Free Republic

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Senator Jim DeMint, the South Carolina Republican who predicted that President Obama’s effort to overhaul the health care system would become his “Waterloo,” is doing his best to make that happen. Taking questions from a friendly crowd of 500 people here the other day, Mr. DeMint reinforced their worst fears about health care in particular and the government in general. When one man said the major House bill on health care would give the government electronic access to bank accounts, Mr. DeMint told him that the bill was never about health care. “This is about more government...

Majority Rule on Health Care Reform (NYT Barf) NYT ^ | August 29, 2009 Posted on Sunday, August 30, 2009 2:59:06 AM by Tzimisce The talk in Washington is that Senate Democrats are preparing to push through health care reforms using parliamentary procedures that will allow a simple majority to prevail in their chamber, as it does in the House, instead of the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster that Senate Republicans are sure to mount. With the death of Senator Edward Kennedy, the Democrats do not have the votes just among their 57 members (and the two independents)...

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the owner of the Orange County Register is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. The Journal reported on its Web site Sunday that Freedom Communications Inc. has reached agreements with its lenders to restructure its debts. The report cites unnamed people familiar with the situation. Representatives of the company did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The Journal says Freedom's lenders are expected to take control of the company while it operates under bankruptcy protection. The lenders hold about $770 million in debt.

A big increase in the number of primary school children suspended for violent acts is being blamed on the removal of corporal punishment in schools. Figures from the Ministry of Education show a 88 percent increase in suspensions of eight-year-olds from 2000 to 2008 for assaults on classmates, a 73 percent rise for seven-year-olds, a 70 percent increase for six--year-olds while the suspensions over the same period had increased by 33 percent for five-year-olds. "It is significant that as schools have removed corporal punishment, schools have become more violent," Family First national director Bob McCoskrie said today. "School yard bullying...

A place to discuss Bill's radio program. Click here for available internet streams.

Reading the latest outrage that Obama is releasing a terrorist that had actively planned an attack against the US, I wanted to see some organized response. I went to the RNC website. While Obama is effectively dismantling everything of value in the US, who is fiddling? None other than the RNC website. Clicking on some obvious links on the home page to get to some "non bot" looking content reveals the problem. The website is undergoing an update as an obvious link titled "The State of the Website". OK, we can handle there is a transition, but the date of...

President Obama's supporters hope to recapture the energy of last year's triumphant election campaign in a bid to regain control of the health-care debate, planning more than 2,000 house parties, rallies and town hall meetings across the country over the next two weeks. The initiative began Wednesday with a rally at a labor hall in Phoenix that featured the Obama sunrise logo and placards that became fixtures of the 2008 presidential campaign. Organizing for America, a nationwide group of Obama supporters run by the Democratic National Committee, also brought along a colorful bus featuring the slogan, "Health Insurance Reform Now:...

Latin American exports and other effects of global recession appear to be pushing the region more into a Chinese embrace, as cash-flush Beijing builds major channels for purchases of food and raw materials from cash-strapped South American partners.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Authorities say flames from a major wildfire north of Los Angeles are about to reach Mount Wilson, home to a historic observatory and transmitters for every major television and radio station in the area. Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Mark Savage tells KABC-TV Sunday that "it's not a matter of if it impacts Mount Wilson, it's a matter of when," and estimated that the flames could leap to the top of the mountain within a few hours. Savage says firefighters could be pulled at any moment if the situation becomes dangerous. Television stations say if the...

I got an e-mail from a prominent Republican asking why I am so anti-Republican these days. Since many of my friends ask the same thing I thought I would share my reply: I think the party got seriously on the wrong track during the George W. Bush years, as I explained in my Impostor book. In my opinion, it no longer bears any resemblance to the party of Ronald Reagan. I still consider myself to be a Reaganite. But I don’t see any others anywhere in the GOP these days, which is why I consider myself to be an independent....

Here is video of a skydiver who fell 10,000 feet onto a metal roof that helped break his fall. The skydiver's main parachute didn't fully open and when he tried to use his reserve parachute it came untangled. He survived with "bruises, nerve damage, and a dislocated neck." (Watch Video)

Hilarious video with a great ending.

PBS's Bill Moyers issued a tough critique of the Democratic Party on Friday night on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher." Moyers said that "too many Democrats have had their spines surgically removed." "The problem is the Democratic Party," said Moyers. "This is a party that has told its progressives — who are the most outspoken champions of health care reform — to sit down and shut up. Moyers said that, over the years, the Democratic Party "has become like the Republican party — deeply influenced by corporate money." "I think Rahm Emanuel understands that the money for Obama's reelection...

Text from above website: ....Join Senator John Kerry and discuss the issues at an open Town Hall in Somerville, MA. The seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis, so arrive early to make sure you get in! With so much interest in the health care debate, we’re sure there will be many questions on that, but you are welcome to ask about any issue you would like. Our economy still needs to work better for all Americans, the Senate will take on the issue of energy reform and global climate change in the fall, and our foreign policy still...

Good evening.Go Cheney! The former Vice-President strikes back at the Obama Justice Dept.'s attack on CIA investigation techniques. Cheney, unlike the Holder's Justice, values our safety & a strong national defense.Thousands of California homes and families are in the path of devastating fires. And so we pray for their safety and that of the firefighters.

Still fawning over Ted Kennedy, that is. Actually, I think we passed the "fawning" stage a few days ago - this has been going on 24/7 for the last 5 days straight - and have moved to the "cult of personality" stage. How much coverage did Ronald Reagan get when he passed? A 1-hour special? At least he actually WAS a US President (and never killed someone)!! Is this network acting on Ted Turner's direct orders to implement wall-to-wall coverage? Just makes no sense. Anyone care to predict what day (or`week) this revolting garbage will stop?

This will leave you speechless! The artist tells a story that might soon be an American story. May God have mercy. -- 2Chronicles 7:14 --

Clinics in Violent Mexican City to Turn Away Gunshot Victims   CIUDAD JUAREZ – Private clinics in Ciudad Juarez, the scene of a bloody turf war between rival drug cartels, are refusing to treat victims of gunshot wounds due to the risk to their staff and other patients. Representatives of the clinics told authorities during a meeting that they could no longer receive this type of patients because cartel hit men have occasionally gone to hospitals to finish off a member of a rival drug mob who survived an attack. Luis Carlos Esquivel, coordinator of Mexico’s State Health Services,...

Today the head of Hamas’ so called political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, pledged his movement would continue its struggle for “the liberation of Palestine.” Meshaal was addressing an audience at a tent set up in Sweileh, where he received condolences over the death of his father, Abdul Rahim Meshaal, who was buried on Saturday. “Hamas, which has a political vision, sticks to the land, Jerusalem, the right of return (for Palestinian refugees) and resistance as a way for the liberation of Palestine as well as to the political and diplomatic equations and other spheres of work,” Meshaal said. Hamas has another...

Healthcare reform's biggest fans: young adults They account for 30% of the uninsured population and are the group most supportive of Obama's plan -- though quietly. Experts differ on how an overhaul would affect them. [Pic in URL] Abby Berendt Lavoi, 27, poses for a portrait in San Francisco. By Kim Geiger August 30, 2009 Reporting from Washington - When Abby Berendt Lavoi graduated from college, she got a job in New York making television commercials as a full-time contractor for one of the largest media companies in the world. She was eligible for health insurance only after she had...