Free Republic

Last week Democrat held a Economic Forum behind closed doors. The Economist came out and held a news conference providing evidence to the discussion, it is linked at the bottom here for the full text. Robert Kuttner "you need to think about reduction of debt relative to the GDP as a 10-year project and in order to get the economy back on track, we may well need, we do need, more deficit spending now and in the next year but with a pre commitment to deficit reduction over 10 years through progressive taxation, one of the things we seem to...

Former Obama green jobs czar Van Jones is gone, along with his views about whites directing poisons to minorities, his obscene condemnations of Republicans and his affiliation with the idea the U.S. government was behind 9/11. Now critics of the cadre of unvetted political appointees charged by the president with "advising" on a broad range of critical issues are looking at some of the other names with White House access. Jones' midnight-on-a-holiday-weekend resignation came after pressure over his extremist history first exposed in WND reached critical mass, set off by a tape of him in an expletive-packed rant, directly attacking...

Former Obama green jobs czar Van Jones is gone, along with his views about whites directing poisons to minorities, his obscene condemnations of Republicans and his affiliation with the idea the U.S. government was behind 9/11. Now critics of the cadre of unvetted political appointees charged by the president with "advising" on a broad range of critical issues are looking at some of the other names with White House access. Jones' midnight-on-a-holiday-weekend resignation came after pressure over his extremist history first exposed in WND reached critical mass, set off by a tape of him in an expletive-packed rant, directly attacking...

Hmm. I wonder which of the many glorious aspects of Mother Gaia it was that first attracted President Obama’s “Green Jobs Czar” Van Jones to the environmental movement. Was it, perhaps, his love of fluffy bunnies - especially those ones with the long floppy ears and the sweet pink noses? Was it the sight of the mighty redwoods in Northern California or the sea otters frolicking amid the kelp off Big Sur or the manatees basking so cutely amid the shimmering propellors of the Everglades?

According to Susan Ferrechio of The Washington Examiner, there is bipartisan support for Vicki Kennedy to take over Ted Kennedy's office. Indeed, says Ferrechio, some think she would be "perfect for the job." Ferrechio quotes Orrin Hatch as saying that Kennedy is a "brilliant lawyer" and "a solid individual." She also quotes Chris Dodd as saying that if Kennedy wants the position, he will back her up. There are only two problems with this picture. 1. Kennedy has stated that she does not want the position 2. It's not legal for her to take it. But not to worry! The...

(CBS) Although Sen. Ted Kennedy had sought to expedite the process of choosing his replacement to the U.S. Senate, it appears the process will be at least three to four months away. As CBS chief political correspondent Steve Chaggaris reports, Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick must set a date for a special election to occur between 145 and 160 days from now to fill the vacancy created by Kennedy's death. The two likely dates for a special election would be on the Tuesdays that fall within this range: January 19, 2010 and January 26, 2010. Thanks to a law change in...

TED KENNEDY is right: Massachusetts needs two voices and two votes in the US Senate. Related Special section Ted Kennedy Editorial: Don’t let Senate seat be vacant Scot Lehigh: Who should fill Kennedy’s seat? 8/20/09 Kennedy, looking ahead, urges that Senate seat be filled quickly Scot Lehigh: Letter recognizes what we hesitate to say PDF Read Senator Kennedy's letter to state leaders On Tuesday, the state’s senior senator sent a letter to the legislative leadership and Governor Deval Patrick, asking that they revise the current law to allow for an interim Senate appointment during the special election to fill a...

Democratic congressional leaders are vowing to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill this year that would give amnesty to an estimated 11 million immigrants living and working the United States illegally. The votes are there, they say. All they need now is time to push it through. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that he has the votes to pass such legislation, which also would create a new guest-worker program for employers. The stumbling block is persuading senators to deal with such a politically charged issue, he told reporters.

(IsraelNN.com) U.S. envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell will arrive in Israel next Monday to meet with Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials. Mitchell will reportedly meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and wants to know in particular why Israel has refused to freeze construction in Judea and Samaria and recognize the need for a PA state.

4/30/2009 - DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFNS) -- Over the Arizona desert near Tucson, nine student pilots took the "final exam" for a career most people only dream about in April. They are in the final stages of training to become F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots for the Air Force. At the end of 7.5 months of intense F-16 Basic Course Training with the Texas Air National Guard's 149th Fighter Wing in San Antonio, the students participated in Exercise Coronet Cactus at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. "At the end of the course, we bring them out here for two weeks...

