Free Republic

BOSTON (Reuters) - Republican candidate Rick Santorum has won support from American conservatives for his views on social issues but a habit of hyperbole may lead to stumbles in his White House bid. In Boise, Idaho, on Tuesday, Santorum compared contraception to deodorant and soap when making a point about why he believes birth control should not be covered by health insurers. "Let's mandate that every insurance policy covers toothpaste. Deodorant. That might be a good idea, right? Have everyone cover deodorant, right? Soap. I mean, where do you stop?" Santorum also fell back on a well-worn Republican criticism that...

"On Tuesday at the State of the Union, I laid out my vision for how we move forward," President Obama said at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada. "I laid out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last, that has a firm foundation. Where we're making stuff and selling stuff and moving it around and UPS drivers are dropping things off everywhere.""That's the economy we want. An economy built on American manufacturing, with more good jobs and more products made here in the United States of America," he also said. Video at source...

A teenage girl who has eaten almost nothing else apart from chicken nuggets for 15 years has been warned by doctors that the junk food is killing her. Stacey Irvine, 17, has been hooked on the treats since her mother bought her some at a McDonald’s restaurant when she was two. In a small portion of fries there are 230 calories, 11g of fat, 29g of carbohydrates, 3g protein and 160mg sodium. If Miss Irvine were to eat three portions of each in a day she would eat a third more fat and almost double the amount of salt than...

As we prepare to watch President Obama lambaste Republicans for obstructionism in his State of the Union address tonight, remember: Today marks 1000 days since the Senate last passed a full budget. Pass it on:

As a Christian, I will neither defend nor excuse Newt’s past adultery. That said, after watching his ex-wife Marianne go off on him on ABC, as a man, I now get why he supposedly wanted an “open marriage.” Holy crikey. That chick is scary! Hell hath no fury like a furry woman. That’s one angry, gangrenous ex-Gingrich chica right there, folks. Let’s see … what do we have here? Lonely and bitter? Table for one? Now, before I get my inbox stuffed with hate mail labeling me insensitive, calling Newt a cad, and painting Marianne as a damsel in distress,...

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. –Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry should drop out of the race before South Carolina’s Saturday primary, prominent conservative author Eric Metaxas said at a Sunday prayer breakfast. Mr. Metaxas said he was optimistic some of the candidates competing for the state’s conservative voters would take themselves out of contention to allow South Carolinians to coalesce around an alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. “It’s more likely that some of these wonderful men that are running will hear God’s voice and get out of the race before Saturday for the good of this country,”...

SUMTER, S.C -- SUMTER, S.C.- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said his record at Bain Capital which included buying and later closing down a photo album plant in Gaffney is the same as President Barack Obama's record in bailing out the auto industry. "What the president has done overseeing GM and Chrysler has been reminiscent of what people in the private equity industry do. To try and save the business, you have to cut back to a core that matches the revenue of the business," Romney said Saturday in an interview with The State's editorial board. "And so, the president...

Politics: The DNC's chairwoman, a champion of Occupy Wall Street, once again associates the tragedy in Tucson with an end to civil discourse caused by the grass-roots Tea Party movement. Has she no shame? There she goes again. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla, head of the Democratic National Committee and the "Debbie Downer" of American politics, has repeated the canard that somehow the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., a year ago at a Tucson event is somehow linked to hatred spawned by the Tea Party. "We need to make sure that we tone things down, particularly in light of...

In a campaign speech late Tuesday night, Governor Rick Perry stated that he is "returning to Texas" to reassess whether he is going to continue running for President. The speech contained several emotional moments, in particular two moments. The first was when he read a letter from an adoring supporter who called him a "great man." The letter described a conversation that Mr. Perry had had with a soldier and how his supporter looked on in awe as he watched Governor Perry call the veteran his "Christian brother." The second was when Perry announced that he would be returning to...

Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, appears doomed to a fifth-place finish in Iowa. Unless he drops out, that would make South Carolina his last stand against Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney. The problem is that he might not receive an invitation to an upcoming South Carolina debate (given the debate criteria). Candidates can qualify to participate in the CNN/Southern Republican Leadership Conference debate January 19th (two days before the South Carolina primary) in one of four ways. First and second, they can place in the top four in either Iowa or New Hampshire. Third and fourth, they can qualify by averaging seven...

