Free Republic

The Obama administration, from time to time, keeps saying that x number of jobs are being "saved or created" and yet we keep seeing more and more people losing their jobs. It seems as if the Obama administration is saying that despite there being a net number of jobs lost, that x number of jobs are still being "saved or created." If so, then where is the proof? Where is the quantifiable evidence of where these jobs are being "saved or created" and when they were "saved or created" to back up the veracity of the so-called x number of...

M. Speaker, The last time our unemployment rate hit 9.8 percent was in 1983. Ronald Reagan responded by cutting taxes and reducing regulatory burdens on the economy, producing the biggest peacetime economic expansion in the nation’s history. Today, President Obama is doing exactly the opposite. Obamacare and Cap and Trade and many other bills promise the biggest tax increases and heaviest regulations our country has ever seen. Over the last 100 years, three presidents responded to recessions by reducing taxes and regulations: Warren Harding, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan – and all produced rapid and dramatic economic recoveries. Two...

Either Maxine Waters is dumber than a loaf of bread or she thinks that the American voters are all idiots, that can be the only explanation for her amendment to H.R. 3126, legislation to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), that will make ACORN eligible to play a role in setting regulations for financial institutions. Yes that ACORN. Mad-Maxine's amendment adds to the CFPA Oversight Board 5 representatives from the fields of "consumer protection, fair lending and civil rights, representatives of depository institutions that primarily serve underserved communities, or representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced...

While some claim that Conservative Republicans want to purge the party of all moderates & liberals who are present in the party, which is 100% incorrect, as we want a party which is overwhelmingly Conservative, however, in some areas of the country we will accept our moderate Republican counterparts with open arms. Those same idiots forget to mention that we do like some "moderate" Republicans.

Remember the promise of transparency that helped win the Presidency? All bills passing Congress would be posted for 5 days before signed. Seems the rules have changed. Apparently the pledge only applied to non-emergency bills and everything is an emergency in the New Republic. The first bill signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was apparently an emergency. We had to pass the pork-laden stimulus bill before any of the Best-Congress-Money-Can-Buy could read it otherwise unemployment might reach the unacceptable 8% range though most of the provisions wouldn’t kick in for months or years. The Bums-Rush is also...

Please use the number 202-224-3121 to call the key Democratic senators and urge a no vote when Harry Reid attempts to bring Obamacare to the Senate floor next week or the week thereafter.  The idea that Reid, Chuck Schumer and Patrick Leahy are the architects of your health care for the rest of your life should be enough to move you to action.  It takes 60 votes to open debate.  Urge each office you call to tell their senator to vote "no" on the cloture motion to open debate. Start with Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, Senator Evan Bayh...

It's time to change the tune of this song. It's time to say NO! to politicians at all levels and those who support them. No more will we pay your taxes. No more will we buy the products or use the services of those who support you. No more will we obey your laws. No more will we convict people for doing this either. You do not listen to us when we say we don't want these laws and tax bills so we no longer listen to you. We will not assist you in anyway shape or form. We are...

As I stand here in a high school gymnasium watching freshmen girls' basketball games, I'm struck by the sight of America's future right in front of me - these tenacious young women full of energy and intensity - I want them to realize every opportunity this great, free nation can provide. There are big political races on the East Coast that are coming down to the wire - the results of which will impact policies and political actions that touch all of us in every state. Like other independent Americans, you know I don’t always see eye-to-eye with Republican political...

While a congressional races are drawing national attention, I wanted to let everyone know about another CONSERVATIVE candidate running for SC 4th Congressional district. His name is Jim Lee. His website jimleeforcongress2010.com Jim needs our help. Especially from the local SC constituency. He is not a Lawyer, not a career politician, and adheres to true Conservative values. He is running against the incumbent, Bob Inglis who has abandoned Conservative values by voting for TARP, sided with the Democrats on the Joe Wilson incident, amongst many other non conservative issues. Jim Lee has already committed to the New Contract with America...

The core of the Democratic Party has now been overrun and taken over by hate America hoodlums. The Republican Party trashed itself during the Bush era and has lost all credibility with honest clear thinking Americans. The intensity of the political divide in our country is now at a catastrophic level. It is no longer just a difference of political opinions that divide political parties, there is a growing hate dividing party leaders and constituents. The buffoonery coming from the white house exacerbates the divide. The United States Congress has become a legalized criminal institution, staffed by the criminally insane,...

