Free Republic

WASHINGTON – The U.S. and Iran have a chance to "work out a way of talking" that could lead to understandings on a range of issues, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday. In a hopeful assessment of prospects for improved relations with Tehran, Clinton told reporters at the State Department that the U.S. remains opposed to Iran getting nuclear weapons. She added that the Obama administration hopes the two nations can work out "a better understanding of one another." During an appearance with her Czech counterpart, Karel Schwarzenberg, Clinton was asked about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statement that...

[42 min ago ] (NECN: Washington) - Lawmakers have reportedly made progress on an economic recovery package and a vote could come as early as this afternoon. The economic stimulus plan has grown to $937 billion. Moderates have been circulating a list of cuts...

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama gave his first formal television interview as president to an Arabic cable TV network, telling Al-Arabiya that when it comes to Middle East matters "all too often the United States starts by dictating." Obama taped the interview with the Dubai-based network Monday as his envoy to the Middle East, former Sen. George J. Mitchell, set out for an eight-day trip to the region and elsewhere. "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy," Obama said. "We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect." The interview complemented...

UNITED NATIONS – President Barack Obama's administration will engage in "direct diplomacy" with Iran, the newly installed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Monday. Not since before the 1979 Iranian revolution are U.S. officials believed to have conducted wide-ranging direct diplomacy with Iranian officials. But U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice warned that Iran must meet U.N. Security Council demands to suspend uranium enrichment before any talks on its nuclear program. "The dialogue and diplomacy must go hand in hand with a very firm message from the United States and the international community that Iran needs to meet its obligations as...

Obama's 'Blue Wall' Locks in Democratic Gains Led by President Obama, Democrats are leveraging the nation’s economic crisis and the aura of inaugural goodwill to build a “blue political wall” — new constituencies dependent on expanding government programs — that could lock in 2008 Democratic political gains for decades to come. Unless Republicans act to counter those initiatives, pundits and pollsters warn, they could find themselves on an extended vacation from power in Washington. The combination of former Rep. Rahm Emanuel, described by former Bush adviser Karl Rove as a “sharp-edged partisan,” and President Obama’s strategic mindset, could spell big...

WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton took charge of the State Department on Thursday, proclaiming the start of a new era of robust U.S. diplomacy to tackle the world's crises and improve America's standing abroad. Before a raucous, cheering crowd of about 1,000 people, the nation's 67th secretary of state pledged to boost the morale and resources of the diplomatic corps and promised them a difficult but exciting road ahead. "I believe with all of my heart that this is a new era for America," she said to loud applause in the main lobby of the department's headquarters, which President Barack...

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba – President Obama's request to suspend all war crimes trials at Guantanamo prompted a judge Wednesday to halt the case against a young Canadian in what may be the beginning of the end for the Bush administration's system of trying alleged terrorists. The judge, Army Col. Patrick Parrish, issued a one-sentence written order for the 120-day continuance, and the lawyer for Toronto native Omar Khadr didn't object. But five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks want their trial to continue, hoping for a death sentence that could bring them martyrdom. "We should continue so...

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to prohibit the use of waterboarding and harsh interrogation techniques by ordering the CIA to follow military rules for questioning prisoners, according to two U.S. officials familiar with drafts of the plans. The proposal Obama is considering would require all CIA interrogators to follow conduct outlined in the U.S. Army Field Manual, the officials said. The plans would also have the effect of shutting down secret "black site" prisons around the world where the CIA has questioned terror suspects — with all future interrogations taking place inside American military facilities. However, Obama's changes...

BEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio – President-elect Barack Obama made a pitch for his massive economic stimulus plan at a Midwestern factory that makes wind turbine parts, saying Friday his plan would make smart investments in the country's future and create solid jobs in up-and-coming industries. "Renewable energy isn't something pie in the sky. It's not part of a far-off future. It's happening all across America right now," Obama told workers at the Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co. in this Cleveland suburb. "It can create millions of additional jobs and entire new industries if we act right now." Just days before taking...

