Free Republic

I wasn't planning on sending you something tonight. But if you saw what I saw from the Republican convention, you know that it demands a response. I saw John McCain's attack squad of negative, cynical politicians. They lied about Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and they attacked you for being a part of this campaign. But worst of all -- and this deserves to be noted -- they insulted the very idea that ordinary people have a role to play in our political process. You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say, everyday people have the...

Both Hillary and Obama have explicitly stated that we need to "tax the rich" so each pays "their fair share". I recently came across a report titled DISTRIBUTION OF CERTAIN FEDERAL TAX LIABILITIES BY INCOME CLASS FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2000, as Prepared by the Staff of the JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION. The following table from that publication is interesting. Income Category...................Individual Income Tax ................................................Income......Percent Less than $10,000.......................-5.........-0.6% 10,000 to 20,000........................-7........ -0.8% 20,000 to 30,000........................10..........1.1% 30,000 to 40,000........................30..........3.4% 40,000 to 50,000........................39..........4.4% 50,000 to 75,000.......................114.........12.9% 75,000 to 100,000......................113.........12.8% 100,000 to 200,000.....................213.........24.1% 200,000 and over...................... 377.........42.7% Highest 10%........................... 587.........66.4% Highest 5%.............................478.........54.0% Highest 1%.............................297.........33.6%...

I'm looking for a thread. I'm sure it's a pretty old thread. It's very special to me. It reminds me of better times on this site. I'm not sure of the name. the name really isn't very important. I don't even remember the topic of the thread either. Maybe this last clue will help. It's the last thread I read in which there were no posts whining about immigration. Yeah that's going to be a tough one I know. Maybe somebody has it bookmarked.

It's OK to pick on fat people in the workplace … isn't it? Apparently, too many people think the answer is yes, according to a new study from Yale University, which found discrimination against overweight or obese people may not only be the last "acceptable" bastion of prejudice, it may actually be more pervasive than discrimination based on race. "We found that weight discrimination is very common in American society and it occurs virtually as often as racial discrimination," Rebecca M. Puhl, one of the study's authors, tells DiversityInc. "In fact, among women, weight discrimination was actually more common than...

American airlines begged the feds Thursday to let it keep its fleet aloft, saying the fastenings that need to be checked pose no safety threat. The answer was no. The airline has grounded 2,500 flights since Tuesday, causing chaos for passengers nationwide, while it inspects latches and clamps on wiring covers as required by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA yesterday ordered the 300 Boeing MD-80 jets to remain parked while mechanics made sure wire ties were exactly 1 inch apart and clamps faced the right way. More than 900 flights were scrapped yesterday, and the airport havoc is expected...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Instead of highlighting New Mexico's picturesque desert landscapes, art galleries or centuries-old culture, a new tourism campaign features drooling, grotesque office workers from outer space chatting about their personal lives. The 30-second TV spots — which lead in roundabout fashion to the tag line that New Mexico may be "the best place in the Universe" — are provocative, funny and bold. But to increasingly vocal critics, the state-financed ad campaign is a possible threat to the well-being of the state's $5.1 billion tourism industry. In other words, while the ads may yield a chuckle or two, the...

I May Or May Not Leave Free Republic I'll decide after I finish this bottle of champagne.

Senate Democrats who had previously praised Michael Mukasey, President Bush's nominee for attorney general, are now threatening to vote against him because he has declined to opine on whether waterboarding constitutes torture and is therefore illegal. Joe Biden, a key member of the Judiciary Committee, has said he will not vote for Mukasey unless Mukasey states that waterboarding is illegal. And Chuck Schumer has declared through a spokesman that he "is waiting for Judge Mukasey's answer before passing any judgment." Meanwhile, Judiciary Committee Chairman Leahy has postponed the vote on Mukasey's nomination pending the nominee's answers on waterboarding and other...

