Free Republic

The Obama administration is firing back at Sen. Jon Kyl for calling for an end to economic stimulus spending, and it's aiming where it hurts the most — at home in Arizona.

Today, the Tennessee State Senate approved Senate Bill 1610 (SB1610), the Tennesse Firearms Freedom Act, by a vote of 22-7. The House companion bill, HB1796 previously passed the House by a vote of 87-1.On its way to the Governor’s desk, the bill states that “federal laws and regulations do not apply to personal firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition that is manufactured in Tennessee and remains in Tennessee. The limitation on federal law and regulation stated in this bill applies to a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured using basic materials and that can be manufactured without the...

If you’ve been near a television set in the last few days you’ve probably seen the video of that police officer kicking a man in the head at the end of a high-speed car chase here in the Los Angeles area. I watched the incident on the news last night, and my initial reaction was: “Uh oh.” Thursday’s chase began when officers in El Monte, Calif., spotted a Toyota Camry with three men inside, men they quite reasonably (and as it turned out, accurately) took to be gang members. Camrys are among the most commonly stolen cars in Southern California,...

Developing story out of the NYT. The Treasury Department is preparing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing for Chrysler that could come as soon as next week, people with direct knowledge of the action said Thursday. The Treasury has an agreement in principle with the United Automobile Workers union, whose members’ pensions and retiree health care benefits would be protected as a condition of the bankruptcy filing, said these people, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. The only major question that remains unresolved is what happens to Chrysler’s lenders, who hold $6.9 billion in...

The men who donned Indian costumes and took part in the original Boston Tea party weren’t a bunch of un-serious boobs performing for the media. They were committing an act compelled by their real, honest-to-God human condition. Like the people of Europe and beyond, with independence burning in their souls, determined to escape the shackles of slavery and tyranny, daring to take on an unknown world for their driving instincts to practice the religion of their choice, freely speak their minds, keep and bear arms and pursue their own happiness, the original Tea Party participants needed to make it crystal...

Ahmadinejad to West: You Are Weak, Your Hands Are Empty, And You Can't Force Us to Do Anything; Nearly 7,000 Centrifuges Are Spinning Today at Natanz, Mocking You In an April 15, 2009 speech in Kerman, Iran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran was working diligently to draw up a new proposals package, to be presented soon to the West. He said that this package would assure peace and justice for the nations, and that it must be the basis for any dialogue between Iran and the West. In response to U.S. President Barack Obama's "outstretched hand," as he...

Report: Jane Harman recorded vowing take action for AIPAC on wiretap @ 9:33 am by Jeremy P. Jacobs Congresswoman Jane Harman was recorded on a NSA wiretapped conversation agreeing to work to downgrade espionage charges against two officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in return for help securing the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee, according to Jeff Stein's anonymously sourced column in Congressional Quarterly. Harman, a California Democrat, was allegedly recorded in a conversation with a suspected Israeli agent. The conversation reportedly took place before the 2006 election, when Democrats seized control of the chamber and, therefore,...

House Judiciary Committee chairman, democrat John Conyers Jr of Michigan, and HJC member, Maxine Waters, have each given their endorsements to the Revolutionary Communist Party movement/organization, "World Can't Wait--Drive Out the Bush Regime" (they'll probably be dropping the "Drive Out the Bush Regime" portion of their name soon). In fact, Conyers even gave a speech to the group. The RCP calls for an armed communist overthrow of the United States. Click on the WCW link just below and see: "Endorsers of the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime Include". Conyers' endorsement appears right after Ward Churchill's. Al Sharpton's, Maxine...

Hasner shrugs off CAIR slam The Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling on House Majority Leader Adam Hasner to disassociate himself from a "free speech summit" he's helping host that features, among others, a controversial Dutch politician, Geert Wilders, often criticized for extremism and being anti-Islam. Wilders has likened the Koran to Mein Kampf. “If Rep. Hasner truly wishes to represent Florida’s diverse religious and ethnic population, he should immediately disassociate himself and the state Legislature from this motley collection of Islamophobes and Muslim-bashers,” CAIR-South Florida Executive Director Altaf Ali said of Wilders and others involved in the event. Hasner...

