Free Republic

...In order to determine the effective tax rate based on this ratio, it's important to remember that the capital gains tax in these years will be 20%, the top ordinary tax rate will be 39.6%, and the Obamacare investment surtax of 3.8% will take effect in 2013. These first two are due to the tax hike scheduled to occur at the end of this year... Read more: http://www.atr.org/senate-bill-more-doubles-tax-rate-a5043#ixzz0qrQLAEOc

...The unelected bureaucrats in the Federal Reverse are increasingly feeling the pressure from the general public to stop operating in the shadows...

There was a blog posting, in the last 5 weeks or so (IIRC). It was discussing why people persist in errors, even after they are exposed to the truth -- reference was political. I keep thinking it was on Riehl World View or Volokh Conspiracy, but I haven't tracked it down yet. I also seem to remember that the link was on Instapundit. Does anyone remember the article in question? Thanks.

As the House and Senate bills (HR 4173 and S 3217) for financial reform must be reconciled in conference committee, it now seems clear that the major sticking point of derivatives may pose more of a threat to economic prosperity than had previously been suspected. Going into the committee, both bills agree that the vast majority of swap derivative contracts should be traded and cleared on public exchanges as opposed to through private over-the-counter negotiations between large firms. The House bill would offer exemptions to a wide variety of end-user corporations like agribusiness, airlines, industrial manufacturers, auto dealers, and other...

Since the first websites were created some 25 years ago, the Federal Communications Commission has maintained a long standing, hands-off approach for the Internet. On June 17th, that may come to an end when the FCC begins consideration of Chairman Genachowski’s plan to reclassify broadband Internet as a Title II telephone service. This will give the FCC substantial regulatory authority over the Internet. In a week, the FCC plans to open up to public comment the legality of their reclassification plan for broadband... Read more: http://www.atr.org/countdown-days-fccs-internet-regulations-clear-a5057#ixzz0qTeiI3d9

Lifted Out Of … Bethany Stotts, June 10, 2010 In a new report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), the non-profit notes that while more minority young adults are going to college, one in ten of young adults in poverty have received a degree or postsecondary credential. “Many young adults expect to reap the financial benefits associated with postsecondary education and those from low-income backgrounds believe that a college degree provides a critical step out of poverty,” states the June “Portrait of Low-Income Young Adults in Education” (pdf). “Yet while a sizable proportion of low-income youth had enrolled...

...Basically, a credit default swap offers a way to insure a debt (whether it be a corporate bond, a mortgage, or a government note) so that if the borrower cannot repay the loan, the creditor has limited his risk. They function as a sort of contract; the buyer pays upfront for the insurance against the risk, and if the debtor does default, the lender calls in the policy and only loses what he paid for the contract. So, credit default swap pricing shows the raw pulse of the market: one can quantify the cost of risk on any government bond....

"Iranian Commander: UAV Battalions For All Air Force Bases – For Future Assault Missions" SNIPPET: "Noting that the UAV units of the Air Force have been operative for as long as many years, Darrebaqi pointed out that these units are currently tasked with intelligence and information gathering and reconnaissance missions. "But in future we want to use them for assault missions so that these UAVs can hit targets," he added."

Even though he was attacked mercilessly and may have lost his Presidential election bid because of it, when John McCain said, before the TARP bill was passed, that the fundementals of the American economy were sound, he was exactly right. He was also, at the very same time, completely and utterly wrong. The stock market, while perhaps the greatest single indicator of the financial condition of our country is, to a very substantial degree, pure fantasy - a dream of.......

On this 69th anniversary of D-Day June 6th 1941, there is now another fight, another war to protect our freedoms.This time the fight is with Imperialistic militant Islam. With such Islamofascist groups as Fatah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, Hizbullah, etc.A rally in support of America-Israel was held today in front of the Obama Whitehouse.Amerisrael videos and pics. 

