Free Republic

Contrary to popular opinion, U.S. tax rates aren’t low, says Edward Prescott, a Nobel laureate economist at Arizona State University. “Tax rates are already high, much higher than is commonly understood, and increasing them will likely further depress the economy, especially by affecting the number of hours Americans work,” Prescott and Lee Ohanian, a UCLA economist, write in The Wall Street Journal. …

During a press conference to unveil some 160,000 individual petitions asking Congress not to raise taxes on any Americans, organizers were asked if House Speaker John Boehner was invited to attend. “Speaker Boehner was invited. Other members of leadership were invited,” said Dustin Stockton, chief strategist with TheTeaParty.net, the group that organized the petition drive. … “But then he (Boehner) didn’t want to attend this?” CNSNews.com asked. “No,” Stockton said. …

House conservatives believe there is no good proposal put forth by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) or President Obama to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” and blame for the current Republican position “rests squarely” on Boehner’s shoulders. “Let’s do something that’s real unusual in this town. Let’s talk about accountability. I don’t care whoever you are. The position the speaker’s in right now—if there’s any blame to be placed, it’s squarely on his shoulders,” said Rep. Jeff Landry (R-La.). … “There’s no deal on the table from either side that is a good deal for the American people. Not one...

The 2013 EU budget has been agreed after MEPs signed off on a deal worth €132.8 billion ($173.8 billion) in Strasbourg on Wednesday (12 December). The agreement breaks months of deadlock between MEPs, the commission and national governments. It increases EU spending next year by just €3.8 billion ($4.97 billion), over €5 billion ($6.5 billion) less than the sums demanded by MEPs and the EU executive. It also includes a controversial deal providing just €6.1 billion ($7.98 billion) of emergency funding to the European Commission to cover outstanding bills from 2012. …

12-12-12 I joined a handful of people who supported Right to Work Legislation in Lansing yesterday. While the union goons circled the AFP tent like a pack of hyenas all morning, I ventured out with my friend Wendy, and videotaped the crowds as they swelled from a few hundred at 8 AM to at least 15,000 by 11:30AM. We also spent considerable time observing the planned events that culminated in a near riot. Between 8 and 9, the union leadership directed the protestors to kick Michigan Americans for Prosperity people off the Capitol's front steps, which the AFP had reserved,...

JEREMY GRANTHAM is famous for looking into the dark corners of investment. He sees things we’d rather not discuss. His pessimism has served him well. Investors hire Grantham to spot irrational exuberance and bet against it. That’s why his firm, Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo, is entrusted to manage $100 billion. The dour Grantham makes a lot of money for his clients. He is usually right. In his November newsletter, you see, Grantham the Grim delivers the most pessimistic report we’ve ever seen. Anywhere. He writes: “The U.S. GDP growth rate that we have become accustomed to for over 100 years—in...

Leader of new U.S.-backed Syrian rebel coalition: Obama shouldn’t have designated some of our fighters as terrorists posted at 5:21 pm on December 12, 2012 by Allahpundit A short but important footnote to the NYT’s story about Assad using scud missiles against the rebels. Remember, this is supposed to be the new pro-western face of the Syrian opposition that’ll make deeper U.S. involvement more politically palatable. But the leader of the coalition took issue with a decision by the Obama administration to classify Al Nusra Front — one of several armed groups fighting Mr. Assad — as a foreign...

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is tightening its grip on domestic travcel. I don't mean the random, unpredictable security checks at bus, subway and train stations which already exist. I mean a coordinated and systematic police control of internal travel within America. Groundwork is being laid. Application to Make U.S. Into an Airport Screening Zone The application was tucked away on page 71431 of Volume 77, Number 231 of the Federal Register (November 30). It was surrounded by soporific references to forwarding "the new Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review...

Clinton Tarver has been serving hot dogs to hungry locals in downtown Lansing, Mich., for the last five years, but a brush this week with a pro-union protest literally upended his small business in a matter of minutes. During a protest against right-to-work legislation in Michigan's capital, Tarver’s catering supplies were destroyed when demonstrators tore down the tent where he was serving and trampled his gear. Related News: Labor Unions: A History of Murder and Sabotage Learning From History (Labor Unions) - The Kohler Strike of 1954 Are Unions Completely Overrun by Radicals?

