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WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senate lawmakers on Saturday overwhelmingly passed a broad package of housing legislation, hoping to send a calming message to financial markets and voters amid the ongoing deterioration of the housing market and a growing number of bank failures. Meeting in a rare weekend session, the Senate voted 72-13 in favor of the bill, which includes tax breaks for homeowners, a $300 billion program to refinance loans for struggling borrowers, and a dramatic rescue plan for embattled mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Other provisions include an increase in the federal debt limit to $10.6 trillion...

NOTICE!!! BARACK "WHO'S SANE" OBAMA WILL NOT BE DONATING TO THE FREEPATHON Thank you, Lady Jag!

Gordon Brown’s worst nightmare was realised early today as the Scottish National Party triumphed by taking Glasgow East, one of Labour’s safest seats. The hopes of Labour strategists that their disastrous run of electoral setbacks was about to end were dashed as the SNP’s John Mason achieved the enormous 22 per cent swing required to topple the long-time stronghold. Mr Mason, a Glasgow councillor, overturned a 13,507 Labour majority at the general election in 2005 to win by 365 votes from Labour’s Margaret Curran. Turnout was just over 42 per cent. Earlier in the day, Labour had requested a recount,...

<p>Officials say three people were shot at a community college in Phoenix.</p> <p>Fire department division chief Mark Faulkner says a 25-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman wounded at South Mountain Community College are in critical condition, and a 17-year-old boy is in stable condition.</p>

After visiting GIs in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq as part the congressional delegation prelude to his campaign swing in the Middle East and Europe, Barack Obama canceled planned visits to the U.S. military bases at Ramsteina and Landstuhl.Landstuhl is where wounded U.S. troops are taken from the battlefield to be stabalized before being flown to Walter Reed in Washington, D.C. and other military hospitals back home.Jake Tapper of ABC News reports the Obama campaign issued a statement saying the planned visits with the troops were canceled because it was deemed by the campaign to be "inapprpopriate" because Obama's stop in...

Obama is scheduled to speak in Berlin at the Victory Column sometime between 1 and 1:30 Eastern. All cable networks will cover the speech, live.

With less than six months to go before he would be sworn in as the nation’s 44th president, Sen. Barack Obama has directed his aides to begin planning for the transition. "Barack is well aware of the complexity and the organizational challenge involved in the transition process and he has tasked s small group to begin thinking through the process,” a senior campaign adviser said. “Barack has made his expectations clear about what he wants from such a process, how he wants it to move forward, and the establishment and execution of his timeline is proceeding apace.” Last month, the...

OBAMA VISITS WESTERN WALL IN OLD CITY JERUSALEM... ARRIVES AT 5:08 AM LOCAL TIME [10:08 PM ET]... SUNRISE... SHOUTING MAN: 'JERUSALEM IS NOT FOR SALE, OBAMA'... MOB SCENE... CHAOS... BOWING HIS HEAD IN PRAYER... PLACES NOTE IN WALL... POSES FOR PHOTOS... LOTS OF SHOUTING... LEAVES 5:20 AM... DEVELOPING...

The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention has used the city's gas pumps to fill up and apparently avoided paying state and federal fuel taxes. The practice, which began four months ago, may have ended hours after its disclosure. An aide to Mayor John Hickenlooper released a statement Tuesday evening saying that Denver 2008 Host Committee members would pay market prices for fuel and would also be liable for all applicable taxes. However, Public Works spokeswoman Christine Downs told City Council members just hours before that host committee members were fueling up at the city pumps. The city does not...

<p>According to Politico’s Carrie Budoff Brown, who is accompanying Obama on his trip to the Middle East and Europe, Obama’s campaign sent out a “dress code” that especially targeted female reporters as to the appropriate attire while traveling in Israel and Jordan.Obama press told to cover up, not wear green. No green. That is the color of Hamas. Also no nail polish, a limited amount of jewelry, covered shoulders and arms, closed-toed shoes, and stockings for women. (Do they make stockings anymore?) Women must also be prepared to cover their heads.</p>

The Real Barack Obama reports on the Obama campaign's plans to control the image of his Berlin rally:“Looks like the Germans figured out why Obama won’t allow anyone to bring anything into his big show,” Beethovenqueen writes. The Bild headline reads “Barack Obama bans protest signs in Berlin.” The article then goes on to say: Obamas Organisatoren wollen nichts dem Zufall überlassen. Auf Handzetteln, die seit Montag für die Rede im Berliner Bezirk Tiergarten ausgeteilt werden, heißt es: „Plakate oder Transparente sind nicht gestattet.“ Aus Sicherheitsgründen sollen die Besucher auch keine Taschen und Rucksäcke mitnehmen dürfen. Translation: Obama’s organization is...

