Free Republic

Sen. John McCain has hired Elizabeth O'Bagy, the Syria analyst in Washington who was fired for padding her credentials, The Cable has learned. She begins work Monday as a legislative assistant in McCain's office. O'Bagy was a young but well-respected adviser at the Institute for the Study of War and had emerged quickly as an important voice among those arguing in favor of intervention in Syria. McCain and others had cited her work publicly before her nascent reputation collapsed when it was discovered that her claims to having a combined masters/PhD were false and that in fact she had not...

Sen. John McCain said Thursday that it is “not rational” to think the Senate will vote to defund Obamacare. “In the United States Senate, we will not repeal, or defund, Obamacare. We will not. And to think we can is not rational,” McCain said on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” McCain said that a government shutdown would negatively impact the American people’s view of Republicans and was critical of members of Congress who are pushing the strategy. “I do note with some interest that most of the people who are doing this are new and do not have the...

Is there a person anywhere in the world who still thinks there is an ounce of sanity in the Bush administration? If so, let that person read John Bolton’s orders to Syria in the January 24 online edition of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. [UN Security Council calls on Syria to comply with Lebanon By The Associated Press] Bolton is Bush’s unconfirmed ambassador to the United Nations. Bolton, a neoconservative warmonger, has managed to get the UN Security Council on January 23 to instruct Syria to disband and disarm the Lebanese militias. Bolton says, "I hope in Damascus they read it...

America Discredited 06.08.2013 America Discredited. 50771.jpeg Paul Craig Roberts As Washington loses its grip on the world, defied by Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, and now Russia, the US government resorts to public temper tantrums. The constant demonstration of childishness on the part of the White House and Congress embarrasses every American. Washington's latest outburst of childish behavior is a response to the Russian Immigration Service granting US whistleblower Edward Snowden asylum in Russia for one year while his request for permanent asylum is considered. Washington, having turned the US into a lawless state, no longer has any conception of legal procedure....

The executive branch coup against America has succeeded. The American people have suffered a coup d’etat, but they are hesitant to acknowledge it. The regime ruling in Washington today lacks constitutional and legal legitimacy. Americans are ruled by usurpers who claim that the executive branch is above the law and that the US Constitution is a mere “scrap of paper.” An unconstitutional government is an illegitimate government. The oath of allegiance requires defense of the Constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” As the Founding Fathers made clear, the main enemy of the Constitution is the government itself. Power does...

Doctor: Filner may possess sociopathic characteristics SAN DIEGO – Without knowing the mayor of San Diego personally, a local psychologist can only give her opinion, but believes Bob Filner is showing sociopathic characteristics. As Filner is expected to enter a behavioral facility for two weeks of treatment many San Diegans continue to call for his resignation. Still, the mayor refuses to resign. “Shame would’ve driven him to resign immediately,” said La Jolla psychologist Dr. Sage Breslin.“I certainly think his bravado indicates he doesn’t have empathy or compassion.” She focused on Filner’s apology and called it insincere. “He was smiling when...

Man charged with ‘illegal aiming or discharging a firearm’ after taking Joe Biden’s advice A Vancouver, Wash. man has found himself in the midst of a legal battle after following the advice of good old Joe “just fire two blasts” Biden. Apparently Jeffrey Barton suspected that there were prowlers on his property early Monday morning. So “I did what Joe Biden told me to do,” Barton said. “I went outside and fired my shotgun in the air.” Now Barton is facing charges of illegal aiming or discharging a firearm, to which he plead not guilty. Deputies stated that the law...

Jim Carrey to Assault Rifle Fans: I Love You and I'm Sorry I Called You Names As NewsBusters previously reported, actor Jim Carrey back in March called gun owners "heartless motherf--kers." On Sunday, Carrey tried taking it back writing on Twitter: Asslt rifle fans,I do not agree wth u,nor do I fear u but I do love u and I'm sorry tht in my outrage I called you names.That was wrong. 3^{ Carrey followed that up with: Btw I don't need a crisis mgr, just a conscience. Calling ppl names is inappropriate but my position on assault weapons hasn't changed....

Dennis Rodman wants a Nobel Peace Prize for his NBA diplomacy Dennis Rodman sat down with Sports Illustrated’s Franz Lidz to talk about his controversial trip to North Korea, saying that his efforts in world diplomacy should be enough to earn him a Nobel Peace Prize. “My mission is to break the ice between hostile countries,” he said. “Why it’s been left to me to smooth things over, I don’t know. Dennis Rodman, of all people. Keeping us safe is really not my job; it’s the black guy’s [Obama’s] job. But I’ll tell you this: If I don’t finish in...

