Free Republic

Car bombs exploded amid busy streets and official buildings in Baghdad this morning, killing at least 127 people and wounding 450 more, in the latest assault on the Iraqi government by militants, according to police officials.

. . . Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and other Republicans, said there is an "opportunity for Republicans" to tap into legitimate fears about an overreaching federal government. But he said that "right-wing nutballs are aligning themselves with these movements" and are dominating media coverage. "It's bad for Republicans because in the absence of any real leadership, the freaks fill the void and define the party," McKinnon said. . . .

AP photo from article Church website photo of Steve Anderson YUMA, AZ -- Steven Anderson, who ministers at Faithful Word Baptist Church, said he prays for the death of President Barack Obama in a sermon to his congregation. "I'm not going to pray for his good," Anderson said in the sermon. "I'm going to pray he dies and goes to hell." The sermon, which was titled "Why I Hate Barack Obama," was also featured on CNN last week due to the nature of its content, and has since been shown on other programs such as Fox News, MSNBC, ABC...

HUMAN EVENTS has learned from staff sources that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa) is about to announce his switch to the Democratic Party. Developing….

Head Strong: McCain fails the big five tests His aim is untrue in too many areas, so a longtime Republican is voting for Obama. By Michael Smerconish - Inquirer Inquirer Currents Columnist I've decided. My conclusion comes after reading the candidates' memoirs and campaign platforms, attending both party conventions, interviewing both men multiple times, and watching all primary and general-election debates. John McCain is an honorable man who has served his country well. But he will not get my vote. For the first time since registering as a Republican 28 years ago, I'm voting for a Democrat for president. I...

JUDITH Giuliani is an opportunistic, puppy-killing homewrecker who has a full-time hairstylist and needs an extra seat on planes for "Baby Louis," her Louis Vuitton handbag - at least according to a hatchet job on the former mayor's wife in the September issue of Vanity Fair.

C-Span's Sunday night hour of "Q&A" today involved an interview with Kevin Leffler, a Michigan CPA who is sinking about $100k of his own money into a documentary which he calls "Shooting Michael Moore". Leffler knew and worked with Moore and says that the public persona Moore touts is nothing like the Moore he knew. His film, from which numerous clips are presented during Q&A, is a takeoff on Moore's "Roger and Me" and portrays Leffler trying to track down and question Moore about many inaccuracies and outright lies he says Moore includes in his various films. The picture Leffler...

Prominent political fundraisers who backed Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign are reserving support for the current slate of 2008 Democrats in hopes the former vice president will swoop in for another White House bid. H.E. "Sonny" Cauthen Jr. told The Washington Times he has been flattered to get calls from candidates asking for his help this time around, but said he is hesitating on picking one while he waits to see what Mr. Gore decides. "If he wants to run, I would be very supportive of that," said Mr. Cauthen, a founding partner of the Washington lobbying firm Cauthen Forbes...

Like Congressman James Moran in search of an excuse to confiscate privately-owned firearms, Pat Buchanan seeks to glom onto the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech. Like James Moran, Pat Buchanan reeks of execrable thinking and primitive hatred. Both men are truly Sons of Erin. However, just because I like green beer and rooting vehemently against Notre Dame Football, I’ll decline to follow the path of bigoted hate-mongering tread by the odious Patrick J. Buchanan in today’s column. Buchanan attaches profound significance to the fact that Cho Sueng-Hui had a green card. Boy, that detail comes in handy, when you want...

BE HERE, OR BE NOWHERE!

HELENA, Mont. - A Montana state senator has officially changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, breaking a tie to give his new party a 26-24 advantage.

Vanity - I listened to Glenn Beck today build up to how he was going to vote for Lieberman who I know is the better pick over the Democrat. But Beck went on one of the tirades about how the Republican and Democrats are the same with their only interest being in getting elected. That kind of relativism ticks me off because their is an objective difference between the two parties. Granted there are bad Republicans, but by and large they are more principled, moral, and favorable to conservatism than are the Democrats. I'm just waiting for Beck to see...