‘Surgical’ Bankruptcy Possible for G.M. By MICHELINE MAYNARD and MICHAEL J. de la MERCED Published: April 12, 2009 DETROIT — The Treasury Department is directing General Motors to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by a June 1 deadline, despite G.M.’s public contention that it could still reorganize outside court, people with knowledge of the plans said during the weekend. The G.M. tower in Detroit. One possible plan would put “good” assets in a new company and leave the rest in the old company. Members of President Obama’s automotive task force spent last week in meetings and on conference...

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. - It has been nearly 20 years since Somalia last had a functioning government. Islamic jihadists now control most of the country-and sharia is the law of the land. Tens of thousands of Somali refugees have resettled in America in recent years to escape the chaos of their homeland, which is located in the Horn of Africa. But the transition isn't going smoothly in one small town. At first glance, Shelbyville is your typical sleepy southern hamlet. It's nestled in middle Tennessee, where the walking horse is king. There's Main St., the local sheriff, a movie theatre. It's...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F - News) has reduced its automotive debt by 38 percent, or $9.9 billion, part of a series of moves to bolster its finances amid a deep industry downturn, sending its shares up more than 11 percent. The debt reduction, which Ford estimates will trim its annual cash interest expense by more than $500 million, is the latest evidence that Ford is powering ahead of domestic rivals General Motors Corp (NYSE:GM - News) and Chrysler in restructuring to survive the lowest U.S. auto sales in three decades. Ford, the only U.S. automaker that has...

    RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who was the first to elevate the 20th CD race to a contest of national importance by declaring it a must-win for the Republican Party, just issued the following statement on last night's cliffhanger:"With over 5,000 absentee and military ballots still left to count, this race is far from over. We are confident that the Republican advantage in these absentee and military ballots can put Jim Tedisco over the top, and the Republican Party will do everything in its power to make sure all lawful votes are counted.” ”We are proud of Jim Tedisco...

IF AVIGDOR LIEBERMAN'S first speech as Israel's new foreign minister did nothing else, it certainly vexed the media. The Associated Press called it a "scathing critique of Mideast peace efforts" that had diplomats "cringing," while other reports said Lieberman had "dropped a political bombshell," "sparked an uproar," "repudiated a key accord," and "reinforced fears." The New York Times pronounced Lieberman's remarks "blunt and belligerent," describing the foreign minister as a "hawkish nationalist" who is "not known for diplomacy" and heads an "ultranationalist" party that is "seen by many as racist." Headlines summed up Lieberman's debut as an attack on peacemaking:...

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is firing back at his critics, calling recent attacks on him and his family “laughable,” and warning that he isn’t shy about engaging in bare-knuckle combat with Democrats.

If you had bought $1,000 worth of General Motors stock in 2000, your holdings would now be worth less than $40, for a loss of 96 percent. You could have made worse investments in that period -- with Bernard Madoff, for one -- but not many. So anyone looking to participate in a viable business would look a lot of other places before they would look there. But the United States government thinks GM might just be a really smart place to put its money. In its final weeks, the Bush administration lent the automaker $13.4 billion, along with $4...

An aide to U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd dismissed as "old news" a report Monday that said the Connecticut Democrat collected more than $160,000 from American International Group employees and their spouses after a top executive urged employees to give. The Washington Times reported that in a November 2006 e-mail, the head of the troubled Financial Products unit told employees that Dodd was "next in line" to chair the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, where he would "have the opportunity to set the committee's agenda on issues critical to the financial services industry."

