Free Republic

A lot more parents are naming their kids after President Obama, but not enough for "Barack" to make the top 1,000 boys' names. But watch out this year. The Social Security Administration, which tracks the nation's most popular baby names, said today that "Barack" did set what is believed to be a record by skyrocketing more than 10,000 spots -- from number 12,535 in 2007 to 2,409 in 2008. It predicts that Barack will jump into the top 1,000 for 2009.

Barack may have been the man of the year in 2008 as Obama won the presidency, but he's still behind Elvis. Barack didn't crack the top 1,000, though he did move up a record 10,126 spots, to No. 2,409. Elvis is still in the building, but he fell from 673 to 713.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it could be difficult for the United States to add troops in Afghanistan beyond the 68,000 already approved, despite a top commander's call for a further 10,000 troops next year. President Barack Obama has approved a plan to more than double the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan to 68,000 troops by the end of 2009, up from about 32,000 in late December. There are also 32,000 troops there from other countries under NATO's International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF. The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army General David McKiernan, has requested an additional...

THE ADMINISTRATION Thousands of people work in the West Wing, the East Wing, the Cabinet, and the Executive Office of the President. Learn more about the people who carry out the priorities of the Obama-Biden Administration. IN THIS SECTION First Lady Michelle Obama Vice President Joe Biden Dr. Jill Biden The Cabinet White House Staff Executive Office of the President

President Barack Obama points to a familiar face in the crowd as he walks across the South Lawn of the White House after returning to the United States Sunday, April 19, 2009 in Washington. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2nd R) talks with Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega (L) as U.S. President Barack Obama arrives for a meeting with Central American leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain April 19, 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama arrives at the official dinner of the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, April 18, 2009. U.S. President...

U.S. President Barack Obama pulls out the chair for Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as they are seated for the Official Dinner at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad April 18, 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama talks with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet during the UNASUR countries meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad April 18, 2009. Barack Obama tucks a paper into his suit jacket after delivering a speech during the opening session of the 5th Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Friday April 17, 2009. In...

The video above, promoting Hick Town, a proposed documentary/reality series by director George Hickenlooper starring his cousin, Denver mayor John Hickenlooper, has been available on YouTube for months. Most of the footage was shot during the Democratic National Convention -- hence the presence of Barack Obama, among other political heavyweights. But in recent days, a much saucier trailer turned up on the website of Epoch Films, a firm with which George is associated. As noted in an Examiner.com blog by Lisa Jones, John can be seen declaring, "I tell you how you deal with the press. You fuck the press!"...

BARACK OBAMA: THE JUDAS PRESIDENT © by Norman Liebmann THE OBAMAS’ TOUR DE FALSE The Great Obama Cringe Out hit the road. Obama has returned from another surrender bender. The Black Plaque went to Europe – and this time it brought its entourage. The trip was ill-advised. Europeans did not need another Hussein on their continent already bloated with Bedouins. He did not take his “Aunt Screwy” along for fear she would not be allowed back into the country. This may give her time to finish writing her Swahili cook book called “You Are Who You Eat”. (The familial record...

I thought this website does a greta job in providing an in depth, objective, fair analysis on President Obama using conservative values as a grading system. Thought it was wort sharing http://www.thebarackobamawatch.com/

I have begun to read B. Obama's memoirs, "Dreams from My Father," and I am wondering what other FReepers think about it. Please post your thoughts and direct us to any published reviews.

FLOTUS Vs. POTUS. First lady gets better favorability ratings, particularly among Republicans.

When it came time to introduce his latest amendment to the President's proposed budget, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and his Senate colleagues couldn't resist cracking a few jokes. Gregg introduced an amendment on the Senate floor yesterday that would have required 60 votes, a "supermajority," to pass any budget that would rack up as much or more debt in the next 10 years than has already accumulated between 1789 -- the birth of the federal government -- and Jan. 20, 2009 -- the birth of the Barack Obama presidency. Gregg's office said the publicly held federal debt amassed from 1789...

Where is Obama? North Dakota and Minnesota are exeriencing a tragedy of grand proportions regarding the floods. There are literally houses submerged up to the roofs by the cresting Red River. So I ask. Where is Obama? Where is our President? If you google "Obama flood" "Obama Fargo", there is not even a hint of an article regarding Obama and this tragedy. Perhaps, this is because Fargo and North Dakota is all "white", unlike New Orleans. It appears that the middle class "white" neighborhoods barely even make it on the MSM news coverage. Face it people, America elected a Black...

