Free Republic

Our government still has not figured out what to do about the dependence on foreign oil that everybody agrees is an unacceptable situation. The sensible thing to do, of course, is to produce more oil and natural gas from sources within and off the coasts near the United States, and the sooner, the better. “Drill here, drill now” is not just a slogan; it’s a prescription for energy independence. The 30-year old ban on offshore drilling along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts expired a year ago, and yet the federal government has sat on its hands, allowing time to pass...

h/t Hot Air Hardly a week after Nancy Pelosi nearly wet her panties worrying that healthcare protests and townall meetings could turn violent (whaa! whaa!), a worry being fueled by the mainstream media and left bloggers. But in the midst of the G20 protests by liberal anarchists and anticapitalists, we see what a violent protest actually looks like. Nice. Via Hot Air: Of course, the media didn’t bat an eye at the larger implications of the real violence from the same leftist crowd in Saint Paul, Minnesota, during the Republican convention, either. It seems that conservatives exercising free speech in...

Last year the media did not mince words in their race to announce that young voters were flocking to Obama. In fact, a google search I conducted while doing research for this entry yielded 210,000 results for the very specific search phrase "young voters flock to Obama". The link provided is to the first one on the list. It was hardly surprising after young people's ridiculous choice at the polls in 2006, when they helped usher in a new era of governmental horrors by voting in droves for Democrats thus handing them control of Congress. Back in 2007 the new...

Gross Domestic Happiness? Why the French want to redefine economic growth. French President Nicolas Sarkozy recently said he wanted the nations of the world to stop using GDP, or gross domestic product, as the main measure of their economic performance. He wants them instead to work up another metric that takes into account not only economic production but such things as environmental quality and even time not spent in traffic—a sort of gross national satisfaction index. France has excellent reason to suppress GDP statistics. Since 1982, among developed nations, France has been a clear laggard in GDP growth. Mr. Domitrovic...

President Barack Obama has made another horrid decision, deciding not to put an immediate stop to the dangerous probe into activities of the CIA in working to protect the United States from terrorist attacks during the Bush administration. Attorney General Eric Holder launched a preliminary investigation in August into some old cases that had already been reviewed by the Justice Department and determined to be without merit. The reviews were performed by career employees who are non-partisan and have no ideological or political motives. In a letter to the president, seven past directors of the CIA – representing the administrations...

Main stream media, or state run media, which ever you prefer, all seem to be wondering who is the leader of this protest movement? Is it Rush, Hannity, Beck...possibly Newt Gingrich, or heaven forbid, Sarah Palin? They seem to be alluding to the fact that without a leader, one must question their legitimacy. Well, my question has always been, why do they need a leader when the message is loud and clear? I found a response for the pundits on the left, and guess what? It comes from the mouth of one of your own politicians. So the next time...

Listening to Qaddafi babble to the United Nations assembly today is both entertaining and boring. However, he may be on to something when he went on his rant about moving the United Nations out of America. He suggested moving it to across the pond to the eastern hemisphere. I would venture to say that the vast majority of Americans would agree with this view.

Free Press is reporting that Democratic Representative John Conyers (Chairman House Judiciary Committee) and Barney Frank (Chairman House Financial Committee) are caving under mounting pressure to invetigate the ACORN scandal exposed by James O'Keefe and Hanah Giles - but there's a sick fascistic twist - the two wunderkinds are also calling for an investigation of Big Government and the "individuals" who secretly shot the damning videos. Americans must pose the following question of our fearless leaders. Do they also intend to investigate ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN? All of whom have used the exact same journalistic tactics to expose outrageous...

Charlie Cook, one of the most respected of the political prognosticators, continues to sound the alarm for Congressional Democrats. Since August, Cook has been telling them they’re headed for electoral disaster in the 2010 midterms if they don’t change their ways. Most of the erosion of support has taken place among independents. Although the country still seems willing to give President Obama the benefit of the doubt, at latest for the time being, they’re not willing to extend that to Congress. The threat to the Democratic majority in the House, unsurprisingly, comes in the districts of the Blue Dogs: "I...

Politicians love issues that get voters upset and they use them to attract votes. One of those is the cost of drugs and the evil, greedy pharmaceutical industry. People think they’re being ripped off when pills cost more than a few cents each, and some enterprising politician will likely use that issue to his or her advantage. You can make the argument that a drug that is effective in treating a serious medical condition is worth whatever it costs, but that argument often collapses when someone thinks about how a bunch of powder formed into a tablet can cost more...

