Free Republic

snip Also problematic is the resolution’s attempt to make the restriction of free speech a human right. In fact, it is free speech that constitutes a human right and not its restriction. Ideologies, ideas and religions do not, and should not be afforded “human rights." They should be fair game for criticism, analysis, open debate and discussion. Religions and ideologies cannot be “defamed." Once ideologies are afforded protection from criticism, it is in direct contradiction to individual human rights.snip

Now that the Senate Finance Committee has approved its health care bill, it’s a good time to step back and take a look at the long term consequences should its provisions be enacted into law. The bill prohibits insurance companies from refusing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and from charging sick people higher premiums. [1] It attempts to offset the costs this will impose on insurance companies by requiring everyone to purchase coverage, which in theory would expand the pool of paying policy holders. However, the maximum fine for those who refuse to purchase health insurance is $750. [2]...

Now that the Senate Finance Committee has approved its health care bill, it’s a good time to step back and take a look at the long term consequences should its provisions be enacted into law. The bill prohibits insurance companies from refusing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and from charging sick people higher premiums. [1] It attempts to offset the costs this will impose on insurance companies by requiring everyone to purchase coverage, which in theory would expand the pool of paying policy holders. However, the maximum fine for those who refuse to purchase health insurance is $750. [2]...

Yesterday, the US News & World Report published an essay, "Michelle Obama, Teachers Are Key to a Successful Economy." It begins: Michelle Obama: Teachers Are Key to a Successful Economy By Michelle Obama Posted October 15, 2009 Michelle Obama is the first lady of the United States. That's a lot of Michelle Obamas Anyway, after personalizing Michelle and the kids, Michelle's ghost-writer inserts the boiler-plate about the challenges and lack of rewards of teaching, which has been eternally true, and spring-boards into the reason for the exercise -- placing community organizers into the public schools -- Michelle refers to them...

A new video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation details the effect that a Value-Added Tax, recently proposed by Nancy Pelosi as a way to pay for unfunded liabilities, would have on the American economy. Very, very well done.

Given that weÂ’re spending billions of stimulus dollars to rebuild our highways, it makes sense to think about what weÂ’ll be driving on them. For years to come, most of what we drive will be powered, at least in part, by diesel fuel or gasoline. To fuel that driving, we need access to oil. The less use we make of our own reserves, the more we will have to import, which leads to a number of harmful consequences. That means we need to drill here and drill now. We rely on petroleum for much more than just powering our vehicles:...

Have you ever wondered how capitalism was pushed over the edge of the cliff just six weeks before the American presidential election? According to financial experts, the world, as we know it will change dramatically by the year 2012. People, who provided for their families only three years ago, will be desperately searching for food. The story of the economic meltdown of 2008 begins and ends with the United Nations and its carefully managed One World Order. Behind the curtain of this dark chapter in human misery are ogres Maurice Strong and George Soros. It is both power lust and...

In August 2008, Sweetness & Light warned CPUSA And Obama Platforms Are Identical In November 2008, WorldNetDaily reported Communist Party ecstatic over ‘08 election results Amazingly a blogger in New Zealand saw as early as June 2007 Why the Communist Party USA May Decide Your Future The Communist Party USA Platform – has Obama meet their expectations?

What's Glenn Beck Up To? Something Big, He Says Hey -- we like conspiracies too! Here's one, with some fact attached to it: conservative media icon Glenn Beck is planning something big -- very big -- for 2010. On his radio show yesterday, Beck alluded to a major nationwide mobilization project of some kind that he and some colleagues will soon announce. "If you think the 9/12 project was something...you ain't seen nothing yet," he said (roughly -- I didn't have a pen handy when he uttered this). Beck's 9/12 project brought tens of thousands of his ideological compatriots to...

I hate to see what is happening in this country. I believe this HERO bill, dedicated to the Minutemen, sums it up. Please print out both sides when you use it, to mail to your RINO or liberal congressperson. Heck mail it to your good conservative republican, he or she will like and agree with the principles on the back. For the whole series of Zero dollar bills, go here: "Flickr Archive of Zero Bills"

Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an analysis.

