Free Republic

THERE IS nothing new under the sun, says the Good Book, and the plea for a Cabinet-level secretary of arts and culture is no exception. That plea comes most recently from composer-producer Quincy Jones, who has long wanted the United States to establish a national ministry of culture akin to those in Italy, Germany, or France. "The next conversation I have with President Obama is to beg for a secretary of arts," he said in a radio interview shortly after the presidential election. Culture and the arts are "just as important as military defense," Jones argues, and a federal arts...

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Former presidential candidate Ron Paul criticized President Obama's economic recovery proposal but said Saturday that blame for the financial crisis is deep-seated and includes Republicans who failed to hold the line on spending during the Bush administration. He also offered a harsh critique of the three Republican senators who have said they will vote for the economic recovery proposal. A vote is scheduled for early next week. Paul, a Republican representative from Texas who sought the GOP nomination for president, said that although some people call Obama's plan to jumpstart the economy a "stimulus package," he...

Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged today that Democrats could face political repercussions in 2010 for their support of the $900 billion economic stimulus package. “But when we do [approve it], I’m sure you’re going to be nailed in ads, ‘Well they voted on that’ 30 second ads,” Biden told roughly 200 members of the House Democratic Caucus gathered here for their three day annual retreat. “I promise you as [a colleague] once said to me, ‘I’ll come campaign for you or against you, whichever will help you the most in your district.’ And so will the president because, again, we’re...

We have been given some time to mobilize our efforts and exert additional pressure in stopping the Obama/Pelosi "stimulus" package. With the tentative deal still on shaky grounds, Harry Reid has pushed the vote to Monday. There is sufficient evidence that Collins can "un-break" ranks and refuse to vote if the Democrat amendments make the bill top heavy. The tentative deal is already larger than the one she agreed to. This is perfect considering this senate term might be her last. However, Arlen Specter is planning to run again in 2010. This is a perfect opportunity to voice your opinion...

It's probably the only intelligent thing Joe Biden has said in a year. More . . .

We need to be calling all of our senators, folks. But some might need more attention than others. That said, I just finished calling every Republican in the Senate, plus Joe Lieberman. I kept a tally of who gave a firm no, and who seemed to be a little more on the squishy side. The ones who gave a firm no should still get phone calls, mind you, to make sure they don’t change their position. But it’s the squishy ones who really need our attention. Here’s the tally: FIRMLY OPPOSES: I only put someone down in the “no” column...

The poor you will always have, the good book says, but as for the rich man, he will wither away like a delicate flower in the midday sun. The first prediction has certainly been borne out, but the second part (James 1:11) had not yet come to pass by the Panic of 1907, when Theodore Roosevelt warned of a coming reckoning against the "malefactors of great wealth." Nor by 1990, when former Nixon aide Kevin Phillips predicted that Americans would rise to extract revenge on "the rich who got the benefits of the go-go years" of the 1980s. As late...

Here is video of Peter Schiff, President of Euro Pacific Capital, saying that the Obama Stimulus Bill is going to lead to "unmitigated disaster" in the U.S. Economy. The problem, he says, is the government is trying to perpetuate a "phony economy" based on borrowing and spending. With the U.S. consumer tapped out, the government is "now taking on the mantle" of consumer of last resort, he continues, predicting the bond bubble will soon burst - if it hasn't already - ultimately leading to a collapse of the dollar and an "inflationary depression worse than anything any of us have...

Click on Hot Topics, then Stimulus, and the video of GOP Defector is up http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html

A comparison of the $827 billion economic recovery plan drafted by Senate Democrats and moderate Republicans with a $820 billion version passed by the House. Additional debt costs would add about $350 billion or more over 10 years. Many provisions expire in two years. Spending AID TO POOR AND UNEMPLOYED: _Senate - $47 billion to provide extended unemployment benefits through Dec. 31, increased by $25 a week, and provide job training; $16.5 billion to increase food stamp benefits by 12 percent through fiscal 2011 and issue a one-time bonus payment; $3 billion in temporary welfare payments. _House - Comparable extension...

