Free Republic

Dear Legislators: I am writing to ask the Regulatory Reform Committee to examine why the Michigan Liquor Control Commission continues to maintain “post and hold” rules designed to facilitate tacit price collusion between Michigan’s beer and wine wholesalers. The result is to keep prices of those products artificially high, which pads the bottom line of a handful of politically well-connected special interest beneficiaries at the expense of consumers. How much does this cost the residents you represent? One study estimates that post and hold rules raise the price of beer and wine products by 6.4 percent to 30 percent. These...

Exploiting loopholes in the rulebook helped launch Seattle's budding dynasty There's a team in Super Bowl XLIX that, for years, has created a major competitive advantage by blatantly disregarding NFL rules. I'm talking about the Seattle Seahawks, of course. Focused on 24 PSIs of missing hot air and hype in New England, we've all missed an actual rules revolution going on in Seattle that, with one more win on Sunday in Arizona, could fundamentally change the NFL -- forever. Over the past three years the Seahawks have done something no one in the white-socks-and-black-shoes, stuck-in-the-1950s NFL ever dreamed possible, or...

HARTFORD — The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Windsor Locks teen is not legally mature enough to decide against life-saving chemotherapy. The unanimous decision, after a 75-minute hearing, upheld a lower court ruling that the state can force treatment for Hodgkin´s lymphoma on the girl, identified as Cassandra C. The state Department of Children and Families had been awarded custody of the child, who is "doing well" with chemotherapy at Connecticut Children´s Medical Center, a lawyer for the state told the justices. The court Thursday heard arguments from lawyers for Cassandra and her mother, Jackie Fortin, who supports

Obama doesn’t like it.He’s been repudiated by the voters, and he doesn’t like it. He’s supposed to be loved by the masses, but they have turned on him. He’s supposed to be the Democratic savior, but the Democratic candidates for the most part didn’t even want to be seen with him.The man who uttered the words “Don’t worry, you have me” has no one. The emperor has lost his clothes.Where do we go from here?President Obama is going to get defensive. He’s going to get mean. He’s going to do whatever he wants, the Constitution be damned.He’s not just a...

Seven patients, including Duncan and Brantly, have been or are currently being treated for Ebola or exposure to the virus at U.S. hospitals. According to federal recommendations, hospital staff should not attempt to clean the deceased or remove any medical lines or tubes. Instead, “the body should be wrapped in a plastic shroud” and immediately placed in two thick and zippered leakproof bags for transport to the morgue. What this means for family is likely no chance to mourn loved ones at a traditional funeral service.

The Supreme Court’s conservatives cleared the way Monday for Ohio to restrict early voting in the state, on the eve of the day it was to start. The court granted the state’s request to stay decisions of lower courts that threw out the state’s new plan, passed by the Republican-led legislature. But the court’s four liberal justices said they would have stayed out of the case and left those decisions in place. Ohio argued that the new plan--reducing from 35 to 28 the number of days voters could cast an early ballot--could not be seen as violating the rights of

No, FR is not trying to quash satire. However, it should be clearly labeled as such in the title. Some people seem to think it's great trickling our readers into falling for satire. It's not. A lot of people come to FR and scan the headlines clicking on articles of interest. If they're not familiar with the author or source, they may be misled and may even pass it on to others. No thanks. If you post satire, please label it as "satire' in the title. Thanks

Edgartown, Mass. — The Obama administration on Friday proposed new regulations intended to address the religious objections that some nonprofit organizations and private companies have to providing contraceptive coverage for their employees. (Snip) On Friday, the administration proposed a rule, which would go into effect immediately, to address the concerns of nonprofit groups. Under the proposal, a religious college or other nonprofit group could inform the Department of Health and Human Services of its religious objections and the department would then contact insurance companies and arrange the birth control coverage at

Over the past two years, the Obama administration has published hundreds and hundreds of rules — on how wheelchairs should be stowed aboard U.S. aircraft, how foreign trade zones should be regulated, how voting assistance should be provided for U.S. citizens overseas, and so on. There’s a problem, however: Technically speaking, these and some 1,800 other regulations shouldn’t be in effect because they weren’t reported to Congress as required. Yet there is little that lawmakers or the courts can do about it. The situation illustrates the obscure, Byzantine process used to create federal regulations — and how easily it can...