STOP HARRY REID'S AMNESTY BILL TODAY! Tell Congress Stop Amnesty for Illegal Aliens STOP Senate Bill 9 FAXDC.com wants to send this urgent and personalized Blast Fax message to all 535 members of the House and Senate for YOU. Alert: Senate Bill 9 was secretly entered into the Senatorial record and very few people knew, but Faxdc was watching! As America's back was turned a sweeping amnesty act, was proposed and quietly discussed behind closed doors. The Washington fat cats are licking their lips and wanting a once and for all amnesty for over 40 million illegal aliens! The bill...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – In an open letter to his young daughters, US president-elect Barack Obama said Thursday that he entered the race for the White House "because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation." "When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me -- about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world," Obama said in the letter published in Parade magazine, a weekend newspaper color supplement. "I realized that my own...

reporters during his meeting with Mexico's President Felipe Calderon, … * Raw Video: Biden's surprise Iraq visit Play Video Barack Obama Video: Raw Video: Biden's surprise Iraq visit AP * Bush Wishing Obama 'All the Best' Play Video Barack Obama Video: Bush Wishing Obama 'All the Best' ABC News * Harding short of fundraising goal Play Video Barack Obama Video: Harding short of fundraising goal WCNC Charlotte WASHINGTON – Advisers to President-elect Barack Obama say one of his first duties in office will be to order the closing of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. That executive order is...

The undocumented Irish in the United States were discussed at Shannon airport last night when the Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea TD met former US Republican presidential candidate senator John McCain. After the meeting, Mr O'Dea said: "We met for about 40 minutes and it was very productive and cordial. Senator McCain has committed to raising the issue of the undocumented Irish with president-elect Obama on his return to the US." Mr McCain's aircraft made a refuelling stop at Shannon on his way back to the US after spending the past week on a regional tour with two other members...

A group of senior and up-and-coming Hispanic conservatives with close ties to leaders of the Republican Party will meet in the coming weeks to work out how to salvage the GOP’s electoral chances with a voting bloc that deserted them on Nov. 4. Like many Republican groups in the aftermath of a crushing election cycle, the Hispanic conservatives plan a political post-mortem to lay bare what the party did wrong and how to fix it.

Must see video! Idiot Obama supporter really believes she will have "no more mortgage payments" and won't even have to pay for gas in her car!

Peggy Joseph speaking with NBC 6 about how she won't have to fill her gas tank once Obama is elected. As reported on the Schnitt Show.

D.C. Democrats are now pushing for a new $300 billion-stimulus package. Earlier this month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had been talking up a $150 billion-stimulus package. Apparently the cost of stimulation is rising, and fast. Do I hear $450 billion? Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's rescue plan also grew from $60 billion to $175 billion. Republican presidential candidate John McCain's stimulus package is holding steady at $52 billion - which makes it seem, well, almost quaint. If passed, the new Son of Stimulus package will follow on the heels of the $700 billion bank bailout, $110 billion of sweeteners added...

The McCain-Palin website now has a page soliciting "thoughts" on his "Homeowner Resurgence Plan." Here is the link: http://www.johnmccain.com/involving/petition3.aspx?guid=84a6fec2-583a-47c8-b332-4d2a9c4bd407

Yes, immigration is a complicated and combustible issue for political candidates — and the economic meltdown is everyone’s top priority. No, that is no excuse for ignoring immigration or lying about it to voters, as John McCain and Barack Obama have been doing.

WACO, Texas – About this time eight years ago, Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore warned that dipping into the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a way to lower gasoline and heating oil prices would be foolhardy. With only weeks to go before the election, Gore did an about-face and called for a raid on the nation's crude oil reserves established as a backup for national emergencies. In another instance, Gore called for higher taxes on gasoline as a way to make alternative energy sources more economically competitive. As the election neared, Gore flip-flopped. In both instances, Gore was right the...

