Free Republic

"I said that [Newt] was running for president purely for vanity purposes — to sell books, to sell DVDs, which I still believe. Someone told him that, and he was like ‘What would she know?’ and his implication was, like, ‘dumb blond chick, get off TV, what do you know?’ And he just was so — I’m so sick of being talked to like that."

The Supreme Court let stand on Monday a ruling that a traditional Internet download of sound recording does not constitute a public performance of the recorded musical work under federal copyright law. The justices refused to review a ruling by an appeals court in New York that the download itself of a musical work does not fall within the law's definition of a public performance of that work. The not-for-profit American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) appealed to the Supreme Court. It said the ruling has profound implications for the nation's music industry, costing its members tens of...

Two dogs attacked a 62-year-old woman who was exercising on a track at a senior center on Long Island Thursday morning...The woman suffered serious wounds but was able to call police... Nassau County cops responded to the area, near Brookside Junior High School in North Merrick, and found the dogs attacking the woman at the edge of a parking lot. The dogs, believed to be pit bulls, shifted their focus to the officers, who fired at them. ... In a separate incident not far from this area, some dogs attacked an elderly man around 1 a.m. Authorities believe the same...

Young adults are the recession's lost generation. In record numbers, they're struggling to find work, shunning long-distance moves to live with mom and dad, delaying marriage and raising kids out of wedlock, if they're becoming parents at all. The unemployment rate for them is the highest since World War II, and they risk living in poverty more than others - nearly 1 in 5. New 2010 census data released Thursday show the wrenching impact of a recession that officially ended in mid-2009. There are missed opportunities and dim prospects for a generation of mostly 20-somethings and 30-somethings coming of age...

As a long time fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar, I ask that you please consider checking out Sarah in her first return to TV since Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "Ringer" will air on the CW next Tuesday at 9PM. Sarah has started to receive positive reviews for her show. And I hope her show does well in the ratings. Since Sarah & her husband Freddie Prinze Jr. stay very private, they seem to be more on the right on at least some issues.

<p>ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — United Nations peacekeepers in Ivory Coast enticed underage girls in a poor part of the West African nation to exchange sex for food, according to a United States Embassy cable released by WikiLeaks.</p> <p>The cable written in January 2010 focuses on the behavior of Beninese peacekeepers stationed in the western town of Toulepleu, an area that has been at the crosshairs of the nation's 10-year-long conflict.</p>

The source and amounts of all U.S. funding to the myriad number of organizations affiliated with the United Nations are difficult to track accurately. This difficulty prompted Congress to pass legislation requiring the Administration to report annually on U.S. contributions to the U.N. A recent report to Congress by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on all U.S. funding to the U.N. system revealed that U.S. contributions to the U.N. system reached record levels in fiscal year (FY) 2009. Considering budget trends, U.S. contributions will continue to rise. Having an accurate account of U.S. contributions to the U.N. is...

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) -- Colin Powell told graduates of South Carolina's premier historically black university that they were graduating during a tumultuous time that saw a royal wedding, a pope's beatification and a U.S. military assault that killed Osama bin Laden, "the worst person on earth." But the former secretary of state and Joint Chiefs chairman told South Carolina State University's 400 graduates on Friday that he particularly enjoyed another recent event: "That was when President Obama took out his birth certificate and blew away Donald Trump and all the birthers!"

John Kerry: Not Interested in Being Secretary of State February 04, 2011 5:32 PM JON KARLABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: Senator John Kerry (D-MA) wants to make one thing perfectly clear: He has no interest in being Secretary of State. Of course, there is no opening. Hillary Clinton is no Secretary of State and shows no sign of leaving any time soon. But Senator Kerry, who now serves as Congress’s ambassador to the world in his role as chairman of the Senator Foreign Relations Committee has frequently faced speculation he secretly covets Hillary Clinton’s job. The most recent example: A...

The 2008 financial crisis was an “avoidable” disaster caused by widespread failures in government regulation, corporate mismanagement and heedless risk-taking by Wall Street, according to the conclusions of a Congressional inquiry. The government commission that investigated the financial crisis casts a wide net of blame, faulting two administrations, the Federal Reserve and other regulators for permitting a calamitous concoction: shoddy mortgage lending, the excessive packaging and sale of loans to investors, and risky bets on securities backed by the loans. < snip > ..... Many of the findings have been widely described, but its synthesis of interviews, documents and testimony,...

