Free Republic

The Federal Election Commission is unlikely to conduct a potentially embarrassing audit of how Barack Obama raised and spent his presidential campaign’s record-shattering windfall, despite allegations of questionable donations and accounting that had the McCain campaign crying foul. Adding insult to injury for Republicans: The FEC is obligated to complete a rigorous audit of McCain’s campaign coffers, which will take months, if not years, and cost McCain millions of dollars to defend. Obama is expected to escape that level of scrutiny mostly because he declined an $84 million public grant for his campaign that automatically triggers an audit and because...

ZOGBY SATURDAY: Republican John McCain has pulled back within the margin of error... The three-day average holds steady, but McCain outpolled Obama 48% to 47% in Friday, one day, polling. He is beginning to cut into Obama's lead among independents, is now leading among blue collar voters, has strengthened his lead among investors and among men, and is walloping Obama among NASCAR voters. Joe the Plumber may get his license after all...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States plans to announce on Saturday that it will take North Korea off its terrorism blacklist in a bid to salvage denuclearization talks, a U.S. official familiar with the decision said. The official, who asked not to be named as the announcement is set to be made later in the day, said Pyongyang had provided assurances on verifying its nuclear activities and President George W. Bush decided to proceed with taking the North off the U.S. list of states considered sponsors of terrorism. The move, which will be unpopular with some conservative Republicans who see...

A U.S. missile attack by a pilotless drone killed at least six people on Thursday, including 3 Arabs, in a Pakistani tribal region regarded as a safe haven for al Qaeda and Taliban militants, an intelligence official said. The target was a house in Tappi, a village 20 km east of Miranshah that has been hit before in recent days, according to an intelligence official in the region.

A federal judge has ordered the Bush administration to release 17 detainees at Guantánamo by the end of the week, the first such ruling in nearly seven years of legal disputes over the administration's detention policies. The judge, Ricardo Urbina of U.S. District Court, ordered Tuesday that the 17 men be brought to his courtroom Friday from Guantánamo, where they have been held since 2002. He indicated that he would release the men, members of the restive Uighur Muslim minority of western China, into the care of supporters in the United States, initially in the Washington area. "I think the...

I have been very good about this lately too. When you go to post a story use the "Search" button and put one of the key words from the stories title in the textobx and select "Titles" in the dropdown and then do the "Search". Odds are it's been posted cause' folks are quick around here. Lately, the same story is posted 4 to 6 times right out of the box with conversations going on in most of them. I'm just saying ....

South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler reportedly lashed out at Sarah Palin Wednesday, saying the Republican vice presidential candidate’s “primary qualification seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.” Politico.com reports that Fowler, wife of former Democratic National Committee Chairman Don Fowler, said that John McCain’s decision to choose an abortion rights opponent would not boost his candidacy among many women.

Bill O'Reilly will interview Barack Obama tomorrow night.

6 things Palin pick says about McCain The selection of a running mate is among the most consequential and the most defining decisions a presidential nominee can make. John McCain’s pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says a lot about his decision-making — and some of it is downright breathtaking. We knew McCain is a politician who relishes improvisation and likes to go with his gut. But it is remarkable that someone who has repeatedly emphasized experience in this campaign named an inexperienced governor he barely knew to be his No. 2. Whatever you think of the pick, here are...

Brash McCain pick of AK Gov. Palin neutralizes historic Obama speech, stunts the Dems' convention bounce UTICA, New York - Republican John McCain's surprise announcement Friday of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate - some 16 hours after Democrat Barack Obama's historic speech accepting his party’s presidential nomination - has possibly stunted any Obama convention bump, the latest Zogby Interactive flash poll of the race shows. Data from this poll is available here The latest nationwide survey, begun Friday afternoon after the McCain announcement of Palin as running mate and completed mid-afternoon today, shows McCain/Palin at 47%, compared...

1. He’s desperate. Let’s stop pretending this race is as close as national polling suggests. The truth is McCain is essentially tied or trailing in every swing state that matters — and too close for comfort in several states, such as Indiana and Montana, that the GOP usually wins pretty easily in presidential races. On top of that, voters seem very inclined to elect Democrats in general this election — and very sick of the Bush years. McCain could easily lose in an electoral landslide. That is the private view of Democrats and Republicans alike. McCain’s pick shows he is...

