Free Republic

Given the ideological bedlam often seen even within individual Jewish organizations, just imagine trying to get an entire community of Jewish organizations together to sign a several-paragraphs-long statement reflecting a single position -- and to do that within a matter of weeks. That miracle almost happened recently, when the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia gathered practically every Jewish organization in the Philadelphia community to send a message of strong disapproval to an anti-Israel coalition known as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which is holding a three-day conference at the University of Pennsylvania on February 3-5. But the "almost"...

What do the administrators at the University of Pennsylvania know about the 2012 National Conference of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement about to take place at Penn and when did they know it? “BDS,” as this virulent anti-Israeli hatefest is commonly called, is coming to the Penn campus on February 3-5, but university officials have hid from the implications of hosting such an event. They say that the university is on record as not supporting this movement, yet they let the event go forward, providing space and possibly funding, despite the fact that the sponsors may not meet school...

There's a curious thing going on in the GOP primary race for the presidential nomination. A few people have remarked on it, but mostly it's gone unnoticed. When looked at from a historical viewpoint, it's remarkable, but when looked at in specific, it's normal. It confirms what we pretty much already knew. Where's George W. Bush? The most recent ex-president is usually perceived to be a power broker in his party. His opinion is sought; his endorsement is desired. He works behind the scenes to promote one candidate or another. Bill Clinton, although leaving office under a cloud (a cloud...

An 85-year-old Long Island grandmother says she plans to sue the TSA after a humiliating strip search on Tuesday by agents at JFK Airport. Lenore Zimmerman, who lives in Long Beach, says she was on her way to a 1 p.m. flight to Fort Lauderdale when security whisked her to a private room and took off her clothes. “I walk with a walker — I really look like a terrorist,” she said sarcastically. “I’m tiny. I weigh 110 pounds, 107 without clothes, and I was strip-searched.” TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said a review of closed circuit TV footage from the...

In January 1981 the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Summit meeting in Mecca declared that, "Palestine should be viewed as the paramount issue of Muslim nations." Since then Europe hastened to adopt this path as well and has provided for the Palestinization of the cultural, social and above all political life of Europe. For three decades, Europe obeyed the OIC in a servile manner. The EU has effectively created a major problem for itself that is eating away and destroying it. The EU made Palestine the hub of its international policy, transforming it into a symbol of peace and...

When Gov. Sarah Palin was deciding whether or not to get into the presidential race, Karl Rove was popping up on Fox News to talk about why her skin was too thin for the job. And when Gov. Rick Perry was thinking about his entrance into the race, Rove was Johnny-on-the-spot with reasons why a Perry candidacy would not be viable either. Now Rove’s moved on to Herman Cain, whose candidacy he’s doing all he can to sink, sidetrack, or On Fox News this past Monday, Rove did his best Mr. Rogers imitation by holding up a small dry-erase board...

Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has warned Washington to "think 10 times" before launching any unilateral offensive in the restive North Waziristan tribal region even as an angry and frustrated US is lining up its artillery on the Afghan border facing Pakistan. The Obama administration is also initiating fresh diplomatic efforts to persuade Pakistan to reel back its "self-destructive" policy of seeking strategic depth through terrorism before more aggressive military action. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton is heading for Islamabad this weekend in a trip that is officially secret but is being discussed animatedly in diplomatic circles...

DALLAS (AP) — George W. Bush says that after eight years in the White House, he's happy to be back home in Texas and out of the spotlight. But the former commander-in-chief tells The Associated Press there's one aspect of his presidency he still misses: interaction with U.S. troops. And Bush, who sent them to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, says that despite his desire to remain largely out of the public eye, he wants to make sure veterans and military members know they still have his support. "I was a little concerned that our veterans don't think that I...

On this solemn commemorative day, we at NewsBusters have made a point of holding our rhetorical fire against liberals as a gesture of respect to those who lost their lives that day and subsequently. There is much we could say and, starting tomorrow, will say. An exception has to be made though for one Paul Krugman, who seems, earlier life, to have been a decent and civilized person. Since he began writing a column for the New York Times, however, Krugman has experienced a veritable descent into madness, principally due to Bush Derangement Syndrome. Today, Krugman decided to proudly parade...

GW Bush at Flight 93 Memorial: "Evil Is Real, So Is Courage" The best speech W has ever given in MHO. Watch here.

