Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Senate majority leader Harry Reid (Dipsh#t, Nevada) reportedly had Sen. Joe Lieberman waterboarded 183 times this past week, but the independent-minded senator from Connecticut still won’t vote “yes” for Reid’s health care bill. Lieberman holds a key vote in the ongoing battle over a health care bill that includes a public health insurance option, part of the Democrats’ evil plan to take over the country and turn it into a human SEIU puppy mill and ACORN graft factory.

As a president of Krause Co., I have two primary responsibilities - a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders for best return on their capital, and the health and safety of our employees and families (approximately 600 in total). I have control over our financial performance and should be held accountable, and fortunately we are doing well. In regard to the safety of our direct employees, we too have control and accountability. Krause spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on safety training, equipment, process and procedures. I am proud of our people who take their safety and their peers'...

Deacon Keith Fournier: "Chris Matthews Should Be Fired For His Offensive and Impolite Interview of Bishop Thomas Tobin" Fournier: "MSNBC should publicly apologize to the Bishop and Matthews should be fired Deacon Keith Fournier: "Chris Matthews Should Be Fired For His Offensive and Impolite Interview of Bishop Thomas Tobin" Fournier: "MSNBC should publicly apologize to the Bishop and Matthews should be fired for his lack of professionalism" Opinion: By Deacon Keith Fournier, Catholic Online.. catholic.org Matthews showed how inept he is as an interviewer, how misinformed he is as a Catholic, how rude he is as a person and how...

Today I called my U.S. Senators and told them both: "Please stop ignoring us. We don't want government healthcare; we want JOBS!"

More pearls of wisdom from the SoundOffSister. This is truly priceless. How Sen. Reid (D-Nev.), or any other senator, for that matter, can propose this language with a straight face is perhaps a good indication of how bad the Senate version of Obamacare is. Beginning at page 1858 in Section 6801, the Senate, no doubt with furrowed brow, plunges into the serious issue of tort reform. Here’s what they say: (1) Health care reform presents an opportunity to address issues related to medical malpractice and medical liability insurance,

Could Obamacare spark a possible Constitutional crsis? Sadly, there is no such page limit on any version of Obamacare drafted by Congress. Sen. Reid’s (D-Nev.) version of Obamacare, however, does mandate a page limit for insurance companies, and it should prove quite interesting in its implementation. Section 2715 (beginning at page 19) provides that all insurance companies must provide a summary of benefits to each member, and that this summary can be no longer than four pages, and in type no smaller than 12 point. Here is what this four page summary must include:

Here is 'liberal' Palin hating SNL video Laying into the disaster Obama. FUNNY!!!

Can’t wait to meet our troops – and all those who love the U.S. Armed Forces – today at Ft. Bragg. Read my book’s dedication page. The book is for these Patriots who fight for freedom. They deserve our support and our government’s unwavering commitment to equipping them for victory. The book tour is beyond all expectations. This feels like the time when a team comes together, gearing up before a major competition to show unity and supply strength and encouragement to each team member equally, regardless of the team member’s role or title. On this tour I hear the...

Billy and Franklin Graham met and dined with Sarah Palin at their home yesterday, Charlotte Observer also reports that Graham got a call on Nov. 12 from President Obama... charlotteobserver.com Sarah Palin, the hottest name in the Republican Party, took a detour from her book-signing tour Sunday to dine with Billy Graham at his mountaintop home in Montreat. "He's followed her career and likes her strong stand on faith," said son Franklin Graham, who was present for the 2 1/2-hour get-together. "Daddy feels God was using her to wake America up." The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential...

It should be obvious by now that Barack Obama’s disastrous Cloward-Piven economic policies were not meant to lift the economy. After all, ask yourself, what would Obama be doing differently today if he intentionally set out to destroy the American economy? He’s tripled the national deficit in less than one year. He’s increased the national debt to $12 Trillion. And he’s nearly doubled the unemployment rate since the Bush years. Even Saturday Night Live and Chris Matthews can’t ignore it any longer. Jim Simpson at The American Thinker reported today on Obama’s Cloward-Piven economic plan: It is time to cast...

