Free Republic

(IsraelNN.com) Former minister Rafi Eitan, who recruited Jonathan Pollard as a spy for Israel in the US, expressed regret over the espionage debacle in an interview on Channel 2. "I admit the failure and I regret it,” he said. In an interview to Maariv in 2008, Eitan said that the US intelligence services made a joint decision not to permit Pollard ever to be released until the end of his life. “The reason isn't Pollard. It's Israel... It's connected to the relationship system between the American intelligence services and the state of Israel.” Eitan went on to confirm that the...

We have been hearing for years that Senator John McCain gives “straight talk” and his bus has been endlessly referred to as the “Straight Talk Express.” But endless repetition does not make something true. The fact that McCain makes short, blunt statements does not make him a straight-talker. . . . . . Confronted with his lie on Wednesday night’s debate, McCain blustered and filibustered in a manner reminiscent of Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny, when he was caught in a lie during a navy inquiry. When confronted with any of his misdeeds, Senator McCain tends to fall back...

Gathering of Eagles Action Alert Who: Hanoi Jane Fonda in NYC What: Support Our Vietnam/Iraq Veterans Rally Where: 230 West 49th Street, Between Broadway and 8th Avenue When: Saturday, February 21, 2009, 1 pm to Whenever

more as it becomes available...

<p>Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire has accepted President Barack Obama's offer to be commerce secretary, two administration officials said Monday. Sources tell CNN Sen. Judd Gregg will be President Barack Obama's choice for commerce secretary.</p> <p>Sources tell CNN Sen. Judd Gregg will be President Barack Obama's choice for commerce secretary.</p>

I just watched the interview, and it is clear Scott McClellan is a Judas. He revels in the left talking points and has a smirk throughout the interview. At the end of the day when the interviews are done and the book no longer sells, Scott will have no friends. The left will not want him and the right will never touch him. Get a dog Scott, he will be your only friend. Or he might not like you either. Can't blame him, dogs are smart. History will frame you as the Judas Benedict Arnold you are.

I'm no fan of B-O-R, but WOW, he just skewered Benedict Mcclellan. My opinion of Bill just went from a zero point 1, to a full 1 point on a 10 point scale. Way to go Billy!

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released the following remarks by John McCain as prepared for delivery tonight in Phoenix, Arizona: Thank you. Tonight, my friends, we have won a number of important victories in the closest thing we have ever had to a national primary. We've won some of the biggest states in the country. We have won primaries in the west, the south, the midwest, and the northeast. And although I've never minded the role of the underdog, and have relished as much as anyone come from behind wins, tonight I think we must...

I’ve used pieces of this argument when talking about why I don’t support John McCain, but was impressed by this blogger’s eloquent argument against him. John McCain is an American hero. As a captive of the communists in North Viet Nam he made great sacrifices for this country. But today he is a captive of the entrenched Washington DC establishment, and thanks to McCain-Feingold, it is my Constitutional right of free political speech that has been sacrificed. John McCain is no conservative. How do I know? Name for me please one true conservative politician in Washington DC who is as...

Noting that he might not agree 100 percent on immigration with Huckabee, the firebrand illegal immigration opponent said Huckabee's recently released immigration plan won him over. "The governor has a plan and I appreciate his plan. That's why I'm supporting him. He's one of the few who's actually brought forth a plan and gone public with it. It shows to me that he's willing to engage in the tough love necessary to fix this problem," Gilchrist said. Gilchrist, whose organization is separate from the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, has drawn protests in appearances at college campuses in recent months for...

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -- Mike Huckabee, under fire for some of his immigration stands while governor of Arkansas, picked up an endorsement in Council Bluffs, Iowa, from the ultimate illegal immigration opponent: Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project, the group that has roamed the border for the last several years operating effectively as an independent border patrol. President Bush called the group "vigilantes" two years ago. But Huckabee seemed eager to announce the endorsement, as it came on a day when former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney started running an ad that slams Huckabee for backing a provision that would...

