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I didn't post a link to this because I wasn't sure if we could link to snopes.com, but I felt it important enough to post. It's amazing that no one in the MSM is at all concerned whether or not Obama is a natural-born citizen, but we better make damn sure McCain is! Check out how thorough snopes researches the question. Plus the fact that they claim the status is "undetermined." This was posted today at snopes.

SDEROT, Israel, July 23 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama warned in Israel Wednesday a nuclear Iran could lead to nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told a news conference in Sderot after meetings in Jerusalem with Israeli leaders and in the West Bank with Palestinian officials such a scenario "is our single most important threat, both to Israel and also to the United States."

At least 80 people were injured during a bullfight in Colombia when stands in an overcrowded stadium collapsed underneath the crowd. Some 500 spectators screamed in panic and scrambled for safety as, following the collapse, the bull charged towards crowds at the stadium in Planadas, in the south of the country. Two men dressed as clowns tried to distract the bull and tempt it away from the mass of people before others joined them in trying to pin it down. The dramatic events at the annual fiesta were caught live on television and an investigation into how it happened has...

Pick the best song for their devotion. Video at link

On Today’s Show... The Drive-By Media see Obama as historic, and they want him to make history so they can say they were there when it happened. (Rush 24/7 Members: Listen Here) The Official EIB Obam-Uh criticizer on The Messiah dissing our troops, and giving props to Mookie's boyz and the Sunnis for the victory won by the Bush-Petraeus surge. Pearl of Wisdom: "Obama seems to think history in the Middle East started yesterday. He's making a fool of himself. This is not presidential. This is pathetic, embarrassing ignorance coupled with arrogance." (Rush 24/7 Members: Listen Here) » The...

BUT WILL THEY RESPECT HIM IN THE MORNING?July 23, 2008 Back before the Republican Party was saddled with John McCain as its nominee, The New York Times called him "the only Republican who promises to end the George Bush style of governing from and on behalf of a small, angry fringe." The paper praised him for "working across the aisle to develop sound bipartisan legislation" and predicted that he would appeal to "a broader range of Americans than the rest of the Republican field." At the same time, the Times denounced "the real" Rudy Giuliani as "a narrow, obsessively secretive,...

The McCain campaign's newly aggressive approach was on display today at a “Straight Talk Town Hall” event in Pennsylvania.

Welcome to “The Levin Lounge”… Step in and have a virtual FRink.Will we hear… Taking the country by storm, one radio station at a time – and kicking the BUTTS of the competition! Welcome all, to the most FUN LIVE THREAD on FreeRepublic.com! You can call Mark’s show: 1-877-381-3811

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. troop "surge" in Iraq that President George W. Bush ordered last year has ended after the last of five additional combat brigades left the country, a U.S. military spokesman said on Tuesday. The remaining troops from that brigade departed over the weekend, leaving just under 147,000 American soldiers in Iraq, the spokesman said. "The final elements of the surge brigade have now left, getting out a few days ahead of schedule," he said. The U.S. military had 20 combat brigades in Iraq at its peak in 2007, with troop levels around 160,000-170,000.

The AP is reporting that due to current grain prices, the Afghans are abandoning Opium, in favour of Wheat. See more at link.

UPDATE: The NATIONAL ENQUIRER is revealing new details about the political scoop we broke yesterday - the secret meeting between Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards and Rielle Hunter. A team of ENQUIRER reporters caught the married ex-senator visiting his mistress and secret love child late Monday night at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles hotel. As we reported previously, Edwards arrived at the hotel at 9:45 p.m. (PST) Monday, driven by a friend in a BMW, and was seen by ENQUIRER reporter Alan Butterfield. We can now reveal that the man who drove Edwards was Bob McGovern, the same...

Similar human decomposition smells found in a yard and a car during a search for a missing Orlando girl indicate the source may have been moved, investigators said Wednesday. A search for Caylee Anthony, 2, continued Wednesday despite questions about whether the girl is still alive. Last week, cadaver dogs searched the Orange County back yard of Cindy and George Anthony for signs of their missing granddaughter, who was not reported missing for five weeks. During the search, cadaver dogs found the smell of human decomposition in the yard, Local 6 learned. The dogs also hit on the same smell...

