Free Republic

Dr. Anthony Levatino is a pro-life physician from New Mexico but, before having a change of heart on the issue of abortion he was an OBGYN who also performed abortions.Levatino did as many as 1,200 abortions — some of them after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Then, after his daughter died in a tragic automobile accident, he re-evaluated his position on abortion and stopped doing abortions.Today, Dr. Levatino told members of a Congressional committee that they should support a bill sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks that would ban abortions nationwide aft 20 weeks of pregnancy. Levatino Testimony 2013 05/23 - You...

Dismissing a veto threat from President Barack Obama, lawmakers in the House passed legislation that links student loan rates to the ups and downs of the financial markets in a vote largely along party lines. The Republican-backed bill would allow students to dodge a scheduled rate hike for students with new subsidized Stafford loans next month, but rates could rise in coming years. Democrats largely opposed the measure—which they branded the “Making College More Expensive Act”—while the Republican chairman of the Education Committee labeled the legislation a starting point for negotiations with the Senate and White House. … Interest rates...

Inquiring minds with extra time on their hands this morning are plodding through the Full Transcript of Bernanke's Testimony To Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress looking for the usual collection of half-truths, distortions, and outright lies it usually contains. Here are some point-by-point statements by Bernanke with my comments immediately following each set of statements. Bernanke: Conditions in the job market have shown some improvement recently. The unemployment rate, at 7.5 percent in April, has declined more than 1/2 percentage point since last summer. Moreover, gains in total nonfarm payroll employment have averaged more than 200,000 jobs per month over...

Conservative Republicans said Wednesday that they will demand that Congress produce a budget that balances in 10 years in exchange for agreeing to raise the federal debt limit, and that House Speaker John A. Boehner promised as much during a GOP retreat this year. ... The next debt fight is looming later this year. If enough Republicans back the conservatives‘ plan, it could reprise the 2011 showdown that ran to the brink and led to the downgrading of U.S. debt by one of the major credit rating agencies.

The taxi magnate who said he was subjected to a profanity-laced rant by Mayor Bloomberg has filed a federal lawsuit charging the mayor with threatening him and siccing TLC inspectors on his fleet in retaliation for his opposition to the “Taxi of Tomorrow” plan. * * * “It’s deeply disappointing and terribly disturbing that the mayor will use his powers to try to beat people who disagree with him into oblivion,” said Steve Mintz, the lawyer representing [Taxi Club Management CEO Gene] Freidman.

Not everyone agrees on how immigration reform should be handled but most real estate professionals agree it could be a good thing for their industry. According to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), “allowing a path for the legalization of undocumented immigrants could mean $500 billion in new real estate transactions.” NAHREP estimates that about half of the estimated 6 million undocumented immigrants presently in the country and likely to pursue legalization and citizenship would also pursue homeownership. That estimate is based on patterns of naturalized Latinos already in the country. “Foreign-born householders have a high value...

Majorities of American voters say their family will be worse off under the Affordable Care Act, and think it would be better to go back to the pre-ObamaCare health care system. A Fox News poll released Wednesday finds that while 26 percent of voters say their health care situation will be better under the new law, twice as many -- 53 percent -- say it will be worse. Another 13 percent say it won’t make a difference. Almost all Republicans (85 percent) and just over half of independents (51 percent) say they will be worse off under ObamaCare. Nearly half...

“Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life,” counseled Faber College’s Dean Wormer in “Animal House.” For the collegiate class of 2013 — until next year the most indebted ever — add “in hock” to that immortal list. Compared with their parents, current graduates are paying four times more in inflation-adjusted terms for their diplomas while suffering substantially inferior job and income prospects. Like “Animal House’s” witless frat brothers, those who believe college is a last hurrah before plunging into adult reality must Think Again. For generations, Americans practiced what Benjamin Franklin preached — “An investment in...

