Free Republic

Understanding the opposition to the Health Care Bill (H.R. 3200) is actually rather easy and can be achieved using bipartisan support. In a 1974 address to Congress, Republican President Gerald Ford stated: “Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have … The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”

FORT WORTH, Texas – The Charles Manson follower convicted of trying to assassinate President Gerald Ford was released Friday from a Texas prison hospital after more than three decades behind bars, a prison official said. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was just 26 years old when she pointed a semiautomatic .45- caliber pistol at Ford in September 1975 in Sacramento, Calif. Secret Service agents grabbed her and Ford was unhurt. Fromme, now 60, left the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth at about 8 a.m. Friday, spokeswoman Dr. Maria Douglas said in a statement.

The woman who tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford is expected to be released from prison on August 16 after serving her sentence. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a one-time follower of mass murderer Charles Manson, has been serving a life sentence . Fromme has been incarcerated at a prison in Fort Worth, Texas. Fromme had told her defense attorney she staged the attack because she "wanted to get some attention for a new trial" for Manson and members of his gang.

The president she tried to assassinate has been dead for nearly three years, and her longtime idol and leader, Charles Manson, remains in prison. However, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme is about to get her first taste of real freedom in more than three decades. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Fromme, now 60, is set to be released on parole August 16. Fromme is housed at the Federal Medical Center at Carswell, Texas. For years, she was one of Manson's few remaining followers, as many other "Manson Family" members have shunned him. A prison spokeswoman would not say whether Fromme...

Swine Flu Epidemic Of 1976 inspired the vaccination of 40 Million people a little known fact was that those vaccinations caused devastating side effects to over 4000 victims. The frightening revelations about this event are the similarities today. A company by the name of Baxter international has the contract to vaccinate 4 billion worldwide. The problem is very few know that Baxter recently was caught sending tainted Bird Flu vaccines to 18 countries. This vaccination that KILLED the host it was tested on was caught just in time.

The death of Pol Pot, 23 years to the day after he and the Khmer Rouge seized control of Cambodia, occasioned long backward glances at one of the 20th century's most horrific genocides. It was noted everywhere that the communist reign of terror in Cambodia lasted nearly four years and that at least 1 million human beings -- by some estimates as many as 2 1/2 million -- were murdered in an orgy of executions, torture, and starvation. "In the name of a radical utopia," The New York Times recalled in its long obituary, "the Khmer Rouge regime had turned...

NEW YORK – The woman who fired a gun at President Gerald Ford in 1975 and spent the next 32 years in prison said in an interview Thursday that she believed the country would change only through a violent revolution. Sara Jane Moore told NBC's "Today" that she now realizes that her actions, stemming from her involvement in radical politics, were "wrong ... a serious error." In Sept. 22, 1975, Moore, then around 45, fired on Ford as he waved to a crowd in San Francisco. A man near her knocked the pistol out of her hand and the shot...

No, she’s not planning to attend a fundraiser for the president . . . Sara Jane Moore, who in 1975 attempted to assassinate then President Gerald Ford, is out on parole after serving 32 years in prison. Asked by Matt Lauer on Today this morning what she would say to people who think that an attempted presidential assassin should spent the rest of her life in jail, her response began with this cryptic remark: “Well, I’m going to go to the Obama thing.” View video here.

With Pres. Obama about to meet Queen Elizabeth, the Early Show decided to focus on gaffes various past presidents have committed when encountering Her Majesty. Surprise! All the socially maladroit moves mentioned were by Republicans. Katie Couric sniped from London . . . KATIE COURIC: She’s met with every president since Harry Truman and many of them by the way have committed a few faux pas along the way. The first President Bush apparently sat before Queen Elizabeth, which was a real no-no. But my favorite story was at a state dinner during the Ford administration. When the Queen started...

Do you believe that the November 22, 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy was the result of shots fired by a lone assassin from the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository? Or are you one of many who believe it was a conspiracy that involved the highest levels of our government? The case is not closed regarding what actually happened on that fateful day. The late President Gerald R. Ford, the last surviving member of the commission admitted that the CIA destroyed pertinent documents, covering up the investigation of the assassination, in a recently published book....

REAGAN at CPAC: “Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?” “A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers.”

General Election Campaign In presidential trial-heat matchups between Ford and Carter, Ford trailed the eventual Democratic nominee by small margins in March, April, and early May. By late May, Carter opened up a double-digit lead and maintained it until late September. Carter's lead swelled to as much as 33 points, 62% to 29% among registered voters, after the Democratic convention that year. Ford cut into the margin after the Republican convention, reducing a 25-point (57% to 32%) early August deficit to 13 points (50% to 37%). ... In a poll conducted immediately after their first debate, Carter maintained a double-digit...

