Free Republic

I am not sure when I first detected the noxious fumes that would envelop the conservative movement in the Obama era. It might have been early on, in April 2009, when I visited a series of gun shows in rural California and Nevada. Perusing tables piled high with high-caliber semi-automatic weapons and chatting with anyone in my vicinity, I heard urgent warnings of mass roundups, concentration camps, and a socialist government in Washington. “These people that are purchasing these guns are people that are worried about what’s going on in this country,” a gun dealer told me outside a show...

NEW YORK -- President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi were voted the most stylish politicians, according to Weatherproof's Substance vs. Style poll. Close to 18,000 people voted on the Style vs. Substance poll which was published on Huffington Post's Style section from August 2nd through August 8th. "I am not totally surprised by the results of this survey," said Eliot Peyser, CEO of Weatherproof. "We knew that President Barack Obama would top the most stylish list, because he is fan of Weatherproof jackets, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has undoubtedly become a style icon...

Boom. Boom. Boom. Can you hear it? It’s the drumbeat for war. And it’s beating louder by the day. Boom. Boom. Boom. Eleven United States and one Israeli warships pass through the Suez Canal. Boom. Boom. Boom. Former CIA Chief Michael Hayden says a United States military strike against Iran “seems inexorable” because diplomacy is failing. Boom. Boom. Boom. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen says the U.S. military has a plan to attack Iran. Boom. Boom. Boom. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives last week introduced Resolution 1553 which would give Israel the go-ahead to attack Iran....

Who could have imagined that the bailout of the auto industry, one of the single most unpopular moves by the Obama administration, would become one of its best talking points? But don't for an instant imagine that the comeback of the nation's rescued car companies, particularly General Motors, will change the way we debate government's role in the economy. When it comes to almost anything the government does, ideology trumps facts, slogans trump reality, and loaded words ("socialism") trump data. Let there be no mistake: Rescuing GM and Chrysler took political courage, and I want to put in a good...

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Vice President Joe Biden landed Saturday on what appeared to be a dual mission in Baghdad: to visit U.S. troops during the July Fourth weekend and coax Iraqi leaders into ending their government impasse. Top Obama administration officials have been reluctant to visit Iraq since its deadlocked March election failed to produce a clear winner. Biden's trip may signal the U.S. is stepping up its efforts to hammer out an agreement among Iraqi political rivals and get a new government in place as soon as possible.

After a long day’s work, the junk scientist needed some hot second chakra action.Byron York at The Washington Examiner reported, via Ace: The police report of the masseuse’s complaint is 73 pages long and extremely detailed. According to the document, she got a call from the front desk of the trendy Hotel Lucia on the night of Oct. 24, 2006. The hotel had a special guest. Could she come at 10:30 p.m.? She went to Gore’s room carrying a folding massage table and other equipment. Gore, whom she had never met, greeted her with a warm embrace. “The hug went...

Barack Obama is setting a record-setting number of records during his first year in office. Largest budget ever. Largest deficit ever. Largest number of broken promises ever. Most self-serving speeches ever. Largest number of agenda-setting failures ever. Fastest dive in popularity ever. Wow! Talk about change. Just one year ago. fresh from his inauguration celebrations. President Obama was flying high. After one of the nation's most inspiring political campaigns, the election of America's first black president had captured the hopes and dreams of millions. To his devout followers, it was inconceivable that a year later his administration would be gripped...

My magic wand is on the fritz, otherwise we'd have a big, new federal program to free America from its dependence on oil. Like other environmentalists, I'm sad that the calamity in the Gulf of Mexico hasn't spurred Washington to more vigorously promote America's exit from thiscurse. The fault may lie with President Obama's timidity, a public scared by major new government programs or fossil-fuel interests flashing their campaign dough. Probably it's all three, but the bottom line is this: An all-out effort to unchain America from hydrocarbons is essential to national security, a healthy environment and economic prosperity in...

Since the shooting, the 2-year-old Rogucki twins have awakened each morning crying out for their murdered mother. "They wake up ... saying, 'Mommy!'" their 19-year-old brother, Lorenzo Rogucki, reported. "I hear them screaming my mother's name." The twins were still sleeping at 10:30 a.m. Monday and not a sound came from the family's first-floor apartment in Coney Island as I spoke outside with the oldest of Victoria Rogucki's seven children. "They know, but they don't know know," Lorenzo said of the twins. "They know their mother is not there in the morning." To the right of the door stood a...

