Free Republic

There are two interesting articles in the WSJ relating to the "Health Reform" bill, one by Karl Rove and the second coming from The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Let's first talk about Karl Rove: Taxes start going up now, Medicare cuts begin after next fall's election, and spending for subsidies commences in five years. The price tag is not the first decade's announced $871 billion cost: It is $2.4 trillion. That's the cost of the tax credits in insurance exchanges, and the additional Medicaid costs the reform generates, over the first 10 years it's fully up and running,...

Terrorist detonation failed as plane approached Detroit. Mike’s America had just landed in Detroit the day before! Reports: NWA passenger was trying to blow up flight into Detroit By ZLATI MEYER AND NAOMI R. PATTON FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria, who said he was acting on al-Qaida’s instructions, tried to blow up the plane today as it was landing in Detroit, law enforcement and national security officials said. A senior U.S. counterterror official says a passenger aboard a Delta Air Lines flight in Detroit was planning to blow up the plane but the explosive device...

Sprott Asset Management has "pulled forward" something I intended to cover in my "year end review" Ticker but since he's put it out there I think I need to cover it now: As a thought experiment, we separated all the various US Treasury owners and asked our readers whether each group could afford to increase their 2009 treasury purchases by 200%. In the end, we surmised that most groups couldn’t, and prepared our readers for the worst. Almost seven months later, however, nothing particularly bad has happened on the US debt front. There have been no failed auctions, no sovereign...

The body of a Maryland girl who authorities say was abducted by a registered sex offender was found Friday after thousands of volunteers fanned out to look for her. Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis said that the body of 11-year-old Sarah H. Foxwell was discovered at about 4 p.m. near the Delaware state line. He offered few other details. Thomas J. Leggs Jr., 30, has been charged in her kidnapping. Leggs is a former boyfriend of the girl's aunt, who is her legal guardian. A public defender representing him has not returned a phone call. Thousands of volunteers gathered in...

Rep. Peter King has named the suspected terrorist who attempted to blow up an Amsterdam to Detroit flight today as "Abdul Mudallad.", according to the AP in an article timestamped 7:04 p.m. EST.King was just on live with CNN talking about the failed terrorist attack, but the CNN anchor cut King off when he started to say the suspect's name and would not allow King to name him. The anchor said CNN was not able to confirm the name.King is the Ranking Member on the House Homeland Security Committee.Citing federal officials, MSNBC is also naming the suspect, but uses a...

KABUL -- The Taliban distributed a new video Friday of a U.S. soldier who was captured this summer in Afghanistan, with an offer to release him in a prisoner exchange.A spokesman for the international forces here denounced the video, but declined to comment on the possibility of an exchange or on efforts to rescue the captive.Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, an airborne infantryman from Ketchum, Idaho, was seized by Taliban-aligned militants on June 30. The military says he is the only American soldier who has been captured by insurgent forces during the war here.

Arkansas police are searching for two men who shot and killed a Salvation Army major Christmas Eve outside the organization’s community center in North Little Rock as his three young children looked on. Pulaski County Coroner Garland Camper said two men accosted Philip Wise and his children — ages, 4, 6 and 8 — about 4 p.m. Thursday. He says one man pulled a gun, demanded money and then shot Wise. Wise's wife, Cindy, also a major in the Salvation Army, was inside the center and called 911.

Man on Flight to Detroit Claims Al Qaeda Ties; Obama Tightens Security DETROIT -- A passenger on a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight tried to detonate an explosive device that was strapped to his leg and later told investigators that he was trying to blow up the plane and had affiliations with al Qaeda, according to a senior U.S. official. The man, who has not been publicly identified by officials, told investigators that he was given the device by Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen, where he was also given instructions on how to detonate it, the official said. The Associated Press...

SARANGANI, PHILIPPINES(AP) —Manny Pacquiao says he is planning to file a defamation lawsuit against Floyd Mayweather Jr., the fighter’s father, and Golden Boy Promotions In a statement posted Friday on his Web site, Pacquiao claims that his character has been damaged and tarnished by accusations he says are untrue. “Enough is enough,” Pacquiao said in the statement. “These people, Mayweather Sr., Jr., and Golden Boy Promotions, think it is a joke and a right to accuse someone wrongly of using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs. I have tried to just brush it off as a mere pre-fight ploy but I...

