Free Republic

NBC news called out the fact that Obama admin said unemployment would pass 8% and that there was no need for another stimulus. They did all have the look of severe constipation on their faces while reporting.

WALLOPS ISLAND The escape worked beautifully. Forty minutes after sunrise Wednesday, a chubby little rocket left the pad at NASA’s facility here, climbing 7,000 feet into the cool morning air. Less than a minute later, after 16 separate pyrotechnic events, nine parachute deployments and a perfect tailwind, NASA’s newest astronaut escape pod was floating safely down toward the Atlantic off the Eastern Shore. The unpiloted test was conducted in conjunction with NASA’s Constellation Program, which is designing the Orion spacecraft to take humans to the International Space Station by 2015 and to the moon by 2020. NASA already has one...

Gov. Sarah Palin had something to do with the death of pop star Michael Jackson. That's an interesting theory proclaims radio host and Jackson eulogizer opportunist Rev. Al Sharpton. Our friend Brian Maloney at Radio Equalizer has the story. You can hear an recording of the program in question by clicking HERE. I've pasted Maloney's transcript below: FEMALE CALLER (31:50): He (Michael Jackson) is truly the soundtrack of my life. I also have a theory about Sarah Palin as well and I'm going to put it out there on radio, hopefully someone can investigate. But, I think maybe she did...

A draft agenda posted for next Monday's (July 13th) Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting includes a public hearing at 6 p.m. for the expansion of the Islamic Saudi Academy, outside Fairfax off Pope's Head Road. The expansion was the subject of a long, contentious public hearing at the county Planning Commission meeting on March 18. Supporters of ISA packed the room, heckling opponents who motioned the controversial nature of the school. The planning commissioners unanimously approved the plan last month, despite the background of the school and concerns from neighbors about parking and quality of life issues. The Academy,...

I lived outside of the US for many years and it was an excellent way to get a fresh perspective on the country. One phenomenon I observed from afar that I’d never noticed up close was what I came to call The Gorp Syndrome. It works like this. Private minds create a useful product to meet their needs: like Gorp, or trail mix, a blend of raisins and nuts made by campers to deliver a natural and healthy blast of energy during a hike in the woods. Some smart company gets the idea to package and sell the product. After...

Father Steven Voss has been given a second chance at life, and he owes it to a fellow priest. Father Voss, parochial vicar at Spirit of Christ Parish in Arvada, underwent a successful kidney transplant April 22 at the University of Colorado Hospital. The kidney donor was Father Matthew Hartley, 31, parochial vicar at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Northglenn. The transplanted kidney may add anywhere from 10 to more than 20 years to the life of Father Voss, 30, who has suffered severe health problems since the age of 1. On April 8, Father Voss was on his way...

The PPP poll today specifically deals with Sarah Palin and was conducted AFTER the announcement of her resignation July 6-7 (923 voters) (D 41 R 37 I 23) What I want to do is compare these numbers to the poll conducted on June 18th, 3 weeks ago. Here are some revelations: 1)Regarding her favorables (F) vs unfavorables (UF) Sarah has gotten a 7 point uptick 46 (43) 45 (49) 2)a 9 point uptick among conservatives: 77 (72) 17 (21) 3) a 7 point downturn among moderates: 27 (33) 59 (58) 4)A 7 point uptick among women and 6 point uptick...

Yesterday, I noted that the Rasmussen poll with a Barack Obama “passion index” of -3 still had yet to fully poll after last week’s unemployment figures were published. Today’s rolling approval index is the first to have all of its data taken after the announcement that joblessness continues to increase, and the passion index has hit its lowest level yet. Obama’s approval has come close to statistical parity, too: The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 32% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President....

Former Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney is locked in a statistical dead heat with Sarah Palin for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, despite the Alaska governor’s abrupt resignation last week, according to a new poll of Republican voters. Romney leads all Republican presidential contenders, garnering 25 percent of the vote, edging out Palin (24 percent), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (22) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (14 percent) in the Rasmussen poll released yesterday.