President Obama upset a lot of supporters soon after taking office when he declared that it was time to look forward, not backward, so there would be no investigation of Bush administration officials who allegedly approved illegal wiretapping, kidnapping and torture. Now a former member of Obama's transition team has told a Bay Area audience that one reason for the decision was concern that a wide-ranging probe could infuriate leaders of the military and the CIA. Christopher Edley, now the law school dean at UC Berkeley, was speaking at a panel at the school Sept. 2 when someone brought up...

Senate Republicans were irate at Goodwin Liu's opposition to President George W. Bush's Supreme Court candidates. Imagine their indignation if they'd known that Liu had a hand in a Supreme Court opinion that, if it had prevailed, might have kept Bush out of the White House. The information comes from Herma Hill Kay, a law school colleague of Liu's at UC Berkeley. She wrote to the state Commission on Judicial Appointments in support of Gov. Jerry Brown's nomination of Liu to the California Supreme Court, after President Obama's choice of the 40-year-old academic for a federal appeals court seat in...

The following is a transcript of "The Tom Joyner Morning Show's" interview with President Barack Obama, which aired Tuesday morning. TOM JOYNER: Yeah, it is slow and frustrating. And a lot of people are voicing their opinion about how frustrating it is for us in the black community and the unemployment rate being almost twice as much what the general market employment rate is. I understand. I understand people complaining, but I don't agree with people who are trying to - black people, black leaders who are trying to make you look bad, as if this is all your fault....

Link only, per FR posting rules

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Friday, adding to the two-week slump as investors continued to sell, spooked by the prospect of another recession. At 0900 GMT, futures for the S&P 500 down 0.48 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.7 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.35 percent. Investors braced for the all-important U.S. monthly non-farm payrolls as well as the unemployment rate, due at 1230 GMT on Friday, seeking more insight on the extent of the damage in the labor market following a string of bleak macroeconomic data. Economists see payrolls up by...

In what critics call a classic case of the government working at cross purposes, Washington is forcing residents across the country to install mercury lighting inside their homes while phasing out mercury lighting outside homes to protect the environment. Yes, you read that right. In 2005, Congress passed a law banning mercury vapor streetlights – two years before it banned incandescent light bulbs in favor of mercury vapor compact florescent bulbs. Under the Energy Policy Act, signed by President Bush in August 2005, manufacturers cannot make or import ballasts for mercury vapor lights after Jan. 1, 2008. According to the...

(How do you know Rick Perry’s lying? Well, you know the joke. Watch his lips move and see who he remind you of.)  They say first impressions are lasting ones. And if you’ve been following my comments on the potential 2012 Republicans presidential field, you know that my first impression of most of them is that they are either boobs or frauds.There is one contender who does not meet that definition. Texas Congressman Ron Paul is neither a boob nor a fraud. He’s the only Republican in the field who has been a consistent adherent to the constitution during his entire political...

It’s common these days to hear media talking heads refer to Michele Bachmann as the “Tea Party favorite” in the upcoming 2012 GOP primary race. Unlike Governor Palin who has always stated that the Tea Party doesn’t need one specific leader, Bachmann has tried to cast herself into such a role. She created a “Tea Party Caucus” in congress and gave the “Tea Party response” following Obama’s State of the Union Address last January. The Tea Party is comprised mainly of independent-minded small government activists who are sick and tired of the way Washington is operating. These are people who...

Much has been written about Michele Bachmann's lack of any executive experience and the crippling disability it poses for her campaign for the GOP nomination and for the Presidency. But candidates with no executive experience have won the Presidency before. Both JFK and Obama come to mind. It is true that no GOP nominee in well over 100 years has lacked executive experience. (Even Senator Warren Harding had served as Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and William Howard Taft had been the Governor of both the Philippines and Cuba). It is a major obstacle for her, especially in this cycle and...

On Tuesday, Glenn Beck told his radio and TV audiences how he and his family were harassed during an outing to an outdoor movie in New York City’s Bryant Park. You can listen to Glenn describe what happened here. The account involves people shouting nasty things and even a cup of wine being kicked onto Glenn’s wife. “These people were some of the most hateful people I have ever seen,” Beck said. “All I wanted to do is go out on a blanket with my family and have dinner in the afternoon sun and sit around Americans, not like-minded Americans,...

