Free Republic

Don’t buy a house in a state where private sector workers are outnumbered by folks dependent on government. Thinking about buying a house? Or a municipal bond? Be careful where you put your capital. Don’t put it in a state at high risk of a fiscal tailspin. Eleven states make our list of danger spots for investors. They can look forward to a rising tax burden, deteriorating state finances and an exodus of employers. The list includes California, New York, Illinois and Ohio, along with some smaller states like New Mexico and Hawaii. Let’s say you are a software entrepreneur...

Delegates representing almost 200 governments are gathering in Doha, Qatar, in a desperate bid to keep climate change alarmism alive long enough to create a UN-run planetary carbon regime. UN Seeking Global Carbon Regime at Climate Summit in Doha The New American 26 November 2012 Thousands of delegates representing almost 200 governments and dictatorships are gathering in Doha, Qatar, in a desperate bid to keep climate change alarmism alive long enough to create a United Nations-run planetary carbon regime. However, as the climate hysteria continues its march toward irrelevance following the spectacular implosion of UN global warming theories and...

It’s a common refrain from the victor: elections have consequences. The victor then goes on to claim a mandate to do A or Z. It’s par for the course. The real question is whether elections have consequences for the media. As it turns out, the answer appears to be yes. On a whole host of issues, the mainstream media’s reporting seems to have a bit more balance, at least compared to the pre-election coverage of some of the campaign’s most important issues. The left will dismiss this as conservative sour grapes, but ask yourself whether you saw, heard or read...

What would I do if I were in charge? I’d abolish General Order No. 1. Keep the rules that protect soldiers from sexual harassment. But allow deployed officers and troops to have sex while at war. West Point should come to its senses as well. West Pointers and other military service members endure tremendous sacrifices. We appreciate the adoration and respect we receive. In that same spirit, I ask the public to accept and forgive our weaknesses. It’s okay to be disappointed, but please don’t be misled. Beneath the heavy combat gear and impressive uniform, we’re human, just like you....

November 27, 2012 Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 Rv 14:14-19   I, John, looked and there was a white cloud,and sitting on the cloud one who looked like a son of man,with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.Another angel came out of the temple,crying out in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud,"Use your sickle and reap the harvest,for the time to reap has come,because the earth's harvest is fully ripe."So the one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the...

Rankings can be very useful tools, assuming the methodology is reasonable and the authors use robust data. I’ve cited many of them. For a big-picture look at economic policy, the Economic Freedom of the World is the best ranking, though the Index of Economic Freedom is also quite good, and the Global Competitiveness Report also is useful.On tax policy, the Financial Secrecy Index measures how well a nation treats foreign investors, while the Tax Oppression Index measures how well a nation treats its own people.There are also more specialized rankings, such as the one measuring per-capita government debt, the Moocher...

    ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego is a United States Marine Corps military installation in San Diego, California. It lies between San Diego Bay and Interstate 5, adjacent to Lindbergh Field and the former Naval Training Center San Diego. MCRD San Diego's main mission is the initial training of enlisted male recruits living west of the Mississippi River. Over 21,000 recruits are trained each year. The Depot also is the home to the Marine Corps' Recruiter School and Western Recruiting Region's Drill Instructors School....

Should Republicans pursue immigration reform to broaden their appeal to Latinos and Asians? Yes No

Nassim Nicholas Taleb has little tolerance for, well, a lot of things. But, as his latest book demonstrates, he holds a particular grievance against the mediocre, the safe middle ground, and most forms of moderation. True to form, Antifragile: Things that Gain From Disorder, is a work of non-fiction that trades in extremes—a book that, in complete earnestness, offers thoughts on everything from the philosophy of Seneca and the structure of the Swiss government to the value of procrastination and the limits of academic research. He is just as likely to bring in Ben Bernanke and Ralph Nader as Hammurabi...

