Free Republic

For the past few months, we've been running an online survey getting feedback from conservatives about the direction of the Republican Party, its leadership, and choices for a nominee in 2012.  So far, over 5,000 people have participated.We intend to keep the survey open, promoting it every now and then in our newsletter and via Twitter, to expand the feedback from conservatives, as well as to see how these results might change over time.  From this point forward, we'll try to post updates results at the end of each month.If you haven't taken the survey yourself, click here to add...

Left to right; U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Brown, retired Staff Sgt. Bradley Gruetzner, and Sgt. Christopher A. Burrell, soldiers wounded in combat while deployed to Iraq, walk through “Hero’s Highway” at Air Force Theater Hospital before returning to Camp Victory after a visit to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, June 25, 2009. Brown, Gruetner, Burrell, and four other soldiers had the opportunity to return to Iraq and to visit the places they once served. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brian A. Barbour As combat troops withdraw from major cities in Iraq, in victory, and in accordance with Article 5 of the...

Give Robert Gibbs points for chutzpah, if not logic or consistency. When the White House press corp peppered him with questions about the status of Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination after getting reversed on Ricci, Gibbs explained that the ruling proved that Sotomayor was — get ready — a judicial originalist. Not only that, but it turns out that the administration had already rejected part of Sotomayor’s previous judgment on Ricci before the court reversed it: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The White House came to the defense of President Obama’s pick to be the newest Supreme Court justice after Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s ruling in a...

Al Franken confirmed to MN senate by MN supreme court.

Iraqi policemen in Basra celebrated the withdrawal on Tuesday. A recent spate of high-profile bombings that has killed over 250 people has added to the uncertainty of the handover, but it did not dampen the national pride of the day. Photo: Haider al-Assadee/European Pressphoto AgencyIt should be a victory day for all; but not without cautious optimism, nervous trepidation, and healthy skepticism. Peter Feaver: Early reports that General Odierno felt the deadline should slip a bit gave way to more recent reports that he was comfortable meeting the deadline. This reassured me somewhat, until I re-read this assessment by Stephen...

Administrators tell those who contacted seller not to respond again A notice from eBay administrators is now warning people who have contacted the seller of an allegedly genuine copy of Barack Obama's birth certificate – from Mombasa, Kenya – not to contact the seller again. Furthermore, the sale page offering a dissertation on "the truth" about Obama's birth – with bids reported by WND readers to have exceeded $1 million – has been pulled from the auction website for the fifth time. As WND reported, the eBay seller, known to the public only as "colmado_naranja," alleged he obtained President Obama's...

At one point during her new MSNBC show today, Dr. Nancy Snyderman proclaimed: "the White House, their health care agenda continues to be our agenda." Snyderman would probably say she meant it only in terms of the subject matter the show will cover, not its point of view. But she was, if unintentionally, revealing a larger truth. Just in time for the Obama admin's push on health care, MSNBC has rolled out a show that loyally supports the Obama plan, right down to the call for nationalization via the so-called "public option." View video here.

The photo below captures a disturbing trend that is beginning to affect U.S. wildlife.Animals that were formerly self-sufficient are now showing signs of belonging to the Democrat Party . . . as they have apparently learned to just sit and wait for the government to step in and provide for their care and sustenance. This photo is of a Democrat black bear in Montana nicknamed Bearack Obearma.

Obama's ABC informercial deconstructed by CATO in only 5 minutes.

Americans have mixed feelings about the historic climate change bill that passed the House on Friday, but 42% say it will hurt the U.S. economy. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 19% believe the climate change bill passed by the House on Friday will help the economy. Fifteen percent (15%) say it will have no impact, and 24% are not sure. A majority of both Republicans (56%) and adults not affiliated with either major political party (52%) think the bill will hurt the economy. Among Democrats, however, 30% say it will help the economy, 23% that...

Both projects involve small reactors that would be buried underground and operate for many years without the need for refueling. Toshiba’s reactor, dubbed the 4S for “Super-Safe, Small and Simple,” is designed to produce 10 megawatts of electricity for 30 years without refueling. It would be cooled by liquid metal. (Toshiba is also developing a 50MW version.) Hyperion is promising a reactor that can produce 25MW for five to 10 years and uses uranium hydride as a combination fuel and temperature-moderator. Alaska’s governor supports the concept. “Absolutely I can see nuclear playing a role in our energy agenda,” Gov. Sarah...