...How he viewed the government’s role in the lives of citizens and how we relate to the world as a nation can be found quite simply in two quotes: First, ‘The reality is that we must find peace through strength’ stating his foreign policy and Second, ‘Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem...’ Read more: http://www.atr.org/remembering-gipper-june-a5015#ixzz0qC0DbENQ

...In reality, Obama has yet to veto any spending bill. Instead, while promoting inflated federal spending, Obama has also mandated that states increase their Medicaid spending. Shockingly in 2010, Washington will spend $30,543 per household—an increase of $5,000 from two years ago. Instead of cutting spending to ease the burden on American taxpayers, the President continues to extol high federal spending levels, while promising to “freeze” expenditures at those levels next year. This amounts to a (possibly permanent) extension of the current fiscal recklessness, and will in no way contribute to a more fiscally responsible government. A president cannot survive...

SNIPPET: "Hizb ut-Tahrir America (HTA) released a video announcement for its 2010 "Khilafah Conference," to be held on July 11 at the Chicago Marriott, Oak Brook. The conference is titled, "Emerging World Order: How the Khilafah Will Shape the World." SNIPPET: "Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) has a presence in more than 45 countries around the world and seeks to establish an Islamic state. Once its government has been established, HT intends to spread Islam to the rest of the world."

...Chris Christie stands up to teachers unions who are bankrupting New Jersey and preventing educational reform. Gov. Christie confronts one of the most powerful political machines head-on: [Click on link for video.]

...And what will all this revenue get the American people? From the report: Establish a “Journalism” division of AmeriCorpsIncrease Funding for Corporation for Public BroadcastingEstablish a National Fund for Local NewsProvide a tax credit to news organizations for every journalist they employEstablish Citizenship News Vouchers (you get to choose what non-profit media outlet gets $200 of your tax money, but you don’t get to keep it yourself)Grants to universities to conduct investigative journalism... Read more: http://www.atr.org/bailing-media-a5017#ixzz0pu7Dbi97

A study of how states are handling the economic crisis has Michigan as the worst in the country in economic performance for the third year in a row, but does offer some hope of improvement in the future. The study evaluated states based on their economic policies and looked at economic trends to come up with its rankings. The study, in its third year, was done by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit. Michigan ranked 50th in "economic performance" which was based on personal income per capita (50th), domestic migration (47th), and employment (50th). Despite being last...

...Sounding like a child who first learns that his parents are not omniscient, President Clinton states that unions look to “terrify members of Congress and members of the Senate” that cross them. This known phenomenon is not confined to Arkansas politics, unions have been bullying representatives for years. Labor’s power stems from their vast bank accounts (thank you union dues) which can make or break a candidate...

...The extenders bill raises the tax rate the general partner pays on capital gains (either from the sale of the ownership interest, or the sale of partnership investment assets) from 15 percent today to 38.5 percent in 2013. This is done by requiring three-fourths of the capital gain to be taxed at ordinary income tax rates. Both the capital gain and ordinary tax rates are scheduled to rise in 2011 under the Congressional Democrat and Obama budgets. Additionally, Obamacare imposes an investment surtax of 3.8 percent in 2013...

...Recently, New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, has recommended the implementation of a millionaire’s tax, which would fall on the shoulders of 75-85 thousand New Yorkers who pull in (before being subject to an array of high level taxes of course) $1 million per year. This millionaire’s tax would be compounded on New York’s already existent millionaire’s tax. This particular tax, at its core, is no more than a fiscally punitive action taken against hard working Americans. The millionaire’s tax, simply put, derives from a lack of budgetary prowess on behalf of state legislators. This lack of budgetary prowess then...

With the price of oil steadily climbing and President Obama’s promise to open up more of the United State’s Coastline to offshore oil and gas drilling, I thought it would be fun to explain how oil and gas wells are drilled in the ultra-deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico and beyond. My goal is to make this series as non-technical as possible so that anyone will be able to understand the basic concepts, challenges, expenses, environmental impacts, and financial risks of drilling offshore oil and gas wells.