RIVER VALE — At the 234th commemoration on Monday of the Baylor Massacre, it was easy to see how New Jersey earned the nickname Crossroads of the Revolution. River Vale Historian Ed Moderacki wears a British infantry uniform as he helps Lincoln Schefter of Hackensack hold a musket at the site of the Baylor Massacre. The site, along the banks of the Hackensack River near Red Oak Drive, played host to a skirmish that took place in the middle of the night on Sept. 28, 1778, in which 54 soldiers from the rag-tag Continental Army were killed, captured or wounded,...

<p>A federal judge said on Monday that an Ohio death row inmate weighing more than 450 pounds cannot be given a stay of execution because of his obesity.</p> <p>Ronald Post, 53, is scheduled to be executed January 16 for the 1983 aggravated murder of hotel clerk Helen Vantz in Elyria, Ohio.</p>

Evangelical Protestants have become more devoted to their religious beliefs over the last three decades, even as Catholics have become less attached to their faith, new research finds. The denominational differences come even as religious affiliations have decreased overall in America, with the number of people who claim no religious affiliation at all doubling from 7 percent in 1990 to 14 percent in 2000, said study researcher Philip Schwadel, a sociologist at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Nevertheless, Schwadel said, these unaffiliated individuals seem to be dropping out of religious institutions that they were previously ambivalent about. People who feel...

On the eve of a visit by Mexican President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto, the White House promised Monday that President Barack Obama "will be pressing for action" in Congress on comprehensive immigration reform and regards that goal as "achievable." "There is a real opportunity here to move forward and the president is committed to that," press secretary Jay Carney told reporters at his daily briefing. "He believes that comprehensive immigration reform is achievable ... because there has been in the past bipartisan support for immigration reform," Carney said. "And he thinks it's important not just for specific communities that would be...

Shocking video on the "war on drugs" and whether Marijuana is in fact "harmless." Most shocking is at 4:25 when you see 12-15 year olds smoking weed like it's nothing!

A man who killed two teenagers in his home in Little Falls on Thanksgiving Day told investigators he shot and wounded the two at close range before "finishing" them with shots to the head. Byron David Smith, 64, was charged Monday, Nov. 26, in Morrison County District Court with two counts of second-degree murder without premeditation in the deaths of Nicholas Brady, 17, and his cousin Haile Kifer, 18. Smith claims Brady and Kifer broke into his home and he was "fearful" they had weapons, according to the criminal complaint.

PHOENIX—Two men have been sentenced to several years behind bars for their roles in a gun smuggling ring that was part of the U.S. government's Operation Fast and Furious. The U.S. Justice Department says Jacob Anthony Montelongo was sentenced Monday in Phoenix to nearly 3 1/2 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and dealing guns without a license. Sean Christopher Steward received a nine-year sentence for conspiracy and lying. During the Fast and Furious operation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents hoped to track illegally obtained weapons to high-level arms traffickers, but authorities lost track...

Please keep FReeper Jean S and her family in your prayers. Her father passed away on Saturday night after complications from a heart surgery he had in August. Jean said he came home on Thanksgiving and died peacefully on Saturday, November 24th. I know she would appreciate your prayers and words of comfort during this difficult time. Losing a loved one is always painful and especially so during the holidays.

More than 1,000 New Coal Plants Planned WorldwideBy Damian Carrington, The Guardian Published: November 26th, 2012 More than 1,000 coal-fired power plants are being planned worldwide, new research has revealed. The huge planned expansion comes despite warnings from politicians, scientists, and campaigners that the planet's fast-rising carbon emissions must peak within a few years if runaway climate change is to be avoided and that fossil fuel assets risk becoming worthless if international action on global warming moves forward. Coal plants are the most polluting of all power stations and the World Resources Institute (WRI) identified 1,200 coal plants in planning...

Anyone who has followed the decades-long controversies over the role of genes in IQ scores will recognize the names of the two leading advocates of opposite conclusions on that subject— Professor Arthur R. Jensen of the University of California at Berkeley and Professor James R. Flynn, an American expatriate at the University of Otago in New Zealand. What is so unusual in the academic world of today is that Professor Flynn's latest book, "Are We Getting Smarter?" is dedicated to Arthur Jensen, whose integrity he praises, even as he opposes his conclusions. That is what scholarship and science are supposed...