Free Republic

Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, has offered up an interesting explanation for his vote to move forward with debate of major health care legislation: he stopped his fellow Democrats from playing parliamentary hardball that he said would have led to a fast-tracked bill and “sidelined” centrists like himself.

Building the case for a brand new jobs-creation bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says most Americans would not mind inflating the already-gaping deficit in exchange for more jobs.

Freelance journalist Nick Martin has an update on Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff’s Deputy Adam Stoddard, who last October was caught on video swiping a file in open court from defense attorney defense attorney Joanne Cuccia. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe held a hearing on the matter, and on Tuesday ordered Stoddard to hold a press conference to apologize. It’s a weak and odd way of admonishing Stoddard for such a brazen trespass on attorney-client privilege (not to mention Stoddard’s arguable violation of a number of other laws, rights, and rules of procedure). But even that was too much...

Check this out if your stomach can handle it.

Darwinism and the adoption of Chinese Marxism According to James Pusey, writing in Nature, "Charles Darwin's banner was first unfurled in China during the Reform Movement of 1895-98, in response to China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War." There were two groups seeking change: the reformers, who were loyal to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the revolutionaries, who wanted a clean break with the past. --snip-- The reformers and the revolutionaries debated vigorously "with both sides wildly waving Darwin's banner" The leaders of these movements imbibed the message of scientific racism coming from America and Europe and presented themselves as 'fit'...

President Barack Obama spent much of his time in Asia warning Iran that his patience for nuclear diplomacy is wearing thin. "Iran has taken weeks now and has not shown its willingness to say yes to this proposal," Obama said Thursday in Seoul, referring to a deal under which Iran would export the bulk of its stock of enriched uranium to Russia for conversion into reactor fuel. "And so, as a consequence we have begun discussions with our international partners about the importance of having consequences."

...of 2008! That's right. It's time to admit that no amount of American lives can resolve the political disagreement that lies at the heart of someone else's civil war. That's why I have a plan that will bring our combat troops home by March of 2008. Let the Iraqis know... letting the Iraqis know that we will not be there forever is our last best hope to pressure the Sunnis and Shia to come to the table and find peace. Click on either my image or the video link to hear Barack Obama tell a big lie. He claimed to...

Now that unemployment has topped 10 percent, some liberal-leaning economists see confirmation of their warnings that the $787 billion stimulus package President Obama signed into law last February was way too small. The economy needs a second big infusion, they say. No, some conservative-leaning economists counter, we were right: The package has been wasteful, ineffectual and even harmful to the extent that it adds to the nation’s debt and crowds out private-sector borrowing. These long-running arguments have flared now that the White House and Congressional leaders are talking about a new “jobs bill.” But with roughly a quarter of the...

Measure would add coverage for 31 million, reduce deficit over 10 years Health care legislation heading for the Senate floor this week would extend coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans at a cost of $849 billion over a decade, according to congressional budget experts. As rank-and-file Democrats gathered Wednesday to learn details of the long-awaited bill, the Congressional Budget Office also estimated the legislation would reduce federal deficits by a total of $127 billion over that decade, NBC News reported. The budget agency also projected that the legislation would cover 94 percent of Americans. The political stakes were enormous...

“I think that those who try to politicize those things are just way, way, way off base" the official said.....OK, now we got it, Obama was observing protocol, and we are politicizing it....Well there you have it...(Story from Politico)

Obama bowed to emperor as 'protocol' By: Mike Allen November 14, 2009 11:08 PM EST SINGAPORE – A senior administration official said President Barack Obama was simply observing protocol when he bowed to Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko upon arriving at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday. “I think that those who try to politicize those things are just way, way, way off base,” the official said. “He observes protocol. But I don’t think anybody who was in Japan – who saw his speech and the reaction to it, certainly those who witnesses his bilateral meetings there –...

STREAMING ON FOX: http://interactive.foxnews.com/livestream/live.html?chanId=5

The world is much closer to running out of oil than official estimates admit, according to a whistleblower at the International Energy Agency who claims it has been deliberately underplaying a looming shortage for fear of triggering panic buying. The senior official claims the US has played an influential role in encouraging the watchdog to underplay the rate of decline from existing oil fields while overplaying the chances of finding new reserves. The allegations raise serious questions about the accuracy of the organisation's latest World Energy Outlook on oil demand and supply to be published tomorrow – which is used...

Police in China's far west have launched a crackdown on terrorism and stepped up a hunt for suspects who took part in deadly ethnic riots there four months ago, the regional public security ministry said Tuesday.