Free Republic is an independent user driven conservative forum funded solely by your donations. We are not affiliated with any political party, campaign, news agency, corporation, or anyone else. There are no stockholders, advertisers, creditors, sugar daddies or string pullers. Thank you very much for making FR the number one conservative site on the net and for your continuing support! Jim

NYT REJECTS MCCAIN'S EDITORIAL; SHOULD 'MIRROR' OBAMA Mon Jul 21 2008 12:00:25 ET An editorial written by Republican presidential hopeful McCain has been rejected by the NEW YORK TIMES -- less than a week after the paper published an essay written by Obama, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned. The paper's decision to refuse McCain's direct rebuttal to Obama's 'My Plan for Iraq' has ignited explosive charges of media bias in top Republican circles. 'It would be terrific to have an article from Senator McCain that mirrors Senator Obama's piece,' NYT Op-Ed editor David Shipley explained in an email late Friday...

BEIJING - Three separate bus explosions killed at least three people and injured 14 in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming on Monday, media said, amid a security clampdown ahead of next month's Beijing Olympics. The causes were not immediately clear, but the blasts came within a matter of hours of each other in the capital of Yunnan province and less than three weeks before the Beijing Games, which China has warned could be a target of terrorist attacks. An explosion on one bus happened at the Panjiawan stop at 7.10 a.m. and the second blast was nearby, the official...

Ktal has learned that a B-52 deployed from Barksdale crashed in the waters off Guam this morning. TheB-52 was scheduled to fly in Guam's Liberation Day parade, when for unknown reasons, the aircraft crashed. An extensive search is underway for the 6 crew members aboard that aircraft ...Their conditions are unknown.... we'll bring you more information as soon as it becomes available to us.

The Talk Shows Sunday, July 20th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; Earl Morse, founder of Honor Flight, a program of free flights for World War II veterans.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Former Vice President Al Gore.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. THIS WEEK (ABC): Pre-empted by coverage of the British Open golf tournament. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Rep. Roy Blunt,...

Iran was given a fortnight to agree to freeze its uranium enrichment programme yesterday or face further international isolation. After a day of inconclusive talks in Geneva, a six-nation negotiating team warned the Iranian delegation that it had run out of patience and demanded a 'yes or no' answer to a proposal it put forward five weeks ago.

New York tax filers reporting more than $375,000 a year in earned income may end up paying nearly 60% of their wages in taxes to the government under a Barack Obama presidency, economists who have analyzed his plan said. The Democratic presidential candidate is proposing not only raising the federal income tax, but also adding a Social Security tax for those Americans earning more than $250,000 a year. For New Yorkers, that could mean that if the current Social Security rate is applied, the marginal tax rate, or rate on every extra dollar earned, could rise to 58%. "This is...

McCain Adviser, Phil Gramm, Leaves Campaign NEW YORK (CBS) ― Phil Gramm, a top adviser to presidential candidate John McCain, is resigning from the role as campaign co-chairman after his comments that the United States had become a "nation of whiners" who constantly complain about the state of the economy. The former U.S. senator from Texas and past presidential candidate made the remarks earlier this month. McCain immediately distanced himself from the comments, but they have been criticized constantly as McCain tries to show he can help steer the country past its current financial troubles. Gramm had also suggested that...

      Thursday, 17 July 2008 10:00 am - Funeral Mass - Great Upper Church Open to the Public Doors open at 8:00 a.m. (Will Need to Pass through Security Checkpoint Magnetometers) The Most Reverend Donald W. Wuerl Archbishop of Washington Presider Reverend David O’Connell, CM President of The Catholic University of America Celebrant & Homilist Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception 400 Michigan Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20017 Metro: Red Line – Brookland/CUA In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Drudge is reporting that the FBI has been investigating failed bank IndyMac for mortgage fraud in loans made to risky borrowers. Countrywide is also under investigation.

