Free Republic

Yes we can? Barack Obama wasn't sure at first. The President initially blanched when his now-famous campaign slogan was first introduced by political guru David Axelrod during the 2004 Illinois Senate race, a new book reports. "I don't like it. Come on," Obama was quoted as saying in "Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage," by author Christopher Andersen. Obama felt the catch phrase was "childish" and "corny," and even asked his staff to find something else - until his wife, Michelle, convinced him otherwise, the book reports. "It will work," she said, swaying the future President. "Trust me."...

As President Obama's Supreme Court nominee comes under heavy fire for allegedly being a "racist," Judge Sonia Sotomayor is listed as a member of the National Council of La Raza, a group that's promoted driver's licenses for illegal aliens, amnesty programs, and no immigration law enforcement by local and state police. According the American Bar Association, Sotomayor is a member of the NCLR, which bills itself as the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. Meaning "the Race," La Raza also has connections to groups that advocate the separation of several southwestern states from the rest...

Original Title:豚インフルエンザ�渡航�制相次��米国も�警戒Upshot: NEC, NTT Data, Hitachi, etc. ordering employees not to go to Mexico, and report any flu if arriving back in Japan immediately as well as to not come into work. What is questionable is that they are ordering family employees back from Mexico to Japan (what if they themselves already have the flu?) Reports also said Japanese people should take care if considering any kind of travel to the UNITED STATES. 　(FR Link to original article in Japanese)

Mexico City - The death toll from a spreading wave of influenza in Mexico has climbed to 81, Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos said Saturday evening. Twenty of the lethal infections have been definitively linked to the newly emerging strain of swine flu, he said. All told, 1,324 people have been admitted to hospital for examination. In the United States, 11 non-lethal cases of a similar strain of influenza have been identified by the Centres for Disease Control, with tests pending on another 10 cases. The Geneva-based World Health Organization declared the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and...

Guatemalan girl describes alleged enforced prostitution She testifies in federal court how a group of immigrants duped her into coming to the U.S., forced her to sell herself and kept her captive. By Scott Glover January 9, 2009 When Sandra agreed to make the perilous trek from her native Guatemala to the United States in 2006, she said, she was lured by the prospect of a job as a housekeeper that would enable her to send money to her impoverished family back home. Her father had a hernia that prevented him from working, and money was so tight that she...

Politically active Barack Obama supporters in Michigan have tried to silence criticism of the president-elect on a talk program at a community radio station by cutting its air time, the program host says. Officials with radio station WRHC told WND the dispute involved talk show host Martin Dzuris' coverage of local issues as well as national issues. But Dzuris explained in a lengthy interview with WND he attended at least one meeting where radio station officials discussed specifically how to reduce Dzuris' criticism of Obama, which has linked Obama's statements taken directly from his speeches to Marxism. Dzuris said one...

Obama's Plan to Rejoin the World Communityby Phyllis Schlafly (more by this author) Posted 12/23/2008 ETUpdated 12/23/2008 ET When Candidate Barack Obama declared himself a "citizen of the world" before thousands of cheering German socialists and later pledged to "rejoin the World Community," those weren't just his usual platitudes about "change." Those words sounded the trumpet for his specific and far-reaching globalist agenda. Obama plans to use his presidential power to get the Democratic-majority Senate to ratify a series of treaties that would take us a long way toward global rule over our money, our laws, our military, our...

EDINBURG — Mario Olivares Cifuentes thought he understood the risks of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Tales of migrants drowning in the Rio Grande or succumbing to the oppressive South Texas sun spread frequently among those hoping to make the trek. But for Olivares, a Guatemalan migrant, the real danger emerged only after passing those natural perils. For almost a day, he and 20 of his countrymen were allegedly kidnapped, tortured, raped and held for ransom in a stash house east of Edinburg before federal agents rescued them last week. Their purported tormentors — a group of Mexican nationals believed...

Identity politics in the Democratic Party are already presenting challenges to President-elect Barack Obama, who is under pressure to appoint Hispanics and African-Americans to key posts in his administration. Both groups were crucial to Obama’s victory last week over Republican John McCain. Ninety-six percent of African-American voters cast ballots for Obama, while 67 percent of Hispanic voters. Both are now counting on Obama to appoint Hispanic and African-American politicians to his Cabinet as a way of rewarding their support. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Hispanic who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination but later endorsed Obama, should be secretary...