Family, marriage and the contribution of fathers come together as topics for reflection on Father's Day. So I'd like to know why Barack Obama, a husband and a father in a family structure that encompasses bonds deemed essential to our society, is constantly and savagely attacked by conservative leaders whose personal circumstances undermine the family values they espouse?.......

Logan Lacy attempting squat at Sr. Nationals in Chicago. During the squat he projectile vomits on the head judge and then passed out. Let it be noted that he also went for a third attempt after this happened. VIDEO

As our governments have always done, when faced with the choice between several bad alternatives, the Netanyahu government chose the worst. Anyone who followed the preparations as reported in the media could have foreseen that they would lead to people being killed and injured. One does not storm a Turkish ship and expect cute little girls to present one with flowers. The Turks are not known as people who give in easily. By Uri Avnery On the high seas, outside territorial waters, the ship was stopped by the navy. The commandos stormed it. Hundreds of people on the deck resisted,...

Jeb Bush -- who was always derisively referred to as the smartest of the Bush brothers -- seemed presidential at the state Republican convention at the Sheraton New York on Wednesday night. After Fox News pundit Monica Crowley fired up the crowd and Mayor Bloomberg drew surprisingly enthusiastic applause considering he left the GOP, Jeb spoke and brought down the house, leading to speculation that the former Florida governor will run for president. Overhead from a top GOPer: "After this Obama nightmare, the Bush brand is looking pretty good."

Washington (CNN) -- The United States was identified Wednesday as the world's No. 1 user of targeted killings -- largely as a result of its dependence on unmanned drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A report released by the United Nations called the drone attacks part of a "strongly asserted but ill-defined license to kill without accountability" and warned that they are contributing to an erosion of longstanding international rules governing warfare. It urged states to identify publicly the rules of international law believed to provide a basis for any attempted targeted killings as well as the rationale for deciding...

Chicago pool report #1 By Anne E. Kornblut White House Correspondent The Washington Post Shortly after takeoff, a surprise gaggle on Air Force One: with Bo, the presidential dog. His owner was just a few steps behind. President Obama watched and smiled as Bo ran down the aisle past a throng of cooing reporters. Obama cracked the old joke about needing a dog in Washington - since there's no such thing as a real friend. Someone told him that Bo had been spotted at the airport interacting with his bomb-sniffing relatives. "I didn't want him getting into it with the...

With Memorial Day bearing down on us, we thought it the right time to salute those brave sci-fi soldiers who've fought so hard for the betterment of the sci-fi universe. The tribute begins below!

San Diego, California (CNN) -- Don't be surprised if, any day now, you read that the People's Republic of Arizona is in the market for nuclear warheads to put an end, once and for all, to illegal immigration on its southern border. After all, it's the next logical step for the rogue state.

It was not Palin's fault that she was woefully unprepared to be the Republican vice presidential nominee. For that one, blame the petulant, impetuous John McCain. But Palin has had ample time now, outside the crash course of a presidential campaign, to develop and exhibit some understanding of the issues. Her learning curve, from all the available evidence, is a flat line. Three unattractive Palin traits have, if anything, been amplified since the election: her unwillingness to buckle down and do the necessary preparation; her tendency to adopt what McCain adviser Steve Schmidt described as a "down is up and...

World and U.S. stock markets are slumping badly as intensified systemic risks from the Greek and European debt-default contagion continue to spread. Disciplinarian markets of stocks, bonds, gold, and currencies are signaling the inadequacy of European Union rescue plans and the global fear that economic recovery will be blunted. Europe is the main source of the current upheaval. Specifically, the biggest issue right now is short-term funding. Key funding risk indicators, such as LIBOR and various short-term swap spreads, are showing credit and liquidity stress in Europe. Interbank funding looks increasingly sloppy and worrisome. These are dangerous market signals. The...

