Free Republic

Among those closely watching the Occupy Wall Street protests: the Smithsonian. The National Museum of American History has dispatched representatives to collect materials, such as protest signs, from the demonstrations. It is in pursuit of the museum's mission to "document the spirit of American democracy and the American political process, including how people express their points of view through political rallies, demonstrations and protests," the institution said in a statement.

I get this strange feeling that the people in the White House think this is brilliant. Prod. & Vid. wanted for OWS reporting Calling all videographers and producers who want to spread the word about the Occupy Wall Street movement. A Truthdig.com reporter seeks to chart the events that led to the collapse of the United States over the last 30 years and determine what the 99% can do about it. The project involves a series of interviews with experts on key political and economic issues and will be centered in New York City. Here is a link to a...

The abandonment by his father when he was an infant and by his stepfather at age 10 has left President Obama with a "father hunger" that influences everything from why he distances himself from pushy supporters, to his strong desire to compromise and bring people together, to his aggressive campaign to kill Osama bin Laden, says a psychoanalytic book out next week. In Obama on the Couch, George Washington University professor Justin Frank also reveals that Obama has spent much of his life seeking out father figures, but most, like Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Vice President Biden, have disappointed him....

Are you tipping enough when you go out to eat? The San Francisco restaurant industry apparently doesn’t think so. A column from Ed Arnow of the Contra Costa Times reports that “there’s a move on” among local restaurant workers to “make 25% the standard tip in San Francisco.” Arnow says that several “high-class restaurants” have signed on to the idea, though he doesn’t list which ones—or, for that matter, how the restaurants would impose this new standard.

Jon Huntsman, who has been mired far back in the field vying for the Republican presidential nomination, will boycott Tuesday's debate among the party's candidates to be held in Nevada, and instead hold a town hall meeting in New Hampshire. Huntsman will skip the Nevada debate to stick up for New Hampshire, his campaign manager, Matt David, said on Friday. The two states are among several jockeying to be first or second to hold primary elections and caucus meetings that will determine the Republican candidate to take on Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election. Huntsman, a moderate,...

Steve Jobs is dead. A tech genius has passed on. Sad. Certainly a devastating loss to Steve Jobs' close friends and family members, as well as to Apple executives and shareholders. The rest of you? Calm down. Among my Facebook friends yesterday, more than one wrote publicly that they were "crying" or "can't stop crying" or "teared up" due to Steve Jobs' death. Really now. You can't stop crying, now that you've heard that a middle-aged CEO has passed, after a long battle with cancer? If humans were always so empathetic, well, that would be understandable. But this type of...

This week, some 27,000 freshly published research articles will pour into the Web of Science, Thomson Reuters' vast online database of scientific publications. Almost all of these papers will stay there forever, a fixed contribution to the research literature. But 200 or so will eventually be flagged with a note of alteration such as a correction. And a handful — maybe five or six — will one day receive science's ultimate post-publication punishment: retraction, the official declaration that a paper is so flawed that it must be withdrawn from the literature. It is reassuring that retractions are so rare, for...

Mitt Romney has been looking steady and solid in recent weeks, especially compared to the rest of the field, which has stumbled (Perry’s debate performances) or bumbled (Bachman’s overkill of the vaccine issue). This is, as I mentioned a few weeks back, to be expected of a first tier candidate on his second run for the office. He’s seen big league pitching before, and is now comfortable at the plate, able to hit the hard sliders and spitballs that come with a modern presidential campaign. Still. A friend reminded me the other day of a detail I had forgotten from...

Folks, I just checked my email inbox and found an ATF slide presentation on the Fast and Furious operation that journalist Paul Thacker somehow got his hands on. The most important thing about it – It appears to have been compiled by the ATF for use in briefing the DOJ on Fast and Furious in March 2010. Here’s the opening slide: Notice that the fourth item on the agenda of the first slide is listed as: “Phoenix Case – Update on a significant firearms trafficking case” It’s important to note that Acting Deputy Attorney General at the time the briefing...

Barack Obama has jumped to a 15-point lead over the Republicans in Congress in trust to handle job creation, a sign the beleaguered president’s $450 billion jobs package has hit its mark in public opinion. Fifty-two percent support the plan – and most say it just might work. Overall approval of the U.S. Congress, meanwhile, has dropped to its lowest in polls dating back to the mid-1970s. And of the eight in 10 Americans who are dissatisfied with the way the country’s political system is working, more blame the Republicans in Washington than the president. For all of Obama’s well-documented...

Nicole Gelinas is over at National Review joining in questioning Rick Perry about his "ponzi" rhetoric on social security. I’ve read that post twice and really don’t see the point of it, even with the previous points. But what is relevant to me is that Ms. Gelinas is a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal. The Chairman of the Manhattan Institute is Paul E. Singer. What else does Paul Singer do? Why he manages Mitt Romney's fortune.Sure Ms. Gelinas is a couple degrees separated, but in my mind it’s like the National Journal survey that found GOP insiders...

