Free Republic

The economic programs and policies currently in place are truly astounding. I don't think I have ever seen a more harmful economic environment for the country. While some of these programs started with Bush, the Obama Administration has advanced them to insane levels. Logic, economics, common sense and history must be defied to believe a recovery is possible in this environment. The nation's standard of living will be substantially lowered unless changes in policies are forthcoming. To understand why this economy cannot recover under these policies, it is necessary to differentiate between the macroeconomic and microeconomic approach. Arguably, macroeconomics is...

WASHINGTON -- Now that health-care reform has reached the Senate floor without a single Republican vote, four Democrats are vying to become King of the Hill by demanding laundry lists of changes in exchange for their votes -- prompting liberals to vow not to be held hostage by a few foot-draggers. Majority Leader Harry Reid got the bill to the floor by a 60-39 vote, the narrowest possible margin. The close vote provided a vivid demonstration of each Democrat's ability to sink President Obama's top domestic priority -- or use his vote to try to extract concessions Sen. Ben Nelson...

Sometimes, not even a politician can be all things to all people. With Saturday night's vote to bring Harry Reid's health-care bill to the floor, "moderate" Senate Democrats like Ben Nelson (Neb.), Mary Landrieu (La.), and Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) had to choose between pleasing party leaders and their reputations for moderation. Moderation lost. Of course, some will say that this was merely a vote to proceed, not a vote on the merits of the bill. They were just "moving the debate forward," will try to improve the bill on the floor, and, as Seinfeld would say, yada, yada, yada. But...

Saturday night's health-care vote in the Senate was a theatrical fizzle. Sure, Majority Leader Harry Reid made senators sit at their desks for their vote to create a sense of "history" -- but everyone knew that he'd get the 60 votes he needed to start debate on ObamaCare. If a $100 million Medicaid payoff to her state wasn't enough to keep Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu bought for at least a few days, there truly is no honor among thieves. Landrieu bragged about her swag, calculating that the "Lousiana Purchase" was really worth $300 million. The two other centrist Democrats whose...

WITHOUT A DOUBTDear Congressman Kennedy BY BISHOP THOMAS J. TOBIN 11/12/09 12:00 am Since our recent correspondence has been rather public, I hope you don’t mind if I share a few reflections about your practice of the faith in this public forum. I usually wouldn’t do that – that is speak about someone’s faith in a public setting – but in our well-documented exchange of letters about health care and abortion, it has emerged as an issue. I also share these words publicly with the thought that they might be instructive to other Catholics, including those in prominent positions of...

Barack Obama didn't have a lot of bread-and-butter accomplishments to point to, either. He had, in fact, less governing experience than Palin already has. So experience can be gotten around.

PROVIDENCE, RI (Catholic Online) - Senator Patrick Kennedy whose open defiance over the teaching of the Catholic Church concerning the inviolable dignity of every human life has resulted in a longstanding dialogue with his Bishop, reopened the public debate in an odd interview on Sunday. He gave a telephone interview to John E. Mulligan of the Providence Journal in which he told the reporter “...The bishop instructed me not to take Communion and said that he has instructed the diocesan priests not to give me Communion.� The telephone interview led to a Journal article entitled "Kennedy: Barred from Communion" which...

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Sarah Palin looks at a cover of Newsweek handed to her as she arrives for a book signing of her new book 'Going Rogue' in Grand Rapids, Michigan November 17, 2009

It is time to cast aside all remaining doubt. President Obama is not trying to lead America forward to recovery, prosperity and strength. Quite the opposite, in fact. In September of last year, American Thinker published my article, Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis. Part of a series, it connected then presidential candidate Barack Obama to individuals and organizations practicing a malevolent strategy for destroying our economy and our system of government. Since then the story of that strategy has found its way across the blogosphere, onto the airwaves of radio stations across the country, the Glenn Beck...

The president’s visit to China was seen as failure, but what if that was just the new standard? Martin Jacques on why the U.S. must get used to decline—and learn humility. Obama’s visit to China last week was starkly different from previous such occasions. The United States has stumbled into a new era. Just a decade ago it all looked so different. President Bush—in one of history’s great miscalculations—believed that the world stood on the verge of a new American century. In fact, the opposite was the case. The defeat of the Soviet Union flattered only to deceive and mislead....

