Free Republic

Let's face it, Pelosi is going to stip this language out in committee. She offered it to push the bill along the process. If the Republicans kill the Amendment they might stop the bill today. It also puts the blue dogs in even more of a quandry to vote yes or no without the abortion provisions.

Tom Donohue sits for an interview with POLITICO. CEO and President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tom Donahue, talks with POLITICO about his relationship with the White House, the health care debate and the Chamber's membership. Photo: John Shinkle U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue says a campaign by the White House and its allies to undermine his $200-million-a-year association has largely failed — and actually has helped raise even more money for its pro-business efforts. In a 75-minute interview with POLITICO, Donohue dismissed recent defections by Apple and at least four other companies, which quit over the...

WASHINGTON — White House advisers pledged on Sunday to book administration officials on Fox News despite claims by the president's inner circle that the cable network is a GOP mouthpiece whose programming “is geared toward making money.” Last week, White House communications director Anita Dunn said Fox News operates “almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party.” On Sunday, Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama's chief of staff, said, “It is not a news organization so much as it has a perspective.” In response to the criticism, Fox News executive Michael Clemente on Sunday accused...

Many of my co-workers know I'm vehemently opposed to Obama and his policies. Lately, the more liberal of my co-workers have been harping on me about how my and others' opposition to Obama and his polities is racist. I have reached my limit and I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to do what hurts liberals the most. First, I'm going to label them because they're not used to it and then I'm going to ostracize them from my personal life as they tend to feel out of place and ostracized by society anyway. Henceforth, anyone who calls...

How to win at anything ... look like you're doing something else

Obama’s health care tactics just like those he used in state Senate in 2004 Accusing critics of 'fear-mongering' was tactic he used in state Senate days August 31, 2009 BY LYNN SWEET AND DAVE McKINNEY Sun-Times Washington and Springfield Bureau Chiefs WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama, deflecting criticism of his top agenda item to deal with the health care crisis, accuses opponents of "fear-mongering," telling lies and miscasting his proposal as "socialized medicine." That wasn't President Obama in recent weeks, as the health care debate has been heating up in Congress and in town halls across the country. That was then...

Master politician that he is, Barack Obama is a lousy calculator. He spectacularly misjudged the American public's appetite for a government nanny. Or maybe he miscalculated the power of his slippery tongue to sell government snake oil. His apparent willingness to abandon the attempt - for now - to nationalize the health-care industry appears to defer the Democratic first step in remaking the home of the brave and the land of the free into Little America, cutting it down to a size incapable of intimidating the likes of Switzerland or Swaziland. But only if the opposition keeps up unremitting pressure....

http://www.jackie-teapartypatriots.blogspot.com/ Great group organized tactic... In an attempt to keep my cool in these Town Hall Meetings here in Monterey County (Congressman Sam Farr). I came up with this sign and gave it to my husband....who was sitting in the front row......they say laughter is contentious....AND IT MAKES EM MAD....ha ha ha

U.S. combat forces will vacate all Iraqi cities on schedule by the end of this month, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq said Tuesday, including the still violent insurgent holdout of Mosul.

DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) – Former president George W. Bush defended harsh interrogation tactics used in the "war on terror" as both legal and necessary to prevent an imminent attack, local media reported Friday. The remarks came a week after former vice president Dick Cheney branded President Barack Obama as soft on terror for repudiating the tactics. In wide-ranging remarks to the Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan, Bush defended his decision to allow harsh interrogation of the terror suspect accused of ordering the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. Bush told the crowd of 1,500 that the techniques were...

GERDA SERAI, Afghanistan — Ever since 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment built Patrol Base Devoe in April, life has been a little bit better around the area that Troop C controls. The base’s position on a mountaintop allows the troops to control an area that was once the launch site for frequent rocket and mortar attacks on nearby Combat Outpost Wilderness. But what seems on the surface to be an unambiguous good has actually created a new challenge for the unit. The insurgents’ abandonment of long-familiar patterns has Troop C busy working to uncover the enemy fighters’ new methods. The...

Politicians, con men Intellectually-dishonest debate tactics are typically employed by dishonest politicians, lawyers of guilty parties, dishonest salespeople, cads, cults, and others who are attempting to perpetrate a fraud. My real estate opponents, in general, are either charlatans or con men. As such, they have no choice but to employ intellectually-dishonest tactics both to prove that I am wrong and to persuade you to buy their products and services. My coaching opponents are generally not charlatans or con men, but many are quite political. Those who dislike my military views are also career politicians notwithstanding their claims to be “selfless...

