Free Republic

Dear Readers. I received a survey request (filled in below) from the Media Research Center (MRC). Initially I was expecting just another multiple choice form that misses many of the key issues of the day. Much to my delight, this one actually had, in addition to MRC's preferred topics,  "other" as choices. And what was even more special, MRC provided a space in which to spell out the other choice(s). Burned out naif that I am, I have my doubts they will actually read what I put in the boxes. I know, many of you think I must be crazy...

In 2005, the Michigan Employment Relations Commission inappropriately allowed and administered a union certification election for home-based caregivers, despite them not being public employees. Unfortunately for those 40,000-some workers, who primarily are family members and friends caring for the state's most vulnerable residents, MERC made the decision in April not to correct its own mistake. For that reason, the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation this month filed an appeal in court, on behalf of people like Patricia Haynes and Steven Glossop, to have even a portion of the dues returned and the union certification declared illegal. "Our clients and tens of...

My former boss and mentor used to always say “Be careful when you point your finger at someone because you’ll notice you have three fingers pointing back at you.” Suddenly, I could hear his admonition as I was thinking about the lack of leadership on display from our government, especially from the White House. Being a Democracy, there is no one to blame for the leadership we have because We the People voted them in place. So although they may be responsible to a point, with the three fingers of self-indictment, We The People must accept three times the responsibility....

Thousands of unaccompanied children travel across South or Latin America every year in hopes of entering the United States. These children, traveling without parents or guardian supervision, risk their lives for a chance at a better life in America. The Southwest Key Programs provides shelter for homeless immigrant children who have crossed the the U.S. border and are searching for either their families or a better life. USD student Denise Ambriz volunteered her time to work with the Southwest Key Programs to help the unaccompanied children currently living there. As part of her job she would talk with the children...

Despite no evidence in financial markets of a default, House Speaker John Boehner (RINO-OH) will bring the Senate clean Continuing Resolution (CR) to The House floor for a vote. The endless spending and debt growth in Washington DC will continue now that the Senate has turned over the power of pursestrings to The President (once House Republicans agree). Obamacare was already a tremendous transfer of power and control to the Executive Branch, and now capitulating to President Obama gives the Executive Branch overwhelming power and control. In order to honor our career politicians in Congress and the Administration, the Washington...

It’s time to repeal the National Firearms Act of 1934. The Second Amendment requires it and the American people demand it be done now! The elite in society don’t want you to know that since 1934, there appear to have been at least two homicides committed with legally owned automatic weapons. One was a murder committed by a law enforcement officer (as opposed to a civilian). On September 15th, 1988, a 13-year veteran of the Dayton, Ohio police department, Patrolman Roger Waller, then 32, used his fully automatic MAC-11 .380 caliber submachine gun to kill a police informant, 52-year-old Lawrence...

National Park Service director Jarvis said he discussed closing the open-air monuments and memorials with the White House, as well as the secretary of the Interior Department.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DTZT8i5e2Rs

Last week the man in charge of America’s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) defense system was fired by Barack Obama. Of course you have heard almost nothing about this from Obama’s kept media. They have no curiosity about why General Michael Carey, a man with a sterling record of service to our nation; and as a 35 year Air Force officer would be fired with no reasons offered by this anti-military Administration. In the middle of his golf tour and a few threatening statements to Ted Cruz, Barack Obama found time to flop General Carey from his position as commander of...

There is currently a letter floating around the internet from United States Department of Agriculture addressed to all (SNAP) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program state agency directors. The letter states in pretty plain terms the USDA is directing States to hold or delay transmission of State Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) until further notice.

Twofer: MAIG Mayors going to prison (Don’t drop the soap, boys) October 15, 2013 It’s been a busy week for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) group of gun-grabbing mayors. First up, Filthy Filner, the San Diego Mayor who had a reputation for sexually harassing lots of lots of ladies, pled guilty to some reduced charges. Rumor had it his plea was to avoid convictions with the word “sexual” in them.

It became prominent state news last week when a performance audit of state subsidy program showed overstated job creation. The state subsidy program reported to the Legislature that 75 percent of projected jobs came to be, but the Auditor General report says that, at most, only 19 percent of the original jobs projected came to fruition. The program is the 21st Century Jobs Fund, which is administered by the Michigan Strategic Fund. The fund oversees several programs that give grants and loans to certain businesses in Michigan, including high-profile failures like the battery-maker A123 Systems, and the biofuels company Mascoma...

