Free Republic

France's new Socialist president owns three holiday homes in the glamorous Riviera resort of Cannes, it emerged today. The 57-year-old who 'dislikes the rich' and wants to revolutionise his country with high taxes and an onslaught against bankers is in fact hugely wealthy himself. His assets were published today in the Official Journal, the gazette which contains verified information about France's government. To the undoubted embarrassment to the most left-wing leader in Europe and a man who styles himself as 'Mr Normal', they are valued at almost £1million.

The chocolate world is in midst of a revolution, and the king-sized Snickers has been dethroned. Mars Inc. announced plans to halt production of any chocolate product that exceeds 250 calories per portion by the end of 2013 in its initiative to fight America's escalating obesity epidemic. The king-sized Snickers bar, which weighs in at a hefty calorie count of 510, will be one of the first to go in the chocolate megacorp's health purge.

This wouldn't be the first time President Obama has gotten in trouble with his wife Michelle for eating junk out on the campaign trail, but this time health conscious Michelle may be upset for an entirely different reason. When the president stopped by Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in West L.A. Monday night, he confided to manager David Daviston that he was going to catch flack for it back home. But he didn't expect healthy eater in chief Michelle Obama to be bummed because her husband ordered the distinctly unhealthy "No. 9, 'Country Boy,'" which included three wings and...

Publishers for US First Lady Michelle Obama’s upcoming cookbook have released an early preview of the book’s cover art and revealed more details about its spring release. American Grown: How the White House Kitchen Garden Inspires Families, Schools, and Communities, published by Crown Publishers, is Obama’s first cookbook and will be issued in both print and digital editions. The print edition will include photos of the White House garden and Obama throughout the seasons, and include more details about how the First Lady was inspired by her daughters Sasha and Malia to change her family’s eating habits and plant an...

When celebrity chef Paula Deen met with Michelle Obama, she was surprised at just how much food the first lady could put away. Mrs. Obama has become a driving force in preaching healthy eating for others, but according to the newspaper, Deen recalls, she packed away anything but healthy food -- both on the air and during the commercials. “She probably ate more than any other guest I've ever had on the show!" said Deen, sometimes called the "Queen of Butter" for her decidedly non-dietetic fare. According to the Food Network star, after complimenting Michelle on her slim figure, she...

“You got me!” That’s how Massachusetts Gov. Duval Patrick reacted after local news station WBZ-TV caught Patrick driving in his SUV during “car-free week” — a green initiative launched by the governor himself. “Look, it’s a great initiative for people who can make the most of it,” he told reporters. “I hope they will and I hope during the course of the week to make the most of it, too.” But he also tried to make light of the situation while quipping, “I carpooled this morning with my trooper. We both had to come together.” But some local residents aren’t...

In dealing with the press, Mayor Rahm Emanuel often tries to emulate his former boss, President Barack Obama. But Emanuel can’t match Obama’s calm demeanor. In fact Emanuel’s temper can get the best of him. I found out yesterday when I asked him a question about where his children would go to school, and he let his famous temper emerge. For some background, I had the chance to ask Barack Obama a similar question in 2008, just after he had won election and was transitioning to the White House. Since the president had sent his own children – Malia and...

It’s a general rule of thumb that whenever a politician says something negative about their opposition, they better not be guilty of the same thing, otherwise they would end up looking incredibly foolish. The latest pol to suffer from this is Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Since she began her tenure as head of the DNC, Wasserman Schultz has gone on the offensive against the Republicans. She accused the GOP of “waging war on the unemployed” and slammed their budget proposal as a “path to poverty.” But her latest attack on the opposition backfired in a major way....

Michelle Obama Cartoon: First Lady Drawn As Fat, Binging On Burgers. Presidential First Lady, Michelle Obama has been pegged as a gluttonous, portly hypocrite in a cartoon drawing posted on Biggovernment.com One year ago, Mrs. Obama initiated her "Let's Move!" campaign to thwart childhood obesity by stressing the importance of activity and nutritious eating in young adults. The problem is she has been caught on camera more than once eating foods that contradict her movement. Couple that with the recent revealing of the fatty foods served at The White House's Super Bowl party and Conservatives are having a field day...

