Free Republic

Hillary Clinton is looking for a late comeback ahead of this week’s Super Tuesday 2 primary and is doing whatever it takes — whether testing her comedic chops or hitting her Democratic presidential primary opponent as ill-equipped to manage a crisis. Whether it is working is anyone’s guess. Refusing to go down without a fight, Clinton was in Ohio Sunday after showing up unannounced to deliver the “Live from New York” introduction to Saturday Night Live. She also participated in a follow-up sketch from last week that mocked the seeming kid-glove treatment the media give to Obama.

AUSTRALIAN troops have been forced to use some of their heaviest firepower to fight Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan during a series of recent skirmishes, the Department of Defence says. The soldiers have been using 81mm mortars, which can hit targets kilometres away but which have not been widely used by Australia since the Vietnam war. No Australian soldiers were killed or injured in the fighting and it was not clear if any Taliban had been hit. The Taliban have launched multiple simultaneous attacks during the past fortnight. The raids have been aimed at a security post that soldiers from the...

Former President Bill Clinton campaigns for his wife, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., at a rally in Dallas, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008. RE: Last picture...he seems overwhelmed and in a daze, caught up in the excitement of the fans....it's probably like a drug to him.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., Feb. 2, 2008 – The double-suicide bombings in Baghdad on Feb. 1, carried out by two women, may indicate desperation on the part of a beleaguered insurgency, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told reporters here. The insurgents’ use of women to launch suicide attacks may be “a manifestation of the success of our military operations,” Gates told reporters at Fort Campbell, Ky. Feb. 1, after meeting with 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) soldiers and military spouses. More than 70 people died and dozens were injured as the result of two suicide bombings carried out by two women...

As a Conservative I am lost. I will not, under any circumstances vote for John Mclame. He has sold Conservatives out. Nor will I vote for Jesus' favorite candidate Schmuckabee. I believe the most Conservative candidate is Thompson and can't help but wonder who is voting in these things. If Mclame or Schmuckabee is the nominee I can't vote. It will pain me deeply to not vote, but either of those clowns are no different from the lefty. Me question to my FRiends is.. WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO??? The situation seems rather desperate.

Soon after the July 23 report from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo revealed the "Troopergate" dirty tricks scandal, a political operative wise in the ways of Albany made a prediction: Gov. Spitzer would make a sharp left turn to try to save his skin. "He'll pander to all the liberal interest groups and hope they'll protect him," the wise man told me. Buy that man a beer. Two months later, the prediction has come true. The governor who took office vowing to clean up Albany has lost so much public support that he is reduced to feathering the nest of the...

Is Fred Thompson a member of the Church of Christ? As the 64-year-old former Tennessee senator reportedly mulls a bid for president, a number of readers have e-mailed The Christian Chronicle with that question. The 106th Congressional Record listed Thompson’s religious affiliation as “Church of Christ (Stone Campbell).” In an interview with the U.S. News and World Report this week, Thompson spokesman Mark Corallo said: “Thompson is indeed a Christian. He was baptized into the Church of Christ.” Corallo did not immediately return calls from the Chronicle seeking additional information about the politician and Law and Order actor’s religious background....

SACRAMENTO -- A judge Tuesday rejected a request by Republican activists for a preelection hearing on their bid to bar Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown from becoming attorney general if the Democrat wins Nov. 7. Brown supporters declared victory and predicted that the lawsuit, which they called a "political stunt," would evaporate after his election day showdown with state Sen. Chuck Poochigian (R-Fresno). Republican officials say they will continue to press for a hearing after the election to get a fair airing of their challenge to Brown's qualifications to hold office. The activists focused their challenge on Brown's eligibility under a...

Dems have Kinky in the cross hairs Blitz depicting him as racist aims to rally base; his camp slams effort 09:42 AM CDT on Thursday, October 12, 2006 By GROMER JEFFERS Jr. / The Dallas Morning News Chris Bell hasn't been able to coax rival Kinky Friedman out of the race for governor, but his fellow Democrats are preparing a media and campaign offensive against the independent, planning in part to portray him as a racist. The blitz is aimed at not only stopping Mr. Friedman from poaching Mr. Bell's base voters but also at exciting Democrats who could determine...

This is a letter I just got via email from Dem headquarters. I hope there will be many comments on here about what this says regarding Democrat jobs (if any) being rather non-essential -- not to mention the slack work ethic it expresses. Why do I get mail from them? You could, too, if you'd play a few games with the idiots. Here goes: Dear -------, Four weeks from today, what will you be doing? On November 7th, America will vote. All the polls say that people have had enough. We're poised to win historic victories up and down the...

