Free Republic

Bush is out of office, but the Derangement Syndrome lives on. Former President Bush and his wife were recently wildly cheered at a basketball game they attended in Texas. Wait -- Bush. Cheered? What gives? That can't happen, can it? Bush also appeared to tear up during the National Anthem. Some lefties were befuddled at the crowd reaction, but not for long. Readers at the Huffington Post soon came up with their own theories. My personal favorites are all those who say that "Respect is earned and Bush never earned mine" who nonetheless find themselves sitting in a wet spot...

One sentence in President Obama's words to reporters (video here) -- in which he called Wall Street "shameful" for accepting taxpayer bailout money while continuing to dole out huge bonuses -- struck me as an honestly fitting Freudian slip coming from a politician: "We've got a big hole we've got to dig ourselves out of."In one sentence we're shown the entire problem with how the government "solves" a problem. We're in a hole, and they want to keep digging. At least this explains why China holds so much of our debt -- we're tunneling it straight to them. Maybe this...

I'd like to take a minute to introduce you all to a new sponsor of my site: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's "TimboTax." I just did my taxes using this cutting edge software, and the savings were so unreal even the IRS won't believe it! Order yours today!

Yeah, I know; “Jihad rehab? You’re f-in kiddin’ me, right?” Nope, I'm not kidding: U.S. lawmakers considering the closure of the controversial Guantanamo Bay detention center will probably be looking at a rehabilitation program in Saudi Arabia that focuses on religious re-education for captured jihadists. This program is run by the Saudi Arabian government, but if the U.S. sends Gitmo prisoners over there, you know the “new and improved” U.S. Government will have a say in their rehab. Should this occur, just to help move things along, I’ve taken the liberty of writing the following: 12-step program for bombaholics who...

Don’t you wish Democrats felt as threatened by Islamofascism as they are by Rush Limbaugh? Don’t you wish Democrats recognized the right to free speech with the same enthusiasm they recognize the right to an abortion? Don’t you wish Democrats criticized what Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hamas say half as much as they criticize what Rush Limbaugh says? Don’t you wish Democrats wanted to balance the political makeup of university professors and mainstream media reporters as badly as they want to balance the political makeup of radio talk hosts? Don’t you wish Democrats would be as blind to race cards as...

Dateline Washington DC: The White House has published an Executive Order which guarantees that suspected enemy combatants will receive lawful and humane interrogations under new Obama administration rules. With his call to close the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to possibly house detainees on mainland United States, President Obama has reversed former President Bush’s policy of “fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here,” and instituted “The Obama Doctrine,” which is “Bring them here so we don’t have to send Jimmy Carter over there.” As a result of the possibility that some...

This week, Jacque Chirac completes the "You know you're a Frenchmen when..." sentence with, "...you're mauled by a poodle": Former French president Jacques Chirac was rushed to hospital after being mauled by his own 'clinically depressed' pet dog. The 76-year-old statesman was savaged by his white Maltese dog - which suffers from frenzied fits and is being treated with anti-depressants. A man named Francois le Zapruder was videotaping Chirac and captured this gripping photo just moments before the vicious attack: The court hearing to determine exactly what happened that fateful day is ongoing: "Bark, and to the left. Bark, and...

Instead of live-blogging the entire inauguration, I decided that, throughout the day, I’ll just post a photo that represents the mood of Chris Matthews, whose love affair with Barack Obama is well known. Chris is also a fair representation of the emotions the majority of the mainstream media will be experiencing today. How far up Matthews’ leg is the “thrill” going today? We’ll know as the day goes on. We’ll have seven pictures on the Chris Matthews Obamagasometer that will let us know what emotion the MSNBC host is experiencing throughout this historic day at any given time. Here are...

Last week we witnessed a watershed moment in American politics – an event that somehow helped erase past injustices, leaving in its historic wake a feeling of genuine optimism that had many of us exuberantly repeating that familiar slogan, "Yes we can!" I'm of course referring to President Bush's dog, Barney, biting a reporter on the finger.

Ever since the National Enquirer reported on John Edwards' allegedly visiting a hotel to see his mistress and "love child," it's been inevitable: The John Edwards/Rielle Hunter jokes are starting to flow, and Jim Treacher has just a few. As it's difficult for me to avoid jumping on a trend bandwagon, I took the liberty of writing a couple of my own: --“Why did doctors at the hospital where the baby was delivered first suspect that John Edwards was the child's father? Whenever an ambulance pulled up to the emergency room, the baby got an erection." --“What was the biggest...

