Free Republic

On target as usual.

ALBANY - The Dougherty County Commission voted unanimously Monday to reject all bids on the construction of a new Public Works building, including LRA Constructors Inc.'s low bid of $650,390, after County Attorney Spencer Lee recommended such action based on constitutionality issues. Lee outlined for the Commission the reasons for his recommendation, noting that a 2008 disparity study conducted by BBC Research & Consulting of Denver found that a system calling for minority-based participation quotas and "good-faith" efforts was unconstitutional under existing federal law.

Obama said he wouldn't raise taxes on anyone making under $250,000, a promise that's technically already been violated by new taxes on cigarettes and his pledge to sign cap & trade if it gets through The Senate. His aides would say those don't count. But evens setting those aside, real tax hikes are almost certainly in the works, if only due to the massive amount of new spending (particularly on healthcare) this government has planned. The idea that it can all be financed on the (dwindling) $250k+ crowd is absurd.

In the West Bank, Suburb or Settlement? For Israelis, Homes; For Palestinians, a Wall MODIIN ILLIT, West Bank, June 29 -- Chaim Hanfling knows a lot about this settlement's population boom. Six of his 11 siblings have moved here from Jerusalem in recent years to take advantage of the lower land prices, and at age 29, he has added four children of his own. Located just over the Green Line that marks the territory occupied in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the booming ultra-Orthodox community, home to more than 41,000 people, shows why the settlement freeze demanded by the Obama administration...

The left can try to brush off articles in the Wall Street Journal or the National Review about the "coup" in Honduras as "rightwing propaganda." However, they will have a much harder time applying such a label to an article about the ouster of Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya (in photo with Hugo Chavez), which appeared in the very liberal New Republic. President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should have read Festishizing the Presidency by Francisco Toro before being so quick in joining Chavez in denouncing the removal of Honduran strong man Zelaya who was acting unconstitutionally: Sunday's coup...

Our small group of twelve (some may not consider that quite a “small” group) met back in April for our semi-monthly Bible study. We delved into what honestly struck me at first as a slightly odd question; but as the research and discussion progressed, I felt we all discovered two things. First, it’s easy to get tangled up in specific words and the perception and meaning we each infer/attach to them. Second, we don’t understand prayer as well as we thought.

The Obama-Kennedy health plan is modeled after the Massachusetts plan, which, when adopted, many applauded as innovative and destined for success. In fact, the Massachusetts plan has been a massive failure and is a model for what not to do. It has increased costs. It has wasted taxpayer dollars. It has limited patients' choice. It has hurt small business. It has failed to achieve its goal of universal coverage. Most objectionable, it has created shortages and waiting lists. Promoters predicted that the Massachusetts plan would lower health-care costs, but -- so far -- costs are moving in the opposite direction....

For once the loud explosions piercing the Baghdad night are the sounds of celebration rather than violence and bloodshed, as a new national holiday is announced to mark US troops leaving Iraq's towns and cities.

The GOP party platform (by the way, where are the GOP folks who represent this platform? I want them in office), has many sections, but the core values, the ideas and values that make the GOP what it is, are based on our Judeo-Christian foundation, as Americans. The main stream media (MSM) attacks social conservatives at every turn and uses every weakness shown by a GOP politician as a way to drive a wedge between the two factions of the party, conservatives and rino’s. Social values are where the GOP must make a stand.

VIDEO:Donald Trump:OPEC is Laughing At You

Poll question from the ridiculous Andrew Sullivan: Is Iran using techniques similar to the "enhanced interrogation" used by the U.S.?

"How fevered is the man who cannot look Upon his mortal days with temperate blood, Who vexes all the leaves of his life's book, And robs his fair name of its maidenhood..."; So wrote English poet John Keats in "On Fame." It's worth re-reading as we overindulge in the recent deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Ed McMahon's death the same week received somewhat less coverage because he was neither beautiful, nor weird, though he qualified as a celebrity. At least McMahon served in two wars as a Marine, which was a real accomplishment. What is it about celebrity...

Obama has browbeaten America's democratic allies, in support of Muslim and Socialist tyrannies. Meet Barack Hussein Obama. The man who turned his own middle name into a no-go zone during the election, only to bring it out of the closet when he trotted down to a Muslim country. The man whose associates labeled talk about his Muslim background as racist, only to proclaim his Muslim background loudly and proudly from the podium of a Muslim country. There’s a word for a man like that. Coward. Meet Obama, the bright young Senator with a phony biography geared to playing up his...

1. Alaska 2. Maine 3. New Mexico 4. Arkansas 5. Texas 6. Missouri 7. Oregon 8. Idaho 9. Virginia 10. Wyoming

ALBANY - The Dougherty County Commission voted unanimously Monday to reject all bids on the construction of a new Public Works building, including LRA Constructors Inc.'s low bid of $650,390, after County Attorney Spencer Lee recommended such action based on constitutionality issues. Lee outlined for the Commission the reasons for his recommendation, noting that a 2008 disparity study conducted by BBC Research & Consulting of Denver found that a system calling for minority-based participation quotas and "good-faith" efforts was unconstitutional under existing federal law. "This board needs to take action on matters like these based on the latest disparity study,...

WEST TOLEDO (WTOL) - A rally will be held Monday, June 29 in west Toledo in support of the right to bear arms. Sponsors say they are worried about the Obama administration's view on gun control, even though there's been no new restrictions. The rally will point to numerous biblical references claiming Jesus Christ would support second amendment rights. "We're just informing our folks you got to be able to protect yourself and what does the Bible have to say about it. We know our constitution. But this is the final authority here above our Constitution is the word of...

There has to be a better way to cover the uninsured than the massively expensive government run health plan being proposed by congressional Democrats and the administration. Not only will it destroy the existing health industry, but it will result in rationing to control costs. It will bring VA quality health care to the general public, as Congress and the very wealthy get Bethesda Naval Medical Center treatment. Here is a better alternative. It is a plan is to offer “health insurance stamps” similar to food stamps to the needy who are not covered by employer funded health care. With...

With the possible exception of university administrations, there is no institution as bereft of courage as Hollywood. In Hollywood courage is defined as savaging oil, power and tobacco executives on film. Or producing yet another movie on the evils of the Iraq War. But if courage means doing what is unpopular -- especially among one’s peers -- I can recall precious few politically incorrect films made in the last decade ("The Dark Knight" comes to mind as a possible exception). How many politically incorrect movies has Hollywood made in the last generation? How many films, for instance, have depicted communist...

Sen. Olympia Snowe says a government-run health insurance plan that would take effect if the private insurance market fails to deliver affordable coverage could bridge the partisan divide that threatens to derail President Barack Obama's efforts to reform the system. The Maine Republican says she's working with Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York to establish that kind of a framework in the bill expected to emerge next month from the Senate Finance Committee. Snowe says it would be unfair to include a government-run health insurance option that would take effect immediately because the public plan would have significant price...

Radio) - "We've already seen in this community a number of shootings in bars and restaurants and parking lots, I think this just makes it worse and I don't understand what the public purpose was for passing this law," John Elkington said. John Elkington represents the Beale Street Merchants Association and Performa Entertainment. He says guns and alcohol don't mix, which is why all handgun carriers will have to leave their weapons at home if they want to enjoy Beale Street. Come July 17th signs will be posted stating "No Guns Allowed." The new legislation restricts handgun carriers from drinking...