Free Republic

Obama's Debt Crisis How much is the National Debt costing America?It’s interesting to note that the total interest paid on the National Debt since 1988 has been $7,393 billion (that’s $7.4 trillion). That’s a lot of money being wasted by politicians in Washington, D.C. and there are not enough people talking about it. There is an even more deafening silence regarding what the cost will be over the next 10 years. The United States will pay almost as much interest as it did over the last 20 years in just the next 10. And no one in Washington is addressing...

Worthless Government StatisticsIt was just back on November 3rd when the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), a division of the U.S. Commerce Department, declared that Gross Domestic Product grew at an annual rate of 3.5% during the 3rd quarter of 2009. Then on November 23rd, the Bureau declared that the actual rate of growth for the 3rd quarter was only 2.8%. So the question that comes to my mind, loud and clear, is what exactly does that mean?First of all what it does NOT mean is that the economy grew at the rate of 2.8% during the 3rd quarter of...

A quick trip to grab a bite to eat by Police Chief Kevin Belk and Deputy Police Chief James Farris turned into a baby-saving adventure Thursday afternoon. While headed to lunch, Belk and Farris chased down a Chevy Suburban stolen moments before with a baby boy inside, police said. The mother of 10-month-old Kamaron Hill is hailing both as her ``heroes'' after they saw her ``hysterical'' on Fulton Street near Dwight Avenue, she said. Kandeis Hill, 35, of Grand Rapids, ran into the street after her sport utility vehicle was taken from the Fulton Street Superwash, at 912 E. Fulton...

On the anniversary of his election, President Barack Obama will visit Madison on Wednesday to talk about the progress states are making on education reforms he's championed since taking office and the imminent competition that will have many of those states vying for extra federal stimulus funds for schools. Is there more to the president's visit than just a pat on the back for Wisconsin? Many suspect the latter for a number of reasons: • The governor's race. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has not announced whether he will run for governor, and some say Obama, who has intervened in local politics...

FORT WORTH – Dan Walker, an Army war veteran who was honored for gathering and burying a U.S. flag that was burned in protest during the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, has died. He was 81. Walker, who was captured by TV cameras carefully retrieving the flag remnants so they could be buried properly, died Wednesday of prostate cancer at his Fort Worth home. Walker told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram after the incident that he felt compelled to act after seeing someone try to stomp out the fire. "I didn't want someone sweeping it up with a broom and...

Former Comptroller General of the United States David Walker has been sounding the warnings of impending Federal bankruptcy for years. The largest problem is Federal health care entitlements — a factor to be seriously considered as Congress debates yet another proposed health care entitlement bill. [Videos]

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2009 AT 2:56 PM Ethics Update Posted by Norm Eisen We have previously reported six limited waivers that have been granted by the White House pursuant to the President’s Executive Order on Ethics for Executive Branch personnel – the strongest ethics standards in U.S. government history. Three of these waivers involved lobbying-related issues and three did not. We blogged about them here, here, and here. Several months ago, the public interest community suggested that we also make available in a central place limited waivers...

Nuradin Abdi was convicted in 2007 of planning to blow up an Ohio shopping mall. Iyman Faris was convicted in 2003 of planning to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge. Christopher Paul was convicted in 2008 of conspiring to use explosives against targets in the U.S. and Europe. All three terrorists worshiped and socialized at a small mosque in Columbus, Ohio, and, according to David B. Smith, an attorney for Faris, were part of a larger group of jihadists and extremists who frequented the mosque. The FBI now is investigating reports of links to that same mosque by Muslim-convert Abdulhakim Muhammad...

Written by: Dr. Orly TaitzDate: March 15, 2009www.defendourfreedoms.usThank you and let's keep working until Obama resigns or until he is removed.Thank you all for your beautiful, warm words of support. It really touched my heart to read some 160 comments that were posted so far. Thank you for your prayers. Those kept me safe so far and hopefully will keep me safe in the future. It is interesting that completely deranged Obama thugs are now posting messages on the blogs saying that the meeting with Chief Justice John Roberts never happened, and that Justice Roberts doesn't have Secret Service protection. It is...

