Free Republic

Obama Quietly Backs Patriot Act ProvisionsWilliam Fisher NEW YORK, 23 Nov (IPS) - With the health care debate preoccupying the mainstream media, it has gone virtually unreported that the Barack Obama administration is quietly supporting renewal of provisions of the George W. Bush-era USA Patriot Act that civil libertarians say infringe on basic freedoms. And it is reportedly doing so over the objections of some prominent Democrats. When a panicky Congress passed the act 45 days after the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, three contentious parts of the law were scheduled to expire at the end of next month,...

The Heroic ActThe Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a hero as "a mythological or legendary figure of great strength or ability; or a man admired for his achievements and qualities." A hero goes above and beyond the call of duty to help others. It is someone who has made a sacrifice for the benefit of those who could not help themselves.There are heroes in the Catholic Church. They are the canonized saints. It is true, that all people who enter Heaven are saints, but the canonized saints have done something that is extraordinary and have been made role models for future generations...

Note: The following text is a quote: Maryland Scientist Charged with Attempted Espionage WASHINGTON—A Maryland scientist who once worked in varying capacities for the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been arrested for attempted espionage, David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Channing D. Phillips, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director for the FBI’s Washington Field Office, announced today. A criminal complaint unsealed today in the District of Columbia charges Stewart David Nozette, 52, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, with attempted espionage for...

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qxjocm5fCc Video Description - quote: "Homosexuals Must Be Killed" Muslims speak out - Muslim Day Washington, DC October 16, 2009 Disturbing video of Shariah Law anti-gay sentiment uncovered by ACT for America Randy McDaniels (Jacksonville, FL) during Muslim Day prayer event Washington, DC Category: News & Politics Tags: Muslim Day ACT for America Washington DC Homosexual Gay

Patrick Gaspard, considered one of the most powerful figures in the Obama White House, is a "longtime ACORN operative" and former union official, according to a report posted Monday on the American Spectator's online blog. Gaspard's name recently surfaced as the official President Obama dispatched to urge beleaguered New York Gov. David Paterson not to run for another term. Paterson insists he'll continue to run for governor even without Obama's support. Gaspard has extensive ties to organized labor and community-organizing groups. One measure of his influence in the White House: He holds the same "political affairs director" title that belonged...

Many of us are having discussions today about the meaning of the gatherings yesterday. I am sure many are thinking in terms of a new political party. I would suggest another direction. The pitfalls of a 3rd party have been made manifest many times in the past. Furthermore, some of our Founding Fathers warned of the dangers of party loyalty. How else might we hold fast to Constitutionalism/Conservatism/Capitalism/ and not be held hostage to a political party whose members too frequently clash with these principles? I suggest a permanently grass-roots association of patriots who strictly adhere to the idea of...

In a speech to the AFL-CIO, the president accuses critics and special interests of using scare tactics and spreading 'lies' in healthcare debate. Reporting from Cincinnati - In a combative Labor Day speech, President Obama said that the healthcare debate had gone on too long and accused opponents of spreading "lies" meant to persuade Americans that his proposed overhaul would cruelly deny care to the elderly. The president, speaking at an AFL-CIO picnic, said that "special interests" were determined to "scare the heck out of people.

Compared with other students, homeschoolers scored higher than the national average on this year’s ACT, a national standardized test used to gauge educational development and college readiness. Like the SAT, ACT scores are used in the college admissions process to evaluate applicants. Virtually all colleges accept either test, Ed Colby, spokesman for the ACT, told CNSNews.com. Scores are based on the 1.48 million students who graduated in 2009, Colby said. Among those students were 11,535 homeschoolers, he said. Homeschoolers are further prepared for college because they must take initiative to accomplish projects, Slatter said.

Until recently, few Republicans had wanted to challenge Harry Reid for his Senate seat in Nevada, as Reid had built a huge warchest and had expected to use it to coast to victory. New polling, however, shows that Reid is quite vulnerable even with his campaign coffers stuffed to the brim. Danny Tarkanian, a relative newcomer to Nevada politics, has an eleven-point lead on Reid in the latest Mason-Dixon polling in Nevada, and the state GOP chairwoman also leads Reid:

Core Curricula Deconstruct by: Malcolm A. Kline, August 24, 2009 The rush to relevance begun by college administrators in the 1960s never stopped. “The low marks received by many institutions show students are graduating without math, science and other fundamentals and underscore the urgent need for parents, students, and policymakers to focus on what colleges expect of their students,” the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) declares. ACTA has just published a study entitled, What will they learn? A report on General Education Requirements at 100 of the Nation’s Leading Colleges and Universities. “Out of 100 institutions we...

