Free Republic

ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT, June 30, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today he’s heartened that al-Qaida hasn’t been able to reignite sectarian violence in Iraq despite its acts of violence leading up to today’s deadline for U.S. troops to leave Iraqi cities. Commanders on the ground anticipated for weeks that al-Qaida and other extremists would take advantage of the U.S. troops’ compliance with the U.S.-Iraq status of forces agreement to launch attacks, Gates told reporters returning to Washington with him after a change-of-command ceremony at U.S. European Command headquarters in Germany. While capitalizing on what they perceive...

To go through the 9,800 word profile/excoriation of Sarah Palin by Todd Purdum in Vanity Fair and Fisk it line by line would take an enormous amount of time and space, and probably more time than you’re willing to devote to reading it. So for now, the low-lights: Whatever her political future, the emergence of Sarah Palin raises questions that will not soon go away. “What does it say about the nature of modern American politics that a public official who often seems proud of what she does not know is not only accepted but applauded?” I’m still looking for...

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2009 – Iraqi forces, aided by coalition advisors, arrested suspected terrorists June 28 in operations in Iraq, military officials reported. Iraqi special operations forces and coalition advisors arrested a suspected terrorist in Baghdad. The suspect is believed to be the low-level commander of an insurgent group responsible for coordinating a local resident’s murder and an attack against Iraqi army forces. Elsewhere, Iraq’s 7th Regional Commando Battalion, assisted by coalition advisors, arrested two suspected terrorists in Ninevah province. One of the men is suspected of being a financier for a terrorist cell, and the other is believed to...

Help! The following two MP3s outline a song that I just cannot place. My son (Jimi Hendrix, II) was forcing me to play bass and it popped up - I cannot for the life of me come up with a song title. Any help would be appreciated - I figure it'll take about a minute for someone to name it. Starting stopwatch now! ;-) I did two takes so you get two takes (Dialups be warned - they're ~ 1MB each ... Mystery_Song_1.mp3 Mystery_Song_1a.mp3

Trade: President Obama's encouraging words to Colombia's president Monday signaled an improving outlook for the two nations' long-delayed free trade treaty. It's good news, but he must take that message to Congress.Contrary to what you might think from the administration's responses to Iran and Honduras, not all of our friends are being snubbed or our enemies embraced. Obama showed considerable respect for our friend and ally Colombia at a working meeting with President Alvaro Uribe at the White House Monday, declaring at a joint press conference that "we are grateful for his friendship." It was a commendable show of leadership,...

UTAH state officials are warning people there to resist the temptation to go Elvis on their old, obsolete TV sets.

HILLAH, Iraq, June 30, 2009 – Soldiers with the 172nd Infantry Brigade are helping documentarians, historians and preservationists as they work to ensure that ancient Iraqi history is preserved and documented in Babil province. Army 1st Lt. Bryan Kelso stands watch outside a deserted palace built under Saddam Hussein at the Babylon ruins, June 21, 2009. Saddam ordered the construction of the palace on a manmade hill overlooking the ancient city of Babylon, where many projects are under way to enhance tourism in the area. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Mike Feeney  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The brigade...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, June 30, 2009 – In accordance with Article 5 of the security agreement between the U.S. and Iraqi governments, Iraqi security forces now have full ownership of security in their cities, towns and villages. Army Capt. Rich Turvey, commander of 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, signs over Joint Security Station Salaam to Iraqi army 1st Lt. Jassim Abbas at a transfer ceremony near Numaniyah, Iraq, June 20, 2009. In accordance with the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, Iraqi security forces took full ownership of security in their cities, towns and villages on June 30, 2009. U.S....

The 10 metro areas where salaries are falling the most, and which towns are bucking the downtrend. It's nofile:///C:/Users/Public/Desktop/EPSON%20Scan.lnkt the best time to make a new start of it in New York state. Although the state's unemployment rate is better than much of the country's, a recent study shows that average wages are falling more rapidly in New York cities than metropolitan areas elsewhere in the country. Six of the 10 cities where wages have fallen the fastest this year are in New York, according to a study from the Brookings Institution, released last week. From the fourth quarter of...

Can't post due to copyright, but the story is here.

Obambi has found a way to get Joe out of town more: send him to Iraq.Press Secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed Tuesday that President Obama had asked Biden to begin “working with General [Raymond] Odierno and Ambassador [Christopher] Hill in working with the Iraqis toward overcoming their political differences and achieving the type of reconciliation that we all understand has yet to fully take place.”No doubt Mr. Biden's exemplary track record of building bipartisanship and facilitating reconciliation in Washington will be of value. After all, according to Rasmussen's most recent numbers, 50% of Americans think Wasington is more partisan, 31% thinnk...