By The Editors At a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, federal lawmakers hauled in America’s most successful corporation to investigate why it had so precisely followed the laws those solons have passed.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Wednesday directed the Pentagon to seek new healthcare management software that would better integrate military health care records with the Department of Veterans Affairs. snip

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) blasted the Senate on Tuesday, saying that they were using procedural tricks in order to raise the debt ceiling. In a joint statement with Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Cruz said that he would have no objection to sending the budget to conference if Democrats agreed to not use it as a back-door tool to raise taxes or the debt ceiling. They have not made such an agreement, so he exposed them. “The issue before this body is the debt ceiling and whether the Senate will be able to raise the debt...

After 2 months of snow delays I recently completed the vehicle combat training class I posted inquiries about last November.http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/sh...-fire-training The class was a solo student course lead by Firearms Iinstructor and assisted (ammo bitched) by an experienced IDPA\Highpower competitor. The course curriculum was very in depth and complete. Ranging from at your door assaults, engagement ranges and choices, vehicles as cover, vehicles as weapons, point shooting, moving targets, moving shooter, moving vehicles, window shooting, cross passenger compartment engagement, vehicle egress, vehicle hard points, glass deflection, under vehicle shooting, equipment tricks, and hand to hand with pistol attacks. We covered...

Initial unemployment claims dropped back to a level indicating moderate job growth last week after a spike the previous week raised alarms about the labor market recovery. The number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time stood at 340,000 for the week ending Saturday, falling from a revised 363,000 the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists had expected the closely watched jobless claims figure to drop last week to 345,0000. Claims for the week ending May 11, which were revised up from 360,000, had the biggest one-week jump since last fall and were the most...

House Republicans pushed through a bill Wednesday to bypass the president to speed approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas. Democrats criticized the legislation as a blatant attempt to allow a foreign company to avoid environmental review. The bill was approved, 241-175, largely along party lines. Republicans said the measure was needed to ensure that the long-delayed pipeline, first proposed in 2008, is built. "This is the most studied pipeline in the history of mankind," said Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., the bill's sponsor. "When is enough enough?" added Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif. "Five years? Six years?...

Remember the claim that “if you like your plan, you can keep your plan� under ObamaCare? That was never actually true, as many who had low-cost catastrophic coverage married with HSAs will have to abandon them for more-costly comprehensive plans under the ACA’s coverage mandates. In California, it’s even less true as three insurers with millions of subscribers opt out of the state-run ObamaCare exchange: Some prominent health insurers, including industry giant UnitedHealth Group Inc., are not participating in California’s new state-run health insurance market, possibly limiting the number of choices for millions of consumers. UnitedHealth, the nation’s largest private...

Americans For Fair Taxation® (AFFT), outraged by the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) continued political abuse and intimidation of citizens and organizations, is calling on Congress to immediately enact HR 25 / S 122, the FairTax® Act of 2013 and phase out the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). "No person or group is safe from IRS targeting; everyone is a bull's eye," said AFFT spokesperson Cynthia T. Canevaro. She added, "The agency, with over 90,000 employees and an annual budget in excess of $12 billion, has historically been the ultimate tool of extreme political manipulation by politicians of both major parties. That's...

JERUSALEM (AP) — The United States and Israel raised hopes Thursday for a restart of the Middle East peace process, despite little tangible progress so far from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's two-month-old effort to get Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table. As they met in Jerusalem, Kerry praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the "seriousness" with which he is looking at ways to revitalize peace hopes. Kerry expressed optimism without outlining any concrete strategy for ending a stalemate between the two sides that has seen them hardly negotiate one-on-one at all over the last 4½...

At a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, federal lawmakers hauled in America’s most successful corporation to investigate why it had so precisely followed the laws those solons have passed. The targeting of Apple should be no particular surprise, in Congress’s crass calculus: True, even if reducing one’s tax burden and shifting profits overseas were a crime, Apple would probably not be the first company to investigate for such behavior — as chief executive Tim Cook pointed out, Apple paid $6 billion in corporate-income taxes to the U.S. Treasury in 2012, which is enough to run the entire Transportation Security Administration...

