Free Republic

Who exactly were the rich who, as the president said, were not "paying their fair share"? The rapper Jay-Z (net worth: nearly $500 million)? The actor Johnny Depp (2011 income: $50 million)? Neither seems to have heard the president's earlier warning that, "at a certain point you've made enough money." Could both zillionaires simply have quit making money at $10 million -- and thereby given their poorer audiences a break on ticket prices? With all the talk of raising taxes on the supposedly conservative wannabes who make $250,000 per year, why not additionally levy a $3 surcharge on discretionary tickets...

(Reuters) - Researchers have named a newly discovered, prehistoric lizard "Obamadon gracilis" in honor of the 44th president's toothy grin. The small, insect-eating lizard was first discovered in eastern Montana in 1974, but a recent re-examination showed the fossil had been wrongly classified as a Leptochamops denticulatus and was in fact a new species, researchers told Reuters on Tuesday. Obamadon gracilis was one of nine newly discovered species reported on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In naming the new species, scientists from Yale and Harvard universities combined the Latin "Obamadon" for "Obama's teeth" and "gracilis,"...

The current conundrum regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage is what happens when church and state are mixed -- the topics become confusing and confused. When I married my husband almost 15 years ago, I did so out of love and out of a desire to witness before God my commitment to him and his to me. The legal and tax ramifications did not enter into my head. But for couples of the same sex, the legal and tax ramifications can be very important because their legal rights differ from those of heterosexual couples in a number of ways, from...

In an interview with Fox News host Bill O´Reilly last year, President Obama claimed he "didn´t raise taxes once." O´Reilly didn´t challenge the claim, and other reporters repeated it as fact. But it was completely false. By the time he went on O´Reilly´s show, Obama had signed more than 20 tax hikes into law with a combined 10-year price tag of more than $500 billion. However, since most of these taxes targeted relatively small and unpopular groups — smokers, tanning salons, insurance companies, the rich — few seemed to notice. Indeed, a review of the tax hikes Obama has enacted...

Republicans have been forced into a Hobson's choice of either letting the Bush tax cuts expire for everyone or agreeing to a tax hike on the top 2 percent of income earners (not to be confused with "the rich," who have already made, inherited or married their money). If Republicans object to the Democrats' hitting job creators with a tax hike, three things will happen: Taxes will go up for everyone; Republicans will be seen as the "party of the rich"; and the inevitable economic collapse will be blamed on Republicans. If Democrats were merely trying to raise taxes on...

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepares to testify on Capitol Hill next week about last September’s attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, a Republican lawmaker is urging her to cut aid to Tunisia over its refusal to allow the FBI to talk to the only known detained suspect in the attack. Speaking on the U.S. House floor Wednesday, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) accused Tunisian authorities of hampering the FBI’s investigation into the attack in Libya’s second city, during which U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed. …

When you think about it, it's amazing that the high-minded swells at the University of California didn't unveil a new logo sooner. The old logo, which will continue to appear on diplomas and official letters, features the school motto, "Let there be light." Ancient. An English translation of a Latin phrase. And a book. Dead-tree lit. 1868? Dead white guys. Under a star. Too militaristic. But it wasn't political correctness that relegated the old UC seal to the dusty top shelf reserved for weighty documents only. The new logo, explained UC spokesman Steve Montiel, is "an operational thing." The seal...

NGOs are urging Syrian rebels to release a Ukrainian journalist, Anhar Kochneva, who is set to be executed Thursday. Meanwhile the group behind the kidnapping warned it would now target all Russians, Ukrainians and Iranians on Syrian soil. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), ARTICLE 19, the International Press Institute and Reporters Without Borders issued a joint statement expressing deep concern about Kochneva’s life and urging the leadership of the Free Syrian Army and of the Syrian Opposition Coalition to ensure that the journalist is safe and set free. The groups also called on the French, British and US governments,...

The European Union’s 27 foreign ministers today criticized Israel’s response to Palestine’s successful bid to upgrade its status at the United States, saying that they were “deeply dismayed” by Israel’s decision to expand settlements in the occupied territories. Israel has said that it intends to build 3,000 more Jewish settler homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Ministers said that plans to develop the “E1 area”—which would effectively separate East Jerusalem from the West Bank of Palestine—is a particular concern. “The E1 plan, if implemented, would seriously undermine the prospects of a negotiated resolution of the conflict by jeopardizing...