Inspired by Barack Obama, the French first lady and other leading figures say it's high time for France to stamp out racism and shake up a white political and social elite that smacks of colonial times. A manifesto published Sunday urges affirmative action-like policies and other steps to turn French ideals of equality into reality for millions of blacks, Arabs and other alienated minorities. "Our prejudices are insidious," Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, a singer and wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy, said in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, which published the manifesto. She said she hoped the "Obama effect" would...

Plans are being made to promote a national holiday for Barack Obama, who will become the nation's 44th president when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20. "Yes We Can" planning rallies will be at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. every Tuesday at the downtown McDonald's restaurant, 1100 Kansas Ave., until Jan. 13. The goals are to secure a national holiday in Obama's honor, to organize celebrations around his inauguration and to celebrate the 200th birthday of President Abraham Lincoln, who was born on Feb. 12 1809. At 7:30 a.m. on Inauguration Day, Obama Cake will be served at...

Obama's defeat of the heir apparent in his own party and his victory over the much-vaunted Republican machine is a remarkable achievement that owes a lot to his instinct for marketing When the book is written on this election, it should not be titled "The Making of a President," but "The Marketing of a President." Barack Obama's campaign is a case study in marketing excellence. True, it was always going to be a Democratic year. An unpopular war, an incumbent Republican president with rock bottom approval ratings, and many Republican incumbents retiring from Congress as a result all meant that...

Posted 5 :56 PM ST. LOUIS -- For many people outside of the political world Rahm Emanuel is not a household name, but that is about to change as President-elect Barack Obama has tapped him to be his White House chief of staff. “Rahm is exactly the right person at the right time for that job” said John Lapp who served as executive director under Emanuel in his role as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, (DCCC). “What people don’t understand about him is, yes he is a great political strategist and statistician, but he is also a thoughtful...

Dealing with the BluesBy Rick Nauert, Ph.D. Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on November 6, 2008 Thursday, Nov 6 (Psych Central) -- The events that have occurred over the past few weeks have been emotionally charged. Now the election is over and reality sets in. Days are shorter and seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is already here for many. “This is the time of the year when people are vulnerable to depression anyway,” said Dr. Thomas Nutter, assistant professor, psychiatry & behavioral neurosciences, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. “The fact that the election happened, the...

Paul Begala refers to Rep. Rahm Emanuel’s style as a “cross between a hemorrhoid and a toothache.” His stint as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has been notable for his clashes with DNC Chairman Howard Dean over strategy, resources, and the direction of the party. A former aide to President Clinton, he was known as “Rahm-bo” among friend and foe alike. Schooled in the rough and tumble of Chicago politics, he was a senior adviser to Richard Daley’s successful 1989 mayoral bid Friends and enemies agree that the key to Emanuel’s success is his legendary intensity. There’s the...

Liberal Attack Dogs: Rep. Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Charles Schumer July 6, 2006 – The Los Angeles Times’ July 5, 2006 edition featured an article about the tactics used by two powerful Democrats to attack the Bush Administration to regain control of the House or Senate in November. The article describes the behind the scenes work of Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), head of the House Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. According to the Times, both men “have deployed tactics reminiscent of the smoke-filled room of yore. They have hand-picked...

Transition: Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to change the partisan tone in Washington. So why did he pick a take-no-prisoners partisan for his chief of staff?The high-level White House selection of fellow Chicagoan Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the sharp-elbowed, foul-mouthed head of the Democrat caucus, doesn't exactly augur well for the kind of noncynical air-freshening Obama voters had hoped for. After Emanuel helped the Democrats win Congress in 2006, he told a gathering of celebrating staffers and campaign workers that Republicans "can go f*** themselves," according to Chicago Tribune reporter Naftali Bendavid in her book, "The Thumpin': How Rahm Emanuel...

America Serves "When you choose to serve -- whether it's your nation, your community or simply your neighborhood -- you are connected to that fundamental American ideal that we want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not just for ourselves, but for all Americans. That's why it's called the American dream." The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps,...

History will record this as the night the souls of black folk, living and dead, wept – and laughed, screamed and danced – releasing 400 years of pent up emotion. They were the souls of those whose bodies littered the bottom of the Atlantic, whose families were torn asunder, whose names were erased. They were those who knew the terror of being set upon by men with clubs, of being trapped in a torched house, of dangling at the end of a rough rope. They were the souls of those who knew the humiliation of another person’s spit trailing down...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVi4rUzf-0Q As a person who is partly of african american descent, I just want to say the comparisons between MLK and Obama are pathetic.

