Free Republic

GENEVA (AP) - The Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at President George W. Bush leaned back in his chair and soaked in the round of applause. This was not Baghdad or Damascus or Beirut. This was Geneva, where Muntadhar al-Zeidi was given a hero's welcome Monday far warmer than the subdued reception in his own homeland. "I am one of the victims of the occupation," al-Zeidi said at a press conference alongside two local politicians, repeating his allegations that he was severely tortured, including with electric shocks, during his nine months of Iraqi detention. (snip) Al-Zeidi's reception in Switzerland...

EDITOR’S NOTE: In his new book, Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America (ISI Books), Craig Shirley provides the first inside look at the historic 1980 election, a race that even as late as election day was judged “too close to call.” In this excerpt, Shirley shows how close Reagan’s campaign came to collapsing in the Republican primaries — and how the candidate turned things around.The thirty-five days between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary during the 1980 presidential campaign were the most important time in Ronald Reagan’s political life. And the pivotal moment...

The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors on Monday. Two Justice Department officials said prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws. The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes. Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical...

Remember that time President Bush interrupted the Emmy telecast to tell people we should support reform of Social Security before it bankrupted the country? Neither do I. Yet when I tuned in to watch "Monday Night Football" this week to check out the Miami Dolphins’ Wildcat offense, I didn’t expect to see President Obama taking the direct snap and trying to pound his political message into the end zone. Where’s the flag for illegal procedure? The president is popping up everywhere but Cialis commercials. How long before we have to watch him and Michelle holding hands in matching bathtubs as...

COLLEGE STATION — Our president, navigating through a difficult rookie year, on Friday made his first trip to our state since he got the gig in January. Barack Obama came to College Station to honor George H.W. Bush on the 20th anniversary of the ex-president's "Points of Light" speech that sparked a volunteer effort that has helped countless folks. So nice. A Democratic president and an ex-GOP president ignoring party differences for a day. The event crossed generations. It bridged racial divide. And it reminded us that the folks who really play politics for keeps know there's a time to...

President Bush has signed into law three tax bills in the past three years; these tax cuts amounted to $1.3 trillion in 2001, $96 billion in 2002, and $330 billion in 2003. Democratic opponents criticized the tax cuts (particularly the first one in 2001) as fiscally irresponsible and weighted primarily toward the wealthy, while Republican supporters claimed that the tax cuts would stimulate economic growth and return money to taxpayers across the board. Major Provisions of the Tax Cuts The 2001 Economic Growth and Recovery Tax Act, by far the largest of the three tax cuts, was intended to provide...

Remember this little nugget from January of 2007 from one Nancy Pelosi? After years of historic deficits, this new Congress will commit itself to a higher standard: pay as you go, no new deficit spending. Our new America will provide unlimited opportunity for future generations, not burden them with mountains of debt. And as the Democrats railed against Bush and his deficit they don't utter a peep about this: WASHINGTON – What is $1.42 trillion? It's more than the total national debt for the first 200 years of the Republic, more than the entire economy of India, almost as much...

Here is video from the Rachel Maddow show where she played audio of former President George H. W. Bush on CBS Radio calling Maddow and Keith Olbermann "a couple of sick puppies" for their vicious attacks against his son - George W. Bush - and others who do not agree with their point of view. Maddow then talks with Olbermann by phone and they essentially say they can't imagine why he would say such a thing! George H. W. Bush is right on target, and good for him that he said so! . . . . (VIDEO)

By 14 he was dunking. By 16 he was facing down reporters. Now the greatest basketball player in the world is 24 years old—and he's just getting started. snip... If there was one guy on the planet you could dunk on, who would it be?... If it doesn’t have to be a basketball player, George W. Bush. I would dunk on his ass, break the rim, and shatter the glass.

For all the global love-in, the new president has led rich nations to neglect principled action and row back from climate deals Of all the explanations for Barack Obama's Nobel peace prize, the one that rang truest came from Nicolas Sarkozy. "It sets the seal on America's return to the heart of all the world's peoples." In other words, this was Europe's way of saying to America, "We love you again", like those weird renewal-of-vows ceremonies couples have after a rough patch. Now Europe and the US are officially reunited, it seems appropriate to consider whether this is necessarily a...

