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...

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...

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.

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...

If you’ve been near a television set in the last few days you’ve probably seen the video of that police officer kicking a man in the head at the end of a high-speed car chase here in the Los Angeles area. I watched the incident on the news last night, and my initial reaction was: “Uh oh.” Thursday’s chase began when officers in El Monte, Calif., spotted a Toyota Camry with three men inside, men they quite reasonably (and as it turned out, accurately) took to be gang members. Camrys are among the most commonly stolen cars in Southern California,...

Developing story out of the NYT. The Treasury Department is preparing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing for Chrysler that could come as soon as next week, people with direct knowledge of the action said Thursday. The Treasury has an agreement in principle with the United Automobile Workers union, whose members’ pensions and retiree health care benefits would be protected as a condition of the bankruptcy filing, said these people, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. The only major question that remains unresolved is what happens to Chrysler’s lenders, who hold $6.9 billion in...

The men who donned Indian costumes and took part in the original Boston Tea party weren’t a bunch of un-serious boobs performing for the media. They were committing an act compelled by their real, honest-to-God human condition. Like the people of Europe and beyond, with independence burning in their souls, determined to escape the shackles of slavery and tyranny, daring to take on an unknown world for their driving instincts to practice the religion of their choice, freely speak their minds, keep and bear arms and pursue their own happiness, the original Tea Party participants needed to make it crystal...

Ahmadinejad to West: You Are Weak, Your Hands Are Empty, And You Can't Force Us to Do Anything; Nearly 7,000 Centrifuges Are Spinning Today at Natanz, Mocking You In an April 15, 2009 speech in Kerman, Iran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran was working diligently to draw up a new proposals package, to be presented soon to the West. He said that this package would assure peace and justice for the nations, and that it must be the basis for any dialogue between Iran and the West. In response to U.S. President Barack Obama's "outstretched hand," as he...

Report: Jane Harman recorded vowing take action for AIPAC on wiretap @ 9:33 am by Jeremy P. Jacobs Congresswoman Jane Harman was recorded on a NSA wiretapped conversation agreeing to work to downgrade espionage charges against two officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in return for help securing the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee, according to Jeff Stein's anonymously sourced column in Congressional Quarterly. Harman, a California Democrat, was allegedly recorded in a conversation with a suspected Israeli agent. The conversation reportedly took place before the 2006 election, when Democrats seized control of the chamber and, therefore,...

House Judiciary Committee chairman, democrat John Conyers Jr of Michigan, and HJC member, Maxine Waters, have each given their endorsements to the Revolutionary Communist Party movement/organization, "World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime" (they'll probably be dropping the "Drive Out the Bush Regime" portion of their name soon). In fact, Conyers even gave a speech to the group. The RCP calls for an armed communist overthrow of the United States. Click on the WCW link just below and see: "Endorsers of the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime Include". Conyers' endorsement appears right after Ward Churchill's. Al Sharpton's, Maxine...

Hasner shrugs off CAIR slam The Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling on House Majority Leader Adam Hasner to disassociate himself from a "free speech summit" he's helping host that features, among others, a controversial Dutch politician, Geert Wilders, often criticized for extremism and being anti-Islam. Wilders has likened the Koran to Mein Kampf. “If Rep. Hasner truly wishes to represent Florida’s diverse religious and ethnic population, he should immediately disassociate himself and the state Legislature from this motley collection of Islamophobes and Muslim-bashers,” CAIR-South Florida Executive Director Altaf Ali said of Wilders and others involved in the event. Hasner...

‘Surgical’ Bankruptcy Possible for G.M. By MICHELINE MAYNARD and MICHAEL J. de la MERCED Published: April 12, 2009 DETROIT — The Treasury Department is directing General Motors to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by a June 1 deadline, despite G.M.’s public contention that it could still reorganize outside court, people with knowledge of the plans said during the weekend. The G.M. tower in Detroit. One possible plan would put “good” assets in a new company and leave the rest in the old company. Members of President Obama’s automotive task force spent last week in meetings and on conference...

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. - It has been nearly 20 years since Somalia last had a functioning government. Islamic jihadists now control most of the country-and sharia is the law of the land. Tens of thousands of Somali refugees have resettled in America in recent years to escape the chaos of their homeland, which is located in the Horn of Africa. But the transition isn't going smoothly in one small town. At first glance, Shelbyville is your typical sleepy southern hamlet. It's nestled in middle Tennessee, where the walking horse is king. There's Main St., the local sheriff, a movie theatre. It's...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F - News) has reduced its automotive debt by 38 percent, or $9.9 billion, part of a series of moves to bolster its finances amid a deep industry downturn, sending its shares up more than 11 percent. The debt reduction, which Ford estimates will trim its annual cash interest expense by more than $500 million, is the latest evidence that Ford is powering ahead of domestic rivals General Motors Corp (NYSE:GM - News) and Chrysler in restructuring to survive the lowest U.S. auto sales in three decades. Ford, the only U.S. automaker that has...

    RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who was the first to elevate the 20th CD race to a contest of national importance by declaring it a must-win for the Republican Party, just issued the following statement on last night's cliffhanger:"With over 5,000 absentee and military ballots still left to count, this race is far from over. We are confident that the Republican advantage in these absentee and military ballots can put Jim Tedisco over the top, and the Republican Party will do everything in its power to make sure all lawful votes are counted.” ”We are proud of Jim Tedisco...

IF AVIGDOR LIEBERMAN'S first speech as Israel's new foreign minister did nothing else, it certainly vexed the media. The Associated Press called it a "scathing critique of Mideast peace efforts" that had diplomats "cringing," while other reports said Lieberman had "dropped a political bombshell," "sparked an uproar," "repudiated a key accord," and "reinforced fears." The New York Times pronounced Lieberman's remarks "blunt and belligerent," describing the foreign minister as a "hawkish nationalist" who is "not known for diplomacy" and heads an "ultranationalist" party that is "seen by many as racist." Headlines summed up Lieberman's debut as an attack on peacemaking:...

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is firing back at his critics, calling recent attacks on him and his family “laughable,” and warning that he isn’t shy about engaging in bare-knuckle combat with Democrats.

If you had bought $1,000 worth of General Motors stock in 2000, your holdings would now be worth less than $40, for a loss of 96 percent. You could have made worse investments in that period -- with Bernard Madoff, for one -- but not many. So anyone looking to participate in a viable business would look a lot of other places before they would look there. But the United States government thinks GM might just be a really smart place to put its money. In its final weeks, the Bush administration lent the automaker $13.4 billion, along with $4...

An aide to U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd dismissed as "old news" a report Monday that said the Connecticut Democrat collected more than $160,000 from American International Group employees and their spouses after a top executive urged employees to give. The Washington Times reported that in a November 2006 e-mail, the head of the troubled Financial Products unit told employees that Dodd was "next in line" to chair the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, where he would "have the opportunity to set the committee's agenda on issues critical to the financial services industry."