**SNIP** Fully eliminated $55 million for historic preservation $122 million for Coast Guard polar icebreaker/cutters $100 million for Farm Service Agency modernization $50 million for Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service $65 million for watershed rehabilitation $100 million for distance learning $98 million for school nutrition $50 million for aquaculture $2 billion for broadband $100 million for National Institute of Standards and Technology $50 million for detention trustee $25 million for Marshalls Construction $300 million for federal prisons $300 million for BYRNE Formula grant program $140 million for BYRNE Competitive grant program $10 million state and local law enforcement...

Bipartisan Deal Eases Way For Stimulus Bill in Senate Compromise Sets Up Tough Negotiations With House By Shailagh Murray and Lori Montgomery Washington Post Staff Writers Saturday, February 7, 2009; A01 Against a backdrop of rising unemployment, Senate Democrats struck a hard-won deal yesterday with a handful of Republican moderates to scale back spending in a massive economic stimulus bill, virtually guaranteeing Senate passage of the legislation but also ensuring arduous final negotiations with the House. The compromise represented a dramatic finale to a tumultuous and frustrating week for Democrats pushing the package, as Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid...

...Senate Democrats struck a hard-won deal yesterday with a handful of Republican moderates...White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel attended the final meetings in Reid's office last night to work out lingering differences. Before Emanuel arrived, Collins said, Democrats were advocating $63 billion in cuts. "Then Rahm got involved, and a much better proposal came forward," she said.

The Blue-Dog Democrats in the House have been somewhat disenchanted with the Democrat leadership, and have been wanting to flex their muscles. They realize that they are in districts that could go Republican in 2010, and may be the key to defeating the stimulus package. Today, a letter signed by 49 Blue Dog Democrats was sent to Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, requesting that more spending be cut from the bill. The letter stated that many of the members of the Blue-Dog Coalition voted for the original bill because they were assured of cuts in the Senate and in the...

As a huge stimulus package wends its way toward President Obama’s desk, business owners say that all they really want is cash in the tills to be able to survive and then help propel the economy out of recession. The $819 billion bill passed by the House last week and a similar measure under consideration in the Senate simply do not go far enough to bolster the small-business sector, owners and those who lobby on their behalf say. “Small businesses are a job engine for the economy,” said David French, vice president for government relations at the International Franchise Association....

“Economic Stimulus” Designed to Aid Anti-gun Radicals The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the far left anti-gun group under investigation for voter fraud, could be eligible to receive millions, if not billions of dollars from the economic bailout bill that passed out of the House of Representatives yesterday. ACORN was an aggressive supporter of Barack Obama who had served as the group’s legal counsel and even trained ACORN in “community organizing” in the presidential election. The Obama campaign even paid the group $800,000 for “voter turnout,” the very activities that came under scrutiny by the FBI. In...

Barely Bipartisan But a Senate Stimulus Deal is Done Sat Feb 7 The U.S. Senate looks to be on track to pass a bill that sounds almost exactly like what President Barack Obama asked for last month. The measure - now heralded as $780 billion, down from $890 billion - will include about 40% in tax cuts and more than 80% of the spending will flood the faltering economy within the next 18 months. But with just three Republican votes, the bill falls well short of the bipartisan goal Obama worked hard to achieve. The final cost of the bill...

<p>Just checked the airlines. Looks like we can get reasonably priced tickets to DC. Will arrive Sunday night. Available to protest Porkulus Monday and Tuesday and return to Fresno as a free man on Wednesday.</p>

Any Republican Congressman or Senator who votes for any form of Marxist enabling Porkulus is a traitor who deserves to be run out of office!! In days gone by, they would've been tarred, feathered and run out of Washington on a rail!! Porkulus is nothing more than a bloodless coup attempt by the America-hating Marxist, B. Hussein Obama. Massive government spending is not freedom. Government control of industry is not freedom. Government attempting to control the economy is not freedom. Not capitalism. This is socialism, fascism, Marxism. Centralized control. Nationalization of banking. Government control of banking, finance, manufacturing, production, transportation,...

Live debate senate floor on now...