Free Republic

Forgive Republican candidate Mitt Romney for his alleged failure to adequately explain why he paid "only" 14 percent of his income in taxes. The honest answer -- "Well, because my accountants couldn't figure out how to get them any lower" -- does not work in this or very many other election years. Romney seemed flat-footed because, like most business people, he seeks to minimize costs and expenses. This includes taxes. A normal wealthy-and-proud-of-it guy would have said: "Let me get this straight, pal. I'm not supposed to take every legal advantage provided me by the tax laws to reduce my...

LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy — For the second time in a week, Pope Benedict XVI has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, reasserting the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church and saying other Christian communities were either defective or not true churches.

I’ve written before about how some leftists have a masochistic desire to pay higher taxes. I’ve also exposed Warren Buffett’s dishonest math, which is part of his campaign for bigger government. And I’ve even debated rich statists on TV, telling them not to make the rest of us victims of their neurotic guilt feelings. So it was with considerable amusement that I saw this video clip from the Daily Caller, exposing the utter hypocrisy of rich leftists.

Fiscal Policy: President Obama tried to get Republicans to oppose a payroll tax extension, but Senate Democrats are the ones now fighting it. When liberals propose tax cuts, it's almost never on the level. When a beleaguered President Obama appeared before Congress in September to propose yet another massive stimulus spending program, including a payroll tax-cut extension paired with a "millionaire surtax," it was viewed as a shrewd political move Republicans were sure to oppose. So, why are his Senate Democrats now determined to kill payroll tax-cut legislation? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been falling all over himself this...

couldn't have said it better myself

While crowds cheered Obama during his inauguration, the reception wasn't as warm for outgoing President Bush –some booed him while others lined up to throw shoes at his effigy. Many in the crowd began booing and shouting obscenities when President Bush and Vice President Cheney were introduced during the inauguration ceremony, St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Kevin McDermott wrote.

His rank and file comrades have been toughing it out in squalid tents and church basements. But a leading figure of the Occupy Wall Street movement, who moonlights as a businessman, has eschewed the campfire comradeship for a room at a fashionable five star hotel. Peter Dutro, one of the members of elite finance committee, checked into the sumptuous W Hotel Downtown. The $700-per-night hotel, with 350-count Egyptian cotton sheets, also hosted Deloitte analyst Brad Spitzer, who covertly took part in protests while on a work trip from California, the New York Post reported. Spitzer said: 'I’m staying here for...

Executive compensation at the mortgage giants is the real scandal.Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are back in the news, as it was recently revealed that Freddie Mac paid over $1 million to presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to be a consultant. Gingrich maintains he simply gave advice to the company, which was not followed — this is not illegal. As Bryan Preston points out, Gingrich is merely guilty of feeding at the government trough. While troubling, this is hardly a matter comparable to that of top executive compensation at Fannie and Freddie: they took millions,...

Spike Lee Ridicules Herman Cain: ‘Negro, Please’ Posted By John Nolte On October 19, 2011 @ 3:22 pm In Celebrity News, Politics | 147 Comments The New York Times piece Lee refers to here is the most appalling piece of race-baiting I’ve read in years. You can read my write-up about it at Big Journalism [1]. The reaction the Times was looking for is exactly this kind of thing from Spike Lee.

BREAKING NEWS: Gaddafi 'captured' as rebel forces take control of Sirte Leader wounded in both legs prior to capture By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Last updated at 12:27 PM on 20th October 2011 Comments (0) Add to My Stories Share Muammar Gaddafi has been captured by revolutionary forces in Libya, it has been reported today. Gaddafi and his family have been on the run since Nato and rebel forces started closing the net on Tripoli in mid-August. The reports of Gaddafi's capture came on the same day that revolutionary forces said that they had taken control of Sirte - the leader's...

Before the Occupy Wall Street protesters decided they have an agenda (forty unrealistic demands that include reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and reversing the Citizens United decision), they were disorganized and had no clear message; however, they were largely united on one point... they opposed Wall Street because they believe Wall Street represents the top 1% of America’s wealthiest citizens and is a symbol of capitalism, corporations, CEOs and greed. But who is the top 1% that the rest of the 99% are supposed to oppose? According to the IRS, the top 1% makes $380,354 a year. Clearly the...

