Free Republic

Sen. Tom Coburn, the Oklahoma Republican who developed a close friendship with President Obama when they served together in the Senate, is threatening to have the entire health care bill read on the Senate floor. Senior Senate Democratic aides had heard Coburn was considering having potentially thousands of pages read aloud in effort to stall passage. “If he did this it would be even outrageous for a guy who’s become known as Dr. No around here,” one of them told POLITICO. Coburn’s office confirmed that he is indeed thinking about having the bill read. “That’s a possibility,” Coburn spokesman John...

Billionaire gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman gave away just $125,000 of her charitable foundation's $46 million in assets in its first year of operation — and tax records show the bulk of the money went to a surprising place. The Griffith R. Harsh IV and Margaret C. Whitman Charitable Foundation in 2007 contributed $100,000 to the Environmental Defense Fund, which is now at odds with Whitman over water policy. The foundation also invested $3 million in hedge funds based in the Cayman Islands — a Caribbean tax haven that's been the subject of political controversy. ... But it's the $100,000 to...

Today, recruiting more Muslims is a top priority for many branches of the military. Under the Army's "09 Lima" program, Muslims willing to enlist and serve in Iraq and Afghanistan as military translators and cultural advisers receive hefty signing bonuses and expedited paths to citizenship. The Army recently established its first full unit of Muslim personnel recruited under the program, the 51st Translator Interpreter Company at California's Fort Irwin. The unit has more than 120 soldiers who are native speakers of Arabic, Farsi, Pashto and Dari. In interviews in recent years, more than a half-dozen Muslim soldiers serving in Iraq...

The “public option” is not about “competition.” It is about elimination. That “the uninsured” receive “coverage” is only incidental. The newly conceived entity will more than likely not have to pay federal, state, or local income taxes, and may not have to pay a myriad of other taxes private companies must pay unless they wish to go out of business. This entity will often be in a position to use existing government-owned facilities instead of having to pay for its own. Some of its employees, overhead, and outside services may be charged to other sectors of the government. It may,...

Sgt. Kimberly Munley, 34, a civilian Department of Defense police officer at the base, is credited with stopping the firing rampage of U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan at the Soldier Readiness Center within a few minutes after he launched his attack. Munley, described by neighbor Brooke Beato, as "very petite, with long blonde hair and a strong personality," was credited by base officials with preventing further carnage by aggressively engaging Hasan as he shot at her. She rounded a corner, took aim at Hasan and brought him down, officials said. "It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this...

Add another conservative activist to the ranks of people blaming the Ft. Hood massacre on Islam. Here’s Gary Bauer, in his end-of-day email sent to supporters, arguing that while some Muslims are all well and good, “there are also ’sleeper cells’ or ’sleeper individuals’ who are jihadist ticking time bombs inside our own ranks.” Whole letter after the jump. Jihad at Fort Hood Every American this morning should be outraged not only about the murderous rampage against U.S. soldiers in Ft. Hood, Texas, by Major Nidal M. Hasan, but also by the sickening effort of Big Media, and even some...

My first thread so please forgive if I've done this wrong. I'm not an activist but feel so passionately about what Democrats (and some Rhinos) are doing concerning healthcare and Cap and trade bills I'm about to become an activist. I'd like to keep track of who's supporting and who's on the fence over these bills. I intend to campaign for their opponents if they cave.

“Shock” and “horror” are the words being used to describe the massacre at Fort Hood by Major Nidal Malik Hasan. But while the events were “horrible,” they should have come as a “shock” to no one — at least if by “shock” they mean “surprised that Hasan would turn so violent.” Hasan was a devout Muslim who, prior to his transfer to the Texas base, attended a conservative mosque on a daily basis and was known by associates to occasionally rant about U.S. involvement in the War on Terror. Press accounts also claim that Hasan had at one time been...

A Muslim leader says the Army psychiatrist suspected of going on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood asked him for advice on what he should tell soldiers who had concerns about going to fight Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. Osman Danquah is the co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen. He says he had a bad feeling about Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan after the two talked twice in late summer. Danquah says Hasan never mentioned any anger toward the Army or indicated any plans for violence but seemed incoherent during their second conversation. Danquah says he told Hasan that...

In the protracted Washington debate over the war in Afghanistan, the most concise analysis so far has come from America’s top soldier: “If we don’t get a level of legitimacy and governance (there), then all the troops in the world aren’t going to make any difference.”Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was speaking two days after Hamid Karzai was declared the winner, by default, in August elections so massively rigged that a U.N.-backed electoral complaints committee threw out about a million Karzai votes. That forced a run-off from which his challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah...

