Free Republic

AT&T Inc. T, +1.24% said it plans to boost capital spending by $1 billion, and pay out more than $200 million in employee bonuses, once the tax bill approved by Congress is signed into law. The telecom company for the bonuses, it will pay a $1,000 special bonus to more than 200,000 employees in the U.S., all who are union-represented, non-management and front-line managers. The company said if President Donald Trump signs the bill before Christmas, the bonuses will be paid over the holidays. "This tax reform will drive economic growth and create good-paying jobs," said Chief Executive Randall Stephenson.

Hundreds of Twitter accounts were hacked early Wednesday morning as part of an apparent pro-Turkey social media operation that was used to spread messages deriding the German and Dutch governments in Turkish, according to statements from owners of several of the accounts and Twitter.

Things don’t seem so joyful over at The Joy of Knitting. Elizabeth Poe, the owner of the Franklin, Tennessee shop, published a post on her store’s Facebook page earlier this week that asked customers shopping for yarn in support of the Women’s March to take their business elsewhere. “The vulgarity, vile and evilness of this movement is absolutely despicable,” Poe wrote in a post that was shared over 5,000 times and attracted more than 7,000 comments. She added, “As the owner of this business and a Christian, I have a duty to my customers and my community to promote values...

MADISON, Wis. – Multiple courts have declared Wisconsin’s infamous John Doe investigation legally dead. John Chisholm doesn’t care. He’s the Captain Ahab of prosecutors. The Milwaukee County district attorney for nearly three years has obsessively attempted to resurrect his unconstitutional investigation into dozens of conservative groups and the campaign of Gov. Scott Walker. Now, the Democrat tells the U.S. Supreme Court that he would immediately restart his intimidation game, using the millions of documents John Doe prosecutors illegally seized, if the high court overturns the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision definitively ending the probe.

I’m an election inspector in the State of Wisconsin. My daughter said I should write up one of the experiences from today. Voter # 25 in our district is a person who has served several times as an election inspector with us. Today, he was not working as an inspector, but seemed to have a chip on his shoulder. When he was asked to say his name, he gave only his last name. Asked for his full name, he said, “Well, you can call me Mike”. Then he was asked to recite his street address. He provided the name of...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Thursday walked back comments that President Obama was "directly responsible" for the mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub that left 49 people dead. "I misspoke," McCain said in a statement. "I did not mean to imply that the President was personally responsible. I was referring to President Obama's national security decisions, not the President himself."

Friend sent me this. Pretty awesome video. Totally frivolous posting.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The death of Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Patrick Crooks with 10 months left on his term could set up a spring election that's as much a referendum on Gov. Scott Walker as it is on who should serve on the state's highest court. Walker is considering appointing Rebecca Bradley, a state appeals court judge he's twice named to lower court openings and who already had conservative support in her previously announced run for Supreme Court. Two other candidates for the court, who also announced their plans to run before Crooks died, have not applied to be...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Gov. Scott Walker has canceled presidential campaign stops in North Carolina and New Hampshire so he can attend the funeral of a Wisconsin native who was one of four Marines killed in last week's shootings in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Brown Introduces Legislation Penalizing States for Issuance and Display of Confederate Plates Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has introduced legislation (S. 1689) that would reduce a state's federal highway funds if the state issues a license plate with the image of a confederate flag or allows a vehicle to be registered with a license plate that contains an image of a confederate flag. Specifically, the funding available for a state under the National Highway Performance Program and the Surface Transportation Program would be reduced by 5 percent in each year that a state issues a license plate with an image of...

Hearts for Healing Special Events Brat sale fundraiser (for medical bills of the victim of May stabbing in Waukesha), 7 am-6 pm, 8/29, Metcalfe's-West Towne, with music, well-wishes heart craft project; drive through pickup available 7-9 am. 608-234-6029 When: 08/29/14 @ 7:00am Call: 608-234-6029 Web: heartsforhealingfundraiser.com More Information: One-day Brat Fest Fundraiser to Help Little Girl in "Slender Man" Case A "Mini-brat fest" produced by Metcalfe's Market, presented by Johnsonville, and in cooperation with Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek will be held from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Friday, August 29 in the parking lot of Metcalfe's Market on Madison's west...

A first of its kind US oligarchy study yielded a rather troubling discovery and the results of the study are definitely cause for concern for most Americans. The US oligarchy study was conducted by researchers from Princeton and Northwestern Universities and the study showed that the United States is not a republic in substance, but rather an oligarchy where the rich rule and the majority of Americans have virtually no impact on policy decisions, today's report from FDL explained.

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban assailants apparently thought they were attacking an unprotected Christian-run day care center. But they mistakenly burst into the compound next door, where an American government contractor’s employees were heavily armed and ready, according to accounts that the contractor and the Afghan police gave on Friday of a wild four-hour shootout here.

The Robertson family's sports interests will soon span from NASCAR to college football. Willie Robertson's Duck Commander company has signed a six-year deal, giving the duck call and hunting business the naming rights to the Independence Bowl. Duck Dynasty (Photo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKoOLJKbxCE) The game, which is played in Shreveport, La., the home state of the A&E reality television Robertson family, was previously sponsored by AdvoCare V100. According to ESPN, the Duck Commander Independence Bowl will feature SEC and ACC match-ups. If neither league offers a representative, teams representing the Conference USA and the American will also be considered. Duck Commander's current...

DANE County Referendum on ballot for Tuesday, April 2: Should the state of Wisconsin continue to allow people to register to vote at the polss on Election Day?

An angry Walsall man who threw a punch at his neighbour called Darth Vader because he suspected he had been having a relationship with his girlfriend has been punished in court.

WASHINGTON -- With the recession hit in 2008, Congress put the idea of a "skills shortage" and a need for more H-1B visas in a closet. That didn't mean, though, that interest in raising the H-1B cap went away for everyone. New York City Mayor Bloomberg, for instance, last year called the limits on both temporary and permanent employment-based immigration a "form of national suicide." Microsoft has long advocated for more work visas. But the company's advocacy was quieted during the recession as well, as it announced in 2009 a layoff of 5,000 workers. Circumstances at Microsoft have since changed...

Who will you vote for in the US Senate Race? Tammy B Tommy T I'm not sure I don't plan to vote

As Americans prepare to observe the 61st annual National Day of Prayer this week, the usual debate over interpretation of the First Amendment of the Constitution, specifically the Establishment Clause, also takes center stage. But this year is special, according to some, because the May 3 observance also marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision that invalidated official prayer in public schools. "Some religious believers will likely use the day of prayer to call attention to what they view as a regrettable and consequential decision," John Inazu, a First Amendment expert and professor of law at Washington University...

MADISON — Arthur Kohl-Riggs dresses as Abraham Lincoln and says he is a better representative of the Republican Party than Gov. Scott Walker. Kohl-Riggs is running against Walker in the upcoming gubernatorial recall primary. Kohl-Riggs is one of the placeholder candidates running in the race. 23-year-old Kohl-Riggs made a name for himself as the “Abe Lincoln Protester” during the budget battle. Now, he’s running as a Republican in the recall primary against Walker. “I’m running as a Republican in the Wisconsin gubernatorial election against Scott Walker because Wisconsin has a long and proud tradition of progressive Republicans. The party was...