Free Republic

Probably one of the great things that John F. Kennedy did just after college was to oppose his own father on the Munich Pact [the appeasement of Adolf Hitler]. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and US Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., went on record in favor of the appeasement of Hitler. John Kennedy went on to write the book Why England Slept (or perhaps it was ghost written for him). Perhaps because he clashed with his father over this issue and felt his father was wrong, John went on to write the book. [His own father encouraged him to do exactly...

As a muscular counterpoint to Obama's weasel-words in Berlin last month, the Rush Limbaugh show featured excerpts from JFK's famous Berlin speech from 1963: “And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin....Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free.“ “At the Brandenburg Gate in 1963, John F. Kennedy tells the communists their days are numbered, “ gushed Rush. “There's not a Democrat alive who would make that speech today anywhere. Democrats today are appeasers. Did you hear any appeasement here?“ We didn't...

A Zogby poll shows Republican John Kennedy has taken the lead in the U.S. Senate race against Democrat Mary Landrieu. According to the Zogby International website, "Republican John Kennedy is among the GOP's best hopes to oust a Democratic incumbent. He leads Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu, 47%-41%." The poll's margin of error is less than 5%. "I wouldn't be surprised if the lead changes a bunch of times," says University of Louisiana Political Scientist Pearson Cross. Pollster John Zogby says, "In Louisiana, Sen. Mary Landrieu faces a strong conservative challenger in John Kennedy. The state was profoundly shaken by Hurricane...

U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu now attracts 49% of the vote in her bid for re-election while Republican challenger John Kennedy earns 44%. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey shows that, when “leaners” are included, it’s Landrieu 51% Kennedy 45%.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Louisiana shows U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu with a three-percentage point advantage over Republican challenger John Kennedy 47% to 44%.

At 82, Gore Vidal has reached an enviable position: he is an influential man of letters, a political activist, a scion of the New World aristocracy and a friend of the powerful and famous, including the Clintons. So what does he think of Hillary Clinton’s stated intention to fight on to the bitter end for the Democratic presidential nomination? The reply is instant and searing: “I think her strategy is more or less insane.” He continues: “I’d always rather liked her. She’s a perfectly able lawyer . . . But this long campaign, this daily search for the grail, has...

The president has left his party in a precarious state. But the GOP candidates running in the wake of his wreckage can learn much from his failures. We are all stars in the movies that play in our minds: not true-life stories, exactly, but life as we imagine it could or should be. Little imperfections are conveniently forgotten or smoothed over, messy relationships downplayed or deep-sixed. The future beckons brightly, even if the past was dark or dreary. This need to believe in an idealized self is especially strong in politicians. They must get up every day and sell a...

I anticipate that my posts will deal more with science issues, but this is the election season so this and some other early posts will deal with the presidential election. I'm concerned that many journalists and politicians don't understand the requirements of the presidency. The President of the United States is the CEO of an organization with a trillion dollar budget. No board of directors of a large corporation with a mere billion dollar budget would think of hiring a CEO who had never run any organization or a part of one. So why do some journalists and politicians consider...

Tapes support new book showing who really assassinated JFK. Newly released tapes of President Lyndon Johnson's telephone conversations corroborate the central premise of an explosive new book that promises to completely reshape the debate over who killed President John F. Kennedy. President Johnson believed what Richard Nixon always suspected... The surreptitious recordings, released from the Johnson library in Austin, Texas, Feb. 28, offer this bombshell missed by the press, Rosen writes: The Kennedy White House did not merely tolerate or encourage the murder of its ally, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, but organized and executed it. "Triangle" authors present...

The official presidential portrait of John Fitzgerald Kennedy tells quite a story. His pensive expression, curled shoulders and folded arms are not mere emblems of the physical ailments he so manfully absorbed; they help cut the figure of a northeastern liberal -- a Democrat -- who through inspired oratory and steely resolve faced down Soviet communism. This, at a time when many were resigned to the inevitability of its expansion. But Kennedy -- historic though his presidency was, and beatified though it has become -- in his time was not breaking the mould of the Democratic party in the United...

