Free Republic

President Obama -- along with many of the liberal Democrats in Congress -- originally defined “the rich” as couples making more than $250,000 a year. They were very specific and emphatic about how this group of taxpayers needs to pay their “fair share.” Yet, when one of the Senate’s newest -- and one of the most liberal -- members was asked to define what income groups comprise the “middle class,” she simply couldn’t do it. How remarkable: Elizabeth Warren Can't Define What Middle Class Is "It’s not a numbers issue. I know you would expect a very wonky answer from...

Iran's police chief says the Islamic Republic is developing new software to control social networking sites. Gen. Esmail Ahmadi Moghadam was quoted in Iranian newspapers Saturday as saying the new software will prevent Iranians from being exposed to malicious content online while allowing users to enjoy the benefits of the Internet. He did not say when the software would be introduced. Moghadam also did not specify which social networking sites would be affected, but both Facebook and Twitter are popular in Iran. Iranians currently have access to most of the Internet, although authorities block some sites affiliated with the opposition,...

Young quarterbacks have been the dominant storyline of the 2013 season. Of the 12 NFL playoff teams, six start quarterbacks that are either in their first or second year. The days of needing an established veteran at the quarterback position may be over. Of those five young starting quarterbacks, three are African-American. Rookies Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson will play each other in the premier wildcard game this weekend, with the Washington Redskins hosting the Seattle Seahawks Sunday afternoon. Colin Kaepernick gets a week off, as he helped lead his San Francisco 49ers to a bye. And while our...

A Moammar Gadhafi-era security official has been killed in Libya's second city Benghazi, local officials said Saturday, in the latest attack highlighting a lack of security in the east of the country. "Lieutenant-Colonel Nasser al-Magrabi was found dead on his farm last night," an official in Benghazi's criminal investigations department told AFP on condition of anonymity. ... "He was shot," the official said. Another official said the corpse was found "in a farm in the Sidi Faraj area" and that "investigations are now underway". Both sources said Magrabi had worked for the former regime's reviled internal security services in Benghazi...

Democratic Illinois Rep. Danny K. Davis told The Daily Caller that President Obama should have the power to raise the nation’s debt ceiling without congressional approval, citing the example of President Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation as a good use of presidential authority. “Sometimes when we’ve gotten great answers is when presidents have had enough authority to take some actions,” Davis told TheDC on Capitol Hill Friday. “I mean, remember that we just celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, and if Abraham Lincoln had not had the power, authority and the will to make that decision, we...

Open source house design community WikiHouse demonstrated their construction system at Milan Design Week, providing a visual update on the project. Their goal is to make it possible for anyone to download and print a timber structure using a CNC milling machine, and then fit the pieces together to build an affordable house ready for cladding, wiring, insulation and plumbing...

PAT BUCHANAN: There are three million ArmaLite rifles, those Bushmaster types, out there right now. And people are buying them like hotcakes, every gun show the sales are up enormously. Forty-one percent, they were up in December -- for last December, which was a record year. John, what is common though, Eleanor [Clift] is correct, the push is going to come on three things. Grandfather in the assault weapons that are here now, to try to outlaw assault weapons, outlaw magazines that carry more than 11 or 12 bullets, and also background checks at gun shows. JOHN MCLAUGHLIN: With no...

The U.S. Navy recently released a video meant to scare people from getting high on bath salts, according to a report on CBS News. In the video, produced by Navy Medicine command, a sailor ingests some lines of white powder. And then freakish things happen to him. The faces of people he knows turn into demons, while they're asking him if he's OK. Eventually, the sailor is taken to a hospital where medical personnel working on him indicate that his vital signs are dangerously high. Lt. George Loeffler, a psychiatry resident who works at the Naval Medical Center San Diego,...

        ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before; Christ, the royal Master Leads against the foe; Forward into battle, See, his banners go. Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before. At the sign of triumph Satan's host doth flee; On then, Christian soldiers, On to victory. Hell's foundations quiver At the shout of praise; Brothers, lift your voices, Loud your anthems raise. Like a mighty army Moves the church of God; Brothers, we are treading Where the...

