Free Republic

Is the New IRS Wealth Squad Coming for You? Smart Money, Oct. 27, 2009 Being wealthy has its downsides, chief among them the higher risk of an IRS audit. Now, amid the continuing debate over whether the government is doing enough to combat financial fraud, comes news that gives the uber-wealthy – or maybe even the “merely” wealthy – yet another reason to fear Uncle Sam’s attention. In a speech before the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, or AICPA, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman announced the recent formation of a new unit, dubbed Global High Wealth Industry Group, which will focus on the...

DETROIT — Even if Chrysler LLC gets additional government loans, it could face another cash shortage in July when revenue dries up as the company shuts down its factories for two weeks to change from one model year to the next, its chief financial officer said. CFO Ron Kolka, in a brief telephone interview with The Associated Press, said the company planned for the $4-billion (U.S.) it received Jan. 2 to last through March 31. The company is talking with the government's autos task force about getting another $5-billion, and faces a March 31 deadline to complete its plan to...

Us” meaning the GOP, of course. I appreciate his willingness to beat himself up in the name of regaining the public’s trust, but, er, is the man of Steele being perhaps a bit too self-deprecating here? Even Beck’s taken aback by the brutal candor of it (but in a good way!)

Congressman Richard Baker (R) announced Tuesday that he will resign his seat "no later than February 6" to become the chief lobbyist in DC for the $1.8 trillion hedge fund industry. Baker's resignation will prompt yet another special election. Baker was first elected to Congress in 1986, and had been openly pondering retirement for months. A special election could be set for as soon as March 8 -- the same day of the special election to fill the US House seat left vacant by the election of Bobby Jindal (R) as Governor. State Representative Don Cazayoux (D) was already an...

He is the former president of one the largest Communist countries in history. But Mikhail Gorbachev now has an unlikely new job - In an ad that will appear in magazines worldwide later this year, Gorbachev is shown in the backseat of a car riding through Berlin, with one of the luxury brand's bags at his side. The fee he received for the fashion shoot – estimated at several hundred thousand dollars – will go toward supporting programmes at the Gorbachev fund, according to The International Herald Tribune.

(April 4, 2007) -- A near perfect offseason in New England now is being interrupted with a reminder that not everything is ideal in Patriots Nation. Free-agent cornerback Asante Samuel, whom the Patriots slapped with their franchise tag in February, is so displeased and discouraged with his contract talks with the team that he now is open to the idea of playing elsewhere and will seek a trade. "This is to let everybody know that I'm not happy anymore and things are not going well," Samuel said in his first public comments since the Patriots franchised him. "At first I...

DETROIT -- Followers of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan didn't disappoint him Sunday. They braved ice-slicked highways and glassy sidewalks to nearly fill the 65,000-seat Ford Field stadium to hear Farrakhan's annual Saviours' Day address, which he used to prepare his followers for the future. If they were looking for a fiery Farrakhan, they found him in a more than two-hour speech in which he heaped condemnation on America's failing war in Iraq as well as the civil war between Shiites and Sunnis that threatens to split apart that country. What fascinates me most about Farrakhan's style of leadership...

Jesse Jackson: Hollywood Needs 'Diversity' Newsmax.com Feb. 22, 2007 As seemingly half of Hollywood converged on a fundraiser for Democratic presidential aspirant Sen. Barack Obama, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was huddled elsewhere with Universal Studios president Ron Meyer over his own campaign - to increase industry diversity. "We must go to each of the companies and agencies and urge them to make the industry open up and expand the market and the opportunities," Jackson said Wednesday during an hour-plus interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "After all, we once did not know how big baseball could be until everyone could play....

Pastor Mac Hammond's congregation at Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park reacted strongly Sunday to his appearance in the wake of a watchdog's group complaint to the Internal Revenue Service that he violated federal tax law and a front-page Star Tribune article examining his financial dealings: Worshipers gave him a prolonged, cheer-laced standing ovation. "Y'all better sit down; I'll get too choked up to minister," drawled Hammond, 63, pastor of the nondenominational megachurch, which has almost 10,000 members. He called questions about his financial dealings "a misunderstanding" of his prosperity-gospel ministry, which holds that following God's word leads to...

