Free Republic

Next week will be crucial for gay rights advocates and congressional supporters of repealing the “Don't ask, don't tell” law. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) are working to garner support for a standalone bill to repeal the Clinton-era ban on openly gay people serving in the military. Lieberman and Collins formally introduced that bill on Friday. The Senate this week dealt a severe blow to repeal when it fell short of the 60 votes necessary to start considering the defense authorization bill, which contains the repeal provision. At this point the standalone repeal bill is a last-ditch...

John Engler, largely based on superior name recognition, is the top choice of Michigan Republicans to take on Debbie Stabenow in 2012. Among the more likely roster of potential GOP contenders Pete Hoekstra is the leader by a good margin with only Mike Cox also hitting double digits. 31% of Republican voters say Engler would be their first choice, followed by 24% for Hoekstra, and 12% for Cox. Rounding out the Republicans polled is Terri Lynn Land at 7%, Candice Miller at 5%, Mike Rogers at 4%, Thad McCotter at 3%, and Tim Leuliette at 0%. If Leuliette, who has...

The call by Democratic senators Chuck Schumer and Carl Levin for AIPAC to back passage of the stalled START treaty with Russia speaks volumes about the growing desperation of both the White House and its Senate allies. The administration is reportedly going all-out to push Jewish groups to lobby for the treaty, but it is unlikely that AIPAC will succumb to the pressure. The group has been scrupulous about sticking to its agenda of working only on behalf of Israel-related issues, a policy that keeps it strictly neutral on arms control measures like START.

Sen. Levin hit with pie, woman arrested By Michael O'Brien - 08/16/10 01:58 PM ET A Michigan State student was arrested Monday after allegedly throwing a pie in the face of Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.). According to multiple reports, police arrested 23-year-old student Ahlam Mohsen on assault and battery charges after she reportedly threw a pie in the senator's face during a question-and-answer session at a deli in Big Rapids, Mich. Mohsen told a local ABC affiliate her action was to protest Levin and other Democrats' support for Israel. "Carl Levin is one of the most respected senators in Congress,"...

Big Rapids, Mich. (AP) - A woman identified as an anti-war protester hit U.S. Sen. Carl Levin in the face with an apple pie during the Armed Services Committee chairman's meeting with constituents in northern Michigan, authorities said Monday. The senator took a question near the end of the Monday morning meeting in Big Rapids from a man who said he was a student, Levin's office said in a news release. The man read a long statement, then a woman came up and hit Levin with a pie. Big Rapids police arrested Ahlam M. Mohsen, 22, of Coldwater on a...

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- A woman identified as an anti-war protester hit U.S. Sen. Carl Levin in the face with an apple pie during the Armed Services Committee chairman's meeting with constituents in northern Michigan, authorities said Monday....

Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan) is the latest public figure to have a close encounter with a rogue element of the pie-throwing faction. Sen. Levin's face received its own serving of down-home fresh-baked goodness as he answered questions in a morning meeting at a deli with Mecosta County, MI Democrats. A young man identified as Max Kantar had just taken Levin to task regarding foreign policy and Levin's views on the defense of Israel when witnesses say 22-year-old Ahlam Mohsen of Coldwater, MI assaulted the senator. Levin, who is 76, seemed to take it in stride, joking that it had happened...

Sen. Levin hit with pie, woman arrested By Michael O'Brien - 08/16/10 01:58 PM ET A Michigan State student was arrested Monday after allegedly throwing a pie in the face of Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.). According to multiple reports, police arrested 23-year-old student Ahlam Mohsen on assault and battery charges after she reportedly threw a pie in the senator's face during a question-and-answer session at a deli in Big Rapids, Mich. Mohsen told a local ABC affiliate her action was to protest Levin and other Democrats' support for Israel. "People tend to blame the war on Republicans, but we wanted...

The 1,200 National Guard who are headed to the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona won't be on the front lines but will be helping out in vital support roles, President Obama said Thursday. Speaking at an East Room press conference in the White House, the president said the Guard will primarily assist with intelligence, but troops will not not nabbing illegal immigrants and smugglers as they cross into the southwestern state. "What we find is, is that National Guards persons can help on intelligence, dealing with both drug and human trafficking along the borders. They can relieve border guards so that...

