Free Republic

High-school kids in France are fighting for their right to wear revealing clothing to school. Apparently some schools have new dress codes that ban things like short skirts, piercings, and low-slung pants. At one school last week, a chick managed to convince 300 of 2,100 students to come to school dressed in violation of the new code. This meant revealing shorts or minis for girls and board shorts for guys. Their new headmaster was trying to ban skirts above the knee and clothes with holes in them. The protest organizer got in trouble, obviously. Her actions led to a three-day...

Mitch McConnell: Democrats are ducking Senate rulesBy MANU RAJU | 12/16/09 6:32 PM EST Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accused Democrats Wednesday of circumventing Senate rules by ending the reading of a 767-page amendment without permission from other members of the body. Earlier Wednesday, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) forced Senate clerks to read an amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that would have established a single-payer health care system. The reading paralyzed the Senate until the third hour, when Sanders withdrew the amendment. At that point, the Senate carried on with debating the health care bill, which Democrats are...

1. It's important to have a woman who helps at home, who cooks from time to time, cleans up and has a job. 2. It's important to have a woman who can make you laugh. More at www.daveweinbaum.com.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- In what could be be a major blow to ultra-long and utra-short ETFs, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced Tuesday that it would be raising margin requirements for leveraged ETFs on Dec. 1. In Regulatory Notice 09-53, FINRA notes that it will be implementing increased customer margin requirements for leveraged ETFs and uncovered options overlying leveraged ETFs. Leveraged ETFs like the Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X(FAS Quote) and Direxion Daily Financial Bear(FAZ Quote) have become increasingly popular with investors over the last year. These funds use derivatives like futures and swaps to achieve ultra-long or ultra-short...

When Rupert Dickinson, the chief executive of one of Britain's biggest property firms, left his BlackBerry behind in London while on a business trip to Ireland, he simply ordered one of his staff to get on a plane and deliver the device to him. For Dickinson's then head of sustainability, Tim Nicholson, the errand was much more than an executive indulgence: it embodied the contempt with which his boss treated his deep philosophical beliefs about climate change. In a significant decision today , a judge found Nicholson's views on the environment were so deeply held that they were entitled to...

Today at 2pm the House Rules Committee will meet to consider the rule for H.R. 3962 , the Affordable Health Care for America Act. As of this morning 104 amendments had been filed with the Rules Committee for consideration. Republican’s have filed 87 amendments and Democrats have filed 17. The debate in the Rules Committee and a final vote could continue well into this evening.The rule being debated today will not only cover HR 3962 but will also apply to HR 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act, also known as the Doc Fix. This is a procedural gimmick that...

Last play of the game, 4th down!!! Hawks win!!! 8-0 BAYBEE!!!!

WASHINGTON – Independent advocacy groups will be able to spend more money to try to influence federal elections under a decision Friday from a federal appeals court that overturned rules limiting nonprofits' campaign spending. Three judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington agreed with Emily's List, a nonprofit that backs women Democratic candidates who support abortion rights, that the regulations limited free speech rights. The Federal Election Commission enacted the rules in 2005, after concerns were raised about the amount of unlimited "soft money" contributions used to fund attacks in the 2004 election. The FEC said nonprofits would...

It was only a week ago SEIU members lamented that conservatives learned the rules so fast. Indeed. Jim Geraghty over at “The Campaign Spot” has a partial transcript.Big Government’s James O’Keefe, doing the work 60 Minutes just won’t do anymore, is now back with Part 4 … and this involves a California ACORN office, murder and prostitution. Watch it all.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told me on ‘This Week’ the President will go beyond language in a House bill to make sure no public money goes to pay for abortions under health care reform. Abortion foes argue language in the House bill has too many holes and that taxpayers could potentially subsidize abortions. Sebelius told me there will be no uncertainty with the President's plan. “In fact recently the Catholic bishops came out, after the President’s statement saying that his statement about what he intends in the plan that no public fund would go to fund abortion and the fact...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday urged the government to impose stricter controls on emergency helicopter operators, including requiring the use of autopilots, night-vision systems and flight data recorders in an industry that suffered a record number of fatalities last year. The NTSB recommendations for training and safety equipment to the Federal Aviation Administration are in addition to others made in 2006, such as requiring installation of terrain awareness monitoring to help pilots navigate when weather conditions are poor. The safety board, which cannot require such changes, also wants the Health and Human Services Department to...