For the first time since Barack Obama was elected president last November, more than half of U.S. voters (53%) say it is at least somewhat likely that the next occupant of the White House will be a Republican. Thirty-one percent (31%) say it is Very Likely. Thirty-five percent (35%) say it is not very or not at all likely, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Twelve percent (12%) aren’t sure. This is not an expectation related to the 2012 election. It is a question about the President following Obama which could happen in either 2012 or 2016....

After General Motors (NYSE:GM) Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner was forced out by President Barack Obama, Wall Street is betting bank CEO firings will be the next shoe to drop. CNBC's New York Stock Exchange floor reporter Bob Pisani told viewers of CNBC's March 30 "Street Signs" the market's actions, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropping as much as 300 points, are reflect, in part,that the government is going to force bank CEOs out as they did with Wagoner. "Look, the main concern here today is Geithner's comments that some banks are going to need a lot more...

American conservatives are looking for their next leader to run for president in 2012 and spark a resurgence in the Republican party.Sarah Palin ... Bobby Jindal ... Michael Steele ... Newt Gingrich ... These are the names American conservatives are talking about to run for president in 2012. But does any of them have what it takes to be the leader of a conservative resurgence in the Republican party? "Is there a Ronald Reagan figure? No. But it's really too early," said Larry Hart, director of government relations for the American Conservative Union, which sponsors the annual Conservative Political Action...

Israel was today poised for its most right-wing government in decades after Binyamin Netanyahu was asked to be the country's next Prime Minister. In a move that will cause huge disappointment in Washington, President Shimon Peres confirmed that he had asked the Likud leader, who finished a close second in the country's election, to build a coalition. Giving an acceptance speech that did not mention the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process or a two-state solution, Mr Netanyahu instead placed much of his focus on Iran's enrichment of uranium. "Iran is seeking to obtain a nuclear weapon and constitutes the gravest threat...

WHO IS BARACK OBAMA? You will be shocked to learn what lies beneath the well-polished rhetoric of this slick orator. Obama speaks vaguely about “change,” but as this book reveals, Obama’s brand of change is a hostile attack on the Judeo-Christian values and freedoms most Americans hold dear.

The recent drop in oil and other commodity prices makes it almost a certainty that some unstable commodity-exporting nations will reach a crisis stage in the next few months. The only question is, which countries are likely to erupt first? The Middle East is always a safe bet for an explosion, but there is a very good chance the next eruption will be in Africa, with the most likely location being Congo, followed by Sudan. In Latin America, Argentina is headed for another debt default and financial meltdown, and Venezuela continues to rapidly deteriorate. And there is Russia, which is...

If it took 143 years after the Congress abolished slavery for Barack Obama to reach the White House, the journey from here on for another non-white aspirant to high office may happen a lot sooner as a demographic upheaval transforms the American landscape. The emerging race map of US is clearly indicating a decline in the dominance of the white vote and though it would stretch things to say Caucasians will cease to matter politically, America is turning distinctly less white than it has been. This is slowly giving rise to voting blocks that are proving increasingly decisive in tilting...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Billionaire investor George Soros said on Monday that the length and depth of the U.S. recession will depend on who is the next U.S. president and the policies he puts in place to react to any slowdown. A series of grim economic reports in recent weeks have made clear that even if unprecedented government measures to stabilize banks succeed in restoring lending, the economy has been seriously damaged. Many analysts agree that the United State is in recession. "The range of possibilities is very wide," Soros said of how long a recession will last. He was...

Sarah Palin is an "authentic model of feminism" and her vice-presidential candidacy "could well" lead to an historic all-female White House race in 2012 against Hillary Clinton, according to a former senior adviser to President Bill Clinton. Dick Morris, who was a top aide to Bill Clinton from 1994 to 1996 and has since become a harsh critic of the former president and his wife, said that a John McCain victory in November would make the two women the front-runners for 2012. "McCain will be 76 in 2012," he said. "I wonder if he'll even run for re-election. And Obama...

KIEV, Ukraine – With Russian troops stationed deep in Georgia, fears run high that Ukraine may be the next victim of a Kremlin drive to reclaim dominance in the former Soviet Union. Many here believe Moscow has its sights on Ukraine's strategic Crimea peninsula on the Black Sea - once a jewel of Russia's empire. Officials both here and in the West worry how far Russia might go to stop Ukraine's drive to join NATO and to regain control of Crimea. Analysts say war between the two nations is highly unlikely. While Georgia is a small nation of 4.6 million,...