A global rally in stocks came to an abrupt halt Thursday as a 7% plunge on Japan's Nikkei index unnerved investors in Europe and set the tone for a weak opening on Wall Street. European markets fell by 2% and U.S. stock futures were pointing lower in the wake of the biggest one-day drop on the Nikkei since the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster. Germany's DAX lost 2.4% and France's CAC 40 was down 2.1%. Investors were rattled by weak economic data from China and indications that the U.S. Federal Reserve may start dialing down its bond-buying program as early...

Federal agents and the state fire marshal have effectively barred a federal safety panel from the site of a Texas fertilizer plant blast that killed 15 people and injured about 200 others, hampering its investigation, the panel’s chairman said. In a May 17 letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer, U.S. Chemical Safety Board Chairman Rafael Moure-Eraso asked the California Democrat to help the board obtain evidence under control of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that he contends is essential to the board’s investigation, the Waco Tribune-Herald and Austin American-Statesman reported.

MADISON –Nearly three years after state Superintendent Tony Evers signed off on implementing the Common Core State Standards, the Assembly and Senate committees on education got around to holding a public hearing to get the facts on the changes in Wisconsin classrooms. The room was packed Wednesday, mostly made up of ‘stop Common Core’ advocates with signs and red T-shirts. There was no mixing up these Common Core opponents with the suit-wearing government bureaucrats and experts asked to testify. Some attendees were shipped down the hall to an overflow room to watch the hearing. The showing at the Capitol could...

Daily investment & finance thread (5-23-13 edition) ----  Freepers lets make some cash Trying to focus on the markets for today and each day and the economic news This is where you can impart some investment wisdom to your fellow freepers.  You can complain about the big one that got away.  How Obama is out to wreck American capitalism.If you see another FR economic thread you like and want to link to it here, please do Post your favorite economic site links. Your favorite economic blogs and precious metals blogs and sitesApmex.com is a solid place with good reputation to...

Texas outperformed every other state in the nation on jobs and growth over the past decade, according to the latest annual report on state economic performance released Thursday by the American Legislative Exchange Council. Michigan came in dead last. The rankings are based on state GDP growth, population shifts, and changes in non-farm payroll jobs between 2001 and 2011. The ALEC report also finds that Utah has the best economic outlook this year, and Vermont the worst.

General Motors Co. is recalling more than 27,000 Cadillac SUVs worldwide because the wheels can fall off. The company says the recall affects the 2013 Cadillac SRX with 18-inch wheels. Canadian safety regulators say the wheel nuts may not have been tightened enough at the factory. GM says the problem hasn't caused any crashes or injuries, and no wheels have fallen from vehicles. Dealers will rotate tires and tighten the nuts at no cost to the owners. The recall affects almost 19,000 SUVs in the U.S. and another 913 in Canada. The rest were exported to other countries.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stock futures were pointing to a down day on Wall Street Thursday on worries that the Federal Reserve may be heading for a wind-down of quantitative easing. Furthermore, data in China indicated a slowdown in the Asia economic engine on signs of an unexpected contraction in manufacturing activity. All overseas markets were down on the developments, with the Nikkei 225 in Japan suffering its steepest drop since the aftermath of the tsunami and nuclear disaster in March 2011, closing down 7.3%.

  The European Parliament met Tuesday to discuss the issue of tax evasion throughout the UK and the Eurozone, and how the European Parliament might clamp down on those attempting to protect their well earned wealth from government confiscation.    All was going according to plan, until UKIP member Nigel Farage was given the floor.    Farage immediately launched into a classic rant against Barroso and the rest of the EU bureaucrats, stating that it is not the average man on the street that is engaging in tax fraud, but the European Parliament members themselves:    If we look at the...

