Free Republic

The Tea Party movement has aroused a lot of energy, accelerated by continual disregard by our elected officials for the will of the people, the Rule of Law, and those principles upon which our nation was founded. Can this energy be focused in an effective manner to actually effect change? Many believe so. But there is disagreement as to how. Fightin Words welcomes Minnesota libertarian activist and budding politician Gregory Laney to discuss the flaws in the current two-party system and whether it can be fixed or circumvented.

Brooks here demeans talk radio. But his point could just as easily be applied to talk, period. Our elected officials do not care what we have to say. They only care about polls. They only care about their re-election prospects. They are not interested in making the best decision informed by the soundest reasoning. They are not interested in learning or teaching, in being seekers or purveyors of truth. They are not interested in representing the interests of their gerrymandered districts. Their only interest is securing their own power. In several well-publicized instances over the summer, many of our elected...

This is a link to a thread posted by Freeper Jeff Gordon at 11:05pm last night. I think Jeff is right, this article is a must read, and wanted to give those of you who weren't reading FR late last night a chance to see it. The link to his thread is active above and I'll repeat it here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2321828/posts

Dems moonwalk the Jackson minefieldGlenn Thrush – 1 hr 17 mins ago At about 3 p.m. Tuesday, civil rights hero John Lewis (D-Ga.) rose in a nearly-empty House chamber to express his support for a resolution recognizing the slaves who toiled and died while building the Capitol. At almost the same moment, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) took the stage at the sold-out Staples Center in Los Angeles, where she vowed to bestow a similar honor on the King of Pop. Jackson-Lee’s 1,500 word resolution honoring Michael Jackson as a “global humanitarian” may be symbolic and heartfelt, but it’s causing some...

Black caucus criticizes ethics probe of trip to the CaribbeanBy Mike Soraghan Posted: 06/23/09 08:32 PM [ET] An investigation into a trip taken by members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is triggering a backlash against the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s signature ethics proposal. CBC members, frustrated at what they perceive as an accusation by a conservative group that’s been blown out of proportion, last week formed a working group to look at taking on the 2006 resolution that created the OCE. “We might need to revisit that law,” a source said. While the...

Buoyed by Barack Obama’s election as president, a group of hip-hop artists and other activists is taking to Capitol Hill — trying to harness the wave of support for Obama among young voters into an ongoing political force. The group, the Hip Hop Caucus, has a nine-member Washington office — but its real reach comes from its ability to harness the power of hip-hop artists to put a famous face on issues and draw in their young, multicultural fans. In the next few weeks, the caucus will see a bill it fashioned with Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) be introduced —...

Claiming that the federal government has long overstepped its bounds and fearing the worst is yet to come, a handful of Utah lawmakers is leading the charge to reclaim states' rights. The Patrick Henry Caucus of the Utah Legislature will be launched later this week to promote legislation -- and legal challenges -- to rein in an "overwhelmingly aggressive federal government," said Rep. Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork. Henry, a Founding Father, was a noted radical who initially opposed the Constitution over fears that it made the federal government too strong. The main force behind the Bill of Rights, he uttered...

Hi all since there are several caucus for our LDS and RC brothers and sisters I thought it was about time to make one for Adventists. I know there are a lot of us who use the forum. And I have also noticed there are is a lot of misinformation about our beliefs. So I will try and post things with an eye to both groups while staying in the caucus rules.

Each presenter applied a unique treatment to the multi-faceted issue of how families can be strengthened during the Brigham Young University Conference on Family Life held March 27 at the BYU Conference Center in Provo. An excerpt from Doctrine and Covenants 38:30 constituted the conference's theme: "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." Elder Gordon T. Watts, a former member of the Seventy, provided the keynote address, titled "Learning from prophets in troubled times." "Interesting, isn't it, that you can turn on the news almost any night, and all we hear is 'The world's in turmoil, it's awful, things...

Is there a way to see everything except one Caucus. Like for example the LDL Caucus. I can't reply and refute those articles, so I don't even want to see them. To me they are just propaganda that makes the FR experience much less enjoyable.

The House Democratic Caucus spent more than $500,000 in taxpayer money over the past five years for its annual retreats at resorts in Pennsylvania and Virginia. On Thursday, Democrats will head to the Kingsmill Resort and Spa in historic Williamsburg, Va., for the three-day planning powwow. The resort boasts multiple championship golf courses, a full-service spa and six restaurants. Individual lawmakers pay for most of the expenses related to retreat lodging through their campaign committees, but the Democratic Caucus subsidizes some of the costs for what aides consider “official business” — to the tune of nearly $100,000 each year, according...

