Free Republic

By now, millions of Americans are familiar with Anita Dunn, who recently resigned her post as Barack Obama’s White House Communications Director after it was learned that she had previously cited Mao Zedong, the late Communist dictator and mass murderer, as one of her “favorite political philosophers.” By contrast, few people know anything substantive about Dunn’s husband, Robert Bauer, who has replaced Gregory Craig as President Obama’s White House Counsel. Craig resigned abruptly on November 13, after having repeatedly denied, for weeks, that he had any plans of stepping down. A 1976 graduate of the University of Virginia School of...

Here’s how: The bills require a federal declaration of a “climate emergency” if world greenhouse gas levels reach 450 parts per million. Guess what? The Pacific Northwest National Lab says it is a virtual certainty that level will be reached within a few months. The bill then requires the president to “direct all Federal agencies to use existing statutory authority to take appropriate actions...to address shortfalls" in achieving needed greenhouse gas reductions. The Examiner's David Freddoso reports that Sen. David Vitter, R-LA, is holding a news conference later today concerning this provision. Vitter wonders if companies that support cap-and-trade in...

Obama: 'I'm Skinny...But Tough' Tuesday, October 27, 2009 7:30 AM President Barack Obama has lashed back at critics who fear he lacks the steel to be a successful president, saying "I'm skinny ... but I'm tough." Obama, who is trying to navigate a climate of sharp political partisanship, said he was spoiling for a fight to enact his ambitious agenda. "There are people saying mean things about me and folks are worried," Obama said on Monday, as he headlined a pair of Florida Democratic Party fundraisers that racked up a total of 1.5 million dollars. "Just 'cause I'm skinny doesn't...

The father of a seven-year-old girl who discovered from a school dinner lady that his daughter had been bullied has said he wants her dismissal retracted. Scott David's daughter Chloe was tied to a fence at Great Tey Primary School near Colchester, Essex, and hit with a skipping rope by several boys. Carol Hill told him details of the bullying after the school had only mentioned "an incident" had occurred. She was later sacked for breaching confidentiality.

Millions of Americans who shop at Costco receive the retail giant’s monthly magazine The Costco Connection. I have to confess however that my copy of the publication usually never makes it past the garage. Not so the recent August issue, which promotes on the cover a “Back to School” series of essays for parents and children. Since one of the essays promised to take on the issue of bullying, I decided to take a closer look. Bullies seem to be everywhere these days. From the schoolyard to the political arena thugs young and old have been learning that threats and...

Yeah, I’m sure he joking. He just happened to joke about a paper going out of business shortly after an editorial by that paper’s publisher, Sherman Frederick, outlined why he left the Democrat Party, and rumors started that Frederick might throw his hat in to oppose Reid.

Aug. 30, 2009 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal SHERMAN FREDERICK: Enough is enough, Harry Stop the childish bullying This newspaper traces its roots to before Las Vegas was Las Vegas. We've seen cattle ranches give way to railroads. We chronicled the construction of Hoover Dam. We reported on the first day of legalized gambling. The first hospital. The first school. The first church. We survived the mob, Howard Hughes, the Great Depression, several recessions, two world wars, dozens of news competitors and any number of two-bit politicians who couldn't stand scrutiny, much less criticism. We're still here doing what we...

Earlier today, I'd intended to do a post with that title commenting on Barack Obama's (outrageous, arrogant remark:) But I don't want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don't mind cleaning up after them, but don't do a lot of talking. By the "folks who created the mess," I suppose he doesn't mean Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and their fellow Democrats who have controlled Congress for the last 2 1/2 years. Nor, presumably, does he mean himself;...

President Obama is a bully, he doesn't like being questioned or crossed. Like most of the bullying kind, if you disagree with him he will go after you with personal attacks full guns blaring. Just look at some examples of the people who have crossed the President and got smack down by the Bully-in-Chief or his agents: * Gianna Jessen, a young woman who was born alive after a botched abortion. * Joe the Plumber * Retired Teachers and Cops who's pension funds were the primary investors in Chrysler. * The People at AIG who received contractually obligated bonuses. *...

A mother has been banned from a primary school after confronting a bully who used her five-year- old son as a 'human punch bag'. Christine Hart, 38, calmly asked the pupil to 'please stop hitting' her son Arthur after he endured months of bullying despite several complaints to teachers. But a teaching assistant saw and hauled her off to the headmistress, who told her not to cross the school gates and to attend a hearing with the governors to discuss her conduct.

