Free Republic

If you were in the presence of a man having a heart attack, how would you respond? As he clutched his chest in desperation and pain, would you call 911? Would you try to save him from dying? Of course you would. But if that man was Rush Limbaugh, and you were Sarah Spitz, a producer for National Public Radio, that isn’t what you’d do at all. In a post to the list-serv Journolist, an online meeting place for liberal journalists, Spitz wrote that she would “Laugh loudly like a maniac and watch his eyes bug out” as Limbaugh writhed...

For those who claim that vote fraud isn't a problem, Al Franken's election to the Senate demonstrates not only that vote fraud exists but also that it can alter elections and indeed the laws of the country. Murderers, rapists, and robbers may not be the people we want providing the crucial votes that determine what America's laws should be.

The idea that President Obama is anti-business broke into the mainstream this week. It has long been a widely held view on the right that Obama’s rhetorical nods to the free market and American business were little more than that. But as Washington slowly staggered back to work this week following a long July 4 weekend, discussions of Obama’s troubled relationship with the private sector popped up with surprising frequency. Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria wrote Monday that after speaking with numerous corporate executives, most of whom voted for Obama, he found that “all think he is, at his core, anti-business.” Tuesday,...

...it's becoming ever more apparent that real power within the GOP rests with the ranting talk-show hosts. ...Suddenly, the takeover of the Republican Party by right-wing extremists has become a story (although many reporters seem determined to pretend that something equivalent is happening to the Democrats. It isn't.)... The right's answer, of course, is that it's about outrage over President Barack Obama's “socialist” policies — like his health care plan, which is, um, more or less identical to the plan Mitt Romney enacted... Many on the left argue... that it's about race, the shock of having a black man in...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Conservative lawyers and academics are voicing support for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, praise that could soften criticism from the right and provide cover for any Republican senators inclined to vote for her nomination. The essence of their take on Kagan, the former Harvard Law School dean who now serves as solicitor general, is that she clearly has the smarts to be a justice and has shown an ability to work with all sides on thorny issues.

Is the Obama Administration preparing the ground for a Ministry of Truthiness? The President's latest wide-ranging speech at Hampton University made a halt at a very strange outpost, before moving on to education. Obama, it seems, is vexed by the idea of conspiracy theories. Apparently people aren't thinking the right thoughts. Obama's internet Yoda, Professor Cass Sunstein*, is also besotted with the idea. Two years ago, Sunstein proposed what you might call an 'active government solution' to conspiracies. The best way to counter conspiracy theories, Sunstein and co-author Adrian Vermeule argued, is with the "cognitive infiltration of extremist groups". This...

You recall Waxman's outrage over large companies, such as AT&T, informing its shareholders that they will be taking large hits due to ObamaCare: After the passage of the health care reform bill, some public corporations announced the bill would have adverse affects on how they do business. Deere & Co. announced that it would cost them an additional $150M in expenses, Caterpillar stated in an SEC filing they would earn $100M less in 2010, Verizon sent emails to employees informing them of their expected costs to increase in the short term, and AT&T filed with the SEC that they expect...

"Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) (L) walks on Capitol Hill after a vote on Capitol Hill April 26, 2010 in Washington, DC. Senate Democrats failed in an effort to bring legislation to tighten regulation of the financial system to the floor for debate in a 57-41 vote this evening, unable to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome the threat of a Republican fillibuster."

Growing Anger At Collapse Of U.S.A. Standard Of Living Politics / US Politics Apr 25, 2010 - 07:03 AM By: Global Research Hiram Lee writes: A series of recent studies conducted by the Pew Research Center shed new light on the scope of the economic crisis in the US and the level of hostility the majority of the American population holds for the US government. Released in March, before the passage of the Obama administration’s health care legislation, a survey entitled “Health Care Reform—Can’t Live With It, or Without It” indicates that 92 percent of Americans give the national economy...