Here’s a quick and dirty guess: Upper-middle-class families in blue states–those President Obama calls “the rich”–will soon be paying 20% more a year in state and federal taxes. If you pay $100,000 off of a $300,000 income now, look for $120,000 in a couple of years. California spends more than it takes. The state is on the verge of bankruptcy and just passed a budget with $12 billion of new taxes. The trend of higher taxes has not escaped California taxpayers. For each of the last five years, California has led the nation in the outflow of its residents to...

Listening to Hugh Hewitt's third hour of Friday March 20, 2009, and he was interviewing California Assemblyman Chuck Devore who is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Barbara Boxer. I don't live in California, and I don't know Chuck Devore, but I appreciate anyone who is willing to put themselves up to unseat some of these entrenched leftists. According to Devore, she's vulnerable. Anyone have a California list (or any other like minded list), please ping them to visit his website: Chuck Devore for United States Senate 2010 Also, it looks like he posted once on FR...

A top executive of a Wall Street firm that had received federal bailout money was among the donors who contributed to President Obama's 2010 Senate re-election campaign after he resigned his Illinois seat, the Washington Times reported. Bruce A. Heyman, managing director at Goldman Sachs, which received a $10 billion bailout last year, donated a maximum $2,300 to the Obama 2010 fund the day after Christmas, the newspaper reported. In all, the fund received four contributions totaling $4,800 on Dec. 26, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

No. 10: Michigan Michigan is home to two of the most dangerous cities in America, according to the 2008 CQ Press city rankings. Detroit ranks third and Flint ranks sixth. No. 9: Maryland Hugging the nation's high-crime capital, struggling to revitalize Baltimore and growing its gambling industry, Maryland has the second-highest murder and robbery rate. No. 8: Arizona Things are looking brighter in Arizona! Last year it made the top five most dangerous states, now it's down a few notches at No. 8. No. 7: Alaska Alaska is plagued with having the highest number of rape cases. There could be...

The political leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, has credited US President Barack Obama with using a "new language" for the Middle East. Speaking to an Italian newspaper Mr Meshaal also said that an official opening to his Palestinian Islamist movement was only "a matter of time". The interview was published three days after President Obama called for a "new beginning" in relations with Iran.

On the 7th March a group of Pro-Palestinian supporters wearing 'Boycott Israel' T-Shirts entered a French supermarket and started to remove all goods supplied by Israel. Where were the police?

Recently, there has been legislation introduced in the House. HR 875, introduced by Rosa De Lauro, D-Conn, would require every person in the United States who grows food OF ANY KIND to register with the government and follow any and all needful regulations they dream up. http://educate-yourself.org/cn/HR875andS425organicfarmingban13mar09.shtml So guess who the beaches husband works for. Is it Chuckee Cheese? Greyhound? Kodak? Hell, no, her husband works for Monsanto, one of the leading groups pushing towards genetically modded seeds (and the lucrative patents that go with it). Come on folks. Haven't you had enuff yet? This is way, way, way beyond...

<p>A federal appeals court on Friday ordered a judge to reconsider her refusal to block portions of a clean-truck program at the nation's busiest port complex.</p> <p>In an opinion that dismayed environmentalists and labor leaders, the three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals based in San Francisco ruled that U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder should grant all or part of the American Trucking Assn.'s request for an injunction halting the implementation of new rules that apply to truck drivers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.</p>

Video on link.

Honored with Public Service Award, bloggers erupt in outrage The U.S. Navy awarded U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., its Distinguished Public Service Award, triggering an Internet campaign to have Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter withdraw it. Murtha, who publicly accused U.S. Marines of cold-blooded murder in a firefight in Haditha, Iraq, and was caught on camera in the Abscam scandal appearing to negotiate a bribe, was honored by the Navy for his "selfless devotion to the Nation's Sailors and Marines." The award credits him with making sure the military services "were provided the resources necessary to effectively conduct the...