Government forces have fired at least a half-dozen short-range ballistic missiles at rebel groups in northern Syria over the past several days, according to U.S. officials, a potentially significant escalation of a civil war that has killed more than 40,000 people. U.S. officials and the group Human Rights Watch also alleged Wednesday that Syrian government forces are dropping incendiary devices similar to napalm weapons on rebel fighters in populated areas. The officials described the tactics as acts of desperation as rebels gain momentum in the nearly two-year-old fight to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

Ever wonder how a state like Fla. whose state senate is owned by the GOP 28/12 could go for Bork Obunga in a national election (or Ohio 23/10) or how a total bastion of libtardism like Michigan could pass a right-to-work law or why RR couldn't take Wiconsin after Scott Walker's stunning victories and with Ryan one of the two R's on the ticket?? The basic cold, hard reality of it: dems can manufacture all the vote they want and it won't buy state houses, the GOP will still control its own districts, it's only statewide or national elections which...

Many powerful Democrats, even some of the most liberal among them, are supporting what amounts to a dismantling of President Obama’s signature health care law. Using “Republican” language to make their case, these Democrats are attempting to repeal some of the funding mechanisms as well as the cost-containment measures that were purportedly inherent in the law. With some of their most influential constituent groups facing onerous tax increases that are slated to help fund the law’s mandates and regulations, Senators like Al Franken (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA)

A New Mexico couple has been warned by the federal government not to touch trash – tin cans, broken glass and the like – that has accumulated over the years on the 20 acres of desert land they bought for their retirement home near Santa Fe because it could hurt the Rio Grande River, 25 miles away. Huh? The dispute over the Obama administration’s claim to jurisdiction over desert land belonging to Peter and Francoise Smith is heading to court now. Their lawsuit alleges Washington is over-reaching in its claim that their land, which does not contain any “relatively permanent,...

The Philadelphia District Attorney said six people filed false injury claims against SEPTA after a woman tripped and fell on a bus. The DA said the incident happened on Thanksgiving night in 2010. According to investigators, the woman involved fell while walking to the rear of the bus. The bus had not been in an accident, the DA said, and there were no sudden maneuvers that would have caused her to fall. Paramedics were called to the scene, but the woman refused treatment and declined to go to the hospital. The only other person on the bus at the time...

55 Reasons Why California Is The Worst State In America By Michael Snyder December 12th, 2012 Why in the world would anyone want to live in the state of California at this point? The entire state is rapidly becoming a bright, shining example of everything that is wrong with America. It is so sad to watch our most populated state implode right in front of our eyes. Like millions of Americans, I was quite enamored with the state of California when I was younger. The warm weather, the beaches, the great natural beauty of the state and the mystique of...

"Is there not an appreciation for the Jewish holidays? The Christmas holiday? Kwanzaa? All the other things that families come together around? Bonding rituals important to the strength of our society? Do we not care about that? Well, the American people do. And they want to shop for it." - Wednesday, December 12, 2012, House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on the house floor

In this year's campaign, Senator Jean White and state House candidate Jeffrey Hare, both Republicans, were attacked via mailers featuring a gay couple kissing and slogans suggesting that the image represented their version of family values. Turns out that the couple in question, Brian Edwards and Tom Privitere, weren't asked if their photo could be used in this way -- and now, they and the photographer who snapped the pic are suing the outfit that used it. Details and the images in question below. Here's the original photo, as captured by photographer Kristina Hill to mark Edwards and Privitere's engagement....

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With the spotlight on Wisconsin's union thugs rampaging across the state, one wonders why it took propaganda filmmaker Michael Moore so long to put himself in front of the news cameras to take some of their publicity for himself. But this weekend, Moore finally glommed onto the cameras making himself out to be a great supporter of the union's efforts in the Badger State. Once again, though, Moore proves to be a hypocrite. It was Moore, after all, that excluded using union workers in one of his recent films. Some supporter of unions! Filmmaker Moore attend a recent Wisconsin pro-union...

European Union finance ministers reached an agreement early Thursday to create a single supervisor for their banks - one of the most significant transfers of authority from national governments to regional authorities since the creation of the euro currency. Under the deal, banks with more than $39 billion in assets supervised or those that represent a significant proportion of their national economies will be placed under the oversight of the European Central Bank. The deal gives the ECB broad powers, including the ability to grant and withdraw banking licenses, investigate institutions, and financially sanction banks that don't follow the rules.