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It's typically treated as pretty newsworthy when a majority of a president's own party votes against a signature presidential initiative. Double that when over two-thirds do so. Triple the newsworthiness when it's the first time that magnitude of opposition has occured in a president's tenure. These political shifts are likely to have major consequences in the upcoming elections. Many Democrats have - like the movement on the streets - declared their political independence. Will it be enough to make up for being down-ticket from a president who flip-flopped on his own campaign pledges to overhaul U.S. trade policy? The world...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads in some polls for the Republican presidential nomination, but he's also lost key backers - including some in Orange County, which was a base camp for his failed 2008 bid. ((snip)) "It was one of the most brain-dead campaigns I've seen," Schroeder said. "I was planning 15 months in advance, but their planning window for events was five days. That meant they didn't focus on California until five days before the primary." ((snip)) Additionally, Schroeder sees the health-care reform Romney championed in Massachusetts as a liability for someone challenging Barack Obama's similar reform on...

It's time to abandon Earth, warned the world's most famous theoretical physicist. In an interview with website Big Think, Stephen Hawking warned that the long-term future of the planet is in outer space. "It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster on planet Earth in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand, or million. The human race shouldn't have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet," he said. "I see great dangers for the human race," Hawking said. "There have been a number of times in the past when its survival has been a question...

Doug Powers writing at Michelle Malkin's blog asks "Could it finally be sinking in who exactly is going to be paying for all this alleged "free" stuff?" The New York Post: Young voters who had been enthralled by Barack Obama's "Yes, we can" message are now saying "Maybe not" - and are backing away from the president in a worrisome new poll for the White House.Obama is losing in a match-up against a generic Republican challenger by 37 percent to 34 percent among voters in the 18-34 age group, according to a stunning Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday.In March, voters...

MALMO, SWEDEN — At some point, the shouts of “Heil Hitler” that often greeted Marcus Eilenberg as he walked to the 107-year-old Moorish-style synagogue in this port city forced the 32-year-old attorney to make a difficult, life-changing decision: Fearing for his family’s safety after repeated anti-Semitic incidents, Eilenberg reluctantly uprooted himself and his wife and two children, and moved to Israel in May. Sweden, a country long regarded as a model of tolerance, has, ironically, been a refuge for Eilenberg’s family. His paternal grandparents found a home in Malmo in 1945 after surviving the Holocaust. His wife’s parents came to...

60 Minutes Runs Feature On Walking Away From Your Mortgage, And Now EVERYONE Wants To Know How They Can Do It Joe Weisenthal May. 10, 2010, 9:09 AM Did 60 Minutes prompt a big cultural and economic moment last night? The weekly TV news show ran a big feature on strategic defaults, and from what we gather it made strategic defaults look pretty sympathetic. It also acknowledged that it could undermine the recovery.Either way, we know LOTS of folks decided they want in on the action. How do we know? Because all of the sudden we got flooded with search...

Gates, Clinton Say Obama Strategy Is to Convey Resolve and Urgency to Afghan Gov't, as U.S. Role Changes by July 2011 (CBS) President Obama's announced new strategy for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, which called for both an increase in troop strength and a July 2011 date for transferring forces out of the country, is the beginning of a process, not the end of it, according to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. When asked on CBS' "Face the Nation" whether the July 2011 date marks a deadline for U.S. involvement in the Afghan conflict, Gates said no.

Does the Obama administration understand why we invaded Afghanistan? Does the Obama understand that we have no choice but to remain in Afghanistan until we can establish a stable government that will not allow the country to be a base for terrorism? The Christian Science Monitor has reported that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told CNN it would be "irresponsible" to send more troops into Afghanistan before the political situation is resolved. Actually it would be irresponsible to wait for the political situation to be resolved before committing sufficient troops to stabilize the situation. We invaded Afghanistan in...

"The mother of a boy found eating out of a garbage can in a Madera park was arrested today on suspicion of two counts of felony child abandonment. Jessica Zarate, 21, of Madera had contacted police about 5 p.m. Monday after media reports about her son. She told police her son had been kidnapped. She then was released."

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The grandparents of nine children who were given up by their father under Nebraska's unique safe-haven law said Thursday that they wished he would have come to them for help.

DES MOINES, Iowa - Delaware Sen. Joe Biden abandoned his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday after a poor showing in the state's caucuses. Biden was expected to announce his decision to withdraw from the contest at a campaign rally in Des Moines, according to advisers who spoke on condition of anonymity. The veteran lawmaker and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee received less than 1 percent of the vote in Iowa's caucuses despite a spirited campaign in which he emphasized his international policy credentials and long career in public service. It's a case of deja vu for...