The "runaway bride," who took off days before her lavish wedding in 2005, is suing her former fiance for $500,000, claiming he defrauded her out of her share of their assets, including a ladder, a gold sofa and gifts. read more at foxnews.com http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,219125,00.html

MIAMI Senator John Kerry is in Florida today, helping a Democratic hopeful in the district where the Republican Senator abruptly resigned. Representative Mark Foley was considered a shoo-in for re-election -- until it was revealed he had exchanged raunchy E-mails with a teenage page. Senator Kerry is headlining a fundraiser for Tim Mahoney, who may now have a better shot at winning. Kerry says the weekend is not about Foley's resignation. He says the people in Florida will make their own decision about that. Instead, Kerry says, the visit is about mustering support for state Democrats. Nationwide, the party needs...

With 9/11 Film, Kean Finds Tough Critic in Hamilton By Dana Milbank Tuesday, September 12, 2006; A02 There have been few political love stories as beautiful as that of Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton, the former chairman and vice chairman of the 9/11 commission. "I have never worked with anybody I've come to respect more than Lee Hamilton," Republican Kean said at a Sept. 11 fifth-anniversary joint performance with Hamilton yesterday. "He is one of the preeminent public servants of our day, bar none," came Democrat Hamilton's well-worn reply. So it packed even more punch when Hamilton, at the National...

THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON(FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU. FOOL ME TWICE, SHAME ON ME.) THE DECLINE OF HILLARY CLINTON: THE DYNAMICS(SHE HAS ONLY ONE WAY TO GO. AND IT ISN'T UP.) THE POLITICS OF DUMPING HILLARY (see post 53) 'HILLARY'S BIGGEST PROBLEM... SHE'S OLD NEWS' CARVILLE AGITPROP + THE CLINTON JACKBOOT'THE POWER OF HILLARY': THE TITLE CARVILLE'S 'Clinton is electable! Clear the way!' BATTLE CRY SPELLS TROUBLE FOR HILLARY I'LL SEE ANN COULTER'S 'BILL CLINTON RAPE CHARGE' AND RAISE HER 'ONE HILLARY CLINTON' SUSAN ESTRICH ON "DREDGING UP" THE RAPE OF JUANITA BROADDRICK + "ALL THAT...

Two years ago, Charleston's Billy Schachte was caught in the undertow of presidential campaign debates over the circumstances of John Kerry's first Purple Heart. He had commanded Kerry's first Vietnam combat mission and his recollection of the experience was very much different than Kerry's published account. Today, this tussle over truth and confusion simmers on just beneath the public's attention. That's likely to change soon. Television news veteran Marvin Kalb and his daughter are working through a Harvard-based grant to publish a book that will include commentary on the effectiveness and the credibility of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,...

John Kerry: No wonder Thomas Jefferson himself said: “Dissent is the greatest form of patriotism." The Jefferson Library: There are a number of quotes that we do not find in Thomas Jefferson’s correspondence or other writings; in such cases, Jefferson should not be cited as the source. Among the most common of these spurious Jefferson quotes [is]: * "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." (Via Paul Zrimsek)

MONTREAL (CP) - The federal Liberals are wasting their time trying to persuade the New Democrats to form an alliance of so-called left-wing forces in an attempt to take power back from Stephen Harper's Conservatives, says NDP Leader Jack Layton. In an interview with a Montreal newspaper, Layton said the Liberals are far from a left-wing party and that the sponsorship scandal has tarnished the party's image for a long time to come, especially in Quebec. Layton added that the NDP risks sabotaging the gains the party has made in Quebec and the rest of Canada if it aligns itself...