Remember when President Obama made that Health Care reform speech before a joint session of Congress, the one where Congressman Joe Wilson shouted out that the President was lying (he was)? Apparently that wasn't the only item where the POTUS was fudging on the truth. During the speech President Obama said “under our plan no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions” What the President didn't say is that he wasn't talking about the House version of the plan. No, he wasn't talking about the Senate version of the plan either. CNS News interviewed Rep. Bart Stupak who explained...

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people. True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the...

For years, Tom Coburn’s lectures on spending have been met with aggressive resistance by fellow Republicans who defend their right to send money back to their home states. But at a closed-door meeting of GOP senators this month, a tirade by the Oklahoman about the hypocrisy of using deficits to decry Democratic health care plans while voting for pumped-up appropriations bills was seconded by several senators. If there was dissent in the room, no one voiced it. “I don’t know that there’s another side,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who argues that Republican rhetoric on deficits is right but the...

Listen to the Veterans In Politics Interview Joe Heck Republican Candidate for US Congress CD3 and Frank Ricotta Clark County Republican Party Coalition Director Listen to what they have to say and do your homework be an educated voter. Turn up your speakers and GO TO: http://www.alltalkradio.net/alt/show.php?folder=veteransinpolitics and to your right of the screen click onto: 10-24-09 - Veterans in Politics "Veterans In Politics" is a weekly radio show produced by the Veterans In Politics International and hosted by Steve Sanson and co-hosted by Jim Jonas on www.alltalkradio.net. The "Veterans In Politics" show is live every Saturday 2:05 PM Pacific...

Who are the the DIABLOs (Democrats In All But Labels Only)? Who are the RINOs (Republicans In Name Only)? Unfortunately, the American Conservative Union's rankings are pretty useless. In search of being non-partisan and having an even spread of votes, they include many votes which are very lopsided, and so therefore Republicans can fake conservatism without upsetting their media masters and liberal donors. At the same time, a conservative who thinks that a bill is too liberal can get lumped in with all the liberals who thought the bill was too conservative. Combining these two factors, it's impossible to tell...

The Silence of the Lambs - - Obama Style Farewell, Free Speech - - Part 991 bythelastcrusade.org So much for free speech and 1st Amendment rights. A hate crimes bill, which was passed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday and sent to President Obama for his signature, will serve to muzzle Christian writers, preachers, and teachers who still possess the temerity to advocate Biblical values. Mr. Obama has made a pledge to the gay and lesbian community that the bill will become law before the end of October. Matt Barber, an attorney for Liberty Counsel, says that the President...

Congress is moving closer to enacting a law requiring all Americans to purchase health insurance. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says that this is “like paying taxes.” He’s right about that. But Hoyer made this statement as part of an effort to justify the health-care mandate on constitutional grounds. Here he indicates that he doesn’t understand the Constitution that he took an oath to support. When asked what power the Constitution gives to Congress to enact this legislation, Hoyer claimed that it came from the Constitution’s “general welfare” clause. Article One, section eight says that Congress can “lay and collect...

It's hard to put into a box just who is supporting Dede Scozzafava in New York's 23rd special election and who is supporting Doug Hoffman in the same. At first, I thought it was the so called establishment supporting Scozzafava and those on the outside looking in supporting Hoffman. Yet, how do you explain the likes of Rick Santorum and Michelle Bachmann supporting Hoffman? I thought it was the conservatives in support of Hoffman and party loyalists in support of Scozzafava? How do you explain Newt Gingrich supporting Scozzafava?

America's economy faces a miserable future, according to an important government report. The media collectively have yawned, and official Washington has barely blinked. The Government Accountability Office recently issued its report to the Congress on the long-term fiscal outlook for the United States. It is a bleak picture. The report opens: "Weakness in the economy and financial markets -- and the government's response to them -- have contributed to near-term increases in federal deficits, which reached record level in fiscal year 2009. While a lot of attention has been given to the recent fiscal deterioration, the federal government faces even...