Iraqis Visit Homes They Were Forced to Abandon U.S., Iraqi soldiers provide security as Iraqis return to Lutifiyah. By Multi-National DivisionCenter Public Affairs Office - Camp Victory LUTIFIYAH, Iraq, Aug. 21, 2007 — Iraqi homes seized years ago, either by Saddam Hussein's regime or by members of rival religious sects, are being given back to their rightful owners with the help of Coalition and Iraqi forces. "Today is a celebration for Lutifiyah. Most of the people in this area lost their families and houses, and they're coming back because of the work of the Iraqi and American armies."Nakib Foras,...

Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah: When We Were Young, I cannot Forget the Sight of American Forces leaving Vietnam, and the Americans Abandoning their Vietnamese Allies, I Anticipate the Same for our Region Following are excerpts from an interview with Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on October 31, 2006. Hassan Nasrallah: We consider the resistance in Iraq, or in any occupied country - and there is no doubt that Iraq is an occupied country – to be legitimate resistance, which is justified and appropriate. This is the appropriate course, which may lead to the liberation of Iraq,...

In the Washington Times this week there came a report of a climber who was left to die on the slopes of Everest. Mark Inglis, an amputee on atrificial legs, defended his group's decision to leave David Sharp, a man they found dying on the side of the mountain. "At 28,000 feet it's hard to stay alive yourself. He was in a very poor condition, near death. We talked about [what to do for him] for quite a lot at the time and it was a very hard decision," said Inglis. The group moved on, after some of the group's...

No more Patriot Act means Operation Able Danger and 9/11 all over again. Don't let the sun set on the Patriot Act. Call your state senator at 202-225-3121. Freed Iraq. No thanks to Democrat oposition. Cowards cut and run. Marines never do. Stay the course. Peace with God. I believe in a time when Americans had guts. Maximum Effort. Abandon Iraq? NO! Thank you, FreeRepublic, for allowing me to post my work!

Now it is another Vietnam. Again, a nonmilitary branch of the government is sticking their nose where it doesn't belong and demanding withdrawal before victory. America must not abandon another just cause. America must not betray another nation of people who are hoping for freedom and representation. It is the ideal of relativism that says freedom and democracy are not superior to tyranny and terror. Liberals who adhere to this philosophy may need to experience the latter before changing their mind about the superiority of America's way of life. Yet, a proper study of history would make that unnecessary. America's...

Houston Game Store Worker Finds Newborn Among Trash CPS Says Girl Probably 1 To 2 Hours Old When Abandoned UPDATED: 12:38 pm EDT August 1, 2005 HOUSTON -- A judge will decide Monday who will get custody of a newborn girl found abandoned among trash in a west Houston alley. Representatives from Child Protective Services will ask a judge to grant them temporary custody of the baby. CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin said the 6-pound, 6-ounce, full-term newborn was only a couple of hours old when Chris Patten, an employee taking out trash at the Cyberium Game Center, spotted the baby....

MANILA (AP) - About 500 Muslim rebels have withdrawn from two Mindanao strongholds to let government forces launch an offensive against another Muslim group -- the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf, a rebel spokesman said Sunday. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas, nearly 300 of whom were armed, withdrew from Talayan and Guindolongan Thursday to allow the jungle offensive to go ahead and avoid accidental clashes with government troops, rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said. The guerrillas plan to return to their camps Monday unless the military asks for an extension, Kabalu said.

Writing in The Observer, Gaby Wood mentions the unthinkable: the Democratic Party letting go of its long defense of abortion rights. In this scenario, the Democrats put up little or no struggle against obviously anti-Roe Supreme Court nominees; let the Republicans do the dirty deed. This so that Democrats can put the issue behind them. Why would they do this? As Wood tells us: "Cynthia Gorney, author of A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars, says she has 'heard it coming from people who you certainly wouldn't have heard it from three or four years ago. It's people who are...

It's correct that there is political commotion mounting in opposition to the Iraq war. It is important to distinguish between two kinds. One, which is gaining attention, centers on misrepresentations. The so-called Downing Street Memo is cited. This records an exchange at 10 Downing St. on July 23, 2002, at which, it is said, the representatives of Mr. Bush made it clear that the president had resolved to proceed against Iraq irrespective of what the United Nations might do. Rejecting that account, the Bush people have said that the invasion was not finally planned until after the appeal to the...

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez's office Monday left in doubt whether a legislative panel will resume hearings on Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's use of millions of dollars in federal voting funds now that he has resigned. On Friday, after the embattled Democrat quit effective March 1, Núñez indicated that the Joint Legislative Audit Committee would proceed with hearings once Assembly and Senate leaders agreed on parameters. But on Monday, the speaker's office said it was uncertain whether the panel - which met only once - will convene again. "The speaker is in the process of consulting with the independent counsel...

