AM and 1:30 PMat the Hometown Buffet Banquet Room 458 West Shaw Avenue Clovis, California RSVP via FReepMail to: Mama_Bear Cost: Adults: $9.50 at the door. Children: Two years and under, free. Three years to ...

HERE IS THE THIRD BATCH of pictures, covering the events on Friday. FIRST BATCH SECOND BATCH