http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/pelosi/ en-us Sat, 2 Jan 2010 18:58:18 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419623/posts Copying (not linking, it uses the site's bandwidth) is encouraged. The Stentorian (cartoons) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419623/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 18:58:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419171/posts When members of the U.S. Senate finally head home this week, they will be leaving the future of 50 individual and business tax breaks in limbo. All expire at the end of 2009. Among the disappearing breaks are the research tax credit and an annual alternative minimum tax "patch," which keeps 23 million additional middle-income Americans from being forced into calculating and paying the dreaded AMT. (For 2009, with the patch in place, 4 million upper-middle- and high-income families will pay AMT.) Forbes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419171/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:06:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419019/posts I have been reading a ton of top ten articles over the past week or so, bloggers and other pundits have published what was, in their opinion, the top stores of 2009. As you have been reading my opinion every day for the past year, I decided to take a different tactic. According to my counters, articles on "The Lid:" generated between 650-750,000 reads since Dec. 31 2009. Teased Below in reverse order are the ten most read stories. Some of them surprised me. Read them and tell me if you agree. Note, if you click on the title of... The Lid/Various http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419019/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 17:22:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418846/posts We no longer seem to be living in a constitutional republic. How could we be when the votes of our public officials are easily bought off with bribes, threats, and subversion of our Constitution? The Christmas fiasco of the Senate vote-buying ordeal to pass the health care bill is a perfect illustration of how Congress is out of control and no longer represents the will of the people. According to a CNN/ORC survey, the overwhelming majority of Americans are opposed to the Senate version of Obamacare, a bill that will nationalize one-sixth of the U.S. economy and grant unprecedented power... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418846/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 07:20:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2417952/posts Or come pretty darned close to doing so, at least, argues James Pethokoukis for Reuters. The problem facing Democrats is not just the normal midterm correction, although that’s part of it. It’s not just ObamaCare, although that’s a large part of it, too. There are a number of problems that Democrats simply have not done anything to address, and they’re rapidly running out of time to do so: The trend is not the Democrats’ friend. At least not in 2010. The party of the sitting president almost always suffers losses in midterm congressional elections. To that time-tested dynamic now add... Hot Air http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2417952/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:52:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417939/posts Senator Charles Grassley is confirming the expectation that the conference committee that will meet to reconcile the differences in the congressional health care bills will be dominated by abortion advocates. If so, the Senate language funding abortions may emerge in the final legislation. With the House and Senate approving divergent bills, a conference committee must meet to hammer out the final measure for each chamber to vote on before it can go to President Barack Obama. The Senate measure current funds abortions and paves the way for forcing insurance companies to pay for abortions while the House measure has the... LifeNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417939/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:33:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417162/posts In an interview with Newsweek's Eleanor Clift, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi criticized the Church for its position on abortion and gays rights and stated that her Bishop has "tried to change my mind" Pelosi responds to questions about abortion in the health-care bill and her insistence that the original pre-Stupak bill did not fund abortion and says of the Bishops "they are not willing to accept facts." It was reported that you were negotiating with the conference of bishops. I talked to one of the cardinals. I said to him that I believe that what we are doing... CMR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417162/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:58:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417081/posts December 29, 2009 Pelosi's very private Hawaii vacation Thomas Lifson In stark contrast to Sarah Palin, whose Hawaii vacation was photographed and touted in the press, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is enjoying a very private luxurious time at the Four Seasons Hualalai resort on the Big Island. Andrew Walden, editor of Hawaii Free Press, reports: Guarded by US Capitol Police bolstered by officers on loan from the Hawaii County PD, Pelosi is enjoying what Hollywood Reporter calls: "...a picture-perfect stretch of beach on the Big Island's chic Kona Coast....a private Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and Pahu'ia, an award-winning oceanfront restaurant, $40... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417081/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:40:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417001/posts see Meercrat Toons Part I http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2417001/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:35:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416732/posts While President Barack Obama enjoys a high profile vacation on Oahu, "progressive" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is being allowed to stay out of the limelight while luxuriating at the Four Seasons Hualalai resort on the Big Island. Guarded by US Capitol Police bolstered by officers on loan from the Hawaii County PD, Pelosi is enjoying what Hollywood Reporter calls: "...a picture-perfect stretch of beach on the Big Island's chic Kona Coast....a private Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and Pahu'ia, an award-winning oceanfront restaurant, $40 million worth of enhancements...20 new suites and ... its lauded Hualalai Spa." Hawaii Free Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416732/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:00:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2308266/posts THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG THE BLOG TUESDAY, AUGUST 4TH, 2009 AT 6:55 AM Facts Are Stubborn Things Posted by Macon Phillips Opponents of health insurance reform may find the truth a little inconvenient, but as our second president famously said, "facts are stubborn things." Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet, breathlessly claiming, for example, to "uncover" the truth about the President’s health insurance reform positions. In this video, Linda Douglass, the communications director for the White House’s Health Reform Office, addresses one example that makes it look like the President intends to... WHITEHOUSE.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2308266/posts#comment Tue, 4 Aug 2009 22:45:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2415639/posts I never thought that “Weird Science,” the tongue-in-cheek song by the 1980’s band Oingo Boingo, would be so relevant in the world of politics today and the man-made drama swirling around the nation’s cesspool, formerly known as Washington, D.C. “Weird Science Plastic tubes and pots and pans Bits and pieces and Magic from the hand We’re makin’ Weird Science Things I’ve never seen before Behind bolted doors” “Behind bolted doors,” indeed. I am positive the Chicago-style political techniques employed by the Obama Administration to “convince” those few remaining “skeptical” Democrats and “independents” to vote for the government take-over of our... Justin Washington, the Blogger http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2415639/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 06:48:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415183/posts WASHINGTON -- Scrooge came early on Christmas Eve this year -- and he looks strangely like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Instead of "bah humbug," he delivered the U.S. Senate's version of "health care reform" -- the most expensive legislation ever passed by the Congress of the United States and the greatest expansion of government power in our nation's history. Now that's some Christmas present -- and a different way of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. If the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate succeed in cobbling together a final bill after the new year begins, every American... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415183/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 03:21:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414926/posts [You may have to play around a bit to get the video to operate. Make sure you click "Full Program" or you might just get a 2-minute clip.] This 30 minute video (including about 17 minutes of Q & A) from several months ago is Richard Epstein's analysis of the bill proposed by the House. But the main regulatory features of that bill are the same as the one just passed by the Senate. The gist of Epstein's lecture is that the total effect of these insurance regulations is to kill private health insurance, so we will eventually all end... Fora.tv http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414926/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:27:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414982/posts The two chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could get paid as much as $6 million each for 2009, despite the companies’ dismal performance this year which cost taxpayers more than $100 billion. Fannie’s CEO, Michael Williams, and Freddie CEO Charles “Ed” Haldeman Jr. each will receive $900,000 in salary, $3.1 million in deferred payments next year and another $2 million if they meet certain performance goals, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. The pay packages were approved by the Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie The Times and Democrat http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414982/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:35:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414964/posts Ho ho ho! http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/7ULiqTkuBMeMlV3V http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2414964/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:42:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414904/posts Many Americans will learn in the upcoming months and even years that while painful elements of the bill such as Medicare cuts and perhaps higher taxes on wealthy Americans would take effect quickly, the subsidies to help lower-income people buy insurance would not be introduced for three years under the House bill and four years under the Senate version. That could prove to be a liability for Democrats, an opening that Republicans, who have been in lockstep opposition to the bills, are sure to exploit. “They face a significant ‘expectations gap’ because people’s health care costs are going to continue... Boston Globe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414904/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 13:27:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414885/posts Obama's health care bill, the poisoned Kool-Aid making its way through the Senate, will not