Free Republic

Obama Lashes Out at New Media & iPods… Even Though He Gave the Queen One Last Year Posted by Jim Hoft on Sunday, May 9, 2010, 3:33 PM Spoken like a true tyrant… Barack Obama lashed out at (conservative) talk radio, (conservative) blogs, cable news (FOX), and new gadgets today during his commencement speech to graduates at Virginia’s Hampton University. He lambasted iPods, iPads Xboxes and PlayStations even though he gave the Queen one last year loaded with his favorite show tunes. Barack Obama gave the Queen of England an iPod last year. Suddenly, it’s a distraction. What he was...

Northrop Grumman Corporation technicians here have begun installing the first set of hardware for a B-2 stealth bomber upgrade that will eventually allow the jet to send and receive battlefield information up to 100 times faster than its current satellite communications system. The work is being done as part of Increment 1 of the U.S. Air Force's B-2 extremely high frequency (EHF) satellite communications program. Northrop Grumman is the Air Force's prime contractor for the B-2 Spirit, the flagship of the nation's long range strike arsenal, and one of the world's most survivable aircraft systems. The B-2 is the only...

This capability allows F-16 pilots to communicate using four geosynchronous satellites 22,300 miles above the equator. F-16 pilots can now converse beyond the line of sight to command and control agencies in Iraq. Previously, pilots were relied on line of sight radio capability to communicate. With that, a straight line between the transmitting and receiving end was needed for successful communication, and it was limited by range, mountains and other obstructions. Now with the satellite communication system high above the earth, the line of sight is no longer an issue. "The new capability allows us to communicate with joint-terminal air...

White House officials are retooling the administration's communications strategy to produce faster responses to political adversaries, a more disciplined focus on President Obama's call for "change" in Washington and an increasingly selective use of the president's time. The messaging adjustments are the result of an end-of-the-year analysis in which White House advisers said the president's communications team had not taken the initiative often enough and had allowed drawn-out debates in Congress, and relentless criticism by Republicans, to drown out his message. "It was clear that too often we didn't have the ball -- Congress had the ball in terms of...

This video reminds me of a joke I heard about a husband who was looking through the paper when he came upon a study that said women use more words than men? Well there was a married man who read in a magazine that, "Men use about 7000 words per day, but women use 20,000". Excited to prove to his wife that he had been right all along when he accused her of talking too much, he showed her the study results. The wife thought for a while, then finally she said to her husband, "It's because we have to...

White House honchos and others use the term “communication failure” to explain the inability of Congress to pass healthcare legislation and other key parts of President Obama’s agenda. Such reasoning assumes the bills deserve passage in their current forms. That, however, is another topic. This week’s topic looks at why, from a communication standpoint, some of politics’ brightest operatives failed to present a comprehensible message. To do this, we start with the basic communication model taught in high school: Message => Sender => Medium => Receiver Interpretation of the message and feedback complete the process. Any glitch along the way...

"Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory . . . Abandoned by his party, betrayed by his friends, stripped of his offices, whoever can command this power is still formidable." - Winston S. Churchill "(I) won a nickname, 'The Great Communicator.' But I never thought it was my style or the words I used that made a difference: It was the content. I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things." – Ronald Reagan "Don't tell me words don't matter! 'I have a dream'-- just words? 'We hold these truths...

This day was certain to come; what’s a bit surprising is how quickly it came. The Obama administration now has a “communication problem.” According to the Hill newspaper: The other misstep that has bogged down the administration on health care specifically is Obama’s inability to communicate effectively to the American people, [Professor Paul] Light said. While it is shocking to consider that Obama is anything less than one of the best communicators in modern political history, when it comes to health care, he simply has not been able to make the sell to people who do have health insurance. And...

Iraqi National Police Lt. Hayhav works in the 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment Tactical Operations Center at Forward Operating Base Sykes, recently. He assists with the flow of information between the Iraqi National Police and U.S. forces. Photo by Pfc. Jared Sollars, 145th Mobile Pubilc Affairs Detachment. MOSUL — Iraqi Security Force officers were recently brought into the Tactical Operations Centers (TOC) of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team to act as liaison officers. The Iraqis act as a direct line of communication between the 3rd HBCT unit and their own Iraqi parent unit. This increase in communications not only...

