Free Republic

David Brock was smoking a cigarette on the roof of his Washington, D.C. office one day in the late fall of 2010 when his assistant and two bodyguards suddenly appeared and whisked him and his colleague Eric Burns down the stairs. Brock, the head of the liberal nonprofit Media Matters for America, had told friends and co-workers that he feared he was in imminent danger from right-wing assassins and needed a security team to keep him safe. The threat he faced while smoking on his roof? “Snipers,” a former co-worker recalled. ...more...

At the Maldives' National Museum, smashed Buddhist statues are testament to the rise of Islamic extremism and Taliban-style intolerance in a country famous as a laid-back holiday destination. On Tuesday, as protesters backed by mutinous police toppled president Mohamed Nasheed, a handful of men stormed the Chinese-built museum and destroyed its display of priceless artefacts from the nation's pre-Islamic era. "They have effectively erased all evidence of our Buddhist past," a senior museum official told AFP at the now shuttered building in the capital Male, asking not to be named out of fear for his own safety. "We lost all...

...Immigration, however, was another story. The 12-term Texas congressman spent the better part of a 25-minute address thinking aloud about the thorny subject. He talked about how Americans are more accepting of outsiders when the economy is good, but when trouble looms there is a search for scapegoats. "I believe Hispanics have been used as scapegoats, to say, they're the problem instead of being a symptom maybe of a problem with the welfare state," Paul told the group. "In Nazi Germany they had to have scapegoats to blame and they turned on the Jews....

HAMILTON, Ohio -- A teenager described how she was raped six years ago by a man who fled to Mexico after he was charged with sexually assaulting the girl. The victim, now 15 years old, told jurors Monday that she'd been riding her bike on Father's Day, 2005, when Alfredo Cruz waved her over. The teen said she rode over to Cruz, now 31, and he picked up the purple bicycle with her on in it and took her into his house. She said Cruz put her bicycle in a closet and ordered her to take off her clothes. "He...

He should have delayed a month, or a month and a half. Was it the decision to schedule back surgery on July 1, putting Perry’s physical recovery on a collision course with a grueling schedule of fundraisers and campaign events? Was it the failure to prepare better for debates that soon turned disastrous? Was it simply a matter of getting in the race too late? Perry’s own string of verbal goofs, probably some of the worst in modern American political history, were so crippling that it is questionable whether any paid professionals could have pulled him out of the ditch....

When Allie Jennings and her husband, Ethan, graduated form college in 2003, they had no trouble finding jobs. “I just think raising a son, and then being married to someone who would like to climb the ladder in business, I think Gov. Perry represents a lot of opportunity for our family,” Allie Jennings said. Perry announced his candidacy during a rally in Charleston over the summer, and the Jennings were there to see him as Perry emphasized his record on job creation while governor of Texas. In January 2001, a month after Perry took office, there were 10,023,806 jobs in...

Fifty people have been accused of conspiring to sell the identities of hundreds of Puerto Ricans to illegal immigrants on the U.S. mainland in the largest single fraud case ever for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, authorities said Wednesday. Hundreds of birth certificates, Social Security numbers and driver's licenses were sold for up to $2,500 a set as part of a black market ring based in Puerto Rico that operated from since at least April 2009, according to ICE Director John Morton. (SNIP) About 80 percent of the documents involved were sold by Puerto Ricans whose names were on them,...

SPARTANBURG, SC -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Sunday that he's not giving up on the race for the Republican presidential nomination, comparing himself to the fighters who rode back into the Alamo knowing there would be no reinforcements coming.

"Rick Perry Will Not Depart From His Conservative Record or Path" - The Real Record, The Real Man Musings of a Rick Perry supporter... I don’t think the American people know Gov. Rick Perry. He burst onto the national stage and seemed like a Texan, okay, a politician with some nerve, some courage, some outspokenness, who was taking on the sacred cows and telling it like it is. But the debates reversed that image...the early ones. Then there are the lies...oh so many, many MANY lies about him. Because of them, people might be forgiven for their confusion, for not...