BEDFORD, N.H. — Beating Alaska starlet Sarah Palin in a straw poll has former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty feeling solid in the Granite State. “Many of these other folks have run before with a lot of name (recognition). But, so far so good; each day we’re making a little progress,” Pawlenty told the Herald yesterday. Pawlenty unofficially campaigned across New Hampshire this week on his book tour promoting “Courage to Stand,” scoring points and meeting with voters before jet-setting to Iowa for the weekend.

Check the link.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2010/04/22/cbs-early-show-guilts-viewers-give-bottled-water-earth-day In the 8:30AM ET half hour of Thursday's CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez introduced an Earth Day segment by proclaiming: "Americans throw away more than 30 billion plastic bottles every year....We have a film maker, Stephanie Soechtig, here with us, she has a documentary out called 'Tapped,' which looks the impact that all those bottles have had on the environment." Rodriguez invited Soechtig to explain her mission: "What has your message been?" Soechtig responded: "we've been trying to educate people that bottled water's one of the greatest marketing scams of all time. 40% of bottled water is really...

Video at link.

If Obamacare passes, Obamacare is forever. Just ask Jim Bunning. The Kentucky Republican finally caved in Tuesday after relentless pressure from other senators — including Republicans — to drop what the Politico called his “one man” filibuster of a bill to extend expiring unemployment benefits. Technically, it was not a filibuster. It was an objection to a procedure, called “unanimous consent,” used to speed along uncontroversial legislation. In this case, there ought to have been raging controversy: Bunning was objecting to yet another monthly extension of unemployment payments absent an explanation of how it would be paid for. He was...

Making the rounds of conservative talk shows lately is the question, “What has Obama accomplished so far?” The question is asked of of Obama supporters and the answers range from ‘abolishing lobbyists’ to ‘securing world peace’ to ‘lowering taxes.’ One thing all answers have in common: They are all grounded in perception as opposed to reality. Obama has accomplished the amazing feat of convincing millions of Americans that black is white, that cold is hot, that the bad economy is the fault of George W Bush, and the only things standing between America and peace on earth are those darn...

<p>The Obama administration is heading into a second week of intensive negotiations over its evolving Afghan strategy.</p> <p>WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is heading into a second week of intensive negotiations over its evolving Afghan strategy.</p> <p>President Barack Obama's senior advisers are set to meet twice this week to debate the strategy.</p>

The longer he is in office, the more it appears that Barack H. Obama doesn't really want to be president but only to play at being president. He doesn't seem interested in dealing with the messy, day-to-day responsibilities of the president's job. He doesn't want to be the Chief Executive and propose legislation that will move the country forward to new heights. He doesn't want to be Commander-In-Chief of the military and execute a necessary war. He doesn't take on the fiscal responsibilities required of the executive to deal with our economic issues. He doesn't want to be leader of...

For some people in this country, Obama will always be an angel.

It has occurred to me tonight that I do not remember hearing that the President had planned to have a two week long vacation. I had understood that he would take last week then, come back to Washington and go back to work. I heard today that he is "taking the rest of the week off". Did I miss something? If not, I cannot recall a time when a healthy President suddenly took an unplanned week off. Can anyone offer some clarity to this mucky water? I am concerned...

Paramount was so worried the critics would hate G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra—and with good reason, it's awful—that they decided not to screen it for anybody. Just one problem: the first showing was at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, which means I have all night to tell you how bad it is. Bad. Bad. Bad. It's excruciatingly bad. Gigli bad. How bad are we talking? I chronicled my night: 11:40 p.m.: I arrive to the theater, a little sleepy and slightly giddy that the movie could be so bad that it's good. I ask the older couple on the escalator...

