Free Republic

Democrats will pay at the polls for their vote in favor of a sweeping health care reform package Saturday night, a top House Republican warned, while Democrats cheered the bill's narrow approval as a historic achievement. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., chairman of the House Republican Conference, told "Fox News Sunday" that the vote proved Democrats have not listened to American concerns about over-spending, bailouts and government takeovers. "The message from last night is that the Democrats didn't get the message in August or last Tuesday," Pence said, referring to the town hall meetings over the summer where members of the...

<p>HAVANA - Secret police agents abducted and beat award-winning blogger Yoani Sanchez, whose online reports chronicle the dark side of everyday life in communist Cuba, on her way to a march for non-violence, she said Saturday.</p> <p>Three agents in street clothes snatched her and friend Orlando Luis Pardo off the street in the Havana district of Vedado.</p>

Cold War: The White House has announced our absence at ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Meanwhile, Russia has been practicing a nuclear invasion of an abandoned Poland. The Berlin Wall has been a famous backdrop for American presidents sounding the battle cry of liberty in the struggle against tyranny. It was there that John F. Kennedy expressed our solidarity with the encircled residents of that outpost of freedom with his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner." And it was there that Ronald Reagan, with a defiant "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," voiced our...

WASHINGTON - The unprecedented number of death threats against President Obama, a rise in racist hate groups, and a new wave of antigovernment fervor threaten to overwhelm the US Secret Service, according to government officials and reports, raising new questions about the 144-year-old agency’s overall mission. The Secret Service is tracking a far broader range of possible threats to the nation’s leaders, the officials said, even as it also investigates financial crimes such as counterfeiting as part of its original mandate. The new demands are leading some officials, both inside and outside the agency, to raise the possibility of the...

John Carpenter’s “They Live” is an interesting Sci-Fi film. Released in 1988, “They Live” chronicles a time where the American middle class is being reduced to poverty and the gap between the Haves and Have-nots is greater than ever before. In Carpenter’s tale, the downturn of America’s working class is the result of a well planned strategy created by an invading skull-faced civilization from another planet, and a coalition of the elite, most powerful businessmen and politicians on Earth. Not surprisingly the general public is kept in the dark through a constant stream of subliminal signals, stealthy messages and propaganda...

Everybody just relax. Islam is badly misunderstood. The negative stereotype of Islam is the usual evil-doings of Zionists in America and their foolish fellow travelers, fundamentalist Christians. Please don’t listen to what these hate-mongers say about Islam and hear us out. So implies the nationally-launched campaign of Muslim organizations in the United States. Ads are popping up in newspapers and magazines proclaiming the magnificence of Islam and aiming to refute the “false allegations” of Islam’s ill-wishers. Huge billboards are festooning major highways, such as the one along Highway 101 and Tully Road in San Jose, California, with crafty messages. Bold...

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 25, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Obama administration has aroused a fierce First Amendment controversy after threatening companies selling private Medicare coverage not to tell their customers that current health care legislation would result in benefit cuts - or else face a lawsuit. The administration and Senate Democrats justify the move by saying the claim, spread by at least one such company, is patently false. Yet some say the administration is the one twisting the facts to help the unpopular legislation: critics note that even the head of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office agrees that the legislation would...

Turning the water off is not just bad politics, it’s an act of domestic terror. Former Fresno, California Mayor Alan Autry Forgive me if I am less than diplomatic here. I am not a fan at all of the radical environmental movement. I’m even less of a fan of radical, Big Government. Let’s cut to the chase here. The rabid environmentalists have destroyed the economy in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Not only have they destroyed the economy, they have destroyed the lives of tens of thousands of farmers, as well. According to the California Farm Water Coalition unemployment...

If you have read my e-alerts the past several weeks, you're probably shocked at the plans our government has for our health care. As shocking as these plans are, what you're about to read could be the most shocking news yet. There's no conjecture in the following facts. The websites belong to the stated individual governments. The state of Massachusetts is in the process of passing a law that will mandate vaccines for the swine flu. This law, which you can read here: http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/186/st02/st02028.htm, requires total compliance with a state health "authority." According to this bill, they get to decide...

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A Georgia man who spent a year in jail for nonpayment of child support -- despite the fact he has no children -- has been cleared of the debt, his attorney said Tuesday. Frank Hatley, 50, spent 13 months in jail for being a deadbeat dad before his release last month. A judge ordered him jailed in June 2008 for failing to support his "son" -- a child who DNA tests proved was not fathered by Hatley.

