Free Republic

Barney Frank had it precisely backwsard when he stated, “The private sector got us into this mess…The government has to get us out of it." It was the government, fueled by political greed, not corporate greed, that got us into this mess. It was not a lack of regulation, but rather political correctness run amok, that forced bad regulations and political pressure on banks to make loans that were clearly a dangerous investment. When Democrats look to greedy CEOs that use their "golden parachute" to rake in a huge retirement, they need to look no further than Franklin Raines and...

House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wi) told reporters yesterday that the stop-gap bill that is being pushed through by congress to keep the government running will not ...

Well, it seems the democrats are going to try to stop voters from voting, mainly Republican voters of course: Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has a reputation as the most partisan state official in Ohio. And she works hard to earn it. The Democrat’s latest stunt rejected absentee ballots for thousands of Republicans. … Brunner sent a memo telling county election officials to reject those applications for absentee ballots if the box was not checked. “Failure to check the box leaves both the applicant and the board of elections without verification that the applicant is a ‘qualified elector’,” she wrote.

"I don't believe that the Times is pulling for Barack Obama." Jack Shafer, Slate, 9-23-08 There's actually much to agree with in Jack Shafer's column today regarding McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt's criticism of the New York Times. For example, I'd note this observation by him: "The press corps does adore Barack Obama. They like his story. They like writing about him. They like the way he gives speeches. They like the way he makes them feel. And they don't mind cutting him slack whenever he acts like a regular politician—which he is." But Shafer, Slate's resident media critic, also...

One of the things you keep hearing in Obama's campaign stump speeches is how the failed philosophy of George Bush (deregulation and lack of oversight) caused the current crisis. Obama has been bashing free market philosophy in a situation that does not even come close to meriting it. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were government created and regulated, shielding them from market competition. The government guaranteed this lack of competition, which virtually ensured there would be financial hackery. This is what led to the "corruption" on Wall Street, or what we like to call crony capitalism.

Worried that welfare costs are rising as the number of taxpayers declines, state Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie, said Tuesday he is studying a plan to pay poor women $1,000 to have their Fallopian tubes tied.

Very revealing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXXr9oLd9S4

A fellow at New York City's Weill Cornell Medical Center, Dr. Sam Parnia is one of the world's leading experts on the scientific study of death. Last week Parnia and his colleagues at the Human Consciousness Project announced their first major undertaking: a 3-year exploration of the biology behind "out-of-body" experiences. The study, known as AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation), involves the collaboration of 25 major medical centers through Europe, Canada and the U.S. and will examine some 1,500 survivors of cardiac arrest. TIME spoke with Parnia about the project's origins, its skeptics and the difference between the mind and the...

-snip- In fact, the declaration of 1.7 million Utah acres as a national monument, thereby depriving an energy-starved U.S. up to 62 billion tons of environmentally safe low-sulfur coal worth $1.2 trillion and minable with minimal surface impact, was a political payoff to the family of James Riady. He's the son of Lippo Group owner Mochtar Riady. James was found guilty of — and paid a multimillion dollar fine for — funneling more than $1 million in illegal political contributions through Lippo Bank into various American political campaigns, including Bill Clinton's presidential run in 1992. Clinton took off the world...

In a briefing today at NASA headquarters, solar physicists announced that the solar wind is losing power. "The average pressure of the solar wind has dropped more than 20% since the mid-1990s," says Dave McComas of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. "This is the weakest it's been since we began monitoring solar wind almost 50 years ago.

General Election: McCain vs. Obama RCP Electoral Map | Changes in Electoral Count | Map With No Toss Ups | No Toss Up Changes Polling Data Poll Date Sample Obama (D) McCain (R) Spread RCP Average 09/17 - 09/23 -- 47.9 45.1 Obama +2.8 Battleground Tracking 09/17 - 09/23 800 LV 46 48 McCain +2

Congressional Republicans on Tuesday voiced their strongest objections to date about the Bush administration’s $700bn financial rescue plans, dealing a blow to White House ambitions for them to be quickly approved. As Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary, and Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, predicted grim consequences if the plan were rejected, the Republicans’ Senate leadership called for new provisions on executive pay, which the administration opposes, while others cast doubt on the whole package. “We are going to advance taxpayers’ dollars, and government ends up in effect taking an equity position in businesses,” Mitch McConnell, Senate minority leader, said....

There is nothing good to say about the Paulson Bailout Plan. Nothing. From a short-term technical perspective, from a government oversight perspective, from a conflict of interest perspective, from a political perspective, and from a long-term perspective, serious problems exist each step of the way. On a short-term technical perspective, problems begin at the price at which mortgage paper will be bought in the bailout. Treasury Secretary Paulson claims the paper will be bought at market rates. This is a myth, since if the Treasury were to only buy at the market price, the bailout would be superfluous. If there...

Turmoil in the financial industry and growing pessimism about the economy have altered the shape of the presidential race, giving Democratic nominee Barack Obama the first clear lead of the general-election campaign over Republican John McCain, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News national poll. Just 9 percent of those surveyed rated the economy as good or excellent, the first time that number has been in single digits since the days just before the 1992 election. Just 14 percent said the country is heading in the right direction, equaling the record low on that question in polls dating back to...

Tired of Obama? Not really jazzed about McCain? Try THIS candidate! NOTE: The author of this comic requests that you visit his web site and refrain from copying the cartoon within this thread. Thank you.

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". bilious • \BILL-yus\ • adjective 1a. of or relating to bile 1b. marked by or suffering from liver dysfunction and especially excessive secretion of bile 2. of or indicative of a peevish ill-natured disposition * 3. sickeningly unpleasant * Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. Example sentence: Molly's bilious demeanor made her ill-suited for a job in customer service, and she was let go from the position after two weeks. Did...

Iran is close to the point of being able to arm a warhead with a nuclear core even if it insists its atomic activities are peaceful, the European Union warned Wednesday. In comments prepared for the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35 board members, the EU also asserted that Iran appeared to have had a past nuclear arms program despite denials from Tehran. The statement was made available to reporters as IAEA board turned its attention Wednesday to Iran's nuclear defiance. The group is concerned about Tehran's refusal to freeze uranium enrichment despite three U.N. Security Council sanctions and its stonewalling...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The Pakistani army said Wednesday it found the wreckage of a suspected U.S. spy plane near the Afghan border, but denied claims that it had been shot down. The incident comes amid strained ties between Washington and Islamabad over a series of missile strikes from American drones at suspected militants targets on the Pakistan side of the border.

Defend Our Heros (William Russell for Congress) Please help fight Jack Murtha join the Russell Brigade and keep this ad running in PA! http://russellbrigade.com/defend-our-heroes/

Two Sebastian River Middle School eighth-graders have been charged with lewd or lascivious molestation and attempted sexual battery on a child, in connection with an incident on a school bus while the school's soccer team returned home from a game. Rodolfo Rodriguez, 14, and Jose Zamora, 15, both of Fellsmere were arrested at their homes Sept. 17, according to arrest affidavits released Tuesday. The two eighth-graders attempted to insert an apple pie box in a sixth-grade teammate's buttocks, while others tried taking photos with cellular phones, according to an incident report released Tuesday .