Have you ever wondered what it would look like if Chicken Little ran a commune? I suspect it would look like this collectivist freak-out of a response by the left-wing blogosphere to an op-ed by actor/martial artist/pitchman Chuck Norris. Yes, that Chuck Norris...

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Some high-profile convicts past and present are among more than 2,000 people asking President George W. Bush to pardon them or commute their prison sentences before he leaves office. Junk-bond king Michael Milken, media mogul Conrad Black and American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh have applied to the Justice Department seeking official forgiveness.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A 40-year-old man walking his dog in the nude was Tasered by police when he refused to follow an officer's commands.

Walker archeological dig unearths more finds Gail De Boer, Pilot Independent Published Friday, November 09, 2007 Despite not having as much time as he’d hoped to work at the Walker Hill site this summer, Leech Lake Heritage Sites (LLHS) program director and tribal archaeologist Thor Olmanson says it was a productive and exciting season. “We have boxes of things to go through this winter,” he declared Nov. 1, as he showed off recent “finds.” In 2004, LLHS, a for-profit archaeological consulting firm owned by the Leech Lake Band, was brought in to study the site chosen for the new Walker...

Does America need a terrorist financier to secure its “freedom”? Sami al-Arian thinks so. His National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom poses as a watchdog for the Constitution, but he has focused his lobbying efforts on repealing anti-terrorist legislation. While Sami al-Arian himself has been arrested for being a prime financier for Palestinian Islamic Jihad (and likely one of its three founders), his political movement continues to threaten homeland security. Al-Arian founded the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom (NCPPF) in 1997 as a reaction to the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1996. The coalition’s stated goal “is to help change the...

Due to the recent inundation of misinformation regarding the Walker Hill Site, we are compelled to clarify some issues. First, neither the Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) nor the Department of Finance has any jurisdiction regarding determinations of the validity or significance of archaeological resources. That is the responsibility of the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). The SHPO has been to the site, seen the artifacts and obtained professional opinions from other researchers around the state. Based on his (Scott Anfinson, Minnesota State Archaeologist) observations and the observations of these other researchers, he concurred with our interpretation that the...

Walker 'stone tools' weren't made by humans, state archaeologist says By Robert Franklin, Star Tribune Materials found on a hill above Walker, Minn., were not clearly stone tools dating back 13,000 to 14,000 years, the state archaeologist has concluded. Several experienced archaeologists have concluded that "the great majority of the collection was produced by natural processes," State Archaeologist Scott Anfinson said. "There were a few 'maybe' flakes [of stone], and there were clearly no stone tools of obvious human manufacture or use." Nor is it likely that people lived in the "very uninviting environment" of the Late Glacial age in...

Archaeologists have discovered stone tools atop a hill in this northern Minnesota town that may be 13,000 to 14,000 years old, according to a published report... Britta Bloomberg, Minnesota's deputy historic preservation officer, said it may be among the oldest known archaeological sites in North and South America. A half-dozen archaeologists, soil scientists and others who have examined the site all said the artifacts are genuine, she said... Mattson said the objects were found underneath a band of rock and gravel that appeared to have been deposited by melting glaciers and then covered by windblown sediment, Mather said... [T]he site...

Ancient Stone "Tools" Found; May Be Among Americas' Oldest Stefan Lovgren for National Geographic News February 15, 2007 Crude stone "tools" found in northern Minnesota may be at least 13,000 years old, a team of archaeologists recently announced. The discovery, if confirmed, would put the objects among the oldest human artifacts ever found in the Americas. The team found about 50 such objects during a routine survey for road construction in the town of Walker, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Park Rapids. The finds include what appear to be a large hammerstone, beveled scrapers, rudimentary choppers, a crude...