HARTFORD— A coalition of gun owners, gun dealers and firearms rights organizations have sued the governor and members of the state's attorney's office, contending that the gun law passed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings violates the Constitution. State officials have been expecting a challenge to the legislation, which Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed into law April 4. The law, opposed by many gun owners and others who say it is an infringement of Second Amendment rights, drew support from Republicans and Democrats. "The act was rushed through the legislature without thorough debate or meaningful public...

PALO ALTO, Calif.-- Tesla Motors announced that it has paid off the entire loan awarded to the company by the Department of Energy in 2010. In addition to payments made in 2012 and Q1 2013, today’s wire of almost half a billion dollars ($451.8M) repays the full loan facility with interest. Following this payment, Tesla will be the only American car company to have fully repaid the government. For the first seven years since its founding in 2003, Tesla was funded entirely with private funds, led by Elon Musk. Tesla brought its Roadster sports car to market with a 30%...

When he was 6 weeks old, Kaiba Gionfriddo lay flat on a restaurant table, his skin turning blue. He had stopped breathing. His father, Bryan, was furiously pumping his chest, trying to get air into his son's lungs. Within 30 minutes, Kaiba was admitted to a local hospital. Doctors concluded that he had probably breathed food or liquid into his lungs and eventually released him. But two days later, it happened again. It was the beginning of an ordeal for the Youngstown, Ohio, family that continued day after agonizing day. Watch this video CNN Explains: 3-D printing Watch this video...

May 23 (Reuters) - Indonesia's energy regulator says the country's oil production target next year is too optimistic, and wants it scaled back between roughly 4 percent and 8 percent, domestic media reported on Thursday. The former OPEC member was once self-sufficient in oil and gas but has been struggling for years to attract investment to halt declining oil output. Southeast Asia's largest economy has often missed annual oil production targets, which have gradually fallen from a peak of 1.6 million bpd in 1995. The government set an oil production target of between 900,000 and 930,000 barrels per day in...

When Star Trek becomes reality: NASA to build 'universal food synthesizer' 3D printer to boldly make pizza from insects and algae! NASA is investing in a 3D printer which can create food The company behind it believe it could solve the earth's looming food shortage Meals would be made from cartridges containing carbohydrates and protein powders Insects, grass and algae could replace meat and vegetables as the main sources of our protein The kitchen of the future could see all our fancy devices – even refrigerators and ovens - replaced by a 3D printer which will create meals from cartridges...

WASHINGTON — More than a year after it took effect, a highly touted trade deal with South Korea has failed to produce as expected for the U.S.: Exports are down, imports are up and the trade deficit with the Asian economic powerhouse has ballooned. In Washington state, where global trade is now linked to 2 of every 5 jobs, trade backers are happy: Exports of aircraft and parts to Korea rose by more than 75 percent last year, and Koreans are gobbling up more of the state’s prized cherries and apples. But across the nation, the picture looks far bleaker....

Detroit, Michigan – -(Ammoland.com)- This past Saturday, May 18th, 2013, approximately 50 gun rights activists attended a “Guns for Groceries” event to stage a demonstration of their own against the Wayne County (MI) government. The Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and the Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon teamed up with a local church (The New St. Paul Tabernacle Church of God in Christ), the Meijer’s grocery store chain, and the Goodman-Acker law firm to entice citizens to turn in their guns on a “no questions asked” basis.All month long commercials were being ran over the airwaves seeking to convince Detroit...

An energy revolution is unfolding in the United States -- but unlike most past or promised revolutions, this one is not confined to a single fuel or technology. After falling for more than two straight decades after 1985, U.S. crude oil production has now risen for four consecutive years, and in 2012, it posted its largest one-year increase since the dawn of the oil industry more than 150 years ago. Meanwhile, in 2011, natural gas surpassed coal as the United States' biggest source of domestically produced energy, thanks to surging output and plunging prices. And all this growth in U.S....