The scoreboard pegs us at approx one-third, but when you account for the monthlies we're actually over halfway and well on the way to two-thirds!! Way to go FReepers and Lurkers!! Thank you all very much!!

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, on Monday rejected a call by U.S. President George W. Bush to lift a moratorium on offshore oil drilling. Bush announced on Monday that he lifted the executive branch's restriction on offshore exploration, saying only Congress stood in the way of opening up America's untapped oil riches.

Just a banner on their website: Breaking News >> President Bush to Lift Executive Ban on Offshore Drilling

U.S. rescues Fannie, Freddie Treasury Department raises credit line, has power to buy companies' stock. Fed will open discount-lending to two government-sponsored mortgage lenders. Paulson calls for new regulatory controls.

At least eight US soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in clashes with Taleban militants. US commander Daniel Dwyer told the BBC the soldiers had been killed in clashes in the north-east of the country. The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says it is one of the biggest single losses in a day for the coalition since the start of military operations there. The attack came as international and Afghan security forces battled militants on several fronts. On Sunday, US forces said 40 insurgents had been killed in Helmand province in the past 24 hours. There are conflicting reports as...

The Talk Shows Sunday, July 13th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Tribute to Tony Snow with guests including Vice President Dick Cheney and commentator Rush Limbaugh.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Carly Fiorina, adviser to John McCain; Sen. Claire Mccaskill, D-Mo.; Republican strategist Mike Murphy; Harold Ford Jr., chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Israeli Ambassador Sallai Meridor; Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind. THIS WEEK (ABC): Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-Calif. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; Govs. Mark...

Fox News is announcing that Tony Snow has died. Heartbreaking news.

IndyMac Bank, a prolific mortgage specialist that helped fuel the housing boom, was seized Friday by federal regulators in one of the largest bank failures in U.S. history. The Pasadena, Calif., thrift was one of the largest savings and loans in the country with about $32 billion in assets. It now joins an infamous list of collapsed banks, topped by Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Co., which failed in 1984 with $40 billion of assets. IndyMac specialized in Alt-A loans, a type of mortgage that can often be offered to borrowers who don't fully document their incomes or assets....

On July 11, 2008, IndyMac Bank, F.S.B., Pasadena, CA was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Conservator. All non-brokered insured deposit accounts and substantially all of the assets of IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. have been transferred to IndyMac Federal Bank, F.S.B. (IndyMac Federal Bank), Pasadena, CA ("assuming institution") a newly chartered full-service FDIC-insured institution. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed. The FDIC has assembled useful information regarding your relationship with this institution. Besides a checking account, you may have Certificates of Deposit,...

$10, 20, 50, 100 sure doesn't sound like much, but when you get a couple thousand FReepers sending it in, it adds up. Enough to pay the bills and keep Free Republic ON THE AIR--and kicking liberal butt!!

The body of Alex R. Jimenez, a Lawrence-based soldier who was kidnapped more than a year ago, has been found in Iraq in a tragic ending to a family's wrenching hope for his return. Jimenez's father, Ramon "Andy'' Jimenez, was notified by Army servicemen who came to his home yesterday that his son's body was found two days ago by Iraqi authorities, who contacted their American counterparts. The elder Ramirez, who had held out hope that he would one day see his son's return, seemed to come to terms with the news. "It comforts you when you accept something, and...

'WIRE' LAW FAILED LOST GI 10-HOUR DELAY AS FEDS SOUGHT TAP TO TRACK JIMENEZ CAPTORS IN IRAQ By CHARLES HURT, Bureau Chief October 15, 2007 WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence officials got mired for nearly 10 hours seeking approval to use wiretaps against al Qaeda terrorists suspected of kidnapping Queens soldier Alex Jimenez in Iraq earlier this year, The Post has learned. This week, Congress plans to vote on a bill that leaves in place the legal hurdles in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - problems that were highlighted during the May search for a group of kidnapped U.S. soldiers. A...

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran tested more missiles in the Persian Gulf, state media reported Thursday, a day after the country drew Western criticism for test-firing nine rockets.