Most abductees report being taken into spaceships from their homes or from their automobiles while driving. Once in the ship, "the atmosphere may be dank, cool, and occasionally even foul-smelling" (p. 36). Their abductors typically "appear as tall or short luminous entities that may be translucent, or at least not altogether solid. Reptilian creatures have been seen....But by far the most common entity observed are the small ‘grays,’ humanoid beings three to four feet in height....Gender difference is not determined so much anatomically as by an intuitive feeling that abductees find difficult to put into words" (p. 37). (A sketch...

Please pray that God will grant wisdom to the 9 members of the Supreme Court. Today the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) considers whether or not to hear arguments in a constitutional issue of monumental importance. It is the case of Berg v Obama, where the eligibility of President Elect Obama is called into question. This case is unique in that it has been scheduled for 2 conferences. There are other cases as well, such as Keyes v Lingle, Broe v Reed, et al. A current listing of eligibility lawsuits can be found here. http://www.therightsideoflife.com/?page_id=1518 So this is...

In just a few weeks, the members of the Republican National Committee will meet to elect a new chairman. What's significant about this election is that unlike the "selections" of the past where the president has dictated his choice for RNC Chairman, this time a real election is taking place. The importance of this election cannot be overstated. The Republican Party now must assume the role of the "loyal opposition." The key is that it must truly be the opposition to the Democrats' liberal agenda of higher taxes, bigger government, and less freedom. If the Republican Party does not distinguish...

Criticism Critics object to the LDS position that God has a physical body by quoting John 4:24: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (Italics in KJV original). Source(s) of the criticism Contender Ministries, Questions All Mormons Should Ask Themselves. Answers Tower to Truth Ministries, "50 Questions to Ask Mormons," towertotruth.net (accessed 15 November 2007). 50 Answers Richard Abanes, Becoming Gods: A Closer Look at 21st-Century Mormonism (Harvest House Publishers: 2005). 137. ( Index of claims ) Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism (Moody Press, 1979), 172....

     Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared in Mexico as the pregnant Mother of God to Saint Juan Diego, a Chicemeca Indian, on December 9, 10 and 12, 1531. She left a Miraculous Image of her appearance on his cactus fiber cloak, or "tilma", which still exists today for all to see in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.       Our Lady came to offer faith, hope and consolation to the oppressed natives of Mexico and to reconcile then with their Spanish rulers.  She put an end to the bloody human sacrifice of the Aztecs and converted nine million natives...

On the Laura Ingraham show today she had Raymond Arroyo on again and they were talking about the election and the Bishop's meeting that he attended. Laura Ingraham: Here is the problem, how many of the bishops voted for Obama. Raymond Arroyo: ...The bishops I spoke to say that maybe half of their brother bishops if not more voted for Obama. Because they thought the symbol of Obama would overcome racism and be a great healer and unity. This of course is total hearsay and not verifiable. If true, which I suspect it is than it certainly explains a lot....

Short video detailing HOW we got into this mess. And Obama is RIGHT in the MIDDLE OF IT!!! http://vodkapundit.com/?p=10199

As much as I dislike Huckabee (global warming, amnesty, pardoning criminals who "found" Jesus, only to kill again, religious bigotry), I have to hand it to him for giving a barn-burner of a speech last night. But I did have to check out his best line that Sarah Palin got more votes for mayor than he did for president. This is only true if you count the total of the caucus states. Sarah Palin was re-elected mayor with 909 votes. Biden got 287 caucus votes but 81,490 primary votes. Click the little underlined "+" sign at the source to see...

Clinton supporters at Democratic meeting fail in bid to end caucus system The party's platform committee sets aside the caucus amendment, saying the rules committee will deal with it. The new draft party platform is a mixed bag. By Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 10, 2008 PITTSBURGH -- Hillary Rodham Clinton loyalists tried Saturday to kill off the caucus system that proved so damaging to her presidential bid, but were beaten back by a Democratic Party leadership firmly under the command of her former rival, Barack Obama. Democrats who supported the New York senator's candidacy pushed to...

Marides Fernando, the mayor of Marikina, Philippines, explains to city council members how the family festival will be organized. SALT LAKE CITY 25 April 2008 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and government officials in the Philippines are joining together to provide resources to help strengthen families and communities. The mayor of the city of Marikina, Marides Fernando, recently visited the Philippines headquarters of the Church in Manila to discuss ways that her government could implement family-friendly initiatives. “I believe that in order for a person to be a good citizen, one should learn good values at home,”...

