Free Republic

Former President Trump vowed to block the sale of U.S. Steel to the Japanese Nippon Steel Corporation if he secures a second term in the White House. “I would block it, I think it’s a horrible thing. When Japan buys U.S. Steel, I would block it instantaneously. Absolutely,” he told reporters Wednesday after meeting with the Teamsters union in Washington. Trump did not say how he planned to block the deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel. “We saved the steel industry. Now, U.S. Steel is being bought by Japan. So terrible. But yeah, we want to bring jobs back...

Does anybody really buy the Left’s faux outrage over former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani’s opinion, offered at a private event for Wisconsin governor Scott Walker last Wednesday, that President Obama does not love America? After all, it’s a matter of orthodoxy on the right that Barack Obama’s opinion of America ranges from mild disapproval to outright hatred. In my own estimation, it is somewhere between. A thought experiment for you: How do you think a spouse, a friend, or a colleague would react if you suggested — in your nicest voice — “I think you’re wonderful, but I...

"..........This systematic pusillanimity is not a new phenomenon. Other examples: the refusal by the Obama administration to criticize the Iranian regime when it put down the “Green Revolution” in 2009; the administration’s eagerness to “reset” relations with an increasingly hostile Russia; its secret negotiations with the Taliban even as the group continued its attacks on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan; the refusal to meet with any Egyptian opposition groups other than the Muslim Brotherhood. Obama is hardly the first president to seek rapprochement with our adversaries and reconciliation with our enemies, of course. But his determination to make nice—even in the...

US Secretary of State Clinton on Friday pledged $45 million in new aid to the Syrian opposition and its allies, as they seek to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Clinton announced that the Obama administration would provide the political opposition with $15 million in non-lethal aid and $30 million in humanitarian support, according to the Associated Press. To date, the US has provided more than $130 million in humanitarian aid and $45 million in non-lethal aid, the AP noted. Clinton made the announcement at a meeting of the Friends of Syria. Nine activists who have worked with pro-opposition local coordination...

POLITICO's Robin Bravender reports from Tallahassee, Fla.: Santorum was asked at Florida State University about whether he'd expand NASA programs after Newt Gingrich's pledge for a new moon base. "I go back to trying to be very up front and honest with the people of Florida, the people of the country," he said. But given a potential explosion of inflation, he said, "the idea that anybody's going out and talking about grand, new, very expensive schemes to spend more money at a time when we do not have our fiscal house in order, in my opinion, is plain, crass politics."

A source on the Rick Perry campaign tells Hot Air that the Texas governor conducted some Texas-size fundraising in the third quarter. Coming in just a little over halfway through, Perry raised $17.1 million. That number would put Perry somewhere between $4-6 million ahead of Mitt Romney’s rumored total for Q3, according to this report last week from the Boston Globe. It’s also likely to far outpace Herman Cain’s fundraising or that of the other Republicans currently in the race. The pace is even more impressive. Perry had 49 days in which to raise funds, rather than the full 92...

Space exploration is not only critical in refusing to surrender the battlefield of space – our next serious theater of war -- to our present and future adversaries; it also necessary in retaining US technological superiority and being able to utilize the energy and mineral resources of the Solar system essential for future global prosperity. The major problem is that It is not just NASA but the whole of the US space industry that is in trouble. It is laying off men and women by the thousand; their skills and experience will be lost forever. Reconstituting the ability to build...

This is a rush transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," November 20, 2007. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. Watch "The O'Reilly Factor" weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and listen to the "Radio Factor!" LAURA INGRAHAM, GUEST CO-HOST: One candidate is seeing some challenges, though, in the polls. And that's Fred Thompson, who was in last place in the latest New Hampshire survey, second place in most national polls. And joining us right now from Washington is Jeri Thompson, the wife of Fred Thompson. Jeri, it's great to see you. JERI...

At the south pole of the moon, a row of peaks juts from the gently sloping rim of Shackleton Crater, named for the early 20th-century Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton. The 15-mile-wide crater and its rugged surroundings, including a vast depression created by the impact of an ancient asteroid or comet, starkly show the drama that marked the early history of Earth's companion. Overlooked as a half-dozen Apollo expeditions landed on the moon two generations ago, the lunar south pole could figure prominently in NASA's plans to return to the moon with explorers. Satellite photos reveal that parts of...

TEHRAN — "Oil is the lifeline of the West, and most of the West's military industries are dependent on it,” the Tehran Times suggested in an editorial last week. Irritated by a recent resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that called for a halt to Iran’s uranium conversion program, the newspaper suggested that oil-rich states form a united front and use oil as a tool to confront "western neocolonialist countries." In Venezuela, Pres. Hugo Chavez has taken the idea a step further, threatening to halt oil exports if alleged attacks on his country continue, according to Agence France...

