Free Republic

What’s in a name? Apparently, when it comes to hurricanes, a lot. A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that, for Atlantic Coast hurricanes in the U.S., storms with feminine names lead to more deaths than those with masculine names. The best explanation for this, according to the Economist, is that people do not take hurricanes with women’s names as seriously as storms with men’s names. The researchers actually tested this theory — and produced supporting results. They picked five male and five female names from the list to be used for this...

There’s word that workers will be getting some of the largest profit sharing checks in the history of the automaker. The exact amount is not expected to be known before February 14, but a senior UAW official tells the Detroit News that he anticipates GM bonuses to top the average check of nearly $1800...

Automotive News piled on, suggesting that so far, Akerson's leadership has been defined by "hubris," panning reports that GM is planning to double Chevy Volt production from 60,000 to 120,000 units next year. Rechtin argues convincingly that even with the generous federal tax credit of $7,500, the Volt's steep $41,000 price will make it impossible to sell so many units. All this, despite the fact that the Volt - which Akerson touts as the "soul" of the new GM, isn't even making money for GM - since it costs upwards of $40,000 to build each car. Indeed, leave it to...

Amped-up car enthusiasts and environmentally conscious drivers lined up Saturday in Tacoma for the national road tour debut of the Chevrolet Volt.

WJBK's Rob Wolchek on Detroit's reaction to Chrysler workers drinking and smoking pot on their lunch breaks.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren D, Chair of the House Committee on some such related to Immigration or Workers is holding hearings today. Steven Colbert from the COMEDY CHANNEL is present to testify, IN CHARACTER, about his vast experience on this topic. You can watch live stream at the URL or check out CSPAN-3 on yer telebox communicator. Fox News' Judge Napalitano commented this morning that it is highly irregular for someone to testify under oath while 'in character' pretending to be someone else.

When will Obama's gifts to unions (at the expense of the taxpayers) ever end? On the heels of a $26.1 billion teacher union bailout, now Democrats are attempting to get Congress to give $34 billion of the taxpayer's money to the Teamsters because that union has mishandled its pension funds. Senators Robert Casey (D., Pa.) and Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D., N.D.) are now pushing the bill that will bailout the Teamsters pension fund by altering the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. which currently charges insurance rates to the funds it helps to solvency. Under new rules the help the PBGC...

Federal regulators on Friday seized ShoreBank, the fabled South Side bank known for its community lending, and turned its good assets back over to its management team to be reopened as Urban Partnership Bank. The management team, which had joined ShoreBank only recently and which sources say includes former First Chicago Corp. executives Bill Farrow and David Vitale, entered into an agreement -- called a loss-share transaction -- on $1.41 billion of ShoreBank¹s assets with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), according to a press release issued tonight. The 15 branches of ShoreBank wll reopen Saturday as branches of Union...

A former supervisor for the federal Transportation Security Administration has pleaded guilty to stealing $20,000 worth of jewelry and other items from checked luggage at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The U.S. Attorney's office in Seattle says 50-year-old Randy Pepper entered the plea Monday at U.S. District Court in Seattle. Pepper was fired in July 2009 after another TSA worker saw him removing items from checked luggage. Surveillance video confirmed it, and investigators discovered Pepper had pawned the items. Prosecutors say they included gold diamond rings and sterling silver necklaces and earrings.

The State Department is sending Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf - the mastermind of the Ground Zero Mosque - on a trip through the Middle East to foster "greater understanding" about Islam and Muslim communities in the United States. However, important questions are being raised about whether this is simply a taxpayer-funded fundraising jaunt to underwrite his reviled project, which is moving ahead in Lower Manhattan. Mr. Rauf is scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar, the usual stops for Gulf-based fundraising. The State Department defends the five-country tour saying that Mr. Rauf is "a distinguished...

This just in from the trustees that issue the annual report on the health of those two pillars of the modern entitlement state: Medicare and Social Security. For the first time in its history the Social Security program will pay out more money than it takes in. This watershed event will occur this year, to the tune of $41 Billion dollars. Under any rational accounting standards this makes the Social Security program bankrupt. And that's right now, not in 25 years when the so-called Trust Fund becomes insolvent. You see, most pension programs hold income producing assets in their Trust...

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday he will issue a new order imposing a moratorium on deepwater drilling after a federal judge struck down the existing one. Salazar said in a statement that the new order will contain additional information making clear why the six-month drilling pause was necessary in the wake of the Gulf oil spill. The judge in New Orleans who struck down the moratorium earlier in the day complained there wasn't enough justification for it. Salazar pointed to indications of inadequate safety precautions by industry on deepwater wells. "Based on this ever-growing evidence, I will issue a...

The Houston Chronicle reports that the Obama administration has ordered the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department to implement multiple modifications to their facilities to make life easier, more comfortable, and pleasant for the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants (approximately 400,000) it detains annually. An internal ICE email highlights 28 different changes the organization will have to make to soften the look of its facilities, present a friendlier environment, offer better entertainment, organize fun activities, and provide illegal immigrant detainees with free access to email and phone services, as well as better dining and training classes.

WASHINGTON is in the midst of spending $11 billion to fulfill the Constitutional obligation to count Americans, a wonderfully quaint process I imagine worked better when this was a young country and people stayed on farms scattered about the countryside. Today, the census is a mess. People are harder to find, of course, because they are often at an office somewhere. And when they are located, they don't necessarily want to cooperate. Census workers get paid well, and are compensated for training and travel time to and from their homes. So these jobs are sought after, especially in this hard...

Don't call it Chevy. General Motors leaders are asking Chevrolet employees to refrain from the shorthand etched in America's consciousness for decades. Or, as the New York Times put it, "If General Motors has its way, you won't be driving your Chevy to the levee ever again." The Times quoted this company memo sent Tuesday: "We'd ask that whether you're talking to a dealer, reviewing dealer advertising, or speaking with friends and family, that you communicate our brand as Chevrolet moving forward. "When you look at the most recognized brands throughout the world, such as Coke or Apple, for instance,...

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is asking Congress to put politics and ideology aside – for the good of the children – and come up with $23 billion to save education in America. What did you really expect would happen? The $100 billion in stimulus funding was just the tip of the iceberg.

The streets of Athens became a sea of red earlier when the Greek Communist Party staged a huge protest.

Sovereign Debt Crisis: For many Americans, the EU's trillion-dollar bailout of Greece and other troubled European welfare states is probably of little concern. But they should know that they are going to help pay for it. Much of the media coverage has centered on the "European Union" bailout of its members. But the fact is, the U.S. is playing a much larger role in this than many realize - from strategizing to financing. As a New York Times headline noted Monday, the EU agreed to its $1 trillion rescue only after "nudge from Washington." President Obama, we're told, phoned German...

European stock markets pushed sharply higher Monday, while sovereign debt markets slumped, as market participants reacted to news of a hefty €750 billion ($955 billion) rescue package to stabilize the euro and prevent the Greek debt crisis from affecting other member countries.

<p>Last night in conjunction with the big Eurozone bailout, our own Federal Reserve announced its participation in the party by opening up big dollar swap facilities with its European partners.</p> <p>What's this mean? It's actually pretty simple.</p> <p>Among the recent problems in the EU has been that banks there have had trouble gaining access to Dollars to meet the insatiable flight to quality Dollar needs in the EU resulting from this crisis. This is likely the result of U.S. institutions trying to limit their respective exposure to a contagion. As such, the Fed and the ECB will now act as middlemen or clearing houses for the currency...</p>