Free Republic

(CNSNews.com) – When then Syrian President Hafez Assad 19 years ago oversaw the killing of tens of thousands of people in Hama, the U.N. Security Council was silent. As the death toll in the 2011 uprising against his son’s rule continues to climb, and with fresh bloodshed in Hama this week, there are mounting calls for the top U.N. body not to repeat that failure to respond. But, as the government crackdown entered its 21st week, the Security Council Monday night remained unable to overcome the differences that have prevented it from passing a resolution – or even the far...

(CNSNews.com) – During a July event at the U.S. Department of Education, children from D.C. schools and day care centers were treated to free books, including two featuring Nickelodeon characters as part of the media organization’s “The Big Green Help” Series. One of the books promotes the idea that global warming is man made and the second book talks about what kids can do to save the Earth. SpongeBob Goes Green! An Earth-Friendly Adventure! tells the story of SpongeBob’s friend, Krusty Krab, who builds a swimming pool. Mr. Krab is frustrated that it is not hot enough to attract paying...

(CNSNews.com) – The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., has ruled that a county board in North Carolina may not open its meetings with clergy-led prayer. The case involves an ACLU challenge to a policy adopted by the Forsyth County (N.C.) Board of Commissioners allowing local clergymen to open up meetings with prayer. In a 2-to-1 decision, a three-judge panel last Friday upheld a lower court ruling by U.S. District Judge James Beaty that the prayer policy was unconstitutional because the majority of prayers offered were from Christian clergymen.

(CNSNews.com) – Despite President Barack Obama’s vow to veto the Cut, Cap and Balance bill passed by the House of Representatives, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said he would bet a “Porterhouse steak” that the president would sign the legislation if it arrived at his desk. “It doesn’t matter what the polls are,” Coburn told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday. “We’ve got to fix our country, and this is the only viable plan right now that will do that. And I will bet you a Porterhouse steak that if it lands on his desk, he’ll sign this puppy.” White House...

(CNSNews.com) – Preventing terrorists from traveling freely has been identified as an important component in securing the U.S. homeland, but a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report has identified four “key gaps” undercutting the efforts of America’s foreign partners to prevent terrorist travel overseas. While the United States is taking action to “close key gaps” in foreign countries’ ability to deter terrorists’ travel overseas, problems such as miscommunication and overlap still exist among U.S. agencies undertaking those efforts, according to the June 2011 report. It said the U.S. “lacks a performance measure to assess government wide progress in closing the key...

Washington (CNSNews.com) – Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) said that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and the “dinosaur wing of the Republican Party” are actively trying to ruin the economy by undermining debt-ceiling negotiations. Speaking to reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference Thursday, O’Malley said certain elements of the GOP are trying to undermine the economy to harm President Obama politically. O’Malley claimed that these Republicans are trying to either push the country into default or hurt the economy by cutting government jobs. “I believe that there are some members – some members – of the Republican Party...

Washington (CNSNews.com) -- Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar told CNSNews.com that Mexican drug cartels control “several areas along our border with Mexico.” In Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, CNSNews.com asked Aguilar, “Do you think Mexican drug cartels have taken control of the human trafficking that takes place from Mexico to the U.S.?” Aguilar said, “There are several areas along our border with Mexico where in fact we believe that the drug cartels not only have taken control, but control the areas by which the illegal crossings occur.” When CNSNews.com also asked if he thought Mexican drug cartels...

(CNSNews.com) – Two years of outreach to the Arab-Islamic world by the Obama administration apparently has not ushered in more favorable opinions of the United States among Arabs, according to a new poll of attitudes in six key Mideast countries. Favorable views of the U.S. among respondents in the Zogby International poll have dropped by more than half across the six countries compared with a similar survey conducted two years ago – from an average 33 percent in 2009 to 15 percent in 2011. In four of the six countries polled – Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates...

(CNSNews.com) – U.S. federal debt could potentially be downgraded to junk status by 2030 if the government does not significantly reform entitlement spending, according to a study by Standard & Poor’s, one of the three Wall Street credit ratings agencies. The S&P study, which shows the effects of rising entitlement-driven federal debt on the federal budget and debt rating, indicates that if entitlement costs are not brought under control soon, America will see its coveted AAA debt rating evaporate. S&P said that the weight of retiring Baby Boomers would drive government debt to unsustainable levels, forcing the ratings agency to...

Washington (CNSNews.com) – As many as 100 Republicans would not vote for a negotiated debt ceiling increase if it does not include significant cuts in the first year, according to Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.). The freshman lawmaker said he and other freshmen members see a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to curb uncontrolled spending. During a Heritage Foundation event on Tuesday, CNSNews.com asked Huelskamp, “How important is it that you get the cuts early, in the context of a 10-year plan?” “Someone asked that in conference this morning: Why aren’t the cuts in the first year?,” Huelskamp replied. “Neither side will tell you...

