Free Republic

Actual title is :Is this Media Matters ‘favorite’ WashPost columnist?: Undisclosed group instrumental in promoting Obama’s political career. A Washington Post columnist to which Media Matters reportedly pushed its content has a previously undisclosed connection to President Obama – the two were part of a small group at Harvard University that met for a period of three years purportedly to promote involvement with U.S. community institutions. Participants at the research project, which took place between 1997 and 2000, included scores of individuals with ties to Obama, including several activists who were later appointed to positions in the Obama administration. Other...

Most people don't even know what Fabianism is. Those who do, may think it's limited to Britain. It's not. In The Encyclopedia of Social Reform, By William D. P. Bliss, this is written:(Page 578) FABIAN SOCIETY, THE (AMERICAN) A movement to establish in America a Fabian Society and carry on a work like that of the Fabian Society in England (see the next article) was commenced in Boston in February, 1895, under the lead of the Rev WDP Bliss. Doesn't get any clearer than that. It was founded by William Dwight Porter Bliss, in Boston. His Fabian organization in Boston...

Today, there are protests all over America that are targeting "the one percent" and all of the wealth and power that they have accumulated. Unfortunately, many of the solutions that these protesters are advocating simply will not work and will not lead to less wealth inequality. To understand this, you have to understand how we got to this point. Over the past several decades, our federal government has exploded in size and our large corporations have exploded in size. In fact, we have seen this pattern happen pretty much all over the world. Governments and corporations all over the...

NEW YORK — Can an Anglican theologian from Britain revive an 80-year-old Catholic social justice theory and provide a solution to America’s economic woes and political polarization? Philosopher and political thinker Phillip Blond thinks so, and he’s giving it everything he’s got. Blond, who has been a counselor to British Prime Minister David Cameron, just wrapped up a two-week U.S. tour to pitch his retooled version of “distributism,” a theory that argues that both capitalism and government are out of control. In that sense, the thinking goes, both Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party are right...

Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's has come out in support of the "Occupy Wall Street" campaign. The company's blog says its board of directors has the "deepest admiration" for those taking part. It adds: "We support this call to action and are honoured to join you in this call to take back our nation and democracy." Demonstrators have camped out in New York's financial district, in lower Manhatten, since 17 September. The protest is promoted by the Adbusters magazine. The activist publication says the action was inspired by the Egyptian Tahrir Square uprising and the Spanish anti-austerity rallies. The...

In the context of Social Security reform, “centrist” and “bipartisan” are too easily mistaken for “intelligent” and “sound,” as well as “brave.” But in regards to the centrist Democrat-aligned Third Way’s Social Security reform plan, “centrist” equals “backward” and “unfortunate.” And it’s worth pointing out because the Third Way plan bears a close resemblance to the Fiscal Commission’s Social Security plan, which a bipartisan group of senators is seeking to revive.

Earlier this month, President Obama announced William Daley (brother of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and former executive at JP Morgan Chase) as his new chief of staff, replacing Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel. Less well known is the fact that Mr. Daley was a member of the board of trustees for Third Way, which bills itself as an "influential think-tank that creates and advances moderate policy and political ideas." Therefore, last week's release by Third Way of a domestic policy memo outlining a plan for "Fixing Foreclosure-gate" may well be a trial balloon for the Obama administration's next set of...

A poll found voters were twice as likely to blame President George W. Bush than President Obama for economic problems. A new poll released Monday found voters were twice as likely to blame President George W. Bush, rather than President Obama, for the nation’s economic problems. When asked whether Bush or Obama was responsible for the recession, 53 percent of likely voters said Bush and 26 percent said Obama, according to the poll from Third Way, a think tank with close ties to centrist Democrats. Another 21 percent of respondents said they didn’t know. Benenson Strategy Group conducted the survey...

U.S. President Barack Obama sought on Wednesday to lift sagging confidence in his economic stewardship by enlisting the help of predecessor Bill Clinton, as a leading business group issued a scathing critique of the administration's policies. Clinton, who presided over the 1990s economic boom, was to join Obama at a White House meeting with business leaders at 2:35 p.m. Eastern time (1835 GMT) to encourage job creation and investment, including in clean energy. SNIP Four months before the November congressional elections, Republicans have tried to paint Obama and his Democrats as anti-business. Obama is increasingly turning to former President Clinton...

