Free Republic

EXCERPT- Knowing very well most Americans objected to the "end of life" measure in the new health care legislation due to fears it could eventually give doctors a government financial incentive or even mandate to encourage severely ill patients to make life ending decisions too prematurely, Congressman Blumenauer thumbed his nose to the masses. It must be painfully obvious to Mr. Blumenauer that Americans did not want his end-of-life measure, so the Oregon Congressman decided to run around the will of the people by bureaucratic fiat. Instead, he and his fellow Democrats eventually omitted the measure from the bill only...

Gibbs: indefinite detention of terrorists regrettable White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday that it was unfortunate that some terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay need to be held indefinitely without trial. "Some would be tried in federal courts, as we've seen done in the past. Some would be tried in military commissions, likely spending the rest of their lives in a maximum security prison that nobody, including terrorists, have ever escaped from. Some, regrettably, will have to be indefinitely detained," Gibbs said on CNN's "State of the Union" as he described Obama's beleaguered plan for closing Guantanamo. The press...

I am sure this has been covered, but I have a couple of questions about the tax cut/extension debate. Why are the Dems worried about the Bush Tax cuts expiring, after all I can remember during the original debate that these tax cuts only benifited the rich. Now all I hear is that if these tax cuts arnt extented for the middle class, they will be hurt(which they will be). Which is it? Next Nancy Pelosi says that unemployment benifits are the best stimulus for the economy, (since the Bernacke just said that 10% unemployment may last for 5 years,...

Outrage is growing at the intersection of ideology and incompetence that is the jury's collapse in the trial of Ahmed Ghailani, declared acquitted in the murders of 224 innocents, including a dozen Americans.The outrage is growing as Americans learn more and more about how utterly avoidable this outrageous miscarriage of justice was. John Podhoretz's and Jennifer Rubin's criticisms are among the most pointed and both employ the damning word "debacle" in the title, and Powerline's Scott Johnson and John Hinderaker weigh in with "The Failure Option." Eric Holder who repeatedly declared his confidence in this process should resign and...

The Obama administration has decided to walk away from what it once touted as key deadlines in the Afghanistan war in an effort to de-emphasize the president's pledge that he would begin withdrawing U.S. forces in July 2011, administration and military officials said Tuesday. The new policy will be on display next week during a NATO conference in Lisbon, Portugal, where the administration hopes to introduce a timeline that calls for the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan by 2014, according to three senior officials and others speaking anonymously as a matter of policy. Afghan President Hamid Karzai...

Following comments from Senate Democrats expressing willingness to extend Bush tax cuts, the White House dispatched Tim Geithner to kill the buzz. Tim just announced Obama's plans to let the tax cuts expire for wealthy Americans in January, according to WSJ. Which is what people expected all along. WSJ: Mr. Geithner said there is "still some uncertainty about how strong the recovery is going to be," which may be impacting spending decisions by businesses and individuals. But he discounted that as a reason to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for top earners, saying most private forecasts show moderate economic growth...

More so than in any other administration, Friday nights have become a game in themselves for people to see what kind of embarrassing and politically damaging information the White House wants to hide in the virtual news blackout of Saturdays. Usually it involves policy and personnel changes that would tend to anger their base — and this week may be the granddaddy of Friday Night news dumps. The New York Times reports that sources within the administration have all but thrown in the towel on closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and now want to shift the blame to...

On Thursday, for the first time in 308 days, President Obama will confront the White House press corps in a full-blown news conference, taking the best shots that reporters have to offer on the topics of their choosing. Obama's lengthy absence from reporters' crosshairs has exceeded President George W. Bush's longest gap of 204 days. As a candidate two years ago, Obama, then a senator, mused aloud about holding a news conference every month. As president, Obama has held just four prime-time news conferences in the first 485 days of his term, but that is equal to the total number...

<p>From CNN White House Producer Xuan Thai Obama declined to answer questions at bill signing for the Freedom of Press Act.</p>

Remember President Obama’s supposedly inviolable pledge—repeatedly uttered during the 2008 campaign and at countless town meetings since the inauguration—that he would never raise taxes on middle-class citizens who earn $250,000 a year or less? This morning at a Manhattan breakfast sponsored by Thomson Reuters, White House Budget Director Peter Orszag threw that pledge out the window. Instead, he described Obama’s “read my lips, no new taxes” pledge as a “stance” and a “preference” that is subject to study by the president’s newly formed bipartisan Commission on Fiscal Responsibility. “The president has been very clear about what he prefers,” Orszag said...

