Free Republic

About the best that can be said about the Republican attacks on Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital is that President Obama is going to do the same thing eventually, so GOP primary voters might as well know what's coming. Yet that hardly absolves Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and others for their crude and damaging caricatures of modern business and capitalism.

Politico has a story about Newt agreeing not to go after Romney any more about Bain, and Newt was just on Hannity’s radio show on the issue. (I’ll post the audio if I can get it.) Newt said there are three or four instances where the record is really bad and Romney needs to defend it. Newt said the challenge is not to the model but how Romney acted in specific instances, and how odd it is that Romney runs on his business record but doesn’t want to discuss the record. Newt made the point that it is impossible to...

Obama: Republicans Want to Emulate China, Roll Back Minimum Wage, Prevent Unionization By Fred Lucas January 10, 2012 Subscribe to Fred Lucas's posts (CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama accused Republicans of wanting to make America more like China, of seeking to roll back the minimum wage and of wanting to prevent collective bargaining and said the GOP wants to “get rid” of clean air and water rules. Obama made the comments Monday at a campaign fundraiser at the Capital Hilton in Washington on the eve of the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary. “Republicans in Congress and these candidates, they think...

Playing baseball games without keeping score. Parents not allowed to cheer for one side or the other at basketball games. Refusing to use red ink to grade tests because it's too jarring. No dodgeball. Participation trophies. Telling kids, "You're special," without their doing anything to show they're special. Newsflash: You may be special to God, your mommy, and your teacher just because you were born, but the rest of us aren't impressed. The world doesn't owe you a living, a promotion, or any special consideration at all. The people who tell you otherwise are doing it because they think you're...

Mayor Mitch Landrieu and other city leaders deemed the sweep of Duncan Plaza and eviction of protestors a success Tuesday morning, just hours after New Orleans police disbanded the high-profile encampment. In a move that had been forecast for days, dozens of officers fanned out across the public square in an early morning operation, forcing out more than a hundred people, some of whom were homeless, and others who identified with the "Occupy NOLA" movement.Landrieu, speaking at a City Hall news conference, said he thought the police sweep was "well-timed and well-organized." One person was arrested, while dozens of others...

HARTFORD —— City officials say Occupy Hartford protesters must leave their encampment at the corner of Farmington Avenue and Broad Street by 6 p.m. Tuesday. Hartford Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts said protesters camping at the area they've named Turning Point Park have been notified that they risk being arrested after the deadline passes. "I don't anticipate any trouble, but I will take appropriate corrective action," Roberts said.

John Place wanted to get in to the commercial milk business when he opened his dairy farm in 2007 in Moore Township but found it wouldn’t be worth it. Small-time farmers got so little back on the sale of milk that he wouldn’t be able to make ends meet. Place and his wife, Amanda, instead have developed a business selling raw milk, cheese and grass-fed beef from the Route 248 farm called Keepsake Farm & Dairy. The couple's raised awareness today to make national agriculture policy more equitable to small farmers like them. Farmers and their advocates in Bethlehem, Harrisburg...

Ft. Worth-based Range Resources’ ugly legal battle with some North Texas landowners and the EPA over alleged groundwater contamination has taken a new turn, with the firm filing a counter-claim against the landowners. In 2010, Steven and Shyla Lipsky of rural Parker County complained to the Texas Railroad Commission — the agency that oversees drilling in Texas — about natural gas in their water well. The couple believed it was caused by drilling at two nearby Range gas wells. The Lipsky’s hired a Flower Mound-based firm, Wolf Eagle Environmental, to do water and air testing. Alisa Rich, the owner, encouraged...

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas Hoenig on Wednesday said the U.S. central bank was risking a new financial crisis with its easy-money policies and urged regulators to break up the biggest banks. Hoenig, one of the Fed’s most outspoken internal critics, warned monetary policy should be tailored “so you don’t overshoot and cause the next crisis.” The maverick Fed official was also sharply critical of the regulatory overhaul passed last July, saying the risks to the U.S. economy from the largest financial institutions are even worse following the approval of the Dodd-Frank law. Hoenig’s remarks are likely...

The American people are becoming increasingly angry about the extraordinary amount of power and influence that corporations have in the United States today. A new Gallup poll found that 67 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the size and influence of major corporations in the United States today. Not only that, the most recent Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index found that only 26 percent of Americans trust our financial system at this point. The mainstream media is acting as if this is a new phenomenon, but the truth is that a dislike of giant corporations goes all the way...

