Free Republic

You know the story: A relatively unknown politician from the far Left of the Democratic Party gives an attention-getting speech at the Democratic National Convention. Soon after, that speaker is a U.S. senator and — before even finishing one term — is the party’s nominee for president. Barack Obama? No, I’m talking about Liz Warren. She hasn’t even taken the oath of office yet, and already speculation has begun that Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren could be the Democrats’ pick for POTUS in 2016. “Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is already a liberal heartthrob,” political columnist Doyle McManus wrote in the Los...

Outstanding roundup of commentary and food offerings yesterday! Aside from Onofre’s Arm’s recipe for Tyrannical Dictatorship Stew –”TDS”…sounds more like a sexually transmitted disease…I’m going to try them all. Not to ruin your appetites, butt I just wanted to pass this recently made portrait of adorable cuteness on: Cute kid, cute dog…two out of three ain’t bad. And this next one, well, just consider it an early Christmas present: Let’s just see how toned those guns (can I still say that?) are without my magical powers. Framed copies now available; place your order today to receive your limited edition copy...

Before he grieves: I wonder what President Obama’s thought process was when he first learned of the terrible tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. When he learned of the senseless murder of all those children, did he first attempt to qualify whether or not those children were “punishment” for their mothers for a mistake made in the heat of passion (http://youtu.be/HB5Frgw0Fww)? Has he finally come to terms with some sort of basic understanding of when life begins and humans are determined to be human enough to qualify for “Human Rights” (http://youtu.be/O3F7ZkoIeNM)? How many of those innocent young children, and of the adults...

House Speaker John Boehner told rank-and-file Republicans that they should consider a “Plan B” on how to avert automatic tax increases and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff. House leadership sources say the option would be for the chamber to pass a plan letting top tax rates increase on income over $1 million only. The House would then send that bill, along with a House-passed bill extending the current tax rates enacted under former President George W. Bush for everyone, and leave it up to the Senate to decide.

Health Reform: If ObamaCare is such a great idea, why are so many governors — including several Democrats — refusing to play along? What do they know that the administration isn't telling the rest of us? So far, not one part of ObamaCare has worked as planned. Almost immediately, the administration had to distribute huge numbers of waivers to companies because its initial rules would have forced them to drop their low-cost plans. ObamaCare's high-risk pools promised to cover hundreds of thousands, but ended up attracting almost no one. The small-business tax break has been a complete bust. Insurance premiums...

President Obama on Monday began the first serious push of his administration to attempt to reduce gun violence, directing Cabinet members to formulate a set of proposals that could include reinstating a ban on assault rifles. The effort will be led by Vice President Biden, according to two people outside the government who have spoken to senior administration officials since Friday, when a gunman killed his mother and rampaged through Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., killing 20 children, six adults and himself. The tentative steps ended a paralyzing debate within the administration over how hard to pursue gun-control...

In times past, political leaders would lay out their domestic and foreign policies in clear, coherent terms. President Obama talks about getting our fiscal house in order but fails to propose any meaningful spending cuts. His proposals to increase the tax rate on the top 2 percent of taxpayers would fund the government for eight days, assuming no behavioral change by those whose feathers are being plucked. In the real world, we know people will spend a great deal of time and effort to avoid paying high marginal tax rates. In high tax states such as California and New York,...

The mainstream media uses the term "school shootings" because it fits nicely into their narrative that guns The mainstream media uses the term "school shootings" because it fits nicely into their narrative that guns are to blame and therefore law-abiding citizens should be disarmed. But by limiting their discussion only to shootings, they ignore the worst school massacre in U.S. history which wasn't a shooting at all. Virginia Tech, 2007: 33 dead. Newtown, Connecticut, 2012: 28 dead. University of Texas, 1966: 16 dead. Columbine, Colorado, 1999: 15 dead. This is Bath Township, Michigan, 1927:  45 dead and not a single...

When President Barack Obama spoke to shell-shocked residents of Newtown, Conn., his words were meant to comfort. "We can't tolerate this anymore," he said two days after a gunman murdered 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. "These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change." But the first change that could come from stepped-up efforts to prevent mass shooting is one the president doesn't intend: A surge in gun sales, and in profits for firearms manufacturers. One irony of the gun-control movement is that gun sales usually rise whenever there's talk of new efforts...

President Obama promised “meaningful action” to prevent gun violence, but he didn’t explain exactly what that meant. Although a push for some kind of gun control legislation seems likely, there’s also the possibility of an anti-gun “informational campaign” as described in 1995 by then-U.S. Attorney Eric Holder. Holder, now Obama’s attorney general, proposed using various levers of media and pop culture to attach a social stigma to guns, just as smoking has been stigmatized in recent decades. “One thing that I think is clear with young people and with adults as well, is that we just have to be repetitive...