Tom Brokaw likes to give credit to what he calls the “Greatest Generation” for the sacrifices and the efforts they gave to survive the depression of the 1930’s and then go on to win the world’s worst war, World War II. All of that is true. It is also true that they stood behind the most magnanimous act any country has ever performed, the Marshall Plan, where, for the first time in history, the victor rescued the losers when the United States helped bring prosperity and democracy to Germany and Japan. Always in the past, losers were looted by the...

Thsi article written in response to the following news report:Democratic Candidates Say They're OK With Second-Grade Teacher Reading Gay Prince Fairy Tale September 27, 2007, Fox News “A fairy tale about two princes falling in love sparked a backlash — and a lawsuit — against a teacher and a school last year when it was read to a second-grade class in Massachusetts. But the three frontrunners in the Democratic presidential race suggested Wednesday night at their debate in New Hampshire that they’d support reading the controversial book to children as part of a school curriculum..... Tom Brokaw likes to give...

The Politico) Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) may now have a Republican opponent, and it’s a former ally. State Treasurer John Kennedy announced he would be switching parties and seeking reelection to his statewide office as a Republican. “For the past several years, it has increasingly been the case that those public servants who have embraced my ideas and my philosophy of trying new approaches are primarily Republicans,” Kennedy said in a statement. “I am grateful for their support and their willingness to try something different. I also believe for this reason it is time to join the Republican Party.” State...

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — After months of speculation about a party switch, state Treasurer John Kennedy announced Monday that he is running for re-election this fall as a Republican, after serving two terms as a Democrat. Kennedy's re-election campaign announced the switch in an email. In it, Kennedy said he spent more than a year grappling with the decision — though the expectation of a change was heightened this summer when Kennedy met with then-White House political strategist Karl Rove and state GOP leaders. "I have concluded that the Republican Party is the party that best reflects my values...

PARIS - Barbra Streisand performed her first-ever concert in France this week — and was rewarded with a medal of the Legion of Honor. French President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded the medal to Streisand in a ceremony Thursday, the first time he has bestowed the honor since taking over from Jacques Chirac last month. "You are the America that we love," said Sarkozy, who is seen as more U.S.-friendly than Chirac. "Women like you ... do a lot to bring our two peoples together." Onlookers included French crooner Charles Aznavour and actor Alain Delon. Sarkozy's wife, Cecilia, went to Streisand's sole...

Without fanfare or national media attention, White House strategist Karl Rove went to Louisiana the weekend before last to woo State Treasurer John Kennedy (D) to the GOP and into the 2008 Senate race against Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Republican insiders see Landrieu as the most vulnerable Democratic senator up for reelection next year, but with none of the GOP members of the Congressional delegation stepping up to the plate, party strategists are looking elsewhere. Kennedy has good poll numbers statewide and would be a formidable challenger to the Senator. But it is far from clear that the state Treasurer...

Like to read your thoughts/opinions one why the secret service men did what they did in this fascinating video...

On June 4, 1963, a virtually unknown Presidential decree, Executive Order 11110, was signed with the authority to basically strip the Federal Reserve Bank of its power to loan money to the United States Federal Government at interest. With the stroke of a pen, President Kennedy declared that the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank would soon be out of business. The Christian Law Fellowship has exhaustively researched this matter through the Federal Register and Library of Congress. We can now safely conclude that this Executive Order has never been repealed, amended, or superceded by any subsequent Executive Order. In simple...

The Carson City, Nevada, school administrators are attempting to fire an award-winning history teacher, Joe Enge. Why should that matter to you? I’ll combine his story with that of my 11th grade history teacher. Maybe you’ll agree this matters to everyone who cares about the future of America. In Carson City schools, administrators insist that history teachers begin teaching American history with the Civil War. Joe Enge, an 11th grade teacher there who’s written two history books and has served on a statewide board on history teaching, disagrees. He begins at the beginning, teaching his students about the American Revolution,...