WASHINGTON - During consideration of H.R. 3126, legislation to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee voted to pass an amendment offered by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) that will make ACORN eligible to play a role in setting regulations for financial institutions. The Waters amendment adds to the CFPA Oversight Board 5 representatives from the fields of "consumer protection, fair lending and civil rights, representatives of depository institutions that primarily serve underserved communities, or representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgages" to join Federal banking regulators in advising the...

WASHINGTON – Health care legislation taking shape in the House carries a price tag of at least $1 trillion over a decade, significantly higher than the target President Barack Obama has set, congressional officials said Friday as they struggled to finish work on the measure for a vote early next month.

Palin pulled no punches, and the old-guard Republican country-club set must have felt like she landed one right in the groin as she wrote, "And best of all, Doug Hoffman has not been anointed by any political machine.” Peggy Noonan must have been overcome by the vapors upon reading that line, but it got better as Palin continued.

In Federalist # 48, James Madison talked about the importance of separation of powers: It is agreed on all sides, that the powers properly belonging to one of the departments ought not to be directly and completely administered by either of the other departments. It is equally evident, that none of them ought to possess, directly or indirectly, an overruling influence over the others, in the administration of their respective powers. It will not be denied, that power is of an encroaching nature, and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it. After discriminating,...

The congresswoman takes sides against a Republican candidate, and rumor is the former governor may too. As a rule, special elections held to fill open congressional seats aren't the most exciting events. But the campaign in New York's 23rd congressional district is starting to get pretty interesting, with an intra-party squabble on the Republican side of things getting more juice by the day. The district leans Republican, and the seat has been in the GOP's hands to this point -- the race is being held because Rep. John McHugh resigned when President Obama named him secretary of the Army. But...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday joined the battle between former Vice President Dick Cheney and Obama administration officials over the strategy of the war in Afghanistan. Pelosi chided Cheney for asserting Wednesday that President Obama is "afraid" to make a decision about whether to ramp up war at the request of his military advisers or scale back the effort and focus on going after Al Qaeda in Pakistan, as some of his political advisers are urging. "That's really not a dignified statement," Pelosi said Thursday. "The president has a very difficult decision to make. I don't think that's a...

On Wednesday, Pelosi had a forum with top House Democrats and a team of economists: Former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alan Blinder, October 21, 2009 'Absolutely horrendous long term fiscal out look' This is a graph presented by Jared Bernstein, chief economist to Vice President Joe Biden. Do you see any current recovery? There are not going to be Job increases for a long time, look at that curve in the graph Yet, Pelosi says the recession is coming to an end; http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_102209/content/01125107.guest.html PELOSI: It's no accident that right now that as the recession's coming to an end it does...

Okay -- So The Feds are going to cut the salaries of Wall Street Executives that receive TARP money by 90%presumabley until the companies pay back the TARP funds and/or become profitable! Great. I have no problem with that, other than the unintended consquence of chasing away your top talent. Be that as it may, the government pays the piper, the government calls the tune. Ah, but shouldn't that principle should be equally applied to Congress?!! Congress told us that the $750 billion stimulus package was absolutely necessary to create jobs and that unemployment would reach no higher than 8%....

Should the American people turn the Czars concept against our rulers? How about a Congress Czar, whose job it would be to ensure that Congress balances the budget (spends no more than it takes in) or else Congress forfeits 90% of its pay and benefits. The only thing the Congress czar could not directly control is the influence peddling that Congress uses after they are out of office to enrich themselves. Media scrutiny would identify cases of Congress selling out the American people for personal gain, and the new Congress czar would have the power to fine the Congressperson, or...

With the nomination of Democratic Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher to a high level position in the Obama administration, a special election has been called for the vacant congressional seat in California's tenth congressional district, a traditionally liberal district, however, with a special election looming, anything can happen. Republican David Harmer is seeking to replace Tauscher in the United States Congress, restore Conservatism to the district, and ride on a wave of anti-government feelings which has circulated across the Nation. While Harmer might have more momentum then Republicans have previously had while running in this district, the district is D+11, supported Obama...

Under the "health care" heading on the White House Web site, a paragraph reads: "The President has vowed that the health reform process will be different in his Administration – an open, inclusive, and transparent process where all ideas are encouraged and all parties work together to find a solution to the health care crisis." But after dozens of televised hearings, round tables, markups and press conferences, top White House officials are now meeting in the Capitol with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sens. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Max Baucus of Montana, away from Republicans and the press,...

