Free Republic

It used to be that any “gang” of Senate centrists seeking a big legislative deal would have John McCain at its core — to the chagrin of Republican Party leaders. Not anymore. While a large group of Senate moderates worked behind closed doors in the Dirksen Building last week to fashion a compromise plan to trim the stimulus plan by some $100 billion, the original maverick was on the floor, leading conservative GOP opposition. McCain, R-Ariz., a longtime fiscal conservative but not always a tax cut advocate, said the plan is too costly and full of wasteful spending. He offered...

The swearing in of Barack Hussein Obama got off to a shaky start when the oath of office administered by Chief Justice John Roberts was flubbed not once, but twice. Perhaps they should have had a teleprompter. With the swearing-in successfully executed, Obama is officially the 44th President of the United States of America. So help us God. The frigid cold may not have deterred crowd turnout, but the 2-4 million people expected on the mall fell short of media-hyped predictions. Obama was lauded for having written his own speech, a speech that was promoted by the media as one...

On the day President Obama officially takes office as the 44th President of the United States, a Kansas museum honors the guy who lost the Presidential Race, John McCain; albeit for a much different reason. John McCain came in second to President Obama. Some say 2nd place is the first loser. It's probably frustrating to come so close to the Oval Office, but Mr. McCain can take comfort as one small town in Kansas proves 2nd place is more important to them than first. President Obama makes history as the first African-American Commander-in-Chief. But as millions honor the 44th President...

On the golf course Monday, a woman waiting at the 18th green reminded Obama of his disastrous bowling during the presidential campaign. It was an unwelcome reminder for Obama, whose golf game during a 12-day vacation has been just as troublesome. "That was pretty good, right?" Obama said to cheers as he finished a round of golf near his $9 million rented vacation home near Honolulu. The woman sitting on a nearby wall shouted, "Better than your bowling."

It's one of those things that sneaks up on you in politics, a sense of things happening not quite as you expected. It started in April when our Times colleague Louise Roug called with a quote from Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The Al Franken campaign is demanding the Minnesota Secretary of State oversee an “immediate and intensive search” for a lost envelope in November’s election. The lost envelope contains 133 ballots from Minneapolis Ward 3, Precinct 1. Minneapolis Ward 3, Precinct 1 covers the Dinkytown neighborhood and includes a large population of students at the University of Minnesota. "These ballots must be found,” Franken attorney Marc Elias said. “The outcome of this election is at stake. But let me be clear: The integrity of this election is also at stake, as is the integrity of Minnesota's electoral process. We won't stand...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has suffered a setback in regional elections, losing several key votes. While Mr Chavez's broad coalition managed to hold on to most of the regional governors' positions, he did lose the most critical votes including the mayor of Caracas and the governorships of the country's two most populous states. The mayor's job is often referred to as the second most important position in Venezuela. While Mr Chavez's popularity remains high, he has never recovered from the surprising loss last year of his sweeping constitutional reforms. He maintains he still wants to amend the country's constitution in...

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/movers_and_shakers/article5201252.ece

my couisn was murdered by obamas pals bill ayers and his naty wife bernadine dorhn. where the justice in electing their pal??

A Bush man was found guilty on Wednesday of having helped Dominic Robinson escape and cover up evidence after the killing of Samantha Jaume, the Mandeville-area homemaker murdered in front of her children on Independence Day, 2001. A St. Tammany Parish jury took less than an hour to find Zlatico "Zack" Brujic, 33, guilty of obstruction of justice, a charge that - because Brujic has a prior felony on his record - could garner 20 to 80 years in prison. State Judge Raymond Childress scheduled sentencing for Dec. 16. On July 4, 2001, Robinson followed Jaume, 25, and her four...

The Republican Party will file federal lawsuits Thursday seeking to overthrow the McCain-Feingold federal campaign finance regulations, Republican National Committee Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan revealed Wednesday night at a private dinner with the nation's Republican governors. The move is considered a slap in the face of the Republican Party's failed 2008 presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who was dramatically outspent by Democrat Barack Obama, and of President Bush, who signed McCain-Feingold into law in 2002. "We will bring two federal suits tomorrow to strengthen the Republican Party," Mr. Duncan told The Washington Times. Mr. Duncan said one...