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Even Rick Perry's top advisers thought it was over. After the Texas governor finished fifth in the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday night, Perry's staff and volunteers gathered around the bar in a Des Moines hotel to say goodbyes, drink beer and mourn what appeared to be the end of his quest for the Republican nomination for president. Perry had, after all, just said that he would return to Texas and "reassess" his campaign in a speech that had all the markings of a withdrawal from the race. Only it wasn't. Less than 12 hours later,...

When a primary candidate suffers a substantial defeat and states that he will “reassess” his campaign while suspending his travel to the next state in the campaign, it generally means that the candidate has decided to withdraw.

Last night, I wondered if four of the “Not Romneys” would “have the self-control to stop hitting the other Not Romneys and focus on Romney?” For much of this morning, it appeared there would be two fewer of them, with indications that Perry and Bachmann would depart the race. But now, perhaps not; Perry’s personal Twitter account just chirped, “And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State…Here we come South Carolina!!!” It featured this photo:

GovernorPerry 15 mins, 1 sec ago Twitter And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State...Here we come South Carolina!!! yfrog.com/odz8ujrj

In a campaign speech late Tuesday night, Governor Rick Perry stated that he is "returning to Texas" to reassess whether he is going to continue running for President. The speech contained several emotional moments, in particular two moments. The first was when he read a letter from an adoring supporter who called him a "great man." The letter described a conversation that Mr. Perry had had with a soldier and how his supporter looked on in awe as he watched Governor Perry call the veteran his "Christian brother." The second was when Perry announced that he would be returning to...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I mentioned Rick Perry earlier. He's out doing the media rounds today, and he's sounding good -- and he had a great exchange with Mike Allen of Politico. Everybody that says, "Ah, Perry is a nice guy, but he looks slow, Rush." I can't tell you the number of people, wherever I go, whose number one complaint about practically every Republican hopeful is that somebody thinks they're stupid or that they sound stupid or that they talk stupid, or that they talk dumb. It's really a powerful, influential thing that has happened here. Some people tell me,...

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry is a so-called double dipper, collecting a state government pension and salary totaling more than $240,000. Perry’s disclosure that he “retired” this year while still governor of Texas has become somewhat of an issue in the days leading up to the GOP presidential caucuses in Iowa on Tuesday. Given New Mexico’s distaste for double dipping by public employees, I thought you might want to know more. We banned the practice for most state and local government workers in 2010. Perry, 61, filed a financial disclosure this month with the Federal Election Commission showing he is...

RelatedCRESTON, Iowa — Rick Perry began his final push in the Iowa Republican caucuses Tuesday by sharpening his claim to be the sort of leader the country badly needs, and which his rivals decidedly are not. “You need to ask yourself: If we replace the Democrat insider with a Republican insider, is that going to change Washington, D.C.? No, it’s not,” he told 150 or so Iowans crammed into a coffee shop a week ahead of caucuses likely to winnow the presidential field. “I will go to Washington to be an anti-establishment outsider.” At one stop after another, he jabbed...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has filed suit in federal court against the Virginia Republican Party and the Virginia Board of Elections in order to gain a spot on the Commonwealth's primary ballot. Perry was excluded after the party found he had not submitted enough valid signatures by the deadline last Thursday. His campaign submitted 6,000 of the required 10,000, according to the suit. The lawsuit alleges that Perry's 1st and 14th Amendment rights were violated by the requirement that those circulating the petitions also be eligible or registered voters of Virginia. Failure to get on the ballot is a major...

....“You don’t have to settle for Washington and Wall Street insiders who supported the Wall Street bailout and Obamacare individual mandate. You don’t have to resign yourself to voting for wasteful Washington spending culture of earmarks and of deficits and this ever rising debt that we’ve got,” said Perry. “You don’t have to vote for a candidate who would allow Iran to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and then ultimately America. You don’t have to you don’t have to stand for that. You don’t have to settle for that.” “I’m the limited government conservative in this campaign...

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – After a four day hiatus from the campaign trail, Texas Gov. Rick Perry restarted his bus tour through Iowa, pounding his opponents for their Washington and Wall Street “insider” status and selling himself as the “authentic conservative” in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. “Why should you settle for anything less than an authentic conservative who will fight for your views and values without an apology? Why should you have to settle for anything less than the real deal to go to Washington DC and to represent your values and work for you in Washington,”...

