Free Republic

At the White House today, President Obama will give one lucky turkey a second chance at life and save it from ending up as Thanksgiving dinner. North Carolina farmers send off turkey to be "pardoned" by President Obama. (Bobby Williams/Goldsboro News-Argus)Obama, a former constitutional law professor, will issue a presidential pardon to Courage, a 20-week-old, 45-pound turkey from Princeton, N.C .

At first it was just an unverifiable assertion. Now it turns out to have been a case of bureaucratic ineptitude and possible fraud. Transparency and accountability aren't working out the way President Obama had hoped. The administration was already skating on thin ice when it announced Oct. 30, with great fanfare, that 640,329 jobs had been created or saved as a result of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Not 640,000, or even 640,300. Six-hundred-forty-thousand-three-hundred-and-twenty-nine. Asked about accumulating reports of phony jobs in phantom districts, Obama told Fox News's Major Garrett that "this is an inexact science." Turned...

Source: Obama to go to Copenhagen climate-change summit Posted: November 25th, 2009 09:25 AM ET resident Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen, Denmark next month. resident Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen, Denmark next month. Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen, Denmark December 9 to attend a global conference on climate change, a senior administration official told CNN Wednesday. The president is also scheduled to be in nearby Oslo, Norway on December 10 to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. It is not clear if he will go to Copenhagen before or after Oslo.

As American families sit down to their traditional Thanksgiving feasts they will naturally recall the familiar story of the Pilgrims taught to every school kid and, in the process, distort the true character of the nation’s religious heritage. Most children learn that the Mayflower settlers came to the New World to escape persecution and to establish religious freedom. But the early colonists actually pursued purity, not tolerance and sought to build fervent, faith-based utopias, not secular regimes that consigned religion to a secondary role. The distinctive circumstances that allowed these fiery believers of varied denominations to cooperate in the founding...

Obama continues to lose Independents: Disapproval up to 45%, Approval down to 43.8%

I’m glad to say that the hacking into the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University is now hitting hard, and an inquiry is being demanded on both sides of the Atlantic, even though an ordinary Google search for ‘environmentalism’ doesn’t throw up anything on the matter. But, the media are responding! The Guardian (London), 24th Nov., said “It’s no use pretending this isn’t a major blow. The emails… could scarcely be more damaging. I am now convinced they are genuine… Yes, the messages were obtained illegally… But there are some messages that require no spin to make them look...

In one tidy cover story—The Decade From Hell And Why The Next One Will Be Better—Time sums up the last decade and the one to come. Things were "hell" under George W. Bush, but will be better under Barack Obama. Class dismissed: that's really all you need to know. But just to drive home the Manichean message, Time editor Rick Stengel and Andy Serwer [of Time stable-mate Fortune], who wrote the cover story, appeared on Morning Joe today. Of course there's the inconvenient detail about Barack Obama having been elected in this decade. But not to worry. Serwer explains "you...

Goldmine of black market in Russian data By Charles Clover in Moscow Published: November 24 2009 17:59 | Last updated: November 24 2009 17:59 Gorbushka Market, just outside central Moscow, does a thriving trade in any electronics good you could want: mobile phones, plasma television sets, the latest DVDs, and, if you ask to see them, software peddlers will show potential clients a list of “databases”. These consist of CDs with names such as “Ministry of Interior – Federal Road Safety Service”, “Tax Service” and “Federal Anti-Narcotics Service” and cost about $100 apiece. Each contains confidential information gathered by Russian...

You could call (this) pre-September 11 thinking, except that there never was a time when it would have been sane:((look at this picture) Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq -- the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com. ... Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors -- and he had the bloody lip to prove it. Now,...

Vietnam has been forced to devalue its currency, the dong, for the third time since June 2008. The country's pegged exchange rate will shift to 17,961 dong per dollar vs. 17,034 previously. The Vietnamese central bank will also hiking interest rates to 8% from 7% in an attempt to control inflation.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 26% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -15. This is the second straight day at -15, the lowest Approval Index rating yet measured for President Obama (see trends).