SENIOR defence aides warned president John F Kennedy in 1963 that any guarantee to defend India against Chinese attack would require a commitment to use nuclear weapons. On a declassified tape recording, released today, the then-defence secretary Robert McNamara and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff General Maxwell Taylor urge Mr Kennedy to look beyond India and take a broader view of how to deal with any substantial Chinese aggression. In particular, they caution that before any substantial commitment is given to India, the United States should recognise that nuclear weapons would have to be used in a defence...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

Bush is first president to choose yule card with a Scripture THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS About 2 million friends and supporters of President Bush found something in their mailboxes this month that no other president has offered: A holiday card with a Bible verse. This card has a line from Psalms, 95:2: "Let us come before him with Thanksgiving and extol him with music and song." Presidents have been sending season's greetings since Calvin Coolidge wrote "Merry Christmas" on White House stationery in 1927. And many presidents issued proclamations about faith-related events varying from the National Day of Prayer to...

JFK and the corset that helped to kill a president Back brace made Kennedy an almost stationary target By JAMES RESTON JR. Two years ago, historian Robert Dallek revealed new details about the extraordinary range of shots, stimulants and pills President Kennedy took to control his physical pain and present his youthful image to the world. Important and interesting as these details are, they should not distract us from the one medical remedy that probably killed the president: his corset. Members of Kennedy's inner circle had often witnessed the painful ritual that Kennedy endured in his private quarters before he...

http://www.thenewsstar.com/localnews/html/BE29DE9E-AA65-4FA3-B60B-448B6EB2DDFF.shtml

Vitter calls emphasis on traffic tickets 'a silly attack' By MARSHA SHULER mshuler@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau A national Democratic group is making political hay over Republican U.S. Rep. David Vitter's propensity to get traffic tickets. Vitter, a candidate in Tuesday's U.S. Senate election, called the disclosure "a silly attack." The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee circulated to the media details about 14 separate tickets that Vitter received for traffic violations between 1988 and 2003. The traffic tickets included four for speeding, two for failure to obey traffic signs, and one with multiple violations, including allegations of failure to maintain control of...

Four Senate candidates get feisty on budget deficits By MARSHA SHULER mshuler@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau Assigning responsibility for escalating federal budget deficits and raids on the Social Security trust fund prompted friction and feisty exchanges Wednesday among the four major candidates in the U.S. Senate race. U.S. Rep. Chris John blamed the Bush administration for pushing tax cuts and higher spending while the budget deficit soars to historic highs. State Treasurer John Kennedy and state Rep. Arthur Morrell said John and U.S. Rep. David Vitter -- who have been representing Louisiana in Washington -- contributed to the problem. Meanwhile, Vitter...

State could decide leadership in Senate By GERARD SHIELDS gshields@theadvocate.com Advocate Washington bureau It's still a big "if," but Louisiana voters could decide who runs the U.S. Senate for the next two years. Due to the state's unique runoff election system, the eyes of the nation could well be focused on the Pelican State and its politics beginning Wednesday. If no U.S. Senate candidate gains 50 percent plus one vote in Tuesday's general election, the top two vote-getters will compete in a Dec. 4 runoff. Because all the other 33 Senate elections will be decided next week, the Louisiana race...

We can no longer post from "The Shreveport Times," which endorsed John F. Kerry for President on Sunday. Today the Times had the unfortunate experience of publishing results of the tracking poll which now claims that Republican Rep. David Vitter has passed the magic 50 percent plus one vote mark to win the U.S. Senate election outright on Nov. 2. Vitter, with 51 percent in the poll, is vying with three high-profile Democrats, including State Treasurer John Kennedy, State Rep. Arthur Morrell, and U.S. Rep. Chris John, D-Crowley, in a strong bid to succeed popular retiring Sen. John Breaux, also...

Candidates decry outsider tentacles in senate race By MARSHA SHULER mshuler@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau Two of the top contenders in the U.S. Senate race spent Friday arguing about which one of them was having strings pulled by national interests. Democrat U.S. Rep. Chris John continued to paint Republican U.S. Rep. David Vitter as the puppet of Republican leadership to the detriment of the state's interests. Meanwhile, Vitter said John is the puppet, not he. He noted that John's campaign is financed largely by out-of-state interests. The puppet spat came a day after John and Vitter took off the gloves during...

Senate forum turns testy Vitter, John rap each other's voting records, political stands By MARSHA SHULER mshuler@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau LAFAYETTE -- A U. S. Senate forum got testy Thursday with words like "lying" being thrown around as four major candidates tried to differentiate themselves from one another on a range of issues. Republican U.S. Rep. David Vitter and Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris John slammed each other for misrepresenting the other's voting records on welfare reform and importing drugs. Democratic state Treasurer John Kennedy criticized both Vitter and John for participating in the budget raid on the Social Security trust...

