Free Republic

There’s been an enormous amount of speculation from all corners as the the motivation behind Sarah Palin’s resignation as Governor of Alaska. The speculation has covered the full spectrum from the leftist talking points that she can’t take political heat to her supporters declaring that she’s preparing for national office. Her detractors have pretty much stayed on message, repeating over and over again that she’s weak, can’t take the heat and is deserting her post. However today a new twist has been revealed via Obama propagandist. The new twist is that the resignation came just before a Sarah Palin federal...

Jim Geraghty points out an unusual item from Reuters yesterday, in which the State Department announced that Hillary Clinton would not accompany Barack Obama to Moscow next week. The nation’s chief diplomat will stay home while Obama pursues nuclear reductions with Russia, one of his big diplomatic projects, one in which observers would presume that the Secretary of State would have substantial involvement: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who broke her right elbow two weeks ago, will not accompany President Barack Obama to Moscow next week, a U.S. official said on Wednesday. “Secretary Clinton is not going to go...

This man just cannot bring himself to be tough on Iran, WaPo reports, it was Hillary behind the tough talk...

Hugo Chávez's coalition-building efforts suffered a setback yesterday when the Honduran military sent its president packing for abusing the nation's constitution.

The first military takeover of a Central American government in 16 years drew widespread condemnation from governments in Latin America and the world — including the U.S. — and Chavez vowed to overthrow the country's apparent new leader..........

Hillary Clinton urges condemnation of Honduran actionTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS 5:45 PM EDT, June 28, 2009 WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the action taken against Honduras' president should be condemned by everyone. She says Honduras must embrace the principles of democracy and respect constitutional order. The president, Manuel Zelaya, was flown to Costa Rica after being taken into military custody at his house outside the Honduran capital. He was detained shortly before voting was to begin on a constitutional referendum the president had insisted on holding.

Sonia Sotomayor was one of three appeals court judges who ruled that New Haven, Conn. officials acted properly in throwing out firefighters' exams because of racially skewed results. The city decided not to use test scores to determine promotions b/c it might have been vulnerable to claims the exam had a "disparate impact" on minorities in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Sotomayor's opinion has been criticized as a cursory look at a tough issue. Among critics are Soto's fellow judges on NY's 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals.... outcome could alter how public and private sector employers make...

US appoints envoy to Muslim world Mrs Clinton said Ms Pandith brought 'years of experience' to the role The US State Department has appointed its first Special Representative to Muslim Communities. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Farah Pandith would play a leading role in US efforts to "engage Muslims around the world". She said Ms Pandith, who was born in Indian-administered Kashmir, would bring years of experience to the role. The appointment is part of President Barack Obama's attempts to improve relations with the Muslim world. Mrs Clinton said Ms Pandith "sees her personal experience as an illustration of...

Just like when Kennedy was shot, when Reagan was shot, when Challenger exploded....we all remember where we were and how we heard. The same is true with Michael Jackson. To cheer us all up, I found this: [video at site] (Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net ...

A key Bush administration official is disputing the Obama administration's contention that there were no understandings between President George W. Bush and then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on the issue of continued West Bank settlement construction. In an op-ed piece which appeared in Thursday's editions of The Wall Street Journal, Elliott Abrams, who served under Bush in the National Security Council and who held a series of discussions with the Israeli leadership, said that Bush and Sharon did strike a deal which constituted U.S. acquiescence to continued construction in Israeli settlement blocs that Jerusalem intended to keep under any final status...

A bulletin from President Obama: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's fall in the State Department basement this week might have been caused by rival Richard Holbrooke – long suspected of coveting the Secretary's title – slicking the floor with WD-40. Obama said his first reaction to news that Clinton's fractured elbow would require surgery was to brace for yet another fiscal crisis. "Fortunately, the lawyers tell me Hillary's ready to settle," he quipped at Washington's annual Radio & Television Correspondents' Dinner Friday night. [Snip] Obama also joked about sleeping with NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, who spent a much-ballyhooed...

At the Radio & TV Correspondents Dinner TOTUS gave a stumbling monologue that was supposed to be funny. One time it was funny was when he made some pointed jabs at st hillary. Everyone knows that Obama has effectively cordoned off Hillary from any substantive duties at the State Dept. by assigning various "special envoys" to key areas, like Amb. Holbrooke (Afghanistan/Pakistan) cited below. But, it seems to me TOTUS made a special point of noting how Hillary stumbled on her way to the WH, but "fortunately...Hillary's ready to settle." This seems to be a thinly veiled jab at Hillary's...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had successful two-hour surgery today to repair her broken right elbow, her chief of staff said. Mrs Clinton tripped and fell in the State Department's basement on Wednesday ... Mrs Clinton has several foreign trips planned in the coming weeks ...