Another morning, another gridlock. No deal from Obama and Congress with the default clock ticking. To paraphrase the old Wendy’s commercial, “Where’s the (default) beef?“ Credit default swaps for the US? Up slightly this morning, but still the lowest in the Americas. sovcds101613 And the US CDS “smile” remains (inverse hump in the CDS curve). uscdscurve101613 Zero Hedge has the hysterical headline that “Repo Soars To 2013 Highs On Default Fears, Bifurcated Collateral Market.” True, but compared to 2008, it is a drop in the bucket. repost101613 And the US Treasury 10 is up slightly today, not the massive default...

Hear ye, hear ye: Be it known that 60% of American Legal Voters do seek, and with historical reason, do expect protection from their US Federal Government from the devastating harmful effects of the Democrat's cruel unfunded mandate of Obamacare; AND since no effective leadership in the US House of Representatives has existed to serve and protect 60 % of American voters from the Democrat's cruel unfunded mandate of Obamacare; AND since only US Senators Cruz of TEXAS and Lee of Utah have shown a consistent understanding of the great harm soon to be imposed, by the very rapid total...

OKLAHOMA CITY – Jennifer Parrish has a hard time believing she is still fighting efforts that would force her to become part of a union simply because she operates a home-based child care center. It's been seven years since a man knocked on her door, barged in and harassed her to sign a petition that ultimately would unionize people taking care of kids. He argued with her — in her own home — and wouldn't leave until she promised to take a look at the petition and sign it for him to pick up later. Annette Meeks, CEO of the...

More at Reaganite Republican...

".........I am tired of funding Republicans who campaign against Obamacare then refuse to fight. It’s time to find a new batch of Republicans to actually practice what the current crop preaches. The irony in all of this is that Obamacare’s individual mandate is going to be delayed. Just wait. Liberals are already whispering that it has to happen. They can’t get the computers up and running. People aren’t signing up. They whole process is broken. But they also do not want to cave in to the GOP. So they will wait. Barack Obama will wait for the GOP to surrender,...

So I am thinking of simply leaving the job I work at now and heading to a Southern state, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Northern Florida, Tennessee, etc since I figure that, since I am one of those who does not have a reliable source of family aid of any kind, that this could be my only option. I am considering finding a church that has a sort of communal living situation, a farm, ranch, factory or other such source that could use additional workers and join one of them. I am thinking of it in light of a situation...

The federal government shutdown is here, and that means some places around town are offering freebies. Most of these deals are reserved for government workers only, but some are open to everyone. Furloughed workers receive 50% off weekday bookings to @GoApeUSA until 10/18 with Federal ID! Use code "FEDS50" to book at www.goape.com. by GoApeUSA 7:54 PM Reply Permalink ALL performances of Marry Me a Little FREE this weekend for govt employees with promo code GOVT at bpt.me (govt ID required) by cauldronevents 7:54 PM 2:40 PM TwitterOldDominionBrewhouse @OldDominionBrew Week 3 of the Government Shutdown! Happy Hour ALL DAY at...

First, some background: I've spent almost a decade in the healthcare insurance industry now, after departing my last job. I've •investigated fraudulent Medicaid and Medicare claims , personally having revoked some $113 milion worth, and disenrolled over 25,000 fraudlent Medicaid subscribers •Investigated fraud / waste / abuse trends in hospital and small clinic claims •Investigated and testified about waste and abuse in most electronic medical billing and diagnosis code platforms, as well as willful 'bundling' of unrelated and fraudlent charges by hospitals and clinics•Researched electronic eligibility and risk pool demographics and statistics in studying insurance rate increases and stabilizations •Worked...

This failure of an option B has set the stage for Bohners end game, very much like what happened early this year with taxes.Reid Slams New House GOP Debt Limit Offer (Hissy fit) Roll Call ^ | 10/15/13 | Meredith Shiner House vote pulled, chaos continues Politico ^ | 10-15-13 | By JAKE SHERMAN, BURGESS EVERETT, JOHN BRESNAHAN and SEUNG Reid will pass his ‘bipartision’ bill using a procedure that only requires 50 votes but gutting a previously passed bill. That allows lots of GOP Senators cover to vote symbolically ‘no’ with no effect. Then that Bill goes to house...