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that John McCain will participate in a town hall meeting on cancer alongside Lance Armstrong at the LIVESTRONG Summit in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday, July 24th.

The director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Centers plans to issue an advisory to about 3,000 faculty and staff tomorrow about the possible health risks associated with cellular phone use. The document suggests certain measures to limit exposure to the electromagnetic fields emitted by the devices, such as limiting the length of conversations or keeping the phones away from the head by using headsets or speaker phone options. It also recommends that children not use cell phones except in emergencies.

LAPD Police Chief William J. Bratton has come out -- in favor of gay marriage. As a wedding gift to friend and celebrity publicist Howard Bragman and his longtime partner, Chuck O'Donnell, Bratton made it official: He and his wife, former Court TV diva Rikki Kleiman, strongly believe that gays have a right to marry. And in honor of Bragman and O'Donnell, who wed this past week in Norwalk, the chief and Kleiman have made a donation to Equality California, a group seeking to stop a state ballot measure this November that would ban same-sex marriages. "The Constitution guarantees life,...

ARLINGTON, VA -- Today, in Israel, Barack Obama once again demonstrated that his words really don't matter. When asked about his support for meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "without precondition," Barack Obama said, "I think what I said" was that he would meet with these leaders "at my time and choosing" and with "preparation." Unfortunately, for Barack Obama, that is not what he said and campaigned on for months: BARACK OBAMA: "What I Said" Was... Today, Barack Obama Claimed He Said Last Year That He Would Meet With Leaders "At My Time And Choosing" With "Preparation." QUESTIONER: "A...

"Check out the promotional ad for Lynn Sweet's reporting on Obama's World Tour..... as captured from the Chicago Sun-Times Web page today"......

Former Vice President Al Gore recently took his climate-change show on the road for the benefit of liberal bloggers, Sunday morning TV aficionados and other innocent bystanders. This week he laid out his demand for a miraculous transformation in U.S. energy use over a mere 10 years. As for drilling for more oil? "Absurd," the Nobel Laureate scoffed. "When you're in a hole, stop digging." The same might be said for Mr. Gore. For while his message hasn't changed, the political realities of the energy debate have. Suddenly, Mr. Gore's inconvenient speechifying only tightens the vise Democrats find themselves in...

BAGHDAD, July 23 (VOI) – The decline in armed operations against joint forces and Iraqi civilians will positively affect U.S. Top Commander in Iraq David Petraeus's recommendations on the situation in Iraq to the Congress, a spokesman for the Multi-National Force (MNF) said on Wednesday. "The recommendations that field commanders will submit to Petraeus will be included in the report, which he will present to U.S. Congress in September on the situation of the MNF and the abilities of Iraqi security forces," Brigadier General David Perkins said during a Baghdad-based press conference. The U.S. top commander "will hold talks with...

(CNN) – Responding to an Israeli reporter’s question Wednesday on his commitment to protect the Jewish state, Barack Obama pointed to a bill “we passed” in the U.S. Senate Banking Committee that tightens sanctions and authorizes divestment from Iran. “My committee,” he called it. Except that he isn’t a member of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. “Just this past week, we passed out of the out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee - which is my committee - a bill to call for divestment from Iran as way of ratcheting up the pressure to ensure that they...

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police have arrested a prominent Internet dissident for violating his probation terms, a rights group said, as the country steps up a pre-Olympic crackdown on dissent to ensure the Games go smoothly. Du Daobin, from the central province of Hebei, was given a suspended sentence for subversion in 2004 having been detained by police in Wuhan for posting online essays in support of fellow dissident, Liu Di. Du was then released into house arrest, Reporters Without Borders said in an emailed statement, but was arrested this week having been accused of posting articles on overseas websites...