Conservative radio buffoon Rush Limbaugh thinks of himself as an ace strategist and so he thought he was being extremely clever back in March when he launched "Operation Chaos" an effort to undermine frontrunner Barack Obama's chances in the fall election by prolonging the Democratic primary season and forcing Obama to deplete his resources early. Rushbo, accordingly, urged his conservative Republican listeners to take advantage of open primaries in many thats that allow non-Democrats to participate and vote for Hilary Clinton in order to drag the race out as long as possible. Brilliant eh? And how mischievous! Unfortunately the Limbaugh...

The Climate for Change By AL GORE THE inspiring and transformative choice by the American people to elect Barack Obama as our 44th president lays the foundation for another fateful choice that he — and we — must make this January to begin an emergency rescue of human civilization from the imminent and rapidly growing threat posed by the climate crisis. The electrifying redemption of America’s revolutionary declaration that all human beings are born equal sets the stage for the renewal of United States leadership in a world that desperately needs to protect its primary endowment: the integrity and livability...

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Friday the GOP lost the White House because the party was tainted by corruption, overspending and "sometimes came across as a bunch of grumpy old men." . . . . . "All we have to do is go back to the basics of fiscal conservatism, with a smile and come up with new ways to communicate with the younger voter," said Graham, who captured 58 percent of the vote in winning re-election against a little-known opponent.

Now the daggers come out. The paleocons and Obamacons and many others will plunge them into the back of John McCain. This is shameful. The American people have issued a referendum on the 2008 mutation of the Republican Party, whose ticket John McCain had the misfortune to lead. Let's recount briefly: enough bribe taking, page preying, foot tapping felons and filchers to fill the local jail; a record deficit; a financial crisis; a badly managed war; an incompetent response to a hurricane; an incumbent in the White House with record-low levels of approval. Against all this and into a headwind...

Phoenix Office: 5353 North 16th Street Suite 105 Phoenix, AZ 85016 Main: 602-952-2410 Fax: 602-952-8702 Tempe Office: 4703 South Lakeshore Drive Suite 1 Tempe, AZ 85282 Main: 480-897-6289 Fax: 480-897-8389 Tucson Office: 407 West Congress Street Suite 103 Tucson, AZ 85701 Main: 520-670-6334 Fax: 520-670-6637 Washington Office: 241 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Main: 202-224-2235 Fax: 202-228-2862 I call on Captain John S. McCain, USN (ret.), Republican, Senior Senator from Arizona, to put a stop to the public smearing of your erstwhile running mate, Governor Sarah L. Palin, Republican from Alaska. Governor Palin committed herself and her...

PHOENIX — With the election behind him and no transition to plan, Sen. John McCain woke up Wednesday and walked to Starbucks for his morning coffee — alone. Friends and advisers who joined him and his wife at their condo later said he was relaxed, joking and looking forward to getting back to work in the Senate after the bruising, two-year campaign. McCain and his close friend, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have already begun talking about legislative initiatives they want to tackle, and they're planning a trip to Afghanistan, aides said.

Listen up, people. ..this isn't even CLOSE to over. Perhaps you need a little motivation. . .

Keith Olbermann's e-mail response to Time about the Saturday Night Live sketch in which Ben Affleck parodied him this past weekend is so patently Keith Olbermann that it almost seems like the SNL staff wrote it. He begins lightheartedly enough: SNL and my Football Night In America show share adjoining studios, so upon my arrival yesterday, awaiting me was one of the cue cards from the bit, with Ben writing of the sketch: "Keith - Remember, a) I didn't write this; b) it took years of study - fondly, Ben." Right, so we are duly informed that (a) Ben Affleck...

The following is a youtube of Darcy Burner's interview with John Carlson and Ken Schram: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnhybrxEEVw

Ah hello Freepers, Up until a few days ago, I was an eyore. Yep. It looked grim..but something funny happened. And it happened in spite of the pundits, the Axelrods and the Obama spin machine. The people of America took a hard look at the messiah the supposed "learned classes" mean to foist on us, and they thought it over, and answered: "nope". See, America's a land of few words once we make our mind up. You can tell real Americans...we are the strong, silent types. When we move...we move mountains, liberate nations, even save the world thrice in the...