A cousin of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan said that he began a stricter practice of Islam after his mother died nine years ago, observing the five daily prayers and taking other aspects of the faith more seriously after a loss that affected him deeply. "He became religious after the death of his mother. Before that he was more secular," said Mohammed Mounif Hasan. But "the idea that because he was a Muslim and there was pressure on him and because of the harassment, I don't think that is enough of an excuse," for what happened, Hasan said. "People are deeply...

State District Name Rating Phone Party Blue Dog 1st Term  Pennsylvania  4th   Jason Altmire R+6 225-2565 D Yes    New York  24th   Michael A. Arcuri R+2 225-3665 D Yes    Washington  3rd   Brian Baird EVEN 225-3536 D      Georgia  12th   John Barrow D+1 225-2823 D      Arkansas  1st   Marion Berry R+8 225-4076 D Yes    Georgia  2nd   Sanford D. Bishop Jr. D+1 225-3631 D Yes    New York  1st   Timothy Bishop EVEN 225-3826 D      Ohio  16th   John A. Boccieri R+4 225-3876 D      Oklahoma  2nd   Dan Boren R+14 225-2701 D Yes    Iowa  3rd ...

WASHINGTON, DC - C-SPAN is carrying live the debate on socialized health care in the United States House of Representatives live. Members of Congress have had their phone lines flooded all week as opposition by the American people has mounted. Most of the Democrat members from North Carolina phone lines have either been busy or, once a caller gets the voice mail message, the caller gets a message that their voice mailbox is full and cannot receive any messages. Rep. John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, has taken over chairing the House as debate becomes contentious as the Democratic leadership tries...

Often when there is a mass shooting, people who knew the gunman find themselves wondering what warning signs they might have missed. So it is in the case of Maj. Nidal Hasan, a 12-year veteran in the U.S. Army, a native-born American, a trained and practicing psychiatrist — and the man authorities say opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood. Those who look for a ready explanation for the murderous rampage at Fort Hood can choose between two broad narratives: Maybe it had to do with the travails of an Army psychiatrist, dealing with soldiers who had been traumatized,...

How bad is it?

AL-BIREH, West Bank, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The grandfather of a U.S. Army psychiatrist accused of shooting dead 13 people and wounding 30 others at a base in Texas said on Saturday he found it impossible to believe his grandson had committed the act. "He is a doctor and loves the U.S." Ismail Mustafa Hamad told Reuters in an interview at his home in the Palestinian town of al-Bireh. "America made him what he is." "Whether he became angry or something else, I don't know... What I do know is that it is impossible that he would do something like...

Ever since Obama became a serious candidate for the Democrat ticket in “08”, we have been deluged with various groups of people in America treating Obama like a celebrity. This is nothing new for Americans, after all we have seen different segments of our society display signs of idol worship for many celebrities from rock stars like Elvis Presley to sports heroes like Michael Jordan. However, we have never experienced the type of sycophantic worship for a politician like we see from the left for Obama. Oh sure the nation came together and cried when JFK was assassinated, but...

Rather than post the entire foolish set of BS, here are the outlines--- and the outright lies "Passage of health-care reform will be defining moment for US" By U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Special to the Arizona Daily Star: Published: 11.06.2009 It was 45 years ago that Congress passed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 — a historic measure that for the first time outlawed all racial segregation in schools, public places and employment. We are poised to make another historic decision that for the first time would guarantee access to health care for all Americans. NO, It will guarantee...

The uncle says Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was a sensitive man haunted by the wartime disabilities of soldiers he treated. The Army psychiatrist was not political, his relatives in the West Bank say. Hamad described his nephew as a gentle soul who once, as a young adult, mourned for three months after rolling over during a nap and crushing his pet parakeet. During medical school, the uncle said, Hasan switched his major to psychiatry after fainting at the sight of blood while delivering a baby. The young man became more religious after the death of his parents, who were Muslims...