When's the last time the Government of Israel made a decision that really and truly made you proud? This week's This Hyphenated Life column is dedicated to just such a moment. While Bibi's speech to the Arab world in Cairo last month might have done it for some, in most cases, this bloated government is not a source of inspiration. Yet, I had such a 'wow, that's terrific' reaction after hearing that Michael Oren was appointed as Israel's next ambassador to the United States. Rather than just echo the initial reactions, let's both provide perspective and look forward. Not only...

Martin High will focus on teaching English Painfully aware that Martin High School likely will fail federal standards for the sixth year in a row, LISD officials say they will redouble their efforts to teach English to a hard-core group of students who are not learning the language of their adopted country. "We need to speak as much English as possible," said Severita Sanchez, Laredo Independent School District's executive director of compliance and accountability. "(Freshmen) are coming in with a very weak English foundation. The comprehension is not there." According to LISD, the federally mandated restructuring plan at Martin High...

Ever since reading the years-long trials and tribulations of Nebraska's greatest writer, Mari Sandoz (ca. 1893-1967), who could never sell her stories the the eastern establishment elitist publishing houses because they feared her "Nebraska Sandhills English" was too alien, I've sort of been wondering if Nebraska Sandhills English is, really, any different from Florida English or New Jersey English or Montana English or Long Island English. Of course, being deaf, I have a different perspective on language, than do hearing people. One is free to disagree with me, but I'm not coming up with any significant differences. I'll bet even...

With the ever encroaching Fedgov looking in and trying to control our personal lives, I'm looking for way that Americans can still communicate privately. I understand that any answers given on this public forum, may alert the various gov agencies to a new work-around. I'm hoping someone can provide a fool proof answer even on this public board. Internet e-mail and forums are easily compromised (ISP's easliy traceable); phone conversations, well, we all know about taps; Ham radio can be intercepted; CB radio the same. And no, face to face comms and devised codes are not the answer I'm looking...

Clarice Feldman Tom Maguire vivisects Congressman Paul Ryan's Texas sidestep on the AIG bonuses today: Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the top Republican on the budget committee, said Thursday he would have voted against the 90 percent tax increase if he had known that legal scholars would deem it unconstitutional. "Now, that I know - which I didn't at the time - that this is unconstitutional, I wouldn't have voted the same way," Ryan said during a taping of C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" on Thursday - the show is set to air on Sunday. POLITICO was one of the participants in the Ryan...

A little boy looks up after receiving a toy car at the Abbas Hospital March 12. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joe Thompson. FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — In an effort to provide sustainable health projects in the Wasit province and maintain a clear line of communication, local Iraqi doctors met with the medical team from the 41st Fires Brigade at the Al Abbas Hospital March 12. The visit was part of Operation Gunner Med, a joint medical civil-military operation between the Wasit Director General of Health and the 41st Fires Brigade, designed to restore the medical capacity in Wasit...

Surviving in the new Globalist World.

BAGHDAD, Feb. 10, 2009 – Because communication on the battlefield is essential, a small group of soldiers here dedicates itself to ensuring Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division’s 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team can talk to one another when it counts. Army Spc. Giselle King prepares a force-tracking monitor on a vehicle at Camp Liberty, Iraq, Feb. 7, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brian Tierce  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Spc. Giselle King, an Indianapolis native who serves in the brigade’s Special Troops Battalion, focuses much of her time ensuring the communication readiness...

Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. "By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. I will send a letter to the king of Israel. So Naaman left, taking with him 10 talents of silver, 6000 shekels of gold and 10 sets of clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy." As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said,...

Mobile broadband users in Stockholm will soon be able to surf the internet on a new high speed 4G network, following the signing of a deal between Ericsson and TeliaSonera. The order from Finnish-Swedish telecom provider TeliaSonera marks the first commercial deployment of Ericsson’s Long Term Evolution (LTE) network technology and will provide mobile internet users with data speeds up to ten times faster than those offered on current networks. "LTE brings the highest possible performance and network capacity, which is needed to meet the needs of the fast growing group of mobile broadband users around the world,” said Ericsson’s...

Washington, DC -- Barack Obama told voters during the presidential election that he wanted to work with both sides of the abortion debate to reduce the number of abortions. Yet, over the weekend, he picked a top staffer for one of the biggest pro-abortion groups to become his communications director. The selection of Ellen Moran, the executive director of Emily's List, to become the White House communications director makes it clear that the only agenda Obama plans to communicate as president is more abortions.