I would like to extend warm birthday wishes to Margaret Thatcher today. Baroness Thatcher continues to remain a role model to many people, particularly women, around the world. Her career is a collection of "firsts." She was the youngest female Conservative Party member to stand for election in history, she was the first woman to hold the title Leader of the Opposition, and she was the first woman to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. As Prime Minister, she took an active role in defending economic freedom and democratic ideals. Her push to privatize British industry and lower tax...

"His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population." - Nobel Peace Prize Committee of the Norwegian Parliament announcing the award to Barack Obama of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Peace. It's not about Barack Obama. It's about the United States of America and its role in history and in the world. The unambiguous message of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee of the Storting, Norway's parliament, is candidly stated in the public announcement of...

Lakeville, MA -- Police along with the Secret Service are investigating after a local country club discovered a symbol resembling a swastika carved into the green. Lakeville County Club workers discovered the vandalism early Monday morning. Carved into the green on the 18th hole was a swastika look-a-like next to President Barack Obama's name. The vandals snuck in at night and carved their message of love, according to the owner of the country club.

A major new report confirms the worst fears of many: Health care reform will raise the costs for most Americans—by about 18% on average. That is on top of existing inflation of health coverage. Once the plan is fully phased-in (by 2019), a typical family of four would pay an extra $4,000 each year. When combined with existing inflation, costs would rise from today’s $12,300 annual average to $25,900. Of that 111% increase, $9,600 is due to existing factors uncorrected by the legislation, and $4,000 due to additional costs created by the legislation. For single persons, the differential is projected...

Obama White House to 60,000,000 Anglers: We Don't Need You Obama White House takes on 60,000,000 American anglers. (Hawaii Leisure) A recently released White House document could result in the closures of sport fishing in salt and freshwater areas.Shimano reported: Feds to 60 Million American Anglers: We don't need you A recently published administration document outlines a structure that could result in closures of sport fishing in salt and freshwater areas across America. The White House created an Interagency Oceans Policy Task Force in June and gave them only 90 days to develop a comprehensive federal policy for all U.S....

Just when you thought things couldn't possibly get any worse (from The Times)... The Obama administration is considering outbidding the Taliban to persuade Afghan villagers to lay down arms as it struggles to find a new approach to a war that is fast losing public and congressional support. Didn't we send troops to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban? Now the Obama administration is wanting to legitimize yet another terrorist group: Apart from training more Afghan troops, the focus has shifted to accepting a political role for the Taliban, while also trying to weaken them by winning some over. Once again,...

Dozens Rally Against NJ School's Obama Song BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) ― About 70 protesters let their voices be heard outside a school in New Jersey where students sang praise of President Barack Obama. Members of anti-tax Tea Party groups and others joined outside B. Bernice Young School in Burlington Township Monday to denounce what they believe was political indoctrination of students. The school houses children in kindergarten through second grade. The school began getting attention from conservative commentators last month after a video surfaced of a group of second-graders singing a song that praised Obama last school year. Protesters...

The Old Media wholly ignored the story, but one of the extremists that Barack Obama appointed as a so-called czar in his government had to step down when the full extent of his un-American radicalism was exposed on the Internet. Obama's "green czar," Van Jones, resigned when it was revealed how anti-American his rhetoric was not to mention his membership in a Marxist organization. But Van Jones isn't the only far leftist that Obama has tried to foist on this country in places of influence. We've been hearing lately about the radical homosexual agenda of Obama's "safe schools czar," Kevin...

I've always believed in the existence of monsters. During my 20 years as a cop in NYC, I met quite a few of them, many of whom may still be doing time in prisons around the country. However, they were the garden-variety type of monsters; murderers, rapists, armed robbers and other assorted thugs. But there's another, even lower, level of criminal that exists in communities all across America, even in some of our churches. The creature I'm referring to is the pedophile. A few years ago, I received a 6-page letter in the mail from a woman in East Cambridge,...

This sounds safe... Obama's Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings wrote that killing someone who called you a name was not aberrant behavior. Oh really? Verum Serum discovered this article by Obama's Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings in 1998: We need to own up to the fact that our culture teaches boys that being “a man” is the most important thing in life, even if you have to kill someone to prove it. Killing someone who calls you a faggot is not aberrant behavior but merely the most extreme expression of a belief that is beaten (sometimes literally) into boys at...

