Free Republic

So Elmer Fudd Barney Frank announced yesterday that he would not be running for re-election in 2012. His stated reason was that his district was gerrymandered, which is true. But Frank was no longer safe in a safe-district. Remember it took a last-minute infusion of DNCC money to save Barney Frank in 2010 and even then, his 54% of the vote was the lowest he had ever received since his first election in 1980. Frank is retiring because he is chicken, he almost lost last time, and doesn’t have the guts to try again. In his 31+ years in the...

From tonight's interview. Herman Cain starts out by calling Savage "a great friend." Cain is asked what programs would he cut, the other candidates in the race, the United Nations and what he would do as president. Savage jokes at the end saying he would be willing to be Cain's press secretary for one day only. courtesy of the Michael Savage Show (Audio)

Chinatowns around America have shrunk during the past decade, and Chinese immigration has declined since 2006. Why? Because Chinese think the American Dream is dead. (Or, more pertinently, has moved to China.) The Atlantic's Bonnie Tsui talked to a few people at a career center in San Francisco's Chinatown to get a sense of the exodus. Of course it is centered around jobs. Lately, [Career Counselor] Yu has been seeing a shift; rather than coming, her clients have been going—in pursuit of what might be called the Chinese Dream. “Now the American Dream is broken,” [Chinese immigrant] Shen tells me...

Attorney General Bill Schuette filed a lawsuit Monday against the Health Care Clinic in Delta Township and the affiliated Women's Choice Clinic in Saginaw, forcing the local abortion clinic to close its doors. The court order to shut down operations came after the attorney general said an investigation showed a number of violations. Schuette hopes to keep the clinic's doors from ever opening again. "Doesn't matter whether you're an abortion clinic or a podiatrist, there are state regulations that you have to follow that must be enforced. That's what this case is all about," said Joy Yearout, spokeswoman. Yearout, a...

New York is the largest city and the most misunderstood housing market in the nation. Sellers think that the market in New York has held up rather well and ask a lot for their property. Most buyers look at the listing price, laugh and just walk away. The result has been very low sales volume at prices that cause many analysts to shake their head in bewilderment. This report is written to help both buyers and sellers. If you are a potential buyer, you will learn why you need to be extremely careful to avoid overpaying on a property. If...

Two American hikers who were detained in Iran have been sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of "illegal entry" and "espionage," the state TV website says.

LAKE JACKSON — After serving almost 24 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Ron Paul told The Facts this morning he will not be seeking another term for the District 14 seat. Paul, 75, will instead focus on his quest for the presidency in 2012. “I felt it was better that I concentrate on one election,” Paul said. “It’s about that time when I should change tactics.” His announcement will give enough time for anyone with aspirations for his seat to think about running, he said. Paul didn’t want to wait for filing in the 2012 primary to...

President Barack Obama said his family would be fine if he was a one-term president... Obama....also revealed that there are days when he feels the same way.

George Mitchell is leaving his job as Mideast envoy by telling President Obama in a letter that he supports his "vision of comprehensive peace in the Middle East." In a statement, Obama said Mitchell has "contributed immeasurably" to bringing about a two-state solution between the Israelis and the Palestinians. David Hale, Mitchell's deputy, will fill the role as an acting envoy when Mitchell leaves on May 20. Obama's full statement: "Over the past two and a half years, George Mitchell has worked as a tireless advocate for peace as the U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East. His deep commitment...

MINNEAPOLIS – Garrison Keillor plans to keep spinning tales of Lake Wobegon's Norwegian bachelor farmers for at least a couple more years, but the host and creator of public radio's "A Prairie Home Companion" is dropping more hints that his retirement may be on the horizon.

PHOENIX (AP) -- A 575-pound man who gained a measure of fame as spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill - a Phoenix-area restaurant that unabashedly touts its unhealthy, high-calorie menu - has died. Friends of 29-year-old Blair River say he died Tuesday, possibly from contracting pneumonia after a bout with the flu.

Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) , a conservative libertarian group founded in 1960 at the estate of William F. Buckley, expelled Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Republican, from their advisory board on Saturday. The organization released the following statement on Saturday afternoon: The National Board of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF)—America's oldest conservative-libertarian activist group—has, per curium, voted to purge Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) from YAF’s National Advisory Board. YAF’s concern with Rep. Paul stems from his delusional and disturbing alliance with the fringe Anti-War movement. “It is a sad day in American history when a one-time conservative-libertarian stalwart has fallen...

Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) has announced that he will not run for reelection in 2012. Webb's decision, long anticipated by many in Virginia politics, will make his seat more difficult to hold for his party. Ex-Sen. George Allen (R), who lost the seat in 2006 to Webb, is running to win it back, and a handful of other GOP candidates are also running. Some Democrats hope ex-Gov. Tim Kaine will decide to run for the seat, but he has given no indication yet that he is interested.

Judge Who Ordered Euthanasia of Terri Schiavo Retires St. Petersburg, FL -- The Florida state judge who allowed the former husband of disabled patient Terri Schiavo to take her life by depriving her of food and water, has retired from the bench. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/01/03/judge-who-ordered-euthanasia-of-terri-schiavo-retires

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Kennedys have held congressional seats, the presidency and the public's imagination for more than 60 years. That era ends when Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island vacates his U.S. House seat next month, leaving a City Council post in California as Camelot's sole remaining political holding.

What comes to mind when you think of "the worst"? President James Buchanan. The 1962 Mets. Vanilla Ice. Now add to that list the 111th Congress, which is finally slated to wrap up business this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just didn't want to give up that gavel. This may have been the worst Congress since Lyndon Johnson's landslide ushered in the Congress that gave us the Great Society and the Vietnam War. Memo to voters: Democratic landslides are usually followed by disastrous results. The 111th Congress got off to a fast start. Barely two weeks into the Obama era,...

Reading "Masters and Commanders," Andrew Roberts's magnificent account of British and American leaders in World War II, I was struck by how many of them, working prodigious hours and under great strain, were struck down by heart attacks while in their 60s. This doesn't happen anymore, I thought, with the blood pressure and cholesterol medicines many of us routinely take. But it does, as we were reminded by the sudden death at age 69 this week of Richard Holbrooke, who was working prodigiously as Barack Obama's special representative for AfPak, i.e., Afghanistan and Pakistan. Holbrooke was known in cynical Washington...

Members of Congress retire all the time, but some retirements are leading indicators of the direction of our politics. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert's announcement last week to call it quits matters, and in a depressing way. The affable 69-year-old New York Republican is one of the last of a breed: a liberal Republican, though he calls himself a "moderate" and has the record to prove it. Boehlert's departure does not leave the House bereft of liberal Republicans -- Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa is more liberal than Boehlert. But Leach, alas, is an outlier. The spotted owl is in good shape...

Across the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, congregants and clergy today reacted with heavy hearts to word that Bishop V. Gene Robinson is retiring. Robinson, 63, whose consecration seven years ago as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church divided the Anglican Communion worldwide, yesterday announced at the annual convention of the New Hampshire diocese that he plans to retire in January 2013, short of the mandatory 72-year-old retirement age for Episcopal bishops. He cited death threats and the considerable strain that the worldwide rift has placed on him, his family, and the church.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist says he has no regrets about quitting the Republican Party, despite his decisive defeat on Tuesday. In a phone interview with The Hill, Crist said he is proud of his Senate campaign and doesn’t regret his decision to challenge former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) as an independent candidate. The decision to bolt the GOP initially moved Crist past Rubio in the polls. That lead quickly eroded, however, and on Tuesday, Rubio crushed Crist and Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) with 49 percent of the vote, compared with 30 percent for Crist and 20 percent for...