The Six Principles from Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare “The United States faces many potential adversaries, both in the form of nation states and terrorist organizations. Each day, as technology progresses, the ability of these adversaries to inflict harm on the U.S. military units, national infrastructure, or civilians increases.” (p187) So writes Mark McNeilly in chapter seven, “Ancient Principles for Future Battlefields,” of his new book, Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare. http://www.suntzu1.com/content/sun_tzu_and_the_art_of_modern_warfare/ Using historical examples that span the centuries, McNeilly applies the six principles he developed from Sun Tzu's classic treatise on strategy, The...

My first video commentary is now available: “Some conservatives are arguing that the beginning of the Obama Era has been a disaster. They think the president’s soft approach to tyrants overseas has elicited predictable displays of aggression, boding far worse to come. They feel the president’s high-blown ethical rhetoric has given way to his appointments of political hacks. And, of course, there’s the gazillion dollars in spending and taxation that conservatives feel is a radical attempt to destroy our free market system. That’s the Conservative argument. But today I’d like to explain the liberal argument: Shut up.” See it here

At the first sign of movement in the dark Gaza alleyway, Alon opened fire without hesitation. Snipers liked to operate at night, he said, and the area had been cleared of Israeli troops. “He could have been advancing to attack,” the Israeli lieutenant explained. “We are treating everything as hostile right now. We were told not to take chances - to shoot rather than ask questions.” Alon - he would only give his first name and rank - was part of the forces that took control of the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza. It was his first day of...

The Army of Muhammad is back. This was the message buzzing in radical Islamist circles yesterday as the world tried to absorb the shock of the terrorist attacks in Bombay, India's economic capital. While it is not yet clear which group was behind the attacks, it looks as if the perpetrators were trying to imitate the tactic of ghazwa, used by the Prophet against Meccan caravans in his decade-long campaign to seize control of the city. The tactic consists of surprise no-holds-barred attacks simultaneously launched against a caravan or settlement with the aim of demoralising the enemy and hastening his...

About an hour ago I was working in our yard. A Minivan comes through slowly, and I notice they are counting yard signs. Not the first time in recent history that slow moving vehicles have come through, the neighbors are keeping an eye out do to theft of open garages at night, just for background. On the back of the van, an Obama sticker. Freepers your take on it, Over the top Obamatons?

Here is a bunch of ideas for Michiganders to bring a victory to their individual races and get McCain/Palin to reconsider the decision to campaign in Michigan

Wilbur is very troubled because he will be killed and made into different cuts of pork. He is an animated pig that expresses his thoughts and despair over what he knows will happen with crying. (Political Humor) Revski

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2008 – New ways of dealing with detainees in coalition-run facilities in Iraq are paying off through less violence, more actionable intelligence for warfighters, and a better separation of extremists from more moderate detainees, a senior leader told military analysts today. Marine Maj. Gen. Douglas M. Stone, deputy commander for Multinational Force Iraq’s detainee operations, said efforts to tamp down on insurgent activity “inside the wire” is paying off in protecting both inside and outside the facilities. Stone described the “Stone principles” he implemented toward that end: establishing an alliance with moderate Iraqis; empowering moderates to marginalize...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Here is Bud in Burlington, Indiana. Bud, thanks for waiting, and welcome. CALLER: ... Indiana. Anyway Rush -- RUSH: Wait, what did I say? CALLER: I don't... I couldn't understand, but it was actually communist Bloomington Indiana. So... (silence) Are you still there? RUSH: Yeah, I'm here. CALLER: Anyway, I'd like to really quickly thank you for two things. First off, unlike the so-called moderates who called in yesterday complaining about your recommendation for Republicans voting in Democrat primaries -- RUSH: Yes? CALLER: -- I want to thank you, because I don't know if you're aware of...

January 9, 2008 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Monday, Stephen Stone, CEO of Alan Keyes for President, met with Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan to discuss "evidence of deception by the Iowa Republican Party with regard to the recent caucuses." Stone delivered a letter that described the campaign's allegations against Iowa GOP officials. According to Stone, the state party's behavior in the caucuses "disenfranchises voters" and appears to have "violated the election laws." Among the facts outlined by Stone: State party leaders gave precinct chairs a "suggested ballot" of presidential candidates that was used to guide caucus-goers in the nominating and...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2008 – Commanders in Afghanistan share their best counterinsurgency tactics, but the country is big and what works in one area may not work in another, the commander of NATO’s Regional Command—East said during a Pentagon news conference today. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez said the counterinsurgency tactics he uses in the eastern provinces of the country may not work in other areas. Earlier this month, a flurry of stories suggested that U.S. forces in the country do a better job at the counterinsurgency fight against the Taliban than NATO allies stationed in other regions. “It's...