During the 2008 Presidential campaign Barack Obama told audiences, 'Judge me by the people with whom I surround myself.' OK, we will. And that is precisely the problem with Obama. In order to understand Barack Obama one must look beyond the official, Congressional-approved Cabinet choices to the truckload of unofficial 'czars,' 'special advisor's,' and 'officers' he has chosen to come to the White House to have direct access to him.

1st Amendment: Mark Lloyd, a disciple of Saul Alinsky and fan of Hugo Chavez, wants to destroy talk radio and says free speech is a distraction. The new FCC diversity "czar" says Venezuela is an example we should follow.When Mark Lloyd was appointed July 29 as the chief diversity officer at the Federal Communications Commission, a nation focused on ObamaCare and a deteriorating economy took little notice. But as angry constituents flood town hall meetings and call in to talk radio, a man dedicated to silencing them sits at the right hand of the president. They share a common hero...

Just 4 days prior to the massive citizen march on Washington on September 12 to protest government-run healthcare, high taxes,and runaway spending, Barack Obama will address all of the nation's school children. I would strongly encourage all parents to keep their children home from school on that day as a means of protest. Why would a President who is known for employing innovative means for propaganda set up a national address to school children just days prior to a citizen march that could garner over a million protesters?

What is Black Liberation Theology anyway? Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright catapulted black liberation theology onto a national stage, when America discovered Trinity United Church of Christ. Understanding the background of the movement might give better clarity into Wright's recent vitriolic preaching. A clear definition of black theology was first given formulation in 1969 by the National Committee of Black Church Men in the midst of the civil-rights movement: Black theology is a theology of black liberation. It seeks to plumb the black condition in the light of God's revelation in Jesus Christ, so that the black community can...

Legislation that would grant President Obama the authority to selectively shutdown Internet sites is advancing in the senate. The “Cybersecurity Act of 2009” would allow the President to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” relating to “non-governmental” computer networks and do whatever he feels is necessary to respond to the threat. Author of the bill, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), declared that “recent events surrounding ‘town hall’ meetings on the President’s health care plan emphasize the need for this legislation. As we saw, access to the Internet enabled rightwing fanatics to quickly and inexpensively alert cadres of sympathizers who turned out to disrupt...

We’ve written about this before but the new and “improved” version of the bill’s just been leaked by Jay Rockefeller’s office. Remember the Bush years, when the Democrats ferociously opposed executive power? Good times. If you think they’ve changed now, wait and see what happens if/when the GOP takes back Congress. Article II fee-vah! A Senate source familiar with the bill compared the president’s power to take control of portions of the Internet to what President Bush did when grounding all aircraft on Sept. 11, 2001. The source said that one primary concern was the electrical grid, and what would...

Thursday, July 23, 2009 A Canadian Horror Story We've been told by the Obama administration, as well as most of the Democratic party, that we need to be more like Canada, France and England, and follow their lead into "socialized" medicine!

President Barack Obama leapt to the defense of John Holdren, his new “Science Czar,” after critics raised concerns about policies Holdren recommended in a book he co-authored 30 years ago. In the book Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment, Holdren advocated a number of harsh measures he claimed should be undertaken by a “transnational planetary regime” in order to “save the planet.” Among the measures Holdren said should be implemented were “forced sterilization of persons who contribute to social deterioration,” mandatory abortions of superfluous persons,” and lowering the birth rate by “injecting infertility drugs into the public water supply.” The President characterized...

Oxford's dictionary defines evil as "profoundly immoral and malevolent." In taking a serious look at what Barack Obama and the Democrats in congress are doing to this nation, one must try to determine their intent. Many conservative pundits and talk show hosts have been postulating that although misguided and mistaken, the ideas being put forth by the liberals in Washington are well-intentioned. Whether it be raising taxes to pay for a massive boondoggle such as a nationalized health care system, cap and trade to save the planet from climate change, or genuflecting to our enemies in a vain attempt to...

The Uighurs’ cry has echoed round the world The deaths in northwest China are, sadly, the inevitable result of the repression of Turkic peoples over six decades Rubiya Kadeer The massacre of Uighur demonstrators in the cities of Urumqi and Kashgar has been reported in every language, from English to Chinese to Portuguese to Arabic. While the intense repression against Uighurs is normally ignored by both the Chinese Government and the international media, the deaths of hundreds of protesters and the injuries of hundreds more has exposed the brutality of Chinese government actions toward Uighurs in a way that cannot...