WASHINGTON — Former President Ford secretly advised the FBI that two of his fellow members on the Warren Commission doubted the FBI's conclusion that John F. Kennedy was shot from the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository in Dallas, according to newly released records from Ford's FBI files. Ford, still a congressman at the time, also told a senior FBI official about internal panel disputes over hiring staff, Chief Justice Earl Warren's timetable for completing the final report on the assassination and what panel members said about the FBI. In turn, Assistant FBI Director Cartha "Deke" DeLoach confidentially advised...

Looking back over the last 40 years, the presidential campaign that most closely resembles this year's is the contest between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter in 1976. The Republicans were the incumbent presidential party that year, as they are now, but the Democrats had a big advantage in party identification -- on the order of 49 percent to 26 percent then, far more than today. The Republican president who had been elected and re-elected in the last two campaigns, Richard Nixon, had dismal favorability ratings, far lower than George W. Bush's. His name could scarcely be mentioned at the Republican...

THE NEW YORK TIMES VS. HELMS, PART 529,876July 9, 2008 Last Friday, on the Fourth of July, the great American patriot Jesse Helms passed away. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson also went to their great reward on Independence Day, so this is further proof of God. Helms is now the second great American patriot I've always wanted to meet and never will, at least in this lifetime. The only other one is the magnificent Reagan aide Lyn Nofziger. (Wikipedia quote: "I sometimes lie awake at night trying to think of something funny that Richard Nixon said.") After a week of...

Thank you very much. Mr. President, Mrs. Ford, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Vice President to be -- the distinguished guests here, and you ladies and gentlemen: I am going to say fellow Republicans here, but also those who are watching from a distance, all of those millions of Democrats and Independents who I know are looking for a cause around which to rally and which I believe we can give them. Mr. President, before you arrived tonight, these wonderful people here when we came in gave Nancy and myself a welcome. That, plus this, and plus your kindness and generosity...

(12-31) 13:17 PST Dublin - -- Sara Jane Moore, the 1970s radical and FBI informant who attempted to assassinate President Ford outside a San Francisco hotel in 1975, was released from a federal prison facility in Dublin today after serving nearly 32 years in custody. Moore, who is 77, was released sometime during the morning from the Federal Correctional Institution and it was not immediately known where she went, according to Mike Truman, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons. On Sept. 22, 1975, Moore fired a shot at Ford from a .38-caliber handgun outside the St. Francis Hotel...

One of the women who unsuccessfully tried to assassinate President Ford 32 years ago was released on parole Monday from a federal prison in California, according to a Bureau of Prisons spokesman. Sara Jane Moore was released in the morning from the federal women's prison in Dublin, outside San Francisco, according to Mike Truman of the Bureau of Prisons. There was no immediate comment from the prison facility itself, where Moore had been Inmate No. 04851180. Officials said she had a recent parole hearing, but did not know what prompted her release at this time. Nor was it clear what...

Presidential Race: The war for the soul of the Republican Party was won in 1980 by Ronald Reagan. Presidential candidates who want to re-wage the conflict in 2008 will only weaken the GOP against the Democrats' nominee. In the aftermath of Vietnam, Watergate and a Jimmy Carter presidency that rendered America an economic and foreign policy basket case, Republicans discovered a tried-and-true recipe for electoral success. They would stand for three sets of principles: • Lowering high taxes and stemming the growth of government in order to revive the private economy, lower inflation and interest rates, and generate jobs. •...

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), a long-shot presidential candidate, plans to force the House to vote this week on whether to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. If he pulls it off, it could make for an uncomfortable situation for Democratic leaders and centrist Democrats. Liberal activists are pushing for impeachment, while leaders worry such a move could turn off independent voters. They have made it clear that impeachment of Cheney or President Bush is off the table. Kucinich says he will offer a privileged resolution on Tuesday requiring House members to vote on what to do with the impeachment measure, which...

Gerald Ford was disturbed by Bill Clinton's skirt-chasing ways - and thought he should check into a sex addiction clinic. A new book on the late 38th President reveals he had strong views about the Clintons: He thought Hillary wore the pants and that Bill couldn't keep his zipped. "He's sick - he's got an addiction. He needs treatment," Ford told Daily News Washington Bureau Chief Thomas M. DeFrank, author of "Write It When I'm Gone: Remarkable Off-the-Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford." Ford's wife, Betty, who founded a pioneering treatment center after her battle with alcoholism and drugs, agreed....