This letter is not intended as a response to the Obama campaign’s letter. However, in the interest of a complete record, and in contrast to the alleged minor procedural problems noted by the Obama campaign, the Committee wishes to bring to your attention information we have received evidencing a premeditated and predesigned plan by the Obama campaign to engage in systematic corruption of the Party’s caucus procedures. Compounding this blatant distortion of the caucus rules was an egregious effort by the Obama campaign to manipulate the voter registration process in its own favor, thereby disenfranchising countless voters. Finally, the Committee...

The Obama camp hotly disputed a claim this week by Galveston County Democratic Chairman Lloyd Criss that on election night, Obama supporters took caucus sign-in sheets to their campaign headquarters and added names to them. Criss, a Clinton supporter, made the claim earlier this week. But he said that since it didn’t change how many delegates the candidates got, he wasn’t that concerned about it. But Aaron Schiller, who ran the Obama campaign in Galveston, insisted it didn’t happen. “He was taking a free shot at us,” Schiller said. On Friday, Criss said he wasn’t sure that Obama supporters took...

Primary re-does costlyPOSTED: March 8, 2008 Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., left, get a hug from Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell as she in introduces at a campaign stop for a low dollar fundraising reception at the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University, in Washington, Monday, Feb. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) LANSING (AP) — The biggest stumbling block to doing over the Democratic primaries in Michigan and Florida may be the cost. Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer estimates it would cost the state party $8 million to $12 million to set up party-run election sites and allow...

Terrific. He’s won 12 of the 14 caucuses held thus far, and one of her two wins was American Samoa. What could go wrong? Read the TNR post. Granholm did all she could to tip this to her/our gal by holding a primary early, back when Hillary was still “inevitable.” The DNC didn’t blink and now it’s come to this.Granholm said yesterday that the caucuses would have to be privately funded. Exit question one: Who’s paying? Exit question two: Is there a man or woman among you who thinks Hillary will win a caucus by a wide enough margin to...

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2008 – A bipartisan congressional effort kicked off on Capitol Hill today to stand behind America Supports You, a Defense Department program that connects citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad. From left: John E. Potter, U.S. postmaster general, Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communications and public liaison, Rep. Mary Bono Mack of California and Rep. Connie Mack of Florida, Karen Grimord, founder and president of the Landstuhl Hospital Care Project, and Army Brig. Gen. Gary Patton, director of manpower and personnel for the Joint...

I'm really trying to understand this ...If 100 people vote in a primary, and the vote splits 50/50, does that mean, when they come back together again and caucus, and the 'vote' goes 60/40 ...

In a raucous conference call to reporters that included an interruption and heated exchange with one of Barack Obama’s attorneys — Hillary Clinton’s campaign accused Obama supporters Tuesday of trying to hijack the Democratic presidential caucuses in Texas. The caucuses, which require supporters to organize and pledge their votes to their candidate in an open forum, began across the state immediately after primary polls closed at 9 p.m. ET. Shortly after their start time, Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson convened a conference call with reporters to claim that alleged irregularities in the Texas caucuses were “not typical” of the usual...

The Dallas Morning News gets hold of Clinton caucus "training materials," in which supporters are instructed to fight for procedural control of caucuses. The materials say in part, "DO NOT allow the supporter of another candidate to serve in leadership roles." It goes on to say, "If our supporters are outnumbered, ask the Temporary Chair if one of our supporters can serve as the Secretary, in the interest of fairness. "The control of the sign-in sheets and the announcement of the delegates allotted to each candidate are the critical functions of the Chair and Secretary. This is why it is...

Speaking on KTTH Radio today in Seattle, the Washington State Republican Chairman, Luke Esser, skillfully presented his response to presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee regarding allegations that Esser's order to stop the counting of caucus delegate preferences amounted to methods deployed by the now defunct Soviet Union. Explaining that he did not order the count to be stopped, Esser asserted that the count paused only for the evening and Sunday in order to let the all volunteer work force rest for the night and time to attend Sunday church services the following day. Expressing understanding that some would be unhappy with...