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton watch from the side as President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak speak in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, June 16, 2009. US Vice President Joe Biden (C) shares a laugh with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell (2nd L), US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel (2nd R), alongside Saeb Erekat (R), the chief Palestinian negotiator, during meetings in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton fractured her right elbow during a fall Wednesday, her chief of staff said. Clinton was on her way to the White House when she fell and injured her elbow, chief of staff Cheryl Mills said in a statement released late Wednesday.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton fractured her right elbow during a fall Wednesday, her chief of staff said. Clinton was on her way to the White House when she fell and injured her elbow, chief of staff Cheryl Mills said in a statement released late Wednesday.

State Department says Hillary Clinton has fractured her right elbow after a fall on her way to the White House Wednesday afternoon.

Facing a world of diplomatic woes from Iran to North Korea, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had the opportunity to get some heavyweight advice at a dinner held by eight of her living predecessors. Tuesday night's private dinner at former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's Washington home gathered top U.S. diplomats from five previous administrations with decades of hands-on experience in some of the most difficult foreign policy crises America has faced. A spokeswoman for Albright says all but one living former secretary of state attended the event to honor Clinton(continued at link)

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday reiterated the Jewish state's refusal to freeze settlements, after his first talks with US counterpart Hillary Clinton exposed gaps on Middle East peace. Lieberman, standing next to Secretary of State Clinton after the pair had more than one hour of talks, told reporters that Israel did not have "any intention to change the demographic balance" of the West Bank. "This approach is very clear and also we had some understandings with the previous administration (of George W. Bush) and we try to keep this direction," he said.

"President Obama is joined by Senior Advisors David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on a tour of the Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo."

June 6th at precisely 1:45AM will go down in history as one of the most important points in the Obama Presidency. It is the moment that Barack Obama signed an executive order. Some are saying it is the most important piece of legislation since the "Emancipation Proclamation" of 1863 in which Abraham Lincoln, with the stroke of a pen freed the slaves. In the same way, Barack Obama will forever be known as the President who gave our country the "Proclamation of Gender Equity", and in so doing guaranteed Americans would once and for all be truly equal. Paving the...

NEW YORK (AP) — Terry McAuliffe's crushing defeat in Virginia's gubernatorial primary is the latest blow to former President Bill Clinton's political legacy, still reeling from Hillary Rodham Clinton's loss to Barack Obama in last year's Democratic presidential contest. McAuliffe, a longtime fundraiser and close friend of both Clintons, brought money and attention to an off-year election that otherwise would have commanded little notice outside Virginia. Bill Clinton appeared at five rallies across the state for McAuliffe, lent his voice to radio commercials and recorded telephone endorsements to help get out the vote. Clinton also attended a fundraiser at McAuliffe's...

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton roughly rejected any secret Bush agreements with Israel on expanding settlements. Her intention was to have the last word and so shut down the Obama administration's argument with Israel over a West Bank settlement freeze. But she only threw fresh fuel on the fire when she stated emphatically on Friday, June 5, that according to the negotiating record which Bush officials turned over to the Obama administration, "There is no memorialization of any informal and oral agreements." Israel officials have protested that Barack Obama's demand for a total freeze on settlement expansion contradicts a...

Hillary Clinton addressed the UN council on Friday 22nd. Stating that China must be held accountable for it's 'shameful' record on necro-mortosis sufferers rights. "While the rest of the world is embracing a new spirit of cooperation, a new dawn of shared intelligence and research, China chooses to suppress it's people and fail to protect them from within." Although her criticism will add weight to the pressure China already feels from the outside world, the call fell short of what many people hoped would initiate a boycott of Chinese goods.

A Muslim leader invited by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to participate in a conference call after President Obama's speech in Cairo last week once told a crowd that "the jihad way is the way to liberate your land." Esam Omeish, a surgeon and community leader who is running for Virginia state assemblyman, made the statements in 2000 at pro-Palestinian rally where he spoke out against Israel and urged Muslims to support the Palestinian liberation movement. "We the Muslims of the Washington Metropolitan area are here today in sub-freezing temperatures to tell our brothers and sisters in (Palestine) that you...

