Free Republic

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were the chief culprits in the housing crisis because they encouraged people who could not afford payments to borrow money, according to a congressional report released Tuesday. The claims in the report have long been advanced by conservatives, who argue that the Community Reinvestment Act and other federal programs fed the housing bubble that burst in 2007 and led to the economic downfall in 2008. But the report explains in detail how Fannie and Freddie -- government sponsored enterprises (GSE) that were not subject to the same oversight as other publicly traded firms -- “privatized...

There were two naked women showering in downtown Lansing Wednesday afternoon — but, to the dismay of many male onlookers, they didn't want to eat any meat. The women, Ashley Kemp, 22, and Lindsay Rajt, 27, were showering on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), as part of the animal rights group’s “Clean Your Conscience” campaign touring the Midwest. The showering was a gimmick to attract attention to the fact that it takes 2,463 gallons of water to produce one pound of meat — the equivalent to about six months of showering. But the anti-meat message...

This weekend's Fourth of July festivities celebrated the birth of representative government in America. As the Declaration of Independence set forth 233 years ago, our government derives its power from the consent of the governed. Such consent does not exist when legislation is purposely rammed through Congress so quickly that congressmen -- let alone citizens -- do not have time even to read it. Welcome to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's House of Representatives. The "people's House" is now a place where bills are voted on not only before legislators or the public have read them, but also before parts of the...

All Wrought From White Liberal Pride - Not Guilt According to our Akron Beacon Journal, "Dozens of black youths" shouted, "This is a black world," and, "This is our world," as they beat up a white construction worker, his family and friends as they were viewing a June 27 fireworks display. Police officials are, " not ready to call it a hate crime," and "is not classifying it as a racial hate crime." Fortunately, the family and friends are OK and are considering acquiring personal defense weapons to protect themselves in this once beautiful area in Akron, Ohio, named after...

Like Elvis Presley before him, the demise of Michael Jackson has engaged the entire world, and the parallels are spooky. Both Presley and Jackson lived isolated, somewhat bizarre lives, eventually destroying themselves with drugs administered by doctors on their payrolls. This was a proven fact in Presley's case; there is strong evidence in Jackson's. But while Presley was mourned primarily as a great entertainer, Jackson is being sold by his supporters as much more. In fact, if you listen to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, the troubled singer was the second coming of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. At Jackson's...

Cracks in President Obama's health care reform plan formed Wednesday as his August deadline appears to be slipping away amid angst from Democrats over taxing employer benefits to help pay for the $1 trillion makeover. Top Democrats, including Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, who is helping craft the measure, and Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York said the idea isn't politically viable. "Fifty-three percent of my constituents would be taxed under that proposal in Connecticut," said Mr. Dodd, who is acting chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. "And I'm not alone. There's a lot...

While the media stopped to cover Michael Jackson's death, several tremors rocked the foundation of something that actually affects us all -- Obamanomics. First, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who supported the President over his Republican rival, criticized Obama's spending, saying "we can't pay for it all." Powell said: "I'm concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them. ... One of the cautions that has to be given to the President -- and I've talked to some of his people...

LOOKS like we may have a new upstart in the shadowy world of cyber-warfare: North Korea. Yes, that's right, fingers are pointing at North Korea as the perp in a spate of cyber-strikes against both South Korean and American government targets, beginning around July 4. The more than 25 targets in the cyber-crosshairs reportedly included the White House, Pentagon, State Department and US Treasury. Similar targets were struck in South Korea. It may seem unbelievable that Pyongyang could be behind these attacks; most such sallies originate in China or Russia these days. But more than 100 nations are involved in...

SNIPPET: ""He is continuing to come across as a very weak leader. In his other overseas trips, he has essentially groveled in front of the other leaders and the other countries of the world," Curry says. "And he is doing essentially the same thing with Russia." Curry says Obama reminds him of former President Jimmy Carter. "Jimmy Carter just about destroyed the military in terms of removing budgeting, removing procurement of new weapons systems -- and President Obama seems like he's going down the very same road," Curry contends. "He cut a billion dollars out of our missile defense R&D...

Sarah Palin has deeply disappointed her enemies. People who hate her guts feel she's really let them down by resigning. She's like the ex-girlfriend they're SO over, never want to see again, have already forgotten about -- really, it's O-ver -- but they just can't stop talking about her. Liberal: Ha, ha ... Sarah who? She's over, she's toast, a future Trivial Pursuit answer, nothing more. Normal person: Whatever. How about the North Korean missiles? Liberal: Can you believe she just resigned the governorship like that? What a quitter! Normal person: Speaking of quitting, how's work? Liberal: Did you hear...