While everyone is distracted with the Pelosi Reid Obama artery–choking, cardiac arrest, Pork Barrel Spending Bill, congress is sneaking-ly trying to pass the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. Left-wing environmentalists are behind this bill to purposely undercut current progress toward affordable domestic energy. Essentially they will be stealing 300 million barrels of proven oil and 8.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from any future use.

A Petition to the U.N. on Palestinian Muslims Crimes By Jamie Glazov January 16, 2009 Gabriel: Something simply had to be done to bring attention to what Hamas is doing. Hamas is a religiously driven radical Islamic organization. Westerners simply do not understand, and I believe have a hard time believing, how far radical Muslims are willing to go to accomplish their objectives. That's why so many in the West tend to dismiss the evil of Islamofascism and Islamists' depth of hatred towards the Jews and their commitment to destroy Israel at any cost -- including sacrificing their own children...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California's utilities, refineries and large factories must transform their operations to cut greenhouse gas emissions as part of a new climate plan before state regulators. On Thursday, the California Air Resources Board was expected to adopt what would be the nation's most sweeping global warming plan, outlining for the first time how individuals and businesses would meet a landmark 2006 law that made the state a leader on global climate change. It would hold California's worst polluters accountable for the heat-trapping emissions they produce _ transforming how people travel, utilities generate power and businesses use electricity. At...

<p>NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Snow is falling in the New Orleans area.</p> <p>The National Weather Service says a mixture of sleet and snow is falling Thursday morning from Baton Rouge east across much of southeastern Louisiana.</p> <p>The winter weather closed some schools and created hazardous driving conditions.</p>

"I'm ill about the position that America is in and that we have to look at a $700 billion bailout. At the same time we know that inaction is not an option and as Senator McCain has said unless this nearly trillion-dollar bailout is what it may end up to be, unless there are amendments in Paulson's proposal, really I don't believe that Americans are going to support this and we will not support this," Palin said in the interview. Couric pressed Palin on examples of how McCain, a 26-year congressional veteran, had led the charge for more oversight. The...

This article concerns the so-called Freedom of Choice Act that presidential candidate Barack Obama said he would make signing his first action as president: With so much attention on the economy, one area of federal legislation that can be overlooked is abortion. An old and dangerous bill that will increase abortions by an enormous amount is being resurrected by abortion advocates: the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). H.R. 1964 and S.1173. FOCA is usually reported as codifying Roe v. Wade, but it is much more. Since the Webster and Casey decisions in 1989 and 1992, the Supreme Court has allowed...

This video is making the rounds in a big way tonight...re-launched from the intial release in the Spring. Warning...it does contain some images pro-abortionists might not find offensive. Very damning video that levels Senator Barack Obama http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxQiIzS49D8

Last month, Wake Forest dropped the SAT and ACT as an entrance requirement, becoming the only top-30 national university with a test-optional policy. This step away from standardized tests will help us and other institutions of higher education move closer to the goals of greater educational quality and opportunity. Our decision to reevaluate our admissions policy grew out of a close look at the state of higher education and some long, hard thinking about the kind of university we want Wake Forest to be. For several years, a growing body of research has made clear that America's top colleges and...

Noting that “President Bush has f----- everything up so much, he’s even made it hard for a white man to become president!,” Rock became the voice of the electorate: “‘Give me a black man, a white woman, a giraffe, a zebra, a mongoose ... anything else!” He goofed on people’s perceptions of Barack Obama’s name (“Like he should have his foot on a dead lion, holding a spear!”) and their fears about Hillary Clinton’s gender (on the wrong day of the month, she could bomb North Carolina). Running through all the (mis)conceptions, the rail-thin Rock often showed a side of...

" Despite a recent promise from Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean not to make Sen. John McCain's age -- he turns 72 in August -- an issue in the presidential campaign, a senior Democratic operative has started a new website designed to draw attention to just that fact. Called "Younger than McCain", the website is being run by Steve Rosenthal, a former political director at the AFL-CIO and executive director of America Coming Together, a massive soft money effort organized around the 2004 presidential race. Rosenthal is now a partner in The Organizing Group."

