Free Republic

My interest was piqued, but the dark time lived on until my faith in others was renewed on Jan. 4 in the Iowa state primary. Obama had beat out squeaky clean southern boy John Edwards and former first lady and next in the line of political succession Hillary Clinton. I was in shock. And then I came to Jesus/Obama. I donated to the campaign. I followed every primary with bated breath, and muttered my prayers to the political gods while proselytizing the miracle of my new prophet. I got a car magnet, I bought a t-shirt; a pin and bumper...

Please copy, paste, and circulate this press release from the Governor of Missouri. Note the Web domain of the press release, governor.mo.gov. This is not "someone's blog," a "rumor," or a "smear." It is the official Web site of Missouri's state government. The Governor of Missouri says openly that Barack Obama conspired to misuse his state's law enforcement resources to "threaten and intimidate his critics."We cannot overemphasize the gravity of Governor Blunt's accusation. While we are not attorneys and cannot give legal advice, "Conspiracy against rights" is a felony under the U.S. Code, Title 18 (Crimes). At present, Governor Blunt's...

In an exclusive interview, Fox's Bill O'Reilly has the most detailed exchange to date with Barack Obama over his relationship with Bill Ayers, the University of Illinois-Chicago education professor who was a member of the radical, violent, "Weather Underground" in the 1970s. Ayers spent 10 years as a fugitive--and now lives in Hyde Park with wife Bernardine Dohrn--also a Weather Underground fugitive. They faced federal charges when they surfaced, eventually dropped. Ayers and Dohrn--who runs a program at Northwestern's law school--have become well regarded members of Chicago's civic community. I wrote a column in April explaining how the past of...

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=3323262188991259302&hl=en&fs=true

Jerusalem - Some Arab neighbourhoods of Jerusalem could form the capital of the future Palestinian state, a senior Israeli minister said in an interview Wednesday. "Our basic position is that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel but that we can find a formula under which certain neighbourhoods, heavily populated Arab neighbourhoods, could become in a peace agreement part of the Palestinian capital that of course will include also the neighbouring villages around Jerusalem," Defence Minister Ehud Barak told the al-Jazeera news channel. He did not mention whether that would include quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem, which houses the...

The head of the Snohomish County Republican Party apologized Tuesday after the organization's booth at the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe sold "$3 bills" depicting Barack Obama wearing Arab headgear and featuring a camel. Geri Modrell, the Snohomish County Republican chairwoman, said a volunteer had brought the bills to the fair thinking they were funny. "I don't think it's funny," said Modrell, who said she ordered the bills removed as soon as she learned about them. "They were offensive. The volunteers are being told very clearly they must not do these sorts of things." The $3 bills, which are sold...

"[Defense Minister and Labor leader Ehud] Barak is a hysterical person on the verge of collapse," Kadima members lashed out on Wednesday in response to an Army Radio interview in which Barak called Kadima a "refugee camp." "It is obvious that at the helm of a party on the threshold of bankruptcy there is an hysterical man whose conduct in the past few days only reinforces our conviction that Barak understands Kadima is a strong party," sources in Kadima said. Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman and Kadima MK Tzahi Hanegbi, who on Wednesday endorsed Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in...

Isaac Baker, who was Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s communications director in Ohio, has stashed away the Hillary T-shirts and the campaign’s taunting “Meet Me in Ohio” sign. Mr. Baker did end up meeting Senator Barack Obama in the Buckeye State as the sign urged, but not in quite the way he expected. This time it is as part of the Obama campaign. “The mementos stay at home,” said Mr. Baker, now the Ohio communications director for Mr. Obama. “I am on board with Senator Obama’s campaign, and I am proud to be working here.” Two months after Mrs. Clinton suspended...

