Free Republic

President Obama's job approval rating has dropped below 50 percent for the first time since he assumed office, according to Gallup's tracking poll. The poll averages results over three days. When Obama took office, the poll measured his approval rating at 68 percent for the Jan. 21-23, 2009, period. His approval rating was as high as 54 percent just two weeks ago, but the overall trend line has been down since the summer.

Climate researchers at the University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit may have intentionally and artificially skewed temperature data in studies The field of global warming is a fascinating facet of atmospheric science. Unfortunately, few are approaching the topic from an unbiased perspective -- the majority is dead set on proving it, while other are equally passionate about disproving it, or at least removing the implication that man may play a role in global warming. Both sides have been found to falsify data, withhold information, or otherwise distort views on the topic, reportedly. Notably internal investigations found that the Bush...

It's easy to make fun of Glenn Beck. We've done it here, and Beck even does it himself (as on the November cover of his Fusion magazine). But over the last couple of weeks, as Beck lay recuperating from appendicitis, he's been the target of numerous satirical skewerings, from such parodists as 'Saturday Night Live,' 'The Daily Show,' and 'South Park.' Some of these barbs have gone beyond mocking his on-air antics and have gotten viciously personal. Not that we want to be the Beck-lash police, but to paraphrase a well-known Britney Spears fan, is it time to leave Glenn...

As the economy drifts listlessly going into this holiday season, thoughts of sugar-plumbed call options and zombie companies (Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE), and Citibank (C)) are dancing in the heads of day traders, fund managers and CNBC. Hooray, hooray, everything is OK! Well, not quite. While Wall Street is feasting on the greatest secular bear market bounce in history, Main Street is experiencing persistent and formidable economic famine, the likes of which, have not been seen the Great Depression – which recorded the second greatest secular bear market bounce in history.

One of the BEST ways to stop vote fraud is to volunteer as an Election Judge, Clerk, or Poll Watcher. I need help in Clear Lake, Texas for the Houston Mayoral Runoff Election on December 12, 2009. You MUST be a registered voter who lives within the city limits of Houston to qualify. This election is for practice. When you have the training, you can go on to become an Election Judge, Alternate Judge, or Poll Watcher in a precinct where fraud is expected. There are over 50 precincts just in the Houston area where fraud has been a problem....

Bosse enters race for GOP nod in New Hampshire’s satirical 00th district November 20, 2009 by Patrick Filed under News & Politics 2 Comments 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...

In a fast-paced world, life can sometimes be daunting. Fortunately, the state of Michigan has online advice for almost every aspect of life, from shopping to gardening, eating to driving. Sure, some of it may be painfully obvious, nitpicky or bizarre, but just remember: The state knows what's best for you.

The Obama Justice Department is having problems prosecuting terrorist cases because top department attorneys have conflicts of interest. According to documents obtained exclusively by The Washington Times, Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli, No. 3 official in the Justice Department, had to recuse himself on at least 13 active detainee cases and at least 26 cases listed as either closed or mooted....

The media is stirring up drama regarding tomorrow's vote - namely, they are speculating whether Landrieu and Lincoln will vote with Reid to start debate. Of course they will. Three big reasons: (a) "Keep the Ball Rolling". Tomorrow's vote - like all of the votes to date - is a process vote, meaning that Obama and the leadership can argue, "Vote yea to keep the process going. We can improve the bill later if you stick with us." Every vote they have won to date has, I think, been won based on this argument - and it should carry the...

David Farr, CEO of Emerson Electric Co., said federal governmental policies are hurting U.S. manufacturing. He cited cap and trade, health care reform and labor rules as undermining the industry and its ability to expand and grow jobs domestically. He said that his company will continue to focus on growth overseas. Emerson, the maker of electrical equipment and InSinkErator garbage disposals with $20.9 billion in sales for the year ended September, will keep expanding in emerging markets, which represented 32 percent of revenue in 2009. About 36 percent of manufacturing is now in “best-cost countries” up from 21 percent in...

If you are dyslexic or know someone who is,,,best selling author Vince Flynn will be discussing growing up with dyslexia. STAND UP AMERICA, GET OUT OF THE FETAL POSITION AND MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD. Welcome to the GLENN BECK television thread...Shake the cobwebs out of your brain...We are another day closer to the REVOLUTION that will change the 2010 elections. All comrades, infidels, sick twisted freaks and lurkers are welcome and are encouraged to participate in the thread. Join us won't you!