Act repeal could make Franz Herzog von Bayern new King of England and Scotland By Richard Alleyne and Harry de Quetteville Last Updated: 2:48am BST 07/04/2008 Gordon Brown is considering repealing the 1701 Act of Settlement as a way of healing a historic injustice by ending the prohibition against Catholics taking the throne. The Duke of Bavaria, with his niece Elisabeth, is a descendant of King Charles I But doing so would have the unforeseen consequence of making a 74-year-old German aristocrat the new King of England and Scotland. Without the Act, Franz Herzog von Bayern, the current Duke of...

WASHINGTON - A union-financed advocacy group that played a major role in the 2004 elections has agreed to pay a $580,000 fine after the Federal Election Commission concluded it illegally ran advertising against President Bush and in favor of Democrat John Kerry. In an agreement announced Monday, the FEC said the now inactive Media Fund spent $53.4 million during the contest on television, radio and newspaper ads and direct mail that made reference to Bush or Kerry. The FEC said the fund violated campaign finance laws because it accepted unlimited donations from labor unions and expressly advocated the defeat or...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Consumer advocate and 2004 independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader sued the Democratic Party on Tuesday, contending officials conspired to keep him from taking votes away from nominee John Kerry. Nader's lawsuit, filed in District of Columbia Superior Court, also named as co-defendants Kerry's campaign, the Service Employees International Union and several so-called 527 organizations such as America Coming Together, which were created to promote voter turnout on behalf of the Democratic ticket. The lawsuit also alleges that the Democratic National Committee conspired to force Nader off the ballot in several states.

IT WAS always a long shot for supporters of an immigration measure known as the Dream Act to round up the 60 votes needed to advance the bill in the Senate. But it didn't help matters yesterday when the Bush administration, having supported a comprehensive immigration reform bill containing essentially the same provision, came out against the bill on the morning of the vote. This helped quash the hopes of tens of thousands of promising young people who find themselves, through no fault of their own, in this country illegally. The failure of the Dream Act -- it got just...

I am one of the Republicans who was shouted down in the Bush-backed immigration debate. Actually, the words were so hot here, I didn't even bother. I respect those here that feel strongly about the mass of illegals entering the country and I won't go into the reasons I thought the Bush approach was to some degree constructive. The will of the people has been heard. Now the issue is very different for me. I am heartbroken. My wife teaches high school here in Live Oak, FL. She is relatively new, so she gets lower level students. Every semester, a...

Officials of a defunct pro-Democratic group that was hit with a near-record campaign-finance fine last month hold strong ties to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, documents show. At least four persons who worked for the America Coming Together (ACT) fundraising group, which the Federal Election Commission recently fined $775,000, work directly for the Clinton campaign or hold top positions with consulting firms hired by it. In addition, the group's former president, longtime Clinton aide Harold Ickes, has been identified as a volunteer adviser to the Clinton campaign. In FEC filings, the campaign listed a debt to Mr. Ickes of...

The Washington Times reports today that Hillary Clinton’s campaign has picked up a few key players from the George Soros-funded America Coming Together, which the FEC just fined for misusing $70 million dollars in the 2004 election.

America Coming Together (ACT), a pro-Democrat organization whose creation was both conceived and funded by the billionaire financier George Soros, has in essence joined the ranks of those Chinese government agents who illegally sought to influence the outcomes of American presidential elections in the 1990s. We now know that in 2004 Soros and ACT attempted, like those agents of Communist China had done a decade before, to buy the U.S. presidency, plain and simple. The common denominator in both instances was the Democratic Party, the self-professed champion of the average, honest working stiff. A bit of background is in order....

August 30, 2007 Washington Post FEC SENDS A MESSAGE ACT Fined $775,000 The Federal Election Commission yesterday issued the latest in a string of six-figure fines against partisan political groups -- this time, against America Coming Together, a group financed by George Soros and labor organizations that sunk more than $100 million into campaign activities intended to help Democrats in the 2004 elections. The decision to fine the group $775,000, the FEC's third-largest penalty in its three-decade history, was intended to send a stern message to independent groups. The FEC has said it will crack down on groups that raise...

<p>The Federal Election Commission has fined one of the biggest liberal political action committees $775,000 for using unregulated cash to boost Democratic candidates during the 2004 elections.</p> <p>America Coming Together (ACT) raised $137 million for its get-out-the-vote effort in 17 states in the 2004 elections, but the FEC found most of that cash came through contributions that violated federal limits or were otherwise barred by campaign rules.</p>

Colorado Governor Ritter Signs 26 Bills Into Law Today May 14, 2007 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed 26 bills into law today, including the second-parent adoption and human-sexuality education bills. More than 200 additional bills are pending before the governor, with a deadline of June 4. The bills signed today and their sponsors: HB 1019, Carriers Exempt Public Utilities (Rep. Mike Cerbo and Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald) HB 1141, Purchase of Metals Record Keeping (Rep. Nancy Todd, Sen. Suzanne Williams) HB 1156, Disclose Source Residential Water Supply (Rep. Marsha Looper, Sen. Ken Gordon) HB 1174, Repeal Sunset Concealed Carry Database...

