Free Republic

With each day, 60,000 gallons gush into the Gulf, Obama's equivalent of the body count in Iraq that caused the left to loathe George W. Bush. Rhetoric or programs or visits to the Gulf or posturing won't assuage the negatives. Only plugging the hole in the bottom of the ocean can do it. The right and center of American politics turned off Obama over healthcare. And now the left is leaving him over the oil spill. Why can't Obama plug the hole? Because he has no administrative experience. I often saw Bill Clinton, as governor and as president, call in...

WHAT IF ALL THE STUDENTS at Notre Dame WALKED OUT, leaving Barack Obama speaking to an empty auditorium? Notre Dame is a CATHOLIC, Pro-Life university. Students will BOYCOTT Obama's commencement address this weekend, May 16-17. They have set up a website at: http://www.ndresponse.com/ and a stirring video at -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KUBdrrbF6o Demonstration Confirmed ND Response has received official permission to hold a prayerful and constructive demonstration on the South Quad of the University of Notre Dame between 11am and 4pm on the day of Commencement. The students of this coalition would like to extend an invitation to all those interested in...

One of the most prevalent motifs that runs through the whole Bible is its constant reminder of the insufficiency of man. While this may seem all too obvious, we need constant reminding of this critical truth in our everyday lives. This goes for the non-Christian, because he has no hope apart from Christ's mercy, and for the Christian who has no hope, save in Christ and Christ alone. This is not only clear in those parts of the Scripture which are propositional but also are quite pervasive in the gospel narratives. If you look closely at many of the stories...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The scene repeats itself daily on city streets: a driver gets stuck bumper to bumper, blocking an intersection and preventing another car from turning left. But authorities say that was enough to cause Edwin Ramos to unload an AK-47 assault weapon on a man and his two sons, killing them. The deaths immediately drew public outrage, which intensified when authorities revealed that Ramos, 21, is an illegal immigrant who managed to avoid deportation despite previous brushes with the law.

You cannot have it both ways! Every year in America, this “both ways” mentality gets worse and worse. Somewhere along the line Americans started thinking that we could have all of our rights and freedoms and have expedient justice and results at the same time. Well, I have to tell you: YOU CANNOT. There is a blend of the two that must be championed if we are going to continue being a successful country. The mortgage crisis of late is one of the great disasters caused by this “have it both ways” mentality. The government was constantly pressured by citizens...

Here's what's making our state shut down at midnight. This is what the dim dam Dems want :

BAGHDAD — Local citizens fed tips to Soldiers from the 1st "Ironhorse" Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, which led to the finding of four weapons caches and the detaining of two suspects in multiple operations north of Baghdad, Aug. 8 and 9. Troops from Battery B, 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, attached to the 1st BCT, acting on a tip from a neighborhood watch volunteer, uncovered an improvised explosive devices cache near the town of Sab Al Bor, Aug 8. The cache included five complete IEDs and 12 incomplete IEDs. The cache also included 20 munitions of varying...

Woods vents fury at fake photos as crowd turn on Americans Lawrence Donegan at the K Club Thursday September 21, 2006 The Guardian (UK) So much for hands across the ocean. Two days before a ball is struck in earnest at the 2006 Ryder Cup the atmosphere around the K Club turned a little angry yesterday after Tiger Woods took the unusual step of publicly condemning an Irish magazine for publishing fake photographs purporting to show his wife, Elin, naked. "Some things are unacceptable," the world No1 said amid reports he was ready to take legal action against the Dublin-based...

CAMP LIBERTY — “With unity and security, there will be prosperity,” said Col. Robert Scurlock Jr., 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division commander in a press conference Wednesday. Another way to improve prosperity is to turn once dormant factories into bustling centers of activity again. Recently the Multi-National Division – Baghdad assessment team conducted a three-day visit of seven state-owned factories in Baghdad in a continuing effort, coordinated with Coalition forces and the Iraqi government, to help improve local industry. The goal of the operation is to increase the factories’ productivity, which will hopefully lead to an increase in...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces announce they’ve turned over to the Iraqi government an al-Qaida in Iraq leader that has admitted to conducting terrorist activity since 2004. The terrorist will now be prosecuted by the Iraqi government under the Iraqi justice system. The terrorist leader held multiple leadership positions within al-Qaida and was appointed by Abu Mus’ab al Zarqawi and Abu Ayyub al Masri to two of the positions he held. At one time, he coordinated and oversaw the operations of five different terrorist cells at one time. The Iraqi admitted to coordinating over ten death squad attacks, personally participating...