We've never had an Official U.S. Senate Pornographer before, though pornographic behavior is frequently the entertainment provided to the public by the world's oldest deliberative body. So Al Franken, the answer to Harry Reid's prayer, should fit right in. Some of the Democrats can't wait to see what mischief they can do. "With the Minnesota recount complete," Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said after the Minnesota robbery was completed, "it is now clear that Al Franken won the election." Actually, it wasn't clear at all, but clarity is never valued among thieves. The Democrats in the Senate were eager...

Hillary Clinton urges condemnation of Honduran actionTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS 5:45 PM EDT, June 28, 2009 WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the action taken against Honduras' president should be condemned by everyone. She says Honduras must embrace the principles of democracy and respect constitutional order. The president, Manuel Zelaya, was flown to Costa Rica after being taken into military custody at his house outside the Honduran capital. He was detained shortly before voting was to begin on a constitutional referendum the president had insisted on holding.

Just a spoof of our wacky Fearless Leader's economic plan, posted at the link above (http://www.phawkins.com/obamabucks.html). It is mostly graphics or I'd post it here.

Commentary: Symbolic move proves insulting LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The Obama administration has announced plans to cut $100 million from the federal budget, and department heads will have to make the cuts within 90 days. To get a handle on how insultingly trivial the announcement is, one need only compare the targeted cuts to the administration's spending plan for 2010. With cuts in federal spending by $100 million, the government will save roughly 1/36,000 of the $3.6 trillion it expects to spend next year. Put another way, if the budget were a yardstick, the administration would be proposing to shorten it...

All we're getting is whispers from the press, of course, A raised eyebrow here, a sad shake of the head there. But the picture that is emerging of Barack Obama, the executive, is not very flattering if you look between the lines. Jennifer Rubin: Well, it's becoming obvious he's not really much of a manager, decider, legislation-craftsman, or supervisor. His vetting process is in shambles and key Treasury slots are still vacant. His Treasury Secretary is a classic under-performer and Obama encourages that tendency by talking about everything other than our immediate recovery needs. He lets Nancy Pelosi and Harry...

Google to find

As the final embarrassing days of California's special legislative session slip away with no state budget solution in sight, the 40 members of the state Senate and 80 members of the Assembly have once again proved the wisdom of my call to abolish the Legislature. They are a worthless group that individually and collectively have ignored the state's toughest problems. On Tuesday's budget vote, some lawmakers didn't even bother to show up. The Democrats' budget bill didn't get the required two-thirds votes to pass and the Republicans didn't offer up an alternative. This is the best our lawmakers can offer:...

Leaders of a church that's drawn national controversy for its protests at U.S. military funerals say they plan to picket Friday's services for two Scott County High School cheerleaders and sisters killed in a weekend crash.

"...There is no love for the United Nations in Kosovo...Kosovo is the fourth country I've visited where the UN has or has had a key role, and in only one of them – Lebanon – is the UN not despised by just about everyone. In Lebanon the UN has so little power to make a difference one way or the other that any anger at the institution would largely be pointless..."

I dislike the new FR format. The former one was simple to use. Why does one need to click on a current post to be able to submit a new post? I would prefer to see the post option returned to the upper right corner of the screen where it was previously. I'm getting so frustrated with the new format I don't enjoy FR any longer.

"For the First Time in My Adult Lifetime, I Am Really Proud of My Country," said Michelle Obama, rich lawyer and wife of Barack Hussein (same last name), yesterday. Excuse me? A female, African-American, Princeton-and-Harvard-educated attorney, who has achieved a great deal in her life, who lived through the Civil Rights revolution (and was the daughter of a Chicago city worker who really experienced those events), and who is married to an African-American man who is a U.S. Senator, has never been proud of her country before?Putting that aside for a moment, what is it that we've suddenly done to...

Sen. Trent Lott retired from Congress late Tuesday with characteristic flair, making public with 16 minutes' notice that he would relinquish his seat when the Senate closed for business. A press release issued by his office at 11:49 p.m. said Lott would not return to work Wednesday. The Senate turned out the lights at 12:05 a.m. Lott spokesman Lee Youngblood said the formal announcement came so late because Lott had to resign at least a day before the Senate recesses, which could be as early as Wednesday, but wanted to vote on important bills that were being considered well into...