VIDEO: Iran Protest Tribute (Michael Jackson)"They don't really care about us"

News/Editorial RoundUp on Islamic (OPPRESSIVE) Republic of Iran June 19-24 2009 Today Everyone is an Iranian American Thinker - Amil Imani - Jun 19, 2009 We must demand justice for our compatriots who are suffering under the yoke of Islamofascism in Iran. http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/06/today_everyone_is_an_iranian.html Iran's Pro-Democracy Protestors Call for Our Help Brussels Journal - Jun 22, 2009 The enemy of the pro-democracy protestors is not only an Islamofascist regime, it is an enemy intent on wiping Israel off the face of the earth, ... http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3976 mccain on Iran: 'This Is About Human Rights and Values' FOXNews - Jun 23, 2009 This...

Where's Obama on Iranian oppression? Shore News Today - June 23, 2009 How much blood in the street, flowing from the bodies of pummeled protestors, will he tolerate before he condemns Iran’s dysfunctional and dangerous government in no uncertain terms? When will moral conviction trump nuanced strategies?

Skyscrapercity.com has an interesting thread. It was warned that the Baseej regime thugs would mark homes of suspected rebels with paint. People were tried to be warned to remove it ASAP. CNN has a night time video (the audio is more telling and shocking) of probably these marked homes being stormed by govt. thugs. VIDEO

Haaretz found [video clips] which Palestinians are seen being abused and humiliated by Border Police troops. The faces of the tormenters are rarely seen, and it's also not clear where the clips were filmed - but what is clear is the atmosphere in which this cruel theater is played out.

The jobs are risky, but very lucrative for those willing to take the risks, and require no previous experience or special training. Almost anyone with a driver's license (or at least the ability to drive) can do this job. How did Obama do it? What People Who Don't Smoke Look Like A recent Senate vote brought tobacco under the regulation of the FDA. The effort, spearheaded by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., in the Senate and Calif. Democrat Henry Waxman in the House (no doubt because of their medical expertise—Kennedy, for example, is considered the government's chief expert on alcohol consumption)....

News RoundUp on Islamic (OPPRESSIVE) Republic of Iran June 13-15 2009Blood in TehranNewsweek - Tens of thousands march peacefully in Iran. But in the end... violent death. Vahid Salemi / AP By Maziar Bahari | Newsweek Web ...http://www.newsweek.com/id/202045Iran: 12 students reported killed in crackdown after violent clashesU.TV - At least 12 people may have died in violent clashes with Iran's security forces following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election, according to ...http://u.tv/News/Iran-12-students-reported-killed-in-crackdown-after-violent-clashes/41811c29-6c81-4d20-b682-bde23c0e4d04Iran Lawmakers Urge Arrests After Tehran University Attack NASDAQ http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=200906151214dowjonesdjonline000437&title=iran-lawmakers-urge-arrests-after-tehran-university-attackIranian Students: It Seems That We Are All Alone The Weekly Standard http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/06/iranian_students_it_seems_that_1.aspPeaceful rally in Tehran ended in bloodshed Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/x-6568-San-Jose-Persian-Community-Examiner~y2009m6d15-Peaceful-rally-in-Tehran-ended-in-bloodshedIslamic...

If, like me, you haven't had time over the last few days to keep up with the story of Barack Obama's firing of Gerald Walpin, the Inspector General who has responsibility for the AmeriCorps program (Bruon York) will bring you up to speed. The story is an interesting one that sheds light on the lawless, bullying nature of the Obama administration. Walpin, who by statute is supposed to be independent of White House control, ran afoul of Obama because he investigated a charity operated by former pro basketball player Kevin Johnson, a prominent Obama supporter. The non-profit, St. Hope, received...

The two-storey building was home to the Order of the Brothers of The Holy Family of Banam. Its altar and votive statues were thrown into a rubbish dump. Church properties are being seized by the authorities to be turned into hotels or tourist resorts. Catholic leaders lament the violation of religious freedom in the country. The monastery of the Congregation of the Brothers of The Holy Family of Banam (Frères de la Sainte Famille de Banam) has been demolished by government order, a spokesman for the diocese of Long Xuyen, capital of An Giang province, reported. As a result of...