Biden to helm China policyBy BYRON TAU | 1/2/12 10:22 AM EST The Atlantic's Steve Clemons reports that Vice President Joe Biden will take the lead in formulating the Obama administration's China policy: While the Departments of State and Treasury have held important functional roles in conducting the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue meetings, raising the bilateral status of US-China relations with ongoing meetings between two senior US Executive Branch officials with two of China's most senior leaders, Vice Premier Li Keqiang and State Councillor Dai Bingguo, there has been a general sense that neither Timothy Geithner nor Hillary Clinton...

Ex-Sen. Specter’s new career is comedyBy Joshua Altman - 12/28/11 12:11 PM ET Former Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) found an open mic and performed Tuesday at a Philadelphia comedy club to tell “some of the inside stories” of Washington. Specter spun tales of former President Clinton and former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D), and just the mention of former presidential candidate Herman Cain elicited some of the biggest laughs of the act. “I should have started with Herman Cain, he gets a helluva laugh just by being identified,” Specter said with a shrug. Comedy is not just a hobby Specter...

Is North Korea about to split into two parts not necessarily of the same size ! Could there be a big regime change be a regime change ! will the puppet master please stand up !

MASON CITY — Calling the Obama presidency “an experiment that failed,” Texas Gov. Rick Perry pledged Saturday night to bring government spending under control and reduce the role of the federal government in people’s lives. “Are you better off today than you were $4 trillion ago?” he asked a crowd of about 100 at a town hall meeting at The Music Man Square. He said most of the problems the country faces stem from out-of-control government spending, too many taxes and too much regulation of business. Perry said American jobs are not going overseas because of cheap labor abroad, as...

President Barack Obama said Tuesday he wishes he knew the full extent of the economic crisis when he took office, if only so he could have let Americans know just how tough the coming years would be. "I think we understood that it was bad, but we didn’t know how bad it was,” Obama said in an interview with KIRO in Seattle. "I think I could have prepared the American people for how bad this was going to be, had we had a sense of that." Obama’s comments came as he sat down with a string of local TV reporters...

I got a real bad feeling the 2nd Civil War may be coming soon. While the (1% millionaires and billionaires) continue to print Trillions of dollars and run off at the mouth on the radio and television while continuing to run the world by establishing themselves as the “FEW WHO CONTROL THE MASSES) it has all the elements for a bad outcome. As a conservative who has given much thought to what all is going on, it has become abundantly all too clear that the objective of the 1% Democrats and Republicans who are OWNED and DIRECTED by HUGE CORPORATIONS...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is marking Hanukkah as a story of "faith over doubt." Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden convened a Hanukkah celebration at the White House Thursday in an early celebration of the Jewish Festival of Lights. Obama said the Hanukkah story was about "right over might, faith over doubt." In the Hanukkah story, a small band of Jews rededicating a Jerusalem temple found that a one-day supply of oil kindled a flame instead for eight. The president noted "our unshakeable support and commitment to the security of the nation of Israel."...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is marking Hanukkah as a story of "faith over doubt." Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden convened a Hanukkah celebration at the White House Thursday in an early celebration of the Jewish Festival of Lights. Obama said the Hanukkah story was about "right over might, faith over doubt." In the Hanukkah story, a small band of Jews rededicating a Jerusalem temple found that a one-day supply of oil kindled a flame instead for eight. The president noted "our unshakeable support and commitment to the security of the nation of Israel."...

At tonight's Hanukkah party at the White House, President Obama seemed to slip a little off script when he told party goers that "we never need an excuse for a good party." All his guests laughed. From the official White House transcript: So while it is not yet Hanukkah, let’s give thanks for our blessings, for being together to celebrate this wonderful holiday season. And we never need an excuse for a good party. (Laughter.)

December 1, 2011 11:19am 331 Comments Obama: My kids will succeed, even if USA doesn't byJoel Gehrke Commentary Staff Writer Follow on Twitter:Follow @jsgehrkejr President Obama believes that Republican leadership of the country would ruin the United States as a land of opportunity, but he's (justifiably) confident that his daughters will have plenty of opportunities, no matter what. "Our kids are going to be fine," Obama told supporters at a campaign event last night. "And I always tell Malia and Sasha, look, you guys, I don't worry about you . . . they’re on a path that is going to...