Investigators say two would-be hit men from Albuquerque may have had their sights set on the teen mega star; Justin Bieber. They had it planned down to the ties they were going to use to strangle to the pop star and three other people. A warning, the details are pretty graphic.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said concerns that his weight would prevent him from serving as president were “ridiculous” in an interview set to air Wednesday. In an interview for Barbara Walters’s “10 Most Fascinating People” series, the broadcast veteran asked the New Jersey governor how he would respond to “people who say that you couldn’t be president because you're so heavy.” “That’s ridiculous, I mean, that’s ridiculous,” Christie responded. “I mean, I don’t know what the basis for that is.” …

Listen to the Quinn & Rose Morning Show from 6:00 to 9:00 Eastern on: www.wpgb.com (104.7 Pittsburgh, Pa) http://wysl1040.com/ (Rochester, NY) http://www.talkradio560.com/ (Frostburg, MD) http://wicofm.com/ (Salisbury/Ocean City, MD WOBX - Outer banks NC httphttp://www.wncoam.com/main.html (Ashland, OH) ://tunein.com/radio/The-War-Room-with-Quinn--Rose-p34761/ for archived shows And now on 166 XM

No one knows what the two white women were doing on that Metro in that part of Washington, D.C. Ads by Google Clothes and DressesUp to 90% Discount at CashCashPinoy. Join Now! lp.CashCashPinoy.com Trade Forex with FxProStart trading Forex online now. Open an account for free! www.fxpro.com They “did not want any trouble,” they said on the video. To the black mob that confronted them, threatened them, beat them and robbed them, it was no trouble at all. So they grabbed their iPhones, but not before the girls fought back to retrieve them. Unsuccessfully. All the while one of the...

Dems line up behind Pelosi against changing Medicare eligibility ageBy Mike Lillis - 12/12/12 08:01 PM ET House Democrats are lining up behind Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) against raising Medicare’s eligibility age as part of a year-end tax-and-spending package. Pelosi rejected raising Medicare’s eligibility age in an op-ed published Tuesday in USA Today, then doubled down on that position Wednesday. “We want what happens to be fair,” she said in an interview on CBS’s “This Morning” program. “And one of the things that we object to is raising the Medicare age.” A number of Democrats say this is neither...

The Sturmgewehr 44 dates back to 1944 - Value $20,000 to 25,000 - It was the first modern assault rifle ever made - AK 47 copied design - Police "did not take the gun in for the gun buy-back program." - Photo in Comments

The United States has backed a United Nations draft resolution favoring universal healthcare coverage. The nonbinding measure calls on U.N. member states to ensure citizens' access to health insurance, and was approved by the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday. Supporters say the draft resolution paves the way for the post-2015 development agenda to include universal health coverage. Health insurance for all promotes "sustained, inclusive and equitable growth, social cohesion and well-being of the population," the U.N. said. In 2010, the U.N.'s World Health Organization (WHO) expressed support for President Obama's signature healthcare law, praising it as an "unprecedented achievement" in...

For months, federal agencies and the White House have sidetracked dozens of major regulations that cover everything from power plant pollution to workplace safety to a crackdown on Wall Street. The rules had been largely put on hold during the presidential campaign as the White House sought to quiet Republican charges that President Barack Obama was an overzealous regulator who is killing U.S. jobs. But since the election, the Obama administration has quietly reopened the regulations pipeline. In recent weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed rules to update water quality guidelines for beaches and other recreational waters and deal...

At our church's Christmas Musical, there was a video presentation of one of the leaders and he held up a copy of Life magazine's November special issue entitled "JESUS" with a picture of Jesus and the sub title "Who Do You Say That I Am?" I then saw this on the magazine rack at the checkout at the store, so I purchased it and while I haven't gotten through it all yet, I was impressed that one of our oldest Magazines in America chose this Christmas season to put out THE Issue that asks the Question that may be the...

Arzie Tory Months before Floridians had heard of Trayvon Martin or George Zimmerman, an Indian River County man was threatened with a beating and made a decision to stand his ground by grabbing a gun. Arzie Tory was a 48-year-old lawn maintenance employee who arrived at work on July 12, 2011, and was assaulted by a man 19 years younger, according to court records. Tory, who said he was experiencing weakness from diabetes, took a punch to the eye and fled to his car, where he pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and warned the other man to stay away, records...

A 16-year-old from Uganda just wanted something to eat the day she wandered into a chess tournament that swept her out of the slums and into the international spotlight. In 2011, Tim Crothers wrote a viral piece for ESPN Magazine about Phiona Mutesi. The story is once again getting attention as Crothers tours the U.S. this week to promote a full-length book about the teen, who he says is “the ultimate underdog.” “Before I discovered chess… I was living on the streets,” Mutesi told CNN in an interview broadcast on Monday. “You couldn’t have anything to eat at the streets.”...