A Los Angeles federal judge has tentatively thrown out the convictions of a Missouri mother for her role in a MySpace hoax directed at a 13-year-old neighbor girl who ended up committing suicide. In his ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge George Wu has acquitted Lori Drew of misdemeanor counts of accessing computers without authorization. Wu says his ruling will become final when he issues it in writing. Drew was convicted in a trial, but the judge says that if she is to be found guilty of illegally accessing computers, anyone who has ever violated the social networking site's terms of...

UNWORTHY AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF! Please go to the website below and sign our petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/obama39s-ineligibility-to-be-president-of-the-usUS Attorney for DC CHANNING D. PHILLIPS United States Attorney's Office 555 4th Street, NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear US Attorney Phillips: As a Citizen of the United States of America, I have the deepest concern for the safety of our country. The fact is that there is a need for this nation to hear and resolve the issue of Barack Obama’s eligibility for office. I base this statement on the Constitutional requirement (Section 1, Article 2 of the US Constitution: No Person except a...

Bullies are Cowards. Like that big kid in school that used to beat up the fat boy who couldn't run but would never confront anyone who would fight back. Unfortunately bullies have been around forever. They are even in the bible. Jews are commanded to always remember the bully: Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God Today the President had an...

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Eleven-year-old Jaheem Herrera woke up on April 16 acting strangely. He wasn't hungry and he didn't want to go to school. Jaheem Herrera's mother thinks he hanged himself because he was perpetually bullied at school. But the outgoing fifth grader packed his bag and went to school at Dunaire Elementary School in DeKalb County, Georgia. He came home much happier than when he left in the morning, smiling as he handed his mother, Masika Bermudez, a glowing report card full of A's and B's. She gave him a high-five and he went upstairs to his room...

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama seized the bully pulpit Thursday and reprised the best of his acclaimed campaign skills in an unprecedented Internet town hall from the White House — a direct sales pitch for Americans to get behind his $3.6 trillion budget and be patient as he tries to right the tottering economy. After an opening statement and declaring, "This isn't about me, it's about you," Obama took up a microphone and strolled the ornate East Room, .. .. On Tuesday Obama held a nationally televised news conference, .. calling on an unusual mix of reporters in an apparent...

A 16-year-old charter high school student allegedly struck out against a classmate who had been bullying him Wednesday by stabbing the youth with a scissors in a school hallway. Chicago Public Schools officials said the stabbing happened during a "conflict resolution" session -- in which the perpetrator and his father had come to meet with the dean of academics over how to address threats from the alleged bully. CPS officials said the father and son had been meeting with school officials on the issue just before 9 a.m., when the son left the dean's office and encountered the alleged bully...

A dispute has erupted over a trademark request filed by Rehava Real Estate Store, a small agency in North Charleston. Re/Max, a national real estate franchise, is challenging the agency's filing, saying the Rehava name and logo design are too similar to its own. Rehava said it sees little if any resemblance. "When I first got this case, I went back and double-checked to make sure I had the right file because they don't even look similar to me," said Rehava attorney Doug Kim. Adam Scoville, Re/Max's legal counsel, said he can explain. First of all, both names start...

Joe Lieberman has felt it. So has Joe the Plumber. It’s the Obama Touch — the squeeze on the biceps, the pat on the shoulder or the tap on the back that signals the displeasure of the commander in chief. Let others turn on the deep freeze or lose their cool when they’re annoyed. Obama prefers to deal with problems by taking them in hand — literally. Just ask Vice President Joe Biden, who made a joke about Chief Justice John Roberts flubbing the oath of office last week and immediately felt his boss’s disapproval, in the form of Obama’s...

See video at http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Y_ncOVlDw&fmt=18-

Raleigh, N.C. — There was a call for change Wednesday evening night at North Carolina State University. Student leaders came together to talk about passing the "Free Expression Tunnel Hate Crime Act" after classmates admitted to painting racist remarks about President-elect Barack Obama on the night of Nov. 4. Two of the messages in N.C. State's "Free Expression Tunnel" said: "Let's shoot that (N-word) in the head" and "Hang Obama by a noose." A bill urges the university to immediately expel those who promote such violent and racist actions on campus and to prosecute the offending students to the fullest...

Here's the issue. For the sake of argument, let's just say Barack Obama was correct in what he was saying. Was there any reason to be yelling at the elderly lady questioning you? Sure, maybe it ruffled his feathers. Sure, her tone was a little confrontational. So what? As President, many many people will be doing exactly that. Every time someone questions Obama or gets a little confrontational with him, is he going to lose his composure and yell at them, too?