I just want to see who you think McCain should pick to be his running mate. This thread is not about "Juan McCain" and please spare us "he should pick Fred or Duncan and step down". I think it should be: Sarah Palin or Mitt Romney

Libya has imposed sanctions against Switzerland and Swiss interests following a son of President Muammar Gaddafi being arrested in Geneva. Motassim Gaddafi and his pregnant wife were held in custody following allegations that they ill-treated two members of staff at a luxury hotel in the city. They couple have complained of the treatment they received during the two nights they spent in the cells. Libya is demanding Switzerland apologise for the incident and on Wednesday closed down offices of the Swiss food giant Nestlé. Two of the company's staff in Libya have been arrested. The Libyan ambassador to Switzerland has...

http://www.bravozulumccain.com August 1, 2008 On August 1, 1979, John McCain was promoted to Captain by the US Navy. In honor of Senator McCain's service, Blogs For John McCain and fellow McCain supporters will be gathering online to contribute to his campaign this August 1, 2008 in what is known as a Money Bomb. Please head to http:///www.bravozulumccain.com There you can pledge the amount that you will be contributing on August 1, 2008. Video at link

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre said on Wednesday he had filed a lawsuit against Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and its Countrywide unit to prevent the mortgage lenders from foreclosing on homes in his city, which he aims to make a "foreclosure sanctuary."

The difference between a politician and a statesman is the breadth of their horizons. But have we ever seen people with horizons as limited as our modern Congress? Of course their ratings are low – we return their judgment of us. They think we have no sense of deferred gratification; they think we are children – and not very bright, not very disciplined children at that. We return the compliment.

American entrepreneur Gregg Bemis finally gets courts go-ahead to explore the wreck off IrelandIt is the best known shipwreck lying on the Irish seabed, but it is only today that the owner of the Lusitania will finally begin the first extensive visual documentation of the luxury liner that sank 93 years ago. Gregg Bemis, who bought the remains of the vessel for £1,000 from former partners in a diving business in 1968, has been granted an imaging licence by the Department of the Environment. This allows him to photograph and film the entire structure, and should allow him to produce...

(SNIP) Among those following the campaign is Shera Greenwich, a mother of two living at a shelter run by the Henry St. Settlement in New York City. As she waits to move into a subsidized apartment, she says issues including economic security and obtaining quality healthcare are her focus, and she plans to vote Democratic. "I see so much change in the future if Obama is elected President," she said. "I think he can get America back on track." OBSTACLES TO VOTING Advocacy groups campaign each election season to get the homeless to register to vote, noting they often face...

Brett Favre might want to invest in his own cell phone It's not as poetically idiotic as Chris Henry getting arrested while wearing his own jersey, but this one's in the same neighborhood. Remember those tampering charges that the Packers filed against the Vikings? And remember how I thought it would be difficult for the Packers to prove that Favre had made inappropriate contact with the Vikings? Well, that assumed that Brett Favre wasn't using a Packers-issued cell phone to make those calls to the Vikings. As it turns out, Favre may have done exactly that. From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:...

58 years later, records unsealed in Rosenberg spy case After 58 years, historians and journalists will have a chance to examine the secret grand jury testimony of witnesses in the espionage case against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The couple was investigated in 1950, tried in 1951 for conspiracy to commit espionage and convicted and sentenced to death in 1953. Cold War scholars are hoping the grand jury transcripts will shed light on some nagging questions about the case -- primarily, just how strong the case was against Ethel Rosenberg. The National Security Archive, the American Historical Association, the Georgetown University...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices continued to decline Wednesday, after a government report showed stronger-than-expected inventories and a Federal Reserve report showed a weakening economy. Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $3.98 to settle at $124.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil has tumbled nearly $23 since setting a record of $147.27 just eight trading days ago on July 11. Prices have not been this low since June 4. The September futures contract became the so-called front-month contract as the August contract, which fell $3.09 to settle at $127.95 a barrel in the previous session,...

MEDIA ADVISORY, July 23 /Standard Newswire/ -- Let Freedom Ring just launched its first television ad campaign of this election cycle titled, "Both Ways Barack", pointing out that presidential candidate Barack Obama has conflicting positions on many issues and "holds two positions at the same time" making him "worse than a flip-flopper." The ad may be viewed in its entirety at http://www.BothWaysBarack.com. The television campaign will be featured on CNN, MSNBC and FOX, awaiting clearance from other national broadcast and cable networks. Several hundred thousand dollars will be spent on the campaign in its opening phase. The national radio campaign...

