Free Republic

MADISON — While some see a wave of legislation aimed at weakening organized labor following Indiana’s new right-to-work law, Wisconsin is not expected to join it anytime soon. “No,” Cullen Werwie, spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker, told Wisconsin Reporter on Monday when asked if Walker thought the Republican-controlled Legislature would pursue legislation prohibiting labor organizations from requiring workers to join unions. Republicans on the record said they've heard of no proposals. Off the record, some in the GOP said no one is interested in waging another big battle over labor matters in this season of recalls. "Boy, I don't think...

WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Thursday that no one from the White House ever contacted him to make a political decision on a half-billion-dollar loan to a California solar company that later went bankrupt. Testifying under oath on a widening controversy, Chu said he was unaware of his staff predictions in 2009 that Solyndra was likely to face severe cash-flow problems. He said that market changes which led to a steep decline in the price of solar panels were "totally unexpected." Solyndra went belly-up after getting the $528 million loan from the government, and Chu told the House...

Rep. Michele Bachman officially threw her hat into the presidential ring on June 27. Since then, the Minnesota congresswoman has emerged as a Republican front-runner, riding on a wave of Tea Party support and national media appearances. New Yorker Washington correspondent Ryan Lizza spent four days with Bachmann and her staff aboard their campaign jet in mid-June. On Tuesday's Fresh Air, he talks about his unprecedented access to the congresswoman, whom he profiles in the Aug. 15, 2011, edition of The New Yorker. The piece looks at the writers, beliefs and books that Bachmann has specifically mentioned as major influences...

I’m writing this to encourage others to make the effort to amplify their influence like I do. Ever since I began contributing online, I’d made a conscious decision to establish free accounts at media websites from which original articles were sourced so I could cut and paste some of my more carefully constructed comments to many different sites. By doing this, I feel I can increase my own tiny influence just a little bit more. I would encourage everyone to consider doing the same. It takes just a couple of minutes to sign up on most media websites, and most...

Harold Macmillan, the prime minister who watched US power rise as the British empire crumbled, used to say that Britain would play ancient Greece to America’s Rome. These days it looks as if Rome is declining too. The US finds it increasingly hard to drive forward its vision of international trade and economics over the objections of big emerging-market countries.

Stop the presses! (Yeah, no one’s said that in any newsroom I’ve worked in four decades in the business.) A major surprise. (Yeah, more sarcasm.) The Los Angeles Times reports that “California lawmakers kill measure banning gifts to themselves” And the sun rose in the east . . .

Our editorial today (wide application to other states): It was a corrupt system that allowed back-room politicking to redraw every 10 years California's boundaries for congressional, legislative and other districts. Legislators redrew lines to ensure reelection and protect their political parties. There is word for it: Gerrymandering. . . . Unfortunately, Californians apparently have traded one form of special-interest pandering for another.

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, or al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun, is more than a radical network, comparable to al Qaeda; more than an ideological phenomenon, like the followers of Khomeini in the 1979 Iranian Revolution; and more than a political insurgency, similar to Pakistani jihadism. It is an Egyptian Islamist subculture of great depth and influence. It is therefore also much more than a product of political decisions made by Hosni Mubarak. The Brotherhood was powerful before Mubarak, before his predecessor Anwar Sadat, and before their elder comrade, Gamal Abdel Nasser. But the Brotherhood today is not identical with the paramilitary Arabist-Islamist Ikhwan...

Given the contentious relationship between his followers and many in the conservative movement, it’s safe to say that Rep. Ron Paul’s address to CPAC this year was one of the more anticipated speeches of the political holiday weekend. And Rep. Paul delivered: railing against the “neo-Jacobins” that passed the PATRIOT Act, calling for drastic cuts in military spending, and a passionate repudiation of the Federal Reserve. Opening with a jubilant recognition of the results of last November’s midterms– and, especially, the election of his son Rand to the Senate– the tenor of Paul’s speech was mostly combative towards the more...

I'm posting this to encourage others to make the effort to amplify their influence like I do. Ever since I began contributing to Free Republic, I made a conscious decision to establish commenting accounts at media websites from which original articles were sourced to FR postings, and then cut and paste my comments written for Free Republic to those sites where it made sense to do so. In that way, I felt that I could increase my own tiny influence just a little bit more. I would encourage everyone here not already doing this to consider it for themselves. It...

The American people are becoming increasingly angry about the extraordinary amount of power and influence that corporations have in the United States today. A new Gallup poll found that 67 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the size and influence of major corporations in the United States today. Not only that, the most recent Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index found that only 26 percent of Americans trust our financial system at this point. The mainstream media is acting as if this is a new phenomenon, but the truth is that a dislike of giant corporations goes all the way...

