Free Republic

In the Chicago Sun-Times' Top Year-ends from its bottom rear-end today, columnist Richard Roeper picked Governor Sarah Palin as his top GOOF for 2008... yet got owned himself by awarding her his dubious distinction based on at least one lie and a few dubious assumptions. Roeper, a man that clearly imagines himself the living embodiment of the lead character on Seinfeld, lapsed into the most supreme case of hyperbolic overload in his description of why he thinks Sarah Palin is a GOOF (a self-fashioned acronym standing for Greatly Overhyped and Overexposed Fool). Of course Roeper starts with the canard of...

HONOLULU - It's not exactly anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan camped outside of George W. Bush's Crawford ranch. But as President-elect Barack Obama lingered at his Kailua vacation home later than usual this morning, about 10 protesters gathered near the security checkpoint down the street. It is the first time Obama has received anything but praise and cheers during his 12-day Hawaiian vacation, which ends on Thursday. Some of the demonstrators carried signs declaring "War is Terror" and "Free Palestine." Ann Wright, a retired Army colonel and member of Veterans for Peace, wore a T-shirt that read, "We will not be...

Sir Paul McCartney claims that it was he – and not John Lennon – who politicised the Beatles. He has shunned music magazines to give an interview to an intellectual journal in which he describes how he introduced the group to the “very bad” Vietnam war. It paints a picture at odds with the conventional view of the Beatles, that McCartney was writing pop ditties such as Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da while Lennon was composing overtly political songs such as Revolution. McCartney says he began his political awakening by meeting Bertrand Russell, then in his nineties, at the latter’s home in London...

Looks like Chris Matthews is actually disappointed in Barack Obama, but only in the sense that he's worried Obama isn't moving to the left fast enough. Throughout Monday night's "Hardball," after reciting recent appointments like Robert Gates, Jim Jones and yes even Hillary Clinton, Matthews repeatedly asked his guests questions like: "What happened to the victory of change, and I hate to use the phrase, the Left? Who won this election?" and "Why do we have no lefties in this cabinet?" Matthews even invited on two "lefties," Tim Carpenter of Progressive Democrats of America and David Corn of The Nation,...

Barack Obama's liberal base is furious over his decision to pick centrist members for his cabinet and for bringing the Clintons back to the White House. Obama has angered the far left by retaining Robert Gates as defense secretary, and retired General Jim Jones as national security advisor. And with Hillary Clinton set to take the helm of the State Department, hope and change has taken a back seat to 'stay the course'. Gates was the architect of the troop surge, which paved the road for what now can be called a decisive victory in the Iraq war. With that...

In Barack we trust? Obama campaigned on his personality and judgment and won. Now, like it or not, he isn't beholden to anyone. By David Sirota Nov. 29, 2008 | Judging by the proliferation of capital letters in the e-mail correspondence I receive, many seem worried that Barack Obama may not deliver the promised "change we can believe in." After voters rejected the mantra of free trade and deregulation, some of those contacting me say they are upset that Obama is hiring so many free-trading deregulators who birthed today's economic mess. With the president-elect having touted his opposition to the...

Fifty days before President George W Bush packs his bags for Texas, Obama has already usurped much of his predecessor's authority. Yet in doing so he has exposed himself to early controversy that may seriously shorten the presidential honeymoon that most new incumbents enjoy. There are already stirrings of confusion and dismay among Democratic faithful perturbed by some of Obama's early appointments. At three press conferences last week, Obama in effect seized control of America's economic policy, unveiling a new team of advisers and future cabinet members, and laying out his plans for a sweeping stimulus programme. When India was...

PROTESTERS have demanded that US President George W Bush get out of Peru where he is attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, blaming him for the world economic crisis. "Bush out," about 1000 demonstrators chanted in the centre of the capital Lima, watched by scores of police in riot gear who made sure they did not move towards the APEC summit venue several kilometres away. "This crisis didn't come from the Peruvian people. We shouldn't have to pay for it," a union leader told the crowd, which demonstrated peacefully. Mr Bush, one of 21 leaders of Asia-Pacific economies converging...

I really hated Jimmy Carter. I felt Bill Clinton was a disgrace as a man much less a president even though his administration wasn't half as bad as Carter's, admittedly. Historically, FDR proved to be a president that introduced more anti-American ideas into our political system than any other. As to the future, Obama could be a humongous disaster for this country. But through all of those horrible leaders of American history, I was still -- am still -- proud to be an American. I have always been happy to wave the flag or argue our merits with a snooty...

Before a few weeks ago, I don't recall seeing Kathleen Parker on TV. But tuning into Andrea Mitchell's MSNBC show this afternoon, there she was. And when I got back from the gym and fired up my DVR of David Gregory's "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?" Yup, Parker redux. Now, let's see. What might explain Kathleen Parker's sudden popularity on MSNBC? You don't suppose it could possibly have anything to do with her September column calling on Sarah Palin to step down from the GOP ticket, do you?

