Free Republic

The American humorist of the 1930s and 40s, Franklin Pierce Adams once said, "Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody." And Barack Obama is no exception. But that lesson was lost on the Obama folks almost from day one. They did what all politicians and their supporters do after a big victory-- completely misread the mood of the electorate interpreting their victory as a mandate to radically reshape American society. They actually believed in their "Yes We Can" agenda -- and with their amen corner in the mainstream media...

During the 1990s, most of us thought we were living in a period of unprecedented peace and prosperity. We even spent the "peace dividend" -- cutting resources for intelligence and the military. The Cold War was over. We had no enemies worth worrying about. That was the accepted narrative of that giddy era. The fact that Americans were being attacked with regularity by Islamist terrorists -- for example, in New York City in 1993, at Khobar Towers in 1996, at two of our embassies in Africa in 1998, off the coast of Yemen in 2000 -- did not lead most...

Cool tools really work. A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We only post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted. I found this website a few months ago and figured I'd share it. Some cool odds and ends. I am not...

While the healthcare reform debate has been picking up this summer, the conversation is mostly between politicians and average citizens who do not practice medicine. US doctors and nurses seem to have been left out from this dispute, even though the outcome will influence them, their lives, their practice, and their ability to stay in business, enormously. Clearly, if the reform is not private practice "friendly" we as a community might lose our best physicians and our economy might weaken as a result of doctors shutting down or going out of business. Below is an opinion of one of Atlanta's...

President Obama has attempted to alleviate veterans’ concerns about the negative impact of national healthcare reform legislation. In a speech earlier this month before the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention, President Obama said, “Since there’s been so much misinformation out there about health insurance reform, let me say this. One thing that reform won’t change is veterans’ health care. No one is going to take away your benefits. That’s the truth.” Although his statement may be true, it is at best misleading. Neither I nor the veterans’ service organizations have asserted that the proposed healthcare reform legislation would eliminate...

Here is video of of First Lady Michelle Obama appearing to hit her head as she boarded Air Force One Friday night to leave Martha's Vineyard and head to Boston where President Obama will speak at a service for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy today. . . . . (Watch Video)

As we enter the eighth month of our punk presidency, the left’s desperation to enact the slow but sure evolution to statist health care favored in reality by Barack Obama has reached a fever pitch. Not coincidentally, boycott fever seems to be sweeping the nation. Two of them, assisted heavily by establishment media coverage, are quite visible. One that is perhaps as effective is largely unrecognized in elite circles. Finally, the most effective one may be a totally unorganized refusal to buy largely lurking behind the scenes. First, there is the situation with Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI). In an...

Nonetheless, when the history of the whole misbegotten health care reform effort is written, Sarah Palin has to be given credit for stopping it on a dime — and the snotty liberals who underestimated her should be held responsible.

Pro-ObamaCare + pro-Castro = one crazy delicious GOP attack ad. The boss has been tracking Diane Watson’s race-baiting for years, but there’s one nuance to this she doesn’t mention: Watson endorsed Clinton over Obama last year, and therefore presumably knows only too well how energized the conservative response to HillaryCare was 15 years ago. How can it be racist to oppose a black president’s program after opposing the same program proposed by a white president? Unclear, but consider this a fresh, exciting addition to our “national conversation on race.” Also, I like the way she warns about America becoming a...

"The capital was filled with trucks, tractors and hundreds of valley protesters" -snip- "We have democrats, republicans, libertarians, atheists, Christians, there were all kinds of people there and the bottom line is our state representatives and our federal representatives are not responsive to what we want. They do not represent us." Protesters also voiced concerns today about the federal government's plan for universal healthcare. The rally was one of thirty-three stops on a cross-country trip to Washington, DC.

Mikhalkov, Author of Soviet and Russian Anthem, Dead at 96 28 August 2009 By Nabi Abdullaev / The Moscow Times Sergei Mikhalkov, author of the lyrics of the Soviet and Russian national anthems and a Rolls-Royce of Soviet poetry for more than four decades, died Thursday in a Moscow hospital. He was 96. "He died of old age. He simply fell asleep," said his grandson, film producer Yegor Konchalovsky, RIA-Novosti reported. President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin offered condolences to his family, including his two sons, prominent film directors Oscar-winning Nikita Mikhalkov and Andrei Konchalovsky. Both of his...

In chapter 46 of Genesis, Jacob and the rest of the 70 family members set out to reunite with Joseph (who is now vice-regent of Egpyt). Verse 28 tells us Jacob "sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out the way before him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen." As I finished the verse I wondered why Jacob chose Judah -- who was the fourth oldest son -- and not Reuben, the eldest. In that culture it was virtually always the first born who had honors such as that placed on him. I believe the...

Activists Denounce Stalin in Station 28 August 2009 By Kristina Mikulova / Special to The Moscow Times The freshly renovated Kurskaya metro station reopened this week as the newest front in a bitter controversy over the legacy of Soviet leader Josef Stalin, whose name was returned to the facade after more than 50 years. The entrance hall of the Circle Line station once again bears a verse from the 1944 version of the Soviet anthem: “Stalin raised us to be loyal to the nation; He inspired us to work and be heroic.” Human rights activists condemned the reference to Stalin...

I dare anyone to watch this video...it will stop you dead in your tracks, lest we never forget 1 million + plus men and women have given their lives for our freedom. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ul60BvTk0U&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efacebook%2Ecom%2Fhome%2Ephp%3F&feature=player_embedded

We did not start this fight, the far left, the elitists in and out of America started this fight. We must finish it. America is at war with enemies from within. These enemies understand that this is war and have been fighting that way for years. Constitutional and conservative Americans are just beginning to awaken to the fact that we are under attack. We cannot view this as politics as usual. We must see this for what it is, war. At the end of any war, there are three types of people left, winners, losers and the dead. As Pat...

First Lady Michelle Obama hits her head while boarding a smaller version of Air Force One.

Our national media are treating the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy as a historic event, more historic even than the deaths of presidents like Gerald Ford. Is this level of attention warranted? We can all grant that Ted Kennedy was a major legislator with his hands in a lot of historic government action. He was at times a very eloquent speaker and was always a passionate fighter. To his side of the aisle, he was their inspirational leader. Now add the personal story: Two of his brothers were mercilessly assassinated. He was the final Kennedy from that generation. Clearly, when...

By now many are used to the ongoing manipulation of facts perpetrated within the health care debate, but as the President attempts to regain control of his own message his claims and statistical manipulation have crossed beyond the borders of absurd. In a conference call for his campaign organization, Organizing for America (formerly the Organizing for Obama), the president backed up his claims of how he intends to fulfill the promise of cost savings within Medicare without cutting benefits. The President's solution is simply to put America on a weight loss plan. According to the President, "If we went back...