President Barack Obama was welcomed by a standing ovation and traditional Aggie "whoops" Friday on the Texas A&M campus where he called on all to get more involved in their communities. Citing host George H.W. Bush's vision for public service as the launch pad toward that goal, Obama spoke for just under 20 minutes and described the 41st president as "an inspiration to us all." Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, former president at A&M, joined Bush on stage in welcoming Obama to Aggieland. Meanwhile, just under 1,000 protesters were about a block away from the event at Rudder Tower, though...

MetroSource News 10/16/2009 00:33:29 TX - Obama Bush Forum >> Obama, George H.W. Bush Hold Texas Community Service Event (College Station, TX) -- President Obama heads to Central Texas today to join former President George H.W. Bush at an event to promote community service. The presidential forum is being held at the George Bush Presidential Library Center on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, Texas. It is meant to be a non-partisan event to celebrate the importance of community service. However, that doesn't mean Obama's visit to the largely conservative college town will necessarily go off without a...

If stately symbolism were the sole markers of an exalted status, the Indo-US relationship would be characterised by the bubbly flow of champagne, such as you might see when president Barack Obama hosts prime minister Manmohan Singh at a state dinner at the White House next month. But no amount of banquet bonhomie and frothy fine-speak can draw attention away from the growing realisation that under Obama, the Indo-US relationship is perhaps adrift. The contrast with the George Bush era, when relations with India were cemented by the civilian nuclear agreement and enjoyed top billing, is striking. On virtually every...

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to spend several hours with Karl Rove, the “master political strategist” of the Bush administration . . . where he defended the Bush agenda in a raucous debate . . . . I wondered if Rove would appear introspective, slightly humbled by the demise of the Republican Party in the most recent elections and the litany of disastrous big government policies he and his boss engineered over the past eight year that led to the lowest public approval rating in history. No one expected Rove to confess error. But like most conservatives, conservative...

WASHINGTON — The budget deficit for the current year will be $172 billion, according to new estimates by the Congressional Budget Office. The latest CBO figures, disclosed by a congressional aide, also predict the budget could come back into surplus by 2012, although that would require President Bush's tax cuts to expire at the end of 2010. The estimates also understate the ongoing cost of the war in Iraq, but provide a basis for majority Democrats on Capitol Hill to work to match Bush's vow to balance the federal budget in five years. The improvement in the deficit figure comes...

To My Fellow Members of the Texas A&M Family: Howdy! As you have probably heard, I have invited the 44th President of the United States of America to come visit the Bush Library and Texas A&M, and President Obama has graciously accepted. Along with the administration, faculty, and so many of you, I am honored that The President, our President, is taking the time and making the effort to come to College Station on October 16th to talk about an issue that unites all Americans -- namely, community service and its vast importance to our continued well-being as a Nation....

How many times have we heard President Barack Obama or high-ranking members of his administration lament the fact that the president "inherited" a recession? Quite a few, if anyone is keeping track. Now the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has broken through the 10,000-point barrier. But that begs the question given the inevitable credit Obama will get from the media and other supporters for this rally, should former President George W. Bush get some of the credit if Obama is so willing to blame him for the collapse? It's a question Neil Cavuto put to the test on his Oct....

The Obama administration blamed President George W. Bush for 13,000 new support troops headed to Afghanistan, even though Bush has not been commander-in-chief for nearly ten months.The Washington Post had a front page story this morning saying Barack Obama had authorized the troops in addition to the 21,000 increase in combat troops he ordered in March.White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today, according to the AP, that President Bush, who left office 276 days ago, was to blame for the latest troop increase:Later, spokesman Robert Gibbs rejected a published report that the president had authorized 13,000 additional troops...

In January 2004, George Soros proclaimed to the world, "I have made rejection of the Bush doctrine the central project of my life." To which he added, "America, under Bush, is a danger to the world. And I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is." Soros then waged a nearly one-wallet war against Bush, put more than $25 million of his own cash into Kerry's election bid and came out of the whole gambit with a tattered I-Voted-for-the-other-guy t-shirt...