1. BILL CLINTON Former US president The 42nd president of the United States is now auditioning for the role of what his Scottish friends term “First Laddie”. Having been impeached for lying about his sexual misdeeds during the Lewinsky scandal, blamed by some for failing to kill Osama bin Laden and having left office in 2001 amid accusations of corruption in granting last-minute pardons, Clinton, 61, has made a remarkable comeback. Perhaps everything Hillary Clinton knows about politics, bar self-discipline, she has learnt from him. A peerless tactician, huge intellect and natural communicator, Bill Clinton was one of the great...

When Americans evaluate today's political landscape, most feel something between impotence and disapproval. So, while citizens shake their heads or shrug at the mainstream media's “top tier” presidential candidates, it is extraordinary how many are becoming overjoyed about one lesser covered candidate. Tens-of-thousands have joined the appropriately named Ron Paul Revolution, joining Meetup.com groups, putting up signs, and crossing states to attend rallies. Congressman Ron Paul's genuine message and untarnished record of promoting individual liberty for everyone, a free-market economy of wealth and abundance, and a foreign policy of non-intervention, peace and free trade, has attracted vast support from diverse...

Bush urges Hispanics to push immigration bill Despite its revival in the Senate, legislation's fate is uncertain. WASHINGTON — President Bush urged Hispanics to lobby hard for a major immigration bill Friday, a day after it was revived in the Senate. "Each day our nation fails to act, the problem only grows worse," Bush said at the annual National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast. "I will continue to work closely with members of both parties to get past our differences and pass a bill I can sign this year." Bush's comments came after Senate leaders announced a deal Thursday that would allow...

President George W. Bush delivers remarks at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., Thursday, June 16, 2005. "In America, people of faith have no corner on compassion, but people of faith need compassion to be true to the call to "Ame al projimo como a sí mismo," love your neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself. That's a universal call," said the President. White House photo by Eric Draper

"America is still the land of opportunity," Sen. John McCain recently said. "And we're not going to erect barriers and fences." Unlucky us. Along with Massachusetts Democrat Ted Kennedy, the Arizona Republican co-sponsored immigration legislation currently stalled in the Senate. McCain should recognize that without a barrier or fence, the U.S./Mexican frontier will keep welcoming Islamic extremists pledged to America's doom. This is not hypothetical. "Members of Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based terrorist organization, have already entered the United States across our southwest border," declares "A Line in the Sand," a January report of the House Homeland Security subcommittee on Investigations, then-chaired...

WASHINGTON - Though I’ve never heard him use the term, my guess is that George W. Bush sees himself as a hacendado, an estate owner in Old Mexico. That would give him a sense of Southwestern noblesse, duty-bound not just to work “his” people, but to protect them as well. His advisor, Carlo Rove, has explained that a system called “democracy” now gives peasants something called “the vote.” It would be shrewd, Rove said, for hacendados to grant their workers’ citizenship.

President Bush insists if we just shut up, blindly listen to him and support his so-called "comprehensive immigration reform plan," we can solve the problem "once and for all." I have a better idea. Since Bush has, for nearly seven years, deliberately, consciously and overtly refused to uphold his sworn constitutional duty to execute and administer the duly enacted border and immigration laws already on the books, he should be disqualified from participating in any further negotiations regarding new border and immigration laws. Doesn't that make sense? Why would we turn to a scofflaw president, one who, out of some...

In the early months of 2006, President Bush’s approval ratings sat in the low to mid-40’s rather consistently, nothing great, but certainly numbers that allowed the president to govern. After all, he had upwards of 85 percent approval of the base and the Congress was controlled by his allies in the Republican Party, including even the board support of congressional RINOs. That is, until the president started to forget his base by trying to accommodate the left-of-center in this nation. How? First, he introduced us to Harriet Miers, his chief lawyer who turned out to be another David Souter in...