Big Oil Continues to Rake in Record Profits August 1, 2008 Washington, DC—Senate Democrats responded today to a Department of Labor report which indicates that the nation shed another 51,000 jobs in July – the seventh straight month of losses – as unemployment rose to a four-year high of 5.7 percent and Chevron announced a second-quarter profits of nearly $6 billion. Democrats also called attention to the disproportionately higher unemployment rate among Hispanic American workers.According to the Department of Labor report, the unemployment rate among Hispanics was 7.4 % last month. The disproportionately higher jobless rate among Latinos underscores the...

While first-term U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen was on the floor of the House on Tuesday, guiding passage of a historic resolution apologizing to African-American citizens for slavery and Jim Crow laws, his most prominent and well-funded Democratic primary opponent was out in the Memphis heat trying to win voters. Nikki Tinker likes to wear a baseball cap and athletic shoes to go with a skirt, giving her the look of a woman hard at work, and she would often show voters the tan line on her arms as evidence of it. She said she worked outside at the early-voting sites...

Here is a report on Sen. John McCain's appearance before the National Urban League, a predominantly African-American crowd heavily in favor of Barack Obama. . .(see video)

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes offering reparations to the descendants of slaves, putting him at odds with some black groups and leaders. The man with a serious chance to become the nation's first black president argues that government should instead combat the legacy of slavery by improving schools, health care and the economy for all. "I have said in the past — and I'll repeat again — that the best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed," the Illinois Democrat said recently.

I do want John McCain to win in November. Consider the alternative. I've personally been told to tread easy and not make the McCain Campaign mad, but there's certain things that need be said, and I'm proud of my tendency of saying things that need be said by those who don't want to make waves. John McCain's overtures to black groups like the NAACP, and now the Urban League may make for well-needed press, but at the same time, why do Republicans continue to ignore the one group of black folk they KNOW will vote for them: black Republicans?

A total of 290 Mexicans have died trying to cross the border into the United States in the first half of 2008, according to a lawmaker in Mexico's Chamber of Deputies. (snip)

Although the nation's largest Latino advocacy organization is a nonprofit that must remain nonpartisan because it gets millions of U.S. federal grant dollars, the group's president helped lead a Barack Obama pep rally during an annual conference. The extremist Mexican group National Council of La Raza clearly endorses Obama, which is why La Raza President Janet Marguia stood by as Los Angeles' renowned Chicano Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa praised Obama during the group's annual convention in San Diego. Villaraigosa assured the crowd that Obama is LATINOS' BEST HOPE for reforming the nation's immigration policies. If that's not an endorsement, then what...

Barack Obama takes the podium at the National Council of La Raza/The Race tonight. John McCain will Hispander, as Mickey Kaus puts it so well, tomorrow. It’ll be an open-borders lovefest for Obama, who was championed yesterday at The Race conference by L.A.’s zealous pro-illegal immigration mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa. You’ll recall that Obama is very, very proud to have marched “shoulder to shoulder� with shamnesty activists in the 2006 illegal alien May Day parade. ABI gives him a career grade of D- for his immigration voting record. As I predicted in my column this week, the open-borders radicalism of The...

John McCain today is poised to make the biggest mistake of his 2008 presidential run. The presumptive Republican nominee will address the annual convention of the National Council of La Raza in San Diego. La Raza is billed by too many as simply "the nation's largest Hispanic rights group." But this is perhaps the most radical apologist group for illegal immigration and the "rights" of illegal aliens -- and worse.

There's a ridiculous myth that RINOs in DC have been spinning about illegal immigration and it goes something like this: Hispanics vote almost entirely based on the illegal immigration issue and if Republicans deliver an amnesty, Hispanics will be so grateful that the percentage of them voting Republican will go from roughly 30% up to 50+%. So, even if we allow 12-20 million mostly uneducated, mostly Hispanic illegal aliens from socialist countries to become Americans and that leads to another 30-40 million (or more) of their relatives becoming U.S. citizens through chain migration, it'll still be a net gain for...

Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama will be using the National Council of La Raza convention, which begins tomorrow in San Diego, as a platform for courting the increasingly significant Latino vote. Convention organizers hope to press the senators for answers on some of the thorniest issues affecting Latinos, among them immigration policies and solutions to the nation's health insurance and mortgage crises. This week, as they prepared to participate in the four-day event at the San Diego Convention Center, some local groups said they were optimistic about what they would hear from the candidates and in convention sessions,...

Drawing the sharpest distinctions yet between himself and the man he hopes to replace, Sen. John McCain said Tuesday his presidency would focus on climate change issues, reducing federal spending, closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center and eliminating torture by the U.S. government. In a meeting with the Tribune-Review's editorial board, McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, said "spending got out of control" under the Bush administration. He blamed Congress for pushing spending and the administration for failing to halt it.

Whose idea was it to send John McCain down to Mexico the day before Independence Day and have him grovel for Latino votes south of the border by visiting the Basilica de Guadalupe–a famed Catholic shrine featuring the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which most Mexican politicians consider off-limits for campaigning? According to Frentes Politicos (hat tip - reader Edgar M.), the stunt was the brainchild of none other than McCain’s open-borders Hispanic outreach director and former Mexican cabinet official Juan Hernandez, who apparently survived the big campaign staff shake-up:

Whose idea was it to send John McCain down to Mexico the day before Independence Day and have him grovel for Latino votes south of the border by visiting the Basilica de Guadalupe–a famed Catholic shrine featuring the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which most Mexican politicians consider off-limits for campaigning? According to Frentes Politicos (hat tip - reader Edgar M.), the stunt was the brainchild of none other than McCain’s open-borders Hispanic outreach director and former Mexican cabinet official Juan Hernandez, who apparently survived the big campaign staff shake-up: I. El truco para la buena imagen fue idea...

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Saturday thanked the National Education Association for its endorsement but also made it clear that he continues to support merit pay for teachers. His position is a controversial one with the 3.2 million member group and it has earned him criticism when he addressed the NEA in 2007. “Now I know this wasn’t necessarily the most popular part of my speech last year but I said it then and I’m saying it again now because it’s what I believe and I will always be an honest partner to you in the White House,” said...

John Kerry, you're off the hook. Mitt Romney, we're giving you a well-deserved break. You guys were great flip-floppers in your day, but now you've been seriously upstaged. All hail the new King of Flip-Flop - Barack Obama. As a rookie flip-flopper, Obama first drew the attention of the environmental lobby about this time last year: Although summer hasn’t officially begun, flip-flop season is well underway and it appears Senator Obama has joined the club. Typically flip-floppers are criticized for their inability to stay firm on an issue, but in Obama’s case, his flop has many environmentalists flipping back his...

Rep. Lamar Smith, a San Antonio Republican who represents part of Austin, and three of his GOP colleagues introduced legislation Thursday to change the U.S. Constitution to allow the death penalty for the rape of a child younger than 12.

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says he disagrees with a Supreme Court decision striking down the death penalty for child rapists, telling reporters Wednesday that states should be able to execute people for “heinous” crimes.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- On the first day of what is to be a two-week economic tour around the country, Barack Obama said Monday that lawmakers should inject another $50 billion immediately into the sluggish U.S. economy. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee cited the largest monthly increase in the unemployment rate in over 20 years, and record highs in oil prices, food prices and foreclosures.

Some suggest that Barack Obama should pick Hillary Clinton as his running mate because she can help him do something he has trouble doing on his own: winning Latino votes. I think an Obama-Clinton ticket is a disastrous idea. Even if that combination made it easier for Democrats to win, it would make it impossible for them to govern. There's a certain meddlesome former president who comes with the deal. And how uncomfortable do you suppose it would be to tap as your vice president the person who invoked the assassination of Robert Kennedy to explain why she was staying...