Kanye West visited Occupy Wall Street in a $355 Givenchy shirt topped with wearing gold grills and chains. Alec Baldwin claims he supports Occupy Wall Street, but makes big bucks starring in commercials for Capital One Bank. Numerous other celebrities who annually pull in multiples of the average American salary also say they sympathize with the plight of the so-called 99 percent. So are the stars who say they support the Occupy Wall Street movement some of the cause’s heroes, or are they hypocrites? Producer and hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, who brought West to the protests at Liberty Square/Zuccotti...

If the Occupy Wall Street protesters truly believed in the things that they are proclaiming, then they would be calling for the immediate resignation of Barack Obama and his entire cabinet.  The truth is that the Obama administration is responsible for most of the things that Occupy Wall Street is supposedly complaining about.  If the Occupy Wall Street protesters were intellectually honest, we would see a flood of anti-Obama signs during these demonstrations.  But instead we have barely heard a peep of criticism for Obama.  In fact, the vast majority of the protesters seem very excited about sending Obama back...

“You got me!” That’s how Massachusetts Gov. Duval Patrick reacted after local news station WBZ-TV caught Patrick driving in his SUV during “car-free week” — a green initiative launched by the governor himself. “Look, it’s a great initiative for people who can make the most of it,” he told reporters. “I hope they will and I hope during the course of the week to make the most of it, too.” But he also tried to make light of the situation while quipping, “I carpooled this morning with my trooper. We both had to come together.” But some local residents aren’t...

Unhappy members of the Congressional Black Caucus “probably would be marching on the White House” if Obama were not president, according to CBC Chairman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). "If [former President] Bill Clinton had been in the White House and had failed to address this problem, we probably would be marching on the White House," Cleaver told “The Miami Herald” in comments published Sunday. "There is a less-volatile reaction in the CBC because nobody wants to do anything that would empower the people who hate the president." CBC members have expressed concern in recent months as the unemployment rate has...

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - The nation's second-largest Indian tribe formally booted from membership thousands of descendants of black slaves who were brought to Oklahoma more than 170 years ago by Native American owners.

The majority of economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics believe that the federal deficit should be reduced only or primarily through spending cuts. The survey out Monday found that 56 percent of the NABE members surveyed felt that way, while 37 percent said they favor equal parts spending cuts and tax increases. The remaining 7 percent believe it should be done only or mostly through tax increases. As for how to reduce the deficit, nearly 40 percent said the best way would be to contain Medicare and Medicaid costs. Nearly a quarter recommended overhauling the tax system...

While they scramble to bury Rupert Murdoch, they ignore the blatant violation of tax-exempt status by George Soros' pet outfit.The MSM is enjoying a very quiet laugh at the expense of one of their competitors: the Fox News Channel. TheyÂ’re not saying a word about the all-encompassing, possibly illegal abuse Fox News is experiencing at the hands of the George Soros-funded (to the tune of $1M) Media Matters for America. Media Matters was co-founded by current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, something which she proudly proclaims. Her fellow founder is David Brock, the fallen conservative journalist who thereafter drifted leftward....

American troops are dying in Afghanistan in record numbers, drone-launched mis-siles are killing more people in Pakistan, American aircraft are carrying out missions over Libya, terrorist detainees are facing military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay, and WikiLeaker Pfc. Bradley Manning is allegedly being tortured. Despite all this grist, the antiwar movement in 2011 is a shadow of its Bush-era self. The obvious explanation for this is that there is a Democrat in the White House, and according to a new study, this simple answer is largely correct. “The Partisan Dynamics of Contention: Demobilization of the Antiwar Movement in the United States,...

Know what doesn't go over well with advertisers? Making fun of disabled children. On April 18, political blog Wonkette published a post titled "Greatest Living American: A Children's Treasury of Trig Crap On His Birthday" (none of which we will quote here). Trig, for those who don't remember, is Sarah Palin's youngest son, who has Down Syndrome. The initial response to this "celebration" of Trig's birthday was limited to comments getting in on the action, contributing the sort of jokes that would make Gilbert Gottfried proud. But then, according to Slate's David Weigel, conservative bloggers stumbled across it and the...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Since 2003, the antiwar movement in the United States has had much to protest with Americans fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya, but the movement—which has dropped off sharply the past two years—may be more anti-Republican than antiwar, says a University of Michigan researcher. A new study by U-M's Michael Heaney and colleague Fabio Rojas of Indiana University shows that the antiwar movement in the United States demobilized as Democrats, who had been motivated to participate by anti-Republican sentiments, withdrew from antiwar protests when the Democratic Party achieved electoral success, first with Congress in 2006 and then...

WASHINGTON - In response to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's new budget proposal, Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle issued the following statement today: "Americans hoping to get real about our national debt just got sucker-punched by Republican Paul Ryan. "Republicans want to spend $40 trillion over ten years. That averages a staggering $4 trillion per year. As recently as 2000, federal spending was only about $1.8 trillion. "They also want to increase the federal debt from $15.0 trillion to $23.1 trillion. I hope our children and grandchildren enjoy paying interest on that extra $8.1 trillion. "People should not judge...

The prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, explained March 23 that priestly celibacy “cries out” to the secular world that God is always present. “Celibacy is a gift of the Lord that the priest is called to freely embrace and live in fullness,” the cardinal said in an article for L’Osservatore Romano. He added that only “an incorrect hermeneutic of the documents of Vatican II” would lead one to see celibacy as something “from which we must liberate ourselves.” “Such a position,” the cardinal said, “is not only historically, theologically and doctrinally erroneous, but it is...

Trap. Surprise, surprise, as soon as the first salvo of America’s brand new war has been fired, the same forces that pushed America into this conflict, are now washing their hands clean of it while pointing fingers at the US. Everyone knew it was coming, and now the liars and hypocrites are revealing their true form. Meet the coalition of the no longer willing: Russia and China China and Russia have condemned the Libya operation, despite both failing to veto the UN resolution calling for intervention. “China has noted the latest developments in Libya and expresses regret over the military...

In an article published in USA Today, President Obama praises President Ronald Reagan as a man with a "unique ability to inspire others to greatness."  Obama also says of Reagan that "there is no denying his leadership in the world, or his gift for communicating his vision for America."  The late president, Obama continues, "understood that it is always 'Morning in America.' That was his gift, and we remain forever grateful." Obama's view of Reagan today is far different from the discussion of Reagan in Obama's 1995 autobiography Dreams From My Father.  In that book, Obama says his strong feelings...

Critics of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin have turned to Twitter to post hate "tweets" suggesting that "she should be shot" and "assassinated." A four-minute video montage of the the "tweets" -- apparently sent after Saturday's massacre in Arizona that left six people dead and 14 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords -- was posted to YouTube on Tuesday. "My hatred for Sarah Palin continues to grow... I think this woman should be assassinated. Sorry about chya," was a message posted by "jenbobbi." Another user, "misskate83," posted: "Sarah Palin should be shot for her encouragement of fanaticism against Democrats." Calls to...

Watch two videos, one is Bill Maher joking about a botched attempt to take VICE PRESIDENT Dick Cheney's life. The watch a video of Bill Maher saying Republicans want to kill people or use such language, not Liberals.

Five dollars per gallon of gas by 2012! A former president of Shell Oil considers this likely. The average price on Christmas Day for a gallon of regular gas reached $3.28 in Los Angeles County, the highest price since October 2008. In one month, the price rose 13 cents, up 35 cents year to year. Where are the calls to sic Obama's Justice Department on Big Oil to hold the oil companies accountable for "market manipulation"? Why aren't we hunting down the amoral "oil speculators" responsible for repealing the law of supply-and-demand in order to line their pockets? During President...

President Obama and his family will forego the traditional American Christmas entrees of turkey or ham this Saturday, and instead feast on some juicy steaks. The White House announced on Friday that the Obamas' Christmas dinner in Hawaii will consist of steak, roast potatoes, and green beans, and for dessert, pies. The menu sounds nearly the same as it did last year, when the family had roast beef with "traditional" sides on Christmas Day. As for gifts, last year the White House revealed that the president and first lady decided not to exchange gifts with each other, setting what may...

(CNN) - Members of the Westboro Baptist Church announced Thursday plans to picket Saturday's funeral for Elizabeth Edwards in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Kansas-based Church - monitored by anti-hate groups such as the Anti-Defamation league and the Southern Poverty Law Center - is known for its extremist opposition to homosexuals, Jews and other groups. The church members also oppose the War in Iraq. According to the church's website, members will hold a protest from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m.

The Obama Watch Freedom Fries By Nicole Russell on 10.26.10 @ 6:06AM When President Obama indulges in fast food while traveling he exhorts interested onlookers: "Don't tell Michelle." The fit First Lady is, of course, an advocate of healthy foods and outspoken about childhood obesity. She had her own "Don't tell Barack" moment recently, when she stopped at a diner in Milwaukee and had classic greasy fare: a burger and fries. Mrs. Obama's meal really wouldn't be anyone else's business were it not for her own aspiration to rewrite the nation's menus. In a speech to the National Restaurant Association,...

(link only, sorry, it originates from Bloomberg)

Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Rom 8:35 Intel has agreed to build a 6 Billion plant in a suburb of Portland OR which will create far more jobs than obozo’s stimulus plan. Once again capitalism shows communism how to create jobs and make wealth in spite of the Gummit’s best efforts to stop it. The kicker of course is that Intel was given tax advantages of $10 Million to build it here rather than another state. Just like we have been telling...

Boo freakin' hoo! The Louisiana Hispanic Chamber of Congress chick is mad because Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) dares to use the word "illegals" 4 times in his effective ad against an opponent (Charlie Melancon) who supported laws that help illegal aliens. Poor baby. The truth hurts. She also makes an absurd statement that "the majority of those here illegally are not even Latino". In fact, 61% are from Mexico alone. But compounding her error she goes after "blonde, blue eyed waitresses" supposedly from Eastern Europe. Uh, who's being "racist" now? Youtube Link HERE To see Sen. Vitter's great ad click...

The Arizona immigration law is a matter of complaint from ten Latin America countries joining Mexico and the US Federal government lawsuit against the state. Let’s see how the Gang of 10 scores on human rights themselves. According to the 2009 US State Department report on Bolivia: Although the law permits children up to six years old to live with an incarcerated parent, children as old as 12 lived with their parents in prisons. (The law also permits spouses to live in prison.) Approximately 877 children lived with a parent in prison, as an alternative to being left homeless....

Reporting from Guatemala City, Danilo Valladares of the Inter-Press Service (IPS) notes that there will be one more barrier for Guatemalan immigrants in their trek to the United States. In addition to dodging dangerous drug traffickers and immigration officials, the latest obstacle is emerging: a wall between Guatemala and Mexico. According to the head of customs for Mexico’s tax administration, Raul Diaz, the Mexican border state of Chiapas is constructing a wall along the country’s southern border with Guatemala, along the river Suchiate which divides the countries. Diaz says the purpose of the wall is to prevent the passage of...

On Tuesday night, a group of 40 Episcopal bishops from around the country attended a weekly vigil in Douglas, AZ, held for those who have died trying to cross illegally into the U.S. The advocacy group known as Frontera de Cristo has been conducting the vigils along the Pan-American Highway since 2000. The group placed crosses on the sidewalk and spoke the names of those who died attempting the illegal crossing. The bishops are in Arizona for a meeting of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church, and have been visiting with illegal aliens and listening to their stories...

Here’s a preview of how the Midterm media battles will be waged. The New York Times is running a front page feature on House Minority leader John Boehner (“a 60-year-old, perpetually tanned, sharply tailored, chain-smoking golfer”) the man recently cast as President Obama’s main foe in the Republican party, and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has taken to Twitter to tell you how much he really wants you to read it. The article details Boehner’s “especially tight ties with a circle of lobbyists and former aides representing some of the nation’s biggest businesses, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Citigroup, R. J. Reynolds,...

Connecticut state law does not allow pistol permit records to be available to the public. Many states do allow this information to be released, and some media outlets – in a drive to increase page views – have published the full databases including private information simply because it’s “public record.” A journalist at the Hartford Courant suggests the information should be made public, but there is no reasonable reason to do so ... other than continue the stereotype that guns are bad, gun people are a strange lot who must be monitored, and the media's goal of increasing page views...

Planned Parenthood at 1108 16th Street NW in Washington, DC is the abortion mecca-mill where pro-lifers by the hundreds pray and protest during the annual March for Life every January, for instance in 2009.... But here's how the front of that PP looks today, 3 weeks after it suddenly posted a fence, gate, and "Private Property: No Trespassing" sign: Now Rev. Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition will challenge what appears to be PP's flagrant attempt to deny the bothersome 1st Amendment rights of pro-lifers. Mahoney (pictured left) has applied for a permit to protest to hold a prayer...