“The Gentile Christmas” (Matthew 2:1-12; Isaiah 60:1-6)It is often called “the Gentile Christmas.” I’m talking about Epiphany, of course, the festival we are celebrating today. The Epiphany of Our Lord is one of the major festivals in the church year, one of the biggies. It’s a fixed-date festival, meaning it always falls on a certain date, regardless of the day of the week--like Christmas is always on December 25. Epiphany is always January 6, right after the twelve days of Christmas. So if January 6 happened to be on a Friday or a Tuesday, for example, we’d be having service....

When Barack Obama first took office four years ago, many progressives were on cloud nine. Here was a president pledging to tackle some of the issues closest to the progressive base: climate change, gun control and what he called our "broken immigration system." That was in 2008. Fast forward to now and these are just a few of the unresolved issues leaving progressives unsatisfied. With Obama's second term around the corner, some progressives are wondering if President Obama will reboot and follow through with his earlier promises. 'Obama Lost My Vote' One progressive disappointed in Obama was Shaun Johnson, an...

WASHINGTON — Looking back, John C. Kiriakou admits he should have known better. But when the F.B.I. called him a year ago and invited him to stop by and “help us with a case,” he did not hesitate. Only an hour into what began as a relaxed chat with the two agents — the younger one who traded Pittsburgh Steelers talk with him and the senior investigator with the droopy eye — did he begin to realize just who was the target of their investigation. On Jan. 25, Mr. Kiriakou is scheduled to be sentenced to 30 months in prison...

The White House has started a cockamamie procedure where regular citizens can launch petitions and if they get 25,000 signatures the White House will respond. Some are serious, like the one to exempt Hobby Lobby from the HHS contraceptive mandate. Some are silly, like the one asking for Joe Biden to be in a reality show. There is a petition for the arrest of NBC’s David Gregory for showing a magazine clip on his Sunday morning show, something that is illegal in Washington DC. A new petition has gone up, on Christmas Day no less, asking for the Catholic Church...

President Obama never disappoints. When the monthly unemployment rate fails to drop, forget it. What’s important is the number of jobs created. But when the rate actually does drop, forget the growth (or lack of it) in jobs. It’s the rate that matters. And don’t blame Obama for the persistence of slow economic growth and high joblessness. That’s the “new normal.” As for the millions of dropouts from the job market, that’s no big deal, hardly worth more than a passing mention. Full credit is due Obama for his role in the overthrow of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi. He was...

Flu infections sweep America hospitalizing thousands leaving 18 children dead ....

I'm not going to spoil the story for anyone who has PVR'd or taped it for later viewing, but I think last night's episode was maybe a first. It involved a sniper who was picking off random drivers in NYC. Turns out the shooter is an extreme LEFT-wing environmental wacko, and the detectives basically come right out and call him that. Wow. I thought the only "extreme" people were right-wing. /s Gotta love anything with Tom Selleck in it.

The U.S. has been hit with a particularly aggressive early flu season this year with widespread reports of the illness across the country, hospitalizing 2,257 people and leaving 18 children dead before the end of 2012. And health officials say the numbers haven't even peaked yet. 'I think we're still accelerating,' Tom Skinner, a Center for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman, told reporters.

For the past three years, America’s leaders have looked on Europe’s management of the euro crisis with barely disguised contempt. In the White House and on Capitol Hill there has been incredulity that Europe’s politicians could be so incompetent at handling an economic problem; so addicted to last-minute, short-term fixes; and so incapable of agreeing on a long-term strategy for the single currency. Those criticisms were all valid, but now those who made them should take the planks from their own eyes. America’s economy may not be in as bad a state as Europe’s, but the failures of its politicians—epitomized...

It smelled like bacon. I was afraid to say it out loud, though—I doubt any real food and drink connoisseurs compare the smell of some grand old Scotch to an everyday pork product, but that’s what my nose captured. In the heart of Edinburgh, in a room walled with brass- and bronze-colored bottles, I sniffed more and more whisky and soon captured a whole rainbow of aromas: cloves, apples, vanilla, sage and strawberries. And that smokiness I smelled as bacon? That comes from the Scottish peat they burn when heating the mix. Not everyone loves whisky, but as alcohol goes,...

Fear of embarrassment and budget cuts led high officials at the California parks department to conceal millions of dollars, according to a new investigation by the state attorney general's office. The money remained hidden for years until it was exposed by a new staff member who described a culture of secrecy and fear at the department. The attorney general's report, released Friday, is the most detailed official account so far of the financial scandal at the parks department. The controversy broke last summer with the revelation that parks officials had a hidden surplus of nearly $54 million at a time...

