Free Republic

A blog purportedly written by a gay woman in Syria, which described life in Damascas amid the current political unrest, has been revealed to be a hoax. A Girl Gay in Damascus gained a worldwide readership and was closely followed by news organisations. But the true author has now come forward - Tom MacMaster, an American man studying in Scotland. Many Syrian activists have reacted angrily, accusing him of trivialising or even harming their cause. "One day if I'm kidnapped by my government, many readers won't care because I could turn out to be another Amina," wrote one Lebanese blogger....

...“Paula Brooks,” editor of Lez Get Real since its founding in 2008, is actually Bill Graber, 58, who said he is a retired Ohio military man and construction worker that had adopted his wife’s identity online... Brooks’s identity came under suspicion after news broke that a woman called Amina Arraf on the blog “A Gay Girl in Damascus” might not really be a Syrian lesbian. Over the weekend, as journalists, bloggers and fans of Amina hunted for clues to the identity behind the blog, Brooks came under review as a possible suspect. Liz Henry, a Web producer at BlogHer.com, questioned...

There are glimmers of hope for Democrats battling to retain control of Congress in this fall's elections, with the party holding a slender edge in public trust for shepherding the economy and small gains in those saying their finances are healthy, according to a new poll. The reeling economy remains the American public's top concern, according to an Associated Press-GfK Poll conducted earlier this month, making public attitudes about it crucial for both parties' hopes in November. The good news for Democrats: By a slim margin (47% to 42%), people trust them more than Republicans to guide the economy. And...

There's a hole in the bottom of the ocean. Unemployment is still near 10 percent. There are two wars underway. And what are conservative pundits fretting about? That this year President Obama won't be laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day. The liberal watchdog outfit, Media Matters, has been keeping track of this latest right-wing meme: - Glenn Beck says, "Obama is skipping out on a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington Cemetery because he'll be in Chicago on vacation. I'm sorry, I don't ever, ever question the president's vacation. I...

Today, in his guise as the Washington Post’s ombudsman, Andrew Alexander posted a discussion about the recent misreporting by the Old Media about the various “incidents” that supposedly occurred between the admittedly raucous tea party protesters and members of Congress in Washington, D.C., during the healthcare fight. But while Alexander finally makes some admissions on how the Old Media dropped the ball on these exaggerated reports, he still missed the point of the whole mess. Alexander starts his report off with an interesting rhetorical style. He writes about incidents as if they actually happened even as he admits later down...

The Seattle Times reported today on another horrible political attack. The Times claimed that liberal democrat Rep. Steve Driehaus had a rock thrown though his office window: Protesters have been demonstrating at Driehaus’ Ohio home, said Tim Mulvey, a spokesman for the anti-abortion Democrat who joined Stupak in voting for the health bill. A rock was thrown through the window of Driehaus’ Cincinnati office Sunday, and a death threat was phoned in to his Washington office a day later, Mulvey said. “It’s getting out of hand,” Mulvey said. As Glenn Reynolds noted… Rep. Driehaus’ office is in the Carew Tower...

Limbaugh Vows to Leave US Over Health Care (March 9) -- Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has thrown down the gauntlet. If the U.S. Congress passes health care reform, Limbaugh will leave the country to receive his medical treatment. Specifically, Limbaugh told a caller that he envisions traveling to Costa Rica should the government, through a federal program costing upwards of $1 trillion, expand health care coverage to approximately 30 million Americans who are currently uninsured. Costa Rica, as it happens, offers universal heath care to all of its residents. Limbaugh's guarantee is but the latest variation of what...

Why wouldn't Sarah Palin be at an Oscar gifting suite? The Fox News contributor and one-time vice presidental hopeful showed up to Silver Spoon's Oscar Suite in West Hollywood yesterday, benefiting the Red Cross. But like all politicians, Sarah and her crew were hardly gems when the cameras weren't rolling... "They were like locusts," says one vendor at the suite, regarding Palin and her large group of hangers-on. "She showed up with like 20 people, and they immediately swarmed the place taking everything!" S.P. was accompanied by daughter Willow, grandson Tripp and a bunch of female handlers. A source at...

I don't know when or where or even if Joe Scarborough's radio show airs in my area, nor do I care. The other night, a friend caught this clip from his radio show and sent it to me. It's about a blog that is published by the organization I head. "NewsBusters, which just loves writing negative articles about me, I don't know why, a lot of really false ones and I don't know what's actually gotten into Brent Bozell, but he actually goes out of his way to write false articles about me now ...They just distort the news for...