RICHLAND, Mich. (AP) - It's a corny tribute to the late Gerald Ford - and it can be fully appreciated only from the air. A farm not far from where Ford grew up created a maze in a cornfield in the likeness of the nation's 38th president, who died last December. Each year, Gull Meadow Farms near Richland cuts a maze in its corn fields. A company that specializes in corn maze design drew up the plans for the Ford portrait, which says PRESIDENT FORD across the top and THANKS below. "Instead of just creating a path for people to...

RICHLAND, Mich. - It’s a corny tribute to the late Gerald Ford — and it can be fully appreciated only from the air. A farm not far from where Ford grew up created a maze in a cornfield in the likeness of the nation’s 38th president, who died last December. Each year, Gull Meadow Farms near Richland cuts a maze in its corn fields. A company that specializes in corn maze design drew up the plans for the Ford portrait, which says PRESIDENT FORD across the top and THANKS below.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - In 25 years of interviews with his hometown paper that could only be released upon his death, former President Ford once called Jimmy Carter a "disaster" who ranked alongside Warren Harding, and said Ronald Reagan received far too much credit for ending the Cold War. "It makes me very irritated when Reagan's people pound their chests and say that because we had this big military buildup, the Kremlin collapsed," Ford told The Grand Rapids Press. The best president of his lifetime, Ford said, was a more moderate Republican: Dwight D. Eisenhower. Harry Truman "would get very...

This evening's episode of Fox News Watch was more jam-packed than Smucker's at harvest time. But for space restraints, the headline would have been much longer. Let's get this party started: Jim Pinkerton took an unvarnished shot at Charley Gibson, anchor of ABC's World News. Said Pinkerton, discussing Nancy Pelosi's shameless photo-op, shown here:: "The picture of Nancy Pelosi holding the baby inspired that genius of analysis Charles Gibson on ABC to say 'Oh! Nancy Pelosi is taking care of a baby and taking care of the country at the same time.' That's a total home-run for the spin...

U.S. deserves respect By MICHAEL COREN Toronto Sun Saturday, January 6, 2007 It was impossible not to see the obvious parallels between the deaths of despot Saddam Hussein and democratic Gerald Ford. The former was surrounded by insults and hatred, the latter by love and praise. Yet Saddam had decades to make the world a better place, Ford merely a few years. It's important that we don't merely attribute this to circumstance, accident or country. Because while the hyena of Iraq may have been particularly repugnant, there is hardly a leader anywhere in the Arab world whose death would...

President Bush held his first Cabinet meeting of 2007 today. After the meeting, he and his Cabinet officers gathered in the White House Rose Garden to make a short statement to the press. Click HERE for the complete transcript. Former President Gerald R. Ford was laid to rest today at his museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Vice President Cheney was in attendance. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

The DUmmies want to make sure you know they are utterly lacking in either class or compassion. Not content with letting you think that their SLAM was a fluke, they are now ensuring you know that being slimeballs is the norm for them as you can see in this DUmmie THREAD with this tasteless title: "Dayaam! Bury this Republican thug and bring me my mail already." Contrast the anger of the DUmmies in particular and the Leftwing in general towards Gerald Ford with their sympathetic mourning for Saddam Hussein. Some Newsweek guy was on the O'Reilly Factor last night...

Video link here: http://video.ap.org/v/en-ap/v.htm?g=B5D36D03-D975-466B-A811-81330FED9619&t=s60&p=ENAPus_ENAPus&&f=MOKAS

Kid: I have a feeling I'm adopted. I must ask my Mom. Friend: Why cause her pain by asking? Kid: Because I must know the truth, if I am really her child. Friend: I still think it's a bad idea. Kid: Mom, am I adopted? Mom: You can't be adopted. Kid: Why not? Mom: Because I would never have chosen you. This reminds us of the enduring virtue of adoption. The decision to bear a biological child is a sort of abstract selection, more an endorsement of one's partner: "I want for us to have a kid with our genes...

WASHINGTON - President Bush and first lady Laura Bush briefly paid their respects Monday to Gerald R. Ford, joining thousands of ordinary Americans in saying goodbye to the former president. At midafternoon on a rainy, overcast day, the first couple stood at Ford's flag-draped casket and bowed their heads. Their stay at the U.S. Capitol lasted just a few minutes. Afterward, the Bush motorcade took the president to Blair House, across the street from the White House, where the Bushes visited former first lady Betty Ford for a half-hour and then walked back to the Executive Mansion. Vice President Dick...