Al Qaeda Tried to Assassinate George Bush at 6:00 AM on 9/11 2001, just as Al Qaeda Assassinated Northern Alliance Chief on 9/10 Possible Longboat terrorist incident Is it a clue or is it a coincidence? By now, most everyone knows President George W. Bush began that fateful day, Sept. 11, on Longboat Key, but the FBI is now investigating whether terrorists also began that fateful day here on the island. At about 6 a.m. Sept. 11, Longboat Key Fire Marshall Carroll Mooneyhan was at the front desk of the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort as Bush prepared for his...

Renowned American historian Gore Vidal says that President Barack Obama would lose 2012 presidential elections, calling the first black US president "incompetent." In an interview with the Independent, Vidal sharply criticized Obama who took power when the United States was involved in two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. About the election of Obama, Vidal said that he was initially optimistic, but after witnessing the administration, he has relegated himself to despair. "He's incompetent. He will be defeated for re-election. It's a pity because he's the first intellectual president we've had in...

The Obama Recession When do we stop blaming Bush for the bad economy? By Christopher Beam Updated Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009, at 6:46 PM ET Barack ObamaAs job losses climb, President Obama faces two related questions. The first is more like a riddle: How do you pass a new round of stimulus measures without tacitly admitting that the first round didn't work? (Answer: Don't call it a stimulus.) The second is harder: When does the economy become his own instead of his predecessor's? (Answer: sooner than he'd probably like.) It was only July when White House aides said it was...

MY FIRST three thoughts upon hearing that President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize were: ■ For what!?!? ■ So this is how low our image sunk under President Bush? ■ This is our Nobel! Even the most fervent Obama supporters have to scratch their heads. The Nobel Committee praised Obama’s “extraordinary efforts’’ on international diplomacy and cooperation, citing his nascent efforts to reduce nuclear weapons and America’s “more constructive role’’ on climate change. The committee said Obama had become “the world’s leading spokesman’’ for international policies the committee has sought to “stimulate’’ for 108 years. Talk about giving...

In a clear dig at former President George W. Bush, a State Department spokesman compared President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize to the flying footwear his predecessor faced in Iraq. "From our standpoint, you know, we think that this gives us a sense of momentum … when the United States has accolades tossed its way, rather than shoes," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters on Friday. Crowley was referring to a 2008 incident in which an Iraqi reporter hurled his shoe at Bush during a news conference in Baghdad. The act of protest struck a chord with millions in the...

Apparently, SNL's skit was premature. Maybe President Obama hasn't actually accomplished the following: 1. Closing Gitmo (same as Bush) 2 Outlawing torture by revoking Bush's EO that said much the same thing 3. Withdrawal from Iraq (thanks to Bush) 4. De-escalation of war in Afghanistan (campaigned that it was the necessary war and now dithers as more American soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan this year, than in the previous 7 years) 5. peace between Israel and Palestine 6. Olympics in Chicago 7. Supporting democratic movement in Iran 8. Supporting democracy in Honduras 9. nuclear disarmament But, hey, so...

Questioned about her speech Thursday morning, Ms. Williams initially denied making the comment but reversed course after organizers confirmed the quote. In a speech before 1,000 people Wednesday, Ms. Williams said that violence is a choice and the push for peace takes hard work and commitment. "Right now, I could kill George Bush," she said. "No, I don't mean that. How could you nonviolently kill somebody? I would love to be able to do that." As she made her point, she chuckled and some members of the audience laughed.

Well, that didn’t take long. But it was almost inevitable: the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama. As “the world” hated Pres. George W. Bush, “the world” loves President Obama. What do we mean by “the world”? We mean the editors of Le Monde, Der Spiegel, and the Guardian. The faculty at Brown University. The secretariat of the United Nations. We mean Lord Malloch-Brown, not Václav Klaus. When President Bush visited Iraq for the last time, a foe of his threw a shoe at him. The shoe-thrower was taken to be “the world.” Hugo Chávez even made...

I'm a life-long Republican, and I'm sorry to say I don't recognize the party anymore. The party of smaller government, personal freedom, and fiscal responsibility has become the party of bloated government, covert subjugation of our personal rights, porous borders, and deficits that are bankrupting our nation. Would it shock you to know that three-quarters of our total national debt was incurred under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush? We all know Barack Obama is on a path to outdo the two of them combined. There was much hand-wringing after the last election, with no shortage of advice on what...