At the 2009 Value Voters Summit this past week, Mitt Romney directly addressed President Barack Obama’s incomprehensible and fatally flawed decision, unprecedented in the American political tradition, to tax future generations. In an administration quickly marked for its wistful look to the past, Obama’s decision brought to mind 15th-century Russia. Is that why they call them czars? "Putting such a spirit-crushing, back-breaking debt burden on our children is unworthy of our national character," Romney said. "That is why I believe that this spending and borrowing is not just economically irresponsible, it is morally wrong." It poisoned this most auspicious and...

I bought a bird feeder. I hung It on my back porch and filled It with seed. What a beauty of A bird feeder it was, as I filled it Lovingly with seed.. Within a Week we had hundreds of birds Taking advantage of the Continuous flow of free and Easily accessible food. But then the birds started Building nests in the boards Of the patio, above the table, And next to the barbecue. Then came the poop. It was Everywhere: on the patio tile, The chairs, the table .. Everywhere! Then some of the birds Turned mean. They would...

Polish and Czech newspapers call Obama's plan treason.

No longer content with destroying our nation on the domestic front vis a vis his healthcare reform proposals, President Obama today unleashed one helluva whopper today, essentially giving the finger to two American allies in eastern Europe. Demonstrating Democrats' staggering inability to forget anything that happened prior to this morning, our head of state and commander-in-chief decided to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland by, well, giving Poland the finger. Our glorious leader, in all his wisdom, has decided to kill a planned missile defense system in that country as well as the Czech Republic. All...

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has become increasingly concerned with the "anti government rhetoric" regarding President Obama's health care plan. First of all, allow me to clarify, it's not an anti-government stance. It is a stance that is based on minimal government intervention let alone a government run by representatives who are not respecting the wishes of their constituents or even pretending to (re-visit Baron Hill). We on the right, are fine with government, as long as they know what they're doing, which obviously is not the case here. Pelosi goes on to state that it reminds her of...

In attempts to distance herself from the plethora of ACORN scandals that have been leaked to the press recently, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had the following to say regarding the legislative action taken against the group: "I don't even know what they passed," Pelosi told The Post yesterday. "What did they do? They defunded it?" Really? I thought you worked there...When your the Speaker of the House and the best option you can come up with to confront an organization like ACORN is to play dumb, you've got a lot of explaining to do. Clearly the left would rather look...

It's the end. At least its the end of the "compromise" healthcare reform bill that was supposed to bring together Democrats and Republicans in a dizzying spectacle of bipartisanship not seen since Pearl Harbor. (I did not say "since 9/11" because I'm convinced a great multitude of Democrats were faking it). But, instead of that, not a single Republican is endorsing the bill and and now Harry Reid, the leader of the Senate Democra majority, says he will join his Democrat colleague, Senator Rockefeller, and oppose the legislation: WASHINGTON - No sooner than the Senate Finance Committee's chairman released his...

Mitt Romney has not announced whether or not he’ll make a second run for the White House, but his former aides are staying in campaign shape by managing key races across the nation that could benefit their old boss in future elections. In at least six crucial races around the country, veterans of the former Massachusetts governor’s presidential campaign are working to guide new candidates to victory. It may appear a simple case of political professionals moving to new clients, but Romney’s team has kept in close contact should a second presidential campaign come to fruition. That could pay off,...

Oh, dear reader, where do we begin? A few days ago, I reported that one of Maine's GOP Senators, Olympia Snowe, had advised the president that there would be "no way" a healthcare overhaul that included any form of government run healthcare would pass the Senate. I continue to doubt her loyalty to the party, which I believe to be demonstrably shaky at best, but it seems she's just not all that willing to risk her career to serve her White House masters. Yesterday she announcecd she would not support the bill coming out of the Finance Committee, otherwise known...

As if his reputation wasn't sullied enough, former disgrace President Jimmy "(pea)Nuts" Carter, decided to weigh in on Rep. Joe Wilson's now infamous outburst. Taking a play from the Al Sharpton Handbook, Carter states that racism was the cause of the outburst. Carter said the following to ABC News: "I live in the South, and I've seen the South come a long way, and I've seen the rest of the country that shares the South's attitude toward minority groups at that time, particularly African-Americans." "That racism inclination still exists, and I think it's bubbled up to the surface because of...