Hillary Clinton said then President-elect Barack Obama was "quite persistent and very persuasive" ab

"US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said yesterday she will fight for gay rights abroad. Speaking prior to this month's 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, Clinton said: "The example set by those fighting for equal rights in the United States gives hope to men and women around the world who yearn for a better future for themselves and their loved ones."

Caption Hillary with the First Lady of El Salvador!

The bitter rift that developed between Barack Obama when he was running for president last year and Bill and Hillary Clinton was one mean fight. In the new book, "Renegade, The Making of a President," by former Newsweek reporter Richard Wolffe, President Obama -- then in the midst of a tight Democratic primary battle with Hillary -- accused the former president of being a "bald-faced liar" and a "loose canon." Obama also said Bill Clinton was potentially "too much of a liability" when he was trying to decide whether to add Hillary to his White House team once he won...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks after a signing agreement for a rural electricity program in San Salvador, Sunday, May 31, 2009. Clinton is in El Salvador to attend the swearing in ceremony of El Salvador's President-elect Mauricio Funes on June 1. S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) receives a gift from Salvadorean children in traditional dress upon her arrival at El Salvador International Airport in Comalapa, some 45 kilometers south of San Salvador. Clinton began a visit to Central America Sunday, amid new US steps toward ties with Cuba that Washington hopes will slow a sudden regional...

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell (R) stands alongside US Vice President Joe Biden (C), US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2nd L) and National Security Advisor James Jones (L), as US President Barack Obama speaks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (not pictured) during meetings

Why would there be a significant and highly positive correlation between dealer survival and Clinton donors?... it seems clear that something is going on here. Then we got to thinking. Steven Rattner, the Car Czar, is married to Maureen White, one-time national finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee..National Finance Chair of the Hillary Clinton for President Campaign.

Asked why he was naming some of his rivals to top administration jobs, President Lyndon B. Johnson said it best: “I’d rather have them inside the tent pissing out than outside pissing in.” President Obama seems to echo Johnson’s management style in his handling of Bill and Hillary Clinton. By bringing them into his inner circle, he has marginalized them both and sharply reduced their freedom of action. It may appear odd to describe a secretary of State as marginalized, but Obama has surrounded Hillary with his people and carved up her jurisdiction geographically. Former Sen. George Mitchell (D-Maine) is...

Anyone surprised? (PDF)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) ― Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made a surprise return to her alma mater on Monday, picking up an honorary degree from Yale University 36 years after earning her law degree from the Ivy League school. Graduates celebrating commencement at Yale erupted in cheers as Clinton was introduced. In keeping with Yale tradition, the names of honorary degree recipients are a closely held secret, although word began trickling out Sunday of Clinton's participation. None of the 10 honorary degree recipients spoke during the morning ceremony held for the university at large, where Yale handed out...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will soon announce that gay American diplomats will be given benefits similar to those that their heterosexual counterparts enjoy, U.S. officials said Saturday. In a notice to be sent soon to State Department employees, Clinton says regulations that denied same-sex couples and their families the same rights and privileges that straight diplomats enjoyed are "unfair and must end," as they harm U.S. diplomacy. "Providing training, medical care and other benefits to domestic partners promote the cohesiveness, safety and effectiveness of our posts abroad," she says in the message, a copy of...

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will soon announce that gay American diplomats will be given benefits similar to those that their heterosexual counterparts enjoy, U.S. officials said Saturday. In a notice to be sent soon to State Department employees, Clinton says regulations that denied same-sex couples and their families the same rights and privileges that straight diplomats enjoyed are "unfair and must end," as they harm U.S. diplomacy. "Providing training, medical care and other benefits to domestic partners promote the cohesiveness, safety and effectiveness of our posts abroad," she says in the message, a copy of which...

I predict that Hillary Clinton will be Obama's nominee for Supreme Court. If not this time, she will most certainly get it the next time around. Why? During the elections, a mysterious transition occurred. Hillary went from slinging brickbats one day to being submissive and agreeable to everything Obama said the next — gazing upon him with eyes not unlike a teenage girl fulminating about her first dream prom date. Obama is the master back-room dealer who either destroys the competition or buys them out. The only thing Hillary could possibly be bought off with during the elections is the...