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041021/ELECTION01/410210337

Paul H. Nitze, an expert on military power and strategic arms whose roles as negotiator, diplomat and Washington insider spanned the era from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan and helped shape America's cold war relationship with the Soviet Union, died Tuesday night at his home in Washington. He was 97. The cause was pneumonia, said his wife, Elisabeth Scott Porter. From the beginning of the nuclear age, whether in government or out, Mr. Nitze urged successive American presidents to take measures against what he saw as the Soviet drive to overwhelm the United States through the force of arms....

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- President Fidel Castro fell, possibly breaking his leg, after giving a graduation speech Wednesday in the central Cuban city of Santa Clara. Sending a buzz through the crowd, the 78-year-old leader appeared to trip as he was walking away from the podium. In an effort to calm the crowd, Castro took the microphone after a few minutes, saying: "Just so that there won't be any speculation, it seems that I broke my knee." He apologized for any concerns he may have caused for those who care about him and then joked how his spill was likely...

Vitter leads Senate candidates in campaign fund-raising The Associated Press U.S. Rep. David Vitter, the lone Republican in Louisiana's U.S. Senate race, has surged well ahead of his two major Democratic opponents in fund-raising, according to finance reports. Vitter's campaign said Monday that he had raised $1.75 million in the third quarter -- the period covering July 18 to Sept. 30 -- and had $3.25 million in the bank as the Nov. 2 primary campaign moves into the final stretch. He has raised $6.1 million for the entire election, which is expected to go to a Dec. 4 runoff. His...

Kennedy courts black voters with anti-John calls By MARSHA SHULER mshuler@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau Democratic state Treasurer John Kennedy became the focal point of the U.S. Senate campaign Thursday as he took to a new level an attack on two opponents, and one of them accused Kennedy of "race baiting." The racial accusation stems from automated calls going to African-American households linking Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris John to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. The solicitation promotes Kennedy as "the right choice" for black voters. "He's trying to scare the African-American community. It's absolutely not true," John said. "That...

Poll shows Vitter in lead, Dems launch attack By ADAM NOSSITER Associated Press writer With a new poll commissioned by Republican U.S. Senate candidate David Vitter showing him maintaining a substantial lead over Democratic rivals, the Democrats' national Senate elections committee launched a two-front, television-and-manpower attack on him Tuesday. The poll, by Public Opinion Strategies, gives Vitter 43 percent, more than the three Democratic candidates combined. In an independent poll in September, the Republican congressman from Metairie had 42 percent -- a result that already had analysts speculating that he could win the race outright on Nov. 2, and avoid...

Candidates trade Social Security policy accusations By MARSHA SHULER mshuler@theadvocate.com Capitol news bureau State Treasurer John Kennedy accused two of his U.S. Senate opponents on Monday of robbing the Social Security trust fund to pay for tax cuts for the rich. That and other accusations came flying as the four major candidates in the Nov. 2 Senate election squared off during the first of three statewide televised debates this month. U.S. Reps. David Vitter and Chris John voted for $1.3 trillion in tax cuts pushed by President Bush, Kennedy said. "Do you know where they got the money to fund...

First lady campaigns in La. for Vitter By The Associated Press SHREVEPORT -- While President Bush prepared for Thursday night's debate against John Kerry, first lady Laura Bush urged Louisiana voters to send the president more Republican help in the U.S. Senate. During an appearance at a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. David Vitter -- a Republican who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat John Breaux -- Bush called Vitter "a principled, skilled legislator who's not afraid to reach across the aisle." Vitter, who did not attend, was in Washington for a vote on a constitutional amendment...

