Free Republic

History's most notorious Georgian-turned-Russian, the politically astute Joseph Stalin once remarked, "The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything." The lesson has not been lost on the increasingly notorious Hungarian-cum-American George Soros. A group backed by Soros is gearing up to steal the 2012 election for President Obama and congressional Democrats by installing left-wing Democrats as secretaries of state across the nation. From such posts, secretaries of state can help tilt the electoral playing field. This is, of course, the same Soros, the same hyperpolitical left-wing philanthropist who makes no secret of...

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday voiced cautious hope that France would come up with more troops in Afghanistan as part of the new US-led strategy. Clinton, who was in Brussels for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, said the transatlantic military alliance's chief, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, had hinted that France may be weighing additional support for Afghanistan.

As Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell, a self-professed man of simple tastes, often stayed at Holiday Inns while traveling the globe to confab with world leaders. As such, he has a personal list of gripes and suggestions for Holiday Inn owners. Gen. Powell rattled off that list ...when he was at State he had professed his affinity for cheeseburgers and the Holiday Inn. His points elicited chuckles and nods of agreement: “I don’t want to go to astronaut training to figure out how to set a clock radio,” Gen. Powell said, adding later, “I’m only there for the night....

Politics: The former Stuart Smalley becomes the 60th Democrat in the U.S. Senate, thanks to the community organizers at Acorn and the little-known Secretary of State Project. Is the system being rigged? Incumbent Republican Norm Coleman conceded defeat in the mother of all recounts in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race after the state's Supreme Court unanimously rejected his lawsuit. Arguably, his seat may have been lost the day in 2006 when Democrat Mark Ritchie defeated two-term incumbent Republican Mary Kiffmeyer to become Minnesota secretary of state. It was Ritchie who orchestrated the recount that gave Democratic challenger Franken a lead some...

Bertha and her acolytes over at the church of acorn are just the visible tip of the iceburg. They are merely the lowest hanging fruit, (sorry about the mixed metaphores), on a relatively old and decidedly corrupt tree. This tree was bred for one reason and one reason only, far-left political power by any and all means neccesary. I'll illustrate it this way: 1- acorn gets them on the voting rolls, legal, illegal, dead or alive, it doesn't matter, as long as the databases are full to the bursting point, all the better to gum up the works. 2- seiu...

In a PBS interview on Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton dismissed Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's detailed assessment of the situation in Afghanistan. "I respect that because clearly he is the commander on the ground," she said, "but I can only tell you there are other assessments from very expert military analysts who have worked in counterinsurgencies that are the exact opposite." She said the administration's goal "is to take all of this incoming data and sort it out." We aren't sure what the secretary of state means by "the exact opposite" of Gen. McChrystal's assessment. He concluded that...

Hearing This Week in Judicial Watch Lawsuit Challenging Hillary Clinton's Constitutional Eligibility for Secretary of State Challenge Filed on Behalf of State Department Foreign Service Officer -- Court Hearing Set for September 16, 2009 Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that a lawsuit challenging the constitutional eligibility of Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State (Rodearmel v. Clinton, et al., (D. District of Columbia)) will be heard by a special three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia: Date: Wednesday, September 16 Time: 9:30 AM ET Location: Courtroom...

An academic says public education campaigns need a rethink after two girls used Facebook to alert people that they were stuck down a stormwater drain. The 10 and 12-year-old girls updated a Facebook status to say they were lost in an Adelaide drain, and a young friend called for help on their behalf. Glenn Benham from the Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) says it is concerning the girls raised the alert on the social networking site instead of calling 000. "If they were able to access Facebook from their mobile phones they could have called 000, so the point being they...

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is spending $60,000 of its stimulus money on $2,000 road signs to highlight projects funded by the massive economic recovery package. The large green signs mark about 30 of what PennDOT calls ''higher visibility projects'' statewide. Each denotes the project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and features the act's logo. Nationwide, several million dollars are being spent producing the signs. PennDOT spokesman Steve Chizmar said Pennsylvania elected to take a ''middle-of-the-road'' approach to the federal government's strong encouragement that the signs be put at every project site around the state, choosing...

