Free Republic

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi explained that Democrats expected President Trump to honor Democratic Rep. John Lewis, not Rush Limbaugh, when he referenced someone with stage 4 cancer during his State of the Union address. Trump, during his Tuesday speech, awarded the conservative radio host with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a day after Limbaugh revealed his advanced lung cancer diagnosis. First lady Melania Trump placed the award on Limbaugh in the middle of the president's address to both chambers of Congress. During Pelosi's Thursday press conference, she explained that in the moment leading up to Trump presenting the award to...

Roger Penske may want to get a room at the White House. President Trump has announced plans to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Penske, who has already been feted at the White House twice this year as the owner of the 2019 Indy 500 and 2018 NASCAR championship teams. The decoration honors civilians who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." "He's very deserving. He's a great gentleman," Trump said at the White House on Thursday. "I've known him...

Even if Elvis popularized an art form that people of another race largely invented, it’s hard to argue that a lots and lots of successful black artists didn’t walk right through the doors he opened. Presley was initially a hero among black musicians in Memphis for that reason, and there’s no reason to think Elvis himself was racist. Quite the opposite, in fact. In 1956, it was reported the ‘“the rock ’n’ roll phenomenon cracked Memphis’s segregation laws” by attending the Memphis Fairgrounds amusement park “during what is designated as ‘colored night.’”Elvis’s personal reputation for being opposed to racism is...

You can’t squeeze blood from a stone, but wringing water from the desert sky is now possible, thanks to a new spongelike device that uses sunlight to suck water vapor from air, even in low humidity. The device can produce nearly 3 liters of water per day, and researchers say future versions will be even better. That means homes in the driest parts of the world could soon have a solar-powered appliance capable of delivering all the water they need, offering relief to billions of people. To find an all-purpose solution, researchers led by Omar Yaghi, a chemist at the...

The White House announced that President Barack Obama will award the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, to 16 recipients including television star and businesswoman Oprah Winfrey, legendary Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee and former President Bill Clinton. “The Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours,” Mr. Obama said in a statement released by the White House. “This year’s honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world.” Mr. Obama will award the medals...

Vehicles powered by natural gas are cleaner than those running on petrol, and are of increasing interest to those living in countries that have to import oil. But the high pressures at which gas must be stored require expensive materials and distribution infrastructures, as well as radically different vehicle designs.Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) could be the answer to the problem. These materials – which comprise metal ions connected by organic linkers – are able to store high quantities of gas at lower pressures than are required by traditional gas cylinders, for example. But their low capacity and the scale on...

As soon as his cancer was detected, I noticed the immediate attempt at the "canonization" of old Teddy Kennedy by the mainstream media. They are saying what a "great American" he is. I say, let's get a couple things clear & not twist the facts to change the real history. In other words, let us not let our sympathy for his illness get in the way of truth. 1. He was caught cheating at Harvard when he attended it. He was expelled twice, once for cheating on a test, and once for paying a classmate to cheat for him. 2....

Says he flubbed stats Says he flubbed stats By CAROL E. LEE Before presenting tennis legend Billie Jean King with the Medal of Freedom Wednesday, President Obama ticked off some ... ... of her accomplishments: 12 Grand Slam titles, 101 doubles titles, 67 singles titles. “Pretty good, Billie Jean,” he quipped. But he didn’t get any of it right, according to King herself. “They didn’t get any of my facts right,” King lightheartedly noted afterward. “Did you see all the – how many titles I won? I was cracking up.” “Not even in the ballpark,” she continued. King found it...

This afternoon, President Obama awards Senator Edward Kennedy a Presidential Medal of Freedom – the nation's highest civilian honor. According to a spokesman, Kennedy will not attend the ceremony -- his oldest child, Kara Kennedy will accept the award for him. Also present will be his other children, Ted, Jr. and his wife Kiki, Patrick, Caroline Raclin and Curran Raclin. Kennedy will remain at home in Mass., where he is fighting brain cancer. He was diagnosed last year in May. Kennedy is among 16 recipients this year, who have made an "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national...

The Medal of Freedom is America's highest civilian honor. This year, one of the recipients is Mary Robinson. The former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is best known as the architect behind the UN's disastrous Durban conference, known primarily for the US and Israel boycotting the racist, hatefilled platform given to Arab dictators. But not to worry, she also has a decades-long track record or bashing the United States and our foreign policy.