NEW YORK, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The Washington Post (WPO.N) is closing its last U.S. bureaus outside the nation's capital as the money-losing newspaper retrenches to focus on politics and local news. "At a time of limited resources and increased competitive pressure, it's necessary to concentrate our journalistic firepower on our central mission of covering Washington and the news, trends and ideas that shape both the region and the country's politics, policies and government," the newspaper's top editor, Marcus Brauchli, wrote in a memo to employees that was obtained by Reuters. The Post will close its bureaus in Chicago, Los...

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are: 1.the sanctity of human life 2.the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife 3.the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Science depends on good quality data. It also relies on replication and sharing data. But the last couple of days have uncovered some shocking revelations. Computer hackers have obtained 160 megabytes of e-mails from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England. These e-mails, which have now been confirmed as real, involved many researchers across the globe with ideologically similar advocates around the world. They were brazenly discussing the destruction and hiding of data that did not support global warming claims. The academics here also worked closely with the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Professor...

“I don’t think it will be offensive at all when he’s convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him.” - Barack Obama When questioned later on being judge, jury and executioner, he clarified, “What I said was, people will not be offended if that’s the outcome. I’m not pre-judging, I’m not going to be in that courtroom, that’s the job of prosecutors, the judge and the jury. What I’m absolutely clear about is that I have complete confidence in the American people and our legal traditions and the prosecutors, the tough prosecutors from New York who specialize in...

President Obama welcomed Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the White House with words that have inspired snickers in New Delhi: "Yours is the first official state visit of my presidency, its fitting that you and India be so recognised," 48-year-old Obama told the 77-year-old Indian leader. The general reaction in India has been: Who the heck does this guy think he is? Note to the Great Diplomat: When you do a head of state an honor, you don't remind him, in public, of the fact that you have done him an honor, particularly in self-aggrandizing terms of this sort....

U.S. urges Americans to help feed their neighborsTue Nov 24, 2009 6:15pm EST By Jasmin Melvin WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Tuesday urged Americans to volunteer to help feed their neighbors, noting that almost 15 percent of the country's households had a hard time getting enough to eat last year. Every American can chip in to fight hunger, the Agriculture Department said as it unveiled the Obama Administration's new Feed a Neighbor initiative, encouraging activities such as volunteering time at local food banks, helping the elderly get fresh produce, and planning ways to feed children who depend on...

The number of Americans who believe global warming is occurring has declined to its lowest since 1997, though at 72 percent, it's still a broad majority. The drop has steepened in the last year-and-a-half – almost exclusively among conservatives and Republicans. Climate scientist Gerald Meehl explains how the latest findings affect you.This ABC News/Washington Post poll also finds that support for government action to address the issue, while still a majority, likewise is down from its levels in summer 2008.

Growing world oil use will likely outpace the rate of new supplies in 2010, eroding the huge stockpiles of crude which have mounted around the world since the start of the global economic crisis. According to a Reuters poll of ten top oil-tracking analysts and organizations, oil demand is predicted to rise by 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) next year to 85.9 million bpd. At the same time, the rise in production from outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and output of natural gas liquids (NGLs) from OPEC members is seen growing by just 800,000 bpd in...

Martin Indyk, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, has joined a growing number of people who backed Barack Obama for president and now criticize him. Both President Obama and U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell have failed in the Middle East, Indyk said in an Omaha, Nebraska forum. Indyk, a Jew born in England, told Der Spiegel last January, “We have to be less naïve and more humble. I am sure Obama has understood that.”

Crisis pregnancy centers in Baltimore must display signs stating they do not provide abortions or birth-control referrals under a measure approved by the City Council Monday night and thought to be the first of its kind in the nation. Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a Democrat who was lead sponsor of the initiative, called the measure a victory for women's well-being. (snip) But abortion opponents say the bill unfairly targets centers that they say provide accurate information and much-needed assistance to poor women. "The thing that's most disappointing about it is not the particular signs that are put up or the...

Cutting emissions to mitigate climate change will also make people healthier, according to research. A special series of articles, published in medical journal, the Lancet, outlines how such policies could have a direct impact on global health. The series has been released ahead of the UN climate summit in Copenhagen. Researchers called for health and climate change scientists to work together and for more funding for such interdisciplinary projects.