Health Care Reform Support for Health Care Plan Falls to New Low Just 38% of voters now favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the lowest level of support measured for the plan in nearly two dozen tracking polls conducted since June. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 56% now oppose the plan. Half the survey was conducted before the Senate voted late Saturday to begin debate on its version of the legislation. Support for the plan was slightly lower in the half of the survey conducted after the Senate vote....

He promised to end the old Washington games yet plays along with health care gimmicks and lies!It's little more than a year now since Obama was elected. Plenty of time for the not so well informed public to forget the principles Obama campaigned on and the promises he made. Even as he repeated his "eight principles" in his budget message in February, he is set on a course that will violate nearly every one of them. By now it should be painfully clear to all but the most diehard Obamaton that the current "reforms" violate every principle and promise Obama...

Before today the lowest reported support for Obamacare from the Rasmussen poll was 41%. Today's results show another drop in support for the government take-over of health care, only 38% of Americans now support Obamacare. Opposition to the bill was 56%. According to Rasmussen, half the survey was taken before Saturday's vote, the rest after the vote. support for Obamacare was lower after the vote than before. This may indicate the closer we get to the passage of Obamacare the less America wants it. Intensity remains stronger among those who oppose the push to change the nation’s health care system:...

Under the Senate bill approved to be moved to the Senate floor this past Saturday night it will be United States Preventive Services Task Force, deciding what tests and procedures getting covered by the government and private health care plans. The US Preventative Services Task Force is not a new agency. The Task Force is part of the Healthcare Research and Quality Agency (AHRQ). The task force is the 'bean counting part of the Dept. Health and Human Services. AHRQ's mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of health care for all Americans. The Senate bill...

But now let's assume that 38 GOP Senators voted "present" on the same amendment. Even with 2 Republicans supporting the amendment on principle, plus the 5 swing-vote Dems, it would still take 44 of the 55 most liberal Democrats to pass the amendment. Only 11 Democrats could vote "pro-choice," and all the rest would have to cast (and later defend) an abortion-limiting vote. It would almost be worth losing, just to see it happen. Delicious. And the Republicans could force the same pressure to amend the public option, and to address Medicare cuts and tax hikes, etc., before the Dems...

Welcome to the People’s Republic of Amerika! B. Hussein Obama, George Soros and Congress have so much planned for you......

As a part of the recently passed House healthcare insurance reform bill, the Democrats included a provision that would cap flexible spending accounts (FSAs) at $2,500 per year. For most people that is not a big deal because some companies set caps lower than that anyway and few people actually contribute more than $2,500 into their own FSA accounts. FSAs, of course, are accounts in which individuals can set aside portions of their wages on a tax-deferred basis to be used exclusively for healthcare purchases. They are ‘use it or lose it’ plans, meaning that if they do not spend...

This is single sourced for now. Here's the MEMRI Blog source, which is calling out this original reporting from al-Watan.com. A source in Kabul for the Afghan secret talks between the elements in the Taliban led by Mullah Mutawakkil, the Foreign Minister of movement between the American ambassador in Kabul, Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, which has achieved progress - without explaining further details. She suggested the United States during the talks give the power to the Taliban in the provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan and Kunar, and Nuristan, in exchange for not ... Full article...

Former director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Douglas Holtz-Eakin, testified before the Senate Committee on the Budget on Nov. 10, giving a sharp rebuke of the Obama administration's out-of-control spending...

Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) lays it on the line: [see video] He doesn’t care what his constituents want, he’s going to toe the Democrat line, even if it means he loses his job in 2010. That said, I have to admire Sen. Bennet; at least he has the courage of his (party’s) convictions, and is willing to say so, with no ambiguity or equivocation. Asked a direct yes-or-no question, he simply answers “No.” We could wish for that same simplicity from the rest of our elected officials...