Obama Will ‘End 30 Years of Ultra-Right Rule,’ Communist Paper Says Tuesday, August 12, 2008 By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer (CNSNews.com) – The Communist Party USA’s newspaper is defending Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama against potential defectors on the left, saying his candidacy represents a “broad multi-class, multicultural movement.” In a July editorial, “Eye on the Prize,” the People’s Weekly World, the official newspaper of the Communist Party USA, admonished anyone on the left who might consider abandoning Obama. “Barack Obama is not a left candidate,” the editorial said. “This fact has seemingly surprised a number of progressive people who...

The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers. And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness. On the Seventh Day he walked across the Channel of the Angles to the ancient land of the hooligans. There he was welcomed with open arms by the once great prophet Blair...

OBAMA VISITS WESTERN WALL IN OLD CITY JERUSALEM... ARRIVES AT 5:08 AM LOCAL TIME [10:08 PM ET]... SUNRISE... SHOUTING MAN: 'JERUSALEM IS NOT FOR SALE, OBAMA'... MOB SCENE... CHAOS... BOWING HIS HEAD IN PRAYER... PLACES NOTE IN WALL... POSES FOR PHOTOS... LOTS OF SHOUTING... LEAVES 5:20 AM... DEVELOPING...

Having had the pleasure of sitting in for Hugh Hewitt today on his radio show, much of the discussion centered around a peculiar riff by Barack Obama in a speech from July 2 -- one which, remarkably enough, is going unreported by the media. In a deviation from the speech's transcript as printed in the Wall Street Journal and the Denver Post, Barack added: We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as...

John McCain today is poised to make the biggest mistake of his 2008 presidential run. The presumptive Republican nominee will address the annual convention of the National Council of La Raza in San Diego. La Raza is billed by too many as simply "the nation's largest Hispanic rights group." But this is perhaps the most radical apologist group for illegal immigration and the "rights" of illegal aliens -- and worse.

Seeing how thrilled so many of my fellow Americans are that a black man -- even a half-black man -- is going to be on the presidential ballot in November I can’t help wishing I were one of them. It’s as if there’s a great big party taking place and I’m stuck outside with my nose pressed against a window. But, frankly, I don’t know what the hoop-de-do is all about.

Support Terrorists? Yes We Can! (Snappy Take on Israel/Obama/Supremes) by Jack Engelhard The meter is running on our survival. From the beginning, Barack Obama has mesmerized the multitudes with his chant, "Yes we can!" His worshipful millions dutifully provide the hallelujah chorus - "YES WE CAN!" Therefore, can we say that Obama supports the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling which grants Gitmo terrorist detainees the same Constitutional rights as American citizens? YES WE CAN! This is what he said in consent: "This is an important step toward re-establishing our credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law." (Since when...

In politics, the surest path to irrelevance and powerlessness is to be taken for granted by one party and written off by another. That's the road Latinos are on, thanks to major blunders by the Republicans campaigning for president. In June, all but California's Duncan Hunter blew off an invitation to address the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. In September, a debate on Spanish-language television had to be postponed after all but Arizona Sen. John McCain refused to commit. After taking criticism for the snub, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney have committed to taking part...

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of illegal immigrants are expected to join supporters in a four-mile march through downtown Seattle at the height of rush hour today, proclaiming they're not illegal or undocumented — but workers. And at the same time, many more are expected to stay away, fearful of drawing the attention of immigration authorities or frustrated by the failure of Congress to fix the immigration system even as raids and deportations continue. "Two years ago, there was legislation in Congress and a tangible reason to turn out," said Louis DeSipio, an expert on Latino politics and associate professor of political...

PHOENIX -- Hispanic leaders are calling for an immediate end to Sheriff Joe Arpaio's illegal immigrants' patrols, claiming they are dividing the community and could lead to violence. "As a community, we see him going out setting up his troops and stopping people at random -- racial profiling," said Hector Yturralde, president of We Are America. "After they find out they can't speak English or they have no identification, then they stop them for immigration." Yturralde added, "He is causing a division within this community that is not good. And that is not his job." He said the sheriff is...