The latest band-aid on the fiscal abyss is: 1) Raise $1.2 trillion in taxes, 2) increase tax rates on household making $400,000 and above and 3) cuts $1.22 trillion in government spending. Over ten years, of course. I say band-aid because it raises only $120 billion per year (12% of current deficit) while cutting l$122 billion in spending per year (also about 12% of the deficit). That is a measly 24% of the deficit each year over ten years. Once again, they simply can’t reduce the trillion dollar deficits through income taxes. It must be done through spending cuts. And...

The latest band-aid on the fiscal abyss is: 1) Raise $1.2 trillion in taxes, 2) increase tax rates on household making $400,000 and above and 3) cuts $1.22 trillion in government spending. Over ten years, of course. I say band-aid because it raises only $120 billion per year (12% of current deficit) while cutting l$122 billion in spending per year (also about 12% of the deficit). That is a measly 24% of the deficit each year over ten years. Once again, they simply can’t reduce the trillion dollar deficits through income taxes. It must be done through spending cuts. And...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has agreed to curtail future cost-of-living increases for recipients of Social Security and softened his demand for higher taxes at upper income levels as part of accelerating negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner to avoid a "fiscal cliff," people familiar with the talks said Monday. Speaking a few hours after Obama and Boehner met at the White House, these people said the president was now seeking a higher tax rate beginning at incomes over $400,000, up from the levels of $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples that were cornerstones of his successful campaign...

The chairman of the Arizona Republican Party and two other Arizona members of the Electoral College on Monday questioned President Barack Obama's birth certificate during the formal casting of the state's electoral votes. Arizona GOP Chairman Tom Morrissey said during the state's Electoral College meeting that Obama did not produce a "legitimate" birth certificate, KNAU reports. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R), who has vetoed bills to require presidential candidates to show a birth certificate to Arizona's secretary of state, said she disagreed with the trio's stance. Secretary of State Ken Bennett (R), the presiding officer of the Arizona Electoral College,...

Will 2013 be remembered by future historians as the year that the United States of America to all intents and purposes died as a Republic and was finally seized by authoritarian globalists who have already openly usurped governments all across Europe? A brief foray into the events that shaped 2012 sends the clear signal that America stands on the precipice of total collapse unless the full frontal assault on everything that characterizes the bedrock of the U.S. is reversed. The globalists have already conquered every major government in the west and have fully implemented their draconian policies in a uniform...

A mood of economic gloom hangs over the nation as President Obama and Republican leaders scramble to strike a deficit deal that avoids automatic tax hikes and spending cuts, according to a new poll for The Hill. The poll, conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, found nearly 6-in-10 people (59 percent) feel the country is on the wrong track. It also showed people are deeply pessimistic about their chances for future prosperity, with 54 percent saying they believe their children will be worse off as adults than their parents.The poll results cast a shadow over talks in Washington aimed at averting...

The U.S. Congress must examine what can be done to respond to the Connecticut school shooting, including possibly new legislation, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Monday. Reid told the Senate he agreed with President Barack Obama that no one law could erase evil, but added “we need to accept the reality that we are not doing enough to protect our citizens.” The remarks were significant coming from Reid, a Democrat from Nevada who during Obama’s first term opposed reviving a ban on assault weapons. … “In the coming days and weeks we’ll engage in a meaningful conversation and...

While most of the nation is still reeling from the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and continues to mourn the innocent victims, others are already working to exploit the horrific event for political gain. After all, as President Obama's former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel once infamously said, "you never want a serious crisis to go to waste" because a crisis provides an "opportunity to do things that you think [sic] you could not do before."

The first transsexual style magazine has taken on the first lady for the cover of its Winter 2012 issue, enlisting former model/performer and current fashion illustrator/designer Connie Fleming to pose as Michelle Obama in a most convincing fashion. As you can see, Fleming wears two smart, Obama-ish looking dresses on the twin covers, as well as rocking her signature haircut and megatoned arms. I know hair and makeup go a long way, but the resemblance is pretty close, no? She’s even got the same pointy eyebrows. It appears she’s being sworn into office on one cover, which is kind of...

The spotlight brings glory, even posthumously. Glory is politically useful. There have been more "news" reports than there has been substantive, confirmed news about the Newtown, Connecticut massacre. That's to be expected. At some level horror is relished -- even by sane adults -- provided it can be relished vicariously. That's why motion pictures, video games and similar forms of entertainment providing vicarious enjoyment of horror are popular. We cannot (consistently with the First Amendment) prohibit the media from publicizing massacres and other horrors; without the First Amendment we could do so. There have been calls for more "gun control,"...