A report by a private foundation on how the Obamacare website was designed reveals that cronyism and sheer incompetence is at fault for the spectacular failures of the rollout. InfoWorld summed it up: "It was built by people who are apparently far more familiar with government cronyism than they are with IT." ---------------- (snip) --------------- All the same, CGI Federal -- which received $88 million for its work since March of this year -- told Congress in September it was indeed ready for the onslaught of users that would come when Healthcare.gov opened to the public. The same was claimed...

The media just can't help themselves it seems. The coverage over the Million Vet March in Washington , D.C. is insulting and demeaning to our military veterans. At the march, many veterans removed the barricades blocking access to the World War II Memorial and then dumped the barricades outside the White House. Conservatives such as Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz spoke to the crowd about the current government shutdown (a false moniker as only 17% of the government is actually shut down). Yet, the mainstream media continues to carry water for Obama and do everything possible to denigrate and cast...

How do you settle a rather sizeable bill for your milk delivery? If you are a cash-strapped superpower the answer is, apparently, to offer up a pair of fighter jets and a nuclear submarine as payment. The extraordinary offer was made by Russia to New Zealand in 1993, a new book reveals. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia was struggling to pay the $100m it owed New Zealand for a range of imported dairy products. In a meeting with Russian officials to thrash out payment terms, Jim Bolger, then New Zealand prime minister, was "absolutely stunned" to be...

The Washington Monument syndrome is describe the tendency of government agencies in the United States to cut the most visible or appreciated services provided by the government when faced with budget cuts. And protect massive waste (since no one would miss the massive waste if it was cut). Such as closing National Parks and Monuments. What are government agencies hiding? The fact that agencies have large concentrations of non-essential personnel. Even Time.com recognizes that most of Federal government in non-essential. The interest payments on Federal debt is a small percentage of Federal current expenditures (11.5% at the end of Q2)....

What this means is that should Congress fail to increase the debt ceiling this week, come November there will literally be millions of people in the United States who will have exactly zero dollars transferred to their EBT cards. What will happen to the nearly 50 million people who depend on these benefits to survive? Think this past weekend and multiply it across the entirety of the United States of America. In the State of Utah the immediate effect of the USDA’s contingency plan will be a freeze in benefits for 100,000 people. Richard Phillips, a homeless man who depends...

Perhaps this one of the most important discussion threads ever regarding Legacy Media manipulation. We sincerely hope you will take the time to digest the content, think about the ramifications to what is here, and then share the information with others. This is not a matter of opinion, the CNN stories are documented, attributed and cited. They are factual. Everything is verifiable within the embedded links and citations. Believe it or not, just creating this discussion thread is risky. We are unable to expand.

The most pitiful part of what’s happening right now isn’t the cave itself, which was predictable since day one of the quixotic “defund” effort, but the fact that they’re going to drag it out another day or two to the bitter end purely for theatrical purposes. There’s a 99 percent chance that Reid will reject whatever emerges tonight from the House, leaving Boehner to float a clean debt-ceiling hike tomorrow and let Pelosi and the Democrats bail him out, but in order to marginally reduce the upset among grassroots conservatives, he’s going to push this to the last possible moment....

Last month, the House reported a bill out of committee that attempted to define who is a journalist. An uproar followed quickly. "After the committee hearing I realized that I had been going about it in the wrong way," said Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton, D-Huntington Woods. "I started to realize that we were dealing with a very profound issue that would have serious ramifications. So I went back to the drawing board." The problematic portion of House Bill 4770 was amended this week and no longer defines who is a journalist. The substitute language was adopted Tuesday, and the bill...

The criminal homicide rate for the general population has been added to more accurately compare to the murder plus manslaughter rate for those with a Minnesota carry permit. Minnesota is one of a few states that track crimes committed by Concealed Carry permit holders.  When the Minnesota law was passed, an annual report of crimes committed by permit holders was required.  The Minnesota permit is simply a permit to carry, the law does not discriminate between carrying concealed and carrying openly.  Reports for the law are available for 2003, and 2005-2012 in pdf files.   The number of people...

