Free Republic

Business has been captured by Climatism, the belief that humans are causing dangerous global warming. Leading businesses announce plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, purchase renewable energy, use vehicle biofuels, and buy carbon credits. But there is no evidence that commercial policies to “fight” climate change have any measureable effect on global temperatures. Apple and Google, the darling companies of the millennial generation, have spent billions trying to halt global warming. Apple has brought us the Mac personal computer, the I-Phone, the I-Pad, and other trend-setting electronic devices, becoming the world’s highest-valued company. Google has been called the most innovative...

Charlotte Ivancic, Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) top health policy aide, is leaving his office to join the lobbying firm Tarplin, Downs & Young, the firm announced Wednesday. Ivancic led the negotiations for Boehner on the repeal of Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate this year. The elimination of the annual Washington headache of automatic cuts to doctors under Medicare, after negotiations with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was a significant achievement. […] Tarplin, Downs & Young was founded in 2006 by former Republican healthcare staffers in the Bush administration and on Capitol Hill. It also has former Democratic staffers. …

Charlotte Ivancic -- the older sister of Cate Dyer who runs the biotech company StemExpress, and who discussed and laughed about shipping “intact” aborted baby parts in an undercover video released on Friday – is leaving her position as the health policy adviser to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to go to work for the lobbying firm Tarplin, Downs & Young. The resignation of Ivancic--who worked for Boehner and as legal counsel to the House Budget Committee–was announced on August 5, as reported in The Hill. In late July, StemExpress and its founder and CEO, Cate Dyer, were mentioned in...

In reverse order of probability: (5) oil severance tax, (4) Sales tax on services, (3) split property tax rolls (separate rates for homeowners than businesses), (2) cigarette tax, (1) Extension of Prop30.

=San Jose's Garbage Trucks May Do Police Surveillance With License Plate Readers The government of San Jose, Calif. has come forward with a proposal to mount license plate readers to the city’s garbage trucks in an effort to expand police surveillance beyond department cruisers. Have no fear, innocent citizen, for the trash companies may be stepping up to help our friends in blue. San Jose, California happens to be America’s tenth largest city - that makes it pretty difficult for the police force to keep up with everybody. In a story by the local San Jose Mercury News, the new...

Constitutional Rights PAC Chairman Larry Ward today issued the following statement regarding Planned Parenthood harvesting the brain of a living baby: “The latest video released by the Center for Medical Progress further suggests that Planned Parenthood is a criminal organization, comfortable with ending life and breaking the law. “Constitutional Rights PAC calls on the San Jose, California Police Department to immediately investigate Planned Parenthood Mar Monte’s Alameda Clinic in response to the testimony of Holly O’Donnell who claims the clinic murdered and harvested the brain of a living baby after a failed abortion. “The taking of innocent human life is...

The media can’t stop talking about the crowds Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is attracting. There are reports that his crowds in California and Portland, Oregon were both larger than 27,000. They breathlessly report on this, while forgetting to mention Sanders is a self-described socialist. But what Donald Trump and his campaign has planned for TONIGHT in Mobile, Alabama could blow those numbers out of the water. Initially planning for a rally of 2,000 people at a small venue, tickets were grabbed so quickly that major changes had to be made.Now, the event will be held in the Ladd-Peeles Stadium, a football...

RUSH: Here's Maya, Kansas City, Missouri. It's great to have you. Hi. CALLER: Hi. You know, I just wanted to tell you, first of all, that you are majorly responsible for my conservative attitudes today. I talked to you the first time in 1994. I had called you on this show because I had gotten on the computer, which was then called the (unintelligible), and started carrying this conversation on about blacks being independent and not being victims. I got into a major argument with five or six other people, all of them as college educated as I am. They...

Many advocates for revamping immigration laws have tried to coax Congress into action over the years, but a particularly powerful one will be arriving next month: Pope Francis. Lawmakers and immigration activists expect the pontiff’s message will resonate beyond Capitol Hill and inspire members of Congress and their constituents. The pope's U.S. schedule includes an address to Congress on Sept. 24 and a meeting two days later with immigrants and Hispanic families at Philadelphia’s Independence Mall. “He’s been clear on our failure to respond appropriately to immigrants and refugees,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., told CQ. “I don’t think anyone will...

Sheriff’s investigators in Los Angeles plan to push for Caitlyn Jenner to be charged with manslaughter. Kim Howe, 69, lost her life last February in a car accident, which the transgender star was the cause of. In my opinion, I think no matter how popular you are or how much money you have, you aren’t above the law. In a perfect world that is how it would be, but Jenner will never see one day of the inside of any jail. Too much celebrity and fame to be put behind bars. She/he might be charged, and even convicted, but never...

