Free Republic

Ed. note: This was originally posted on the Small Business Administration blog. Today, President Obama signed a law that removes the expanded “1099” reporting requirement from the Affordable Care Act. This is a big win for small businesses. The SBA and President Obama supported repealing this provision, which would have required businesses to send 1099 forms for all purchases of goods and services over $600 annually. With this bipartisan effort, we have removed a requirement that would have been an undue barrier to small business growth. The many benefits of the health reform law for small businesses remain in place....

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that repealing Obamacare would do "very serious violence to the national debt and deficit." (Snip) “If everyone in America was very, very pleased with his or her health insurance and had no complaints, and had access to quality affordable health care in our country, it still would have been necessary for us to pass the health-care reform bill because we could not sustain the system,” Pelosi said on Tuesday. That is because Obamacare is a money saver, she argued.

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers narrowly advanced a bill today that would repeal a state law designed to find the causes and cures of homosexuality. The law, written in 1950, classifies homosexuals as "sexual deviants" and requires the state Department of Mental Health to conduct research on "deviations conducive to sex crimes against children." The research would be used to help identify potential sex offenders. The bill moved out of the Assembly Committee on Public Safety on a 4-0 vote, with one Democrat and two Republican members abstaining from voting. They said the law's reference to homosexuality should be removed but...

One by one, President Obama’s health-care promises are being exposed by the details of the actual legislation: Costs will explode, not fall; taxes will have to soar to pay for it; and now we are learning that you won’t be able to “keep your health-care plan” either. The reality is that the House health bill, which the Administration praised to the rafters, will force drastic changes in almost all insurance coverage, including the employer plans that currently work best. About 177 million people—or 62% of those under age 65—get insurance today through their jobs, and while rising costs are a...

There's a crime being committed in America. It's not murder -- although one murder is committed every 33.9 minutes, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. It's not rape -- although one forcible rape occurs every 5.8 minutes. It's not robbery -- although one robbery is perpetrated every 1.3 minutes. No, the real crime is that so many of those murderers, rapists, and robbers get away with their crimes. According to FBI figures for 2001, only 62.4% of murders were "cleared" -- that is, a suspect was arrested and charged with the crime. Only 44.3% of rapes were cleared. And...