Maybe, just maybe, it’s now worth at least asking whether Hillary Clinton might wind up as the Democratic candidate for vice president. When the chatter about a Democratic “dream ticket” began last year, it was easy to dismiss. Either Clinton or Obama would win a clear victory in the primaries and, after what inevitably would be a contentious campaign, each would want as little to do with the other as possible. Clinton, if she emerged victorious, would instead choose some kind of national security graybeard to her political right, a retired general perhaps, or maybe even a Republican. Likewise, Obama...

PROVIDENCE — A new initiative borne of a recent incident between a Providence storeowner and two Spanish-speaking customers is asking all Rhode Islanders to help stop hate speech and violence directed at “immigrants and communities of color.” The “We Can Stop the Hate” campaign was announced at the University of Rhode Island’s downtown campus, a week after published reports about a March 1 encounter between two Dominican natives who are also U.S. citizens, and David C. Richardson, owner of Rhode Island Refrigeration. The incident provoked accusations against Richardson of racial profiling and committing a hate crime. The “stop the hate”...

Can Obama Bring Us Together? Yes, He Can!Thu Mar 13, 3:00 AM ET Larry Elder Critics dismiss Barack Obama's plans to bring the "two Americas" together. But, his plans may just work. Taxes: Barack Obama's America blasts the Bush tax cuts for "unfairly" benefiting the rich. They intend to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire, with resulting higher taxes on income, capital gains and dividends. The other America believes in limited government, low taxes, fewer regulations. They believe that individuals, rather than government, know how to best spend, save or invest their own money. This part of America feels...

Obama says his pastor 'pained and angered me' 'Denounces' anti-American, racist rhetoric, insists he never heard such talk in person Responding to mounting controversy over radical anti-American and racist statements by his pastor, Sen. Barack Obama issued a statement today to the Christian Broadcasting Network saying he strongly condemns and denounces remarks by Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. that disparaged the country or degraded people. Obama referred to the "firestorm over the last few days" from unearthed video segments of Wright's sermons that the senator described as "some inflammatory and appalling remarks he made about our country, our politics, and my...

Spokesman Tommy Vietor emails: "Rev. Wright is no longer serving on the African American Religious Leadership Committee." That cuts Wright's only formal tie to Obama, and answers what was sure to be a question in Obama's interviews tonight: If Geraldine Ferraro had to leave the Clinton campaign, why is Wright different.

There are, as it turns out, three Americas: one where John Edwards is livin' it up on a gazillion dollars a year; one where you're rubbing along on much less; and one where downtrodden hardworking folks are struggling to make ends meet on half-a-million a year. Byron quoted this heartreaking vignette from Obamaland a week or so back: “We spend between the two kids, on extracurriculars outside the classroom, we’re spending about $10,000 a year on piano and dance and sports supplements. And summer programs… Do you know what summer camp costs?” Don Surber responds to Princess Michelle: Well, actually I don’t....

What do you think? Suggestions, comments, complaints?

Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday his country hopes the next U.S. president will be a leader who can bring change. Iran is not concerned about "people or parties" in the U.S. presidential election, Manouchehr Mottaki said at a news conference in Geneva. But "whoever speaks of changes definitely would be more welcome," he said. Mottaki did not mention any of the presidential hopefuls by name. Tehran has clashed with the U.S. government over its nuclear program, its stance toward Israel and the war in Iraq. Mottaki said U.S. policies over the past years "have completely failed." He asserted that the...

Striding onto a Seattle-area work site with a white hard hat, Jimmy Matta converses in Spanish with Latino laborers who carry paintbrushes, power drills or spackling tools. How much are you getting paid? How many hours are you working? Matta gives them his business card, promises his help and drives off to the next site. A decade of organizing Latino construction workers is paying off for Matta, 32, who recently became the first Latino organizing director of the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters. Born in Idaho to illegal migrant farmworkers, Matta spent much of his early childhood in the...

Hope is winning the day! Against what some have hoped for, this campaign is proving that if we have hope—real hope, deep hope, then our hopes can be realized—and not just hoped for! We do not need to be held captive to the hopeless hope mongers. Despite the hopelessness of the hopeless, hope springs eternal. From Maine to Miami to Minneapolis to Marin County California, hope is being hoped for by those whose hope has been hopeless. Hope is not just for Christians or Moslems, whites or blacks--but, hope is black and white; and, if you can hope, then you...

