Free Republic

Before Sarah Palin became the embodiment of the conservative grassroots, another national candidate from a state beginning with "A" mastered 21st century Republican populism on his way to winning the 2008 Iowa caucuses. During the campaign, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the funniest Republican since the heyday of Bob Dole, would go off on little-guy riffs like this: "If you're a person for whom 'summer' is a verb, if you went to Harvard or Yale, you probably think the economy is doing just dandy." After John McCain won the nomination, Huckabee did not fade away. Instead, he morphed into a...

Orders are coming now for my chosen ones that have been waiting for the timing of my will . The sweeping of the penduluum's timing is poised before my throne as a gravitational pull holds you to earth , so the hearts of my children are laid before me and as no other time before my humble servants are about to enter into an opened door revealed only to the few( obedient) , the Chosen(overcomers) and this door is an entryway into not only the all of me but the paradise of my love abiding ,eternal , flowing yet existing...

Have you ever stumbled on an oxymoron so stunning that it takes your breath away? Try coupling this with a case of chutzpah so revealing that the lack of shame on the part of those involved serves as prima fasci evidence that their elite cultural isolation has rendered them incapable of critical thinking. Behold the "Independent Journalism Tax." In order to preserve independent journalism in the age of the Internet, a national Fund for Local News should be created with money the FCC now collects from or could impose on telecom users, television and radio broadcast licensees, or Internet service...

With her life perhaps just a pull of the trigger from ending, a St. Paul bank teller refused to hand over the cash. But the gunman, rather than firing the black handgun he had aimed at the teller, fled on foot without a nickel more than he had when he entered the bank Tuesday afternoon. The FBI describes the suspect who tried to rob the Cherokee State Bank at 607 Smith Av. S. as white, in his 30s, 5 feet 8 to 6 feet tall, with a slender to medium build. He was wearing a black coat, blue jeans, a...

Dyson's Latest: A Fan with No Blades British inventor James Dyson—creator of the bagless vacuum and air blade hand dryer—has devised a cooling fan that uses 98% less power than air conditioning For once James Dyson has invented something without cutting-edge technology – a fan without blades. With an eye on the lucrative US market for air conditioning, the creator of the bagless vacuum cleaner is launching his bladeless fan on both sides of the Atlantic today. Instead of pushing coolness around a room, the loop of the Dyson Air Multiplier "accelerates and amplifies" air, expelling 405 litres a second.

In Senate testimony, constitutional experts say the president has the right to appoint independent advisors as long as the distinction between practical and legal authority is rigorously maintained. Reporting from Washington - Five constitutional experts testified at a Senate hearing Tuesday that President Obama's extensive use of policy "czars" is legal -- as long as the officials do not overstep their authority.

The 2,000 Irish employees of accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), while munching on their prawn sandwiches during a lazy lunchtime last week, received an email from senior management urging them to vote Yes in the upcoming Lisbon Treaty referendum, writes Hermann Kelly. While Ireland still has the benefit of the secret ballot it most certainly does not have the benefit of equal campaign funding for both sides. Incidentally, not all Yes campaigning companies are canvassing the same way. Microsoft Ireland managing director Paul Rellis said his company’s public Yes position on the treaty was well known, and "you don’t have to...

HAVANA — President Raul Castro is taking a bold gamble to ease communist Cuba's cash crunch by eliminating a costly government lunch program that feeds almost a third of the nation's population every workday. The Americas' only one-party communist government, held afloat largely by support from its key ally Venezuela, is desperate to improve its budget outlook; the global economy is slack, and Havana is very hard pressed to secure international financing. Raul Castro, 76, officially took over as Cuba's president in February 2008 after his brother, revolutionary icon Fidel Castro, stepped aside with health problems. Though some wondered if...

WASHINGTON -- In a strongly worded message to Congress outlining its priorities for a military spending bill, the Obama administration today said it disapproved of including money for pensions for 26 elderly members of the World War II-era Alaska Territorial Guard. The Guardsmen are among those assigned to protect Alaska from the Japanese during World War II.

