Free Republic

A political maxim holds that you can’t beat Somebody with Nobody. It largely explains why Mitt Romney was having trouble going head-to-head against President Obama. The incumbent is a much more skillful and confident campaigner, and polls show many Americans like him, despite being unhappy with his policies and the country’s direction. Obama is definitely a Somebody and that’s an advantage. Romney, wooden and rich, was a fat target for the White House’s vicious personal attacks. Despite the president’s economic record, Romney was proving to be a Nobody among many voters, including independents and even some Republicans. He was on...

China's problems are gold's problems Investors who love gold tend to think of it as a sort of bomb shelter. It's supposed to be a secure place to park your money when the rest of the financial world is blowing up. So some may find it surprising that in a year when Europe's troubles have thrown the global economy into fits, gold has been a loser's bet. The price per ounce of everyone's favorite rock is down about 7percent for the year and is off 15 percent from its September peak. According to a report released yesterday by the World...

Maryland’s highest court rejected an appeal Friday by state Democrats who were hoping to block a referendum on the state’s new congressional map. The Maryland Court of Appeals filed an order upholding the state Board of Elections‘ decision to hold a November referendum on the map after it received signatures from more than 59,000 registered voters hoping to get it put on the ballot. The Maryland Democratic Party sued the board this summer, alleging that it erroneously validated thousands of signatures that were collected using the website MDPetitions.com. Read more: Md. court rejects lawsuit challenging redistricting referendum - Washington Times

Excerpts WashMedia-South Asia — a representative group of journalists from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, focusing on water, sanitation and hygiene issues — has recently highlighted that approximately a fourth of the Pakistani population still defacates in the open. Lack of adequate sanitation also spells bad news for eradicating polio in the country, given that this debilitating disease spreads primarily through the fecal-oral route. It is not surprising to note an evident resurgence of the virus in the slums in Quetta and Karachi.

On "Fox News Sunday" Obama senior advisor Robert Gibbs works hard to dodge questions about Obama's Medicare cuts (August 19, 2012).

A televised debate.  Wolf Blitzer "moderating" [Blitzer] "Let's start with a foreign policy question.  Mr. President, what is the capital of Israel?" [Obama] "Umm, well.  Our embassy is in Tel Aviv.  The Knesset is in Jerusalem.  But our friends call Jerusalem 'Al Quds'.  Umm.  On Facebook, to describe our relationship with Israel, I'd click on 'It's Complicated'." [Blitzer] "Governor?" [Romney] "It isn't complicated.  The capital is Jerusalem.  While Jerusalem has been occupied by others for much of its history, it has been the capital ever since King David set up shop there.  Even Abraham, the Father of the Faith, was...

Joe Biden's gaffes are famous, not just for the self-inflicted foot swallowing that he is most known for, but also for the liberal media's obvious ignorance and non reporting of those said numerous gaffes. Its just the same as when Franklin Delano Roosevelt's crippling polio paralysis was hidden from the American public - as FDR's staff members would prop him up into a standing position - just to show how able-bodied he was. It was all a charade aided and abetted by the press, which had just as many communist sympathizers then as they do today. But Senator Biden's problem...

What happens when you realize you are the machine you're raging against? Tom Morello, the Grammy-winning, Harvard-educated guitarist for the metal rap band Rage Against the Machine, punctured Paul Ryan's pretensions to cool in a Rolling Stone essay rejecting R&R (Romney 'n' Ryan) as R&R (rock 'n' roll). "He is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades," Morello writes, adding: "I clearly see that Ryan has a whole lotta 'rage' in him: A rage against women, a rage against immigrants, a rage against workers, a rage against gays, a rage against the...

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!   For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.   Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!     ~ Hall of Heroes ~Jack C. Montgomery Story from this website.             Jack C. Montgomery (July 23, 1917 – June 11, 2002) was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Montgomery joined the Army from Sallisaw, Oklahoma,...