More Americans Say Value Of Their Home Has Fallen Topics:Housing | Real Estate | Consumers | Economy (U.S.)By Reuters | 21 Sep 2007 | 10:48 AM ET Font size: A record 26% of U.S. homeowners say the value of their homes has fallen during the past year, above the previous peak of 24% seen in 1992, a survey released Friday showed. Reflecting the extent of the prolonged housing slump, 21% of homeowners polled in September expect the value of their home to decline in the year ahead, up from 18% in August, according to the data from Reuters/University of Michigan...

AUSTIN - Nationally syndicated columnist Molly Ivins has been hospitalized in her recurring battle with breast cancer. "I think she's tough as a metal boot," her brother, Andy Ivins, said Friday after a visit with her at Seton Medical Center in Austin. Andy Ivins said his sister was admitted to Seton on Thursday. She spent Friday morning with longtime colleagues and friends, and was "sleeping peacefully" when he arrived later in the day. A self-described leftist agitator, Ivins, 62, completed a round of radiation treatment in August, but the cancer "came back with a vengeance," and has spread through her...

ABC News has confirmed that Adam Gadahn, the American who converted to Islam and joined al Qaeda, has been charged in a sealed indictment with providing material support to terrorism. Gadahn recently appeared with al Qaeda's No. 2 in command Ayman Zawahiri exhorting Americans to convert to Islam. Gadahn, in addition to helping al Qaeda with propaganda and communications, is also suspected of helping al Qaeda with English translations and understanding U.S. culture and vulnerabilities. Charges may be announced in the next week. Officials have also considered charging Gadahn with treason.

Former US president Jimmy Carter lashed out at British Prime Minister Tony Blair for being "so compliant and subservient" to the Bush administration in Washington. "I have been surprised and extremely disappointed with Tony Blair's behaviour," Carter told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper as he promoted his new book "Faith and Freedom." "I think that, more than any other person in the world, the prime minister could have had a moderating influence on Washington, and he has not," said the 81-year-old former head of state. He faulted Blair for not having been a constraint on US President George W. Bush's decision...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Bob Dylan says modern recordings sound "atrocious," and even the songs on his new album sounded much better in the studio than on disc. "I don't know anybody who's made a record that sounds decent in the past twenty years, really," the 65-year-old rocker said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. Dylan, who released eight studio albums in that time, returns with his first recording in five years, "Modern Times," next Tuesday. Noting the music industry's complaints that illegal downloading means people are getting their music for free, he said, "Well, why not? It ain't...

Writing the history of our time in song.http://www.guidinglightvideo.com/postcard/smilerack.htm MIDI - CAMP GRENADA - scroll down to find it Hello foolish, Jimmy Carter...all your words are...a non-starter We don't care what you are thinking...your whole presidency, sir, was really stinking Not one problem...you had plenty...interest rates were reaching twenty You cut back the U.S. power...and had left a taste in our mouth that was sour I remember gas line waiting...for our nation, how degrading I have mocked you...and I mean it...why don't you just go away and suck a peanut You were flat as month old cola...bitch slapped by the Ayatollah...

After days of negotiations, the U.S. and France reached agreement Saturday on a U.N. Security Council that calls for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah but would allow Israel to defend itself if attacked, officials said. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton and French President Jacques Chirac's office confirmed that agreement had been reached. An official with knowledge of the document said the draft calls for a "full cessation of violence" between Israel and Hezbollah, but would allow Israel the right to launch strikes if Hezbollah attacks it. "It does not say immediate cessation of violence," the official said,...

It was a cool December evening. The Sabbath had ended, and the sons and daughters of Jerusalem bad good-bye to their parents and flooded outside to have fun with their friends on a Saturday night...In the crowd was Assaf Avitan, a fifteen-year-old tenth grader who had just been accepted into a special program for gifted children. Assaf joined his friends that night to celebrate the sixteenth birthday of twins from his Jerusalem neighborhood. He was accompanied by his buddy, fifteen-year-old Golan Turgeman...It was 11:30 pm and Assaf and his pal had been standing on the sidewalk for about fifteen...