Sen. Lindsey Graham working with Sen. John Kerry on climate bill Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina publicly announced his support for climate legislation on Sunday in an op-ed column with Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. "Our partnership represents a fresh attempt to find consensus that adheres to our core principles and leads to both a climate change solution and energy independence," the two senators wrote in The New York Times. "It begins now, not months from now — with a road to 60 votes in the Senate." Graham's support is a major win for climate supporters, who...

The new World Trade Center, now under construction, is often considered a symbol of American enterprise. But to some union members and U.S. businesses, it represents what's wrong with the nation's economy. The contract to manufacture the blast-resistant glass wrapping the main tower's first 20 stories was awarded earlier this year to a Chinese firm that underbid U.S. competitors. Now the trade tensions between the United States and China that have arisen recently over tires, steel and paper are spreading to glass. "This new tower is going to be made out of subsidized Chinese glass, putting factory workers out of...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The interim Honduran government on Monday revoked an emergency decree that prohibited large street protests and limited other civil liberties following the return of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. The decree, which resulted in dozens of arrests and the closing of two pro-Zelaya media outlets, "has been completely revoked," Interim President Roberto Micheletti said at a news conference with U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican. Micheletti did not say whether the lifting of the decree would take effect immediately. He had said in a morning television interview it would be formally repealed Tuesday when the new...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – The coup-installed president of Honduras backed down Monday from an escalating standoff with protesters and suggested he would restore civil liberties and reopen dissident television and radio stations by the end of the week. Riot police ringed supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya who gathered for a large-scale protest march, setting off a daylong standoff. The government of interim President Roberto Micheletti declared the march illegal, sent soldiers to silence dissident broadcasters, and suspended civil liberties for 45 days. But in a sudden reversal, Micheletti said Monday afternoon that he wanted to "ask the Honduran people for...

From today's New York Times... John Lennon The Beatles united a generation of young people with their songs, their attitudes and their sense of style, and John Lennon was the thinking man's Beatle. Of the four, he was the Beatle who wrote books, the Beatle who embroiled the group in a potentially disastrous controversy by suggesting in an interview that they were more popular than Jesus, the Beatle who embraced the poetic innovations of Bob Dylan in the mid-1960's and shocked Beatles fans by jumping into performance art, happenings and political protests in the late 60's and early 70's. ..."...

Controversial lawmaker Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fl.) told his GOP colleagues opposed to healthcare reform to "get out of the way." The freshman lawmaker took to the floor following regular business and yelled into C-SPAN cameras that "America doesn't care about (Republicans') feelings," and that he "WILL NOT APOLOGIZE" for accusing Republicans opposed to healthcare reform of wanting "Americans to die." Grayson took aim at GOP Senator Olympia Snowe (Maine), who has been on the fence over whether to support healthcare reform in the Senate. "Just get out of the way - you can lead, you can follow or you can...

Talk about Cheating. John Boehner announced today that after the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee passed their version of the Obamacare bill, the the Democrats added 70 substantive amendments to the bill without voting on it, and without telling the minority members. WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today expressed outrage after learning that Senate Democratic leaders quietly made more than 70 substantive changes to the text of a health care bill after the legislation was voted on and passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee. The changes were made without...

http://www.dittowire.com/.a/6a010534d2b08f970b010535bc9f4b970b-800wi Look at the resemblance it's uncanny

Two days ago, British newspaper The Independent reported that a secret cabal of oil-producing Arab states, Russia, and China had conspired to dump the dollar for oil trading, a move which would have seriously weakened our currency and influence abroad. Many publications picked up on this report, written by the notoriously unreliable Robert Fisk, and a round of denials promptly appeared from the named states. Left unexplained by Fisk and the Independent was how these same states, with massive holdings in the dollar (especially China), would benefit in the short or long term by attacking it. However, it once again...

ACORN wants people to register to vote – as long as they’re Democrats. Republican registrations go into the trash. Here is a first-hand account of how it happens. In February 2008, Fathiyyah Muhammad of Jacksonville, Florida, heard that ACORN was paying people three dollars for each voter they could register. ACORN paid her three dollars for each voter she registered, but Fatiyyah Muhammad says that the group threw out her votes and fired her when she brought them registrations of Republican voters. Fathiyyah Muhammad voted for Obama. “I’m a Republican,” she says, “and this was the first time that I...

