Free Republic

Shortly after Donald Trump was declared the president-elect of the United States, the Republican got the stamp of approval from an unexpected source: New Balance. Many people have since posted videos and pictures of themselves burning their New Balance shoes, or throwing them in the trash.

The Seattle City Council is expected to take up an ill-advised proposal that will impose a $25 tax on each firearm and a nickel tax on every round of ammunition sold by a retailer in Seattle. Proposed by anti-gun Council President Tim Burgess, the so-called “Gun Violence Tax” ordinance will have no effect on decreasing gun violence. It is designed to place a huge burden on legitimate firearms retailers and law-abiding gun owners. The City Council is expected to take up the proposed ordinance next Wednesday, July 15. The proposed ordinance would impose a tax on those “engaging in the...

'Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee' is the entity responsible for organizing the Gulf state's 2022 World Cup bid and the resulting preparations FIFA itself is also listed as a donor to the foundation, giving up to $100,000 Clinton Foundation website discloses donations from the committee of between $250,001 and $500,000, including a donation in 2014 Qatar itself has donated between $1 million and $5 million to the foundation, and did it before 2014 The tiny Middle Eastern country won the rights to host the 2022 global soccer tournament in December 2010 Clinton Foundation later said Qatar worked toward 'utilizing its research...

The U.S. government doled out more than $13 billion last year in improper payments of a tax credit meant to help the working poor, according to a government watchdog. One of the country's largest cash assistance programs, the so-called Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) allows low-income workers to lower their tax bill by as much as $6,000, which in many cases prompts a significant refund check. But the Internal Revenue Service estimates that around a quarter of all payments made for the tax credit in the 2013 fiscal year were issued improperly -- resulting in anywhere from $13.3 billion to...

In Real Clear Religion, I discuss why the FBI could have and should have stopped the Boston Marathon jihad bombings.

As NewsBusters has been reporting for months, late night comics have been tearing the atrocious rollout of ObamaCare apart. Conceivably the best job done to date was by ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel who during his opening monologue Tuesday evening absolutely savaged the law whilst ridiculing the uninformed young people in this country that have ignorantly supported something that clearly harms them (video follows with transcript and commentary):.... Really delicious stuff. However, this raises a question: with the exception of the penis pump issue, everything that Kimmel addressed was known before ObamaCare was enacted. Certainly, America’s youth are woefully uninformed – but...

The University of Minnesota had to make its healthcare plans worse in order to avoid Obamacare-related penalties. The Affordable Care Act levels an excise tax on high-value health coverage plans, and UM would have to pay $48 million with its existing plans. Instead, the university is lowering the quality of its coverage. “The Office of Human Resources announced in a July email that it was making changes to the UPlan, the employee healthcare program, including adding a deductible and increasing copays for primary and specialty care,” according to the Minnesota Daily. “The email said the cost increases were necessary to...

President Obama has made many promises about his signature health care plan, but one of the simplest was an assurance that it would lower national health care spending and save every family thousands of dollars. For example, in May 2009 he hailed "comprehensive health care reform -- so that we can do what I pledged to do as a candidate and save a typical family an average of $2,500 on their health care costs in the coming years." But now government actuaries have reached a different conclusion, finding that ObamaCare will actually increase health care spending by $621 billion over...

The Hill has a story today that leaves one wondering if, when it comes to gun control, there is any line too ridiculous for progressives to cross: A House Democrat inspired by the last James Bond movie has offered legislation to produce handguns with “personalization technology.” The idea is to produce guns that can only be used by the gun’s owners. Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) cited the latest James Bond movie, “Skyfall,” as inspiration for the bill. “In the most recent James Bond film, Bond escapes death when his handgun, which is equipped with technology that recognizes him as its...

Four of the top ten organizations whose staff donated to President Obama’s reelection campaign were universities, data released by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) reveals. The University of California (UC) represented the single largest employee group to donate to President Obama’s campaign in 2012, funneling $1,092,906 to assist the President in his bid to gain reelection. That number includes the university’s PACs, individual members or employees, and employee’s immediate families.

Time for Chicago's vending machines to chip up or chip out. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday he's cracking down on the caloric content of vending machines in city buildings and plans to replace them all with healthy vending by next year. A proposed ordinance, to be introduced this week, will lay out plans for the new machines and detail guidelines on fat, sugar and calorie content starting in January 2013.

