Free Republic

Op-Ed Contributor How We Ended Welfare, Together By BILL CLINTON Published: August 22, 2006 In my first State of the Union address, I promised to “end welfare as we know it”... The last 10 years have shown that we did in fact end welfare as we knew it, creating a new beginning for millions of Americans. In the past decade, welfare rolls have dropped substantially, from 12.2 million in 1996 to 4.5 million today... Sixty percent of mothers who left welfare found work... More than 20,000 businesses hired 1.1 million former welfare recipients... The success of welfare reform was bolstered...

Attention Cindy Sheehan: Your 15 minutes are up. Ms. Sheehan, whose son Army Spc. Casey Sheehan died heroically in Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004, has spent the intervening years morphing into a professional protester and disgracing her son's memory by fronting for extreme left-wing, anti-war groups. Last August, she cemented her position as a leftist icon with a 26-day "peace vigil" near President Bush's ranch in Texas that attracted the media horde and the glitterati. Well, she's back in Crawford, but this summer rerun is not playing nearly as well with the media, Hollywood halfwits or cut-and-runners. Her...

When I check into this site, often there were interesting discussions from the day before I want to look at. But they are already buried 4 pages deep because it seems some people just post anything they find. Who cares about a radio station promotional announcements, Bruno Kirby dying, or any of this other tripe that some people are posting up. I'm new here, but it seems that some guys are pretty much spamming the blog with articles that rate a "1" on the who gives a crap meter. If it isn't something that we will still remember in 10...

Former President Bill Clinton turns 60 years old on August 19. Just don’t remind him. "In just a few days, I will be 60 years old. I hate it, but it’s true,” Clinton said at a world AIDS conference in Toronto. "For most of my working life, I was the youngest person doing what I was doing. Then one day I woke up and I was the oldest person in every room.” Clinton was a youthful 46 when he was first elected president in 1992. "Now that I have more days behind me than ahead of me, I try to...

On Saturday, Gibson released a statement apologizing: "After drinking alcohol on Thursday night, I did a number of things that were very wrong and for which I am ashamed. I drove a car when I should not have, and was stopped by the L.A. County Sheriffs. The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person. I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am...

KATIE Couric had fellow passengers aboard a New York-bound jet on the warpath this week when, as their plane was about to taxi to the runway, she got out of her seat and begged the pilot to allow one of her late-arriving producers to board. "It was like, 'Who the hell does she think she is?' " fumed one passenger who observed Couric's diva-like antics. "If you or I attempted something like this, we'd be cooling our heels at Guantanamo." The witness told Page Six that attendants on Wednesday's 6:30 p.m. Delta Shuttle flight out of Washington, D.C., had already...

Reporter Paul Wallsten, a leftist reporter, asked the president a question today during the press conference while keeping his sunglasses on. The president commented on the sunglasses in this exchange: Bush: You gonna ask your question with shades on? Wallsten: Yes... Bush: But there's no sun out here. Wallsten: It depends on your perspective. Bush: Touché. Daily Kos nutjobs are claiming that Wallsten is blind. Unless it happened recently, I think the nutjobs are just making stuff up (again). Wallsten is featured on the left of this picture:

This post will probably get pulled, but, I honestly want to know what has happened to Free Republic. In breaking news, some of it will stay there for weeks when it's old news. I used to check here first because you could count on Free Republic having the most "up to date" news than anyone on the net. Now, it's just like some of the other sites where you don't know if what you're reading is today or two weeks ago. Even the quick links at the top are outdated. You can go ahead and get mad but it's still...

Clooney: I ruined Kerry's presidential race Ireland Online ^ | 1/14/06 | Ireland Online Posted on 01/14/2006 5:31:52 PM PST by wagglebee George Clooney is convinced he ruined John Kerry's chances in the race for US president in 2004 - by snubbing an invitation and hurting his feelings. The Ocean's Twelve actor was one of several screen stars invited to ride on Kerry's election train, but it all went downhill for the Democrat when Clooney stayed away. He recalls: "Kerry asked me to ride on his train - he had a train going cross-country after he was nominated and some...

Before the divorce rate began its inexorable rise in the late 1960s, the common wisdom had been that, where children are concerned, divorce itself is a problem. But as it became widespread -- peaking at almost one in two first marriages in the mid-1980s -- popular thinking morphed into a new, adult-friendly idea: It's not the act of divorcing that's the problem, but simply the way that parents handle it.

<p>I just found this site and I'm chomping at the bit. There are these folks, you might have heard of them, that are fiscally conservative, believe in "little government" and individual rights. Call 'em Libertarians, Jefferson Republicans, bleah bleah bleah. They also believe...oh, shudder!....that govt. should NOT be in the biz of regulating morality...Don't tread on me...Do what you want; just don't hurt anyone else's chance of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...All that antiquated jazz...leave foreign folks be..etc. etc..</p>

Any one else fed up, burned out, etc? I am just about at the end of my rope with all the DC nonsense. Like, what the heck does it have to do with us in "fly-over-land? I am really tired, and wish these idiots we elected would gather some common sense, but am not about to hold my breath. They are mesmerised by the DC snakes, and the heck with us lowly tax-payers. How do we grab these fools by the short-hairs, and get them to recognize that without us they are "nothing". Heading for sleep now, am tired and...

I decided to end my self-imposed exile from posting due to information that I received this past weekend from ‘a little birdie’ in Washington, which I subsequently had confirmed by another ‘insider’ if you can call him that. You know I won’t tell, so don’t bother asking me for names, links, or further information. I trust these individuals, and have received accurate information from them before and shared it here on Free Republic. Of course, all are free to either accept or reject what I am about to share, but if you know anything about the Dog, I don’t change...

[snip] Event Moderator Gar Alperovitz, a professor at the University and the founder of the Democracy Collaborative, told students that Sheehan was not well. "She's in the back and very, very ill and I think also upset so she's not going to be coming back."

On CNN and MSNBC TV News

...“We need to get our troops out of Iraq. The only reason Bush wants to stay there is because his buddies are getting rich and feasting off the blood of our children.” She also wants a complete military withdrawal from all Arab countries to make us safe from terrorism. Is not ridding the world of Saddam Hussein a noble cause? “We sold him weapons and were once his friend — we made him,” she said. “I have to wonder for the rest of my life if the gun which took Casey’s life was sold to Saddam by the US or...

Excuse me for infiltrating your kingdom, but I need to vent. I just had to pay $2.41 a gallon for gas and I can't afford this. I blame Bush and his illegal wars for this travesty. And since you are part of the remaining 40% of dummies who still support that assclown, I blame you, too. I hope so much the Democrats take back Congress in 2006 so this nazi will be impeached and tossed in the clink. How you idiots can't see this man is pure evil, I don't know. Hopefully, both he and KKKarl Rove will be in...

Hello to one and all. My wife and I are accountants in San Diego, CA and she's been offered a position with a company in Memphis, TN. We've done some initial research on probable places to live and we really like the Germantown area - the homes in our desired price range (250k-310k) seem lovely, the published statistics for the town seem right-on, and the public schools are highly-rated. Our question is: What's the political climate of the town? Thanks in advance.

I wonder if the rules on this forum are applied equally? Several weeks ago I was denied posting privileges because I jokingly advocated a "plan b" in fighting the so far failed war on illegal immigration. My "plan b" was to have border guards retreat to within 200 yards of the border and while fitted with night vision goggles simply drop any illegals attempting to gain access to America. Now frankly I am not concerned with the fact I was denied posting privileges for a day(reason given was "advocating violence")but I wonder if the folks who post pictures of exploding...