Free Republic

In war, military strategy is tailored to meet the enemy’s threat, to persuade those who might fight not to fight, and when necessary, to win and achieve Victory in the shortest possible time. In the War against Global Jihad and its network of enablers, America’s top leadership appears to be achieving the opposite outcome. American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines are rightly lauded by the American public for their courage and sacrifice in the fight for United States national security, but the high quality of American soldiers and Marines at battalion level and below cannot compensate for inadequate senior leadership...

Business and capitalism are dirty words in many White House and progressive circles, except in two ways. Business is good when it can be co-opted and manipulated by government to advance “progressive” energy, social or economic agendas. And capitalism is a virtue in the sense of capitalizing on every crisis to promote those agendas – through the guiding principle enshrined by leftists like Saul Alinsky and Rahm Emanuel: “Never let a crisis go to waste.” Thus the tragic Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been incompetently handled by a White House, EPA and Corps of Engineers unable even to make...

The following is based on a report from the U.S. Congress obtained by the 14,000-member National Association of Chiefs of Police. Recent terrorist events such as the attempted bomb attacks in New York's Times Square and aboard an airliner on Christmas Day 2009 are reminders that national security challenges have expanded beyond the traditional threats of the Cold War Era to include unconventional threats from non-state actors. Today's threats are diffuse and ambiguous, making it difficult -- if not impossible -- for any single federal agency to address them alone. Effective collaboration among multiple agencies and across federal, state, and...

As the 2010 elections draw near, Democrats are desperately casting about for a moniker with which to smear their opponents As the window of opportunity for the November elections continues to dwindle, it's beginning to look more and more like the Democrats' goose is cooked. Haunted by record spending and deficits, a credit crisis, anemic housing numbers, and a true unemployment rate hovering around 18% even the most upbeat progressives sense trouble. With the nation concerned about the economy, the Democrats have frittered away their majorities on progressive nuggets such as health care, and payback to unions and community action...

"I know there's been a lot of talk around town lately about the value-added tax -- that is something that has worked for some countries. It's something that would be novel -- for the United States." - President Barack Obama As Obama ponders the title for his next memoir, he should consider calling it The Novel Presidency. Because as novel as the idea of exorbitantly high tax rates to address Obama's record-setting growth of government and spending would be to the American citizenry, it is Obama's entire ideologically driven policy agenda that is "novel -- for the United States." And...

Since the Mexican Independence from Spain in 1821, there has always been the question of who owned what in the west. Since invading the New World, Spain controlled a vast territory that included all of modern day Mexico all the way through California and Utah, not to mention Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. Arguments go in many directions but the fact of the matter is that in 1846 President Polk called for the invasion of Mexico. It was a bloody war, based mostly on the principal of “Manifest Destiny” but was also based on the principal that Colonialism left a...

Who would have ever thought Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones would have come up with the perfect song, 'Rock and a Hard Place', on their 'Steel Wheels' album in 1989 to describe our current budget and economic situation in America in 2010? (This song was originally going to be called 'Steel Wheels' but apparently it helps to have those same lyrics somewhere in the song and 'Steel Wheels' just doesn't make as much sense in the song as 'Rock and A Hard Place', now does it?) You ought to go ahead and click on the link above and open...

Tuesday night, following a tour of the Gulf Coast area, the President of the United States addressed the nation regarding the state of the BP oil spill. In his speech from the Oval Office, President Obama spoke regarding our nation's dependence upon oil and how we need to break that dependence. During his speech (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-nation-bp-oil-spill), the president made a statement that was blatantly false. The president noted, "We consume more than 20% of the world's oil, but have less than 2% of the world's oil reserve. And that's part of the reason oil companies are drilling a mile beneath the...

Introduction During my more than 30 years with the intelligence community, I have followed numerous terrorist organizations. Few have been as innovative and resilient as al Qaeda. Rarely a week goes by that we don’t read about an al Qaeda or Taliban commander being arrested or killed. Our instrument of choice is often a predator drone and most of the intelligence is collected through state-of-the-art intercept operations, confirmed by Predator and other imagery, as well as through more aggressive collection efforts by friendly liaison services. Though we periodically read pronouncements that al Qaeda is on the ropes and its demise...

The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced a new web video today in response to the President’s decision to finally meet with BP executives after 58 days of delay. The web video, entitled “What Took So Long? On You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6urJsX3KX4&feature=player_embedded

Mississippi's Governor Haley Barbour, in the wake of hurricane Katrina, often blunted attempts of the media to goad him into criticizing the rescue efforts of President George W. Bush by stating, "Louisiana has the same president as Mississippi has." That is to say Bush's supposed inaction in the New Orleans' "come rescue me" fiasco was in sharp contrast to the boot-strap spirit of the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Now the Gulf oil spill has shed more light on the consequences of reliance on the federal government to a national disaster. In Katrina, a group of people relied on...