For more than 26 years, Congressman John P. "Jack" Murtha (D-Penn.) has not been truthful about his involvement in Abscam, court records and the complete video of his meeting with the FBI show. In recent years, only a 13-second video of Murtha's videotaped meeting with the FBI agents was publicly available. TAS has obtained a copy of the full, original video from a source close to the Abscam investigation on the condition of anonymity. The court transcript is publicly available at the National Archives. (Too see the full video, click here. For a transcript of the meeting, click here.)

WASHINGTON--Baby boomer and former President Bill Clinton is laying plans to celebrate his 60th birthday in grand style with a charitable fundraising extravaganza in New York late next month that will include an invitation-only concert by the Rolling Stones and contributor packages that run to $500,000 and higher. Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, who has generally avoided high-profile participation in her parents' political and philanthropic activities, is serving as co-host of the three-day party. She will host a Saturday brunch on a weekend that also features a golf tournment at the Bayonne, N.J., Golf Club, multiple receptions and a dinner at the...

In three of the Gospels, Jesus warns that each of his disciples may have to "deny himself" and even "take up his Cross." In support of this prediction, he contrasts the fleeting pleasures of today with the promise of eternity: "For what profit is it to a man," he asks, "if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" Generations of churchgoers have understood that being Christian means being ready to sacrifice. But for a growing number of Christians, the question is better restated, "Why not gain the whole world plus my soul?" For several decades, a philosophy...

VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chavez today said Cuban leader Fidel Castro was now able to leave his bed and hold conversations following stomach surgery that required him to temporarily hand over power to his brother. "This morning I learned that he's doing well, that he's already standing up out of bed, he's talking - more than he should, because he talks a lot," said Mr Chavez during a conversation with Bolivian President Evo Morales broadcast on television. "He has sent us regards." Venezuelan government sources yesterday said Mr Chavez does not have a trip to Cuba on his agenda despite media...

A growing number of Minuteman Civil Defense Corps leaders and volunteers are questioning the whereabouts of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of dollars in donations collected in the past 15 months, challenging the organization's leadership over financial accountability. Many of the group's most active members say they have no idea how much money has been collected as part of its effort to stop illegal entry -- primarily along the U.S.-Mexico border, what it has been spent on or why it has been funneled through a Virginia-based charity headed by conservative Alan Keyes. Several of the group's top lieutenants have either...

When Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger decided he wanted to appoint controversial Democratic operative Susan Kennedy as his gubernatorial chief of staff in the immediate aftermath of his November special election initiative defeats, according to very reliable informed sources, the former cabinet secretary to recalled Governor Gray Davis first insisted on being paid $250,000 a year. Schwarzenegger said no, and Kennedy assumed the deal was off. But when the former action superstar returned from his glitzkrieg post-election tour of China, he resumed negotiations. Kennedy ended up with a salary this year that, though short of her original figure, does approach it. She...

Please no flames--I am at my wits end and just wanted to see if anyone has any ideas.

Don't they look like they deserve a raise?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As CIA Director Porter Goss tries to rebuild the agency's global operations, he faces a shortage of experienced spies created by a post-September 11 stampede to the private sector, current and former intelligence officials say. Goss, who a year ago inherited a CIA wracked by criticism of intelligence failures over Iraq and the September 11, 2001, attacks, has come under fire from critics about the publicized departures of several high-level clandestine officers. Reform advocates see the loss of senior officials as a natural consequence of changes intended to root out an old guard blamed for lapses that...