What if they held a protest and hardly anybody came? The far-left ANSWER coalition — a group that has drawn thousands of anti-war protesters to Washington in the past — mustered about 10 demonstrators Saturday outside the National Building Museum, site of the G-20 economic summit. Other G-20 protests drew larger crowds but, ironically, the largest protests Saturday weren't about ending global capitalism at all. About 300 demonstrators supporting Tibetan independence marched outside the summit, and were joined by a smaller group from the spiritual movement Falun Gong in protesting Chinese human rights policies.

Numerous Minneapolis-Saint Paul area EMS agencies, headed by the U.S. Secret Service, undertook special preparations to handle EMS operations during the Republican National Convention held Sept 1-4, 2008. Following is an inside account of the experience along with some lessons to take away for future events. Fake Ambulance Spotted On Tuesday, the second day of the RNC, a Twin Cities Paramedic spotted an "ambulance" with unusual generic markings in the city of St. Paul. The medic had attended RNC briefings on the need for heightened awareness, and as an Iraq War Veteran, he was well-educated and possessed a keen eye...

This is the story of hope and reality. First the hope from Bloomberg News 10 days ago with the very hopeful title of Oliver Stones' W May End Political Films' Drought: ``W.'' distributor Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. is betting the movie can break a box-office drought for political films. None of the five released in the weeks ahead of the Nov. 4 election has brought in more than half of the $55.3 million in sales generated by Walt Disney Co.'s ``Beverly Hills Chihuahua,'' the current box-office champ, since Oct. 3. ``A lot of eyes are on `W.,''' said Gitesh Pandya,...

In the most liberal neighbourhood of America's most liberal city, it's possible to walk for blocks without seeing a single campaign sign declaring support for Barack Obama.But those Cindy Sheehan For Congress posters? They are displayed in the windows of bohemian coffee shops and Hispanic diners throughout the Mission District, a community that has long been an incubator for leftist politics and a place where the 2008 presidential election has sometimes been less interesting than the congressional battle being waged in their own backyard.Here in California's 8th District, the most powerful Democrat in Congress, Nancy Pelosi, is facing a...

Melissa Etheridge sang "Wedding Bell Blues" and Mary J. Blige covered a moving rendition of U2's "One" at Ron Burkle's Greenacres estate at a lavish fund-raiser for the No on 8 campaign, which is a fighting a ban on same-sex marriage. On a stage set up on a portion of Burkle's sprawling back lawn, Etheridge told the crowd that "I believe we are at the very end of this cycle of fear that has been going on and on." About $3.9 million was raised at the Tuesday evening event, and campaign officials say they are closing the fund-raising gap with...

A spokesman for Sen. Norm Coleman says that vandals wrote graffiti on the garage of his St. Paul home that called the senator "scum" and a "criminal." Coleman and his wife, Laurie, live in the Crocus Hill neighborhood of St. Paul. Spokesman Mark Drake says Wednesday morning that grafitti left on the outside of the garage says: "You are a criminal resign or else"; "Scum," which is written three times; and "Psalm 2."

General Colin Powell is a former Secretary of State for whom I have great respect. But today he erred by endorsing Senator Obama for President. One of General Powell's stated reasons is that he "would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court." I would too. But the written opinions of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito have not been politically "conservative" at all. Rather they have been honest applications of the law as written, without adopting any political ideology, including their own. That is in stark contrast to the kinds of judges who would be appointed...

DENVER -- With signs reading "Don't Celebrate Genocide," "Don't Celebrate Racism," and "The Americas' First Terrorist," the preview to the annual Columbus Day parade seemed to have the same passion that lead to conflicts in previous years. But 2008 was the year without arrests. In stark contrast to a warm, sunny 2007 when fake blood and 83 arrests ruled the day, Saturday's chilly, misty event was much less confrontational. "They both have freedom of speech to express their views and that's what we allowed and that's what happened," said Det. Sharon Hahn, spokeswoman for the Denver Police Department. Police had...

Heart and Patti LaBelle are slated to perform at a voter registration rally in support of US presidential candidate Barack Obama on Sunday (October 12) in Los Angeles. The event, dubbed 'Every Woman For Obama', is set to take place at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. It also features appearances by actress Christina Applegate and comedian Chelsea Handler, among others. Heart singers Ann and Nancy Wilson are urging women to register to vote before California's October 20 registration deadline, and support Democrat Obama. Last month, Heart sent a cease-and-desist letter to the US Republican Party after controversial vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin...

John McCain's presidential campaign continues to have problems with singer-songwriters. Jackson Browne recently sued the McCain campaign for what he called its unauthorized use of his 1977 hit "Running on Empty" in an attack ad against Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Now, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Gretchen Peters is irate about vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's use of her song, "Independence Day." Ms. Peters wrote the song that, in 1994, became a major hit for Martina McBride. In a press release issued Saturday, the night after she performed at McDavid Studio in Fort Worth, Ms. Peters says she noticed that Ms. McBride's recording...