Oil prices continued to decline Wednesday, after a government report showed stronger-than-expected inventories and a Federal Reserve report showed a weakening economy. Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $3.98 to settle at $124.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil has tumbled nearly $23 since setting a record of $147.27 just eight trading days ago on July 11. Prices have not been this low since June 4. The September futures contract became the so-called front-month contract as the August contract, which fell $3.09 to settle at $127.95 a barrel in the previous session, expired Tuesday. Oil settled...

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police detained a motorist on Wednesday who crashed through barricades set up at monument where Barack Obama will hold a speech on Thursday and dumped red paint from his speeding car. ADVERTISEMENT Police said the 40-year-old man was overpowered by security officials who first tried in vain to used metal rods to bring his car to a halt at the spot where the U.S. Democratic candidate for president will speak on Thursday afternoon. The man was turned over to police and taken into custody for questioning. The car was searched for explosives. No one was injured....

The lenders who financed Avista Capital Partners’ 2007 acquisition of the Star Tribune now want out of the deal, and are seeking a buyer for their debt package, originally worth more than $400 million. Credit Suisse and Royal Bank of Scotland have hired Lazard Ltd., a Wall Street financial adviser, to put the debt package on the market. Two local executives, both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, said local business leaders have been approached with offers to purchase the debt. Neither the banks nor their representatives would confirm that there is an effort to sell the debt. But...

ARLINGTON -- Two gunmen who forced their way into a southeast Arlington home Tuesday afternoon “blasted through the back door” with shotguns, tied up a couple and their adult son and took the woman’s jewelry, a 911 audio recording says.The female victim, who has asked Tuesday that her name not be used because the suspects are still at large, told the 911 dispatcher that the home invasion about 1 p.m. Tuesday was “unreal.”She said she was sitting reading in her home in the 500 block of Lemon Drive, her son was on the computer and her husband was getting ready...

Agency says getting all people, legal and illegal, to safety is its top priority The U.S. Border Patrol said today it is not checking the documents of individuals who are fleeing Hurricane Dolly, and it has no intention of using natural disasters as a pretext for rounding up and deporting illegal immigrants, 1200 WOAI news reports. Officials in the Rio Grande Valley have been worried about Border Patrol actions ever since a reporter spotted a Border Patrol official conducting a document check during a hurricane evacuation drill in McAllen in May. Some officials had expressed concern that Rio Grande Valley...

ARLINGTON, Va., July 23 /Standard Newswire/ -- One year ago today, Barack Obama said he would personally meet with the leaders of Iran and other rogue nations "without precondition." Such unconditional presidential summits would undermine the multilateral diplomacy now underway. This one-year anniversary is even more significant given that Barack Obama is in Israel which is threatened and attacked by Hamas and Hezbollah, terrorist groups backed by Iran. Please find below background on Barack Obama's support for unconditionally holding presidential summits with foreign dictators and state sponsors of terrorism. At A July 2007 Democratic Debate, Barack Obama Announced He Would...

Polish authorities have erected a monument to US president Ronald Reagan, feted for his crusade against communism and seen by some as having hastened the collapse of the Soviet bloc, reports said Tuesday. Officials in the south-west city of Wroclaw unveiled the monument to the Hollywood actor-turned-president, apparently the first of its kind in Europe, Poland's centrist Dziennik daily reported Tuesday. "To Ronald Reagan for his struggle against totalitarianism -- from the residents of Wroclaw," reads the caption on the relief plaque erected at an intersection in the city bearing Reagan's name. During his two terms as president between 1981-1989,...

Harry Reid's pal says we need to drill--in ANWR and off both coasts. Video at link

While Barack Obama is speaking about international affairs in Germany before thousands of fans tomorrow, John McCain will be talking about a pressing domestic issue with an equally striking if very different backdrop. Weather permitting, McCain will helicopter from Louisiana to an oil rig in the Gulf Coast to make the case for expanded off-shore drilling, says a McCain aide.

