Free Republic

Barack Obama and John McCain are scheduled to make a joint appearance Saturday at Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif. No other candidates have been invited, which has ticked off Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr. Russ Verney, campaign manager for the former Georgia congressman, has just sent out a mass e-mail saying Barr will seek a court order to require the church to invite him, too. Which perhaps is an odd thing for a Libertarian to do — asking a judge to determine whom a church should invite into its sanctuary.

Freeper Eeevil Conservative host of the Madison Forum on Blog Talk radio inteviews Alan Buckley. Libertarian canidate for the US Senate from Georgia

In 1992, I was a conservative, Republican college student fighting for George H. W. Bush's re-election. I could not understand how he was losing after being so popular during the Iraq war. Sure, he had gone back on the whole "Read my lips" thing, but hey, what politican didn't break his word once in a while. Then, I spoke to my grandfather, a seaman in the navy during World War II and a blue collar Republican his whole life. He told me he was voting for Perot. I was shocked and dismayed. I tried everything I could think of to...

Bob Barr, the U.S. presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party, said the Bush administration's diplomatic engagement with Iran is "long overdue." Iran appears to be years away from possessing nuclear weapons, giving time for diplomacy to work, Barr said in a release. He said that war with Iran would be a disaster. "American troops in Iraq would be at risk. U.S. citizens would be targeted for terrorist acts," he said. "Tehran could retaliate against Israel. Oil shipments would be disrupted, causing energy prices to soar even higher. Allied states in the Persian Gulf would be vulnerable to attack. Chances for...

My reasons for leaving the Party that I’ve felt at home in since I became politically aware are numerous. I will start with quoting countless conservatives who feel as I do - I didn’t so much leave the Republican Party, it was the Party that left me. The elected Republican officials failed to implement a conservative agenda, despite having the Presidency and both houses of congress. No Child Left Behind, Prescription Drug Entitlements; they even tried to force Amnesty for illegal aliens upon us. They have given us a government that would make even LBJ blush. Our businesses and land...

Squeezing his thumb and forefinger together in the back of a Manchester bar last night, Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr told a crowd of 80 that when it counts, there's that much difference between the Republicans and Democrats. Americans, he argued, are looking for something new. "The definition of throwing your vote away is to go into that voting booth and vote for one of two parties that will not change the direction this country's going in," Barr told a crowd of about 80 at Murphy's Taproom. "And that's the Republicans or Democrats."

In fact, as much as he despised Clinton, Barr thinks President Bush is worse. "What George W. Bush has done to the fabric of our constitutional government, to separation of powers, to a government of limited powers is absolutely unforgivable," he said. That prospect is greatest in Barr's home state of Georgia. Obama is already running ads targeting an untapped pool of African Americans and younger voters. State polls suggest Barr's single-digit following pulls mostly from McCain. "If Barr can win 5 or 6 points of the total vote -- it's an if but it's conceivable -- then Obama could...

Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr praised Al Gore on Thursday for his commitment to addressing climate change and said he has met with the former vice president several times to discuss possible solutions. In a speech Thursday at Constitution Hall in Washington, Gore said that he has also discussed climate change with presidential candidates Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Both McCain and Obama believe that action needs to be taken on global warming and have separately criticized the Bush administration for its approach on the issue. Barr said he believes the most effective energy solution will...

"Rep. Barr and the ACLU disagree on many other issues, but we have no doubt that a strange bedfellows collaboration between us will yield great things for informational and data privacy rights," said Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office. ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said that Barr's agreement to work with the ACLU "demonstrates how deeply concerns about personal privacy cut across partisan lines." He noted that the ACLU has "no permanent friendsand no permanent enemies, just permanent values." "We look forward to working with Congressman Barr in our fight to protect data and information privacy,"...

All part of his daring master plan to make his name as widely reviled among the right as Ralph Nader’s is among the left. Polls in Georgia and North Carolina over the last two weeks show Mr. Barr winning 8 percent and 6 percent respectively of the presidential vote, and in both cases helping keep likely Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama within striking distance of Mr. McCain in those states — which, taken together, account for more electoral votes than Florida, Pennsylvania or Ohio… [InsiderAdvantage pollster Matt] Towery said North Carolina and Georgia are exactly the places that Mr....

Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr tells the Brody File that when it comes to judges John McCain cannot be trusted. Basically what he is saying is that voters shouldn’t just accept the line that McCain will nominate judges like Roberts and Alito. Watch above [link in post #2]. Read below. Bob Barr: “I know that many conservatives for example say well we have to vote for McCain even though we don’t like him because he’ll give us better judges. Well, ask people to think a little bit about what they’re saying. John McCain gave us McCain/Feingold which is the most...

Libertarian voters make up 4% of the nation’s likely voters and they favor Barack Obama over John McCain by a 53% to 38% margin. Three percent (3%) would vote for some other candidate and 5% are not sure.

Larry Harmon, the man behind 'Bozo the Clown' for more than 50 years, has died of heart failure. According to Reuters, Harmon's spokesman said that the performer, a native of Ohio, died at his home in Los Angeles. Harmon purchased the copyright and trademark to the clown in the 1950s and as a result was responsible for keeping Bozo in the entertainment industry for more than half a century. Harmon once recalled: "We didn't have satellite, syndication and networking like today. "So, I created my own network of local clowns and productions, a cross-country operation that kept me on the...

Larry Harmon, the man credited with making Bozo the Clown the icon he was, died Thursday of congestive heart failure. He was 83. Harmon wasn't the original Bozo, but built up the character and eventually licensed it to television stations across the country. Born in Toledo, Ohio, Harmon became interested in theater while studying at the University of Southern California. "Bozo is a star, an entertainer, bigger than life," Harmon once said. "People see him as Mr. Bozo, somebody you can relate to, touch and laugh with."

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. John Warner, a prominent Republican on military affairs, urged President Bush on Thursday to start bringing some troops home from Iraq by Christmas. Such a move would send a powerful warning to the Baghdad government that time is running out, said Warner, R-Va. Warner said the president next month should announce the withdrawal of a certain number of troops to send a "sharp and clear message throughout the region and the United States" that the commitment in Iraq is not open ended. "We simply cannot as a nation stand and continue to put our troops at...

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a vocal critic of the Bush administration's war in Iraq, plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday.Kucinich, a Democrat who is again running for president, said Monday that he will hold a news conference in Washington to discuss his bid to oust Cheney. Kucinich spokeswoman Natalie Laber declined further comment. Under the House impeachment process, Kucinich's articles would be reviewed by the House Judiciary Committee, which would decide whether to conduct an impeachment inquiry. The committee would seek authority from the entire House before beginning an inquiry. Cheney spokeswoman Megan McGinn...

The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, on a tour of Latin America, has launched a stinging attack on the US. Visiting Bolivia, the firebrand leftist leader said that capitalism was "the road to hell". Mr Chavez underlined the billions of dollars of aid Venezuela is ploughing into Bolivia's economy at a time when the US is reducing its contributions. US President George W Bush has avoided discussing his rival's regional trip during his own visit to Latin America. Heaven and earth "Those who want to go directly to hell, they can follow capitalism," Mr Chavez said in the town of...

What Valerie Plame Really Did at the CIA (excerpt)Her specific position at the CIA is revealed for the first time in a new book, Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War, by the author of this article and Newsweek's Michael Isikoff. The book chronicles the inside battles within the CIA, the White House, the State Department and Congress during the run-up to the war. Its account of Wilson's CIA career is mainly based on interviews with confidential CIA sources. The Novak column triggered a scandal and a criminal investigation. At issue was whether...

Hunter To Hold Line On Buy America, Block EADS Bid To Make Tankers Defense Daily 11/21/2006 Author: Jen DiMascio< In his new roles as ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee and presidential candidate, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) intends to "hold the skirmish line" on provisions that boost manufacturing in the United States. That includes doing his best to block a team consisting of Northrop Grumman [NOC] and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. that is competing against Boeing [BA] to replace the Air Force's aging tanker fleet. Airbus is a commercial subsidiary of EADS. "I will fight...

'THE DEVIL CAME TO THE UN YESTERDAY... Bush, I have the feeling you are going to live the rest of your days as a nightmare... We need a psychologist to analyze Bush... YANKEE IMPERIALISTS GO HOME'...