Cuba's foreign minister on Wednesday lashed out at US President Barack Obama for keeping in place a crushing, 47-year-old trade embargo against the communist island, despite having recently eased travel and money transfer restrictions. "The economic blockade policy remains in place," complained Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, as he unveiled a report to be presented to the United Nations General Assembly on the negative impact of the embargo. "The arrival of a new US president has not meant any change at all" for Cuba Rodriguez said.

JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday rejected U.S. calls to freeze all settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, angering Palestinians and putting a New York summit in question. Netanyahu's announcement came on the eve of a crucial meeting with President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, who is trying to arrange an Israeli-Palestinian summit on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session next week.

Frank Darabont, the director of The Shawshank Redemption, has words for the millions of people who believe his 1994 prison drama is the greatest film of all time. “I think that’s a little crackers, to be honest, especially when you think of the other films on the list.” He means films such as The Godfather, Citizen Kane, Lolita, Vertigo and foreign-language contenders like Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist, Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt, Luis Buñuel’s Belle de jour or Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant.

ASHINGTON: The Obama Administration has declined to set a deadline for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, arguing that the situation there is different from that of Iraq and 9/11 plotters are still holed up in the Af-Pak region and planning attack against the US. "We have a different situation in Afghanistan. It is actually the place that - Afghanistan and Pakistan - where the folks who attacked us on 9/11 are holed up and plotting against us still," David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to the US President, told the NBC news channel in an interview.

Classic Abbott and Costello, Who's on First...

WASHINGTON – Talk-show host Sean Hannity, a vocal opponent of Barack Obama's policies, said today he would not rule out a bid for the presidency in 2012. Egged on by radio colleague Bill Cunningham, Hannity said he would consider entering the front lines of the political fray if God directs him. "I've never made a decision in my life without – whatever destiny God has you've got to fulfill it," he said. "I'm not sure that's my destiny." Hannity would make a formidable candidate, with the likability of Reagan, good looks and strong convictions. He's also a polished communicator and...

(IsraelNN.com) A Palestinian Authority university lecturer was the latest PA academic to rewrite history and deny Jewish history in Jerusalem, which was the Jewish capital for a full 1,600 years before Muhammad authored the Muslim Koran. The lecturer denied the Jewish people's connection to the Western Wall of the Jewish Temple.

President Barack Obama's former Indian-American campaign adviser Raja Krishnamoorthi will be running for the post of Illinois Comptroller, the State's chief fiscal officer, in the 2010 elections. Mr. Krishnamoorthi said he will "fight to restore trust in state government and bring more transparency and accountability" at a time when the State has been plagued with scandals like digging and selling of grave sites at the Burr Oak cemetery and admission irregularities at the University of Illinois. "As so often happens in our capital Springfield, the special interests have won and our state government is broken.It is time to fix it....

Raymond Arroyo over at EWTN recently posted a very helpful summary of what the Church's major objections would be to Obamacare as it is coming together. They include: --Federal funding of abortion and/or federal requirements that all insurance plans cover abortion on demand --Lack of any meaningful rights of conscience for health care providers. Without this, doctors and nurses could be compelled to perform abortions, issue contraceptives, sterilize, euthanize, etc. --A chilling requirement for Medicare beneficiaries to go into end of life counseling every five years. The idea would be to bully them into euthanizing themselves. Old people that linger...

Friday Fun Poll: Yes, No, or Maybe? (that's the question, and those are the answers) A Daily Poll.

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has scheduled a vote Friday on a sprawling climate-change bill, signaling the Democratic leadership's confidence that it can overcome objections from Farm Belt Democrats.

Do you support Ron Paul? Three categories: President Congressman Governor

West Bank teen arrested in rape and murder of 8-month-old by C.J. Lin, The Times-Picayune Sunday June 07, 2009, 9:50 AM Arnold RossA 17-year-old Terrytown man was arrested on charges of aggravated rape and first-degree murder of an 8-month-old child Saturday afternoon, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said. Arnold T. Ross, of 136 Friedrichs Road in Terrytown, was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Facility. No bond is available on the first-degree murder charge.