Let's hear what Obama has to say about himself on: DEFENSE http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-460054899392286555&q=obama+on+defense&ei=Jn1RSMeJAYyg4AKChtWpDA http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3695044009287994438&q=obama+military&ei=FX9RSK2JJ5784ALRodnDDA http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3695044009287994438&q=obama+military&ei=FX9RSK2JJ5784ALRodnDDA PROVEN LEADERSHIP http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4960876506200462457&q=obama%20on%20defense&hl=en POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1634668318915432963&q=obama+activist&ei=fYBRSMfbAaXQ4AKK0ry2DA http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3695044009287994438&q=obama+military&ei=FX9RSK2JJ5784ALRodnDDA http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1634668318915432963&q=obama+activist&ei=fYBRSMfbAaXQ4AKK0ry2DA http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/video.aspx?RsrcID=1936 PATRIOTISM http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1634668318915432963&q=obama+activist&ei=fYBRSMfbAaXQ4AKK0ry2DA http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1634668318915432963&q=obama+activist&ei=fYBRSMfbAaXQ4AKK0ry2DA http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1634668318915432963&q=obama+activist&ei=fYBRSMfbAaXQ4AKK0ry2DA http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1634668318915432963&q=obama+activist&ei=fYBRSMfbAaXQ4AKK0ry2DA Who is he? http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/video.aspx?RsrcID=2036

(IsraelNN.com) Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave instructions Wednesday to begin the process of demolishing the home of Ala Abu Dheim, the lone gunman who slaughtered eight young students at the Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem earlier this year. Abu Dheim, a familiar face in the neighborhood of the yeshiva who used to drive local children to and from school, carried out the attack just hours before the boys were to begin a party to celebrate the joyous holiday of Purim. After quietly carrying his weapons and ammunition into the school in a cardboard box, he burst into the library, and...

I've been collecting Obamisms for a couple of weeks now, thought I'd post them to share and hopefully to be added to. Barry Hussein Obamisms Obagasms Obeyme Obamination Barack O'Possum Saint of Hyde Park St. Barack Obamacons Fauxbama Messiah Obambi Hussein ObamaMessiaHamas NObama Barack, the pander bear O’barmy Ubingobangobongo Obamaciples Ego-bama “The One,” (Oprah) Black Whiteguilt Oblack Obamajugend Obama-Rama-Lama-Ding-Dong Obamacaca obammy Omabama Obamafuhrer Obamao Obamasama Barraaack al obama Unidentified Flying Muslim Obama Christ Lord Messiah Obama Hazbin Laden BARRYSTROIKA (BARRYSTROIKA Barack [let no infidel see behind these brackets] Obama's program of economic, political, and social restructuring which aims to end...

During a whirlwind 36-hour visit that saw US presidential hopeful Barak Obama meet with all of the top Israeli and Palestinian leaders and visit numerous sites throughout the country on Wednesday, the Democratic candidate said all the right things as he tried to assure Israelis that a US administration with him at the helm would not endanger the Jewish state. Polls have shown that a large majority of Israelis prefer Obama’s opponent, Republican John McCain, as president, fearing the Democratic candidate’s Muslim family history and his personal ties to religious figures and political advisors hostile toward Israel.

CAMPAIGN 2008 Backing for Barack Obama's troop-cut policy gets support from the Iraqi government Thaier al-Sudani / Getty Images-pool Obama and Maliki at their Baghdad meeting By Larry Kaplow and Lennox Samuels | Newsweek Web Exclusive Jul 21, 2008 | Updated: 1:12  p.m. ET Jul 21, 2008 Sen. Barack Obama got a red-carpet greeting in the Green Zone. The Democratic presidential contender, who was in Baghdad Monday, was seated one-on-one with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki at the end of his marble-lined salon, while Obama's senate colleagues sat at the side with the aides. But the greatest gesture of Iraqi hospitality came just after...

The looks that I get in the parks, malls and on the streets of America when I summon my toddler's attention make it clear to me that a public explanation of his name, Barak, is in order. Although my son's name is spelled one letter differently than that of the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, it is pronounced the same. And although Senator Obama had a fall-back name of Barry to carry him through Harvard Law, my Barak is only Barak. Well, sometimes Baraki. And sometimes Rocky. And Barak-and-roll star. And Rockstar - but I digress. What's a nice Jewish boy...

This is a link to an MP3 file of a radio interview with Malik Obama

Israeli President Shimon Peres, the primary proponent of Israel’s land-for-peace process with the Palestinian Authority, very pragmatically announced at a dinner party last weekend that he no longer believes a genuine peace can be achieved.

The People of Palestine Need a Bill of Rights too ...: The Israel Lobby: Bad for The World By: IA Delegate /From Tikkun.org Bad for the World The Israel Lobby has become a major perpetrator of the fear orientation in politics that the NSP (Network of Spiritual Progressives) believes to be at the heart of many of the problems facing the world. The Israel Lobby sees threats everywhere, and hope nowhere except in Israel retaining military superiority and using American weapons to bolster its capacity to resist reasonable demands for a Palestinian state and for resisting negotiations leading to peace...