6 things the Palin pick says about McCain By: Jim VandeHei and John F. Harris August 30, 2008 01:44 PM EST The selection of a running mate is among the most consequential, most defining decisions a presidential nominee can make. John McCain’s pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says a lot about his decison-making — and some of it is downright breathtaking. We knew McCain is a politician who relishes improvisation, and likes to go with his gut. But it is remarkable that someone who has repeatedly emphasized experience in this campaign named an inexperienced governor he barely knew...

Two McCain offices evacuated after letter threat Thu Aug 21, 2008 8:45pm EDT By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Two offices of John McCain's U.S. presidential campaign, in Colorado and New Hampshire, were evacuated on Thursday, and several staffers were hospitalized, after threatening or suspicious envelopes arrived in the mail, one with an unidentified white powder. The first parcel, described as containing an unspecified threat and a powdery white substance, was opened by a staff member at the campaign's Centennial, Colorado, office, near Denver, at about 3 p.m. local time, U.S. Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley said.

The Russian invasion of Georgia has not changed the balance of power in Eurasia. It simply announced that the balance of power had already shifted. The United States has been absorbed in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as potential conflict with Iran and a destabilizing situation in Pakistan. It has no strategic ground forces in reserve and is in no position to intervene on the Russian periphery.

There’s a huge concern among conservative talk radio hosts that reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine would all-but destroy the industry due to equal time constraints. But speech limits might not stop at radio. They could even be extended to include the Internet and “government dictating content policy.” FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell raised that as a possibility after talking with bloggers at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. McDowell spoke about a recent FCC vote to bar Comcast from engaging in certain Internet practices – expanding the federal agency’s oversight of Internet networks. The commissioner, a 2006 President Bush appointee, told...

The Russian invasion of Georgia has not changed the balance of power in Eurasia. It simply announced that the balance of power had already shifted. The United States has been absorbed in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as potential conflict with Iran and a destabilizing situation in Pakistan. It has no strategic ground forces in reserve and is in no position to intervene on the Russian periphery. This, as we have argued, has opened a window of opportunity for the Russians to reassert their influence in the former Soviet sphere. Moscow did not have to concern itself...

John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extra-marital affair with a novice film-maker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today. In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 42-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her. Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter's baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test. Edwards said he knew he was not the father based on timing of the baby's birth...

ohn Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extra-marital affair with a novice film-maker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today.

what is the deal with all the duplicate threads lately? it seems like there are several of the same threads posted over and over sometimes there are threads that were posted from the day or days before often there are muliptle threads of the same topic on the first page. I have been guilty of this as well even though I have searched for the keyword

<p>JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, facing corruption allegations and plummeting approval ratings, announced Wednesday he will resign in September. The move threw his country into political turmoil and raised doubts about progress for U.S.-backed Mideast peace efforts.</p> <p>Appearing angry and reading from a prepared text, Olmert made the brief statement at his official Jerusalem residence where he harshly criticized the corruption investigations against him. He said he was choosing the public good over his personal justice.</p>

Thousands of blank passports worth £2.5million on the black market were stolen from a van after the driver stopped to buy a chocolate bar, it emerged last night. Security experts warned the theft of the 3,000 passports and visas, which were destined for British embassies abroad, had handed a 'real coup' to terrorists, illegal immigrants and fraudsters. The Foreign Office, which was in charge of the delivery, admitted it was the latest in a string of serious security breaches by the Government. The documents were being transported in a non-armoured white Citroen van from Oldham in Greater Manchester, to London...

The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention has used the city's gas pumps to fill up and apparently avoided paying state and federal fuel taxes. The practice, which began four months ago, may have ended hours after its disclosure. An aide to Mayor John Hickenlooper released a statement Tuesday evening saying that Denver 2008 Host Committee members would pay market prices for fuel and would also be liable for all applicable taxes. However, Public Works spokeswoman Christine Downs told City Council members just hours before that host committee members were fueling up at the city pumps. The city does not...

