Free Republic

A political deal to raise California’s minimum wage to a nation-leading $15 an hour could help some workers cope with the state’s crushing cost of living but also deprive other low-wage earners of jobs altogether, economists said Monday as Gov. Jerry Brown and other leaders touted what would be a landmark agreement. California’s economy is larger than that of most countries, with a wide diversity of earners. While newly minted millionaires gentrify neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area, some Central Valley field hands lack access to clean water. A jump from the current $10 an hour spread over six...

It’s impossible to miss the “Hillary for Prison” signs at Trump rallies. At one of the Democratic debates, the moderator asked Hillary Clinton whether she would drop out of the race if she were indicted over her private email server. “Oh for goodness – that is not going to happen,” she said. “I’m not even going to answer that question.” Based on what I know about the emails, the idea of her being indicted or going to prison is nonsensical. Nonetheless, the belief that Clinton is dishonest and untrustworthy is pervasive. A recent New York Times-CBS poll found that 40%...

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz should suspend their campaigns and “consolidate” behind John Kasich, John Kasich suggested this morning during an appearance on Meet the Press. “Ted Cruz’s campaign is repeatedly called for you to get out,” host Chuck Todd said. ”Saying a vote for you is a vote for Donald Trump. … If you thought your position in this race strengthened Trump, would you get out?” “Chuck, I’m beating Hillary by 11 points,” Kasich replied. ”I’m the only one that can win in the fall. And as you noticed the narrative over the last week has been what is...

Drudge Headline....looks like the story may have been changed,,,,,not sure,,,willl ppost what I have,

Playa Cofi is a beautiful beach and a tropical glen on the small Caribbean Island of Vieques. It is located between the US Virgin Islands and the "Big Island" of Puerto Rico. Our music collection was started as a hobby to fill some of the quiet retirement hours. The selections were pulled together from a variety of sources over a number of years. Then they were arranged to provide the most listening pleasure for a few of us in a given age group. Along the way we learned how to compress the music files and how to place them in...

    ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Fort Gordon, GeorgiaFort Gordon, formerly known as Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established in 1917. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps and Signal Center and was once the home of "The Provost Marshal General School" (Military Police). The fort is located in Richmond, Jefferson, McDuffie, and Columbia counties, Georgia.Fort Gordon is a large, multi mission, multi-service military installation providing base services and support accross a wide spectrum of training, operational and Soldier sustainment needs. The installation supports Army and Department of Defense...

Jennifer Null’s husband had warned her before they got married that taking his name could lead to occasional frustrations in everyday life. She knew the sort of thing to expect – his family joked about it now and again, after all. And sure enough, right after the wedding, problems began. “We moved almost immediately after we got married so it came up practically as soon as I changed my name, buying plane tickets,” she says. When Jennifer Null tries to buy a plane ticket, she gets an error message on most websites. The site will say she has left the...

FULL TITLE: President Obama Next Week Will Open The Largest American Mosque In The World Built Here In The U.S. He Will Be Accompanied By Antichrist Erdogan Of Turkey And Together Will Enjoy The Sounds Of Allahu-Akbar America’s largest mosque complex, officially known as Turkish-American Culture and Civilization Center, was built with Turkish funding under the supervision of the Turkish religious foundation (Diyanet). The $100 million mega mosque in Lanham, Maryland, will soon be open for Muslim worshipers in the Washington, DC area, as their link shows: “Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Barack Obama are expected to open...

Earlier today I read that Ballroom Barry is doubling down on his demands that Americans open their hearts and homeland to 100,000 Syrian refugees..... Shortly I read that, a veteran friend out in Guam sent me this refugee pic: Notice the obvious: that it’s wet, possibly snowing, and the coats, hoods, and hands in pockets convey that it’s uncomfortably cold as well. Then notice the less evident fact that the woman is shoeless, unlike any of the seven males. Also, distinct from any of those males, she is carrying two small children, with the toil of her burden shown in...

LAKEVILLE, Mass. —A Lakeville firefighter is charged with raping a minor after supplying that person with alcohol. Thomas Dunlevy, 51, of Lakeville, appeared in Wareham District Court on Monday afternoon. According to court documents, Dunlevy also intimidated the victim, who is now 22 and works in public safety. The victim told police that he first met Dunlevy in July 2012 at the scene of a fatal motor vehicle crash. He said that Dunlevy, who was a lieutenant in the department, became a father figure to him. The victim told police that underage drinking regularly occurred at Dunlevy’s home and several...

While at best, Clinton’s clean cookstove campaign seems slimy, and may be illegal, one might cast a blind eye if the program achieved its aggrandizing goals. Hillary Clinton’s “trustworthiness” problem is fed by a long history of “varying credibility,” as a recent Politico story delineated, including cattle-futures trading, law firm billing records, muddled sniper fire recollections and e-mail use. While providing pertinent points, the Politico list is just a sampling. One missing item on the “mistrust” litany is a project she reportedly cooked up as Secretary of State, but that was shaped by her family foundation. State Department staff sent...

