Free Republic

President Barack Obama, like the legendary Mr. Clean - The White Tornado, has entered the presidency as a mighty rushing wind, not in a Pentecostal way, but quite the opposite. He has nearly taken the wind out of America's sails, and has pulled the breath out of its citizens - all in a manner of weeks. Bill Clinton's initial Executive Orders (out of over 360 during his tenure) were relatively harmless, and be thankful he had enough sense to quash the “Tell Everyone You're Gay In The Military” rule. In fact, Clinton signed one of his early EOs to cut...

The US capital is suffering an epidemic of HIV/Aids worse than some African nations, with 3% of over-12s infected, the city's department of health says. Its report suggests the hardest-hit sections of the population are black men, and people aged between 40 and 49. The infection rate puts Washington DC on a par with Uganda. But one factor may be a drive towards more HIV/Aids testing, and the city government insists much is now being done to tackle the problem. According to the report, both the United Nations and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have "historically...

There is something happening inside Britain's Muslim communities. The disgraceful, treacherous protest in Luton last week at the homecoming of the brave Royal Anglian regiment is an indication of resurgent extremism. Does our Government have the political stamina to fight it? It's comfortable for us to think that these are the actions of a small minority – but are they? The vile mob that hurled abuse against returning troops does not operate in a vacuum, somehow removed from other Muslims. Only two weeks ago, the same group of extremists openly marched in Tower Hamlets, Britain's most densely populated "Muslim area"....

Julia Gorin's unpublished letter to the Washington Times: The Washington Times recently gave print space to William Walker, described as a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer and former ambassador. But Walker is much more than that. In Kosovo, he remains a hands-on operative who has trained, and implemented the demands of, our terrorist ally the KLA — which as predicted now controls the Serbian province as its “legitimate” rulers. The piece (“A Separate Take from Serbia”, Feb. 24) was presented as a response to an op-ed by Serbian President Boris Tadic, when in fact it was an attempt by essentially...

ICTY - Tribunal Update Zagreb awarded damages to families of victims killed in detention. Croatia secretly paid 1.8 million kuna (250,000 euro) to the families of people killed in the notorious Lora prison camp in the early 1990s, confirmed officials this week. Lora, a Yugoslav-era naval base in the coastal city of Split, was taken over by Croatian forces in 1991, the start of the Croatian war of independence, as the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army, JNA, forces withdrew. From 1992 to 1997, it functioned as a prison camp for mainly Serbian, but also Bosnian and Montenegrin, civilians and prisoners of war,...

the current policy was essentially written by six admirals and generals who made up the second study group assigned by Clinton. The first head of this group was Lt. Gen. Robert Alexander, who told me his team "didn't have any empirical data," so the conclusions it drew were purely "subjective." It was "very difficult to get an objective, rational review of this policy," he said. One group staffer, Vince Patton, tried to provide research to the flag officers in charge, but he said it was never even considered. According to Patton, the policy was created "behind closed doors" by people...

President Obama says he wants to reverse "Don't Ask Don't Tell," the Clinton-era policy that prevents openly gay men and women from serving in the military. But so far the White House has been noncommittal about how and when he will try to make that happen. In an effort to prod the president and Congress to act, activists -- gay, straight, military and civilian -- will converge on Capitol Hill Friday to rally behind an effort in the House to overturn the policy, which has been a continuing source of controversy since it became law 15 years ago. "The repeal,...

Press release Tuesday, March 10, 2009. (Belgrade, 10. March 2009) Ten years after the NATO bombing of Serbia, unexploded cluster munitions still represent a deadly threat to tens of thousands of people living in 16 municipalities in Serbia. A survey implemented by Norwegian People’s Aid for the first time details the scope of the impact of cluster bombs in the country. The results of the survey were presented at a press conference in Belgrade today. Regional Director of NPA in southeast Europe Emil Jeremic explained that ”with the comprehensive survey Serbia now has a tool for solving the problems of...