India May Get $1 billion In IT Outsourcing Contracts: Report MUMBAI (Reuters) – Leading Indian outsourcers such as Tata Consultancy (TCS.BO), Infosys (INFY.BO) and Wipro (WIPR.BO) stand to gain contracts worth about $1 billion in the next one or two years as U.S. banks emerge from the troubled asset relief program, the Economic Times reported on Monday. The newspaper said JPMorgan (JPM.N), Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) that received approval to buy back government stake worth $68 billion earlier this year are among the firms seeking operational efficiencies by outsourcing non-core IT and back-office projects to India.

A new poll shows 68 percent of Republicans in Iowa hold a favorable view of Sarah Palin. That is only two percent lower than 2008 Iowa Caucus winner Mike Huckabee. The Des Moines Register poll proves that Palin would be the decisive factor in the 2012 Caucus, if she runs.

ACHIN, Afghanistan — American and Afghan officials have begun helping a number of anti-Taliban militias that have independently taken up arms against insurgents in several parts of Afghanistan, prompting hopes of a large-scale tribal rebellion against the Taliban. The emergence of the militias, which took some leaders in Kabul by surprise, has so encouraged the American and Afghan officials that they are planning to spur the growth of similar armed groups across the Taliban heartland in the southern and eastern parts of the country. The American and Afghan officials say they are hoping the plan, called the Community Defense Initiative,...

NOVEMBER 23, 2009 She's Back A transcript of the weekend's program on FOX News Channel. Stuart Varney: This week "The Journal Editorial Report," Sarah Palin's relaunch. The former Alaska governor re-emerges on the national stage to mixed reviews. We'll have ours. And a double-dip recession? President Obama says it's a risk with rising debt. So why is there talk of another multibillion-dollar stimulus? *** Varney: Hello everyone. Welcome to "The Journal Editorial Report." I'm Stuart Varney, in this week for Paul Gigot. First up, the relaunch of Sarah Palin. The former Alaskan governor and vice presidential candidate launched a nationwide...

California Budget's Going To Be Dreadful Until long-term structural issues are fixed, there is no way legislators can produce an honest spending plan so the state lives within its means. George Skelton Capitol Journal November 23, 2009 The Capitol's budget oracle projects $20.7 billion in new red ink for the next 19 months. Here's my projection: More punting, "kicking the can down the alley" and numbers-rigging. Hope we're both wrong. Hope there's an economic miracle or political heroism, which would require sacrifice to the demagogues. But, based on history and facts, that's too much to hope for. Here's how nonpartisan...

Why does California have a Lt. Governor's office AND a Secretary of State's office? How much money could we (California) save if we removed the giblets this Thanksgiving? Enjoy my latest piece, if you are interested in Constitutional politics this evening... As we move toward a thankful break this Thursday, I want to offer a small dish of giblets. If you spend any amount of time preparing for the holiday feast, you are familiar with the Thanksgiving giblets; in most homes these giblets are unwanted parts that are quickly tossed into the trash or fed to the family dog. The...

A homegrown U.S. soldier-jihadist, having never served overseas, slaughters unarmed members of the U.S. military on American soil, and his act is foolishly excused by some as “secondary post-traumatic stress disorder.” Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp detainees responsible for 9/11 are being moved to New York for trial. As U.S. soldiers risk their lives in Afghanistan, our leaders struggle with the political consequences of their commanders’ recommendations. The war on terror is spoken of no more. We’ve adopted a see-no-jihad, hear-no-jihad, speak-no-jihad mind-set. Political correctness rules the day. Before it’s too late, America must again awaken to the unprecedented global threat...

NOVEMBER 20, 2009 The Coming Deficit Disaster The president says he understands the urgency of our fiscal crisis, but his policies are the equivalent of steering the economy toward an iceberg. DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN President Barack Obama took office promising to lead from the center and solve big problems. He has exerted enormous political energy attempting to reform the nation's health-care system. But the biggest economic problem facing the nation is not health care. It's the deficit. Recently, the White House signaled that it will get serious about reducing the deficit next year—after it locks into place massive new health-care entitlements....

Most of the media hate Sarah Palin. Given the hyperfocused offensive targeted at her, the simple conclusion is that the left-wing establishment views the former Alaska governor as the greatest threat to the current Democratic monopoly on power in Washington. Certainly Mrs. Palin's book tour is generating a lot of enthusiasm across the country, with thousands of admirers flocking to each stop. The book itself, "Going Rogue," was locked in at No. 1 on best-seller lists for weeks before it was officially available for sale. Mrs. Palin's appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" attracted the largest audience the program has...