If ever you needed further proof of the "person of color" America really needs in charge right now, I urge you to watch this fabulous YouTube footage of the magnificent Condoleezza Rice being ambushed by left-liberal students at Stanford University with a series of "difficult" questions about torture, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and US foreign policy under George W Bush. (Hat tip: Andrew Hamilton.) Her coolness under fire is magnificent, but more impressive still is her refusal to duck the issues. "Sorry we have to leave", an official can be heard saying off camera, but Condi isn't going to take...

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, smiles with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband at the start of a NATO and EU dinner at Egmont Palace in Brussels, Wednesday March 4, 2009 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, smiles as she is welcomed by Belgium's Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht for a NATO and EU dinner at Egmont Palace in Brussels, Wednesday March 4, 2009.

View video (Applause.) Thank you all very much. Thank you. It is an overwhelming honor to be sworn in to assume this position on behalf of our country. I thank my dear friend, Vice President Biden, and I thank President Obama for investing the trust and confidence in me during a particularly challenging time in our nation’s history. I look out and see so many friends and colleagues. I particularly want to thank the Speaker and the Majority Leader, Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid for being here and for providing the leadership that you both are doing in the Congress....

Good evening everyone.Statism continues to run amok in Washington.The O administration is set to soon unveil a Big Bank Bank Bailout...more debt onto debt for as far as we can see.But a ray of hope: there are hints that some Dems as well as the Rs in the Senate have qualms about the Depression & Huge Deficit Act of 2009 which passed the House last week.So we shall see.Meanwhile we can have a lottery: how many Executive Orders will the new president sign THIS week??

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John McCain is imploring his Republican colleagues to drop partisan demands and let the popular president get to work. The Arizona Republican made his first comments on the Senate floor since his rival, President Barack Obama, was sworn into office. He said the nation has come together in a way that it has not for some time. McCain was speaking in defense of Hillary Rodham Clinton's appointment as the next secretary of State. Senate leaders had planned to confirm her by unanimous consent on Tuesday, but Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn objected because of concerns raised...

What could be easily predicted on the eve of the beginning of Mrs Clinton’s service in her capacity of diplomat number one of the United States is the fact that the Balkans won’t be in the focus of her attention. Obviously, according to her, everything in the Balkans is in order, and true to the principle “if something isn’t broken don’t try to fix it”, the dynamic Madam Secretary won’t pay attention to the area unless something dramatic happen,( as a new massacre, for instance). The only context, within which such important and volatile area as the Balkans has been...

In a clear reference to George W Bush's obsession with national security after the September 11 attacks, Mrs Clinton said: "I don't get up every morning just thinking about the threats and dangers, as real as they are. I also get up thinking about who we are and what we can do." Addressing staff members of the 18,000-strong state department on her first day at work, she proclaimed a "new era for America". "We are not any longer going to tolerate the kind of divisiveness that has paralysed and undermined our ability to get things done for America," she said.

Hillary Clinton: Obama’s “early gift” to diplomacy January 23rd, 2009 Washington, Jan 23 (IANS) President Barack Obama has described his new chief diplomat Hillary Clinton Hillary as “an early gift” to the State Department. ”It is my privilege to come here and to pay tribute to all of you, the talented men and women of the State Department,” he told the employees during a visit Thursday to underscore “my commitment to the importance of diplomacy in renewing American leadership.” “I’ve given you an early gift: Hillary Clinton,” he said amid laughter and applause. “You -in her, you will have a...

(CNN) – John McCain on Wednesday used his first Senate floor speech since the end of the presidential campaign to urge his colleagues to quickly confirm fellow Sen. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state. "I think the message that the American people are sending us now is they want us to work together and get to work," McCain said. "I think we ought to let Senator Clinton, who is obviously qualified and obviously will serve, get to work immediately." The Senate is expected to easily confirm Clinton Wednesday afternoon, and McCain's particular support of the New York senator isn't surprising....

WASHINGTON - The Senate has confirmed Hillary Rodham Clinton to become secretary of state.

I just heard it on Sean Hanniy

Hillary Clinton as the US Secretary of State will not change anything. The color of the skin does not change the essence of aggressive politics. She definitely enjoys great respect in the United States as a woman who returned to big politics after the infamous scandal with her husband. Unlike Condoleezza Rice, Clinton has a more subtle perception of the moment. She realizes that life is not based on the American dream but follows a completely different motto: “We either swim or drown.”