As someone who often denounced the repression of the late Slobodan Milosevic, I do not minimize his responsibility for the 1999 conflict in the Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija. Nevertheless, William Walker's heaping of every foul claim human malice can concoct on Serbs collectively, even more than on Milosevic himself, is another matter ("A separate take from Serbia," Op-Ed, Feb. 24). I live in Kosovo and know firsthand what actually happened - and did not happen - during the NATO war against my country. Mr. Walker describes the terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) as "a tiny band" fighting "systematic"...

Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending The New York Times STEVEN A. HOLMES Published: September 30, 1999 In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, Fannie Mae is easing credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders. The action will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people ''Fannie Mae has expanded...

This excellent documentary was banned in Czech Republic by Czech TV, and most probably in all mainstream globalist media in western countries. It will reveal to you the horrifying story of Kosovo that nobody ever wanted to tell you... (from the description on YouTube) part1part2part3part4part5part6

A car bomb explosion critically injured the head of the Arkansas State Medical Board on Wednesday, detonating in his driveway as he was leaving for work, authorities said. Trent P. Pierce, who oversees the board that licenses and disciplines the state's doctors, was injured after "some type of explosive device" tore through his car, West Memphis Police Chief Bob Paudert said. -snip-

What Does Leon Panetta Know About TWA 800?Excerpt: "Best evidence is that MSNBC, which had gone on the air just two days prior to the TWA 800 disaster, won a bidding war for the amateur video.According to an MSNBC editor, who refuses to talk on the record, "three men in suits" came to the station’s editing suites the night of the crash, removed the tape, and threatened the editors with serious consequences if they ever revealed its contents.At Leon Panetta’s confirmation hearing, some bold senator just might want to ask the presumptive CIA chief what happened to the videotape. As...

In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Coporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders. The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring. [And they did] Fannie Mae,...

The worst economic turmoil since the Great Depression is not a natural phenomenon but a man-made disaster in which we all played a part.In the second part of a week-long series looking behind the slump,Guardian City editor Julia Finch picks out the individuals who have led us into the current crisis Alan Greenspan, chairman of US Federal Reserve 1987- 2006Only a couple of years ago the long-serving chairman of the Fed, a committed free marketeer who had steered the US economy through crises ranging from the 1987 stockmarket collapse through to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, was lauded with...

Eric Holder’s intercession on behalf of fugitive Marc Rich is so inexplicable that he has always viewed ignorance as his best defense. It’s as though Holder believes that a deputy attorney general looks better for having remained studiously unaware of critical facts in a criminal case before throwing his weight around. But that’s Holder’s story, and he’s sticking to it: even if it turns out not to be true. Holder is President Obama’s choice to become attorney general. That means the Rich case is a big problem for him today—just as it was in 2001, when an outraged Congress demanded...

One thing we seem to breed in Oregon are big political scandals, and the latest one is hitting Portland Mayor Sam Adams with gale force. Adams admitted to The Oregonian and Willamette Week Monday that he lied back in September of 2007 when he denied rumors that he had had a sexual relationship with a teenager who had been a legislative intern. Adams, who is openly gay, said that while he first met the intern, Beau Breedlove, when he was 17, the two did not have sex until after Breedlove turned 18. When rumors about the two first surfaced in...

The Senate on Tuesday is expected to attempt unanimous-approval votes of President-elect Obama’s Cabinet nominees, but it is uncertain who will be cleared by the upper chamber on Inauguration Day. Senate Democratic leaders have circulated a unanimous consent request for 15 nominations at various departments, from Secretary of State nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton to United Nations Ambassador nominee Susan Rice. A senior Democratic aide cautions that leaders are uncertain how many will actually win unanimous approval, and that any roll-call votes that are necessary would be held on Wednesday. The 15 names also include Attorney General nominee Eric Holder, Agriculture...

By any standard, the story of Pedro Miguel González is astonishing. The son of a prominent Panamanian politician, González, according to U.S. prosecutors, murdered a United States Army sergeant on a road outside Panama City on June 10, 1992, the day before Pres. George H. W. Bush was to visit the country. With his father’s help, González fled Panama, eventually coming back to be acquitted in a sham trial. Though the Clinton administration labeled him a terrorist, González became an important political figure in Panama, ultimately winning election as president of the national assembly — an event that so angered...