I’m not sure how relevant the CEO of ACORN is anymore, but at least she’s not hiding her stripes. She attended a Young Democratic Socialists meeting in late March and said we are living in a time -- referring to the TEA party movement -- that will dwarf the era of Jim Crow and segregation. Watch the video...

DENVER – The Army is considering whether to rescind an invitation to evangelist Franklin Graham to appear at the Pentagon amid complaints about his description of Islam as evil, a military spokesman said Wednesday. Graham, the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, was to appear at the Pentagon on May 6 on what is the National Day of Prayer. He said he will be a guest of the Pentagon and will speak only if he's still invited. Army Col. Tom Collins said withdrawing the invitation "is on the table," but no decision has been made. He said Army brass will...

Campaign contributions from Goldman Sachs employees to President Obama are nearly seven times as much as President Bush received from Enron workers, according to numbers on OpenSecrets.org. President Bush's connections to Enron were well-hyped during the company's accounting debacle that rippled through the economy. Time magazine even had an article called, "Bush's Enron Problem." The Associated Press ran with the headline, "Bush-backing Enron makes big money off crisis." David Callaway wrote that Enron for Bush was worse than Whitewater for Clinton. But the mere $151,722.42 (inflation adjusted) in contributions from Enron-affiliated executives, employees, and PACs to Bush hardly add up...

Can you trust Washington? Nearly 80 percent of Americans say they can't and they have little faith that the massive federal bureaucracy can solve the nation's ills, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center that shows public confidence in the federal government at one of the lowest points in a half-century.

Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser tonight, President Obama touted his administration’s tax cuts and said that the recent tea party rallies across the nation have “amused” him. “You would think they should be saying thank you,” the president said to applause. The president’s 30-minute speech included a lot of recycled material from previous fundraisers. In a nod to Vice President Biden, the president acknowledged the crowd for their help getting health care reform across the finish line. “As my vice president said, 'This is a big deal,'" Obama said to laughter, even though he omitted the one key word to...

Reagan gave this speech in 1961 while still a democrat. The man was a genius.

Unsurprisingly, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham bowed deeply to New Yorker editor David Remnick and his new book on their agreed-upon hero, Barack Obama: "envy gives way to admiration" of Remnick’s skills, he wrote in his "Top of the Week" commentary in the magazine. Meacham hyped the notion that when asked about the "racial component of the opposition," Obama told Remnick "I tend to be fairly forgiving about the anxiety that people feel about change."

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

The Democrat-media complex has been pushing the idea that patriotic nonviolent resistance and opposition to ObamaCare and President Obama’s drive to turn America into a full-blown socialist state somehow constitutes “hate.” Leftists keep trying to invent new incidents supposedly showing how their political adversaries in the Tea Party movement are sinister racists. They claim –in the absence of proof– that black Democratic lawmakers were called the N-word as they walked to the U.S. Capitol building to vote on ObamaCare. They claim –in the absence of proof– that an anti-gay epithet was hurled at Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), an openly gay...

This part got me: MATTHEWS: Well, I have to tell you, I don`t know how you fan the flames when you — when you say you don`t like something. And by the way, Congressman Stupak, I`ve got to ask you a question. I know this is rhetorical. But you know, when Bush got his way on a number of issues — forget the war. The parties agreed on that for a while there. He got a huge tax cut for the wealthy. I didn`t see the Democrats burning down the barns and sending hate mail, and you know, throwing rocks...

Barack Obama was seated next to a little girl on an airplane trip back to Washington. He turned to her and said, “Let’s talk. I’ve heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.” The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to Obama, “What would you like to talk about?” “Oh, I don’t know,” said Obama. “How about What Changes I Should Make To America?” and he smiles. “OK,” she says. “That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A...