At a town hall meeting at the Institute of Politics at New Hampshire’s Saint Anselm’s College Tuesday, Rick Perry asked that all of the college students in the crowd who will be 21 by Nov. 12 support his bid for the presidency. Say what? The voting age in the United States is, of course, 18. And the 2012 election will be held on Nov. 6, 2012. (The New Hampshire Republican primary, which brought Perry to the state, will take place on Jan. 10). “Those who are going to be over 21 on November 12th, I ask for your support,” Perry...

The trooper’s radar had Robert Jahns going 119 mph. Not only was he well over the 70-mph speed limit, he was intoxicated and his wife and stepchildren, ages 5 and 16, were in the car, according to the Indiana State Police. The family was driving through Steuben County, heading north on Interstate 69 to Battle Creek, Mich., for a Thanksgiving Day gathering. Another motorist alerted authorities to Jahns’ driving, and trooper Chris Kinsey received a report about 5 p.m. Thursday that a vehicle was traveling at more than 100 mph on the interstate. Kinsey later spotted Jahns’ car, a 2005...

Cement Injections for Butt Enhancement Used by Fake Plastic Surgeon November 21, 2011 09:00 AM EST It doesn't pay to look for a deal when it comes to plastic surgery. A woman who paid $700 for a butt enhancement is recovering from cement injections into her rear. The unnamed woman was referred to Oneal Ron Morris by a friend and Morris pumped cement, mineral oil, and a tire sealant into several sites on her buttocks. The "doctor" was reassuring when the pain became extreme, telling the woman not to worry, "...it all works itself out." The victim went to two...

According to President Obama, his “religious faith” is what helps him continue to believe that Republican lawmakers will eventually raise taxes on wealthy Americans, who, Obama was sure to point out again, need to “pay their fair share.” Speaking to Reverend Al Sharpton following the Super Committee’s monumental failure Monday, the president stated his disappointment in Republicans for being “short-sighted” in not offering any serious revenues. “So the position they’re taking is short-sighted, but it must be my religious fait, reverend, cause hope springs eternal…”

Ron Paul with Sean Hannity discussing the economy and the election. Paul talks about the lack of attention he receives, if he is not ignored altogether. Paul says he and his staff were "annoyed" by the fact that he only received 89 seconds to speak at the last Republican debate. Paul warned his Republican colleagues in the Congress that they better keep their pledge to not raise taxes. He says if they do "capitulate" on taxes then people will make them pay. "I have no intention of doing that," Paul says of a third-party run if he doesn't get the...

<p>“We face the threats from rising powers — China, India, others — that we have to always have sufficient force protection out there in the Pacific to make sure they know we’re never going anywhere,” Mr. Panetta said during a visit to a shipyard in Groton, Conn., where he toured a submarine, the Mississippi, in the final stages of construction.</p>

It spooks you a little when the commander in chief doesn’t seem to know much about military history, or the military itself. [...] How do you, especially if you are running our armed forces, not recognize Khe Sanh and know how to pronounce it? Goodness, you need only have listened to Bruce Springsteen’s anti-America diatribe, “Born in the USA,” to have known how, since he mentions the Battle of Khe Sanh in the song. Look at the veterans at the end of the video. They almost look like they’re scratching their heads. “Key-san? Like, ‘I left my keys on the...

Annual Report to the President on Progress Implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (1st) "Predictions at the outset of the Recovery Act warned of the potential for wide spread fraud. To combat this, Congress and the Administration put in place mechanisms to deter this fraud, including enhanced project reviews by agencies and the Office of Management and Budget, oversight of all spending and contracts by a team of 12 Inspectors General who make up the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, and focused work by the Justice Department’s Anti-Fraud Task Force on ‘Recovery Act activities. " " Today, we are...

Covering Rick Perry's devastating inability to recall which third agency of government he'd eliminate, Guy hits it on head in observing that it's so damaging because it crystallizes every negative meme about the Perry candidacy. But even aside from style and/or political appearance points, the gaffe is profoundly worrisome on substance. Having done live TV, I can sympathize with a glitch. But the kind of stumble Perry made last night seems symptomatic of a candidate who is trying to memorize points for debate prep, rather than an off-moment for someone trying to expound on well-integrated personal knowledge or a deeply-held...