Veteran U.S. civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, walks past an anti-U.S. banner placed among the rubble of a building that was destroyed following Israeli bombardment during the 34-day long Hezbollah-Israel war, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2006. Jackson, who said Tuesday that an Israeli soldier seized by Palestinian militants and two others held captive by Hezbollah are alive, also said Syria, a main backer of both Hamas and Hezbollah, wanted to be involved in a prisoner swap that included the three Israelis and Syrian nationals detained by Israel in the Golan Heights....

In an interview, Young was asked whether he was concerned that Wal-Mart causes smaller, mom-and-pop stores to close. ``Well, I think they should; they ran the 'mom and pop' stores out of my neighborhood,'' the paper quoted Young as saying. ``But you see, those are the people who have been overcharging us, selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs; very few black people own these stores.'' Young said he...

Gotta' see this. Here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVnnoz_Gqp8 and at the link above....Somebody is streaming a short video clip on "YouTube.com" of a recent live TV broadcast tirade during Venezuelan communist dictator Hugo Chavez' 'weekly address to the People', whereby the despot launches into a comical tirade against George Bush.You will hear el Presidente comically trying to grasp at such epithets as 'donkey', and 'little bird', and 'Mr. Danger', all spouted by Hugo in reference to George W. Bush. I wonder if he realizes how silly he looks, including his attempts at very poor English. For the entertainment value alone, this is worth watching,...

Given the kinds of cases they’re getting these days, French courts are starting to resemble clown circuses. Last week a French court had to listen to “Goldfinger” George Soros’ whine about his human rights being violated for an inside trading conviction. This week, a French court gets to listen to Venezuelan “International Man of Mystery” Carlos The Jackal carp about not getting enough terrorist-issue Froot Loops inside his French jail cell. Apparently, pate and champagne aren’t happening for him these days in Paris. And for the Shagadelic Jackal, that’s no fair. The Austin-Powers-era Marxist terrorist is actually suing in a...

Next time you're tempted to ascribe irrationality or intolerance just to the crew on the left side of the aisle, consider this example.

Bill Clinton to Write New Book By SARA KUGLER, Associated Press Writer 15 minutes ago After writing an autobiography that sold millions of copies and earned him a hefty advance, former President Clinton has struck a deal to write another book. Alfred A. Knopf will publish the new work, in which Clinton will focus on public service and citizen activism, telling a story that he hopes will "lift spirits" and "touch hearts," Clinton said in a statement. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Clinton is said to have received a staggering advance of $10 million to $12...

Former President Clinton told a global audience of diplomats, environmentalists and others Friday that the Bush administration is "flat wrong" in claiming that reducing greenhouse-gas emissions to fight global warming would damage the U.S. economy.

Give me one reason why "judicial extraordinaire" Harriet Miers is qualified to sit on the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court. One.

On Sunday, October 16, a truly unique political event will take place. Teaming up with the legendary rock group U2 for a one-night only appearance will be Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.). The thousand-dollar-a-seat concert has been put together by Sean and Ana Wolfington and will take place at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia in support of Santorum’s re-election, reports NewsMax's James Hirsen. U2 front man Bono is no stranger to Washington, D.C. He has come often to the nation’s capital to network with politicians on behalf of his many causes. Story Continues Below Santorum met Bono earlier this year, having...

"The charges of racism-inspired foot-dragging isn't just nonsense. It's pernicious nonsense." This is how the New York Daily News called it regarding charges, from the usual circle of black leaders, that the rescue efforts in New Orleans were slow because the victims were black. The Daily News is right. Except it's even worse than the paper appreciates. What we are witnessing is a well-honed black political public-relations operation geared to obfuscation, stoking hatred and fear, and nurturing helplessness and dependence among black citizens. Such efforts keep black politicians powerful, diversity businesses prosperous and blacks poor.

WASHINGTON: A Republican congressman said in a radio interview aired by a Florida station that if a multiple-city attack happened in the United States in the next 90 days, as predicted by an Israeli expert, and was found to be the work of extremist Muslims, then “we should take out their holy sites.” Congressman Thomas G Tancredo, Republican from Colorado, was being interviewed by AM 540 WFLA radio host Pat Campbell, who asked him what the response of the United States should be were terrorist attacks on US cities to take place and were attributable to extremist Muslims. The Congressman...

