Free Republic

**SNIP** Derision, rather than refutation, seems to be the norm of discourse in mainstream politics as well. Accordingly, opposing views are seen as a sign of some moral defect, not genuine disagreement. Earlier this year, for example, a prominent Democrat compared delaying the confirmation of Loretta Lynch as attorney general (she’s the first African-American woman to be given the role) to Jim Crow segregation. Elsewhere, questioning certain sexual-assault statistics makes one a ‘rape apologist’; proponents of traditional marriage are dismissed as ‘bigots’; and even President Obama is called sexist for arguing with Senator Elizabeth Warren about a trade bill (he...

Reports claimed the government was prepared to reduce at least three different VAT rates to one, and limit exemptions. Prime minister Alexis Tsipras had opposed the move, claiming that the change would hit poorer people. The country will also press-on with privatisations it had also previously vowed to block, according to reports. However, Syriza has said that demands by creditors to reverse an increase in the minimum wage and cut pensions remain "red lines" that the leftist leadership is unwilling to cross... Mr Sakellaridis said that failure to reach an "honest compromise" with creditors would most likely lead to a...

Gwyneth Paltrow is slashing her food budget to raise awareness about hunger. But sometimes even the best intentions are met with criticism, eye rolls and sarcasm. Last week, the Oscar winner announced that she had accepted The Food Bank for New York City challenge to live on food stamps for one week, with a grocery budget of $29 or about $1.38 per meal. According to the #FoodBankNYCChallenge, needy families are given $29 per person as part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, after Congress cut food stamps twice since 2013. Once Paltrow accepted the challenge, she tweeted...

My car needs washing, and frankly I’d prefer that the losers who think Obama’s “free” community college idea is super awesome get off their lazy hindquarters and wash it for me for free. Sure, I could pay for it myself, but then I’d have to forgo things I’d rather have. It’s cruel and inhuman and, I’m guessing, both racist and phallocentric, to force me to prioritize how I spend my money. So, Mr. President, I need you to direct your minions toward my reserved parking space because, in the words of noted jurist and personal hero Judge Elihu Smails, I...

**SNIP** “It is not the right time for Vermont” to pass a single-payer system, Shumlin acknowledged in a public statement ending his signature initiative. He concluded the 11.5 percent payroll assessments on businesses and sliding premiums up to 9.5 percent of individuals’ income “might hurt our economy.” Vermont’s outcome is a “small speed bump,” said New York Assembly member Richard Gottfried, who’s been pushing single-payer bills for more than 20 years. But opponents says it’s the end of the road. “If cobalt blue Vermont couldn’t find a way to make single-payer happen, then it’s very unlikely that any other state...

**SNIP** On Monday, a "direct action" led by local and visiting clergy members is planned for Ferguson and other spots in and around St. Louis. Protest leaders don't plan to release details until shortly ahead of time to avoid tipping off law enforcement. Leaders are taking their cues from the Moral Monday demonstrations that began last year in North Carolina before spreading to several other Southern states. "We still are knee deep in this situation," said Kareem Jackson, a St. Louis rap artist and community organizer whose stage name is Tef Poe. "We have not packed up our bags, we...

Food shelves can be a life line for people dealing with poverty and hunger. But many in the Somali-American community say finding a food shelf that caters to their religious dietary restrictions is almost impossible. “Some food shelves are trying to meet the need, but some of them already got canned beans that have already been mixed with pork — and there is a literacy issue here,” said community activist Fartun Weli. A group of first-generation Somali Americans says they need help in developing a food shelf that specializes in healthy foods that do not contain pork or pork byproducts....

Congressman Jim Bridenstine stopped by KTUL Saturday evening to weigh in on the conditions at Fort Sill following his recent tour of the facility. He said his tour was "eye-opening" and that the tour confirmed concerns he had regarding how children are getting to the facility and the abuses they incur while being trafficking there. Today, State Representative Mike Ritze said he believes the immigrants at Fort Sill should be quarantined to prevent contagious diseases from spreading to Oklahomans. “More than 1,100 unaccompanied minors who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally are currently being housed at Fort Sill,” said Ritze, R-Broken...

Several people protested outside the Detroit Water And Sewerage Department building Thursday, saying customers are having service cut off at an alarming rate and the practice is inhumane. Organizer David Bullock with the Change Agent Consortium says the water department is going after customers that may be as little as $150 delinquent and says the department ignores large corporations which are behind. “People always want to attack the poor … why are we attacking poor people?” he asked. But when asked which large companies are behind in their payments, Bullock would only say that WWJ should research the issue. “I...

Detroit has too much of some things – stray dogs, abandoned houses – and not enough of others, such as residents who pay their water bills. The latest sign of Detroit’s decline came from the city’s water department, when it said in March it would begin shutting off water for up to 3,000 homes and businesses a week in an attempt to stop the utility from sliding even further into debt. The announcement sparked outrage among activists groups, who say the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) is going after the city’s most vulnerable citizens to shore up its bottom...

Thousands of hareidim protested Thursday at the entrance to Jerusalem and in Bnei Brak over the sudden freezing of funding for all yeshivas, which was ordered retroactively by Finance Minister Yair Lapid on Wednesday. […] Hareidi MKs have responded with fury to the ruling and freeze; MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) accused the High Court Wednesday of “declaring war” on the hareidim, while MK Nissim Ze’ev (Shas) decried the “ongoing campaign of persecution. The government is attacking everything connected to religion or to the Torah world.” …

This Wednesday the governor of Kuzbass Mr. Aman Tooleyev urged the State Duma’s lawmakers attending the meeting of the provincial parliament to pass a bill against freeloaders and “professional unemployed” who number 4.4 thousand people in the province. “This is dangerous from the both economic and moral point of view. A stratum of “professionals” who don’t work, don’t want to work, won’t work has emerged. There are 4.4 thousand of such ‘professional unemployed’ in Kuzbass’, said Tooleyev. The governor added that there are 22 thousand of unemployed while the local labour registry offices offer 30 thousand jobs. “They [the professional...

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.