A week before the start of the new school year, principal Denise Magee roamed the hallways of Campbell Middle School in Smyrna, Georgia, preparing for battle. The adversary? Preteen and teenage bullies. Toting anti-bullying posters and masking tape, Magee was determined to let students see from Day One that she had a zero-tolerance policy when it came to that kind of harassment. "Middle-school kids are just cruel to each other," Magee said. "They speak their minds, so you see bullying in the form of teasing, taunting, social isolation and name calling." The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated...

An anti-religion Minnesota biology professor expects to receive dozens of consecrated Communion wafers in response to his public solicitation that people send him the hosts in order that he may publicly desecrate them. He also said he wants to point out that "I am under no obligation to revere the sacred objects of the Catholic Church.... I don't have to treat it as a little idol." In an interview Friday, Mr. Myers said he already had received "a double-digit number" of positive responses, from people saying that they would try to get consecrated Catholic hosts for him and that the...

All lank and bone, the boy stands at the corner with his younger sister, waiting for the yellow bus that takes them to their respective schools. He is Billy Wolfe, high school sophomore, struggling. Moments earlier he left the sanctuary that is his home, passing those framed photographs of himself as a carefree child, back when he was 5. And now he is at the bus stop, wearing a baseball cap, vulnerable at 15. A car the color of a school bus pulls up with a boy who tells his brother beside him that he’s going to beat up Billy...

In his speech last night following primary losses in the two huge states of Ohio and Texas, Barack Obama gave a speech that repeated most of the rhetoric he has been saying all campaign long. Included in that speech was a moment I have yet to hear anyone else comment on. Obama essentially said that America, under his Presidency, will stop being a "bully." In the video from the speech provided below (move the bar to the 5:45-6:09 section), you will hear Obama say that America needs to stop "substituting bluster and bullying for direct diplomacy. . ." It would...

At lunch recently, a father of four who works in publishing told me he occasionally gives his children "a clip around the ear". The threat of minor violence, he said, was the fastest way to get his brood into the people carrier if they were all to get out of the house on time. It wasn't so much the fact that this otherwise modern thirtysomething father would slap his children that shocked me, but the fact that he spoke about it so openly. A decade ago, he might have been worried that I'd call social services - or at least...

Bill Clinton Unloads on Press By Anne E. Kornblut Former president Bill Clinton lashed out in response to criticism on Wednesday from a prominent Democrat in South Carolina, accusing the Obama campaign of running a political smear campaign against him through the media. "You live for this," Clinton snapped at CNN reporter Jessica Yellin when she asked him to comment on statements by Dick Harpootlian, the former South Carolina Democratic party chairman, who said recent distortions by the Clintons are "reprehensible." Harpootlian, who backed the Clintons in the 1990s and now supports Sen. Barack Obama, had compared Clinton's distortions to...

LAS VEGAS - O.J. Simpson must face trial on kidnapping, armed robbery and other charges stemming from an alleged sports memorabilia heist, a justice of the peace ruled Wednesday. Justice of the Peace Joe M. Bonaventure ruled after a preliminary hearing of the charges and arguments against the case by attorneys for Simpson and co-defendants Clarence "C.J." Stewart and Charles "Charlie" Ehrlich. "This is what we expected," Simpson told The Associated Press before he left the courtroom. "If I have any disappointment it's that I wish a jury was here. As always, I rely on the jury system." No charges...

In the wake of the disgraceful yet defining full-page MoveOn.org ad in the New York Times, the one that denigrated Gen. Petraeus, we stand witness to the benchmark in today’s political tactical maneuvering, the Bully Tactic. Increasingly, political operatives and zealots alike are turning to the coercive tactic of bullying those who aren’t on-board with their candidates or agendas. This benchmark signals some of the darkest days in American politics. Organizations like MoveOn.org have employed the Bully Tactic quite effectively. By utilizing deep-pocketed, agenda-driven benefactors and exploiting small donor advocates to advance their special interest causes, especially through the mainstream...

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is now traveling the state trying to put a scandal behind him... Here's what we know, thanks to some enterprising reporting ...and an investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo: Two close advisers to the governor apparently used the New York State Police to carry out a political smear campaign against me by creating documents designed to generate negative press reports... And it nearly worked. ...there is only one way forward for Mr. Spitzer. He needs to support a full airing of the truth. That support must include publicly testifying under oath, and making...