In October of 2008, Senator Obama's campaign accused Senator John McCain of planning to gut Medicare. ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (AFP) — Barack Obama's White House campaign Monday accused John McCain of plotting to impose savage cuts on government-run health care programs that insure the elderly and the poor.It was the latest attack from the Democrat's camp over an emotive issue that is taking on new urgency at a time when many Americans fear losing their jobs and thus the health care coverage that comes from their employers... "This plan would be a disaster. It would dramatically reduce the quality of...

The nation’s oldest taxpayer group slammed the Senate for moving forward with debate on Majority Leader Harry Reid’s enormous health care “reform” legislation. Packed to the gills with tax hikes, more government spending, and damaging regulations, this bill would add tremendous burdens to taxpayers while ignoring some of the fundamental problems with America’s health care system. Andrew Moylan, Director of Government Affairs for the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) provided the following the statement on behalf of his organization:

Well they did it. Not out in the open, of course. Under cover of a Saturday night "procedural vote." After the $100 million according to the press, $300 million according to her ("I am not going to be defensive. And it's not a $100 million fix. It is a $300 million fix,") Louisiana Purchase of Senator Mary Landrieu. Hundreds of millions of OUR dollars used to pay off the wavering Louisiana Senator in order to secure her vote. I don't have words for this. None that won't get me in trouble. I worked with a guy who once said to...

Congratulations to Harry and the Pelosicrats for advancing Dear Leader's Long March!  That $300 million bribe to Senator Landrieu was classic!  Chicago Democratic machine politics comes to Washington...  Lord only knows what dirty deals will never see the light of day... Here we are in the age of hyper-freedom.  Top 40 DJs who told us what to listen to are a thing of the past.  Fan clubs?  What's that?  You can start your own site dedicated to whatever or whoever you want on the internet. Those Nostalgic Democrats! We're in the age of iPods, indy music, facebook, ultimate internet freedoms,...

A magazine in Tokyo is reporting that President Obama's summit with Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama was a frosty disaster, precipitated by incompetence on both sides and an entirely avoidable diplomatic slight to the Japanese side by Obama. The visit was abruptly re-scheduled, seriously inconveniencing the Emperor of Japan, as well as the Prime Minister, whose intricate schedules require meticulous planning and coordination. Japanese weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun cites an unnamed insider at the Foreign Ministry, who delivers a devastating account of not merely a failure to agree, but figurative slaps in the face of the rude president, delivered in retaliation....

The Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the vote was anything but procedural — casting it as a referendum on the bill itself, which he said would raise taxes, cut Medicare and create a “massive and unsustainable debt.” McConnell: It’s a ‘Monstrosity of a Bill’

In the last weeks, two recommendations have come from government sponsored panels that suggest the current standards for mammograms and pap smears, those supported but the American Cancer Society, encourage women to get these screenings too frequently and too early. There has been significant push back from the public and various organizations, but the government is downplaying the recommendations as mere suggestions based upon scientific inquiry. However, if you care about the women in your life and their ability to get these important cancer screenings you need to be very concerned because the Health Care Bill proposes to incorporate these...

A 60-39 vote moved the monstrous Reid health care take-over bill to the next phase. The rare Saturday session was a first round fight to pass the bill in the full Senate. This spells trouble for freedom-loving Americans, as bills that make it to debate ultimately pass the full Senate 90 percent of the time. All Democrats and Independents Joe Lieberman (CT) and Bernie Sanders (VT) voted for the measure, and all Republicans voted no, except for George Voinovich (OH) Read more ...

Since the Health Care debate began a couple of months ago, we realised that Democrats have a lot of talent and imagination when it comes to creating new taxes. Currently, the top federal tax rate is 35%. In addition, the House of Representatives’ version of health care reform includes a 5.4 percent surtax on incomes over $500,000 a year. All these increases, combined with state and local income taxes, would raise the average top marginal rate in the U.S. to over 52 percent. This would be higher than traditionally high-tax countries such as Italy, Spain, and even France. Let’s keep...

Sarah Palin understands the power of ordinary people, the diversity which makes up America, and the arrogance of paternalism. Because Sarah Palin is an individual not made in Washington D.C. and not approved by the D.C. power players, she must be destroyed. It has nothing to do with the individual -- Sarah Palin -- it has to do with the image -- Sarah Palin -- that the power players perceive as dangerous. Any one of these power players who met Sarah Palin at some social event, if Palin was not the image she is now, would have no problem with...