MKs slam Barak, urge him to resign Defense minister appears before Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, says recent events in Lebanon constitute 'a Hizbullah achievement'. Committee members, however, more interested in semi-ultimatum Barak gave Prime Minister Olmert Amnon Meranda YNET Published: 06.02.08, 11:47 / Israel News www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3550837,00.html Defense Minister Ehud Barak appeared before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday morning, on the day after Hizbullah returned the body parts of Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed during the Second Lebanon War. Addressing the recent round of violence in Beirut, which resulted in far-reaching constitutional changes, Barak...

Obama Foreshadows the Coming Spirituality Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails Barack Obama, the Senator who may become the next president of the United States, says (in an exclusive article in United Church News), that the teachings of the UCC (United Church of Christ), of which he is a member (Trinity United Church of Christ), are "foundation stones for his political work." Just what are those "teachings" comprised of? On Trinity's website (Obama's personal home church), on a page promoting Yoga, the following statement is highlighted: Within each [of]us is the seed of Divinity. Each Soul is divine. I bow to...

A week after announcing the opening of a door to negotiations with Syria that could endanger Israel’s hold on the Golan Heights, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is battling for his political life. And while he has been cherishing the prospect of making his mark by securing some form of a lasting agreement with the PLO that, too, appears an increasingly futile hope as pressure mounts for the prime minister to resign.

Defense minister and Labor Chairman Ehud Barak will announce at a press conference scheduled for 1:30 p.m. that he is demanding that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert step down of declare himself temporarily incapacitated. Army Radio reported that Barak is also mulling the option of posing an ultimatum whereas Labor will quit the coalition, thus bringing down the government, if the prime minister does not leave office.

Following consultations late Tuesday night, Defense Minister Ehud Barak is seriously considering presenting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with an ultimatum on Wednesday: Either the premier resign, or Barak will pull Labor out of the coalition, thus forcing new elections. Channel 1 first reported on the matter late on Tuesday, saying that Barak made his decision after consulting with advisers at his house. However, the Labor chairman issued a statement soon after which denied that such consultations took place at his home, and that only after holding a meeting with Labor ministers and MKs early Wednesday morning would he actually make...

Barack Obama is prepared to sit down with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the man who is supporting Muqtada al-Sadr and other anti-American Shiite forces in Iraq. Should Barack Obama be elected President of the United States this November, we can expect him to climb aboard Air Force One and fly to Tehran to initiate a conversation with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Obama is prepared to meet with a man who is supporting Muqtada al-Sadr and other anti-American Shiite forces in Iraq. These forces are killing American soldiers. Obama is prepared to meet with a man who is supporting Hezbollah, a terrorist organization...

Even as Defense Ministry officials said Sunday that Israel was likely to accept the Gaza Strip cease-fire deal brokered by Egypt, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, in a meeting with a high-level US congressional delegation, did not mention the cease-fire and talked instead about a possible large-scale military incursion. Participants in Barak's meeting with the Congressmen said they walked away from the discussion with an impression that an IDF operation was very much in the offing. In the meeting, which included US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Barak asked the members of the bipartisan congressional delegation to think how they...

(IsraelNN.com) Defense Minster Ehud Barak warned Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman Monday morning that time is running out before Israel orders a full-scale counterterrorist operation in Gaza in the wake of escalating terrorist attacks. He met with Suleiman in Tel Aviv before the Egyptian official sat down for talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem. The two are meeting at this hour, and Suleiman is scheduled to talk with Foreign Minster Tzipi Livni afterwards. Defense Minister Barak has declared several times during the past year that "it is only a matter of time" before Israel conducts a large ground...

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday called the situation in Lebanon "a serious development" following a series of deadly clashes between government forces and Hezbollah militants, backed by Israel's arch-foe Iran. "Hezbollah's taking of control (in west Beirut) is a serious development," Barak said during the weekly cabinet meeting, public radio reported.