The three network anchors will travel to Europe and the Middle East next week for Barack Obama's trip, adding their high-wattage spotlight to what is already shaping up as a major media extravaganza. Lured by an offer of interviews with the Democratic presidential candidate, Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric will make the overseas trek, meaning that the NBC, ABC and CBS evening newscasts will originate from stops along the route and undoubtedly give it big play.

September's national convention for Republicans won't be a bed of roses for Sen. John McCain. There's at least one impediment to keep him from his party's nomination — a probable fight over the platform. At issue are his stances on such explosive issues as global warming, immigration, stem-cell research and campaign finance. The Washington Post reports that, "Virtually the entire platform will have to be rewritten to lessen the imprint" of President Bush, whose name appears on nearly every page." Although McCain has yet to reveal how he plans to alter the strongly conservative platform, the Post reports that many...

About a month ago, the California Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, issued a declaratory opinion that Proposition 22, which states that, “Only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California,” enshrined into statutory law by 61.4% of California voters in 2000 (over four million voters), was “unconstitutional” on the basis that "gender discrimination" violates the equal protection clause of the state constitution. The LA Times reported that: "The California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage Thursday in a broadly worded decision that would invalidate virtually any law that discriminates...

The "birth certificate" claimed by the Barack Obama campaign is not certified as authentic and appears to be a photoshopped fake. Embossed seal of the State of Hawaii absent from the purported "birth certificate" of Barack Obama Janice Okubo, Director of Communications of the State of Hawaii Department of Health, told Israel Insider: "At this time there are no circumstances in which the State of Hawaii Department of Health would issue a birth certification or certification of live birth only electronically." And, she added, "In the State of Hawaii all certified copies of certificates of live birth have the embossed...

Environmental Foolishness Has Made Nuclear Energy Radioactive   By Jack Spencer and Nick LorisFrontPageMagazine.com | Monday, June 23, 2008 Carbon-capping legislation and recent studies[1] that conclude that a massive build-up of nuclear power is needed to minimize the negative economic impact of CO2 caps have spurred several high-profile articles on the costs of nuclear energy.[2] One such article notes that estimated construction costs for nuclear power plants and the overall costs of nuclear power have increased significantly since 2000 and espouses wind power, solar power, and energy efficiency as alternatives to new nuclear plants.What these articles do not recognize...

Every presidential candidate can use a sexy blonde movie star to liven up his or her campaign, appear at big money events and rally the entertainment community. Sen. Barack Obama’s go-to Hollywood hottie is Scarlett Johansson, a starlet who trades frequent e-mails with the presumptive Democratic nominee, campaigns tirelessly on his behalf, hosts lucrative fundraisers and even appeared in that “Yes We Can” viral video that got 10 million views in its first week online. Of course, there’s always the possibility of a backlash. “Even I’m wary of celebrity endorsements,” Johansson told Politico on Friday. “I don’t want to seem...

An unnamed expert believes that a nuclear explosion caused the recent 8.0 magnitude Sichuan earthquake in China, where three weeks after the catastrophe the death toll has reached 69,000 plus. Overseas Chinese website Boxun News reported that the expert confirmed there was a nuclear explosion near the epicenter, based on witness reports and the discovery of concrete rubble believed to have come from an underground military installation.

Not sure if this has been posted already, but this is a clip of a US Congresswoman causing an uproar in the Congress by her words. Can you guess who is bleating? U.S. Congress IN Uproar By Womans Choice of Words

Global Warming is not due to human contribution of Carbon Dioxide Global Warming: The Cold, Hard Facts? By Timothy Ball Monday, February 5, 2007 Global Warming, as we think we know it, doesn't exist. And I am not the only one trying to make people open up their eyes and see the truth. But few listen, despite the fact that I was the first Canadian Ph.D. in Climatology and I have an extensive background in climatology, especially the reconstruction of past climates and the impact of climate change on human history and the human condition.“Few listen, even though I have...

Global Warming, as we think we know it, doesn't exist. And I am not the only one trying to make people open up their eyes and see the truth. But few listen, despite the fact that I was the first Canadian Ph.D. in Climatology and I have an extensive background in climatology, especially the reconstruction of past climates and the impact of climate change on human history and the human condition. Few listen, even though I have a Ph.D, (Doctor of Science) from the University of London, England and that for 32 years I was a Professor of Climatology at...