This is the third article to appear on these pages from an IBD subscriber who lived in the Soviet Union until 1980. Click here to read the previous two articles. Whenever I speak about my experiences living in the USSR, my American friends respond that such things can never happen in a democracy like the United States. They don't understand why I am repulsed when I hear the president talk about "sacrificing for the collective good," which sounds so compassionate, as opposed to greedy capitalism. "Sacrifice for the collective good" is one of the founding principles of socialism, where the...

In direct contradiction to accusations that it is “dithering” or “wishy-washy,” the Obama Administration has acted forcefully to counter what it calls “the most serious and credible threat we face at this time.” It turns out that it is the rising popularity of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, as evidenced in record-breaking sales of her autobiographical book and the massive crowds that have attended her book-signing appearances, that has spurred a concerted effort at countermeasures from the Obama Administration. While Ms. Palin will still be permitted to go through with an appearance at the Army’s Fort Bragg in North Carolina,...

During the U.S president campaign of 2008, then Alaska Governor Sarah Palin disclosed that she had given birth to a child with Down syndrome.

The Senate is set to vote Saturday night, right before the holiday, on a motion to proceed on its latest health care government take-over bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pushing for yet another weekend vote (commonplace now for the party of “transparency”) because he knows that the American people will be none too happy about the Democrats’ proposal the longer they have to look it over. A vote against the Democrats’ motion will help stop Obamacare before it gets any closer to becoming a reality. While this Saturday night vote might seem like a procedural matter, at the...

Yesterday afternoon I went to one of the statewide protests outside Mary Landrieu's offices. In Shreveport, under drizzling skies, about sixty people showed up in front of the Federal building where Landrieu's office is. Additionally, there were counter protesters, in support of Obamacare, also there; I'd say there were at most about 15 of them...A couple of folks from our side, the Kill the Bill side, went up to Landrieu's office to register an opinion. One lady, Janet, was told, "Well, you know Senator Landrieu is a huge supporter of small business!" and Janet replied, "Then I KNOW she's going...

Republican genius, Peter Schiff talks about the Dumbocrats' stupid ideas for the economy. America is simply printing more money hoping that that will make people richer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pqQWzxMo2M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHE6LBJjksg He is running for Senate in Connecticut, vote him IN, people. On healthcare: http://www.youtube.com/user/SchiffReport#p/a/u/1/LfGjqmG47cU

This sentence hit me like a ton of bricks, just because of the wording: Women of any age should not be taught to do breast self-exams, but BSE is not forbidden. Are you kidding me? “BSE” stands for breast self examination. And this government death panel is telling women they shouldn’t learn how to do them, but are not “forbidden” from learning how and doing them. How generous of them.

In case you missed it, here is video of Part two of Sarah Palin's interview with Bill O'Reilly. Tonight, they focus on policy issues. Below is the first segment of tonight's Part 2 Interview. In the second part, not yet posted, Palin says bluntly that Obama's foreign policy is weak, citing the fact that Obama is "bowing to other world leaders." We'll post the rest of it once it is available . . . (VIDEO)

Beauty and the beast.....

Pure evil. As if the parents of special needs children don’t suffer enough. Dems will increase taxes on the parents of special needs children in their nationalized health care bill. LifeSite News reported: The statistics are scary when it comes to the percentage of unborn children born with special needs who become victims of abortion. One fiscal conservative group says the task for parents raising such children is made more difficult by extra taxes found in Harry Reid’s new Senate health care bill. The measure has already been condemned by pro-life groups and the Catholic bishops for its abortion funding...

The Senate is set to vote Saturday night, right before the holiday, on a motion to proceed on its latest health care government take-over bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pushing for yet another weekend vote (commonplace now for the party of “transparency”) because he knows that the American people will be none too happy about the Democrats’ proposal the longer they have to look it over. A vote against the Democrats’ motion will help stop Obamacare before it gets any closer to becoming a reality. While this Saturday night vote might seem like a procedural matter, at the...

