http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/starparker/ en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 11:09:24 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415241/posts Yes, of course, brave young Americans are in those far off lands defending our country. God bless them. But the war's front is here at home – the war we are having with ourselves. After the horrendous attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, a few Christian pastors stepped up to say that the unprecedented violation of America's homeland was a sign of weakness within our nation. They weren't talking about how we gather intelligence or how we check travelers at the airport. The management best-seller from the 1960s, "The Peter Principle," points out that one sign of an organization or an... WND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415241/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 11:09:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396781/posts At a time when our country is sick, it shouldn't surprise that one our sickest places is our nation's capital. The poverty rate of Washington, DC, almost 20 percent, is one of the highest in the nation. Its child poverty rate is the nation's highest. DC's public school system, with a graduation rate of less than 50 percent, is one of the worst in the country. According to DC's HIV/AIDS office, three percent of the local population has HIV or AIDS. The administrator of this office notes that this HIV/AIDS incidence is "...higher than West Africa...on par with Uganda and... One News Now http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396781/posts#comment Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:00:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360782/posts The latest installment of "change we can believe in" is sweeping reform of the financial services industry. Central to proposed Democrat reforms is the establishment of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. This agency would have broad authority to oversee and regulate financial service products like mortgages and credit cards and will be responsible to protect consumers from "unfair" and "abusive" products. Townhall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360782/posts#comment Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:40:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2354683/posts The ACORN scandal shows that if Congress wants to act, it can.Within weeks of Fox airing videos of a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute being advised by ACORN “community organizers” on how to evade taxes and set up a prostitution ring, our stalwart Washington legislators voted to cut off federal funds to the organization.But similar publicized abuses at Planned Parenthood — workers agreeing to cover up rape or earmarking funds to abort black babies — all captured on video and audio — produced no similar action in Washington to cut off funds.Why?Of course, the scope of... Dakota Voice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2354683/posts#comment Sun, 4 Oct 2009 17:54:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2345244/posts The Democrats have lost the health care debate. For months now, polls have been showing that Americans don't want the massive new government controls, regulations, taxes, and spending that Democrats are pushing. Latest Gallup polling shows 60 percent saying that President Barack Obama's proposal will not expand health coverage without raising taxes on middle class Americans and without affecting the current quality of health care. Forty three percent approve of how Obama is handling health care and 52 percent disapprove. You would be hard pressed to find a Democrat or Republican who does not agree that we can improve how... TownHall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2345244/posts#comment Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:55:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2327976/posts Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin missed a great opportunity to personally kick off an issue of enormous importance to her state and to the nation.She was scheduled to appear with me at an Alaska Family Council event in Anchorage to launch Alaska’s Parental Involvement Initiative, which will require parental notification of teenage girls under age 18 before they can get an abortion. But, the schedules of we mortals cannot retard the imperatives of history, so, despite Mrs. Palin’s absence, we’ve gone to war with the army we have.Currently 35 states have laws that require either parental consent or notification in... Dakota Voice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2327976/posts#comment Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:04:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2323068/posts President Obama took his case for what he now calls "health insurance reform" to the faith community. He made his pitch in a phone call, also broadcast over the Internet, to clergy who called in and logged on from around the nation. In his remarks, the President ticked off points of contention that dissenters have with his proposals -- "government takeover of healthcare...government funding of abortion...death panels" -- and dismissed these concerns as "fabrications." In one swipe, Mr. Obama reduced his opposition to liars. And why, according to the President, are dissenters supposedly making all this stuff up? Because, he... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2323068/posts#comment Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:10:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2322236/posts President Obama took his case for what he now calls "health insurance reform" to the faith community. He made his pitch in a phone call, also broadcast over the Internet, to clergy who called in and logged on from around the nation. In his remarks, the President ticked off points of contention that dissenters have with his proposals – "government takeover of healthcare...government funding of abortion...death panels" – and dismissed these concerns as "fabrications." In one swipe, Mr. Obama reduced his opposition to liars. And why, according to the President, are dissenters supposedly making all this stuff up? Because, he... FamilySecurityMatters.