The holidays are finally wrapping up. So after you repack the twinkly lights, and the tinsel goes into the trash, what should you do with that once beautiful spruce standing in your living room? Why not drink it? Well, not exactly as is. The needles, shoots, light-green tips and inner bark of the popular conifer have been used for centuries to brew forest-scented tea, soft drinks and beer. And it seems that fresh evergreen flavor may be making a comeback. "Ancient Scandinavians and their Viking descendants brewed beer from young shoots of Norway spruce, drinking the beer for strength in...

Armed guards from RGA Investigations have taken up post at the Journal News’ Rockland County headquarters. Guns are good for the goose but NOT for the gander. A Clarkstown police report issued on December 28, 2012, confirmed that The Journal News has hired armed security guards from New City-based RGA Investigations and that they are manning the newspaper’s Rockland County headquarters at 1 Crosfield Ave., West Nyack, through at least tomorrow, Wednesday, January 2, 2013. [Update 1/4/13-the guards will now be present indefinitely] According to police reports on public record, Journal News Rockland Editor Caryn A. McBride was alarmed by...

1. Bic Lighters 2. A Good Winter Hat 3. Bullion Cubes 4. Baby Wipes 5. Glow Sticks 6. Paper Maps 7. Paper Plates 8. Ziplock Bags 9. Tabasco Sauce 10. Duct Tape

The North Korean Committee for Peaceful Reunification called South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and ministry officials “a group of rats” and said South Korea will only experience security when the rats are “completely eradicated.” … The North Korean statement also called the Lee government officials “confrontation maniacs,” who are in direct opposition to the North Korean “desire for peace and unification.” …

He’s one of the most powerful men in Iraq—and one of the least popular. Nuri al-Maliki has, for many Iraqis, forfeited his credibility as prime minister. His allegedly authoritarian and inefficient leadership style has even been criticized by members of the parties that make up the government coalition. No wonder—a year after the withdrawal of the US army, he can barely point to a single success. Unemployment is high, terrorists have infiltrated security forces and corruption is widespread. Some of his coalition partners are even accusing Maliki of behaving like Iraq’s former dictator Saddam Hussein. “Maliki depends on a small,...

Two pages from my blog are missing from the web and can't be found when searched on http:www.archive.org either One is my documents showing KS SOS Kris Kobach's request for a verification and Onaka's response, at http://butterdezillion.wordpress.com/2012/09/ The other is my documents showing AZ SOS Ken Bennett's request for a verification and Onaka's response, at http://butterdezillion.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/bennett-request-and-response.pdf These are part of a critical legal discussion going on now regarding Onaka's failure to verify any birth facts for Obama, even though Hawaii statute requires them to verify any information submitted for verification by a qualified requestor. I have no idea who has...

SORRY FOR POOR SOUND BUT SING, SING, SING

SNIP A working group led by Vice President Biden is seriously considering measures backed by key law enforcement leaders that would require universal background checks for firearm buyers, track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthen mental health checks, and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the sources said. To sell such changes, the White House is developing strategies to work around the National Rifle Association that one source said could include rallying support from Wal-Mart and other gun retailers for measures that would benefit their businesses. White House aides...

The government should ban high-sugar cereals such as Coco Pops and other foods that are contributing to an obesity epidemic among British children, the shadow health secretary has urged. Regulations limiting the amount of sugar, salt and fat in processed foods should be considered if the food industry does not take action itself, according to Labour’s Andy Burnham, who has begun a consultation on how to tackle obesity. Burnham highlighted the case of breakfast cereals, saying many aimed at children are more than one-third sugar by weight. …

Liberal Chick: "The State is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want (Psalm 666)."

It's smaller.... not a terrible amount but maybe a tank of gas a month or so, maybe more, maybe less. The Social Security tax break was allowed to expire apparently. Thank goodness,.. we all know what a great system S.S. is. This is the deal that Obama wanted and the deal we got. Check your paychecks,.... if you're lucky enough to receive one in Obama's "robust" economy,...see what you find. It's nice to know that I am one of the "rich" now. I guess if Obama can't define you as rich, then he just defines rich as.......you. Plus, as a...

