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video at link Obama on credit downgrade from Standard & Poor's: "It happened because Washington does not have the capacity to come together and get things done. It was a self-inflicted wound. That is why people are frustrated. Maybe you can hear it in my voice. That is why I am frustrated. Because you deserve better."

The fourth consecutive day of debt meetings between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders from both parties ceased abruptly with Obama walking out of Wednesday's talks, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said. Cantor told FOX News Channel that the approximately two-hour meeting at the White House Wednesday "ended with president abruptly walking out of the meeting." He said Obama shoved back from the desk and said "we'll see you tomorrow." "We are very far apart right now," Cantor told FOX, adding, "The progress we made seems to have been erased now." "He [Obama] became very agitated. Said 'Ronald Reagan...

Walk like a man.

WikiLeaks: British Police Arrest Assange WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested by British police over sexual assault claims in Sweden, according to Sky sources. A fresh European arrest warrant has been received by Mr Assange's lawyer - as anger grows in the US over the latest leaked embassy cables by the whistleblowing website. Sky sources have said officers from Scotland Yard detained the 39-year-old Australian at around 9.30am. Labelling the move as a "political stunt", Mr Assange's solicitor Mark Stephens said his client wants to find out what allegations he faces so he can clear his name. Two...

Blog Police Creeps Are George Soros Plants For at least a month now a crew of three or four screen names here on Free Republic have been used to spam post after post all across the board. They have decided that they are Free Republic's police, they think they speak for the whole board, and have been attempting to drive people off this site. But are they real FReepers? Or are they something else? It is pretty clear that they are being paid to do this by a George Soros-styled, left wing organization to spam FR, attack posters, and attempt...

Obama Whines: American Journalists 'Never Say Thank You' By Lachlan Markay Created 11/15/2010 - 7:16pm By Lachlan Markay | November 15, 2010 | 19:16 President Barack Obama is peeved with the American press. They never say "thank you," he whined to journalists in Japan on Monday. According to the pool report from the press conference, one reporter said "Thank you, Mr. President." Someone said the reporter was Australian. "I knew it must have been an Australian because my folks never say thank you," Obama said. At that, the entire American pool said in unison -- admittedly with a bit of...

Another Freeper posted from Drudge pictures of the Russian President and the US TOTUSI thought I'd ressurect the idea of it.

Obama to take the plunge, will swim in gulf Posted: August 14th, 2010 03:27 PM ET From CNN Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry (CNN) – The one really big question hanging over President Obama's weekend vacation to Panama City, Florida, now has an answer. Will he or won't he dive into the water to send a message that the Gulf Coast is back? The answer: He will, but the public is unlikely to see images of a shirtless President Obama. "I think we're going to go tomorrow and as I just said Ed, I'm not going to let you...

After consulting with the Secret Service, President Obama drove a Chevrolet Volt at a plant in Hamtramck, Mich., the pool reports. The pool summarizes: “He stepped excitedly into a Black Chevy Volt, behind the wheel, buckled himself in and haltingly drove perhaps 10 feet at a crawling speed.” “Pretty smooth,” Obama remarked.

Reporting from Washington - The Obama administration is releasing a major statement on nuclear weapons policy that will herald a further shrinking of the U.S. arsenal, even as it rejects some sweeping steps advocated by arms control advocates. The statement, to be released Tuesday, will announce that the arsenal will shrink by thousands of warheads, and it will further restrict when the weapons may be used, U.S. officials say. But the administration has rejected proposals to declare that the "sole purpose" of nuclear arms is deterrence, nor will it promise that the United States won't be the first to use...

Chris Matthews, on Monday's Today, took after Rush Limbaugh for his use of the word "regime" and "junta" in talking about Barack Obama's presidency. After playing a clip of the talk radio host making fun of Matthews, for making fun of Limbaugh's use of the word regime, the Hardball host and his panelists charged Limbaugh and his listeners of trying to de-legitimize the President and accused them of racism. MSNBC political analyst Richard Wolffe even went as far to insist the opposition to the President is all about "his color." Matthews also went on to hysterically claim Limbaugh's listeners are...

"Machismo!" shouted a young college student in the third row. "Tough!" "Violent!" "Homophobic!" shouted three other young men, sprinkled throughout the packed lecture hall. Ethan Wong, a student at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn., who was dressed in a slim business suit, nodded as he wrote each word on the chalk board. The roomful of young men was brainstorming all the qualities associated with masculinity. Mr. Wong was one of the organizers of the National Conference for Campus-Based Men's Gender Equality and Anti-Violence Groups, a long and clunky name for an unprecedented event that recently took place at his...

Just a heads up to Freepers and fellow Americans. Major Japanese political monthly, now on the newsstands here in Tokyo, called "VOICE", published only in Japanese by PHP Publishing House, has a significant article breaking the news of the TRUTH of Barack Obama to the Japanese People, after months of uncritical adoration by nearly 100% of the Japanese Mass Media outlets.I hereby synopsize translate some points/subtitles of article, and provide a URL link to the Japanese site. If time permits a synop-translation may be provided on FRs. In the meantime, it is interesting to finally see these critical articles emerge...

SEATTLE -- Soccer dad Mike Miller prefers the smooth, cushioned surface of synthetic turf because his 13-year-old daughter can play year-round, including in the long rainy season that closes Seattle's grass fields. But as Caty Miller and her teammates dribble, pass and shoot, their cleats kick up tiny bits of ground-up tires that are used as filler between the blades of artificial grass. Those recycled tires have some health experts, activists and parents from Seattle to Chicago to Stamford, Mass. worried that children may be exposed to chemicals by inhaling or swallowing the rubber granules. Some are calling for a...

THE dread pirate of the high seas shuffled into the court room, standing all of 5-foot-2 and 90 pounds soaking wet. He looked more like an urchin seeking adoption by Madonna than a swashbuckling Somali pirate seeking an American fortune. Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, who laughed like a ninny when brought to New York on Monday in handcuffs, sat at the defendant's table, uncuffed. And he proceeded to dig his head into a bandaged hand, sobbing and sniffling like a little girl. SOMALI PIRATE CRIES IN COURT His shoulders trembled and he swatted at his dribbling nose, like a child facing...

  iowapresidentialwatch.com

(McClellanville) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards says the 70 cents per hour increase in the minimum wage is not enough. The former North Carolina senator told reporters in McClellanville Wednesday he wants other presidential candidates to join him in calling for an increase in the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2012. Tuesday's increase boosted the minimum wage to $5.85 per hour. Edwards made a similar call Monday night in the Democratic presidential debate in Charleston. He says all he heard was bragging about Congressional action.

Do you think Isaiah Washington was treated unfairly?

FELLOW captive Faye Turney was instrumental in getting Arthur Batchelor through their terrifying 13-day kidnap ordeal, the 20-year-old said yesterday. Arthur said his brave colleague, nicknamed Topsy, risked beatings from their cynical guards for whispering reassurances to him as he sat scared stiff and blindfolded on a boat after they were snatched at sea. And he revealed that the hardest part of his nightmare in Tehran was when he was separated from mum-of-one Faye - who he said was like a big sister to him - and chucked into solitary confinement. Speaking of the day they were captured, able seaman...

Before Michael Buday married his fiancée, Diana Bijon, he decided to honor her family by bucking tradition and taking her last name. But, it wasn't so easy. Under California state law, he needed to pay more than $300, go to court, file a petition, and publicly advertise his name change for four weeks in a local newspaper. If he had simply gone along with tradition, it would have cost only $50 to $80. So Buday, 29, went to court, along with the ACLU, to change the law. They recently announced their plans to sue the California Department of Health Services,...