MSNBC's Chris Matthews compares Senators quoting Goldman Sach's "s-word" language to "what the priests do when they check out the porn movies.

No surprise coming from the party that sold T-Shirts of Joe Biden dropping the F-bomb, Carl Levin at a Senate hearing with Goldmans Sachs uses the same curse word over and over even though the hearing is being held live on C-SPAN, (Video)

Top Democratic allies of President Barack Obama called Thursday for quick Senate ratification of a US-Russia treaty committing the former Cold War foes to major nuclear arms cuts. "This is too important to delay," said Democratic Senator John Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tasked with taking up the pact before a full vote by the entire chamber. Kerry said he would work with the panel's top Republican, Richard Lugar, after the Obama administration submits the full treaty "in early May" to hold hearings and "see that this historic treaty is ratified this year." Obama has called on...

The White House has asked the top Senate Democrat on military affairs to postpone announcing a hearing that would explore repealing the controversial law that bans openly gay people from serving in the military. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was expected to have Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen testify before his committee on recent calls to end the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The hearing was expected at the end of January. Sources tell The Hill that even though it has not been...

While on the board of a Chicago-based charity, Barack Obama helped fund a carbon trading exchange that will likely play a critical role in the cap-and-trade carbon reduction program he is now trying to push through Congress as president. In 2000 and 2001, while Barack Obama served as a board member for a Chicago-based charitable foundation, he helped to fund a pioneering carbon trading exchange that is likely to fill a critical role in the controversial cap-and-trade carbon reduction scheme that President Obama is now trying to push rapidly through Congress. During those two years, the Joyce Foundation gave nearly...

There may be additional e-mails that could have tipped off law enforcement or military officials to the Fort Hood shooter before he went on his deadly rampage, the chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee said Friday. The U.S. government intercepted at least 18 e-mails between Hasan and Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical American-born cleric. They were passed along to two Joint Terrorism Task Force cells led by the FBI, but a senior defense official said no one at the Defense Department knew about the messages until after the shootings. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss...

There may be additional e-mails that could have tipped off law enforcement or military officials to the Fort Hood shooter before he went on his deadly rampage, the chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee said Friday. SNIP The Pentagon wrote regulations on "dissident and protest activities" in response to soldier participation in skinhead and other racially motivated hate groups. The current rules were written in 1996 and last updated in 2003. The rules prohibit membership or participation in "organizations that espouse supremacist causes," seek to discriminate based on race, religion or other factors or advocate force or violence. Commanders...

Saying the U.S. mission in Afghanistan is in "serious jeopardy," the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee says more troops are needed to combat an increasingly potent Taliban. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's views on the issue are more closely aligned with those of key Republicans than members of her own party, including Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee. He wants to hold off on new troops pending revision of U.S. strategy for Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. mission in Afghanistan is in "serious jeopardy" and needs more troops to turn the tide against an increasingly potent Taliban insurgency, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday, putting her at odds with an influential Democratic colleague on military matters Sen. Dianne Feinstein's views are more closely aligned with those of key Republicans than members of her own party. Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee, urged a more methodical approach that begins with crafting a new, comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan. "I'm saying at this time, don't send more combat troops," said...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2009 AT 5:59 AM Streaming at 12:30: PERAB Meeting on Tax Reform Posted by Austan Goolsbee Today, the tax subgroup of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB) will hold a meeting to gather ideas on tax reform. It will be the first of several such meetings. The meeting will center on tax simplification and will be live streamed at www.whitehouse.gov/live. I wanted to take the opportunity to explain why we assembled this subgroup, what areas the PERAB tax reform subgroup will focus on...

WASHINGTON (CNN) – The chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee responded Sunday to recent criticism from former White House hopeful Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican on the committee. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, has lately suggested that the proper course for the United States to pursue in Afghanistan is to beef up the country’s own army and police forces before planning on sending in any additional American troops.