Seniors should be older before the receive Social Security and wealthy Americans should receive less benefits across the board, says Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. He made the argument in an interview on Sunday's Meet the Press, but it's a position Graham has advocated for on the stump in South Carolina, including a 2009 stop at The Citadel with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. "What I'm going to do is challenge this country to make some hard decisions," Graham said at the time, telling the crowd of cadets, Tea Partiers, and Graham supporters that they shouldn't give Congress a pass on the...

Obama's 'Beast' Creates Stir at NATO Green Summit (Nov. 20) -- World leaders attending the NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal, zipped around in zero-emission electric vehicles. Journalists covering the event hopped aboard electric buses to get from venue to venue. And President Barack Obama's eight-ton, diesel-fueled armored limousine dubbed "the Beast" drew even more attention than usual. Lisbon newspapers dedicated pages of coverage to the vehicle, with charts featuring every detail that the Secret Service is willing to divulge -- like the special foam in the gas tank to extinguish any fire from a direct hit, and the supply of...

Al Gore -- He did it again. Recently, Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore toured again. Or maybe he does that all the time. This time, he turned up in Gothenburg (Sweden) for the usual alarmist talk. In advance, all distinguished guests were politely advised to – if possible – use any form of public transportation to go to the event, in order to minimize CO2 emissions. Intriguingly, the Master of World Climate himself arrived in a rental car (with or without driver is unclear), from the airport, and subsequently left the engine running for the entire lecture. That is...

Check out today’s ad in The New York Times by the civil rights leader Kevin P. Chavous, chairman of the Black Alliance for Educational Options, condemning President Obama for his failure to support school choice nationwide. (The alliance advocates for vouchers and is supported by several pro school choice foundations, including the Walton Family Foundation.) Chavous asks President Obama to endorse school vouchers, saying that the president himself attended the most elite school in Hawaii because of scholarships. At the risk of being pilloried, I have to point out that the evidence is not strong that vouchers have dramatically improved...

A contagious virus may be linked to childhood obesity according to a University of California study. The study showed that majority of the children who tested positive for adenovirus 36, also known as AD36, were obese. Relatedly, First Lady Michelle Obama has pleaded with restaurants to take an active stance against childhood obesity by rethinking the food they offered and using low fat alternatives in their menus. The study conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Schwimmer, principal author of the study and an associate professor of clinical pediatrics, looked for evidence of adenovirus 36 in 124 children ages 8 to 18. The...

Summary: Barack and Michelle Obama are entitled to vacations, but they are not King, Queen or royalty such as the King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain. The Obamas should remember that US families are suffering from the horrible economy. The last time I checked, the United States of America was a constitutional republic with three co-equal branches of government. Obviously, the President and his wife missed civics class and believe we are living in a monarchy. What else can explain their outrageous behavior? They think they are the King and Queen of America, to hell with the U.S....

Sacrifice is something that many Americans are becoming all too familiar with during this economic downturn. It was a key theme in President Obama's inaugural address to the nation, and he's referenced it numerous times when lecturing the country on how to get back on its feet. But while most of the country is pinching pennies and downsizing summer sojourns - or forgoing them altogether - the Obamas don't seem to be heeding their own advice. While many of us are struggling, the First Lady is spending the next few days in a five-star hotel on the chic Costa del...

The saga of Senator John Kerry's $ 7 million sailing yacht tied up on the Newport waterfront in the tax haven of Rhode Island proved again how adept Democrats are at spending other people's money. This time the $7 million was presumably spent from his wife's inherited fortune. But the larger story here isn't about tax havens. And it isn't about hypocrisy. And it's far less about trophy wives with trust funds. It's not even about being a lifelong leech working in government jobs sucking the blood out of beleaguered taxpayers. It's about the increasing distance and disconnects between the...

First Lady Michelle Obama told the NAACP to move past the slavery narrative because something else is harming minority children more than Jim Crow. That threat is obesity. Obama is right. We’re decades beyond slavery and Jim Crow. This is not to say that those issues are not important because they are. Knowing one’s history helps one to better focus on the future, but holding on to the past and expecting reparations in some way, shape or form is hoping for that pie in the sky. Minorities may not be able to control how certain people may judge us but...

(FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - There are new details in the controversy over Sen. John Kerry's brand new boat. Kerry may still be on the hook for a half million dollars in excise taxes because he docked his yacht in Massachusetts less than six months after buying it.

