Free Republic

Alright FReepers, this is what we're up against... FIRE AWAY! Disclaimer: I don't know this person. But she does have a FB page.

Under the Affordable Care Act, someone making less than 138 percent of the poverty line qualifies for Medicaid, and someone between 138 and 400 percent of the poverty line is qualified to receive a federal tax subsidy for health insurance bought on a government exchange. But here is the problem: premiums will rise for millions of Americans because of requirements that policies provide certain benefits that they didn’t offer before. This means plenty of people will now have a pricier plan, and no way to defray the cost. My colleague Chuck Blahous sends me this piece from SFGate that gives...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Dr. Drew Pinsky was on Anderson Cooper 222 last night. Anderson Cooper said to Drew Pinsky, "I don't know all the details of what exactly is covered. It's an incredibly confusing thing. I spent all day reading about it." This is about Obamacare. Drew Pinsky talked about the people he treats and deals with and what they think about it. PINSKY: There's a really another interesting layer to this that people aren't talking about. Today, I often spend a lot of my time finding resources for people who don't have insurance. So today I had three calls....

WASHINGTON -- Top Wall Street chief executives met with President Obama on Wednesday and warned of severe economic consequences if the standoff over the federal budget and debt limit is not ended soon. Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said the bankers were not taking sides in the partisan fight that triggered the continuing partial government shutdown, noting they met with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill as well. But speaking to reporters outside the White House, Blankfein backed Obama's position that Republicans should not be withholding an increase in the nation's $16.7 trillion debt limit as part of negotiations over...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The NAACP announced Friday they plan to take Moral Mondays to Charlotte. An event is scheduled for August 19 at 5 p.m. in Marshall Park at 800 E. Third St. The NAACP said there will also be protests in Dare County and Manteo on the same day. **SNIP** The 'Moral Monday' protests began in April in Raleigh. Protestors demonstrated against the policies of the Republican-controlled legislature. Hundreds of people have been arrested since its start.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. —A huge crowd of protesters gathered in downtown Asheville Monday night. After 13 weeks rallying against the Republican-majority legislature in the North Carolina State Capitol, protesters are taking their Moral Monday Demonstration on the road. The Roger McGuire Green was packed Monday. Many had signs and most were chanting. The group said lawmakers are rolling back progress in education and social equality, rather than moving forward. The North Carolina General Assembly has finished for the year, meaning Moral Monday can begin its tour throughout the state. **SNIP** “They claim they are Christians but they are not Christ-like because...

With tea party Republicans threatening to shut down the government in an effort to roll back President Obama's healthcare law, several progressive groups are teaming up in a new effort to convince skeptical voters of the benefits of the new law. During the August recess, Americans United for Change and Protect Your Care plan to counter efforts by Republicans to disparage the law. The groups will stage protests at GOP events, organize their own town halls to publicize its perks, and provide “air cover” to the law’s defenders. Republicans “have overplayed their hand and that gives us the opportunity to...

The Oakland City Council has agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a dozen Occupy Oakland protesters who said they were the victims of excessive force during clashes with police in 2011. **SNIP** Plaintiffs Suzi Spangenberg and Sukay Sow say they were injured by flash-bang grenades thrown by officers. Spangenberg will get $500,000. Sow says she suffered a second-degree chemical burn on her foot during the clash at a City Hall camp and will get $210,000.

**SNIP** With only slightly over a thousand students, the entire playground of a school will be fully packed during the morning assembly. How can cramped Central, with its numerous high-rise buildings but limited open areas, provide enough room for the "peaceful and harmonious" occupation intended for tens of thousands of protestors? In such a circumstance, the "Occupy" movement may easily turn out to be chaos, with fierce clashes or even violence. If the movement with tens of thousands of protestors is successfully carried out, they might be arrested for their illegal act, resulting in social disorder and serious repercussions. Advocates...

A Berlin family of three has been living on practically nothing but love and the goodwill of others for more than two years and counting—not as a victims of the rough economy, but as activists who are on a money strike to protest what they call our “excess-consumption society.” ... Though Fellmer uses no money, he said Palmer does use a little, mainly in the form of child support she receives from the government, which is granted to all children.

A Wisconsin activist was arrested Tuesday at the state Capitol building just hours before Governor Scott Walker was to deliver his State of the State Address to Wisconsin lawmakers. The man, Kvon R. Smith, had reportedly used Facebook to threaten to do harm at the Capitol. Law enforcement was ready for him and arrested him as he attempted to enter the building. Smith then reportedly claimed to have a Molotov cocktail in his backpack. Police evacuated portions of the capitol building and a bomb squad reportedly arrived and handled the backpack. Police did not say whether or not the backpack...