In his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, attorney-general nominee Eric Holder responded to the two top criticisms leveled against him by (1) defending clemency for members of a terrorist group and (2) saying, “I will be a better attorney general for having had the Marc Rich experience.” Holder has been criticized for several controversial and suspected politicized decisions he made as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration. Chief among these have been his role, which he says he regrets, in President Clinton’s pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich. Rich’s ex-wife, Denise Rich, had made large campaign donations to the Democratic...

Here is video of Attorney General Nominee Eric Holder responding to questions today from Sen. Arlen Specter about Holder's involvement in the notorious Mark Rich pardon that was granted by President Bill Clinton in the final hours of the Clinton Presidency. Holder worked in the Clinton Justice Department as Deputy Attorney General, and was involved in recommending the Rich Pardon. . . . . . (watch video)

We'll find no greater example of what happens when the government runs any non-military operation that requires coordination, business acumen, technical skill, financial management and inventory control than we've seen in the "digital transition." In this arena, the government has once again made the Three Stooges look like the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Team. After the broadcast industry spent billions in technical costs and on-air inventory to run a huge amount of FCC-required PSA's, many in Congress, along with President-Elect Obama, want to push back the transition date: The Obama team decided to push for a delay after the...

Only two months after smoking areas were erected at two hospitals, the desire to go smoke-free on the premises will eliminate the smoking rooms entirely and replace them with smoking shelters. NHS Lothian (Scottland) will eliminate smoking rooms at Royal Edinburgh as well as at Astley Ainslie. The will then provide smoking shelters in it's phased shut down of the indoor smoking areas. The Health Board claims the action will assist smokers in quitting. The Health Board states, "These shelters will act as a platform to promote our stop smoking services, to encourage people to seek help to give up...

<p>SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. — A 12-year-old boy who fatally shot his mother after an argument over his chores was found guilty of premeditated murder. Judge James Conlogue found the boy guilty after a hearing Friday in Cochise County Superior Court in the southern Arizona town of Bisbee. The boy is not being identified because he was charged as a juvenile.</p>

<p>That's what 14-year-old Raylene Jaramillo's mother says may have led to the death of her daughter early Saturday.</p> <p>The point-blank shooting of the former Valley High freshman occurred during an underage drinking party at a house in the South Valley where police have been called more than a dozen times before, Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said Monday.</p>

There is a rush on in some quarters of the liberal mainstream press to blame President Bush for anything and everything that could cause grief to the incoming Obama Administration. The New York Times, one of the usual suspects, takes its turn today with an article that attempts to lay blame at the feet of Bush for a chain of events that has it's root in the decisions of President Bill Clinton.

During the eight years since Bill Clinton left the White House, he has worked tirelessly to save the lives of children in some of the most miserable places on the planet. He has traveled to Africa more than most of us travel to see relatives, in order to bring much-needed medicines for AIDS and malaria to those who would die without them and to support economic development in places like Rwanda and Malawi. He has used his contacts with philanthropists, billionaires and barons, governments and foundations, to raise hundreds of millions of dollars not for himself, but for those in...

I occasionally post satirical articles regarding issues of the day, but this one is NOT satire. It is a pdf document from NOW (National Organization of Nutca..I mean, Women) urging creation of this department to ensure women are treated equally. Funny, when Sarah Palin ran, they went after her with pure venom, showing no interest in womens' equality. Perhaps this office ought to be called "Office of Liberal Women Only"..

Clinton ImpeachedHouse Approves Articles Alleging Perjury, Obstruction The House of Representatives impeached the president of the United States yesterday for only the second time in American history, charging William Jefferson Clinton with "high crimes and misdemeanors" for lying under oath and obstructing justice to cover up an Oval Office affair with a young intern. At 1:25 p.m. on a day of constitutional drama and personal trauma, the Republican-led House voted 228 to 206 largely along party lines to approve the first article of impeachment accusing the Democratic president of perjury before a grand jury. Within the hour, lawmakers went on...