While the media and Democrats scream about the Titanic sinking of government default, there is scant evidence in financial markets of it. Here are two curves as of 1pm EST, the US Treasury yield curve and the US credit default swaps curve. The Treasury curve is upward sloping while the CDS curve is downward sloping. Actually, the CDS curve has an inverted hump. ustcdes1015E It does look like a bomb crater rather than a typical CDS curve. If we look at 1 month ago, we see an upward sloping CDS curve. 1moyccds And if we compare the current curves compared...

"It seems that President Obama's paid political operatives are out in force today. And you know why? Because the men and women in this room scare the living daylights out of them," said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after interruptions from activists calling for family unity through immigration reform. Jacqueline Garcia’s grandfather was the sole breadwinner for the family of four. Her parents were not in the picture. But her younger brother, her disabled grandmother, and Jackie were a tight-knit family and all depended on the grandfather. At 16, Jackie, a U.S. citizen, is an honor student in her Phoenix high...

Class: Because of George Mason University’s screwy scheduling (no class today because Monday’s classes are now Tuesday classes because of Columbus Day), we can’t have our discussion of the impending US default. Here are two curves as of 1pm EST, the US Treasury yield curve and the US credit default swaps curve. The Treasury curve is upward sloping while the CDS curve is downward sloping. ustcdes1015E If we look at 1 month ago, we see an upward sloping CDS curve. 1moyccds And if we compare the current curves compared to President Obama’s inauguration date, we see an upward sloping CDS...

In May 1940 the world faced a menace unlike any it had ever seen. After a decade of economic body blows, much of the world was weary. With the carnage of WWI only 20 years past few people had the stomach to fight for much of anything. It was only with great reluctance that in September 1939 the British and the French declared war on Germany after they invaded Poland with the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, even after the declaration, after years of appeasement most British felt that there was little they could do to stop Adolph Hitler. Things were indeed...

Mark Levin's Plan is excellent but how long do we have? Secession, civil war? Only OBAMA wants that to happen.

Monday, October 14, 2013 The Battle of the Redskins Posted by Daniel Greenfield @ the Sultan Knish blog Over the summer, those two legendary sources of sports coverage, Salon Magazine and MSNBC, or as they are known in some places the S Word and the M Word, announced that they would begin referring to the Washington Redskins football team as the R Word. Ordinarily liberals would not be too eager to call a team with 40 black players, a black quarterback and a passionate black fan base a hyphenated euphemism. But there are only so many politically correct causes out...

As we see our nation falling into the lawless and immoral abyss, amazingly many are wondering how these things can be? They are all pointing fingers at each other but who is truly the engine and one behind the controls of this madness which is sweeping our land and world? The key to comprehending the day and hour in which we live is to see things from Almighty God’s HEAVENLY and ETERNAL perspective (John 17:17, Eph. 6:12, Col. 3:1-2). The world in which we live in is governed by a highly fallen intelligent order of supernatural beings (called fallen angels)...

“It is the Responsibility of the Patriot to protect his Country from its government.” (Thomas Paine). Where is it written that a Warrior going into battle with an evil enemy should be protected from the cheap verbal abuse of those he seeks to destroy? Rush Limbaugh is fond of saying: "The Pioneers get all the arrows." So too do our wimpy RINOs when they try to get off of their doormats and save America from an incompetent, spendaholic Administration. Do our Doormat RINO Politicians expect that the "Leftstream" Liberal Media will NOT inundate them with a continuous barrage of negative...

The House's latest plan to raise the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown won't pass the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said on Tuesday. “It’s unproductive and a waste of time,” Reid said. “The House legislation will not pass the Senate.” Senate leaders are working on a deal that would end the shutdown, fund the government through Jan. 15 and raise the debt ceiling until February. House Republicans met Tuesday morning to discuss preempting the Senate by passing their own plan to raise the debt ceiling and end the shutdown. The House bill would delay Obamacare's medical device...

The shortcomings of ObamaCare continue to seep into the light, putting the lie to virtually every claim made by Barack Hussein about his namesake “healthcare” scheme. But one part of the law remains as much a mystery now as when it was written. Section 1555 of the Affordable Care Act is quite short. It reads: “No individual, company, business, nonprofit entity, or health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall be required to participate in any Federal health insurance program created under this Act (or any amendments made by this Act), or in any Federal health insurance...