I was lectured on Freerepublic that I was supposed to "feel safer" because we captured Saddam -- even though there's no evidence that he was behind 9-11. Osama is the guy that Bush promised to get "dead or alive" -- but four years later, he's still out there, free as a jail bird.Maybe it's time to refocus on the mastermind and culprits who were behind 9-11? Prediction: I'll get flamed as a "DU provacateur" for advocating that we go after somebody who killed 3000-plus people on American soil.

May 4, 2005 — The FBI has stepped up the search for fugitive mobster Joey ''the Clown'' Lombardo. A federal judge received a letter Tuesday written by Lombardo that outlined his terms for surrender. The judge rejected them. The I-Team learned Wednesday that scientists at the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, are examining the manifesto that Lombardo supposedly handwrote for District Judge James Zagel. It has been nine days since the outfit capo was indicted, but at least Lombardo has communicated with authorities. Fugitive defendant Frank Schweihs is not to be found and incommunicado, leaving federal agents without the two...

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whose country is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, said that the world should get used to high oil prices. "The world should forget about cheap oil ... it won't happen," Chavez told a news conference in the Indian capital on Saturday, saying that the new price range for oil would remain between 40 dollars and 50 dollars. "That is the new band for oil," said Chavez, whose country is the only South American member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Chavez, on the second day of a visit to India...

I was just reading Article 2 of James Madison & Ben Franklin's opus magnus and started counting the number of times that masculine gender is indicated. Hmmm, I doesn't appear that Hildabeast (or "Law of the Sea" Condi for that matter) can even be president.: Article II.Section. 1. Clause 1: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows ... Clause 6: In Case of the Removal of...

American TV watchdogs have rejected a raft of complaints about everything from Friends characters discussing a phallic-shaped cake to mention of homosexual kissing on Will And Grace. Clean-up campaigners the Parents Television Council filed 36 complaints about incidents they thought were dragging down standards. They also included an episode of The Simpsons in which striking students carried banners saying "Don't cut off my pianissimo" and the scene in the Austin Powers movie where a naked Mike Myers had his genitals hidden by cunningly-placed objects. The Federal Communications Association rejected all the complaints, ruling: “None of the segments were patently offensive...

Countries the world over jockey hard to attract foreign investment. They care about it enough to make it a national priority, to send spies against their competitors, to build infrastructure, and to change laws to make their investment climate attractive. Most know of the economy-developing potential of foreign capital. The United States itself was developed this way, largely on British capital which built its great railroads, mining ventures, universities and corporations. China is now the giant of this game opf attractring foreign investment, aptly offering favorable business conditions and great opportunities to businesses the world over. But it's not just...

I was once a loney freeper. A freeper without a "1", pleasently picking on user "Ash" daily, now I have a (one)"1". What did I win to become a 'one'? Back in the days of Teddy Roosevelt, I signed on to FR. (May, 98.) Then somebody hit the wrong button and BOOFF! I was eliminated, disenfranchised, erased from memory. Gone, Capute! Subsequently, posing as a lurker, I saw an old thread I had started from July, '98. I tried to post to it. Nothing. I tried again. Nothing! I emailed JimRob. He said my user ID was gone! Not banished,...

Something is going on in North Korea, but nobody knows exactly what. Portraits of Kim Jong-il have been taken down from some (but not all) public places. The official Nork news agency denies that any have been taken down, though this is contradicted by several reports. His favorite mistress just died, and he is said to be in mourning. Offical television and radio braodcasts from North Korea appear to be toning down the honorifics they use when uttering his sacred name. Some speculate that Kim is deliberately downplaying the cult of his own personality, in an effort to begin reforming....

I got a phone call today from an old reporter friend in DC. They are having a great laugh at Kerry turning "tan" on the eve of the debates. The buzz is that Kerry has been obsessed with emulating JFK for so long that he has planned to try to recreate the JKF tan of the famed 1960 debate with Richard Nixon. He said part of the staff is embarasses but no one has the courage to tell Kerry he looks ridiculous. __________________________________________________________________ "The Great Debates marked television's grand entrance into presidential politics. They afforded the first real opportunity for...