What would you not want to happen if you were pushing legal-marijuana legislation? Oh I don’t know, maybe you wouldn’t want the fact that you were present when your boyfriend was arrested for possession of marijuana come out? That’s exactly what Rep. Barney Frank is going through right now; Frank is pushing the passage of legalized medical marijuana and now it comes out that Barney Frank was at his boyfriend’s house in 2007 when the man was arrested for possession. According to a report out of Boston, Barney Frank was present when his boyfriend, James Ready was arrested for marijuana...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 31% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-eight percent (38%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -7. That's the President's best daily rating in just over three weeks

The Treasury recently reported that the federal government recorded a total budget deficit of $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2009, about $960 billion more than the deficit incurred in 2008. CBO notes, in its latest Monthly Budget Review, that the federal deficit rose as a share of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) from 3.1 percent in 2008 to 9.9 percent in 2009—the highest deficit as a share of GDP since 1945.As shown in the figure below, federal spending and receipts diverged dramatically in 2009, reflecting the weakening economy and the federal response. The increase in the deficit of...

"Or worse: When Sarah Palin's memoir, "Going Rogue," hits bookstores later this month, will the ideologically impure be required to read -- and commit to memory -- every golden word? Her publisher might consider culling the highlights into a pocket edition. That way, any Republican caught without a copy of "Quotations From Chairman Sarah" could be summarily expelled from the party." As a fan of The Boxcar Children series, let’s dub this one The Case of the Pol Pot Calling the Kettle a Communist. Let the record show that Eugene Robinson has a way with words, although what way that...

MUCH OF the criticism of the health-care measure before the House of Representatives is overwrought. Another part is simply wrong. Unfortunately, that does not mean that this is a good bill. As we have said, it does not do enough to control costs, and it is not funded in a sustainable way... As an example of the hyperbole, take the ludicrous assertion by Minority Leader John A. Boehner that the Democratic measure "is the greatest threat to freedom that I've seen in the 19 years I've been in Washington." Come on. The proposal has been endorsed by the American Medical...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 31% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-eight percent (38%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -7. That's the President's best daily rating in just over three weeks. ***** Overall, 49% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Fifty percent (50%) disapprove. Rasmussen Reports also compiles the Presidential Approval data on a month-by-month basis which shows that the President's ratings slipped a bit in October after stabilizing in...

(For the law made nothing perfect), and a better HOPE is introduced, by which we draw near to God. Heb 7:18 Another 13 heroes sacrificed at the alter of Liberalism. Rather than noticing the obvious truth that they had a potential terrorist in their midst, the PC nazis allowed him to freely hate and kill our soldiers. The PC thugs are now trying to hide the real villian in this tragedy which is Islamo-terrorism. No, its easier to just let Americans keep getting killed by moderate Mooselips than pointing out that they represent a threat to our society and why....

The 177 Republicans in the House of Representatives plan to unanimously oppose health-care legislation that would constitute the biggest expansion of insurance to Americans in decades, illustrating the huge divide that remains between the two parties on key issues and setting up a major debate in next year's elections. The universal opposition to the health-care bill, which Congress could vote on as soon as Saturday, was long expected, but Republican wins in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races on Tuesday further emboldened the GOP... If all Republicans vote no on the health reform bill, it would mean not a...

MIDI - SOUND OF SILENCE Hello Christians, hello Jews...it is a war we didn't choose Suicide bombs are exploding...who is doing it's worth noting Look around you...you can hear the sounds crushing dreams...children scream It is the sound of Islam They claim that peace is what they seek...in the Koran just take a peek Women must learn subjugation...that's the path to their salvation Look around you...you can hear the sounds crushing dreams...children scream It is the sound of Islam Wake up before it is too late...it's a cult that's filled with hate Can you recognize perversion?...you must choose death...

Neither Barack Obama nor Nancy Pelosi can be as clueless as they want us to think they are. The White House said the president was so uninterested in the results on election night that he watched a documentary on the '08 presidential campaign, no doubt eager to see who won. Mzz Pelosi, as oblivious of the scoreboard as a ditzy cheerleader unaware of which team has the ball, insists her side won the night. Mr. Obama continues to campaign for the job the rest of us thought we gave him a year ago. The day after the Republicans sent wake-up...

Our nation was founded by men of high honor, Fighters for freedom from abusers of power, We're now run by people who lie, steal and more, And that's why we all have to show them the door. Throw the bums out, just throw the bums out Kick 'em in the can and throw the bums out They lie about justice, they lie about sex, They lie about health care and say it's a mess, They lie about freedom, they lie about war And that's why we all have to show them the door. Throw the bums out, just throw the...