CLEARWATER - Michael Schiavo has asked a court to waive the two-year statute of limitations on filing a medical malpractice lawsuit against one or more of his deceased wife's caregivers. Terri Schiavo, 41, died March 31 after her feeding tube was removed after a seven-year court battle. Schiavo's attorney in this case, Mark Perenich, said he was not able to discuss the proposed lawsuit behind Tuesday's request for an extension of the two-year statute of limitations. By law, medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within two years of the alleged misconduct unless an extension is granted. In October 2003, Terri...

This excerpt, from MSNBC, doesn't get anywhere near the meat of the book - where Fuhrman shows how Michael's inconstent statements, and the timeline of the morning that Terri collapsed, raise a lot of questions - and suspicions. Read the book.

U.S. Supreme Court says cities have broad powers to take property.

Less than three months after his instructions to starve his wife to death were carried out by court order, Michael Schiavo is seeking a book deal. Schiavo is in Manhattan, reports the New York Post - "shopping his book proposal among publishers." "The timing couldn't be better," the Post notes, with news of his wife's autopsy on the front page of every newspaper this week. Schiavo's book agent, David Vigliano, told the paper: "I think this is a seminal right to die with dignity story." Schiavo's story, however, may not be over just yet. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Friday...

There was yet another interminable car chase in the streets of Los Angeles carried on every 24-hour news channel. Excepts of this eight-hour ball of excitement appeared on regular news programs. Everyone who saw none of this, please raise your hands. Hold on, you. Admit it. You did watch. I confess, so did I. This one was a white minivan that wandered over several freeways in downtown L.A. Several times the minivan came to a full stop in heavy traffic, while up to five police vehicles also stopped – 25 feet behind the van. Meanwhile, a police spokesman droned on...

JOSEPH FARAH, HOST: We've got with us a special guest. Alan Keyes is back with us--diplomat, author, talk show host, brilliant orator, statesman, constitutional scholar. And his organization the Declaration Foundation can be accessed on the web at Declaration.net. Welcome to the program, Alan. KEYES: Thank you. Glad to be with you. FARAH: Well, you've got another great essay in WorldNetDaily today on this Terri Schiavo case. And in it you say that Florida Governor Jeb Bush is courting dereliction of duty. Tell us what you mean. KEYES: Well, he has two responsibilities. One, to the Constitutional rights of Terri...

I have NEVER been a fan of Jesse Jackson. But when he can get the biased liberal anti-Terri media - to report the words, Terri's starvation is "immoral" and an "injustice," -- as he did today -- then I have to thank him. I just called his office in the Chicago area; told them I have not been a supporter of his, but I thank him for standing up for Terri. RainbowPush: ph: 773-373-3366 info@rainbowpush.org

Firefox Is Heading Towards Trouble Posted by: Mike Griffin on March 11, 2005 @ 10:45 AM FireFox may be in danger of "rotting from the inside out" according to industry experts including one of the developers on the FireFox review team. Lack of attention by developers and money from supporters may end the meteoric rise of the browser where it is today. Forget about Microsoft coming out with IE 7 to challenge Firefox. If Firefox rots from the inside out; the way so many other programs, like the original Netscape browser, did; then it's not going anywhere much beyond where...

OP-ED CONTRIBUTORS Hanoi, Vietnam — IMAGINE this situation: A sudden outbreak of a little-understood disease in two European countries kills 41 of the 54 people it is known to have infected. In its wake it leaves 150 million chickens dead, some of them killed by the virus causing the outbreak, others slaughtered to stop its spread. At a zoo in one country, rare tigers suddenly begin dying from the disease. Reports from elsewhere in Europe say the virus, which is normally found only in chickens, is now also infecting pigs, cats and ducks. Scientists sound the alarm. They say that...

"He's going to have to give some of it up for 2005 and beyond," Brazile said. "The party will demand it."

I did my taxes Friday night and was totally blown away by what a difference the tax changes made. For a little background, I make low 30's, have 2 kids, and am the one that brings home the bacon. I did get the tax rebate for one kid (other is too old at 17). Last year, mid-year, I got a raise ($1), and was worried it would mess me up- in the past, raises have been a mixed blessing- more money- and more taxes. This year though, even with the raise, *less* money was flying out of my check to...

