Free Republic

TULSA (KFAQ) Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum made a campaign stop in Tulsa, speaking to an estimated crowd of more than 4,000 at the Mabee Center on the Oral Roberts University campus. The former Pennsylvania senator said he is the true Conservative in the race and asked Oklahoma voters for their support. Earlier in the day he spoke at an event in Oklahoma City.

A top oil industry official delivered a clear warning to President Obama Wednesday: approve the Keystone XL pipeline or face “huge political consequences.” American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard urged Obama to quickly approve the pipeline, which would carry oil sands crude from Alberta, Canada, to refineries along the Gulf Coast. A payroll tax cut package signed into law by Obama last month includes a GOP-backed provision requiring the president to make a final decision on the pipeline within 60 days.

WASHINGTON (AP) — On a political high, President Barack Obama capped a bruising year by securing a tax cut for millions of Americans — an achievement that overshadowed Washington's deepening dysfunction and the slow progress of the economy on his watch. The White House has ended a year with a political victory before. This time around the stakes are higher, and the president is by no means assured of carrying the momentum deep into an election year. Addressing reporters before heading to Hawaii on Friday, Obama looked like a president in command of the stage again, for now. He left...

UK police seize computers of skeptic blogger in England Posted on December 14, 2011 by Anthony Watts The first blogger to break the Climategate2 story has had a visit from the police and has had his computers seized. Tallbloke’s Talkshop first reported on CG2 due to the timing of the release being overnight in the USA. Today he was raided by six UK police (Norfolk Constabulary and Metropolitan police) and several of his computers were seized as evidence. He writes: After surveying my ancient stack of Sun Sparcstations and PII 400 pc’s, they ended up settling for two laptops and...

Political ties win Corzine respect in CongressBy Alexandra Alper | Reuters – 15 hrs ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day after Jon Corzine got politely grilled by lawmakers over the collapse of futures brokerage MF Global Holdings Ltd, questions remain over the role his deep political ties and generous donations will play as he gears up for another round of congressional scrutiny. Corzine, who resigned as chief of MF Global days after the firm filed for bankruptcy on October 31, has been a prominent fundraiser and personal contributor to Democrats. He personally donated $69,300 to Democratic causes this year alone,...

White House denies pipeline delay was political decisionBy Ben Geman - 12/01/11 08:01 AM ET The White House is pushing back against fresh GOP claims that the administration had politics in mind when it delayed a decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline until after the 2012 elections. Senate GOP leaders revived the allegation Wednesday when rolling out new legislation that would force a decision about permitting the proposed Alberta-to-Texas pipeline within 60 days. But White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that the State Department delay announced last month stems from the need to consider...

Rush Limbaugh retakes ManhattanLast night I was fortunate to see Rush Limbaugh Live. The show started late due to the Occupying Wall Street folks demonstrating across the street from the theatre. But then the rain came and they left. Rush later commented that, "It was good that they were here tonight, since they finally got a shower." When the show finally started, the Maja Rushie arrived to a standing ovation and wild applause. He proceeded to launch into his usual litany of liberal bashing, which never seems to get old. He expressed true concern and a bit of fear for...

Found this pic after reading an article about a friend of mine from Columbia. She is in the U.S. by political asylum due to death threats for her reporting about the cartels in Columbia.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is bombarding Americans with job initiatives that may lack economic heft but show him as an activist leader compared to a 'do-nothing' Congress as he campaigns for re-election in 2012. Obama will have rolled out three separate measures in three days when he wraps up a tour of electorally vital western states on Wednesday, and more moves are coming. White House Communications Director Dan Pfieffer said the Democratic president will use executive orders and other tools to deliver initiatives "on a consistent basis for months to come." "While the policy benefits of this new...

Sources tell ABC News that the president will announce today that US troops in Iraq will draw down to zero by the end of the year. A White House official says that at approximately 11:30am today, President Obama convened a secure video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to talk with him about this news.