"More ugly Jew hatred and incitement to kill Jews on Obama's website. It harks back to the Jewish blood libels. Obama's website, hub for Islamic antisemitism." by Bill Levinson Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs has accumulated quite a collection of the most vicious imaginable anti-Israel and indeed anti-Semitic hate speech, all of which was posted at Barack Obama's Web site with the full knowledge and approval of the moderators. We remind our readers that one moderator (Emily) counseled an Obama supporter to use the words "Israel Lobby" instead of "Jewish Lobby." Organizing for America as it is now known sanctioned...

For two years as a candidate, Senator Obama called for more resources for the war in Afghanistan and warned about the consequences of failure. As President, he announced a comprehensive new counterinsurgency strategy and handpicked the right general to execute it. Now General McChrystal is asking for additional troops to implement the strategy announced by President Obama in March. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers in harm's way in Afghanistan right now. We owe it to all those brave Americans serving in uniform to give them the tools they need to complete their...

High school teacher keeps job after handing out pornographic 'banned book' - A father of a high-school student is infuriated after he said a teacher provided "banned books" to her 11th-grade students, including at least one with explicit descriptions of homosexual sex acts, rape, masturbation, profane language and even bestiality. John Davis, father of an 11th-grade student at William Byrd High School in Vinton, Va., told WND that English teacher Kathleen Renard provided her personal copy of a book called "Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky to one of her English students, and it was passed to his...

"If the tea party web sites were any indication of the possible turn out in April for the Tea Parties which was reported that in "less then 3 three months on Alexa.com Taxdayteaparty.com is in the top 5,000 web sites in the US and Teapartyday.com is in the top 10,000 web sites in the US." which was just under one million strong then the success of a web site introducing a March on the Media event being held on 10/17/2009 may be in the same ranks.

Today's Hope and Change-- Children in the Warsaw Ghetto 1943 and Children of Palestine Gaza 2009 Click to Enlarge After posting yesterday on the disgusting anti-Semitic hate speech on Barack Obama's website I received this from Rachel P. I was looking at your article, Obama's Website Carries Blogpost That Equates Israel to Nazi Germany. I tried linking through Israpundit directly to the Obama site and I received this Error, “Invalid page requested.” I tried looking through internet archiving sites and they all say that site does not allow you to search their database. I also tried searching through Obama’s website...

At the UN, the Obama administration backs limits on free speech. Eye on the UN For Immediate Release: October 5, 2009 Contact: Anne Bayefsky info@EYEontheUN.org You Can't Say That: At the UN, the Obama administration backs limits on free speech. This article, by Anne Bayefsky, originally appeared in The Weekly Standard. The Obama administration has marked its first foray into the UN human rights establishment by backing calls for limits on freedom of expression. The newly-minted American policy was rolled out at the latest session of the UN Human Rights Council, which ended in Geneva on Friday. American diplomats were...

Obama garnered 56 percent of women’s ballots last fall. And they have precious little to show for it from this administration. Amy Siskind on why Sarah Palin deserves a second look. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the Senate Finance Committee moves to pass health-care legislation this week, reproductive rights has been all but sidelined as an issue by the Obama administration. Should we therefore be surprised by a stunning Pew Research Center poll last week which revealed that 42 percent of Americans don't know that Obama is pro-choice? Maybe it’s time that women gave Sarah Palin another look. Palin, back in the headlines...

MILITARY anger boiled over last night after Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth rebuffed a plea from front-line soldiers for immediate reinforcements in Afghanistan. Mr Ainsworth had asked soldiers who have just endured a gruelling and bloody six-month tour what they needed. Without hesitation he was told: “More troops”. But the Defence Secretary – in Afghanistan with Home Secretary Alan Johnson, ironically to boost morale – merely replied that reinforcements would “take time”. Staff Sgt Kim Hughes, who will shortly return to his family in Shropshire, said: “It’s been a ridiculously busy, ridiculously hard tour. We have lost two guys. “Clearly more...

