Free Republic

An antitax advocacy group zinged Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s tax plan, giving him a grade of “D+” grade and the dubious honor of proposing what “may be the worst idea of any of the Republican candidates.” ”The good news is Santorum has gotten more specific about his tax plan since last month when we gave him a D+,” economist William McBride wrote on Thursday. “The bad news is… he’s gotten more specific.” Mr. McBride said the biggest problem with Mr. Santorum’s proposal is the sharply different corporate tax rates he would establish. Mr. Santorum would halve the corporate tax...

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 have good news and bad news for conservatives. But the good news and the bad news are both the same thing: We have six very impressive, lifelong conservative candidates running for the presidency. They are the smartest candidates, the most principled candidates, the most patriotic candidates, the most persuasive candidates, and the candidates with the best ideas. The problem lies in the fact that conservatives do not have a single favorite candidate. They have six favorite candidates! And as long as they remain split between each of their six “favorite” candidates, they will eventually help nominate Mitt Romney —...

White House political maestro Karl Rove urged money and other forms of support for Republican congressional candidate Michele Bachmann at a Stillwater fundraiser Friday.The Bachmann fundraiser at the Water Street Inn in Stillwater attracted about 60 supporters, who paid $250 for lunch. Couples who contributed $1,000 to Bachmann could have their pictures taken with Rove. The Bachmann campaign did not immediately release the total amount raised.

She prayed for peace that day. But the sage that Robin Brown carried on a bird-watching outing in Weston landed her in jail on felony charges of marijuana possession. Now she is suing over the wrongful arrest. "I'm not out for revenge," said Brown, 49, a soft-spoken woman from Montana who moved to Hollywood in 2007. "I'm trying to bring information to light so that it doesn't happen to anyone else." Sheriff's Deputy Dominic Raimondi, 51, mistook Brown's sage for marijuana, then searched her car and found more. His field kit said the sage — purchased at an airport gift...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 — ''One arrest, no conviction,'' Senator Bob Packwood said today, summing up his brush with the law in the early morning. His crime: absence from a quorum call. His punishment: being dragged onto the floor of the Senate by police officers to be recorded as present. While he did not enter a charge of police brutality, a recent bone injury on Senator Packwood's ring finger was aggravated in the encounter.

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Republican Senator John McCain on Wednesday joined his former rival President Barack Obama in calling for a nuclear-free world, a goal previously formulated by former president Ronald Reagan. During a lengthy speech on the Senate floor marking the unveiling of a statue of Reagan in the Capitol, the veteran Arizona lawmaker recalled how his "personal hero" had dreamed of a world free of nuclear weapons. "That is my dream too," McCain said. "This is a distant and difficult goal. And we must proceed toward it prudently and pragmatically, and with a focused concern for our security and...

Sean Hannity Raising Money For Schwarzenegger Conservative Fox News commentator Sean Hannity will be the "special guest" Oct. 26 at a fund-raiser for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Don't tell Democrats who have embraced Schwarzenegger this year after he raised the minimum wage, signed legislation curbing global warming, and actively courted the Democratic Legislature. The event at the Sheraton Grand in Sacramento costs $1,000 per person, but "platinum" sponsors can pay $100,000. Platinum sponsors listed on the invitation (at left and below) are Chevron executive Jack Coffey; developer Gerry Kamilos and his wife, Karen; and McDonald's franchise owner C.C. Yin and his...

The rate of decline in the US housing market is continuing to surprise the pundits. The number of housing starts - that is, new home construction - fell 6% in August, down almost 20% on last year, the worst annual decline in four years, and a much worse fall than expected. That came hot on the heels of news from the National Association of Home Builders that house builders’ confidence is at its lowest since 1991. “This implies an increasingly negative outlook for the consumer sector given the importance of equity withdrawal and the positive wealth effects housing has provided...

President Bush yesterday said he opposes a civilian project to monitor illegal aliens crossing the border, characterizing them as "vigilantes." He said he would pressure Congress to further loosen immigration law.

There are essentially three tax reform proposals being considered by Congress. There’s Rep. John Linder’s (R-GA) FairTax, the flat tax, and the politically (though not popularly) preferred method of incrementalism. Before we dwell on the differences between the flat tax and The FairTax Book co-authored by John Linder and myself, let’s acknowledge one political reality illustrated by the success of both The FairTax Book and Steve Forbes’ Flat Tax Revolution: the people of the United States are ready for bold and decisive tax reform NOW. They don’t want the incremental approach. The FairTax Book would not have debuted No. 1...

The US House of Representatives has voted 276-139 for a bill that would prevent lawsuits against the food industry for making people fat. The so-called Cheeseburger Bill bans frivolous lawsuits against producers and sellers of food and non-alcoholic drinks arising from obesity claims. The bill supporters say consumers have to realise they cannot blame others for the consequences of their actions. Critics say the food industry now does not have to worry about public health. The vote came a day after a new study said obesity was likely to become the nation's biggest preventable killer, overtaking smoking. These insane and...

For 13 years Terri Schiavo has been in a coma - with her husband, her parents, the Christian right and now the president's brother locked in a bitter struggle over her fate. This week could see a final decision on whether she lives or dies. Suzanne Goldenberg reports from Florida The woman's eyes are open in the video. She slowly rolls her head along the pillow, keeping up a constant low moan, as a man's arm dangles a metallic balloon overhead. "Look over here, Terri," a male voice says. "Can you follow that at all?" The medical community and Florida's...

We Had a Democracy Once, But You Crushed Itby Russell Mokhiber and Robert WeissmanDissident Voice August 9, 2003 In Thursday's Washington Post, Condoleeza Rice, the President's NationalSecurity Advisor, writes the following: "Our task is to work with those in the Middle East who seek progress toward greater democracy, tolerance, prosperity and freedom. As President Bush said in February, ‘The world has a clear interest in the spread of democratic values, because stable and free nations do not breed ideologies of murder. They encourage the peaceful pursuit of a better life.'" Now, if we only had a nickel for every time Bush, or...