Free Republic

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso... on social security reforms, "the medical system should be changed so that the many terminal patients now using government money for expensive treatment, can quickly pass away. Such patients can keep living even if they wish to die...

(Reuters) - While delivering mail on Chicago's North Side, Lakesha Dortch-Hardy spoke about how much she loves her job at the U.S. Postal Service, and how much it would hurt if jobs such as hers were to disappear. "These jobs are the middle class ..." said Dortch-Hardy, a tall, energetic 38-year-old, who took long strides as she wheeled her cart along a row of two- and three-story brick apartment houses. "Without this job, I don't know where I'd be right now." The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service has eliminated 168,000 jobs since 2006, and more cuts could result as it struggles...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evEg1VNfX3o Youtube video on second amendment

Why Owning Gold Is Absolutely Essential – Charles Ponzi Meets Cassandra Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013Jan 21, 2013 - 05:12 PM By: DeviantInvestor One fine day on the streets of Washington D.C. the ghost of Charles Ponzi struck up a conversation with the ghost of Cassandra. He was a charming devil and assumed she would find him irresistible so he began with “It is ironic, I think, that I am a thief, while you see and speak the truth, but the people believe me and scorn you.” Cassandra was not impressed and replied, “It is true. Most people would...

The mostly European-oriented counter-jihad blog, The Gates of Vienna, has been declared in violation of the terms of service of Google's blog-hosting arm, Blogger. I would urge all FReepers to protest this action to Google and boycott Google's products to the maximum extent feasible until it is reversed. The Gates of Vienna was a valuable resource for those opposing the Islamization of Western Civilization, and the violation of the terms of service is almost certainly based on accepting the Islamic notion of "slander of religion" under which telling the truth about Islam, if doing so impedes the spread of Islam...

They should take this before and after photo comparison of Macaulay Culkin and display it in schools around the country to show kids what drug abuse will do to you. Just a lecture might not work but this scary photo comparison might sink into their brains.

Some areas of disagreement: 1. First off, I disagree with the underlying premise of the entire book - a premise that says the early church was untainted and uncorrupted by human tradition. I often ask this question to those who want to get back to the early church: Which early church do you want to be like?

Any of you guys (or ladies) self-employed, and have your own S Corporation? What kind of tax deductions are you allowed to take? I have an accountant, and he's going over all of my deductions, but I'm trying to find more. For example, I pay for my health insurance - and the accountant says that tax deductible. So it stands to reason that my prescription medication (which I pay for out of my own pocket) should be tax deductable too.

Forging into the latter half of his historic presidency, Barack Obama urged the nation at his second inauguration Monday to work together on a liberal agenda of America’s “limitless possibilities,” such as reversing climate change, advancing gay rights and strengthening the social safety net. On a chilly and overcast Monday, Mr. Obama laid out the broad themes for his second term, in which he is winding down the war in Afghanistan and is renewing his push for programs to help the middle class. While

New York passed the toughest gun control laws in the nation last week. The SAFE Act called for a new assault weapons ban, among other measures. Over this past weekend, New York State Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin revealed other measures that were removed from the final bill that was eventually signed into law. These 15 measures were pulled from the final bill: 1. Confiscation of "assault weapons" 2. Confiscation of ten round clips 3. Statewide database for ALL Guns 4. Continue to allow pistol permit holder's information to be replaced to the public 5. Label semiautomatic shotguns with more than 5...

Mayor Ed Lee is floating the idea of tearing down the stub end of Interstate 280 in San Francisco in hopes of creating a new neighborhood and speeding up the arrival of high-speed rail service downtown. The idea, laid out by the mayor's chief transit planner, Gillian Gillett, in a memo to the regional Metropolitan Transportation Commission, would be to knock down I-280 before 16th Street - eliminating the ramps both at Sixth and Brannan streets and at Fourth and King streets. It would be replaced by a street-level boulevard akin to those built after the Embarcadero and Central freeways...

A college student is abducted and raped. She later manages to escape by leaping from the rapist's moving vehicle. With nowhere else to go, she pounds on the door of a house in which a 14 year-old boy is home watching his younger sister. No doubt under strict orders from his parents to keep the door locked and to open it only for family members or emergency service personnel, the young man, after hearing the fear-ridden pleas of the victim, goes with his gut and lets her in. She could easily have been a criminal herself, but his instinct to...

