Free Republic

Rocco Landesman is President Obama's handpicked chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Last week he gave the keynote address to the 2009 Grantmakers in the Arts Conference. Those of us concerned about the politicization of life and art in the Age of Obama will not be consoled by a reading of Landesman's speech. The speech bears examination in its entirety, but Landesman's tribute to Obama is especially worth a look: This is the first president that actually writes his own books since Teddy Roosevelt and arguably the first to write them really well since Lincoln. If you accept...

Waiting in line for health care. Some of the 1,200 people who braved rain and 39 degree (3 degrees Celcius) temperatures queue to receive a free H1N1 flu vaccine at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago October 24, 2009. (Reuters) Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency today. Over 1,000 people have died from the swine flu in the US this year. The AP reported: President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms offsite to speed treatment and protect noninfected patients. The...

According to the CDC, swine flu infections have already peaked, and the pandemic is on its way out. Peak infection time was the middle of October, where one in five U.S. children experienced the flu, says the CDC. Out of nearly 14,000 suspected flu cases tested during the week ending on October 10, 2009, 99.6% of those were influenza A, and the vast majority of those were confirmed as H1N1 swine flu infections. Even though the H1N1 pandemic appears to have peaked out, U.S. President Barack Obama has now declared a national emergency over swine flu infections. The reasoning behind...

President Obama signed a proclamation declaring the H1N1 influenza a national emergency, giving doctors and medical facilities greater leeway in responding to the flu pandemic. Obama signed the declaration late Friday, which the White House said allows medical treatment facilities to better handle a surge in flu patients by waiving federal requirements on a case-by-case basis. "The foundation of our national approach to the H1N1 flu has been preparedness at all levels -- personal, business, and government -- and this proclamation helps that effort by advancing our overall response capability," the White House said in a statement. In the proclamation,...

This just came out to the HHS press list: DATE: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 FOR RELEASE: Immediately Contact: AoA Press Office (202) 357-3507 HHS to Create a National Resource Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Elders HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced plans to establish the nation's first national resource center to assist communities across the country in their efforts to provide services and supports for older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals.

Three House Republicans are scheduled to hold a press conference on Wednesday morning to "make public a national security threat on Capitol Hill." Reps. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) and Paul Broun (R-Ga.) will hold a 10 a.m. press conference in the Capitol on the homeland security issue. The congressional daybook schedule does not provide further details. According to a source familiar with the issue, the press conference will focus on a non-profit group that has "known terrorist ties."

The nation was truly comforted by the class and dignity of President Bush.

She was dumped by a boyfriend who no longer wished to follow her around the world. She found herself heartbroken and sick and finally went to a doctor who said he had news -- at 39, she was with child. Impossible, she replied: Throughout her previous 17-year marriage she tried repeatedly to get pregnant,

First things first. Michelle has pictures and video which I link to below. It is inspiring. Now to the business at hand. No to big government … no to big spending … no to the direction this administration and this Congress are taking us. And by the way … no to the MSM. From Powerline:

There were angry clashes in a city centre today as right-wing protesters fought with anti-fascist campaigners in a busy shopping street. A planned demonstration by The English Defence League in central Birmingham descended into violence as the group charged along New Street, close to the city's main train station. More than twenty men have been arrested. 'There were about 250 people in total, fighting and Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1211414/Anti-fascists-clash-right-wing-protesters-Birmingham.html#ixzz0QFxinqVM

With Attorney General Holder’s investigation of CIA operatives who utilized enhanced-interrogation techniques on detainees, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the Obama administration’s downgrade of the War on Terror to “overseas contingency operations,” and the administration’s release of terrorists captured by heroic U.S. military personnel, what should be a preposterous question to ask the President of the United States, now needs to be asked. In the interest of America’s national security, how will President Obama treat the terrorists in America? According to a previously disclosed 2009 Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment, prepared by Virginia’s Fusion Center, “Al-Qa’ida, Al-Shabaab, HAMAS, Hizballah, Jama’at...

I’ve been reading about the planned Sept. 11 National Day of Service. I certainly do not have an issue with service, but if my memory serves right – and it does today – we already have a national day of service… Martin Luther King Day. There has been a bit of a kerfuffle about Democrats selecting Sept. 11 as a national day of service. The event – with more at Serve.gov – been discussed over at Hot Air, Atlas Shrugs and Gateway Pundit, but I’m wondering what this development means for the Martin Luther King national day of volunteer service?