Barack Obama's recent words to promote his image as Community Organizer in Chief were not about forming a paramilitary force of volunteer brown shirts. They were about turning America into one, giant, community organizer's sandbox at enormous cost to taxpayers. Senator Obama was nearly 17 minutes into his July 2 speech (yet another one where naming Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was required) in Colorado Springs, Colorado when he deviated from his pre-released script and performed without the teleprompter net saying, "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set....

CNN) -- You may have heard that Wednesday night Barack Obama will be on five different TV networks speaking directly to the American people. He bought 30 minutes of airtime from the different networks, a very expensive purchase. But hey, he can afford it. Barack Obama is loaded, way more loaded than John McCain, way more loaded than any presidential candidate has ever been at this stage of the campaign. Just to throw a number out: He has raised well over $600 million since the start of his campaign, close to what George Bush and John Kerry raised combined in...

Stéphane Dion was expected to step down as leader of Canada's opposition Liberal party last night after less than two years at the helm and within a week of a drubbing at the general election. The frontrunner to succeed him is Michael Ignatieff, the former Harvard scholar and author, who is the party's deputy leader. However, Mr Ignatieff is sure to face stiff competition for the job. Mr Dion is only the second Liberal leader in Canada's 141-year history who has not become prime minister. The Liberals were for years viewed as the natural governing party, but have been on...

So much quality material in the IVI-IPO survey Obama filled out prior to him being in the national spotlight... Let's highlight a few "talking points" ------ TAXES 13. Do you favor a. a more progressive income tax? Yes. In this campaign I have advocated rolling back the Bush tax cuts for the top one-percent of taxpayers (those with incomes of more than $293,000 a year) in order to finance a badly needed expansion of health care coverage for millions of children and the unemployed. b. a flat tax? No. c. a national sales tax? No. d. reduction of the capital...

There were over 20,000 competitors in Sunday's Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. And 24-year-old Arien O'Connell, a fifth-grade teacher from New York City, ran the fastest time of any of the women. But she didn't win. It doesn't get much simpler than a footrace. All it takes is a starting line, a finish line and a clock. You fire the gun and the first person to the end of the course is the winner. However, as the marathon officials said to O'Connell - not so fast. While O'Connell had the greatest run of her life and covered the course...

At a business summit on energy, Politickerma.com reports, a prominent supporter of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Mass., made a crack about Sen. John McCain's age. "These are the exciting last two week moments of the presidential campaign," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., today in Cambridge, Mass. "So it's a very special time. I can't wait for it to be over. I am so tired of the press' silly questions that they ask along the way. And cable television which reduces everything to stupidity - the lowest common denominator of conflict." "I don't know if any of you know what it's like....

FAYETTEVILLE, NC: Colin Powell's intervention did not surprise me. I knew that he thought America was on the wrong track. Last summer I was speaking to one of his closest freinds. He phoned Colin Powell while I was with him and the former secretary of state was fixing his roof at the time. The message of the friend - a man who had also been in government - was that America was alienating the world by showing a harsh face. He went on: America was at its strongest when it was at its most generous. The country, he said, had...

MADONNA and GUY RITCHIE are to divorce, The Sun can exclusively reveal. A statement confirming their marriage is over has been prepared and is set to be released imminently. The couple are going public with their split because they “can’t bear to live with the pretence any longer”

FNC Embed Producer Mosheh just sent me this info…..scroll down to the bottom and you will see what Senator McCain says about ACORN (but he discusses other matters here as well): From: Oinounou, Mosheh To: Sent: Fri Oct 10 21:17:18 2008 Subject: URGENT: MCCAIN TRIES TO TAMP DOWN SUPPORTERS SAYING TAKE DOWN OBAMA FNC LIVE Lakeville, MN Town Hall Meeting McCain is trying to tone down the over-the-top, extremist and bigoted rhetoric coming from his supporters with a simple message “it’s got to be respectful.” It did not go over that well among some of his hardcore Republican base who...