RAYMOND N.H. — New GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann charmed a backyard of Granite State voters yesterday with her trademark straight talk but bristled at comparisons to fellow Tea Party star Sarah Palin, telling the Herald she’s got a style all her own. “We both have unique skill sets. I have great respect and admiration for Gov. Palin, I consider her a friend, but I have a unique skill set that I bring to the table,” said Bachmann, 55, after announcing her presidential campaign to New Hampshire voters yesterday morning. Andy Schwargler, 45, of Orford, N.H., drove more than an...

The liberal media are already tipping their hands as to whom they fear most as a Republican presidential candidate and it should come as no surprise that it's Texas Governor, Rick Perry. And just as they did with John McCain back in 2008, they are showing that they are going to try to subvert the Republican primary process by promoting the Republican most likely to lose to Obama. One of their developing mantras to nip a Perry candidacy in the bud is, "Not another Texan," hoping of course to reignite Bush Derangement Syndrome as Rush Limbaugh is pointing out. And...

A quasi-scandal has broken out at Arkansas’ Russellville Middle School. The school’s yearbook featured a list of the “Top 5 Worst People of All Time.” Some of the world’s most horrific murderers and maniacs were included: Adolph Hitler, Osama Bin Laden, Charles Manson… Few people would argue that these individuals don’t deserve a spot on that roster. Each went on murderous rampages and were, arguably, mentally-imbalanced. However, it‘s the list’s last two names that are causing a stir: George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. The former president and vice-president don’t seem to share many characteristics with the other men they...

The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out damage claims against former Attorney General John Ashcroft over an American Muslim's arrest, but four justices said the case raises serious questions about post-9/11 detentions under a federal law intended to make sure witnesses testify. The justices were unanimous, 8-0, in holding that Ashcroft cannot be personally sued over his role in the arrest of Abdullah al-Kidd in 2003. The court sets a high bar for suing high-ranking officials, and all the justices agreed al-Kidd did not meet it, even though he was never charged with a crime or called to testify in...

As lefties gloat over the political implications of Osama bin Laden’s demise, and the media ramp up an “Obama bounce� meme, conservatives should politely but persistently shift the conversation from politics to policy. In my latest column for Townhall, I draw on a number of fascinating news accounts elucidating how the our military and intelligence community finally nailed bin Laden. US officials describe a “mosaic� of intelligence that ultimately led a team of Navy SEALs to a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan — suggesting that it took many years and myriad sources to pinpoint bin Laden’s precise location. As we now...

Donald Trump fired back at Karl Rove on Tuesday for labeling his possible White House bid a “joke,” saying the one-time senior adviser to President George W. Bush “should be ashamed of himself” for the role he played in pushing an agenda that turned voters against Republicans and paved the way for the Obama presidency. Mr. Trump, the billionaire real estate developer and reality-TV-show star still weighing a 2012 race, said in an interview that the Republican brand was so tarnished after the Bush-Rove years that even “Abraham Lincoln couldn’t have beaten” President Obama in the 2008 presidential race. “Honestly,...

Trump: Bush probably worst U.S. president Businessman and "Apprentice" television star Donald Trump blasted President George Bush today, calling him "probably the worst president in the history of the United States," and blaming his 2004 victory on the Democrat ticket. Appearing on CNN's "Situation Room," Trump was asked by host Wolfe Blitzer his opinion of Democrat presidential candidate John Edwards. "I don't know him," Trump answered. "People like him. I know people that like him very much, but I really don't know him." Trump went on to say that Edward's experience as John Kerry's 2004 running mate was a negative...

ABERDEEN, Scotland - The Donald to W: "You stink." Donald Trump trashed President Bush Tuesday as a "terrible" President who has destroyed the world economy - but insisted the global crunch wouldn't stall his planned $2 billion golf resort. "We have a President in the United States who's terrible. He stinks," Trump said. Trump said he can't wait to see Bush head back to Texas after the November election is done. "Hopefully, we'll have a good, new President, whoever he is," Trump said. He praised both major party candidates - Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee and John McCain, his...

Ten United Nations staff were murdered - two by beheading - after extremists stormed their compound in northern Afghanistan today. Protesters broke into UN offices in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif after a demonstration against Koran burnings in the America turned violent. A small breakaway group attacked the UN compound, throwing stones and climbing on blast barriers to try to gain entry. They seized weapons from guards and opened fire before storming the site. An Afghan police source, who asked not to be named, said the chief of the mission in the city was wounded but survived. Among those murdered...