With one week left before the Iowa caucuses, Texas Governor Rick Perry is touting his outsider status in a new ad that highlights his opponents' combined 63 years of congressional experience. As the narrator says, "If Washington's the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it?" Prominently featuring fellow GOP contenders Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum; the ad reminds voters that federal legislators are responsible for the earmarks and deficit spending that have led to our unsustainable national debt and that the nation needs a leader who will provide real solutions.

Today is the last day of Gov. Rick Perry's pre-Christmas Iowa bus tour. Perry will return Friday to Texas for a brief Christmas break, then it's back to campaigning. The Perry campaign has called the bus tour a chance for Iowans to give the Texas governor a second look. As the tour progressed, Perry refined his message and appeared to excite crowds, and by Wednesday afternoon he had assumed the role of a political outsider, which he used at each campaign stop. “We need someone who will walk in who has the discipline, who has the courage to break up...

Gun Owners of America has sent a Second Amendment Questionnaire to every Presidential candidate for this election year. We've gotten them back from several of the candidates -- even Newt Gingrich, after I met with him earlier this month to ask why he hadn't sent his back. But we haven't received one from either Rick Perry or Mitt Romney. The fact that Romney is not getting his questionnaire back is understandable, since he has been all over the map on gun ownership. Recently he's sounding pro-gun, but his history is anything but that. Rick Perry, however, has a solid record...

It has been a bit since I have written a blog, mainly because I only write them when I moved by the heart to do so. I have also been staying off twitter out of disgust for watching so called conservatives judge not by past deeds but only by words that a candidate is spinning today-sorry I donÂ’t tolerate fools easily. Sorry, I am more into judging by actions, the character of a man does not change they just learn to hide it better (& no that was not a veiled swipe at Newtie & Mittens it was a...

There's no doubt some Republicans remain unhappy with the GOP presidential field. They wish other candidates -- Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush -- had entered a long time ago. But the Iowa caucuses are in two weeks. Is there any chance, at this late date, that something could change? All the alternative candidates have repeatedly said they won't run. But there is new speculation focusing on Bush after the former Florida governor turned heads Monday morning when he wrote, in the Wall Street Journal, a campaign-like economic manifesto headlined "Capitalism and the Right to Rise."

December 19, 2011A Time For Choosing: Rick Perry for President Mike Flynn Yes, I’ve seen the debates. And, yes, I’ve watched the “oops� moment probably a dozen times. While he has steadily improved, Rick Perry is not a skilled debater. Seeing him debate is like watching a high-wire act, where each moment is tense with the fear that the performer could slip and fall. I get it. But, when did debate performance become our sole criteria for picking a President? When did the RNC decide to team up with the legacy media and turn the nomination contest into an almost...

"If this website has a purpose – if any conservative website or publication has a purpose – it must begin with electing conservatives to significant public offices. We have the chance to nominate a conservative for president and win the White House in 2012. We can fumble that chance away by settling for a nominee we can’t trust to pursue conservative policies in office, or we can make a stand for the best, most conservative potential president in the field. That’s Rick Perry, and we enthusiastically endorse him to be the 45th President of the United States."

Rick Perry told worshipers at the First Wesleyan Church here Sunday morning that they should disregard “the politically correct police” who say the separation of church and state means faith has no place in public life. “As a matter of fact, you are Biblically charged to take your values into the public arena,” the Texas governor told 90 worshipers. “You will be criticized, but do not be intimidated,” he added. “Somebody’s values are going to decide the issues of the day, whatever they may be. Whatever policies are being discussed … somebody’s values are going to be installed, if you...

In 2007, Rick Perry endorses Rudy Giuliani calling him a leader with executive experience this country needs.