The following is adapted from a lecture delivered at Hillsdale College on February 1, 2010, during a four-day conference on “The New Deal,” co-sponsored by the Center for Constructive Alternatives and the Ludwig von Mises Lecture Series. IN PRESIDENT Obama, conservatives face the most formidable liberal politician in at least a generation. In 2008, he won the presidency with a majority of the popular vote—something a Democrat had not done since Jimmy Carter's squeaker in 1976—and handily increased the Democrats' control of both houses of Congress. Measured against roughly two centuries worth of presidential victories by Democratic non-incumbents, his win...

That is the speculation and prediction of Liz Peek. Joe Biden has been a liability to the Obama Administration Regime since he was put on the ticket in 2008. It seems the Vice President has Foot-in-Mouth Disease. He opens his mouth and inserts his foot. He has become an embarrassment and a political liability to this regime. Therefore he must go! Ms. Peek predicts that Obama will cut loose Joe Biden in favor of Hillary Clinton. Here’s a prediction: the Obama administration will bounce Joe Biden off the 2012 ticket, and invite Hillary Clinton to run in his stead. The...

While in high school, I was standing at a bus stop next to a gas station. A kid tossed a candy wrapper on the station lot. Somebody yelled, “Hey, pick that up.” The kid, with a straight face, defended himself. He said, “I just created a job.” Someone would be hired, he explained, to pick up the trash, and this would be good for the economy. Don’t laugh. The kid probably works for the Obama administration. Congress is now considering yet another “stimulus” package. But did the administration’s previous one work? Of the $787 billion stimulus package, President Obama said...

The distance between the president and the people is beginning to be revealed The deepening notes of disenchantment with Barack Obama now issuing from commentators across the political spectrum were predictable. So, too, were the charges from some of the president's earliest enthusiasts about his failure to reflect a powerful sense of urgency about the oil spill. There should have been nothing puzzling about his response to anyone who has paid even modest critical attention to Mr. Obama's pronouncements. For it was clear from the first that this president—single-minded, ever-visible, confident in his program for a reformed America saved from...

The most potent political ‘weak point’ in all of these Bush tax cuts is the AMT provision. And that is where, what and how the next tax bill will start because it has to. The ‘Alternative Minimum Tax’…an oxymoron if there ever was one. There is no ‘alternative’ to paying it. It is sort of like the payroll tax in that it is a set tax that you can not get around in any way, shape or form once you enter its dangerous territory, namely income between $150,000 and $415,000 per year. And there is hardly any ‘minimum’ to it...

Writing about the national debt, Stephen Dunn, said, “At $13 trillion, that figure has risen by $2.4 trillion in about 500 days since President Obama took office, or an average of $4.9 billion a day.” – Washington Times, June 2, 2010. There are reports that the U.S. Treasury is predicting U.S. debt will be $13 trillion by 2015. Federal Reserve chief, Ben Bernanke just warned Congress that this is “unsustainable.” One of our favorite cartoon characters is the guy with the sign that says, “The end of the world is coming. Repent!” You can find him enshrined in the Old...

Recognizing American disdain for words like “communism” and “socialism,” politicos adopted new names under which to market the exact same concepts, like “progressive” and “democracy.” You simply can’t get Americans to openly accept communism or socialism, Marxism or Maoist philosophies. But many Americans will buy into the same concepts and policies under much more American sounding titles. The same is true of amnesty for illegal aliens. With both Democrats and Republicans supporting some form of amnesty, the November election cycle is not likely to change anything regarding our current pathway to self destruction. Until our borders are secure, nothing in...

I sat, as did millions of other Americans, and watched as the government underwent a peaceful transition of power a year ago. At first, I felt a swell of pride and patriotism while Barack Obama took his Oath of Office. However, all that pride quickly vanished as I later watched 21 Marines, in full dress uniform with rifles, fire a 21-gun salute to the President. It was then that I realized how far America’s military had deteriorated. Every damn one of them missed the son of a b#tch.

Calendar No. 418 111th CONGRESS 2d Session S. J. RES. 26 Disapproving a rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to the endangerment finding and the cause or contribute findings for greenhouse gases under section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 21, 2010 Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. NELSON of Nebraska, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. THUNE, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. COBURN, Mr. VITTER, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. BOND, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. MCCONNELL,...