Private Bergdahl - assuming he's still alive - is spending Christmas as a captive of the Taliban. His captors spent the last day or two uploading a video showing Private Bergdahl reading a statement. The video was divided into four segments and uploaded to YouTube on 25 December 2009. The YouTube account is:

It is crucial that scientists are factually accurate when they do speak out, that they ignore media hype and maintain a clinical detachment from social or other agendas. There are facts and data that are ignored in the maelstrom of social and economic agendas swirling about Copenhagen. Greenhouse gases and their effects are well-known. Here are some of things we know: • The most effective greenhouse gas is water vapor, comprising approximately 95 percent of the total greenhouse effect. • Carbon dioxide concentration has been continually rising for nearly 100 years. It continues to rise, but carbon dioxide concentrations at...

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials said a Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria said he was acting on behalf of al-Qaida when he tried to blow up a flight Friday as it landed in Detroit. And a White House official called the Christmas incident an attempted act of terrorism. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., identified the suspect as Abdul Mudallad. King said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit. One of the U.S. intelligence officials said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid. It failed when the passenger tried to detonate it. The passenger...

Suspect Was Already on the Government's No-Fly List Federal officials and police are interviewing a Nigerian man, who allegedly tried to "explode" a powdery substance aboard a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, injuring himself and two other passengers, law enforcement officials said. Unconfirmed reports say a firecracker was ignited on flight bound for Detroit. The man said he was directed by al Qaeda to explode a small device in flight, over U.S. soil, ABC News has learned. Authorities have no corroboration of that information, and the credibility of the suspect's statements are being questioned, officials said. The man was apparently...

A man reportedly set off firecrackers on Delta Flight 253 that was carrying 278 passengers to Detroit from Amsterdam. "The president was notified of the incident this morning between 9:00 and 9:30 Hawaii time by the president's military aide," White House spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement.

A male passenger reportedly linked to terrorist organization al-Qaeda ignited a powdery substance prior to landing on a Delta Airlines flight to Detroit Friday. The suspect is believed to be Nigerian, Fox News reported. Several people were hurt and one person was admitted to the University of Michigan Medical Center at Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said. An emergency was declared aboard the flight, operated as Northwest flight 253, according to a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson. The suspect, who suffered second-degree burns, told federal investigators he was directed by al-Qaeda, though authorities are questioning the veracity of that statement,...

Romulus, Mich. - A senior U.S. counterterror official says a passenger aboard a Delta Air Lines flight in Detroit was planning to blow up the plane but the explosive device failed. The official said the passenger was being questioned Friday evening. It was not immediately clear why the passenger wanted to attack the flight that was arriving from Amsterdam

NewsArchive Widespread, heavy snow — a review | 23 Dec 2009 The Met Office reviews the recent snowy conditions. New evidence confirms warming record | 18 Dec 2009 New analysis shows global temperature rise calculated by the Met Office is at the lower end of likely warming. Your climate change questions answered | 16 Dec 2009 Prof. Julia Slingo answers our web visitors’ climate change questions, on YouTube.

Senate Democrats are celebrating this morning for passing their version of health care reform, but voters still don’t like much of what they see. At the start of the week, 41% of voters nationwide were in favor of the health care bill, but 55% were opposed. This is the fifth straight week with support for the legislation between 38% and 41%. Rasmussen Report is continuing to track support for the plan on a weekly basis and will have new numbers on Monday morning. Part of the opposition comes from a general skepticism about Congress, rather than specific policy issues. But...

Just 29 percent of U.S. voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, the lowest level measured since early February, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. The percentage of voters who felt the country is heading in the right direction remained in the narrow range of 31 percent to 35 percent from July to early November. For the previous three weeks, however, confidence in the country’s current course has held steady at 30 percent. The majority of voters (65 percent) continue to believe the nation is heading down the wrong track. The latest finding...

Thank God it was not a serious incident... had there been a weapon...one hates to think of such things...See the video here...