NWN has learned that the Phil Angelides for Governor campaign has sent a letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger demanding that he release all those audio tapes on the Governor’s Office computer system by October 4th. Or else, they will. You’ll recall the infamous backfiring tape flap earlier in the month. Using a cyber trick that Democratic spinners couldn’t explain for an agonizing period of time, Angelides opposition researchers surreptitiously came up with a tape of a private Schwarzenegger discussion with top staffers in which he mused about ethnology. Which they then leaked to the Los Angeles Times, which promptly slapped...

Rome's Catholic, Muslim and Jewish leaders have united to condemn pop star Madonna's decision to stage a mock-crucifixion when she performs in the Italian capital on Sunday a stone's throw away from Vatican City. The lapsed-Catholic diva's latest irreverent performance sees her wearing a fake crown of thorns and descending on a suspended, glittery cross as part of her worldwide "Confessions Tour". Having already been criticised in the United States, Catholics priests from across the Eternal City have gone one further saying the act is blasphemy Cardinal Ersilio Tonino, speaking with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI said: "This time...

WASHINGTON (ap) _ Republicans are howling over a Democratic political Web site ad that displays flag-draped coffins and a fake police mug shot of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, arguing that the ad politicizes war casualties and is an insult to the families of the troops killed in Iraq. The 75-second ad by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee begins with a somber musical score and images of war, high gas prices, the coffins, pollution, breached levees, followed by pictures of Texas Republican DeLay, disgraced GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. "Washington Republicans have sold...

Two American soldiers, missing since an insurgent ambush at the checkpoint they were manning last Friday, were found dead just south of Bhagdad: Their bodies were recovered Tuesday. An Iraqui General confirmed to the Associated Press that the soldiers' bodies showed signs of torture, and that the men appeared to have been killed in a particularly "barbaric" way. This assertion appears to be backed up both by the fact that DNA tests were scheduled to positively identify the remains, and by the claim of responsibility made by the self-titled new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, who posted on an Islamist...

I am a bit speechless. SCO's conference today was to say Unix developers can make some money if only they'll develop for SCO again. If they pay you a $1000 then will you at least take a look? Will you code for them for a BMW? As for SCO's anti-Linux litigation scorched earth policy... well, it's never mind about all that. I have to ask, though. What happens if you look at their UNIX code? Does your brain belong to SCO forever more? What if you later wanted to contribute to GNU/Linux? Oh. I think I get it. It's really...

MADONNA’S world tour began in typically provocative fashion when the pop singer hung from a cross, shouted an obscenity at an image of President Bush, showed video footage that seemed to compare Tony Blair to Adolf Hitler, and writhed around on a device that combined a horse’s saddle with a stripper’s pole.As if that were not enough, the singer also wore a crown of thorns, dressed up as various male icons — James Brown and John Travolta included — and even briefly played the electric guitar. Early reviews of the event on Sunday night were positive, but the show failed...

Bush Budget Scraps 9,790 Border Patrol Agents Houston Chronicle President uses law's escape clause to drop funding for new homeland security force. Washington -- The law signed by President Bush less than two months ago to add thousands of border patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border has crashed into the reality of Bush's austere federal budget proposal, officials said Tuesday. Officially approved by Bush on Dec. 17 after extensive bickering in Congress, the National Intelligence Reform Act included the requirement to add 10,000 border patrol agents in the five years beginning with 2006. Roughly 80 percent of the agents were...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (April 28, 2006) – As Iraqi security forces develop and the permanent government is seated, the Iraqi government, with support from the international community, is working to reform security institutions and eliminate insurgent resources. Praise for the Iraqi’s national unity government was one of the topics in this week’s Multi-National Force Iraq press conference. MNF-I Spokesman Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch started the press conference by congratulating the people of Iraq and Iraqi leaders for reaching agreement on the top leadership posts for a national unity government. “There will be challenges … remember, democracy in Iraq equals failure for...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2006 – Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that while Taliban and al Qaeda attacks have increased in southern and eastern parts of his country, the type of attacks show the terrorists' desperation. Karzai spoke on CNN's "Late Edition" yesterday. He said the Taliban and al Qaeda are launching attacks against schools, school children, the clergy, provincial officials and teachers. "Attacks have, in the past year, been against civilians," he said. "This is a clear sign that the terrorism is weakening in the military sense, that they can no longer fight the troops or the coalition or the...

Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed on Wednesday his country would not surrender its nuclear ambitions and blasted an agreement between the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to take up the case. "Those who possess stocks of nuclear arms meet together and take decisions and think that the Iranian people will submit to their decisions," the president said. "I tell these countries who want to violate the rights of the Iranian people that the Iranian people will not be influenced by their propaganda," he said, vowing the Islamic republic would "continue on the road to victory"....