From the composer: "I was sitting in my recording studio watching the debates... Torn between the candidates I was never really big on politics... and actually I'm still not big on politics... but 4 years ago, me and the black eyed peas supported Kerry... And we supported Kerry with all our might... We performed and performed and performed for the DNC... doing all we could do to get the youth involved... The outcome of the last 2 elections has saddened me... on how unfair, backwards, upside down, unbalanced, untruthful, corrupt, and just simply, how wrong the world and "politics" are......

Organized, well-financed and violent Mexican kidnapping cells are targeting a growing number of U.S. citizens visiting communities popular with San Diegans and other California residents. Advertisement Last year, at least 26 San Diego County residents were kidnapped and held for ransom in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach or Ensenada, local FBI agents overseeing the cases said yesterday.

My Spanish is rusty, but it doesn't take much for me to understand that Hillary is pandering to the illegal alien lobby. Here is the description about this video: "Nuestra Amiga" señala que Hillary es la candidata que entiende tanto a la comunidad latina, como los problemas a los que se enfrenta -- falta de cuidado de salud, la crisis económica, y los altos costos de vida. Note: Go to the link provided if you really want to watch this she-devil pander to the illegal alien lobby and sell out America.

The radio ad aired by one of Obama's labor allies re-injects ethnicity into the Democratic primary contest in sharp terms. "Hillary Clinton does not respect our people," the ad says in Spanish (original and Clinton campaign translation after the jump), referring to the lawsuit that failed today to shut down special caucus sites on Las Vegas' strip. "Hillary Clinton is shameless." "Sen. Obama is defending our right to vote. Sen. Obama wants our votes. He respects our votes, our community, and our people. Sen. Obama’s campaign slogan is 'Si Se Puede.' Vote for a president who respects us, and who...

Candidate charms voters at union hall, school gym From the back of the Culinary union hall on Friday, all that could be seen were hundreds of upraised hands -- black, brown and white -- clapping to the chant "Sí se puede." They were clapping along with Geoconda Arguello Kline, an immigrant from Nicaragua who came to Las Vegas for a low-skilled job in a hotel. She learned English. She saved enough to buy a home for the family she was raising. She took advantage of job training programs to move up in her work, and she became active with the...

From the back of the Culinary union hall on Friday, all that could be seen were hundreds of upraised hands -- black, brown and white -- clapping to the chant "Sí se puede." They were clapping along with Geoconda Arguello Kline, an immigrant from Nicaragua who came to Las Vegas for a low-skilled job in a hotel. She learned English. She saved enough to buy a home for the family she was raising. She took advantage of job training programs to move up in her work, and she became active with the union. Now Kline, "Geo" to the union's members,...

Supporters of the anti-illegal immigration measure adopted in Prince William County last week have argued that its most important purpose is to send a powerful signal to the county's mostly Latino illegal immigrants that they are no longer welcome. It appears the message has already been received: Terrified that new policies will lead to mass deportations, illegal immigrants and the many legal immigrant relatives and friends who live with them have been moving out of Prince William ever since July, when county supervisors first approved the plan's outline.

"Herndon (Virginia) officials are considering applying for a federal program that would train some of the town's police officers to enforce U.S. immigration law, including the initiation of deportation proceedings."

Top conservative leaders have written President Bush telling him to drop his insistence on a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for illegal aliens and instead support the 85 percent of congressional Republicans who want to tighten law enforcement first. Signers include William J. Bennett, Robert H. Bork, Ward Connerly, David A. Keene, Phyllis Schlafly and a number of think-tank academics and pundits. The immigration debate is the first major issue on which Mr. Bush finds himself opposing a majority of Republicans in Congress and depending on Democrats to deliver a victory. In their letter, the conservatives tell Mr....

HARTFORD, Conn. - A man convicted of assault and robbery sucker-punched his defense attorney in court Tuesday when a judge refused to let him withdraw his guilty pleas. Juan Vasquez, 31, of Hartford, was charged with contempt of court after punching Public Defender Michael Isko in front of Hartford Superior Court Judge Thomas Miano and dozens of court employees and spectators Tuesday. Isko suffered minor mouth injuries, and was checked at Hartford Hospital and released. It was not clear whether he would seek assault charges. Vasquez was in court for a hearing on his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas,...