BACKGROUND: Saul D. Alinsky (1909-1972) developed strategies and tactics strategies that can level the playing field. Some of these rules are ruthless, but they work. NOW: BUT, because Alinsky wrote these rules (which Obama et als follow) as guidelines for a Communist takeover, I have done some editing so they can work for us in our efforts to PREVENT this Communist takeover in America! These are just a first draft and just my opening shot. . Please be a part and add/delete/suggest changes so that we can end up with a set of basic rules which maybe can help us...

WASHINGTON – A committee that investigated VIP mortgage deals for Democratic Sens. Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad has cleared both of them of breaking Senate rules. The Select Committee on Ethics tells Dodd of Connecticut and Conrad of North Dakota in separate letters that it has found "no substantial credible evidence" that their Countrywide mortgages broke Senate gift rules.

Members objectedbecause they said they didn't understand the purpose or jurisdictional limits of the proposed committee and were able to force a delay. Some committee members speculated that the new ethics panel was designed as a way to give cover to Mr. Steele for future actions he might take. Skeptics said an ethics board hand-picked by the chairman would provide little added value. (snip) Mr. Steele already passed his first major test earlier this week, getting the powerful Rules Committee to elect his choice to head that panel over two more conservative rivals. Jim Greer, chairman of the Florida Republican...

I post many items here, from business to politics and evrything in between, and sometimes entertainment as a nice distraction from all of the corrupt politicians. Recently I tried to post an article about a supermodel who is pregnant. I thought it was a mistake after it was pulled the first time, but it was pulled a second. What is so objectionable to this news item? And is there a place we can look for a set of rules, as I have seen much worse than this posted int he past.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama proposed new "rules of the road" for the nation's financial system Wednesday, ... Obama blamed the crisis on "a culture of irresponsibility" that he said had taken root from Wall Street to Washington to Main Street, .. regulations crafted to deal with the depression of the 1930s were "overwhelmed by the speed, scope and sophistication of a 21st century global economy." The Obama plan would give new powers to the Federal Reserve to oversee the entire financial system and would also create a new consumer protection agency ... In remarks prepared for delivery later in...

Lobbyists and government watchdogs are applauding revisions made by the White House on Friday to lobbying restrictions on stimulus funds. After completing a 60-day review last week, the administration modified the rules to extend a speaking ban not just to lobbyists but to others who contact government officials about specific stimulus projects. But that ban only occurs now after a grant application has been filed for the project. Those interested in the project have to file their views in writing with administration officials, which will then be disclosed on the Internet. All contacts with lobbyists will still have to be...

WASHINGTON, April 29, 2009 – With the Department of Veterans Affairs ready to begin accepting sign-ups for the Post-9/11 GI Bill May 1, the Defense Department is working to get word out on its proposed policy regarding the bill’s transferability provisions to help servicemembers decide if the new benefit is right for them. Bob Clark, the Pentagon’s assistant director for accessions policy, called the Post-9/11 GI Bill that takes effect Aug. 1 an important new benefit. In addition to providing broader educational benefits, it includes a provision that enables enrollees to transfer their benefits to immediate family members. This...

The renewed debate over enhanced interrogation techniques is just another episode in the hopelessly naive search for the ultimate oxymoron -- humane war. "Shocks the conscience" is a key phrase in the CIA documents that the Obama administration released. Obama's motive for releasing the memos is fertile ground for speculation. (If it's part of his strategy to be a uniter, it isn't working.) It's difficult not to assume it had something to do with politics beyond the stated motive of promoting transparency in government. The Federal Government is as inherently transparent as lead, except in cases of dramatic waste and...

Book Review: Leslie H. Gelb, Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy, Harper-Collins Publishers, 2009. by Wayne Lusvardi The 15th century ambassador of the city-state of Florence, Italy, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote: “There are three kinds of intelligence: one kind understands things for itself, the other appreciates what others can understand, the third understands neither for itself nor through others. This first kind is excellent, the second good, and the third kind useless.” Whether Leslie H. Gelb's book Power Rules falls into the first or the second of Machiavelli's three types of intelligence is the question to be...

Here is video of Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel reporting that the University of Connecticut (UConn) Basketball team violated NCAA rules in the recruitment of former guard Nate Miles. The violation reportedly took place in 2006. UConn is in the Sweet 16 of this year's NCAA Tournament. . . . . . (Watch Video Report)

New Rules Target Private AviationFebruary 24, 2009 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT There are new rules that are proposed by the transportation safety administration, part of homeland security, that would treat private business aviation identically to commercial aviation. One of the results of this could be that if the rules are adopted treating private aviation the same as commercial aviation, Tiger Woods, nor any other professional golfer, nor any or golfer could carry their golf clubs on their airplane because the baggage compartment in the private jet is accessible from the passenger cabin and the clubs could theoretically be used as weapons even...