If Congress bows to pressure from Republicans and decides to lift its restrictions on offshore oil drilling, it is unclear exactly what would happen next. Such a move would take the country into uncharted waters, and there is no guarantee that a substantial amount of new drilling would take place at all. The frequent "drill here, drill now" refrain of Sen. John McCain and his fellow proponents of offshore drilling that has become part of this year's presidential debate suggests that removing the congressional moratorium would throw open the nation's waters to a spree of new drilling—and, eventually, new oil....

Russia’s invasion across an internationally recognised border, its thrashing of the Georgian military, and its smug satisfaction in humbling one of its former fiefdoms represents only the visible damage. As bad as the bloodying of Georgia is, the broader consequences are worse. The United States fiddled while Georgia burned, not even reaching the right rhetorical level in its public statements until three days after the Russian invasion began, and not, at least to date, matching its rhetoric with anything even approximating decisive action. This pattern is the very definition of a paper tiger. Sending Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice to...

In a week when we have been dusting off the old Cold War phrase book to characterize Russia's rapid-fire roll across tiny Georgia, make room for one more: the domino theory. It's back, with a vengeance. In the mid-1950s version, the domino theory warned that failure to contain any given communist insurgency would lead to the toppling of anti-communist governments elsewhere, in a kind of chain-reaction regime change. By 1992, when the Soviet Union imploded, freeing the captive nations of the Warsaw Pact and the non-Russian "Soviet Republics" — Georgia among them — the domino theory seemed to be working...

Link Only http://rawstory.com/news/2008/DNC_targets_longshot_VP_possibility_as_0811.html

The National Enquirer, the paper that all the Obama supporters portray as having no journalistic integrity, teaches the MSM a lesson in reporting with the Edwards/Hunter Story. Will the National Enquirer be the media organization that BREAKS the truth about Barack Obama and Larry Sinclair?

Buying into 'the petroleum for the next century' ROB CARRICK Friday, June 13, 2008 Looking to jump into an investment in a scarce resource with lots of upside potential? There's a clear case to be made for water. Oil and gas, metals and fertilizers and food are still going strong, while investors have only recently started to talk about water. And yet, water has much the same imbalance between supply and demand as traditional resources. The investment dealer Goldman Sachs recently described water as the “the petroleum for the next century.” Mutual funds and exchange-traded funds focusing on water have...

After Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton holed up in Sen. Dianne Feinstein's living room last week for a private tete-a-tete, speculation mushroomed as to what Obama might be offering his former rival. Pundits cited all the possibilities: the vice presidency, a spot in the Cabinet, Senate majority leader and -- yes -- appointment to the Supreme Court. Is it possible that Obama might adopt Dwight Eisenhower's 1952 strategy for dealing with a contentious political rival? California Gov. Earl Warren had run for president three times and saw himself in line for the Republican presidential nomination in '52, but the...

Granny was the first to go. Then Uncle Jeremiah, and now the whole darn Church. Considering her, shall we say, somewhat wacky statements, is the beautiful Michelle Obama the next to be thrown under the bus in the Messiah's unflagging quest for the White House? If so, how would he do it?

Next 9/11 to come from Fata: US general By Anwar Iqbal WASHINGTON, May 22: A top American general on Thursday endorsed a US intelligence assessment that the next 9/11-type attack on the US soil would come from Al Qaeda bases in Pakistan’s tribal region but urged the United States to increase its security assistance to the country to help it deal with the threat. Gen David Petraeus, a top US military commander nominated to lead the Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Pakistan would be the first country he would visit, if confirmed, to assess its desire...

After 16 years, the Clinton era may be coming to an end, presenting Democrats with a historic but potentially wrenching transition and a challenge to Senator Barack Obama as he seeks to reconcile a deeply divided party. Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been at the heart of the Democratic Party since Mr. Clinton steered it back to the White House in 1992, with a campaign that combined a moderate appeal with the hard-edged political tactics that had once been the province of Republicans. Mrs. Clinton seemed poised last year to lead Democrats into the general election campaign if not...

The drawn out Democratic presidential race is producing "negative dividends in terms of strife within the party," said a key Senate supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton's White House bid. A day after the Indiana and North Carolina primaries bolstered Sen. Barack Obama's candidacy, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California and a superdelegate, said she wants to talk to Clinton to "see what her view is on the rest of the race. What the strategy is." Feinstein, who described herself as "very loyal" to Clinton, said "the question comes whether she can get the delegates that she needs and I'd like to know...

