Free Republic

Senator Markey has announced his support for the Iran deal that will let the terrorist regime inspect its own Parchin nuclear weapons research site, conduct uranium enrichment, build advanced centrifuges, buy ballistic missiles, fund terrorism and have a near zero breakout time to a nuclear bomb. There was no surprise there.

For homeowners eager to save money on repairs, it’s a tempting proposition—you pay a tradesman cash-in-hand, he knocks a bit off the bill, and no questions are asked. With the builder or plumber failing to declare their earnings and pay any tax, such secret payments are said to cost the economy £2 billion a year. Now a survey suggests the black economy is booming, with more than four in five homeowners admitting they have paid a workman cash-in-hand. Not only that, but 30 percent have done it three times or more in the past year alone. …

The nationwide minimum wage, coupled with pension reforms, could reverse a long decline in people working off the books in Germany, and even prompt an increase, according to a study released on Tuesday. The study, from Tübingen’s Institute for Applied Economic Research (IAW), working with models from the Austria’s Linz University, said government reforms, including a national minimum hourly wage of €8.50 ($11.49), and retirement for some at 63, could lead to more earnings disappearing from official records. The national minimum wage, which is set to be introduced next year, could encourage employers to hire people off the books in...

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee approved election-year immigration legislation Monday that clears the way for millions of undocumented workers to seek U.S. citizenship without having to first leave the country. After days of street demonstrations that stretched from California to the gounds of the U.S. Capitol, the committee also voted to strip out proposed criminal penalties for residents found to be in this country illegally. The panel's vote cleared the way for the full Senate to begin debate Tuesday on the emotional immigration issue. "All Americans wanted fairness and they got it this evening," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy...

The ACC announced Tuesday that a vote for expansion might not occur until later this month, but regardless of the outcome the Big East is going to be proactive about its future and pursue a 16-team league, a source told ESPN.com. At least one source close to the Big East said the conference wouldn't stand idle waiting to get raided again by the ACC or another league. The source said the Big East cannot remain a fractured 14-team league in basketball and eight teams in football. The financial issues would still be divisive if the league remained as is even...

Energy/The Economy The Washington Post's Allen notes in a brief that while Bush suggested to the Wall Street Journal that he may consider lowering the gas tax, 'aides says he has no plans to pursue it.'The Wall Street Journal says that Venezuela's instability is seen (today) as a bigger threat than the Middile East, re:oil prices.The Journal also says that a 'dirty deal' is being hatched between steel state Senators and ANWAR supporters to marry a steel legacy cost bill with an ANWAR exploration provision in the Senate energy debate