Cindy Sheehan, the anti-Bush activist dubbed the "Peace Mom" for her efforts to stop the war in Iraq is lashing back at detractors who decry her lack of a tombstone for her son, Casey Sheehan, who was killed in the conflict two years ago. Cindy Sheehan lies above her son's markerless grave in Vanity Fair's January 2006 issue "I am so tired of the Rovian, heartless, and ignorant smear machine attacking me and my family at every turn of my back," Sheehan writes in an online commentary. Sheehan is responding to criticism aimed at her for not having a headstone...

Caught the last two minutes of Hardball. Matthews had corralled 6 Republicans at the Tennessee convention to ask who they would be voting for. The three men said Frist. Two women said Rice. I didn't catch the third woman. When he asked if they would vote for McCain they all said no. Chris looked like he would pass out, because John is his boy. He asked them again and this time they said he was a fence sitter and an opportunist. It was a golden moment. Try to catch it on the repeat.

Former Liberal David Emerson defects to Tories Updated Mon. Feb. 6 2006 11:04 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff CTV News has confirmed that former Liberal industry minister David Emerson has defected to the Conservatives for a cabinet post. The Vancouver MP and former head of lumber giant Canfor arrived at Rideau Hall shortly before the Tory cabinet was to be announced. He will be named the Minister of International Trade and the Minister responsible for the Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010. Snatching Emerson could be seen as Conservative retribution for the defection of Belinda Stronach to the Liberals in...

DAVOS, Switzerland - Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) said Friday that interrogation techniques at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay are still of concern, and the prisoners held there should have their cases processed after spending up to four years in detention without charge. ADVERTISEMENT The remote prison camp in eastern Cuba, where some 500 men accused of links to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime or al-Qaida are held, crept into debates at the World Economic Forum on Friday. Only a handful of the prisoners have been charged. "What I was concerned about and continue to be concerned...

BANGOR, Maine --Former President Bill Clinton surprised U.S. troops arriving from Iraq when a refueling stop at the Bangor International Airport coincided with the arrival of two chartered flights carrying soldiers. Clinton was returning Monday night from Paris where he had met with French President Jacques Chirac to discuss plans for his charitable organization, the Clinton Foundation. (snip) "Thank you for your service," Clinton said as he shook hands and hugged many of the soldiers as they passed by. He autographed hats, cards, paper and other items. The soldiers, about 600 of them, were returning to bases in Oklahoma, Texas...

Sen. Bob Bennett has a new ally in his fight to make it a crime to deface the U.S. flag: Sen. Hillary Clinton. The New York Democrat and former First Lady has signed on as a co-sponsor of the Republican Bennett's bill. And she's taking some heat for the alliance, the Salt Lake Tribune's Washington bureau reported. Bennett's bill would allow the government to fine or imprison someone who intentionally defaces or destroys the flag. Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines says Clinton's backing comes after talking with veterans who want the flag protected. "Burning or destroying an American flag is a...

After spending scorching August days with hundreds of war protesters at her makeshift camp near President Bush's Crawford ranch, Cindy Sheehan slipped away each night to her tent or RV for a few quiet moments on her laptop... Now those journal entries are in her book, "Not One More Mother's Child," to be released Wednesday. The paperback also contains some of her speeches to peace groups earlier this year, letters to politicians and writings since leaving Crawford.

Nov. 19, 2005 — - Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., believes U.S. troops do not necessarily need to be pulled out of Iraq right away, as a senior Democrat suggested this week, but they need more leadership from the Bush administration. "What we need is a little more commander-in-chief, and a little less campaigner-in-chief," Kerry said in an exclusive interview on "Good Morning America Weekend Edition." The question of whether or not troops should be withdrawn from Iraq moved to the front burner Thursday when Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., called for all the troops to be withdrawn immediately -- a call...

Civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson visited the remaining evacuees at the coliseum , hoping to find out why they are leaving and where they'll end up. Jackson and Congressman Bennie Thompson were looking for answers at the Mississippi Trademart. Red cross officials spoke with Jackson about the transition process. Thompson said he was assured by the Red Cross that no one will leave without a place to go. Jackson Mayor Frank Melton was also in attendance and promised his help. Jesse Jackson fears black evacuees will be overlooked when it comes to federal aid and future jobs. He told...