Apparently, America's next big scheduled argument is whether women soldiers should be allowed in combat *snip* As far as I'm concerned, we already have our first female combat soldier, a breathtakingly brave warrior who suffers the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune for the sake of our freedom, every day. Sarah Palin stands alone in America and the world. Name one other public figure anywhere on the globe today who symbolizes the uncompromising fight for liberty....Waiting...Waiting...

Dear FReepers, Many posts have begun to expose the empire built upon corruption, leftwing politics and destruction of liberal democracies by George Soros. Soros has apparently inspired a company of fellow travellers who's role model for untold wealth mimics the radical behavior of George Soros. Yes, Soros is merely the leading figure among a group of vile, evil fraudsters who work together to ruin and destabilize the political process and inspire violent revolutions. In short, Soros and his radical extremists love playing God with the lives of everyday Americans.

The incoming leadership of the new House Republican majority hardly had a chance to relish its dismantling of the Democrats before the Tea Party came calling in the form of Representative Michele Bachmann. Ms. Bachmann, the Minnesota Republican and Tea Party heroine often seen exhorting conservative activists at rallies and on cable television, announced that she intended to seek the No. 4 position among House Republicans. She said she could provide the viewpoint of a constitutional conservative, one she evidently sees lacking in Representatives John A. Boehner of Ohio, Eric Cantor of Virginia and Kevin McCarthy of California — the...

Today New Yorkers, like all Ameri cans, are observing Labor Day -- and many have the day off. Great. No doubt, they earned it. But the holiday -- once meant to extol an honorable movement, affirm worker solidarity and celebrate gains won through collective bargaining -- is an ideal time to look at what has become of the labor movement in recent years. Alas, that doesn't merit celebration. Take a few of the latest developments. In Congress, union giveaways -- like the ever-upward minimum wage -- have helped feed a painfully high jobless rate, now stuck near 10 percent. Union-driven...

Mrs Palin is not running for office, but her vice presidential candidacy in 2008 as an anti-abortion, mother-of-five from a conventional background has played a central role in persuading more women with similar outlooks to step into the limelight. Often controversial, outspoken and resolutely Right-wing, Republican women are beginning to overhaul the image of the party. After its heavy losses in 2008 to the Democrats, the Grand Old Party was written off as too male, too old and too out of touch. A record 140 women have competed in Republican primaries for the House of Representatives and the Senate this...

5 minutes ago Rush tops Stern as the "most important radio talk show host of all time" Rush Limbaugh To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Talkers Magazine, there’s an all-time list of the “Heaviest Hundred.” Calling him “The most important innovator in modern news/talk,” Rush Limbaugh took the top spot on the list. At #2, the talker called “the standard by which younger-demo talk is judged,” Sirius XM’s Howard Stern. Following Limbaugh and Stern to round out the top-10, in order, is Larry King, Sean Hannity, Don Imus, Arthur Godfrey (called the “pioneer of unscripted talk radio”), Dr. Laura Schlessinger,...

"JournoList e-mails reveal how the liberal media shaped the 2008 election" At the link is the first MSM article I have seen that makes the case for part of the role that the MSM played in the '08 Election.

There are some events that you will always remember where you were when they happened. The events of July 3, 2009 is one of those times. It was an average Friday, the day before our nation’s 233rd birthday. It would have been a slow news day, normally, and on this weekend, the 24 hour news channels had coverage of Michael Jackson’s death playing on an endless loop. What would happen that Friday afternoon would knock Michael Jackson right off the TV and send the political world reeling. We got word “something” was about to happen in Alaska. Now as a...

Michelle Obama unveiled the newly-expanded President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition to D.C. school children last week. For years the Council (formerly known merely as the President’s Council on Fitness and Sports) busied itself with pushing Americans to get outside and run around. But as with so many government initiatives under the Obama administration, its goals have expanded. The council now wants to influence your diet and while not a member, Michelle Obama will be working closely with the group to help guide its initiatives.

“Only government can implement policies and subsidies to provide an institutional framework for quality journalism.” Does that statement give you chills? How about this one: “The news is not a commercial product. It is a public good, necessary for a self-governing society. Once we accept this, we can talk about the kind of media policies and subsidies we want.” Or this one? “In the end, there is no real answer but to remove brick-by-brick the capitalist system itself, rebuilding the entire society on socialist principles.”

