Free Republic

A young entrepreneur was baffled when a Portland security guard thwarted her attempt to help her father pay for her braces by selling mistletoe - but told her she could beg, instead. Madison Root, 11, arrived bright and early at Portland Saturday Market, setting up a sign and basket next to the Skidmore Fountain in the downtown area to sell her wares to the crowds. ... Madison Root knew her upcoming orthodontic work would be expensive, and wanted to contribute. She spent Friday cutting mistletoe at her uncle's farm in Newberg, then wrapped it in clear cellophane and tied it...

An 11-year-old who was banned from selling mistletoe (shown) in a public park in downtown Portland, Oregon, now has more orders for packages of the popular holiday plant than she can handle. "There was never enough mistletoe for this," said Ashton Root, whose daughter Madison was ordered to stop when she began selling mistletoe at Skidmore Fountain in downtown Portland Saturday morning. The story of the aborted enterprise was aired on Portland TV station KATU Sunday evening. National networks and websites carried the news, and by Tuesday afternoon people from all over the country had contacted the KATU newsroom, wanting...

“Let me end by addressing the elephant in the room here, which is the seeming inability to get anything done in Washington these days.” Woo-hoo! I’m dying here! Did you catch that? The “elephant” in the room! Ha ha ha! The do-nothing “elephant” Congress. Kudos to the speechwriter who came up with that, you’ve got a standing job offer on the Daily Show.As I’m sure you’ve heard, Big Guy pivoted away from the continually unfolding disaster of Obamacare yesterday back to the economy which, by comparison, is doing much better.Donkey ears for the Prezzie making elephant jokesMaking the claim...