http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/editorial-news/ en-us Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:48:53 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286228/posts Socialism is just Feudalism of the New Dark Ages by Fred Jake As I read an article on the Reformation, I was struck by the way the Muslim in the White House and his socialist buddies in congress are trying to return us back to the feudal days, where everything including the people are owned by the government. As good serfs, we are to just shut up and follow the rules and regulations set in place by today's church (which is the church of environmentalism ie..global warming and other earth worshiping entities), the nobles (Democrat politicians treated like royalty),... Self http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286228/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:48:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286223/posts Of all the reactions to Sarah Palin's Friday morning press conference, the most common by far is bafflement followed by gentle and not-so-gentle mockery. Those who've long since deemed Palin a criminally incompetent Lady Macbeth were delighted to see her crash and burn. Sensing some kind of ulterior motive, one emerging narrative is that she is abandoning ship before some messy ethics violation is revealed in an effort to preserve her 2012 presidential viability. One outlandish theory I've toyed with is that she intends to build a new life as an evangelical super-celebrity, the tough-but-loving mother of a large Christian... Forbes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286223/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:41:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286216/posts As I was watching Sarah Palin these past weeks, even before her surprise announcement that she was stepping down as Governor of Alaska – to do what, exactly? – something kept nagging at me. What did she remind me of? Finally I figured it out: She's the Fatal Attraction of the Republican party. In the movie, Glenn Close plays an attractive and seductive woman with whom the married Michael Douglas character has a vigorous fling, never dreaming she is so loopy she will end up stalking him and his family. In one horrifying scene, Ms. Close's character boils the family... The Globe and Mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286216/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:34:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286180/posts "In his landmark 1942 book, 'Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy,' economist Joseph Schumpeter emphasized the key role that creative destruction plays in generating long-run economic growth. It is the driving force of capitalism." Orange County Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286180/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:26:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285886/posts Here's a way for America to cut its spiraling healthcare costs: ice floes. This idea isn't mine. It's President Obama's. Or rather, it's where we're likely to end up if the president prevails on Congress to pass the adventurous healthcare reform proposal currently being discussed, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will cost about $1 trillion over the next 10 years. That's on top of Medicare's annual $327-billion budget, whose massive deficits, if they continue at the same rate, are predicted to bankrupt the Medicare system by the end of the next decade. In looking for a way to fund... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285886/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 13:23:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286165/posts Behind the bipartisan motives for employer-provided health insurance. On Tuesday the CEO of Wal-Mart, long the bête noire of the American left, issued a joint statement with SEIU head Andy Stern and Center for American Progress President John Podesta, two close allies of Barack Obama, supporting the administration's health reform efforts. The letter called for bipartisan reforms that include an employer mandate to purchase health insurance for their employees. An odd alliance? Maybe. But when two camps eye the same goal for separate reasons, they can become unlikely bedfellows. Forbes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286165/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 23:45:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286136/posts On Fox News Sunday this morning, Weekly Standard editor, and FNC contributor, Bill Kristol predicted Sarah Palin’s path to the White House in 2012. He predicted that Palin would become a leader of conservatives, the leader of the GOP, and then president, just like Obama did. According to Kristol, Palin is just like Obama. Here is the video courtesy of Think Progress: (VIDEO AT LINK) Kristol said, "Barack Obama ran for Senate in 2004, was elected to the Senate and the moment he was sworn in began running for president of the United States. He had no Senate leadership record... Politicus USA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286136/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 22:06:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286119/posts 'There were two days a couple of weeks ago when the call-ins stopped," says Menashe Amir, Israel Radio's Farsi broadcaster, whose shows have attracted millions of listeners in Iran for the past 50 years. "But then they resumed." The going-on-70-year-old, who officially retired five years ago, yet continues to transmit on a daily basis, attributes this to the courage of his former countrymen (Amir made aliya in 1959). In a September 2006 interview in these pages, Amir asserted that a majority of Iranians opposed their regime, yet were helpless in the face of the repression under which they were living.... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286119/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 21:47:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286115/posts As research for an upcoming column on the many drawbacks of the cap-and-trade bill now before the Senate, I spent some time speaking with Christopher C. Horner of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Horner is author of "Red Hot Lies: How Global Warming Alarmists Use Threats Fraud and Deception to Keep You Misinformed." Our discussion went on at some length and Horner made many excellent points about the hype over the threat of anthropogenic (man-made) global warming. That discussion can go on forever and I can't include much of it here. But I will point to an interesting little item that's... nj.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286115/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 21:44:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286053/posts Iowahawk - YouTube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286053/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 19:24:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286003/posts While liberal Democrats on Capitol Hill are working to pass President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's health care system, few are talking about this essential issue: Will health care reform force taxpayers to pay for abortions for the first time in 30 years? The short answer is yes, because there is no explicit provision in the bill to: • Prevent taxpayer funding of abortions as part of the health care benefit Congress is considering. It is ironic that taxpayer-funded abortions would be considered a "health care benefit" since the baby gets no health care benefit from abortion. •... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286003/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 17:39:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285971/posts I am really enjoying the pundits bewilderment over the calculus of Sarah Palin's resignation as governor of Alaska. I just want to point out that Sarah said she is seeking a “higher calling” and not a “higher office”. Observe also that she does not believe one needs a “title” to be an effective agent for change. Both comments indicate to me that her resignation is not, by design, the beginning of a national campaign for President of the United States. But just for grins, lets pretend Sarah is “crazy like a fox” as Bill Crystal suggests and that she is... Free Republic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285971/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 16:20:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285966/posts The present deflation is worth putting in context. Below (click to enlarge) is the annual rate of CPI change since 1913: We are in the first deflation since the Great Depression, albeit a mild one. In fact, raw materials prices have fallen just as far, but our consumption basket has shifted to items whose prices are slower to deflate. Note that the great deflation of 1929-1933 is followed by a brief increase in inflation (to a 5% year on year CPI gain) before falling back into negative numbers. This was the result of FDR’s devaluation of the dollar against gold,... SeekingAlpha http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285966/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 16:16:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285951/posts But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over... The Declaration of Independence http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285951/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 15:28:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285928/posts Yesterday, on July 4th, we celebrated our 233rd Independence Day as a nation. This is the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, but the process of separation from British began years earlier with the Boston Massacre in 1770, where five colonists died. The unease continued in 1773, when the colonists organized the Boston Tea Party to protest a tea tax. The Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 officially began the American Revolution. On June 7, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted for a resolution stating “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285928/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:48:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285911/posts ... We must at once understand all of the evil political movements of history, the plague of human prejudice, long-standing geopolitical conflict, the effective demise of the American Bill of Rights, among other things. A population can be led, no matter how outrageous the claims being made to lead them. In the midst of the global warming hoax, we have seen incontrovertible evidence of the ease with which at least some followers are driven to fanaticism in support of a purely manipulative cause. ... MensNewsDaily.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285911/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:13:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285908/posts Last week, in the midst of President Obama's efforts to push unprecedented expansions of federal regulatory authority through Congress, North Korea's bellicose threats of nuclear annihilation, and the Iranian regime's brutal campaign to suppress political dissent, the American public's attention was focused elsewhere. On June 25th, 2009, the nation plunged into mourning upon learning of the tragic deaths of Michael Jackson—inimitable King of Pop—and Hollywood's original "angel" Farah Fawcett. In the time it took for a commercial break, the coverage of the Iranian protests, the debates about cap and trade and healthcare reform, and the diplomatic efforts to recover two... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285908/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:11:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285906/posts Did you get Obama’s email yesterday? I did. It came from the address info @ Barackobama.com, and, as you might expect from the President of the United States on the Fourth of July, it had an “Independence Day” theme to it. Here’s what he wrote to me: Dear Austin (you know how it is with “me and Barack” - we’re on a first-name basis); This weekend, our family will join millions of others in celebrating America. We will enjoy the glow of fireworks, the taste of barbeque, and the company of good friends. As we all celebrate this weekend, let's... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285906/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:02:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285901/posts Before Lebanon’s parliamentary elections were over, the world was already turning its attention from Beirut to Tehran, where the presidential campaign was wrapping up. And as the unexpected post-election drama unfolded, ripples from Tehran spread across the globe, raising new questions about that country’s relations with the rest of the world, including Lebanon. NOW Lebanon http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285901/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 13:47:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285898/posts In my opinion, the best part of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address on January 20, 1961, had nothing to do with asking anyone anything. The moment to remember was when he said: “The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe - the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285898/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 13:43:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285893/posts The Obama administration is reacting to the anticipated launch of another North Korean long-range ballistic missile, expected to fly over the Pacific toward Hawaii sometime soon, by putting missile defense on alert. That's a big change from last time. Back in April, in advance of North Korea's last missile test, the administration pretty much pooh-poohed the threat posed by the Taepo Dong launch, characterizing Pyongyang's saber-rattling as bluster. Indeed, from all outward indications, Team Obama did just about nothing but bloviate to defend U.S. territory and interests from the missile that, by almost all accounts, has the potential to reach... China Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285893/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 13:40:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285878/posts Thanks to vacancies created by last fall’s election, then-president-elect Barack Obama faced the first dramas of his administration: Finding credible, re-electable bodies to fill those seats. Remember the good old days of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and whether or not he could legally appoint someone to replace Sen. Obama? Then there was the near-anointment of Caroline Kennedy to replace New York’s Sen. Hillary Clinton. After much controversy, Roland Burris took Obama’s Senate seat, N.Y. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand replaced Hillary, Vice President Joe Biden’s former chief of staff, Ted Kaufman, took his place in the U.S. Senate, and Michael Bennet of... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285878/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 13:03:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285835/posts Some 233 years ago we made a clean break from the corrupt Old World of Europe. Fifty-six men risked it all to proclaim in the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That sums it up — the grand total of good government. This was the first government... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285835/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 11:30:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285833/posts SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- California's campaigns introduce candidates not only to the state's voters but to its immensity. In Bakersfield, Meg Whitman, 52, the former CEO of eBay who is campaigning for the 2010 Republican gubernatorial nomination, learned about carrots. In 1968, the Grimm brothers were selling vegetables at a roadside stand in Anaheim. They moved to Bakersfield and today Grimmway Farms and one rival provide 80 percent of the nation's carrots, partly because the brothers figured out how to make the vegetables pleasingly uniform in shape. Who knew? Whitman didn't, and the story, which she tells enthusiastically and at... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285833/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 11:19:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285818/posts Former congresswoman and current crazywoman Cynthia McKinney is spending a little time in an Israeli hoosegow this week. Only a matter of time, you say? Well, she isn't there because of the time her father blamed her electoral defeat on the "J-E-W-S." Nor, as far as we can tell, is it due to her habit of roughing up cops—although there's no official word about her demeanor when her Greek-flagged Gaza-blockade runner was boarded by the aforementioned J-E-W-S in uniform. McKinney found herself in dangerous waters as part of her new affiliation with the Green Party (she was their presidential nominee... Reason http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285818/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 09:59:48 GMT