Japan Government Says Economy Back In DeflationRolfe Winkler Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:03am EST TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Japan's government said for the first time since 2006 that the economy was back in deflation, warning of the risk that price falls may pressure a fragile economy barely out of its worst recession in decades. The announcement came as the Bank of Japan kept interest rates near zero and upgraded its economic assessment, despite grumblings from the government, which is worried about price falls and the risk of another recession. "Recent price developments show that the Japanese economy is in...

Yesterday, The Arkansas Hands-Off Healthcare Bus Tour went through Arkansas. Guest speakers included Dick Morris, Jim Miller of 60 Plus, Dr. Kathy Chenault, and Teresa Oakle. Here is some video footage of that event. More footage will come soon. http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-5433-Little-Rock-Immigration-Examiner~y2009m11d20-Healthcare-video--Events http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rho6J-7Jr6w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skJGUUmVsRU Same video in case there are problems with youtube. http://keeparkansaslegal.blogspot.com/2009/11/hands-off-healthcare-video-footage.html Saturday November 21st. We will need as many Secure Arkansas Volunteers as possible for the Arkansas Razorbacks game. You can show up on your own or call 501-412-4063 to meet with other Secure Arkansas members. You will be called back within a few minutes. Sunday November 22nd The...

News is spreading across the internet like wildfire today that emails from the East Anglia Climate Research Unit in England (not too far from where I used to live) have been hacked by someone and released on the web. An Australian publication called Investigate Magazine says it has spoken to the head of the organization, Dr. Phil Jones, who has confirmed that his organization was hacked and that these emails appear to be genuine. If that is indeed the case, the material contained in these emails seem to constitute an astonishing acknowledgement of what I and many others have been...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- There are 18 separate tax hikes in the Reid-Obama healthcare bill. One of them caps the amount that can be deferred in Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) at $2500 per year (a similar provision was included in the Pelosi-Obama health bill and written about by Congressman Cathy McMorris-Rogers, R-Was., for National Review Online). There is currently no limit to how much can be saved, though all monies must be used by the end of the year. Employers may put a cap in place for their employees, but this would put a cap in federal tax law...

The Senate Select Committee on Ethics has completed its investigation of Sen. Roland Burris, and his office is trumpeting its finding that he committed no "actionable violations of the law." What his press release didn't mention is that the committee also found he had provided "incorrect, inconsistent, misleading or incomplete information" about his appointment to the Senate. Which is senatorese for, "Pants on fire!"

NILE, Wash. – A gigantic landslide that buried a highway, uprooted homes and rerouted a river in Washington state's Cascade Range left hundreds of smaller victims: fish. The landslide that inundated the Naches River last month created a barrier of millions of cubic yards of silt, mud and rock that slowed — and likely confused — spawning salmon and hungry trout. Then workers opened a freshly dug river channel that stranded small fish in ponds and marshes. Fisheries biologists from 10 government agencies and private groups are working shifts to try to save the fish. The effort marks a step...

The West is "disappointed" over Iran's failure to respond positively to a UN-brokered nuclear deal, diplomats said in a statement Friday following a meeting of the UN Security Council's five permanent members plus Germany. However, no new sanctions were discussed during the meeting, according to an EU source. "We urge Iran to reconsider the opportunity offered by this agreement ... and to engage seriously with us in dialogue and negotiations," the statement said, noting that Teheran had not responded positively to the proposal of the International Atomic Energy Agency. An EU official said there was no mention of imposing further...

Heard on CNN: Hasan conversant and aware of his charges, coherent. Paralysed from waist down. Targeted only soldiers, passed over civilians. Shot one soldier 3 times until he fell, then shot him 3 more times. Soldier survived.

THE UNITED STATES WILL NOT APOLGIZE FOR DEFENDING & PROMOTING LIBERTY: We do not say we're sorry to other nations, organizations, or individuals for our involvement in world affairs in defense of our citizens' life and liberty, and in defense of our national and vital interests. We count interfering with and bringing down tyrants and dictators like Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, Stalin, Mao, Noriega, Hussein, the Taliban, Al Quida and others as an honor. We bow to NOONE in this regard and demand that our elected and appointed officials not do so. If similar individuals, nations, or groups threaten our...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A new report says nuclear power plants would take too long to build and are too expensive to make any impact on global warming. The report, released by Wisconsin Environment, an environmental advocacy organization, notes scientists believe developed nations must reduce emissions dramatically by 2020 to limit global warming. The report says the first new nuclear reactor in the United States probably won't be completed until at least 2016. Money that would go to new plants would be better spent on renewable sources. State Rep. Mike Huebsch, a West Salem Republican, has pushed to repeal Wisconsin's...