Frank pressing for new rules for Wall StreetBy Reid Wilson Posted: 02/12/09 12:55 PM [ET] House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is reiterating his desire to quickly impose new rules on Wall Street. “There's a whole lot of new financial activity that’s going on that’s caused some damage and done some good. But it’s gone on without rules," Frank said Wednesday evening on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show.” “And the one thing I am most confident about is we know how to stop this from happening again, banning the bad subprime loans, restricting the excessive kinds of leverage they’ve...

One by one on Monday, rural landowners condemned the state’s proposed septic system rules during hearings in Santa Rosa and excoriated state officials for what they viewed as trespassing on their property rights. “The state deserves a beating on this one,” said Rich Middleton of rural Sebastopol. “This smells like a bad government idea that was created by city folks.” About 1,100 people attended a 4-hour afternoon hearing of the state Water Resources Control Board at the Wells Fargo Center. An evening session drew another 550 people. Of 44 people who spoke during the first hearing, only one demonstrated any...

After hearing from rural residents and environmentalists alike, water officials say they will rewrite proposed new state regulations on septic systems. The State Water Resources Control Board said Friday that it will redraft the regulations. "The State Water Board is sensitive to the concerns raised at the public workshops, and the regulations will be revised following consideration of the public comments, as appropriate," the board said in announcing the changes. As a result, a public hearing on the proposed regulations, originally scheduled for Feb. 9 in Sacramento, has been postponed "until further notice," the board said. It has also extended...

Immediately after the Democratic National Convention in Colorado, the Boston Globe published a letter from David Alinsky. He boasted about how Barack Obama had made effective use of his training in the methods of David's late father, the famous Chicago radical, Saul Alinsky. David Alinsky gloated: "I am proud to see that my father's model for organizing is being applied successfully beyond local community organizing to affect the Democratic campaign in 2008. It is a fine tribute to Saul Alinsky as we approach his 100th birthday."

As expected, the Fresno Unified School District board room was jammed last Thursday as the State Water Resources Control Board conducted a workshop/hearing on proposed septic and well system regulations. The room holds 149 people and the crowd was so big, folks were sitting in the aisles and standing against the wall. Speaker after speaker -- including three Madera County officials -- criticized either the proposals or the process. The crowd was at times hostile to the Water Board representatives, who did a good job of keeping their cool. At other times, speakers elicited roars of laughter or shouts of...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to re-write House rules today to ensure that the Republican minority is unable to have any influence on legislation. Pelosi’s proposals are so draconian, and will so polarize the Capitol, that any thought President-elect Obama has of bipartisan cooperation will be rendered impossible before he even takes office. Pelosi’s rule changes -- which may be voted on today -- will reverse the fairness rules that were written around Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America.” In reaction, the House Republican leadership is sending a letter today to Pelosi to object to changes to House Rules this week...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California on Friday became the first state in the country to force big diesel trucks to clean up their exhaust, despite warnings from truckers the new rules will force them out of business. About a million vehicles, from big rigs to school buses, are affected by the new rules, which will begin taking effect in 2011 and do not require further ratification. Some vehicles will have to start retrofitting engines in 2011 and some older trucks will be forced into retirement starting in 2012. By 2023, all trucks must meet 2010 new engine emission standards. The...

The black soot that big rig trucks belch from their chugging diesel engines may soon become a thing of the past. In one of the more far-reaching smog regulations that California has ever proposed, state air regulators are considering a first-in-the-nation plan that would require nearly every privately owned, heavy diesel truck in the state to install a filter that would reduce emissions of soot from their rigs by 85 percent. The new regulation would affect 1 million truckers, half of them registered out of state who regularly drive on California freeways. If approved by the California Air Resources Board...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will loosen terms of its foreclosure-prevention effort so that the program, meant to backstop $300 billion in home loans, can be more effective, the agency said on Wednesday. The Hope for Homeowners program will now insure home loans that have had as little as 3.5 percent of their value erased by the original lender. Under the original terms, a lender would have to write off 10 percent of a failing loan before the government would invest. Investors who hold a stake in failing loans through second liens may receive...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s hard-times budget proposal to balance the state’s books hinders California’s efforts to curb global warming and weakens the state’s principal environmental law, environmentalists contend. Fears of an economic meltdown appear to be driving the shift, which conflicts with the governor’s public image as a warrior to curb greenhouse gases. “He seems to be panicked. Instead of moving ahead calmly and deliberately, he is throwing possible solutions out there, giving a sense that he is spooked by the economy. There is a sense of panic, and I think it’s out of character,” said Gary Patton, general counsel of...