As an independent I do my best to keep Obama's perfromance. I like this website which seems to do a good job in giving an objective and informative analysis on Barack Obama. Wanted to share and get your opinion on how accurate they are http://www.thebarackobamawatch.com/

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: AMERICA’S TRASH BASH © Norman Liebmann The bloodsucking of America goes on. Barack Obama has less trouble finding a promising vein than Count Dracula. Any change in Obama’s political positions should be called strictly bullshift. The GOP acts like Obama has them surrounded. That’s a trick even Houdini never mastered. As long as Barack Obama is President illegal aliens will not sneak in to America. They will march in. The stimulus sounds like something for people who can’t afford sex toys. Charlie Rangel is living like the Prince of the Inner City – mostly because his Harlem...

What is the breaking point? Where will the resistance form? Heavy questions, but unavoidable in the current political climate. The productive members of society can only be pushed so far, some say. What they envision is not defiance of law or a reversal of the election. It is people's growing disengagement from a new economic order that punishes effort and rewards envy — the creepy future that Bill Ritter and Barack Obama intend for us. Columnist Michelle Malkin calls that withdrawal "going Galt." Malkin was the first speaker last weekend when several hundred Coloradans gathered for a free-market leadership conference...

President Barack Obama has been without a pastor or a home church since he cut his ties to the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. in the heat of the presidential campaign. But Obama has quietly cultivated a handful of evangelical pastors for private prayer sessions on the telephone and for discussions on the role of religion in politics. Pinning down Obama's theological leanings is not easy, the ministers said ...

Thebarackobamawatch.com is viewed as an impartial Barack Obama website. It was formed by a NY based independent political watchdog organization. It's intent is to provide an in depth, ongoing analysis and a Barack Obama critique as our 44th president of the United States. We do consider this an informative Obama website. After all of the Obama hoopla, celebrations, start-studded crowds, self-jubilant barack attacks and obama maniacs have calmed down and reality has set in, and after Obama's electricfying speeches are delivered, it is now time to make way for real action.

Confronting misgivings in his own party, President Barack Obama mounted a stout defense of his blueprint to overhaul the national economy Thursday, arguing that delay on health care, energy and education would make "recovery more fragile and our future less secure." The president's wide-ranging proposals in the midst of economic crisis faced skepticism from both Democrats and Republicans, as senators questioned his long-term budget outlook and the deficits it envisions in the middle of the next decade. Sen. Kent Conrad, the chairman of the Budget Committee called the track of future deficits "unsustainable" and singled out Obama's proposal for spending...

First lady Michelle Obama arrives in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 11, 2009, prior to President Barack Obama signing an Executive Order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls. WNBA women's basketball player Lisa Leslie and President Barack Obama have their picture taken in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 11, 2009, by Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, right, after the president signed an Executive Order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls. Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes, left, and WNBA star Lisa Leslie pose for...

If it were our task to vote for the guy least full of crap this election cycle, John McCain would win by many lengths, not that McCain isn’t completely full of it too, it’s just that Barack Obama is so proficient in the art. Following this European/Middle East tour where Obama has proven popular and electable in a supremely socialist environment, I am not convinced the majority of Americans are going to be sold by a candidate who encourages a population that endeavors to see American superiority and excellence falter; no matter those polls run by the drive by media....

1. Hides from Harry Reid in the White House’s old bowling alley. 2. Check his Blackberry’s GPS for Hillary’s location. 2a. Chooses the furthest country from Hillary’s present location and tells her to go there next. 3. Tells knee-slapping Biden Jokes. 4. Daydreams about the good old days of the campaign. 5. Compares notes with Pelosi. 6. Helps decorate the new “Census Room.” 7. Dreams up creative phrases for ‘lowering’ taxes. 8. Hums an annoying tune and shakes his head, to avoid thinking about the surge’s success. 9. Checks in with Pelosi. 10. Enters Oval Office and does some bitchin’...

POLITCAL RAG BAG © BARACK OBAMA MOONS AMERICA by Norman Liebmann The trouble with the American economy is that there’s a President in the woodpile. Barack Obama’s despicable treatment of visiting English Prime Minister Gordon Brown didn’t surprise the British people. They figured he just got crapped on by another Muslim. Could you describe the Obama economy as a Soul Train Wreck? He treats the economy like it is a high-stakes crap game. Muslim husbands claim they decapitate their wives so they won’t have trouble swallowing. Senator Ted Kennedy will receive Honors from Queen Elizabeth. He will then be officially...