More than anything, she wants to go to college. But as an illegal immigrant with a longstanding deportation order, May has little access to financial aid. If she scrapes the tuition together, there are no guarantees she will be allowed to stay in the country. Even with a college degree, she wonders, what kind of job can an undocumented worker get? "I'm not a slacker," said May, 17, who, like other students in this story, declined to use her full name for fear of being deported. "I try to go out there and make things happen, but doors close in...

The following is from an email from Gabrielle Goldwater: Home   I   Donate to ACT   I   Subscribe to ACT   I  Join ACT Today   I   Petitions   I   Contact Congress Visa Waiver Program Action Alert, ACT today A message from Michael Cutler, member of ACT Board of Advisors. Please read this important article and the action alert that follows. We need your help.     I was interviewed a couple of days ago by a reporter from the Saint Petersburg Times about the Visa Waiver Program.  I have attached a copy of the article below.    As you might expect, I remain absolutely opposed to this program that in my...

In a fourth of the state's high schools, less than 60 percent of seniors took the SAT last year, with the rest cutting themselves off from the chance to gain admission to most US colleges... ...Massachusetts takes pride in its high SAT participation -- 79 percent of graduating seniors took the test last year, one of the highest rates in the country. But, according to the Globe analysis of nearly 330 high schools with SAT scores in the state, more affluent cities and towns are responsible for much of that accomplishment. Schools such as Weston, Winchester, and Wayland tested 100...

Democrats and liberal judges say terrorists have the same rights as you. Democrats will impeach President Bush for spying on terrorists. Democrats will cancel the Patriot Act, terrorists surveillance and missile defense programs. Stop obstruction and the filibuster. Vote for a Republican majority! If you're not an extremist, you're not a democrat. Take the red pill (R). Take the blue pill (D). VOTE!

The Guardian's Sound of Silence Posted by Marc Landers on October 3, 2006 - 13:13. Remember when the AP ran the bogus story about the Crowd booing when President Bush annonunced that Bill Clinton was ill? There was no booing and the report created a firestorm in the blogsphere. Faced with an onslaught from bloggers, the AP was forced to retract the story. The Guardian's Jonathan Freeland was caught in the reverse when he claimed there was no applause in response to this statement by PM Blair at the Labor Party conference: "So when Blair said that a withdrawal from...

Rice: Nuclear Test a 'Provocative Act' Wednesday October 4, 2006 2:01 AM By ANNE GEARAN AP Diplomatic Writer CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday a North Korean nuclear test would be ``a very provocative act,'' and she prodded Asian nations to rethink their relationships with the North Koreans. The top U.S. diplomat said the United States would have to assess its options should such a test be carried out, but she did not elaborate. ``It would be a very provocative act by the North Koreans,'' Rice said during a press conference in Cairo, second stop...

May 20, 2000 marks the 7th anniversary of President Clinton's signing the National Voter Registration Act, popularly known as Motor Voter. The right to vote means nothing if people are not registered. Motor Voter works by reducing necessary and burdensome bureaucratic obstacles to voter registration. The law requires states to provide uniform registration services through drivers' license agencies, through public assistance and disability agencies and through mail-in registration. In 1995, the first full year of implementation, more than 11 million citizens registered to vote or updated their voting addresses under the law. This figure represents the largest single increase...

Many on the education beat puzzle over why the scores on the two leading college entrance exams differ so markedly. In a nutshell, ACT scores are up while SAT scores are down. The mystery is easily solved: the ACT is an easier test. For example, knowing where to place a comma and how to work an algebraic word problem puts you in the upper echelon of ACT test takers. For the SAT it is a floor. Against that backdrop, the losses and gains on the respective tests are not that earth-shaking: the ACT scores are up a point and the...

Parents and teachers call him St. Paul's low-key whiz kid. Jake Heichert grew up spurning studying, sleeping through the occasional exam — and, most recently, earning a rare pair of perfect scores on the ACT and SAT. Last week, his family sat around their living room, wondering how it all happened. Rich and Susan Heichert's only child received a 2400 on his SAT college assessment test in May. In February he scored a 36 on his ACT. He earned perfect 5s on his Advanced Placement tests in chemistry, U.S. history, and government and politics. Oh, and calculus, Jake added. Almost...