Archaeologists explain significance of the Walker site Find does not affect Walker Area Community Center project by Molly MacGregor, Pilot Contributor The Pilot-Independent Last Updated: Wednesday, January 24th, 2007 05:28:25 PM Photos provided by Heritage Sites Director Thor Olmanson Archaeologists dug down about two meters. The 20-some tools were found between 20 and 30 centimeters below the surface. If you are puzzling about news of an archaeological find at the City of Walker's Tower Avenue project, then you should meet Matt Mattson. He's a volunteer who helped a team of archaeologists uncover what might be the oldest intact site of...

Have you heard of the "Chuck Norris Facts"? There are more than 50,000 jokes making their way around the Internet that purport to be "facts" all playing off my movie roles as a "tough guy" and my history as a martial arts champion. But they aren't "jokes" to those who spread them – they're "facts." Here are a few of my favorites: "When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris." "Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants." "Outer space exists because it's afraid to...

TRUTH in the David Hicks affair remains as elusive as ever after fresh allegations this week from inside the US military that the Guantanamo Bay commissions are so seriously flawed that a fair trial is impossible. The most damaging blows yet to the commissions -- still supported by the Howard Government -- came from three US Air Force prosecutors involved in the trials who have quit the investigation in protest. One, John Carr, said the process appeared to have been rigged and that the first four cases -- including Hicks -- had been been "handpicked" and would not be acquitted....

Just announced on ESPN. Apparently died of a heart attack at age 52. Married with two kids. Very sad. RIP

A 19-year-old quarterback of the Utah State University football team was arrested Thursday and booked into the Cache County Jail on a first-degree felony charge of rape. Jerod Walker turned himself in to campus police officials Thursday after being notified that charges were going to be filed, continuing what University Police Lt. Steve Milne said has been continued cooperation from Walker as the investigation progressed. “The charges follow an investigation by our office after a 20-year-old USU student reported that Walker had raped her in his on-campus residence,” Milne said. “We collected statements from the witnesses and other evidence was...

The new Malcolm X? By Philip Sherwell (Filed: 09/04/2006) The Federal Correctional Complex on the edge of the southern Californian town of Victorville is a grim, inhospitable place. Its squat concrete blocks are surrounded first by walls and barbed wire fences and then by the scrubby expanse of the Mojave Desert. The prison sits just off Route 66, the highway where Nat King Cole famously invited travellers to "get your kicks". But this stretch of the road, lined by ugly cement factories and crumbling wooden shacks, could not be further from its romantic image. Converted: John Walker Lindh It is...

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Support for Jim Doyle fell this month in the Badger State, according to a poll by Strategic Vision. 41 per cent of respondents in Wisconsin approve of their governor’s performance, down three points since January. Doyle—a Democrat—has acted as Wisconsin’s governor since January 2003. The former state attorney general defeated Republican incumbent Scott McCallum and Libertarian candidate Ed Thompson in the November 2002 election with 45 per cent of the vote. On Mar. 10, Doyle signed a bill which mandates all persons seeking a driving license in Wisconsin to show proof of legal residency. The...

American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh has asked President Bush again to reduce his 20-year prison sentence by an unspecified amount, Lindh's attorney said Tuesday. Lindh, now in his early 20s, wrote a first-person account to the Justice Department's pardon attorneys arguing why he believes Bush should reduce his sentence. Lindh's attorney said the document could not be publicly released under U.S. government restrictions intended to prevent Lindh from disclosing national secrets. Lindh, a native of Marin County, Calif., who is now imprisoned in southern California, was captured in Afghanistan weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. He pleaded...