If you thought the health care bill was just about, well, health care, guess again! It's about income redistribution as much as anything: For all the political and economic uncertainties about health reform, at least one thing seems clear: The bill that President Obama signed on Tuesday is the federal government’s biggest attack on economic inequality since inequality began rising more than three decades ago. Over most of that period, government policy and market forces have been moving in the same direction, both increasing inequality. The pretax incomes of the wealthy have soared since the late 1970s, while their tax...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The No. 2 Senate Democrat accused Republicans on Wednesday of refusing to accept the finality of health care changes, a day after President Barack Obama signed the most sweeping medical system remake since Medicare. "This is a political exercise for too many on the other side of the aisle," said Sen. Dick Durbin. "We're going to tell our people back home, 'It's time to govern. It's time to lead.' "

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the Dean of the House of Representatives for being the longest serving member of the body (he was first elected in 1955, succeeding his father, Rep. John Dingell, Sr.), made an amazing admission during a live telephone interview with Detroit WJR News/Talk 760 radio talk show host Paul W. Smith on Smith's show Monday morning, March 22, 2010. The night before, Dingell had been a featured speaker at the Democrat Congressional leadership victory press conference after Obamacare passed the House. In response to a question posed by Smith, Dingell said: Let me remind you this [Americans...

ORLANDO, FL -- Moments after Congress voted to approve President Obama's health care legislation, Florida's Attorney General announced he will file a lawsuit to declare the bill unconstitutional. Bill McCollum will join Attorneys General from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Dakota and South Dakota to file a lawsuit against the federal government. "The health care reform legislation passed by the U. S. House of Representatives this evening clearly violates the U.S. Constitution and infringes on each state's sovereignty," McCollum said in a statement distributed late Sunday night. "If the President signs this bill into law, we will...

I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: Their candor about O-Care being a starting, not an ending, point for “fixing” American health care is simply astounding. Given public angst about the on cost and effect on quality of care and conservative objections to the bill as an irreversible, transformational lurch towards statism, you would think Obama and Pelosi would be scrupulous about selling the bill — even privately within the caucus lest their comments leak out — as something self-contained and modest in scope. Instead we’ve seen The One winking at House progressives about a public option down the...

President Obama made another stop on his health care road show in Strongsville, Ohio this afternoon, making the rather odd case that the American people don't want their representatives to look at polls measuring what people want. Wrapping up his speech, Obama said: “The American people want to know if it’s still possible for Washington to look out for their interests. For their future. So what they’re looking for is some courage. They’re waiting for us to act. They’re waiting for us to lead. They don’t want us putting our finger out to the wind. They don’t want us reading...

<p>When Glenn Beck told listeners of his radio show on March 2 that they should "run as fast as you can" from any church that preached "social or economic justice" because those were code words for Communism and Nazism, he probably thought he was tweaking a few crunchy religious liberals who didn't listen to the show anyway. Instead he managed to outrage Christians in most mainline Protestant denominations, African-American congregations, Hispanic churches, and Catholics...</p>

WASHINGTON — Still seeking votes for his proposed health care overhaul, President Barack Obama appears ready to reverse his position and allow unpopular deal-sweetening measures in the hopes of finding Democratic support for legislation whose future will be decided in coming days. Increasingly eager to finish work on his top domestic priority, Obama was set to head to northeast Ohio on Monday with a final sales pitch for health care legislation that the top Democratic vote-counter in the House said lacked support to pass. Obama's top political adviser, David Axelrod, said he was "absolutely confident" the measure would pass during...

Just as the healthcare drama in the capitol reaches a grand finale, congressional officials are warning employees to avoid the DRUDGE REPORT! The Senate's Committee on Environment and Public Works issued an urgent email late Monday claiming the DRUDGE REPORT is 'responsible for the many viruses popping up throughout the Senate.' The committee ordered hill staff: 'Try to avoid' the DRUDGE REPORT 'for now'. On Monday DRUDGE served over 29 million pages with NOT ONE email complaint received about 'pop ups', or the site serving 'viruses'. The site was seen 149,967 times since March 1st from users at senate.gov and...

Now, Yvonne may not be able to bear to read this blog or watch this video that someone sent me in an email, so my sympathies to her in advance. However, the good news is that the American People have woken up (those that choose to not hide their heads in the sand), to realize that the America they once knew, is almost gone. The question is though, "Is it too late?". Many Americans today believe that there has been a communist infiltration into the White House, and if they are correct, it is certainly a huge 'change' one can...