(CNN) -- For months, much of the finger-pointing over negative campaigning in the Republican presidential race has been directed at Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor has tangled with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani over immigration, with Arizona Sen. John McCain over waterboarding and with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee over just about everything. But another Republican has embraced the brass-knuckle school of presidential campaigning, with far less fanfare. Like Romney, he began to target each of the major contenders as his campaign struggled to right itself. But unlike Romney, who has drawn return fire from each of his...

OWESAT — The early morning calm over Owesat was rocked recently by the beating rotors of helicopters carrying Rakkasan Soldiers in for an air assault. The assault was in support of Operation Marne Courageous, a multi-faceted operation that extended the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) area of operation into an area previously under Multi-National Division – West control. Capt. Terry Hilderbrand Jr., commander of Company A, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT) said there was a lot done to prepare for the strategic move. “We’ve had numerous meetings with the sheiks...

The Taliban has seen itself decimated in attempting straight-up fights against Western forces. Some have wondered why Mullah Omar doesn't just adopt the tactics of al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq and focus on suicide bombings. Apparently, Omar has decided to do just that, and one of his terrorists killed 30 people in Kabul this morning: A Taliban suicide bomber wearing an Afghan army uniform set off a huge explosion Saturday while trying to board a military bus in the capital, killing 30 people, most of them soldiers, officials said. Hours later, the Afghan president offered to meet personally with the Taliban...

HDAD -- When the sniper's bullet hit Billy Edwards, his Army brothers did not hesitate. The 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division calls itself the "Send Me" brigade, and on Saturday, its soldiers were quick to send themselves to find the man who shot Pfc. William L. Edwards, a wide-eyed 23-year-old from Houston. They quickly identified the house where they believed the assailant was hiding and moved in, just as the sniper knew they would. Inside the house, one soldier stepped on a pressure plate, detonating an estimated 30 pounds of explosives hidden under a stairwell. In an instant, four troops...

FORT HUACHUCA — The sound of shotguns being fired at Smith Middle School on Tuesday brought post military police officers to the scene. But instead of setting up a perimeter around the campus and then slowly beginning the process of clearing rooms, the soldiers used a new procedure of running to the sound to neutralize the active shooter. Law enforcement was putting out warnings to anyone intending to engage in criminal active shooting: If they kill, wound or otherwise threaten the public, they will be neutralized, and that could be lethal. Mark Dannels, deputy commander with the Cochise County Sheriff’s...

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2007 – A senior police advisor to the Afghan government described a new more heavily armed and heavily armored Afghan police unit during a conference call with online journalists covering the military. Army Col. Raymond Bouchard spoke to the “bloggers” about Afghanistan’s civil order police yesterday via telephone from Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan. The new units will help counter new, more aggressive Taliban tactics, Bouchard said. “They are a quick, rapid-response group that would help put down a national crisis or insurgent activity,” he said. The units will be more heavily armed and more heavily armored than traditional...

WHILE waiting to see if the Iraq surge strategy pays off, President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have shown Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the door and brought in Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute as the new White House “war czar.” Well, they can shift senior leadership all they want, but unless they give our troops patrolling the streets the tools they need, our leaders are going to see this strategy fizzle. Part of the problem was that when the military surge was announced, it became commonplace for officials to assert that political compromise, not...

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq's interior ministry has decided to bar news photographers and cameramen from the scenes of bomb attacks, operations director Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf said Sunday. His announcement was the latest in a series of attempts to curtail press coverage of the ongoing conflict, which has already attracted criticism from international human rights bodies

Afghan-based UK troops 'have changed tactics' By agencies Last Updated: 3:47pm GMT 20/03/2007 British forces in Afghanistan have switched tactics to counter a new wave of Taliban bombings and suicide attacks, a senior commander has said. British troops are concentrated in Helmand province The Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Nick Houghton, said that they were now deliberately targeting key Taliban leaders in an attempt to drive a wedge between them and ordinary Afghans. Giving evidence to the Commons Defence Committee, he acknowledged that attempts at the wholesale "eradication" of the Taliban and their supporters would simply alienate the local...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Army 1st Lt. Antonio Hardy took a slow look around the east Baghdad neighborhood that he and his men were patrolling. He grimaced at the sound of gunshots in the distance. A machine gunner on top of a Humvee scanned the rooftops for snipers. Some of Hardy's men wondered aloud if they'd get hit by a roadside bomb on the way back to their base. "To be honest, it's going to be like this for a long time to come, no matter what we do," said Hardy, 25, of Atlanta. "I think some people in America don't...