The high school in Salem, N.H., was abuzz last month as a photograph of a topless 15-year-old girl was sent from cellphone to cellphone. School staff intervened, and by the time they met with students in assemblies the next day they had discovered another compromising cellphone photo, this one of an eighth-grade girl. They soon found two more photos of naked or nearly naked girls on students' phones. Two weeks later, a similar incident occurred at nearby Sanborn Regional High School. The photograph in question was of a teenage boy. A report being released today shows that these were not...

When it comes to sex, tech and teens don't make the best bedfellows. As tech-savvy teens become increasingly fluent with new technology, from social networking sites to tricked-out new cell phones, research finds the negative consequences stacking up. According to the results of a survey released today by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com, 22 percent of all teen girls — and 11 percent of teen girls ages 13-16 years old — say they have electronically sent, or posted online, nude or semi-nude images of themselves. And these racy images are also getting passed around:...

NEW YORK (Dec. 1) - In the past year, 30 percent of U.S. high school students have stolen from a store and 64 percent have cheated on a test, according to a new, large-scale survey suggesting that Americans are too apathetic about ethical standards. Educators reacting to the findings questioned any suggestion that today's young people are less honest than previous generations, but several agreed that intensified pressures are prompting many students to cut corners.

American teenagers lie, steal and cheat more at "alarming rates," a study of nearly 30,000 high school students concluded Monday. The attitudes and conduct of some 29,760 high school students across the United States "doesn't bode well for the future when these youngsters become the next generation's politicians and parents, cops and corporate executives, and journalists and generals," the non-profit Josephson Institute said. In its 2008 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth, the Los Angeles-based organization said the teenagers' responses to questions about lying, stealing and cheating "reveals entrenched habits of dishonesty for the workforce of the future..."

Phoenix, AZ (AHN) - An 8-year-old boy who confessed to shooting to death his father and a man renting a room from his father in Arizona earlier this month, had told authorities he kept a log recording the instances his father and stepmother hit him. According to a search affidavit from a St. Johns, Ariz. Police officer, the boy told Child Protective Services agents that 1,000 spankings was his threshold.

Will a clause in the Constitution prevent Sen. Hillary Clinton from being secretary of state? Jeffrey Toobin reports.

President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as his secretary of state on Monday. Hillary's nomination will be made in the face of the Constitutional prohibition in the Emoluments Clause (Article I, Section 6, clause 2): -------------------------------------------------------- No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time: and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either House during...

BELGRADE -- An group calling itself the Army of the Republic of Kosovo has claimed responsibility for the bombing of the International Civilian Office (ICO) in Priština (on November 14th). Three German nationals were arrested on November 14 over the incident, but will probably be released due to a lack of evidence. The Albanian group sent a message via a personal e-mail account, threatening the Kosovo government, media and international organizations in the province. “As long as the UN plan is in force, we will attack with full might and there will be no security for Serbs that live in...

THE CONVENTIONAL wisdom has held that economic policy was a great success under Bill Clinton in the 1990s and a failure ever since. Hillary Clinton has made the comparison often, promising to end “the seven year detour” and “attack poverty by making the economy work again.” In January, in response to the president’s State of the Union Address, Barack Obama stated that it was “George Bush’s Washington that let the banks and financial institutions run amok and take our economy down this dangerous road.” Perhaps this reading of history makes for good politics in an election year, and it is...

I received today via email, the scan of a sworn declaration from a confidential witness. The hard copy will be in my possession in a few days. Neither the name nor sex of the witness will be revealed at this time. The witness is prepared to testify and should testify in the confirmation hearings of Hillary Clinton and Eric Holder. A statement by the witness will be on YouTube in a few days with a voice that is disguised. The witness is willing to submit to a polygraph. Senator Arlen Specter has indicated that confirmation hearings will involve a serious...

WHEN President Bill Clinton pardoned a billionaire fugitive from justice on his last day in office, even usually loyal Democrats were dismayed. Representative Henry Waxman of California called it “bad precedent” and “an end run around the judicial process.” He said it appeared to set a double standard for the wealthy and powerful. The billionaire was Marc Rich, a commodities trader, and his pardon is a subject of discussion again because Eric Holder, Mr. Clinton’s deputy attorney general at the time[.]