Link only due to copyright issue

I hereby forfeit my claim to a right-wing conspiracy decoder ring by offering two cheers for the Democrats. I congratulate them on their victory Saturday night in the Senate, and while I can't quite wish them continued success on the course they are following, I'm beginning to make peace with the possibility that they'll win. For years, conservatives and liberals have flirted with the idea of disposing of the fool's errand of bipartisanship. Seeking compromise with partisans across the aisle is a recipe for getting nothing important done. For liberals, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has been a leader...

Computer hackers have obtained 160 megabytes of e-mails from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England. These e-mails, which have now been confirmed as real, involved many researchers across the globe with ideologically similar advocates around the world. They were brazenly discussing the destruction and hiding of data that did not support global warming claims. The academics here also worked closely with the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Professor Phil Jones, the head of the Climate Research Unit, and Professor Michael Mann at Pennsylvania State University, who has been an important scientist in the...

At his Cabinet meeting Monday afternoon, President Obama took a moment to give thanks to his team. Sipping a glass of water, the president offered special gratitude to the woman on his right. “I advised this hard-working Cabinet to get a little bit of rest this week,” he said, looking at Hillary Clinton, “particularly the people who have been traveling around the globe day-in and day-out and don’t know what time zone they’re in.” The secretary of state, with a china cup and saucer in front of her, smiled. In the back of the room, back where they were parched,...

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Better home insulation and ventilation and using electricity instead of fossil fuels could reduce indoor pollution and save thousands of lives, especially in low-income countries like India, a study has found. Using mathematical modeling and case studies, researchers said such strategies could avert 5,500 premature deaths per year in a country like Britain. "The total number of averted premature deaths from acute lower respiratory infections will have reached about 240,000 children aged younger than 5 years, and more than 18 million premature adult deaths from ischemic heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will have been...

Brain waves will replace keyboard and mouse, dial phones and change TV channel By the year 2020, you won't need a keyboard and mouse to control your computer, say Intel Corp. researchers. Instead, users will open documents and surf the Web using nothing more than their brain waves. Scientists at Intel's research lab in Pittsburgh are working to find ways to read and harness human brain waves so they can be used to operate computers, television sets and cell phones. The brain waves would be harnessed with Intel-developed sensors implanted in people's brains.

The signs are there. The news is very good for conservatives trying to win back control of our country. Dozens of House Democrats are facing tough reelection campaigns next year according to Charlie Cook the respected political analyst. Cook’s “Frontline” list of Democrats in reelection trouble even includes some who often run unopposed. Veteran Democrats like John Spratt SC, John Tanner Tenn. and others who had no opponent last year could be out of office next November; so could South Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan who is trailing his Republican successor by 19 points! Seeing the light; hearing footsteps Frightened Democrats...

Long Island couple is home free after an outraged judge gave them an amazing Thanksgiving present -- canceling their debt to ruthless bankers trying to toss them out on the street. Suffolk Judge Jeffrey Spinner wiped out $525,000 in mortgage payments demanded by a California bank, blasting its "harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive" acts. The bombshell decision leaves Diane Yano-Horoski and her husband, Greg Horoski, owing absolutely no money on their ranch house in East Patchogue. Spinner pulled no punches as he smacked down the bankers at OneWest -- who took an $814.2 million federal bailout but have a record...

Even mobsters are feeling the squeeze in today's tough economy. A bizarrely sympathetic judge took pity on a reputed Colombo family associate yesterday, saying he can keep his job at the trendy Lucali pizzeria in Carroll Gardens -- despite prosecutors' claims that it's a sham. Dominick Dionisio, 39, who has a conviction for racketeering, works at the popular restaurant six days a week, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m., yet makes just $300 to $400 per week. But that didn't raise any red flags for Brooklyn federal Judge Dora Irizarry. "Realistically, it's quite problematic [even] for people who don't have the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell unexpectedly in October, according to government data on Wednesday that reinforced views of a gradual economic recovery from recession. The Commerce Department said durable goods orders dropped 0.6 percent after rising by an upwardly revised 2.0 percent in September. New orders in September were previously reported to have increased 1.4 percent. Durable goods orders are a leading indicator of manufacturing activity, which in turn provides a good measure for overall business health.

