Free Republic

There is lots of election analysis elsewhere, and I won’t try to provide more of it here; suffice it to say that the people have spoken, loudly and effectively. Despite all spin, President Obama won’t be able to get contentious new legislation through the Congress, and the House can prevent the funding of some Obama initiatives already passed; Yes he Can’t. Lame-duck congress? Bad stuff may happen but there are cures. Appropriations bills are initiated in the House, and it must provide separate and detailed appropriations bills. For example, if the separate EPA appropriations bill were to prohibit the use...

PALM BAY, Fla. -- A local bank customer was hailed as a hero Thursday night for taking down a man who said he was down on his luck and he decided to commit a robbery. Floyd Francis gave up instantly, police said, and he was taken to the Brevard County Jail. "I drew my gun on him and put him down," Ruben Torres said. In a hand-written confession, Francis said he tried to rob the Space Coast Credit Union in Palm Bay because he needed money. He wrote, "I make music for a living, but tings not working out right...

ALBANY - Hothead state Sen. Kevin Parker erupted again Tuesday, this time with a race-based rant that rattled even his supporters. "He needs help," said Sen. Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx), an ally who witnessed the latest angry outbursts. "He lost control of himself." Parker exploded in anger at fellow Sen. John DeFrancisco, a Syracuse Republican, who was questioning a nominee to the New York Power Authority. DeFrancisco, who is white, asked Mark O'Luck, who is black, about the nominee's prior claim that without programs for minorities, whites and the affluent "would have access to nearly 100%" of government funding. As DeFrancisco...

He will also talk about the provision's less controversial expansion of Pell Grants, as well as supporting historically black and minority institutions and caps on student loan repayments. According to the White House, "New borrowers who assume loans after July 1, 2014, will be able to cap their student loan repayments at 10 percent of their discretionary income and, if they keep up with their payments over time, will have the balance forgiven after 20 years."

Balfour Beatty's US subsidiary, Parsons Brinckerhoff, has been awarded three new contracts to manage high-speed and intercity passenger rail projects in Illinois, Ohio and Florida, US. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDoT) has selected Parsons Brinckerhoff as programme manager for the high-speed rail, 284-mile (457 km) "signature route" from Chicago to St. Louis. About US$ 1.1 billion in Federal high-speed rail funding has been allocated to this project. In Ohio the Department of Transport has selected a Parsons Brinckerhoff-led team to provide consultant services for the development of a new 250 miles (400 km) intercity passenger rail service on an...

Will the increased cost of base metals finally bring about a change to the composition of coins? President Obama's recently submitted 2011 Budget includes a proposal to allow the United States Mint greater flexibility in the material composition of coins for the purpose of reducing production costs. Since 2006, it has cost the US Mint more than face value to produce and distribute the penny and nickel. This has led many to debate the merits of eliminating the lower denominations or at least altering the compositions. In 2008 a bill was introduced known as the Coin Modernization and Taxpayer Savings...

His blog is one of the funniest conservative sites I've found, and this video's priceless.

An upstanding Detroit citizen explains where the "Obama money" for her (fingers crossed) stimulus check is coming from. Her answer? "His stash...I don't know!"

The embattled US dollar is expected to come under scrutiny at a summit of developing and industrialized nations following China-led calls to review its role as a reserve currency. The dollar issue is bound to surface at the two-day meeting in Pittsburgh as US President Barack Obama and other leaders of the Group of 20 economies debate a new framework for tackling the so called global "economic imbalances" blamed for fuelling the latest financial crisis. "Though not clear how the plan would be enforced, it would involve measures such as the US cutting its deficits and saving more, China reducing...