...but here in the Empire State CHOICE is a four-letter word, except in a very narrow context. Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield along with the civil service unions and public policy advocates went in front of our state legislature and LIED, LIED, LIED!Challenged by an aggressive new group of competitors and facing massive market-share erosion most businesses would seek ways to upgrade their offering, improve their service and reduce their costs. But no. Empire Blue Cross and other non-profit insurers went crying to the government. They misrepresented their finances with bogus financial documents. Civil service unions predicted that New Yorkers would...

Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu was convicted yesterday of making illegal campaign contributions. Earlier this month, Hsu pled guilty to operating a Ponzi scheme in which investors were swindled out of $20 million. Hsu’s favorite politician was Hillary Rodham Clinton, for whom he raised $850,000. Hillary is Secretary of State. That would seem to invite at least some media attention, if not a full-blown firestorm, but nary a word is heard about Hillary’s ethical suitability for the post. At the Hsu trial, the jury was played a phone message left by Hillary for Hsu that went like this: What am I...

Democratic Fundraiser Convicted in Corruption Trial A Manhattan jury convicted Norman Hsu (SHOO) on Tuesday in an case that became an embarrassment to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other prominent Democrats. AP Tuesday, May 19, 2009 A longtime Democratic fundraiser has been convicted of violating campaign finance laws. A Manhattan jury convicted Norman Hsu (SHOO) on Tuesday. The case became an embarrassment to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other prominent Democrats. Prosecutors said the 58-year-old Hsu used straw donors to make thousands of dollars in donations so he could bypass rules limiting the amount he could donate....

LYNNWOOD , Wash., May 19 (UPI) -- Police in Washington state said a 78-year- old woman allegedly attacked her husband, causing broken ribs, a fractured wrist and a shattered pelvis. Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Valerie Shapiro said the Lynnwood woman, whose name was not released, told police she struck her 84-year-old husband with a bowl and metal pipe because she believes he was unfaithful several times over the course of their marriage, the Everett (Wash.) Herald reported Tuesday. Shapiro said police also confiscated the woman's diary, which allegedly had an entry reading: "I beat him again." The entry described the...

New York (AP) -- Longtime fundraiser Norman Hsu was convicted Tuesday of violating campaign finance laws in a case that became an embarrassment to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other prominent Democrats. Prosecutors had argued that Hsu, 58, used straw donors to make thousands of dollars in campaign donations to bypass rules limiting the amount any single individual or group can donate. Hsu's defense argued he was framed by investors who cut deals with the government to avoid prosecution.

The Swedish ambassador to North Korea met two detained US journalists on Friday, the first such contact in six weeks, a senior US official said. The development came a day after North Korea on Thursday set a June 4th trial date for the two journalists, Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American. Sweden represents US interests in North Korea and has been working to secure the release of the two US journalists since they were seized in a dawn raid in the outskirts of Pyongyang on March 17th. "The Swedish ambassador to North Korea, acting as the United...

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, yells congratulations to recent graduates while leaving the stage with NYU President John Sexton after the New York University commencement ceremony at Yankee Stadium in New York, Wednesday, May 13, 2009. Clinton was at the commencement to receive an honorary degree and speak to the graduating class. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, receives an honorary degree from New York University during the school's commencement ceremony at Yankee Stadium in New York, Wednesday, May 13, 2009. Others from left are, trustee Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, NYU Provost David McLaughlin, and NYU President...

The head of an ethical and legal watchdog group is angered that Hillary Clinton is being given a pass by the media and U.S. prosecutors regarding her involvement with convicted con artist and former million-dollar Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu. Jurors in Manhattan federal court recently heard a voicemail message from then-Senator Hillary Clinton to her former top fundraiser Norman Hsu, who has pled guilty to a $20 billion Ponzi scheme that involved misleading investors about his contacts with key Democratic leaders. In the voicemail, Clinton was effusive in her praise of Hsu, suggesting she would win the Democratic presidential primary...

Blog post by Greta Van Susteren at FOX: hhm …. by Greta Van Susteren My husband was just told that a news organization is snooping around …asking…. whether he told (asked?) Governor Palin to use her (Gov Palin’s) PAC to pay off Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s multi million dollar campaign debt. Now that might be a hot story to some — if it were true or even possible. For starters if the news organization did a bit more background research, the organization would learn this is impossible. PAC’s can only contribute $5000. $5,000 is not going to retire a...