Source: U.S. Strike on Iran Nearing April 14, 2008 By: Jim Meyers Contrary to some claims that the Bush administration will allow diplomacy to handle Iran’s nuclear weapons program, a leading member of America’s Jewish community tells Newsmax that a military strike is not only on the table – but likely. “Israel is preparing for heavy casualties,” the source said, suggesting that although Israel will not take part in the strike, it is expecting to be the target of Iranian retribution. “Look at Dick Cheney’s recent trip through the Middle East as preparation for the U.S. attack,” the source said....

The neocons may yet get their war on Iran. Ever since President Nouri al-Maliki ordered the attacks in Basra on the Mahdi Army, Gen. David Petraeus has been laying the predicate for U.S. air strikes on Iran and a wider war in the Middle East. Iran, Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee, has "fueled the recent violence in a particularly damaging way through its lethal support of the special groups." These "special groups" are "funded, trained, armed and directed by Iran's Quds Force with help from Lebanese Hezbollah. It was these groups that launched Iranian rockets and mortar rounds...

The hours of congressional testimony, the speeches and the press conferences this week were all, nominally, about Iraq. But another, equally explosive question - what to do about Iran - loomed over the presentations by Army Gen. David Petraeus, the American military commander in Iraq, over U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and over U.S. strategy for the Middle East. Petraeus and Crocker, arguing that there has been progress in stabilizing Iraq since President Bush ordered a troop build-up there last year, fingered Iran's support for Shiite militias in Iraq, which they called "special groups," as the No. 1 threat...

British fear US commander is beating the drum for Iran strikes By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 1:53am BST 05/04/2008 British officials gave warning yesterday that America's commander in Iraq will declare that Iran is waging war against the US-backed Baghdad government. A strong statement from General David Petraeus about Iran's intervention in Iraq could set the stage for a US attack on Iranian military facilities, according to a Whitehall assessment. In closely watched testimony in Washington next week, Gen Petraeus will state that the Iranian threat has risen as Tehran has supplied and directed attacks by militia...

The Next Woodrow Wilson? by Martin Sieff Sen. Barack Obama’s Philadelphia Address was clearly crafted to stand alongside the historic documents and speeches of Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King. But in its amazing, quasi-messianic confidence in rousing and inspirational effects that an Obama presidency would have on the entire world, it instead arouses memories of a liberal Democratic president whom conservatives remember all too well -- Woodrow Wilson. The point was not lost on at least one venerable mainstream political pundit. Jim Hoagland wrote in the Washington Post, “… it is naive, or extremely self-serving, of Obama...

Next Clinton in the White House may be Chelsea By Tony Allen-Mills March 03, 2008 04:30am Article from: The Australian CHELSEA Clinton, once a gawky teenager, pictured between her parents and holding their hands as if to keep them together while having them a safe distance apart, has emerged as the family hope for dynastic succession – as Hillary's campaign falters. The 28-year-old has blossomed on Hillary's campaign, drawing admiring reviews from bloggers and senior Democrats ... and, of course, her parents. At campaign meetings on university campuses across the country, student audiences have been gasping at the confident, articulate,...

As expected, the Cuban national assembly rubber-stamped Raul Castro as his brother Fidel's replacement as dictator of the island nation. However, instead of keeping Carlos Lage in the ceremonial post of vice-president, or perhaps grooming a successor to the septuagenarian Raul, they picked a man older than Raul as his backup: Cuba's parliament named Raul Castro president on Sunday, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother Fidel but leaving the island's communist system unshaken. In a surprise move, officials bypassed younger candidates to name a 77-year-old revolutionary leader, Jose Ramon Machado, to Cuba's No. 2 spot — apparently...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2008 – As U.S. forces continue to pursue al Qaeda terrorists across Iraq, American and Iraqi diplomats are preparing to negotiate future relations between the two nations, senior U.S. military and diplomatic officials said today. Flanked by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq; U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker; and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, President Bush delivers a statement Jan. 12, 2008, during a visit to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, before traveling to Bahrain. White House photo by Eric Draper   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq...

http://blip.tv/file/577345

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2007 – “Getting the next part right” in Iraq is critical to America, and forthcoming steps there must capitalize on opportunities created by the troop surge, project U.S. might and show long-term commitment, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, left, and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, conduct a press briefing at the Pentagon, Sept. 14, 2007. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jerry Morrison  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. During a briefing at the Pentagon with Marine Gen. Peter...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2007 – In addition to a drawdown of surge forces in Iraq, President Bush said tonight that he also had accepted Army Gen. David H. Petraeus’ recommendation to begin transitioning to the next phase of the U.S. strategy in Iraq in December. “As terrorists are defeated, civil society takes root, and the Iraqis assume more control over their own security, our mission in Iraq will evolve,” the president said during a televised address from the Oval Office. “Over time, our troops will shift from leading operations, to partnering with Iraqi forces, and eventually to overwatching those...