All Freepers, Took this photo this Saturday AM on Hiway 67 on the way to Cripple Creek, Colorado. Looks like someone in Southern Colorado is tired of the juvenile antics of the left. Thought you would enjoy. X1stCav

The University of California will pay damages of $30,000 to each of the 21 UC Davis students and alumni who were pepper-sprayed by campus police during an otherwise peaceful protest 10 months ago, the university system announced Wednesday. The agreement, which must still be approved in federal court, also calls for UC to pay a total of $250,000 to the plaintiffs’ attorneys and set aside a maximum of $100,000 to pay up to $20,000 to any other individuals who join the class-action lawsuit by proving they were either arrested or directly pepper-sprayed, a university statement said. A video released online,...

In various cities across the country, mobs of mostly young, mostly incoherent, often noisy and sometimes violent demonstrators are making themselves a major nuisance. Meanwhile, many in the media are practically gushing over these "protesters," and giving them the free publicity they crave for themselves and their cause — whatever that is, beyond venting their emotions on television. Members of the mobs apparently believe that other people, who are working while they are out trashing the streets, should be forced to subsidize their college education — and apparently the president of the United States thinks so too. But if these...

Anti-Wall Street protests are growing in number across the country and around the globe, but their political impact remains unclear and will likely depend upon their staying power. At a minimum, the protests have become a channel for public anger over rising economic inequality and Washington's ineffectiveness. "They are a pretty good thermometer for the level of discontent in the country," said John Green, director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron. "But the connection between Republicans and Wall Street and the banks will surely be an election issue next year." Romney used...

It hasn’t taken long for the socialist-organized “occupation” of Wall Street to jump the shark. In a surreal news conference at the United Nations, anti-American radical and rogue financier George Soros (net worth: $22 billion) threw in his lot with the thousands of Communists, anarchists, eco-feminists, malingerers, and professional protesters who have been baiting and taunting police in lower Manhattan as part of a mass demonstration that began September 17. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) also jumped on the anti-Wall Street bandwagon. In a move that ought to permanently disqualify him as a GOP presidential candidate, Paul gave aid and comfort...

Rising greenhouse emissions may tip off aliens that we are a rapidly expanding threat, warns a report for Nasa It may not rank as the most compelling reason to curb greenhouse gases, but reducing our emissions might just save humanity from a pre-emptive alien attack, scientists claim. Watching from afar, extraterrestrial beings might view changes in Earth's atmosphere as symptomatic of a civilisation growing out of control – and take drastic action to keep us from becoming a more serious threat, the researchers explain. This highly speculative scenario is one of several described by scientists at Nasa and Pennsylvania State...

In February 2009, Alex Zablocki and I used Facebook to organize the New York City Tea Party, one of the first Tea Party protests in the country. Several thousand people joined our Facebook group, which we used to organize our first Tea Party protest. Hundreds of people showed up, we passed around a bullhorn, and we officially became “Tea Party organizers.” Without Facebook our rally would have most likely attracted about 20 people. Facebook was powerful and we knew it. Our next Tea Party rally, also organized through Facebook, brought 12,000 people to City Hall in Lower Manhattan. A social...

Having been alerted to Sarah before John McCain ever picked her as his VP running mate, hoping against hope that she would actually be the one, I was nevertheless surprised, albeit overjoyed, when he announced her. She did not fit him. She was everything he is not nor can ever hope to be. The outpouring of love and admiration for Sarah was a thing to behold! Conservative coffers, closed to McCain, suddenly swung wide open showering huge cash on Sarah...and we all know it was the exact opposite of what McCain expected. His poll numbers went up like a...

'The View' Becomes a Must-Stop For Politicians Trying to Reach Women, And Willing to Dish on Iran and Love. "Vice President Joe Biden is here, and he looks very handsome." With those words, Barbara Walters opened up a recent segment of "The View," a daily TV gabfest known for gossip and girl talk. But on this day, Ms. Walters asked Mr. Biden about UN sanctions against Iran. An audience member shouted a question about middle-class tax cuts. And then another asked co-host Sherri Shepherd where she buys her plus-size bras. The Biden-and-bras mix offers one answer to a vast question...