"The last thing we want in this country is an individual like J.D. Hayworth in the Congress who is full of racism, will talk forever, and use every means to push his hate. So, in that sense, Senator McCain should beat him and beat him handily. Then, I think, turning back that type of person with the issue is being run against McCain — even with McCain on that side of the spectrum, will be a good sign for the future."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is so unpopular in some places that she often avoids public appearances. During a recent House recess, she hopscotched across the country, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars at closed-door fundraisers, turning up in public only at the White House and in her hometown of San Francisco. But under the Capitol dome, Pelosi is a towering figure, perhaps even a historic one. Capped by her central role in passing the landmark health-care bill in March, the California Democrat, 70, has transformed herself from the caricature of a millionaire liberal with impeccable fashion taste into a speaker...

Open carry advocates, as a gun rights subgroup, are the continuing negligent political discharge of the shooting community. Their disastrous nationwide campaign to normalize the open carrying of firearms alienates Americans from coast to coast, even among those who champion the concealed carry of weapons. You only need to look at examples of the media incompetence of these groups in the past year to understand how this theoretically pro-gun movement has managed to cause the public to recoil in horror and actually set the movement back on its heels. It is enough to make you wonder if the group isn’t...

NYT MONDAY: Obama in 'sustained and widening' outreach effort to Muslim and Arab-Americans... Developing...

It started the moment we passed health care reform. Mitt Romney said, "the act should be repealed" and Michael Steele announced that Republicans would make "every effort" to do so. Yesterday, Rep. John Boehner said that it's still their "number one priority." But now we're learning that their ambitions don't stop there. Last week, Newt Gingrich promised a conference of conservatives and tea partiers that Republicans "will repeal virtually everything" passed by Congressional Democrats and President Obama. That's the new goal for the GOP -- win this fall, then roll back all that we've accomplished. This is the next phase...

Disappointment as US high school students snub 'lesbian-friendly prom' Senior prom fell far short of the rite of passage Constance McMillen was hoping for when she began a legal battle to challenge a ban on same-sex dates. Published: 7:00AM BST 07 Apr 2010 Constance McMillen Photo: AP The 18-year-old lesbian student said that she was one of only seven students to show up at a private party chaperoned by school officials. She said the rest of her peers went to another private event where she wasn't invited. "It was not the prom I imagined," she said. "It really hurts my...

DES MOINES — There was no doubt about the sentiments of many of those at author Mitt Romney’s book-signing at the Des Moines Public Library Monday. “I’d be interested if he ran” for president again, Scott Newland of Des Moines said as he thumbed through Romney’s “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.” Among those waving Romney campaign-like signs and wearing Romney t-shirts, Shirley Woodruff was more direct about wanting to see the former Massachusetts governor make another run for the Republican nomination. “He’s at least honest,” she said, displaying a photo of herself and Romney’s wife, Ann. “He has...

WASHINGTON – Claiming a historic triumph that could define his presidency, a jubilant Barack Obama signed a massive, nearly $1 trillion health care overhaul on Tuesday that will for the first time cement insurance coverage as the right of every U.S. citizen and begin to reshape the way virtually all Americans receive and pay for treatment. After more than a year of hyperpartisan struggle — and numerous near-death moments for the measure — Obama declared "a new season in America" as he sealed a victory denied to a line of presidents stretching back more than half a century. Democratic lawmakers...

WASHINGTON – A beaming President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed a historic $938 billion health care overhaul that guarantees coverage for 32 million uninsured Americans and will touch nearly every citizen's life, presiding over the biggest shift in U.S. domestic policy since the 1960s and capping a divisive, yearlong debate that could define the November elections. Celebrating "a new season in America" — the signature accomplishment of his White House so far and one denied to a line of presidents before him — Obama made the massive bill law with an East Room signing ceremony. He was joined by jubilant...

Just like last season, President Barack Obama is filling out a bracket for the men's tournament. This year though, he'll be submitting his predictions for the women's field, too. In an ESPN exclusive, President Barack Obama filled out his bracket predictions for the 2010 NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments with ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz and ESPN basketball analyst Doris Burke for air on ESPN's SportsCenter on Wednesday, March 17, at noon ET, and Friday, March 19, at 9 a.m., respectively [...] Said Katz, “After spending a few minutes with President Obama at the White House it was evident...