It’s been a swift fall from grace for New York’s new governor, Eliot Spitzer, who took office in January with 69 percent of the vote and (many think) visions of a future presidential run. Spitzer vowed, as a candidate, that “on Day One” of his administration, “everything changes.” But little has changed in scandal-rich Albany. Spitzer is now involved in an affaire some are calling Troopergate, and the governor is being compared to Richard Nixon. [Full disclosure: I worked as Policy Director for Tom Suozzi, the Nassau County Executive who ran against Spitzer for the Democratic nomination.] Spitzer stormed into...

Corruption: New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the one president ever forced to resign seem to have a lot in common. But at least Nixon waited a little while before using the tools of state against his political enemies. "I believe for the first time in the history of this state," declared New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, that the executive branch "has seen fit to abuse the power of that office to spy and track and attempt to really destroy what apparently the governor's office considers a political rival." After conducting an investigation, Spitzer's fellow Democrat, New...

AG says Spitzer's office leaked info By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press Writer 16 minutes ago ALBANY, N.Y. - New York's attorney general issued a report Monday recommending disciplinary action be considered against Gov. Eliot Spitzer's office for releasing information about a top legislator's use of state aircraft.

The mean-mouthed, lesbian bully who made the ABC daytime gabfest The View her own talking-points memo is now pressuring CBS Television to give her a shot at hosting a hit game show. According to the Los Angeles Times, the producers of CBS show “The Price is Right” are considering Rosie O’Donnell as a replacement for Bob Barker, who retired after 35 years of hosting the show. This news comes on the heels of Bob Barker’s endorsement of Rosie as a suitable host for the show. This story begs the question: what on earth are Barker and the CBS producers thinking?...

In 1965, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., was chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and Naturalization. He ushered through the Senate the immigration policy of President Lyndon B. Johnson, stating Feb. 10, 1965: "I want to comment on ... what the bill will not do. First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same. ..." Kennedy continued: "Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset. ... Contrary to the charges in some quarters, [this bill] will not inundate America with immigrants...

He has gone from accused minor criminal to community symbol. Let there be no mistake. As was confirmed after Tuesday’s court hearing, this is not just another harassment case. Charles Schmidl stands as a crusader for a cause. The cause is the right of an adult to defend himself — and his 5-year-old son — against the alleged abuse of an out-ofcontrol 10-year-old. It is a line in the sand against lax parenting and the obnoxious offspring that it produces. It is a voice for the rights of those wronged by every spoiled brat spawned by absent or permissive parents....

(06-01) 17:42 PDT VACAVILLE -- There are thieves and then there are thieves who steal puppies from children. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of a man who shoved a 10-year-old Vacaville boy to the ground, snatched his favorite puppy and jumped into a getaway car as the distraught boy screamed for his pet. "I think it is horrible," said Vacaville police Sgt. Denise Quatman, who on Friday made a plea to the public to help investigators find the pet-napper and return the little dog to its owner. "It's not something...

FReepers are some of the most level headed people I know and I have been up all night fretting about this. Here is the backround. My daughters participate in a Slovak dance class at our church. One assistant is a mother with 5 children including a new baby. Her husband has problems and she is trying to hold it together. She is a wonderfully sweet lady, however.... Her son is violent. Two years ago, he stomped on my daughter's foot with full force. We got an apology. Last year both my daughter and this boy were Shepherds in the Nativity...

Amil Imani fired off in all directions in his article yesterday, in which he included broadsides against Russia, yet he would do well to remember that his extremely vociferous opinion article was printed, freely, in a Russian publication, PRAVDA.Ru. The article printed in yesterday’s PRAVDA.Ru begins by complaining that closer to home, Chavez and Castro call the USA “the Big Bad Bully”. He forgot to mention Morales, Kirchner and practically every other political figure in Latin America, except perhaps the allegedly narco-trafficking regime of Uribe, President of Colombia, the country where journalists are murdered for disagreeing with the Government. Freedom...

A Michigan congressman is defending the U.S. auto industry against calls for increased fuel efficiency by criticizing a famous foe of global warming: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Republican Rep. Joe Knollenberg's re-election campaign placed a billboard along a busy interstate in Detroit that reads, "Arnold to Michigan: Drop Dead!" It shows a grim-looking picture of the actor-turned-politician and draws attention to Knollenberg's Web site. "Michigan and the Big Three are being unfairly bullied by politicians who have no understanding of auto manufacturing," Knollenberg said Thursday in a statement. Knollenberg said he "picked on Schwarzenegger because he's a perfect symbol of...