ROCHESTER, Mich. (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry says he would eliminate three federal agencies. Just don’t ask him to name them. The Texas governor on Wednesday night struggled during a debate with his rivals and said he would nix the Commerce and Education departments. He drew a blank when the moderator asked what the third agency would be. Perry previously has called on the elimination of the Energy Department. Perry is only saying “oops” for drawing a blank on a favorite subject of criticism on the campaign trail. He has struggled at previous debates and although he’s committed...

In part two of my interview with Texas Governor Rick Perry, I asked him about his views on the Super Committee in Washington and what they may or may not do. This led into his views on energy and his position on the Keystone XL Pipeline. Governor Perry​ has some strong opinions on energy independence and some equally strong views on the Super Committee and Barack Obama's failures of leadership. ********** See this segment of the video at the linked article. There is also a link to the first part of the interview for those who are interested. VIDEO LENGTH:...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday that he does not believe that the detention center at Guantanamo Bay will close because the Obama administration has not found better options for holding enemy combatants. “I have tried to be as supportive as I know how to be in creating flexibility for the executive branch and not micromanage the war,” Graham told Attorney General Eric Holder, who was testifying at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

VIDEO: Gov. Rick Perry (R-Tx.) on Jan Mickelson (WHO-AM) Length: 33:23

CANNES, France (AP) — Conceding a fragile global recovery and plodding job growth back home, President Barack Obama said Friday he is confident European leaders are fixing their ominous debt crisis, which threatens to undermine the United States and his own shot at a second term. A year shy of the election, Obama said the American economy is growing, but "way too slow." The president capped his role at a brisk G-20 summit essentially where he started it, offering solidarity to his European peers with none-too-subtle signals it was their responsibility to clean up the economic mess in their own...

Don't believe the Mitt Romney ads declaring that Texas is a wasteland of minimum wage jobs provided only for illegal aliens. Here is Mitt Romney endorsing Rick Perry just a little over a year ago. Key takeaway quote from Romney, "What you just saw there was a man [Rick Perry] who led this state [Texas] to greatness at a time when this nation needs models of greatness." What a difference a year makes.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry says America should extend work visas to allow illegal immigrants to move freely between the U.S. and their home countries _ but opposes a path to citizenship.

Well, my dear Mr. President, you’ve been making quite a disagreeable spectacle of yourself lately. You’ve been traveling around campaigning on that big, black, foreign-made bus that looks like a harbinger of death come riding into America’s heartland. And on every stop in every hamlet, you say you want to talk about jobs, jobs, jobs, and jobs. So is this that “pivot to jobs” we’ve all been anxiously awaiting since the failed Mother-Load Stimulus to nowhere and the Auto Stimulus to Unions and the Obamacare Stimulus to Kathleen Sebelius’ queen-hood? Honestly honey, you’ve done the so-called “pivot to jobs” so...

That's right. The "Republican take" was none other than uber-ditz Meghan McCain. TOTALLY! Among her pearls of wisdom: "Mitt Romney is, like, the most experienced candidate. He will be the nominee, and it's time that people learned to just deal with it." "We are going through each nominee one at a time like when you're...speed dating". "Herman Cain has never held public office before, and I find that, like, so disturbing". "Romney...Mitt..Romney...the best...Romney...." (ok I skipped the rest because I couldn't take it)

Obama; wealth gap shows need for fairer approachAlister Bull Reuters 6:06 a.m. EDT, October 29, 2011 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, seizing on a report that showed America's rich getting richer while the rest of the country struggled to get ahead, said on Saturday that Republicans were thwarting a fairer approach. "Republicans in Congress aren't paying attention. They're not getting the message," the president said in his weekly radio and Internet address. Obama, a Democrat, has tried to tap anger at the super-rich, which has sparked Occupy Wall Street protests nationwide, to push congressional Republicans to pass his $447...