confer any of its supposed benefits on Americans until 2013. But they will find themselves chafing at its restrictions and paying its taxes immediately after the law takes effect. This odd juxtaposition of "suffer now, benefit later" is the byproduct of the administration's sleight of hand in specifying 10 years' worth of cuts and taxes in the legislation, but deferring its benefits for the first four years. By comparing six years of spending with 10 years of taxing, it managed to appear deficit-neutral under the... North County Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414885/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:54:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414871/posts WASHINGTON -- The spirit of Christmas seems to have escaped Congress, maybe even the country. Have you ever encountered such mean spiritedness and political conniving as are now on display on Capitol Hill? In the past, we have had great philosophical divisions in the struggle for civil rights, especially when southern legislators ran the show. In praise of democracy, fortunately they lost. And of course there also was the "red scare" fomented by Sen. Joe McCarthy, R-Wis., in the 1950s when he led the commie-hunting movement that ended up victimizing government officials, academia and Hollywood. We recovered from that, too.... TheBostonChannel.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414871/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 09:01:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414837/posts Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have really screwed up. First of all, the two congressional Democratic Party leaders discounted the black perspective that clearly saw white nationalism working through their leadership as they, and others, attempted to restrain President Barack Obama via an extension of the politics of containment. Along with other “corporate Democrats,” including the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) – all of whom are dependent on corporate contributions and are thereby controlled by corporate interests – Reid’s and Pelosi’s intention is to keep the first black president from leadership of the Democratic Party. President... The South Florida Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414837/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:20:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414692/posts This vote is indeed historic. This Congress will be remembered for its arrogance, corruption and stupidity. In the year of 2009, a Congress ignored the coming economic storm and impending bankruptcy of our entitlement programs and embarked on an ideological crusade to bring our nation as close to single-payer, government-run health care as possible. If this bill becomes law, future generations will rue this day and I will do everything in my power to work toward its repeal. This bill will ration care, cut Medicare, increase premiums, fund abortion and bury our children in debt. This process was not compromise.... Real Clear Politics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414692/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 21:56:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414721/posts This vote is indeed historic. This Congress will be remembered for its arrogance, corruption and stupidity. In the year of 2009, a Congress ignored the coming economic storm and impending bankruptcy of our entitlement programs and embarked on an ideological crusade to bring our nation as close to single-payer, government-run health care as possible. If this bill becomes law, future generations will rue this day and I will do everything in my power to work toward its repeal. This bill will ration care, cut Medicare, increase premiums, fund abortion and bury our children in debt. This process was not compromise.... Real Clear Politics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414721/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:05:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414798/posts We're undergoing "a fundamental economic reset," Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer told House Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi in February. Our consumption patterns are "structurally broken," Eamonn Kelly, CEO of San Francisco's Global Business Network, told a group of Bay Area chief executives in March. Henceforth, Wall Street "just won't be half of our economy," President Obama said in May. "We don't want every single college grad with mathematical aptitude to become a derivatives trader. Part of the post-bubble economy that I'm describing is one in which we are restoring a balance between making things and providing services." In other... The San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414798/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 02:56:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414575/posts It’s no cause for celebration, and Sarah Palin’s not the type for schadenfreude, but she was right about the death panels. So right, in fact, that the death panels are receiving some very special and probably unconstitutional protection in the Senate health care bill. The creation of the so-called Independent Payment Advisory Board – the panel that decides who goes without coverage so costs can be cut – cannot be repealed, according to language Harry Reid has inserted into the bill, without a supermajority vote of two-thirds. Death panels? There are no death panels! Stop listening to that crazy cackling... The North Star National http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414575/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:13:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414447/posts Democrats are doing a victory lap...But the Democratic celebrations are premature, as Republican despair would be. This battle isn’t over, and opponents of the legislation could still win. National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414447/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:33:26 GMT