After Ron Paul's statistical tie to win the Iowa straw poll, his overwhelming victory in the California straw poll, and his victory by forfeiture in the Texas straw poll... (as well as every internet poll, google trend analysis, etc etc) We declare that the GOP Front Runner is Ron Paul. Please refer to him as GOP Front Runner Ron Paul all over the web and anywhere else you can. The evidence supports this.

“President Obama’s plan to raise taxes will have a crushing impact on economic growth,” Mitt Romney said in a statement. “Higher taxes mean fewer jobs – it’s that simple. This is yet another indication that President Obama has no clue how to bring our economy back. I encourage President Obama to look at my detailed economic plan to create long-term growth and prosperity for our nation. The only way to get our economy moving again is to elect a president who understands how to create jobs and rein in spending – that is why I am running.” I’ll update this...

This was hours before Democrats got their heads handed to them in a New York district for the first time since 1923 and by 20 points in Nevada. Via Projo.com: Froma Harrop: Disapproval: It’s all relative I do not think this alone. Their debt-ceiling hijinks were no doubt immensely amusing to the Tea Party fringe, but to those of us not getting the joke, they were an appalling attack on a fragile economy. The Tea Party is turning from the voice of anger to its target, and the GOP has it hanging around its neck. The first trumpet blast of...

He is so sure Sarah Palin is a racist that he "corrects" her quotes to show what she really was thinking when she said it. Via TIME: Palin: AJA Not a Plan "At All" On Fri. Fox appearance, Alaskan says Obama “very bold” to ask for “another black check” and bipartisan characterization of bill was "disingenuous." Funny thing is Halperin can't even copy and paste from the story originally run in The Hill, which states: Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin strongly condemned President Obama's jobs plan Friday afternoon, saying that the president "plays us all for fools." "I thought the...

Written by one Ghangstalked Poisonradiationtorturee, a brilliant liberal commenting on a post from Rolling Stone leftie Matt Tabbie entitled, Obama and Jobs: Why I Don't Believe Him Anymore. I assume Ghangstalked (sic) means that Reagan was a disaster and that we can't allow a conservative with similar policies to take over. But does this dude who claims to be tortured by poison radiation (Cheney probably did it) really think this Democratic rallying cry will help Obama win? I think he does. In fact, I hope all ignorant (redundant) liberals take this and run with it. I'll be the first to...

The commenter in question, mivogo, seems to think if only people would allow vandals to break all of their windows and they are forced to spend money to fix them, it's a stimulus to the economy. And anybody that's against that wants to destroy you: When someone vandalizes your home you must spend money to restore its value, and anyone who admonishes "You're going to waste MORE money? Shame on you!" is either stupid or wants to destroy you. The Republicans aren't stupid. These are the people who agree that Krugman, former Enron consultant, is an economic genius. Liberalism is...

Hmm. I viewed many of the comments earlier and they weren't so flattering toward the One. I wonder just who at the WH was reading the "flattering" comments and decided to call NFL.com because now they're closed and not viewable. You can see the number of comments left in the Most Commented tab. Still #2 as of this writing. UPDATE: Now the most commented tab is now scrubbed free and you'd never know there was any interest in the article. UPDATE II: You can find the cached page with only three comments here. Reminds one of Stalin's practice of airbrushing...

Here's today's edition of how liberal and "progressive" bloggers are handling the self-destruction of Anthony Weiner. AlterNet.orgThe Breitbart Effect: Why Weiner's Boring (Non-) Sex Scandal Is Getting More Play Than Republicans' Sordid Sexcapades"Blame Bush" has now transitioned to "Blame Breitbart". Maybe Obama can try it next year. Crooks & LiarsThings that happened while everyone was obsessing on WeinergateNOW liberals are worried about the economy. Huffington PostMichael Maslansky: Anthony Weiner Is Not the Real ProblemYou have to read this one to believe it. Little Green FootballsVideo: Breitbart Laughs As He Shows Weiner Photo to Shock JocksNo word yet on whether Breitbart...

Amid battles over workers' rights in the Midwest, Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday passed a proclamation honoring public employees. Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak, whose grandfather, Joseph Rudiak, was a labor organizer, assailed Wisconsin officials for trying to restrict collective bargaining rights and mandate pension contributions. Similar legislation is on the table in Ohio. "It is a reactionary agenda that will end the livelihood of thousands of working Americans, and it must stop," Ms. Rudiak said at a news conference attended by a couple dozen union officials and supporters. Jack Shea, president of Allegheny County Labor Council, said it was unfair for...