Last week, John Walker Lindh  petitioned the president to commute his 20-year sentence for fighting with the Taliban, imposed in 2002.  It’s a shame that this pampered child of Marin County is sitting in a cell for something as trivial as treason. Under a plea bargain, Walker Lindh (AKA: Abdul Hamid, AKA: Sulayman Al-Lindh) pleaded guilty to supplying services to the Taliban regime and carrying explosives for  Afghanistan’s former rulers.Which is like to saying that Benedict Arnold supplied services to George III. Johnny Jihad trained in an al-Qaeda camp – where he learned to fire an AK-47 and rubbed elbows...

Frank Lindh, the gay father of John Walker Lindh, dubbed the "American Taliban" after being found in Afghanistan in late 2001, lashed out at the mainstream media and politicians on both sides of the aisle in Washington during a fiery, and at times, emotional speech before the Commonwealth Club last week. Breaking a self-imposed silence about his son's case, Lindh gave the speech in order to reach out to the American public, which he said has been brainwashed by lawmakers, government officials, and sensational news coverage into thinking his son is a traitor to his country and an ally of...

Former state Sen. Charles Walker surrendered himself to a federal prison on Thursday afternoon after a last-minute appeal to federal judges failed. Walker was sentenced this month to more than 10 years in federal prison for tax evasion, mail fraud and conspiracy charges. He and his attorneys hoped an emergency petition with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would allow him to remain free on bond until judges made a ruling, but the request was denied Wednesday. Once one of the most powerful legislators in Georgia, the Augusta Democrat was convicted in June of 127 of 137 crimes and...

  Do We Finally Get To Kill Somebody?November 10, 2005 With real threats to our national security in full bloom, and traitors in need of immediate lethal injection, why is the Beltway obsessed with much ado about a paper-pushing blond and her self-admitted psychedelic husband?  Maybe the rest of liberal America, along with Joe Wilson, have had “too many wives and taken too many drugs”. Or, in Bill Bennett’s words is it just a case of Overt Inconsistency?  As Bennett rhetorically notes about the liberals, and the MSM Fifth Column, their “support for the CIA, and...for secrecy in war and intelligence, lasted...

Walker discovers 5,000-year-old log path on moorFind to shed new light on Neolithic man Emma Dunlop FOR 5,000 years one of the world's oldest ever footpaths has remained a hidden secret, locked deep beneath the earth in South Yorkshire. That was until walker Mick Oliver quite literally stumbled across it while one day traipsing across Hatfield Moor, near Doncaster, shortly after it was re-opened to walkers in October last year. "I looked down and I could see a straight line. I thought, that's unusual, maybe it's a bog oak – a fossilised tree – so I'll go and have a...

When Steve Vaught began walking across the United States he had two simple, yet difficult goals. He wanted to lose a lot of weight and he wanted to come to grips with his life. Now slowly approaching Oklahoma City, the geographical halfway point of his journey, Vaught, 40, has lost about 55 pounds from his 6-foot-1-inch frame, down from 400. He also has figured out how to deal with the problems that led to his weight gain and depression and long history of job changes. "I found out who I was before I hit Barstow," he said. "Now I'm just...

Many economists and politicos on both sides of the aisle are warning that nonstop borrowing has put the nation on a course for a major fiscal disaster. They say financially reckless practices on both the government and personal level could result in a train wreck for real estate, interest rates, jobs, wages and government services. U.S. Comptroller General David Walker told The Associated Press that he believes the nation is at a critical juncture. Walker said the decisions made, or not made, within the next decade will have a profound effect on the future of the country. Federal Reserve Chair...

Sometimes... the most important quality an architect can possess is optimism. For example, it took 12 years for the Jewish Museum I designed in Berlin to finally open to the public. A few hours later it had to close. The date: Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. That jarring confluence of events not only predated but also presaged my role in rebuilding ground zero. And the memories of what we went through in Berlin give me confidence that we will succeed in New York as well. When I won the museum competition, Berliners were divided between those who felt my design would...

