Free Republic

I know you’ve seen this at Drudge, appropriately posted beneath a photo of the Hopenchange crew cracking up in laughter, but some panders are so shameless and comically implausible that they must be commemorated in a post. (Unfortunately, politicians’ need to ingratiate themselves with gun owners has been known to lead to this sort of thing.)To believe this, you need to believe that O splits sharply from most ivory-tower liberals when it comes to recreational shooting. How likely is that? In what other ways, based on what we know about him personally and politically, does he stray from the path...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkUpp22fHyw

Obama: I Met Republicans Halfway On Taxes, More Than Halfway On Spending THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Over the last few weeks I've been working with leaders of both parties on a proposal to get our deficit under control, avoid tax cuts -- or avoid tax hikes on the middle class, and to make sure that we can spur jobs and economic growth -- a balanced proposal that cuts spending but also asks the wealthiest Americans to pay more; a proposal that will strengthen the middle class over the long haul and grow our economy over the long haul. During...

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange sees no reason to celebrate the reelection of US President Barack Obama. The US aggressively pursued and “persecuted” the whistleblower site under a Democratic administration, he explained. “Obama seems to be a nice man, and that is precisely the problem,” the 41-year-old told AFP, speaking from his room in London’s Ecuadorian embassy. “It's better to have a sheep in wolf's clothing than a wolf in sheep's clothing,” he said. “All of the activities against WikiLeaks by the United States have occurred under an Obama administration.” Assange was equally critical of the Republican, saying it “has not...

Walid Shoebat, a former Muslim Brotherhood member now peace activist broke news Saturday night that anti-Al Qaeda Libyans living in exile are in possession of highly classified documents that reveal Obama and his administration’s involvement with Al-Qaeda in Libya, more than what has been previously known. The anti-Al Qaeda Libyans told Shoebat in reference to Obama’s statements that Al-Qaeda had been destroyed that Obama had gift-wrapped Libya, handed it over to Al-Qaeda, and that they can prove it. The group plans to turn over the countless documents an intelligence to the National Center For Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism. The group informed...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The California man behind an anti-Muslim film that led to violence in many parts of the Middle East was sentenced Wednesday to a year in federal prison for probation violations in an unrelated matter, then issued a provocative statement through his attorney. The sentence was the result of a plea bargain between lawyers for Mark Bassely Youssef and federal prosecutors. Youssef admitted in open court that he had used several false names in violation of his probation order and obtained a driver's license under a false name. He was on probation for a bank fraud case....

Obama: Green energy not ‘socialist plot’ By Ben Geman - 10/08/12 09:59 AM ET President Obama quipped Sunday night that energy efficiency initiatives are not a “socialist plot” in remarks that contrasted his energy policies with rival Mitt Romney’s. The president, fundraising in Los Angeles, addressed energy during a $25,000-per-plate dinner with backers that included actor George Clooney. “On energy, I’m big on oil and gas, and developing clean coal technology, but I also believe that if we’re ever going to have control of our energy future, then we’ve got to invest in solar and wind and biofuels, and that...

Former presidential candidate on handling of Mideast crisis

The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday assured congressional lawmakers that agents would play no role in enforcing the controversial requirement that Americans buy insurance under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. "IRS revenue agents will not be involved. There will not be audits," IRS Deputy Commissioner Steven Miller told a subcommittee of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

The White House is denying that they refused to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of a U.N. conference later this month. "The President arrives in New York for the U.N. on Monday, September 24th and departs on Tuesday, September 25th," National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said. "The Prime Minister doesn't arrive in New York until later in the week. They're simply not in the city at the same time. But the President and PM are in frequent contact and the PM will meet with other senior officials, including Secretary Clinton, during his visit," Vietor...

