Free Republic

The U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and its non-Muslim allies have sprung into action. They are demanding that President Obama make Israel end its offensive against Hamas which, in characteristic Islamist fashion, they are falsely depicting as a genocidal crusade. Obama blames Hamas, but the pressure from Islamists, the anti-Israel left and other countries like Britain and France, may be taking a toll. He signaled possible opposition to an Israeli ground operation, saying it’d be “preferable” to end the Hamas rocket threat without sending in troops. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim Brotherhood entity whose executive director was fundraising for...

Small Business Bankruptcies Rise 81% In State With credit tight and consumers still pinching their pennies, many business owners find they can't go on. By Nathan Olivarez-Giles December 21, 2009 The Obama administration's new plan to give a boost to small businesses reflects continued trouble in that sector, which is facing new failures even as much of the nation's economy is stabilizing. As credit lines have shrunk and consumers have cut back on spending, thousands of small businesses have closed their doors over the last year. The plight of struggling firms has been aggravated by the reluctance of banks to...

San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly -- who escaped censure less than two months ago for conduct some of his colleagues considered verbally abusive -- lost his temper again Tuesday, causing board President Aaron Peskin to recess the supervisors' meeting and reviving talk of a code of conduct for board members. The latest incident followed a legislative defeat for Daly when the board voted 7-4 to reject a $100,000 aid package for tsunami victims -- a vote that prompted the District 6 supervisor to engage one of his colleagues in an increasingly profane exchange of insults. Daly said later that he...