Listen Live: Sound Off Connecticut with Jim Vicevich 9 a.m. to noon ET (Daily Thread)Sound Off Connecticut is a popular conservative/libertarian call in talk show hosted by Jim Vicevich weekday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon ET. Although based in Connecticut, the show welcomes callers from all over the United States! This is your chance to sound off America! Call into the show toll free (800) 966-9842! Listen to the LIVE AUDIO STREAM at http://wtic.com - it's free and NO registration is required! If you're in southern New England listen over the air to WTIC 1080 AM, the 50,000 watt...

Here's a dirty little secret about The New York Times: It likes to leak things. Important things. Things that change the course of the public conversation. From the Pentagon Papers to the ruined terrorist-surveillance programs of the Bush era, the Times has routinely found that secrecy is a danger and sunlight is a disinfectant. Until now. A troublesome hacker recently released e-mails going to and from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in Britain, e-mails that exposed how the "scientific experts" cited so often by the media on global warming are guilty of crude political talk,...

GLENN BECK, the most listened to Talk Show Host among White House Peeps (4 out of 5 Marxists agree)! Welcome Sick Twisted Freaks! It’s a morning thread, so bring your coffee and doughnuts! FRink Phrases: “Blow your mind” “Fatty fat fatso” “Having an ADD(or ADHD) moment” “That’s FANSTASTIC!” And of course anytime Pat does his Arlen Specter voice is cause to FRink! Feel free to FReepmail any suggestions to add to the list! ENJOY!

Google has apologised after a racist caricature of Michelle Obama became the top result for users searching for pictures of the US First Lady. Anyone typing "Michelle Obama" into Google Images this morning was presented with an altered photo depicting the US president's wife with animal features. In a rare move, Google has posted a message on the top of the results page distancing itself from the image, in the box usually reserved for sponsored links. The note, which states "Sometimes our search results can be offensive. We agree" directs users to a page explaining the technology giant's policy on...

Driving into Mexico has been a largely hassle-free experience for decades: There were few customs inspectors, even fewer gates, and for most border crossers, no questions asked. That's about to change. The Mexican government is modernizing its ports of entry along the border, including its biggest crossing in Tijuana. The new infrastructure -- which includes gates, cameras and vehicle scales -- is meant to help curtail the flow of drug money and weapons to Mexican organized crime groups. But bolstered security means more border-crossing logjams, and business and trade groups fear that the new measures will deal another blow to...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - China's Sinopec (0386.HK) has signed a tentative deal to provide financing of $6.5 billion for oil refinery projects in Iran, two Iranian news agencies reported on Wednesday. If such an agreement goes ahead, it would provide Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude exporter, with much needed capital to help develop its all-important energy sector, which is under U.S. sanctions.

Washington D.C., Nov 25, 2009 / 04:40 am (CNA).- A non-Catholic political expert says Bishop Thomas Tobin’s request that U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy refrain from receiving Holy Communion is “eminently reasonable” and an “appropriate” encouragement of the Congressman to examine his commitment to his faith.Rep. Kennedy, a Rhode Island Democrat and son of the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, was criticized by Bishop Tobin of Providence for his attacks on the Catholic bishops’ opposition to abortion funding in health care legislation. Recently, Kennedy revealed that Bishop Tobin had asked him to refrain from receiving communion because of his public contradiction...

Naeem Khan has dressed Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Katherine Heigl, but it appears to have taken First Lady Michelle Obama, who wore his custom-made strapless silver-and-cream gown to a state dinner Tuesday night, to make him a household name. (If Khan gets a smidgen of the press that Jason Wu and Isabel Toledo got for designing Obama's Inauguration Day ensembles. we'll be thrilled for him.) Khan, an Indian-born designer who shows at New York Fashion Week, consistently turns out jaw-droppingly gorgeous eveningwear, though he has been branching out in recent seasons. His signatures are ethnic embroideries, dazzling colors, and bold...

11/24/2009 Vestiges of 'Genocidal System' Poland to Ban Communist Symbols By Andrew Curry Reforming Poland's hate-crime legislation may mean criminalizing communism. An amendment to the criminal code awaiting the president's signature would ban a broad category of communist symbols. Left-wing politicians say the law does more to violate human rights than protect them. Poland is on the verge of banning communist symbols in a change to the country's penal code that could make everything from the hammer and sickle and red star to Che Guevara t-shirts illegal. The amendment would adjust the country's hate-crime legislation to criminalize the "production, distribution,...