2008 - "You can fool all the people some of the time ..." 2010 - "...and you can fool all of the people some of the time..." But in 2012, Obama and Big Leftist Media managed to fool all of the people all the time! Now it's official, the freeloaders have taken over the country.

Obama campaign touts welfare's positive impactBy JOSH GERSTEIN | 11/1/12 4:48 PM EDT For two decades, Democrats running for the White House have observed a basic rule: when discussing welfare, do so only in the context of "welfare reform." That's why it was so striking to see President Barack Obama's campaign depart from that tradition and use the W-word Wednesday without any reference to reining in or overhauling such programs. In fact, the Obama camp seemed to be boasting about welfare's success in buffeting the impact of the country's recent economic downturn. In a list of 29 of Obama's accomplishments,...

Still Occupying: Looking back on a year of pepper spray, parks, even some petitionsBy Phill Courtney Posted: 10/13/2012 12:13:43 PM PDT One year later, the reviews are decidedly mixed. Some say the Occupy movement failed because there's been no fundamental, nor even a discernible change in how our country's run because they didn't have a plan, while others argue that Occupy succeeded and is still succeeding because it gave a voice to those who are too often voiceless. But perhaps the truth, as if often does, lies somewhere in between. **SNIP** One of Occupy's most important messages is that it...

Protesters mocked attendees at a fundraiser for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Friday morning at the swanky Union League in Philadelphia. The fundraiser was expected to raise more than $3.5 million for the candidate. As buttoned-up Romney supporters left the breakfast, protesters (who gathered prior to 8 a.m. with bagels, coffee and cheesesteaks) harangued them for wasting their money on a candidate that the polls say is losing. "How's it feel to back a loser?" one protestor yelled. The group, holding signs that said "Mitt 'Rob Me'" and "Lyin' Ryan," chanted: "Save your money, Obama's gonna win!" One Romney...

Despite polling data indicating that over 60% of those surveyed see GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney's concern about Americans becoming too dependent on government as valid, most still say they will vote to reelect Obama. “As a general proposition, it might be a bad thing for people to become too dependent on the government,” said one poll respondent. “But this whole freedom thing is kind of abstract compared to actually getting stuff for free. I mean, take the 10 million free phones the government has given out. A phone is something I can hold in my hand. I can use...

A report today in an official outlet of the Iranian regime claims that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, will meet with members of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Ahmadinejad is currently in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly, where these reported meetings will take place. "Ahmadinejad is also set to meet American university students, artists, intellectuals and elites, including Occupy Wall Street anti-capitalist protestors, despite the ongoing efforts made by the pro-Zionist lobbies to prevent direct link between American people and the Iranian president," the Iranian organ Fars News reports. Earlier this year American professors gathered...

'Occupy Unmasked' Trumps MSM, Scores Big in Limited Releaseby Breitbart News 23 Sep 2012, 12:58 PM PDT The mainstream media did all it could to white wash the violence swirling around the Occupy Wall Street movement as well as its anti-capitalist support system. Enter "Occupy Unmasked," the new documentary which did the work most journalists refused to do. And the people were clearly eager to hear the truth behind the movement. The film earned an impressive per-screen average of $11,000 on four screens over the weekend, the third highest average of any film in release, and those numbers could rise...

Local charities benefit from 8,000 pounds of food leftover from DNC’s canceled stadium eventMoving president’s stadium speech meant tons of leftover food for needy By Mark Price The Charlotte Observer Posted: Friday, Sep. 07, 2012 **SNIP** On the menu: thousands of pounds of pecan-fried chicken, baked orzo, fresh crudités, three-bean bake, fresh-cut fruit and something called short rib cobbler. And that’s only a partial list. **SNIP** Sixty-five thousand people holding stadium credentials were told they could no longer attend and the Panthers were left with nearly 8,000 pounds of unneeded food. Panthers spokesman Riley Fields said the more traditional vendor...

Monday night protest blocks uptown streetsBy Meghan Cooke, Caroline McMillan and Ely Portillo The Charlotte Observer Posted: Tuesday, Sep. 04, 2012 **SNIP** A large force of bicycle-riding officers quickly surrounded the protesters, keeping them on the streets but preventing them from walking down some residential roads on the northeast side of uptown. More officers carrying batons and zip-tie handcuffs also walked with the march. **SNIP** “This is what a police state looks like!” they yelled. “Police everywhere, justice nowhere!” At times they broke into obscenities: “---- the police!”