...How important is calumny today? In 2000, calumny effectively led to John McCain's defeat in South Carolina. That smear campaign against him used robo-calls and fliers, and e-mail also played an important role, as the New York Times reported in February 2000. Arguably, calumny defeated John Kerry in 2004, and the infamous Swift boat television ads of that summer were, importantly, preceded by an aggressive Internet campaign begun that January that included perhaps the first viral campaign e-mail: a computer-generated image of Kerry and Jane Fonda beside each other on a podium at an antiwar rally. The image originally emerged...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quch7x3R6gw

At least one of the photographs released today by Iran and published by an unquestioning Western media has been Photoshopped:

REV. JESSE JACKSON APOLOGIZES TO SEN. BARACK OBAMA FOR 'CRUDE AND HURTFUL COMMENTS' CAUGHT BY OPEN MIC... DEVELOPING...

WASHINGTON — More than two and a half years after the disclosure of President’s Bush’s domestic eavesdropping program set off a furious national debate, the Senate gave final approval on Wednesday afternoon to broadening the government’s spy powers and providing legal immunity for the phone companies that took part in the wiretapping program. The plan, approved by a vote of 69 to 28, marked one of Mr. Bush’s most hard-won legislative victories in a Democratic-led Congress where he has had little success of late. And it represented a stinging defeat for opponents on the left who had urged Democratic leaders...

BERLIN (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has slammed a request by Barack Obama to give a speech this month before the Brandenburg Gate as inappropriate, her deputy spokesman said Wednesday. The conservative leader said that while she would be pleased to meet the US Democratic presidential hopeful, it would be wrong for him to hold a "campaign rally" at the historic symbol of German unity. "It is unusual to do electioneering abroad," spokesman Thomas Steg told reporters. "It is unusual to hold election rallies abroad. No German candidate for high office would even think of using the National Mall...

Your donation keeps Free Republic on the air. $10, 20, 50, 100 is not much individually, but all together it adds up. United we stand, divided we fall. Thank you for your support. James

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran test-fired nine long- and medium-range missiles Wednesday during war games that officials said aimed to show the country can retaliate against any U.S. or Israeli attack, state television reported. The exercise was being conducted at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which about 40 percent of the world's oil passes. Iran has threatened to shut down traffic in the strait if attacked. Gen. Hossein Salami, the air force commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, said the exercise would "demonstrate our resolve and might against enemies who in recent weeks have threatened...

Armed men have opened fire from a vehicle outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul killing four people, according to CNN-Turk. CNN-Turk initially reported that at least three of the attackers were killed and one police officer later died from his injuries in a hospital. Police returned fire on the gunmen who were traveling in a white car ..."

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran test fired nine long- and medium-range missiles on Wednesday, state media said, including one which it has said could reach Israel and U.S. bases in the region. The tests occurred at a time of increased tension between Iran and Israel over Tehran's nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at making bombs. Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, says its program is only for electricity. A New York Times report in June said Israel had practiced an attack on Iranian nuclear sites, and the tension has rattled financial markets. U.S. and London Brent crude...

Sources from inside Iran have advised that earlier today, July 8th, the Islamic regime has fired missiles at, and sent mortar shells into Camp Ashraf, where the Mojaheddin (MEK) in Iraq are sequestered.

The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category. Last month, 11% of voters gave the legislature good or excellent ratings. Congress has not received higher than a 15% approval rating since the beginning of 2008. The percentage of Democrats who give Congress positive ratings fell from 17% last month to 13%...

KABUL: A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-filled car into the gates of the Indian embassy in Kabul, leaving at least 40 people dead, officials and a witness said. ( Watch video ) "The number of deaths at this time is 28, while 141 people were wounded, half of them hospitalised," health ministry spokesman Abdullah Fahim said, adding that the figure was based on information from several hospitals. The blast destroyed about four cars outside the embassy in the heart of the city, and flesh and broken limbs were scattered at the scene, an Afghan witness said. The bomber hit the...

Iran has resumed work on constructing highly sophisticated equipment that nuclear experts say is primarily used for building atomic weapons, according to the latest intelligence reports received by Western diplomats.

The Talk Shows Sunday, July 6th, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Media panel.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): pre-empted by coverage of Wimbledon tennis.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Lindsay Graham, R-S.C.THIS WEEK (ABC): Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut; Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.; Bob Barr, Libertarian presidential candidate.LATE EDITION (CNN) : Retrospective on the show's 10th anniversary.

Our reporting partners at the Detroit News are reporting that the FBI has electronic surveillance that links Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers to the Synagro scandal. The evidence reportedly proves that Conyers received either a payment or payments in connection with the city-approved sludge contract.