An influential voice on Capitol Hill has unexpectedly called into question the safety of investing in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, raising the specter that investors who have lent money to the two firms or bought their mortgage-backed securities could one day suffer losses. The comments by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, come despite the assumption of many investors that investments in the two mortgage finance giants are risk-free. Until now, federal officials -- who took over Fannie and Freddie two years ago to save them from collapse -- have signaled to the market...

Just before Thanksgiving of this year, a report was issued by Congressman Issa and Senator Grassley contending that the Obama White House was politically motivated when it fired AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin after his 2008 investigation of Kevin Johnson, friend of the Obamas, and now Sacramento's mayor. The report criticizes the White House ethics counsel for not examining what Walpin had been investigating at the time of his dismissal, including the allegations of sexual misconduct by Johnson and hush-money used to cover up the misconduct. The report asserted that Michelle Rhee, now Johnson's fiancee, made the payoffs. The firing...

It figures. Michelle Obama stocked the White House Library with books on socialism.

Legacy of Boston Tea Party Sullied by Sensationalist Politics By: Chloe Jenkins-Sleczkowski Posted: 2/3/10 The past year has brought on an inreased exposure of tea - not Earl Grey. I am speaking of the Tea Party Movement, the grassroots and conservative-minded (dis-)organization that has been making headlines with its latest shenanigans to reclaim the country for the intellectually lazy. Although some political diversity is a nice change, it does not need to be in the form of griping conservatives who are only making it harder on a president who has more than enough on his plate. The Tea Party...

In a brief op-ed in USA Today, White House counterterrorism chief John Brennan charges that critics who question the Obama administration's decision to grant Miranda rights to accused Detroit bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab are "serv[ing] the goals of al Qaeda." "Too many in Washington are now misrepresenting the facts to score political points," Brennan writes. "Politically motivated criticism and unfounded fear-mongering only serve the goals of al-Qaeda."

The lead story at DrudgeReport.com as of 11:30 a.m. this morning was "**REUTERS: Backdoor taxes to hit middle class." But Reuters withdrew the article last night. Drudge noted the change and wrote: "**REUTERS pulls tax story..." then added another link to the top left margin: "Largest-ever federal payroll to hit 2.15 million employees..." So what happened? According to a Reuters rep, the was withdrawn "due to significant errors of fact." "The story was wrong on multiple points and should not have gone out," she emailed us. A formal withdrawal will issued will address specific points that were incorrect later today....

On Friday, January 29th, 2010, Lech Walesa, former President of Poland, traveled to Chicago to endorse Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate, Adam Andrzejewski. We were fortunate enough to have an opportunity to sit down with the President and Mr. Andrzejewski. Our video from that visit is below. Items that stand out: 1) Lech Walesa tells his American Audience that the United States no longer leads the world politically or morally 2) At least one of your Founding Bloggers asks President Walesa if he thinks America is slipping toward Socialism. His Answer? Yes! 3) Andrzejewski is running on a platform of forensically...

Anita Dunn may be gone from the White House but her successor feels the same way she did about Fox News. From TVNewser The White House has a new communications director -- Dan Pfeiffer -- but the message is the same when it comes to Fox News Channel. During a video interview today with The New York Times' The Caucus blog, Pfeiffer was clear about the White House position on Fox News: "I have the same view of Fox that Anita [Dunn] had, which is that Fox is not a traditional news organization. They have a point of view. That...

Republican senators have accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) of violating new transparency requirements during the Senate healthcare debate. The 23 Republican senators sent a letter to Reid on Tuesday raising concerns over a nearly 400-page manager’s amendment Reid unveiled days before the Senate adopted the language and passed the healthcare bill. The group ranged from the most conservative to the most liberal GOP senators. “Though your office has referred to these provisions as a ‘normal part of the legislative process,’ we are concerned that the inclusion of these items without appropriate disclosure may violate the Honest Leadership and...