An internal congressional report questioning the ability of the Secret Service to continue fulfilling its duties was leaked to the Boston Globe. The report says the Secret Service is strained by a drastic increase in threats to President Obama, coupled with deep budget cuts. Snip ---- Talking Points Memo noted that Ronald Kessler, the author of a recently released book on the Secret Service's protection of U.S. presidents, recently said that threats against President Obama are up 400 percent from the number of threats levied against former President George W. Bush, while the size of the agency's staff has only...

In the great tradition of Washington's solving vaporous problems, Congress is moving on Net Neutrality legislation, while the FCC is also working on the very same issue with an eye to regulate and eventually strangle free speech on the internet. Net Neutrality, for those who have better things to worry about, is a proposal for the government to regulate internet service providers to force them to give the same priority to all types of data (i.e. an email transmission must be treated the same as a song download). The battle lines are drawn according to self-interest: content providers such as...

When inflation hits, every dollar in your bank account is worth less each day. Deflation is just the opposite: You put your feet up and watch your money grow in value. The latter is what is happening now to America's seniors. And politicians think they should not have to stand for it. The other day, the federal government announced that for the first time since cost-of-living adjustments were begun in 1975, Social Security recipients will not get an annual raise in their monthly checks. This decision is not the result of a fit of fiscal austerity or a sadistic desire...

Forty-four days before he assumed the office, Barack Obama went on Meet the Press and spoke of shovel ready projects that were supposedly awaiting a job stimulus plan: "When I met with the governors, all of them have projects that are shovel ready, that are going to require us to get the money out the door, but they've already lined up the projects and they can make them work. And now, we're going to have to prioritize it and do it not in the old traditional politics first wave. What we need to do is examine what are the projects...

Already, President Obama has been compared to a Colonial Despot and Richie Cunningham. But you can't understand anything about his leadership until you know, that if nothing else, Obama is a Player (or, ‘playa,' if you will). For those who don't know, the movie, "How to Be a Player," with Bernie Mac and Bill Bellamy, explains the game. Players have a ‘steady' (a faithful, trusting girlfriend or wife) and then all their other girls on the side. Using deceit and flattery, the Player tries to balance all his love affairs at once. For Obama, the American people are his ‘steady'...

Here is video of MSNBC's Chuck Todd saying President Obama went "against his instincts" in going to Copenhagen to lobby for Chicago to get the 2016 Olympics. Todd said the White House's instincts were to "not buckle under the pressure" from Chicago friends to get personally involved in lobbying for Chicago to get the Olympics. . . . (VIDEO)

H1N1 swine flu has killed 28 pregnant women in the U.S., raising the level of concern among obstetricians and CDC investigators. The 28 women who died were among about 100 pregnant women who required intensive care because of severe H1N1 swine flu disease. "Doctors around the country have never seen this kind of thing before," CDC respiratory disease chief Anne Schuchat, MD, said today at a news conference. "What we are seeing is quite striking." The CDC has never before tracked the impact of flu on pregnant women. Although flu is a known risk both to a pregnant woman and...

With growing pressure for decisions on life-or-death issues in Afghanistan and Iran, this morning the White House announced that President Obama will soon travel to…Copenhagen. Obama will be in Denmark for just a few hours -- he leaves this Thursday and returns Friday -- which is just enough time to make a pitch for Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games. He'll be following First Lady Michelle Obama, who is also going to Copenhagen as part of the promote-Chicago team. Here is the White House press release:.....

Afghanistan could sink into a quagmire if more troops are not sent, but it's a wait and see for Obama while he hits the sunday shows, hits the links and laughs it up with Dave...... Here's a commentary from Foxnews Brit Hume...

email sent to me about an hour ago. No I didn't watch his majesty, I decided to work on my houseplants instead and build a shelf ----------------- I just finished laying out my plan for health reform at a joint session of Congress. Now, I'm writing directly to you because what happens next is critical -- and I need your help. Change this big will not happen because I ask for it. It can only come when the nation demands it. Congress knows where I stand. Now they need to hear from you. Add your voice: Ask your representatives...

<p>Two out of three Americans who watched President Barack Obama's health care reform speech Wednesday night favor his health care plans — a 14-point gain among speech-watchers, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll of people who tuned into Obama's address Wednesday night to a joint session of Congress.</p>

Firestorm Erupted As Critics Charge White House With Indoctrination. A presidential video address to the nation’s school children erupted into a firestorm of controversy after the White House disseminated an activities list which, among other things, called for grade students to “write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president.” The president is poised to deliver an address to the nation’s students on September 8th. According to a press release issued by the White House on Wednesday, the speech stresses the “importance of taking responsibility for [students] success in school.” But, in preparing for the academic...