**Video Below the Fold** The co-chair of Barack Obama's Transition Team, Valerie Jarrett, appeared on Meet the Press this weekend and used, shall we say, an interesting word to described what she thinks Barack Obama will be doing in January when he's officially sworn into office. She told Tom Brokaw that Obama will be ready to "rule" on day one. It's a word that reflects the worst fears that people have for Obama the "arrogant," the "messiah," that imagines he's here to "rule" instead of govern. Jarret told Brokaw that "given the daunting challenges that we face, it's important that...

In-person absentee voting continues until the close of business this Saturday, November 1, 2008. Although yesterday was the last day to request an absentee ballot to vote by mail, you still have time to make your voice heard early and avoid long lines on Election Day. You are eligible to vote absentee if any of the following situations apply to you: Does your work day, including your commute time, keep you away from home for 11 hours or more? Are you the primary caregiver for a family member confined at home? Are you disabled or suffering from an illness? Are...

Republican ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee, Congressman Spencer Bachus of Alabama, is heavily against approving $805 Economic Rescue Bill in the House. Representative Bachus is being very forceful, insistent, and persuasive in his argument (against Barney Frank, committee chair) to the members of the House Rules Committee that there should be discussion allowed from the floor previous to taking a vote on what will be the House version of the Economic Rescue Bill. Representative Bachman (R, AL) wants the pricetag on the House version of the Economic Rescue Bill to be knocked down to $250 billion WITH...

The Confluence: Clinton Delegates are pi*sed. The Clinton National Delegate Network, a grassroots movement of delegates is on the streets of Denver collecting signatures from Hillary delegates. This eleventh hour effort is being organized to ensure that delegates who were elected to represent the voters of each state can and will vote for the candidate they were pledged to. The DNC and Nancy Pelosi, the Chairman of the Democratic Convention, are doing everything in their power to make sure that does not happen. With Obama’s flagging support, according to the polls, running neck and neck with McCain, they are very...

Not since Iago and Othello obsessed on the comely Cassio, not since Richard of Gloucester killed his two nephews, not since Nixon and Johnson glowered at the glittering J.F.K., has there been such an unseemly outpouring of boy envy. (blah, blah, blah - insert 16 column inches of tripe here...) McCain could dismiss W. as a lightweight, but he knows Obama’s smart. Obama wrote his own books, while McCain’s were written by Salter. McCain knows he’s the affirmative action scion of admirals who might not have gotten through Annapolis without being a legacy. Obama didn’t even tell Harvard Law School...

Bill Phillips spent nearly 50 years in the US oil and gas industry; most of his career was with the Phillips Petroleum Company. Bill is a descendant of Frank Phillips. Frank Phillips, along with his brother Lee Eldas (L.E.) Phillips, Sr., founded the original Phillips Petroleum Company in 1917 in Bartlesville, OK. Do you remember Phillips 66 gas stations? Phillips Petroleum Company merged with Conoco, Inc. in 2002 to form the current ConocoPhillips oil company. As you prepare to cast your crucial ballots this Fall, please think long and hard about the far-reaching, cumulative effects of the US political philosophies,...

STRASBOURG: European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to allow countries in the bloc to hold undocumented migrants in detention centers for up to 18 months and ban them from EU territory for five years. Approved in this medieval French border city, which is home to a significant population of North Africans and Turks, the legislation establishes common rules for expelling foreigners who are detained on EU territory without permission to be there. Described by critics like Amnesty International as "severely flawed" and an erosion of human rights standards, but by supporters as a balanced approach, the so-called return directive passed in...

Those people who believe all problems have solutions may be unfamiliar with the inner workings of the Democratic Party. On Saturday, the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee will try to solve a big problem, in order to avoid a huge problem in order to prevent a train wreck. The big problem is what to do about Michigan and Florida, two states stripped last year of their delegates to the Democratic National Convention because both broke party rules and moved their primaries up too early in the election year. The rules committee will try to work out a compromise Saturday to...