By Matthew Council Ever asked yourself, “What is this guy thinking?” as you suffer through the passionate postings of a misinformed political extremist. A few irrational ideas are tolerable, but frustrations erupt when a plethora of fallacies and irrational conclusions are supported by impotent references. In the height of frustration you decide to prepare an enlightening response that is sure to change his mind. Within minutes you receive his incredible response, and it’s clear that he wouldn’t change his opinion even if you ascended on a cloud with an IPad “7” in one hand and a lightning bolt in the...

After saying the jobs bill is paid for, President Obama now says that it will be paid for by raising taxes over 10 years. I can’t figure out if he’s the kind of guy who makes infomercials, or the kind of guy who falls for infomercials.

Video at link

Here's a novel idea: Have Congress create a "bank" that could borrow huge sums with only a small federal outlay and would be independent of any political interference. If you believe in this miracle, you probably thought Fannie Mae was a private company that wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime. We're referring to Washington's latest marketing tool to sell spending to a skeptical public, a new federal "infrastructure bank." For the low, low price of $30 billion or so, President Obama says Congress can conjure hundreds of billions in new "grants and loans" to rebuild "roads, bridges, and ports and broadband...

On Tuesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer began a hostile interview with Dick Cheney by running through various derisive labels for the former Vice President: "You've been called 'controversial' and 'divisive.' Some people have called you the most divisive political figure in this country in a century." Cheney simply quipped: "You left out Darth Vader." Later, Lauer interrogated Cheney on interrogation tactics used on terror suspects: "If an American citizen were to be taken into captivity in Iran, for example, and the government of Iran....Would it be okay for the Iranian government to waterboard that American citizen?"

A male reported being robbed on the 1100 block of John Street at about 1:35 a.m. Saturday. The victim reported encountering four or five unidentified males as he rounded the corner of a building. The suspects accosted the victim and struck him before fleeing with his wallet in an unknown direction. No further descriptions of the suspects are available, and University Police could not be reached for comment.

Brian Young had big plans for his church's IT strategy. But his vision suffered a serious setback this summer after Google Inc. altered its nonprofit program to prohibit all churches and religious organizations from participating. For years, the search and software giant individually offered some of its products—including its office software and popular Gmail—for free or discounted use to qualifying nonprofits. Eligibility requirements varied by product, but churches and faith-based groups were welcome to use some. All of that changed in mid-March when the company launched "Google for Nonprofits." The new initiative united a robust set of Google's tools into...

FULLERTON, Calif. (KTLA) -- Fullerton's city council has voted to hire a police watchdog to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of mentally-ill homeless man, Kelly Thomas, after a violent confrontation with six officers. Council members voted 4-1 Tuesday night to hire Michael Gennaco, chief attorney for the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review, at upwards of $230 an hour. Gennaco said he would immediately begin his investigation into the entire department -- not just Thomas' death -- to see if there's any corruption. The decision came after a heated meeting involving enraged community members who booed, heckled and...

Great little read by C.B. Picco a conservative public school teacher discussing the failure of American Public Schools and Society--how they are interconnected. Great read, places the blame on political correctness, a failing system of tenure, lack of discipline in the school, parents, says, "If it takes a village to raise a child then it also takes a village to raise an idiot!" and we are raising a lot of idiots. Really great read. I enjoyed it! http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Schools-Society-Whats-ebook/dp/B005H2H4JQ

Peshawar 10 August 2011 The Political authorities of Mohmand agency has constructed three flood protection walls to help secure a large population of Ghalanai Khaas and Nadir Shah Koroona, Tehsil Halim Zai, from the dangers of future floods. This would also protect twenty acre of agriculture land and a government veterinary hospital from floods. According to FATA Secretariat Report that the community of Ghalanai Khaas, Tehsil Halim Zai were facing serious difficulties during monsoons and other rainy seasons, as the waters flow through the agricultural fields, ruining the standing crops and severely affecting the livelihoods of the local community. At...

The majority of Russians remain dissatisfied with the progress of democratization in Russia, a new poll has found. The Moscow Times reports that 62 percent of people recently polled in an All-Russia Public Opinion Research Centre survey answered that they are “dissatisfied with the development of democracy in Russia.” This number, however, is down marginally from the 73 percent who were dissatisfied with domestic conditions twenty years ago. Meanwhile, those who believe the country is showing progress are largely supporters of the ruling "United Russia" party, are under 45 years of age, and generally active Internet users. [Editors’ Note: Given...