Call it the front-runner's paradox. While Hillary Rodham Clinton tops every national poll of likely 2008 Democratic presidential contenders, the New York senator is dogged by questions of "electability" - political code for whether she can win enough swing states to prevail in a general election. It's a gauge typically applied to Democrats, as few question the crossover appeal of the GOP front-runner, Arizona Sen. John McCain . And for activists eager to recapture the White House after eight years of George W. Bush , electability remains a crucial yardstick by which Clinton, especially, seems to be measured. Clinton began...

Iran calls for new cut in OPEC oil output Dec 3, 2006 Iran's OPEC envoy Hossein Kazempour Ardebili called on the oil cartel to agree a new oil output cut at its next meeting to counter an oversupply of crude, the official news agency IRNA reported. "Some factors like the decrease of world economic growth and accumulation of oil and stockpiles of its by-products indicate that the market needs a cut in OPEC oil output again," Kazempour Ardebili said. "There is still oversupply in the market beyond the oil demand and with OPEC's output cut (agreed in October) all the...

Observers of contemporary society will surely have noted that a liberal is far more likely to fear global warming than a conservative. Why is this? After all, if the science is as conclusive as Al Gore, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times and virtually every other spokesman of the Left says it is, conservatives are just as likely to be scorched and drowned and otherwise done in by global warming as liberals will. So why aren't non-leftists nearly as exercised as leftists are? Do conservatives handle heat better? Are libertarians better swimmers? Do religious people love their children less? The...

Okay, I expect I might be zotted, which is fine, maybe I should be. And maybe I just need to get my glasses readjusted. But I've noticed it on more than one occasion recently, so I thought I'd ask. Are Bush's suits fitting properly? This evening I happened to catch a glimps of him giving his speech about Iraq, and it looked strange to me. It looked like his suit was too big for him. I tried to go back to www.whitehouse.gov to see some pics, but the pics all look fine. And I wouldn't have paid any attention to...

Construction workers using a deep-fryer to cook a turkey Tuesday for an early Thanksgiving celebration burned a house they had just finished building. The feast is an annual tradition for the crew, which was working at the Cozy Homes development on Mallory Lane, off Coburg Road in Eugene. Cement worker Henry Schmerber bought a new propane fryer for the occasion and set it up inside the garage of the vacant house. Workers took turns watching the kettle. But the fryer's thermometer was broken, and the oil inside got too hot, the workers said. The kettle started smoking and the lid...

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005 Freedom Museum dropped from WTC site for now AMY WESTFELDT Associated Press NEW YORK - Bowing to pressure from furious Sept. 11 families, Gov. George Pataki on Wednesday removed a proposed freedom museum from the space reserved for it at ground zero, saying the project had aroused "too much opposition, too much controversy." He left open the possibility that a new spot at the former World Trade Center site could be found for the museum. The decision followed months of acrimony over the International Freedom Center, with Sept. 11 families and politicians saying that...

The mother of a fallen U.S. soldier who is holding a roadside peace vigil near President Bush's ranch -- has dramatically changed her account about what happened when she met the commander-in-chief last summer! Cindy Sheehan, 48, of Vacaville, Calif., who last year praised Bush for bringing her family the "gift of happiness," took to the nation's TV outlets this weekend to declare how Bush "killed an indispensable part of our family and humanity." CINDY 2004 THE REPORTER of Vacaville, CA published an account of Cindy Sheehan's visit with the president at Fort Lewis near Seattle on June 24, 2004:...

Russian Sub Surfaces; All Seven Crew Alive By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer Seven submarine crew members trapped for nearly three days under the Pacific Ocean were rescued Sunday after a British remote-controlled vehicle cut away the undersea cables that had snarled the vessel. The seven crew members, whose oxygen supplies had been dwindling amid underwater temperatures in the mid-40s, appeared to be in satisfactory condition, naval spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said. The seven were being examined by ship medics, he said. The sub surfaced late Sunday afternoon, some three days after becoming stranded in 600 feet of water off...