Alaskans should care about the national debt and the deficits that keep it growing because if it is mismanaged, Alaska may catch a cold from lower oil prices, reduced tourism and higher interest rates. But neither Alaskans nor other Americans need to fear the national debt as if it were some sort of looming catastrophe threatening us, our children and our grandchildren. Most fear of the national debt is unfounded and more of a threat than the debt itself. Here is why. The national debt will never be paid off and should never be paid off. The notion that the...

David Cameron was fighting last night to prevent the Tories again being labelled the 'nasty party' after one of his Euro MPs denounced the National Health Service. The Tory leader slapped down Daniel Hannan after he went on U.S. television to brand the NHS a '60-year failure' that he 'wouldn't wish on anybody'. Hannan joined forces with U.S. critics opposed to Barack Obama's healthcare reforms. They have described the British system as evil, Orwellian and a breeding ground for terrorists. Mr Hannan said: 'I find it incredible that a free people living in a country dedicated and founded in the...

A huge crack has surfaced in Obama's Jewish base in the person of Alan Solow, one of the president's closest Chicago friends and long-time supporters. Solow, who was named chairman of the Conference of President of Major Jewish Organizations last December, just released a highly critical statement on behalf of the 52-member group, in which he thoroughly disagrees with Obama's demand that Israel halt all construction of Jewish housing in East Jerusalem, including the Old City -- the holiest place in Judaism.

"...unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman keeps vigil in vain." Psalm 127:1 Truth: Unless the Lord watches over the cities, Homeland Security watches in vain. The current policy of our government in pressing for the establishment of a "Palestinian" state in Israel's land of Judea and Samaria is endangering the national security of the United States. The continued non-recognition of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel by the U.S. State Dept.,- The continued policy of demanding Israel not build or settle in the land God brought Israel back to,- is seriously endangering the national security of...

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- The latest polling looks great for President Obama: It shows that Americans love national health care. If history and polling trends are any guide, however, that will change. Voters right now are in what the famous pollster Daniel Yankelovich called the Wishful Thinking stage -- a moment in the life of an opinion analogous to the dreamy early days of a relationship. Yankelovich believed opinion evolved through seven stages: Dawning Awareness, Greater Urgency, Reaching for Solutions, Wishful Thinking, Weighing the Choices, Taking a Stand, and Making a Responsible Judgment. In the next few weeks, when voters...

Policy and regulation | Privacy The notion of a national ID number is being considered for a variety of reasons: the Social Security number was never intended as a national ID number, but is used that way, the illegal immigration crisis is due in part to the difficulty of identifying valid U.S. citizens, and law enforcement, insurance agencies, and health care providers all like the idea of having a better way to keep tabs on people. Meanwhile, we have Google and the credit card companies tracking and aggregating information on everything we do. For an idea of how this might...

Dr. Abdul Abbas examines the throat of a young Iraqi girl during a medical expo at Hor al-Bosh, near Taji, June 7. Photo by Capt. Maggie White, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team. TAJI — Thanks to the combined efforts of Pennsylvania National Guardsmen, the Iraqi Army (IA), and concerned citizens, villagers here were recently given access to medical care in an area where local clinics are not accessible. U.S. Soldiers helped support this joint medical expo at the al-Sadir secondary school in the rural area of Hor al-Bosh, June 7, where local citizens were able to see doctors and nurses,...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Forty-one youngsters are competing for the title of national spelling champion. The semifinals of the 82nd Scripps Nationals Spelling Bee began Thursday morning. The semifinalists are those remaining from a record 293 participants who arrived in the nation's capital this week.

Several ways to get involved in national service:

Stating that the US is more safe than ever under new Administration, Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday said his predecessor Dick Cheney is "dead wrong" when he contends that President Barack Obama's security policies are making America unsafe. "I don't think he (Cheney) is out of line, but he is dead wrong," Mr. Biden told CNN in an interview when asked about Cheney's recent statement on Obama's policies. Mr. Biden claimed that the Bush Administration had left the US in a weaker posture than it has been any time since World War II. "Less regarded in the world, stretched...