The producers of ABC's new sitcom Cavemen, based on a series of popular advertisements for the insurance company Geico, were ready to defend themselves against charges of rampant commercialism. But the charge that their show about put-upon Cro-Magnons in the modern world has racist undertones took them by surprise. ''I actually didn't know we would catch so much hell,'' Cavemen writer Joe Lawson ruefully told a room full of highly critical critics at a gathering of North American television writers here Wednesday. ``That's a pleasant surprise.'' Cavemen, which features shaggy Cro-Magnons trying to make their way through a hostile Homo...

Pope Benedict XVI is greeted by children on his arrival for his annual holidays in Lorenzago di Cadore, northern Italy yesterdayI STUMBLED upon a Latin Mass last winter. It was grim, joyless, interminable and disquieting. There was no music. Nobody shook hands or brought gifts to the altar. It was as exuberant a celebration of creation as an expired fly left to rot on a window sill. The only fanfare that threatened was the persistent, pedantic locking and unlocking of the little gate in the altar railing. A priest passed through this gateway at one stage, came to the side...

French wine growers in crisis By Henry Samuel in Olonzac Last Updated: 2:25am BST 05/07/2007 As Richard Bourchet gazed across a dusty mass of gnarled, upturned vines in Olonzac, in the Corbières, south-western France, the European wine reform announced yesterday was far from his mind. Unable to pay his bills, 'vigneron' Richard Bourchet has been forced to destroy his vines in Olonzac, south-west France Only a few hours before these vines were neatly aligned and bearing the local carignan grapes but, unable to pay his bills, Mr Bourchet has uprooted several hectares that he has carefully tended for 25 years....

As new French President Nicolas Sarkozy took office, Islamic terrorists reportedly threatened a "fierce battle at the heart of Sarkozy's capital." Finally, a sign that France is on the right track. Sarkozy says he won't tolerate Muslims "killing sheep in their bathtubs" and having a bunch of wives -- a ballsy position when your country hosts Europe's largest Muslim population. For all the criticism leveled at France, 53% of the country had enough sense to vote for this guy. Being part French, that makes me damn proud. Still, when I was a panelist on an American TV show this week,...

Checkpoint for Latinos, not drunks, critics charge Thursday, May 10, 2007 3:50 AM By Stephanie Czekalinski and Matthew Marx THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH More coverage Some central Ohio Latinos say they were targeted this past weekend when law-enforcement officials ran a checkpoint for drunken drivers on the Cinco de Mayo holiday, just blocks from apartment complexes with heavy immigrant populations. Instead of the arrests netting a large number of people who had too much to drink, they largely hauled in unlicensed drivers, nearly all of them with Latino names. The DUI checkpoint has drawn criticism from Latino community leaders. The checkpoint...

Thu May 10, 2007 New Immigration Law is Raising Questions for Many By Susan Simpson, Michael McNutt and John Estus A lack of funding for an immigration reform bill signed into law this week has some state officials worried about who will pay to enforce it. Many are concerned about where local law enforcement agencies will find the money and jail space to catch and hold illegal immigrants. Others note the bill is not set to go into effect until November, giving those affected by the law plenty of time to make changes. Meanwhile, state colleges and universities wonder what...

I have NO idea Why FREEREPUB deleted my last post... It was about non-USA (non-American) citizens and their view on USA... (Being that they have NO right to judge OR view OR tell USA what to do)... FREEPER, I NEVER typed a vulgar word that a child of ANY AGE would not, could not, and SHOULD not be able to read. IF you want to ban me after this message because I spoke against your deletion of my last message (which had NO offensive words to/from/about children)... then I SHALL and WILL label you to the same level as wikkipedia...

About me: Lurker - since 1998 Member - since 1999 In self-imposed exile - since April 2007 The tone of the debate and the attacks on long-time fellow Freepers for the cardinal sin of daring to support Rudy Giuliani in early 2007 around here have really saddened me. Instead of fighting the enemy FR is now imposing an 'ideological purity' test on FR members. The well-oiled train has gone off the rails and Mr. Robinson risks becoming the next Joe Farah - a fellow who started a great website for conservative news and opinions, but who gradually drifted off to...