Want Tax Reform? Stop Paying TaxesMarch 27, 2006 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Here's my idea. In addition to illegal immigration, many of us in this country are fed up with the federal tax system. We're just fed up with it. But over the years we've been intimidated into obeying. We call on our patriotism tendencies and our desires to do the right thing and so forth, but admit it: We're also scared to death that that's the one thing the federal government will not stop looking for until they find it, and that's every tax cheat in the country. But yet...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court today refused to hear an appeal by two North Carolina-based tobacco companies who claimed California's tough anti-smoking ads smeared their reputations. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., now Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American Inc., and Lorillard Tobacco Co. of Greensboro, N.C., had asked the justices to overturn a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that rejected the companies' claims that their First Amendment rights were violated by California's ad campaign. California uses part of an 87-cent tax on every package of cigarettes to fund health education that includes a campaign to discourage smoking. The ads included a...

Insurgents turning against al-Qa'eda in Iraq By Oliver Poole in Anbar province (Filed: 06/02/2006) Iraqi insurgent groups are turning against their former al-Qa'eda allies, amid a succession of tit-for-tat assassinations, bombings and kidnappings. Evidence of growing splits has encouraged US commanders' hopes of isolating fanatical groups - such as that led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - and drawing Sunni factions into negotiations. But American forces are cautious, saying both Iraqi and al-Qa'eda groups remain committed to attacking coalition troops. The tensions between the insurgent groups were apparent during last December's elections. Al-Qa'eda, dominated by foreign jihadis, threatened to disrupt the...

Stone Age Footwork: Ancient human prints turn up down under Bruce Bower Researchers working near the shore of a dried-up lake basin in southeastern Australia have taken a giant leap backward in time. They've uncovered the largest known collection of Stone Age human footprints. SOLE SURVIVAL. Footprints attributed to a Stone Age person disappear under an Australian dune (top). In an impression of an adult's right foot (inset), the toes stand out. Cupper The 124-or-more human-foot impressions, as well as a few prints left by kangaroos and other animals, originated between 23,000 and 19,000 years ago in a then-muddy layer...

Saudis turn back Nigeria pilgrims Huge numbers of pilgrims have already arrived for the Hajj A plane load of Muslims from northern Nigeria trying to reach this year's Hajj has been turned back in Saudi Arabian air space and sent home. The 492 pilgrims from Kaduna had missed an extension to Wednesday's deadline secured by Nigeria's president. Thousands of other Nigerian pilgrims have been stranded as a shortage of aircraft is blamed for the chaos. Kano's state governor told angry pilgrims to go home and accept "the will of Allah". Many airlines have refused to take part in this year's...

Race riot fears turn Bondi into no-go zone By Nick Squires In Sydney (Filed: 17/12/2005) Australian police warned visitors to stay away from Bondi and other famous beaches in Sydney this weekend amid fears of another flare-up of race violence between gangs of white and Middle Eastern youths. The warning, unprecedented in a country in which the beach forms a central part of the national psyche, extended to two other cities in New South Wales. A young surfer carries her board outside a Sydney surf club Bondi was declared a virtual no-go zone for the weekend, along with other popular...

'Woman of Mass Destruction' jibe turns into catfight By Philip Sherwell in Washington (Filed: 13/11/2005) It has erupted into one of the great catfights of American journalism: Judith Miller, the veteran reporter who went to jail because she refused to reveal a source's name, and Maureen Dowd, her equally outspoken long-term colleague on the New York Times. The pencil-thin Miller, who quit the newspaper last week after being criticised by her editors, has launched a fightback after being denounced by Dowd. Veteran reporter Judith Miller: 'My conscience is clear' In an article entitled "Woman of Mass Destruction", the flame-haired columnist...

French police turn on Chirac as officer jailed By Kim Willsher in Paris and Henry Samuel in Bobigny (Filed: 13/11/2005) After 16 nights battling urban violence by rioters, Jacques Chirac's government is confronting angry new protests - from the police themselves. Firefighters extinguish a burning car in Strasbourg Officers at the forefront of attempts to control the wave of riots and arson attacks across France are furious at moves to prosecute policemen accused of assaulting a youth. As officers were deployed in force in Paris yesterday following a call on weblogs for a mass demonstration, the police union described the...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2005 – A unique center here is helping troubled veterans turn their lives around by providing a military-style program designed to help them beat addictions, develop career skills, land jobs, find homes, and become productive citizens. The Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training, MCVET for short, offers an ambitious array of programs aimed at getting veterans back on their feet and into the mainstream sober, drug-free and self-sufficient. Military service provides the common thread behind the program. All "students," as participants are called, are veterans, as well as 75 percent of the staff. The result is...

Pro Prop 80 Advocates Still T.U.R.N.-ing to the Hackneyed "Enron" Cliché Proponents and opponents of California Proposition 80 to re-regulate electricity on the November special election ballot both contend that voting YES or NO respectively would bring about lower electric rates. The state Legislative Analyst has concluded that there is no way of knowing which position or system might bring about lower electric rates. Pro Prop 80 advocates are using the overworked cliches "No More Enrons" and "No More Power Crises" to galvanize public opinion in favor of Prop 80. But are these slogans helpful or are they just "clichés...