WASHINGTON - White tablecloths, polished silverware and candlelight are the tools of a cunning suitor. But when found in a dining room in the House of Representatives, they signal high politics rather than romantic intentions. The elegant atmosphere is what Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona, chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, is using to help build agreement among his GOP colleagues on an issue where there is little: immigration reform. "I want people to realize that there is more that holds us together than pulls us apart," he said. Now, the elements of a major policy push are coming...

Cuiaba, Brazil — In the spacious, sunlit office of Gov. Blairo Borges Maggi, festooned with portraits of him in military uniform and in mufti, the governor unabashedly criticized China before a roomful of foreign reporters. Maggi, 49, is the powerful, no-nonsense administrator of Mato Grosso state, Brazil's breadbasket. His family owns 350,000 acres of soybeans. Nobody grows more animal feed than "the Soybean King." Few countries buy more Brazilian soybeans than China. So it was odd one recent morning when the brash and cocksure Maggi trashed China — Mato Grosso's and Maggi's meal ticket. "China doesn't care about the United...

It was a carefully staged Norman Rockwell scene. The street was lined with American flags; a high school band played "God Bless America." Then, under the watchful gaze of Wal-Mart's chief operating officer, Maryland's governor vetoed a bill that would have obliged large businesses to spend more on employee health care. The news here isn't that some politicians wrap their deference to corporate interests in the flag. The news, instead, is that Maryland's State Legislature passed a pro-worker bill in the first place. In fact, the bill passed by a veto-proof majority in the Maryland Senate, and fell just short...

Economics Sam Dinkin: How is lunar solar power (LSP) different from Earth solar or orbital solar power generation? David Criswell: The Moon has no atmosphere, rain, or clouds to block sunlight as does the Earth. Doing the construction on the Moon is far less expensive than sending raw or processed materials to deep space for later use. There are fewer manufacturing operations. You do not have to build the platform. Dinkin: What is the minimum money scale for a viable lunar solar power (LSP) project that would cost the same as Earth generated power? Criswell: When LSP approaches 100 gigawatts...

CARACAS, VENEZUELA - In an unusual meeting scheduled for late Friday night, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was expected to hold closed-door discussions with ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva. The stated topic was rather narrow: terms for the development of the Corocoro field in eastern Venezuela which is slated to produce 70,000 barrels a day by 2006. But this effort to restart th project stalled recently when Venezuelan authorities rejected ConocoPhillips' business plan. It was closely followed by industry watchers hoping for a deal that may unlock many other projects still stuck in negotiations with the Venezuelan government. Those speculating didn't have...

Even before it officially takes effect on Feb. 16, the Kyoto agreement to curb greenhouse gases is leaking air. Fixing it won't be easy. Last week, most of the world's nations met in Argentina to assess what the treaty might be able to achieve by its expiration in 2012. Many nations are faltering in their commitment to rein in industrial carbon-dioxide pollution since it's possible such steps will limit economic growth. Some, such as Italy and Canada, are raising doubts about the sacrifices required. Britain admits it may not reach its target, while Japan flat-out says it can't reduce emissions...

PARIS – The American people may have been deeply divided over their choice of leader, but the rest of the world is remarkably unanimous in its message to the new US president: "Don't ignore us." "But don't boss us around, either," say political analysts and ordinary citizens from China to Brazil, asked for their advice to the newly reelected President Bush as he looks forward to a second term of office likely to be dominated by the global "war on terror." Few other countries would have chosen George W. Bush over John Kerry, international polls have revealed. But nobody anywhere...

WASHINGTON - Unemployment declined last month in eight of 10 states that are hotly contested in the presidential race, including Ohio where job losses and a struggling economy have boosted Democrat John Kerry's election hopes. Friday's Labor Department report on regional and state employment in September was the last snapshot of the labor market before the election. Ohio's unemployment rate declined to 6 percent in September from 6.3 percent the previous month. Employers' payrolls grew by 5,500, helping to send down the rate. But more jobseekers dropped out of the labor pool, too, contributing to the rate decline. Among the...

.......Rolling back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans is Kerry's standard answer to that persistent question. Since the president behind those tax cuts -- George W. Bush -- can't seem to poke serious holes in Kerry's assertion during their face-to-face encounters, voters will draw their own conclusions. And Kerry's all-gain, no-pain prescription for what ails the nation's domestic policy sounds tempting. In contrast to his disastrous performance in the first debate, Bush did not scowl or slump. For the most part he maintained a frozen smile as he tried to depict Kerry as an out-of-the-mainstream, old-fashioned, Ted Kennedy...

Of the American electorate, Abraham Lincoln said, "If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters." In this election our country, 26% of which is composed of people under the age of 18 according to the U.S. Census bureau, is in danger of reversing four years of progress, and instead sitting on four years of a John Kerry presidency. During his speech before the Democratic National Convention, Kerry announced plans to eliminate the ten percent tax cut given to this country's top earners. However, he...