Free Republic

Hi there. I voted for Obama, but have been reading a lot of Freerepublic lately to see how the other side is reacting. I'm not trying to troll here - honestly - but if you feel I am, that's understandable. I just wanted to offer a perspective on this that I think may be interesting to some of you. Oh, and this is much longer than I intended. And I'm fairly certain I'm not posting this the right way...for which I apologize. When Bush was elected in 2000, I was upset. And yes, I whined about him "stealing" the election....

As the mighty tide swept the land on Tuesday night, I was transfixed. As the pundits pondered red states and blue states, projections and exit polls, I was swept with emotion. Not because America was "electing its first Black president." That comes a little late in the day. It was because America was electing the right President. Our long national nightmare is ending. America will not soon again start a war based on lies and propaganda. We will not torture. We will restore the rights of freedom of speech, freedom of privacy, and habeas corpus. We will enter at last...

Drudge has pic of Obama flipping McCain the bird on top of his site!

Chevy Chase recalls the precise moment he hit bottom. It happened in front of unflinching television cameras, as he sat alone on a dais with his eyes masked by tinted sunglasses. Offered a hundred grand by Comedy Central to do a televised Friars Club roast, Chase was introduced to his place in history. And it was brutal.

2008 A.D. THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE MUCK © by Norman Liebmann It may be time to delete the phrase on the Statue of Liberty “Send me your huddled masses”. America is already over-huddled and over-massed. Nancy “Grossie” Pelosie, that unsightly bulge in the House of Representatives, declared, “I am trying to save the planet”. She promises to get on it first thing in the morning. (Change of life strikes again!) Welfare is the Liberals' way of telling God they are sick and tired of picking up after Him. The most precipitous decline in American history is from Mount Vernon...

NOTWITHSTANDING a shift by big business to become more socially responsible, Big Oil prides itself in being an island of bullheadedness and smugness. In a capitalist system, rewards of success go to shareholders. But Big Oil has virtually ignored an equally important constituency - the citizens of the United States - who have granted Big Oil the right to extract the nation's most strategic natural resources. In return, they expect them to act as responsible fiduciaries

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The putting up of a nativity scene at Green Bay's City Hall has prompted a tongue-in-cheek request from a suburban man for permission to display a Festivus pole on the overhang of the building's northwest entrance.

1.) Tragically, horrifyingly, but quite predictably, it’s going to happen. The only question being which American city or cities? In a recent conversation with a former high level intelligence operative of our government, I raised the possibility of terrorists successfully detonating a nuclear weapon within the United States. His response was sobering in its hopelessness. First, he stressed how grateful he was that he did not work in Washington, DC, and that his family lived far enough out to survive the coming nuclear blast. When I pressed him as to why he was so sure that Islamic terrorists – with...

Fed up with war, some won't pay taxes By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN, Associated Press Writer 43 minutes ago When the United States invaded Iraq more than four years ago, war opponent David Gross asked his bosses for a radical pay cut, enough so he wouldn't have to pay taxes to support the war. "I was having a hard time looking at myself in the mirror," Gross said. "I knew the bombs falling were in part paid with my tax dollars. I had to actually do something concrete to remove my complicity." The San Francisco technical writer was making close to $100,000...

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Mayor Bloomberg is decrying the state of the 2008 presidential race, faulting the major party candidates for offering shallow, simplistic prescriptions, and scolding the press for failing to demand more from those seeking the White House. During an appearance at Google's headquarters in Silicon Valley yesterday, Mr. Bloomberg said the televised debates among the presidential candidates have been, in essence, a waste of time. "They have absolutely nothing to do with the job and the qualifications. And they don't tell you anything about whether or not any of those candidates would be good or bad presidents....

Associated Press New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg left the Republican Party on Tuesday and switched to unaffiliated, a move certain to be seen as a prelude to an independent presidential bid that would upend the 2008 race. The billionaire former CEO, who was a lifelong Democrat before he switched to the Republican Party in 2001 for his first mayoral run, said the change in his voter registration does not mean he is running for president. "Although my plans for the future haven't changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to...

