Free Republic

The election is in a few days. While it has become plain to me that the reporting of the polls has been manipulated (along with everything else) by a media actively campaigning for Obama, the math apparently says that the amount of manipulation is not enough to flip the basic result: an Obama victory. I would be very happy to be wrong about this, and enough people to make a difference could still change their mind, but I'm pretty much resigned to an Obama victory. I'm still going to vote for McCain, and urge everyone I know to do the...

Dear Lord, can we cut the negative crap around here? If our conservative ideology has taught us anything its that you and I, the private sector people, can withstand and fix anything in our economy. We (or our fathers/grandfathers) beat the depression, Hitler, scandal, Malaise, Carter, Clinton, Soros (oh yes, George, some of us see your hand trying to slap Adam Smith's away from time to time) and by God the free market will even be able to fix this mess and the bigger messes the bailout may cause. That is, unless we bury our heads in the sand and...

...The case that things are basically pretty good? Unemployment is 5.5%, low by historical standards; income is rising slightly ahead of inflation; housing prices are down, but the typical house is still worth a third more than in 2000; 94% of Americans do not have threatened mortgages...most that do will keep homes. ...Inflation was up in 2007, but this stands out because the 16 previous years were close to inflation-free; living standards are the highest they have ever been, including living standards for the middle class and for the poor. All forms of pollution other than greenhouse gases are in...

When I first heard about the rising phenomenon of Senator Barack Obama, I didn't think too much about it. It is a story that you hear in one form or another every four years: the vibrant new Democrat who appeals to young audiences with lofty rhetoric about empowerment and hope. To be honest, I dismissed the whole thing as another short-lived pop phenomenon for the kiddies to write about in their MySpace pages. Obviously, Obama's success over the past few weeks forced me to reassess this conclusion. Always willing to admit when I am wrong, I decided to read the...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2007 – U.S. and coalition efforts to stabilize Afghanistan are achieving “solid results,” but the mission isn’t over, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told U.S. legislators at a Capitol Hill hearing today. “Notwithstanding the news we sometimes hear out of Afghanistan, the efforts of the United States, our allies and the Afghan government and people have been producing some solid results,” Gates told U.S. House Armed Services Committee members. He recently returned from one of several trips he has taken to Afghanistan as defense secretary. Offering his assessment of the current situation in Afghanistan, Gates said: “There...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2007 – The deputy commander of the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team operating in Iraq said today that he’s feeling “very, very optimistic” about progress over the past several months. Army Brig. Gen. David D. Phillips told civilian defense experts he’s seen big changes since 2004, when he helped stand up the Baghdad Police Academy as commander of the 89th Military Police Brigade. “I’ve seen significant differences in the way the academy is run,” he said via teleconference from Baghdad. There’s a new level of professionalism, and the instruction is no longer provided by U.S. military police,...

EN ROUTE TO WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today he’s hopeful about progress on the security front in Iraq, but acknowledged he is disappointed with political upheaval within the Iraqi government. “I think the developments on the political side are somewhat discouraging at the national level. And clearly, the withdrawal of the Sunnis from the government is discouraging,” Gates told reporters during a flight back to Washington following a four-day visit to the Middle East. “My hope is it can all be patched back together,” he said. Seeing the discord taking place in Iraq,...

There’s a common thread in recalling those greatly loved or respected, or both: “If only...” If only I had visited, called or written more, to say “I love you,” You’ve meant so much,” or simply, “Thank you.” Parents; my favorite aunt, uncle and cousin; teachers, mentors, pastors, friends ... even persons whole I barely knew or know only through their writings, speeches, recordings and performances spark “If only” musings. I met Harry Truman just once, but the more I learn of the feisty Missourian, the more I wish that I really had known him. Somewhere, he chuckles as he rises...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq, April 19, 2007 – Marine leaders here told Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that they are “cautiously optimistic” about the situation in Anbar province during a briefing today. Gates called the situation in the once very violent province, “a good news story,” during a news conference afterward. “(Anbar) is a place where the Iraqis have decided to take control of their future and the sheiks have played a key role in making good things happen out here,” Gates said, “along with the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army with our help.” While Gates was attending meetings...

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2007 – Over the last year, coalition forces have laid the foundation for stability and provincial Iraqi control in Anbar province, the commander of Multinational Force West said today. “Our strategy of clear, hold and build, combined with an energized governmental and tribal engagement, is beginning to bear fruit,” Marine Maj. Gen. Walt Gaskin told reporters at the Pentagon via satellite. Progress is evident in the region’s increased Iraqi security forces recruiting figures, decreased number of attacks, and in the upswing in economic commerce, he said. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s benchmark visit to the region, Gaskin...