On June 6, 1944, 150,000 Allied soldiers clambered aboard heaving landing craft and braved six-foot swells, waves of machine gun fire, and more than 6 million mines to claim a stretch of sand at a place called Normandy. Their mission was to carve out an Allied foothold on the edge of Nazi-occupied Europe for the army of more than one million that would follow them in the summer of 1944. This army would burst forth from the beachhead, rolling across Europe into the heart of Germany, liberating millions, toppling a genocidal regime and ending a nightmare along the way. But...

Twenty years after China turned away from democratization, that nation has emerged as a fearsome competitor for world economic dominance. The playing field, however, is not exactly level. The anniversary this week of a major event, such as the brutal killing of the pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square by the Chinese Red Army, presents a sobering opportunity to reflect on the impact of such a despotic act. Reporter Claudia Rosett was in the square that fateful day, and in a Wall Street Journal piece shares what she saw at Tiananmen. The question occurs, however, as to how many in today's...

WHITE HOUSE MOVES TO SILENCE CRITICS OF THE STIMULUS PROGRAM! FRONTAL ATTACK ON FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS!

Hello everyone, I'm working on a book about my passion (and, I think, yours): American exceptionalism through the eyes of immigrants who haven't always had the fortune of living in freedom. This book consists of first-person stories of Americans who lived under authoritarian regimes: Cuba, Eastern bloc countries (Poland, Russia/former USSR), Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Laos, and so on. Unfortunately, there are many, many such countries to choose from. The local talk station I listen to has broadcast calls from new Americans who came here for liberty, which they weren't accorded in their homeland. Every call I've ever heard from one of...

This article examines the continuing assault on human liberty that occurs in the Cuban Communist regime. Little has changed since the Communists came to power 50 years ago, and the latest example is a blogger who was denied Internet access by the government.

Thinking of having a yard sale this weekend? Before you do, be sure to consult CSPC Publication #254 [PDF]. This handy 28-pager from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reminds the American people that, thanks to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, the government is totally in charge of your yard sale: This handbook will help sellers of used products identify types of potentially hazardous products that could harm children or others. CPSC’s laws and regulations apply to anyone who sells or distributes consumer products. This includes thrift stores, consignment stores, charities, and individuals holding yard sales and flea markets....

“In 2007, the University of Delaware’s Office of Residence Life used mandatory activities to coerce students to change their thoughts, values, attitudes, beliefs, and habits to conform to a highly specified social, environmental, and political agenda. Following FIRE’s campaign, which called the attention of the national media and the blogosphere to the Orwellian program, university President Patrick Harker terminated the program, effective immediately. This video explains the program’s invasive thought-reform activities, the horrified reactions of students and the press, and FIRE’s response. ” Professor Jan Blits, of the University of Delaware Honors Program said: “The immediate effects were to intimidate...

Communism (or call it fascism or socialism if you will) has reached its high watermark in America with the election of a Marxist President who promised the American people they will be well cared for pets. With Marxist now in control of the Executive and Legislative branches of government, only a slim majority in the Judiciary stands between the elitist pet owners and American patriots who cherish the risks of liberty above the security of the leash and cage. That too will change as a rogue government with no regard for its limited Constitutional powers works to perform its Machiavellian...

RACELAND, Ky. (WSAZ) -- Tempers flared Tuesday night during a Raceland City Council meeting when a payroll tax was discussed. Railroad union official Woody Lane and Raceland Councilman Mike Wilson almost came to blows in the lobby after the council passed an amended 1 percent payroll tax. A 2 percent tax was passed earlier this year but never enforced. Even with the tax cut in half, no one seems happy. The city's two biggest employers -- Progressive Rail and Raceland Schools -- said they feel targeted by the tax. Mayor Don McKee and the Council said the tax could help...

I’m about to become the killjoy by saying I don’t think the hosting of a seder by President Obama is funny, or even appropriate for that matter. I firmly believe that Obama’s actions as president, such as the ones itemized by Mr. Witkov, and his voting record as senator clearly reveal that Mr. Obama is against the side of freedom. ... In short, President Obama is the last person to attend a Passover seder, let alone host one. Unlike George W. Bush before him, President Obama doesn't know the first thing about freedom. And just because he is black—and especially...

It starts off simply enough...you get an email from a friend and it says something like: "OMG You have to see this video about [fill in the blank].  Because you're very interested in [fill in the blank] as a topic, you click over to the link to see what's a highly charged video about [fill in the blank] and the video urges you to 'tell all your friends about this video and send them the link...'.   If you're not computer/military/PowersThatBe savvy, you're likely to pass on the link without giving it a second thought.  But you should give...