"General Revenue Transfers to Social Security and Medicare as a Percentage of income taxes: 2003 – 3.6% 2010 – 8.6% 2020 – 28.6% 2030 – 52.7% 2040 – 66.4% 2050 – 76.1% 2060 – 88.0% 2070 – 101.6% Notes: Federal Income Taxes are estimated to be 10.89% of GDP, which is the 50-year average. Source: Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports and Thomas Saving." How Are We to Pay for All This? By THOMAS R. SAVING Wall Street Journal September 22, 2004; Page A28

Poll shows Vitter in lead for Senate seat By The Associated Press Republican David Vitter is consolidating his front-running status in the U.S. Senate race, jumping to 42 percent in the latest poll by pollster Verne Kennedy. The Metairie congressman's three Democratic rivals -- state treasurer John Kennedy, U.S. Rep. Chris John, and state rep. Arthur Morrell -- are at 19, 16 and 3 percent respectively in the 600-person poll, taken while the Republican National Convention was held in New York between Aug. 30 and Sept. 2. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percent....

THE ESSENTIAL REAGAN "If children prayed together, would they not understand what they have in common, and would this not, indeed, bring them closer, and is this not to be desired? So, I submit to you that those who claim to be fighting for tolerance on this issue may not be tolerant at all. When John Kennedy was running for President in 1960, he said that his church would not dictate his Presidency any more than he would speak for his church. Just so, and proper. But John Kennedy was speaking in an America in which the role of religion...

http://www.thenewsstar.com/editorial/html/BF817F57-C937-413D-98E2-98570FEF740E.shtml

<p>WASHINGTON - Despite trailing in the polls, Democratic candidates in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. John Breaux of Louisiana are narrowly favored to win over the only Republican running, political analysts said last week.</p> <p>But that hairline Democratic edge, as one put it, could change in a puff of Louisiana's erratic political wind.</p>

LOUISIANA LOG JAM The sudden interest in a political comeback by Republican former Gov. Buddy Roemer is threatening to deflate high GOP hopes for winning a U.S. Senate seat from Louisiana for the first time since Reconstruction. Polls show Republican Rep. David Vitter leading Democratic Rep. Chris John, retiring Sen. John Breaux's handpicked successor, and Democratic State Treasurer John Kennedy. Roemer, an ex-Democrat who served a controversial hitch for governor (1988-1992), could change all that if he enters the race with better name identification than any other candidate. In Louisiana's non-party free-for-all election, Roemer and Vitter could divide up the...

Inside Political Track Roemer Is Serious...In the seven days since The Louisiana Weekly revealed that former Governor Buddy Roemer might run for the U.S. Senate, evidence has mounted that Roemer is serious. He has contacted many of the contributors who backed his candidacies for Congress and the Executive Mansion, and has gained one prominent supporter. Shaw Group CEO Jim Bernhardt, a Democrat, has said that he will support Roemer. --PoliticsLA.com commentary by Christopher Tidmore Key Fundraising Tallies So Far... U.S. Senate Race: David Vitter...$2.6 million on hand--$1.145 million raised in 1st Quarter. Chris John...$2 million on hand (April 1)--$1 million+...

<p>Arthur Morrell, a Louisiana state representative since 1983 and a former chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, announced Wednesday he is seeking the U.S. Senate seat John Breaux is vacating. Breaux announced in December that he would not run again.</p>

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

ATLANTA, United States (AFP) - Democrats like to quote John F. Kennedy, especially if they come from Massachusetts, but few can push the parallels with the revered former president as far as John Forbes Kerry. And its not just the initials. JFK was Kerry's schoolboy idol and if, as expected, Kerry pretty much seals his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday, he could find himself following his mentor's footsteps all the way to the White House. At first glance, the similarities between the two men would seem quite startling. Both were born into established New England families with...

<p>BATON ROUGE - State Treasurer John Kennedy already has plans to introduce four pieces of legislation if he is elected to the U.S. Senate this November.</p> <p>Kennedy, one of three announced contenders to replace Sen. John Breaux, who has announced his retirement, told the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday that he's running because "Louisiana needs an aggressive voice in Congress."</p>

<p>BATON ROUGE (AP) — Confirming weeks of speculation about his intentions, state Treasurer John Kennedy announced Tuesday that he is mounting a U.S. Senate campaign in hopes of filling the seat being vacated by John Breaux.</p> <p>Kennedy, of Madisonville, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission indicating his intention to run in the fall election and making the treasurer the first Democrat to declare his candidacy for the post.</p>