"He was surprised by the reaction," Mr. Snow said of Mr. Bush's speech in Glynco, Ga., last week. "The speech in Georgia was, 'We've got a serious problem and we need to fix it.' It was not in any way designed to be pointed at Republicans." But conservative opponents of a Senate immigration bill supported by Mr. Bush reacted furiously to the president's suggestion that they are resorting to scare tactics by using the word "amnesty" in referring to the measure that would allow millions of illegal aliens to remain in the United States.

You know what my problem is? I just don't want to do what's right for America. I just don't have the courage to put a comprehensive immigration plan into place. I just want to knock down America's great immigration tradition. That's what President Bush said last week in promoting his plan to provide amnesty to 15 million to 20 million illegal aliens already in this country and welcome in millions more to provide his fat-cat friends with abundant cheap labor. He impugned the motives of anyone opposing the amnesty bill worked out by the White House and senators in secret....

MAINSTREAM editorialists like to praise President Bush's immigration initiative as an expression of his pragmatic, bipartisan, "compassionate conservative" side, in presumed contrast to the inflexible, ideological approach that produced the invasion of Iraq. But far from being a sensible centrist departure from the sort of grandiose, rigid thinking that led Bush into Iraq, "comprehensive immigration reform" is of a piece with that thinking. And it's likely to lead to a parallel outcome. Here are 10 similarities: 1. They're both ideas Bush had when he came into office. Former Bush speechwriter David Frum wrote about his first Oval Office meeting with...

President Bush’s advocacy of an immigration overhaul and his attacks on critics of the plan are provoking an unusually intense backlash from conservatives who form the bulwark of his remaining support, splintering his base and laying bare divisions within a party whose unity has been the envy of Democrats. It has pitted some of Mr. Bush’s most stalwart Congressional and grass-roots backers against him, sparking a vitriol that has at times exceeded anything seen yet between Mr. Bush and his supporters, who have generally stood with him through the toughest patches of his presidency. Those supporters now view him as...

Bush scolds balking GOP By Stephen Dinan and Ralph Z. Hallow THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published June 2, 2007 President Bush yesterday renewed his attack on Republicans who oppose his immigration bill, again charging that they are trying to "frighten people" and calling on supporters to rally around the compromise. The president pleaded with senators to "show courage and resolve" to withstand outrage from voters in their districts. "It is right to argue for what you believe and recognize that compromise might be necessary to move the bill along. And it is right to take political risk for members of the...

An anonymous White House official said that neither the people on the far left nor far right are going to get what they want on the immigration bill. Could have fooled me, since that farthest of far leftists, Sen. Ted Kennedy, said, "This bill is our best chance to fix our broken system." Go figure. Truly, President Bush's immigration policy has always been mystifying, but even more troubling is his attitude toward its conservative opponents. I don't suggest that President Bush has a duty to cater to conservatives on immigration because they have stood by him on the war. This...

WASHINGTON - President Bush challenged lawmakers on Friday to have the political courage to pass an immigration bill amid intense pressure from critics who call it amnesty and advocates who believe the current system is broken. Bush stressed that while voting for the bill might be politically risky, he does not think the measure itself is risky. "This is a difficult issue for a lot of folks," the president said. "I understand that. But because it's difficult probably means we need to work doubly hard to get it done. And now's the time to get it done. "No matter how...

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. First, I thank you very much for your hard work on a comprehensive immigration bill and your concern about our country. And the two go hand-in-hand. I believe that now is the time to address the issue of immigration. I think it's in our national security interests, and I think it's in the interest of making sure America never loses sight of who we are. This is a difficult issue for a lot of folks. I understand that. But because it's difficult probably means we need to work doubly hard to get...

The war in Iraq "is lost" and a US troop surge is failing to bring peace to the country, the leader of the Democratic majority in the US Congress, Harry Reid, said Thursday. "I believe ... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week," Reid said, on the same day US President George W. Bush was giving a speech at an Ohio town hall meeting defending the war on terror.