Obama Is Fast Losing White Voters' Support His approval ratings with the crucial bloc have plunged since April. Strategists say the healthcare debate is largely to blame, but that's not the only reason. The Obama family returns from Camp David. It's unclear whether President Obama's ratings slip is based on policy or personal issues. (Ron Sachs / Pool Photo / September 6) Graphic: Poll results By Peter Wallsten September 7, 2009 Reporting from Washington - After a summer of healthcare battles and sliding approval ratings for President Obama, the White House is facing a troubling new trend: The voters losing...

DALLAS — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday that politics did not influence the decision to spend millions of dollars in stimulus money on little-used border checkpoints while passing over higher-priority projects. Members of Congress have asked for answers after The Associated Press showed that the Obama administration did not follow its internal priority list when handing out money to repair border stations nationwide.

The eye-opener here concerns Obama's first job out of college. In his autobiography, "Dreams from My Fathers", Barack Obama writes of taking a job after graduating from Columbia University in 1983. He describes his employer as A consulting house to multinational corporations" in New York City, and his functions as a "research assistant" and "financial writer" In fact he was recruited by Business International Corporation that was continuously being accused of as a CIA front company. Wikipedia, an independent source, supports this, The company has been identified as cover organization for the Central Intelligence Agency, e.g. see Lobster Magazine, and...

Sarah Palin can grab voters' attention whenever she wants, but they're not ready to put her in the White House – not by a long shot. If the 2012 presidential election were held today, and Palin was the GOP candidate, she’d get wiped out by President Obama, a new Marist poll showed Tuesday. Only 33% of registered voters would go for Palin compared to Obama’s 56%, with 11% undecided. Obama would pull in 92% of Democrats and Palin would get 73% of Republicans. The President would clean Palin’s clock among amost all voting groups. Independents would go 49% to 34%...

President Obama's lies in Montana were the most egregious falsehoods since Bill Clinton said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman". The current President was asked how the government is going to pay for the $1 trillion in new health care expenditures under HR 3200. Watch the video here. Part of the President's answer included blaming a previous administration. Oh no, he's not blaming Bush again, is he? Well, as it turns out, the previous administration was Bill ("depends on what the meaning of is is") Clinton's. The current President claims that we can save $60 billion per...

WASHINGTON – A swastika was found Tuesday painted on a sign outside Rep. David Scott's district office, an act the Georgia Democrat said reflects an increasingly hateful and racist debate over health care and should serve as a reminder for people to tone down their rhetoric. Scott's staff arrived at his Smyrna, Ga., office Tuesday morning to find the Nazi graffiti emblazoned on a sign bearing the lawmaker's name. The vandalism occurred roughly a week after Scott was involved in a contentious argument over health care at a community meeting. Scott, who is black, said he also has received mail...

Wisconsin Senator Kohl gives a 6-minute talk on health care reform, not mentioning tort reform, but noting that rumors about health reform aren't necessarily true.Sen. Herb Kohl video

While ideas get kicked around quite often for new types of nuclear reactors, development has rarely progressed to commercialization. It seems we just don’t have enough invested in nuclear to see the process through. The “very high-temperature reactor” is one of these ideas — a potentially more stable nuclear reactor that runs hotter than current designs, allowing it to be more efficient.

More than 200 Jewish extremists have reportedly entered al-Aqsa Mosque, positioning themselves inside the holy site, allegedly to perform religious rituals. According to a statement released by the Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage, the incursion was "significant". The foundation has called on Muslims, Arabs and all Palestinians to take action in support of the mosque. The attack comes amidst Tisha B'Av, also known as "The Ninth of Av" -- a Jewish fasting day in commemoration of the destruction of the two Temples. The occasion falls on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, which usually coincides with...

This is a 100% TRUE story about a question I posed to Janice Okubo and the Director of Health for the State of Hawai’i, along with the Registrar of Vital Statistics... ..and this just happened YESTERDAY. Coincidence? That's why I call YESTERDAY: The Day I Asked a Question and Got The MOTHER of All Answers 1) An Original Birth Record is what most people have 2) An Amended Original Birth Record is the exact same thing except it’s issued to adoptees–their original is then sealed and only opened on court order. Legally, it’s treated and accepted as an EQUAL to...

The conspiracy theorists who have claimed for more than a year that President Obama is not a United States citizen have found receptive ears among some mainstream media figures in recent weeks. Despite ample evidence to the contrary, the country’s most popular talk radio host, Rush Limbaugh, told his listeners on Tuesday that Mr. Obama “has yet to have to prove that he’s a citizen.” Lou Dobbs of CNN said that Mr. Obama should do more to dispel the claims. Larry King, also of CNN, asked guests about it. Chris Matthews debated it with guests on MSNBC, and “NBC Nightly...