(CNSNews.com) - The United States cannot constitutionally default on its existing public debt even if the debt ceiling is not raised, constitutional scholar and attorney David Rivkin said during a Federalist Society news event. Instead, he said, the country should focus on the fiscal responsibility of new borrowing. “The United States, to put it more clearly, is one of the few countries in the world that is technically incapable of defaulting on its public debts, so we cannot have a situation like in Greece or Portugal or Ireland, ” Rivkin, co-chairman of the Center for Law and Counterterrorism, said during...

(CNSNews.com) - Despite President Barack Obama’s statement on CBS Evening News on Tuesday that he could not guarantee the government could pay out Social Security checks and veterans’ benefits after Aug. 3 if Congress does not agree to lift the limit on the national debt by then, official Treasury Department accounting documents for the month of June indicate that tax revenues for the month were almost three and a half times what the government needed to cover all Social Security benefits and veterans’ programs. The Daily Treasury Statement for June 30—which any American, including the president, can look up on...

(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) advised House Speaker John Boehner to “quit believing the president” when it comes to increasing the debt ceiling by August 2nd at a press conference this afternoon. Gohmert was questioned whether he believed President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) that the nation faces a financial crisis if the debt ceiling is not raised August 2nd.

(CNSNews.com) - A plurality of Americans trust the Republican congressional leadership more than they trust President Barack Obama to handle the federal deficit and the debt ceiling, according to a new Gallup poll. A majority of Americans are also more concerned that the government will raise the debt ceiling without plans for major spending cuts than they are that the government will precipitate a major economic crisis if it does not raise the debt limit. Only 22 percent of Americans, according to Gallup, say they want their member of Congress to vote to raise the debt ceiling.

(CNSNews.com) - When talking about infrastructure banks Monday, President Barack Obama sounded a lot like he did when promoting the Recovery act in 2009. Obama said he’s pushing for a deal on the debt ceiling so lawmakers can move on to tackling targeted job growth, “What we can do is to solve this underlying debt and deficit problem for a long period of time so that then we can get back to having a conversation about, all right, since we now have solved this problem, that’s not, no longer what’s hampering economic growth, that’s not feeding business and uncertainty, everybody...

(CNSNews.com) - Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius told CNSNews.com on Monday that a provision in President Barack Obama's health-care law that requires small businesses to begin buying health insurance for their workers when they hire their 50th employee--or otherwise pay a penalty to the federal government--"will actually be a great incentive" for businesses to grow. CNSNews.com asked Sebelius, “Part of the health care law requires small businesses that grow to over 50 employees to provide health insurance to their employees or face a penalty [starting in 2014]. Do you think that may affect their incentive to grow--small...

(CNSNews.com) - President Obama "talks a good game," House speaker John Boehner said at a news conference on Tuesday, "but when it comes time to actually putting these issues on the table and making decisions, he can't quite pull the trigger." Boehner, speaking about the ongoing negotiations to cut government spending as a prelude to raising the nation's debt limit, noted that Republicans have a plan -- they passed a budget in the spring -- but the Democrats don't: "Where is the president’s plan? When’s he going to lay his cards on the table? This debt limit increase is his...

(CNSNews.com) – The diplomatic dispute between the United States and Syria deepened on Sunday, when the Syrian government summoned the U.S. ambassador for a dressing-down over his visit last week to a flashpoint town in the anti-government revolt. Ambassador Robert Ford’s visit to Hama on Thursday and Friday is being portrayed by the Syrian authorities and state media as evidence of the regime’s repeated allegations of foreign influence on the protests. “U.S. Ambassador's Presence in Hama Condemned, Violates Diplomatic Norms, Affirms U.S. Role in Fueling Conflicts,” read the headline on one report by the official SANA news agency Sunday.

(CNSNews.com) – The days of saying “Yes, boss” to the United States are over, Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said at the weekend, in a further sign of the deepening rift between the two countries. Confirmation Sunday that the Obama administration has suspended $800 million in aid to the Pakistani military came just days after Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen alleged that Pakistani security officials “sanctioned” the recent murder of a Pakistani journalist investigating jihadist infiltration of the military. Mullen’s remark drew an angry denial from Islamabad, which earlier set up a commission of inquiry...

(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), the chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, wants his committee to examine a report issued last week by Americans United for Life that raises questions about Planned Parenthood--and possibly hold hearings on the activities of the nation’s largest abortion provider. “Taxpayers deserve accountability, and the report prepared by Americans United for Life demonstrates egregious abuses of taxpayer funds by Planned Parenthood,” Stearns said in a statement issued last week. AUL released the 37-page report Thursday and distributed copies to every member of Congress, including Stearns.