You know you are a serious societal pestilence when even politicians can kick you around. Which is why the Senate Finance Committee called Steven Miller, former acting IRS commissioner, to testify about the agency’s scheme targeting conservatives for tax punishment. Right away, Mr. Miller got down to the business of reminding everyone why we all hate the IRS so much. “Unfortunately, given time considerations,” he began, “the IRS was unable to prepare written testimony.” Given time considerations? Unable to prepare? Are you kidding us? Have you ever heard of April 15? Can you imagine if we called up the IRS...

Ford Australia says it will close its Australian manufacturing plants in October 2016, with the loss of hundreds of jobs. Ford president Bob Graziano said approximately 1,200 workers would lose their jobs when the Broadmeadows and Geelong plants were shut down. He made the announcement in Melbourne this morning after announcing that the company had lost $141 million over the last financial year - taking losses over the past five years to more than $600 million. Key points Ford to close plants in 2016 More than 1,000 jobs to go, more at risk Government promises support for sacked staff "Our...

Mayor Michael Bloomberg cursed out the chief executive officer of a taxi company who won a court case against the city and pledged a post-mayoral revenge against the entire industry, the CEO and one witness said. “[I will] destroy your [expletive] industry,” Mr. Bloomberg said to Taxi Club Management CEO Gene Freidman, The New York Post reported. He made the comments during last Thursday’s game at Madison Square Garden during an impromptu meet at the 1879 Club, a witness told The Post. Mr. Friedman subsequently confirmed the exchange to The Post and added that Mr. Bloomberg also said that come...

Florida Governor Rick Scott is cutting taxes again, this time reauthorizing the popular school sales tax holiday. According to the AP, Scott “signed into law a bill reauthorizing the states “popular back-to-school sales tax holiday” which now includes new computers. The 6% tax reprieve for shoppers, which will take place Aug2-4, is for the purchase of clothing worth $75 or less, and for school supplies, like pencils, paper, etc., that are worth $15 or less. The new computer tax relief component of the law applies to new computers, including laptops, ipads, and other electronics “readers,” as long as they cost...

The Senate is holding a Kangaroo Court designed to smear Apple for not voluntarily coughing up more tax revenue than the company actually owes. Here are four things you need to know.Apple is fully complying with the tax law. There is no suggestion that Apple has done anything illegal. The company is being berated by politicians for simply obeying the law that politicians have enacted. What’s really happening, of course, is that the politicians are conducting a show trial in hopes of creating an environment more conducive to tax increases on multinational companies (this is in addition to the OECD...

The IRS scandal provides Republicans and conservatives with the opportunity to repeal and replace Obamacare now. The House Republican majority should refuse to fund the expansion of the IRS necessary to manage Obamacare. Without that funding, and hiring thousands of additional agents, the IRS cannot even begin to manage Obamacare. President Obama may throw a fit. He may refuse to sign funding bills to keep the federal government open. No matter. Let him close his government down if he wants. Nobody wants the IRS playing political games with their health care and health records, like it did with the constitutional...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: The IRS hearings today, the Issa committee. Folks, yesterday, after the Apple tax hearings at the Senate, I said, "This is all just a game," and I think this thing that happened this morning with Lois Lerner showing up... Issa basically let her get away with it. She's gone. He looked clueless, like didn't know what was going on, didn't know how to deal with this. BREAK TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Okay, let me tell you what happened today at the IRS hearings. Lois Lerner, who ran the whole kit and caboodle and was... By the way, this was...

Investors in the Gold ETF - GLD liquidated 300 tons of the metal this year. The reason? People are tired of losing money watching gold sink while the S&P soars. Tom Lydon, the editor of ETF Trends, says the disposal of over 600,000 pounds of gold so far this year "amazing" and "incredible." Click on above link for a video interview with Lydon. Gold vs. S&P 500 GLD data by YCharts Reflections on Momentum Trading Since late 2012 the S&P 500 has been on a nonstop rise, while gold has gone the other way. People have thrown in the towel...

