Free Republic

In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer. Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists. The legal justification for arresting the "shooter" rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which...

Though Republicans oppose the so-called "public option," Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., is proposing the requirement to draw attention to the plan's alleged flaws. Republican Rep. Joe Wilson proposed an amendment Wednesday that would force all members of Congress to receive health insurance coverage through the government-run plan proposed in the House's reform bill. Though Republicans oppose the so-called "public option," the South Carolina gadfly -- who gained notoriety for shouting "you lie" at President Obama during his address to Congress two months ago -- is proposing the requirement to draw attention to what he sees as the plan's flaws. "They...

Much has been written about the struggle of U.S. veterans to get the proper care from the military's V.A. hospitals, but another class of returnees from the battlefront is facing similar difficulties obtaining care for injuries sustained in the war zone: civilian contract employees who suffered wounds while supporting the military's war efforts. In an alarming article co-written by T. Christian Miller of ProPublica and Doug Smith of the Los Angeles Times, insurance companies responsible (under taxpayer-funded policies) for the treatment of civilian workers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan are reportedly routinely denying medical claims for basic care, as well...

The first place that we may witness this civil disobedience is in the form of non-payment of taxes. The most conscientious patriots among us may well decide that they will not under any circumstance help fund a government that has lost its legitimacy. And yes, such an act is considered unlawful and some could be jailed. But according to the philosophy of the men who founded this Republic, there comes a point in time when governments can lose their legitimacy due to their penchant for limiting freedoms and robbing citizens of their hard-earned money in the form of oppressive taxation....

President Barack Obama speaks about executive compensation, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009, in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington

Barack Obama’s nomination of Timothy Geithner for Treasury Secretary, and the circumstances surrounding it, have raised many issues and questions — not only about the nominee himself, but also about senators and others reviewing it, the media’s coverage, and ultimately his presumptive boss’s leadership. Here are the top ten disturbing aspects of the Geithner nomination, not in order of importance until number one. 10. His performance in his previous job Geithner became president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2004. The New York Fed’s “about” page says that one of its duties is “to ensure a safe...

WASHINGTON – Treasury Secretary-designate Tim Geithner said Wednesday he was careless in failing to pay $34,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes earlier this decade and apologized to Congress. ... As to his failure to pay the payroll taxes from 2001 to 2004 while he worked for the International Monetary Fund, Geithner said: "These were careless mistakes. They were avoidable mistakes."

The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention is using the city's gas pumps to fill up on fuel, avoiding state and federal highway taxes, officials said today. "There's something there that just doesn't seem right to me because, in a sense, you're saying then that the officials who pass the laws are not willing to live by them, and that concerns me," Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz said. The issue came up during the council's weekly meeting with Mayor John Hickenlooper when the Public Works Department requested authorization to be reimbursed by the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee for use of "fueling...

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Barack Obama topped a Clinton in another contest on Sunday -- the Grammys. The presidential candidate beat both former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter to win best spoken word album for his audio version of his book "The Audacity Of Hope: Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream." Clinton was nominated for his book "Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World" and Carter for "Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bringing Peace to a Changing World." Also nominated was Maya Angelou and Alan Alda. Sens. Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are battling for the Democratic nomination...

PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) - A former Wayne County sheriff's deputy who pleaded guilty to drug trafficking could have gotten 20 years in prison, but was sentenced to 30 months' probation instead.