No often means yes in Washington, but we hear from Sen. John McCain's posse that he is not considering a 2012 rerun of his failed 2008 presidential campaign. (W beat him in the 2000 primary, remember.) Word came this week that he is mulling over another try, but a key insider says, "Ridiculous."

In January, Oprah Winfrey invited Suzanne Somers on her show to share her unusual secrets to staying young. Each morning, the 62-year-old actress and self-help author rubs a potent estrogen cream into the skin on her arm. She smears progesterone on her other arm two weeks a month. And once a day, she uses a syringe to inject estrogen directly into her vagina.

The Church of Scotland is moving towards a schism after one of its ministers compared an increasingly determined campaign against gay clergymen to the war against the Nazis. The Rev Ian Watson railed against homosexual lifestyles, declaring that such people would not “inherit the kingdom of God” in a sermon that religious leaders and politicians condemned as deeply disturbing. Mr Watson is a prominent opponent of Scott Rennie, an openly gay minister whose appointment to a parish church last year has caused divisions. Mr Rennie, a divorced father of one, lives with his partner, David, and has the support of...

Indiana will no longer invest in bonds issued by banks and automakers who receive federal bailout money. Bondholders are supposed to be at the head of the line for repayment if a company goes bankrupt. But State Treasurer Richard Mourdock says the government rewrote the rulebook for the Chrysler bankruptcy, leaving investors with 29 cents on the dollar. Mourdock says that cost state investment funds $5.6 million

Calif. Voters Reject Measures to Keep State Solvent By JENNIFER STEINHAUER Published: May 20, 2009 LOS ANGELES — A smattering of California voters on Tuesday soundly rejected five ballot measures designed to keep the state solvent through the rest of the year. The results dealt a severe setback to the state’s fragile fiscal structure and to Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state legislators who cobbled together the measures as part of a last-minute budget deal passed in February.The measures, which would have prolonged tax increases, capped state spending, earmarked money for education and involved the state in a complex borrowing...

The time for universal health insurance coverage has come. Everybody seems to know that -- except for the Republicans, all too many of whom cling to traditional denunciations of universal coverage as socialism... The Republicans could instead offer a consumer-controlled universal coverage system, like that in Switzerland, in which the people, not the government, control how much they spend on health. There are no government health insurance programs. Instead, the Swiss choose from about 85 private heath insurers... This consumer-driven, universal coverage system provides excellent health care for the sick, tops the world in consumer satisfaction, and costs 40 percent...

Is The Shoe Now On The Other Foot? Since the early settlers from England first landed on Georgetown they have been blamed for all that is wrong with the country. Four hundred plus years later it has been the favored past time of White American liberals, African American radicals and the disenfranchised to continue to blame White Americans for the ills of America. Open criticism of White American leaders has become an intricate part of the American political fabric

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding a study that seeks to discover a link between drinking and having sex among homosexuals in Argentina. The study will send researchers to six bars in Buenos Aires to interview both patrons and proprietors in an effort to discover what it is about those bars that may encourage the risky behavior. The study began on Sept. 30, 2008, and runs through Aug. 31, 2010. It already has cost taxpayers $198,776. By the time the project ends, it will have cost $403,902, according to NIH. The grant, awarded to the New York State...

It has been the aim of the Democrat party since they lost the Presidential election in 2004 to subvert the Christian doctrine with the claim that Jesus was a socialist. Their goal is to convince Christians that their Social agenda is morally equivalent with the teachings and life of Jesus Christ. Considering the lack of historical and Biblical knowledge most Americans have, it is not surprising that many have fallen for the misinformation on what Jesus taught (and for whom the teachings were given). These Biblical revisionists have become especially adept at cherry picking Scripture to suit their agenda. Hence,...

Obama Worship Goes Into Overdrive as 100-Day Mark Approaches By P.J. Gladnick (Bio | Archive) April 25, 2009 - 09:06 ET You're not seeing things and it is not a spoof picture from The Onion or any other satirical website. The image you see to the right (larger version below the fold) is a painting by artist Michael D'Antuono called "The Truth" that will be officially unveiled at Union Square in New York City on April 29 to mark President Barack Obama's hundreth day in office. Here are the details from the official press release: Can You Handle 'The Truth'?...