Monday night President Obama took to the airwaves to rebut the criticism and confusion surrounding his decision to send U.S. troops to Libya. It was an interesting speech, but a lame attempt to make the Libyan circumstances seem unique to his presidency.

Cowboy’ Bush was a far more effective world leader than ‘focus group’ Obama By Nile Gardiner World Last updated: March 28th, 2011 89 CommentsComment on this article When he was president, George W. Bush’s international leadership was widely mocked and derided by his liberal critics, who loudly declared that his plain-talking style was undermining America’s image in the world. Even now, the Left cannot resists a dig at the ex-president, with former Obama adviser Rob Shapiro exclaiming to Fox News over the weekend: The United States is no longer the out-of-control cowboy. Instead, we build global coalitions. We get the...

Welcome to the Third Term of President George W. Bush By Victor J. Massad It all seemed so clear to progressives in the summer of 2008. A dense president born into old establishment wealth had conned the American people and we were trapped into implacable problems, both foreign and domestic. These problems included a bad war that the president had lied us into, a good war that he had ignored, a deficit that was out of control, a prison that violated human rights, and a relationship between big business and big government that had become too cozy. But there was...

President Obama, Nobel Peace Prize winner, launched an attack on another country while in another country, without the congressional approval that George W. Bush had and with only about half as many other countries on board. Obama seemed to feel this constituted enough of a moral high ground from which to take a jab at the former president. *snip* As the folks at Fox quickly pointed out, Bush actually had twice as many international allies for the invasion of Iraq as Obama has put together for his adventure in Libya.

Is the traditional 100-watt incandescent light bulb about to go the way of the Tyrannosaurus Rex? Some Republicans on Capitol Hill hope not. They want to overturn the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed by then-President George W. Bush. The law requires all 100-watt incandescent light bulbs to be almost 30-percent more energy efficient by Jan. 1, 2012. Since that means higher production costs, manufacturers in America have stopped making the traditional bulbs. Some consumers have already started stockpiling the old-model bulbs, complaining that the replacements cast a unattractive light compared to the warmth of incandescent bulbs. Kentucky...

Confidence in the U.S. system of government has dropped to a new low in more than 35 years, with public attitudes burdened by continued economic discontent, soaring gasoline prices, record opposition to the war in Afghanistan -- and a letdown in hopes for political progress after a bout of bipartisanship last fall. More Video Watch: GOP's First Presidential Test Watch: Not Everyone Approves of the President Watch: Obama Rising, Palin SinkingOnly 26 percent of Americans in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll say they're optimistic about "our system of government and how well it works," down 7 points since October...

In AIC statement, Roger Waters recalls visit to "appalling" security barrier, expresses support for "Palestinians in their civil, nonviolent resistance." Pink Floyd former lead singer and bassist Roger Waters on Sunday declared his support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, in a statement published on the website of the Palestinian-Israeli NGO, the Alternative Information Center (AIC). In the statement, Waters writes: "Where governments refuse to act, people must, with whatever peaceful means are at their disposal. For some that meant joining the Gaza Freedom March, for others it meant joining the humanitarian flotilla that tried to...

President Obama launched a vicious, underhanded attack on one of the leading contenders for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination last month: He praised former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for launching a state-administered healthcare plan. "I agree with Mitt Romney, who recently said he's proud of what he accomplished on healthcare in Massachusetts," Obama told the nation's governors. Romney supporters winced, but his potential rivals for the Republican nomination were delighted. They've already taken to calling the Massachusetts healthcare plan "Romneycare," to remind conservative voters how much it resembles the "Obamacare" law they loathe. Like the "tea party," the Obama White...

Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann on Tuesday reintroduced the "Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act," a bill to repeal a 2007 law mandating that incandescent light bulbs be phased out. "The government has no business telling an individual what kind of light bulb to buy," she said in a news release Wednesday. "In 2007, Congress overstepped its bounds by mandating that only 'energy efficient' light bulbs may be sold after January 1, 2012. This mandate has sweeping effects on American families and businesses and needs serious consideration before taking effect." Bachmann says the mandate should only stay in place is...

Bush also said he thought energy, education and immigration reform should be the federal government's top priorities.

