Free Republic

The White House said Friday it was “deeply troubled” after Alabama executed a man using nitrogen gas in a first-of-its-kind capital punishment. “The reports of Kenneth Smith and his death last night obviously is very troubling. It is very troubling to us as an administration, it is very troubling to us here at the White House,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “The president has long said and has had deep deep concerns with how the death penalty is implemented and whether it is consistent … with our values,” she added. Smith was put to death Thursday in Alabama night...

In the most troubling revelation yet related to Joe Biden’s alleged bribery scandal, Sen. Chuck Grassley announced on Monday that over a dozen different tapes exist of conversations involving the matter. Even more shocking is that two of the tapes supposedly contain Biden himself speaking directly to the foreign national who says he arranged the bribes. ... Sen. Chuck Grassley says the foreign national who bribed Joe and Hunter Biden allegedly has 17 different recordings of conversations he had with them that he kept as an "insurance policy." "The foreign national who allegedly bribed Joe and Hunter Biden allegedly has...

Golf legend Tiger Woods was injured this morning in a one-car accident in Los Angeles and was transported to a local hospital by ambulance, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Los Angeles County firefighters extricated Woods from the badly damaged car with the “jaws of life.”

August 9 is the 45th anniversary of the resignation of Richard Nixon, the only president in American history to resign or be removed from office. We know what triggered his resignation. He was already on the ropes after two and a half years of Watergate revelations, but what ended any and all defense was the release of the “smoking gun” transcript on August 5. It showed that Nixon had concurred with his staff’s suggestion that they get the CIA to tell the FBI not to interview two Watergate witnesses. As astonishing as it may be to Americans, who have been...

Pink snow may be aesthetically pleasing, but scientists have found that it is indicative of the rapid pace of global warming. This snow, which thrives in high-latitude and high-altitude regions, is found in areas comparable to the Arctic, where Chlamydomonas nivalis algae, which is normally green, has a chemical reaction to the UV rays from the sun and takes on a reddish-pink hue. Scientists have been aware of rose-tinted snow since 1818, but they initially misunderstood its origins, believing it came about as a result of iron deposits left behind by a meteor. However, subsequent findings from the same year...

Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security Committee have decided to push ahead with confirmation of President Obama’s nominee for the No. 2 job at the Department of Homeland Security amid objections from Republicans. GOP members on the panel see the move as an effort by Democrats to rush the approval of a controversial nominee by taking advantage of new Senate rules. Last month, the Senate adopted procedures that allow confirmation of presidential nominees by a majority vote instead of the 60 votes required in the past... Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.), the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, called the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The world's air has reached what scientists call a troubling new milestone for carbon dioxide, the main global warming pollutant. Monitoring stations across the Arctic this spring are measuring more than 400 parts per million of the heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere. The number isn't quite a surprise, because it's been rising at an accelerating pace. Years ago, it passed the 350 ppm mark that many scientists say is the highest safe level for carbon dioxide. It now stands globally at 395. So far, only the Arctic has reached that 400 level, but the rest of the...

Everyone knows that Obamacare was loosely modeled on the refrom undertaken in Massachusetts. So how’s MA doing? About exactly as you’d expect. This summer the Boston Globe wrote that: The relentlessly rising cost of health insurance is prompting some small Massachusetts companies to drop coverage for their workers and encourage them to sign up for state-subsidized care instead, a trend that, some analysts say, could eventually weigh heavily on the state’s already-stressed budget. Unable to stop the bleeding, Massachusetts has resorted to price controls: In February, the governor filed sweeping legislation that proposes to give the Division of Insurance the...

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday called ethics charges against Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel "very troubling" and said he hopes the longtime lawmaker can end his career with dignity. Several House Democrats went further, flat-out urging the New York congressman to resign."He's somebody who's at the end of his career," Obama said in an interview that aired Friday on "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric." "I'm sure that what he wants is to be able to end his career with dignity. And my hope is that it happens."Obama, speaking on the issue for the first time, praised the 20-term...

The Garden State has a shield law for journalists, meaning the government cannot force reporters or opinion writers to reveal their sources. There is nothing more vigorously defended among journalists than the right to keep secret one’s anonymous sources in service of “the public’s right to know.” The decades-long secret identity of “Deep Throat” in The Washington Post’s Watergate exposés is the standard of that journalistic principle. But a New Jersey state appellate court last weekruled that a woman named Shellee Hale is not a “real” journalist, but just a blogger, so is not protected by the state’s shield law.

Washington (AP) - His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients. There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base. Most of all, his motive. But details of his life and mindset, emerging from official sources and personal acquaintances, are troubling

Rep. Maxine Waters, the Democratic congresswoman who has represented a swath of South Los Angeles and surrounding communities .. is one of Southern California's toughest and most influential lawmakers. ... But she also has shown a disturbing inability to adequately distinguish her family's interests from those of the public. Nowadays, Waters is not only an important voice in the Congressional Black Caucus but a ranking member of the Judiciary and Financial Services committees. This week, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported that Waters used her access as a senior member of the latter committee to arrange...