Any judgment of Barack Obama’s presidency based on a handful of off-year races is overstating the case. Trying to decipher the real meaning is something like reading tea leaves, and just as reliable. Still, they are clues and warnings, at least, for the national parties. My reading of the leaves: independents flexed their muscle and gave Obama a warning, passing health care reform is going to be a little harder but still in the cards, and New York voters deepened the Republican identity crisis. You could say this was in a part the opening blow of Obama vs. Sarah Palin...

To this day I remain baffled and somewhat dumbstruck by the complacency of the public, the mainstream media, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court for their willingness to dismiss challenges to President Barack Obama's (aka Barry Soetoro) natural born U.S. citizen status. Yes, the election is over, and yes, I acknowledge that nothing likely will ever come of this, but it astounds me that we are in month nine of Obama, yet his eligibility to serve as president remains unresolved. The majority of challenges to Obama's natural-born status revolve around the fact he has refused to release his original, long-form,...

House Democrats have cleared an impasse over abortion that has been holding up a vote on sweeping health care legislation. A vote is expected on Saturday — after President Barack Obama makes a late morning trip to the Capitol to make one final pitch for the legislation. According to Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, he and other abortion opponents will be given a chance to insert tougher abortion restrictions into the legislation during debate on the House floor.

GOUVERNEUR, NY - Congressman-elect Bill Owens was sworn in at noon today. Owens indicated in a press release released shortly afterwards that he was now in favor of the the "Affordable Healthcare for America Act" bill in direct contrast to his earlier position during the election campaign. According to Politico.com, Mr. Owens assured voters that he felt the public option had no place in the health care reform bill. Contrary to that position, Mr. Owens now indicates that he intends to vote in favor of the bill even though it now contains a public option. UPDATED: A spokesman for Congressman...

I know you’re not going to believe this, but remember that recently released partial list of White House visitors? SEIU’s Andy Stern at 22 visits must have moved into the Lincoln Bedroom. Movie stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt (if this were still the Clinton White House, it would have been Jennifer Anniston and Angie Jolie); Oprah; GE and NBC’s Jeff Imelt; phony anti-capitalist capitalist, Michael Moore; patriot short-seller and Israel-hater and what many think is to Obama what Cheney was to Bush, George Soros. My phone rang at 3 a.m. Wednesday. Groggily answering, I heard Hillary’s scratchy voice. She...

New Yorks archbishop has got the score only half-right. Bigotry is alive and well -- and it goes far beyond the Catholic Church. When Comptroller and failed mayoral candidate Bill Thompson this week heard a slur spat against Jews on a radio show, his reaction rang out loud and clear into the wilderness: He greeted the bigoted caller with total silence. When actress and social nitwit Janeane Garofalo was asked about tax protesters, she slimed thousands of white Americans as racist "rednecks" -- with brain damage. Again, the reaction was plain: Near total silence.

First thought on Tuesday's elections: There's a lot of firing going on in America, and now that includes politicians. Seems only fair and will likely continue. I don't think voters in New Jersey and Virginia were saying, "Oh the Democrats are awful, and we hate them," nor were they saying, "Republicans are wonderful, and we love them." The voters were being practical, and thinking policy: "Will he raise my taxes?" In Jersey, they fired the incumbent governor because they couldn't imagine the state getting off its current trajectory (high unemployment, high taxes, high spending) with him there. And they're certain...

Democratic leaders trying to preserve a high-stakes Saturday vote on a House health reform bill battled a swift current of rank-and-file defections Friday as the White House swung into action to help corral the final votes. But progress was slower than expected – as a bad jobs number Friday with unemployment eclipsing 10 percent, and Tuesday’s election losses making that job harder. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and a number of top aides – including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan — called wavering members.Democratic officials said their count of hard...

The Washington Post this afternoon reported "President Obama delivers remarks on Ft. Hood shooting at end of tribal leaders conference." The transcript begins: SPEAKER: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA [*] OBAMA: Please, everybody, have a seat. Let me first of all just thank Ken and the entire Department of the Interior staff for organizing just an extraordinary conference. I want to thank my Cabinet members and senior administration officials who participated today. I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow (ph) was around, and so I want to give a shout out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It's good to see...

In his eagerness to please international opinion, President Obama has taken a small but significant step toward censoring free speech. It was nice to hear Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton say on October 26, "I strongly disagree" with Islamic countries seeking to censor free speech worldwide by making defamation of religion a crime under international law. But watch what the Obama administration does, not just what it says. I'm not talking about its attacks on Fox News. I'm talking about a little-publicized October 2 resolution in which Clinton's own State Department joined Islamic nations in adopting language all-too-friendly to...