Single Senator's Objection To Block Unanimous Floor Vote A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Hillary Rodham Clinton will not be confirmed as secretary of state Tuesday because of a single senator's objection. Reid spokesman Jim Manley said Republican John Cornyn of Texas has indicated he will block a move to confirm Clinton by a unanimous floor vote later in the day. But Manley also said there would be a roll call vote Wednesday. And he predicted that "she will receive overwhelming bipartisan support" at that time. The Senate does plan to confirm several of President-elect Barack Obama's...

On Monday, Joe Biden’s wife – in an interview with Oprah Winfrey – divulged an interesting little secret: Obama promised Joe Biden an appointment as Secretary of State if he were to turn down the Vice-Presidential nomination.Scranton Joe hushed his wife with a loud “shh!” immediately after the slip. (Apparently, only Biden men are allowed to make inappropriate verbal gaffes in nationally televised interviews). It was just so darn cute, though, that the audience erupted into laughter. Jill Biden went on to explain that they turned down the SecState job because it would require a lot of travel, and Jill...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Sen. John Cornyn may hold up the nomination of Hillary Clinton to become secretary of state if his concerns about foreign donations to her husband's foundation are not resolved, a spokesman for the Texas senator said on Monday. "Senator Cornyn is a strong proponent of complete transparency and has fought for as much throughout his time in office. He is keeping all of his options on the table," said his spokesman Kevin McLaughlin in an email reply to Reuters, when asked if Cornyn could block Clinton's nomination. Democratic lawmakers had hoped to approve President-elect Barack Obama's...

[excerpt on of Hillary as Secretary of State] >>She will easily intimidate the world’s dictators, just as she often intimidated Obama in the primaries. But it remains to be seen whether she can put aside her tendency to see disagreement as disloyalty. Can she work at the State Department with those who deserted her to support the usurper Obama? Can she manage Foggy Bottom better than she managed her foggy campaign?>>

Sen. David Vitter’s vote against one secretary of State foretells his fear of another. The Louisiana Republican’s solitary vote against the nomination of Hillary Rodham Clinton to become U.S secretary of State on Wednesday is the latest example of the huge steps he is taking to guard against a challenge from his right flank in 2010. The overall vote on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was 16-1, with seven other Republicans joining Democrats in voting for Clinton. But Vitter’s actions suggest he is increasingly worried about a primary challenge — and more than a general-election battle. His GOP challenger likely...

WASHINGTON – The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted overwhelmingly on Thursday for Hillary Rodham Clinton to become the next secretary of state, with Democrats predicting her leadership would mark a turn from warfare toward diplomacy. The 16-1 approval by the committee paves the way for a full Senate vote after President-elect Barack Obama takes office on Jan. 20. Clinton is not expected to hit any major roadblocks, with Republicans and Democrats alike praising her acumen on the issues.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, in a near-unanimous vote, recommended the confirmation of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as the next secretary of state. The panel voted 16-1 to support Clinton. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who had raised conflict-of-interest concerns about President Bill Clinton’s charitable foundation during the former first lady’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday, was the lone dissenting vote. Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) said Clinton did “an outstanding job” at Tuesday’s hearing, and expressed confidence that she would give the concerns voiced by Vitter “full consideration.” Clinton also received praise from Republicans Thursday, such as from Sen....

Republicans did not engage in any tough, sustained attacks against President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for secretary of the state, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), during the first day of her confirmation hearings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. Since Clinton was nominated by Obama on Dec. 1, journalists and Republicans have raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest among Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, The William J. Clinton Foundation – named after her husband and former president – and numerous foreign governments that have donated tens of millions of dollars to the foundation since its inception in...

Clinton bids colleagues farewellBy AMIE PARNES | 1/14/09 9:31 PM EST At an emotional private party just off the Senate floor, soon-to-be Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told her Senate colleagues Wednesday night that serving in the Senate “has been the greatest experience of my life” and that leaving them was “like leaving family.” Clinton, whose eyes welled up as she worked the elegant LBJ room in the Capitol, hugged and kissed colleagues, posed for pictures and thanked them one by one as she reminded them she would be “just around the corner.” Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) nearly...

Of course not.

The Senate confirmation hearing of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was sure to be a donnybrook. Powerful Republicans, still miffed about the drubbing they took in the November election, would attack the nominee for secretary of state on several fronts: Foreign contributions to her husband's charity, her flip-flop on the Iraq war (like the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Sen. John Kerry, she was for it before she was against it), her boss's plan to meet with leaders of rogue nations such as Iran and Cuba. Mincing no words, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski got right to it. "I'd like...