Gerald Ford, who died last week at age 93, lived longer than any other president and survived after leaving office longer than any other president but Herbert Hoover. So we've had time to reflect on where he and his presidency stand in history. As commentators have been reminding us, Ford healed the wounds of Watergate and provided steady leadership in difficult times. But there is more to be said. Ford came to office when the postwar consensus on foreign and economic policy was in ruins. The nation seemed on a downward trajectory at home and abroad. By dint of hard...

Bob Woodward insists that then-White House chief of staff Al Haig offered Vice President Gerald Ford a deal to pardon Richard Nixon if he resigned the presidency. Haig flatly denies that assertion and calls it an "insult." Appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Dec. 27, the day after Ford died, Woodward – who interviewed Ford extensively in recent years – was asked why he thought Ford pardoned Nixon. Woodward responded: "Well, first of all, one of the things Ford told me, which I published a number of years ago, is that he believes, he, Gerald Ford, believed that Al...

The United States Capitol Rotunda       Remembering President Gerald R. Ford (1913-2006) 8:11 P.M. EST THE VICE PRESIDENT: Mrs. Ford, Susan, Mike, Jack, and Steve; distinguished guests; colleagues and friends; and fellow citizens: Nothing was left unsaid, and at the end of his days, Gerald Ford knew how much he meant to us and to his country. He was given length of years, and many times in his company we paid our tributes and said our thanks. We were proud to call him our leader, grateful to know him as a man. We told him these things, and there is...

In all the commentary about Gerald Ford, one aspect of his life that has received little notice, but which I suspect is subconsciously behind a lot of the accolades, was his public role after he left the White House. It was understated to the point of disappearance. Two years ago in a piece about the media in Policy Review, I wrote that it may take long "for the realization to seep in that Ford has been our greatest contemporary ex-president. For in an age of mass media, where divinity is dependent upon being noticed by the crowd and being forgotten...

IN MEMORIAMGerald R. Ford38th President of the United StatesJuly 14, 1913 - December 26, 2006 The Boy Scouts of America joins the Ford family and our country in mourning the loss of President Gerald R. Ford. His presidential term coincided with a very difficult time in American history, but he served with grace and dignity. President Ford achieved Eagle Scout, Scouting's highest rank, which is accomplished by only about 4 percent of all Boy Scouts. By dedicating himself to serving the youth and families of his country throughout his life, he left each of us with a shining example...

The following is posted on the NYC.gov website regarding the declared National Day of Mourning on Tuesday, January 2, 2007 in observance of the late President Gerald R. Ford: "In honor of former President Gerald Ford, federal offices, courts and post offices will be CLOSED on Tuesday, January 2. In addition, the NY Stock Exchange and NASDAQ will be closed. However, city and state government offices, courts and schools will be OPEN on Tuesday." The message is posted on the provided NYC.gov link in the upper right hand corner of the webpage under the block "NYC RIGHT NOW" - 1...

Gerald Ford Helped Lead GOP Away from Isolationism During a speaking trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan, a couple of years ago, I whiled away a few spare hours touring the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. The news stories today about Ford’s death rightly focus on his “accidental presidency,” his pardon of Richard Nixon, and the important if transitional role he played in helping our nation recover from the trauma of Watergate and the fall of South Vietnam. One underappreciated aspect of Ford’s record that I learned from my visit to the museum in Grand Rapids is that he was a...

  For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryDecember 30, 2006 President's Radio Address       Audio      Remembering President Gerald R. Ford (1913-2006)      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, as Americans prepare to welcome a new year, we do so with heavy hearts and fond memories of our 38th President, Gerald R. Ford. We mourn the passing of a courageous leader, a true gentleman, and a loving father and husband. On behalf of all Americans, Laura and I send our prayers and condolences to Mrs. Ford and the entire Ford family. Gerald Ford was a great man who devoted the best...

PALM DESERT, Calif. - Army Maj. Gen. Guy C. Swan III will accompany Gerald R. Ford's family during the next several days of mourning, from Friday's services in California to the presidential burial on Wednesday, military officials said. As military escort, Swan will stay with Ford's immediate family throughout services in Palm Desert, at the Capitol in Washington and the final ceremonies in Grand Rapids, Mich. Swan, who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1976, is commanding general of the Army Military District of Washington and Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region. During the California services Friday and Saturday,...

Pardons and Poland aside, the 1976 election represented a turning point in American political history. President Gerald Ford was, of course, damaged by his clearing a disgraced Richard Nixon of any legal liability from the Watergate scandal and his fall-debate gaffe where he asserted that there was “no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.� And today, as we watch endless clips of the honest and honorable Ford in action, it is these images that are frequently shown to explain the political course of events that bicentennial year. But it was the competition for the Republican nomination in the winter, spring, and...

