Free Republic

House Speaker Shawn Jasper, R-Hudson, has removed a key Republican from the House Budget Finance Committee after she questioned tax increases and priorities in the proposals.State Rep. Laurie Sanborn, R-Bedford, was removed from the committee just before the vote to approve the bills due to her refusal to support the proposal.After rumors began circulating that she was removed from the committee, Jim Rivers, the director of communications for the Speaker, issued a statement saying that state Rep. David Hess, R-Hooksett, and state Rep. Ken Weyler, R-Kingston, would be put on the committee.“The budget process is a multi-step process that...

Yemen's government offered on Saturday to resign within a month and to review an unpopular decision to cut fuel subsidies in an attempt to end protests by the Shi'ite Houthi movement, a government source told Reuters. Yemenis are unhappy about the government's decision in late July to cut energy subsidies to ease the burden on its budget deficit, a move which led to a rise in fuel prices. The government spent about $3bn on subsidies last year, nearly a third of state revenues. A previous attempt by the government to cut subsidies in 2005 led to unrest that left about...

MOUNTAIN VIEW (KPIX 5) – While open enrollment for coverage under the Affordable Care Act is closed, many of the newly insured are finding they can’t find doctors, landing them into a state described as “medical homelessness.” Rotacare, a free clinic for the uninsured in Mountain View, is dealing with the problem firsthand. Mirella Nguyen works at the clinic said staffers dutifully helped uninsured clients sign up for Obamacare so they would no longer need the free clinic. But months later, the clinic’s former patients are coming back to the clinic begging for help. “They’re coming back to us now...

Turkey's ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide is consistent with an unbroken Islamic supremacist pattern: never, ever admit wrongdoing; never, ever take responsibility for actions that cause harm; never, ever acknowledge that jihad actions (such as the Armenian Genocide) cause immeasurable suffering to human beings; always, always instead blame the kuffar who have the temerity to point out the wrongdoing.And Obama, who counts Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a friend, falls right in line."Armenian ‘orphan rug’ is in White House storage, as unseen as genocide is neglected," by Philip Kennicott for the Washington Post, October 21 (thanks to AINA):The rug...

The Egyptian defense minister has ordered the repair and reconstruction of all churches that suffered damage in the country’s violent demonstrations since the Egyptian military removed President Mohamed Morsi from power last month.

LUXEMBOURG (AP) -- The European Union on Monday lifted its oil embargo on Syria to provide more economic support to the forces fighting to oust President Bashar Assad's regime. The decision will allow for crude exports from rebel-held territory, the import of oil and gas production technology, and investments in the Syrian oil industry, the EU said in a statement. Any export or investment initiatives will be taken in close coordination with the leaders of the Syrian opposition, the bloc's 27 foreign ministers decided at a meeting in Luxembourg. The move marks the first relaxing of EU sanctions on Syria...

The CIA is notorious for its disastrous, damaging failures. In the 1950s, the CIA’s meddling in Iran politics led to the Iranian Revolution in 1979, creating a nation that is our implacable enemy. In the 1960s, the CIA carried out the embarrassing Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba. In the 1980s, the CIA it was responsible for the Iran-Contra scandal that nearly wrecked Reagan’s presidency. In the 1980s, the CIA entirely missed the fact that the Soviet Union was collapsing. And in 2001 it was as surprised as anyone by the 9/11 attack. One would think that, with this track...

But as the Sunni-Shi'ite split in the Middle East deepens, Hamas appears to have cast its lot with the powerful, Egypt-based Sunni Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose star has been in the ascendant since the Arab Spring revolts last year. Hamas makes its choice "This is considered a big step in the direction of cutting ties with Syria," said Hany al-Masri, a Palestinian political commentator. Damascus might now opt to formally expel Hamas's exile headquarters from Syria, he told Reuters. Banned by deposed Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood has moved to the center of public life. It...

Democratic activists, angry that Washington residents pay taxes but have no voting representation in Congress, have set up a Facebook page to urge protesters to dump their trash outside Boehner's home if the government shuts down Friday night.

New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner toasted the one-year anniversary of Obamacare this week -- and accidentally spilled his champagne glass all over the disastrous, one-size-fits-all mandate. Ostensibly one of the federal health care law's staunchest defenders, Weiner exposed its ultimate folly by pushing for a special cost-saving regulatory exemption for New York City. If it's good for the city Weiner wants to be mayor of, why not for each and every individual American and American business that wants to be free of Obamacare's shackles? Weiner joins a bevy of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's" loudest cheerleaders --...