WASHINGTON – It's still all about Bubba. Amid all the laudatory comments about Hillary Clinton at Tuesday morning's Secretary of State confirmation hearings, the only slightly sour note so far has been about Bill Clinton, and the fear that his foreign entanglements might snare Hillary — and U.S. foreign policy. It fell to GOP Sen. Dick Lugar to deliver the cautionary lines, but Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. John Kerry made sure to note that the whole committee had those worries. "The work of the Clinton Foundation is a unique complication that will have to be managed with great care...

QUESTIONS FOR SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON'S CONFIRMATION HEARING QUESTION 1 Senator Clinton, during the 2005 criminal trial of your campaign finance chairman, David Rosen, the FBI presented evidence that businessman Peter Paul personally donated $1.2 million to your campaign. Did he personally donate $1.2 million and, if so, why has it not ever been properly reported? QUESTION 2 Regarding the Hollywood Gala, Event 39 as it was called, you have filed four amended FEC reports. Mr. Paul is not named on any of those reports. Has Mr. Paul ever made you aware of his donations, and has he ever demanded to...

Barack Obama will mark a radical break in American foreign policy this week by unveiling a team of diplomats tasked with ushering in a new era of dialogue with enemies abroad. As Hillary Clinton prepares for Senate confirmation hearings this week, she will head a group of advisers who are virtual opposites to the appointees made by President George W Bush. While Bush favoured aggressive neoconservative ideologues, Obama has selected people whose doveish credentials seem impeccable. They will be responsible for reversing the political unilateralism of the Bush years and opening direct negotiations with hostile states, potentially ranging from Syria...

Charity concerts used to be organized to raise money for starving children. But no more. On January 15, Bon Jovi is headlining a concert in New York City to raise money for our next Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Senator Clinton and her husband, who collectively made over $109 million in the past seven years, will be on-site to pose for pictures with concert attendees paying $1000 and up. Hillary’s failed presidential campaign is still in debt to the tune of $6 million and she needs a bailout. But seeing as she’s already loaned her campaign around $6 million, you...

Yet more for fodder for Obama’s attempt to make a world record of scandals involving his presidency and cabinet before the inaugaration. Bill Richardson withdrew his nomination today after a fishy whiff was in the breeze. Now we’ve got another fishy smell higher up the ladder. WASHINGTON: A developer in New York state donated $100,000 to former President Bill Clinton’s foundation in November 2004, around the same time that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure millions of dollars in federal assistance for the businessman’s mall project. Hillary Clinton helped enact legislation allowing the developer, Robert Congel, to use tax-exempt bonds...

During the eight years since Bill Clinton left the White House, he has worked tirelessly to save the lives of children in some of the most miserable places on the planet. He has traveled to Africa more than most of us travel to see relatives, in order to bring much-needed medicines for AIDS and malaria to those who would die without them and to support economic development in places like Rwanda and Malawi. He has used his contacts with philanthropists, billionaires and barons, governments and foundations, to raise hundreds of millions of dollars not for himself, but for those in...

The New York Times reports on high hopes of Hillary Clinton: Even before taking office, Hillary Rodham Clinton is seeking to build a more powerful State Department, with a bigger budget, high-profile special envoys to trouble spots and an expanded role in dealing with global economic issues at a time of crisis. Mrs. Clinton is recruiting Jacob J. Lew, the budget director under President Bill Clinton, as one of two deputies, according to people close to the Obama transition team. Mr. Lew’s focus, they said, will be on increasing the share of financing that goes to the diplomatic corps. He...

WASHINGTON: Even before taking office, Hillary Clinton is seeking to build a more powerful State Department, with a bigger budget, high-profile special envoys to trouble spots and an expanded role in dealing with global economic issues at a time of crisis. Hillary is recruiting Jacob Lew, the budget director under president Bill Clinton, as one of two deputies, according to people close to the Obama transition team. Lew’s focus, they said, will be on increasing the share of financing that goes to the diplomatic corps. He and James Steinberg, a deputy national security adviser in the Clinton administration, are to...

