http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/lendmeyourears/ en-us Sat, 25 Apr 2009 01:42:50 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237394/posts President Barack Obama is to release up to 2,000 photographs of alleged abuse at American prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan in a move which will reignite the scandal surrounding Abu Ghraib prison in 2004. The decision to make public the images sought in a legal action by the American Civil Liberties Union comes amid a political firestorm over alleged torture of detainees under President George W. Bush. Some of the photographs, which will be released before May 28, are said to show American service personnel humiliating prisoners, according to officials. The images relate to more than 400 separate cases involving... The Daily Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237394/posts#comment Sat, 25 Apr 2009 01:42:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2205233/posts Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 7:28 pm President Obama declares turning point on earmark reform Today President Obama signed the final version of last year’s budget, as posted here on Friday while it was making its way through Congress, in order to keep the government functioning. As he explained, there was much to speak well of in the bill: “Now, yesterday Congress sent me the final part of last year's budget; a piece of legislation that rolls nine bills required to keep the government running into one, a piece of legislation that addresses the immediate concerns of the American people by making needed investments in... White House Web Site http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2205233/posts#comment Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:15:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2192260/posts During the 2008 presidential campaign, candidates Barack Obama and John McCain fought vigorously over who would be toughest on congressional earmarks. "We need earmark reform," Obama said in September during a presidential debate in Oxford, Miss. "And when I'm president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely." President Barack Obama should prepare to carve out a lot of free time and keep the coffee hot this week as Congress prepares to unveil a $410 billion omnibus spending bill that's riddled with thousands of earmarks, despite his calls for restraint and efforts... Newsmax / McClatchy Newspapers http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2192260/posts#comment Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:03:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2101787/posts Barack Obama has strong ties to the group that pressured banks into making high-risk loans.Fort Worth, TX (WiredPRNews.com)— ACORN, which stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, pressured banks into making mortgages to those who would otherwise not qualify for them, according to an October 7, 2008 article by Stanley Kurtz, which appeared on the website for National Review. As all Americans are footing the bill for the $700 billion bailout to prevent the collapse the financial market, ACORN leader Madeline Talbot—who has close ties to Senator Obama—personally strong-armed banks into making mortgage loans to low income minorities... Wired News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2101787/posts#comment Thu, 9 Oct 2008 23:11:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2078844/posts There's an interesting detail in September 4th's ABC News poll that speaks directly to the effectiveness of the current skirmish over earmarks. Here’s the question: For each item I name, please tell me if it makes you think more favorably toward Palin, less favorably, or if it doesn't change your opinion of her one way or another...As mayor she obtained 27 million dollars in federal funding for projects in her town of about 7,000 people The responses are more than a little surprising. 32% of respondents thought it made her more favorable, 19% thought it made her less favorable, and... The Royal Savage http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2078844/posts#comment Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:57:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2078524/posts Amie Parnes reports from Lebanon, VA: Obama poked fun of McCain and Palin's new "change" mantra. "You can put lipstick on a pig," he said as the crowd cheered. "It's still a pig." "You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still gonna stink." "We've had enough of the same old thing." The crowd apparently took the "lipstick" line as a reference to Palin, who described the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull in a single word: "lipstick." Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2078524/posts#comment Tue, 9 Sep 2008 22:36:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2074816/posts The troop surge in Iraq has been more successful than anyone could have imagined, Barack Obama conceded Thursday in his first-ever interview on FOX News. As recently as July, the Democratic presidential candidate declined to rate the surge a success, but said it had helped reduce violence in the country. On Thursday, Obama acknowledged the 2007 increase in U.S. troops has benefited the Iraqi people. “I think that the surge has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated,” Obama said while refusing to retract his initial opposition to the surge. “I’ve already said it’s succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.” Speaking on... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2074816/posts#comment Thu, 4 Sep 2008 20:53:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2064232/posts Rightwing fodder-- Barack Obama Invesco Field convention tickets picture upside down US flags- an international symbol of distress. The DNC tickets printed for Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field show an upside down US flag on both sides. This is the international symbol of extreme distress. FOX 9 reported: Some viewers contacted 9NEWS Saturday, questioning the design of the credentials to see Sen. Barack Obama accept the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at INVESCO Field at Mile High. The viewers say with the stars and blue field in the lower left corner, it looks like an upside down American flag.... Gateway Pundit http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2064232/posts#comment Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:29:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063186/posts <p>DALLAS - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama side-stepped a pointed query about abortion on Saturday by “mega-pastor” Rick Warren during a televised forum.</p> <p>Asked at what point a baby gets “human rights,” Obama, who strongly supports abortion rights, said: “… whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity … is above my pay grade.”</p> reuters.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063186/posts#comment Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:12:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053874/posts "We could save all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling if everybody was just inflating their tires and getting regular tune-ups. You could save just as much." CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053874/posts#comment Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:08:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2050304/posts Video. This one is a little unnerving. Either we’re missing something, or Obama needs medication and some quality time with a psychiatrist. The Patriot Room http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2050304/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:00:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050274/posts DRUDGE HEADLINE WITH PHOTO: "POLITICS HITS THE WALL: PRAYER FOR CHANGE" www.drudgereport.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050274/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:09:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048453/posts Barack Obama's campaign said Sunday he will give a speech on the future of trans-Atlantic relations in front of a Prussian war monument in downtown Berlin _ in view of the historic Brandenburg Gate. The announcement that he will speak at the Victory Column, or Siegessaeule, ended weeks of speculation here. It also triggered criticism that the 226-foot column built in 1873 to celebrate Prussian war victories over Denmark, Austria and France was an inappropriate choice. One of Berlin's best-known monuments, the column is topped by a golden, winged figure representing Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory. It stood in... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048453/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:41:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043270/posts The list of issues on which Barack Obama has flipped now that the primaries are over is long and growing rapidly: # He says he believes in a Second Amendment right to bear arms. # He now opposes late-term abortion. # He suddenly is a devotee of using faith-based institutions to deliver public services. # He now says that he won’t raise Social Security taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year. In the primary, he said he’d eliminate the threshold entirely, including on people making as little as $100,000. # He recently opposed the Fairness Doctrine for talk... newsmax.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043270/posts#comment Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:46:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035715/posts Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama will appear at Carnegie Mellon University Thursday, hosting a round-table conversation on competitiveness and the world economy. The morning panel discussion, which will be closed to the public, includes speakers from industry, labor and the academic world.The participants are to include: Lael Brainard, vice president of the Brookings Institution; Eli Broad, founder of the Broad Foundation; Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO of Harlem Children's Zone; Steve Case, chairman and CEO of Revolution Health and former chairman and CEO of America Online; Susan Hockfield, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Federico Pe??a, former U.S.... Pittsburgh Post-Gazette http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035715/posts#comment Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:18:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032310/posts A runaway metaphor is not the worst sin in the world. But if former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig really is a potential national security adviser under President Obama, he's doing his potential future boss no favors when he talks like this: Richard Danzig, who served as Navy Secretary under President Clinton and is tipped to become National Security Adviser in an Obama White House, told a major foreign policy conference in Washington that the future of US strategy in the war on terrorism should follow a lesson from the pages of Winnie the Pooh, which can be shortened to: if... Campaign Spot http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032310/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:06:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022025/posts “My grandfather marched in Patton’s army, but I cannot know what it is to walk into battle like so many of you,” he told a small group of