At a cost of $3.5 billion and more than a decade of work, the 192 laser beams are billed as the most powerful in the world.Scientists working at the National Ignition Facility of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, have built the most powerful laser in the world, capable of simulating the energy force of a hydrogen bomb and the sun itself. “The system already has produced 25 times more energy than any other laser system,” said NIF Director Ed Moses. The Energy Department is expected to announce Tuesday that it has officially certified the National Ignition Facility, which...

Breaking NewsThe Department of Justice says it has dropped the designation of "enemy combatant" for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. nothing follows as of yet

WASHINGTON – A U.S. senator has weighed in on the continuing controversy over Barack Obama's eligibility for office by saying he has never seen proof the new president was actually born in Hawaii. "Well, his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven't seen any birth certificate," Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told constituents in Cullman County. "You have to be born in America to be president."

"My country has let me down." That's the assessment of an Arizona rancher who was sued by six illegal immigrants he detained on his property and turned over to the Border Patrol in 2004. On Tuesday an eight-member federal jury in Tucson threw out the claim brought by the six illegal aliens that Roger Barnett violated their civil rights when he detained them at gunpoint on his ranch nearly five years ago. The panel also ruled against the plaintiffs' claims of battery and false imprisonment. But the jury did find Barnett liable on four claims of assault and four claims...

The "Nationwide Chicago TeaParty" sponsored by the #DONTGO movement, Smart Girl Politics (#SGP), Americans for Tax Reform, Heartland Institute, Top Conservatives on Twitter (#TCOT), and the American Spectator will be February 27 at Noon EST.

Holding signs reading "Stimulate Business, Not Government," "Families Against Porkulus" and "Say No To Generational Theft," protesters opposed to the $787 billion stimulus package have been mobilizing across the country. It started last Monday in Seattle, then moved Tuesday to Denver, where President Obama signed the stimulus bill into law. That was followed by another one in Mesa, Ariz., where Obama unveiled a mortgage rescue plan. Another protest was planned for Saturday outside the office of Rep. Dennis Moore in Overland Park, Kan. The Democrat voted for the stimulus. His office didn't return calls seeking comment. A New Populism? As...

Federal officials said this morning they have indicted an Afghan national for lying about his alleged ties to terrorists in a bid to fraudulently obtain a U.S. passport. Ahmadullah Sais Niazi, 34, who was arrested without incident this morning at his Tustin residence by members of the joint terrorism task force, was named in a five-count indictment returned Feb. 11 by a federal grand jury. The indictment, unsealed this morning, alleges Niazi hid associations with “Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” groups including Al Qaeda, Hizb-i-Islami and the Taliban, when he

Darwinists Topple Darwin’s Tree of Life Darwin’s “Tree of Life” is a myth. It’s based on circular reasoning. It is a pattern imposed on the data, not a fact emerging from the evidence. We should give up the search for a single tree of life (TOL) as a record of the history of life on earth, because it is a “quixotic pursuit” unlikely to succeed – and the evidence is against it. Who said this? Not creationists, but a new member of the National Academy of Sciences in his inaugural paper for the academy’s Proceedings.1 W. Ford Doolittle and Eric...

Symposium Planned To Discuss Implementation of Nationwide Mileage-Based Taxing SystemPublic officials from several states are gathering in Austin, Texas this April for a symposium to discuss the implementation of a nationwide, mileage-based taxing system to replace the gas tax. Spearheaded by the Texas Transportation Institute, this symposium will feature representatives from several state transportation departments such as, Oregon, Minnesota and Texas. Over the course of this two day event, several panel sessions are planned to discuss past, current and upcoming pilot studies for the mileage tax, legislative and policy issues, public acceptance challenges, potential technology applications, and institutional issues. Several...

A former FBI special agent told law enforcement and Homeland Security personnel that a network of Islamic organizations are working to incrementally implement Islamic law in the United States. During a presentation at the Bedford County Emergency Management Agency, former FBI agent John Guandolo briefed members about groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, which he claims is working with other Islamic groups to slowly implement Shariah, also known as Islamic law, which encompasses all areas of life. Guandolo worked in the FBI since 1996, including nine years as a member of its SWAT team. After 9/11, he worked in the...