WASHINGTON — Even before taking office, Hillary Rodham Clinton is seeking to build a more powerful State Department, with a bigger budget, high-profile special envoys to trouble spots and an expanded role in dealing with global economic issues at a time of crisis. Mrs. Clinton is recruiting Jacob J. Lew, the budget director under President Bill Clinton, as one of two deputies, according to people close to the Obama transition team. Mr. Lew’s focus, they said, will be on increasing the share of financing that goes to the diplomatic corps. He and James B. Steinberg, a deputy national security adviser...

WASHINGTON — Even before taking office, Hillary Rodham Clinton is seeking to build a more powerful State Department, with a bigger budget, high-profile special envoys to trouble spots and an expanded role in dealing with global economic issues at a time of crisis. Mrs. Clinton is recruiting Jacob J. Lew, the budget director under President Bill Clinton, as one of two deputies, according to people close to the Obama transition team. Mr. Lew’s focus, they said, will be on increasing the share of financing that goes to the diplomatic corps. He and James B. Steinberg, a deputy national security adviser...

On December 19, President George W. Bush signed Senate Joint Resolution 46, which lowers the salary of the Secretary of State from $191,300 to $186,600. SJR 46 had been introduced in the U.S. Senate on December 10, and it passed unanimously that same day. The House passed it unanimously on December 12. The reason for the bill is that Article I, section 6, says that no member of Congress may take an office if the salary for that office had been increased while that individual was in Congress. Senator Hillary Clinton was in Congress when the Secretary of State’s salary...

On December 19, President George W. Bush signed Senate Joint Resolution 46, which lowers the salary of the Secretary of State from $191,300 to $186,600. SJR 46 had been introduced in the U.S. Senate on December 10, and it passed unanimously that same day. The House passed it unanimously on December 12. The reason for the bill is that Article I, section 6, says that no member of Congress may take an office if the salary for that office had been increased while that individual was in Congress. Senator Hillary Clinton was in Congress when the Secretary of State’s salary...

NOW that Bill Clinton has re leased the list of his 205,000 donors who have given close to $500 million to his library and foundation, it is clear why he resisted releasing the list while his wife was running for president. Now, compelled by the Obama transition team to make it public as a condition of his wife's appointment as secretary of state, it becomes clear that the list is a virtual encyclopedia of conflicts of interest for the husband of a senator - to say nothing of the husband of an incoming secretary of state. Particularly troubling are the...

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." - Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution Obama isn't even in office and he's already violating the constitution. But not so surprisingly he doesn't seem to care. Making Hillary Clinton the Secretary of State would be a conflict of interest and opens the door wide for corruption. Something that isn't so strange to Obama but the rest of America doesn't seem to take...

If documents some day prove Barack Obama is not eligible to be president under the U.S. Constitution, none of the 538 Electoral College members who vote him into office Monday will be able to claim ignorance. That's after 3,653 citizens had enough concern over the allegations, they participated in a WND effort to deliver letters to every elector, urging them to investigate.

David Huntwork Obama’s “Natural Born” Problem 2008-12-12 at 11:15 am · Filed under 2008, Law, North America, OP/ED, Politics, Society, Vox Populi By now you are probably aware that there have been a multitude of lawsuits filed in regards to the question of whether or not President-elect Barack Obama is in fact eligible under the “natural born” provision of the Constitution of the United States of America to be the President of the United States. The Constitutional provisions are very specific when it comes to the minimal qualifications for President. One is to be over thirty-five. He is. Two, is...

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday that she believes Sen. Hillary Clinton will "do a great job" as secretary of state. In an interview with CNN, Rice also addressed President-elect Barack Obama's victory, saying she believes Americans were "wise in wanting change." Speaking to CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer," Rice said she has spoken with Clinton since Obama named the former first lady as his pick to be the nation's top diplomat. "I talked with her and we're going to sit down, and I'm really looking forward to it. I've known her a long time...

Bill Clinton To Reveal The Names Of DonorsPact Allows Obama To Tap Sen. Clinton By Chris Cillizza Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, November 30, 2008; Page A11 INDIAN WELLS, Calif., Nov. 29 -- Former president Bill Clinton has agreed to make public 200,000 donors to his presidential library and foundation as part of an agreement with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team designed to allow his wife -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton -- to be named secretary of state, according to two sources familiar with the arrangement. The former president has also agreed to allow the State Department and, potentially, the...