Free Republic

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, on Monday and take the opportunity to present “proposals for action” to counter the “Russian threat” in Europe and ensure peace in Ukraine. The leaders will come together just days after Macron told Trump to toughen up and not “be weak” in the face of Vladimir Putin’s aggression, as Breitbart News reported. Macron used a one-hour question and answer session on his social media Thursday to declare he’ll tell his White House counterpart: “You can’t be weak in the face of President Putin. It’s not you, it’s...

Friday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” host Joe Scarborough praised Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), the Democrat presidential and vice-presidential nominees, respectively, for their policy proposals and endeavors. According to the former Republican congressman turned MSNBC co-host, such proposals were not “socialism,” but “pragmatic politics.” “[H]ow right the senator is that often what’s branded as far-left and progressive is right in the middle of where so many Americans are,” he said. “Like, for instance, Tim Walz is being attacked as a communist, as a socialist. Why? Because he wanted hungry kids in Minnesota to have breakfast and...

From concert venues to Olympic triumphs, marriage proposals are getting more and more elaborate nowadays. Kerby Ng's complex and well-planned proposal is among them, with the 29-year-old filmmaker taking to Instagram on July 2 to share how he had asked for his partner Joyce's hand in marriage. It had been a long time coming for Joyce, so it's no wonder she couldn't compose herself on the actual day. "For months and months and months, I've been gaslighting my girlfriend," Kerby narrated in the Instagram video, which showed snippets of all the times he had fooled his partner. Kerby had planned...

***FEDERAL*** EMTALA EMTALA care provision responsibility would be limited to one episode per patient in any 365 day period excluding paid-up previous visits, with a limit waiver to be at least $200 in cash or its equivalent. EMTALA care uniformly billed at no more than 300% of Medicare amounts, including interest and late and other charges, could be collected in the manner of federal student loan debt. PPACA SUBSIDY CAPS PPACA subsidies would be limited to no more than 90% of policy cost instead of the 98% now. It is absurd that Mr. Recipient Democrat might pay $14/month for the...

Last night, President Joe Biden delivered the best State of the Union address I’ve heard in my lifetime. He turned what is usually a boring exercise in partisan clapping and mutual back-patting into a riveting combination pep rally, poetry slam and real-time legislative session. I was entranced the entire 72 minutes. I laughed. I cried. I yelled “sick burn.” Even Speaker Kevin McCarthy nodded along to half of what Mr. Biden had to say. Joe Cool was bipartisan. He appealed to Middle America. He handled his hecklers with a million-watt smile. He looked and sounded like Presidents do in the...

Frustrated by an unending crisis fueled by drug and human trafficking at the southern border, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday declared his state was under an invasion and invoked special powers granted under the U.S. and Texas constitutions. Abbott said his declaration would begin efforts to: Deploy the National Guard to the border to repel illegal immigrants, and the Texas Department of Public Safety to arrest and return illegal entrants to their home countries; Build a border wall in multiple counties; Deploy gun boats to secure the border; Designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations; Enter into a...

One Republican senator and one Democratic senator are hoping they can find some common ground on gun reforms that will garner enough Republican support to pass the 60-vote threshold in the Senate in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead. Republican Senator John Cornyn and Democratic Senator Chris Murphy will meet virtually on Tuesday to "see if we can agree on a basic framework" about how to go forward on gun legislation proposals, according to an aide to Cornyn. An aide to Murphy confirmed the senator "is participating in tomorrow's...

For a nation accustomed to instant gratification, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a winner.Before President Donald Trump even signed the bill, companies were announcing employee pay raises, bonuses, and increased investments to grow their businesses and bring operations back from overseas.Among the first out of the gate was AT&T, which said it would give $1,000 bonuses to more than 200,000 nonmanagement employees and make an additional $1 billion investment in the United States. Boeing put $100 million toward training, education, and other workforce development. Walmart expanded paid parental leave and boosted starting wages to $11 an hour.Then in...

SNIP After the All-star shortstop helped lead the Astros to their first World Series in franchise history Wednesday night, he popped the question to his girlfriend Daniella Rodriguez, a former Miss Texas. SNIP

In a matter of days, time will run out on a plan that could cut down on commuting times, pave the way for even less traffic congestion, and potentially give taxpayers a break. For reasons that remain unclear, the General Assembly has ignored the Illinois Department of Transportation's I-55 managed lanes project, and the cost of doing nothing has the potential to harm the state's ability to do business for years to come. The I-55 managed lanes proposal would add an express toll lane between the Veterans Memorial Tollway in the southwest suburbs and the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago....