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2322236/posts#comment Sat, 22 Aug 2009 20:40:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2317829/posts Barack Obama won the presidency under the persona of healer. He promised to unify a divided nation and said how he would do this. He'd put ideology aside and solve problems. And he'd bring new open, bipartisan governing to Washington, devoid of special interests. Now, six months into this presidency we have exactly the opposite. Rather than temperatures dropping, they have steadily risen to their current fever pitch. Rather than becoming more unified, we've never been more divided. According to the Pew Research Center, the gap between approval rates for the president from Democrats (85 percent) and Republicans (19 percent)... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2317829/posts#comment Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:17:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2307600/posts Barack Obama billed his White House beer summit Thursday to discuss the altercation between the black Harvard professor and the white policeman as a "teachable moment." But, unfortunately, I'd doubt that the real lesson to be learned ever came up over those beers and pretzels. Can we appreciate that what seems to be an endless conversation about race in America is really a conversation about America, period? http://magazine.townhall.com/malkinhttp://magazine.townhall.com/malkin I wish I could believe that the conversation in the White House garden was about the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. That they talked about "self evident"... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2307600/posts#comment Tue, 4 Aug 2009 02:15:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281575/posts When I've been asked whom I thought could be the individual to lead the Republican Party out of the wilderness, my answer has always been Mark Sanford. His vision for his party and his country -- traditional values and limited government -- has always been clear, consistent, and, in my view, correct. And he has always pursued that vision, as a congressman and as a governor, with a boldness and courage rare among politicians. The Cato Institute publishes a bi-annual report card of the nation's governors, ranking them according to fiscal responsibility. In the most recent report, three governors out... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281575/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:16:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2277425/posts The Democrats' healthcare initiative reminds me of the joke about the Boy Scout fighting on a street corner with an old lady. When a passerby asked what was going on, the scout said, "I'm trying to help her across the street but she refuses to go." Health insurance, so far, is not mandatory by law, and we've got 16 percent of the population -- 47 million or so -- without it. Auto insurance is mandatory by law, and according to the Insurance Research Council, 14 percent of drivers nationwide still don't buy it. Government can't make people do what they... OneNewsNow http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2277425/posts#comment Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:15:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276743/posts The Democrats' health care initiative reminds me of the joke about the Boy Scout fighting on a street corner with an old lady. When a passerby asked what was going on, the scout said, "I'm trying to help her across the street but she refuses to go." Health insurance, so far, is not mandatory by law, and we've got 16 percent of the population -- 47 million or so -- without it. Auto insurance is mandatory by law, and according to the Insurance Research Council, 14 percent of drivers nationwide still don't buy it. Government can't make people do what... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2276743/posts#comment Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:41:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2271962/posts President Obama wants health care reform this year. He said at a town hall meeting the other day that he won't tolerate "endless delay" and that we probably won't reform health care if we don't do it this year. Now why is that Mr. President? Will Congress be on vacation for the remaining three years of your term? Consider that it's not unusual to take a full session of congress -- two years -- to pass legislation a fraction of the size and consequence of health care reform. Yet our president is demanding that a bill to overhaul a $2.5... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2271962/posts#comment Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:13:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242598/posts Listening to Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, we get a sense of the "new capitalism" our new Democratic leadership tells us America needs. Frank recently praised Bank of America chairman (now ex-chairman) Ken Lewis for acting in "the public interest" for caving in to bribes and threats from former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke regarding B of A's takeover of Merrill Lynch. Lewis wanted to back out the deal last year when he discovered the massive scope of Merrill's losses. But Paulson and Bernanke decided that Merrill shouldn't fail, so... WorldNetDaily.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242598/posts#comment Sat, 2 May 2009 08:41:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237636/posts Barack Obama's obvious comfort level with leaders of unfree countries shouldn't surprise anyone. He is not only our first black president. He is also our first president who doesn't like the free country he was elected to lead and feels his job is to change it. Obama's cordial encounter with Venezuelan thug Hugo Chavez and his bow of deference in London to the Saudi Arabian king are extensions of behavior we have always seen on the black left. Jesse Jackson openly embraced Chavez, as well as having maintained relations with the likes of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and Yasser Arafat.... WND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237636/posts#comment Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:15:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2217909/posts The National Urban League has just issued its annual State of Black America report. It provides a troubling statistical snapshot of where blacks stand today in our country. Like Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, I'm concerned. But after concern, we part company. We have very different ideas of what it is we should be concerned about. Morial, I am sure, sees his organization as part of the solution. From what I see, it is a well-funded symptom of the problem. Shouldn't it embarrass black Americans that one the nation's largest and most prestigious civil rights organizations offers... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2217909/posts#comment Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:52:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207684/posts March 16, 2009 From what I see, the Republican National Committee representatives who picked Michael Steele as their new chairman made a mistake. I think Steele ought to step aside. It pains me to say it, but it pains me more to watch the opposition party, the Republican Party, spin aimlessly and leaderless, while the Obama administration shreds to pieces, with ruthless focus and discipline, everything this country stands for. Yes, of course, the defining moment for me is the recent GQ magazine interview in which Steele sounds more like a Democrat than a Republican. Does a woman have a... gopusa.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207684/posts#comment Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:29:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2213208/posts It says something about the dismal state of affairs in our country today by what outrages folks. Sure, if we want to portray business as the root of our economic ills, outrage about executives getting bonuses at a company that received taxpayer bailout funds has political sex appeal. Or perhaps that some company that got bailed out sent their managers to a fancy retreat somewhere. Or that maybe a bailed-out company sponsored a golf tournament. But where's the outrage about the circumstances that allow this all to happen to begin with? Where is the outrage about the ease with which... http://www.onenewsnow.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2213208/posts#comment Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:18:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207425/posts From what I see, the Republican National Committee representatives who picked Michael Steele as their new chairman made a mistake. I think Steele ought to step aside. It pains me to say it. But it pains me more to watch the opposition party, the Republican Party, spin aimlessly and leaderless, while the Obama administration shreds to pieces, with ruthless focus and discipline, everything that this country stands for. Yes, of course, the defining moment for me is the recent GQ magazine interview in which Steele sounds more like a Democrat than a Republican. Does a woman have a right to... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2207425/posts#comment Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:53:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2197135/posts I share President Obama's concerns about education. We certainly need to do a better job, particularly in our low-income communities. But, from what I see so far, we're on very different pages regarding how to think about the problem. For Obama, the solution to everything seems to be government and spending. But in improving education, more of neither seems to work. According to Department of Education data, reported by the Cato Institute, K-12 spending per student, adjusted for inflation, went from $5,393 in 1970 to $11,470 in 2004. Over the same period, there were tiny increases in math scores among... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2197135/posts#comment Mon, 2 Mar 2009 11:56:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2192713/posts As our new political leadership leads us into the fiscal twilight zone, is it too much to ask for a little honesty as they do it? The day after President Obama unveiled his plan to bail out distressed mortgage holders, Treasury Secretary Geithner and Housing Secretary Donovan wrote an op-ed in USA Today explaining it. "Ordinarily, American homeowners don't need government help ... But these are no ordinary times," they say. But practically every American homeowner does get government help by being able to deduct mortgage interest from their taxes. ... A failure of capitalism? This could never happen in... CURE - reprinted The Dallas Morning News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2192713/posts#comment Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:23:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2186798/posts A travesty of justice has occurred in Oakland, California. But realities surrounding this local issue point to how the economic crisis in our nation is symptomatic of and flows from a deeper fundamental moral crisis. A black pastor awaits sentencing, which could amount to two years in prison and $4,000 in fines, for standing outside an inner city abortion clinic holding a sign saying "Jesus Loves You & Your Baby, Let Us Help You," and offering pro-life literature. Walter Hoye, founder and chairman of the Issues4Life Foundation, was found guilty of "unlawful approach" under the "Access to Reproductive Health Care... TownHall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2186798/posts#comment Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:01:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2180308/posts Six years ago, I wrote a book called "Uncle Sam's Plantation." I wrote the book to tell my own story of what I saw living inside the welfare state and my own transformation out of it. I said in that book that indeed there are two Americas. A poor America on socialism and a wealthy America on capitalism. I talked about government programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS), Emergency Assistance to Needy Families with Children (EANF), Section 8 Housing and Food Stamps. A vast sea of perhaps well-intentioned government programs, all... WorldNetDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2180308/posts#comment Sat, 7 Feb 2009 10:31:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2169540/posts On Monday, January 19th, America commemorated the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. His dream of an equal America is in many ways personified in Barack Obama, whose inauguration as our first African-American president took place the following day. Obama's triumph is a monumental achievement for black Americans. It is also a watershed for America as a whole, a final repudiation of an era when black men and women were not afforded the inalienable rights endowed to all persons by God as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. But while Obama's ascendance to the White House has been almost uniformly... The Weekly Standrad http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2169540/posts#comment Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:21:57 GMT