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch police station trying to help Muslim detainees face Mecca for their prayers painted arrows in cells pointing in the wrong direction...

I've been a member of FR for a few years now, and it's an AMAZING site overall. I actually get a sizeable chunk of my news- not so much the headlines, but the analysis behind the news, on FR. I am pleased to have JR allow us to post on his site. Having said that, I feel compelled to vent on some of the things that have been annoying me to no end. *** MSM is Dying or Becoming Extinct ***. This is the one thing that drives me up the wall the most. It's bad enough that many of...

A week or so after the TSA took over passenger screening duties at US airports, the Mrs. and I went on a short business/pleasure trip to Las Vegas. Everyone was still kind of wary of airplane travel, and the extra security precautions seemed to us to be quite reasonable in light of the seriousness of the threat. The first rule was to arrive at least one hour early for the flight, and to be prepared for long lines in the screening area. It was an early morning departure, and from our rural home to the airport meant that we had...

One may ask what polar bears have to do with life in the Napa Valley. We learned in late 2006 that the polar bears, those majestic arctic animals of nature films and Coca-Cola commercials, are soon to be added to the endangered species list. Their habitat is being destroyed as global warming continues to reduce the polar ice cap. Will polar bears survive the 21st century? But there is more to consider: Hurricane Katrina, the violent weather now hitting the Pacific Northwest, ski resorts in Europe without snow, parts of our world facing unexpected droughts — all demonstrate that our...

A dangerous divide is forcing Australian Muslims to abandon their homes, says Sydney cleric Feiz Mohamed in Lebanon reports Middle East correspondent Martin Chulov ---------- AUSTRALIA'S most influential firebrand cleric feels like an alien in his own country. And Sheik Feiz Mohamed is not alone. He believes a rising anti-Islamic tide has made Muslims wary of their countrymen, forcing at least eight families to abandon their homeland for the Middle East. From the foothills of his ancestral village in north Lebanon, the man with the most sway over the nation's Islamic youth says five years into the war on terror...

At this link: http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html Neil Boortz is quoted as saying: "So how did I actually vote when I got that provisional ballot in my hand. Straight Libertarian." Thank you Neil Boortz. Thanks to you and those who think like you, we now have the Democrats in control of Congress. I hope you and your ilk are very happy. Free Republic is allegedly a CONSERVATIVE web site. Will you libertarians please go somewhere like Lucianne.com, where you can laugh and smile about how you put the Republicans out of power, and leave Free Republic to the conservatives. Oh, and one more...

GAZA CITY (AFP) - In Gaza City's Firas market the stalls are laden with gift items and toys, fireworks and new clothes, cooking utensils and fish, as people crowd around, looking, touching and walking on. As the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan draws to an end and people look ahead to the Eid al-Fitr holiday that follows, there is little thought of feasting, except to look back fondly to Eids gone past. Amid the din of shopkeepers hawking their wares over loudspeakers, Abdulkarim says "people are coming, but they're not buying ... They don't have any money." "I only get...

Prepare for a seven-day work week, because that’s what we’ll all get if a recently-filed complaint succeeds in sparking change. If the complaint, filed by the NAACP in New York against a dental clinic there, were to prevail, which I can’t believe it will, the implications for the rest of us are fairly staggering. In fact, I doubt the folks who filed it gave the likely consequences much thought beforehand. Evidently, the NAACP filed a complaint with the New York state Division of Human Rights, accusing a New York medical and dental clinic of religious discrimination — of imposing its...

One of the favorite tricks of the opponents of an initiative is to claim they oppose an initiative because it is “poorly written” or it has “unintended” consequences. If the opponent believes that the policy of an initiative is popular, the opponent will say “Hey, I support that policy, I just don’t support this initiative because it just does too much, or it will cost too much, or it is poorly written.” We are currently seeing this tactic used by those that oppose California's Proposition 90. Let’s start with the context of the discussion. For years, state and local governments...