Senator Kerry, do you hate the poor in Massachusetts? You may not have earned your incredible wealth from your own personal works, but you have proudly voted to raise taxes in Congress every time the opportunity presents itself. I thought surely a man of honorable military integrity would live by his word and pay his fair share in taxes when selling his 76 foot luxury yacht. However, I was distraught to read on the Boston Herald that you skipped town to avoid paying a six-figure state “sails tax”: "Sen. John Kerry, who has repeatedly voted to raise taxes while in...

This is rich. Or should I say for the rich, whom John Kerry likes to denigrate at every turn. After running on eliminating outsourcing and abolishing tax havens, we have this: "Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is docking his family's new $7 million yacht in neighboring Rhode Island, allowing him to avoid paying roughly $500,000 in taxes to the cash-strapped Bay State. If the "Isabel" were kept at the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee's summer vacation home on Nantucket, or in Boston Harbor near his city residence, he would be liable for $437,500 in one-time sales tax. He would also have to...

BOSTON – Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is docking his family's new $7 million yacht in neighboring Rhode Island, allowing him to avoid paying roughly $500,000 in taxes to the cash-strapped Bay State. If the "Isabel" were kept at the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee's summer vacation home on Nantucket, or in Boston Harbor near his city residence, he would be liable for $437,500 in one-time sales tax. He would also have to pay $70,000 in annual excise taxes. Rhode Island repealed those taxes in 1993. That has made the state something of a nautical tax haven.

BERKELEY — A city official who sits on Berkeley's Zoning Adjustments Board resigned from the panel Wednesday evening amid criticism over work he did at his home without permits. Ryan Lau, who also is an aide to Berkeley City Councilman Darryl Moore and was appointed by Moore to the zoning board in January, sent Moore an e-mail explaining his decision, which was effective immediately. "I apologize for any embarrassment that I may have caused to you and the city," Lau said. "I am in the process of working with the city's planning department to resolve this matter." Lau said he...

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's choice for a top job with the Treasury Department is having tax problems. A congressional report says Obama's nominee for undersecretary of the Treasury for international affairs, Lael Brainard, was late in paying real estate taxes in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The report by the Senate Finance Committee staff also challenges the accuracy of a deduction Brainard claimed for running an office from her home. The challenge led Brainard to reduce the deduction on her 2008 return. The committee's top Republican is unhappy that the committee staff had to submit 10 sets of questions...

President Obama's school age daughters have not been vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the vaccine is not available to them based on their risk. The Centers for Disease Control recommend that children ages 6 months through 18 years of age receive a vaccination against the H1N1 flu virus.(continued)

ublished: August 24, 2009 TABOR CITY, N.C. — A sheriff says a North Carolina state senator shot one of two intruders at his home and hospital officials say the man is in fair condition. Multiple media outlets reported that Columbus County Sheriff Chris Batten said that 74-year-old Sen. R.C. Soles of Tabor City shot Kyle Blackburn late Sunday afternoon. A spokeswoman at Loris Community Hospital in South Carolina said Monday that Blackburn was in fair condition. Batten says the shooting occurred when two men went to the senator’s house and tried to kick in his front door. No charges have...

Report: Obamas to Rent Martha's Vineyard Farmhouse for August Vacation The Blue Heron Farm -- located on the island's western end in Chilmark -- is a 28.5-acre private residential compound with an apple orchard, swimming pool, golf practice tee and basketball court. FOXNews.com Monday, July 27, 2009 The Blue Heron Farm in Chilmark, Mass. (The Boston Herald). President Obama and the first family will rent a scenic farm house on Martha's Vineyard for their vacation during the last week of August, the Vineyard Gazette reported Monday. The Blue Heron Farm -- located on the island's western end in Chilmark --...

Elites often propose health care solutions that limit options for the general public, secure in the knowledge that if they or their loves ones get sick, they will be able to afford the best care available, even if it's not provided by insurance. Devinsky asked the president pointedly if he would be willing to promise that he wouldn't seek such extraordinary help for his wife or daughters if they became sick and the public plan he's proposing limited the tests or treatment they can get. The president refused to make such a pledge, though he allowed that if "it's my...