While questions continue to arise about the alleged plot to blow up a fuel pipeline beneath JFK Airport and surrounding neighborhoods, some are questioning why New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg hasn't had a louder voice since the plot was foiled on Saturday. On Monday, Bloomberg finally weighed in, but his response was not what some would have expected. "There are lots of threats to you in the world. There's the threat of a heart attack for genetic reasons. You can't sit there and worry about everything. Get a life," he said. That "What, me worry?" attitude pretty much sums...

Police in Clackamas County are looking for a man they say locked three live pigs in his house in the hopes that they would trash the place. All because he was upset the home went into foreclosure. Lovett bought a home on SE Wildcat Mountain Drive in Eagle Creek a few years ago. In January the house went into foreclosure. Neighbors told police that Lovett was extremely distraught over the the situation. He apparently told several that he had put the animals inside the house over a week ago and even joked about the fact that they did not have...

Alec Baldwin has taken a vow of silence after a recording of a volcanic tirade by the actor to his 11-year-old daughter appeared in US media reports.The Oscar-nominated star of "The Departed" unleashed a heated tirade at daughter Ireland, who has been caught in the middle of tit-for-tat legal battles between Baldwin and ex-wife Kim Basinger in recent years. Baldwin's April 11 rant -- where at one point he informs his daughter that she is a "rude, thoughtless, little pig" -- was reported widely in US broadcast and online media Friday... Baldwin's spokesman said in a statement that "in the...

In his commentary on last night’s “60 Minutes,” Andy “Negro is a perfectly good word” Rooney said that today’s military is like the military during World War II, which was made of “losers” who did not complete high school.

Virginia Man Faces Charges for Assaulting Republicans Wednesday, February 21, 2007 AP ADVERTISEMENTClick here to find out more! FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — A Fredericksburg man is facing several assault charges after police say he hunted down a group of Republicans and confronted them in their home over their beliefs. Police said Andrew Stone, 23, recently went to a home in Fredericksburg at around 5:30 p.m. after he saw a name and nearby address on a Republican Web site. Stone confronted three residents about their political viewpoints, police said. When he found out the residents supported the Republican-led war effort in Iraq,...

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned to the national spotlight on Valentine's Day to tell U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that he misses her verbal attacks. "It had been days since she had given me any attention. How are you, Condoleezza?" Chavez asked in a speech Wednesday to pensioners in the capital of Caracas. It was Chavez's first response to Rice's testimony last week to a U.S. congressional committee that the Venezuelan leader was "destroying his own country" economically and politically — an apparent reference to a centralization of power in Venezuela and moves to nationalize key...

The federal prosecutor who helped convict two U.S. Border Patrol agents sentenced to more than a decade in jail for shooting a suspected drug smuggler who illegally crossed the border from Mexico understands why the case stirred public outrage. However, he attributes the anger to the portrayal of the case by the news media and said the media version "is unfortunately not the narrative the jury heard" before convicting the two...

Dec. 29, 2006 — In yet another moral blow to Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys called for the prosecutor to step down from the Duke lacrosse case. The group, which represents district attorneys from across North Carolina, said in a statement that "it is in the interest of justice and the effective administration of criminal justice that Mr. Nifong immediately withdraw and recuse himself from the prosecution." "It's extraordinarily unusual and it means a great deal," said Joshua Marquis, a district attorney in Clatsop County, Ore. The district attorney group also called...

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a brief statement late Tuesday on the death of former President Gerald R. Ford. Annan released the brief, two-paragraph statement to media through his spokesman Stephane Dujarric: "The secretary-general mourns the passing of former President Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States, who died yesterday at the age of 93. He extends his sincere condolences to Mrs. Betty Ford, to the family of the former president, and to the government and people of the United States. "President Ford will be remembered for the leadership, calm resolve, and broad experience he brought to...

Stop crying your heart out, Oasis singer tells British troops in Iraq Tue Nov 21, 8:22 AM ET Noel Gallagher of the British rock band Oasis has told soldiers fighting in Iraq to stop complaining when they get wounded. The chief songwriter and lead guitarist said Tuesday troops loved getting involved in war-zone action until they get hurt. In a wide-ranging rant, the fired-up 39-year-old also turned his guns on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, environmentalists, Elton John, his brother Liam -- the lead singer in the band -- and predicted his own daughter would become a "mental, axe-wielding, cyber-punk...

Reason Magazine Blogger Finds Pleasure in Tears of Rick Santorum's 8-year-old Daughter Because the libertarian universe has no place for the vulnerable, weak, or the dependent--since none are autonomous adult-choosers in search of virtual kiddie porn--it has no qualms in providing a forum in which children and their families can be verbally abused and have profanities hurled at them. Read and weep Julian Sanchez's "Your Tears Are So Yummy and Sweet" in which the writer says he finds joy in the tears of Rick Santorum's eight-year-old daughter, who is pictured crying next to her father as he gives his concession...

Snipets to fit excerpt rule -- Page 50: Why did Kerry, a Vietnam War opponent, decide to enlist? In addition to feeling obliged to serve his country (and wanting to go on the same adventure that his Yale friends were going on), Kerry says that part of the reason he enlisted in Vietnam was fear of the draft: "I called [the draft board] because I was thinking one of the options was, maybe I'll go study abroad, which was a euphemism for screwing around a bit, but it was clear to me that I was going to be at risk....

WASHINGTON (AP) - During a Vietnam-era run for Congress three decades ago, John Kerry said he opposed a volunteer Army because it would be dominated by the underprivileged, be less accountable and be more prone to "the perpetuation of war crimes." Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran who turned against the war, made the observations in answers to a 1972 candidate questionnaire from a Massachusetts peace group. After Kerry caused a firestorm this week with what he termed a botched campaign joke that Republicans said insulted current soldiers, The Associated Press was alerted to the historical comments by a former law...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2006 — Karl Rove, President Bush's top advisor, talked to ABC News' Ann Compton about the remarks Sen. John Kerry says were a botched joke about the president, and about Bush's future. Here is a transcript of the conversation: COMPTON: Senator John Kerry has made a statement about Iraq. Do you take him at his word that he was talking about the president and not the troops? ROVE: I take him at his word when he insulted America's fighting forces. This is a habit that he's had over the years. He did it when he came back...

Just announced on the FNC.

Former President Bill Clinton gestures during remarks before the Center for American Progress, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006 at Georgetown University in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the BBC in an interview set to be broadcast on Monday that his country would be prepared to hold talks with Israel provided that "an impartial arbiter" could be found. In a wide-ranging television interview to be broadcast later Monday, Assad accused the U.S. of neither having "the will or vision" to pursue peace in the Middle East. Assad suggested that U.S. President George Bush could not be an impartial arbiter and said no direct dialogue had taken place between the two nations.

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syria's president said in remarks released Sunday that he has increased the number of troops on the border with Lebanon, a move apparently aimed to appease international demands to bolster security following the Israel-Hezbollah war. But the troop movement was still likely to draw criticism from the U.S. and Iraqi governments, as President Bashar Assad said Syria shifted forces away from its eastern border with Iraq to fortify its frontier with Lebanon. The U.S. and Iraq have long accused Syria of not doing enough to stop insurgents crossing into Iraq to fight U.S. troops. Syria denies the...

In case you somehow missed it, Venezuelan dictator, Hugo Chavez, provided entertainment for the UN body this week. After Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clearly disappointed the UN body with his uncharacteristically (and ridiculously) sappy “we love everyone, even Jews – so why can’t we have nukes” speech, the UN was desperate for fireworks and entertainment of some sort from somebody. Since Ahmadinejad had been muzzled by France, who is hoping to keep Iran’s nuclear ambitions off the UN Security Council table, enter Cindy Sheehan’s President of choice, Hugo Chavez, stage right…

<p>FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON ON NOT CAPTURING BIN LADEN: 'At least I tried. That's the difference between me and some, including all the right wingers. They ridicule me for trying. They had eight months to try, they did not try. I tried. So I tried and failed'...</p>

Theory that U.S. orchestrated Sept. 11 attacks 'not absurd': Venezuela CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday that it's at least plausible that the U.S. government was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. Chavez did not specifically accuse the U.S. government of having a hand in the Sept. 11 attacks, but rather suggested that theories of U.S. involvement bear examination. The Venezuelan leader, an outspoken critic of U.S. President George W. Bush, was reacting to a television report investigating a theory that the Twin Towers were brought down with explosives after hijacked airplanes crashed into them in 2001....

Helsinki, Sep 10 (EFE).- Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Sunday here defended "calm responses" to terrorism as the only really effective ones and he urged that special attention be paid to the victims of terrorism all over the world. Zapatero made his suggestions before dozens of world leaders at the 6th EU-Asia, or ASEM, summit, where the task before participants from the 25 EU nations and 13 Asian countries is to marshal international cooperation in the fight against terrorism, combat climate change and foster trade, among other things. He said that ASEM must adapt itself to new...

ABC News has confirmed that Adam Gadahn, the American who converted to Islam and joined al Qaeda, has been charged in a sealed indictment with providing material support to terrorism. Gadahn recently appeared with al Qaeda's No. 2 in command Ayman Zawahiri exhorting Americans to convert to Islam. Gadahn, in addition to helping al Qaeda with propaganda and communications, is also suspected of helping al Qaeda with English translations and understanding U.S. culture and vulnerabilities. Charges may be announced in the next week. Officials have also considered charging Gadahn with treason.

For an event that would turn a page in American history, former president Jimmy Carter has agreed in principle to host former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami for talks during his visit to the United States starting this week. Carter's term as president was dominated by the rupture in relations after the 1979 Iranian revolution and the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days until the day he left office. Iranians made the overture for the meeting, and the Carter Center in Atlanta is working on the possible timing, said Phil Wise,...

Former US president Jimmy Carter lashed out at British Prime Minister Tony Blair for being "so compliant and subservient" to the Bush administration in Washington. "I have been surprised and extremely disappointed with Tony Blair's behaviour," Carter told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper as he promoted his new book "Faith and Freedom." "I think that, more than any other person in the world, the prime minister could have had a moderating influence on Washington, and he has not," said the 81-year-old former head of state. He faulted Blair for not having been a constraint on US President George W. Bush's decision...

Big Brother watches Free Republic. I was reading the post DIESEL BLUES I had PerrGuardian 2 running; and what do I see being blocked U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 72.240.241.61:1395. (Source), 134.67.99.207:80 (destination), and U.S. Department of Energy 72.240.241.61:1415 (source), 205.254.143.167:80 (destination). Maybe now I should wait for the knock on the door, but I don’t think they will knock first. They will probably just take my harddrive to see what other NEWS I am reading.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- For the past five years, the housing bulls have been trotting out one rational-sounding argument after another to explain why the boom made perfect economic sense. Forget about a crash, they assured homeowners. Expect a "soft landing" where your three-bedroom colonial in Larchmont or Larkspur not only holds onto its huge price gains, but keeps appreciating at a "normal," "sustainable" rate of 6 percent or so into the sunset. Real estate slowdown New homes slump worsens Pace of new home sales falls more than forecast as inventory builds, prices decline. (more) Freebies for home buyers Home...

Peretz: We must create conditions for talks with Syria - Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Tuesday that a resumption of talks with Syria was still possible, a day after a cease-fire brought to an end the month-long conflict with the Syrian-backed Hezbollah organization in Lebanon. "Every war creates an opportunity for a new political process. and I am sure that our enemies understand today they cannot defeat us by force," Peretz said. "We must hold a dialogue with Lebanon, and we should create the conditions for dialogue also with Syria." Syrian President Bashar Assad on Tuesday hailed Hezbollah's "achievements" in...

Rep. Dennis Kucinich was just on Fox, being interviewed. When asked if Kucinich agreed that Hezbollah is a pack of murdering terrorists, Kucinich became aggitated and stated that 'Hezbollah is part of the elected government of Lebanon.' When he was asked is he agreed that Hezbollah must be destroyed, he replied, 'I agree the war must be ended.' When the interviewer, clearly incredulous, gave Kucinich another chance to denounce Hezbollah, Kucinich would have none of it, and even more aggitated, repeatd that Hezbollah is part of the elected government of Lebanon that has the right to exist and be included...

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., acknowledges applause alongside his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry at Faneuil Hall, Monday, June 26, 2006, in Boston, where Kerry unveiled an energy plan reprising themes from his 2004 presidential campaign. Kerry called for reducing oil imports, increasing the number of cars powered by renewable fuels and focusing on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. (AP Photo/Julia Malakie)

Fellow Americans, there comes a time every mans life when we must give up ourselves before we are worthy to recieve. There comes a time in this war on terror when in order to protect liberty, we have to give it up in the mean time for safty. That's right folks. Today, Americans have forsaken the creator for the creation and have decided that they would value our "civil liberties" than protecting western civilization and rich white people from the tender mercies of radical Islamic terrorists. Selfish liberals insist and whine that Bush has no right to spy on Americans...

IBM today announced free software and educational resources to help developers in Russia build and deploy innovative applications based on open standards and open source. Tapping into the booming software development market in Russia, IBM is giving software developers, architects and students free access to software and hundreds of new tools and technical and educational resources that will enable them to more easily build open standards-based applications. With a few clicks of a mouse, developers can download free versions of IBM middleware, IBM WebSphere Application Server Community Edition and IBM DB2 Universal Database Express-C, as well as access trial code,...

I watched only part of President Bush's State of the Union address. I just couldn't bring myself to watch the whole speech. I soon discovered that I wasn't alone. Since then, I had the opportunity to talk to a number of academic acquaintances in the Middle East. I was interested in getting a firsthand Arab response to the turmoil taking place between the Europeans and Muslims, but I also took the opportunity to get some feedback on Bush's speech. To my surprise, none of them heard the address. When I told one that Bush had promised to put in place...

I get a disturbing feeling as I read the papers these days. It's like I'm living in a disaster movie, or a horror film, right at the beginning where everything is mostly normal, yet there are these alarming little hints of things to come. Pets are disappearing, UFOs are buzzing around and the scary music is starting — low and quiet. When I read that President George W. Bush is out making speeches defending his warrantless wiretap program and encouraging democratic participation through patriotic silence, a cold wind rustles the leaves in the street and the dog mysteriously stops barking....

After reading all of the crap that people have been saying regarding Adult Private Social Clubs, I felt that I had to post an article and give my opinion. I am sick and tired of all the religous groups that are saying that there are drugs, prostitution, minors, non-consenting people, and just immoral people at these clubs! First of all, who do these people think they are to decide what is morally right or wrong for me? I believe that I have a good set of morals. I am a law abiding, tax paying citizen, I work full time and...

Yaa, you repukes are not doing so well, huh? Imagine, you repukes control the presidency, both houses of Congress, and appointed 7 of the 9 Supreme Court justices. Yet the Supreme Court thre out sodomy laws in all 50 states and recognized the right of government to seize land for any reason. And you couldn't pass your Social Security changes could you? Sorry, that was your last shot. Come November, we're going to start seeing more Democratic faces in the House. It's the end for you guys. You guys are celebrating when Bush's numbers go *up* to 45%. Then Faux...

Bush’s giant Right Wing Noise Machine (RWNM) loves to preach about the Bush economic miracle. In fact, the RWNM’s current thinking is Bush doesn’t spend enough time talking about his economic triumphs. If only he did, then everyone would fall in line and believe in the great Bush economic miracle. There is one problem with this argument: it’s a lie. Any way you look at the Bush economy, it comes up short. Today, I want to compare Bush’s job creation record with other economic recoveries. As usual, Bush comes up way short. The national Bureau of Economic Research has identified...

Why does anybody support George w Bush as President? He is clearly the worst President I have ever seen -- a complete disaster. And before you say anything, I have been a registered Republican for 25 years.

Lies of omission about 9/11 -- stoking fears of terrorism THEY WANT YOU TO BE AFRAID The following post was censored by freerepublic.com shortly after it was posted on their "public" forum on 9/11/04. That forum is designed to appear as though it is a community forum open to all, but this post only received three responses before it and its replies were deleted, and a repeat posting at 4 am PST on 9/20/04 didn't stay online for 5 minutes! Someone is apparently watching closely over the content of the freerepublic.com forums and censoring them 24/7 (though they might have...