The justices let stand a U.S. appeals court ruling that reinstated Parks' false advertising and publicity claims against OutKast and three Bertelsmann AG (news - web sites) units -- LaFace Records, the record producer, and Arista Records and BMG Entertainment, the distributors. Parks made history in 1955 when she refused to give up her seat to a white man and move to the back of a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her arrest, which became a defining moment in the civil rights movement, led to a 381-day boycott of the bus system by blacks. It resulted in the end...

A spelling error foils £1 trillion fraud in US bonds By Nicola Woolcock (Filed: 19/09/2003) A forensic scientist who led one of the world's biggest potential frauds was exposed by a spelling error, a court was told yesterday. Graham Halksworth, 69, who helped to pioneer fingerprint evidence, authenticated £1.55 trillion of United States treasury bonds that he knew were fake. He denied two charges of conspiracy to defraud, but was convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court, east London, after an 11-week trial. Judge William Birtles said he faced a "substantial custodial sentence". The false documents, with a face value of more...

PRESIDENT Putin sent a top envoy to Baghdad shortly before speaking to Tony Blair by telephone yesterday. Yevgeni Primakov, a former Prime Minister with close ties to the Iraqi leader, arrived in the Iraqi capital on Saturday night, according to diplomatic sources in the city. The visit of Mr Primakov, 73, who speaks fluent Arabic and has mediated in Iraq on several occasions, underlines Russia’s determination that the crisis should be resolved through diplomacy not force. In 1991 he mounted a failed mission on behalf of President Gorbachev to avert conflict with Iraq prior to the Gulf War. In 1998...

<p>The Free Republic first quarter '03 FReepathon is now underway!</p> <p>Our goal for this fundraiser is the same as last quarter: $65,000. We have about $4,000 per month coming in from monthly donors so we will need to raise approx $53,000 to hit the target.</p> <p>The funds raised through these fundraisers are used to pay our operating costs. Free Republic operates on an approximate $260,000 annual budget (breakdown here) and all funds are provided by donations from FReepers and Lurkers.</p> <p>Thank you all very much for your continued support.</p>

<p>The Free Republic first quarter '03 FReepathon is now underway!</p> <p>Our goal for this fundraiser is the same as last quarter: $65,000. We have about $4,000 per month coming in from monthly donors so we will need to raise approx $53,000 to hit the target.</p> <p>The funds raised through these fundraisers are used to pay our operating costs. Free Republic operates on an approximate $260,000 annual budget (breakdown here) and all funds are provided by donations from FReepers and Lurkers.</p> <p>Thank you all very much for your continued support.</p>

<p>Matiana Perez de Valencia, 51, and her son Jesus, 14, live in Yuba City. Her late husband worked as a bracero in the 1940s and 1950s and told her he never received all the money he earned. The bracero program was instituted during World War II because of a labor shortage.</p>

ex-ex-ex-ex FReeper and legal gadfly Jack Thompson on ABC Evening News   Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time before legal gadfly and ex-ex-ex-ex FReeper Jack Thompson would re-surface in the media. The only question would be who, what cause and how much money he would be suing for. Tonight, the answer was given to us in a report by ABC NEWS (one of many appearances made by Jack) on the Army's War Simulation software, America's Army: Operations. Seems Jackpeace (aka BatJack), doesn't want America's youth shooting computer guns or something of the sort. He's been busy...

Abercrombie & Fitch tried to sell some silly T-shirts with Asian caricatures a few weeks ago. One showed a pair of slant-eyed Chinese men with the phrase, "Wong Brothers Laundry Service: Two Wongs Can Make It White." Some very loud, wired and whiny Asian-American kids didn't like them. So the company pulled the clothes line and apologized profusely. "We're very, very, very sorry," a company representative said. "It's never been our intention to offend anyone." End of story. Right? Wrong. The Wong flap is still going. A group of 50 aggrieved young people protested at A&F's Seattle store over the...