Complete title: FCC Moves to Regulate Internet--Even Though the Law Calls for Internet to be 'Unfettered by Federal or State Regulation' (CNSNews.com) – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on Thursday to begin the formal process of bringing the Internet under greater federal control – a move sought by both President Barack Obama and FCC Chairnman Julius Genachowski--even though federal law calls for an Internet "unfettered by Federal or State regulation." This step comes after the federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in April rebuked the FCC in its attempt to enforce a controversial regulatory doctrine called Net Neutrality, which  would allow the government...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on Thursday to begin the formal process of bringing the Internet under greater federal control – a move sought by both President Barack Obama and FCC Chairnman Julius Genachowski--even though federal law calls for an Internet "unfettered by Federal or State regulation." This step comes after the federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in April rebuked the FCC in its attempt to enforce a controversial regulatory doctrine called Net Neutrality, which would allow the government to prevent private Internet providers from deciding which applications to allow on their networks. The court said that the...

Obama, Brown, and the ‘Third Way’The Left loses its way by abandoning the “third way.”  Left parties are in trouble in the Anglosphere. Here in America, Democrats are doing worse in the polls today than at any time in the last 50 years. In Britain, the Labour party is on the brink of finishing third, behind both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, in the election next Thursday. All of which raises the question: What happened to the “third way� center-left movement that once seemed to sweep all before it? Only a dozen years ago, in 1998, President Clinton enjoyed...

Ron Paul: Barack Obama is Not a Socialist NEW ORLEANS–Republicans and tea party activists are fond of accusing President Barack Obama of being a socialist, but today party gadfly Ron Paul said they had it wrong. “In the technical sense, in the economic definition, he is not a socialist,” the Texas Republican said to a smattering of applause at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. “He’s a corporatist,” Paul quickly added, meaning the president takes “care of corporations and corporations take over and run the country.”

Republicans hope a fresh crop of business executives-turned-political candidates can bolster the party’s fortunes in November. In races from California to Ohio, Democrats are targeting several leading GOP candidates who boast long corporate and Wall Street résumés. The Republican campaign committees recruited these candidates because they’re not subject to anti-incumbent anger and many can self-fund their races. Democrats are hoping the anxiety about the economy and the financial bailout will be directed at these corporate executives now seeking office. Two prominent GOP recruits from the business world are California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina (R), who was CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co....

The Democracy Corps-Third Way survey released Monday finds that by a 10-point margin -- 51 percent to 41 percent -- Americans think the standing of the U.S. dropped during the first 13 months of Mr. Obama's presidency. On the national security front, a massive gap has emerged, with 50 percent of likely voters saying Republicans would likely do a better job than Democrats, a 14-point swing since May. Thirty-three percent favored Democrats. "The erosion since May is especially strong among women, and among independents, who now favor Republicans on this question by a 56 to 20 percent margin," the pollsters...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new poll on Monday found signs of trouble ahead for President Barack Obama and his Democrats on national security issues such as the handling of terrorism suspects. The poll was conducted jointly by Democratic Corps, a Democratic organization, and Third Way, a progressive non-profit organization. It was done mainly to gauge voters' views on Democrats' handling of national security. The poll also found weaknesses for the Democrats on other issues ahead of November elections, in which they hope to defend their strong majorities in Congress. The poll found 60 percent of Americans believe the United States...

Dear Mr. President, We are still a free country with a constitution and our God-given unalienable individual rights. You can't just order people to purchase your health insurance plan. The congress does not have the constitutional authority to enact your socialist health care plan anyway. The federal government has no authority to involve itself in health care issues. And your plan is most definitely socialism whether you care to admit it or not. And it's unconstitutional. But I do love your methodology. No matter what the problem, all we have to do is throw more federal money at it and...

Conservatives, who constitute the overwhelming majority of Americans, are angry with the Republican Party leadership and how politics has been played since Ronald Reagan left office. Often Republican nominees have seemed to copy Bill Clinton's "triangulation" -- strategically placing themselves as the arbitrators between conservatives and leftists. Sen. John McCain luxuriated for years in fawning media coverage of his "independence" from conservatives. George H. Bush, as soon as the Gipper was gone, promised to move us to a "kinder, gentler" -- more moderate -- America. Specter and Jeffords switched parties at critical times. Who trusts Republican leaders? Not serious conservatives,...

I said Obama could turn out to be America's Tony Blair - just a vacuous showman. This week we'll find out if U.S. voters agree. On Tuesday, almost a year to the day since he took the oath of office, Barack Obama faces a referendum on his presidency. The jury is out and the verdict is far from certain. Voters in Massachussetts go to the ballot box to elect a successor to Senator Edward Kennedy, who died of brain cancer last August. It should be a formality for the Democrats, who have held the state since the late John F....