After three days and three videos (two of which are here and here) showing ACORN employees at three different ACORN locations aiding a pimp and his whore evade taxes, commit bank fraud, break immigration laws, and place children in dire situations, the Senate has voted to terminate all federal funding for the liberal front group and Barack Obama's favorite organization. Finally, a bill I can support out of this Democrat hell hole of a Congress. This comes just one day after the Census Bureau announced it will no longer use ACORN as an assistant during the national census next year....

An IBD/TIPP poll found that two out of three physicians oppose the overhaul plan that congress is working on. The kicker though is that hundreds of thousands would consider closing their doors or retire early if the plan were to pass. In 2006 there were some 800,000 doctors. 45% would be about 360,000. Scary huh?

Those anticipating leadership and clarity from President Obama in last week’s address to Congress on health care reform were disappointed. He could have shown us that he had at last started listening to what most Americans were telling him and the Congress to do, and outlined proposals to address the weaknesses of the current health care system, the one that provides the highest level of care in the world. He could have endorsed several needed reforms, ones that Republicans support, which would change this Democrat crusade into a bi-partisan effort, changes like tort reform to lower malpractice and health insurance...

Dear Mr. President: As a 64-year-old, lifelong fiscal conservative and Republican since Nixon, may I humbly thank you? In the eight months or so since you took office, you have succeeded in reviving a party, the GOP, that many had left for dead. 1) You have named men to office so wildly irresponsible, so extreme in their positions, so vulgar in their means of expression, that they have made the Republican Party regain its of gleam of gentility and good graces. I am not talking only about the tough guy/ballet dancer Rahm Emanuel, who screamed like a jilted drunken sorority...

Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, one of the few Republicans you can count on to stab her own party in the back more than John McCain, has issued a dire warning to the White House. Snowe insists that there is "no way" a government run healthcare system will ever pass the Senate. Sayeth the thorn, “I’ve urged the president to take the public option off the table,” adding "it is universally opposed by Republicans," leaving many wondering if she was risking her "maverick" status at the New York Times by oddly including herself in the word "Republicans". Remember, this is the...

During the president's speech on Wednesday, Congressman Joe Wilson stunned a nation already on tenterhooks trying to figure out what the hell Barry was talking about. After the president claimed that the healthcare bill would not cover illegal aliens, Mr. Wilson decided he had had enough. "You LIE!", became the shot heard 'round the world, and Congressman Wilson had fired it. Since then, the good congressman (pictured below shouting the president down) has apparently raised $700,000. Not bad. But Joe wasn't the only Republican out there disgusted by what he heard. He was only the loudest. Congressman Louie Gohmert of...

The vast right-wing conspiracy has struck again!!! Twice in little more than 24 hours, in fact. Gah-lee, the liberals must be absolutely quaking in their boots thinking of who the next victim of "gotcha journalism" will be. For now I'm content with ACORN, but some intense journalistic undercover type stuff could probably expose some absolutely hillarious things about other government laugh riots. Like AmeriCorps. Anyway. In this segment of "Bend Over America: ACORN Loves Loose Women", we are taken to the ACORN headquarters in Washington, D.C., a headquarters brought to you by....YOURSELF! That's right, through your generous giving of mandatory...

Subject: Fw: Car czar To: This is unbelievable. This could be a scandal of epic proportions and one that makes Nixon's Watergate or Clinton's Monica Lewinsky affair pale by comparison. Why was there neither rhyme nor reason as to which dealerships of the Chrysler Corporation were to be closed? Roll the clock back to the weeks just before Chrysler declared bankruptcy. Chrysler, like GM, was in dire financial straights and federal government graciously offered to "buy the company" and keep them out of bankruptcy and "save jobs." Chrysler was, in the words of Obama and his administration, "Too big to...

Already credibly accused of committing approximately a zillion counts of voter fraud leading to more than one indictment, it now appears that the liberal front group the Association of Community Oranizers for Reform Now, better known as ACORN (cute, huh?), has some much bigger problems on its hands. And by the looks of Sonja, the ACORN "tax specialist" in the following video, its a really, really, really big problem (that was a reference to her being so damned fat). In the film below, you will see ACORN, which runs on the taxpayers' dime, advising a 20 year old woman and...