Former President George W. Bush looks out over the U.S. Capitol as his helicopter departs Washington, D.C. January 20, 2009, for Andrews Air Force Base following the inauguration ceremonies for President Barack Obama. (ERIC DRAPER/AFP/Getty Images) President Bush gave an hour-and-a-half speech Wednesday night at the Wilderness Resort and Convention Center in Sevierville (Hat tip: Brutally Honest): “Every day in the White House was a joyous day for me,” the 43rd president said. “I miss being commander and chief of our military the most. You know you live in an amazing country when we have servicemen that continually volunteer to...

Jeb Bush told my colleague, ABC’s Teddy Davis, that he likes what President Obama is doing on education: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) lavished praise on President Barack Obama’s education policies on Thursday, telling ABC News that the Democrat who succeeded his brother in the White House has broken from the teachers’ unions and should be applauded by conservatives. “The fact of the matter is, the guy is on the right track, and his (Education) Secretary is as well,” said Bush. “I think he sincerely believes that the system has let down an entire generation of students, particularly students...

President Bush made his speech in the aftermath of 9/11 about a week afterwards. In the week between the attacks and his speech, there was a bit of debate about one specific issue. That issue was whether or not we were going to include the Taliban in our list of enemies for destruction along with Al Qaeda. I say there was just a bit of debate because most people were in agreement that the Taliban were no less responsible for 9/11 than Al Qaeda itself. Then, George Bush said this in his speech a week after 9/11. we will make...

In trying to understand what is happening in the nation and world, we all employ narratives -- story lines that indicate where things are going and what is likely to happen next. We can check the validity of these narratives by observing whether events move in the indicated direction. If so, the narrative is confirmed. But if things seem to be moving in an entirely different direction, it's time to discard the narrative and look for another.

In trying to understand what is happening in the nation and world, we all employ narratives -- story lines that indicate where things are going and what is likely to happen next. We can check the validity of these narratives by observing whether events move in the indicated direction. If so, the narrative is confirmed. But if things seem to be moving in an entirely different direction, it's time to discard the narrative and look for another. When Barack Obama took office, most Americans and certainly most of the press had a narrative in mind. Call it Narrative A. The...

In the Long Run, the GOP Must Be Inclusive. BY MICHAEL GERSON Mel Martinez's recent resignation from the U.S. Senate was for personal and family reasons. But the departure of the Republican Party's most visible Hispanic leader crackles with political symbolism. Martinez does not consider himself disillusioned, but he is "frustrated." "There are lots of Hispanics to the right of you and me on immigration," he told me, "but they think, 'Republicans just don't like us.' " Martinez makes clear that a number of his Senate colleagues were "conservative, but not inflammatory." Other elected Republicans, however, made "pretty divisive use...

Jim DeMint is one of my favorite Republicans. The senator's unwavering opposition to government spending — from "stimulus" and national healthcare to auditing the Federal Reserve — just warms my conservative heart. That is until he breaks it again, as he always does, by going back to supporting the biggest government program of them all. On the day before DeMint appeared on Fox News in support of the tens of thousands of anti-government protesters who gathered on 9/12 in Washington, D.C., he gave the following comments on the Senate floor: "Today marks the eighth anniversary of America's war on terror...

This latest evidence really puts a nail in the coffin of the few remaining people who still believe Al Qaeda hijacked airliners and flew them into the World Trade Center (WTC) on 9-11-2001. As with 99% all evidence supporting the truther version of events, it takes the form of a YouTube video put together by amateurs with no training in physics, engineering, or thermodynamics. (VIDEO AT LINK) Remember, folks, the people who claim that Mossad/Bushitler/Halliburton/the Illuminati brought down the WTC are just "patriotic Americans asking questions." The only dangerous lunatics are the ones who wonder why B. Hussein Obama has...

AG Eric Holder became the latest administrative official to announce that GITMO isn't going to close when it's supposed to on January 22nd, 2010. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that it will be difficult to meet the administration's Jan. 22, 2010, deadline to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. "It's going to be difficult for us to make the January deadline," Holder said in a press conference with reporters on Tuesday, adding, "It doesn't mean we're not going to try to do that."