My attempt to squash your romantic view of Thanksgiving! Mayflower Myths:The reason that we have so many myths associated with Thanksgiving is that it is an invented tradition. It doesn’t originate in any one event. It is based on the New England puritan Thanksgiving, which is a religious Thanksgiving, and the traditional harvest celebrations of England and New England and maybe other ideas like commemorating the pilgrims. All of these have been gathered together and transformed into something different from the original parts. James W. Baker Senior Historian at Plymouth Plantation. There are more at the link...

Wave of Debt Payments Facing U.S. Government EDMUND L. ANDREWS November 22, 2009 WASHINGTON — The United States government is financing its more than trillion-dollar-a-year borrowing with i.o.u.’s on terms that seem too good to be true. Treasury officials now face a trifecta of headaches: a mountain of new debt, a balloon of short-term borrowings that come due in the months ahead, and interest rates that are sure to climb back to normal as soon as the Federal Reserve decides that the emergency has passed. Even as Treasury officials are racing to lock in today’s low rates by exchanging short-term...

A dangerous mythology has gripped the Democratic Party. It holds that the reason Democrats took a shellacking in the midterm elections of 1994 was that their members failed to pass Bill Clinton's health care overhaul. The logic goes that if Congress had gone along with Clinton's $331 billion plan (who would have guessed it would end up seeming like a bargain?), Democrats wouldn't have lost 54 seats in the House. The Republicans could have won as many as 41 seats that year and remained in the minority, where they had been mired for 40 years. Democrats have developed an alternate...

The former Alaska governor represents thwarted aspirations and brooding resentment. But she backs policies which would increase them. In the film, The American President, the president's speechwriter Lewis Rothschild (played by Michael J Fox) appeals to the commander-in-chief to take a firm, clear stand against the Right. "People want leadership, Mr President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone." he says. "They want leadership. They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand." The president...

Why Is No One Laughing? By R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. WASHINGTON -- What would the mainstream media's response be if former governor Sarah Palin described China's economic growth to an audience of students in Shanghai as "an accomplishment unparalleled in human history"? That is what the most inexperienced president in modern American history said in Shanghai this week. I wonder if any of the assembled journalists choked. President Barack Obama makes such unhinged pronouncements with the kind of frequency that if he were anyone else he would be set down by the media as a boobie. I take that back....

If the entertainment industry were allowed to pick California's next governor, there would be no contest: Jerry Brown would win by a landslide. That was made clear this past week as the 71-year-old attorney general was feted by industry leaders at an event raising more than $1 million and co-chaired by directors Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams, and other movers and shakers. It's also been clear for months as studio executives, writers and other Hollywood figures have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to the as-yet-undeclared Democratic candidate's campaign. Meanwhile, industry figures contributed much less money, if anything, to Republican...

"You can't vote against healthcare and call yourself a black man." So pronounced the Rev. Jesse Jackson the other night at an event held by the Congressional Black Caucus, also known as the CBC, in honor of the 25th anniversary of Jackson's 1984 Presidential campaign. You might not have heard about Jackson's remark. It received some notice, but nowhere near the overwhelming coverage that Jackson's blue comments last year towards Barack Obama or even his tasteless comment that New York City's Jewish voters made the city "Hymietown." Jackson criticizing an African-American presidential candidate or offering bizarre anti-Semitic remarks are certainly...

The Republican party wonders why conservatives are so disappointed with it?Another glowing example of the problems confronting the Republican party occurred yesterday.  The Senate Republicans had the opportunity to force a full reading of the Senate's proposed health care bill so that every bit of the 2,200 pages would be made public by the reading, and so the people could become much better informed about its contents before it is passed...if it is passed.  It had the opportunity to really hold the Democrats' feet to the fire over this abominable excuse for legislation that is being crammed down the throats...

President Barack Obama’s mission to reform US healthcare vaulted another legislative hurdle over the weekend, but the scramble to secure his own party’s votes sheds light on the messy compromises that may be needed to get it to the finish line.

The TERRY ANDERSON SHOW.. Articulating the Popular Rage! A warrior in the fight against illegal immigration and those who promote it (the Squatter Support Squad) for over a decade! From the streets of Los Angeles to the halls of congress, Terry has been there. No one has the passion and common sense of Terry Anderson...He is A MUST listen! The BEST one hour of radio you'll find anywhere. Sunday Nights- Listen on the radio! 12-1 AM EDT, 11-12 PM CDT, 10-11 PM MDT, 9-10 PM PDT KRLA - 870 AM - Los Angeles -- KDWN - 720 - Las Vegas...