I’ve always been confused by Starbucks, the great American institution and symbol of yuppies and carefree consumerism. This is the place where the smallest cup of coffee is called a “Tall.” Depending on what you order, you can easily spend two or three bucks for a cup. In other words, it’s the sort of place with the kinds of products mocked by right-wing opponents of vegetarians, elitism and free-range chicken potpies. That's why I was surprised to learn that some gun-toting, Second Amendment-loving customers were sitting in Starbucks, sipping tea. At least 38 states allow people to walk around with...

When Sarah Palin was a little girl, her family crossed the border from Alaska into Canada for the quality health care they couldn't get back home. This was in the 1960s, when her parents boarded a train from rural, small-town Skagway, Alaska, and headed for capable doctors in Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon territory. How do we know this? Here's an excerpt from her speech, delivered last weekend in Calgary and reported by the Associated Press: "I remember my brother, he burned his ankle in some little-kid accident thing," Palin told the audience of 1,200, who paid $150 to...

Many people are worried that the health-care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats will fail to bend the "cost curve." A number of commentators are urging no votes because of this, and Republicans have asked the president to start health reform over, focusing squarely on the issue of cost reduction. These calls overlook the actual legislation. Over the past year of debate, 10 broad ideas have been offered for bending the health-care cost curve. The Democrats' proposed legislation incorporates virtually every one of them.

I’m definitely a Tea Party patriot, but I object to those tea partiers who lump together and object to both the Obama Stimulus bill (also known as the Porkulus bill) – and the TARP bill that went into effect near the end of the Bush Presidency. The TARP bill saved our banking and economic system from complete disaster. Without it all our dollar-denominated savings would have become worthless, and we would have had inflation reminiscent of third-world countries. Retirees like me would be selling apples, and unemployment would be at Great Depression levels. Bush’s two stimulus bills put cash directly...

It is early evening on Capitol Hill, and I am sitting with Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican, who, along with John Kerry and Joe Lieberman, is trying to craft a new energy bill — one that could actually win 60 votes. What is interesting about Graham is that he has been willing — courageously in my view — to depart from the prevailing G.O.P. consensus that the only energy policy we need is “drill, baby, drill.” What brought you around, I ask? Graham’s short answer: politics, jobs and legacy. We start with politics. The Republican Party today has...

Since 1900, global sea levels have crept upward about seven inches. Rising temperatures are melting glaciers and ice sheets, as well as warming the oceans directly, which causes them to expand. Various researchers have attributed only a portion of the rise in water level to carbon dioxide (CO2)released by human actions—and blamed the rest on natural factors such as solar activity. The latest study goes much further, faulting people for more than three-quarters of the sea-level change during the past century. Records of tide height have been kept for centuries at several seaports (Amsterdam since 1700, Liverpool since 1768, Stockholm...

Washington (CNN) - Another prominent Republican is lining up behind Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, in his primary fight against former Rep. J.D. Hayworth. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said Tuesday he is "proud" to support McCain, calling him "a leader of character, courage and principle." "Over the last year, the American people have taken a firm stand for smaller government and new pro-growth policies to create the jobs we so desperately need," McDonnell said in a statement. "These are the principles that Senator McCain fights for every day, and we need him now more than ever in the United States Senate."

Billboard has come up with a list of the 50 most popular songs about sex in time for Valentine's Day with each song given points according to its performance on the Billboard hot 100 chart from August 1958 until January this year. "Physical," released by Newton-John in 1981, topped the list after spending 10 weeks as No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. And while it certainly speaks to sex with lyrics such as "There's nothin' left to talk about, unless it's horizontally," the song became known as well-known as a track for aerobics classes in line with the...

"How's that hopey-changey stuff workin' out for ya?" Sarah Palin asked the anti-élitist Tea Party élites — those who could pay $549 for a ticket (liberal lies -tickets were acctually $349 to see Palin) gathered in suffocating self-righteousness at the Opryland Hotel on the first weekend of February. It was classic Palin, a brilliant line, brilliantly delivered: she does folksy far better than George W. Bush or any of the other Republican focus-group populists ever did. It was the signature line of her speech, which rocked the joint — and then, slowly, began to rock the national political community. The...