In January 2009 we brought a six-man camera crew to Washington to create a documentary on the subject of the annual March for Life called Thine Eyes. What motivated Steve Sanborn, the organizer of the project and a March veteran, was the media's historic failure to capture the numbers, the demographics or the spirit of the marchers. With the advantage of rooftop cameras, we estimated there were about 350,000 participants, about 75 percent of whom were under 25, with more females than males among the young people. I also assigned our six cameramen to find as many pro-abortion protestors as...

Here is video of Mike Barnicle and Pat Buchanan talking with Andrea Mitchell about Martha Coakley and the Massachusetts race. (Video)Andrea Mitchell said that Martha Coakley "has clearly blown it" and Mike Barnicle said that Coakley "took the public for granted." Barnicle said up until Sunday he thought that Coakley "could pull out a narrow victory, just based upon registration and union members getting voters to the polls," but he said he was "stunned" after seeing all the Scott Brown signs and said he "would not be at all surprised" if Scott Brown wins tomorrow. Mike Barnicle added that he...

From the article: He also claimed that he was unfamiliar with the “Tea Party movement,” when asked by a reporter. When told that different people labeled him a conservative, moderate and a liberal Republican, he responded “I’m a Scott Brown Republican.”

During the 70 years that the communists controlled the Soviet Union, they had a peculiar way of teaching history to the people. They would teach things as historical fact that never happened. If you were one of those who took umbrage with their revisionist history lessons, you would soon find yourself living in a tiny apartment in a part of the country where they laugh at anyone who claims the world is getting warmer. In a communist country this is the only way to convince the masses that they are actually better off than anyone in the history of...

When Barack Obama promised to deliver "a new kind of politics" to Washington, most folk didn't picture Rahm Emanuel with a baseball bat...What is a little novel is the public and bare-knuckle way in which the Obama team is waging these campaigns...In recent weeks the Windy City gang added a new name to their list of societal offenders: the Chamber of Commerce. For the cheek of disagreeing with Democrats on climate and financial regulation, it was reported the Oval Office will neuter the business lobby. Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett warned CEOs they'd be wise to seek better protection. That was...

The source link is to the comment section at Hotair. This link is to the referenced questionaire http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32843690/ns/health-health_care/

Ill will against former Vice President Dick Cheney still runs high in some circles. So high, in fact, that when the University of Wyoming decided to name an international student center after him, Suzanne Pelican began circulating a petition against it last year. One year later, that petition has earned 150 signatures and an Associated Press story. In a story titled “Protest brews over Cheney center at Univ. of Wyo.” AP reporter Mead Gruver writes:

WASHINGTON, DC – Another sex scandal has rocked a South Carolina conservative. The trail of evidence has led reporters to erotic fiction authored by Dick Cheney. Kristin Maguire, a respected South Carolina conservative, has been discovered to be the author of hardcore erotic short fiction. Maguire was the Chair of the Board of Education for years, and appointed by Mark Sanford. Investigation has uncovered several stories written by Maguire under the pen name “Bridget Keeney.” Maguire was also a devout advocate of “abstinence only” sex education. Further investigation of websites Maguire would frequent and chat room exchanges reveal even more...

The Obama White House is abuzz with talk of witchcraft by first grandmother, 72-year-old Marian Robinson, who lives in the White House residence. A close friend of Michelle Obama says the president is furious at his mother-in-law after learning that she was practicing Santeria, an African spirit cult, in the White House. "The president is quite upset about this on two different levels. First, he is a committed Christian, no matter what his critics say about Reverend Wright. He is adamant that Sasha and Malia be raised with Christian influences. He does not want them to be involved with African...

I was reading the Chron’s piece about Sheila Jackson Lee’s town hall, when something caught my eye: One supporter, Dr. Roxana Mayer, a physician who does not live in Jackson Lee’s district, praised the reform plan for overhauling a broken system. “I don’t know what there is in the bill that creates such panic,” she said. In this video, Mayer claims to be a general practitioner, eliciting applause and even a hug from Queen Sheila: I’m not sure why, but something didn’t smell right. So my colleagues and I did a little digging, and wouldn’t you know it? Roxana Mayer...

Experts who track hate groups across the U.S. are growing increasingly concerned over violent rhetoric targeted at President Obama, especially as the debate over health care intensifies and a pattern of threats emerges.