Sarah Palin comes to Asheville NC to have Dinner with Billy Graham & Family from richard bernier on Vimeo. Sarah Palin arrives in Asheville NC to have Dinner with Billy Graham & Family. 22 Nov 2009 - On a very short notice, Space Mountain Productions was advised that Mrs.Palin would be coming to Asheville to have dinner with Billy Graham & Familly. Mrs. Palin is on her book tour & will be in Fayetteville the next day to promote her book. Mrs.Palin arrived at 3:10pm & took a few questions & meet some supporters who had time to come to...

As a journalist covering Chicago politics, verifying information is like climbing a mountain of sand. With each step you take, the deeper you sink. Last week while researching claims from a local Tea Party activist, I found myself asking a family for proof that they had lost an unborn grandchild. The family, Dan and Midge Hough, of Chicago, spoke in favor of health care reform and in support of U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-3rd) at a Nov. 14 town hall meeting in Oak Lawn. Their daughter-in-law, Jenny, and an unborn grandchild died recently due in part, they believe, to a...

There are only 35 shopping days left until Christmas. I'm keenly aware of this primarily because of those overcaffeinated Glee-show-choir-in-red-white-and-blue-alpine-sweaters-and-ear-flaps-making-high school-cheerleading-pyramids Gap ads that started running about a week ago. You know, the ones where they chant a little ditty titled, annoyingly, "Happy Dowhateveryouwannukah." "Go Christmas! Go Hannukah! Go Kwanzaa! Go Solstice!" the exceptionally good-looking, multicultural, skinny-jeans-clad cheerbots shout. "You 86 the rules, you do what just feels right," they cheer, before entreating us to "do whatever [we] wannukkah" this ambiguous winter holiday season. Their jangly dance number ends by wishing us "a cheery night." How festive, you say? Meh....

A few weeks ago seven of the eight incumbent Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates who lost their seat to a Republican had one other thing in common - a lower National Rifle Association (NRA) rating that their opponent . . . [and] the disparity in support for gun rights between the parties seems to have sharpened.

When my family lived in West Berlin, some of the simple personal freedoms Germans enjoyed — freedoms that we here in the US don’t have — amazed me. They were small things, really – like no speed limit on the autobahn (highway), and no legal restrictions on the drinking age. Such restrictions have become so commonplace for us, that we can scarcely imagine life without them. I told a German friend of mine that I found it odd that her fellow countrymen had so many more personal freedoms than we do in America. She shrugged her shoulders and said, with...

I was away for most of the week, but I did catch up with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom at a tree-lighting party on the Embarcadero Friday evening.He looked very relaxed and was having his picture taken with everyone. He said he was back in the swing of things and really looking forward to tackling the city's $500 million budget deficit. This time, he said, he would be free to do what needed to be done because he won't be beholden to anyone. It ought to be interesting.He also asked if The Chronicle had gone after me the way the...

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., warned of major cuts to Medicare and large tax increases as the U.S. Senate neared its first votes this weekend on health care reform. McCain opposes health reforms pushed by Democrats and President Barack Obama that would create a public-option government system to cover the uninsured and operate alongside private insurance companies. "I don't think Americans really understand the scam that's going on here of beginning to collect taxes, tax increases and Medicare cuts of approximately $1 trillion beginning 40 days from now," McCain said Saturday. "In other words, the first of January, according to...

Cedar Creek, Texas (CNN)– Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Thursday that he hopes Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison remains in the Senate and acknowledged that he has spoken with her about challenging Gov. Rick Perry in the GOP primary. Barbour, head of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), would not elaborate on his conversation with Hutchison, but did say he personally hopes Perry wins another term. "I would just hate to lose Kay Bailey in the Senate," Barbour said at a news conference during the RGA's annual meeting. "She has been a great senator. I would just hate to lose a great...

"I'm not scared of what (self-professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed) would say at trial," Attorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee as he defended his decision to prosecute Mohammed and four other accused 9/11 planners in a federal criminal court. I'm not scared of what KSM has to say in court either. I'm scared of what a federal judge might say and do. Mohammed already has said, "I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z." By handing the 9/11 Five over to the federal court system, the Obama administration has opened the door for...