For a Party with only a few thousand members and supporters, centered in about a dozen major cities, the Communist Party USA has a significant amount of influence. This is achieved by infiltrating and controlling much larger groups, including several major labor unions, sections of the Democratic Party, some Black and “mainstream” churches, the health care and “peace” movements and even Obama’s “private army” Organizing for America! Links to elected officials, including several members of Congress such as John Conyers in Michigan, Hilda Solis and Barbara Lee in California and Dennis Kucinich in Ohio are also carefully cultivated.

John Calvin's 16th century reply to medieval Catholicism's buy-your-way-out-of-purgatory excesses is Evangelicalism's latest success story, complete with an utterly sovereign and micromanaging deity, sinful and puny humanity, and the combination's logical consequence, predestination: the belief that before time's dawn, God decided whom he would save (or not), unaffected by any subsequent human action or decision. Calvinism, cousin to the Reformation's other pillar, Lutheranism, is a bit less dour than its critics claim: it offers a rock-steady deity who orchestrates absolutely everything, including illness (or home foreclosure!), by a logic we may not understand but don't have to second-guess. Our satisfaction...

President Obama is losing friends left and right these days. Moderate Dems to his right are getting queasy over just how liberal and profligate some of his policies turn out to be. Ultra-liberals to his left are miffed he isn't even more liberal. ..President Obama still has one unstinting and stalwart comrade: the unions. After decades in inexorable and well-deserved decline, unions are back bigtime in the Obama-nation. It is an unholy union. It’s bad for business, bad for the economy, bad for our country. Worse, for reasons I’ll explain in a moment, this alliance could lead to bigger government...

WASHINGTON — In the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling that ended most restrictions on corporate funding in elections, a congressional panel was asked Wednesday to enact greater limits on the influence of foreign companies in U.S. elections. At the hearing of a House of Representatives Judiciary subcommittee, experts also sought congressional intervention to restrict contributions from out-of-state corporations. The 5-4 decision last month in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has sparked debate about the prospect of a possible surge in corporate spending on election campaigns. How to sort out who owns or controls a multinational corporation —...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A once-dismissed loose confederation of Tea Party activists opposed to big government, bailouts and higher taxes is causing heartburn for establishment candidates across the country. They swept into Massachusetts with lightning speed when polls began to show that the eventual winner of last week's special election, Republican Scott Brown, had a shot at upsetting Democrat Martha Coakley for the Senate seat that liberal lion Edward M. Kennedy had held almost 47 years.

It's official: Americans admire Glenn Beck more than they admire the pope. This news, at once unsettling and unsurprising, came from the Gallup polling organization on Wednesday. Beck, the new Fox News host who has said President Obama has a "deep-seated hatred for white people" and alternately likens administration officials to Nazis and Marxists, was also more admired by Americans than Billy Graham and Bill Gates, not to mention Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush. In Americans' esteem, Beck only narrowly trailed South Africa's Nelson Mandela, the man who defeated apartheid. The 45-year-old recovering alcoholic and Mormon convert has become...

Love him or hate him, Antonin Scalia has had a greater influence on the way Americans debate the law today than any other modern Supreme Court justice. Conservatives hail Scalia as the founding prophet of their true faith — the Jurisprudence of Original Understanding — and the leader of the opposition to moral relativism and judicial imperialism in the age of Obama. [...] It’s hard to write a fair-minded biography of such a polarizing figure, but that’s what Joan Biskupic has done with “American Original.” ... On the court, Scalia has shown a disdain for elites that keeps him not...

Last month's passage of a sweeping ban on federal funding for abortion in the House healthcare bill caught most of Washington by surprise. The Democratic House leadership is closely aligned with the party's pro-abortion rights base, which alleged the ban would roll back abortion access for many women by keeping coverage for the procedure out of federally subsidized healthcare plans. And for abortion rights activists, the central role of the Roman Catholic bishops in pressing House leaders to allow a vote on the ban, known as the Stupak-Pitts amendment—and in helping prod 64 Democratic congressmen to support it—was as galling...

Oral Roberts died this week and the obituaries have been abuzz with analyses of his life and legacy. The USA Today headline summed up his contributions this way: "Oral Roberts brought health-and-wealth Gospel mainstream." The Los Angeles Times gave a similar snapshot of the man: "Oral Roberts dies at 91; televangelist was pioneering preacher of the 'prosperity gospel'" But Christianity Today's lead blogger, Ted Olsen, disagreed. He responded with a post titled "Why the Oral Roberts Obituaries Are Wrong." The long subtitle at the head of Olsen's post explained: "The 'faith-healer' (who hated the term) may have done much to...