Advocates claim that ethanol mandates and subsidies protect our planet, enhance U.S. security, and ease our pain at the pump. In fact, ethanol policy hurts all Americans except for the tiny slice of the population that grows corn or distills it into ethanol. What is ethanol? Basically, in the United States, it is moonshine derived from the starch in corn. You can drink it. Rowdy collegians have been known to mix 1 part ethanol with 40 parts fruit juice to make huge vats of punch for parties. The law does not allow you to drink and drive, but it now...

To CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight" host, we live in a world of absolutes - because the potential of a government bailout of two publicly traded government-sponsored enterprises condemns the entire concept of free market capitalism. On the July 22 broadcast of Dobbs' show, he attacked proponents of free-market capitalism because of the potential trouble of the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE). "Well the - it's a, it's quite a mess, quite a mess indeed," Dobbs said. "And I love the idea that all these free traders, free marketeers now got to have the government...

A whole new industry is springing up that will dwarf Al Gore's ripping off of the population through Global Warming. Companies are figuring out how to work the ridiculous "Carbon Credits" debacle to make big bucks. Rhodia, is a French Company, makes adipic acid which is a chemical used in the production of nylon. They have moved their operation to South Korea and Brazil. Why? A by-product of their manufacturing process is the creation of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is over 300 times more potent as an atmospheric warming agent than carbon dioxide. Rhodia destroys the nitrous oxide...

'The View' host Sherri Shepherd covers the latest issue of 'Precious Times' magazine. In an eight-page feature story in the Christian women's lifestyle publication, the 41-year-old comedienne shares candid revelations about her faith, including her conversion from being a Jehovah's Witness to Christianity. "Before I converted to Christianity, I was a Jehovah's Witness. In 1993, my mother was dying from diabetic complications. My sister was heavy into drugs, and we would have to go and get her from crack houses. I was in a very physically abusive relationship. I was sleeping with a lot of guys and had more abortions...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A partisan squabble in the Senate Wednesday threatened to sink a bill meant to crack down on oil speculators. The disagreement between Republicans and Democrats could result in Congress leaving Washington for its monthlong recess in August without passing any measures to lower gas prices as voters face over $4 a gallon at the pump. The legislation, which was backed by the Democratic leadership, passed a key test vote Tuesday by a vote of 94-0, more than the 60 votes need for debate on the bill to proceed. But a disagreement over the number of amendments senators...

AN NAJAF — Provincial and local officials hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony July 19 to open a new Primary Healthcare Center in Sooq-sha’lan. An Najaf Deputy Governor Hassan Abtan pointed out that, prior to the PHC’s opening, residents traveled for an hour to get medical care. “Now it’s just 5 to 10 minutes away,” he added. He praised the quality of the construction, said the Iraqi crew who built it should be proud, and also complimented the partnering effort between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and provincial officials to ensure the project’s successful completion. Those attending included Abtan, Dr....

Map of Iraq. Click to view. Iraqi security forces are massing more than 30,000 soldiers and police for an upcoming operation against al Qaeda and the Mahdi Army in the eastern province of Diyala, according to police and military officials. The operation, which was expected to be launched this week, has been scheduled to kick off on August 1, an anonymous senior Iraqi military officer told AFP. "The operation is aimed at cleansing the region of insurgents, al Qaeda and militias who are still there," the officer said. Like other offensives against al Qaeda and the Mahdi Army, the...

The mayor of San Francisco has obtained the password to the city's multimillion-dollar computer network password from a disgruntled employee during a secret jailhouse visit, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. On Monday night, Mayor Gavin Newsom met Terry Childs, a Department of Telecommunications and Information Services employee charged with computer tampering, in a secret meeting and walked away with the password to the city's new FiberWAN (Wide Area Network), the Chronicle said. The system stores such records as officials' e-mails, city payroll files, confidential law enforcement documents and jail bookings. Childs has been held since July 13 and had reportedly...