See this vid for a straight-talking American: Black & White on the Grey Matters (Jermiah Wright)

<p>You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them...And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.</p>

Published: 04.08.08, 21:46 / Israel News Defense Minister Ehud Barak refused to reply to the statement made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about the progress achieved in Iran's nuclear plan, remarking that less words and more action, when the time comes, would be better. Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai (Labor) said that "since 2006 Israel has dramatically improved its readiness." (Sharon Roffe-Ofir)

JERUSALEM, April 3 (UPI) -- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak canceled a trip to Germany because of anticipated provocation from Syria on the death of a Hezbollah leader, sources said. Barak called off his trip because he expects Syria to release findings of its inquiry into the assassination of Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh and use the report findings to put the terrorist group into a position where it must react to his death, reported DEBKAfile.com, a military intelligence Web site.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak is considering approving a US plan to allow the transfer of weapons, protective gear and night-vision goggles for Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The American request, which is expected to be officially submitted to the Defense Ministry by Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton - the US security coordinator to Israel and the PA - in the coming days, will be one of the issues topping the agenda of Barak's meeting with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad on Wednesday. Defense officials in Jerusalem said it was likely that Israel would approve...

As Shiite terror group prepares to mark 40 days since assassination of its top commander Imad Mugniyah in Damascus, defense minister says Israel 'must keep its eyes open' Efrat Weiss Published: 03.24.08, 10:47 / Israel News Hizbullah's threats must not be taken lightly, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday as the days of mourning over top organization commander Imad Mugniyah came to an end. Hizbullah was expected to mark 40 days since Mugniyah's assassination in a rally in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Monday afternoon, while Israel declared a heightened state of alert. Arab Press Imad Mugniyah: A terrorist...

This is a video response to OBAMA CALLS HIS 'RACIST' GRANDMOTHER "TYPICAL WHITE PERSON"

Democrats love to quote the polls or at lease the ones that show their advantages, such as the ones showing President Bush’s approval numbers in the low 30’s. But W isn’t running again: John McCain is. Neither the Democrats nor their allies in the MSM like to spend much time on polls that suggest the political landscape is less inviting for the Democrats than they would like us to believe. The most significant change in poll results in the last few months has been in regard to public opinion on Iraq. In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll the number...

What else is there to do on Thursdays besides FReep and listen to TSN?! C'mon, eat, drink, breathe SAVAGE?

Barack Obama 'will repair image of US in UK' By Alice Thomson and Rachel Sylvester Last Updated: 2:50am GMT 07/03/2008 America needs to work hard to regain the trust of the British public following the Iraq war and the Bush years, a senior adviser to Barack Obama says today. Samantha Power, a former journalist, advises Barack Obama on foreign policy In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Samantha Power, who is a key member of the Presidential hopeful's foreign policy team, says anti-Americanism is now "vehement" in the United Kingdom. "A restoration of trust will have to occur between the...

It happened. I voted for a Clinton. Loral, China, Lippo, Vince Foster, FBI Files...those Clintons. Oh yeah, and my monica, er, moniker. Of note: I vote in Williamson County, in a particular district that can best be described as the redest precinct in the redest county in arguably the redest state. Lines for the Democrat primaries were making laps around the place. The GOP had 3 people go through it in the half hour I was in line. Congrats Hillary, keep fighting and fight dirty. I voted for a Clinton and I feel dirty. I'm going to take a shower...

Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed on Tuesday that if the Qassam rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel does not stop, the Israel Defense Forces will continue operating in the Strip and will even increase its pressure. Barak spoke one day after a six-day IDF action in the Gaza Strip left more than 100 Palestinians and two IDF soldiers dead. "I hear that in the world, even friends, are raising questions like 'is Israel using excessive force?' To these critics, even the friends among them, I say that the responsibility lies with those who fire rockets," Barak said in...

Clinton escalated her attack on Obama’s qualifications to be president on Saturday, arguing that both she and the presumptive Republican nominee, McCain, could offer voters a “lifetime of experience” while Mr. Obama could only hold out his 2002 speech opposing the Iraq war. ... Mr. Obama, meanwhile, mocked Mrs. Clinton’s credentials as a self-professed agent of change, saying she had come down on both sides of the Nafta trade deal and criticizing her reasoning for voting in 2002 for the invasion of Iraq. “Real change isn’t voting for George Bush’s war in Iraq and then telling the American people it...