Integrity: In a society that so often feeds on others' adversity, Jenny Sanford has reminded us that hard times bring out the best in good people. No politician's wife has ever shown more grace.South Carolina's first lady sacrificed her privacy and much of her time for the sake of her husband's political career. In return, she discovered that her husband, conservative Republican Gov. Mark Sanford, was having ongoing trysts with his Argentine mistress. The details are the sort of thing that keep a gawking public coming back for more — steamy e-mails, a cover story that he was hiking incommunicado...

Harold Fish, who's serving time for shooting a man in what he calls self-defense, will get another trial. The Arizona Supreme Court has reversed and remanded the high-profile case, sending it back for a new trial in which Fish can introduce testimony that was barred from his first go-around. The case began in 2004, after Fish ran into Grant Kuenzli and his dogs while hiking on a lonely trail in northern Arizona. According to Fish, the only witness, Kuenzli charged aggressively at Fish after failing to control his unleashed canines. Fish pointed a his 10-millimeter handgun at Kuenzli, yelled at...

47 cats pulled from filthy mobile home Owner faces 47 felony counts of animal cruelty Updated: Monday, 29 Jun 2009, 11:20 PM MDT Published : Monday, 29 Jun 2009, 11:02 PM MDT * Reporter: Maria Medina * Web Producer: Devon Armijo LOS LUNAS (KRQE) - A Highland Meadows woman is facing one count of animal cruelty for each of the 47 diseased cats that Valencia County Animal Control authorities reported finding in her home. Valencia County Code Enforcement Director Ruben Chavez said animal control had to euthanize all the cats because of respiratory illnesses. Veterinarians also suspect the cats had...

June 30, 2009, 1:00 p.m. The Honduran Counter-CoupBy the Editors At first blush, the news from Honduras sounds like a sad return to Latin America’s past: A democratically elected president has been exiled by the military. But make no mistake: The Honduran soldiers who escorted Pres. Manuel Zelaya from his home on Sunday were acting to protect their country’s democracy, not to trample it. Moreover, they had the full support of the Honduran Supreme Court, which had rejected Zelaya’s bid to hold a referendum on “constitutional reform.” The proposed referendum, illegal without an act of Congress, aimed to launch...

Janice Brant says it was just a big miss understanding. She doesn't have 200 cats in her house. Just a few shy of 60. 'If I had 200 cats I would be gone....I have approximately 57 adults.' Brant says. Brant says she had a falling out with a former housemate who she says called the Cecil County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They've been at her house off and on since last Friday....and her house passed muster from county housing inspectors. There are cats in the living room, on top of the fridge, in all the bedrooms,...

IBD Exclusive Series: Government-Run Healthcare: A Prescription For Failure Health Reform: A critically ill premature baby is moved to a U.S hospital to get the treatment she couldn't get in the system we're told we should emulate. Cost-effective care? In Canada, as elsewhere, you get what you pay for.Ava Isabella Stinson was born last Thursday at St. Joseph's hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. Weighing only two pounds, she was born 13 weeks premature and needed some very special care. Unfortunately, there were no open neonatal intensive care beds for her at St. Joseph's — or anywhere else in the entire province...

VALRICO — It took 15 minutes to get through the front door of a $300,000 house. Investigators used broomsticks and mop handles to push away debris. From inside a gated Valrico community, they removed a frail older woman and some of her cats — eight dead and 15 alive. Hillsborough County Animal Services said both the woman and the cats appeared neglected. The Department of Children and Families was summoned, to see whether 74-year-old Alice Santy, a woman who showed signs of hoarding, needed help. Now, the Sheriff's Office is investigating to see how Mrs. Santy, who is married, came...

How else to explain the fact that Democrat governors in two of the most liberal states in the country, New Jersey and Massachusetts, appear to be in big electoral trouble? Either Obama and Congress are damaging the Party brand or these two guys must really suck as governors. Either way, the numbers don't lie.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. --Albert Einstein Former Congresswoman, and professional nut job Cynthia McKinney fits Einstein's definition perfectly. This past December McKinney, who was once arrested for slapping a US Capitol Policeman who asked her for ID, decided to get on a boat in an attempt to get around Israel's blockade and dock the vessel in a war zone so she could help and resupply the terrorist group Hamas. McKinney was on the boat as it was damaged by an Israeli navy vessel which rammed it three times before it was...