Free Republic

The amount of income tax paid fell sharply last month in the first formal indication that the new 50p higher rate is not raising the expected amount of revenue. The Treasury received £10.35 billion in income tax payments from those paying by self-assessment last month, a drop of £509 million compared with January 2011. Most other taxes produced higher revenues over the same period.

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida’s crowded Republican Senate race has two types of major candidates: The three who support their party’s controversial Medicare revamp and Mike Haridopolos. Haridopolos, the Florida Senate’s president, said he can’t support the Republican plan because it doesn’t protect seniors enough and doesn’t cut enough of the deficit. In bucking his party’s plan, Haridopolos inevitably puts a target on his back in the Republican primary. But it also makes him stand out in a crowded field and could pay dividends in a general election matchup against Democrat Bill Nelson.

vanity, free money, 17% gain in 3 weeks

Lawmakers are considering controversial new legislation this week that would allow vehicles to be equipped with dashboard cameras to record the moments leading up to accidents. The proposed law, AB1942, would promote safer driving habits and reduce accidents by permitting video recorders to be installed on the windshield. The bill currently allows devices to record video, audio, how fast and which direction the vehicle is traveling, a history of where your car has been, steering and brake performance and seat belt usage. The devices would record in a continuous loop and would only save information if there is unusual vehicle...

THIS crippled plumber horribly broke his arm TEN months ago and is still waiting for surgery to repair it. Torron Eeles busted his left humerus bone leaving it grotesquely out of shape when he fell down stairs. Today he slammed the NHS for "unacceptable" delays - claiming they have cancelled FOUR separate operations. His arm hangs limply by his side meaning Torron cannot work for a living and now faces the prospect of losing his home. Torron, from Welham Green, Herts, said he had applied for employment and support allowance but was denied both. The dad-of-three said: "This whole situation...

Please excuse the vanity, but I have my tickets, and will be going, but have a smaller child, and didn't want to go too early. Does anyone know a typical schedule for these? The ticket says doors open and 9AM, program starts at 11AM.

A one-legged Royal Navy veteran was arrested after he rescued his neighbour from being harassed by two men. Stephen Beerling, 52, dialled 999 and raced to help the women and her baby after hearing screams during the night. But he was arrested when officers spotted a retractable truncheon he had picked up in case he had to protect himself. Mr Beerling, a Liberal Democrat councillor, was arrested, locked up for 12 hours and charged with possessing an offensive weapon. He told of his ordeal yesterday after learning the Crown Prosecution Service had decided to drop the charge against him. Mr...

Two Royal Navy destroyers could not fire their missiles if they came under attack - because they have been removed to save cash. Type 42s HMS Exeter and HMS Southampton have been working without their Sea Dart guided missile system since Christmas, it was revealed today. To go with the cutbacks, at least half a dozen operating crew have been transferred to other ships. The missiles, used to protect the destroyers and larger aircraft carriers against air attack, have been stored away even though HMS Exeter has sailed to the Mediterranean twice and joined a NATO-led operation in that time....

TAMPA - A week ago, Deputy Malachi McCoy was reading the Bible and came upon Psalm 28:7. He was immediately drawn to one line in the verse: "The Lord is my shield." Using a silver paint pen, the son of a preacher inscribed those words on the black steel plate of his bulletproof vest. On Saturday morning, during a gunman's rampage in northwest Tampa that left three people shot dead and two Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies wounded, the Biblical verse offered additional protection, McCoy said. "The bullets were coming past me," he said. "For me personally, I was shielded." The...

Over the years whenever anyone asked how my radio show was going my stock answer always has been: "Well, they haven't told me to stop." Earlier this month, they told me to stop. As a master of nuance, I took it as an inkling things weren't going well. So last Saturday, after nearly eight years of holding forth for three hours from 9 a.m. to noon on WFLA, 970-AM, I concluded my final broadcast. Some friends have suggested I was canceled because of the perception that I am some kind of liberal, as if pointing out on a regular basis...