WASHINGTON – A Goldman Sachs executive has been named the first chief operating officer of the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement division. The market watchdog says Adam Storch, vice president in Goldman Sachs' Business Intelligence Group, is assuming the new position of managing executive of the SEC division.

Bill Clinton says a vast, right-wing conspiracy that once targeted him is now focusing on President Barack Obama.

I heard a news brief referencing "The Third Way." Let's take a look ON THE INTERNET.

Binyam Mohammed, who planned terrorist attacks on U.S. cities, has been set free. Let’s imagine we’ve captured a highly trained terrorist al-Qaeda was attempting to embed in the United States, à la Mohamed Atta and company, to carry out mass-murder attacks in American cities. For eight years, our national-security debate in the United States has been divided into two camps on these cases. In the first are those who accept the post-9/11 law-of-war paradigm. They would have that enemy combatant detained for intelligence purposes (and to remove him from the battlefield) until he could be tried for war crimes by...

Jim Kessler, a vice president at the nonpartisan Third Way think tank, said that to the public, the health-care debate appears to be a "muddle." But the fierce sparring over the opposition may signal progress on the legislative front. He said: "We always knew this was going to be decided near the end."

Four Democratic senators want to put off the proposed cap & trade legislation. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad both of North Dakota are urging the Senate to delay legislation that puts caps on greenhouse gas emissions and instead, pass a narrow bill that sets requirements on the use of renewable energy. Senators Lincoln and Dorgan are up for re-election in 2010 and are from states that would be hurt economically from a cap and trade bill similar to the one passed by the House in June. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid...

Nothing more immediately spoils the honesty of political debate in America today than the common use of the terms “liberal” and “conservative.” They are too often used anachronistically, in a way maintained in the public mind through narrow relative thinking – and probably more often without thinking at all. It is common for these terms to be used as synonyms for “left” and “right” and for those terms to be automatically associated with the Democratic and Republican parties. No matter how far the two parties shift along the political spectrum together, or where they go, this common semantic error leaves...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were the chief culprits in the housing crisis because they encouraged people who could not afford payments to borrow money, according to a congressional report released Tuesday. The claims in the report have long been advanced by conservatives, who argue that the Community Reinvestment Act and other federal programs fed the housing bubble that burst in 2007 and led to the economic downfall in 2008. But the report explains in detail how Fannie and Freddie -- government sponsored enterprises (GSE) that were not subject to the same oversight as other publicly traded firms -- “privatized...

"They fear that the development and building of People's (community) Organizations is the building of a vast power group which may fall prey to a fascistic demagogue who will seize leadership and control and turn an organization into a Frankenstein's monster against democracy." - Saul Alinsky responding to his critics, Reveille for Radicals; p. 199 When Saul Alinsky began building his community-organization movement in 1930s Chicago, observers were watching Alinsky with one eye, while with the other eye observing the building of communist and fascist movements in Europe. It wasn't hard then to see in Alinsky's programs at home, elements...

Obama: 'I'm not a miracle worker' By: Jonathan Martin April 29, 2009 06:43 PM EST ARNOLD, Mo. – President Barack Obama laced his assessment of his first 100 days in office Wednesday with a healthy bit of hedging, buying himself some more time by reminding Americans of his limitations and the patience he hopes they have. “I’m not a miracle worker,” he said during a town hall meeting here in suburban St. Louis high school. “We’ve got a lot of tough choices and hard decisions and hard work ahead of us.” Weaving in a dose of optimism, as he increasingly...

Earlier this month, the United States Chamber of Commerce handed out its annual "Spirit of Enterprise" awards to those members of Congress who voted with the Chamber 70 percent of the time on its most important legislative initiatives of 2008. The only four Republican senators who did not receive the award were Jon Kyl, Jeff Sessions, Jim Inhofe and me - four of the most conservative members of the Senate. What were the conservative offenses? We opposed the failed bailouts and stimulus. Which explains why many liberal Democrats scored higher, including Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Republican who...