There are those who are fooled some of the time. There are those who are fooled all the time. And there are those who want to be fooled because it’s easier. Softened by a decade of desensitising PC regulations and definitions used by governments, many are indeed fooled all of the time, but most prefer self-imposed ignorance. Voting for Obama was one indication. Believing Interpol is only an external police database and that the recent EO giving them immunity is ‘nothing’, is another. Blast From the Past It is a long while back, but these were the claims about Interpol...

I know someone who purchased this from RAND. By page 19 this report goes from discussing the need for a Special Police Force overseas to supplement interventions, to suddenly needing a force that can circumvent Posse Comitatus. Posse Comitatus exists for a reason and any attempt to circumvent it, not matter how nicely packaged, is a step on the way to "Special" police becoming "Secret" police. They call it :A STABILITY POLICE FORCE: This study asks several questions. First, is a Stability Police Force (SPF) necessary? An SPF is a high-end police force that engages in a range of tasks...

Nearly three-fourths of Americans think 2009 was a bad year for the country, which was rocked by job losses, home foreclosures and economic sickness.

Many opponents of Obamacare have been saying it doesn't matter if it gets passed, if the GOP takes over in 2010 they will repeal it. Sorry that will not be possible. The bill making its way through the Senate includes a clause that requires a two-thirds vote to amend or repeal certain sections of the bill. Section 3403 of Senator Harry Reid's amendment (page 1020) (A) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, or amendment, pursuant to this subsection or conference2 report thereon, that fails to satisfy...

Obama's "Christ"mas (Obamacare) gift to the masses (Xmas Eve Vote A Conspiracy?) Could there be with some narcissistic irony, that on the night of the Christ Child's birth, Barack Hussein Obama (and who knows what faith he really espouses?) gives the gift of Obamacare to the masses of our (last time I looked) constitutional republic, one nation under God and indivisible (?)... Could this Xmas Eve Vote be the mother of all conspiracies?

Democrats are debating the tactic of labeling Republicans the “party of no.” Senior strategists in the party argue the label at best has outlived its usefulness, and at worst will do nothing to win new Democratic votes in the 2010 elections. “The Democrats are making an enormous mistake when they say the Republicans are the party of no,” said Paul Begala, the veteran Democratic strategist who worked in President Bill Clinton’s White House. Democrats began describing the GOP as the party of no after every House Republican voted against the $787 billion economic stimulus bill in February. The label has...

The United States is about to lose a key arms-control tool from the closing days of the Cold War -- the right to station American observers in Russia to count the long-range missiles leaving its assembly line. The end of full-time, on-site access will likely ignite complaints in Congress, with insiders from both parties arguing over whether the George W. Bush or the Obama administration is responsible.

<p>FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin promises to limit her enthusiasm during her visit to North Carolina's Fort Bragg.</p> <p>The former Republican vice presidential candidate planned to sign copies of her new memoir at a post store Monday. Army officials say Palin will not make a speech, pose for photos, or personalize notes in the books she signs.</p>

Here's a stimulus success story: In Arizona's 15th congressional district, 30 jobs have been saved or created with just $761,420 in federal stimulus spending. At least that's what the Web site set up by the Obama administration to track the $787 billion stimulus says. There's one problem, though: There is no 15th congressional district in Arizona; the state has only eight districts...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Cancer experts fear new U.S. breast imaging guidelines that recommend against routine screening mammograms for women in their 40s may have their roots in the current drive in Washington to reform healthcare. Critics of the guidelines, issued on Monday by the U.S. Services Task Force, an independent panel sponsored by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Quality, say the new guidelines are a step backward and will lead to more cancer deaths. Here are some of their concerns. * Dr Carol Lee, chairwoman of the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Commission, said she fears insurers -- both...

Remember how the Democrats reacted when the Bush Administration started replacing U.S. Attorneys? At least they were actually political appointees employed at the will and whim of the President.