Free Republic

Senate Confirms Surgeon GeneralBy Kate Phillips October 29, 2009, 8:46 pm After much agitation earlier in the day, the Senate voted to confirm Dr. Regina Benjamin as the nation’s surgeon general on Thursday night amid a national emergency over the swine flu outbreak. The Senate approved her on a voice vote. On Thursday morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, had taken to the floor to complain that her nomination, along with others, had been held up. Republicans had stalled her confirmation over another issue, the so-called gag order imposed on insurance companies about whether they could inform...

As American colonists battled for independence, Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne captured a British fort in New York at midnight, earning a reputation as a brilliant strategist in the chaos of battle. George Washington rode on horseback to congratulate him in person. Soldiers who noticed his reckless bravery gave him his nickname. Later, the fiery leader trained a fearsome army outside of Pittsburgh in 1792, conquered the Indians and negotiated a treaty with them so the Northwest Territory could be settled.*** After he died at age 51 from an attack of gout, his body rested for 12 years in an oak...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2009 – Violence in Iraq has dropped to the lowest levels seen since 2003 as the Iraqi people prepare to vote in new legislative and general elections slated for January, a senior U.S. military officer said here today. “I’m encouraged now that violence is at an all-time low; that the levels are down to where they were in 2003,” Army Brig. Gen. Stephen R. Lanza, Multinational Force Iraq’s deputy chief of staff for strategic effects, told reporters during a news briefing at the Washington Foreign Press Center. The reduced violence in Iraq today, Lanza said, indicates “continued...

You fell in love with that $22,000 Chevy Malibu because of its color, style and price. After driving it home, you realize it's not what you wanted. Maybe it's the way it handles on the highway, the location of the cup holders or the shape of the seats. Don't worry. Bring it back for a refund, no questions asked, says GM's Chairman and new TV pitchman Edward Whitacre Jr.

Regina Benjamin, the youngest doctor and first black woman admitted to the American Medical Association, is President Obama's pick to be surgeon general. ------ snip ------

(CNSNews.com) – At a Senate hearing Tuesday on the use of military commissions to prosecute terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay, some members of the Armed Services Committee took offense at the Obama administration’s view that the detainees should have the same legal protections under the Constitution as U.S. citizens. Ranking member Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) questioned Assistant Attorney General David Kris about his remarks on the appropriateness of administering the Miranda warning to terrorist suspects captured abroad. "It is the administration's view that there is a serious risk that courts would hold that admission of involuntary statements of the...

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2009 – Iraqi officials are learning to accept modern inspectors general in their government, and the coalition-backed investigative program is ready to stand on its own, a senior leader in that effort said. Marine Corps Col. Robert Schroeder, inspector general special staff assistant to the commander of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, spoke with bloggers and online journalists during a June 30 “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable about the support his office provides. The command has dedicated IG advisors to Iraq’s ministries of Defense and Interior, Joint Headquarters Staff and Counter-terrorism Bureau, Schroeder said. “Each of the advisors and...

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2009 – A former commander of the District of Columbia National Guard and his wife were among the nine people killed in the June 22 collision of two Metro subway trains here, officials announced yesterday. Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr. and his wife, Ann, were among nine people killed in a train collision on Washington D.C.'s Metro subway system June 22, 2009. The general commanded the District of Columbia National Guard for five years. Photo courtesy of the District of Columbia National Guard   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Retired Air Force...

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2009 – The inspector general who tracks Afghanistan reconstruction has sent out a call for help in stamping out fraud, mismanagement and waste of U.S. appropriated reconstruction funds. Arnold Fields, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said that without help from people involved in the process, millions of taxpayer dollars could be wasted. “Weak oversight means we are open to wasting valuable taxpayer dollars, as has reportedly happened in Iraq.” Fields said. “We need the help of those on the front lines of U.S. funded reconstruction projects, including U.S. government employees, military servicemembers, contractors and the...