US is forced to abandon hunt for bin Laden By Robin Gedye, Foreign Affairs Writer (Filed: 14/12/2004) Three years after Osama bin Laden fled American bombs in his Tora Bora hideout, the search for the world's most wanted man has all but come to a halt because of Pakistan's refusal to permit cross-border raids from Afghanistan, according to CIA officials. Washington has downgraded its efforts to catch the al-Qa'eda leader in Afghanistan, from where he supervised the September 11 attacks, because it has become convinced that he is hiding in Pakistan's virtually lawless Tribal Areas, which hug the 1,200-mile frontier....

Code: ZE04110520Date: 2004-11-05Last Seven Words of Christ Are Full of "Spirit and Life"Gloria Crucis Chair Inagurates a New Year at Lateran UniversityROME, NOV. 4, 2004 (Zenit.org).- The last words of Christ, more than the rest, are full of "spirit and life because in some way they contain and express the truth of all the others" and "put a seal on them," explained Msgr. Piero Coda. The professor of Trinitarian theology spoke at the inaugural session of the Gloria Crucis Chair at the Pontifical Lateran University on the last seven words of Christ from the cross. Established in 2003 in collaboration...

July 2, 2004 -- IT had to end this way, of course, because the Yankees simply do not lose games when Derek Jeter acts as if it's October already. They do not lose when their captain dives into the stands on the dead run, when he steals two extra-inning runs away from the Red Sox, when he disappears into a crowd and emerges with his face looking like Chuck Wepner's. When Jeter does this, it isn't a contribution, it's a demand.

<p>Is Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger looking to crawl out of the not-so-little political box he put himself in - the campaign promise that the state's budget gap can be closed without any new taxes? "That does not mean that later on someday you cannot go there," Schwarzenegger recently told The Sacramento Bee. In other recent interviews with other newspapers, the governor has similarly gone from a fast-and-firm no to a fudging maybe.</p>

Woman charged with leaving her newborn in toilet Police say the Mount Ephraim mother intended to dispose of the baby, who is in critical condition. By Frank Kummer Inquirer Staff Writer MOUNT EPHRAIM - A borough woman who gave birth to a girl in a toilet Saturday has been charged with attempted murder, authorities say, for planning to leave the baby to die and then dispose of the body. But the baby's head was out of the water, and she was breathing when the woman's boyfriend rescued her - minutes before doctors say the premature infant would have perished. Denise...

US preparing to abandon UN and launch war within a week By David Usborne Rupert Cornwell Andrew Grice and Katherine Butler 14 March 2003 The United States sent a powerful signal last night that it will soon abandon efforts to win a second United Nations resolution, in effect clearing the decks for military action against Iraq late next week. Washington left the door open to a few extra days of diplomacy so that frantic negotiations on Britain's near-moribund compromise plan could continue over the weekend. A vote that had been expected today could be put off until Monday, White House...

SEOUL, South Korea - In an apparent attempt to force direct dialogue with the United States, North Korea (news - web sites) threatened on Tuesday to abandon the armistice that ended the Korean War five decades ago, accusing Washington of planning an attack. A spokesman of the North's Korean People's Army said "the situation on the Korean Peninsula is getting extremely tense" because of alleged U.S. plans to send in reinforcements and build a naval blockade to prepare for a pre-emptive attack. The nations are locked in a dispute over North Korea's nuclear program. North Korea "will be left with...

Delegates abandon racism conference over white bar Delegates have walked out of a Caribbean anti-racism conference saying they cannot tolerate a British-proposed vote to exclude whites. Cuban spokeswoman Maria Morales led the withdrawal in Barbados, saying: "Cuba will never support any action aimed at segregating a group of people. Furthermore, Cuba believes that such a decision is intolerant and contrary to the purposes of this conference." But most of the 250 delegates whistled and cheered their approval when chairwoman Jewel Crawford of the US reiterated that "sometimes ... we feel that we just want to have a meeting of our...

LAFAYETTE - A newborn boy was left on the doorstep of Lafayette's Carmelite monastery before dawn Thursday. The child was only a couple of hours old and taken to University Medical Center, said Lt. Craig Stansbury, a spokesman with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office, on Thursday. The child is in stable condition and in the custody of the Office of Community Services, Stansbury said. Deputies answered the call to the 1200 block of Carmel Drive at 5:50 a.m. They believe that the baby was exposed to the elements for an hour before he was found, Stansbury said. At 4:33 a.m....