Biden: 'President and I' Saved Economy by Breitbart News 30 Jun 2013, 9:50 AM PDT post a comment On Saturday, Vice President Joe Biden spoke at a major Virginia fundraiser, pushing himself as a possible 2016 presidential contender. “With virtually zero support from the Republicans, the president and I have moved the country from the worst recession since the Great Depression to 38 months of private-sector growth,” said Biden. Biden then launched an assault on Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, the state’s attorney general, whom he said was “at odds with the value set of Virginians.” He said that the...

Police: Death Threat Prompted By Pork Dinner • Muslim man accused mom of trying to "poison" him JUNE 19--A Pennsylvania man allegedly threatened to kill his mother because he believed she tried to “poison” him by serving pork, “which was against his Muslim religion," investigators report. Joshua Lee Coffey, 25, confronted his mother Sherri last week in the family’s home in St. Marys, a central Pennsylvania city. Coffey accused his mother of “attempting to poison him,” noting that “the meat he was given to eat was pork, which was against his Muslim religion," according to a probable cause affidavit. A...

Alaska man feeds black bear barbecue meat, gets mauled for dessert The drunken man could be charged with illegally feeding wildlife after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says he 'pretty much goaded' the beast into the attack. Beer, barbecue and black bears are never a good mix. An Alaska man learned that the hard way this weekend when he threw a hungry bear a piece of barbecued meat — only to be mauled by the same bear. "He'd been drinking," Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Beth Ipsen told the Anchorage Daily News of the man. The unidentified man was...

A man who tried to shoot a squirrel for dinner by taping a .40-caliber cartridge to a BB gun was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds after the cartridge exploded, Gainesville police reported. A sworn complaint was filed against William Daniel Lloyd, 31, for discharging a firearm in public and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, Officer Ben Tobias stated in a press item. Officer Diana Mattern responded to a medical emergency call at 600 SE 12th Terrace and learned that Lloyd had taped the cartridge to the end of a BB gun to shoot a squirrel, Tobias said. Lloyd fired...

Ahmadinejad: Chavez Will Return With Jesus and 12th Imam A day after his death, Hugo Chavez is already being touted as a martyr and a messiah by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who equated the now deceased Venezuelan leader to Jesus and Shiite Islam’s 12th imam Wednesday, saying, “I have no doubt that he will return, along with the righteous Jesus and the perfect human.” Ahmadinejad also reiterated claims made by Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro that Chavez died of a “suspect illness” but didn’t go as far as Maduro had in equating Chavez’s death to that of late Palestinian Liberation...

Shooter takes VP Joe Biden’s advice — and lands in trouble with cops Vice President Joseph R. Biden told a Field & Stream reporter in a published report on Monday that if “you want to keep someone away from your house, just fire the shotgun through the door.” That same day, a 22-year-old man in Virginia Beach, Va., did just that — and was charged with reckless handling of a firearm. WAVY 10 reported that the man was in his bedroom when two armed masked men leaned through the window and warned him to close the bedroom door. The 22-year-old...

"There is nothing just or virtuous about protecting a stale welfare state that is failing the people it is supposed to help." In a sharply written statement, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama blasts President Obama for campaigning and not governing. He calls Obama's response to the sequestration "the most cynical behavior I have seen during my time in Washington." Adds the senator, "Replacing the sequester would require the President to save $85 billion out of a $3,500 billion federal budget. One would think that any President would leap at the opportunity to make government more effective and responsive. But what...

Less than one month into his second term, President Barack Obama looks to complete the outlines of an ambitious agenda in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. In his inaugural speech, the president telegraphed several initiatives he wants Congress to pursue and pass this year: gun control legislation, a bill to create a legalization process for many of the nation’s illegal immigrants, subsidiesfor renewable energy technologies and legislation to respond to climate change. Obama will likely return to those topics Tuesday night, but the White House has signaled that this speech will focusmore on the themes that dominated...

Karl Rove taken off the air as Fox News distances themselves from conservative pundit after his Election Night tantrum Karl Rove has officially been benched as Fox News chief Roger Ailes has reportedly suspended the Republican operative from their airwaves. Rove and Dick Morris, a fellow paid political analyst, have been temporarily banned from appearing on Fox News as the network tries to distance themselves from the two men whose election predictions ended up being so far from the result. New York Magazine's Gabriel Sherman reports that Ailes decided that it is important for Fox News to take a step...

Why would anyone ever want to listen to Dick Morris predict anything about elections ever again? Just sayin'....

Man dies after live roach-eating contest in Fla. MIAMI (AP) — A contestant in a roach-eating contest who downed dozens of live bugs and worms collapsed and died shortly after winning the contest in South Florida, authorities say. About 30 contestants ingested the insects during Friday night's contest at Ben Siegel Reptile Store in Deerfield Beach about 40 miles north of Miami. The grand prize was a python. Edward Archbold, 32, of West Palm Beach became ill shortly after the contest ended and collapsed outside the store, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office statement released Monday. He was taken to...