Ex-president Bill Clinton endorsed his wife's call for a Katrina Commission on Monday, to probe what he called "failures" by Bush administration to respond quickly to the New Orleans flood crisis. "Our government failed those people in the beginning, and I take it now there is no dispute about it," Clinton told CNN. "One hundred percent of the people recognize that -- that it was a failure," he claimed. On Sunday Hillary Clinton called for the creation of a Katrina Commission, while insisting that the federal response to the hurricane efforts has been inadequate. Mr. Clinton endorsed his wife's suggestion,...

Ben DeSoto/Houston Chronicle Jesse Jackson, center, U.S. Rep. Al Green left, and U.S. Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee hold a press conference before touring the Astrodome. Joining two of Houston's most prominent black legislators in slamming the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said today that evacuees shouldn't be shipped to distant states and shouldn't be referred to as "refugees." Jackson said he appreciated the willingness of states as far away as Utah and Minnesota to take in evacuees but suggested such plans take them too far from their families and the homes that must be rebuilt....

Racism is partly to blame for the deadly aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said, calling President Bush's response to the disaster "incompetent." "Today, as the President comes to Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi for his ceremonial trip to look at the victims of the devastation, he would do well to have a plan more significant than a ceremonial tour," Jackson said Friday. "His whole response is unacceptable." Bush has acknowledged that the federal response has not been acceptable, but promised that the government would get supplies to survivors and crack down on violence in New Orleans. Jackson questioned...

On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette broke the story about Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll's uninvited attendance at the July 19 funeral of Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich, who was killed in Iraq on July 10. According to the paper, Knoll passed out business cards during communion, and told a grieving relative, "I want you to know our government is against this war." Reading the story carefully, what stands out to me is this: the Light Governor really thought she was saying something comforting. That's more shockingly revealing, in a way, about how the liberals just don't get it than...

Belinda's lesson By LINK BYFIELD -- Calgary Sun Pardon me while I gag. It was announced from Ottawa last week that our new Minister of Democratic Renewal will spend $1 million crossing the country to find out why fewer Canadians -- especially young people -- are voting in national elections. Why is there such growing apathy, disengagement and even cynicism about politics? She's determined to find out. The minister is Belinda Stronach, who was elected a year ago as a Conservative MP by the voters of New Market-Aurora in Ontario. On May 17, the Liberals bribed her with a cabinet...

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - More than 200 Nebraska American Legion members, who have seen war and conflict themselves, fell quiet here Saturday as Sen. Chuck Hagel bluntly explained why he believes that the United States is losing the war in Iraq. Sen. Chuck Hagel addresses more than 200 Nebraska American Legion members in Grand Island on Saturday. It took 20 minutes, but it boiled down to this: The Bush team sent in too few troops to fight the war leading to today's chaos and rising deaths of Americans and Iraqis. Terrorists are "pouring in" to Iraq. Basic living standards are...

www.opensecrets.org/races/contrib.asp?ID=ILS1^cycle=2002&special=N

HILLARY GETS IT. Hillary Clinton says she's against illegal immigration. And she would fine employers who hire illegal aliens. Pundits say the New York Democrat is using this hot-button issue to position herself for the 2008 presidential election. It's a way to hit Republicans from the right. Polls show huge majorities of both Republicans and Democrats oppose illegal immigration -- and are frustrated that President Bush won't do a thing to stop it. But this issue does not belong to the right. Or it shouldn't. Illegal immigration hurts most liberal causes. It depresses wages, crushes unions and kills all hope...

Stronach appointed to Liberal cabinet Political observers stunned Canadian Press Tuesday, May 17, 2005 OTTAWA -- In a stunning political move that could save Paul Martin's government, high-profile Tory MP Belinda Stronach has defected to the Liberals. Martin, sitting beside a smiling Stronach at a surprise news conference Tuesday, welcomed his new caucus member and named her human resources minister. He also said she will be in charge of democratic renewal. The development boosts the government's chance of surviving a very tight confidence motion in the House of Commons scheduled for Thursday. It is also a big blow to...