November 19, 2009 - WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With unanimous support, S. 1147, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act) was approved yesterday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and will head to the full Senate. If passed, the bill would prevent illegal untaxed cigarette trafficking and access to tobacco products by youth by prohibiting online and mail-order sales of tobacco. If the bill is signed into law, its regulations would go into effect 90 days following the enactment by the president, according to the version passed yesterday by the committee. The PACT Act was passed in the House in May....

During his first visit to Asia as US president, Barack Obama issued a joint statement with Chinese President Hu Jintao. References to Taiwan in the statement suggest that the situation is evolving in a direction unfavorable to the country. Obviously this situation is not good for Taiwan. The Obama-Hu talks have indeed been a big diplomatic victory for China. With regard to Taiwan, however, the Ma administration has accepted the idea of “one China.” At the same time, it is dismantling Taiwan’s strongest line of defense — its democracy. When so much has been given away, what grounds can we...

snips An idealistic president takes office promising an era of American moral renewal at home and abroad...within a couple of years the U.S. is more suspected, detested and enfeebled than ever. Nov. 20, 1979, Sunni religious fanatics seized Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site. U.S. diplomatic missions in Bangladesh, India, Turkey and Libya were assaulted; in Pakistan, burned to the ground. Mr. Carter had set out to make America as inoffensive as possible. Two weeks before Juhayman seized the Grand Mosque, Iranian radicals seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran...after Mr. Carter had refused to bail out the Shah, after Mr....

NEW CASTLE, Ind. -- A Henry County judge on Tuesday rejected a plea deal in the death of a 3-year-old girl who police said was beaten to death by her mother's boyfriend. Jeremiah Hoots, 31, was originally charged with felony battery in the December 2007 death of the daughter of his then-girlfriend, Krystal Pollitt, 3-year-old Kaitlynne Jennings, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported. The crime carries a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison, but in October, Hoots was offered a plea deal of 12 years in prison with six suspended, two years suspended on probation and one of those years on...

(IsraelNN.com) Martin Indyk, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, has joined a growing number of people who backed Barack Obama for president and now criticize him. Both President Obama and U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell have failed in the Middle East, Indyk said in an Omaha, Nebraska forum. Indyk, a Jew born in England, told Der Spiegel last January, “We have to be less naïve and more humble. I am sure Obama has understood that.” Today, less than a year later, Indyk is sounding a different tune. “It’s clear that things are not going as he planned,” Indyk said at...

Uganda's anti-gay bill causes Commonwealth uproar Proposed law that would impose life imprisonment on homosexuals has the potential to divide leaders at summit Geoffrey York Johannesburg — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Published on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009 3:13AM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009 4:02AM EST The Commonwealth convenes for a summit this week amid growing furor over a proposed law that would impose life imprisonment on homosexuals in Uganda, whose President is chairing the gathering. The law, proceeding through Uganda's Parliament and supported by some of its top leaders, would imprison anyone who knows of the...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Climate change is likely to hit the water-starved Arab world harder than many other parts of the globe and threatens to slash agricultural output in the area, U.N. and Arab League officials said. "Climate change will be critical for the Arab world because this region in particular already suffers from poverty, widespread aridity, water scarcity and social marginalization," said Sima Bahous, Deputy Secretary General for Social Development in the Arab League.

Police are searching for a Gaston County pastor charged with raping and molesting a teen girl. Robert Lee Adams, 46, began sexually abusing the girl when she was younger than 13 and got her pregnant about three years later, according to the Gaston County Police Department. Authorities have been searching for Adams for nine months. The girl gave birth in the summer of 2008, and an investigation led police to Adams, said Gaston County Police Capt. Joe Ramey. Ramey said Adams was pastor of Mount Calvary Tabernacle at the corner of Linwood Road and Camp Rotary Road in west Gastonia....

A new record high in the price of gold and fresh speculation of an increase in Australian interest next week are pushing the dollar lower, with the euro making another attempt to break over $1.50. Spot gold touched a fresh record high of $1180.10 per troy ounce and, at 0730 GMT, was trading at $1177.85, up $7.55 from the New York close. “In the runup to Thanksgiving it would appear the desire to lock in profit is still not greater than that to accumulate new long positions,” said Barclays Capital in a research note.