Free Republic

$15,999,308,251 and counting.

Correspondent Jessica Yellin (CNN) - An hour after Mitt Romney stepped off of his party's convention stage, crowned as the Republican presidential nominee, organizers of the Democratic convention announced several speakers who will appear onstage in Charlotte, North Carolina next week. The partial lineup released Friday highlights Democratic women, Latinos, African-Americans, and congressional leaders. The convention speaker list includes Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts; Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley; Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the former White House Chief of Staff; and former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat.

This week, a federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its administrator, Lisa Jackson, and in favor of the state of West Virginia and the National Mining Association. The judge decided that the EPA illegally overstepped its authority by creating and enforcing water quality restrictions on West Virginia coal mining operations, and that the EPA should have left these decisions to state officials.

Combating the Environmental Protection Agency’s flurry of new regulations on coal and other energy resources has become a campaign platform for Republicans in key battleground states. GOP contenders in states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are directing their focus to the Obama administration’s anti-coal policies, while blaming their Democratic rivals for bolstering the EPA’s intrusive regulatory efforts. Representative Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) recently launched a pro-coal campaign positioning 150 billboards in six different swing states aimed to underscore President Obama’s purported opposition to the coal industry. “Too many lawmakers in Washington have ignored President Barack Obama’s War on Coal,”...

VIDEO!!!! President Obama says a proposed tax cut by Mitt Romney will cost the federal government five trillion dollars. "Five trillion dollars is a lot of money, even for Washington," he said. Obama was speaking at a campaign event in Dubuque, Iowa.

A budget resolution based on President Obama’s 2013 budget failed to get any votes in the Senate on Wednesday. In a 99-0 vote, all of the senators present rejected the president’s blueprint. It’s the second year in a row the Senate has voted down Obama’s budget. Obama's 2012 budget failed 97 to 0 last May after Obama himself last April said he wanted deeper deficit cuts. The House earlier this year unanimously rejected Obama's budget. (Failed 414 - 0)

The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), Wisconsin’s paramount teachers union, issued layoff notices to 40 percent of its staff. Union bosses blame Gov. Scott Walkers “union-busting” legislation as the cause for the layoffs. Executive Director of WEAC Dan Burkhalter declared, “We had to make decisions about this budget year that starts in a couple weeks, based on the number of members we have now.” To summarize, the union had to balance their budget.

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Wednesday urged Congress to immediately pass a temporary funding measure for the Federal Aviation Administration to put nearly 4,000 federal employees back to work and restart more than 200 airport construction projects. The Democratic-led Senate went on its summer recess Tuesday without approving what would have been the 21st short-term funding extension for the FAA. The Republican-led House previously passed a short-term extension, but included some changes opposed by Democrats.

Income does Not equal Wealth. Net Worth equals Wealth. Income equals Net Work!

Earlier today Obama threatened he would veto the Cut, Cap, and Balance bill if it reaches his desk. Levin says the only problem with this is that, while he can veto the Cut and Cap part, if the Balanced Budget Amendment passes both the House and the Senate it goes to the states, not Obama. He’s got nothing to do with it. One would expect a brilliant, ivy league Constitutional Law Professor to know these things:

Protecting Children On the Internet In early 2007 my office did a study that found that over 85% of registered sex offenders in New York City live less than five blocks from schools, and 670 sex offenders live within just two blocks. Some offenders are even closer, permanently residing less than 500 feet away from unwitting parents, educators and childr

“Aboard Air Force Aleph (Reuters) – Speaking to reporters accompanying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his long flight to the United States tonight, Netanyahu spoke of the injustice and hardship Mexicans have endured since American forces annexed Texas in 1845. “Tens of thousands of ordinary Mexicans were driven out of their homes – the only homes they had known for centuries - and forced to live in poverty and squalor south of the border imposed by American aggression,” Netanyahu said. “The Israeli and Mexican people agree on this: This festering wound will never heal until America takes bold steps...

New York, NY, May 19, 2011 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today commended President Barack Obama for his statement of U.S. priorities in the Middle East, his strong affirmation of the deep and "unshakeable" relationship between the United States and Israel, and expressed support for his vision of a negotiated Israeli-Palestinian settlement with strong security provisions for Israel and a non-militarized Palestinian state.

Nov 18 (Reuters) - An effort to continue assistance for millions of jobless people who will see their benefits run out in coming weeks failed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday. By a vote of 258 to 154, the proposal to extend jobless benefits for three months fell short of the two-thirds margin needed to pass the House under special rules that limit debate.

Temporary government programs hatched during a crisis can take on a life of their own, even when markets have calmed. That is the danger now with Build America Bonds. Started in early 2009, the program offered state and local governments a subsidy to help issue debt when credit markets were largely frozen. The idea was that government borrowers, who largely sell tax-exempt debt to individual investors, needed help tapping the wider institutional market. To this end, the U.S. government decided to rebate to state and local governments 35% of the interest paid on a taxable bond issue. That allowed them...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released its comprehensive monthly update on Build America Bonds issuances, including state-by-state data, showing that more than $150 billion have been issued through October 31, 2010. Build America Bond issuers benefit from substantial savings in borrowing costs when compared to issuing tax-exempt debt.......... Build America Bonds now constitute about 21 percent of the municipal bonds market;.............. Reinvestment Act, allows state and local governments to obtain much-needed financing at lower borrowing costs for new capital projects such as construction of schools and hospitals, development of transportation infrastructure, and water and sewer upgrades. Under the...

Senate Members 2010 Election Results •Hon. Roland Burris (IL) NOT RUNNING (replaced by a Republican) •Hon. Bernie Sanders (VT) Next Election (2012) •Hon. Tom Udall (NM) Next Election (2014) House Members 1.REHIRED – Hon. Tammy Baldwin (WI-02) 2.REHIRED – Hon. Xavier Becerra (CA-31) 3.REHIRED – Hon. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) 4.REHIRED – Hon. Robert Brady (PA-01) (Unopposed) 5.REHIRED – Hon. Corrine Brown (FL-03) 6.REHIRED – Hon. Michael Capuano (MA-08) (Unopposed) 7.REHIRED – Hon. André Carson (IN-07) 8.REHIRED – Hon. Donna Christensen (VI) 9.REHIRED – Hon. Judy Chu (CA-32) 10.REHIRED – Hon. Yvette Clarke (NY-11) 11.REHIRED – Hon. William “Lacy” Clay (MO-01)...

In February, Congress was barely able to raise the federal government's debt ceiling to allow Uncle Sam to continue borrowing. The votes, which occurred along strict partisan lines, only provided the government with one year's worth of additional borrowing capacity. ...... Some conservatives, such as likely Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), have said they would be willing to vote for an increase in the federal debt limit for tradeoffs in lower government spending. Unreasonable demands on lower spending that the Obama administration would likely reject, though, might only encourage obstinate tea party types to continue...

171 Democrats 40 Toss Ups 224 Republicans

Bill Clinton sought to persuade Rep. Kendrick Meek to drop out of the race for Senate during a trip to Florida last week — and nearly succeeded. Meek agreed — twice — to drop out and endorse Gov. Charlie Crist’s independent bid in a last-ditch effort to stop Marco Rubio, the Republican nominee who stands on the cusp of national stardom. Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/44337.html#ixzz13hLXEDNk