GENEVA (AFP) – The world's biggest atom-smasher, shut down after its inauguration in September 2008 amid technical faults, restarted on Friday, a spokesman for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research said. "The first tests of injecting sub-atomic particles began around 1600 (1500 GMT)," CERN spokesman James Gillies told AFP. He said the injections lasted a fraction of a second, enough for "a half or even a complete circuit" of the Large Hadron Collider built in a 27-kilometre (17-mile) long tunnel straddling the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva. "If all goes well tonight we will try to circulate a beam of particles...

Britain was embroiled in a diplomatic row today after the Royal Navy was accused of using a Spanish flag as a machine-gun target. Giles Paxman, the UK's new ambassador in Madrid, was forced to apologise after sailors fired at a red-and-yellow flag affixed to a buoy while patrolling off Gibraltar.

A Spooner man involved in the Interstate 35 bridge collapse gets prison time for brutally beating a toddler. Michael Stoner was sentenced to 7.5 years for beating his fiance's 2-year-old daughter Emma. Stoner attacked Emma Manning the same day as the Interstate 35 bridge collapse. He and Emma's mother were in a car that plunged into the Mississippi River. Stoner told reporters the two swam to shore and ran to the hospital to be with the girl. What he didn't mention was that Emma was in the hospital there because she was beaten so badly she had to be flown...

Join Jim and Rose every morning 6-9 AM on WPGB. You can go to www.warroom.com for information and joining up and getting the show archives and other goodies..plus they will use your donations to give a ServiceMan or Woman free access to their Show and website

The files leaked Wednesday that are spreading around the world at the speed of Internet are genuine files from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia--and should they prove to be accurate, they paint a clear picture of a group of scientists intent on message discipline, enforcing the party line--to the point where they changed presentations, colluded on peer review and tried to get uncooperative editors fired and boycott journals which didn't adopt a sufficiently alarmist position. If you're just coming to this story, Part 1 and Part 2 are here. Examiner.com has examined these documents and...

Gold prices, which have already soared to record levels in recent weeks, could get a further boost from a new investor: central banks. Several central banks are joining average investors in betting that weak currencies—particularly the US dollar—could be a friend to the gold trade for quite some time. AP After a weak summer, gold has rallied strongly over the past three months on the belief that that the dollar will continue to fall until the US economic recovery is on more solid footing. For Rob Lutts, CIO of Cabot Management in Salem, Mass., bull markets such as gold's run...

Jobs’ Personal, Terse Reply to Developer Written on November 20, 2009 by Liam Cassidy Gotta love that Steve Jobs. He never was one to hold back, and even now, when he’s the CEO of the Universe (or something like that), he won’t be found spouting corporate speak. CrunchGear tells the story of a small software development company called The Little App Factory. It made an app for the Mac called iPodRip, one of those tools for transferring music from an iPod to a computer. A law firm representing Apple sent The Little App Factory a letter, informing the company it had...

The video begins with Obama and the troops in Korea, but touches on some other well-know photo-ops as well.

DINWIDDIE, Va. – The driver of a Miley Cyrus tour bus was killed Friday when the bus overturned, but the 16-year-old "Hannah Montana" star wasn't on board, Virginia State Police said. Sgt. Thomas Molnar said the bus ran off the left side of Interstate 85, struck an embankment and overturned. The accident occurred around 8:15 a.m. in Dinwiddie County, about 40 miles south of Richmond. Speed and weather weren't considered factors. The driver, William G. Douglas, 53, of Austin, Texas, died at the scene, police said.

A top Senate Republican lashed out against lawmakers of both parties for supporting legislation that would audit the Federal Reserve, accusing the bipartisan group of “political pandering” to populist anger. Sen. Judd Gregg, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, says he’s worried that politicians on Capitol Hill are sacrificing the Fed’s historic independence because the Fed has become unpopular during the economic crisis. “This move to bring the Fed’s conduct of monetary policy under the control of Congress is a grave threat to our economy. Congress has demonstrated time and again its inability to manage the nation’s fiscal...