German fighters patrolling the territory of Estonia are prosecuted by the Russian Su-27. Assistance to NATO by Finns. This is not a scenario of military maneuvers or war movie, but the real incident, which took place September 15. Informed about the military industry magazine "Loyal". According to him, two German machine Eurofighter approached the Baltic Sea west of Tallinn to czterosilnikowego jet aircraft Beriew A-50, trying unsuccessfully to establish radio communication with him. One of the German pilots photographed intruder. Then suddenly toward the German planes flew at a speed of two supersonic Su-27 fighters, but no one opened fire....

A 23-year-old Nigerian man tried to light a powdery substance aboard a Northwest Airlines flight before landing in Detroit on Friday, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official told NBC News. Two people noticed the attempt and a third person jumped on the man and subdued him, an airline official told NBC News. The man is being treated at the burn unit of the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, officials said. The man told investigators that he wanted to set off a bomb over the United States, and the incident is being handled as a possibile terrorism attack by...

Global Warming And Climate Change Believers, deniers, and doubters view the scientific forecast from different anglesWhether or not global warming stemming from human activities is occurring is developing into the great scientific debate of our time. If it’s true, the larger questions are what the climate consequences will be and whether or not there is anything anyone can do about it.
 Policymakers meeting in Copenhagen just wrapped up two weeks of discussions driven by those questions. At C&EN press time, they had failed to agree on an international treaty to control greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to stave off...

Hell just froze over. I never thought I'd read anything like this in the NYT.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/fashion/27LADIES.html?_r=1

Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that Congress has the authority to mandate that people buy health insurance and that there is no constitutional limit on Congress’ power to enact such mandates, adding that this unlimited authority stemmed from the Commerce clause of the Constitution. And apparently 59 other Democrat senators agree with her. It is my understanding that the intent of the commerce clause is to assign the responsibility of regulating commerce (the transportation and trading of goods with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes) to the central government, taking the law-making responsibility for...

William Daley, brother of Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley has placed the equivalent of the head of a dead horse on President Obama's bed. In today's WaPo, Daley pens an op-ed where in part he writes: Either we plot a more moderate, centrist course or risk electoral disaster not just in the upcoming midterms but in many elections to come...Witness the drumbeat of ominous poll results. Obama's approval rating has fallen below 49 percent overall and is even lower -- 41 percent -- among independents. On the question of which party is best suited to manage the economy, there has been...

If this isn't proof of media bias, I don't know what is. Here we have the equivalent of finding out the moon landing was faked and I don't see any reports of this being a story of interest.

A lot has been made about the "public option" in early versions of the healthcare plan. Many feared that all would eventually be driven into government control of healthcare if a public option existed. But for all practical purposes, total government control of healthcare will have arrived with the current healthcare bill. Although the Obama team may have wanted it, the "public option" is not necessary for Obama to control the entire healthcare system. The healthcare bill is nothing but incentive after incentive to reduce many services and control the services that remain. If the general public really understood what...

Federal officials and police are interviewing a man, believed to be Nigerian, who allegedly was trying to "explode" a powdery substance aboard a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, injuring himself and two other passengers, law enforcement officials said.

At face value, it seems harmless enough. According to ABC "Good Morning America" co-host Robin Roberts, every Christmas the show features various "spiritual leaders" to talk about the role of faith in their lives. And this year's Christmas Day broadcast was no exception. "And now, it is a ‘GMA' tradition on Christmas Day, to talk about the role of faith in all of our lives," Roberts said. "We gathered a group of spiritual leaders from different traditions to talk about the importance of belief, in good times and belief in bad times, too." Roberts' panel featured Father Edward Beck, an...

The Queen's Christmas Message was a sombre one today at the end of a year dominated by the war in Afghanistan and deep economic gloom. "Each year that passes seems to have its own character," she said. "Some leave us with a feeling of satisfaction, others are best forgotten." She described 2009 as "a difficult year for many, in particular those facing the continuing effects of the economic downturn." The Queen, who is the titular head of the Armed Forces, expressed her sadness at the casualties suffered by British forces fighting in Helmand Province of Afghanistan. "I am sure that...