You may not have been aware of this, but on Saturday you were supposed to sit around in the dark for sixty minutes, starting at 8:30 PM, in order to celebrate "Earth Hour." Now, you may be wondering: what exactly would that accomplish? I'm not entirely sure what the answer to that question is supposed to be, but I think the general theory was that the darkness was going to inspire legions of dirt faeries to fly in, sprinkle magic Pixie dust everywhere, and that was supposed to cool the earth off -- or something. I don't even think the...

WASHINGTON - While out on the campaign trail in May of 2008, Barack Obama told the audience at a rally in Oregon that the United States must lead by example on energy efficiency and fighting global warming. "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," he said. When Obama took office, the fact that he was photographed without a jacket made news -- previous president George W. Bush had a strict jacket-required policy...

California's multibillion-dollar deficit hasn't stopped the state from shelling out an estimated $1.3 million to keep 40 new and returning lawmakers rolling in style during these toughest of times. Nearly all 28 of the newly sworn-in members of the Assembly, plus several of the 52 holdovers, have leased new wheels through the state - at a cost well below what the average wage slave pays at the dealer. On the Senate side, nine of the 11 new members - all of whom just moved over from the Assembly - picked up new rides along with their new titles. Among them,...

The most telling appointment Barack Obama has made since becoming President-elect has nothing to do with his Cabinet or senior advisors. It was the appointment of Sidwell Friends School, a private grammar school in Washington D.C. to which the Obamas have reportedly decided to send their two daughters. I applaud Obama's commitment to the education of his daughters, choosing to send them to the best schools.It is just too bad that Obama opposes extending that choice to families whose children are relegated by geography and by income to schools he knows and everyone knows will fail them. And Obama does...

Did someone ordered a surge in vanities and I missed it. It seems there's new one posted every five minutes today.

The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention is using the city's gas pumps to fill up on fuel, avoiding state and federal highway taxes, officials said today. "There's something there that just doesn't seem right to me because, in a sense, you're saying then that the officials who pass the laws are not willing to live by them, and that concerns me," Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz said. The issue came up during the council's weekly meeting with Mayor John Hickenlooper when the Public Works Department requested authorization to be reimbursed by the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee for use of "fueling...

Ted Kennedy has called Nantucket Sound near his Massachusetts estate “a national treasure” — but that didn’t stop the senator from having oil dumped from his yacht into its waters. A local photographer spotted an oil slick coming from Kennedy’s yacht Mya as Kennedy and his guests left the vessel in a launch following a race that ended in Hyannis, the Cape Cod Today newspaper reported. The lensman was so shocked that he rowed his dinghy out to question the crew member left aboard the yacht. He asked the crewman, “What the hell are you doing?” The crewman said that...

<p>Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been linked to a prostitution ring, the New York Times is reporting on its Web site. He not expected to continue his term, multiple sources in the state Legislature tell CBS 2, setting off one of the largest scandals in modern New York state political history.</p>

<p>Gov. Eliot Spitzer has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring, an administration official said this morning. He is set to make an announcement . . .</p>

aving climate campaigner Al Gore round to your house is to open yourself to a self-flagellating guilt trip, Irish rock star Bono confessed Thursday. Sharing a stage with the former US vice president at the annual gathering of world movers and shakers in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, the U2 frontman joked that their friendship was a source of pressure on the domestic front. "He's been round my house and it's like... here's the recycler Al, you know... I've got a posh car, but it runs on ethanol Al," Bono said. Acknowledging that a career in rock music was...

Because the Boston Globe was looking into it. From the paper, posted a short time ago: Mitt Romney, who has taken a tough stance against illegal immigrants in his quest for the Republican presidential nomination, has continued to employ a company that uses illegal immigrants to do lawn work at his home. Responding to inquiries from the Globe, which had observed the work taking place at his house and interviewed the workers, Romney tonight fired the company for failing to comply with the law… Romney has made illegal immigration a central campaign issue in his bid for the nomination. At...

As irrefutable evidence mounts that Nobel Laureate Al Gore's climate alarmism is about nothing other than lining his supposedly green pockets with green currency, manmade global warming skeptics around the world wonder when the former vice president's house of cards will collapse. Without question, if Gore were to lose the support of almost universally adoring Hollywoodans, the scam would implode quicker than a Democrat demanding a recount after losing a close election. As such, the following comments by actor and environmentalist Robert Redford, reported by the New Statesman last week, should bring hope to folks not buying the snake oil...