...We're not talking about wall-to-wall Michael Jackson coverage. This week is fiction week as Hugh interviews many of America's most popular thriller writers practicing the craft. Today's program featured interviews with Brad Thor, the immensely talented writer of the Scot Harvath novels, and with Alex Berenson, author of the John Wells series... And on today's show Hugh continues fiction thriller week with Steven Pressfield today, author of Gates of Fire, The Legend of Bagger Vance, and Killing Rommel, which will be discussed at length in the last two hours of the show today. But in the first hour, Hugh and...

Gov. Rick Perry says Sarah Palin is committed to campaigning for his re-election bid and he welcomes the support of the soon-to-be former Alaska governor...

A new Public Policy Polling survey looking at how likely voters for this fall’s election view Barack Obama finds his approval rating at just 48%, with 46% disapproving. Obama’s reviews are highly polarized with 95% of Democrats but only 9% of Republicans giving him good marks. His overall numbers are weak due to poor numbers among independents- 52% of them say they disapprove of Obama’s performance with only 38% giving him favorable ones.

On the web page as well as the banner covering a large portion of Mt. Rushmore, Greenpeace blathers on about honoring America’s leaders, not politicians. In principle, I agree with their assessment. Barack Obama is no leader. He is an ideologue, wholly committed to special interest groups, like Greenpeace, instead of the principles upon which this nation was founded. He cannot speak without prompts, cannot make decisions without polls, cannot lead without consensus. He is no Lincoln, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, or Washington. Not even close. To point out this fact, Greenpeace took it upon themselves to attach a giant photo...

Wednesday, July 08, 2009 Let the Unraveling Begin   [James C. Capretta] The Obama administration has been desperately trying to create a sense of momentum around their health-care push, which is why they are touting the latest “deal” with hospital associations so heavily. But there are clear signs that Congressional Democrats and the Obama White House have steered the health-care effort into seriously choppy political waters.   Consider: 1.      Yesterday, Senate Democratic leaders all but rejected Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’s months-long effort to impose a limit on the tax preference for employer-paid premiums as a way to pay for his reform plan. Media reports indicate...

One day after expressing strong concern to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-MT, about chasing GOP votes on health care reform, particularly if it is at the expense of having a government-run plan, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, was all about bipartisanship as he met for about an hour with four committee Republicans. “He said he wants a bipartisan bill,” said Orrin Hatch, R-UT, a meeting attendee, along with top committee Republican Chuck Grassley, R-IA, Olympia Snowe, R-ME, and Mike Enzi, R-WY. In a statement released from Reid’s office, the Majority Leader said, “I had a positive meeting...

With credit card defaults rising, some companies are looking for reasons to cut your plastic. To make these decisions, banks rely on data about what you buy, where, and the company you keep. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports. Not all that long ago credit-card companies were looking for reasons to give us credit. As we all know now, it didn't take much to get a shiny new piece of plastic in your wallet. But with credit-card defaults rising, those companies have started looking for reasons to take some of that credit away. To help them figure out how, banks are compiling thousands...

   Michelle signals there is heavy metal in the soil. Tragic news for Sasha, Malia and crunchy gourmets everywhere:It was meant to be a show case for healthy living, with the first lady, Michelle Obama, personally putting hand to pitch fork in a crowd of school children to dig up the first White House vegetable garden in more than 50 years. Instead, an embarrassed White House admitted today that the plot — whose lettuce, herbs and other produce have been consumed by the first family, visiting dignitaries, local school children and a women's homeless shelter — had tested positive...

If Ahmadinejad has the backing of Supreme Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in making these statements, this is a sign the conservative mullahs have realized they're in real trouble: IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has vowed to make changes to his team and "respect" young people when his new government takes office after his disputed re-election. "The structure of government should change, the changes in the government will be considerable," Mr Ahmadinejad said in a televised address to the Iranian people overnight. He said his new government will put "housing, employment and economic reform" on its agenda. "I am against police confrontation with...

You Obama supporters, be honest now. Read the following and tell me how you would have reacted: If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky? If George W. Bush had bowed...