Free Republic

See where you fit on the money accumulation curve.If you are curious about whether you are keeping up with the Joneses, our calculator will help.Open the Google Sheet document. Make a copy. Insert your net worth. The spreadsheet will tell you where that ranks you among 128 million U.S. households. Wealth Calculator Google Docs Wealth calculatorForbesYou need just shy of $1.4 million to be in the top 10%. To be a one-percenter, accumulate $10.2 million.In this ranking, wealth includes home equity (often excluded in discussions of millionaires). It does not include the value of pensions, annuities or future Social Security...

In their effort to break the mold, the planners of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago are taking heat for some less-than-lofty features in the sprawling complex. Namely, a “test kitchen.” Reports first surfaced last fall that the monument to the first black president’s legacy was taking on an activity-center vibe. There would be a museum – but also a basketball court, possibly a room for yoga classes, and a test kitchen to teach visitors “about the full production cycle of nutritious food.”

Barack Obama learned it from watching you, Hillary! Democrats, as we all know, loathe the so-called “one percent.” We all know their ranks are clogged with over payed movie-stars, “woke” CEO’s, and career politicians who, like Harry Reid, inexplicably manage to make millions in the public service arena, but that’s not the point. Those one-percenters are OK because they toe the left-wing line. Being wealthy is only a problem if you try to stand up to their agenda. Occasionally, that plays out in interesting ways. During the 2016 election, the Bernie-loving socialists were thrilled when Sanders attacked Hillary Clinton’s outrageous...

Heidi Cruz said Wednesday that her husband, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), was showing America "the face of the God that we serve" through his faith-based Republican presidential campaign.

The divorce between filmmaker Michael Moore and his wife is bringing many details to surface, including that the two own nine homes in New York and Michigan, according to the Detroit News. By reaching a settlement, Moore avoids a trial that could have aired dirty laundry common in high-proile breakups and impugned his long-hewn image as a common man by disclosing details of his comfortable life. His hit movies and best-selling books have begat a lifestyle far from most ballcap-wearing, duck-waddling denizens of Flint. Moore and Glynn own nine properties in Michigan and New York, including a Manhattan condo that...

Can a man who once owned the world's largest sailing yacht claim to be a victim of discrimination? Well, when it comes to Tom Perkins, the answer is yes; although he presented his argument in such a ham-fisted manner, it made Richard Sherman seem like Mister Spock. But, the gist of the Silicon Valley tycoon's concerns shouldn't be ignored or dismissed. In fact, these days anyone pointing out societal trends and movements that threaten established orthodoxy, such as Christianity, or dismantling of capitalism, better not leave room for deliberate misinterpretation; even when you are careful to make finer points, snippets...

It is always in poor taste for modern Americans to liken their ideological critics to Nazis. So when venture capitalist Tom Perkins wrote a letter to The Wall Street Journal that equated "the progressive war on the American one percent, namely the 'rich,'" with "fascist Nazi Germany," he opened his double doors to the cable TV umbrage-fest that followed. I have a teensy bit of advice for Perkins: When your reported worth is somewhere in the neighborhood of $8 billion, you don't need to wrap quotes around the word "rich." In three paragraphs, Perkins, 82, lambasted the San Francisco Chronicle...

Radio Talk Show Host Charged with Mortgage Fraud Warren Ballentine, 41, Durham, North Carolina, and formerly of Country Club Hills, Illinois, a lawyer who hosts a national radio talk show, was indicted on federal charges for allegedly engaging in two mortgage fraud schemes that defrauded lenders of a total of approximately $9.7 million. The defendant allegedly schemed with others to obtain more than two dozen fraudulent mortgage loans and represented buyers at multiple closings, knowing that they were fraudulently qualified for loans to purchase homes in Chicago, Illinois, and various southern suburbs. Ballentine owns the Law Office of Warren Ballentine,...

Report: It Looks Like Corzine Will Likely Stay Out Of The SlammerRob Wile | February 24, 2012 (AP)Dealbreaker's Bess Levin reports (via FoxBusiness) that former MF Global CEO Jon Corzine will not face criminal charges for his role in the firm's diverting of client funds and subsequent collapse. Sources told FoxBusiness regulators were having "a very tough time" gathering evidence that would have put Corzine in the clinker.