The White House said today it is halting all new offshore drilling in U.S. waters until there's an "adequate review" of a massive 600-mile wide oil slick that has begun to lap up on Louisiana's coast. The federal government is defending its response to the spill, which began with an April 20 blast on one of British Petroleum's offshore rigs that burned for two days before sinking. Rescuers saved 115 workers but 11 are presumed dead. BP is responsible for the cleanup, and it wasn't until Thursday -- nine days after the explosion -- that the White House declared it...

"... It’s important that we not restrict the review or the recommendations that this commission comes up with in any way. Everything has to be on the table. And I just met briefly with the commission and said the same thing to them. Of course this means that all of you, our friends in the media, will ask me and others once a week, or once a day, about what we are willing to rule out or rule in when it comes to the recommendations of the commission. That’s an old Washington game…"

Thousands of teachers and other union workers descended on the state Capitol on Wednesday and chanted "raise my taxes" to try to pressure politicians to avoid major budget cuts. The vibe was the exact opposite of what you'd find at a tea party rally. But the loud chants barely resonated inside the Capitol, where lawmakers are trying to exit Springfield in a couple of weeks without voting for a tax increase that could jeopardize their re-election chances in little more than six months. "If you try to leave town without doing your job, we're going to chase you," warned union...

Police chased reporters away from the White House and closed Lafayette Park today in response to a gay rights protest in which several service members in full uniform handcuffed themselves to the White House gate to protest "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." People who have covered the White House for years tell me that's an extremely unusual thing to do in an area that regularly features protests. A reporter can be seen in the YouTube video above calling the move "outrageous" and "ridiculous." UPDATE: U.S. Park Police spokesman David Schlosser tells POLITICO his service erred in pushing the reporters back, and...

Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser tonight, President Obama touted his administration’s tax cuts and said that the recent tea party rallies across the nation have “amused” him. “You would think they should be saying thank you,” the president said to applause. The president’s 30-minute speech included a lot of recycled material from previous fundraisers. In a nod to Vice President Biden, the president acknowledged the crowd for their help getting health care reform across the finish line. “As my vice president said, 'This is a big deal,'" Obama said to laughter, even though he omitted the one key word to...

One more small detail they forgot to tell you about in the health care bill: Taxpayers earning less than $200,000 a year will pay roughly $3.9 billion more in taxes — in 2019 alone — because of healthcare reform, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress’ official scorekeeper for legislation. The new law raises $15.2 billion over 10 years by limiting the medical expense deduction, a provision widely used by taxpayers who either have a serious illness or are older.

The Obama administration's nuclear posture review may have removed some of the intentional ambiguity from U.S. nuclear policy, but it does not leave the country any less safe, President Obama's top national security advisers said on CBS' "Face the Nation." In fact, they said, it gives a clear warning to other state actors that the U.S. will not ignore any growing threats. "This is putting everybody on notice," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer in an interview conducted Friday at the Pentagon. "We don't want more countries to go down the path that...

WASHINGTON — Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them. Questions reflecting confusion have flooded insurance companies, doctors' offices, human resources departments and business groups. "They're saying, 'Where do we get the free Obama care, and how do I sign up for that?' " said Carrie McLean, a licensed agent for eHealthInsurance.com. The California-based company sells coverage from 185 health insurance carriers in 50 states. McLean said the call center had been inundated by uninsured consumers who were...

WASHINGTON — Two weeks after President Barack Obama signed the big health care overhaul into law, Americans are struggling to understand how — and when — the sweeping measure will affect them. Questions reflecting confusion have flooded insurance companies, doctors' offices, human resources departments and business groups. "They're saying, 'Where do we get the free Obama care, and how do I sign up for that?' " said Carrie McLean, a licensed agent for eHealthInsurance.com. The California-based company sells coverage from 185 health insurance carriers in 50 states. McLean said the call center had been inundated by uninsured consumers who were...

Obama signs bill restricting mail-order cigarette sales WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday signed legislation that bans the U.S. Postal Service from shipping cigarettes — a measure that's expected to cripple the mail-order tobacco businesses run by members of the Seneca Nation of Indians. White House press secretary Robert L. Gibbs announced the signing in a brief statement that included no comment on the new law, which the Senecas fought furiously. In response, Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder Sr. accused the president of betraying the very Indian nations he wooed during his 2008 campaign and spoke to last fall....