Niall Ferguson Has Been Wrong On Economics Joe Weisenthal Aug. 19, 2012, 6:44 PM Niall Ferguson has a huge piece in The Daily Beast saying Obama needs to get fired titled: "Hit The Road, Barack."It's basically an ell-encompassing takedown of Obama's record on the economy (it still sucks), the deficit (it's getting bigger) and America's standing in the world (The Mideast has not gotten safer). It even hits Obama for stuff like this, which seems totally inevitable at some point, regardless of who is President.Newsweek Anyway, as you read Niall Ferguson, it's worth noting that he has been wrong on...

An employee at a southeastern valley Dairy Queen today shot a sword-wielding robber, who later died, police said. The man, who was shot twice, was pronounced dead at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, police said. The attempted robbery occurred about 12:17 p.m. at the Dairy Queen at 2595 S. Maryland Parkway south of East Sahara Avenue, said Lt. Leslie Lane, a Metro watch commander. A masked man entered the empty store carrying a samurai-style sword that was about 3 feet long, Lane said.

Let's reward good behavior. Newsweek is apparently desperate to survive. We plan on buying this issue off the shelf. Might they get the message????

CBS: Grover Norquist says the president "didn't keep his word when he said he wouldn't raise taxes" on lower income families, and points to tax increases within the Affordable Care Act as evidence.

A French Jewish mother at the centre of a high profile custody battle with a Saudi prince has died after falling from a fourth storey apartment, amid suspicions of foul play. Police are still investigating what caused the death of Candice Cohen-Ahnine, 35, who fell from her Paris apartment window on Thursday night. Investigators reportedly had been leaning towards an accident as cause of death, but by Sunday reports in the French media suggested Ms Cohen-Ahnine had slipped and fallen to her death "as if she was escaping something dangerous". Police refused to confirm the reports when contacted by The...

Step 1. Plug your ears, and scream RACIST while loudly stomping your foot. Step 2. If this fails, point out that the common proletariat does not know what is best for them, and politely suggest they shut up, and listen to those who do know better than them; namely the Democratic Party. Step 3. If that doesn't work, point out that since they are brainwashed by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, they do not know what they are talking about, and thus their arguments are invalid. Step 4. If theEnemy of the State person still persists in arguing against Obama,...

Wall Street warns against using eminent domain to seize underwater mortgagesBy Peter Schroeder - 08/19/12 05:00 PM ET Heavy hitters in the financial industry are lining up against a new idea brewing among local government officials to help struggling homeowners by seizing control of their mortgages through eminent domain. With many areas of the country still digging out from the housing crisis, some local governments are considering taking on the underwater mortgages at a substantially lower price, thus making them more affordable for the borrower. With policymakers at the federal, state and local level struggling to find a way to...

Robert Gibbs says on "Fox News Sunday" that Obama has been transparent, since he took a question one time (August 19, 2012).

Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Do we only run to God when life gets messy? If many of us were honest, sometimes we take for granted that our God is quietly waiting on the sidelines. It’s so easy to get caught up when things are going well that we can handle life on our own. The Lord wants to be involved in every facet of our lives. Sadly we sometimes ignore Him when it comes right down to it. Above is a great verse, and...

Congressman Todd Aikin, the GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate from Missouri should withdraw from the Missouri Senate Race immediately over his stupid statement he made today re: "legitimate rape". To not do so, will assure six more years for Claire McKaskill in the U.S. Senate. What he said, in essence, when asked about abortion, was that a "legitimate rape" rarely causes pregnancy. Now, that comment is going viral over the internet. I witnessed, first-hand, in 1990 how a "rape gaffe" by GOP candidate for Governor of Texas, Clayton Williams, who had a wide lead in the polls at the...

He survived the daily dangers of being a pilot in the Second World War and even risked his life on a clandestine operation in the Soviet Union. Now aged 91, and seven decades on from his wartime exploits, Eric Carter has taken to the skies again at the controls of a rare two-seater Spitfire. Earlier this year, museum officials denied Mr Carter the chance even to sit in the cockpit of a Spitfire because of health and safety rules.'Just as I remembered it': Eric Carter, 91, said it 'all came back' after ten minutes of flying in the Spitfire. The...