How does this fit in with the White House’s new Obama moniker, “warrior of the working class?” Old Saybrook, Conn (WTNH) – It was rumored that President Barack Obama has considered purchasing the late Katharine Hepburn’s 8,300-square-foot mansion in the posh Fenwick section of Old Saybrook. Some folks living in the Fenwick section of Old Saybrook were not surprised by the recent rumors. Marge Taylor says news President Barack Obama may be looking at Katherine Hepburn’s old house is nothing new. She says his daughters Sasha and Malia have already been seen around the neighborhood because Sasha is friends with...

NEW YORK (AP) -- R&B diva Patti LaBelle hurled curses - and half a bottle of water - at a woman and her 18-month-old daughter after a dust-up over parenting in an apartment building lobby, according to a lawsuit filed Monday and the family's lawyer. LaBelle's publicists and lawyer didn't immediately respond to Kevin and Roseanna Monk's lawsuit. The couple live in a Manhattan building where the Grammy Award-winning singer stayed for a time while appearing in the Broadway musical "Fela!" last fall, said the Monks' lawyer, Samuel L. Davis. He said LaBelle chastised Roseanna Monk for letting the toddler...

Washington -- House minority leader Nancy Pelosi is bracing for a report on the stock investments of members of Congress that is to air Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes." The San Francisco Democrat and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, were questioned separately at their weekly news conferences Nov. 3 by reporter Steve Croft. Neither had granted Croft's previous requests for interviews. Croft asked both leaders about stock transactions they made while Congress was considering legislation that could affect the financial and insurance industries. Pelosi and Boehner vigorously denied any connection. Laws against insider trading - making stock bets based on...

Click the link above for his so-called opinion. Click below to pay out da ass. Roger Waters Fri. May 11, 2012 8:15 PM AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA

Folks, please welcome back former Congressman Duncan L. Hunter to Free Republic tomorrow (Wednesday, Dec 22) at 9:30 am PDT. It has been three long years since he last joined us for an interview. Back then, he was in the midst of vying for the GOP nomination for the presidency. Though he was and remains a rock-ribbed conservative, the GOP money and the voters chose the path of moderation, as personified in John McCain. And we know how that turned out. This time, Hunter will not be in the running, but at just 62 years of age, and being of...

Former Congressman Duncan L. Hunter was kind enough to interrupt his hunting and fishing vacation in Idaho once more to call in and answer a few more questions. Unfortunately, he has been mostly out in the woods and has paid scant attention to the political news of the last couple weeks. He’s actually enjoying that aspect almost as much as bagging elk and landing steelhead. This series will continue, whether he’s on vacation or not, during the weeks ahead. So without further adieu: PA: Hello, Congressman Hunter. What are you up to now? DH: Well, were planning on going up...

Why the smart money is on Duncan Hunter OK, so you’ve got a thousand dollars burning a hole in your pocket and you want to make a statement with it at the same time as getting 40X return on your “investment”, you want $40,000 for that $1000 bet, like Hillary did in her Pig Belly futures or whatever it was. You’re going to decide between putting it down on Hunter or Thompson over at Intrade because these are the 2 most conservative candidates in the race. https://www.intrade.com/ Which one do you choose? Let’s start with the guy who has 3...

The Associated Press NASHVILLE -- Tennessee's two Republican senators on Thursday voted in Washington against a non-binding resolution calling for continued support of the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Sen. Bill Frist said the landmark decision is flawed; Sen. Fred Thompson said the Supreme Court should be left alone on the issue."I'm The vote came on a resolution by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. The resolution said: "It is the sense of the Congress that Roe v. Wade was an appropriate decision and secures an important constitutional right and such a decision should not be overturned." A...

An October Surprise? by Patrick J. Buchanan President Bush says Iranians are behind the more lethal IEDs, the roadside bombs killing our troops in Iraq. Rumsfeld warns the Iranian Revolutionary Guard may now be in Iraq. Cheney says Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. McCain says, “the military option is on the table.” And Israel is getting impatient. Writes Yaakov Katz in the March 10 Jerusalem Post, “The United States has until now not done enough to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, a senior Defense Ministry official has told the Jerusalem Post ...” Katz quotes...

Easy riders, free loaders The Stockholm chapter of the Hell's Angels biker gang is under investigation for benefit fraud after police noticed that 70 per cent of its members were claiming state disability payments after being certified as depressed by the same doctor. Christer Nilsson, deputy head of Stockholm police's criminal investigation department said: "It seems to be depressing being a member of this club." The Hell's Angels have a violent reputation in Scandinavia, allegedly participating in frequent shootouts and bomb attacks. However, in recent years they are believed to have branched out into benefit and tax frauds, police said.