PETITION Senate and House to Investigate the firing of Inspector General Gerald Walpin. Sign the Petition at:gopetition.com/online/28746.html Americorp Inspector General Gerald Walpin was fired by President Obama after Walpin, through an investigation by his office, alleged that Americorp funds had been wrongfully spent by a friend and supporter of the President. The firing of Inspector General Walpin appears to be a clear violation of the 2008 Inspectors General Reform Act which President Obama supported while he was a Senator. The Act requires the President to give 30 days notice and an explanation of cause prior to firing an Inspector General....

Inspector Generals in this government are for one job, to work independently to ensure that the taxpayer is protected from government corruption and abuse. Not in Obama's government it seems. Three IG's have been fired in the last week and some pushback has started. First in this list is Gerald Walpin. He reported to Congress about the settlement of 400 grand paid by Obama cohort Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, St. HOPE academy (a pet of Johnson) and former executive director Dana Gonzalez. He reported that Johnson was not being required to repay all the money he misused AND he would...

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to a General at a hearing yesterday: "Do me a favor," she said. "Could say senator instead of Ma'am It's just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I'd appreciate it, thank you."

Illegal: Obama Fires Inspector General Who Investigated CronyJune 12, 2009 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: The inspector general of AmeriCorps has been fired. The inspector general... There are inspector generals for every federal agency, and they are not political, and they are there to investigate any malfeasance, any fraud, waste, theft, what have you. And they are not subject to -- theoretically they are not subject to -- political pressure. Firing one is a big deal. Firing an inspector general is a big deal. If you'll remember, Alberto Gonzales as attorney general fired a couple of US attorneys. He took hell for...

You Tube's Local Pstor is back at it. His newest clip had me laughing out loud at the song choice... Thanks to Morningstar madness we will soon see Todd and his new, young wife on a platform near you. ...

Dig this video, and share it with every patriotic American you know.

NEW YORK, April 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. Federal bankruptcy judge approved on Thursday a request by mall owner General Growth Properties Inc GGWPQ.PK to use cash collateral to fund business operations during its bankruptcy. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper, approved the request at the company's first day in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Judge Gropper said the company has told him it has $140 million in unencumbered cash in the bank that it wants to use to finance its operations during the bankruptcy, while it waits for approval of a debtor-in-posession (DIP) bankruptcy loan.

Army specialist Terry Holdbrooks had been a guard at Guantánamo for about six months the night he had his life-altering conversation with detainee 590, a Moroccan also known as "the General." This was early 2004, about halfway through Holdbrooks's stint at Guantánamo with the 463rd Military Police Company. Until then, he'd spent most of his day shifts just doing his duty. He'd escort prisoners to interrogations or walk up and down the cellblock making sure they weren't passing notes. But the midnight shifts were slow. "The only thing you really had to do was mop the center floor," he says....

Text of GM bondholder letter to White House panel (Reuters) - The following is the text of a letter sent by financial and legal advisers to GM bondholders on Sunday raising concern about General Motors Corp's (GM.N) debt restructuring talks to date. The letter was addressed to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, White House economic adviser Larry Summers and two other members of the U.S. autos task force: Steve Rattner and Ron Bloom, former investment bankers who have been advisers to the White House autos panel. "On behalf of the ad hoc committee of General Motors bondholders, we write today...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General Eric Holder signaled a change on medical marijuana policy Wednesday, saying federal agents will target marijuana distributors only when they violate both federal and state law. That would be a departure from the Bush administration, which targeted medical marijuana dispensaries in California even if they complied with that state's law

God’s mighty expanse by D. Russell HumphreysPublished: 26 February 2009(GMT+10) Psalm 150:1, the first verse of the last psalm, contains a phrase that has always intrigued me: … Praise Him in his mighty expanse. (NAS), or… praise him in the firmament of his power. (KJV) God made the expanse (firmament) on the second day and called it “heavens” (Genesis 1:8, plural from literal Hebrew). Later, on the fourth day, He populated the expanse with the sun, moon and stars (Genesis 1:14-19). So the expanse is not the heavenly bodies, but rather the space that contains the heavenly bodies. Normally people...