Those who have been patiently waiting for a formal campaign announcement from Sen. Fred Thompson were rewarded last night when Thompson used Jay Leno's Tonight Show to make his run for the White House official. It’s official, he’s in. Now what? Thompson chose to skip another Republican debate and some in New Hampshire were feeling a bit snubbed. The Fox News moderators opened the debate by asking the other candidates to take their free pot-shots at Thompson for that decision, but the candidates were somewhat hesitant to oblige, opting instead to offer a humorous little quip or two, to be...

Overseas newspapers and websites are abuzz with speculation and rumours as to when the US will launch an attack on Iran to destroy its military and nuclear facilities. One website reports that a crew member on a US carrier has reported that targets had been prioritised and tasked to specific aircraft, bases and missile cruisers. The website quotes the crew member as saying: "Yes. We're gong to hit Iran, big-time. Whatever political discussions are going in is window dressing and perhaps even a red herring. I see what's going on below deck here in the hangars and weapons bays. And...

After a brief interruption of his New Hampshire vacation to meet President Bush in the family compound at Kenebunkport, Maine, French President Nicolas Sarkozy came away convinced his U.S. counterpart is serious about bombing Iran's secret nuclear facilities. That's the reading as it filtered back to Europe's foreign ministries: Addressing the annual meeting of France's ambassadors to 188 countries, Mr. Sarkozy said either Iran lives up to its international obligations and relinquishes its nuclear ambitions — or it will be bombed into compliance. Mr. Sarkozy also made it clear he did not agree with the Iranian-bomb-or-bombing-of-Iran position, which reflects the...

Remember President Carter’s 1979 Malaise Speech? Americans were losing faith in the country’s future, he said. They were closing the door on America's past. President Carter wanted to turn things around. He warned that rising materialism would not “fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose.” He said it was a crisis of American spirit. In response to this crisis, Carter wanted the authority to ration gasoline, form an “energy mobilization board,” create a bureaucracy to guarantee that we would “never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977,” set oil import quotas and develop solar...

On the grimy walls of the Ivanovo Machine Tools Factory, a declining Soviet behemoth once venerated as a model of Socialist efficiency, hangs a solitary display of safety guidelines. In a series of fading illustrations, it instructs workers how to behave in the event of a Nato nuclear attack: don your gas masks, head for the nearest shelter and dispatch messengers on horseback to warn outlying villages. Sergei Ivanov, the visiting joint first deputy prime minister of Russia, might not have seen the posters as he strode on to the factory floor, in Ivanovo, a gloomy city 220 miles north...

If al-Qaida does launch an attack inside the U.S., as the U.S. government suggests, "it will be much bigger than 9/11." This prediction of a nightmarish terror attack comes from Michael Scheuer, the retired CIA veteran who headed the agency's secret unit dedicated to capturing Osama bin Laden. In an exclusive NewsMax interview, the 22-year CIA veteran and bestselling author of "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror," argues that while our government in Washington has talked a "good talk" about security, America remains seriously vulnerable. Despite the clear and present danger, Scheuer cites the federal...

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is down and nearly out in his quest for the GOP presidential nomination. Several factors contributed to the one-time Republican frontrunner's demise. *McCain was never a favorite of social conservatives, a key voting block within the party. In McCain's 2000 campaign much of his "straight talk" appeal lay in the fact that he took on that faction, endearing him to independents and for awhile the news media. McCain realized he'd need social conservatives if he wanted the '08 nomination and he strongly courted them this time around. The plan backfired. He appeared to be flip-flopping, still...

Nearly a decade ago, Eileen McNally caught an NPR interview with an obscure writer named J.K. Rowling. The book being discussed, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, sounded like fun, so McNally picked it up for her 9-year-old niece. "I bought it for her to read on the plane home to Buffalo," says McNally, now director of the Florida Center for the Book at the Broward County Library. "But Shannon read the entire thing standing in line at Disney World. I was flabbergasted. That's when I knew this was something special." Special, indeed. The six Harry Potter books published since...