"Pelosi, the rabble-rousing Democratic leader – or better yet the Alternate President – apparently has decided that President George Bush’s refusal to sit down and negotiate with Syria and Iran is just plain silly."

"This is a true story.....Check out this photo from our mess hall at the US Embassy yesterday morning. Sen. Kerry found himself all alone while he was over here. He cancelled his press conference because no one came, he worked out alone in the gym w/o any soldiers even going up to say hi or ask for an autograph (I was one of those who was in the gym at the same time), and he found himself eating breakfast with only a couple of folks who are obviously not troops. What is amazing is Bill O'Reilly came to visit with...

Sen. John Kerry’s mangled anti-Bush joke has metastasized into a week of negative news for liberals hoping to regain control of the Congress. Even his reluctant apology has done little to quash the fires he lit. Significantly, these fires rage because liberals have yet to expunge the scarlet “D” that has adorned them since the Vietnam War -- “D” for disdain of our military. Let’s review the tape. Kerry advised students at a campaign rally in California that they would “do well” if they studied hard and made “an effort to be smart.” If not: “You get stuck in Iraq.”...

Subject: Thank you for your message Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2006 14:51:34 -0700 From: info@johnkerry.com To: info@johnkerry.com Thank you very much for your comments. As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop. This is the finest military that we've ever had. I have fought a lifetime on behalf of veterans. We have the finest young men and women serving us in the United States military that we've ever had, and I’m...

A West Point Cadet sends this along with the photo below: I'm a cadet at West Point, and tonight at our game against the Air Force Academy, a big sign emerged, and it was shown to the Corps of Cadets, who cheered wildly, and then shown to the Air Force cadets, who also cheered.

Commentary: Kerry's flubbed line more like a Freudian slip I'm a big believer in the Freudian slip. I think that the tongue rarely goes off on its own course and says something that is not rooted in actual reason, or actual thought. Watching a football game and talking to your wife might cause a man to accidentally drop a literally offensive term into a conversation about your cousin's wedding gift. In short, it can be dangerous. John Kerry, failed presidential candidate, is now learning the depth of the danger presented when one's tongue slips. At an event in California, the...

David Ward said his daughter told him that while the picture was meant to be private, her unit is happy their message is getting across. "When they saw and heard what Kerry said, they were just furious and they were sitting around and one thing led to another," he said. The elder Ward said he completely approves of his daughter's message. Kerry is a preening peacock and the best way to respond to him is with humor," he said. Ward said his daughter was particularly incensed by Kerry's comments because her résumé is nothing like the "stuck" soldier the senator...

November 3, 2006 Berkeley, California OMG, here we liberals are, cruising to an easy victory in recapturing both Houses, when John Kerry attempts a joke about Bush's stupidity. Unfortunately his own complete and total lack of intelligence negated his ability to tell the joke properly, and next thing you know the whole country's pissed off. That's just great. What is it with this guy, can't anybody in our party make him shut up until after the elections? Look, we know John is an all-American hero for the part he played in turning public opinion against the Vietnam war in the...

Kerry's "misunderstood" insult demands parody. "Red Badger" started things off with this zinger: "If you work hard and study hard, you'll do well. If you don't, well, you'll get stuck in a FEMA trailer............" When I read that, I realized that Kerry gave us a setup line for a whole new genre of jokes. The challenge is complete the sentence: "Education...if you make the most of it and you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck ...." Here was my contribution: "......

Subtitle: The media have circled the wagons around the junior senator from Massachusetts. Candidates are not the only major factors in this year’s elections. The media have taken a big role — and a biased role. The latest in a long list of examples is the way they have immediately circled the wagons around John Kerry to protect him and the Democrats from the reaction to an ill-advised remark that the senator made at a college in California. What was the remark? “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you do your homework and you make an...