Yes, he’s still governor. He’s “retired” only for benefits purposes, which means he can start collecting his pension while he’s still collecting a salary. It’s perfectly legal. Just … unhelpful. Perry makes a $150,000 annual gross salary as Texas govenor. Now, thanks to his early retirement, Perry, 61, gets a monthly retirement annuity of $7,698 before taxes, or $6,588 net. That raises his gross annual salary to more than $240,000… [T]he disclosure is sure to spark criticism of Perry, who has called for sweeping changes to Social Security for average workers and has railed against special “perks” that members of...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Well, I knew that this was coming, but I would have never guessed where it's coming from. ... I'm not disappointed that it's coming from where it's coming from. I'm just a little surprised. I knew it was coming. Jealousy of Tim Tebow has surfaced in the National Football League. Brian, you're a big football aficionado. Tell me which quarterback has just expressed frustration and jealousy. You don't know yet, do you? So take a wild guess. Which quarterback has expressed frustration and jealousy over the coverage that Tebow is getting? (interruption) No. Not Aaron Rodgers. Not...

At this stage, that seems unlikely. But Politico is reporting that internal polls from both Mr. Perry and Mitt Romney find significant slippage in Newt Gingrich's Iowa standing. And Perry is one of the beneficiaries. "I believe [Ron] Paul can trip up Newt here, and that's great news for Romney because Newt is done if that happens," one Iowa caucus-watcher told Politico. "Watch Rick Perry. He's going for a top-three finish, and that could be to Romney's expense." How well do you know Rick Perry? Take our quiz Perry's strategy amounts to betting everything on Iowa, where he's making a...

It’s now a three-way race before voting begins for the Republican presidential nomination. as either Newt Gringrich, Mitt Romney, or Rick Perry will be the GOP standard-bearer to challenge President Obama. The same pundits that have confidently miscalled the GOP race all along are now declaring it’s a two-way race between former Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Governor Mitt Romney. They’re wrong. Either man might be the nominee, but not necessarily. Romney is the former frontrunner. He’s educated, polished, and has tremendous private-sector success and some high-level public experience. He even has a picturesque family. But a majority of Republican...

On Monday evening Texas Governor Rick Perry, a Republican Presidential candidate, spoke with Iowa farmers during a telephone town hall event hosted by the Iowa Soybean Association. In an effort to focus national attention on the critical topic of agricultural policy and trade impacting farmers across America, the ISA board of directors has invited all major Presidential candidates to participate in a telephone town hall meeting. During his opening remarks Perry said the country is in trouble and he is concerned about the future and that his candidacy is about fighting the fight for the next generation. "I'm not interested...

DES MOINES, Iowa — If Iowa voters are going to give Gov. Rick Perry the “second look” he wants, there's not much time for browsing. With just three weeks before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, the governor is embarking on an old-fashioned bus tour through the Hawkeye State, hoping his natural ability to connect with voters will keep his struggling campaign alive. Perry has scheduled nearly 50 events between Wednesday and Jan. 2. By the time the tour ends, he will have visited some 42 towns and cities. “Being on a bus in a state like Iowa, it just allows...

Rick Perry Heckled Over Gays In Military Campaign Ad By Paul West December 11, 2011 Reporting from Ames, Iowa— Rick Perry took another shot at Mitt Romney's offer of a $10,000 bet, but the Texas governor found himself under fire himself Sunday, heckled at a campaign stop over anti-gay bias, including by a man identifying himself as a Marine veteran from the Iraq war. The heckling followed Perry's brief remarks to Iowa voters at a coffee shop in downtown Ames. "Why are you demonizing gay and lesbian people?" shouted one heckler. "Why can't gays compete in the military?" chimed in...

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Campaigning in South Carolina on Thursday, both Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry visited a hotel ballroom to seek the support of a crucial coalition here, as well as in Iowa: Evangelical pastors. They were both featured speakers at the Pastors Policy Briefing, a gathering of roughly 400 church leaders hosted by the South Carolina Renewal Project, a branch of an under-the-radar evangelical group that holds similar events in other major primary states. Gingrich and Perry– one recently thrust into the glare of public favor, the other trying to get back in it – gave speeches that demonstrated...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Friday there are eight Supreme Court justices, not nine,......

“You can’t tell me that America is not exceptional. You can't tell me that because I've seen it” "Rick Perry has always remained faithful." -- First Lieutenant Daniel P. Moran [6:45] Medal recipients tell of their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their fellow heroes -- and why they support Rick Perry. Even if you don't support Gov. Perry, please watch these men and hear their words.