Britain could face the threat of two million home-grown Islamic terrorists, says a senior Muslim leader. Muhammad Abdul Bari, the secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, fears that continued negative attitudes towards people of his faith could provoke a vast and angry backlash. "There are a few bad apples in the Muslim community who are doing terrible acts and we want to root them out," Dr Bari told The Sunday Telegraph. "But some police officers and sections of the media are demonising Muslims, treating them as if they're all terrorists — and that encourages other people to do the...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - American Muslims still face high levels of hatred and suspicion nearly five years after the September 11 attacks and political leaders and the news media are mostly to blame, Muslim leaders said on Friday. "During the last five years the Muslim community has been scrutinized by almost all branches of the government and the media to the extent that more than half a million Muslims have been directly touched by this process," said Abdul Malik Mujahid, chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago. "They continue to face dehumanization and a great trend of Islamophobia,"...

More and more Palestinian civilians turning to human rights organizations with complaints of growing violence of IDF soldiers at checkpoints in territories after war in Lebanon. 'I felt that all pressure from war is released in meeting with them,' told taxi driver who claimed he needed to be hospitalized after he was hit by soldiers In the past few days, more and more Palestinian testimonies have amassed that claim that IDF soldiers humiliated them at checkpoints in Judea and Samaria. The same Palestinians say that the soldiers are taking the frustration created by the war in Lebanon out on them....

In an interview, Young was asked whether he was concerned that Wal-Mart causes smaller, mom-and-pop stores to close. ``Well, I think they should; they ran the 'mom and pop' stores out of my neighborhood,'' the paper quoted Young as saying. ``But you see, those are the people who have been overcharging us, selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs; very few black people own these stores.'' Young said he...

this weeks "navy times" came out. it had the usual articles in it. one very touching one about the last carrier operations of the f-14s. then.....

Giving ‘terrorists’ exactly what they want No civilized nation starves people to death because extremists committed violent acts This is exactly what “the terrorists” want. I don’t need to identify who is and who isn’t a terrorist in this fight. It’s pretty clear to both sides. But the real issue is the higher principle that seems orphaned high above the carnage below: Responding to violence with violence is a form of terrorism, and failing to pursue peace despite the violence is also terrorism, too. You can’t look at this as a conflict that started when Palestinians kidnapped Israeli “teenager” soldier...

Think the immigration debate is mainly about giving amnesty to the 10 million illegals already here? Think again. Amnesty is a drop in the bucket. The real issue is the staggering increase in legal immigration hidden in the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, recently passed in the Senate. By a ratio of about 4-1, U.S. voters would prefer less immigration, not more. But the Senate bill would do just the opposite. The original bill would have allowed as many as 100 million people to legally immigrate to the United States over the next 20 years. We're talking about a seismic shift...

NEWS WEB BREITBART FINANCE SOURCE: REUTERS · ASSOCIATED PRESS · AFP · FOX NEWS · US NEWSWIRE · DRUDGE REPORT Only 483 Guard Working on Mexican Border Jun 30 9:35 PM US/Eastern By AARON C. DAVIS Associated Press Writer SACRAMENTO, Calif. On the deadline to have 2,500 troops along the Mexican border, the National Guard said Friday that only 483 were in position and working with the U.S. Border Patrol as the Bush administration had directed. But Guard officials said more than 2,000 others were somewhere inside the four southwestern border states, training or helping plan the deployment. He and...

June 30, 2006 -- THE ISSUE: A comprehensive immigration plan that includes a guest-worker program. No one with any common sense believes the Senate immigration bill would really be enforced ("Base Desires," Dick Morris, PostOpinion, June 26). Rather, it would only begin another round of illegal entries into the country. The government has to show us that the borders are really being secured first. Peter Trotter Bloomfield, Conn. **** Morris' commentary would lead one to believe that the Republican base is all for amnesty. That is not the case. Grass-roots conservatives, who worked hard to get President Bush re-elected, support...