Hoyer Says Constitution’s ‘General Welfare’ Clause Empowers Congress to Order Americans to Buy Health Insurance Wednesday, October 21, 2009 By Matt Cover (CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that the individual health insurance mandates included in every health reform bill, which require Americans to have insurance, were “like paying taxes.” He added that Congress has “broad authority” to force Americans to purchase other things as well, so long as it was trying to promote “the general welfare.” The Congressional Budget Office, however, has stated in the past that a mandate forcing Americans to buy health insurance would...

There's something the Democratic lawmakers who are pushing cap-and-trade legislation don't want the public to know. The controversial climate-change legislation winding its way through Congress will impose a massive new national gas tax on the American people. We discovered this by analyzing what the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill would do to gas prices and what Americans spend on gasoline, diesel and jet fuels. We found that cap-and-trade legislation will levy a $3.6 trillion gas-tax increase that will impact every American and important segments of our economy. Americans travel more than 200 million vehicle miles each month, and annually we spend nearly...

Many are STILL discussing the birth issue surrounding President Obama. This apparently is not going away, anytime soon. Received this email yesterday from the United States Justice Foundation, a non-profit organization. You will read some of the arguments made before this court, by the DOJ and the USJF. ******* From The Desk Of Gary G. Kreep, United States Justice Foundation. Barack Obama is sweating it out after his Department of Justice ("DOJ") attorneys walked into court expecting United States Federal District Court Judge David Carter to dismiss the birth certificate case. Why you ask? Simply because they "think" Obama is...

U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R, Hinsdale, IL) introduced legislation last week intended to prevent misuse of federal housing counseling funds. "It's abundantly clear that ACORN and its affiliates cannot be trusted as a federally certified entity," said Biggert, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee. "Given the group's clear links to illegal and inappropriate activities, how can we knowingly give them federal certification to divert precious resources from legitimate housing counselors working overtime to help struggling homeowners?" For years federal funds have flowed into ACORN's coffers for services given to low-income home buyers across the country. These services...

The L.A. Times published a story that was probably meant solely as a bash on insurance companies, but still the report brings up several issues that Obamacare will only make worse if passed. The problem raised in the headline, "Healthcare bills lack protections against treatment denials, experts say," isn't the only problem the story touches upon -- not that the L.A. Times dwells on them. The headline problem is important, of course though the Times tries to phrase the problem as an evil failing of insurance companies. The fact is it is really but a common-sense inevitability. The Times reports...

Not later than February 1, 2014, the Comptroller General shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on . . . (ii) the availability of affordable health benefits plans, and (iii) the ability of individuals to maintain essential health benefits coverage . . . Not later than April 1, 2014, the appropriate committees of Congress shall report legislation implementing the recommendations contained in the report . . . [or] any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate, respectively, may introduce legislation implementing the recommendations contained in the proposal and such legislation shall be placed on the...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Politico reports today that Senate Finance Committee members have been notified that the committee's health reform bill was filed today. You can read all 1,502 pages here. Senate Bill 1796 weighs in at 1,502 pages, according to a Senate Republican leadership source. It's still not up yet on the Finance Committee website or Thomas.gov. So, a modest proposal: Prior to a vote on the Senate bill, I suggest a roll call vote be ordered, asking each member to state whether he or she has read the bill, the entire bill. Not a legislative summary, not the...

Things bog down and all these deadlines continue to slip. CBO will need time to score the merge. Meanwhile, despite the sense of inevitability Democrats are far from unified on pay-fors. There is strong Labor opposition to the Cadillac plan tax. Plus, they are going to try and pass a quarter trillion doc fix by waiving paygo and then pretending that health care reform is deficit neutral, which people will see for the farce it is. And as kumbaya fades, Business is getting increasingly antsy because they know they are paying the bill at the end of the day and...

Writing in the July/August 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs, then-candidate Barack Obama outlined his foreign-policy views. He wrote that after the financial and human cost of the Iraq War, “many Americans may be tempted to turn inward and cede our leadership in world affairs. But this is a mistake we must not make. America cannot meet the threats of this century alone, and the world cannot meet them without America.” He then harkened back to three Democratic presidents: Such leadership demands that we retrieve a fundamental insight of Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy — one that is truer now than ever...