Barack Hussein Obama will propose a massive business tax on greenhouse gases in his FY 2010 federal budget to be presented this week.The massive tax increase and power grab was buried at the end on article on Obama's forthcoming budget proposal in The New York Times:On energy policy, Mr. Obama’s budget will show new revenues by 2012 from his proposal to require companies to buy permits from the government for greenhouse gas emissions above a certain cap. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the permits would raise up to $300 billion a year by 2020. Since companies would pass their...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Even with an additional 17,000 troops in Afghanistan, the top US commander there predicted "a tough year" in 2009 and warned that the situation would not be quickly turned around. General David McKiernan, who commands US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, spoke a day after President Barack Obama approved the deployment in the coming months of two additional combat brigades and support forces, about 17,000 troops in all. "Even with these additional forces, I have to tell you, 2009 is going to be a tough year," McKiernan told reporters at the Pentagon. "There are the baseline problems...

Green car rules give auto industry a new challenge WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama wants automakers to make greener cars at a time when General Motors and Chrysler are hanging by the thread of a massive government loan and auto sales have plummeted to their lowest levels in more than two decades. Obama's plans could bring smaller cars, more hybrids and advanced fuel-saving technologies to showrooms, but car shoppers will probably pay more upfront because the new rules are expected to cost the hamstrung industry billions of dollars. "The consumer needs to understand that they will see significant increases in...

I love this...All Liberals should be made to listen to this!!!

best or most unusual holiday greeting you gave or recieved

The Speech Given somewhere in England on June 5th, 1944 "Be seated." Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about America wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bullshit. Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self-respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real...

WASHINGTON (AP) — From its humble beginning 33 years ago at Fort Sill, Okla., the career of Ann E. Dunwoody is ascending to a peak never before reached by a woman in the U.S. military: four-star general. At a Pentagon promotion ceremony Friday, Dunwoody was adding a fourth star and later, at Fort Belvoir, Va., — her birthplace — being sworn in as commander of the Army Materiel Command, responsible for equipping, outfitting and arming all soldiers. Just five months ago, she became the first female deputy commander there.

Terror Linked Iranian in 'Kidnap' Puzzle March 05, 2007 New York Post Oran Dan JERUSALEM -- A retired Iranian general linked to the killing of five American soldiers in Baghdad vanished mysteriously in Istanbul last month, Israeli media reported yesterday. Arab newspapers are hinting the CIA and/or the Israeli spy agency Mossad are behind the disappearance of Gen. Ali Reza Askari, the reports said. Askari, a former deputy defense minister, arrived in Istanbul on a flight from Damascus on Feb. 7, left his luggage in his hotel room - and vanished. The missing general was in charge of Iranian undercover...

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that 300 retired generals and admirals from around the country are endorsing John McCain for president. The retired generals and admirals announced their support with the following letter: "We have had the honor and privilege of serving as career officers in the United States Armed Forces, and of serving shoulder to shoulder with so many of the fine young men and women who are the backbone of America's Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. It is that experience that informs our judgment that John McCain is...

I think General David Petraeus would be a great choice for McCain's VP. It would be the Heroes vs. the Zeroes.

For more than a decade, Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody has delighted in leaping through the doors of military planes and plunging into the night with a parachute on her back. A master parachutist and a former battalion commander, General Dunwoody handled logistics for the 82nd Airborne Division in Saudi Arabia during the first gulf war. As a three-star general, she has flown to Afghanistan and Iraq to ensure the steady flow of ammunition, tanks and fuel to the troops. But one of the biggest joys of her 33-year military career has been jumping out of airplanes and into roles...

FORT HUACHUCA — A car dealership with branches in Sierra Vista, Huachuca City and Tucson has been placed off-limits to thousands of active-duty service members assigned to this Southern Arizona Army post. Ideal Automotive Group, including the company's business in Tucson known as Wildcat Mitsubishi, was informed in a May 20 letter by the fort's leadership that it is being placed off-limits. Fort Huachuca spokeswoman Tanja Linton said, “Today (Wednesday) we got notification that Ideal Automotive Group received the letter from the garrison commander (Col. Melissa Sturgeon) notifying them they had been placed off-limits to military service members.” Making the...

