Free Republic

Let's hope Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) has reconnected with some old high school friends on Facebook. They might be the only people who will talk to him anymore. Two weeks ago the state senator, whose district runs from Santa Barbara County to Los Gatos, alienated pretty much everybody on both sides of the aisle by refusing to vote for the state budget until he'd extracted a concession on open primaries. The concept, which would in theory favor moderate candidates, is a staple of reformers, but Maldonado managed to irritate even potential supporters. To wit: former District 27 Assemblyman Fred...

For the first time in human history, a worried world watches the economy spiral down all across the planet. Governments, including our own, are providing stimulus packages in a desperate attempt to stop the descent. But, what is missing is real optimism that these efforts will have the desired effect. However, a little known, never before commercialized, source of power - inherently inexpensive, abundant and renewable - may be able to awaken hope in the hearts of men and women everywhere. These terrible troubles are temporary. Healthy alternatives are on the horizon. With modest support, they can be greatly accelerated!...

Hello Jim, Rush, Matt Drudge, Sean Hannity, Fellow Freepers & All Conservatives, I implore you to seriously consider this concept and then contact me with your thoughts for improving and rapidly launching this initiative. For years I have dreamed of helping educate millions around the world on the proven virtues of true, modern day, Reagan-style conservatism. My wife and I have owned a national sales training and leadership education business for more than seven years, and now we're ready to focus our talents, energy and personal capital towards a mission of global education that promotes freedom, individual liberty and personal...

Obama intel chief violating Iran sanctions? Board member of Chinese government-owned company in deal with Tehran Charles "Chas" Freeman JERUSALEM – President Obama's nominee for a top intelligence post sits on the board of a major oil company owned by the Chinese government that is in the midst of a multibillion dollar deal with Iran which may violate U.S. sanctions, WND has learned. The oil company is widely seen as conducting business deals meant to expand China's influence worldwide. One of its recent attempts to purchase a large U.S. oil firm drew bipartisan congressional opposition amid fears the deal would...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democratic leaders are working hard to suppress dissent within their party over boosting agency spending by 8 percent as the government runs whopping deficits and constituents are forced to scrimp on their own budgets. Coming to the rescue are a few Republicans standing ready to help pass the pending $410 billion catchall spending bill -- and allow lawmakers in both parties to get the thousands of pet projects they crave and above-inflation budget increases for favorite programs like education. A close vote is expected late this week to advance the sweeping spending bill, which wraps together...

Junior Johnson's Sigma Chi brothers are mourning his apparent suicide, while his mother says they killed himON THE afternoon of Nov. 22, 2008, 20-year-old Gregory Marcel Johnson Jr. was discovered dead in the basement of the Sigma Chi fraternity house in downtown San Jose. He was found hanging from a ceiling water pipe, a noose fashioned from 14-gauge heavy-duty electrical cord wrapped around his neck twice. Johnson, a San Jose State University junior and Sigma Chi fraternity member, had been dangling there for an hour and a half, slowly suffocating to death. Johnson's knees were bent, legs resting on the...

It’s official - I will not be getting a high-level appointment in the Barack Obama administration. OK, so it was always a longshot, but now it’s a certainty. I just got the news in a letter from the federal government - not from the White House, but from the Internal Revenue Service. “I have completed the examination of your tax return for the year(s) shown above (2007),” it began. “I am pleased to inform you I’m proposing no change to your tax return.”

The U.S. shed 697,000 non-farm jobs January to February, exceeding expectations by 67,000, a research group said Wednesday. Payroll company Automatic Data Processing Inc. also said December to January's job losses were far greater than previously reported, revising that month's total to 614,000 lost jobs, an increase of 92,000. The recent figure puts February as having the highest monthly job loss total since the recession began in December 2007. Construction jobs shrank for the 25th consecutive month, losing 114,000 jobs. The figure pushes construction job losses since January 2007 over the 1 million mark. Service jobs also declined, losing 359,000...

Seven times I have accomplished the monumental task of moving less than ten pounds less than two feet. I have come to realize that basically, that's what childbirth is. It is tragic to think that's what separates far too many viable babies from living versus dying. Less than two feet. The harshest aspect is that -- if only figuratively -- there is a window into this world that those preborn can see. Their mother's cervix has been dilated -- all that has to happen is for them not to be killed before they travel through the birth canal. But they...