Rush Limbaugh Voted America's Most Influential Conservative By Noel Sheppard Created 2009-11-29 23:36 A poll done by CBS's "60 Minutes" and Vanity Fair found Rush Limbaugh to be America's most influential conservative. In second place was Fox News's Glenn Beck, followed by former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Fox News's Sean Hannity, and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). In fairness, those were the only choices given to respondents. That said, there were some other poll results people will find interesting as reported [1] by Vanity Fair: John F. Kennedy is the president 29 percent of...

(To be clear, that is a relatively low bar. Republicans went into the political wilderness in a major way following Bush's re-election as he grew increasingly less popular and it became increasingly more clear that the party was either unable or unwilling to break with the chief executive in any major way. Polls suggest that the Republican brand remains badly damaged in the eyes of the American public with most people still trusting Obama far more than Republicans in Congress to solve the major issues of the day.) With 2010 right around the corner, there is significant movement in this...

At 75, Charles Manson has spent more than half his life in prison for masterminding the notorious Helter Skelter killing spree that left actress Sharon Tate and six others dead in Los Angeles during the summer of 1969. Manson spent his 75th birthday this week at the state prison in Corcoran, California, where he is in the protective housing unit. Some records indicate that Manson was born on November 12, but Manson's current associates and other records indicate his birthday was on Wednesday, November 11. "He spent the day the same way he spends every day in prison," said Terry...

To regain its strength, an out-of-power party like the Republicans needs ideas to fuel its recovery and leaders to promote and deliver them. In this war of ideas, those committed to presenting a sensible, philosophically grounded conservative case to Americans play a special role. Because conservatives are distrustful of concentrated power, it is awkward to select just seven Washington power players, but here are my picks...

WASHINGTON – Nicole Kidman conceded Wednesday that Hollywood has probably contributed to violence against women by portraying them as weak sex objects. The Oscar-winning actress said she is not interested in those kinds of demeaning roles, adding that the movie industry also has made an effort to contribute to solutions for ending the violence. Kidman testified before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that is considering legislation to address violence against women overseas through humanitarian relief efforts and grants to local organizations working on the problem. Asked by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., if the movie industry has "played a bad role,"...

NEW YORK – Get over it, America. Wall Street bankers make too much money. The latest example: Goldman Sachs says it has set aside $16.7 billion so far this year for compensation — or about $530,000 per employee. Not bad for a company that a year ago received $10 billion in federal money as well as $12.9 billion from the government's bailout of American International Group Inc. Maddening? Sure. But forcing Goldman or any other Wall Street firm to pay employees less won't help a single unemployed American find a job. It won't help a single homeowner who can't afford...

Today Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev told students at Pittsburgh University that he did have input on the president's decision. What's important is Barack Obama listened to my position. Perhaps it was part of the basis for his decision. We are learning to listen to each other. This is a change from the previous administration. I think these are bold, courageous decisions, to change decisions of previous administrations concerning foreign policy. This was a complex decision. I tried to put myself in his shoes. It would not have been easy for me.

For an uneducated, unsophisticated rube and former governor from a backwater state, Sarah Palin sure can drive a debate. With prospects for passage of his sweeping overhaul of the American health care delivery system fading with every speech, President Barack Obama is making it increasingly clear that Palin will be recognized, for good or ill, as perhaps the most prominent single political figure responsible for stopping it in its tracks. It’s a remarkable story. A failed vice-presidential candidate and resigned governor — unfairly viewed by many as a cruel joke – reached from beyond the political grave her elitist critics...

After a month without Lines -- on Friday or any other day -- Fixistas need their, um, Fix. And, of course, we aim to please. So this week we are doing two Lines -- one today looking at the ten most influential Republican leaders in the party and then one tomorrow ranking the ten Senate races most likely to switch parties in 2010. Republicans have seen something of a reversal of fortune since we last penned a Line looking at their relatively meager list of leaders. (snip) 10. John Cornyn 9. Sarah Palin 8. Mitch Daniels 7. Mike Huckabee 6....

At least in part due to Glenn Beck's influence, Obama administration aide Yosi Sergant was asked to resign today. Beck attacked Sergant and the NEA on his Fox News talk show, accusing the agency of propaganda efforts similar to those used by Nazi Germany. And now Sergant has been tossed overboard, making him Beck's second victim in his campaign to rid the administration of perceived radicals, socialists, communists, fascists, anarchists and all other manner of nefarious influences. Conservatives are considering this an opportunity to attack the N.E.A. I hate to evoke this name, because it has a tendency (like Hitler's)...