In a sign that the Hispanic vote in the West could hold the key to the November election, Republican presumptive nominee John McCain launched his first local campaign ad, a Spanish-language radio spot, in Nevada this week. The 60-second commercial touts McCain, a senator from Arizona, as a nonpartisan problem-solver on the economy. "When we are buying groceries, we don't have a political party," the ad states, according to a translation provided by the campaign. "When we are filling up the gas tank, we are not Republicans, Democrats or independents. We are Hispanics, and we are all hurting together in...

Mr. McCain has launched a Spanish-language Web site, aired TV spots in Spanish emphasizing his military service and, at a Cinco de Mayo event in Phoenix, declared "everything about our Hispanic voters is tailor-made to the Republican message." Gil Cisneros of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Colorado, who is vice chairman of the McCain campaign in the state, said the Arizona senator has a reputation among Hispanics as patriotic, family-oriented and moderate on immigration. He said Mr. McCain's sponsorship of last year's failed legislation to create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants will be a strong selling point.

WASHINGTON — Yucca Mountain dropped back into the presidential race today when Sen. John McCain suggested the planned nuclear waste dump outside of Las Vegas may not be needed after all. Among the remaining presidential contenders, McCain has been the lone supporter of Yucca Mountain, making him the odd candidate out among Nevadans who overwhelmingly oppose the repository. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama have both assured Nevada they would oppose the dump. But in a talk on nuclear security at the University of Denver, McCain offered another approach as part of global efforts to watchdog civilian nuclear power:...

Featured video. Mark your tivo for the hurlfest!

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A soldier used the Quran -- Islam's holy book -- for target practice, forcing the chief U.S. commander in Baghdad to issue a formal apology on Saturday. Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond apologizes after a soldier admitted using the Quran for target practice. Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, apologized to leaders in Radhwaniya, in the western outskirts of Baghdad, for the staff sergeant who was a sniper section leader assigned to the headquarters of the 64th Armored Regiment. He also read a letter of apology by the shooter. It was the first...

In an effort to win over those "moderates" who believe that global warming is about to destroy the planet, Republican presidential candidate John McCain spoke Monday at a Portland, Ore., training facility for Vestas Wind Technology. He claimed, "The facts of global warming demand our urgent attention, especially in Washington." There certainly is more "hot air" on this and a lot of other subjects in Washington, but that isn't what he meant. The era of big government is so not over, as Bill Clinton claimed it was in 1996. It is just beginning and increasingly the political contests seem to...

Just curious. What is everyone going to do with your new wealth you will be getting within the next couple of days?

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released a new Spanish-language ad, entitled "McCain, Plan Economico," highlighting ways in which his economic plan will help small businesses flourish during these uncertain economic times. The ad will air on the internet.   "John McCain recognizes the role that Latino small businesses and entrepreneurs play in our country's economic success in an ever-changing global marketplace," said former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin.   The ad follows the Cinco de Mayo announcement of John McCain's participation in the La Raza Annual Convention in San Diego on July 14, 2008 and the...

His lead strategist says if McCain were to get 20 percent of these voters he will win. WASHINGTON - With the other party still waist-deep in its presidential nomination fight, John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, has been quietly courting the white working-class Democrats who have proved elusive for Barack Obama, his most likely rival in the fall. In the two weeks since Senator Obama's loss in Pennsylvania, Senator McCain has visited the struggling steel town of Youngstown, Ohio, to promote programs to retrain workers. He has gone to Allentown, Pa., to push a gas-tax holiday and argue that the...

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Sunday blamed market manipulation as the likely cause of record high gas prices in the United States. Appearing on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," the Democratic presidential contender said if she is elected in November, she will immediately order an investigation into the industry. "We know that there's market manipulation going on. So I would launch an investigation if I were president right now by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission," Clinton said. The New York senator said any attempts to lower gas prices should require the participation of the Organization...