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The FBI has issued an alert to 350 law enforcement agencies in the southwest and Salt Lake City for potential Valentine teddy bear bombs after a suspicious transaction at a Wal-Mart last month. Law enforcement sources said authorities also were on the alert at airports in case the suspected bear-bombs might be carried onto airplanes on Valentine's Day. The FBI said a clean-shaven male, possibly of Middle Eastern descent, purchased nine Valentine teddy bears, 20 inches tall, and 14 canisters of propane, 9 inches tall, small enough to fit inside the teddy bears. The man...

MURRIETA, Calif. – A self-proclaimed polygamist was sentenced Friday to seven consecutive life prison terms for torturing seven of his 19 children, abusing four others and imprisoning two of his three wives. Mansa Musa Muhummed, 55, also was sentenced to additional terms totaling 16 years and eight months by Riverside County Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson III, who said Muhummed's treatment of his family amounted to "a reign of terror over defenseless children." "If his appeals are exhausted and he does not prevail, he will die in prison," said Peter Morreale, Muhummed's attorney. Muhummed was convicted in June of...

February 10, 2009 Part Two: Islam in American Prisons By Kathy Shaidle RightSideNews Copyright © 2009 "One in 10 inmates behind bars turns to Islam." It was small story in a local newspaper called the Daily Herald out of Everett, Washington, but it spread quickly around the internet, thanks to that startling claim. The paper's February 2009 investigation declared that so-called "prison Islam" was the fastest-growing religious group in U.S. correctional facilities. Some of those worshippers claim affiliation with the Nation of Islam (NOR), a black separatist movement that was launched and promoted by two convicts, Elijah Mohammed and his...

NEVER-BEFORE-REVEALED TERRORIST TRAINING VIDEO EXPOSES 35 COMPOUNDS ON AMERICAN SOILBy Steve Foley - Posted on February 9th, 2009 Press Release from the Christian Action Network “Act like you are his friend. Then kill him.” – Sheik Muburak Gilani explaining how to kill American infidels Washington, DC—Christian Action Network will show Homegrown Jihad at the Landmark Theater in Washington, DC, on February 11, 2009, at 7:30 pm. There is no charge to attend the viewing. Copies can also be obtained at www.christianaction.org. The American public was never supposed to know. The 2006 Justice Department document that exposes 35 terrorist training compounds...

A House committee held an important hearing Thursday morning on the issue of "libel tourism." That's the practice of bringing libel suits against American authors in other nations, particularly the United Kingdom, where First Amendment protections do not apply and where the burden of proof is placed on the defendant rather than on the plaintiff. Saudi Arabian businessman Khalid bin Mahfouz has brought several such lawsuits, winning a default judgment against American researcher Rachel Ehrenfeld for her book Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed and How to Stop It, and forcing a Cambridge University Press to destroy copies of the...

MELANIE PHILLIPS, WRITING EXCLUSIVELY FOR MAIL ONLINE Worried that Britain is going bankrupt? Cheer up – we’re about to be bought up by the Islamic world. A report by International Financial Services London reveals that Britain’s Islamic banking sector is now bigger than that of Pakistan. The study says that the UK has by far the largest number of banks for Muslims of any western country. The UK now has five fully ‘sharia-compliant’ banks – providing products which prohibit interest payments and investment in alcohol or gambling firms in accordance with Islamic sharia law – while another 17 leading institutions...

American Patrol Report Opinion -- February 1 The Senate passed a stimulus bill has $9.6 billion in aid for California's Medicaid system (medical care for low income families). The house version has $11 billion. The House version has $7.9 billion for California's education system. The Senate version has $4 billion. The fight between the House and Senate is over whether California gets $18.9 billion for schools and health care, or $13.6 billion. And there is much more for California buried in the bill. Illegal immigrants and their anchor baby children cost California about $10 billion per year and this is...