After days of watching in silence, McCain calms the crowd at his Minnesota town meeting. “I want everyone to be respectful. And let’s make sure we are, because that’s the way politics is done in America.” Tells one supporter who says he’s scared of an Obama presidency: “I have to tell you, he is a decent person, a person that you do not have to be scared [of] as president of the United States.” After a woman calls Obama “an Arab,” McCain interrupts to say: “No, ma’am. He is a decent family man, citizen

McCain just killed all the momentum and enthusiasm of the last week with this simple sentence in response to an angry attendee at a rally tonight: “I have to tell you, he is a decent person, a person that you do not have to be scared [of] as president of the United States." “No, ma’am. He is a decent family man, citizen"

CNBC's Mad Money showhost Jim Cramer made an on-air apology last night (9/30/08) for recommending Wachovia stock just 2-weeks ago. His recommendation followed a Mad Money appearance by Wachovia's CEO Robert Steel. On Sept. 15, the day Steel appeared on the Cramer's TV show, Wachovia stock closed at $10.71 per share. On Sept. 29th, it closed at $1.84 per share. Youtube likely has the clip showing Steel's appearance. And last night after Wachovia's implosion, comes Cramer's apology: "I let you down, because I wasn't skeptical enough." Compare Cramer's "I let you down because I wasn't skeptical enough" statement with America's...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said the Wall Street bailout plan pushed by President Bush signaled the “final collapse” of the current administration. “The Bush administration has now provided three case studies in arrogance, isolation and destructiveness: Michael Brown during Hurricane Katrina, Ambassador Jerry Bremer in Baghdad and Secretary [Henry] Paulson at Treasury,” Gingrich said. “It is a tragic and very expensive legacy. No conservative and no Republican should doubt how much it has hurt our cause and our party.” The former Speaker reiterated his call for the resignation of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. “As long as Secretary Paulson...

Constitution Party of Illinois News   Dear Constitutionalists, I just received some VERY significant and important news.  Dr. Ron Paul has just officially endorsed Constitution Party Candidate for President, Chuck Baldwin. "I’ve thought about the unsolicited advice from the Libertarian Party candidate, and he has convinced me to reject my neutral stance in the November election.   I’m supporting Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate."-- Ron Paul This is, quite frankly, the first bit of good news that I've heard in a while and what a huge bit it is ! ! ! !  Below is the statement just...

The straw grabbing will start as the sunsets on the ill fated quixotic campaign of Barack Obama and Sancho Biden sweeps up the donkey droppings, while they drag themselves through Washington, their hometown. We will hear more and more about how he will stun conventional thinkers with improbable victories in a few states. Obama will say he is going to win a few southern states, namely Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. Nothing in politics is truly impossible of course but the odds against an Obama victory in these states is as close to impossible as you can get. Recently, the...

The generic numbers are collapsing. The terribly bad choice the Democrats have made in nominating Barack Obama is beginning to threaten their down ballot candidates. As I have pointed out before, Barack Obama is turning into a flaming tire around the neck of many of their own candidates. A new Gallup poll released today shows that the “generic ballot” choice for American voters has closed from 11 points just last week to just 3 points today. Obviously the comparison between Gov. Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden has made things worse and increased the bleeding rather than helped the Democrats...

Amie Parnes reports from Lebanon, VA: Obama poked fun of McCain and Palin's new "change" mantra. "You can put lipstick on a pig," he said as the crowd cheered. "It's still a pig." "You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still gonna stink." "We've had enough of the same old thing." The crowd apparently took the "lipstick" line as a reference to Palin, who described the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull in a single word: "lipstick."

did anybody see this yet? His whole attitude really gave me the creeps...and I tried to follow his logic on both arguements and I am scratching my head...am I missing something? Does this mean that Bush and Obama agree?

Sen. Barack Obama said he was "puzzled" when Gov. Sarah Palin scoffed at his early career as a community organizer, which he said was just the kind of "country first" action that the Republicans should endorse. "It's curious to me that they would mock that, when I, at least, think that that's exactly what young people should be doing," the Democratic presidential nominee said in an exclusive interview on "This Week." Palin got a big laugh at the Republican National Convention last week when she said that her former job as a small town mayor was sort like a community...