The holier-than-cow letter sent Monday to Pope Benedict XVI by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals calling for a Vegan Vatican is in stark contrast to the animal rights group’s high-priced sexier-than-thou ad campaigns. PETA vice president of policy and government affairs Bruce Friedrich, a Catholic who campaigned during college for the late abortion rights-supporter Sen. Paul Simon, told the Pontiff that “serving only vegan meals at the Vatican would help ensure a bright future for all.” Friedrich also told the successor of St. Peter, “Please don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss this further.” Special: Get Sarah Palin’s...

Hyperinflation Watch December 23, 2009 – Contrary to common belief, hyperinflation does not arise from too much bank lending. The sole cause of hyperinflation is always too much government spending. The pattern is as follows. The government spends more money than it is receiving in taxes, which forces it to borrow. As these deficits grow, they eventually exceed the market’s capacity or willingness to lend money to the government. Invariably, the central bank steps in and provides the government with the money it needs by creating it – as the saying goes – ‘out of thin air’, or what...

ATLANTA -- A Jewish group is calling former President Jimmy Carter's apology to the Jewish community a "publicity stunt." Bob Kunst of Shalom International said Thursday that Carter has sought to build "a global movement against Israel." He said Carter's "apologies are questionable and fall on deaf ears." Kunst's Miami-based advocacy group fights anti-Semitism through protests and rallies. Other Jewish groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, welcomed Carter's apology. Carter offered an Al Het, a Hebrew plea for forgiveness, to the Jewish community this week for "any words or deeds" that may have stigmatized Israel. He has had a tense relationship...

A passenger on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan, caused a brief disturbance Friday at the end of the trip by igniting firecrackers, a Delta Air Lines spokeswoman said...

srael: U.S. Consulate Car Tried to Run Over Checkpoint Guard Friday , December 25, 2009 An American diplomatic vehicle allegedly tried to run over an Israeli security guard at a border checkpoint in Israel last month, setting off a diplomatic scuffle that is straining relations between the two nations, the Jerusalem Post reported. In an episode that was reportedly caught on tape, a five-car U.S. convoy was stopped at the Gilboa border crossing in the northern West Bank on Nov. 13 but refused to identify themselves or open any windows or doors for inspection by Israeli security. What followed, according...

The Senate vote on final passage of health reform almost scuttled their plans, but it looks like the First Family will still make it to Hawaii for Christmas. They've had a whirlwind holiday season so far, starting with the lighting of the National Christmas Tree, through hosting more than 50,000 people for 27 parties and open houses, and ending with a visit by the First Lady, Malia and Sasha, and the family's dog Bo, to deliver cookies to the Children's National Medical Center. The Obamas have also started their own holiday traditions in their new home, adding a Christmas wishing...

Iraqi parliamentarian Mithal al-Alusi is warning that Iran is much closer to attaining nuclear capability than most sources, including the International Atomic Energy Agency and the US State Department, believe. In fact, he predicts the Iranians could have a nuclear capability - and may announce that they have it - as soon as next month. "We are receiving information which says Iran is so close to producing an atom bomb," Alusi said in an interview earlier this month, the latest in a series of interviews conducted since September. "All the international community, they don't realize how close [the Iranians] are...

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has told car companies they must share their technology with local businesses or leave the country. Mr Chavez gave the ultimatum to Toyota, Ford, General Motors and Fiat during a public address.

The new health-care legislation that passed the Senate on Christmas Eve is known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A different version of health-care reform passed the House last month. There will most likely be a "conference committee" of both chambers named to work out a compromise. But if the Democrats in the House can muster enough votes, they could simply agree on the Senate version -- thereby ensuring quick action to enact the legislation before the president's State of the Union address Jan. 20.

Millions of Americans enjoy caroling during the Christmas season. As it turns out, the people at the left-wing activist group MoveOn.org like caroling, too -- just not in the traditional way. On Christmas Eve, MoveOn sent out a video of the MoveOn Council in Minneapolis-St. Paul singing a hearty version of "Jingle Bells, with somewhat different words: Health care's out of reach The cost is way too high And if we cannot pay They'll simply let us die

Leaflets mailed to homes in heavily Jewish districts of Canada's major cities last November struck with uncharacteristic ferocity at the political party that Canadian Jews have long favored. Canada's Liberal Party, the Conservative Party broadsides charged, had "opposed defunding Hamas and asked that Hezbollah be delisted as a terrorist organization." The Liberals had "willingly participated" in the 2001 "overtly antiSemitic" Durban international conference on racism. And Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff had "accused Israel of committing war crimes," the leaflets charged. Only the last charge was incontestably accurate and free of distortion. But the mass mailing reflected a new facet...