President Barack Obama firmly resists ideological labels, but at the end of a private meeting with a group of moderate Democrats Tuesday afternoon he offered a statement of solidarity. “I am a New Democrat,” he told the New Democrat Coalition, according to two sources at the White House session. The group is comprised of centrist Democratic members of the House, who support free trade and a muscular foreign policy but are more moderate than the conservative Blue Dog coalition. Obama made his comment in discussing his budget priorities and broader goals, also calling himself a “pro-growth Democrat” during the course...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- General Electric Co. is reading the tea leaves of the troubled global economy and has found a new partner to help it weather the storm: government. In the new economy, the interaction between government and business will be changed forever, with government as a stronger regulator, an industry policy champion, a financier and key partner, GE (GE 7.01, -0.59, -7.8%) Chief Executive Jeff Immelt wrote in a letter to shareholders, published late Monday. ...Another driver is infrastructure work tied to Obama's stimulus package, which seeks to rebuild highways, water systems, electrical grids and make government buildings...

"One of the most far-reaching consequences of the General Education Board's political philosophy was achieved with a mere six million dollar grant to Columbia University in 1917, to set up the "progressive" Lincoln School . >From this school descended the national network of progressive educators and social scientists, whose pernicious influence closely paralleled the goals of the Communist Party, another favorite recipient of the Rockefeller millions . From its outset, the Lincoln School was described frankly as a revolutionary school for the primary and secondary schools of the entire United States . It immediately discarded all theories of education which...

CRAFT is a 527 committee launched by last year by Schwarzenegger donors Larry Dodge and Paul Folino, and former Gov. Pete Wilson to recruit the "next generation" of statewide Republicans candidates. It is run by former California Republican Party Chairman Duf Sundheim. Moderate GOP pundit Tony Quinn opined at the time that CRAFT's formation "...shows the money people in the party have no faith in the California Republican party. This group would not exist if not for the fact that Republicans can't win statewide elections." Judging by CRAFT's financial disclosure, I'm not sure those involved know how to run a...

I hate to hear about "partnerships" between government and business, or between government and other organizations. When there is a partnership between an ant and an elephant, who do you suppose makes the decisions? - Thomas Sowell We'll be hearing a lot about state-business "partnerships" over the months to come. Much of Obama's "stimulus" plan, and virtually the whole of the bank-bailout plan (if I'm deciphering Secretary Geithner's obscure and confusing outline correctly) are based on the concept. In fact, most of the country's financial establishment is already operating under such a compact. That being the case, a close examination...

Former President Bill Clinton told Virginia Democrats Saturday that the party has won America's long-running culture war but has to make sure not to squander it with partisanship. Clinton told more than 3,000 people at a party fundraiser that the nation's natural political base shifted back to Democrats for the first time since 1968, thanks to protracted Republican mistakes and the belief that President Barack Obama represented the solution. He said Obama's election shows Americans at last are welcoming diversity and accepting differences, the opposite of the political dynamic he said Richard Nixon first used in 1968 to lock in...

Hamas must somehow be brought into the Middle East peace process because the policy of isolating Gaza in the quest for a settlement will not work, Tony Blair has told The Times. The former prime minister implicitly criticises the strategy followed by the Bush Administration and Israel of focusing all peace and reconstruction efforts on the West Bank. “It was half of what we needed,” he said.

United Way of Dane County is moving forward on its mission to effect change in the community by announcing expanded programs and initiatives in its Agenda for Change for 2009. The United Way collected more than $17 million in contributions in its 2008 campaign, paving the way to continue investing in programs and initiatives aligned to respond to issues the community identified to have the greatest impact in crucial areas, including schools, early childhood development and safety. "The community responded in a very challenging economic climate, and we are excited to share details of how their investments will solve the...

Left-of-center nonprofits are getting the bailout they wanted from the U.S. government, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. The news comes a month after Independent Sector president Diana Aviv demanded it. Our lawmakers are intent on pissing away billions of dollars on utterly useless giveaways to their supporters in the liberal nonprofit establishment. The money will have virtually no positive impact on the economy, except perhaps that it might bolster employment at nonprofit groups. One of the more egregious line items is the $1 billion allocation for community development block grants (CDBG). These are slush funds that liberal groups like La...

Nearly 800 advocates for California's "working families" gathered in downtown Sacramento on Tuesday, and they had plenty to talk about. Deep cuts to programs that fund food and health care and affordable housing for the state's most vulnerable people. Rising unemployment and demand for social services. Alarming school dropout rates. It was enough to tear Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg away from budget negotiations at the Capitol to rally the group of nonprofit staffers, policymakers and others at the Sacramento Convention Center. Steinberg, six weeks into his new job, admitted that he has not been getting out much lately....