AUGUSTA — A federal jury found state Sen. Charles Walker guilty Friday of using his once-powerful position for personal gain, including skimming profits from a charity football game. Walker, the Senate majority leader before losing re-election in 2002, was convicted of 127 of 137 counts, including mail fraud, conspiracy, campaign finance fraud and tax fraud. He left the courthouse surrounded by lawyers and family members, without speaking to a horde of reporters. He then got into a black sport utility vehicle and sped off. Richard Goolsby, the prosecutor, said: ‘‘Justice has been served.’’ No sentencing date was set for the...

Okay, for those who may not be versed in geek lexicon, a "Mecha" is a giant robot, generally with a military purpose. Examples are all fictional, including anime, Star Wars, and Battletech. Until Now http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sakakibara-kikai.co.jp%2Fproducts%2Fother%2FLW.htm&lp=ja_en If the text on the page is bad, that's because it was translated using Bablefish. That said, just click on the picture where it say's "movie" and enjoy. This thing is real. Now, it isn't like those mecha in scifi. It is grossly underpowered (250 cc engine), undergunned (those faux vulcans shoot nerf balls), and is more of a "Shuffler" than a "walker" (max speed...

The bone scan reportA copy of the March 5, 1991 bone scan radiologist's report, is part of the parent's lawsuit introduced in federal court, dated August 30, 2003. This bone scan report is available as a JPEG document, here, at terrisfight.org, and also here, at the Christian Communication Network.Here, also, is a text version of the report; copied from "Exhibit 'A'" of that August 30, 2003 lawsuit: 3/5/91BONE SCAN Indication: Evaluate for trauma Procedure and findings: Multple gamma camera images of the axial and proximal appendicular skeleton in the anterior and posterior projections were obtained, following 21.1 millicuries of Technetium...

Portrait of a WahhabiBy Stephen Schwartz FrontPageMagazine.com | June 30, 2003 On Thursday, June 26, I testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security, chaired by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz).  My topic was “Wahhabism and Islam in the U.S.”  I outlined the outrageous degree to which Saudi-funded Wahhabi extremists, who are supporters of terrorism, have come to dominate Islam in the U.S. My testimony was not greeted with enthusiasm by James Zogby, the phony civil rights leader who heads the “Arab American Institute." Zogby, a Lebanese Christian once known for his moderate camouflage on Israel, but...

Newly released documents from the Bush administration show that a former member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle has resurfaced inside the new Iraqi government, bringing charges of corruption, bribery and bid-rigging. As a result, millions of U.S. aid dollars and billions in Iraqi government funds have disappeared in an ongoing scandal that is poised to engulf Baghdad and Washington. Worse still, a leading candidate for the top elected post in Iraq has also been implicated in the report as having taken "payoffs" in order to rig a major government cell phone contract. According to a May 2004 U.S. Defense Department...

Dumars a finalist for Hall of Fame 2/20/2005, 12:42 p.m. ET The Associated Press SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Big East coaching rivals Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun, and former NBA stars Joe Dumars and Dominique Wilkins are finalists for election into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Calhoun is back for a second try, and Hubie Brown was named a finalist for the first time, as a contributor to the game. The 16 finalists were announced Sunday, and winners will be presented April 4 at the NCAA Final Four in St. Louis. Previous finalists Bernard King, Maurice Cheeks, Adrian Dantley, Dennis...

An Afghan warlord who settled in Britain kept a human dog to bite his victims and waged a campaign of kidnap and torture against civilians, the Old Bailey was told yesterday. Faraydi Zardad, a veteran fighter against the Russians and the Taliban, was the commander of soldiers manning checkpoints on the Jalalabad road, the vital supply route between Kabul and Peshawar. He had complete authority in the area between 1992 and 1996 and "had a fearsome reputation for being cruel and merciless", the court was told. In the first prosecution of its kind Zardad, 41, who was arrested while living...