The Obama Adminstration -- is it just President Obama -- seems to delight in provoking the Jewish people by either honoring or appointing individuals who have done one or more of the following: 1. Sided with Israel's enemies in diplomatic or military theaters, thereby giving them both political and strategic support. 2. Provided Israel's enemies with a forum for advancing anti-Semitic or anti-Israel propaganda or have willfully engaged in propagandizing themselves. 3. Singled out Jews and Israel as the primary obstacle peace in the Middle East and have advanced the argument that a Jewish or Israel lobby has created that...

The sponsor of the anti-Semitic hate fests known as Durban I and Durban II, Mary Robinson, can't stand even the slightest criticism of her receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama. Stephen O'Farrell of the Irish Independent (Mary Robinson is Irish) reports her viewpoint: FORMER President Mary Robinson accused "certain elements" of the Jewish community of bullying after a number of pro-Israel lobby groups voiced concerns over her being awarded the top US civilian honour. ....

President Barack Obama's decision to bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Mary Robinson, who headed a United Nation Commission that condoned suicide bombing against Israelis and who also was in charge of the Durban Conference Against Racism that became an anti-Semitic hate-fest reminiscent of Nazi Germany (and that the Unites States and Israel boycotted, to Robinson's consternation), has elicited some measure of controversy. Jennifer Rubin at Commentary has been doing outstanding work detailing the history of Robinson; columnist Melanie Phillips has also responded while Eric Fingerhut of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency has tried to minimize the controversy (as is...

The White House announced today the names of 16 people chosen by the Administration of Hope-n-Change to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. "...These outstanding men and women represent an incredible diversity of backgrounds," Obama said in a statement. "Their tremendous accomplishments span fields from science to sports, from fine arts to foreign affairs," he said. "Yet they share one overarching trait: Each has been an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way." U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, praised Obama for selecting...

Today, President Barack Hussein Obama announced his first list of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients. And while it’s ironic–since most of the choices have contributed to taking away our freedoms, the choices aren’t shockers. They’re quite predictable. For the most part, it reads like a far-left who’s who: two gay activists, four feminists, two far-left Hollywood actors, an anti-Semitic fan of Arafat and defender of Palestinian terrorists, a Muslim, a bloated drunk driver, and a token liberal Republican. Yes, there are a few token deserving awardees, like Stephen Hawking, Janet Davison Rowley, Pedro Jose Greer, Jr., and Joe Medicine Crow....

Pedro Jose Greer Jr. is the founder of Camillus Health Concern, an agency that provides medical care to more than 10,000 homeless patients a year in Miami, Florida. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, has served as a senator for 46 years and has pushed for quality and affordable health care for children, seniors and people with disabilities. Billie Jean King, a professional tennis player of the 1960s and 1970s, was the first openly lesbian major sports figure in the United States. Rev. Joseph Lowery has been a leader of the struggle for civil rights since the 1950s. His work included helping...

Mary Robinson, U.N. Commissioner and former president of Ireland, is being awarded the Medal of Freedom by Obama. Well, isn’t that just dandy. Who is Mary Robinson? You may remember her role in presiding over the infamous Durban I Conference. At the time she joined Rashid Khalidi at Columbia University (no, you can’t make this up), this report summarized the objections to her hiring, given her record in overseeing the infamous Israel-bashing event: Columbia has “become a hotbed of anti-Israel haters,” said the president of the Zionist Organization of America, Morton Klein. “It’s especially astonishing that a school with such...

The President announced today the 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilan honor. The President praised the recipients for breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens: "These outstanding men and women represent an incredible diversity of backgrounds. Their tremendous accomplishments span fields from science to sports, from fine arts to foreign affairs. Yet they share one overarching trait: Each has been an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way." The awards will be presented on August 12. Here is a...

The late San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk received the presidential Medal of Freedom award today with 15 other recipients ranging across the professional and ideological spectrum, from the late supply sider Jack Kemp to tennis star Billy Jean King to Sen. Edward Kennedy, whose absence from the health care debate due to brain cancer treatments has weighed heavily on the White House. The medal is the country's highest civilian honor. President Obama said all the recipients "share one overarching trait: Each has been an agent of change. Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great...

President Obama will award Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) next month with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor. In announcing the award for Kennedy, a nine-term senator who is fighting brain cancer, the White House called him "one of the greatest lawmakers — and leaders — of our time." The award comes as Democrats in Congress and Obama are pushing for healthcare reform legislation, which has long been Kennedy's top issue, the White House noted in its release. "He has called health care reform the 'cause of his life,' and has championed nearly every health care bill...