Free Republic

First it was “plastic guns” that critics, including perennial anti-gun Senator Edward M. Kennedy, hysterically claimed could become the weapon of choice of terrorist because they did not show up on x-ray machines. But the “plastic gun” turned out to be a myth, and the pistol once called a “terrorist weapon” for its use of polymer components around a steel frame – the Glock – is now the choice of American police officers. Then it was the “semiautomatic assault-weapon,” pilloried in the press because it looked like a military firearm and had some cosmetic features some people didn’t like, and...

Every good magician can alter one's perception of reality by use of deception. In context of a magic show, trickery is a good thing; when it comes to a political show, it's not so good. President Obama has come to be known as one of the most eloquent politicians in American history. But it was not eloquence alone that got him into the White House; it was eloquence coupled with pretense. And with those twin characteristics Obama is almost effortlessly imposing his extreme-left agenda on the country. From the womb of the Democrat National Convention in 2004 a star was...

Obama reaffirms support for "card check" The poorly named Employee Free Choice Act would strip employees of the right to a secret ballot election during a union organization campaign. Employers have coined the phrase "card check' for this insidious bill. President Obama voiced support for 'card check' during the campaign. He reaffirmed that support by telling AFL-CIO members in a videotaped message Tuesday that he will work to pass the bill. According to examiner.com, Obama said, "As we confront this crisis and work to provide health care to every American, rebuild our nation's infrastructure, move toward a clean energy economy...

"As Congress grapples with solutions for a faltering economy, Barney Frank sits at the center of power." Thus wrote John Gallagher in The Advocate as our government officials desperately struggled to limit the fallout from the unfolding financial crisis. Gallagher is right. As Chairman of the Financial Service Committee in the US House of Representatives, Barney Frank plays a crucial role in determining in what ways much of the bailout and stimulus money is spent. This is because the committee over which he presides oversees the housing and banking sectors, two industries that are at the center of the current...

Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) said Wednesday Republican opponents of the $410 billion omnibus spending bill are within "striking distance" of bringing down the massive measure. Derailing the spending bill would be a huge victory for Republicans, and they might accomplish the goal with the help of a few reform-minded Democrats.

The Obama administration's housing plan is intended to help 9 million struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure, but it leaves out tens of thousands of borrowers in the most battered housing markets who won't qualify because their homes have lost too much value. The program detailed Wednesday offers refinanced mortgages or modified loans with lower monthly payments. Yet its refinancing plan is limited to borrowers who owe up to 5 percent more than their home's current value. Loan modifications, supported by $75 billion in federal funding, are unlikely for severely "underwater" borrowers. In the California cities of Stockton, Modesto and Merced, more...

SECRETARY of State Hill ary Clinton will get her chance to mash the Obama administration's "reset button" on US-Russian relations when she parachutes into Geneva to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tomorrow. But while better relations with Russia, a resurging major power, are a laudable goal and can support US interests, we have to make sure that this notion of a "reboot" in relations doesn't equate to a "rollover" on our part. Some early signs are troubling.

The Cowboys released Owens late Wednesday, according to published reports.

ESPN is reporting that T.O. has been cut by the Cowboys.

ON Wall Street, they're call ing the Obama economic team "the gang that couldn't shoot straight," after Jimmy Breslin's novel about a bunch of moronic mobsters. If you really want to understand why the markets have been tanking, why the smart money is sitting in cash and gold - well, just study the policy, or lack of it, that these guys have come up with to address economic ills not seen since the Great Depression. The sad thing is, the "gang" took office with high hopes on Wall Street. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, the former New York Fed chief, was...

PORTSMOUTH — A sign in front of Jack Kimball’s Route 1 Bypass business advertises his cleaning services, as well as his politics. President and owner of Great Bay Facility Services, Kimball’s sign now displays a message to southbound drivers reading, “Let’s all stop paying our mortgages.” Interactive Map Loading... 5km 3mi ©2009 Yahoo! Inc. “Most of us live by the rules. We pay our mortgages, and sometimes it’s difficult, but we do it,” he said. “We, the guys who follow the rules, shouldn’t be subsidizing those who don’t.” Northbound motorists passing by Kimball’s business these days can read his flip...

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S mortgage "rescue" initiative gets only four things wrong. But those flaws are so major, they negate any good that the plan would do. Here's what's wrong: * The plan requires homeowners who have scrimped and sacrificed to pay their mortgages to bail out their less responsible neighbors. * It sends the wrong message to children about dealing with the consequences of decisions. * It does little to keep a major portion of the refinanced loans from going back into default. * It addresses only a fairly small part of the housing crisis that has so damaged our economy....

You can take the girl out of Chicago . . .

BELGRADE -- The Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) has confirmed that it sent a protest against the Law against Discrimination, which was pulled from parliamentary procedure. According to B92’s sources, this law was pulled from procedure at the request of the SPC. The Church confirmed to daily Blic that it had sent a letter to the Human and Minority Rights Ministry, but it could not confirm whether any other churches had lodged objections to the law as well. The decision to pull the law from procedure was made at a telephone session, even though parliament must adopt that law as part...

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Interesting news from Israel popped to my eyes few days ago. A Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad (National Union) has called for Israel to put former Spanish officials on trial for their role in the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999. His official request was sent to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, in the wake of a Spanish court agreeing to try senior Israelis for recent Gaza operation. Although both cases – Spanish trial against Israel and International Court against Spain – probably end as curiosity to archives without any further implications they tell something about international criminal procedures. Case in Spain...

Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he intends to lower taxes this year, despite the global economic crisis and the sharp drop in income tax revenue. Against the Treasury's and Bank of Israel's recommendations, he said he will put into action a series of processes, as soon as he becomes prime minister, most likely in the coming two weeks. The first step, Netanyahu said, will be lowering income tax for low and medium income earners, and corporate tax for small business, in an effort to boost the private sector and encourage consumer spending. He specifically promised help for factories...

When you’re a popular leader with the occasional delusion of Godhood, how do you deal with people that oppose your policies and point out just how dangerous and demeaning they are? Don’t bother with facts or pussyfoot around with debates, no siree. You tell them to shut the hell up. And, in the unlikely event that they don’t shut their traps, you take measures to make them shut up. This is the strategy being employed by both President Obama of the United States and President Chavez of Venezuela. Neither men are really all that interested in numbers, facts, or reality...

Banks save while U.S. Consumers are Expected to Spend: The Convoluted Problem of Creating a Debt based Consumption System. I’ve read my fair share of financial books and I am certain that many of you have picked up a book regarding finances. Many times, these introductory books caution the reader that going into massive debt is a sin (or at the very least a hindrance to your financial independence). These books will usually show you the contrast between a dollar saved and compounded over time instead of someone burning that dollar on a trip to Las Vegas. The underlying premise...

An independent inspector general will look into the foreign financial ties of Chas W. Freeman Jr., the Obama administration's pick to serve as chairman of the group that prepares the U.S. intelligence community's most sensitive assessments, according to three congressional aides. The director of national intelligence, Dennis C. Blair, last Thursday named Mr. Freeman, a veteran former diplomat, to the chairmanship of the National Intelligence Council, known inside the government as the NIC. In that job, Mr. Freeman will have access to some of America's most closely guarded secrets and be charged with overseeing the drafting of the consensus view...