Rev. Jesse Jackson said Tuesday afternoon that he has persuaded two Florida state senators to change their votes on a bill to save Terri Schiavo, leaving the measure just one vote shy of the majority necessary for passage. "Two of them have committed to meeting with Gov. Jeb Bush. They say that they're flexible if they can find acceptable emergency language," Jackson told ABC Radio host Sean Hannity. Targeting members of the state senate's black caucus in a bid to save Schiavo, Jackson explained: "While we didn't have the specific language today, if I could just get them to shift...

President Bush is reportedly furious after being betrayed by author Doug Wead, who tape-recorded their private phone conversations, then played the tapes, first for his publisher, then for the New York Times. "Dubya's become a Burning Bush over it," reports the New York Post's Cindy Adams. "And rightly so. With pals like Friend Wead, who needs enemies?" -snip- "Around publishing water coolers it's being whispered and rewhispered that Friend Wead played them for his publisher as a marketing tool," the Post columnist reports. "Marketing for himself, that is." It was Wead's "financial ploy," she says. "The tapes are what got...

Kerry in Boston just said "this country will move on and we'll be strong no matter what happens." Looking tired and resigned. Refused to say what his first actions would be as President.

He tried to run for President of the United States as the war hero he was but that didn't work out too well. Yes, he was a war hero and is celebrated as such. The problem is, according to many thousands of Vietnam veterans, John Kerry became a war hero for the communist Vietnamese, not for our side. Why did our enemy like John Kerry enough that they still hold him in a place of honor? Well, it's all rather well documented for anyone willing to read a little and look at the photos.[1] In a nutshell, Kerry was (is)...

KERRY IMPLOSIONHEAR BUSH RESPONSESEE EXPLOSIVES TIMELINE, SEE SATELLITE PHOTO OF PRE-WAR TRUCK ACTIVITY POURQUOI JOHN KERRY EST DANGEREUX POUR L'AMÉRIQUE  (viewing movie requires Flash Player 7, available HERE) (viewing movie requires Flash Player 7, available HERE) NEW! compleatjohnkerry.blogspot.com NEW! unfitforcommand.blogspot.comjohnkerryisdangerousforamerica.blogspot.com  THE MYTH OF THE 'MISSING EXPLOSIVES': A SHAMELESS LIE BY RALPH PETERS October 28, 2004 SHOULD the United Nations decide who be comes our president? Sen. John Kerry wouldn't mind. He's shamelessly promoting the lies that the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency is telling about Iraq. A devious IAEA report suggests that 400 tons of explosives were spirited away...

MISSING EXPLOSIVES, MISSING WMD, JOHN KERRY'S GLOBAL TEST + JOHN KERRY'S CHARACTERPOURQUOI JOHN KERRY EST DANGEREUX POUR L'AMÉRIQUE   JOHN KERRY: CONGENITAL LIAR(his mother knew) (viewing movie requires Flash Player 7, available HERE) NEW! compleatjohnkerry.blogspot.com NEW! unfitforcommand.blogspot.comjohnkerryisdangerousforamerica.blogspot.com [M]y mom passed away a couple years ago, just before I was deciding to run. And she was in the hospital, and I went in to talk to her and tell her what I was thinking of doing. And she looked at me from her hospital bed and she just looked at me and she said, "Remember: integrity, integrity, integrity." Those are...