From: info@barackobama.com(Barack Obama) Date: Thu, Sep 4, 2008, 8:36pm (PDT+3) To: DELETED BY ME Subject: The attacks King Vanity Why would the Republicans spend a whole night of their convention attacking ordinary people? With the nation watching, the Republicans mocked, dismissed, and actually laughed out loud at Americans who engage in community service and organizing. Our convention was different. We gave the stage to everyday Americans who hunger for change and stepped up to make phone calls, knock on doors, and raise money in small amounts in their communities. You may have missed it, but we also showed the country a...

DENVER — A prominent union leader on Tuesday blamed racism for Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) failure to build a big lead over GOP rival Sen. John McCain. Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), said many workers are considering voting for McCain (R-Ariz.) because of his military service and status as a hero of the Vietnam War. McEntee said several union members had approached him, saying they could not vote for Obama because of his race. He also said some local union presidents have failed to support Obama out of fear. “There are...

DENVER -- The Ralph Nader for President campaign in Colorado revved up to start its demonstration march at the onset of the Democratic National Convention. All six supporters were ready to go, leaflets in hand, their 15-foot-tall brown beer-bottle protest balloon was inflated and tied down on the trailer behind the 18-year-old silver Ford F-150 pickup. Then disaster struck -- the generator powering the air-pump that kept the balloon afloat died. Out of gas. The giant balloon shriveled and went limp. One of the Naderites sprinted off for the nearest gas station. "We're trying to draw attention to our rally...

Barack Obama's selection of U.S. Sen. and former presidential candidate Joe Biden as his running mate is not generating a momentous immediate reaction from the nation's voters. Just 14% of registered voters interviewed in a new USA Today/Gallup poll say Biden makes them more likely to vote for Obama in November and 7% say less likely while 72% say he will not have much effect on their vote. This results in Biden potentially having a net positive impact on voter support for the Democratic ticket of +7 percentage points -- small by comparison with other recent vice presidential selections. A...

I would like to reinforce the disaster [Romney] was for our state, said Walsh. There were 40,000 fewer people working in Massachusetts when he left than when he arrived. That is because we actually had a loss in population for two consecutive years under his stewardship. That is why Mitt Romney was so unpopular when he left. Forty-one percent of Massachusetts voters would be less likely to vote for John McCain if Mitt Romney were on the ticket. // For more information go to www.TheNextCheney.com

ABC Radio news just announced Sen. John Edwards will admit to the affair with Rielle Hunter in an interview with the network, but insists the child is not his. We return you to your regularly-scheduled FReeping.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) opposes President Bush's proposal to lift the ban, saying the debate "is not about producing more oil, it's really about producing more profits for Big Oil." He said oil companies should exploit the land and undersea areas already available to them for oil drilling. His Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer, takes a Jersey-centric view of offshore drilling. Zimmer says he is open to environmentally safe drilling off the coasts. But, he says, "I would oppose drilling off the Jersey Shore or anywhere else that would pose a danger to the Jersey Shore."

"A hankering for special sauce at his neighborhood Subway led a Jacksonville man to dial 911 - twice - after the sauce was left off his spicy Italian sandwich." "Peterson walked into the Arlington sandwich shop about 7:45 p.m. Thursday and ordered two subs - a spicy Italian with everything and a chicken breast. When he discovered the spicy Italian didn't have sauce, he demanded that it be corrected, according to a police report." "Reginald Peterson, 42, told officers he called the emergency number so he could have his subs made correctly, according to a police report. A few minutes...

An embarrassing gallery of photos showing Bay State Sen. John Kerry surrounded by young women partying on Nantucket was a dockside encounter and nothing more, the senator’s office tells the Herald. The senator’s office said the images of Kerry are nothing but a chance encounter on a dock, and Kerry kept on walking after being caught on camera, according to a statement sent to bostonherald.com this afternoon.

Danica Patrick Fight Video With Buxom Milka Duno: Practice at Honda Indy 200 By Jon Shanks Jul 21, 2008 Danica Patrick is at it again. The spicy Indy race car driver usually makes more noise off the track with her racy photos for maxim or her Go Daddy commercials with gals like Candice Michelle. She now has a cat fight to add to her resume, this one with the busty Milka Duno, a fellow female race car driver that turns heads off the track as well.