A Chuck E. Cheese’s customer is suing the restaurant chain, alleging she was stabbed by a waitress at one of the pizzeria’s Southwest Side outlets. LaNasia Randle claims Shardonnae Pruitt threw a napkin dispenser at her boyfriend and stabbed her with a knife three times inside the Chuck E. Cheese’s in the 5300 block of South Kedzie Avenue, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court. The dispute allegedly began after Pruitt took away a salad plate at the restaurant. Randle claims the fight escalated after the waitress alleged her boyfriend had not paid for the salad...

Muslims have mixed views about Jesus Christ, and the recent Christmas season witnessed a variety of responses to the celebration from different parts of the Islamic world. In predominantly Sunni Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, the top Islamic authority instructed adherents this year not to attend Christmas functions or parties—and advised that they even avoid wishing anyone “Merry Christmas.” “It’s still up for debate whether it’s halal [religiously permissible] or haram [prohibited], so better steer clear of it,” the Jakarta Post quoted Indonesian Council of Ulema chairman Ma’ruf Amin as saying. “But you can say ‘Happy New Year.’ ”...

As people were getting ready for the holiday season and its accompanying waist expansion late last year, Dr. Mehmet Oz let viewers of his TV show in on a timely little secret. “Everybody wants to know what’s the newest, fastest fat buster,” said the board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon and one of People magazine’s sexiest men alive. “How can I burn fat without spending every waking moment exercising and dieting?” He then told his audience about a “breakthrough,” “magic,” “holy grail,” even “revolutionary” new fat buster. “I want you to write it down,” America’s doctor urged his audience with a serious and...

Published: 12:08 CET | Print version | Double click on a word to get a translation An outspoken local Sweden Democrat politician who previously argued “negro” is not a racist term, has generated headlines again by calling for a law to cap the fertility rate of Muslims around the world. 'You won't get rid of me': Almqvist (31 Dec 12) What can other far-right parties tell us about the Sweden Democrats? (27 Nov 12) Sweden Democrats send members anti-Islam mag (22 Nov 12) Annika Rydh, municipal party secretary in Älmhult, southern Sweden, blogs about her work and often links to...

Haitian officials have renewed the diplomatic passport of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, his attorney said Saturday. … Duvalier suddenly came back to Haiti in 2011 following 25 years in exile in France. Upon his return, Haitian authorities opened an investigation into the human rights abuses associated with his 15-year rule. But the judge instead recommended that Duvalier be indicted for only financial crimes, and faces no more than five years if convicted. …

This letter is a very sad example of what happens when our personal freedoms and liberties are taken away. America wasn’t built on this, readers, and we absolutely must share this to show people the impact the Obama administration is having on every-day Americans. When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture frames. Our first retail store wasn’t much bigger than most people’s living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and worked according to God‘s word....

It took two and a half years, but Port Colborne, Ont., resident Ian Thomson is finally done defending himself. First he fought the men who tried to murder him. Then, his own government. Mr. Thomson had long been involved in an increasingly angry property dispute with his neighbour. Early one August morning in 2010, four masked men shouting death threats began hurling firebombs at Mr. Thomson’s home. One of his pet dogs was injured; several fires in and around his home were set. Mr. Thomson, an experienced firearms instructor, called 911 immediately. He also armed himself with a .38 calibre...

We're having problems with our system that are causing most pages and threads to be truncated and sidebars not showing up. I'm trying to reach John, but so far no lucck. Hoping he'll check for messages soon. Meanwhile, as a temporary work around, change your preferences to 20 messages per page and 20 results per page. Click "Account" at the top of the latest posts page then "My Preferences." Sorry about the problems.

My wife and I were fortunate to have travelled to Antarctica recently. During the trip I had the opportunity to spend time amidst enormous breeding colonies of penguins. Standing on the beach one day, surrounded by thousands of these remarkable birds, I was fascinated by their behavior. Penguins are monogamous. While colonies can be the size of small cities, each penguin couple raises their own brood. Each parent shares responsibility for guarding their nest and providing food for the chicks. Penguins are constantly busy. They attend to the structure of their nest, go out to sea to feed, and fend...

Police in Florida said they have arrested a man accused of stealing a $1.29 Iced Honey Bun from a store by stuffing it down his pants. Palm Bay police said Brandon Phillips, 18, stuffed the small snack down his sweatpants at a 7-Eleven store Dec. 28 and fled on a bicycle when confronted by a store manager, WKMG-TV, Orlando, reported Friday. Investigators said a K-9 unit tracked Phillips to a wooded lot where he was arrested and his bike was found nearby. The Honey Bun was not recovered, police said. Phillips was charged with retail petit theft, resisting arrest without...