The AS-28, itself a rescue vessel, got its propeller tangled in metal cords from the antenna of an electronic underwater monitoring station -- part of Russia's coastal defenses... The coastal waters off Russia's far east have highly sensitive installations and there were suggestions the Russian military was far from keen to allow foreign navies to come so close to such a strategic area. "This area is stuffed with secrets," Interfax news agency quoted retired Admiral Eduard Baltin, former Black Sea Fleet commander, as saying. "It is home to strategic nuclear submarines."

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- Former President Clinton said Wednesday the political changes in Iraq, including parliamentary elections in January, will help bring stability to the region. Clinton met with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and a number of Danish lawmakers during his visit. The former president spoke with reporters before flying to Jordan for a poverty conference. "The Sunnis and the Shiites, the Kurds and all the various tribes can work out accommodations that will allow them to build a stable society, I think that will be good for Iraq and good for the Middle East," Clinton said at...

When the partisan impasse over rules and procedures on the House ethics committee ends, the first member to face the panel won't be House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, but rather Democrat Jim McDermott of Washington. The Seattle-area congressman, one of the most vocal critics of Republicans, has been under investigation by the panel since last year over his role nearly nine years ago in the illegal taping and distribution of a phone conversation involving then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich.A federal court already has determined, for a civil lawsuit against Mr. McDermott, that the liberal lawmaker illegally distributed the tape, a judgment...

...Why is the filibuster allowed in the Senate but not in the House of Representatives? The answer is that the filibuster did indeed once have a home in the House. That it doesn't anymore is a tribute to a 19th-century Republican hero: Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed of Maine. If he is recalled at all today, it is because of the memorable nickname his enemies fastened to him in the wake of Reed's successful abolition of the filibuster in the House: "Czar." ... The primary weapon of the minority was the so-called "silent quorum" or "silent filibuster." Under the House rules...

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Federal agents arrested a man on Monday, charging him with possessing and selling more than 1,300 counterfeit badges representing 35 law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency said. The counterfeits are "very, very good," said Special Agent in Charge Martin Ficke, who added that nine out of 10 would "pass scrutiny."

May 02, 2005, 9:44 a.m. Dominionist Domination The Left runs with a wild theory. What is the real agenda of the religious far Right? I’ll tell you what it is. These nuts want to take over the federal government and suppress other religions through genocide and mass murder, rather than through proselytizing. They want to reestablish slavery. They want to reduce women to near-slavery by making them property, first of their fathers, and then of their husbands. They want to execute anyone found guilty of pre-martial, extramaritial, or homosexual sex. They want to bring back the death penalty for witchcraft....

Harper’s Magazine’s May cover stories about “The Christian Right’s War On America,” frightened me, although not the way Harper’s meant them to. I fear these stories could mark the beginning of a systematic campaign of hatred directed at traditional Christians. Whether this is what Harper’s intends, I cannot say. But regardless of the intention, the effect seems clear. The phrase “campaign of hatred” is a strong one, and I worry about amplifying an already dangerous dynamic of recrimination on both sides of the culture wars. I don’t doubt that conservatives, Christian and otherwise, are sometimes guilty of rhetorical excess. Yet...

Two-thirds of world's resources 'used up' Tim Radford, science editor Wednesday March 30, 2005 The Guardian The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries - some of them world leaders in their fields - today warns that the almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure. The study contains what its authors call "a stark warning" for the entire world. The wetlands, forests, savannahs, estuaries, coastal fisheries and other habitats that recycle air, water and nutrients for all living creatures are being...

The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries - some of them world leaders in their fields - today warns that the almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure. The study contains what its authors call "a stark warning" for the entire world. The wetlands, forests, savannahs, estuaries, coastal fisheries and other habitats that recycle air, water and nutrients for all living creatures are being irretrievably damaged. In effect, one species is now a hazard to the other 10 million or...

CAMBRIDGE -- A Harvard University student's fledgling dorm-cleaning business faced the threat of a campus boycott yesterday after the school's daily newspaper slammed it for dividing students along economic lines. The Harvard Crimson newspaper urged students to shun Dormaid, a business started by Harvard sophomore Michael Kopko that cleans up for messy students. "By creating yet another differential between the haves and have-nots on campus, Dormaid threatens our student unity," the Crimson said in an editorial. "We urge the student body to boycott Dormaid." But Mr. Kopko, 20, said he could not understand the Crimson's reaction to his business, which...