Antoine Henri De Jomini:The Art of War eBook The art of war, independently of its political and moral relations, consists of five principal parts, viz.: Strategy, Grand Tactics, Logistics, Tactics of the different arms, and the Art of the Engineer. We will treat of the first three branches, and begin by defining them. Written by: Antoine Henri De Jomini, Horace E. Cocroft (Commentary), G. H. Mendell (Translator), W. P. Craighill (Translator) Book Description "In 1991, General Norman Schwarzkopf drove Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait using several specific strategies. Schwarzkopf established a temporary supply base in the Saudi Arabian desert to...

PETER BROOKES In the end, the report provided some good food for thought — and will add texture to the Iraq reviews that both the Joint Chiefs and National Security Council already have underway. All three will provide the president with a good point of departure for adjusting our strategy and tactics in Iraq. VICTOR DAVIS HANSON The present readjustments of putting more Americans within Iraqi units, changing the ratio of rear echelon to forward-based troops, and widening the parameters of offensive action could provide that window. I wish the Iraqi Study Group had suggested, George Marshall-like, that they were...

The White House said Monday that President Bush was no longer using the phrase “stay the course” when speaking about the Iraq war, in a new effort to emphasize flexibility in the face of some of the bloodiest violence there since the 2003 invasion. “He stopped using it,” said Tony Snow, the White House press secretary. “It left the wrong impression about what was going on and it allowed critics to say, ‘Well, here’s an administration that’s just embarked upon a policy and not looking at what the situation is,’ when, in fact, it is the opposite.”Mr. Bush used the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2006 – The plan to bring security to Baghdad has not been a failure, but coalition and Iraqi officials are going to refine it, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman said during an interview today. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said that any time the military puts a plan in play “you are constantly reassessing and reevaluating it. That’s what we’ve been doing since the beginning.” He said the coalition is working with a new Iraqi ministerial group to make adjustments to the plan, and that Multinational Force Iraq commander Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. does this...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2006 -- Americans should not be surprised if tactics in Iraq change, since the situation in Iraq has evolved, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today during a Pentagon news conference. Rumsfeld said commanders in Iraq are constantly adjusting their tactics, techniques and procedures to counter changes the enemy makes. “They are always reviewing the situation,” he said. The secretary said he and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, meet constantly with coalition leaders in Iraq. In fact, U.S. Central Command commander Army Gen. John Abizaid will meet with Rumsfeld,...

In Iraq, the world’s only superpower finds itself mired in a conflict that it cannot win. History’s mightiest military has been unable to defeat an enemy force of perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 insurgents equipped with post-World War II vintage assault rifles and anti-tank weapons. In Gaza and southern Lebanon, the Middle East’s mightiest military also finds itself locked in combat with adversaries that it cannot defeat. Despite weeks of bitter fighting, the IDF’s Merkava tanks, F-16 fighter-bombers, and missile-launching unmanned aerial vehicles failed to suppress, much less eliminate, the armed resistance of Hamas and Hezbollah. What are we to make...

A dangerous fatalism has gripped too many people with regard to the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear weapons program. America holds much better cards than the mullahs. We have let ourselves be spooked for far too long. History is full of instances that instruct us in the dangers of wallowing in pessimism. General Abel D. Streight plumbed the low point of his life in the spring of 1863. His cavalry raid into Alabama got off to a good start, but then he came to the attention of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a nightmare situation for anyUnion horseman. A four-day series of...

British to adopt the tactics that beat Rommel By Oliver Poole in Amarah (Filed: 24/08/2006) The soldiers of the Queen's Royal Hussars will today board a fleet of stripped-down Land Rovers, festooned with weapons and equipment, bound for the depths of the Iraqi desert. Their mission is to adopt tactics pioneered by the Long Range Desert Group, the forerunners of the SAS, more than six decades ago in the campaign against Rommel in North Africa. They will leave Camp Abu Naji, the only permanent base in Maysan province near the local capital of Amarah, and head into the remote region...