The Obama Administration announced it was officially abandoning use of the phrase "global war on terror", as well as references to "jihadists". In fact, the only terminology now accepted by the Obama Administration is a reference to fighting Al-qaeda. As if no other "jihadist" terror organizations exist. Wonder why? Last February Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal's "Center for Muslim Christian Understanding, [CMCU], held a panel discussion on the Middle East. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Ph.D., reported on this panel discussion in an article posted to his minaret blog entitled "Advising Obama on the Middle East" A few excerpts: "The panelists were Aaron David...

Kennedy’s Comrade: Hunting a KGB Mole in the Democratic PartyBy Fedora With thanks to those who helped Profile of an Agent In 1999, espionage author Christopher Andrew revealed that Soviet archives smuggled by defector Vasili Mitrokhin described an unnamed KGB agent recruited from California Democratic Party circles in the 1970s: Though [Gus] Hall tended to overstate the influence of undeclared members of the CPUSA within the Democratic Party, there was at least one to whom the [KGB’s] Centre attached real importance during the 1970s: a Democratic activist in California recruited as a KGB agent during a visit to Russia. The...

First Lady Michelle Obama, about to round out the summer with a stay on Martha's Vineyard, perhaps packing those shorts for the trip, debuted on the Forbes list of 100 Most Powerful Women -- at No. 40. Given that the list is heavily tilted to CEOs and world leaders, it seems a reasonable slot. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was No. 1 and Sheila Bair,

Oddly enough, Andy Ostray of The Huffington Post, had nothing but almost great things to say about Governor Palin. Are we starting to see even the left seeing the power of Palin? Simply posting notes on her Facebook page and she is changing national policy and putting the White House on the defense. Imprerssive to say the least, according to Andy Ostroy. As the debate over Obama's health-care overhaul intensifies, one thing has become quite clear: it took former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin just three weeks into 'retirement' to prove that when it comes to major domestic policy, she is...

On the eve before the Back of the Yards Council's founding convention, the Chicago Daily News announced that "something new in community organization is about to happen in the Back of the Yards. The council is the conception and individual project of Saul D. Alinsky. The residents of the district are almost completely stockyard workers and Catholics, and on this basis the sociologist Alinsky has enlisted churchmen and the CIO leaders to form the main pillars of the neighborhood council." At the CHD's 25th anniversary, Cardinal Bernardin would have been more historically precise if he had stated that the great...

The sad news of the death of former correspondent and newscaster Walter Cronkite gripped the entire nation last week and continues to do so. Many generations are grieving for the man who brought the truth of living history into our homes and into our lives. Each generation has its own vision of the man who became affectionately known as “Uncle” Walter. To the older generations, born during the Great Depression and prior, he first gained national attention by reporting firsthand on the struggle of World War II. His coverage of the war included North Africa and Europe, where he participated...

In January, the Congressional Budget Office reported that healthcare legislation drafted by the Senate would add $1 trillion to the federal deficit and only reduce the number of uninsured Americans by 16 million. Then in July, the CBO reported that healthcare legislation drafted by the House would add $239 billion to the federal deficit and actually increase healthcare costs. Now, Barack Obama wants a meeting with the director of the Congressional Budget Office. After these CBO numbers .. which some Democrats have described as "devastating" .. it's time to pull out the big guns. Get this guy a meeting with...

Katharine Weymouth, the relatively new publisher of The Washington Post, is a lawyer who worked for the company for 12 years and was educated at the Harvard School of Business, so she is hardly a naïf in running a business. But she has never worked in a newsroom, a gap in her résumé that may have contributed to her current problems. As first reported in Politico, The Washington Post had sent out a brochure offering sponsorships — a fee of $25,000 for one, or $250,000 for an entire series — for an exclusive “Washington Post salon” at Ms. Weymouth’s home...

Is the right responsible for inspiring murder, such as that of late-term abortionist George Tiller by Kansas native Scott Roeder?  Some certainly seem to think so.  For instance, the Friday before last Bill O'Reilly had as a guest on his show Joan Walsh, the editor of leftist news site Salon.com.  She appeared because she had criticized O'Reilly for engaging in what she called a "jihad" against Tiller.  Her thesis is that O'Reilly and, presumably, the rest of us who are passionately pro-life are culpable Tiller's death. Of course, this isn't a novel idea among the left.  If there is any...

Update on Recovery Act Lobbying Rules: New Limits on Special Interest Influence Another update from Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, in the spirit of transparency as always: I am writing with an update on the President’s March 20, 2009 Memorandum on Ensuring Responsible Spending of Recovery Act Funds. Section 3 of the Memorandum required all oral communications between federally registered lobbyists and government officials concerning Recovery Act policy to be disclosed on the Internet; barred registered lobbyists from having oral communications with government officials about specific Recovery Act projects or applications and instead...