Free Republic

As America bids farewell to the space shuttle era on Thursday, likely presidential candidate Rick Perry appears none too pleased with the Obama administration, accusing the president of “leaving American astronauts with no alternative but to hitchhike into space.” In a sharply worded statement issued by the governor of Texas -- the state is home to the Johnson Space Center -- Perry charges that the Obama Administration “continues to lead federal agencies and programs astray, this time forcing NASA away from its original purpose of space exploration, and ignoring its groundbreaking past and enormous future potential.”

America belongs in space. After Space Shuttle Atlantis lands this week, the American space program is where it was fifty years ago: lacking a proven capability to put astronauts into low earth orbit. Most Americans cannot remember a time when the United States wasn’t the world leader in space exploration. Make no mistake, this is President Obama’s space legacy. NASA’s budget is being refocused on global warming and other politically charged projects instead of manned space flight. No word on whether “outreach to Muslim nations” remains a NASA priority. After the launch of Atlantis on July 8, sympathetic media outlets...

<p>With the landing of the Atlantis shuttle only a few days away, reality is setting in: For the first time in more than 50 years, the United States of America will not have the capability of launching American astronauts into space.</p>

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the launch of TechGirls, an educational initiative for girls from Muslim countries interested in technology. "It will bring teenage girls from the Middle East and North Africa for an intensive month of educational activities here in the United States," Clinton said Wednesday. Clinton made the announcement at the closing luncheon honoring the first class of participants from TechWomen, a public-private partnership that brought emerging female leaders in technical fields from predominately Muslim countries to the United States for one month. The women were paired with 24 leading, U.S. technology companies in Silicon Valley...

Despite knowing the Hamas ties of Kifah Mustapha, the FBI gave him a guided tour of a top-secret counterterrorism center and access to classified investigative techniques.Court documents filed last month by the Department of Justice in a federal civil rights lawsuit shows that Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Robert Grant of the FBI Chicago field office had warned the Illinois State Police: newly appointed Muslim chaplain Kifah Mustapha would never pass an FBI background check. Mustapha’s long association with terrorist group Hamas occurred at virtually the same time that Mustapha was admitted into the FBI Citizens’ Academy sponsored by SAC...

"The best argument against a true democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter." -- Winston Churchill In the Obama Administration’s continuing effort to embrace Muslims and their culture, the United States government will for the first time host an international Islamic forum held annually in the Middle East and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will headline the three-day event which begins today, according to a public-interest watchdog group that investigates and prosecutes government and political corruption. Created to address issues critical to Arabs and Muslims, the U.S.-Islamic World Forum will come to Washington D.C. this week after eight...

JERUSALEM – In partnership with a government fund initiated by Barack Obama, philanthropist and billionaire activist George Soros is investing in a private equity company that just launched in the Palestinian territories. The company, Siraj Fund Management Company, says it was created "for the sole purpose of managing investment funds in Palestine." The new company's website repeatedly refers to what it calls the "country" of "Palestine." There is, however, no such country as Palestine. Siraj is apparently referring to territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority....This week, Siraj Fund Management Company, the first private equity fund in the Palestinian territories, officially...

The implementation of the new TSA passenger screening policy is indicative of just how politically correct and moronic our society is becoming. When Americans fly, we can now choose between being photographed in the nude and being fondled. Yet since 9/11, America has been attacked in the air only by radical Muslim males. Therefore, Homeland Security has concluded that we should search 80-year-old grandma’s bra lines. What kind of country are we becoming when our citizens are forced to endure such invasive searches without due process in an effort to appease the very group of people who are seeking to...

JAKARTA, Indonesia — In the Muslim nation that was his boyhood home, President Barack Obama acknowledged today that U.S. relations are still frayed with the Islamic world despite his best efforts at repair. He urged all sides to look beyond "suspicion and mistrust" to forge common ground against terrorism. Forcefully returning to a theme he sounded last year in visits to Turkey and Egypt, Obama said: "I have made it clear that America is not and never will be at war with Islam. . . . Those who want to build must not cede ground to terrorists who seek...