Andrew Stern is a close friend of President Barack Obama. That's hardly a revelation. His organization, the Service Employees International Union, spent more than $60 million to get him elected. And President Obama has made clear that he is fully committed to promoting the political goals of organized labor. But Stern may have gone outside federal law in his nearly two dozen documented White House visits through this mid-September. The SEIU president is a former registered lobbyist, but has been acting as though he is still one. A prominent Washington, D.C. nonprofit group and one of its affiliates recently sent...

Geithner Pushes Back, Blames Bush Administration for Problems Echoing comments made by a Democratic lawmaker Wednesday night, two Republican members of the Joint Economic Committee today called for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to resign. "It's been a year since the president was elected," the panel's ranking Republican, Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, said at a hearing this morning featuring Geithner. "It's appropriate for the American people to assess how well the administration's economic policies are working. They are not. They have failed." "Unemployment has skyrocketed far past the White House's projections and promises. America continues to shed jobs: More than...

People who unlawfully download copyrighted material could be disconnected from their internet accounts as part of the Digital Economy Bill, a major overhaul to the UK's technology legislation. The bill, unveiled on Friday, will oblige ISPs to send notifications to customers who are suspected of infringing copyright. ISPs will also be forced to record the number of notifications a user has received and send this data to rights holders, such as record companies, so they can apply for a court order for the user's name and address. The rights holder can then launch civil proceedings against the infringer. The minister...

Two months ago, there was the "Dog Ate My Global Warming Data" episode. As noted at NewsBusters and at BizzyBlog (original source: National Review Online), we learned that important raw data forming the underpinning of global warming alarmists' claims about the earth's temperatures heating up has vanished. It is longer available and apparently can't be reverse engineered. Today, e-mails hacked from a UK climate research facility appear at a minimum to indicate a willingness by scientists to fudge the data to make alleged warming trends more clear and convincing. At worst, the whole enterprise could be totally discredited. Important and...

Read the full billRead the tax revenue score from the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) Read the budget and tax score from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) PDF of this DocumentIndividual Mandate Tax (Page 324/Sec. 1501/$8 bil): Starting in 2014, anyone not buying “qualifying” health insurance must pay an income surtax according to the following schedule (capped at 8 percent of income): ==============> Check out this important piece, at ATR.org...

John McCain may have been the Republican Party's national standard bearer last year, but now it looks like he may have a hard time just hanging on to his Senate seat. A new Rasmussen Reports poll of likely 2010 GOP primary voters in Arizona finds the longtime incumbent in a virtual tie with potential challenger, J.D. Hayworth. McCain earns 45% of the vote, while Hayworth picks up 43%. Another candidate, anti-illegal immigration activist Chris Simcox, is picking up 4%. Hayworth, 51, a conservative former U.S. congressman who now is a popular radio talk show host in Phoenix, is reportedly interested...

The National Football League has become an arm of the Obama administration with its partnership with Obama's "United We Serve" program.A video posted by the Obama administration to YouTube this week that is planned to air during broadcasts of the NFL's Thanksgiving Day games shows Barack Obama playing football on the White House lawn.The one-minute-thirty-second propaganda video is entitled, President Obama, United We Serve, and the NFL Team Up for Fitness and Service and is described by the administration on the site:In support of his United We Serve initiative, President Obama and NFL stars Drew Brees, DeMarcus Ware, and Troy...

So far one of the most circulated e-mails from the CRU hack is the following from Phil Jones to the original hockey stick authors - Michael Mann, Raymond Bradley, and Malcolm Hughes. From: Phil Jones To: ray bradley ,mann@xxxxx.xxx, mhughes@xxxx.xxx Subject: Diagram for WMO Statement Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:31:15 +0000 Cc: k.briffa@xxx.xx.xx,t.osborn@xxxx.xxx Dear Ray, Mike and Malcolm, Once Tim’s got a diagram here we’ll send that either later today or first thing tomorrow. I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd...

A man who strangled his wife during a nightmare in which he dreamed he was attacking an intruder has been freed. Brian Thomas, 59, was released after the prosecution withdrew the case against him at Swansea Crown Court. It had been seeking a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity but said later there would be no purpose in sending Mr Thomas to a psychiatric hospital. Family members who were in court for the hearing, greeted the news with a jubilant cry of "yes". Mr Thomas' brother Raymond spoke of his relief as he left court. "Family and...

When Mac Taylor, the Legislature's chief budget adviser, declared this week that the state budget enacted just four months ago is already billions of dollars upside down, no one in the Capitol should have been surprised. Anyone with half a brain and a hand calculator could figure out that many assumptions on which the budget was based, both spending and revenues, were unrealistic, some of them conjured out of thin air to "balance" an inherently unbalanced budget for political reasons. Taylor told legislators that the current budget is $6.3 billion out of balance and the 2010-11 budget has another $14.4...