Bradenton, Florida – A man who is in the country illegally has been arrested for Lewd and Lascivious Molestation of a three year old girl, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday night. The victim complained of pain and was taken to Manatee Memorial Hospital on Saturday. A medial exam determined she had been molested, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators arrested Israel Lugo-Rios, 25, of 37th Avenue. They said he is known to the victim and is in the country illegally from Mexico.

Fire and sheriff's investigators are combing the scene of an explosion in Pinellas Park where firefighters discovered a body in the debris of a building that exploded just before midnight Saturday. The explosion and fire also destroyed the neighboring home of a 90-year-old woman and damaged structures around the blast site. Debris was scattered for blocks. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said Shirley Eileen Grace was not injured but her home was a total loss. About three hours after the explosion at 6798 Park Blvd., investigators discovered a body in the debris of the single-story building, the sheriff's office said....

A UF student was shot with a Taser gun today at a campus forum with U.S. Sen. John Kerry. Andrew Meyer, a telecommunication senior, yelled out to Kerry, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and insisted his questions be answered while police tried to restrain him. Meyer shouted that the senator should answer everyone’s questions. Kerry was brought to UF by Accent, Student Government’s speakers bureau. Kerry said it would "be fair" to answer Meyer’s question, and police allowed Meyer to approach one of the microphones set up in the University Auditorium. Kerry finished answering a previous question, which was intended to...

Knifepoint robberies have doubled in the last two years according to a report. A study by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (CCJS) published in today’s Sunday Times suggests street robberies involving blades have risen from 25,500 in 2005 to 64,000 in the year to April 2007. The figures mean on average in the last year there have been 175 knife robberies per day on the streets of England and Wales. Enver Soloman, deputy director of the London-based CCJS spoke to the the newspaper. He said: “There is no doubt there are more kids carrying knives but it is...

CHANNEL Four have come under fire for their Dispatches programmes, Undercover Mosque and Britain Under Attack, which cops believe incited religious hatred. West Midlands Police has made a formal complaint to Ofcom after an inquiry into the editing of Undercover Mosques. They also asked the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider whether a prosecution under the Public Order Act 1986 should be brought against the broadcaster for showing material likely to stir up racial hatred. But the CPS said there was insufficient evidence that racial hatred had been stirred up as a direct consequence of the programme. The Dispatches programme,...

Sorry don't know if I can post this stuff here, but there is a hilarious photoshop contest of Ahmadinejad going on at Fark.com Here is my favorite:

New pint glasses to cut violence The safety glass shatters into small pieces A new type of pint pot is to be introduced into bars to reduce the number of "glassings". Council licensing officers in Rossendale, Lancashire, are testing safety glasses which shatter into small pieces on impact. The glass is similar to the type used for car windscreens. Under new legislation, it will soon be possible for councils to demand bars where there have been disorder problems to stock the glasses. Lancashire Police officer Pc Chris Adams said: "There are many events this year, in particular, Euro 2004, that...

THE hole where Saddam Hussein was found is to be taken to America — as a monument to his capture. US military engineers plan to excavate a huge block of Iraqi soil containing the underground chamber. It might even be turned into a tourist attraction — with money raised going to relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq. Commanders want Saddam’s last hiding place to be displayed at the giant Fort Hood military base in Texas. It is home to the 4th Infantry Division, which seized Saddam on December 13. US Army spokesman Major Gordon Tate said yesterday in the toppled...

Romance health alert splits sexes Whose mental health is this helping? Getting married may be bad for men's health but good for women, according to a study. Researchers found that men who get hitched are more likely to suffer mental health problems than those who simply live with their partners. The opposite is true for women - but they do best without any relationship. The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, suggests men who stay single are most likely to suffer from depression. Researchers at Queen Mary University in London questioned over 4,000 men and women...

Kinky axe killer is freed A FORMER escort girl who hacked her lover to death with an axe was freed from jail yesterday after serving less than half her sentence. Janet Charlton, 38, ended up doing just 21 months for victim Danny O’Brien’s manslaughter. And as she was released early on parole, the blonde mother of one said: “I’m looking forward to Christmas — and the rest of my life.” Charlton had butchered millionaire O’Brien with an axe after a kinky sex session as he lay naked, handcuffed and gagged — hitting him 20 times over the head and shoulders....