JUST ONCE in a lifetime are we all called to stand and be counted for what is right. This is our time. LET US stand tall and never assent to our TAX DOLLARS being used to KILL BABIES. LET US record our names FOR ALL, INCLUDING GOD to see and pledge to GO TO JAIL before we let one cent of our money be used to finance the blood sport of killing babies and fill the God forsaken coffers of Planned Parenthood and their ilk. THROW ME IN JAIL. I WILL NOT PAY THE GOVERNMENT TO KILL BABIES.

Alberto Hodari performs abortions as casually as others pick their teeth, and with just as much thought. He has bragged about being involved in tens of thousands of abortions. Tens of thousands! He has wiped out literally several small towns in terms of population. And he's proud of it. But Hodari's past doesn't just include tens of thousands of dead babies. Probably due to his proclivity of lying to his potential patients to steer them towards an abortion, something he freely admitted to college students at Wayne State University, saying that he has a "license to lie, he's killed 4...

If it's the right thing to do why do you need a $100 million payoff?The $100 Million Health Care Vote? By Jonathon Karl ABC News November 19, 2009 3:03 PM What does it take to get a wavering senator to vote for health care reform? Here’s a case study. On page 432 of the Reid bill, there is a section increasing federal Medicaid subsidies for “certain states recovering from a major disaster.” The section spends two pages defining which “states” would qualify, saying, among other things, that it would be states that “during the preceding 7 fiscal years” have been...

The entire segment from tonight's Hardball has Chris Matthews analyzing what's going wrong with the Obama administration. He hits on several points including the decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed in New York, the group is too intellectual (too much Ivy League) and my personal favorite, he's missing the magical touch as witnessed by his bow to the Emperor in Japan. If you don't have time to watch the whole clip skip to 4:15 to pick up on Matthews rant about the bow, but he's surprisingly on target for the most part on where Obama is failing:

Any good parent, or teacher, will tell you that repetition is one of the best teaching tools at our disposal when it comes to getting children to learn something. This process also works on adults. Hearing something repeated often enough would undoubtedly embed whatever it is that is being said into our thick little skulls. For example, this simple repeat strategy is why everyone between the ages of forty to sixty can immediately join in singing, “There she was just a walkin’ down the street singin’ do wa ditty, ditty dum ditty do.”

Republican activist and free market think-tanker Grant Bosse formally declared his candidacy today in New Hampshire’s 00th Congressional District after news that the Obama administration has attributed a majority of the state’s stimulus jobs to that non-existent district. Bosse is in New Hampshire has only two congressional districts, neither of which are numbered “00.” “Even a fake district needs real leadership,” said Bosse while appearing on WGIR’s Charlie Sherman show on Friday morning. “The people overseeing the stimulus actually found more fake congressional districts than there are real congressional districts. So if we run in all 440 phantom congressional seats...

DISGUSTING: Despite legislation passed by Congress to make it possible to sue foreign governments that sponsor terrorism, in a filing in federal court, the Justice Department is arguing that giving the money to the victims "can have significant, detrimental impact on our foreign relations, as well as the reciprocal treatment of the United States and its extensive overseas property holdings."

This hurts: The federal government is "doing everything in [its] manpower [and] capability to destroy U.S. manufacturing," says David Farr, chairman and CEO of Emerson Electric Co. Farr added that companies will continue adding jobs in China and India because they are "places where people want the products and where the governments welcome you to actually do something. I am not going to hire anybody in the United States. I'm moving. They are doing everything possible to destroy jobs."

Another Saturday health care vote appears to be in the works, this time in the Senate. While the Senate may be may be taking its cue from the "success" of the House in its' Saturday vote, there are a few differences between the two bills that could push any resolution of the health care debate well into next year. Still conventional wisdom has it that if Reid is able to pull together the 60 votes he needs in this important opening vote, some 2000 page piece of legislation will eventually make its'way to the President's desk. Holdouts can be bought...