Free Republic

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's extraordinary accusation that the Bush administration lied to Congress about the use of harsh interrogation techniques dramatically raised the stakes in the growing debate over the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policies even as it raised some questions about the speaker's credibility. Pelosi's performance in the Capitol was either a calculated escalation of a long-running feud with the Bush administration or a reckless act by a politician whose word had been called into question. Perhaps it was both.

Obama Repeats '90 Percent' Stat for U.S. Guns Recovered in Mexico The White House stands by the president's use of the word "recovered" in describing the role firearms smuggled from the U.S. play in Mexico's drug war. By Major Garrett FOXNews.com Sunday, April 19, 2009 PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago -- What's the difference between "recovered" and "traceable" when it comes to firearms seized in Mexico's bloody war against drug cartels? The White House says none. But that's a distinction with a difference, even if President Obama used the words interchangeably last week to talk about the role firearms smuggled from...

** EXCERPT ** As the race for the Democratic presidential nomination heads into what can be considered its fifteenth month, two candidates remain standing, at their backs two of the best political teams ever assembled. But when the presidential contest blew through February 5, when more than twenty states held nominating contests, the Clinton campaign seemed to have been caught unaware of the prospect of a long, drawn-out campaign in which neither is able to deliver a fatal punch to the other. Obama, thanks to a $32 million fundraising haul in January, was more prepared to deliver resources to post-Super...

As a pastor I’m often asked, "What’s the real issue that divides Catholics and Evangelicals?" Many cite the adoration of Mary, prayers to the saints, and for some it’s papal authority. While these topics can be troublesome for Evangelicals, the fundamental difference lies in our understanding of the cross itself. In a recent series of documents, Pope Benedict XVI clearly brought this cross-centered difference to the forefront when he said, Protestant, Lutheran and other Christian denominations ... were not true churches but merely ecclesial communities and therefore did not have the “means of salvation.” The other communities “cannot be called...

Recently, I lost a great deal of respect for celebrity Michael J. Fox after watching a commercial where he criticizes Republicans for not supporting stem cell research. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, was either ill-informed or disingenuous while making this ad. What makes matters even worse is when conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh questioned Fox's sincerity in making the commercials, but was pilloried in the media. Limbaugh said Fox did not take his medication--thereby worsening his symptoms--in order to garner sympathy during the filming of the spot. The truth is Fox has admitted to using this technique...

Bank Chief Seeks to Rein In Risky DealsAs the real estate market slows, some mortgage lenders are trying to prop up profits by relaxing lending standards for certain types of loans, endangering borrowers and financial institutions, a top banking regulator said yesterday. Speaking to the New York Bankers Association, John M. Reich, director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, warned that some lenders are making it too easy for unsophisticated borrowers to take on risky nontraditional mortgages that they may not fully understand. * * * But a regulatory crackdown on the loans, known as interest-only and option mortgages, could...

Repeatedly referring to a need for "new vision and leadership" in U.S. policy toward the Middle East, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) called Wednesday for United Nations sanctions against Iran and further global advances in women's rights, and urged optimism for a peaceful resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. "We cannot and should not — must not — permit Iran to build or acquire nuclear weapons," Clinton said in a speech before a capacity crowd in Richardson Auditorium. (See full text.) "In order to prevent that from occurring, we must have more support vigorously and publicly expressed by China and Russia,...

It comes to this. More than 2 1/2 years after going to war in Iraq, President Bush is asking for the nation's patience and its trust. It's a rather audacious request. The humility and candor, relatively speaking, that came in Sunday night's speech from the White House are woefully late. The commander in chief still has failed to articulate a convincing plan for securing an otherwise elusive peace. If only Mr. Bush had displayed such awareness of his critics long ago. A candid admission of just how difficult it would be to prevail in a pre-emptive war might have kept...

WASHINGTON — Between Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman's position that the Bush plan in Iraq is working and progress is being made and Rep. John Murtha's call for a speedy withdrawal, a vast number of differences plague Democrats about the war in Iraq. Those differences pose a serious dilemma for one Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose presidential ambitions could impact her position on Iraq. Clinton is now scrambling to recast her pro-war image in the face of growing hostility from the anti-war left. "Hillary does have an Iraq problem. Democrats hate the Iraq war and she's been pretty supportive of the...

Dear people of Free Republic, I recently had to come into this wonderful country that is your website. After reading a post about the come back of Bruce Springsteen andt the fact that you think he is anti-american and a traitor just because he dared to use his FREEdom to speak and said publicly that Bush was a liar., i told myself, that, if this wonderful country uses the word FREE to call itself, I should use this opportunity to answer and to use MY FREEdom to speak as well. I posted under “blec93” an article showing how high the...

REPOST FROM MICHAEL MOORE: Friends, You may have heard by now that the Michigan Republican Party has called for my arrest. That's right. They literally want me brought up on charges -- and hope that I'm locked up. No, I'm not kidding. The Republican Party, yesterday, filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutors in each of the counties where I spoke last week in Michigan. My crime? Clean underwear for anyone who will vote in the upcoming election. Each night on our 60-city "Slacker Uprising Tour" through the 20 battleground states, I've been registering hundreds (and on some nights, thousands)...

Enough of the handwringing! Enough of the doomsaying! Do I have to come there and personally calm you down? Stop with all the defeatism, OK?

Bowling For Columbine is the latest documentary from Michael Moore, the left-wing multi-millionaire provocateur in his usual cunning disguise as an all-American lardbutt loser – baseball cap, unkempt hair, untucked shirt. This time, the nominal subject is American violence, but, by now, connoisseurs of Roger And Me and Moore’s TV work know that, whatever the subject, the routine never varies: He turns up at company headquarters unannounced and demands to see the chairman. The receptionist says he’s not available, and Moore merrily films the stand-off before moving on to some other target. If he showed up to see me without...