LAST week, 4,000 US Marines launched a major operation in Helmand, the poppy- queen province in southern Afghanistan. The Marines performed magnificently, reaching their objectives with minimal casualties -- mostly from the 110-degree heat. But something important was missing: Afghans in uniform. A few hundred Afghan players showed up in the backfield. But the village elders saw American guns. The Marine mission is to provide security for villagers, build trust and instill confidence in the Kabul government. This would all be far easier if the Afghan military and police were competent, trustworthy and present. After 8½ years in Afghanistan and...

It will be the largest-ever resettlement of Palestinian refugees into the US - and welcome news to the Palestinians who fled to Iraq after 1948, but who have had a tough time since Hussein was ousted in 2003. Targeted by Iraqi Shi'ites, the Palestinians, mostly Sunni Muslims, have spent recent years in one of the region's roughest refugee camps, Al Waleed, near Iraq's border with Syria in the west.

Venezuela had a military force to protect Manuel Zelaya Operation "swarm of bees, led by Hugo Chávez coup, ruled by the military and political decisions taken in the country. Sought a "bloodbath" 08.07.09 - Updated: 08.07.09 09:36 pm - Writing: redaccion@laprensa.hn Honduras On Sunday, July 5 ran an unprecedented military operation planned and organized from Caracas by Chavez, Ortega and Castro. This was said yesterday the lawyer and expert on political and security issues, Mario Berrios, who argues that the "swarm of bees" failed because of the decisions taken by the government and military forces to take control of the...

"Obama's Assistant Attorney General Tells Senate: Terrorists Captured on Battlefield Have Constitutional Rights" SNIPPET: "“Does that infer that these individuals have constitutional rights?” McCain asked Kris. “Ah, yes,” Kris answered. “What are those constitutional rights of people who are not citizens of the United States of America, who were captured on a battlefield committing acts of war against the United States?” McCain asked. “Our analysis, Senator, is that the due process clause applies to military commissions and imposes a constitutional floor on the procedures that the government sets on such commissions …” Kris said. “So you are saying that these...

As if we were speaking another language, the Democrats are ignoring all the signs that they are overstepping in expanding the federal government and spending like there's no tomorrow: The first signs of a revolt are apparent in the polls. President Barack Obama's approval rating in the Buckeye State - one of the key bellwethers for national politics - dropped to 49 percent, the lowest of any swing state, according to a poll released Tuesday by Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. Obama, who lost Ohio's Democratic primary to Hillary Rodham Clinton but topped Republican John McCain in November's general election,...

No responsible energy policy can go forward that is rooted in the belief that man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions significantly contribute to global warming or "climate change" as it is now called. This article will address data from the historical temperature record as well as climate models that refute the theory that: CO2 causes or to a large extend amplifies climate change. Based on the following data it appears that the only thing consistent about the climate is that it is always changing. Unfortunately, the Waxman-Markey bill, recently passed by the House, sets the foundation for an energy policy guided...

Democrats are playing the race card with Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court in more ways than one. The White House and Senate Democrats want a vote on Sotomayor's nomination before the August congressional recess. If Senate Republicans surrender to the Democrats' race pace card, it means a fast, uninformed vote on a lifetime appointment to the nation's highest court. Americans aren't stimulated by uninformed voting in Congress. Republicans should also know by now that Americans consider Supreme Court appointments supremely important. It explains why Samuel Alito is on the Supreme Court and Harriet Miers isn't. Democrats are...

When the cystic fibrosis gene was found in 1989, therapy seemed around the corner. Two decades on, biologists still have a long way to go, finds Helen Pearson. During the day, Lap-Chee Tsui and Francis Collins were attending a gene-mapping workshop. At night they were scrutinizing the pages churning out of a fax machine they had set up in a dorm room. Their hunt for the cause of cystic fibrosis had reached a gene that looked from its sequence like it might have a role in transporting ions through cell membranes, a process that goes awry in those with the...

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SNIPPET: "CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – U.S. Marines trapped Taliban fighters in a residential compound and persuaded the insurgents to allow women and children to leave. The troops then moved in — only to discover that the militants had slipped out, dressed in women's burqa robes.[...] On Monday, images from a Predator drone showed a dozen fighters and at least 15 to 20 civilians inside a mud-brick compound in the village of Khan Neshin, about 60 miles north of the Pakistani border. Because of the civilians, the U.S. troops held their fire, and instead used a military translator and village elder...