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama said in an interview airing on Monday that former President Bill Clinton’s recent criticism of his record and campaign were “troubling” and he was ready to fight back. Obama, an Illinois senator who is dueling Bill Clinton’s wife Hillary for the Democratic presidential nomination, said the former president had made statements about him that were untrue. “You know the former president, who I think all of us have a lot of regard for, has taken his advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling,”...

...The attention quickly shifted -- to Robert Byrd. The 89-year-old West Virginia Democrat, beginning his ninth term, wore a red-white-and-blue tie and punctuated the opening prayer with shouts of "Yes!" and "Mmmhmmm!" and "Yes, Lord!" and "Yes, in Jesus's name!" When he was sworn in, he twice cried out "Hallelujah!" and then "Amen!" Minutes later, he was installed as Senate president pro tempore, the majority party's most senior member. "Yeah, man! Yeah, man!" he shouted. "Hallelujah!" "I do, so help me God!" he shouted when the oath was administered. "Yeah, man!" His colleagues were amused. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) at...

I find it, as grave somber Senate Democrats like to say, "troubling." Indeed, I find it not just "troubling" but sad that a party once so good at "the politics of personal destruction" has got so bad at it. The last time they had a Supreme Court nominee to hang upside down in the Democrat bondage dungeon was the John Roberts hearings. And at least, when hatchet man Chuck Schumer professed himself "troubled" by the "fullness" of John Roberts' "heart," the crack oppo-research guys had uncovered an "inappropriate" use of the word "amigo" by Roberts back in the early '80s....

WASHINGTON - Now that hurricanes have left the Gulf Coast in ruins and gasoline has spiked to $3 a gallon, Americans are more likely to name domestic problems as the most important ones facing the United States these days, AP-Ipsos polling found. Homegrown problems — including worries about fuel costs and political leadership — now rank about even with overseas concerns such as the terror threat and war. Public concerns about Iraq remain high. "Things at home are in peril, and we're spread thin throughout the world," said Nick Tepsic, a surgical technician in Boynton Beach, Fla., who is a...

"John Kerry ran out of credibility when he voted against funds to support the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with critical supplies like body armor and ammunition. His indecision, vacillation and lack of leadership on the War on Terror are troubling to veterans and to all voters. It's no wonder the Democratic leader in the Senate is running ads showing him embracing the President's leadership in the War on Terror." Steve Schmidt, Bush-Cheney '04 Spokesman John Kerry's Own Party Is Criticizing His Approach To The War On Terror In An Effort To Distance Himself From John Kerry, Senate Minority...

"John Kerry voted to tax internet access and voted against important high tech initiatives like the research and development tax credit as well as lower capital gains taxes. His record of voting against the interests of high tech companies fits the doom and gloom pessimism he brought with him to California." - Steve Schmidt, Bush-Cheney '04 Spokesman John Kerry: Wrong For High Tech Kerry Voted To Allow States To Continue Taxing Internet Access After the Internet Tax Moratorium Took Effect. He also voted against making the internet tax moratorium permanent. Kerry Voted At Least Twice Against Amendments Making The...

DID YOU GET THE MEMO?Kerry's Defense Vision Laid Out In 1984 Campaign Memo: Cut, Cut, Cut, Cancel, Cancel, Cancel____________________________________________________To Read The Kerry Memo, Click Here.To Read Chairman Gillespie's Memo To Republicans, Click Here.JOHN KERRY'S "OVERALL DEFENSE STRATEGY" Kerry Proposed Cutting $54 Billion From FY 1985 Defense Budget As Part Of "Long-Range Proposal To Cut $200 Billion From The Defense Budget Over Four Years," And   Called For Cancellation Of At Least 27 Weapons Systems And Reductions In 18 Other Systems.  "[Kerry] recommended cancellation of 27 weapons systems including the B1 bomber, the cruise missile, MX missile, Trident submarine, Patriot air defense...

Bush-Cheney '04 Continues Winning the War on Terror Tour AKRON, OHIO – Earlier today, Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Chairman Gov. Marc Racicot continued the Winning the War on Terror Tour at a press conference in Akron. Racicot and Gen. Carol Mutter (Ret. U.S. Marine Corps) joined Bush-Cheney '04 supporters, family members of servicemen and veterans in Akron to highlight the effectiveness of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Goodyear Tire Co. employs 600 workers in St. Mary's, Ohio and has had contracts to build Bradley tire tracks at its St. Marys plant for more than a decade. Sen. John Kerry proposed reductions in...