(CNN) — Mike Huckabee continued to cry foul Monday over the results in Saturday’s Washington State GOP caucuses, saying the state party chairman's decision to call the race there early for John McCain is reminiscent of elections in communist bloc nations. "That is not what we do in American elections," Huckabee said on CNN's American Morning Monday. "Maybe that's how they used to conduct it in the old Soviet Union, but you don't just throw people's votes out and say, 'well, we're not going to bother counting them because we kind of think we know where this was going.' In...

Saturday's Washington State Republican Caucus took place in 39 counties across the state and as the preliminary results poured in the data was analyzed, parsed, dissected and pontificated upon by commentators from across the cable broadcast spectrum. We heard CNN report that counting on the Republican side stopped at 87% due to "absentee ballots" yet to be counted. We were told by MSNBC that it was a Republican "race" that was too close to call. We were informed by Fox News that no Republican delegates were allocated with no reason given for this fact. Here is what they didn't tell...

Fox News has learned that the Huckabee campaign has called for a “full investigation” into the Washington State Caucus results, and are sending campaign lawyers to the state to help in that pursuit. Ed Rollins, Huckabee campaign chairman, directly challenged Washington State GOP Chairman Luke Essers move in anounncing that John McCain had won the tight race with only 87.2 percent of the votes counted. ” The chairman showed very bad judgement in stopping the voting last night when announcing John McCain had won, when there was less that a 200 vote margin between the two candidates,” Rollins told Fox...

CAPE ELIZABETH — Sen. Barack Obama cruised to an easy win in the Cape Elizabeth caucus on Saturday, defeating Sen. Hillary Clinton by a vote of 72 to 28 percent. More than 680 people turned out to participate in the caucus, more than double the number of those that showed up in 2004, according to Jamie Wagner, the chairman of the Cape Elizabeth Democratic Committee. The large crowd delayed the start of the caucus by more than an hour. Obama won by a final tally of 556 to 217. That total includes the 94 Democrats who voted absentee. The Illinois...

As a member of the Washington State Republican State Committee I wanted to make sure some information about the caucus got out. 49% of WA delegates are decided by the Caucus and Convention process. After Feb 9th Caucuses, the next step is the County Conventions, at which time delegates elected on Feb. 9th meet to discuss the Platform and Elect delegates to the State Convention. It is at the State Convention that the delegates from each county meet by Congressional District to elect delegates to the National Convention (with a promise of a vote on the first balloting). 51% are...

A Conservative Caucus within the Republican Party, a concept (vanity) Historical perspective: In 1968-9 there was a movement within the Democrat party to form a new left alliance. This alliance was formed of neo-communists, socialists, far left liberals and antiwar activists. It’s purpose was to effectively move the direction or take over the Democrat party. The intention was, first, as a caucus within the party to direct and shape national policy. Its long term goal was to take over the party. It partially succeeded when McGovern was nominated. It has continued to this day. I was a college student, what...

LANSING -- A top Michigan Democrat says the Democratic National Committee is pressuring Michigan and Florida to hold Democratic presidential caucuses so the delegates they've lost for holding January primaries can be seated at the national convention.DNC member Debbie Dingell said it's unclear whether either state would hold caucuses since they've already held primaries, Michigan on January 15 and Florida on January 29.But she said the DNC is asking the two states to consider such a plan as the likelihood grows that the selection of the party's nominee could come down to the national convention.DNC spokesman Damien LaVera said the...

AS OUR DEMOCRATIC process grinds toward selecting the next leader of the free world, it is also shedding light on the values a democracy should hold dear. Last weekend in Nevada, former President Bill Clinton said he witnessed voter intimidation firsthand. According to Clinton, a union representative was telling workers to agree to caucus for Sen. Barack Obama or expect to get a work schedule making it impossible for them to attend at all.

A veteran of Louisiana state campaigns offers this ironic suggestion about last night's Louisiana GOP primary — Fred Thompson won, or would have done well, had he not dropped out hours earlier. Louisiana's social conservatives created the winning "Pro-life, Pro-family" slate in early January largely because we didn't know if Fred was still going to be a candidate at the time of our caucuses (turns out that he wasn't, by a few hours). Because we had almost all the state's social conservative leaders for Fred, we were also able to stave off Huckabee by use of this "pro-life, pro-family" slate....

Who got the biggest boost on Saturday? Clinton - Winning Nevada Romney - Winning Nevada McCain - Winning South Carolina

Where Now From Here? The South Carolina primary turned out to be a clarifying event after all. Instead of the potential for five front-runners in the Super Tuesday contest in two weeks, it appears we will have at best three viable candidates for the nomination, and only if Rudy Giuliani proves his strategy correct by winning Florida. What will be left will be the three candidates that the conservative blogosphere has relentlessly criticized for their lack of lifelong fealty to the Ronald Reagan legacy, but whom voters have nevertheless trusted enough to support in the primaries. First, the failure of...