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A media saga over the private life of Mexico's first lady took a bizarre twist on Wednesday when she defended herself against allegations of abuse of power in a live television interview with a clown. Marta Sahagun denied accusations in a new biography that she is an ambitious schemer who manipulates President Vicente Fox. The book also accuses Sahagun of witchcraft. "One's private life should be respected and respected truthfully. What has been said here about (my) private life is a lie," Sahagun, 50, said on a popular morning news show on the Televisa network. The...

WASHINGTON - "Lethal Weapon" actor Danny Glover is the latest celebrity facing an icy brand of national pride that puts the pinch on public figures who question American foreign policy. A threatened boycott seeks to force telecommunications company MCI to dump Glover as its pitchman because of views he expressed about Cuba and against the war. Similar frostiness extended to the Dixie Chicks and actors Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon when they came out against war in Iraq. Glover said this chill comes from right-wing factions that he denounced as self-appointed thought police. "It's basically this rabid nationalism...

LOS ANGELES, Feb 19 (AFP) - Hollywood stars Wednesday opened a new front in their battle to derail US plans for a war with Iraq, unveiling plans to flood the White House and lawmakers with antiwar phone calls, e-mails and faxes. A group of stars led by Martin Sheen -- who plays the US president on the television show "The West Wing" -- and actresses Anjelica Huston and Janeane Garofalo said they would stage a "virtual march" Monday on Washington. "Our message to Washington will be clear -- 'Don't invade Iraq!' We can contain Saddam Hussein without killing innocent...

Second cloned baby to be born in Europe in next few days, Clonaid says 1 hour, 43 minutes ago PARIS - The head of the company claiming to have created the world's first cloned human told French television Thursday that a second cloned baby would be born somewhere in Europe in the next few days. Interviewed on France-2, Brigitte Boisselier said the child would be born "in Europe before Sunday." She declined to name the country. Boisselier is chief executive of Clonaid, which is linked to a religious sect that believes space aliens created life on Earth. She is also...

Does Anybody Have A Classic Caption For This Picture of the Clown-Loving John McCain?Thanks! E_C_N

Daschle's Bad Hair Day By Ted Lang© 2002 Published 09. 26. 02 at 21:14 Sierra Time xx Wasn’t it great to see Mr. Smoothie become totally unglued? Wasn’t it great to see Mr. Collected, or is it Mr. Collectivist, so totally lose it? For me, it was a high point in American politics. Talk about shaking and quaking, did you get to see the clip of the Senate’s leading old pork glutton and Dirty Byrd assailing the upper atmosphere with his bent and crooked finger shouting "…wrong, WRONG!?" I really think those two leading members of the Demagogic Party were...

WASHINGTONIt is already too late for the United States to lead the world in the fight against global warming. President Bush saw to that last year, when he abandoned his promise to make power plants reduce the amount of carbon dioxide they send into the air. But if the president won't lead the world, then the business community, the American people and their elected representatives in Congress must lead the president.This month President Bush gave up all pretense of moving forward in the effort to clean up the oldest and dirtiest power plants. First he denigrated the climate action report...

MIAMI (AP) - Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris criticized the chairwoman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission on Friday for saying they have not done enough to ensure Florida's flawed presidential election isn't repeated. Bush called the Mary Frances Berry's commission "a badly discredited institution" and saying it is reopening a controversy "that most Floridians have long forgotten." President George W. Bush, the governor's brother, won the White House in 2000 after a partial recount of the state's ballots."Florida is indisputably a national leader in election reform," Bush said, saying the state will spend $30...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. MINNEAPOLIS -- Gov. Jesse Ventura is heading down the Mississippi River in his swimsuit to promote his state. Ventura and two friends will ride the river 1,800 miles from St. Paul to New Orleans in swim suits and life preservers and on personal watercraft made by Medina-based Polaris Industries. It will be part business, part adventure, the governor said. "We're going to bring light to the Mississippi River," he said Friday shortly before leaving for a trade mission to China. "It can't be more dangerous than jumping out of a plane,"...