The Pentagon is considering how it might ease the "don't ask, don't tell" law requiring gays to keep quiet about their sexual identity or face expulsion from the military, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday. "One of the things we're looking at is, is there flexibility in how we apply this law," Gates told reporters aboard a military plane. The Pentagon boss said he discussed the issue last week with US President Barack Obama and that there also has been discussion among senior military and legal counsel about possible changes in how they apply the law, which he described as...

Muslim fighters are being told they may be justified in cannibalizing U.S. soldiers, it emerged Friday. The chilling message is contained in a recent jihadist Internet entry that quotes from the work of a prominent jihadist ideologue, Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. In one section of his work, Maqdisi discusses the idea of having to do something that is otherwise forbidden, including eating food "sacrificed for an idol," according to the Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group, which translates jihadist "chat" sites. Maqdisi adds some scholars believe this has evolved to mean that Muslims, faced with hunger, are allowed to kill an enemy and...

Bermuda and the Cayman Islands may have some competition for Barack Obama’s vitriol over tax havens if Canada keeps on its low-business-tax course. The Harper government in Ottawa has quietly dropped its corporate tax rate and has pressed the provinces to do the same in order to get to a low combined tax rate for businesses. American companies pressed by the threat of the Obama administration to tax overseas profits have begun to notice: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "In a clear indication that Canada is starting to be considered a low-tax place to do business, Tim Hortons Inc. announced Monday plans to shift...

LOS ANGELES, June 30 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Police Department, hoping to improve relations with Muslims, has appointed the force's first Islamic chaplain, police officials said. Pakistan-born Sheik Qazi Asad, 47, will become a reserve chaplain at the North Hollywood station, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. "We need to establish very good communication ... where both parties are talking to each other," Asad told the Times. "This is just opening up the door." Asad, a U.S. citizen, has spent a decade working to improve relations between police and Muslim communities in Los Angeles County. The LAPD hopes he'll...

With the exception of select Caucasian hate groups in America (like the KKK),White/Caucasian Americans do not form and identify their groups on the basis of their race, but rather on the basis of their cause. For Example,as a mom against teen pregnancy, I might form a group called “Moms Against Teen Pregnancy” or “Moms for Teen Abstinence” but not ”White Moms for teen abstinence”. The cause is more important than the race. Whereas, a lot of minority groups like Latinos, Blacks, etc. form groups with their race as a fundamental requirement to join that group. Why? That is why the...

Esperanza Johnson, a former Your Black Muslim Bakery matriarch who left a trail of dubious real-estate deals from Antioch to Oakland, will have her real-estate broker's license revoked effective today after a judge found she's not "sufficiently honest" to keep it. The California Department of Real Estate last year filed charges against Johnson — now 54, also formerly known as Noor Jehan Bey and Nora Bey — and her business, Signature One Mortgage & Real Estate, alleging they'd made misrepresentations during real-estate transactions; lost a lawsuit in which they were accused of fraud and deceit; employed an unlicensed broker or...

You have to wonder if Obama is just trying to lay a foundation for not being a hypocrite when he tries to serve beyond 2016. I wouldn't be at all surprised if in the next number of years there is a move on the 22nd Amendment, which term limits the President of the United States. He may not do it that way, he may not openly try to change the Constitution. But there might be this movement in the country from his cult-like followers to support the notion that a democratically-elected leader who is loved and adored has carte blanc...

San Diego city employees earning at least $100,000 are the fastest-growing income group on the payroll... About 13 percent of city employees exceeded the six-figure mark in pay last year, when salary, overtime and add-on pay for reasons such as bilingual skills were included. That's up from 4 percent in 2003, and 7 percent since Mayor Jerry Sanders was elected in 2005. While this highest-paid group is growing, the proportion of middle-income earners is shrinking and the lowest-paid segment is basically flat. For many in San Diego, the conventional wisdom of government work being synonymous with low pay and high...

Michelle Obama wants a bigger role in her husband’s administration, according to The Washington Post. Unlike Laura Bush, who focused on a few peripheral issues, Obama wants a seat at the table when key policies are made. Obama’s new chief of staff, Susan Sher, is part of the crucial 8:15 a.m. White House staff meeting. The first lady’s team of more than 20 has been told to think “strategically” about how to make her a player on policies she cares about. This could be a very bad idea. ...