You have to wonder what on earth ABC’s “This Week” host Christiane Amanpour is thinking by holding a so-called town hall meeting this close to a pivotal midterm election. On the Oct. 3 broadcast of “This Week,” the brainiacs at ABC determined it would be appropriate to pitch Christian leaders again moderate and extremist Muslims. This choice of programming comes at a time when many conservatives have chastised for being outspoken over the placement of Islamic worship center near the Sept. 11 Ground Zero site. However, perhaps the most alarming statement on Amanpour’s program came from Anjem Choudary, a former...

Just months after NASA Administrator Charles Bolden drew public attention for claiming his “foremost” directive from the Obama White House was increased outreach to the Muslim world, he’s embarked on a trip this weekend to Saudi Arabia. In early July, Bolden told Al Jazeera network that one of President Obama’s directives for him was “to reach out to the Muslim world and engage with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and engineering.” Days later, the White House contradicted Bolden’s remarks; Press secretary Robert Gibbs reported that such activities were not among Mr....

WASHINGTON – Former prime minister Tony Blair warned on Sunday that the roots of radical Islam were far deeper than we think and said Al-Qaeda would have killed 300,000 on September 11, 2001 if they could. "This is actually more like the phenomenon of revolutionary communism," Blair said in an interview with ABC News, commenting on the reach of Islamic extremism. "It's the religious or cultural equivalent of it, and its roots are deep, its tentacles are long, and its narrative about Islam stretches far further than we think into even parts of mainstream opinion who abhor the extremism, but...

WASHINGTON – The White House is contradicting the NASA administrator's claim that President Barack Obama assigned him to reach out to Muslims on science matters. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden recently told Al-Jazeera network that one of the charges Obama gave him was "to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and engineering." Some conservative activists criticized the remarks. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that such activities are not among Bolden's assigned tasks. He said administration officials have spoken with...

WASHINGTON – The White House is contradicting the NASA administrator's claim that President Barack Obama assigned him to reach out to Muslims on science matters. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden recently told Al-Jazeera network that one of the charges Obama gave him was "to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and engineering." Some conservative activists criticized the remarks. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that such activities are not among Bolden's assigned tasks. He said administration officials have spoken with...

WASHINGTON — NASA is seeking industry proposals for the design of a new rocket to take machines and humans beyond Earth orbit. The space agency released a "broad area announcement" on Monday (June 28) soliciting concepts from the aerospace industry for a heavy-lift rocket and new propulsion technologies. Heavy-lift launchers have traditionally consisted of three rocket stages needed to boost a payload beyond Earth orbit. NASA wants to use the new capability to reach various points in the solar system, including asteroids, the moon, Mars and Lagrange points. Lagrange points are locations in space where gravitational forces and the orbital...

WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said Tuesday that President Barack Obama has asked him to “find ways to reach out to dominantly Muslim countries” as the White House pushes the space agency to become a tool of international diplomacy. “In addition to the nations that most of you usually hear about when you think about the International Space Station, we now have expanded our efforts to reach out to non-traditional partners,” said Bolden, speaking to a lecture hall of young engineering students.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The White House on Friday announced a "summit on entrepreneurship" to build economic ties with the Islamic world, part of President Barack Obama's outreach to Muslims. The White House said it has invited participants from more than 40 countries over five continents for the April 26-27 conference in Washington.

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...

Muslim Extremists Seeking to Foster One Islamic WorldBy David KeeneTheHill.com | February 20, 2003 President Bush has come under some criticism recently for his outreach to the U.S. Muslim community because administration officials have apparently met with some groups that have ties -- direct or indirect -- with extremist groups here and in the Middle East.Still, and in spite of the criticism he continues to reach out.The president's position is understandable and even commendable. He doesn't want to do anything to make it appear that he's leading an anti-Muslim crusade because this would drive millions of Muslims into the extremist...