California grape growers are facing a harvest crisis as stepped-up US immigration enforcement limits the labour pool. Nat DiBuduo, CEO of Allied Grape Growers, held urgent meetings with influential US senator John McCain of Arizona and the US agriculture secretary Mike Johanns in June to lobby for change in US immigration laws. 'Border security has been a focal point of immigration reform, and labour is going to be short throughout California,' said Dibuduo, whose 600 growers supply about 100 winemakers throughout the state. 'In recent years we have been using more illegal immigrants for work that US citizens do not...

Top conservative leaders have written President Bush telling him to drop his insistence on a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for illegal aliens and instead support the 85 percent of congressional Republicans who want to tighten law enforcement first. Signers include William J. Bennett, Robert H. Bork, Ward Connerly, David A. Keene, Phyllis Schlafly and a number of think-tank academics and pundits. The immigration debate is the first major issue on which Mr. Bush finds himself opposing a majority of Republicans in Congress and depending on Democrats to deliver a victory. In their letter, the conservatives tell Mr....

Kerry Pressing Swiftboat Case, Long After Loss By KATE ZERNIKE John Kerry starts by showing the entry in a log he kept from 1969: "Feb 12: 0800 run to Cambodia." He moves on to the photographs: his boat leaving the base at Ha Tien, Vietnam; the harbor; the mountains fading frame by frame as the boat heads north; the special operations team the boat was ferrying across the border; the men reading maps and setting off flares. "They gave me a hat," Mr. Kerry says. "I have the hat to this day," he declares, rising to pull it from his...

So claims the Washington Post. The GOP is on the verge of a major electoral disaster. Each week more House seats once considered safe (60-65% for Bush in 04) are now on the endangered list for incumbent GOP congressmen. The list is probably over 50 at this point,and may grow some more.  More GOP senators are now in trouble. Add Jon Kyl of Arizoan to the list. He is now but 7 points ahead of a very wealthy competitor (last three polls showed him up 29, then 15, now 7). Seven GOP Senate seats are at risk and 3 Demcratic seats (maybe...

New study shows most Palestinian youngsters exposed to terror report of post traumatic symptoms, compared to only 25 percent of Israeli children Most Palestinian children who have been exposed to trauma (72.8 percent) report of post traumatic symptoms, a new study on violence and its effects in Israel revealed. Meanwhile, Israeli children are less prone to suffer from post traumatic stress: Only 25 percent of Israeli kids that have experienced terror attacks reported of post traumatic effects in different levels. The study, which has been conducted by Prof. Alean al-Krenawi of the Department of Social Work at the Ben Gurion...

BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip - He's overdrawn at the bank, owes $400 to the grocery, can no longer afford baby formula for his youngest and is trying to sell his 16-year-old car for half its value to raise cash for food. After two months without his government salary, Abdel Hakim Abu Samra, 47, is fast running out of options. "It's the worst time we've had," he said, comparing the deepening crisis since Hamas rose to power in March to previous periods, including two bloody uprisings against Israel. And there's no end in sight. The West won't lift crippling economic sanctions...

Google is currently the premier search engine. However, it's results are getting worse by the day. Besides being bombarded with gateway search engine pages no matter what term you type in, you are not getting relevant results. In other words, you are not seeing legitimate pages that other search engines like Yahoo will return. For proof of this I give you the term "privacy service". This one affects us and our service at www.cotse.net. Cotse.Net is a privacy service. According to our logs it is indexed daily by Google. According to Google, we are not penalized in any way by...