Senate Candidate Kirk has Links to Terrorism By MARC LEVIN An Austin Review investigation has revealed that U.S. Senate candidate Ron Kirk is employing an anti-Israel activist who has defended terrorist groups and is friends with American Taliban John Walker Lindh. The Review has also learned that Kirk has received numerous campaign donations from individuals linked with terrorism and anti-Semitism, one of whom also violated U.S. export laws by shipping sensitive technology to Libya and Syria. Kirk's recently filed campaign report shows payments to a Steven L. Hyland, Jr. of: $1133.22 for "payroll expense" and three separate payments totaling $638.30...

POCATELLO - An elderly woman with a walker, but no weapon, was taken into mental protective custody Tuesday afternoon after she told tellers at Citizen's Community Bank on Flandro Drive she was there to rob the place. The woman said she was poor, and her gun was in hock at a pawn shop, but she was intent on committing a heist. "There was no money given to her at all," Pocatello Police Capt. Kirk Nelson said. "The tellers indicated at the time that they were not in fear of their lives or of being robbed." After informing tellers of her...

The Ansari X Prize demonstrated that privately-funded prizes can be effective; is the same true for government-sponsored prizes? The major news services haven’t picked up the story yet, but Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) has already thrown down the gauntlet for the next great space contest: a $100-million government-sponsored space prize. On October 8, Rohrabacher submitted the “Space and Aeronautics Prize Act” (HR 5336) to the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation calls for the formation of a “Space and Aeronautics Prize” valued at up to $100 million. To claim the prize, a private group must fly a three-person spaceship of...

STANWOOD, Wash. - A teenager accused of planning to supply a Somalian terrorist group with night vision goggles and bulletproof vests foreshadowed the charges in his high school yearbook with a note that mentions Somalia in his "plans for world supremacy." Mark Robert Walker, 19, was arrested Nov. 6 in El Paso, Texas, and on Friday was charged with attempting or conspiring to contribute goods or services to a global terrorist organization. A more serious charge filed earlier was dropped. Months earlier, Walker caused a stir when he left a cryptic note next to his senior portrait in the 2004...

EL PASO, Tx - An alert officer at the El Paso border crossing contributes to America's war against terrorism. Customs and Border Protection Officials announce the arrest of a man who allegedly planned to help foreign terrorists. Tens of thousands of vehicles pass through El Paso's borders every day. A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says an officer at the Paso del Norte crossing recalled a description of Mark Robert Walker from a daily briefing. According to the US Justice Department, Walker was arrested Saturday on a Federal charge of providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist...

THE BUSH NAZI CONNECTION Richard Draheim is a policy analyst and speaker. He appears on the Dallas political affairs TV magazine America Outside the Beltway as a panelist and is a featured columnist for The Dallas Libertarian Post.

In the Eye of the Storm: Riding it Out with Dan Rather by Karen Pittman 17 September 2004 No matter what those celluloid talking heads say, I rather doubt Dan Rather and CBS got “snookered,” as Bill O'Reilly, the biggest blubbering head of all, bloviatingly opined. I rather doubt they got “had,” as those babbling TV brains like to claim. Rather, I am persuaded they were at least in some measure in on the whole wretched hoax. I say it’s rather more likely than not that Dan Rather and CBS were complicit in airing those forged documents whose sole purpose...

Statement by Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker Regarding how John Kerry is ignoring his past and talking down the future(title edited for length)MILWAUKEE, WI — Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker issued the following statement today: "John Kerry is ignoring his past and talking down the future. Kerry is too busy comparing America's growing economy with the Great Depression to talk about his out of the mainstream 19-year Senate record. If Kerry wants to know the truth about Wisconsin's economy, he just needs to ask Governor Doyle, who is touting the 41,000 Wisconsin jobs that have been created over the past...

A group of U.S. pastors has arrived in Cuba, some wearing T-shirts reading: "Regime change in U.S., not in Cuba." It's the 15th trip to the island police state for Pastors for Peace, who travel there in violation of U.S. law by going through Mexico.