Liberals and conservatives each have their own intellectual food chains. They have their own think tanks to provide arguments, politicians and pundits to amplify them, and news media outlets to deliver streams of prejudice-affirming stories. David Brooks Go to Columnist Page » The Conversation David Brooks and Gail Collins talk between columns. All Conversations » Readers' Comments Readers shared their thoughts on this article. Read All Comments (316) » Independents, who are the largest group in the electorate, don’t have any of this. They don’t have institutional affiliations. They don’t look to certain activist lobbies for guidance. There aren’t many...

On November 3, the fairy tale died. The election results in Virginia and New Jersey dismantled the self-satisfied, just-so story that Democrats have been telling themselves about last year’s election. The story goes like this: In 2008, Americans voted for change not just in the nation’s leadership, but in its fundamental political orientation. They wanted a shift to the left not seen since 1932. The nation’s political map had been utterly transformed. Barack Obama owned the suburbs and independents, and laid claim to formerly secure Republican states. An outdated GOP had been reduced to a rejectionist husk clinging to rural...

Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, comments on Maine´s victorious Question 1, which repealed a legislative act legalizing gay ´marriage´ in the state.

OK, here's what should be the nail in the coffin for conservative claims that ACORN is poised to steal the New Jersey governor's race through rampant voter fraud. Brian Kettenring, an ACORN spokesman, tells TPMmuckraker that the much-maligned group has conducted absolutely no political or voter registration activity in the state during the 2009 cycle. And Kettenring added that ACORN had done very little such work during the 2008 cycle. In a column published yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, John Fund sounded the alarm about the threat from ACORN -- but a close look reveals that even here he...

Romney, Huckabee, and Pawlenty must be thrilled. Gridiron Club President Dick Cooper told club members earlier this afternoon that Palin accepted an invitation to speak at the black-tie affair, according to a member of the club’s executive committee. Meg Stapleton, a spokeswoman for Palin, confirmed that Palin planned to address the dinner in an e-mail to POLITICO: “The Governor was honored to accept the invitation.” Also speaking at the dinner will be Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), whom the club invited to represent his party at the event. The dinner’s December 5th, which makes this even more of a no-brainer than...

Where is the loyalty of the RINOs?  Arlen Specter joins the Democrats.  Colin Powell endorses the Democrat.  Dierdre Scozzafava endorses the Democrat.  I'm not opposed to the Democratic Party out of some sense of style or family history.  I'm opposed to the Democrats because I think they are wrong.  I think the Democrats are wrong in their basic view on the role of government and my place in society as a citizen.  The government isn't there to solve all my problems. I changed my political affiliation to independent ten years ago.  Not because the Republican Party was too far to...

Iran Refuses To Send Enriched Uranium Abroad by Jay Deshmukh TEHRAN (AFP) – Iran is refusing to send its low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing, the influential head of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee was quoted as saying on Saturday. "We do not want to give part of our 1,200 kilos of enriched uranium in order to receive fuel of 20 percent enrichment," Alaeddin Borujerdi told the ISNA news agency. "This option of giving our enriched uranium gradually or in one go is over now. We are studying how to procure fuel and (Ali Asghar) Soltanieh is negotiating...

The charge that State Assemblyman Churck DeVore is making; “don’t be fooled again”. California has its own Dede Scozzafava in the GOP’s newest candidate, Carly Fiorina. On Thursday afternoon I spoke with Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, candidate for US Senate himself. A day after Carly Fiorina’s launch into the primary race, DeVore reiterated his charge that she is a moderate, a centrist, and a pragmatic individual – who has waffled on major issues and decided that voting is something beneath her. DeVore is ready to rumble; he made clear his charges that Carly Fiorina is a close proximity to New York’s...

A new book reveals for the first time the drama that unfolded on election night 2008, when McCain campaign staff battled Sarah Palin over a concession speech she planned to deliver. An excerpt published in The Daily Beast includes both the victory and concession speeches Palin had prepared to give, depending on the election outcome. The McCain campaign insisted several times that she not give the speech, and even turned the lights out on her while she and her family took pictures, fearing that she would speak anyway. The revelations offer little for those looking for more inside dirt on...

On Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, the day after the Elections, in which the GOP took both State Houses in VA and NJ, 7 top elected Hardin County, TX officials held a joint news conference, and all 7 switched from the Democratic Party to the GOP. Could this be the beginning of a "movement" ?