Besides breaking longstanding Congressional decorum, Congressman Joe Wilson is to be applauded for having the testicular fortitude to say what were we all thinking throughout the entirity of the president's speech last night. The video below is not presented so much to show you the spectacle, but because I think the "But how did you know!?" look on Pelosi's face is friggin' hillarious.In any case, Congressman Wilson has apologized for his remarks and has been roundly condemned by both Democrats and Republicans. But, not I. For while the networks and her Speakership will remain determined to focus on the act...

Under the brilliant leadership of my own beloved senator, John Cornyn, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is going for a full court press against the Democrat leadership in the senate, painting them as being in complete disarray. It's not hard to do in the wake of the August recess, which saw Democrats struggling to stay on message...whatever the message is, exactly. Public option, or not? No one can be sure. Under the brilliant leadership of my own beloved senator, John Cornyn, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is going for a full court press against the Democrat leadership in the senate,...

Van Jones’ sins are well known at this point: He called conservatives a vulgar name, to the cheers of his radical audience. He accused white people of deliberately polluting black neighborhoods and he signed on to a movement that accused the US government of being behind the 9-11 attacks, or that at least it knew of them in advance. And, most significantly, he is/was an avowed communist. But what were the “inside baseball” reasons to hire him?

Obama's recent AFLCIO speech was too good for conservative talk radio to pass up. As was his national address to public school students. You know that old saying.... If it seems to good to be true it is. It was all a big setup. Obama will use the negativity about his education speech to paint a fear mongering picture of anyone who opposes his Healthcare Plan. He set his position up, "purposefully"at the AFLCIO picnic yesterday by saying (loosely quoted) "The special interests are using fear to prevent reform from happening". He knew that nobody could pass up an opportunity...

The price of oil hit its all-time high in July of 2008, but since then has dropped by nearly 75 percent. Oil prices are now rising again and are likely to continue to climb as the world economy recovers. Oil man T. Boone Pickens believes that oil prices may reach $300 a barrel 10 years from now. History proves it, he said, and referred to the five OPEC revenue increases in the last five years. Why did oil prices rise last year to historic highs? And why are they rising again this year? Oil speculators are a favorite villain, but...

Our readers, being the very informed and responsble citizens that they are, are well aware of the release of one Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, "the only individual convicted in connection with the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. The event which killed 270 people, including all those on board, is now one of the most spoken of terrorist events in recent memory. On August 20, the British government released him on "compassionate grounds." Megrahi has terminal prostate cancer. Boo-hoo. The release of convicted terrorist Megrahi led the White House to issue a statement expressing "deep regret" for his release,...

NEW YORK (AP) — Weren't Republicans against Medicare before they were for it? It's a question vexing Democrats in the fierce battle over President Barack Obama's push for a health care overhaul as the head of the Republican Party has portrayed the GOP as the lone bulwark preventing deep cuts to the popular, government-run health plan for older people. It's a remarkable turnaround for a party whose leaders tried to slash billions from Medicare more than a decade ago and have assailed the program as a wasteful entitlement. None other than Ronald Reagan, a hero to Republicans, warned in 1961...

In a piece for Rasmussen Reports, Susan Estrich, a democratic strategist, completely makes the conservatives case on the public option. I'm not quite sure what she was trying to get across here, but I think it backfires. Let us take a look.

Needless to say, afte this video floats around a bit, Baron Hill will not be running "his" congressional office much longer. Nor will he be able to congratulate himself about what a benefocent leader he is for allowing his constituents to attend "his" townhall meetings. Seriously, guys it's just too good to be true.

I hear far too often from "moderates" and "independents" that politics is useless, or that our public discourse is too hardened by politics. They claim to hate partisanship and seem to believe that no matter what, they will never be heard. News flash: You're never heard because you never participate in our politics. Or, perhaps more correctly, you were never heard until now. Everyday more and more Americans are finally realizing that anything having to do with public policy, foreign relations and an entire slew of othe issues is politics, and in any discussion which requires the utterance of opinion...