Senate Democrats want to kill a controversial part of their own healthcare law that imposes new tax burdens on small businesses. The proposal — introduced Thursday by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) with the support of party leaders — would eliminate a new tax filing requirement that many conservatives, backed by the business community, deem a job killer...The Democrats bill...would pay to eliminate the small business provision by killing a tax break for the nation's oil giants, including BP. The action comes as Republicans hit President Obama and Democrats hard over the economy. Businesses are not hiring enough to lower the...

The corrupt Mexican government is already feeling the results of Arizona’s SB 1070 law which will give local police the power to investigate the immigration status of people they lawfully come in contact with during the course of their duties. The Mexican consulate in Phoenix has assigned extra staff workers to assist its people in returning to their homeland. Mexicans who have been arrested and deported are watching from the southern side of the border holding fast to their delusion that they will soon be able to sneak back in when this “blows over” after Obama kills the law. But...

On her first trip to the Gulf Coast since the BP oil spill, First Lady Michelle Obama encouraged Americans to consider vacationing on the region’s beaches that have not been directly impacted by oil. “It is vacation time. Folks are looking for things to do with their kids, and this would be a great opportunity to do a few things -- help this community, send a different message about the extent of the spill, and also think long term about how the rest of the country can help this economy and the folks down here,” Mrs. Obama said at the...

Google's popular Street View project may have collected personal information of members of Congress, including some involved in national security issues. The claim was made by leading advocacy group, Consumer Watchdog which wants Congress to hold hearings into what data Google's Street View possesses.

One of the great myths of the left is that socialism is a movement of the people, the working classes, or the poor. In fact -- as Frederick Hayek pointed out long ago -- all socialist movements are the creation of intellectual elites, liberally pollinated by millionaires. Karl Marx was the kept intellectual of factory owner Frederick Engels; Bill Ayers, a leader of the terrorist cult called the Weatherman, was a scion of the American upper class; Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, is a multi-millionairess; Michael Moore, leftwing propagandist, is a multi-millionaire who has profited handsomely from the...

Best quote of the week: "If you're a liberal, you can literally get away with probable murder (Teddy Kennedy), rape (Bill Clinton), children out of wedlock (John Edwards), association with known racists and terrorists (Barack Obama), involvement with the mob (JFK), pimping out gay prostitutes from your apartment (Barney Frank) and membership in the KKK (Robert Byrd), so long as you believe in bigger government and less financial freedom."

I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side… Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds. — Robert C. Byrd, in a letter to Sen. Theodore Bilbo (D-MS), 1944 (Newsbusters)- When Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond died, the MSM was quick to stress his segregationist past. The New York Times ran the headline “Strom Thurmond, Foe of Integration, Dies at 100,” leaving...

No general should criticize his or her commander, and Gen. Stanley McChrystal is no exception. But the mainstream media is primarily concerned with the political fallout of McChrystal's apparent insubordination as revealed by a piece in Rolling Stone. They are not concerned with whether his critiques are accurate, in stark contrast to other military officers' critiques of war policy under the Bush administration. During Bush's tenure, active duty generals that spoke out against administration policy were portrayed as courageous whistleblowers. Retired generals were treated as ever-wise sages of military policy. None were scrutinized as McChrystal, pictured right, has been in...

Those who are familiar with this site will recall that the National Rifle Association (NRA) has been on the Seeing Red AZ blogroll since the inception of this website in June 2007. Take a good hard look, because the link will soon be coming down. Yesterday we posted the endorsements U.S. Senate candidate J. D. Hayworth received from former NRA President Bob Corbin and from theGun Owners of America. Yet the NRA, which has previously referred to John McCain as “one of the premier flag carriers for the enemies of the second amendment,” inexplicably gave McCain their endorsement. In endorsing...

Make no mistake about it, anti-war weirdoes, notably President Obama, dishonor Memorial Day! The nation observes Memorial Day to honor the supreme sacrifice of our soldiers who died for this country. But that’s not true to hypocrites who pay homage to our dead heroes with their mouth, not with their honest thoughts and right actions or deeds. In the celebration of Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day, weirdoes like Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan and the ladies CodePink for Peace Movement, had milled around the graves of soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan chanting invectives. They protested their burial with honor...