Gov. Deval Patrick’s ratings appear to have taken a serious nosedive following months of tax hike announcements, but one politico said the new SurveyUSA poll might not be reliable. Roughly 68 percent of the 600 people questioned in the poll say they are dissatisfied with Patrick’s job as governor. That’s up 21 points from a poll in January. “I think the poll vastly exaggerates the level of dissatisfaction with Gov. Patrick,” said Tufts political professor Jeff Berry. “SurveyUSA polls are very primitive and you’d have to do a lot more searching questions to really accurately access the level of support.”...

Four states — California, South Carolina, Michigan and Rhode Island — registered unemployment rates above 10 percent in January.

SITTING in the back seat of his mother’s van as she drives through Atlanta suburbs, Jonathan Krohn is about to sign off with a conservative radio talk show host in Florida. In the 40 minutes he’s been on the air, with the help of his mother’s cellphone, this hyper-articulate Georgia eighth grader has attacked the stimulus bill, identified leaders he thinks will salvage the Republican Party’s image, and assessed the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s birth certificate. The show’s host chuckles and asks whether President Obama has called Jonathan “a little fascist.” “The president hasn’t come after me yet,” Jonathan says...

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) does not have the fall-back option of running as an independent should he lose his 2010 primary election, giving the senior lawmaker strong incentive to abandon his party this year. Specter faces an extremely difficult primary race against former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), the conservative firebrand who lost his bid to oust Specter from his seat in the 2004 GOP primary by a mere 17,000 votes (out of more than a million cast).

The Illinois High School Association is being challenged on a policy that bans Christian schools from offering a prayer or any religious message over their public address systems when they host association events on their own property. "It is blatantly unconstitutional for public school officials to come into private schools and enforce a policy prohibiting them from expressing what's central to their religious beliefs," said David Cortman, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, or ADF. The ADF wrote this week to association chief Marty Hickman after several private schools complained about the new restrictions. WND left a message...

Three Texas military commanders are being removed from top positions following allegations that they received paychecks from the state and federal government for work done at the same time, according to a report by KHOU-TV in Houston. Gov. Rick Perry is removing Gens. John Furlow, commander of the Texas Army National Guard, and Allen Dehnert, who commands the Texas Air National Guard, the television station reported Thursday. The top commander of the Texas Military Forces, Adjutant Gen. Charles Rodriguez, is also being replaced.

Almost 50 mansions built on spec for the hedge-fund set - and priced from $5 million to upwards of $25 million - sit empty in Greenwich, Conn., where the real-estate market has tanked. "They're going nowhere. Nothing's selling," said Christopher Fountain, who writes a blog called "For What It's Worth" about the Greenwich real-estate scene. Those who still have cash can find spectacular, never-occupied estates in move-in condition, complete with wine cellars for their Bordeaux and Sub-Zero refrigerators for their caviar, including: * A 22,185-square-foot Georgian mansion on 4.8 acres off prestigious Round Hill Road with eight bedrooms, elevator, butler's...

Former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) will challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in a primary for the second straight cycle, according to Pennsylvania GOP sources. The Allentown Morning Call reported Thursday that two friends of Toomey’s have said the Club for Growth chief has decided to enter the race. Toomey narrowly lost to Specter in a 2004 primary by less than 1 percent and recently said he was considering another run. The paper quotes Richard Thulin, leader of the Lehigh Valley Republican Network, saying in an e-mail to supporters that "Pat's formal announcement will be forthcoming. "Interesting news," he wrote. "Pat Toomey...

Cornyn: Fla. Senate race 'open field' By POLITICO STAFF | 2/9/09 4:25 AM EST  Pressure Mounts On GOP Supporters The three Senate Republicans who say they’ll support the $827 billion economic recovery plan are facing pressure from both sides of the debate. A group of stimulus opponents led by Free­Republic.com founder Jim Robinson and Move America Forward chairwoman Melanie Morgan plans to protest outside the office of Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) at 10 a.m. Monday before moving on to the offices of Maine Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. Meanwhile, the group Americans United for Change is running...