I just finished reading a book, Don't Tread on Me, by Carol Gould, a U.S. ex pat who has lived her adult life in the U.K. Gould is a self declared conservative, at least in certain matters, and must be counted among the British intelligentsia. Over the last few years we have exchanged emails and she send me a complementary copy of her new book, Don't Tread On Me. It was a very quick read. It concerns itself with British anti-Americanism. When it comes to recognizing the the extend and significance of anti-Americanism, antisemitism and anti-Zionism, I am far from...

This woman hits the nail on the head on two accounts. Tort reform and competition.

Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) managed to irritate this conservative twice today....granted it's not a difficult thing to do, but still. Earlier Rangel threw down the race card while commenting on the ObamaCare bill stating: "Why do black people have to bargain for what is theirs? Why do we have to wait for the right to vote? Why can't we get what God has given us? And that is the right to live as human beings and not negotiate with white southerners and not court the votes. Just do the right thing," Rangel said....

All of you former Right Up Front readers know of my undying affection and unyielding loyalty to Mitt Romney. Indeed, he is my first choice for the nomination in 2012. Now it looks like the Stormin' Mormon may be testing the waters for an encore run at the GOP knod. Politico's Jonathan Martin has the details. After a few stops in some early primary states and lavish fundraiser at a "trendy" Washington eatery, there are many reasons for any former Romney fan to be hopeful. And who better to go up against a now-obviously undisciplined current White House resident than...

Every now and then I receive an email that I think deserves to be posted and a retired friend of mine in Kentucky sent this. He is not the author and dosen't know who is but I apprecieate him sending it.(Thanks Ed!) To Edisto Joe: Let me get this straight... Obama's health care plan is being written by a committee whose head says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it, by Congressmen and women who won't be subject to it, signed by a President who smokes, funded by a treasury chief who did not pay...

The president will be addressing schools on Tuesday in a speech that will give "A suggested lesson plan that calls on school kids to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help President Obama is troubling some education experts, who say it establishes the president as a "superintendent in chief" and may indoctrinate children to support him politically."

Writer for the Washington Post Dan Balz writes After a Bruising August, Time for Obama Team to Regroup. To coin a popular phrase "duh". I suspect Mr. Balz will eventually do a follow up article letting us know that the world is indeed not flat. Obama won the votes of the American people based on a soundbite platform of change. What TeamObama didn't anticipate is the American people pounding on the doors of legislators looking to collect. Nearly every Gallup Poll done within the last few weeks shows Obama's approval rating falling at a rate that should make Rahm Emmanuel...

On Monday evening I had the double pleasure of attending my first Log Cabin Republicans meeting (and dispelling a world of biases!) and hearing Texas Gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina speak. One of the major topics that Mrs. Medina spoke on was her stance on personal property rights and gun rights, which drew a strong, supportive applause from the attendees. However, after asking her a question on the topic, and further discussing with Jerrod Atkinson, a big Ron Paul and Debra Medina supporter, afterwards, I am still not convinced that her position is the right one. First of all, it is...

Oh, I’m sure some of you folks are laughing out loud at the idea that ex-vice president Dick Cheney considered by some to be an ideal candidate for president in 2012. But that’s only because you aren’t a rabid right-winger who thinks the only thing wrong with the Bush administration is that they didn’t torture enough Muslims. Believe me, they are out there: Craig Shirley, a longtime Republican strategist who often has his finger on the pulse of the party’s base, concurred while also noting that Cheney can galvanize conservatives in ways few other current figures can. “In 2009, there...

Famed author Joyce Carol Oates is now trying her hand at the moral relativism of the left, attempting to gloss over the actions of a younger Senator Kennedy many Americans never knew. In case America wasn't getting the picture, that liberals really do not see anything morally objectionable in Uncle Teddy's actions (and lack of action) at Chappaquiddick in 1969 that left a woman dead, E.J. Dionne did his part with his aptly titled article "Ted Kennedy's Humanity". You really must forgive me, dear reader, but I will not be participating in the maddening, hysterical race to hoist Ted Kennedy...

Michelle Roberts, AP writer writes in her piece San Antonio, restaurants fight fat by cooperating that San Antonio health officials, along with the help of the of our beloved Major Julian Castro, and the San Antonio Restaurant Association have decided to change the way food is consumed in this city. They are targeting local eateries and encouraging (read: threatening) them to offer healthier meal options, lest the restaurant be faced with future regulations or fines for non-compliance. The argue that the city is "getting heavier" and this is a viable options to combat that. Lest we succumb to the ravages...