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (The Blaze/AP) — The University of Tennessee bookstore has quit selling packages of breath mints that satirize President Barack Obama after a state legislator complained The box bears a picture of Obama and is labeled “disappoint-mints.” Officials pulled the product after Democratic state Rep. Joe Armstrong visited the bookstore and told the manager he found the mints offensive. Armstrong told The Knoxville News Sentinel that UT uses federal and state funds and should be sensitive to what he called “politically specific products.” The Knoxville legislator says he went to the bookstore after a UT student complained to him...

Today Tucson congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) cast her first vote since she was critically injured in a January shooting. You'll recall that in the weeks that followed, the media bemoaned the incivility -- supposedly predominantly conservative in nature -- of the political debate which had allegedly created a climate of hate. But there appears to to be no firestorm over how, just last week, Arizona Daily Star cartoonist David Fitzsimmons fantasized about President Obama sending a SEAL team to assassinate Tea Party-friendly House Republicans.

Roll Call "Political Wire" editor Taegan Goddard selected a drawing by liberal Arizona Daily Star political cartoonist David Fitzsimmons for his August 1 "Cartoon of the Day." The cartoon (embedded after the page break) depicts a battle-scarred U.S. Capitol and White House in 1942 outside of which Nazi and Japanese Empire flags fly in lieu of the Stars and Stripes. A speech balloon coming from the Capitol dome reads, "At least we didn't go into debt," while the caption reads "If Congress had passed the Tea Party's Balanced Budget Amendment in 1940."

Today on the 2:00 pm segment of CNN Newsroom, anchor Randi Kaye spoke with CNN political producer Shannon Travis about criticism directed at President Barack Obama: TRAVIS: Yes, really, really quickly, billionaire Steve Wynn, you've seen his resorts all over Las Vegas. He's blasting President Obama. I'm going to read this quote from a call, an earnings call yesterday. Quote, "I'm saying it bluntly that this administration is the greatest wet blanket to business and progress and job creation in my lifetime". Those are from Steve Wynn. We know there are a lot of businesses who have been on a...

In its most recent report, Blue Chip Economic Indicators predicted that the nation's unemployment rate would fall to 8% by the end of 2012. That might seem like good news, considering the fact that unemployment now stands at 9.1%. But it is not good news for the President. Barring some cataclysmic event ("wag the dog") that would rally the country behind him, Obama's reelection rests on the health of the economy and especially on employment. The problem for this President is that unemployment rates during the second and third quarters of 2012, when undecided voters will make up their minds,...

OKLAHOMA CITY – Several days after discovering the headquarters of the Sooner Tea Party was burglarized over the Memorial Day weekend, organization leader Al Gerhart told Red Dirt Report late Thursday that he suspects it to be politically motivated. As we noted here in a press release sent to the media late on May 31, Gerhart said the fact that “stacks of records for the Sooner Tea Party and the Oklahoma Tea Party PAC,” along with numerous business card files, a laptop with business records and other items were stolen and not expensive carpentry tools there in his wood shop,...

America's Ruling Class-And the perils of a Revolution Angelo Codevilla As over-leveraged investment houses began to fail in September 2008, the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties, of major corporations, and opinion leaders stretching from the National Review magazine (and the Wall Street Journal) on the right to the Nation magazine on the left, agreed that spending some $700 billion to buy the investors' "toxic assets" was the only alternative to the U.S. economy's "systemic collapse." In this, President George W. Bush and his would-be Republican successor John McCain agreed with the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama. Many, if not...

In the early 1970’s the Congress passed Title IX an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was supposed to eliminate discrimination against women at colleges and universities receiving federal money. Who could be against such a law? Nevertheless, as so many other efforts to help specific groups, Title IX’s “help” has morphed into a grotesque perversion of its intended purpose. The law of unintended consequences has joined forces with extreme political correctness to produce a monster which is devouring men’s sports teams at colleges across the country.