UPDATE: For the past two days, thousands of workers have been gathering at the State Capitol in Madison, WI, to defend their rights in the workplace. From nurses to police officers, public sector workers and OFA volunteers have been protesting against proposed legislation to take away workers' rights to bargain collectively. With a vote on the legislation expected as early as today, volunteers are already gathering at the Capitol this morning. It's going to be a big day in Madison and you can follow updates throughout the day on the OFA Wisconsin Twitter feed. Organizing for America is mobilizing on...

Forgive the vanity post. I considered a few articles and may post a link, but I didn't find anything that really got to the nub of it. Glenn lately has been peddling nonsense about American Indians being linked to ancient Hebrews. He's given credibility to the Bat Creek Stone which deserves none. He's speculating on the numerological similarities of Mounds in Ohio with Egyptian pyramids. He's gone completely off the rails on the subject and it's a not so subtle effort to proselytize his Mormonism. What really stinks, is he's such a good cheerleader for responsible government, and his broadcasts...

I hope he’s telling the truth. Because if our cyberwar unit is so weak that they can’t hit a few servers in Sweden, then I, for one, welcome our new Chinese overlords. The key question: Was this decision driven chiefly by military or political concerns? Could be that the Pentagon suspects foreign powers are monitoring Wikileaks’ servers in hopes of picking up clues about U.S. cyber capabilities in case we attack. Or, it could be that The One fears a five-alarm First Amendment freakout among his base if he dares to knock down an outfit that’s dedicated to compromising U.S....

DEMOCRATS USING REVERSE PSYCHOLOGYDEMOCRATS TRYING TO FOOL VOTERS IN FLORIDA'S 25TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT This weekend, Democrats are mailing a flyer (see images below) pretending to attack their fake-tea-party candidate, Roly Arrojo. As reported early this month, public records show Roly Arrojo is a Democrat who is pretending to be a Tea Party candidate. What's their objective? The Democrats' objective is to trick voters into voting for Roly Arrojo and not the Republican candidate David Rivera. Democrats want to divide the conservative votes. This only benefits the leftist Democrat candidate, Joe Garcia. See the Democrats' latest trick with your own...

Sen. Harry Reid and Sharron Angle are locked in a dead heat, says a new poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and KLAS-TV, Channel 8 that shows the GOP challenger regaining ground after going on the offensive with a TV ad blaming Reid for Nevada's deep economic troubles. The high-profile contest with implications for President Barack Obama's agenda promises to be a bare-knuckled fight to the finish as voters decide between Reid's promise that the recovery is coming under Democrats and Angle's call for a new conservative fiscal direction, analysts said. "This race is always going to be close," said...

(July 13) -- Happy 50th birthday, Etch A Sketch. This week in 1960, the Etch A Sketch first hit the market, according to HowStuffWorks.com. Fifty years later, the beloved piece of technology has been transformed from a simple toy to a medium for fine art, a movie character thanks to the "Toy Story" series, and an iPhone app. Even after half a century, the Etch A Sketch maintains its youthful appearance. Once only available in the iconic red-with-grey-screen variety, the drawing tool now comes in neon-colored housings and multicolor interfaces. The premise behind the Etch A Sketch is simple: Two...

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran will not be sending a blockade-busting ship to Gaza in defiance of Israeli warnings, an Iranian lawmaker said Saturday, citing Israeli "restrictions." Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash told the semiofficial ISNA news agency that instead of sending a ship, an Iranian delegation of lawmakers would travel to Lebanon and sail on one of the aid ships expected to head to Gaza from there. The Iranian ship called "Infants of Gaza" had been expected to sail Sunday for Gaza carrying 1,100 tons of relief supplies and 10 pro-Palestinian activists but plans were canceled "due to restrictions imposed by the...

Sfeir Warns against Rapid Rise in Christian Emigration, Sarkozy Vows Not Leave Lebanon Vulnerable to Conflicts Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir warned during a meeting with French President Nicholas Sarkozy at Elysee Palace against the rapid rise in Christian emigration. Last week, Pope Benedict XVI warned that the Christian community in the Middle East would soon disappear if no solution to regional conflicts was found. The Pope had said that the rising political Islam and its extreme currents were a threat to Christians and Muslims alike. Sfeir quoted Sarkozy as saying that the Christian presence in the Middle East was a...

The Obama administration is firing back at Sen. Jon Kyl for calling for an end to economic stimulus spending, and it's aiming where it hurts the most — at home in Arizona.

Today, the Tennessee State Senate approved Senate Bill 1610 (SB1610), the Tennesse Firearms Freedom Act, by a vote of 22-7. The House companion bill, HB1796 previously passed the House by a vote of 87-1.On its way to the Governor’s desk, the bill states that “federal laws and regulations do not apply to personal firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition that is manufactured in Tennessee and remains in Tennessee. The limitation on federal law and regulation stated in this bill applies to a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured using basic materials and that can be manufactured without the...