The CPAC annual meeting has shown us that we on the right do not have a front-runner or even a plausible candidate to unite us as we head into the crucial 2012 presidential and congressional elections. In fact, CPAC demonstrated that the organized right, which sold its soul to a faux conservative in 2000, G.W. Bush, and then supported him and an irresponsible GOP-run Congress as they partnered to bankrupt our public fisc and squander our moral and military advantage for six years, is now devoid of a true conservative who understands and believes in the principles that separate us...

CPAC presidential straw poll results aside, Karl Rove, former Senior Adviser to President George W. Bush says the GOP side of the 2012 presidential field is "a wide open contest." Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Rove classified the race as "the first Republican contest in modern history in which there is no presumptive frontrunner." While Rove doesn't currently see a clear cut choice for the GOP, he did admit the nominee is likely to be a better known name, naming several examples including "Governor Romney, Sarah Palin and Governors Barbour, Daniels and Pawlenty." When asked how high profile political...

Creators Syndicate – George W. Bush must have been the despair of the history department of every school his daddy managed to get him into. Consider his latest excursion into the history of the republic, at Southern Methodist, where the Great Man's papers are to be housed.

Recent pictures in Stars and Stripes feature female U.S. service members wearing the Islamic headscarf, also known as a hijab. These women are part of a new initiative, Female Engagement Teams, being deployed in Afghanistan. Aside from questions about whether the safety of these women deployed into harm's way is jeopardized by trading the helmet for the hijab, the photos invoke memories of a policy fight in Congress less than a decade ago. In 2002, the Senate overturned a DoD mandate requiring female American service members stationed in Saudi Arabia to wear the Saudi version of the burqa, known as...

John J. Miller has a cover story in the new issue of National Review that’s a compelling portrait of the accomplishments of Jeb Bush. Four years after leaving the Florida governor’s mansion, he remains one of the most impressive Republican politicians in the country, a formidable policy mind with the political chops to drive conservative reforms even out of office. So why isn’t he running for president? Bush told Miller what he’s said to others, too — he won’t run in 2012, but he’ll consider 2016. This is a mistake. Bush should run now for at least eight reasons: 1)...

<p>On January 24, Former President George W. Bush spoke at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where his presidential library will be located, and weighed in on immigration. "What's interesting about our country, if you study history, is that there are some 'isms' that occasionally pop up -- pop up.</p>

In a new advocacy ad, one of the daughters of former President George W. Bush endorses gay marriage. “I’m Barbara Bush and I’m a New Yorker for marriage equality. New York is about fairness and equality, and everyone should have the right to marry the person that they love. Join us," the former first daughter says in a Web video by the group Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

Bush Child, in a Break, Endorses Gay Marriage By MICHAEL BARBARO The Bush dynasty is no stranger to generational conflict: father and son differed over deposing Saddam Hussein, raising taxes and the role of the United Nations. Barbara Bush in her video statement. Now it is father and daughter who find themselves at odds over a weighty issue. Barbara Bush, one of the twin daughters of George W. Bush, will endorse same-sex marriage on Tuesday, publicly breaking ranks with a father who, as president, pushed for a constitutional amendment banning such unions. Ms. Bush, 29, has taped a video calling...

Stick a fork in him. George W. Bush is done with politics. The ex-President told C-SPAN he has no plans to raise cash, stump for Republican candidates and even appear on television.

Chris Matthews Blames Egypt Riots on George W. Bush and Iraq War By Noel Sheppard Created 01/29/2011 - 12:17pm By Noel Sheppard | January 29, 2011 | 12:17 Noel Sheppard's picture It's a metaphysical certitude that whenever anything happens in the Middle East, the media will quickly blame former President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Not missing the opportunity to do so, Chris Matthews began the 5PM installment of "Hardball" Friday connecting the riots in Egypt to a man that has been out of office for two years (video follows with transcript and commentary): CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST:...

Chris Matthews was nearly apoplectic in his questioning of Tea Party Express co-founder Sal Russo on the topic of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and her controversial re-imagining of history where the founding fathers found a way to end slavery in their lifetime. Repeatedly calling Bachmann a "balloon head," Matthews demanded to know why Russo and the Tea Party wanted Bachmann to give a response to the State of the Union address or, more generally, why they ever wanted her to open her mouth in the first place?