Trey Gowdy had a defining moment when he had to explain to Congress and Barack Obama exactly what their job titles are supposed to be. Trey Gowdy lead the charge in passing a bill that directs Obama to follow the laws – ....

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner Friday reiterating a request from a previous letter for a “minimum standard” for Democrats to proceed with a bipartisan investigation into the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate and CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya. “In that letter, we asked that Democrats have a real voice on the committee, including on (1) the issuance of subpoenas, (2) the manner in which witnesses would be questioned and deposed, and (3) the specific protocols governing how documents and other information would be obtained, used, and potentially released by the...

If the most disturbing, if underreported, news from yesterday, was Obama's "modification" of NSA capabilities, which contrary to his earlier promises, was just granted even greater powers as phone recording will now be stored for even longer than previously, then this latest development from the Supreme Court - one which some could argue just voided the Fourth amendment - is even more shocking. RT reports that the US Supreme Court has ruled that police may search a home without obtaining a warrant despite the objection of one occupant if that occupant has been removed from the premises. With its 6...

The game of chess is never going to rival soccer or the NFL for popularity. Five hours of watching two players sitting in chairs thinking deep thoughts doesn’t seem like much widespread viewing potential. It is remarkable, then, that this month chess is enjoying global enthusiasm and popularity like it hasn’t since Garry Kasparov played IBM’s computer “Deep Blue” in the 1990s or, even further back, the electrifying performance of Bobby Fischer against Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, 1972. If you’re an average American, you probably don’t know anything about any of it, so I want to take the opportunity to...

**SNIP** The changes, which the acting IRS commissioner rolled out during the Thanksgiving recess just before he was replaced, have largely flown under the radar while Congress has focused on investigating suspected abuses. In May, an audit from the Treasury inspector general for tax administration found the tax agency had been singling out for extra scrutiny tea party and conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status. The proposed rules would create a category of banned “candidate-related political activity” — including registration drives, voter guides and issue advocacy. Under the current IRS rules, groups that sign up under the 501(c)(4) section...

During our family gathering yesterday my father-in-law (who is an labor arbitrator in a blue state) told me employers of 50+ full timers have always been required to offer health insurance. He essentially said the ACA's employer mandate is nothing new. I was flabbergasted and told him I thought he was wrong. He got HOT quick. So I dropped it. But its something I would like to verify and haven't been able to find anything. The subject is a big one for me because my 35-40 hours a week as a part time EMT will soon be cut down to...

**SNIP** Democrats could make Republican delays as painful as possible, such as keeping the Senate in session all night and on weekends. "We're going to seek to achieve as much as we possibly can and hope Republicans will cooperate with us, instead of just using knee-jerk obstruction," said Adam Jentleson, spokesman for Reid. Republicans are already using the rules to flex their muscle. When the Senate recessed for Thanksgiving, it did not approve a batch of noncontroversial nominations and bills, which it usually does before such breaks. With 60 votes still required to end filibusters against legislation, Republican senators are...

The Internal Revenue Service quietly proposed new regulations aimed at 501(c)(4) organizations during the Thanksgiving recess that Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, called "a crass political effort by the Administration to get what political advantage they can, when they can." Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations were apparently singled out by the IRS starting in 2010, and the heavy hand of government suppression of these groups may have greatly attributed to Obama´s re-election, an American Enterprise Institute study revealed in October. The Washington Post reported last week the Treasury Department said the new rules...

The new U.S.-Afghanistan security agreement adds restrictions on already bureaucratic rules of engagement for American troops by making Afghan dwellings virtual safe havens for the enemy, combat veterans say. The rules of engagement place the burden on U.S. air and ground troops to confirm with certainty that a Taliban fighter is armed before they can fire — even if they are 100 percent sure the target is the enemy. In some cases, aerial gunships have been denied permission to fire even though they reported that targets on the move were armed. The proposed Bilateral Security Agreement announced Wednesday by Afghan

Insurance companies say they were blindsided by Obama’s announcement that state insurance commissions and companies can decide whether or not to re-start plans they had canceled. NBC’s Tom Costello reports.