Bad idea. I sympathize with him wanting to protect CNN from negative press but the surest way to feed a conspiracy theory, needless to say, is to try to suppress it. This is like Roger Ailes issuing a communique ordering Fox News not to cover 9/11 Truth. What is he hiding? TVNewser has learned CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein sent an email to a handful of “Lou Dobbs Tonight” staffers last night regarding the coverage of the so-called birthers and the validity of Pres. Obama’s birth in the U.S. In part, Klein writes, “It seems this story is dead- because anyone...

Let’s try a thought experiment. When I say “victory,” what do you think of? Do you think of winning the World Series? Do you picture that famous photo of the U.S. Sailor kissing the pretty girl in Time Square as WWII ended? Do you just imagine “winning” at whatever contest is at hand? It is likely that even if you don’t picture a particular thing, at the very least your initial emotional response is a warm feeling of worthy accomplishment and an assumption of gaining the accolades that accompanies victory. It is less likely that upon hearing or seeing the...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows that 30% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-eight percent (38%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -8 (see trends). Just 25% believe that the economic stimulus package has helped the economy. The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. It is updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update). Updates also available on Twitter. Overall, 49%...

Among those on television who've been covering the sudden public resurgence of the Birther movement -- but in a much more responsible way than Lou Dobbs -- is MSNBC's Chris Matthews. The other day, he beat up pretty badly on Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif., who's a co-sponsor of the "Birther bill" that would require future presidential candidates to provide proof of their natural-born citizenship. Thursday, he hosted Watergate burglar turned radio host G. Gordon Liddy, who's fallen under the Birthers' sway. Liddy himself looked decidedly unwell, and sounded out of sorts -- even Matthews seemed to realize that making him...

<p>Per Bret Baier on Fox News...Rahm Emmanuel says House will vote on Health Care before the August recess but Senat[e] will not.</p>

For the last week the OCCE (Orange County Conservative Examiner) has plowed through many of the complaints and reports on Obama’s birth certificate. Like many Americans we felt that despite the partisanship of our leaders that no Democrat or Republican would let someone run for the highest office in the land that was unconstitutionally unqualified. There is a reason they’re called vital records. However, to the OCCE does surprise and chagrin we found merit to the claim and disappointment that the POTUS has thumbed his nose at Americans want reassurance. Despite the zealots that are involve there are points that...

Israeli leaders say they're bewildered by the Obama administration's "obsession" with West Bank settlement growth. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was recently quoted asking/grumbling, "What do they want from me?" His aides told reporters and American Jewish leaders that Washington's position on settlements is "childish," "stupid" and "delusional" and that the Obama team should "come to its senses." A settler prays between destroyed structures demolished by IDF troops in the West Bank outpost of Maoz Esther. Photo: AP I don't think that Netanyahu and his aides are genuinely perplexed or mystified by the administration's demand that Israel stop all settlement construction...

Somewhere in the dark unknown blotch that is North Korea, there is a young man bent beneath a heavy burden. He is dozens of pounds underweight, fed on corn and salt, hunched over at the waist. His teeth are turning black, and several have already fallen out. He suffers from diarrhea and fever. Every so often, he watches as the camp guards shoot disobedient prisoners in the head. Sometimes, he watches as camp doctors lead young pregnant women into a room where they perform forced abortions. The young man will die before he hits 50; he'll be lucky to make...

The United States voiced concern Wednesday about rising tension between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea as a senator led calls to boost US seapower faced with Beijing's growing military.

NEW YORK (AP) — Sarah Palin's decision to step down as Alaska governor was driven in part by her wish to help Republican candidates across the country, associates say. But in New Jersey and Virginia, both of which have competitive governors' races this year, the prospect of a visit from the party's 2008 vice presidential nominee has so far drawn a muted response from the GOP contenders in both states. In Virginia, a historically conservative state where Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate since 1964 to win, Republican Bob McDonnell said Tuesday his campaign had had conversations with the...

Sarah is now unelectable on a national stage. The “quitter” specter will hang around her neck like “swimmer” does to Ted Kennedy. You’ll be able to spot the realistic, clear thinking conservatives because they see and admit this early so we can put it behind us get on with identifying the candidates who can win in ‘12. BTW - This doesn’t rule out a tangential private career ala Newt or a run for a House or Senate seat (although I don’t know where at this point) but as a national candidate she is toast. That so many conservatives can’t see...

Just disregard everything I said, and everything my fellow Democrats said since March 2003 about Iraq.....

Three new polls are out, and all convey the same message: Progress in Washington has stalled, partly because President Obama is more popular than his policies. Take the CBS News/New York Times poll, which gave the president an overall approval rating of 63 percent. Obama gets just shy of 60 percent approval on foreign policy and terrorism, his strongest issues. His economic rating is holding up reasonably well (57 percent approval), even though the prevailing sentiment is that the president's economic policies have not yet had much effect. On health care, Obama's ratings are less than 50 percent. Many Americans...