After a week of rough economic news, President Obama on Saturday gave a pep talk to America, using his weekly radio address to tell them he understands their hardships and to tick off the steps he's prodded government to take. "We will continue to face difficult days in the months ahead," Mr. Obama said. "But I also believe that we will get through this — that if we act swiftly and boldly and responsibly, the United States of America will emerge stronger and more prosperous than it was before." Mr. Obama also bragged about what he said were the brakes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOemoJPMNDE&feature=channel_page

The Power of Words: Use Language to Define the Conflict demonstrates the overwhelming effectiveness of Naming a thing or an adversary, provided that one can make the Name stick. A Google search on "Barack Cade" previously resulted in references to barricades, but a comparison to Jack Cade in King Henry VI is now the top result. The new Name we have given the Messiah sticks because (1) Barack Cade is phonetically similar to Jack Cade and (2) more importantly, Barack Obama's fiscal agenda is similar to Jack Cade's promises: promises so outrageous and unbelievable that the low-class groundlings who attended...

President Obama on Saturday struck back aggressively at critics of his $3.6 trillion budget proposal, casting himself as a populist crusader whose "sweeping change" has angered Washington's entrenched special interests, and promised to fight them. "I realize that passing this budget won't be easy. Because it represents real and dramatic change, it also represents a threat to the status quo in Washington," Mr. Obama said in his weekly video and radio address. Mr. Obama's language was combative and confrontational, as he promised to fight for "American families." "I know these steps won't sit well with the special interests and lobbyists...

Barack Obama: A 21st Century Jack CadeToday's Wall Street Journal reports that Barack Obama has proposed a $3.6 trillion budget, or more than $10,000 for every American. ...While the Jack Cade of Shakespeare's King Henry VI Part 2 was comic relief even for the poorly-educated groundlings who liked the performance's vulgar humor, the United States has actually elected his real-world equivalent. The following scene should look uncomfortably familiar: JACK CADE: Be brave, then; for your captain is brave, and vows reformation. There shall be in England seven halfpenny loaves sold for a penny: the three-hooped pot; shall have ten hoops...

The problem I have with Barack is not his intelligence. It's not even his naiveness about the way the business world works versus the Harvard Law School world or Illinois.. Those differences are just about perspective and someone can give him that over time if he doesn't figure it out. The real problem I have with Barack is his arrogance and a sort of smugness that comes across as an intellectuall elitism about almost every issue from global warming to polar bear stem cell research. The mannerism that irritates me the most I that when I hear him speak I...

President Barack Obama's first budget includes $15 billion a year for renewable energy programs and an ambitious plan to raise $646 billion from a carbon reduction proposal. "Because our future depends on our ability to break free from oil that's controlled by foreign dictators, we need to make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy," Mr. Obama said Thursday morning. "That's why we'll be working with Congress on legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy." The plan uses money from a cap-and-trade program — which would allow companies to...

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano avoids the terms "terrorism" or "9/11" in remarks prepared for her first congressional testimony since taking office, signaling a sharp change in tone from her predecessors. Napolitano is the first homeland security secretary to drop the term "terror" and "vulnerability" from remarks prepared for delivery to the House Homeland Security Committee... President Barack Obama has largely avoided using the term "war on terror," ... The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee doesn't mention terrorism or 9/11 in his prepared remarks for Wednesday's hearing either.

(From Drudge Report)

From television specials to newspaper editorials, the media are pushing the idea that current economic problems were caused by the market and that only the government can rescue us. What was lacking in the housing market, they say, was government regulation of the market's "greed." That makes great moral melodrama, but it turns the facts upside down. It was precisely government intervention that turned a thriving industry into a basket case. An economist specializing in financial markets gave a glimpse of the history of housing markets when he said: "Lending money to American homebuyers had been one of the least...

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and other Democratic officials Friday called on Sen. Roland Burris to resign from the Senate, which is investigating him for possible perjury. The White House added pressure on the embattled lawmaker to explain his actions leading up to his appointment. "To step aside and resign is, I think, a heroic act, and I ask Roland to do that," Mr. Quinn said at a news conference in Chicago. The governor said that if the senator does not resign from President Obama´s former seat, state lawmakers should enact legislation to fill the Senate seat by a special election...

President Obama trumpeted the paycheck tax cut portion of his economic stimulus plan Saturday morning, also using his weekly radio address to preview his first federal budget that he said would be "sober" and mindful of the deficit. Mr. Obama said the fiscal year 2010 budget he will submit to Congress on Thursday will be "sober in its assessments, honest in its accounting." The blueprint for all the federal government's spending "lays out in detail my strategy for investing in what we need, cutting what we don't, and restoring fiscal discipline," the president said

Tony Rezko's former development partner is broke. ### Dan Mahru -- a lawyer who became an ice peddler and real estate developer -- has filed for bankruptcy, declaring that he and his business partners, including Rezko, owe as much as $95 million to creditors. Mahru estimates his personal debts could be as high as $50 million. Mahru and Rezko split a few years ago. But they're still fighting dozens of lawsuits filed over housing developments they built. "I couldn't handle all the multitude of lawsuits involving Mr. Rezko,'' Mahru says. Mahru lists $48,970.61 in assets in the bankruptcy case he...