The titans of American industry were all assembled at the White House complex Wednesday. There was Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google. There was Kenneth Chenault, the chairman of American Express. And there was Barack Obama, the sometimes owner of General Motors, Chrysler, Citibank, Bank of America, AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The president's advance team handled it like a state visit. The Secret Service shut down Lafayette Square as the CEOs huddled inside Blair House -- where foreign dignitaries often stay. The U.S. Park Police were mounted, the presidential limousines were idling, and men with scary-looking weapons stood...

So, my place of employment has been pressuring us with high-profile donation campaigns for a month or so. Now, I'm getting emails from the Chairman of the Board who has pledged a one-for-one dollar donation, and wants me to be a first time donor. I have several problems with this, mainly that the United Way nationally does fund Planned Parenthood. Now, locally they say they do not. However, United Way says you can make donations to specific charities. The issue I have with that is does United Way take something of the top for handling these donations? If so, why?...

WASHINGTON: With trade high on his agenda, some 200 odd top US business chiefs, including soft drink giant Pepsico's India-born CEO Indra Nooyi , are expected to join US President Barack Obama on his India visit next month. Also expected are Honeywell CEO David M Cote, who co-chairs the India-US CEO Forum with Tata group chairman Ratan Tata . So is Terry McGraw, CEO of leading publishing house McGraw Hill, who took over from Nooyi as the chairman of the US Indian Business Council , representing 300 top US companies last June. Two more of 12 US forum members, Louis...

Jon Stewart and Glenn Beck have a few things in common. The liberal and conservative cable hosts each described their respective rallies on the National Mall—whether to "restore honor" or "restore sanity"—as nonpolitical events. Neither walks in lockstep with Democrats or Republicans. And both often claim to simply be entertainers, while at the same time never shying away from weighty subjects like the economy and terrorism. -snip- Now the Huffington Post has lined up 212 buses leaving from the Mets Citi Field at 6 a.m. Saturday. (The buses will be equipped with snacks and drinks donated by Pom Wonderful, Stonyfield...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWZO_zehR9w

This could confirm what many suspected all along - the corporate heads at General Electric (NYSE:GE) would try to use their media holdings to portray President Barack Obama and his administration in a positive light in order to gain a corporate advantage. That's how former CNBC reporter and current Fox Business Network senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino explains it in his forthcoming book, "Bought and Paid For: The Unholy Alliance Between Barack Obama and Wall Street." According to Gasparino, GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt had "helped his company feast off of the subsidies of Obamanomics," including the green energy initiatives and health...

This is a heads up regarding Progressive Auto Insurance. You know who they are. They’re the ones with the clever television ads featuring the perky brunette actress all dressed in white. What you might not know is that the chairman of Progressive is Peter Lewis, one of the largest funders of the left in America . He’s your typical rich spoiled kid who took over the company from his father and apparently feels “guilty” for his success and now dedicates himself to making it impossible for anyone else to become wealthy. Between 2001 and 2003, Lewis funneled $15 million to...

A hero soldier who had just arrived home from a tour of Afghanistan was refused service at a supermarket after being told they didn't serve people in army uniform. Sapper Anthony Walls, of the 21 Engineer Regiment, popped into the Co-op in Croydon for some beers after a gruelling 34-hour journey from Kandahar. The 27-year-old, said it was his 'first hour back in the real world' after dodging Taliban bullets for the past four-and-a-half months helping build 'the most dangerous road in Afghanistan'. But when he arrived at the till to pay he was met with a blank stare from...

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Target Corp. is apologizing for a political donation to a conservative group that angered some employees and sparked talk of a customer boycott. Chairman and Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel wrote to employees on Thursday to say the company was "genuinely sorry" that the donation upset some employees. Steinhafel also said Target would set up a review process for future political donations. Target gave $150,000 to MN Forward, a group that is running ads for a Republican gubernatorial candidate who opposes gay marriage. Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/05/2939535/apnewsbreak-target-apologizes.html#ixzz0vkyEBVGN

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz-nVW3Zitk&feature=player_embedded] Tonight on The ANDREA SHEA KING Show at 9p ET we'll be talking about it. It? Yep. Take a look... William Gheen of ALIPAC will join us at the top of the hour. Don't be late. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/askshow/2010/06/25/the-andrea-shea-king-showFox News Owner Rupert Murdoch Pushes for Amnesty for Illegal Aliens by William Gheen President of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC ALIPAC www.alipac.usJune 24, 2010 A big question has been answered for those of us wondering why very few of the leaders of organizations fighting against illegal immigration are on Fox News anymore. The last time I was on FOX was on Sunday...