The purpose of this survey is to examine the uses and users of online sources for political information. We ask that only those individuals who access websites, blogs, social media sites, Twitter, and YouTube for political information participate in this survey. Additionally, respondents must be eligible to vote in the U.S. This study is being conducted for academic purposes by researchers at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and the University of Texas-Austin. This is the seventh such survey we have conducted. Our findings have been published across about 30 academic articles. The University of Tennessee Institutional Review Board has approved this...

First of all Ron Walker is more than an acquaintance, he is my neighbor. He went to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina, as a construction worker, to help rebuild. That part is not in the book and perhaps that will be a different chapter if he decides to discuss it in a new book. I hope he does. He is what you would call an average guy demographically. Yet, he is a hero like "Joe the Plumber", a single voice that states the obvious. That is the strength of the book. Without Firing a Shot is simplistically stark: America is...

Once upon a time, superheroes were a source of comfort and escape from the difficulties and ugliness of real life. While real-life recession and terrorism aren’t likely to meet any tidy resolutions soon, we can always count on Batman to solve the Riddler’s latest puzzle just in time, or Spider-Man to save the damsel in distress (well, usually). Somewhere along the line, though, it was decided that our heroes had to grapple with real-world issues. When done sparingly and handled well, this can elevate the genre, such as Harry Osborn's battle with drugs or 2008’s brilliant The Dark Knight. But...

Just when you think the world can’t get any more crazy, it pulls over to a siding and hooks another car on the Crazy Train. This past Sunday, police in Britain actually arrested a keytarist named Simon Ledger for singing Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting�.Now, I know what you may be thinking. If you put together a list of songs that, in a perfect world, could get a person arrested, that one would be right up there, along with Rupert Holmes’ “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)�. Surely in such a beautiful utopia, the use of a keytar in performance of...

Howard Dean suggests Dems score political points with gov’t shutdownBy Rachel Rose Hartman – Tue Mar 29, 4:11 pm ET Former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean just handed Republicans some ammunition in the fight over the federal budget. Dean told the audience at the National Journal Insiders Conference Tuesday morning that Democrats ought to play politics with a government shutdown. "I wouldn't like a shutdown from a statesman-like point of view. But if I was head of the DNC, I would be quietly rooting for it," Dean said provoking some laughter from those gathered at the event. "From a...

President Obama can't hold off Congress much longer. In the form of hearings, media appearances and possibly a vote, Congress is determined to have its say on the Libyan conflict when lawmakers return to Washington next week. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been grumbling ever since the president ordered U.S. missile strikes on Muammar al-Qaddafi's regime in support of a U.N.-authorized no-fly zone Saturday. But the unrest is reaching a boiling point and from the top down, elected officials are pressing for questions about the U.S. role in the assault to get a full airing on Capitol...

The resolution notes that the lawmakers have "fled the state of Indiana and issued press announcements indicating that they would not return unless eleven specified bills were removed from consideration by the House of Representatives for the rest of the session..."

“Without a doubt, people are stepping more gingerly. People are tiptoeing their way through this.”- Ted Rall, liberal editorial cartoonist. Last week’s firestorm over an editorial cartoon at the New York Post is still burning it’s way through the media and the blogosphere, and in the wake of Eric Holder’s declaration that Americans (read: white Americans) are cowards and James Clyburn’s claim that rejection of stimulus funds is motivated by racism, the reactions are naturally mixed and sometimes contentious. Reverend Al Sharpton, for example, is demanding investigations and protests. MSNBC is having shouting matches. Some cartoonists are simply preparing to...

"Clerks" director Kevin Smith has lost 65 pounds after an embarrassing incident where he was deemed too heavy to fly last year. In an interview with Joy Behar on her "HLN" show last Tuesday, Smith shared that the moment made him angry and spurred him to lose weight. He said: "I felt at that moment, I was like, 'You know what? I'll lose the weight, but I'm not putting on thinner clothes.' Because why? I'm still the same person I was when I was 65 lbs. heavier.” He added that the incident made him a more forceful advocate for...

Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich is throwing the book at dozens of people arrested during recent political demonstrations — a major shift in city policy that has him pressing for jail time in types of cases that previous prosecutors had treated as infractions. Some of the activists arrested, including eight college students and one military veteran who took part in a Westwood rally last year in support of the DREAM Act, face up to one year in county jail. Trutanich's aggressive stance is the latest episode in the city's decades-long legal struggle over the rights of protesters.

Jordan's powerful Muslim opposition on Wednesday urged the country's newly appointed prime minister to step down, calling him the wrong person to introduce democratic reforms and tackle deepening poverty and unemployment. Also, Jordan's King Abdullah II made a surprise visit to an impoverished northern village. It was his first such trip since the unrest broke out in neighboring Egypt, and appeared to be an attempt to defuse popular anger over the country's troubles and portray himself as a caring leader. On Tuesday, Abdullah named Marouf al-Bakhit prime minister, bowing to public pressure from protests inspired by those in Egypt against...

Looking for FReeper recommendations on political or military history books. Have recently finished two books on the JFK assassination. So books on JFK or LBJ are of current interest.

Vote NO to Co-mingling Seats in Congress for SOTU Address http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/no_co-mingling_seating_during_obama_sotu_address/#sign_petition

Reactions mixed on women in combat arms By Nancy Montgomery Stars and Stripes Published: January 14, 2011 HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan — The notion that women in the armed forces might be allowed to serve alongside men in combat provoked sharp reactions Friday among a sampling of Marines on the front lines of the war in Afghanistan, suggesting a heated debate yet to come. “It’s very tough, what we have to go through,” said Lance Cpl. John Rolfes of 2nd Battalion, Third Marines, deployed with a Marine infantry unit at Patrol Base Jaker in Nawa. “I personally don’t know any women...

The 1980s song Money for Nothing by the British rock band Dire Straits has been deemed unacceptable for play on Canadian radio. In a ruling released Wednesday, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council says the song contravenes the human rights clauses of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Code of Ethics and Equitable Portrayal Code. A listener to radio station CHOZ-FM in St. John's complained last year that the song includes the word “faggot” in its lyrics and is discriminatory to gays.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday ruled out a central bank bailout of state and local governments strapped with big municipal debt burdens, saying the Fed had limited legal authority to help and little will to use that authority. "We have no expectation or intention to get involved in state and local finance," Mr. Bernanke said in testimony before the Senate Budget Committee. The states, he said later, "should not expect loans from the Fed."The $2.9 trillion municipal-bond market has been stung recently by worries that some cash-strapped cities or states won't be able to pay off or roll...

An excellent political video requires a combination of humor, originality, substance, and truth. It should leave a lasting impact after the viewer has finished watching. I've seen many, but none more persuasive than this: Meet the Liberal Elite!It covers so many different topics and adds up to a brilliant, brutal portrayal of that thing in politics we call The Liberal.

Holder Urges GOP Oversight To Focus On "Substance," Not "Politically Attractive" Things; Incoming Chairman Vows "Fair" Oversight As House Republicans weigh how to spend their time after taking power of the oversight committees in January, Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday urged the committee overseeing his department to "focus on things that are not going to be politically attractive but will be of substance." Before November's mid-term elections, Republicans on Capitol Hill promised to investigate allegations by two attorneys -- one currently with the Justice Department -- that the department's Civil Rights Division is "hostile" toward "race-neutral enforcement" of voting...

Missing link only - Brain thickness determines political leaning: study

WASHINGTON — The American public aren’t the only ones feeling weary from nine years of war in Afghanistan - so are cave-dwelling Taliban leaders, according to Gen. David Petraeus' command in Kabul. Petraeus’ NATO headquarters insists the enemy is getting worn out from living on the run or underground, even though forward commanders "downrange" and senior U.S. counterterror officials in Washington have told the Daily News that the Taliban are rallying in the face of the U.S. troop surge this year.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. — Isaiah 9:1 This verse from Scripture will be read at Midnight Mass, December 25, in Catholic churches across America. For radicals in the pews, however, the light focused on will be the light coming from their smartphone screens as they communicate with each other and report to Aniello Alioto, political director of the George Soros-funded Progress Now, any “hostile activity” in the form of priests explaining Catholic teaching on the family and marriage. George Soros’...