Veterinarians in Massachusetts said a cat is recovering from pulled muscles after falling 80 feet from a tree. Dr. Rachel Francis of the Marion Animal Hospital said Wednesday the cat, dubbed "Fortunate," is receiving treatment for pulled muscles and a possible parasitic infection after she was trapped Tuesday, two days after she fell 80 feet from a tree when firefighters cut the branch she was perched on in a rescue attempt, The (New Bedford, Mass.) Standard Times reported Thursday. "I don't see anything wrong with this cat; it's unbelievable," Francis said of the cat's miraculous lack of serious injuries. Francis...

WASHINGTON, D.C.,January 13, 2013, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Provisions that protect the conscience rights of military chaplains that were included in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) are “unnecessary and ill-advised” said President Obama in a signing statement this week. Section 533 of the defense bill was crafted in response to fears that the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell� policy under the Obama administration would lead to reprisals against chaplains who have moral objections to the homosexual lifestyle, or who refuse to perform same-sex “weddings.� That section says that no member of the armed forces may “require a...

A woman was deported to Mexico after her undocumented status was discovered as a result of winning a $1,200 jackpot at an Arizona casino, her daughter said. Zamira Osorio said her mother, Mirna Valenzuela, won the sum at slot machines while visiting the Casino del Sol Resort in Tucson, The Arizona Republic reported Friday. Casino officials said federal law requires them to check identification for tax purposes when someone wins $1,200 or more in a jackpot and the ID Valenzuela provided Dec. 3 was suspected to be fraudulent and reported to Pascua Yaqui police. Police determined the ID was valid,...

Did The Fed Lie About QE 3 And 4? Stock-Markets / Quantitative EasingJan 05, 2013 - 08:24 AM By: Graham Summers It’s common belief that Bernanke and the Fed are printing $85 billion per month ($40 billion to buy Mortgage Backed Securities and $45 billion to buy Treasuries). After all, these are the policies that the Fed announced in September and December 2012, respectively. The only issue with this is that the Fed lied. Today, the Fed’s balance sheet is $1.3 billion smaller than it was at this time last year. Last week it was $19 billion smaller. The largest...

She compares the US to Qatar: "Al Jazeera doesn't generate revenue now anyway, it is a cost to the Qatari government, it's not a commercial decision, it's a very long term decision from an oil rich state." She continues: "Al Jazeera wishes to compete with CNN and the BBC...it presents a different perspective on the Arab Israeli conflict."

Yesh Atid (Future) chairman Yair Lapid shot down on Saturday the idea of forming an anti-Likud bloc with Labor and Tzipi Livni's party, but then gave it his conditional consent. The idea was floated Friday night by Livni in a live Channel 2 television appearance, then seconded by MK Shelly Yechimovich, who heads Labor. .... Lapid wrote on his Facebook page that he would meet Yechimovich and Livni, but added, "I have no interest in joining a 'blocking bloc' because it is not my habit to boycott people and parties." "In the meeting, I will suggest to them that, in...

Vienna, Austria, Jan 4, 2013 / 02:08 pm (CNA).- Several Catholic churches in Europe were reportedly set on fire in the days before Christmas, raising concerns of vandalism motivated by an opposition to Christianity.   The Observatory on the Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe reported that three churches were burned in Austria on Dec. 23, while a Nativity scene was burned at a church in France on December 18.   In the small Austrian town of Amstetten, three churches were set aflame, with one being severely damaged. The alleged suspect – a young man – was interrogated by...

St. Louis lawyer Ed Martin, who lost his GOP bid this fall for Missouri attorney general, came roaring back Saturday by getting elected as the new chairman of the Missouri Republican Party. Martin narrowly defeated current chairman David Cole, 34-32, on the second round of balloting by the 68-member state GOP committee, sources say. Two members apparently were absent during the voting, which took place at a hotel in Columbia, Mo. The third contender for the post, outgoing state Sen. Jane Cunningham of Chesterfield, was out of the running after garnering only seven votes on the first ballot, which saw...

Lost my sidebars and scrolling down again!! It was fine just a moment ago!