Former President George W. Bush embraces President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, after Obama's inaugural address at the inauguration ceremony in Washington, January 20, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed Suck it up, liberals...What's been good for the goose, is good for the gander. Democrats have been licking Obama's Copenhagen wounds by barking at conservatives for "cheering" the political Olympic-sized debacle as a rooting against America. Republicans are now being accused of "being unpatriotic", because they want the president's policies to fail. Some of the Copenhagen criticism against conservatives has merit (I'm glad Obama suffered politically for this ill-conceived...

Here is video of former Bush and McCain adviser McKinnon on MSNBC talking about Chicago's failed Olympic bid. McKinnon said "I think the Chicago incident was bad political instincts and bad political judgment but I was disappointed that it didn't come to America, and I think it is patriotic that we should have supported that move." He went on to say "I was very disappointed to see talk show hosts like Mark Levin coming out with jaw-dropping hate language about the president..and reveling in the presidents failure." (Video)

The image most of us conjure when the name Cindy Sheehan surfaces is that of an enervated woman standing in the summer swelter on the side of the road, a few miles from George W. Bush's ranch near Crawford, Texas. Sheehan's four-week long vigil began August 6, 2005, when the Iraq war protests began to reach full boil. The media referred to it as Camp Casey, the name of her son, killed in enemy action in April 2004. Demanding a meeting with Bush, Sheehan stood near her pup tent and told members of Veterans for Peace, "And another thing I...

Some Chicago officials say anti-American resentment likely played a role in Chicago's Olympic bid dying in the first round Friday. President Obama could not undo in one year the resentment against America that President Bush and others built up for years, they said.

All Speakers Live and In Person - All In One Day! President Bush, General Colin Powell, Terry Bradshaw, Zig Ziglar, Dr. Robert Schuller, Tamara Lowe, Rick Belluzzo and Rudy Giuliani. Monday, October 26, 2009 Ft. Worth Convention Center Arena · 8:00AM - 4:45PM

Vice President Joe Biden didn't escape Bush's candid assessment, either. "If bullshit were currency, Joe Biden would be a billionaire," Latimer remembers Bush quipping to his staff.

A few days ago, I was sent a link to a screed by MSNBC's left-wing anchorman Ed Schultz, in which he explained opposition to the president's health-care reform. "The Republicans lie. They want to see you dead. ... They kind of like it when that woman has cancer and they don't have anything for us." Next, a link to the syndicated show of right-wing radio talker Alex Jones ... "They'd love to kill 10,000 Americans," and, "The republic is falling right now." This, increasingly, is the sound of our political conversation. It is not new to call this kind of...

WASHINGTON -- It isn't easy to put words in the mouth of the president of the United States, but the White House stable of speechwriters does that almost every day. The frustrations of such a prestigious post are painfully recalled by Matt Latimer, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, in his new book "Speech-Less." The subtitle of the book by the conservative speechwriter is "Tales of a White House Survivor." Latimer's book divulges rich insights into the Bush White House. The rivalries, the egos, the fears and the trepidations of having written a prime time speech only to...

Harry Potter author JK Rowling missed out on a top honour because some US politicians believed she "encouraged witchcraft", it has been claimed. Matt Latimer, former speech writer for President George W Bush, said that some members of his administration believed her books promoted sorcery. As a result, she was never presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The claims appear in Latimer's new book called Speechless: Tales of a White House Survivor. He wrote that "narrow thinking" led White House officials to object to giving Rowling the civilian honour. The award acknowledges contributions to US national interest, world peace...

Former president and World II naval aviator George H.W. Bush has been honored by some of his neighbors in Kennebunkport. The group unveiled a Navy anchor and a plaque acquired as a way to thank Bush for his service as president and for being a good neighbor.

Countless articles, documentaries and films recently heralded the Woodstock Festival’s 40th anniversary. Few of the retrospectives mentioned the soldiers dying in Vietnam as stoners rocked out in rural New York. Something similar is happening now. Afghan War Commander General McChrystal requested 40 thousand additional troops weeks ago. Instead of complying, President Barrack Hussein Obama continues to stall even as he attends to matters he deems more important than losing a war. There’s the ongoing healthcare issue – something the president seems determined to ram down America’s throat, polls be damned. As of September 28, “Just 41% of voters nationwide now...

NEW YORK – A New York court on Tuesday dismissed Dan Rather's $70 million breach of contract lawsuit against CBS Corp., noting that the network continued to pay the anchor $6 million a year even after he left the evening news broadcast.