Is Barack Obama a socialist? Well, yes and no. If you mean by that what Americans used to call "creeping socialism" and the Brits called Fabian socialism, yes, Obama is definitely that. Creeping socialism and Fabian socialism is a movement towards socialism by gradual democratic means. The Earmarks of creeping socialism are increasing government regulation of business, an increasingly graduated income tax, rapidly increasing government spending, and an increasing number of government social engineering projects. Obama's record and public utterances show that he supports all these things — except when the shifting political winds of are blowing contrary to these...

I’ll admit I have way too much time. However feeling a little down over the passage of the “Stimulus“ bill, I decided to cheer myself up a bit. Not being a drinker, my vice was an anagram generator I found on the web. So using only the letters found in “President Obama”, what would be the most satisfying anagram? The exercise resulted in 1000’s of anagrams some of which were spot on and others that were just plain funny. Beware they’re lots of anagrams to be derived from President Obama, and much time to waste. Here’s mine in no particular...

I have decided to start a thread focusing on edible weeds. Many of the common plants we see everyday are edible, and while most are not hugely palatable or nutritious, a few are truly very good. If you would like to post a recipe, please post recipes related to these plants only. As always, an extreme amount of caution is advised. It's probably true that 90 percent or so of plants are actually edible, there is a small percentage that if you eat them, you WON'T have to worry about eating again! Oleander comes to mind, it would take less...

A reader sent me this picture taken at a Borders Bookstore in Dallas. He says the picture was taken in the Kids section. I guess Borders understands that it’s never too early to indoctrinate the younguns.

But it’s his own kind – some Democrat voters, anti-war morons, and other various leftwing nuts – who are providing the real entertainment lately. While still chanting their prObama slogans and arguing the case for Barack in public, one by one they are getting that look. You know the look it seems every teenage boy has? That vacant, speechless look like he was just hit in the back of the head with a shovel? That look.

Link only - Barack Obama’s strange new political bedfellows

If Tom Daschle's failure to pay taxes was enough to keep him out of the job of Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Nancy Killefer's failure to pay taxes was enough to keep her out of the job of chief performance officer, why is Charlie Rangel's failure to pay taxes on thousands of dollars of annual rental income, for about 20 years in a row, not expected to amount to anything? He's boasting that the House Ethics Committee is going to give him a pass. If so, it'll be a whitewash,

U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama talk to second grade students at the Capital City Public Charter School (Lower School) in Washington February 3, 2009.

It looks like Tom Daschle will become the next Health and Human Services Secretary even though he failed to pay a massive chunk of his taxes. Many Americans might have been in danger of ending up in jail if they made similar "unintentional" errors to the tune of $128,000 but the White House clearly considers the appointment a done deal. Before the tax issue reared its head, we'd learned that Daschle would get a plush ground-floor West Wing office and he'd posed, grinning, for Vanity Fair as part of "the Cabinet" of President Barack Obama. The small matter of a...

This book, if I do say so myself, would be hilarious if it wasn’t so serious. Because you just can’t, you can’t imagine some of the stuff they said. One thing that happened after he was elected. Page one of The Washington Post -- The Washington Post isn’t, you know, the hillbilly gazette -- page one of the nation’s capital’s most important newspaper. There was a story on Christmas morning about Barack Obama’s exercise regimen. By the way, when they wrote about, when reporters wrote about George Bush’s exercise regimen some of them called it “obsessive” and “creepy,” but listen...

Having some interesting bantering with an Obama supporter, who sent me this 'resume' of all that he has accomplished: • Obama has served 12 yrs at the federal and state level (4 yrs US Sen + 8 yrs IL Sen) • Obama sponsored 823 bills and cast over 4000 votes in the IL Senate • Obama co-sponsored 15 bills that became federal law and co-sponsored 570 bills. These bills and laws are an impressive accomplishment spanning foreign policy, public health, openness and accountability in government, national security Of the 570 bills Senator Obama introduced into the Senate during the 109th...

A chilling "Panini-style" sticker album showing 138 pictures of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler is going under the hammer. Hitler smiling and joking with children and skiing are among the photographs that were designed to be used like modern football sticker albums. The pictures of the Fuhrer were collected by his supporters and Nazi Youth who may have even carried out "swapsies" with them in the playground. Inside the album is an introduction by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels as well as captions to the pictures which the collector would glue the photographs to. "There are some stirring images and they...