Today we are fascinated with asymmetric warfare, net-centric warfare and precision warfare and we are convinced that heavy forces and the tank (yet again) are passe. Asymmetry works both ways. There is nothing quite as asymmetric as a tank driving over an infantryman.

CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan (Aug. 11, 2006) -- The Marine Corps has established a profile on the popular social networking Web site MySpace.com in order to spread interest and boost its recruiting mission, according to officials from Marine Corps Recruiting Command. The Marine Corps recruiting profile features videos, desktop wallpapers and a link that helps visitors contact a recruiter through Marines.com, the Corps' official recruiting Web site. More than 14,500 users have signed up as friends of the Marine Corps on the popular site, which boast 98 million registered users. "The objective of advertising on MySpace.com is to generate awareness...

CENTRAL TRAINING AREA, OKINAWA, Japan (Aug. 4, 2006) -- Fifty-two Marines with Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, participated in military operations on urbanized terrain training July 26-27 at Central Training Area's Combat Town. The training consisted of instruction on MOUT tactics, followed by live-fire combat scenarios with SESAMS, or special-effect small arms marking system rounds. The rounds, fired out of a special receiver for M-16 rifles and the M-4 carbine, leave a bright, washable liquid on the impact area to display where a target was hit. The intent of the training was to expose the Marines to close quarters...

Britain criticises Israeli tactics Ned Temko in London, Conal Urquart in Tel Aviv and Peter Beaumont in Beirut Saturday July 22, 2006 Guardian Unlimited A family flee their home in southern Lebanon. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/AP Britain has dramatically broken ranks with George Bush over the Lebanon crisis, publicly criticising Israel's military tactics and urging the Americans to 'understand' the price being paid by ordinary Lebanese civilians. The remarks, made in Beirut today by the Foreign Office Minister, Kim Howells, were the first public criticism of the US voiced by Britain. The Observer can also reveal that Tony Blair urged restraint...

MINORITY REPORT Jesse Jackson 'exposed' in reportTrial uncovers new details of leader's 'shakedown' tactics Posted: June 24, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com Jesse Jackson Government watchdog Judicial Watch has released a report it says reveals new details about the intimidation and shakedown tactics of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Push Coalition. The report, "Jesse Jackson Exposed," claims Jackson is "an extortionist who uses his influence as a civil rights leader to essentially blackmail wealthy corporations with absurd discrimination threats." Judicial Watch says that while some of Jackson's tactics have been published, this report offers new information gathered during the discovery...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The future belongs to Islam -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: May 11, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com It seems that there is virtually no way to avoid a military confrontation with Iran's mad clerics, barring some kind of unforeseen miracle – like a student revolt or the regime's collapse. Neither seems particularly likely at this point. Indeed, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brags that Iran has signed up tens of thousands of volunteer suicide bombers sworn to defend Iran (and, perhaps coincidentally, to keep the Iranian populace on their toes). Ahmadinejad is a fanatic who believes it is his destiny...

SAS soldier quits Army in disgust at 'illegal' American tactics in Iraq By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent (Filed: 12/03/2006) An SAS soldier has refused to fight in Iraq and has left the Army over the "illegal" tactics of United States troops and the policies of coalition forces. After three months in Baghdad, Ben Griffin told his commander that he was no longer prepared to fight alongside American forces. Ben Griffin told commanders that he thought the Iraq war was illegal He said he had witnessed "dozens of illegal acts" by US troops, claiming they viewed all Iraqis as "untermenschen" -...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2006 – U.S. military members serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other dangerous locales will soon receive revamped armored vests that provide more side protection, senior officials said here today. The vest changes are designed to prove effective in protecting servicemembers from shrapnel fragments, especially those who man gun turrets atop vehicles, Maj. Gen. Stephen Speakes, the Army's director of force development, said during a teleconference call with military analysts. "What we're seeing, obviously, is continuing evolutions in the nature of the threat that we face," Speakes said. The shrapnel-producing improvised explosive devices and other terrorist weapons encountered...

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 11, 2006 —The insurgency did not end because of the inspiring vote on Dec. 15. Recent suicide bombings and losses during combat operations remind us again that the fight is far from over. We cannot let isolated events distract us from the progress that has been made over the last year. That is what the terrorists want. As a result of the operations to restore Iraqi control to the Syrian border over the past months, we have cut the number of suicide attacks in Iraq in half by denying the people, resources and safe havens necessary for...