Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a fiery summons to an important voting bloc, President Barack Obama told blacks on Saturday to quit crying and complaining and "put on your marching shoes" to follow him into battle for jobs and opportunity. And though he didn't say it directly, for a second term, too. Obama's speech to the annual awards dinner of the Congressional Black Caucus was his answer to increasingly vocal griping from black leaders that he's been giving away too much in talks with Republicans -- and not doing enough to fight black unemployment, which is nearly double the national average...

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama stands with U.S. tennis player Serena Williams (R) as she takes part in a "Let's Move" tennis clinic at the U.S. Open to promote physical activity for kids, in New York September 9, 2011.

<p>European royals make do with a less lavish lifestyle than the supposed citizen-executive of a so-called republic.</p> <p>This will be grand news to Schylar Capo, eleven years old, of Virginia, who made the mistake of rescuing a woodpecker from the jaws of a cat and nursing him back to health for a couple of days, and for her pains, was visited by a federal Fish & Wildlife gauleiter (with accompanying state troopers) who charged her with illegal transportation of a protected species and issued her a $535 fine. If the federal child-abuser has that much time on his hands, he should have charged the cat, who was illegally transporting the protected species from his gullet to his intestine.</p>

A Day in the Life of the Clear and Pres_ent Danger in the WH (and the golf course too) Now on Vacation .. Whew! But, rumor is .. He's coming back! :-o

(CNSNews.com) – At a hastily convened news conference Friday evening, President Obama offered his explanation of why debt negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner fizzled, and he once again raised the specter of entitlement checks not going out if the debt ceiling isn’t raised soon. “Well, when it comes to all the checks, not just Social Security -- veterans, people with disabilities -- about 70 million checks are sent out each month -- if we default then we’re going to have to make adjustments. And I’m already consulting with (Treasury) Secretary (Tim) Geithner in terms of what the consequences would...

President Obama laments the debt talks: "All these conversations I've had over the last three weeks -- I could have been spending time with Malia and Sasha instead."

First lady takes on ‘food deserts’ Posted by: CNN White House Producer Alexander Mooney Michelle Obama unveiled the latest push in her healthy-eating campaign Wednesday, announcing several national and regional food retailers have pledged to expand into a string of low-income markets where finding nutritious food options is nearly impossible. “If a parent wants to pack a piece of fruit in a child’s lunch, if a parent wants to add some lettuce to a salad at dinner, they shouldn’t have to take three city busses…to go to another community to make that possible,” the first lady said at during a...

"Better Homes and Gardens" hasn't had a public figure on its cover in 48 years. With President Obama's approval rating plummeting along with the nation's employment picture, they must have figured now was the time to break with tradition and do an ultimate exposure puff piece on his wife: Better Homes and Gardens will feature First Lady Michelle Obama on the cover of its August issue - the first public figure to grace the magazine's cover in 48 years. Obama will be the focus of an article on healthful eating for children. The issue will hit newsstands July 19. Editors...

EXCERPT A Washington Post journalist on the scene confirmed the first lady, who’s made a cause out of child nutrition, ordered a ShackBurger, fries, chocolate shake and a Diet Coke while the street and sidewalk in front of the usually-packed Shake Shack were closed by security during her visit. According to nutritional information on Shake Shack’s Web site, the meal amounted to 1,700 calories.

WASHINGTON – Michelle Obama announced Friday that she's heading to Africa on an official visit later this month, stopping in South Africa and Botswana to continue her work encouraging young people around the world to become active in their countries. The first lady will visit Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa and Gaborone, Botswana, during the June 21-26 trip.

    The First Lady is not content with corrupting American children at the White House. In a Q&A with British high school girls at Oxford University Michelle continued to promote the rapper Common. Bizarre. And then we had a poetry night and Common was there. He's very cute. But everybody from poet laureates to hip-hop folks, being able to mix up the world in that very interesting way, the White House allows you to do that. A bitter Michelle can't help getting a dig in about "the White House" allowing her to "mix up the world." (Did she really go...

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) - First lady Michelle Obama urged more than 1,000 cadets Friday night on the brink of graduating to keep in mind the families of the soldiers they will lead. Obama addressed the white-clad cadets and their families gathered in the U.S. Military Academy's castle-like mess hall for a graduation-eve banquet. It marked her first visit to the storied academy and dovetails with her recent work on behalf of military families. She noted that more than half of service members are married and 40 percent have two or more kids.

There's a psychologist who can predict with 91% accuracy whether a relationship will live or die. His name is Dr. John Gottman, and he runs something called The Marriage Clinic. Gottman uses several factors to determine which marriages will succeed or fail. But the main one is this: contempt. If a spouse mocks the other, talks down to him, rolls eyes, or sneers, that marriage is a goner. Gottman's seminal research reminds me of my friend, Laura, and her relationship with boyfriend, Justin. On the surface, the couple seemed perfectly matched: they were both teachers, runners, and avid skiers. But...

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) - First lady Michelle Obama said Saturday that the U.S. military specialists who killed terrorist leader Osama bin Laden showed "the very essence" of public service. Mrs. Obama made her first public remarks about bin Laden's death during the commencement address at University of Northern Iowa. U.S. officials have said Navy SEALs shot and killed bin Laden and four others Monday at his luxury compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

It makes me SICK to think this poser is getting all the glory for killing UBL, and struted around like a peacock today down at Ground Zero, when he attended the "church" of Rev. Wright who famously said, on the first Sunday after 9/11, "America's chickens have come home to roost. Not God Bless America, but G-D America." While the story is Obama was not there that sunday, I will NEVER believe that he did not know that is how Rev. Wright felt. Yet after that, he continued to attend that "church" and had Wright following him around on the...

<p>The first lady went to Restaurant Kelly Liken in Vail Village on Saturday night, dining on a pickled pumpkin salad with arugula and a braised ancho-chile short rib with hominy wild mushrooms and sauteed kale.</p> <p>“Yes, it's true, the first lady dined at our restaurant tonight and seemed to really enjoy it,” chef and owner Kelly Liken said.</p>

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to students during his visit to Parkville Middle School and Center of Technology in Parkville, Maryland February 14, 2011.

GULFPORT -- A woman who made false claims for disaster assistance, by using the same fraudulent address in Stone County as a relative, has been sentenced to six months in prison. U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden sentenced Brandy N. Meadows on Thursday, and ordered her to help make restitution of $33,000 to FEMA. The judge ordered her to forfeit $26,200. Meadows faced prosecution on multiple charges but pleaded guilty in October to one count of theft of public money. She falsely claimed she was living in a mobile home on Camp Road in Wiggins when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005....

Federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation of Delaware Republican Christine O'Donnell to determine if the former Senate candidate broke the law by using campaign money to pay personal expenses, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to protect the identity of a client who has been questioned as part of the probe. The case, which has been assigned to two federal prosecutors and two FBI agents in Delaware, has not been brought before a grand jury. Matt Moran, O'Donnell's former campaign manager, did not immediately respond...

Another "slow news day" fake news story about Christine O'Donnell was generated from a non-event on Wednesday, December 30. What do journalists do when there isn't any news? MAKE IT UP! The Associated Press reported that a single person was interviewed in the routine handling of the September 21, 2010 complaint by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). That is exactly what is expected, nothing new, and does not indicate that anything new has happened. In response to a September 2010, complaints by the left-wing Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (C.R.E.W.) and Delaware Republican Chair Tom...