Breaking: Obama's White House ACORN Operative Fined $775,000 For Election Violations- Used Rapists & Burglars in Door-to-Door Registration Drives So where does a far left political operative land after his organization is fined $775,000 for election violations that included hiring rapists and burglars to register voters? Inside the Obama White House, of course. Obama's ACORN operative in the White House Patrick Gaspard is helping shape domestic policy-- From left: CECILIA MUÑOZ, director, intergovernmental affairs; MICHAEL STRAUTMANIS, public liaison; CHRISTOPHER LU, Cabinet secretary; HEATHER HIGGINBOTTOM, deputy director, Domestic Policy Council; PATRICK GASPARD, political director; PHIL SCHILIRO, director of legislative affairs; MELODY...

Even though Obama's popularity has been sliding significantly, Shepard Fairey, designer of the viral blue-and-red Manifest Hope poster, thinks it's the perfect time to release a slick and comprehensive anthology of celebratory Obama-related artworks: Art for Obama, which he co-edited with Evolutionary Media Group founder Jennifer Gross, comes out October 2. In addition to getting a look at the imagery, we spoke with Fairey about Obama's approval ratings, how political art reaches beyond politics, and his thoughts on the artistic deification of our leader.Watch the Slideshow Siegel: Tell us about the idea behind Art for Obama. Fairey: People undervalue...

Last year, we covered some of the problems in the counting of military absentee ballots in Virginia, as did others. This problem has not gone away. It has just moved. The day before election day 2008, the McCain campaign filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Virginia to force Virginia to count military absentee ballots that came in after election day. McCain lost Virginia by more than enough votes, but the case went on with the Department of Justice replacing the McCain campaign.There were filings last month and will likely be a hearing this month. So what? The Virginia...

No wonder President Obama came away from Copenhagen empty-handed. Let's face it: the president doesn't have lots of experience in saying good things about the United States. The POTUS explained that he wanted the Olympics in Chicago because America needed to repair its image after what was going on during the past few years. In other words America sucks because of George Bush. This transcript of a meeting before the Denmark disaster was released by the White House, after Chicago was eliminated. One of the legacies I want to see coming out of Chicago 2016 hosting of the Games is...

There is a troubling pattern of capriciousness that has emerged from our current government. No one can take for granted that our government will do as it says. The word of the US government used to be something that world leaders, companies, employees, and the citizens of this great land could bank on. The breadth of the current administration's instability is unprecedented. From CIA interrogators to the Eastern European missile shield, keeping up with the number of on-again-off-again promises requires a full time staff to keep count. The latest example of this destructive behavior has been among the amendments and...

Former CENTCOM Commander Anthony Zinni said the Obama administration was dangerously close to “dithering” on Gen. McChrystal’s troop request ,saying “We’ve had a strategy since March… I don’t understand why we’re questioning his judgment at this point, and I just hope this doesn’t go on for much longer.”

The Obama administration has advised Congress to cut off pensions for 26 elderly members of the World War II-era Alaska Territorial Guard who served the nation without pay during the Japanese attack. According to McClatchy Newspapers, the administration sent a "strongly worded" message to Congress concerning its priorities for a military spending bill, and the service members didn't make the cut.

THE EGO HAS LANDED During his campaign, Barack Obama took a moment while walking to his jet to stop and answer a couple of questions, off-the-cuff and ad-lib, for a gaggle of paparazzi swooning and fawning behind a rope-line en-route from the terminal. As an affable Hussein smiled congenially at his biggest fans, a reporter went badly rogue and asked the candidate a tough question regarding his birth certificate; something along the lines of, “Why won’t you just show it?” The smile, which had never quite reached his eyes anyway, twisted into a thin-lipped snarl, as those eyes went steely...

"Hear our cry, Obama." "Deliver us, Obama." Video at link.

After World War II, the U.S. government invested an enormous amount of money in medicine; medical research, medical procedures and medical technologies. This investment made contemporary scientific medicine into American medicine, characterized by a continuing flow of new treatment possibilities. These advances raised all kinds of ethical questions. Some were personal and individual, others were social and political. Both type questions are addressed by a new academic discipline called bioethics. The first attempt to develop a scientific medicine took place in Greece in the 5th century B.C. It was called Hippocratic medicine. Closely linked with this first scientific medicine was...

That woman just brought me to tears, and that's not easy.