Sen. John McCain felt like he was “mugged” by Barack Obama when the Democrat broke a promise to use public financing during the 2008 presidential campaign, according to a top McCain adviser. Trevor Potter, who served as the lead lawyer for McCain’s Republican presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2008, suggested Obama’s move was unprincipled and effectively killed the Watergate-era public-financing program. “What happened to [McCain] was, he — I think he feels he got mugged first by the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, who walked away from the public financing of the general election, and then by the press, who let...

I'm in the 1%. But I support the 99%Last year, I earned a million dollars on Wall Street, but I'm sick of this society that skews the rewards for work so grotesquely Brad Maher Friday 14 October 2011 12.04 EDT **SNIP** I've chosen this life, of course, and I'm compensated for that financially. But I'm not part of the truly rich for whom taxes are optional, and for whom ever-increasing property prices are a source of entrenching their wealth. Thank God, my earnings permit me to live without the fears of the next energy bill, or phone bill, or medical...

Malone, NY -- A New York man who had abused his ex-girlfriend and then plotted to kill her and make it look like she had been mauled by a bear was sentenced to prison for trying to hire someone to kill her in a staged car crash. Clyde Gardner gave up on his first idea: Kill a bear, skin it and wear the pelt while using its claws to kill the woman as she took out her garbage. The plan included him wearing the bear's paws on his feet so no human footprints would be left behind. When he abandoned...

WASHINGTON, Libya (AFP) — Senator John McCain called Sunday for urgent US medical aid to help thousands wounded in Libya, amid a growing humanitarian crisis as revolutionary forces battle the final vestiges of the Moamer Kadhafi regime. "They've got thousands and thousands of wounded. They say that they've lost 25,000 people killed, 3,000 have been maimed, 60,000 injured. That's their government figures," McCain told CBS television's "Face the Nation" program. "We should be helping them," said the influential US lawmaker, a Vietnam War aviator and prominent voice on US military matters who also was the Republican Party's losing 2008 presidential...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Toby Keith says gay marriage doesn't bother him and trying to stop it wastes time and money. The country superstar tells "CMT Insider" airing Saturday on CMT that he doesn't see the reason behind getting into people's personal lives. He says refusing a marriage license to people because they are gay won't stop them from living together, so it accomplishes nothing. Keith also weighed in on the military's now-repealed "don't ask, don't tell" policy that banned gays serving openly in uniform. He says that anyone with the training and passion should have the right to defend...

The face of kiddie porn SUTHERLIN, Ore. -- Sutherlin police have arrested an Oakland man on child porn charges, after they say he left the electronic device at the Shell station in Sutherlin. Officers arrested Jason Daniel Goodman, 33, after what they say was a six month investigation. An employee of the Shell station found the device back around October of last year. They kept the item at the station waiting for someone to claim it. In February of this year, the employee asked if he could take the iPod home since nobody claimed it. Police say he went home...

Barack Obama joins Open Government Partnership for group photo Rich Shulman writes I don't know much about diplomatic protocols, but I would guess that waving during the group photo is something to avoid.

Mr. Shulman writes: "I don't know much about diplomatic protocols, but I would guess that waving during the group photo is something to avoid."

Obviously there is no logical reason for her unfavorables in the polls to be what they are. Did she do anything like let an intern give her oral sex or get involved in some disasterous scandal ? absolutely not. There is NOTHING on her. They have looked and looked and looked. Nobody has found a thing. She seems to be the kind of leader that the American people are wanting to represent them. They do. I contend to you that her unfavoribles mean NOTHING. It is useless polling data and should have no impact on who wins the nomination in...

(snip) Beyond South Carolina, Graham thinks the GOP should look to all corners of the country, “our pretty deep pool,” for its vice-presidential nominee. The Northeast, he predicts, could be the place to find a leader who balances the ticket. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, he says, would be excellent. Or, if Republicans were looking to Florida, freshman Sen. Marco Rubio, “a good guy, would obviously be very helpful.” Those two names, I say, are obvious. Graham smiles and floats another: Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor. “I know it would create problems on the social side,” he...

A businessman decapitated himself in his sports car to get back at his younger wife for leaving him, an inquest has heard. Gerald Mellin, 54, taunted his estranged wife Mirrielle, 33, with threats of suicide. He even showed her the rope he was going to use, which he kept in the boot of his open-top Aston Martin DB7....