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa said embattled IRS official Lois Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights and will be hauled back to appear before his panel again. The California Republican said Lerner’s Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination was voided when she gave an opening statement this morning denying any wrongdoing and professing pride in her government service. “When I asked her her questions from the very beginning, I did so so she could assert her rights prior to any statement,” Issa told POLITICO. “She chose not to do so — so she waived.” Lerner triggered...

The embattled mayor of Pennsylvania's financially crippled capital of Harrisburg was ousted on Tuesday when she lost the Democratic primary to the owner of an independent bookstore. Mayor Linda Thompson's loss to Eric Papenfuse comes after a tumultuous term in which her outbursts and statements caused a loss of confidence in her administration. Papenfuse is likely to win the general election in this heavily Democratic city in November, but he must still face off against independent candidate Nevin Mindlin.

The European Union’s leaders have agreed to push through a major policy to tackle tax evasion by the end of the year. The EU said the 27 heads of state and governments agreed at summit in Brussels Wednesday to an automatic exchange of bank information among the bloc’s tax authorities to catch tax cheats. … European Union leaders on Wednesday sought to advance their fight against tax fraud and close the loopholes for large corporations’ tax avoidance schemes. … According to a draft summit conclusion obtained by The Associated Press, the leaders are urging rapid progress in the “efforts taken...

Senator John McCain and Senator Carl Levin have now presided over what Senator Rand Paul rightly called a “show trial.” The Senate Mensheviks have raked Apple Computer over the coals on its practice of keeping tons and tons of money offshore. This is money that the Mensheviks sorely need, so they can squander it on things that won’t make life better for anyone outside of K Street. During the hearing McCain competes with former Senator Obama in teaching us legal theories that are both radical and non-existent when he contends: “Apple has violated the spirit of the law if not...

Fraud in the organic farming sector has become a thriving international industry made up of a complex network of companies that bears all the marks of traditional organised crime. Earlier, in the supposedly good old days, lone farmers or traders in the organic business stooped to cheating at their worst. Here, they sprayed a little pesticide on the field; there, they mixed in a handful of conventional low-cost eggs with the pricey organic eggs. Since neither the volume nor weight changed, hardly anyone twigged. But organic fraudsters in Italy have long passed that stage. There, bands of professionals working with...

In our age of sclerotic growth and sprawling, dysfunctional government, Apple, Inc., represents an astonishing success story. Since its nadir in 1997, the company has increased in value by 6,413 percent. Today Apple, which is estimated to have created around 600,000 jobs, is worth more than the entire American aircraft-carrier fleet. They’re good for the government, too: “To our knowledge Apple is the largest corporate taxpayer in America,” CEO Tim Cook noted yesterday morning. “We paid $6 billion in cash to the U.S. Treasury [in 2012] — that’s $16 million each day. And we expect to pay even more this...

Although sequestration’s spending cuts grab headlines, the tax hikes are having greater fiscal effect. Unlike the much-mentioned March 1, sequester, the tax hikes began January 1, and are permanent. The disparate impacts and disproportional reaction have everything to do with Washington’s entitlement culture – that Washington feels entitled to tax and spend. Washington began this year by definitively breaking with its recession mindset. Until then, the ostensible focus had been on protecting the economic recovery, regardless of budgetary impact. For this reason, the Bush tax cuts, which liberals had always vehemently opposed, had been extended and a 2% payroll tax...

German software development giant SAP plans to hire hundreds of people with autism by 2020. The company hopes to benefit from their unusual skillset and says it's ready for any practical challenges. Advocates hope the program could set an example for others. The Berlin IT firm Auticon contracts people with autism to work as consultants, mainly in the software industry. Autism impairs social and emotional communication, but can also be associated with extraordinary talent for analysis. Quincke facilitates a way to both utilize these strengths and integrate the workers into a professional setting. Now, German software development giant SAP has...