Hundreds of mourners gathered in Jerusalem on Friday morning to bury Rabbi Meir Hai, a father of seven who was shot dead by Palestinians near his home in the West Bank a day before. In eulogizing his father, Hai's 16-year-old son Eliyahu urged mourners not to consider seeking revenge for the attack. "The difference between us and them is that we are people, Jews, holy," he said.

Palestinian officials are confiscating merchandise produced in West Bank settlements as part of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's plan to remove all goods made in the settlements from Palestinian markets by the end of next year. Although the government banned goods from settlements some time ago, it only launched a concerted effort to enforce the ban a few months ago. Sources in the National Economy Ministry said that NIS 651,982 worth of goods were confiscated and disposed of in the second week of December alone. The goods included Ahava cosmetics and toiletries, plastic products, long-life milk made in the Golan, Mei...

SALISBURY — - More than 3,000 volunteers gathered on Christmas Day to take part in the ongoing search for an 11-year-old girl who police say was kidnapped from her bedroom by a registered sex offender. The voluneers gathered around 7 a.m. at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium to register for the search. The night before, more than 200 people scoured frozen fields and ponds the night before without success. Sarah Haley Foxwell was wearing a pink shirt and red pajamas printed with Christmas trees when she disappeared from her maternal aunt's home Tuesday night, police said. A younger sister awoke during...

Wednesday December 23, 2009 Top Ten Good News Stories of 2009 Compiled by John-Henry WestenDecemer 23, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The following are the top ten good news stories of 2009, ranked according to popularity.1) 12-Year-Old Stuns Pro-Choice Teacher and School with Pro-Life Presentation  12-year-old "Lia" of Toronto become a star at her school and on Youtube with her five-minute pro-life speech, crafted for a school competition. A video of her speech has been watched over 800,000 times on Youtube.2) List of Bishops Opposing the Notre Dame Invitation and Award to President Obama83 U.S. bishops spoke out against Notre Dame's...

The Senate’s passage of a massive health-care reform bill yesterday morning was greeted by partisan applause by Democrats, but President Obama noted that “we now have to take up the last and most important step and reach an agreement on a final reform bill that I can sign into law.” We don’t expect reconciling the House and Senate versions will prove all that difficult, but another aspect of Obamacare that deserves closer examination is whether it passes constitutional muster. Republican senators Jim DeMint of South Carolina and John Ensign of Nevada this week offered an amendment stating Congress lacks power...

In nearly its final act of the year, the U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a $290 billion increase in the nation's borrowing limit, a move that sets up a contentious debate about the federal government's largesse early in 2010. The additional $290 billion in borrowing ability lifts the total public debt the federal government can hold to around $12.4 trillion and will allow the government to keep borrowing through February. The House passed the measure last week. The Senate vote was 60-39, and was almost exclusively along party lines. Generally a vote on raising the debt limit requires only a...

Over 3,000 people turned out at Perdue Stadium early this morning to help search for Sarah Foxwell. Police say they have enough people – and that they don’t need any more people to help in the search. However if you do still want to help – what is needed is bottled water for the search teams already out and those at the command post. Water can be dropped off at Perdue Stadium. Police say there was no forced entry in the home. Sarah and her sister live with their aunt, who is their legal guardian. 30 year old Thomas Leggs...

Looking back at the aughts, who can forget indelible images of a war and a president that should never have been, and the makeshift camp set up outside President George W. Bush's Texas ranch at Crawford Texas that challenged them both. For those feeling nostalgic about the past decade, fret not: It's apparently not going away. Energizer Bunny war protester Cindy Sheehan, who last year ran for Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco congressional seat, plans to set up a new anti-war camp near the Washington Monument to protest ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It's true," Sheehan said in an e-mail,...