Pinal Co., AZ Sheriff Paul Babeu said drug cartels armed with AK-47’s “control many areas on American soil” noting that they are only 30 miles from Phoenix. Babeu detailed touring the border yesterday with Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson and said, “We flew him in our helicopter, showed him the drug smuggling routes, the actual caves—these cartel scouts live on top of mountains, 30 days at a time. And how on mountain top to mountain top, over a 50-mile swath of land, and this is only 30 miles from Phoenix.” This is literally an unsecured border. We have cartels that...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a regulation on Thursday to stop referring to midget raisins as “midget” after an activist group called the term offensive. The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) issued the proposed rule, announcing the U.S. “Standards for Grades of Processed Raisins” would eliminate all five times the word midget is used. Midget has long been used to describe the differences in sizes of California raisins.

SACRAMENTO -- State lawmakers on Wednesday took the first steps toward raising taxes and fees on motorists and further restricting Californians' tobacco use as the Legislature convened special sessions aimed at solving the state's transportation and health care funding crises. Members of a Senate committee tackling a huge backlog of roadway maintenance endorsed legislation that would generate $4 billion annually for repairs by increasing the gas tax 12 cents a gallon and boosting annual vehicle registration fees $35 for most cars. Fees for all-electric vehicles would go up $100.

African Americans and Hispanics make up only 5 percent of the workforce in Silicon Valley technology companies, compared to 14 percent nationally, according to 2014 data. But billionaire Donald Trump has a plan to improve the numbers of Black, Hispanic and female workers. (snip) "More than half of H-1B visas are issued for the program's lowest allowable wage level, and more than eighty percent for its bottom two," the leading Republican presidential frontrunner writes. "Raising the prevailing wage paid to H-1Bs will force companies to give these coveted entry-level jobs to the existing domestic pool of unemployed native and immigrant...

The government email addresses of nearly 50 current and former California state workers were included in a list made public by hackers of users of Ashley Madison, the online dating site for married people.. Email addresses on the list included those for employees of the state departments of Transportation, General Services, Public Health, Corrections and Rehabilitation, Industrial Relations and Water Resources, as well as the state judiciary. No elected officials were on the list of government emails. A representative of the Brown administration said tech workers routinely check websites for evidence that state emails are being improperly used and some...

Ted Cruz got a big boost in Iowa this week when the influential social conservative activist and radio host Steve Deace endorsed him. To call it a sought-after endorsement would be an understatement. Deace says prospective 2016 GOP campaigns began contacting him well before the 2012 election. (All just assumed that Mitt Romney was going to lose.) The recruitment efforts picked up in 2013 and 2014. When few people were paying any attention to the still-forming Republican race, Deace was hard at work. "For me, this vetting process has been going on for a couple of years," he says. "In...

Gooooood question by Scott McKay, and he’s not just blowing smoke. A Trump/Cruz death match, while still implausible, is more plausible than it might seem thanks to Cruz’s surprising fundraising strength. He’s got the dough to make a long run if voters give him a reason to keep going. And so does Donald Trump, of course.Two populists enter, one populist leaves. Cruz has regional strength in Texas and Louisiana, which could translate into his picking up Perry and Jindal supporters. Despite his clashes with Graham in the Senate, Cruz’ calls for a muscular foreign policy could appeal to the...

Over 85,000 people have signed a Change.org petition that wants the satirical host to moderate a 2016 presidential debate. “Over the last 16 years, Jon Stewart has played an influential and iconic role in covering U.S. politics and media,” the petition reads. “We believe he should continue that tradition as a moderator at one of the 2016 Presidential Debates.” The petition is surging on Change.org with it growing by more than 1200 percent since Wednesday, according to the site.

California lawmakers consider first bill in the nation to rein in smart TVs.A California lawmaker is pushing legislation to give consumers better warnings about a new phenomenon for smart TVs: They can record household conversations without your knowledge. Assemblyman Mike Gatto was surprised to read in a Samsung user manual that the TVs could capture and transmit sensitive information to a third party if users turned on wireless recognition. Now, the Glendale Democrat has written the first bill in the nation to rein in smart TVs.

The Center for Medical Progress, which released its seventh video Wednesday, didn’t immediately return a call and email seeking comment. In an earlier statement, the Irvine, Calif., group said it would contest any attempts to suppress its free-speech rights. It also said in a statement on its Facebook page that it “follows all applicable laws in the course of our investigative work.” The letter reflects a growing offensive from state and congressional Democrats in their support of Planned Parenthood. The center is under investigation in two states, and a group of congressional Democrats has called on the Justice Department to...