veterans here Obama also spoke about his uncle, who was part of the American brigade that helped to liberate Auschwitz. Cbs News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022025/posts#comment Tue, 27 May 2008 18:48:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2020076/posts Obama Grilled on Ties to Pro-Palestinian Professor by FOXNews.com Thursday, May 22, 2008 A persistent questioner at a campaign stop Thursday grilled Barack Obama on his ties to a professor with pro-Palestinian views, prompting Obama to speak at some length against “guilt by association” and about his support for the Jewish community. The at-times heated exchange occurred during a town hall event held at a synagogue in Boca Raton, Fla. The questioner focused on Obama’s relationship to Rashid Khalidi, a professor of Arab studies at Columbia University who has drawn fire for some of his criticisms of Israel. Obama responded... FOX http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2020076/posts#comment Fri, 23 May 2008 03:40:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2018227/posts Likely Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama told supporters Iran is just a “tiny” country at a campaign stop in Oregon Sunday evening. "Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us,” Obama said. Obama’s rivals, including his fellow Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton, have criticized Obama for his willing to meet with Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism. Presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain issued a strong retort to Obama's assessment at a stop in Chicago on Monday. "The... Town Hall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2018227/posts#comment Mon, 19 May 2008 19:10:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2018100/posts Democrat Barack Obama has a message for Tennessee's Republican Party: "Lay off my wife." ADVERTISEMENT Obama, his party's presidential front-runner, and his wife, Michelle, were asked in an interview aired Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America" about an online video last week by the state's GOP taking her to task for a comment some considered unpatriotic. "The GOP, should I be the nominee, can say whatever they want to say about me, my track record," Obama said. "If they think that they're going to try to make Michelle an issue in this campaign, they should be careful because that I... Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2018100/posts#comment Mon, 19 May 2008 15:38:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017938/posts So, round one of the 2008 foreign policy debate goes to ... Barack Obama? Improbable as it seems, in the first direct rhetorical showdown of the general election campaign - over a question, foreign policy "toughness", that's been a perceived Democratic weakness since Vietnam - it was the guy with the thin foreign policy résumé, suspected by some of his compatriots of being a Muslim, who out-punched the war hero with the extensive résumé. And shall I add that the one with the thin résumé and the strange name has a dodgy position on the question at hand, and yet... Guardian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017938/posts#comment Mon, 19 May 2008 05:34:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016749/posts CHICAGO (AP) -- Perhaps no one took greater comfort in the Republican Party's third straight loss of a long-held House seat this week than Barack Obama, who says the results point to clear limits in the effectiveness of attack ads he expects this fall. The Democratic presidential candidate played a prominent role in all three special elections to fill vacant GOP seats, and he landed on the winning side each time. In recent contests in Louisiana and Mississippi, Republicans or their allies ran TV ads linking the Democratic House nominees to Obama, warning that a vote for them was a... Bay news9 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2016749/posts#comment Fri, 16 May 2008 09:24:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013379/posts By Amanda Carpenter Thursday, May 8, 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama flatly promised to raise taxes in a television interview Thursday afternoon. “I will raise CEO taxes,” Obama told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room.” “If you’re a CEO in this country you’ll probably pay more taxes,” Obama said. Obama speculated his CEO tax rates “won’t be prohibitively high, you’ll pay roughly what you did in the 90’s when they were doing fine.” Obama also said he would eliminate the Bush tax cuts and install what he called a “middle class tax cut.” Blitzer asked Obama to define... townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013379/posts#comment Fri, 9 May 2008 01:06:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011481/posts Sen. Barack Obama won the endorsement of the Teamsters earlier this year after privately telling the union he supported ending the strict federal oversight imposed to root out corruption, according to officials from the union and the Obama campaign. It's an unusual stance for a presidential candidate. Policy makers have largely treated monitoring of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as a legal matter left to the Justice Department since an independent review board was set up in 1992 to eliminate mob influence in the union. wall st journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011481/posts#comment Mon, 5 May 2008 16:33:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008714/posts Live NOW on FOX, CNN, and MSNBC! The Holy Messiah Obama is throwing Rev, Wright under the Bus!! ME http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2008714/posts#comment Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:02:16 GMT