The rhetoric is really heating up. California Congresswomen Nancy Pelosi (she of “You have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it” fame) is throwing around the world “sabotage” concerning any disagreement with President Obama. uscds101513 And the 10 year Treasury yield rose 3 basis points. ust10101513 And, of course, President Obama nixed ANY deal. Huh. If Pelosi thinks this is sabotage and will lead the US to default, its odd that CDS prices are falling.

The White House appeared to reject a proposal by House Republicans Tuesday morning to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling, calling the proposal "a partisan attempt to appease a small group of Tea Party Republicans." "The president has said repeatedly that Members of Congress don’t get to demand ransom for fulfilling their basic responsibilities to pass a budget and pay the nation’s bills," said White House spokesperson Amy Brundage. The White House also announced that the president and Vice President Biden would meet with House Democratic leaders at the White House at 3:15 Tuesday afternoon. Attendees will...

When a true constitutional conservative is on the ballot—who is a fearless Christian, to boot—you know the forces of the Left will come out in a fever trying to destroy him. Such is the case in the Republican primary runoff for US Congress in southern Alabama’s 1st District. A little over a month ago, I wrote about this race (a special election to replace a quitting congressman) which has received national attention because candidate Dean Young created a pledge to fight for real marriage and asked his fellow Republican primary candidates to sign it. Not one of the others signed...

Ravenna Public Schools teacher Dusty Fairfield estimates he’s given $25,000 in union dues to the Michigan Education Association over his career. In August, he used the state's right-to-work law to leave the MEA. Now Fairfield is one of a group of teachers MEA President Steve Cook refers to as "freeloaders." Although he left the MEA, Fairfield said he gave a financial contribution to his local union. Over the years, he said he invested heavily in the MEA, but felt the union wasn't always working in his best interests. For example, Fairfield said the MEA representative who negotiated on his behalf...

Sen. Mark Pryor ((D-Ark.) said he expects the Senate and White House to announce a deal Tuesday that could pass the upper chamber by Wednesday. Pryor said he and a group of a dozen lawmakers drafted the framework — which Senate leadership based their deal on — with the intent of gaining as many as 80 votes to put pressure on the House to act. “It should have bipartisan support in the House,” he said. “And one of the goals we really set out in our group is we said look we don’t want 60 votes. We wan to get...

If you ever wondered why we recommend prepping, and stockpiling food and emergency supplies, one look at what happened this weekend Springhill and Mansfield, LA should tell you everything you need to know – and will give you a glimpse at what this country will look like during a nationwide crisis. Over the weekend, the debit system that allows people on government assistance to buy food, temporarily went down. The resulting chaos is a small glimpse at what I believe will happen, should the government plunge this country into some sort of economic collapse. A couple of Walmarts in Louisiana...

October 10, 2013 Last week, Victor Saravia Vasquez, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent liberties with a child and one count of misdemeanor secret peeping in Pender County Superior Court. Judge W. Allen Cobb. then sentenced Vasquez to 26 to 32 months in prison. Vasquez who is in the country illegally, should be deported after completing his sentence.

President Barack Obama is solely responsible for the current government shutdown. He used the Republican opposition to his health care plan to manipulate them into a situation he could exploit. He wants to use his media sheep to make the Republicans look bad so he can pursue his goal of gaining dictatorial control over the budget process. He wants the type of power the British monarchy lost centuries ago. I wouldn't trust former President Thomas Jefferson with the type of control over the federal debt that Obama wants. Jefferson was not only a more honorable man than Obama, he may...

---snip--- So, with all of these statements in mind, how is the Welfare State NOT a giant machine of theft and redistribution? Yes, yes, I know. I’m a heartless SOB for asking the question. I’ve never struggled to feed myself (even though I have), and I’ve never been “low income” (even though I have), and I don’t care about poor people (even though I do, and deeply so). I get it. I’m a cold blooded scoundrel, I hear ya. Fine. But can you answer the question? If statements 1, 2, and 3 are all accurate, how does welfare manage to...

On this edition of The Conservative Beacon Podcast with Josh Price, Josh illuminates the potential dangers of the anti-Constitutionialists in the media like MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, The New Work Times, The Washington Post, CBS, etc. and their increasingly pro-dictatorial rhetoric. Josh also discusses the importance and benefits of tradition while sharing a few of his own traditions for October and Halloween.