The IntercontinentalExchange is probing trades in U.S. dollar index futures that briefly showed a massive 9% jump on Friday morning. The lead contract surged as high as 82.18, up from a 75.38 close on Thursday. Such a move was improbable given that in spot markets, the dollar's moves against major currencies such as the euro were limited to about 1%. See Currencies. The ICE agreed, and according to an exchange official, all trades above 76.50 were being cancelled. The ICE was still investigating the cause of the incident, the official said. Dollar index futures were still elevated after the incident,...

Scientists at the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia are facing a fierce attack from climate sceptics following the hacking of the university's computer. The hacker stole thousands of e-mails and data. Much of it has been posted on the web. And some of the e-mails are causing acute embarrassment. My contacts at the CRU tell me the e-mails are being taken out of context and insist they are part of the normal hurly-burly of conversations between scientists working on some of the most complicated questions of our times. They ask how many of us would feel...

By Kerry Picket on Nov. 20, 2009 into Water CoolerEditSubscribe The American Spectator held its annual Robert L. Bartley dinner last night at the Capitol Hilton in Washington, DC. The dinner included speeches from the Spectator’s President Alfred S. Regnery, it’s Editor-in-Chief R. Emmet Tyrell, and Republican Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana. Pence rallied the crowd with a thoughtful address about the need to preserve the ideals of the American Revolution.

Members of the Project 21 black leadership network have risen to condemn Jesse Jackson for saying of Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL), "You can't vote against health care and call yourself a black man," calling Jackson's statement divisive and likening it to the mental tactics of a antebellum slaveowner. Declining to respond in kind, Rep. Davis told The Hill newspaper, "The best way to honor Reverend Jackson's legacy is to decline to engage in an argument with him that begins and ends with race." Project 21 members were less restrained. "Shame on Jesse Jackson for using the race card in an...

It’s the dark side of the media sensation book tour: the disappointed fans who, in the age of YouTube and blog comments, have louder voices than ever. Liberal blogger Kevin K. at Rumproast has video and angry comments from Sarah Palin fans. One angry comment: Went to the book signing in Noblesville, IN. Waited three hours in the cold to get a wristband to reserve my spot at the book signing tonight. We were told she would sign book for the first 1000 people. Not so. The event ended promptly at 9:00pm, though there were still at least 150 people...

It's about damn time. Yes, it's a first step - but an important first step, and it happened yesterday. Here's what Representative Grayson said at the time of debate: Bloomberg wasted no time giving the "loyal opposition" to transparency all the digital ink they desired: “It’s going to be seen as weakening the independence of monetary policy with consequent negative implications,” Frank told reporters after the vote. “People are going to be worried about the impact on the dollar, on the interest rate.” Go listen to Mr. Grayson's statement again. Now tell me how The Fed's move to dilute our...

It's official: the organisers of the Copenhagen climate conference conceded last weekend that it cannot deliver a final, legally binding deal. Danish prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the conference host, is hoping for a "political deal", followed by a legal one in 2010. The question now is how specific the political deal will be. Speaking at a meeting of Asian leaders in Singapore, Rasmussen said the Copenhagen agreement should be "precise on specific commitments and binding on countries committing to reach certain targets. We need the commitments. We need the figures. We need the action." His climate minister, Connie...

The most recent ACORN tape of the L.A. ACORN office is far from the last tape sting Andrew Breitbart has. Attorney General Holder keeps refusing to investigate what is an obvious nationwide criminal endeavor. Breitbart now threatens that if Holder does not investigate the rest of the tapes will be released just before the 2010 election when they will do most damage to the administration: Breitbart: There's a lot of hypocrisy and the dust has settled for ACORN and at the end of the day they've recognized that Eric Holder, the Attorney General, has not initiated an investigation into...

Fresno home-care providers tell how SEIU staff threatened them and changed their ballots to secure a razor-thin advantage in a controversial union election this June. Isn't it ironic that Fresno now has a 45%+ Unemployment rate? We all know Unions pull this type of stuff. I am glad to see more citizens speaking up. I bet they didn't know the farmers in their town would have their water turned off within weeks of this Administration taking office. SEIU bullies these people to voting for Democrats and then used their votes to cripple their town. Video at link.