JOHN KERRY'S IRAQ DELUSIONS~PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE 2 POURQUOI JOHN KERRY EST DANGEREUX POUR L'AMÉRIQUE   by Mia T, 10.09.04 IRAQ DELUSIONS (viewing movie requires Flash Player 7, available HERE) UNFIT #23: THUMBSUCKER SERIESJohn "One Position on Iraq" Kerry's 1971 Replay (viewing movie requires Flash Player 7, available HERE) NEW! compleatjohnkerry.blogspot.com NEW! unfitforcommand.blogspot.comjohnkerryisdangerousforamerica.blogspot.com KERRY DOESN'T HAVE THE JUDGMENT TO BE PRESIDENT Senator Kerry's contradictions on Iraq are the wrong signal to send to our troops on the ground, to our coalition partners, to the Iraqi people and to the terrorists seeking our destruction. On the eve of Prime Minister Allawi's visit...

John "One Position on Iraq" Kerry's 1971 Replay WHY JOHN KERRY IS LETHALLY DANGEROUS FOR AMERICAWHY THE LEFT IS GONNA GET US KILLED   by Mia T, 9.23.04     (viewing movie requires Flash Player 7, available HERE)johnkerryisdangerousforamerica.blogspot.com    KERRY DOESN'T HAVE THE JUDGMENT TO BE PRESIDENT Senator Kerry's contradictions on Iraq are the wrong signal to send to our troops on the ground, to our coalition partners, to the Iraqi people and to the terrorists seeking our destruction. On the eve of Prime Minister Allawi's visit to the United States, Senator Kerry today said that America and the...

YOO-HOO DAN RATHER! KERRY'S BELATED "HONORABLE" DISCHARGE:Is a less-than-honorable discharge and clinton "pardon" behind Kerry's refusal to sign form 180 to release ALL of his records?(Pres. Bush signed form 180. WHAT IS KERRY HIDING?)   Looking for: material related to Kerry's likely less-than-honorable discharge and the apparent 2001 discharge upgrade "pardon" by clinton audio of Kerry claiming to have released or claiming that he intends to release all his military and/or medical records PLEASE FREEP-MAIL OR POST ON THIS THREAD ALL RELEVANT LINKS. THX. A PRESIDENT KERRY MAY BE ABHORRENTBUT IS IT EVEN CONSTITUTIONAL?bump     THE INTERMINABLE clintons(It's...

Washington State held its primary yesterday, and Larry Klepinger barely edged out Suzanne Sinclair for the nomination to challenge Democrat Rick Larsen for the 2nd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House in November. In a 10-minute conversation with Larry Klepinger at a state fair in August, the discussion ended abruptly when he said "You and I may not agree on this, but I believe a woman should have the final say on abortion." I responded, "Then I think Hitler should have had the final say on the Jews" and wandered off. Now that he is the Republican nominee, I...

Vietnam veteran-turned-military analyst Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney said Thursday that John Kerry's 1971 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee portraying Vietnam soldiers as "monsters" would have been consider ground for treason charges in an earlier day. "There is deep, deep anger for a man who, if he had done this during World War II, would have been tried for treason," McInerney told ABC Radio's John Batchelor. Noting that two of his brothers also served in Vietnam, where one died, McInerney said, "He betrayed us . . . He betrayed not only my personal family but my [West Point] classmates...

Former Georgia Senator Max Cleland, left, and former Green Beret Lt. Jim Rassmann, center, approach a Secret Service Agent, right, on station at the check point to the entrance of President Bush (news - web sites)'s ranch Wednesday Aug. 25, 2004 in Crawford, Texas. Cleland tried to deliver a letter protesting ads challenging John Kerry (news - web sites)'s Vietnam service to President Bush at his Texas ranch Wednesday, but the Secret Service stopped Cleland short of his goal. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON: The head of a war veterans group said yesterday that United States troop withdrawals from Vietnam should be done at a rate matching the release of United States prisoners of war. Herbert Rainwater, commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, also said ... "the image that is being presented to the American people by the media of the United States involvement in Indochina has not been hindered by facts." He referred to the appearance before the Foreign Relations Committee of a former lieutenant, John Kerry. "He is an opportunist taking advantage of a very confused minority," the V.F.W. commander...