Just as they did during the Republican National Convention, independent fact checkers spent the first day of the Democratic National Convention listening for claims that don't add up — and found them. — FactCheck.org says it heard "a number of dubious or misleading claims" from the Democrats who spoke on stage Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. Among the problems it found: — "The keynote speaker and others claimed the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, would raise taxes on the 'middle class.' He has promised he won't. Democrats base their claim on a study that doesn't necessarily lead to that conclusion."— "The keynote...

The Israeli ambassador to America, Michael Oren, has released a statement rebuking the chair of the Democratic National Party. Earlier today, Phil Klein reported: Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz claimed on Monday that Israel’s ambassador to the United States has accused Republicans of being “dangerous” to Israel by criticizing President Obama’s record. The Florida congresswoman made the charge at a training session for Jewish Democrats held by the Obama campaign here at the Democratic National Convention, aimed at teaching Jewish Democrats how to convince their fellow Jews to vote for Obama. Much of the session, which featured a...

“On all these issues, I think the most important thing we can do, and a big project of mine, is just making the federal government more customer friendly,” SNIP "I think the best role the federal government can play is oftentimes listening and trying to come to consensus at the local level and making sure the federal government is not getting in the way of that consensus once it's built up

The other thing we’ve done is to say, what are the critical needs of small business? A lot of time, one of the biggest challenges is to make sure that you, as a sole proprietor, that you can get health insurance for you and your family. So when you hear about the Affordable Care Act — Obamacare — and I don’t mind the name because I really do care. That’s why we passed it. You should know that once we have fully implemented, you’re going to be able to buy insurance through a pool so that you can get the...

On Monday, Barack Obama claimed that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) blocked a bill giving aid to farmers and ranchers hurt by the severe drought, ABC News reported. “I am told that Governor Romney’s new running mate, Paul Ryan, might be around Iowa the next few days,” he said while in Council Bluffs, Iowa. “He is one of the leaders of Congress standing in the way. So if you happen to see Congressman Ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is to Iowa and our rural communities.” There's only one problem with Obama's statement - the House passed a stopgap...

“It really annoyed Caroline when comparisons were made by the media between Michelle and Jackie. Caroline had a word for such comparisons; she called them ‘odious.’ She really got annoyed. And when she began to fall out of love with the Obamas, love was replaced by outright scorn. Now she says things about Obama like, ‘I can’t stand to hear his voice any more. He’s a liar and worse’” Ethel Kennedy, “the matriarch of the family,” similarly felt scorned, according to Klein. He tells a story of her invitation — extended to the First Family — being ignored by the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House says President Barack Obama is not pushing for new gun control legislation even though he still supports a ban on assault weapons. Spokesman Jay Carney says Obama intends to focus on other ways to combat violence. Carney's comments Thursday are the latest sign that Obama won't engage lawmakers in a drive for new laws, bowing to congressional opposition to additional gun restrictions.

"I think the issue of executive power and executive privilege is one that is subject to abuse and in an Obama presidency what you will see will be a sufficient respect for law and the co-equal branches of government that I hope we don't find ourselves in a situation in which we would have aides being subpoenaed for what I think everything acknowledges is some troublesome information out there," then-Senator Barack Obama told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in a 2007 interview.

A new biography of Barack Obama has established that his grandfather was not, as is related in the President’s own memoir, detained by the British in Kenya and found that claims that he was tortured were a fabrication. 'Barack Obama: The Story' by David Maraniss catalogues dozens of instances in which Obama deviated significantly from the truth in his book 'Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance'. The 641-page book punctures the carefully-crafted narrative of Obama’s life. One of the enduring myths of Obama’s ancestry is that his paternal grandfather Hussein Onyango Obama, who served as a...

I have never responded to the columnist down the river. But I was fascinated by Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass’ take on the recent mob attacks in and around the Streeterville neighborhood. In his interview with the unidentified doctor who was injured in the attack, Kass asked if the attack was “racial.” “I don’t think it was racially motivated,” the doctor said. “They were black, I’m Asian, but I think it was something else. I think it was about having fun because they could.” Still, whether white people are comfortable saying it out loud or choose to keep a lid...