SAT Scores See Biggest Decline Since 1975 The high-school class of 2006 suffered the biggest drop in SAT scores in more than three decades -- a development that may raise more questions about the recently revamped exam than the students who took it. The College Board, the New York nonprofit that gives the admissions test, says scores in critical reading -- formerly known as verbal -- fell by five points to 503, out of 800 possible points. Math scores slipped two points, to 518, also out of 800 points. The combined decrease of seven points is the biggest since 1975,...

A new book by David Horowitz and Richard Poe has enraged the Left and alarmed many conservatives. It exposes the machinations of a radical clique working at the highest levels of government and finance to undermine American power. That book is The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party. It hit the New York Times bestseller list in its first week in print. Here to tell us about The Shadow Partyis co-author Richard Poe, our esteemed colleague at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, where he serves as director of research. Mr....

The Washington Post warns of "Pakistan's Awkward Balancing Act on Islamic Militant Groups." But if one looks closely at the actions of Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, it is clear that he has made his choice to side with the West, there's no going back, and he is beyond the pale of reconciliation with his country's lunatic Islamists. The scale has tipped to one side. It is time for Musharraf to explicitly say so and do so, as he'll never appease Pakistan's radicals. Here's an excerpt from the Post: The basic problem for Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, is that he...

Average composite scores on the exam, which measures students' readiness for college-level work, rose to 21.1 from 20.9 last year. Both boys and girls posted gains, as did all racial groups except Hispanics, whose scores held steady. ACT scores range from 1 to 36. Officials at the independent, nonprofit ACT said an increase of 0.2 points is significant when considered across a record 1.2 million test-takers nationwide, or 40 percent of graduating seniors. "It takes an enormous amount of change for that large a group to move even a little bit, particularly when that group is changing and we're seeing...

A perfect score on the American College Testing exam is rare enough. Same goes for perfection on the SAT Reasoning Test. Acing both? No statistics are available on how many students manage that feat, but it's a safe bet that Bishop Carroll High School senior Jakub Voboril doesn't have a lot of company. "Suffice it to say, it's a very, very small number," said Brian O'Reilly, a spokesman for the College Board, which administers the SAT. Voboril, 17, learned last month that he had scored a 36 on his ACT, which he took in June. His perfect score, one of...

The Iowa-based ACT is trumpeting its latest college entrance examination scores as improved but a closer examination of the test results reveals them to be pretty pathetic. “National ACT scores rose significantly in 2006,” the organization claims. “The average ACT composite score for the U. S. high school graduating class of 2006 was 21.1, up from 20.9 last year.” “Scores were higher for both males and females and for students across virtually all racial/ethnic groups.” This year, 1.2 million students took the test, on which 32 was the highest score they could possibly attain. Few did. It gets worse. “For...

JPFO began our campaign to "Boot the BATFE" (www.jpfo.org/bootbatfe.htm) in January of 2005. The instigating factor was a tape we received, a tape that indisputably showed BATFE agents attempting to frame an innocent gun owner, John Glover. That tape -- which we promptly copied and began distributing as _BATFE Fails the Test_ (www.jpfo.org/batfevideo.htm) -- was something the BATFE _never_ intended you to see. Thanks to it, the charges against Glover were dropped and all but one of his firearms returned. Eighteen months later, we offer you something else the BATFE was hoping wouldn't get out: John Glover's story, straight from...

A former U.S. Navy intelligence officer who illegally exported military aircraft parts, including nozzles for the engine that powers the "Chinook" helicopter, was sentenced today to a year in federal prison. .....

Americans With No Abilities Act Woody sent me some information about an important piece of legislation. WASHINGTON, DC Congress is considering sweeping legislation, which provides new benefits for many Americans. The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA) is being hailed as a major legislation by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills or ambition. "Roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society," said Barbara Boxer. "We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability to be ridiculed and passed...

The academic left has painted itself into a peculiar corner. They urge the rejection of traditional grammar as chauvinistic, or, more frequently, “hegemonic.” Unfortunately for them, they eventually have to read papers by students who have previously been taught by teachers who also share this outlook. One of the seminal texts that promotes the “grammar is dead” thesis is Preparing to Teach Writing by James Williams. “Ironically, the third edition of Williams’ book Preparing to Teach Writing appeared in 2003, the same year the National Commission on Writing made public its discovery that ‘Recent analyses indicate that more than 50...