L'Osservatore Romano published a column on the front page of its Holy Saturday edition cautioning against one-sided media portrayals of Islam. In the column, Zouhir Louassini, a Muslim journalist who works for Italy's state-owned 24-hour news channel, argued that Western media fail to cover diverse views of Islam that "fill the Arab public square." Louassini cites a Moroccan professor's statement that the Qur'anic phrase "people of the book" really means "family of the book," with the implication that Judaism and Christianity are worthy of the same respect as Islam.

A Cruz has again canceled on New Jersey. Heidi Cruz, the wife of Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, had planned to hold a fundraiser in Morris County on Wednesday and attend several campaign events across the state. But a local Cruz campaign activist announced that she will be postponing her New Jersey appearances. Scott DeCristofaro, a New Jersey contact for the Cruz campaign, issued a press release Monday announcing the cancelation of a Heidi Cruz rally in Haddon Heights. DeCristofaro said she is also canceling her other New Jersey events and plans to come back to New Jersey after Wisconsin's...

Donald Trump is about to find out that Wisconsin is different. And one of the reasons is conservative talk radio. In recent years, Wisconsin has repeatedly found itself at the epicenter of political upheavals (Scott Walker, Act 10, recall elections, Paul Ryan). In 2010, no state switched more decisively from blue to red and in this traditionally progressive state the GOP still controls the governorship, both houses of the legislature, a majority of the congressional delegation and (at least for now) a U.S. Senate seat. The heart of the conservative resurgence here is southeastern Wisconsin – which is turning out...

Let me begin with this. If the National Enquirer wrote a story about me cheating on my wife with five women, I had better be extremely definitive in my response; because if I’m not, my wife –smelling the guilt – would kick my ass. OK, let me also tell you that I wouldn’t be angry; in fact, I’d be ecstatic. It’s fun to count money from guaranteed punitive and compensatory damages in a multimillion dollar lawsuit. But that’s me. I can’t speak for Senator Ted Cruz except to say that so far his reaction seems —well, not exactly definitive. He...

Vatican City, Mar 28, 2016 / 02:54 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Benedict XVI had a special response to Mother Angelica's death falling on Easter Sunday: "it’s a gift." Archbishop Georg Ganswein, Benedict's personal secretary, told CNA about the Pope emeritus' comment March 28. Mother Angelica, an Ohio-born Poor Clare nun, founded EWTN Global Catholic Network in Alabama in 1981. It has since become the largest religious media network in the world. She passed away March 27, Easter Sunday, at the age of 92. Her death prompted memorials, eulogies and remembrances from around the world. In Rome, Monsignor Dario Vigano, prefect of...

"ISIL poses a threat to the entire civilized world," President Obama said in his Saturday radio address, as he explained what he's doing to counter the threat posed by radical Islamic extremism -- a phrase he refuses to use. In addition to waging war and diplomacy, Obama said Americans, for their own good, must welcome Muslims into their midst: "As we move forward in this fight, we have to wield another weapon alongside our airstrikes, our military, our counterterrorism work, and our diplomacy. And that's the power of our example. Our openness to refugees fleeing ISIL's violence. Our determination to...

They're 'on the defensive' dontcha know. Considering the genocide, the bombings, and the crucifixions, you might be inclined to think that the United States has employed a somewhat lackluster approach to dealing with ISIS. It seems that every other day we hear some new story of the ongoing atrocities perpetrated by the planet’s most horrific terrorist group. However, if it feels like their rampage is out of control, you should really just relax. ISIS is losing. They’re “retreating,” and they’re “on the defensive.” That’s the word from elderly socialist coot (and would-be President) Bernie Sanders. He’s had it with Republicans...

Just a few miles from his family home, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) felt the wrath of the tea party Saturday, when activists in his congressional district booed and heckled the second-most powerful House Republican. (SNIP) “When I sit here and I listen to Mr. Brat speak I hear the inaccuracies — my family’s here.” Cantor said. As he was interrupted by the raucous crowd, Cantor’s anger was evident: “That’s enough — we are a country of free speech, so decency’s also part of this.” (SNIP) “It is easy to sit in the rarified environs of academia, in the...

Figure 9 from “A Roadmap to Interstellar Flight”Guest essay by Eric WorrallAn American scientist has made a remarkable conceptual breakthrough, a design for a non nuclear relativistic launcher, capable of accelerating thousands of deep space probes per year to 0.25C; fast enough to reach the nearest stars in 15 years. The system is extremely scalable – you could start with a small, low cost proof of concept launcher, and work up to bigger devices, capable of launching substantial probes into interstellar space. The system also has a practical alternative use – the full size version is powerful enough to deflect...