Gordon Brown has urged the US to renew the "special relationship for our generation" in a speech to Congress Mr Brown, the fifth UK prime minister in history to address both houses on Capitol Hill, urged the US and UK to push for "essential" economic changes. Neither nation should "succumb" to protectionism "which protects no-one", but "seize the moment", he said. Mr Brown also announced that veteran Senator Edward Kennedy would receive an honorary UK knighthood. The prime minister paid tribute to the work of US troops in Afghanistan and said terrorists could "not ever destroy the American spirit". The...

Glenn Beck had on the program today the CHAIRMAN of Communist Party USA! I can't believe the guy (Sam Webb) actually have the nerve to do a national television show! The communists must figure there isn't any need to hide what they're up to anymore. Sam Webb (chairman CPUSA) talked about (paraphrase) "the great changes to come" for America with the new Obama administration. Absolutely incredible! I have to find and post a youtube clip when it becomes available (if someone beats me to it, that's ok). Here's a link to Glen Beck's website. However, there isn't much there yet...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOemoJPMNDE&feature=channel_page

A California lawmaker wants to force Internet mapping services to blur detailed images of schools, hospitals, churches and all government buildings, reviving a debate over whether such images can assist terrorists. Assemblyman Joel Anderson, a San Diego-area Republican, said he decided to introduce his bill after reading that terrorists who plotted attacks in Israel and India used popular services such as Google Earth and Microsoft's Virtual Earth. But even if his bill becomes law, it might be difficult to prohibit Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and other mapping companies from posting such photographs. That's because those images already are public and...

On Today's Show...   Rush Invites President Obama to Debate! Transcript (Rush 24/7 Members:  Listen) » Politico: Rush Job: Inside Democrats' Limbaugh Plan » DCCC Launches New Anti-Rush Site » Union Thugs: Dems Air Another Anti-Rush TV Ad   Reporters Fail to Ask Gibbs About Rahm Emanuel's White House Anti-Rush Operation The media freaked out about Nixon's enemies list, but they applaud Obama's. Don't be fooled because Emanuel was a ballerina, or by his flunkies Carville, Begala, and Stephanopoulos. Emanuel has the instincts of a ferel rat protecting its young. (Rush 24/7 Members:  Listen)   "You're a smart guy, Mr....

The trade deadline has come and gone, and there were some big deals! And some big signings of key players to their respective teams that will tighten the race towards the playoffs even more!

BRUSSELS – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton swiped hard at Iran on Wednesday, accusing its hardline leaders of fomenting divisions in the Arab world, promoting terrorism, posing threats to Israel and Europe, and seeking to "intimidate as far as they think their voice can reach." Her remarks, at the conclusion of two days of talks in Egypt, Israel and the West Bank, were notable for coming from an Obama administration that has raised the prospect of diplomatic engagement with Iran as part of a new direction in U.S. foreign policy. In remarks to reporters aboard her plane en...

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that Washington might consider consulting Iran over Afghanistan but accused Tehran of interference in the Middle East. Speaking to reporters en route to Brussels, Clinton said Iran posed a serious threat because of its nuclear plans and alleged funding of "terrorism," but that Washington was looking for areas where it could engage with Tehran, including on Afghanistan, if such talks were useful. "Where it is appropriate and useful for the United States and others to see whether Iran can be constructive, that will be considered," Clinton said, when asked...

In a hard-fought display of political tenacity, San Jose Councilwoman Madison Nguyen on Tuesday triumphed against a fervent recall effort — born from outrage over a shopping district's name — that pitted her against many in the Vietnamese community who first elected her three years ago. The stunning result was all but certain soon after the polls closed at 8 p.m., when the results of more than 9,500 votes cast in the weeks before Election Day were released. With all precincts counted a few hours later, and fewer than 1,200 late and provisional ballots left to tally today, voters had...

First Solid-State Drive to Crack 1TB Also Offers High Performance, Low Energy Consumption; Designed for Server, Networking, Datacenter, Supercomputing, and Professional Media Applications LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwire - January 8, 2009) - CES booth 72440/Sands -- pureSilicon Inc. is demonstrating the highest-density SSD available today: the 1TB Nitro Series. This represents a major advance for the storage industry since it combines maximum density with high performance and low power demand. Four of these drives deliver 4TB in the same space as a standard 3.5-inch HDD, so server footprint requirements and energy consumption in data-intensive applications can be considerably reduced. The 1TB...