For Americans under a certain age, Gerald Ford is best remembered for his contribution to Bartlett's — "Our long national nightmare is over" — or, more likely, for the comedian Chevy Chase's stumbling, bumbling impersonations of him on Saturday Night Live. But there's a different label we can attach to this former president, one that has been overlooked for 62 years: war hero. In 1944, Lt. j.g. Jerry Ford — a lawyer from Grand Rapids, Mich., blond and broad-shouldered, with the lantern jaw of a young Johnny Weissmuller — was a 31-year-old gunnery officer on the aircraft carrier Monterey. The...

On Tuesday, former president Gerald R. Ford, Jr. died at the age of 93. He led a full life beginning on July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska. The future president was a star athlete and the captain of the Grand Rapids South High School football team. He was offered contracts with the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers but declined so that he could attend Yale Law School. Shortly after his graduation, an outside event changed his plans. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Gerald Ford enlisted in the Navy. Shortly after returning from the war, Ford decided to...

Statue of Gerald R. Ford outside Boy Scouts of America building in Walker, Mich. (photo by Katy Batdorff) Boy Scouts will offer final salute to Ford BY TOM RADEMACHER GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Andrew Guy wasn't planning to do much more than hang out with friends during his winter break from school. The death of a president changed all that. Next Tuesday, 15-year-old Andrew will join hundreds of other area Boy Scouts to honor one of their own -- Gerald R. Ford -- who throughout his 93 years never forgot the positive impact scouting had on his life. According...

Gerald R. Ford was a good man who served his country well in an evil time. When he took office on Aug. 9, 1974, and declared, "Our long national nightmare is over," Ford did not fully appreciate that those who had done the most to create the nightmare were still here. The establishment that Nixon had humiliated in his 49-state landslide, having just effected a coup d'etat, had crawled back into power. That establishment, which had hated Nixon since the Alger Hiss case and loathed Spiro Agnew for his wildly popular attacks on the liberal press, embraced "Jerry" Ford, and...

You've got to hand it to Mortuary Bob. Nobody interviews the newly dead like he does. He doesn't always interview his subjects after they die. Sometimes, like the late Bill Casey, they're merely in a coma. John Belushi was somewhere between La-La Land and oblivion. Mortuary Bob's shovel is always showing up in unexpected places, and sometimes the mud on his boots leaves marks on the carpet. Nevertheless, he has grown sleek and rich dispensing nuggets -- little muddy clods, actually -- from the great beyond. He can coax usually inarticulate subjects to speak in whole sentences, arranged in neat...

(Editor's note: The following op-ed essay was published on June 23, 2004.)Imagine how different history would be if Ronald Reagan had won the 1976 New Hampshire Presidential primary instead of narrowly losing it to incumbent President Gerald Ford by barely 1 percent, as he did.Ford's candidacy would have collapsed, and Reagan likely would have gone on to win the nomination. But 1976 was the first Presidential election after Watergate, and perhaps no Republican could have won that year. Losing to Jimmy Carter would have ended Reagan's political career, and he'd never have become President.Reagan's strategy was to knock Ford out...

High-profile role for Scouts at Ford funeralhttp://www.woodtv.com/global/story.asp?s=5864166 Updated: Dec 27, 2006 07:36 PM CST By ANNE SCHIEBER WALKER -- One group that will be paying special tribute to former President Gerald R. Ford is the Boy Scouts. Ford was a tireless promoter of the Boy Scouts because he was one; and a top one. He has been the only President to earn the Scouts' highest honor of Eagle Scout. Ford's family has asked that West Michigan Boy Scouts have a prominent role in the funeral in Grand Rapids. Thousands are expected to line the streets of the motorcade along Fulton...

Leadership: Harry Reid has blown off President Ford's funeral because it would be "hard to cancel" his meetings with South America's leaders or put off his junket to Inca ruins. How's that for class? Reid's visit to a tourist site in Peru, instead of presenting himself as the next Senate Majority Leader at a rare state funeral, shows how little respect he has for Gerald Ford, a good man whose presidency was marked by his willingness to put duty to country first in an effort to heal a wounded nation. Not so Reid, who put his own agenda above the...

I liked Gerald Ford. Not the Michigan senator, not the vice president who took office amid scandal, not the president who pardoned Richard Nixon and not the errant-golf-ball-hitting former president. I liked Gerald Ford the man, with whom I conversed on several occasions in the Coachella Valley, where I grew up and later was employed, and where he retired after his failed bid for re-election in 1976. He was always gracious and affable, and I am glad to have met him. The first time we crossed paths, I was a college student, attending a Christmas gala in the Palm Springs...