From Section 6002 on page 1435: INCLUSION OF COST OF EMPLOYER-SPONSORED HEALTH COVERAGE ON W–2The definition of taxable income is revised to include "the aggregate cost of applicable employer-sponsored coverage". . . "The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009."

You are being lied to. Daily. Constantly. You, the American citizen, are subject to a constant bombardment of lies from the White House, B. Hussein Obama, his minions, and the state run media. Why? Because, they hope to bring you down. They hope to crush your enthusiasm. They desire to take away the fire in your belly that keeps you questioning what that monster, B. Hussein Obama is doing. Obama and his minions have turned on Fox News because they are a large network and they have journalistic integrity. While the rest of the cable, satellite and network news shows...

Last week, editors at Politico posed two questions to an online panel to which I contribute: “ACORN: Underplayed or overblown?” and “Will the Dems ever get their act together on healthcare?” The two are intimately connected by a simple proposition: “Most people want more housing and health care than they can afford.” Of course, for “housing” or “health care” one could substitute whatever one wishes: food, clothing, cars, education, entertainment, vacations, you name it. Economists call this the problem of scarcity, and it’s the beginning of economics. In a free society, most individuals, families, and firms will deal with that...

Finally! A solid conservative with at least some name recognition locally, has thrown his hat in the ring to unseat that Nebudchannazar of a congressman Alan Grayson in Orlando's district 8. Ken Miller was running in District 24 against Suzanne Kozmas, another turd beetle, but there is at least one other solid conservative running against her, Sandy Adams. Anyone in or outside of District 8, if you can swing it, please donate to Ken.

During the 108th Congress, the democrats were screaming ugly about the procedural abuses of the Republican-led Congress. They issued a report entitled "Broken Promises: The Death of Deliberative Democracy - A Congressional Report on the Unprecedented Erosion of the Democratic Process in the 108th Congress." Significant portions of the Executive Summary are below. The report includes precise allegations on an action-by-action basis. Not quite humorously, we are watching as the dems are guilty of precisely their claims again the pubs just a few years ago.

The Congressional Pig Book is Citizens Against Government Waste's annual compilation of the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget. The 2009 Pig Book identified 10,160 projects at a cost of $19.6 billion in the 12 Appropriations Acts for fiscal 2009...Search all 10,160 projects by keyword, member, state, party or appropriations bill.

Good video at site. This morning on CNBC, a good discussion between Richard Bernstein and Dennis Gartman on the challenge facing the Fed. Neither think a rate hike is coming anytime soon, with Bernstein noting razor thin yields on 3-month treasuries as evidence. Gartman is more ominous, noting that the Fed was created and can be "destroyed" be Congressional edict, and thus has no reason to get cute about asserting its independent (raising rates) when politicians don't want them to.

Jefferson Paine weighs in with his ten-point plan to overhaul the “healthcare” system in a jiffy. The reader will note that these solutions are free-market based and would be easy to implement assuming Congress . . .

In his primetime health care address before a Joint Session of Congress, President Barack Obama promised the American people: “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits – either now or in the future. Period.” But it is hard work adding $1 trillion in government spending while claiming with a straight face that you are not adding to the deficit. Enter White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel who has just the solution: just strip out $247 billion of the spending in the bill, pass it separately, and voila … your job just got one-fourth...

Congress is showing contempt for the American people by excluding them from the crafting of Obamacare The president promised in his campaign he’d deliver transparency, saying, “I’m going to have all the negotiations around a big table” with everybody involved. Those that can’t make it would be able to see “the negotiations televised on C-SPAN.” Too bad this isn’t happening: yet another broken Obama promise. The media report that the only people at this negotiation are the liberal political elites, including Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) (author of the Vapor Bill), Senate Finance...

If Harry Reid decides to use the Senate's "reconciliation" process to ram health care legislation through his chamber and crush a filibuster, then he'll have to reconcile something else: his astounding hypocrisy. The majority leader from Nevada is working behind closed doors to merge health care bills passed by the Senate's health and finance committees. He desperately wants to come up with something that can get 60 votes -- the number needed to halt any attempt by minority Republicans to block a final vote on the massive expansion of federal authority. Although Reid has 60 votes in his caucus, it...