Time For Public Comment On New Rules For Guns In National Parks Friday, May 02, 2008 On April 30, the U.S. Department of Interior, through the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, issued a proposed rule to amend the current strict regulations on firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. NRA-ILA led the effort to amend the existing policy regarding the carrying and transportation of firearms on these federal lands. The public has until June 30 to comment on the proposal, and NRA-ILA strongly urges members to file comments in support. “Law-abiding citizens should not be prohibited...

Rules that Girls Wish Guys Knew 1. Asking a girl on Friday for a date on Saturday is completely unacceptable. Keyword: Planning 2. Shave every day. One day's growth of facial hair is worse than a girl not shaving her legs for a week. 3. We may be emotional beings, but do not lie to squirm your way out of trouble. We are not as gullible as you think. 4. Learn to clean up the toilet. If peeing standing up is so difficult and you are bound to miss, then may we suggest that you learn to use a toilet...

The Democrats held the vote open after they had lost. They strongarmed three Democrats, apparently, to change their vote to help create an extra layer of bureaucracy. Matt Blunt and other Republicans are yelling "Parliamentary Inquiry!" Republicans are asking why the Democrats changed the rule and then did NOT follow the rule

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2008 – A revised Defense Department directive provides sharper definition of what servicemembers may and may not do within the political realm, particularly running for political office, a senior U.S. military officer said here yesterday. The new version of Directive 1344.10, titled, “Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces,” became effective Feb. 19 and replaces the previous version issued in August 2004, said Army Col. Shawn Shumake, director of legal policy within the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. It was formulated with input from all the military services, he said. The...

DALLAS - Hillary Rodham Clinton has been waiting to get to Texas to begin her comeback against a surging Barack Obama. She might be more careful about what she wishes for. Clinton has been banking on the state's large Hispanic population — typically about a quarter of the turnout in Democratic primaries — to give her a victory on March 4. But the Democratic Party in President Bush's home state has a complicated, hybrid primary-caucus that might just be better suited for Obama. "I had no idea how bizarre it is," Clinton told reporters this week. "We have grown men...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2008 – As U.S. servicemembers and Defense Department civilians ponder candidates during the election season, they should realize there are limits placed upon their involvement in certain political activities. Political-related “dos and don’ts” pertaining to military members of all service branches are proscribed within Defense Department Directive 1344.10, titled: Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces on Active Duty. The federal Hatch Act delineates what federal civilians, including those working for the Defense Department, may or may not do in the political realm. For example, servicemembers and government civilians may attend political events like meetings...

CAMP STRIKER — An air cavalry unit in Iraq has found itself ringing in the New Year by flying to a remarkable milestone. The 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment’s Kiowa Warrior helicopters have collectively flown over 20,000 flight hours since arriving here in May, 2007. The squadron is on pace to fly nearly 40,000 hours during their 15-month deployment and have managed to maintain a readiness rate of nearly 92 percent fully mission capable, said Chief Warrant Officer Mike Cavaco, production control officer, 3-17th Cav. Regt. The Kiowa Warrior, a two-seat scout helicopter based on an airframe that dates to...

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A key Taliban commander in southern Afghanistan has been dismissed for disobeying the militant group's rules, a Taliban spokesman said Saturday. Mansoor Dadullah was "disobeying orders" and conducting activities "against the Taliban's rules and regulations," said Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. He did not provide any details. "For this reason Mullah Mansoor Dadullah is no longer in the Taliban and no longer a Taliban commander," Mujahid said in a statement he attributed to Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Dadullah rose in the militia's ranks as a key commander in southern Afghanistan after his brother, Mullah Dadullah, was killed during...

LONDON - A British court ordered an Iranian opposition group removed from the government's list of terrorist organizations Friday, potentially giving one of the Iranian government's fiercest foes more freedom to organize and raise money in Britain. The People's Mujahedeen of Iran is considered a terrorist organization in the United States and European Union and experts say it has trained operatives devoted to toppling the Iranian regime. The group's British backers say it no longer engages in any kind of armed struggle and that Friday's court decision in London could help bring the organization back in from the cold. Hundreds...

Merkel tells China to respect international rules 08-27-2007, 03h21 BEIJING (AFP) Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before reviewing an honour guard outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Merkel has raised human rights and other sensitive issues with China's leaders, while bluntly telling them to respect the rules of international trade and development. (AFP) German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised human rights and other sensitive issues with China's leaders on Monday, while bluntly telling them to respect the rules of international trade and development. Merkel's talks with Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao...