Free Republic

An additional $50 million is going toward treatment and medical facilities across the United States to help combat the AIDS virus, President Barack Obama announced Thursday during a Washington event marking World AIDS day. "We are going to win this fight," Obama said. "But the fight's not over, not by a long shot."

House Speaker John Boehner’s bullet points on the deal say that it cuts discretionary spending by $917 billion over 10 years, as “certified by CBO.” These discretionary “cuts” appear to be the same as those in Boehner’s plan from last week. The chart shows CBO’s scoring of those spending cuts (see here and here).

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan's open defiance of Speaker John Boehner's efforts to solve the debt-ceiling crisis could cost the Urbana Republican his safe seat in next year's election. Two Republican sources deeply involved in configuring new Ohio congressional districts confirmed to The Dispatch today that Jordan's disloyalty to Boehner has put him in jeopardy of being zeroed out of a district. "Jim Jordan's boneheadedness has kind of informed everybody's thinking," said one of the sources, both of whom spoke only on condition of anonymity. "The easiest option for everybody has presented itself." Jordan's rural 11-county district, which has a 60...

Before delivering his defense of the American action in Libya this evening, President Obama surprised a group of top newspaper columnists by dropping by their briefing with national security aide Denis McDonough. The guests at the meeting included David Ignatius of the Washington Post, Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, Doyle McManus of the L.A. Times, and Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, according to a source who asked that his name not appear. (Obama's argument appears to have worked, at least, on Kristol .)

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday ruled out a return to government service but said he still supports President Barack Obama even though he hasn't yet decided who to vote for in 2012. The highly respected retired general and moderate Republican made waves when he endorsed Democrat Obama in 2008. He told CNN's "State of the Union" that he thought Obama's presidency remains a work in progress and that tough issues such as the economy and unemployment need to be addressed. Powell said he hoped the president would tackle these matters in his State of...

It’s widely recognized that in the marquee 2010 Senate race, Majority Leader Harry Reid ran a nearly flawless, textbook campaign, an operation so extraordinary that it enabled him to defy an almost certain political death. It turns out he got some inadvertent inside help. Interviews with Nevada and Washington Republicans familiar with the campaign of Reid’s GOP opponent, Sharron Angle, describe a not-ready-for-prime-time effort that was equally astonishing — a model of dysfunction that was as bad as Reid’s campaign was good. At the center of it was Terry Campbell, Angle’s closest adviser, who held the title of campaign manager....

After ripping Sarah Palin, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski isn’t mincing words about another one of her high-profile GOP critics: South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint. “I think some of the Republicans in the Congress feel pretty strongly that he and his actions potentially cost us the majority by encouraging candidates that ended up not being electable,” Murkowski told POLITICO outside her Senate office. “And I think Delaware is a pretty good example of that, and I think there’re some folks that feel that DeMint’s actions didn’t necessarily help the Republican majority.” Murkowski suggested the South Carolina conservative and favorite of the...

At the climax of the 1977 film Star Wars, hero Luke Skywalker destroys the evil Empire's dreaded Death Star. The Rebellion's celebration, however, is short-lived. The movie series' next installment, The Empire Strikes Back, depicts the Empire's use of its still vastly superior weaponry and manpower to reassert its authority. In the 2010-midterm elections, the tea party movement has played the role of the Rebellion. But the Empire is not played by the Democrats. It's true that the Democrat-controlled federal government was resoundingly defeated in the November 2nd general election, but that loss, unlike the destruction of the Death Star, was...

We have heard so much about the supposed Buckley Rule, which Charles Krauthammer and other Mike Castle supporters over-simplistically synthesized as follows: "Support the most conservative candidate who is electable." The Buckley Rule is for primaries. The Delaware primary is over. To paraphrase Krauthammer, Castle supporters didn't go to Delaware and make it happen. The choice now is between Christine O'Donnell and Chris Coons. Yet some of our leading bloggers and pundits are on a mission to prove that they were right, and that O'Donnell was not the best pick. To that end, they regurgitate every snippet of gossip and...

I was just browsing around watching some of Reagan's 1980 GOP convention speech. An excellent address, by the way. Anyway, as he was nearing the end, at around 5 seconds in to this clip, I noticed the camera panned back to show some of the people on the platform, and you can see Bush41 and Bar behind him. And then right behind 41 you can see a 34 yr old W and Laura. W looks like a cross between Sonny Corleone and Ron Burgundy. You can see Jeb next to Laura. I just thought it was amazing that in that...

Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), who lost his bid for re-nomination on Saturday, has not ruled out running as a write-in candidate for the Senate this fall. "I've made no decisions to make a decision," he said Tuesday when asked about his political future. Bennett would only say he'd make a decision "later." Such a decision would put his colleagues - who personally like Bennett but will only endorse a GOP candidate in the primary - in a tough position. "It's a little like going to your own funeral while you're still alive," the 76-year-old, three term senator said of his...

Polish president's body 'found' in crash wreckage - source 18:0510/04/2010 The body of Polish President Lech Kaczynski may have been found in the wreckage of the plane that crashed earlier on Saturday in western Russia, a highly-placed police source told RIA Novosti. Speaking from the scene of the clean-up operation, the source said however that "additional tests, including DNA," would be needed to identify many of the bodies. All 97 people on board died when a plane carrying Kaczynski, his wife, and a delegation of senior officials crashed in thick fog while attempting to land at Smolensk airport. Kaczynski was...

Here is how our suburban Congress members voted on the cap and trade bill: Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Highland Park: YES Rep. Melissa Bean, D-Barrington: YES Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Evanston: YES Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Wheaton: NO Rep. Bill Foster, D-Batavia Democrat: NO Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Hinsdale Republican: NO Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Rockford: NO

The Foreign Office mounted a fightback yesterday against allegations that Jack Straw and Colin Powell had expressed serious doubts about whether Baghdad possessed weapons of mass destruction before the start of the Iraq war. As Tony Blair faced allegations from a former Cabinet colleague that he had "duped" the British people over Saddam Hussein's weapons capabilities, the Foreign Office issued a detailed rebuttal of allegations, made in the Guardian newspaper, that were seized on by news media around the world. The paper said Mr Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and Mr Powell, his United States counterpart, had privately expressed serious doubts...

<p>Congressman McCotter was interviewed this morning on FOX regarding the GM pre-programmed bankruptcy. I was interested that learn that GM car manufacturing will be moved to China, where impressive vehicles like Le Car! will be made and then shipped-back to the US for purchase by reluctant consumers. McCotter noted that not only is this bankruptcy a gift to the UAW, but also a victory for the EnviroNazis who will at last force Americans to buy the small, dangerous, lawnmowers-with-4- seats they have demanded for years.</p>

President Bush is unhappy the conversation between him and President-elect Barack Obama has been cast as a trade-off between Bush signing a second stimulus package in exchange for congressional passage of the Colombia Free Trade Deal, administration officials told FOX News on Tuesday.

Aides blast accusations, not from Mitt camp By Dave Wedge Saturday, November 8, 2008 - Mitt Romney’s camp is firing back at reports his foot soldiers are behind a brutal smear campaign against Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a backdoor strategy to position the former Bay State governor for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. “It’s a completely absurd allegation that is totally divorced from the truth,” Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said. Fox News, the New York Times [NYT] and Newsweek have reported on a host of criticisms of Palin, including that she threw tantrums that made staffers cry and didn’t...

Last night, CNN's Campbell Brown had this to say about the attacks on Sarah Palin: "I find it so stunning that the very people who introduced us to Sarah Palin, who told us she would make a great Vice President, have now turned on her with a vengeance..."Yes, that does sound "stunning." So stunning, in fact, that it is unbelievable. ... How do I know the attacks on Palin are a calculated preemptive strike from supporters of a potential 2012 Palin foe -- not from a McCain loyalist? Aside from my personal knowledge that some of this stuff (not necessarily...

Frankly, I could care less that Powell chose to endorse Obama for the presidency. However, I find his logic and reasoning for doing so very weak. It is like he tried to find a better answer than that Obama is the black guy, but couldn't. And, Powell is quick to point out that he greatly respects McCain and knows that he has disappointed a long-time friend by making this endorsement. Sounds like Powell is conflicted about the endorsement, right? Well, my biggest problem with the whole thing is the timing of his announcement. If he really respected McCain as he...

ISG moves from consensus to conflictBy DANIEL LIBIT 4/22/08 4:32 AM EST In December 2006, in an effort to build a national consensus on a “new way forward in Iraq,” the Iraq Study Group painted itself as a portrait of bipartisan chumminess, with all political hackery checked at the door. Sixteen months later, seven of the 10 ISG members are backing presidential candidates with radically different views about how to proceed in Iraq. Republicans James Baker, Lawrence Eagleburger and Ed Meese are supporting Sen. John McCain, who argues that the United States should be sending more troops to Iraq. Democrats...

"I am a proud conservative liberal Republican." http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4363279

WARNING TO CONSERVATIVES!!! When the AP quotes Open Borders moll Tamar Jacoby, Arlen Specter, RINO/Bushie/McCainite Charlie Black as saying McCain is "looking strong" or good on immigration" and no conservatives or anti-Invasion advocates or experts are quoted in the [following] story, you know the fix is in! McCain is on a major media effort to try to make conservatives like him enough to vote for him and he knows he's in deep trouble. So he's going to try to pull the wool over our eyes by saying he's going to get tough on the Border--if elected. What he WON'T discuss...

Florida Sen. Mel Martinez will endorse John McCain on Friday, The Associated Press has learned, a move likely to give the Republican presidential candidate a crucial boost with the state's Cuban-Americans just days before the primary. The decision is a blow to Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor in a close fight with McCain for support of voters in the Cuban-American community _ and to keep his candidacy alive. Two Republican officials disclosed the upcoming endorsement on the condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting the announcement. As recently as Thursday night, Martinez indicated he would remain neutral in the...

Senator John McCain’s ascendancy in the Republican presidential race has been truly remarkable. Yet, it’s no groundswell. To this point, about two out of every three primary and caucus participants have voted against him. If the Democrats and independents some states permit to crash the Grand Old Party were factored out, his standing in the Republican base would be even less impressive. Still, you have to hand it to his admirers: They have parlayed his thin support into an aura of inevitability. The glow could intensify this week, when McCain is likely, finally, to rack up some more impressive numbers...

Arizona senator says GOP rhetoric 'not helpful' WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Thursday he did not believe Democratic candidate John Kerry, a friend and Senate colleague, was weak on defense or would compromise national security if elected president. “This kind of rhetoric, I think, is not helpful in educating and helping the American people make a choice,” McCain said on “The Early Show” on CBS. “You know, it’s the most bitter and partisan campaign that I’ve ever observed. I think it’s because both parties are going to their bases rather than going to the middle. I regret it.”...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush pledged Sunday to assist Sen. John McCain's campaign for the presidency assuming he wins the Republican Party nomination -- but acknowledged that the Arizona senator has "got some convincing to do" among the party's conservatives. In an interview with "Fox News Sunday" at his retreat at Camp David, Md., Bush was careful to note that two Republicans are still competing for the nomination, and he did not express a preference. But Bush made clear that he was willing to set aside the tensions he has had with McCain in the past, and he praised the front-runner...

Less then a week after saying he has heard the American people regarding illegal immigration and their opposition to the McCain-Kennedy Pro-Amnesty bill, John McCain would still SIGN THE BILL into law if he was President and it came across his desk: (VIDEO) This explains his receiving the endorsement of fellow Pro-Amnestians, Senator Mel Martinez, (who almost single-handedly bankrupted the RNC with his support of the bill), the NY Times, Florida Governor Charlie Crist and of the Mexico-first pro-amnesty open borders advocate Dr. Juan Hernandez. “My friends", let me give you some “straight talk", a vote for John McCain is...

A funny thing happened to a pro-illegal immigrant activist this week in Dallas, Texas. The activist, a League of United Latin American Citizens representative named Jesse Diaz, was carjacked. Obviously there’s nothing funny about someone sticking a gun in another person’s face and stealing his car. This isn’t funny as in hardy-har-har. And everyone is relieved that Mr. Diaz wasn’t hurt by the punk who threatened his life and stole his vehicle in broad daylight. But the amusing part of this crime is what happened afterward. It seems that Mr. Diaz is plenty steamed that it took the Dallas Police...

Four Republican Senators who have betrayed America are up for re-election. It is imperative that all Americans do everything we possibly can to ensure that they are not re-nominated. Three of these Senators come from preposterously red states, so we do not need fear that any controversy within the Republican party will cause their seats to go Democratic. The traitors are: Robert Bennett (UT) Not up for election LARRY CRAIG. Idaho's Senate is comprised of 28 Republicans and only 7 Democrats; the House has 51 Republicans and 19 Democrats. Bush won by 40 points, twice. Clinton got only 34%. LINDSAY...

As an everyday citizen of the United States, what are your realistic options when you believe your country to be in a death spiral from which it almost assuredly won’t recover? If you are an American who still deeply believes in the promise of our republic, how can you fight back against those from within, intent on destroying everything you hold sacred by subverting traditional family values, western civilization, national security, and just plain commonsense? Shockingly, maybe you can’t. I’m told it’s basically too late to save the nation that represents the last best hope for mankind. Six months ago,...

WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator Judd Gregg today joined 63 of his colleagues in supporting a motion to proceed to debate on S.1639, a comprehensive immigration reform package. Senator Gregg stated, “Today I voted in support of debating immigration reform, one of the biggest issues facing our country. The bill in its present form needs to be fixed, but so does our immigration system. There is no way to improve this bill if we refuse to take it up and debate it. “It is a known fact that our current immigration laws and procedures are not working. Our borders are porous and...

A spokeman for the Bush administration sent an e-mail to Jim Robinson and myself confirming the authenticity of a post on Free Republic this afternoon regarding the immigration bill currently before the Senate as having been posted on behalf of the White House.The spokesman, Nicholas Thompson, works for the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives. The Politico reported yesterday that Thompson and Kerrie Rushton, associate directors in the Office of Strategic Initiatives who work under Karl Rove, would be engaging the blogosphere on the immigration bill.Thompson's post is on the thread titled Penalty Mitigation in the Immigration Reform Bill, a...

RUSH: I was going to call in to the show on Friday and do some minor gloating and take a little credit here for the immigration bill being pulled, but right about the time I hit my third birdie on the front nine I said, "To hell with it, I'm going to keep playing golf." Besides, in all candor, it's not dead. It's still on life support. The president's going to meet with some people: Congress, GOP, probably Ted Kennedy, too, sometime tomorrow. It may even go up to the Capitol. The original meeting was supposed to be lunch at...

The issue of illegal immigration has been a red-hot topic in my hometown community of Newport Beach/Costa Mesa, Orange County, Southern California. Sincere and heart-felt arguments have been made on both sides of the issue. However, many of those who write letters to the local paper in support of illegal immigration make it sound like Costa Mesa is the only place in the nation whose people favor the enforcement of our immigration laws. They suggest that those elected officials supporting these laws are just a small local band guilty of meanness, bigotry, and racism. Nothing could be further from the...

"At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? "I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide." So said Abe Lincoln to the Young Men's Lyceum in Springfield. Observing the Senate last week, and looking over the latest figures from the Census Bureau, America is now risking national suicide. Last week, senators meeting in secret produced a bill to...

Subject: FW: Isakson Optimistic Over Bipartisan Effort to Reach Compromise on Immigration >Date: Thursday, May 17, 2007 5:48 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, May 17, 2007 Isakson Optimistic Over Bipartisan Effort to Reach Compromise on Immigration Says Final Bill Must Secure Borders First, Prohibit New Pathway to Citizenship WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today expressed optimism over a bipartisan effort to reach a compromise on immigration legislation and again reiterated that any immigration reform bill must achieve two key principles at minimum: Require that the first step of comprehensive reform be to secure the U.S. borders and offer...

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told The Politico that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign, becoming the most prominent Republican to desert the White House over the bungled firing of U.S. attorneys. The call from McCain, one of the leading Republican candidates for the White House, adds to excruciating pressure on President Bush, who has said he continues to support his beleaguered attorney general. The senator disclosed his view as his Straight Talk Express luxury bus rumbled away from the second stop on his announcement tour, a rally held in the pouring rain in a park in New...

The head of the nation's largest teacher union hailed a summit meeting for clergy and educators initiated by the Baptist Center for Ethics an historic first step toward building bridges between public schools and people of faith...."Many of you in your pulpits, sometimes your greatest detractors may be your board of trustees or your deacons," Weaver addressed ministers. "What we are saying is if in fact we can help you, select some of us to be on your deacon board or trustee board. We will solicit you, perhaps, to run for school board. We will solicit you to help with...

Muslims For A Safe America conducted a survey at the Islamic Society of North America’s 43rd Annual Convention in Chicago from September 1, 2006 to September 4, 2006. 307 Muslims who are American citizens participated in the survey at the Muslims For A Safe America booth at ISNA. The purpose of the survey was to better understand the views of American Muslims on issues relating to Islam, Muslims, and American national security. It is important to let Muslims articulate their varied opinions on these issues in order to encourage dialogue within the Muslim community and with the rest of American...

Ahead of what is now certain to be a contentious meeting with President Bush today, President Chirac of France reneged on his previous support for a united international approach to halting Iran's nuclear program. In two interviews on the eve of his trip to Turtle Bay to attend the U.N. General Assembly, Mr. Chirac threatened to restart negotiations with Iran. His comments called into question the united position of the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany, whose foreign ministers had said that unless Iran suspended enrichment by the end of August, the council would consider punitive measures....

PARIS - The nations of the world joined Monday in solemn remembrance of Sept. 11 — but for many, resentment of the United States flowed as readily as tears. Critics say Americans have squandered the goodwill that prompted France's Le Monde newspaper to proclaim "We are all Americans" that somber day after the attacks, and that the Iraq war and other U.S. policies have made the world less safe in the five years since. Heads bowed in moments of silence for the 3,000 killed in the attacks on New York and Washington — while the No. 2 al-Qaida leader issued...

HARTFORD, Conn. --Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont, who recently denounced U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman for his public scolding of President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair, lauded the senator at the time for his eloquence and "moral authority." Lieberman's Senate office this week released copies of a letter that Lamont sent by e-mail to the senator shortly after Lieberman took to the Senate floor to chide Clinton in September 1998. "I supported your statement because Clinton's behavior was outrageous: a Democrat had to stand up and state as much, and I hoped that your statement was the beginning of the...

It happened again this week. I came out of the office to find a flyer under my windshield wipers inviting me to a special informational presentation on God and family values, and how to bring them back to the forefront in America. I'm a parent, so the flyer caught my interest. But as an analyst for the Northeast Intelligence Network, my eyes were riveted to the address on the flyer: The session was being held at a nearby mosque. Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided it would be a good time for some onsite investigations of the...

ON WEDNESDAY, June 7, U.S. military forces, in President Bush's words, "delivered justice to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq," Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Before considering the possible implications for the war in Iraq and the global struggle against terror, we should pause to celebrate so striking an instance of injustice avenged, and justice vindicated. The unjust--even the barbarically unjust--prevail all too often in this world. It is good for civilized people to see, as Marshall Wittmann put it, that "evil has suffered a setback." In the blunt words of Paul Bigley of the United Kingdom, whose brother Ken was...

NZ deports man with links to 9/11 Saturday Jun 10 07:30 AEST The New Zealand government is expected to confirm a Saudi Arabian man linked with a September 11 hijack pilot has been deported from the country because he was a security threat. The man spent four months in New Zealand before being expelled as a national security risk, the Weekend Herald reports. The paper said the American-qualified pilot, Rayed Mohammed Abdullah Ali, 28, came into New Zealand in February on a student visa, saying his dream was to become a commercial airline pilot and he needed an English language...

BERLIN (Reuters) - The killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi removes the man who took Iraq's insurgency to new heights of savagery but it also creates a martyr whose inspiration will mobilize new recruits. Arab and Western security analysts were agreed on Thursday that Zarqawi's death in a U.S. air raid would not end the insurgency, even if it represents a rare triumph in Iraq for the Bush administration. "There will be people that will be mobilized to join the caravan of martyrs, to emulate his example and to honor him," said Magnus Ranstorp, an al Qaeda expert at the Swedish...

There's growing support for President Bush on the hot-button issue of immigration, according to a CBS News poll. Most Americans say they approve of the immigration reform proposals the president outlined in a nationally televised address earlier this week. They're also somewhat optimistic that Congress will pass an immigration bill by year’s end. Sixty-two percent favor the president's plan to station up to 6,000 National Guard troops at the U.S.-Mexico border, while 32 percent are opposed. Six in 10 also approve of Mr. Bush's proposal for a guest worker program, which would let foreign workers stay in the United States...

Prevarication by the Pakistani government cost America the chance to kill Osama bin Laden in an airstrike near the Afghan border two years ago, the Sunday Telegraph has been told. A CIA lead that the al-Qaeda leader was hiding in a remote province was squandered because the Pakistani government delayed giving permission for the attack on its soil, according to a senior Western diplomat. By the time US officials got the go-ahead, bin Laden had left the suspected hideout in Zhob, in the Baluchistan province of south-west Pakistan. The near-miss was cited by the diplomat as the reason why America...

SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO: Defense Ministry “Selling Arms to Iraq” 2005-09-28 14:30:03 Hundreds of cases of ammunition and weapons produced by the Serbian Zastava factory in Kragujevac are being flown each week from Podgorica to Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries, Podgorica daily Dan claims. According to the report the consignments include Kalashnikov assault rifles, hand grenades and ammunition. All are loaded into Russian Tupolev aircraft at Podgorica’s Golubovci airport after being shipped from the central Serbian state-owned factory to Montenegro in trucks with licence plates from the Serbian city of Cacak. Montenegrin police secure a hundred-metr perimeter around the aircraft...

Former members of the Russian military have been secretly helping Iran to acquire technology needed to produce missiles capable of striking European capitals. The Russians are acting as go-betweens with North Korea as part of a multi-million pound deal they negotiated between Teheran and Pyongyang in 2003. It has enabled Teheran to receive regular clandestine shipments of top secret missile technology, believed to be channelled through Russia. Western intelligence officials believe that the technology will enable Iran to complete development of a missile with a range of 2,200 miles, capable of hitting much of Europe. It is designed to carry...