Why does a soap opera become a huge success in the Arab world? According to the Guardian the Syrian television program “Bab al-Hara” (The Neighborhood Gate) has set “the Arab World Agog” and is watched by millions. Generally, the article explains the phenomenon by saying that it is great entertainment and the hero is, “A hearthrob who looks like Johnny Depp.” But there’s another dimension the story misses, which tells us a great deal about Arab society and politics today. Here’s how an expert who watched the show explains it: “These dramas give Syrians a "breathing space," time off from...

I am really proud of Islam. We all should be proud of Islam. It has released women into freedom! Islam is such a tolerant and merciful religion. Therefore, never forget to repeat ad nausea “Peace be upon Him” every time you mention the Prophet’s name. Here is the proof: Women who pass by a praying man annul his prayer: Narrated 'Aisha: The things which annul prayer were mentioned before me (and those were): a dog, a donkey and a Woman. I said, "You have compared us (women) to donkeys and dogs. By Allah! I saw the Prophet praying while I...

The NAACP is accusing Wells Fargo and HSBC of forcing blacks into subprime mortgages while whites with identical qualifications got lower rates. Class-action lawsuits will be filed against the banks Friday in federal court in Los Angeles, Austin Tighe, co-lead counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, told The Associated Press. Black homebuyers have been 3 1/2 times more likely to receive a subprime loan than white borrowers, and six times more likely to get a subprime rate when refinancing, Tighe said. Blacks still were disproportionately steered into subprime loans when their credit scores, income and...

Every day, women are under attack by Islamic supremacism that supports and approves of oppression, mutilation, and murder of women. According to leaders and followers of Islamic supremacism, they have the right to commit violence against women. Islamic supremacism views oppression of women as a legitimate "right," violence against women as a legitimate "right," and murdering women as a legitimate "right." Humanity's inalienable human rights include equality and liberty, freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, and the freedom to pursue happiness. No one has the "right" to oppress women, no one has the "right" to violence against women, and no...

Newsweek recently ran an article by Fareed Zakaria titled, Learning to Live with Radical Islam. In this article Mr. Zakaria contends that in our quest to prevail over the virulent factions within the fundamentalist Islamic culture we in the West must learn to discern the radical Islamist from the jihadi; the fundamentalist from the terrorist. Although Mr. Zakaria touches on a few noteworthy points – specifically the West’s need to engage in the war of ideas – his thesis that, “We can better pursue our values if we recognize the local and cultural context, and appreciate that people want to...

“If we run into such debts as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our callings and our creeds, as the people of England are, our people, like them, must come to labor sixteen hours in the twenty-four, and give the earnings of fifteen of these to the government for their debts and daily expenses. And the sixteenth being insufficient to afford us bread, we must live, as they do now, on oatmeal and potatoes, have no time to think, no means...

Fresh unrest in Tibet can not be ruled out nearly a year after riots in the capital Lhasa, because exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is determined to foment trouble, regional officials said on Tuesday. Cao Bianjiang, deputy mayor of the Himalayan city, said he was focused on fostering growth that would ensure stability, but exiled Tibetans were scared this would make them irrelevant. "There are some people who do not want to see the peaceful development of Lhasa's economy," Cao said, after criticising the Dalai Lama and his supporters. "So it cannot be entirely avoided that some people continue...

  The WHY? of Terrorism in IslamI am an American living in Asia. I am not Moslem, but I am a writer and historian. I would like to share some information with you: information concerning Moslem terrorism, and why the United States, its military forces, and its intelligence services must continue to be vigilant, and when appropriate, respond to Islamic terrorism with relentless, overwhelming, and deadly force. This information may help you understand what is going on not only in India, Pakistan, and China, as well as other parts of Asia, but also the Middle East, as well as Africa,...

Back in April of 2008 a district court in The Hague ruled that anti-Islamic European politician Geert Wilders did not break the law by comparing Islam with Fascism and calling the Koran the Islamic version of Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Whistleblowers sent to mental ward, Chinese paper says By Andrew Jacobs Monday, December 8, 2008 BEIJING: Local officials in Shandong Province have apparently found a cost-effective way to deal with gadflies, whistleblowers and all manner of muckraking citizens who dare to challenge the authorities: dispatch them to the local psychiatric hospital. According to an investigative report published Monday by a state-owned newspaper, public security officials in Xintai city have been institutionalizing residents who persist in their personal campaigns to expose corruption or to protest the unfair seizure of their property. Some people said they were committed up to two years,...