We stand in front of the US capitol. In peacetime the Founding Fathers intended this to be the center of freedom. The Founding Fathers feared dictatorship and they set out to preserve freedom. They recognized that while God gives us freedom, people are all to often ready to take it away. What we represent is as old as this country. It’s something that Lincoln or Jefferson or Washington would have understood. It is something, that Grant led people who died to preserve. It is the romantic, idealistic belief that a free people, just every day folks, of all backgrounds can...

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) - World business and political leaders have tempered optimism over global economic growth with concern over climate change as they kicked off their elite annual retreat in Davos. The four-day gathering of movers and shakers in the Swiss ski resort boasted the usual impressive guest list, with delegates able to flit from a breakfast with Microsoft founder Bill Gates to an evening audience with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The theme of this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting -- "The Shifting Power Equation" -- sought to take in everything from the growing geopolitical clout of Asia to...

According to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's financial condition is "fantastic." Spending has been brought under control, the budget has been balanced, and our debt is being paid down. ... --snip-- ... In fact, spending is growing faster than it did under his recalled predecessor, Gray Davis. The state is now running the biggest deficit in its history, and the only way it can pay its bills is because of massive borrowing carried over from 2004, ... --snip-- The governor justifies his claim that the budget is balanced by concocting a new accounting concept he calls the "net operating deficit." Here's...

WASHINGTON - The news from Iraq and other national headlines may be grim, but in Greenville, N.C., John Given has a new baby and his first home, and life is good. So, too, for Sandra Trowbridge in tiny Magnet Cove, Ark. The situation in Iraq makes her feel pessimistic about the state of the nation, but at home, at least, all is well. Even if nothing special has happened to her family, she says, "we still love each other," and that's enough. And so it goes for most Americans. An AP-AOL News Poll finds that while most Americans said 2006...

As 2006 draws to a close you will doubtless be hearing a lot of jeremiads on how things are running down, running out and generally not as good as they used to be. In truth, however, I cannot end the year - and with it my regular weekly column -- on a pessimistic note. Yes, the Iraq war seems a mess; yes, government still spends too much money badly; and yes, the culture ain't what it used to be. But if you think things look bleak now, you weren't around when I started writing a column in the early 1980s.

The meeting was almost over when Roman Reed steered his wheelchair to the microphone. On the table before him sat a 149-page book of budget charts and timetables, the first concrete outline of what California's voter-approved stem cell institute plans to accomplish in its 10-year lifespan. "I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart," Reed said to the institute's staff and 29-member oversight board in October. "I promised my son that one day I would be able to walk, stand next to him and go hold my wife's hand. And seeing this road map to cures, I...

I posted this on another board, and I'm adding it here as much for my own benefit as to see if anyone else might like to join in and accentuate the positive. I was looking for something to read last week and Discover Magazine (August, 2006 issue) was the only thing in the rack that caught my eye. There was a picture of Einstein on the cover. Inside was an article about Martin Seligman, a psychologist who has been studying happiness, and how to create it in individuals. Seligman is an experienced researcher. He worked on an experiment that measured...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, July 5, 2006 – The U.S. Agency for International Development has started a $16 million road project that extends from the center of Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley and will eventually connect the valley to southern markets in Charikar and Kabul. A construction crew from Turkish engineering firm Entes and local Afghans work on the embankment as a front-end loader smoothes a new surface for the Panjshir Valley road. The 47-kilometer U.S. Agency for International Development road project is scheduled for completion in December. Photo by Tech. Sgt. John Cumper, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

America may still think of itself as the land of opportunity, but the chances of living a rags-to-riches life are a lot lower than elsewhere in the world, according to a new study published on Wednesday. The likelihood that a child born into a poor family will make it into the top five percent is just one percent, according to "Understanding Mobility in America," a study by economist Tom Hertz from American University. By contrast, a child born rich had a 22 percent chance of being rich as an adult, he said. "In other words, the chances of getting rich...

The majority of Iraqis overall view the recent parliamentary elections as valid, are optimistic that their country is going in the right direction and feel that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein has been worth the costs. Sunnis, on the other hand... The poll was conducted for WorldPublicOpinion.org by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland and was fielded by KA Research Limited... Among the Shia and Kurds optimism is even higher. Seventy-six percent of Kurds and 84% of Shia say they think the country is headed in the right direction. the ethnic divisions are very...