DES MOINES (AP) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Friday there are eight Supreme Court justices, not nine, and couldn't remember Justice Sonia Sotomayor's name in an editorial board meeting with The Des Moines Register newspaper. Perry's repeated stumbles are keeping him from steadying his Republican presidential campaign with less than a month remaining before the lead-off caucuses in Iowa. (snip) He went on to denounce "eight unelected and, frankly, unaccountable judges" in a discussion of prayer in schools. But nine justices sit on the Supreme Court; they are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. (snip) Similar...

.....“I’m not ashamed to talk about my faith,” he says in the first spot. “Some liberals say that faith is a sign of weakness. Well, they’re wrong.” In the second ad, titled “Strong,” Perry bravely comes out as a follower of Christ. “I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian,” he says, before vowing that “as President, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion.” ......But most flagrant is Perry’s reference to “Obama’s war on religion” without evidence or explanation. He leaves the strong impression that it is Obama’s administration–instead of Supreme Court decisions from the 1960s–that took school-sanctioned prayer and...

I am starting to like this guy... more.

by John HillStand with ArizonaThere was a time when farmers were just concerned with protecting their animals. That's no longer the case. "Now I'm worried about am I going to come home at night after work," said Scott Blevins. The Pinal County farmer and father has every reason to worry. A recent run-in with drug smugglers on his farm hit way too close to home. That's why this farmer isn't playing around. For safety he wears a bullet proof vest and packs a handgun and rifle to work. "I’m convinced somebody’s going to see something they shouldn’t see and somebody’s...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whom some pundits had written off as the GOP's nominee, may find a second coming in Iowa, if new poll data holds up. As Mitt Romney's campaign has suffered a startling decline in recent weeks, only to see Newt Gingrich eclipse the former Massachusetts governor's front-runner status, the battle for the Iowa caucuses set for Jan. 3 has become a wide-open race. New survey data prepared for the Perry campaign and shared by a source close within the campaign shows that the Texas governor may be poised to do much better in next month’s Iowa caucuses...

In spite of all the 'naysayers' who were predicting 'failure' our economy is growing again, no more manufactured crisis', no more games' ...we are headed in the right direction.... BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGDpYTots_M

Last May, when Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels was pondering a White House bid, Jason Sorens of the University of Buffalo wrote a commentary that went largely unnoticed. Wanting to "take a look at Jon Huntsman," who has been "widely viewed as a 'moderate' Republican, but whose" policies "stake out a position that may be more libertarian than Daniels'," Sorens concluded that after former Gov. Gary Johnson and Texas Congressman Ron Paul, Huntsman offered the most libertarian credentials — besting even Daniels. Sorens's views deserve recognition in New Hampshire, a generally conservative state with decisively libertarian leanings, as our first-in-the-nation presidential...

Chances are, you haven't forgotten that oft-mocked moment from a recent debate where Rick Perry tried to name the three federal departments he'd eliminate but could only name two. Neither has Perry. Tonight, he'll be appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. At the top of the show and immediately following it, viewers in Iowa will be treated to a new campaign ad in which Perry makes light of the flub.

While Ron Paul attacks Newt Gingrich for being a flip-flopper, Newt Gingrich attacks Mitt Romney for his too-liberal record and Mitt Romney attacks Fox News for being "overly aggressive," one GOP presidential contender is focused on the issues that matter. In a new ad, Texas Governor Rick Perry compares President Barack Obama's rhetoric on energy to that of former President Jimmy Carter showing that little has changed in over 30 years.

A convicted child sex offender and illegal immigrant who was charged with breaking into an Elgin home in June where a 13-year-old girl hid in the basement has skipped bail, according to police. Salvador Sarabia, 28, has served time for two burglaries, drug-related charges and criminal sexual abuse of a minor and has been deported twice. He had been free after posting the required $10,000 of his $100,000 bail.Sarabia, of the 800 block of Ford Avenue, did not show up for his court date on Nov. 21, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, according to Elgin police. Although...