The New Yorker, in an attempt to point out the ridiculously over-the-top nature of some of the criticisms against Barack Obama, has the following picture on the cover of their magazine that seems to have garnered a reaction quite opposite to the stated intention. Some Dems are furious, some Repubs are snickering: Michelle Malkin has a good reminder for those who are incensed at that Obama cartoon. In other campaign news... there were rumors that the Obama campaign was going to become a NASCAR sponsor -- which is a perfect fit for Obama, as you go constantly and sharply to...

There's nothing better than being propelled into the weekend on a laugh, and Rep. John Conyers from Michigan is in a giving mood. Conyers has a piece at the Huffington Post entitled "Karl Rove, the White House, and the Rule of Law." The rule of law?That's right; a Conyers is actually pointing the finger at somebody else's ethics. Some members of Congress have no shame. The only way this could be topped would be for Amy Winehouse to write a HuffPo piece chastising Courtney Love's drug habit. John Conyers, with the two staffers who accused him of using taxpayer money...

Retired Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets, Jr., who piloted the aircraft Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb used in war, died last week at the age of 92. The life story of Tibbets, Jr. ends with a bit of what I consider a tragedy that should never again befall an American hero. When somebody says "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" these days, they could be referring to Michael Moore and Dennis Kucinich, but 60 years ago, devices sporting those seemingly innocuous monikers caused historically unmatched destruction, and ended a long war. There are many who believe this makes the...

The search for alternative and clean sources for energy is ongoing. One huge resource for natural power is the wind, and it can be harnessed and converted to electricity with windmills – unless it obstructs the view of a Kennedy. But we'll get to that in a second. It has just been announced that a wind farm will be built off the Texas coast, near South Padre Island. According to the Associated Press, 170 windmills will be placed in the Gulf of Mexico by a company called Superior Renewable Energy. The project is expected to cost $1 billion to $2...

Mentioning "censorship" to artists is like saying "milk" to the lactose intolerant, but sometimes you can get them to sneak a sip provided it's to stave off osteoporosis and/or make headlines. It seems like only yesterday that Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones were hesitant, but agreed to, have their Super Bowl halftime show very briefly censored, with the microphone volume being lowered at the appropriate lyrical moment during two songs. The networks, still reeling from Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" a couple years ago, didn't want to hear from any more of us who had our old-fashioned sense of decency...

Have you ever wanted to know what your favorite celebrities are up to at all times? What they're wearing at any particular time? What street corner they're standing near? Me neither. But apparently an awful lot of people do.There is a website that I hadn't previously heard of, called "Gawker Stalker" where people go to and post where they've just seen celebrities in New York City. I guess it's called "Gawker Stalker" because the "GetAFreakinLife.com" domain name was taken, but that's neither here nor there.George Clooney hates this site, thinking it may put lives in danger by deranged wackos. I...

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Senate confirmation hearings of Judge Samuel Alito. Glad to have you with us today. The Senate Judiciary Committee is just about ready to get this one underway. Lots of bad blood coming into this one. The Republicans are fresh off a disappointment as Tom DeLay has just stepped down as House Majority Leader, and then came the tragic news that Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee would not leave the GOP. As for the Democrats, they are still stinging from losses in the last two presidential elections and the defeat of Sen. Tom Daschle. That...

Here's your local forecast: One hundred years from today, due to the fact that Bush did not sign the Kyoto Protocol, the polar ice caps will be melted, and the Gulf Stream will have little or no circulation causing temps to actually drop in Europe to 11 degrees below today's average. Africa and South America will be 12 degrees hotter than they are now, and three hurricanes (Charles, Dabney, and Dubya) will simultaneously strike Florida and Louisiana. Your weather for this coming weekend? Your guess is as good as mine. Meteorology, specifically climatology as it concerns global warming, seems to...

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd's new book, "Are men necessary?", has been called a mild failure by some, at least a failure by Dowd standards. Dowd's publisher, Putnam, disagrees. They say sales are right about where they were expected to be. The history of Putnam Publishing should also help answer Dowd's question of "Are men necessary?" A glance at the history of Putnam Publishing and who founded the company shows that it's chock-full of men, without whom Dowd's books may not have a publisher. Dowd's columns run in the New York Times. Take a look at the corporate officers...

Just when you thought kids were safer now that Michael Jackson is out of the country ... In Kelo vs. New London, Conn., the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that it was OK to rob people of their property if the community (community of government) could collect more taxes if somebody else owned the property. Now, out west, the legendary 9th Circuit Court has, in essence, proclaimed that the government has a sort of sexual eminent domain over children in public schools. "Eminent domain" is the right of the government to seize peoples' private property for public use. "Sexual eminent domain"...