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) believes it is his right as a Muslim to be sworn into Congress with the Quran. But apparently, the freshman lawmaker doesn’t believe it’s Rep. Tom Tancredo’s (R-Colo.) right to smoke a cigar in his congressional office. Ellison’s office called the Capitol Hill Police on Tancredo last Wednesday night as Tancredo was in his office smoking a cigar. The lawmakers have neighboring offices on the first floor of the Longworth House Office Building. Tancredo was still stunned a day later. “It’s very bizarre,” said Tancredo, who has never met Ellison. “Seemed to me not a good...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. Eliot Spitzer proposed a $120.6 billion state budget Wednesday that he said will cut spending growth, increase school aid by $1.4 billion and provide $1.5 billion to cut local property taxes. The proposal would increase overall spending, including state and federal funds, by 6.3 percent over the current fiscal plan, projected to total $113.5 billion by the close of the fiscal year. The current budget increased spending by 8.8 percent over 2005-06. “I believe deeply in the proposals that are articulated in this budget, “ Spitzer told lawmakers in their briefing Wednesday, speaking without notes...

The summer I turned 6 years old, some of the neighborhood boys started bullying me. Back then, I owned a pair of cabbage patch kid roller-skates and my favorite activity was skating around the block singing nursery rhymes at the top of my lungs. One day, a few boys in the 8-10 range thought it would be pretty humorous to push me around and watch me flail. I tried to run from them, but I couldn’t skate faster than they could run. They taunted me for a while and then knocked me down. Angry, humiliated, and with two freshly skinned...

A row has broken out between the US and Russia at a security summit in Brussels after Washington accused Moscow of bullying its smaller neighbours. The spat erupted at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) summit in Brussels. Senior US state department diplomat Nicholas Burns said "some" countries were imposing "economic and financial pressure" on Georgia and Moldova. Russia retorted, saying the OSCE was exacerbating conflict in the region. Tense relations between Russia and former Soviet republic Georgia erupted earlier this year, and led to Moscow imposing tough sanctions on its smaller neighbour. Moldova has also suffered...

I think this letter, sent me by one Jack Thompson in response to my asking how his case went today, speaks for itself. My personal favorite quote, though the entire rant is simply stupendous, has to be this choice non-sequitor: "The Republicans in the Congress of the United States apparently can't protect pages, and the Miami-Dade judicial system can't even protect children, let alone its own reputation." Hit the jump for the entire thing. Brian Crecente Judge Ronald Friedman Dade County Courthouse 13th Floor 73 West Flagler Street Miami, Florida 33130 Re: Bully Dear Judge Friedman: Now that you have...

President Bill Clinton was overbearing, threatening, and in the face of "FOX News Sunday" host Chris Wallace. The wild eyed, finger wagging Clinton was astonishing to watch and embarrassing. He possibly could have been charged with assault and battery against the Fox host. Chris Wallace, the son of liberal 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace, appeared to be overwhelmed by the ire of his guest. Clinton was ready to pounce on anything the mild mannered interviewer asked. In most states, an assault/battery is committed when one person 1) tries to or does physically strike another, or 2) acts in a threatening...

<p>FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON ON NOT CAPTURING BIN LADEN: 'At least I tried. That's the difference between me and some, including all the right wingers. They ridicule me for trying. They had eight months to try, they did not try. I tried. So I tried and failed'...</p>

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ The State Liquor Authority is investigating whether alcohol was served to minors at a barbecue Eliot Spitzer's campaign for governor held for supporters at the state fair last week. The agency received complaints that alcohol was served to minors at the Aug. 31 event, said authority spokesman Bill Crowley. The authority was also investigating a potential violation of a law prohibiting unlimited alcohol offerings at public events, he told the Syracuse Post-Standard.

I once witnessed a bar fight in downtown Olongapo (Philippines) that still haunts my dreams. The fight was between a big oafish Marine and a rather soft-spoken, medium sized Latino sailor from my ship. All evening the Marine had been trying to pick a fight with one of us and had finally set his sights on this diminutive shipmate of mine... figuring him for a safe target. When my friend refused to be goaded into a fight the Marine sucker punched him from behind on the side of the head so hard that blood instantly started to pour from this...

WILLIAM Jefferson Blythe III was born on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Ark. After his mother remarried, he took the family surname, Clinton. Clinton was a good student. He enjoyed playing the saxophone and even considered a professional musical career. While in high school, a fortuitous meeting with President John Kennedy led him to choose a life of public service.