What a pathetic spectacle John Kerry has become. Twenty-four hours after his instantly infamous "botched joke," he was back in Washington - pulled off the campaign trail as shrewd Democrats hoped he would (please, dear God) stop trying to explain himself. Don Imus caught the sentiment perfectly when Kerry made an unsolicited call into his program. "Please stop it," Imus pleaded. "Stop talking. Go home, get on the bike, go windsurfing, anything. Stop it." Kerry embodies the old saw about the Bourbons, "They learned nothing and forgot nothing." He hasn't forgotten the Swift Boat attacks but also has learned nothing...

Yes, it’s the political silly season, when media experts hyperventilate over oddly assorted, often trivial controversies (George Allen’s “Macaca”-gate; the allegedly racist Harold-Ford-at-the-Playboy-Party ad; Rush Limbaugh’s “insensitive” mockery of Michael J. Fox) that loom large in the run-up to a major election but stand little chance of qualifying for long term historical significance. The explosive dispute over John Kerry’s dismissive, insulting comments about our troops in Iraq may, however, constitute an important exception and could mark a notable turning point in the vicious, decades-long battle between Democratic and Republican image-makers. For several reasons, Kerry’s crack matters. Those reasons are:

Thursday, November 2, 2006Kerry's Remark: Right either waySEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARDRepublicans evidenced their election desperation by braying about an offhand comment that Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., made at a California college rally."Education" Kerry said "-- if you make the most of it and you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."Was Kerry making fun of the president, or warning students against the pitfalls awaiting the undereducated in general?It doesn't matter. Kerry was right either way.Kerry wasn't saying -- regardless...

John Kerry, Democrat Senator from Massachusetts and 2004 candidate for President is back in the news reminding us all why we didn’t vote for him. If you haven’t been on vacation in New Zealand or living under a rock, you probably have been bombarded ad nauseum with his offhand comment to California college students: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.” On its face, what Kerry...

The chairman of the Democratic National Committee leaped to the defense of the party's 2004 presidential nominee Wednesday against charges that he was insulting American troops serving in Iraq. Howard Dean, in comments to reporters in his home state, said Sen. John Kerry had committed "a blooper," but the reaction had given Democrats an opportunity to highlight what they describe as the Republicans' weaknesses on the Iraq war. "Kerry made a blooper. Bloopers happen," Dean said at the state party's campaign headquarters. "I think we want to focus on the president's intemperate rhetoric in saying to vote for a Democrat...

The most amazing thing about John Kerry is that anyone withhalf a brain would still take him half as seriously as he obviously takes himself. If he’s not putting his foot in his mouth, he’s attempting to extract it, as he is again this morning, trying to blame everyone but himself for his outrageous defamation of America’s fighting forces, slurring them as unproficient, shallow-minded cannon fodder. Appearing in California to ostensibly assist Phil Angelides, a Democratic candidate for governor, Kerry warmed up by suggesting George W. Bush used to live in Texas, “but now lives in a state of denial.”...

CNN Banner: Sen. John Kerry issues a statement saying: "I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended" by comments he made about being "stuck in Iraq."

Democrats stampeded over each other yesterday to disassociate themselves from John Kerry, their presidential candidate two years ago, who has handed Republicans an election lifeline with remarks implying US troops in Iraq are there because they are stupid.Senator Kerry, speaking to a group of students in California on Monday, said: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.” A video of his speech was placed swiftly on the internet and then...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Sen. John Kerry apologized directly to U.S. troops on Wednesday for comments about Iraq that had prompted a firestorm of criticism from Republicans and President George W. Bush. "I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform and I personally apologize to any service member, family member or American who was offended," Kerry said in a statement. Kerry said earlier in the day he was sorry for a "botched joke" about Bush that was interpreted as a slam on the U.S. military. Republicans demanded a more direct apology...

Are there any Massachusetts election law experts who know how to start a recall effort for John Kerry? My idea is, have a petition drive with volunteers legally distanced from polling places on Tuesday to jump start this effort. Barring that: Dear Friends, I have just read and signed the online petition: "Kerry Resignation" hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petition service, at: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/zr5g2952/ I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself. Best wishes,