As of 2008 we are now at 1000 posts for Mainestategop, the blog of those of us who are refugees of New England Socialism and the voice of the New Hampshire based New England Alliance for Liberty and Free Markets. We've come a long way I think and I am just ecstatic. Eight years of fighting liberalism and saving America from liberal failure. I love it. Thank you to all for your continued support.  Now, with that said I want to discuss political issues concerning elections in New England. There's not much to be said, we are voting straight GOP...

President Obama is being criticized for failing to offer any new economic proposals as part of his recent series of speeches on the economy. But in fact, Obama has dozens of new ideas waiting in the wings. He just hasn’t announced them yet. Meeting with a secret source in the basement of a garage in Rossyln, Virginia – just outside of Washington – White House Dossier was told, follow the money. Trying that and finding out nothing, White House Dossier called second source who turned over the information in exchange for a liter of Southern Comfort and some amusing imitations...

This Nov. 6, Michigan voters will have the opportunity to decide on a number of proposals on the statewide ballot including Proposal 5, which is commonly referred to as the 2/3 Amendment. Michigan taxpayers should vote yes on Proposal 5 to make it more difficult for politicians in Lansing to take away their hard-earned money through tax increases. It is time for us to demand more accountability from our elected officials. The 2/3 Amendment does that. The 2/3 Amendment isn’t complicated. It requires a two-thirds vote of the Michigan House and Senate to increase or create new taxes. If legislators...

Marriage isn't a joking matter. Before a man proposes in China, he must carefully choose his words In China, much of the older generation still recalls arranged marriage; there isn't a long tradition of creative marriage proposals like there is in the West. Traditions vary from region to region and family to family, but often the process involves a formal meeting between the boy (and, if possible, his family) and the girl's family. Depending on how traditional the families are, and the local expectations, dowry payments may be arranged and an official wedding date will be agreed upon, generally no...

A Lehigh Acres couple was shocked to find out someone had vandalized their garage by spray painting a proposal on it. The door belonged to Roger and Carolyn Mooyoung. The New York couple, who vacation in Southwest Florida, has been married for 23 years. As you might imagine, they weren't to happy when they got a letter from Lee County Code Enforcement letting them know that their vacation home had been vandalized. "I feel sorry for them because if they get married, they're going to have problems," said Carolyn Mooyoung. "I mean, that's pretty immature." The Mooyoungs told deputies that...

I have three requests for you to attempt to get passed into law. 1) The overhead reduction act. This act would require that for every dollar of budgetary spending generated by any bill passed in Congress it would require $2 of federal spending to be cut until the budget is balanced. 2) The replication act. This act would require that the the CBO conduct a top-down review of overlapping responsibilities in governmental departments and organizations to determine which areas are able to be reduced, consolidated or eliminated. 3) The plain english act. The CBO report from the act listed above...

A Dubai resident finally swam with the sharks to propose to his girlfriend after a series of unfortunate incidents thwarted his other equally quirky ideas to ask for her hand. Daniel Kearns, 25, was able to pop the question to his girlfriend Mia Jang, 29, on Friday during a shark dive at a mall aquarium here. "I've been trying to make a plan to propose for six weeks now. First I was going to propose in Rome, but then the volcano erupted. Then I tried to get permission to use the helipad at Burj Al Arab, but was denied permission...

Reporting from Sacramento - Backers of an overhaul of California's government, who hope to leverage disgust with Sacramento into support for changing how the state raises taxes and spends money, have a difficult path ahead, according to a new poll of California voters. Major segments of the electorate see the state's problems as the product of unrestrained lawmakers driven by special interests to waste taxpayer money, and reject arguments that structural issues with the state's Constitution and government institutions are to blame. Voters don't want the tax code overhauled in the ways that many fiscal experts promise would tamp down...

Serious (Intentional??) flaws in two firearms bills. "As Maine goes....so goes the nation" old saying

Democrats on Tuesday proposed billions in tax increases on businesses and high earners to help bridge California's budget shortfall. The proposed hikes include rolling back the dependent child income tax credit expanded in the 1990s, creating two higher income tax brackets for the state's biggest earners and increasing corporate taxes. The long-awaited list of revenue proposals faces near certain defeat, however, as Republican lawmakers have repeatedly said they are unified in their opposition to any tax increases. Approving a budget and increasing taxes requires a two-thirds vote, which means GOP support is mandatory. "I guarantee you it will be a...