Are the stars aligning for another Al Gore moment in the presidential campaign? The former-vice-president-turned-climate-change-crusader long has hovered over the campaign despite his professed disinterest in becoming a candidate. Now, with rumors of a possible Nobel Peace Prize swirling, he's once again back in the conversation. The peace prize announcement is due on Friday, so he doesn't have long to wait to learn if he has pulled off a unique grand slam for 2007: an Oscar, an Emmy, a bestseller and a Nobel. It would vault him once again back into the center of speculation about whether he might jump...

A subprime lender with ties to Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards has moved to foreclose on more than 130 homes in South Carolina since the S.C. native went to work for its parent company, an analysis of courthouse records shows. The lender, Green Tree Financial, also was once the subject of a $30 million class-action verdict involving thousands of South Carolinians. Edwards’ ties to the company are disquieting to some supporters of the North Carolinian. On the campaign trail, Edwards has insisted he is the champion of lower-income families. Edwards’ ties to Green Tree also could hurt him with voters...

'GREEN' GORE GOES GULFSTREAM: VIDEO CATCHES ECO-WARRIOR ON LUXURY PRIVATE JET Fri Sep 07 2007 07:48:23 ET **Exclusive** As former Vice President Al Gore waits to hear if he has won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless effort on climate change, a new video will air this weekend capturing Gore on a fuel-guzzling private jet! FOXNEWS host Sean Hannity is set to unleash the damning video this Sunday night, network sources reveal. Developing...

Veteran actress and feminist Jane Fonda has been slammed for not paying her female employees working in the actress' radio network Green Stone Media. The twice Oscar winner and the radio network's co-founder Gloria Steinem have been accused of "putting their own reputations above their female employees' finances." According to the New York Post, Fonda and Steinem are 'refusing to pay severance, and the founders won't file for bankruptcy protection because it would publicly embarrass Jane and Gloria.' However, the 'Klute' star's spokesperson has denied the reports and said that the accusations are unfounded. "This is pure speculation. There is...

ONLY one week after Live Earth, Al Gore's green credentials slipped while hosting his daughter's wedding in Beverly Hills. Gore and his guests at the weekend ceremony dined on Chilean sea bass - arguably one of the world's most threatened fish species.

The White House yesterday ridiculed Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton for complaining about President Bush's decision to keep former vice-presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr. out of jail, saying their criticism smacks of hypocrisy. "I don't know what Arkansan is for chutzpah, but this is a gigantic case of it," press secretary Tony Snow said. The White House also suggested that a slew of pardons granted by Mr. Clinton on his final day in office were never properly investigated and said they ought to be. "This provides a nice chance to go back and look at the Clinton pardons....

John Edwards may be running for the White House as a populist concerned about "the other America," but that doesn't mean he has to sit in the cheap seats. The ex-North Carolina senator attended Thursday night's NBA finals in Cleveland, watching from the courtside "Platinum Suites" VIP seats costing thousands of dollars. "He should sue himself . . . for political malpractice," said Dan Ronayne, deputy communications director of the Republican National Committee. Countered Edwards spokesman Eric Schultz: "Breaking news - a candidate from North Carolina likes basketball. Wait till they find out he had a hot dog."

This is about a week old now, but if you haven't seen it, watch until the very end when Edwards answers the question "right or privilege?" Here's the full transcript of the "Right or Privilege" portion: Question: A college education? Edwards: Right. Q: Health care? E: Right. Q: A livable wage? E: Right. Q: Owning a handgun? E: Privilege. Q: American citizenship for someone not born here but has worked here for one year? E: Working for one year? That's a hard one, because I think people have to earn citizenship. I think I would have a period be longer...

Parking Lot at Al Gore Event in Northern California Filled With Gas-Guzzling SUVs Posted by Noel Sheppard on May 25, 2007 - 10:26. This is way too funny, folks, and requires all potables, combustibles, and sharp objects to be properly stowed.There was a meeting of Al Gore sycophants in Marin, California, on Wednesday. And, rather than liberal, Northern California attendees coming on environmentally-friendly bicycles, by horseback, or in hybrid vehicles, the parking lot at the Marin Civic Center was filled with gas-guzzling SUVs, trucks, and minivans.Was this just another example of the party to the left living the “Do as I...