(snip) The Republican senator did say that Obama is charismatic, adding that “he is able to inspire, and I admire that talent.” “Obama gave the world the message that the United States wants to cooperate,” he said. (snip)

Gov. Rick Perry on Monday defended efforts he once made to have girls vaccinated against the HPV virus that can lead to cervical cancer. "I've always though HPV was an issue of life," Perry said in Dallas. The governor was responding to a reporter's question about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's decision to stop requiring that immigrant girls and women seeking green cards get the HPV, or human papillomavirus vaccine. Two years ago Perry, in the face of extreme opposition, ordered a HPV vaccination program in Texas. He said it would have had an opt out provision....

Gov. Rick Perry's campaign, not too surprisingly, pounced on Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's comment on Meet the Press that if Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner deserves to be fired, members of Congress do, too. "Senator Hutchison finally admitted that she is part of the problem with the out-of-control spending in Washington," said Perry spokesman Mark Miner. "After supporting record deficits, bailouts and earmarks during her more than 16 years in Washington, most Texans would agree with the Senator's statement, 'We shouldn't keep our jobs either.'" Hmmm. Doesn't that contradict Perry's old standby that Texas is better off if Hutchison stays in...

Party leaders who spoke at a weekend fundraising banquet urged Iowa Democrats to “stand up” against Republicans and “stick with” the president. Congressman Bruce Braley of Waterloo was among the first to speak at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner on Saturday night.“It’s not acceptable for Democrats to be walking around looking glum because now is not the time for doubt. Now is not the time for fear,” Braley began.  “And now is not the time for silence.” Braley brought the crowd of Iowa Democrats to its feet by the end of his six-minute speech.“I want, as she sits in her...

Barack Obama's first visit to Asia since his inauguration was one of the most disappointing trips by any U.S. president to the region in decades, especially given media-generated expectations that "Obamamania" would make it yet another triumphal progression. It was a journey of startlingly few concrete accomplishments, demonstrable proof that neither personal popularity nor media deference really means much in the hard world of international affairs. The contrast between Asia's reception for Obama and Europe's is significant. Although considered a global phenomenon, Obamamania's real center is Europe. There, Mr. Obama reigns as a "post-American" president, a multilateralist carbon copy of...

(To be clear, that is a relatively low bar. Republicans went into the political wilderness in a major way following Bush's re-election as he grew increasingly less popular and it became increasingly more clear that the party was either unable or unwilling to break with the chief executive in any major way. Polls suggest that the Republican brand remains badly damaged in the eyes of the American public with most people still trusting Obama far more than Republicans in Congress to solve the major issues of the day.) With 2010 right around the corner, there is significant movement in this...

NOBLESVILLE, INDIANA -- The real Americans were waiting in their Audis and Outbacks in the Hoosier rain. Already, the parking lot had been barricaded and the satellite trucks from the local television stations were in place and it still was going to be five hours before we would see the ex-mayor, ex-governor and existential hero of prairie patriots like all of us. I hauled up in my rented Nissan Versa, having driven from the Indianapolis airport in the downpour, and rolled down the window and talked to the people in the next space. --snip-- Jim and Lucy Roark said they...

WASHINGTON – Republican Rep. Tom McClintock says the federal government has wasted enough money subsidizing solar power, calculating that it would take 22,000 acres of solid solar panels to duplicate the energy from a single nuclear plant. "This is an industry that exists solely off the dole, by the dole, and for the dole," McClintock said in a speech on the House floor last month. Two weeks later, he proclaimed that Congress was "disconnected from reality" as he accused environmentalists of producing a water crisis in his home state of California "for the enjoyment and prosperity of the Delta smelt."

Not even Gallup can help boost The Ones numbers. DeMint was right, Health Care will be his Waterloo.

Democrats Focus on G.O.P. Senators From Maine CARL HULSE November 22, 2009 WASHINGTON — Anxious about how little maneuvering room the weekend victory by Senate Democrats on health care provided, Obama administration officials and their Congressional allies are stepping up overtures to select Senate Republicans in hopes of winning their ultimate support. The two moderate Republican senators from Maine, Susan M. Collins and Olympia J. Snowe, both say Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, reached out to them after he unveiled the Senate measure, encouraging them to bring forward their ideas and concerns. Ms. Collins also received a personal visit...

The Worst President Evah Lies Through His Teeth In This Interview.