Free Republic

Earlier this week, I was thinking of writing a column about the lying and duplicity of Obamacare backers who argued that the difference between provisions providing subsidies in states with state-run health exchanges and providing no subsidies in states with federal exchanges resulted from inadvertence or a typographical error. Typical among them was MIT health care expert Jonathan Gruber. The folks at the Competitive Enterprise Institute found video of him in 2012 arguing that all or most states would create their own exchanges because they wouldn’t get subsidies if they let the federal government run their exchanges. That was just...

The White House released its annual report to Congress on staff salaries. At 4:39 p.m. on Friday. A quick review found the White House payroll appears to have grown since last year, going from $37.1 million in 2011 to $37.8 million in 2012. The number of employees listed also grew -- from 454 last year to 468 in 2012.

Last month, the day before National Doughnut Day, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans to tackle obesity by banning the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. Eager for the newly nicknamed “Soda Jerk” to Think Again, comedian Jon Stewart joked that Bloomberg's proposal “combines the draconian government overreach people love with the probable lack of results they expect.” The website “Renegade Chicks” reflected citywide disapproval in asking, “Weren't there bigger issues at hand (like) ... say the declining economy and rising unemployment rates? If this soda ban is passed, what's next?” Apparently, milk drinks and popcorn,...

The battle continues over private-sector job creation and government expansion. Taxation and unemployment are directly related, and if every American doesn't understand this, then Americans will continue to lose jobs. The Democratic left has placed a gun to congressional Republicans' heads by threatening to allow taxes to increase on all Americans on January 1. Democrats intend to continue government expansion by again extending the policy of paying people not to work, while Republicans are threatening to block all leftist lame-duck initiatives barring tax breaks for every American, including "the rich." The historical facts are quite clear on the subject: lowering...