Economic development officials in Hardin are looking at the soon-to-close detention facility in Guantanamo Bay as a possible fix for the jail sitting empty in Hardin. President Barack Obama signed an executive order Jan. 22 to close the Guantanamo detention facilities in Cuba where hundreds of enemy combatants have been held since 2002. The closure is to occur in a year, during which time remaining detainees must be returned to their home countries or detained elsewhere. Meanwhile, a 460-bed detention facility sits empty in Hardin. Built by Two Rivers Authority, the city's economic development arm, the facility was meant to...

The US Capitol in Washington. President Barack Obama Monday asked Congress ... G-20 Leaders Agree to Dole Out $1 Trillion to IMF & World Bank President Barack Obama Monday asked Congress to back an expansion of an IMF emergency fund by 500 billion dollars in a move designed to expand its reach to big emerging market nations. Obama also asked lawmakers to approve a US contribution to the fund to 100 billion dollars, as part of the plan to swell International Monetary Fund reserves agreed at this month's Group of 20 summit in London. The president made the request in...

A 24-year-old man was arrested in connection with Saturday's execution-style triple murder in Terrytown, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office announced.Dayshawn Young, of 916 East Monterey Court, Apartment D, in Terrytown, was arrested after investigators identified Young as one of the two suspects believed to be involved in the killing, said Col. John Fortunato, JPSO spokesman. He was booked on three counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted first degree murder. The identity of the second suspect in the shooting remains unknown to investigators, Fortunato said. Four Overstreet, 6, Domonique Sterling, 19, and Sterling's 23-month-old son, Robert Claiborne...

Yes, yes, it was a bow. Who didn't know that? (To quote Sammy Farha.) But that's not the only the issue here. Simple answer: I'm new on the job, and I'm not familiar with all of the foreign policy protocol. I'm a nice guy and as such was just trying to be respectful, and wasn't mindful of the implications. Case closed, even if he's not really a nice guy. But Obama has not built his paper mache positive publicity empire on admitting mistakes. His was built on admitting Bush's mistakes for him, whether they existed or not.

<p>TERRYTOWN, La. - Gunmen in dark clothes kicked down an apartment door in a troubled New Orleans-area neighborhood and opened fire, killing two children and a woman, authorities said.</p> <p>A third child was in critical condition after the shooting around 4 a.m., and investigators were searching for suspects, said Jefferson Parish Sheriff's spokesman Col. John Fortunato.</p>

ONE OF THE most pressing issues the Obama administration will face when it closes the Guantanamo detention center is what to do with the 63 detainees cleared for release or transfer who cannot return home. These men will require assistance from friendly democracies. Undoubtedly, a number of foreign nations will demand that some of these innocent detainees be resettled in the United States before they act similarly. Seventeen Uighurs are entering their eighth year of imprisonment at Guantanamo. The only realistic option is for the Uighurs to be resettled in the United States. There is no evidence the Uighurs plotted...

China’s central bank on Monday proposed replacing the US dollar as the international reserve currency with a new global system controlled by the International Monetary Fund. In an essay posted on the People’s Bank of China’s website, Zhou Xiaochuan, the central bank’s governor, said the goal would be to create a reserve currency “that is disconnected from individual nations and is able to remain stable in the long run, thus removing the inherent deficiencies caused by using credit-based national currencies”. Analysts said the proposal was an indication of Beijing’s fears that actions being taken to save the domestic US economy...

HOME SCHOOL MOMS QUESTIONAIRE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. DECLARATION OF NON-PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOL FORM FOR HOMESCHOOLERS-OUR RIGHTS 101 FY (SCHOOL YEAR - INDEFINITE) Can the school board guarantee my child’s safe return home from school each day. This includes the time that they are entrusted to your care during school hours. This includes but is not limited to safety in the rest rooms, in the hallways, on the stairways, in and under the bleachers, in the lunch room, in the class rooms, on the playgrounds, or on any school property. COMPLIANCECan the school board guarantee that a member of it’s...