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Thursday that Israel must prepare for an escalation of the situation in Gaza and warned a large-scale ground incursion was no longer just a theory. "We are not afraid of taking such a step," Barak said. The defense minister said that Israel would strike at those responsible for the attacks and vowed that Hamas would pay for its actions. (Hanan Greenberg)

Barack Obama criticised over 'cult-like' rallies By William Lowther in Washington Last Updated: 4:24pm GMT 23/02/2008 For many it is simply a sign of his charisma. But for a growing number of Barack Obama sceptics, there is something disturbing about the adulation with which the senator and Democratic presidential frontrunner is greeted as he campaigns for the White House - unnervingly akin to the hysteria of a cult, or the fervour of a religious revival. Thousands wait in line to see him wherever he stops. Members of the audience have taken to rushing the stage during campaign rallies, forcing the...

The Defense Ministry has been instructed to raise its alert level due to concerns that Hizbullah will target Israelis and Jews abroad with the aid of Iran and Syria in retaliation for the death of Hizbullah operations chief Imad Mughniyeh, Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced on Sunday. Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting, Barak said Mughniyeh was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians and soldiers over dozens of years in numerous countries worldwide. He estimated that it would take time for Hizbullah to replace him. Syria and Hizbullah still don't have a clear picture of who assassinated Mughniyeh,...

WAUSAU, Wisc. -- Barack Obama hit back at rival Hillary Clinton Saturday as she prepared to join him in Wisconsin, which stages the next Democratic presidential battle in three days. Mr. Obama, a first-term Illinois senator, has beaten Ms. Clinton in the last eight contests and gained the upper hand in their duel to become their party's White House nominee in November's election. Mr. Obama has spent four days in Wisconsin since his last round of victories last Tuesday and has a slight lead in opinion polls in the state. Ms. Clinton has focused on March 4 votes in Ohio...

ANKARA, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak urged Turkey on Tuesday to buy more arms from Israel and work to influence foes of the Jewish state for the sake of Middle East stability. Muslim but secular Turkey is Israel's most important regional ally. Ties were tested last year by an Israeli air strike in neighbouring Syria, seen widely as a possible prelude to a future attack on Iran's nuclear sites. Ankara has offered to help reconcile Israel with Syria since Israel's inconclusive 2006 war against Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas. Turkey is also keen to defuse an Israeli deadlock...

The appellation: "The Poison Dwarf" first belonged to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. He was not trusted by many in Washington because he was known to be ruthless to friends and foes alike. He got what he wanted, usually by leaving trail of broken bones of those he rolled over. Now that he is gratefully dead, the appellation: "The Poison Dwarf" has become generic for many in the world of politics and the military. Barak has a record that speaks of manipulation, blunders and an inflated ego that generates ideas which have a short vision. In a way we see...

Did they or didn't they? That may sound like a question from a paparazzi magazine, but in diplomatic circles, it could mean life or death. After a chance encounter in the lobby of a Parisian hotel, Pervez Musharraf and Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak reportedly held a second, 20-minute meeting to discuss fears of an Iranian nuclear-weapons program: Pakistan's president held a rare and secret meeting with Israel's defense minister in a Paris hotel last week, and the Iranian nuclear program figured high on the agenda, Israeli defense officials said Monday. The two states have no diplomatic ties, and their...

Excerpt - Defense Minister Ehud Barak met last week in secret with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Channel 2 reported Sunday. According to the report, the officials held two meetings in Paris - the first one brief, and the second one approximately an hour long. Barak expressed to the Pakistani president his concern over the growing strength of extremist Islamic movements in Pakistan, and said he feared Pakistan's nuclear weapons would fall into the hands of extremists. Musharaff reportedly told Barak that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal was well guarded. ~ snip ~

Is it just me, or is the knock down drag out brawl forming between the Obamas (Barak and Michele) and the Clintons (Hilary and Bill) not the BEST thing we have seen in a long time? I mean seriously, with the writers still on strike in Hollywood, and little other than American Idol on TV, you could not have scripted a better soap opera than what is playing out in DNC Politics today! It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside… My friends it looks like Hillary and Barak are going to tenderize the living you know what out of...

Clinton has dramatically ramped up her efforts to attack Obama... ABC reported last night, "Clinton is no longer leaving it to surrogates to attack Obama on his record. Today, she did it herself." ... AP adds that having "lost the luxury of being polite along with the Iowa caucuses," Clinton "came out swinging...with a vigor she hasn't shown before. ... She says she is the candidate who deserves the mantle of change, not this newcomer Obama." NBC reported Clinton yesterday "took on the risky task of going on the offensive," saying, "I want to make change but I've already made...