Buried in the bowels of the stimulus plan the Senate passed Tuesday are key healthcare provisions that will set America on the road to socialized medicine, involve the government in your choice of a doctor, and inevitably trigger another funding crisis that will be used to justify still greater federal intervention in America’s healthcare industry, experts tell Newsmax. Among the most controversial parts of the bill are new federal guidelines that will require the government, rather than a doctor, to decide whether a patient should get medical care. Ironically, the stimulus bill that will cost more than $1 trillion will...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was set up to combat fraudulent practices. The SEC's website explains that "Ponzi schemes are a type of illegal pyramid scheme named for Charles Ponzi, who duped thousands of New England residents into investing in a postage stamp speculation scheme back in the 1920s." It goes on to say, "Decades later, the Ponzi scheme continues to work on the 'rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul' principle, as money from new investors is used to pay off earlier investors until the whole scheme collapses." That is how the SEC described the recent Bernard Madoff $50 billion Ponzi scheme, "a...

A citizen of India, Rajendrasinh B. Makwana attempted to sabotage the computer database at Fannie Mae. He was, according to news reports, employed as a so-called temporary foreign worker who had been authorized to work in the United States temporarily under the provisions of the H1B visa that had been issued to him. Here’s how this appalling situation can be summed up: This is the real threat to society, not the sinking of Fannie Mae. But the strange case of Makwana does bring up a number of issues. The main one is the use of H1B visa workers – and...

Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, D-Fla., has introduced to the House of Representatives a new bill, H.R. 645, calling for the secretary of homeland security to establish no fewer than six national emergency centers for corralling civilians on military installations. The proposed bill, which has received little mainstream media attention, appears designed to create the type of detention center that those concerned about use of the military in domestic affairs fear could be used as concentration camps for political dissidents, such as occurred in Nazi Germany. The bill also appears to expand the president's emergency power, much as the executive order...

Americans are tired of being bullied. We’re tired of being hated, mischaracterized as jingoistic when we’re working for self-defense and safer streets. In 2009, when we speak of the armed citizen, we are speaking about being able to resist in the absence of police such that many, many nonsense policies which depend on our surrender are impeached as worthless. More programs are on the way, and they, too, depend entirely on crisis. When activists hide the most obvious solution in substituting their official boondoggle, they’re just hiding the ball. Aren’t there lawsuits right now in the news about denying constituents...

A military judge has refused the Obama administration's request to delay proceeding for 120 days in the case of a detainee held at the U.S. naval prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who is accused of planning the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole warship, an al-Qaeda strike that killed 17 service members and injured 50 others. The decision throws into some disarray the administration's plan to buy some time as it reviews individual detainee cases as part of its plan to close the prison. The Pentagon may now be forced to withdraw the charges against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a...

WASHINGTON -- If you're a criminal and you're not entitled to be in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wants you out of the country. Napolitano wants what she calls "criminal aliens" off American streets. She is looking at existing immigration enforcement programs to see if taxpayers are getting the most bang for their buck. "That sounds very simple, but it's historically not been done," Napolitano said, speaking to reporters and senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials Thursday. About 113,000 criminals who were in the U.S. illegally were deported last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. The agency...

I’ve been doing a lot of B.O. (Barack Obama/Bend Over) Republican-bashing the past few weeks. Watching the Republicans crumble on the Geithner and Holder nominations, swoon over The One’s congeniality, and display indecision over the stimulus hasn’t been easy on the stomach or the head. But credit must be given where it is due. Today was a very good day for conservatism — and a good day for the party whose logo I’ve had to run upside-down for too long. Thank you, GOP. It’s a sad state of affairs when I can tally the number of notably good days for...

(MOBILE, Ala.) Jan.26 - Mobile police sources tell NBC 15 News they've arrested a man believed to be a domestic terrorist. The investigation began January 5, when a local synagogue was spray painted with Nazi markings. Mobile Police are not making an official comment yet, but sources within the department say they got a very dangerous man off the streets, just in time. Words of hate were spray-painted all over the Congregation Tree of Life synagogue three weeks ago. They are markings that shocked its congregation. Member Barbara Morgan couldn't believe it.

Note: Video included. January 21, 2009 For hate speech -- after declining to do so last year, which means that Islamic supremacist groups in the Netherlands have kept up the pressure on lawmakers until they got the outcome they wanted. Hate speech, of course, is in the eye of the beholder, and hate speech laws are tools in the hands of the powerful that they can use to silence the powerless and crush dissent. And make no mistake: even though the Muslims in the Netherlands and elsewhere in the West present themselves as embattled victims of racism and "Islamophobia," that...