A new state commission says the Alaska governor ought to get a $25,000 a year raise. Asked to figure out how much Alaska should pay its top officials, the group recommends pay hikes for the lieutenant governor, department heads and legislators too. “We need the best people we can get to do some pretty tough jobs against some often incredibility well-financed, single-minded corporate and individual interests,” said Rick Halford, a former legislator and chairman of the new State Officers Compensation Commission. Deciding how much to pay themselves is always a thorny proposition for politicians who answer to an ever-skeptical public....

Obama Praised Daschle's Federal Health Board Idea By Philip Klein on 11.25.08 @ 10:52AM Barack Obama said earlier this year that Tom Daschle's idea of creating a Federal Health Board (modeled after the Federal Reserve) to manage the nation's medical system showed "great promise." "The American health care system is in crisis, and workable solutions have been blocked for years by deeply entrenched ideological divisions," Obama wrote in a blurb on the back of Daschle's book, Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis. "Sen. Daschle brings fresh thinking to this problem, and his Federal Reserve for Health concept...

Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, who served as both Democratic foil and dealmaker with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has joined the high-powered public relations firm whose California office is currently occupied by Schwarzenegger's former campaign manager and communications director. Núñez, a Los Angeles Democrat, will be the newest partner and co-chair of Mercury Public Affairs, LLC, a political firm with offices in seven cities across the country, according to a letter he has sent to supporters. Steve Schmidt, who was the architect of Schwarzenegger's reelection campaign, and Adam Mendelsohn, the governor's former communications director and deputy chief of staff, are the...

Advocates for a United Nations treaty on children’s rights blamed American arrogance for it not being ratified by the United States, but critics charge signing onto the Convention on the Rights of the Child could mean international law trumping U.S. state and federal laws and the rights of parents to make decisions about raising and educating their children. The treaty, adopted by the United Nations on Nov. 20, 1989, has been ratified by 193 countries. The United States and Somalia are the two countries that have not ratified it, groups that support ratification said at a press conference at the...

A new conservative movement that takes libertarian ideas seriously could use the inertia created by the nation's new progressivism to slingshot itself into the future on a platform of reduced government, lower taxes, and limited interventionism, while also respecting climate change (adjusting the tax code to encourage green reform without any expense to taxpayers) and reforming the immigration system (opening the borders as the market demands labor without sacrificing security). The Republican Party has a chance to transform itself into something it has never been: a party of small government based on classical liberal principles. It doesn't have to be...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican who has challenged many members of his party to take climate change seriously, said Friday that he plans to invite lawmakers and governmental executives from around the globe to California this fall to address solutions to the problem. The governor said he will invite officials from Europe, as well as from Australia, China, India and other countries, in the hope of forming an international alliance of community and regional leaders. He is planning the conference for November, a month before the United Nations holds its next round of international climate talks...

NEW YORK -- The morning after he declared he would suspend his presidential campaigning and return to Washington to deal with the U.S. economic crisis, Sen. John McCain made one last campaign stop, speaking at a conference on global issues organized by former president Bill Clinton. Addressing his dramatic call for a pause in the intense presidential campaign, McCain said he intends to "join" the debate in Washington over how to address the meltdown in the country's financial institutions. "I cannot carry on a campaign as though this dangerous situation had not occurred, or as though a solution were at...

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter and member of the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee, will endorse John McCain for president on Wednesday, her spokesman tells CNN. “This is a hard decision for me personally because frankly I don't like him,” she said of Obama in an interview with CNN’s Joe Johns. “I feel like he is an elitist. I feel like he has not given me reason to trust him.”

WASHINGTON -- For a generation, most people accepted the idea that the core of what makes America tick was an economy governed by free markets. And whatever combination of goods, services and jobs the market cooked up was presumed to be fine for the nation and for its citizens -- certainly better than government meddling. No longer. Spurred by the continued housing crisis, turmoil in financial markets, spiking oil prices, disappearing jobs and shrinking retirement savings, the nation and its political leaders have begun to sour on the notion that the current market system is the key to a fair,...

Toll road opponents today will ask the Sunset Advisory Committee of the Texas Legislature to abolish the Texas Department of Transportation, saying the agency has become too corrupt and too dysfunctional to fix, 1200 WOAI news reports. "We want to see elected leadership at the helm of Tex-DOT," says long time toll road opponent Terri Hall, the founder of the citizen action group Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom. "We are done with this unelected beaurocracy that is just an arm of private road building companies and the lackeys of this governor." The idea of eliminating TexDOT and establishing a...