Deregulation made the prosperity of the 1990s possible. Just ask Bill Clinton. Republicans had many things going against them this election, but the financial market implosion in September proved to be the final blow that sealed their losses, as voters almost always associate the economy with the party in power. And when the credit crisis emerged as the top campaign issue, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) pounced on his opponent with two basic messages. One was to blame the policies of deregulation that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) voted for. And the second was to hug former rivals Bill and Hillary Clinton...

If we establish what caused that, we shall have discovered the root of the banking crisis. Well, that is easy: it was Gordon Gekko and his ilk, was it not? Actually, no: it was Bill Clinton and his cronies, with their politically correct affirmative action. That is the fact of the matter – the Clinton administration compelled the banks to lend to minorities, to comply with racial and social quotas that defied all the rules of banking. In 1994 the New York Times reported jubilantly that the Clinton administration was leaning heavily on lenders to embrace people in low-income neighbourhoods...

The bank’s downfall was years in the making and involved many in its hierarchy, particularly Mr. Prince and Robert E. Rubin, an influential director and senior adviser. Citigroup insiders and analysts say that Mr. Prince and Mr. Rubin played pivotal roles in the bank’s current woes, by drafting and blessing a strategy that involved taking greater trading risks to expand its business and reap higher profits. Mr. Prince and Mr. Rubin both declined to comment for this article. When he was Treasury secretary during the Clinton administration, Mr. Rubin helped loosen Depression-era banking regulations that made the creation of Citigroup...

On the eve of a Republican National Convention invoking 9/11 symbols, sound bytes and imagery, half (49.3%) of New York City residents and 41% of New York citizens overall say that some of our leaders "knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11, 2001, and that they consciously failed to act," according to the poll conducted by Zogby International. The poll of New York residents was conducted from Tuesday August 24 through Thursday August 26, 2004. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of +/-3.5.

A 19-year-old Florida man committed suicide live on a Web cam, encouraged by those who were watching, according to reports. Abraham K Biggs, of Broward County, took an overdose of pills while broadcasting himself on Justin.tv, a live video streaming Web site. Biggs used the Web site to stream footage from his bedroom and told users he would be committing suicide and invited them to watch live.

J.P. Hayes may be the most admired rule-breaker in America. "This is a great story for sports and honesty in sports," said Mike Golic on ESPN Radio's show Mike and Mike in the Morning. Hayes, 43, a middle-of-the-road pro-golfer, realized that he had mistakenly used a non-regulation ball for just two strokes in a PGA Tour qualifying tournament last week in Texas. Since the ball was unapproved for competition, Hayes admitted his mistake -- and was disqualified. "I violated a rule and I had to take my medicine," Hayes said. But Hayes didn't really have to turn himself in. No...

An unpardonable use of power By Sen. Russ Feingold Nov. 20, 2008 | If President Bush cares about his place in history, he should think twice before issuing pardons that call his judgment, and the integrity of the rule of law, into question. A departing president probably can't help thinking about the judgment of history. At the end of eight years, President Bush likely isn't any different. With the nation's attention focused on his successor, it may seem as if there is little opportunity left for the current president to affect how he will be viewed. But there is one...

A Florida teenager who used a webcam to live-stream his suicide Wednesday was reportedly encouraged by other people on the Web site, authorities told ABCNews.com. Abraham Biggs alleged suicide streamed on Justin.tv "People were egging him on and saying things like 'go ahead and do it, faggot,' said Wendy Crane, an investigator at the Broward County Medical Examiner's office.

As we wrote yesterday, Obama has apparently picked Eric Holder, one of his veep vetters and a former deputy attorney general under Bill Clinton, for attorney general. Holder is black, which would be a first for the Cabinet position, and rocks a mustache, which isn't a historical first, but certainly can't hurt his prospects. But what could harm him are the concerns coming from both the right and the left — most notably, Holder's role in facilitating the infamous Marc Rich pardon. Of course, anyone who's spent more than twenty minutes in the halls of Washington has done something they...

A prominent UC Irvine biologist who generates millions in research funding might be placed on an unpaid leave for refusing to take sexual harassment prevention training he calls a “sham” that offends his sensibilities and casts suspicion on his reputation.