The National Firearms Register promised by the Government in the aftermath of the Dunblane massacre has been condemned as "fundamentally flawed and not fit for purpose". An internal police report describes the database, intended to carry information on everybody who has applied for a gun licence, as unworkable. The scathing criticism makes a mockery of the upbeat assessment of the register by Charles Clarke, the former home secretary sacked over the foreign criminals deportation fiasco. Three months ago, after the Government failed to deliver the database in time for the 10th anniversary of the Dunblane tragedy, he insisted that "good...

THESE ARE THE SENATORS WHO VOTED TO GIVE SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS REGARDLESS OF POLITICAL PARTY, THESE POLITICIANS NEED TO BE DEFEATED IN 2006, 2008 OR 2010, WHENEVER THEY NEXT COME UP FOR OFFICE. SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW; THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION -- THAT IS, UNLESS THEY DO NOT MIND SHARING THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY WITH FOREIGN WORKERS WHO NEVER PAID INTO IT AND AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE BEING LEFT OUT. Grouped by Home State Alabama: Alaska: Stevens (R-AK), Yea Arizona: McCain (R-AZ), Yea Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR),...

I am curious why none of the media covers the most important aspect of the Malvo shootings. If you look at Newspapers on the dates when the shootings are underway you discover something I find quite interesting. The shootings begin to dominate the news the day before the debate on the Iraq war starts and they catch them the day after the declaration of war??? If you ask most people "do you remember the debate about starting the second Iraq war", they will all answer "yes of course". But if you followup with the question "name one point in the...

I recently received a reply to a post that stated: "This should be beneath a "freeper". Sad." So I asked.. what is it that makes a FReeper? My reply (and I will admit was tasteless) was also questioning. It stirred controversy and was removed? Why Moderators? Can you not tell me? Did it not meet with your "FReeper" mentality? According to all posted guidelines it should be listed but no, you chose to delete it. Yes.. I'm the first one IBTZ, I'm sure you'll nick me for speaking up..

It appears that every other day there's a new poll released on President George Bush's job approval rating. The majority of these polls or surveys are conducted by news organizations or polling companies contracted by news organizations. Many American's believe these poll results are accurate and still trust the news organizations to conduct them fairly. However, the blogosphere and talk radio uncovered a bit of hanky-panky going on at CBS once again. No, they didn't use forged documents again -- and those responsible for the use of fraudulent memos used to damage the Bush presidency are gone from CBS News,...

U.S. Troops in Iraq: 72% Say End War in 2006 Le Moyne College/Zogby Poll shows just one in five troops want to heed Bush call to stay “as long as they are needed” While 58% say mission is clear, 42% say U.S. role is hazy Plurality believes Iraqi insurgents are mostly homegrown Almost 90% think war is retaliation for Saddam’s role in 9/11, most don’t blame Iraqi public for insurgent attacks Majority of troops oppose use of harsh prisoner interrogation Plurality of troops pleased with their armor and equipment An overwhelming majority of 72% of American troops serving in Iraq...

In this war freedom should come first not after! In New Hampshire the Motto is Live free or Die! I don't need Bush spying on law abiding americans and taking our freedoms. Anyone who surrenders a square inch of freedom to the government in the name of saftey is a traitor and should be treated like one! Let the Bush Fashists all drop dead! Filthy Commys! LET FREEDOM RING!

Best-selling author and Muslim dissident Ibn Warraq argues that freedom of expression is our western heritage and we must defend it against attacks from totalitarian societies. If the west does not stand in solidarity with the Danish, he argues, then the Islamization of Europe will have begun in earnest. The great British philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote in On Liberty, "Strange it is, that men should admit the validity of the arguments for free discussion, but object to their being 'pushed to an extreme'; not seeing that unless the reasons are good for an extreme case, they are not good...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Tens of thousands of angry Muslims marched through Palestinian cities, burning the Danish flag and calling for vengeance Friday against European countries where caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad were published. In Washington, the State Department criticized the drawings, calling them "offensive to the beliefs of Muslims." While recognizing the importance of freedom of the press and expression, State Department press officer Janelle Hironimus said these rights must be coupled with press responsibility. "Inciting religious or ethnic hatred in this manner is not acceptable," Hironimus said. "We call for tolerance and respect for all communities and...