Woo HOOOOOOO!!! My husband, son and I just got back from our caucus at Cimmaron Memorial High School in northwest Las Vegas. Here's the count from Precinct 2455: Fred Thompson - 4 Mitt Romney - 3 Ron Paul - 2 Mike Huckabee - 1 McCain, Giuliani, Hunter - 0 votes each My favorite memory of this caucus: When the votes were being tallied up, a Ron Paul guy gasped in amazement, "Thompson!" More good news: I'm going to be a county delegate! [insert earpiercing shriek of Republican joy] more...

http://www.nvgopcaucus.com/results

Jan. 19, 2008 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal THE NEVADA CAUCUS: WHAT'S ON THE LINE Groundwork laid months ago for state's upstart caucus to be put to test today By MOLLY BALL REVIEW-JOURNAL This is your only chance to have a say in whom the presidential candidates will be. Presidential candidates will not be on the ballot in Nevada's regularly scheduled August primary.Today's caucuses are not Nevada's first, they are just the first ones to be a big deal.Nevada Democrats have had caucuses for decades, but they were small affairs and usually occurred after the nominee already had been chosen...

January 18, 2008 3:10 pm EST ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – Today, the Ron Paul 2008 campaign is calling on the Nevada State Republican Party to re-examine multiple inconsistencies in the Nevada Caucus process, and to consider postponing the caucus, which is scheduled for Saturday, January 19. “The inconsistencies, errors and multiple changes in the rules reek of playing politics with the what should be a neutral process,” said Ron Paul 2008 campaign manager Lew Moore. “The people of Nevada deserve to know exactly what the rules are and to know that those rules are being fairly enforced. This has not happened...

Judging from his campaign schedule and media reports, it appears the Romney campaign has decided to cut paid media, dial back any last-minute campaigning in South Carolina, and try to survive a likely third-place finish there by winning Saturday's Nevada caucus. It's an understandable move, but a risky one that may prove to be a big strategic mistake in the overall race. First, it means Romney must now win Nevada. He is favored there - he's well organized and southern Nevada has a large LDS population - but you never know for sure in a caucus. Second, by pulling back...

- Or do they prefer a re-run of 'It came from Little Rock'? As state Democrats prepare to hold their Saturday caucuses, cynical Republicans might well encourage them to choose Sen. Hillary Clinton, figuring her high "negatives" -- the unusual number of Americans who tell pollsters they'd never vote for her under any circumstances -- would virtually guarantee a GOP victory in the fall. That's why it's a good thing for Democrats that freshman Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has managed to challenge the perception of Sen. Clinton's "inevitability." The Clinton campaign cites Sen. Clinton's "experience." In fact, she's a one-term-plus-a-year...

We're used to Democrats saying one thing and doing another, but the hypocrisy that will unfold at some local presidential caucus sites Saturday will surprise even hardened cynics. For decades, Democrats have stood against strengthening voter identification standards at polling sites. Modest identification reforms have been enacted in about half the states, with a handful of them requiring photo identification to prevent election fraud and uphold the integrity of balloting. Although Americans need photo ID to write checks, use credit cards, board airplanes and even collect welfare benefits, Democrats have argued that lower-income and minority citizens are less likely to...

Sen. Reid a no comment on caucus lawsuit (UPDATED)By J. Patrick Coolican January 12, 2008 · 4:01 PM Sen. Harry Reid declined to comment on a lawsuit brought to eliminate the at-large caucus sites that are designed to allow Strip casino workers to attend the caucus on Jan. 19. In an e-mail, his spokesman said Reid would leave it to the courts. The statement comes as a surprise, given that Reid is the public face of a contest meant to insure minority and labor representation like that of Strip casino workers, and the lawsuit would seem to undermine the legitimacy...

South Carolina will not go to the precincts alone on January 19th, but it seems that the media has mostly forgotten it. Nevada moved its contest to the same date with the blessings of both parties, but it has received little of the coverage of the other early primary and caucus states. Pollsters and candidates have also mostly skipped the home state of Sin City. As John Edwards would ask, "Why ... why?" Nevada wanted to raise its profile in the nomination process, and the parties seemed eager to expand the focus out West, which gets short shrift in the...