The death of Natasha Richardson has sparked a debate about whether it should be mandatory for skiers and snowboarders to wear helmets. There's been a sharp rise in the number of people wearing helmets after several high-profile ski accidents this winter and some compulsion has already come in. However, the medical evidence is not conclusive and it's not thought any widespread compulsion is imminent in the Alps.

Conclusion Although the pretribulation rapture theory is very popular today, given arguments that are offered in support of this doctrine we must declare Pretribulationalism to be contrary to the clear teachings of Scripture. Simply put, there is not one shred of evidence that can be found in the Bible to support the pretribulation rapture. The typical Pretribulational arguments offered reveal a pattern: of imposing one’s presuppositions onto a text without any exegetical justification whatsoever; of finding subtle meaning between words and/or phrases that were never intended by the author; of spiritualizing or ignoring passages that contradict the Pretribulational paradigm; and,...

NEW ORLEANS – Six people, including a one-year-old boy, were injured on the parade route in a shooting on Fat Tuesday, according to spokesman EMS spokesman Jeb Tate.

From an Email I just received: Being the Republican nominee for President was one of the great honors of my life and an experience I will never forget. Some have wondered, after my hard fought presidential campaign, if I plan to run for re-election to the United States Senate. Join my re-election team I want you to know that I do intend to seek re-election. The magnitude of the financial crisis that many American families are facing makes it clear to me that I want to continue to serve our country in the Senate. The economic challenges currently confronting our...

SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois is lining up with other states begging for potential federal stimulus dollars, but only projects that can begin quickly will be eligible, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday. “The goal is to help jumpstart the economy by getting money out the door to projects that are ready to go,” said LaHood, a former Republican congressman from Peoria. To decide who gets what share of the potential $1.8 billion pie from the federal government, Illinois lawmakers created a task force to distribute the money. State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, is on the committee. “We’re looking for shovel-ready...

ERUSALEM – President Obama plans to offer Russia a deal whereby each country would reduce its nuclear weapons stockpile by 80 percent, the Times of London reported today. The proposal is consistent with Obama's previous calls on the campaign trail for the elimination of all the world's nuclear weapons, arguing the Cold War is over. Obama's statements came even while Russia reportedly worked to revive its Cold War-era naval activities and weapons supply channels to former allies in a clear challenge to the U.S.

Washington - -- The Obama stimulus, as history will know it, is change you can believe in. That $900 billion and counting reflects the outcome of the November election and the ascendancy of at least eight years of pent up Democratic ideas. The stimulus aims not just to revive the economy, but to shift the role of government, from a vastly increased participation in education and health care to federal investments in science, technology, mass transit and alternative energy. Whether it will work is another question. There are plenty of experts who say it won't, and plenty who say it...

A 14-year-old boy, the third suspect in the French Quarter killing of 39-year-old Wendy Byrne, was turned in by his parents Thursday night, police said. Two 15-year-olds were booked with murder Tuesday by New Orleans police after their mothers noticed they resembled suspects sketched by a police artist after the killing of the French Quarter bartender. Their mothers insisted they turn themselves in. The search for the third suspect had been under way for days. Police said they knew his identity, but were having difficulty locating him. They have declined to identify him since his arrest because he is a...

Two 15-year-old boys arrested in connection with the murder of Wendy Byrne in the French Quarter made their first appearance in adult court Friday and were ordered jailed without bond. Reggie Douglas and Drey Lewis said nothing as they stood before a magistrate commissioner at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. Both were booked with first-degree murder Thursday and could face life in prison if convicted. **************** Byrne, 39, was shot Saturday night at the corner of Gov. Nicholls and Dauphine Streets, during an apparent armed robbery by teenage boys. Police said Byrne didn't resist when the teenage assailants approached her...

No one gets the fascination with Michelle Obama, fashion plate, more than her husband. Invoking another president with a glamorous wife—that would be, maybe, John F. Kennedy? — President Obama told military guests at the Commander in Chief Ball last night, “I have the special honor of being the guy who accompanied Michelle Obama to the ball.” That got a big laugh, but it would be a few minutes before the first lady made her entrance, in an ivory chiffon dress. But when she did, oh, what a roar. It was an amazing day for Mrs. Obama — chic and...