Hello, everyone!! Been to the pumps lately? Well, let me tell you, it is only going to get worse! But the good news is this, we are finally going to have a President, (John McCain) who is open to the new answers to the problem. If the solution talked about in the following article can be speedily developed, we could possible see one dollar a gallon prices again! Researchers have made a breakthrough in the development of "green gasoline," a liquid identical to standard gasoline yet created from sustainable biomass sources like switchgrass and poplar trees. Reporting in the cover...

After all, Hillary doesn’t have much more experience than Barack, doesn’t have great national security credentials, and is perceived, correctly, with having accomplished almost nothing in her adult life without her husband carrying much of the load. But if she has the tenacity to overcome Barack Obama in a race where the mainstream media and many of the elites in her own party have aligned against her, many Americans would give her a certain amount of much needed credit for toughness, grit, and for showing grace under fire. Even most Clinton-loathing conservatives would be willing to admit at this point...

Democratic voters are not as positive about Barack Obama as they were a month ago. Somewhat smaller percentages of Democrats describe Obama in favorable terms, and he has lost his lead over Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination. Nationally, Democratic voters are about evenly divided between Obama and Clinton; Obama holds a slight 47% to 45% edge. In late March, the Illinois senator held a 49% to 39% lead over his New York rival. The tightening Democratic race reflects a modest but consistent decline in Obama's personal image rather than improved impressions of Clinton. Fewer Democrats ascribe...

John Nance Garner, who held the position of vice-president under Franklin Roosevelt, memorably dismissed the job as “not worth a pitcher of warm spit”. Actually, that is the sanitised version of his comment. There are plenty of people who believe that the original version referred to a different bodily liquid. Put it this way: he might have been taking the spit out of this office. John McCain, by contrast, has to regard it far more seriously. He is within a few days of becoming the de facto nominee of the Republican Party. Mike Huckabee is enjoying his swansong, but after...

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military is developing contingency plans to deal with the possibility that a large spy satellite expected to fall to Earth in late February or early March could hit North America. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, who heads of U.S. Northern Command, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the size of the satellite suggests that some number of pieces will not burn up as the orbiting vehicle re-enters the Earth's atmosphere and will hit the ground. "We're aware that this satellite is out there," Renuart said. "We're aware it is a fairly substantial size. And we...

MONROVIA, Liberia - One of Liberia's most notorious rebel commanders, known as Gen. Butt Naked, has returned to the nation his troops terrorized to confess, saying he is responsible for 20,000 deaths. The civil war, which killed an estimated 250,000 people in this nation of 3 million, was characterized by the eating of human hearts and soccer matches played with human skulls. Drugged fighters waltzed into battle wearing women's wigs, flowing gowns and carrying dainty purses stolen from civilians. Before he led his fighters into battle, wearing only a pair of lace-up boots, Blahyi said he made a human sacrifice...

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. A Marine Corps general taking over command in Iraq's Anbar province said Wednesday that the decrease in insurgent attacks and decline in casualties is allowing U.S. troops to focus more attention on training of Iraqi security forces. "We want to work ourselves out of a job," said Maj. Gen. John F. Kelly, who is scheduled to take command of Marines in western Iraq. Kelly said the Iraqi army has been successfully patrolling and escorting convoys in the Anbar province without the support of U.S. troops. "Basically, we are taking the training wheels off," the general said shortly...

BAGHDAD - Violence in Iraq is at its lowest levels since the first year of the American invasion, finally opening a window for reconciliation among rival sects, the second-ranking U.S. general said Sunday as Iraqi forces formally took control of security across half the country. Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the man responsible for the ground campaign in Iraq, said that the first six months of 2007 were probably the most violent period since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The past six months, however, had seen some of the lowest levels of violence since the conflict began, Odierno said, attributing the...

WHAT THE MEDIA SOMEHOW MISSED .... CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY Retired Army General Ricardo Sanchez made a speech to the military reporters and editors in Washington DC last Friday. The media was quick to quote General Sanchez .. but only selectively. You can read the text of General Sanchez' speech right here. http://www.militaryreporters.org/sanchez_101207.html I urge you to do so. After Sanchez finished the speech the reporters couldn't wait to share with the American people his assessment of the war in Iraq. To put it gently, his assessment wasn't mild. Try this quote: "There has been a glaring, unfortunate, display of...