A nation takes off By Huma Yusuf Monday, 01 Feb, 2010 | 10:42 AM PST | Pakistani history can be charted through flights that have landed, crashed, shot down or hijacked on this nation’s tarmac. Urban theorist Michel de Certeau famously wrote that the only way to “see” New York City was from the 110th floor of the World Trade Center. At the city’s summit, lifted away from the hustle and bustle of the crowds, traffic, and street corners, one can start to make sense of the city’s complexities, he argued. From a bird’s eye view, the city becomes readable,...

(One Lawyer’s Campaign to Bring the President to Justice and the National Grassroots Movement She Encounters Along the Way) "Charlotte Dennett was a great writer before she was a great activist. Her campaign for attorney general of Vermont highlighted the importance of Americans stepping up at the local and state level to challenge executive lawlessness that went unaddressed by federal authorities. Her recounting of that campaign, and of this accountability activism, offers a timely reminder that the threat posed by an imperial presidency remains unaddressed. Even Americans who recognize that Barack Obama is a better executive than George Bush should...

Sen. John McCain announced Wednesday that his 2008 running mate, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, will campaign with him in Phoenix on March 26 as he bids for reelection to the Senate. Palin is scheduled to attend a private fundraising event that evening. The next day, she and McCain will appear together at a public event, likely a rally, according to McCain spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan. "I'm looking forward to getting back on the campaign trail with my former running mate, and I know my fellow Arizonans will welcome her, as well," McCain said in a statement. "Sarah energized our nation...

"The people are given new hope by the new spirit of the age."

WASHINGTON – Some economists think the nation will break a 23-month streak of job cuts and add to employment when the government issues the December labor report Friday. A majority of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters still think the economy shed jobs in December — a modest loss of 8,000. The unemployment rate is expected to rise to 10.1 percent from 10 percent. Even a slight gain in jobs, should it happen, won't be enough to lower the unemployment rate anytime soon. Nor would it restore many of the estimated 8 million jobs lost during the recession. The economy would...

Hi friends, I am always being asked to grade Obama's presidency. In place of offering him a grade, I put together a list of his accomplishments thus far. I think you would agree that it is very impressive.His first six months have been even more active than FDRs or LBJs the two standards for such assessments. Yet, there is little media attention given to much of what he has done. Of late, the media is focusing almost exclusively on Obama's critics, without holding them responsible for the uncivil, unconstructive tone of their disagreements or without holding the previous administration responsible...

TMZ is asking if Rush should live or die. Yes No

I AM a math teacher at Brockton High School, the site of a school shooting earlier this month. --------------------cut---------------------------- An alternative to lockdown is immediate exodus via announcement. Although this removes potential hostages and makes it nearly impossible for the shooter to acquire preselected targets, it unfairly rewards resourceful children who move to safety off-site more shrewdly and efficiently than others. Schools should level playing fields, not intrinsically reward those more resourceful. A level barrel is fair to all fish. -------------------------------cut------------------------ But as a progressive, I would sooner lay my child to rest than succumb to the belief that the...

Cannon to the left of him, cannon to the right of him, cannon in front of him volley and thunder. That's our president's position on the political battlefield now, taking it from all sides. And the odd thing, the unique thing in terms of modern political history, is that no one really defends him, no one holds high his flag. When was the last time you put on the radio or TV and heard someone say "Open line Friday—we're talking about what it is we like best about Barack Obama!" When did you last see a cable talking head say,...

SALT LAKE CITY - Over the course of two weeks, Utah Republicans had the chance to see the two most talked-about potential presidential candidates in their party. Mitt Romney attended an event for ADX security systems and Sarah Palin visited to sign her bestselling book. The Utahpolicy.com, Fox 13 Insider Poll finds that Mitt Romney is taken far more seriously as a potential presidential candidate. 53.5 percent of Republicans say they expect Romney to be the Republican party candidate to face Barack Obama. 31.3 percent of Democrats think Romney will be the candidate. Only 4.7 percent of Republicans and 6.3...

“Barack Obama as a person is a fantastic individual, but Barack Obama as an idea marks an evolutionary flash point for humanity,” gushed actor Will Smith, who will co-host Friday's Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo. His idealization of Obama came during a recorded interview, from Norway, with CNN's Dan Lothian run shortly before 5 PM EST on Thursday's The Situation Room. Asked if Obama had really earned the peace prize, Smith's wife, actress Jada Pickett Smith who will co-host the concert with her husband, insisted: “All I can say is that our President has opened his arms to the...