Is it any wonder that many small and medium sized businesses are moving out of California? In the recent elections, California Voters Sock It To The Rich. As the Wall Street Journal noted, some are promising businesses a better life elsewhere. Being courted must be refreshing but it is important for a company and its owners to have reasonable expectations and to budget for drilling down into California’s rules. After all, leaving is not always easy. A California resident is anyone in the state for other than a temporary or transitory purpose. See FTB Publication 1031. Plus, it includes anyone...

Even before President Barack Obama took the oath of office to begin his second term, much of the political world was already jumping ahead. And for legions of South Florida voters, there's only one person they'd like to see raise her right hand four years from now to become the nation's 45th president: Hillary Rodham Clinton. "If she runs, she has my vote," said Myra Lieberman, 57, of Weston, a kindergarten teacher. "All my contemporaries are also supporters of her." Lee Grossman, who lives west of Boynton Beach, also counts herself a Clinton backer.

Oil Guru Destroys All Of The Hype About America's Energy Boom Rob WileJan. 20, 2013, 10:20 AM Not everyone believes the U.S. is capable of becoming energy independent thanks to its shale oil and gas reserves, as the International Energy Association suggested recently. The math just doesn't work out, they say — America consumes too much. But some are even more skeptical than that. Arthur Berman, an oil analyst with Labyrinth Consulting Services, says the promise of America's shale reserves have been vastly overstated. His main argument: shale is too expensive to drill, and shale wells usually don't last longer...

Reports indicate that Marine General James Mattis is being forced out of CENTCOM for questioning certain aspects of the Obama administration's Middle East policy. In particular, it appears his questions surrounding the U.S. response to Iran's nuclear ambitions drew the ire of civilian military and security advisers. These civilians were apparently upset by the way Mattis pushed them to "consider second and third-order consequences of military action against Iran." Nor did they appreciate the way he pushed them to think long term and consider what the U.S. will do if Iran develops non-nuclear weapons that can be used to keep...

As a citizen of the United States, I am proud of the deep-rooted patriotism of my forefathers. Many lives have been sacrificed in order to maintain the liberty which we all enjoy, including those of many of my ancestors. I was deeply saddened by recent tragedies such as those in Colorado and at Sandy Hook. However, I am troubled by the fact that our legislators are rushing to strip away the constitutional rights of the American people. The media attempts to reinforce a need for more strict gun control, yet anyone who spends any amount of time seeking the truth...

Senate Republicans this afternoon pushed through a surprise rewrite of the 2011 redistricting plan that erases a Democratic seat in western Virginia and creates a sixth majority black district that would be located between Petersburg and Danville. Democrats were shocked by the move, vowing to oppose the new plan in court. he so-called re-redistricting plan was woven into House-passed legislation that makes technical adjustments to delegates' districts. The revised plan cleared the Senate on a party-line vote of 20-19. Missing this afternoon was Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond, who was in Washington for President Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony. The...

Almost everyone seems to agree that some combination of Social Security reform, Medicare reform and Medicaid reform is essential to any long-term fix of the federal government’s fiscal woes. But few in Washington are prepared to face the political challenges of such reform. Perhaps it would help if we stopped calling these federally financed benefits “entitlements.” In any legal sense of the term, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are not entitlements. Unlike public employee pensions, which are contractual obligations now threatening to bankrupt state and local governments, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits can be modified, or even eliminated, by...

I am sick and tired of reading politics today and need a break from it. Post your favorite tuneage her! Turn up your speakers and enjoy! I'll start of with the Scorpions "Acoustica" recorded live in front of an audience in Lisbon, Portugal and released in 2001. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustica_(Scorpions_album) Life Is Too Short http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piDNGnTgO0I I Wanted To Cry But The Tears Wouldn't Come http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0MNBwsfV0U You And I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPODFyv974A Drive http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLAXzA_en1s Wind of Change http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmdbTGKR7Ss Rock You Like A Hurricane (or Hurricane 2001) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTl54LzKukA Rhythm Of Love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJpzXpSsyYw Send Me An Angel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=golWswUiGEU Holiday http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33OrOV2yBG0 Still Loving You (cello plays prominently) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itpRHoiMUMs