Homosexual Sex "Immoral" and Should not be Condoned in Law - Outgoing US Military Chief By Hilary White WASHINGTON, DC, October 3, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Homosexual acts are immoral and have no place in the US military says the United States' most senior military chief, General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In March Pace, a Catholic who is to retire this week, raised a storm of controversy when he told the Chicago Tribune in an interview, "I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts." The general said...

Retired general backs Clinton on Iraq By JOHN DISTASO Senior Political Reporter A retired U.S. Army general visiting the state to campaign for Hillary Clinton said yesterday she does not oppose the Iraq war -- and she said she's never heard Clinton oppose it, either. Retired Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, the Army's first woman to reach the three-star rank, said she supports Clinton's promise to withdraw the majority of U.S. troops from Iraq if she is elected President. But Kennedy said she does not consider her position to be opposing the war as it is currently being conducted. Kennedy, 60,...

Virginia Republicans are buzzing over speculation that retired Marine Gen. Peter Pace may be lured into running for the U.S. Senate being vacated by John W. Warner (R). On Sunday, Pace retired as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. He plans to settle in the Fort Myer area. The conservative publication National Review ran an editorial Monday urging Pace to enter Virignia Senate race.

Don't you like a thoughtful straight shooter? Wouldn't it be nice to have as a choice for president in 2008 a seasoned military man who says what he believes? Don't you just have to love the candor and honesty of Gen. Peter Pace, the retiring chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?

A U.S. congressional oversight committee accused the State Department's inspector general on Friday of threatening to fire several of his staff if they cooperated with an investigation into his conduct. In a letter to Inspector General Howard Krongard, Rep. Henry Waxman accused Krongard for the second time in 10 days of interfering with a probe by the House of Representatives oversight committee the California Democrat chairs. The panel is looking into whether Krongard, who acts as an independent internal investigator for the State Department, failed to examine claims of government waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq and elsewhere so as...

WASHINGTON - A day before President Bush's war address, Senate Democrats rejected a four-star general's recommendation to keep some 130,000 troops in Iraq through next summer and sought legislation that would limit the mission of U.S. forces. Their proposal was not expected to set a deadline to end the war, as many Democrats want, but restrict troops to narrow objectives: training Iraq's military and police, protecting U.S. assets and fighting terrorists, Democratic party officials told The Associated Press ...

WASHINGTON - A day before President Bush's war address, Senate Democrats rejected a four-star general's recommendation to keep some 130,000 troops in Iraq through next summer and sought legislation that would limit the mission of U.S. forces. Their proposal was not expected to set a deadline to end the war, as many Democrats want, but restrict troops to narrow objectives: training Iraq's military and police, protecting U.S. assets and fighting terrorists, Democratic party officials told The Associated Press. The goal is to attract enough Republicans to break the 60-vote threshold in the Senate needed to end a filibuster. Democrats have...

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned, officials said Monday, ending a monthslong standoff with critics who questioned his honesty and competence at the helm of the Justice Department. Republicans and Democrats alike had demanded his resignation over the botched handling of FBI terror investigations and the firings of U.S. attorneys, but President Bush had defiantly stood by his Texas friend until accepting his resignation Frid(AP) — ay, according to senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.The Justice Department planned a news conference for 10:30 a.m. EDT, in Washington. Bush planned to discuss Gonzales' departure at his Crawford, Texas, ranch...

US general blames Britain for Basra crisis By Thomas Harding and Toby Helm Last Updated: 1:26am BST 23/08/2007 The first sign of serious tension between Gordon Brown and President George W Bush over Iraq have emerged as a senior US general said the withdrawal of British troops was creating a security crisis in the south of the country. Gen Jack Keane, who is close to the White House and was the architect of the American troop "surge" in Baghdad this year, said the policy was helping to turn Basra into a city of "gangland warfare". Gen Keane: British withdrawal is...