Palestinian Authority marks 'Disaster Day' for State of Israel's establishment. Gaza residents seem worn out, not eager to demonstrate; 'how could people be expected to go out and protest with no salaries?' Fatah activist explains Gaza residents on Monday marked the 58th Nakba Day – the "disaster" that struck the Palestinian people following the establishment of the State of Israel, which caused millions of Palestinians to become refugees all over the Arab world. This year, however, the day was different than before and stood in the shadow of what Gazans refer to as "the current Nakba" – the economic and...

just heard on the radio that Sen.Coleman wants to be notified about price gouging for gas. the site to let him know is http://gaswatch.energy.gov/ I think I'll let him know his decision to not drill in ANWR is gouging what I'll pay in the future . taxing gas at high rates doesn't help either. Feel free to add to the list of stupid things our gubmint does to make our lives more entertwined with their sense of self importance with regards to energy.

We wrecked our 2001 Dodge caravan 3-7-06 going only about 35mph, frontal crash, my daughters (12yrs. old) rear shoulder strap didn't catch and her face slammed the handle on back of the drivers seat, she suffered a concussion with blood from eye, nose and mouth. NHTSA or IIHS has never done a FRONTAL crash test with rear occupants and (ALL) Daimlerchryster Dodge caravan and durango rear shoulder straps do not catch when you jerk them and caravan didn't catch in our crash. Test for yourself, jerk the front then jerk the rear shoulder restraints, obviously something is wrong and children...

HARTFORD, Conn. - Three familiar faces from Hollywood urged Connecticut legislators yesterday to help protect their images.Actors Paul Newman, Christopher Plummer and Charles Grodin, all state residents, said they worry that technology has made it possible to access their films, images and voices, and to use that material to produce another product they know nothing about."We are suddenly cloned into something we're not," Plummer said. "We are robbed of our individuality, and our life's work is tarnished."A bill before the legislature's Judiciary Committee would forbid use of another person's "right of publicity," such as their name, voice, signature, photo, image,...

The Blanco administration is still spending state money on lawmakers’ pet projects, six months after the governor officially pulled the plug on what critics call slush funds. Among those receiving money are the son and former daughter-in-law of a lawmaker. Rep. Arthur Morrell, D-New Orleans, acknowledged his family members are on the payroll of Forever Our Children, an after-school tutoring program he used his legislative clout to establish. He said he discounts any criticism of the arrangement. “I had a couple of comments about it, but I told them where to go,” Morrell said. Forever Our Children was one of...

An article in today's Toronto Star looks at a new study that purports to show that whiny children grow up to be conservatives. The study, published in the Journal of Research in Personality, is interesting in that it is longitudinal. It studied 95 kids for decades. UC Berkeley professor Jack Block found that: "The whiny kids tended to grow up conservative, and turned into rigid young adults who hewed closely to traditional gender roles and were uncomfortable with ambiguity. "The confident kids turned out liberal and were still hanging loose, turning into bright, non-conforming adults with wide interests. The girls...

Whiny children, claims a new study, tend to grow up rigid and traditional. Future liberals, on the other hand ... Remember the whiny, insecure kid in nursery school, the one who always thought everyone was out to get him, and was always running to the teacher with complaints? Chances are he grew up to be a conservative. At least, he did if he was one of 95 kids from the Berkeley area that social scientists have been tracking for the last 20 years. The confident, resilient, self-reliant kids mostly grew up to be liberals.

The other night Jimmy Carter popped up on the Larry King show, live via satellite, standing in a ski lodge and wearing a fur-lined outdoorsman jacket as though he'd just come in from felling a spruce. He was publicizing an upcoming auction in which he would sell the furniture he'd been making. Also his wine. This may have come to many viewers as a surprise: There is Jimmy Carter Wine. The former president didn't say how he made it, but you know what it's probably called: peanut noir. Also he plans to sell his paintings. "My paintings," he told King,...

Eliette Montosson surveyed the rolling vineyard where her family has produced its Pays d'Oc wine for as far back as anyone can remember. "It's bad, very very bad. The situation is desperate," said the silver-haired 68-year-old, who tends the rows of gnarled vines for 10 hours each day. "We've had some of these vines for 20 years but now they've got to go." On Wednesday Mrs Montosson and thousands of other winemakers will take to the streets of southern France to highlight a crisis they claim is driving them into crippling debt - and, in some tragic cases, suicide. In...