Free Republic

George F. Will, the elite conservative commentator, will call in his next column for U.S. ground troops to leave Afghanistan, according to publishing sources. “[F]orces should be substantially reduced to serve a comprehensively revised policy: America should do only what can be done from offshore, using intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes and small, potent special forces units, concentrating on the porous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan, a nation that actually matters,” Will writes in the column, scheduled for publication later this week. Obama ordered a total of 21,000 more U.S. troops into Afghanistan in February and March, and casualties have mounted...

Wire writer says adverts kill TV The creator of highly-acclaimed hard-hitting TV drama The Wire has said television can only be worthwhile when freed from the constraints of advertising. David Simon was appearing at the Edinburgh International TV Festival. He said: "Television as a medium, in terms of being literate and telling stories, has short-changed itself since its inception. "That is because of advertising." Simon, whose work originates on US subscription cable channel HBO, said: "Only when television managed to liberate itself from the economic construct of advertising was there a real emancipation of story. "American television up until...

A great email sent to me today. Having trouble articulating to yourself or others as to why exactly the Fed should be abolished? Read and pass on this email to as many Americans as you can. People need to KNOW what the Fed has done and is doing to our country. Attached is a transcript the Congressional Record of June 10, 1932 by Louis T. McFadden Here is the original scanned doc of the same http://www.scribd.com/doc/16502353/Congressional-Record-June-10-1932-Louis-T-McFadden Bear in mind that while this is McFadden’s testimony in congress, it is not him alone. He quotes several people in various offices who...

Here is video of White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today going back to using the phrase "War on Terror" in answer to a question as to why things are getting worse in Afghanistan. Gibbs was very defensive, launching into a response that essentially blamed it all on George W. Bush, saying it won't be turned around in a few months "after years of neglect." He then went on to say: "You can't under-resource the most important part of our War on Terror - you can't under-resource that for five, or six, or seven years.....and hope to snap your fingers...

It was a decision, Justice Secretary Jack Straw said, that was in the British national interest. Britain agreed that the terrorist could go free. Six weeks later, Libya ratified the BP deal that the government wanted concluded. So much for “compassionate grounds,” the so-called official reason that led to Al-Megrhai’s freedom. One other issue has to be raised. After al-Megrahi was freed and given a hero’s welcome when his plane landed in Libya, the Obama administration and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton protested. But this was after he gained his freedom. So the question must be stated: Would Britain have...

On August 24 Claude Cartaginese reported for NewsReal about the recent hugely controversial release of a terrorist in Great Britain: On December 21, 1988, Libyan intelligence agent Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi, acting on instructions from Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qadaffi, placed a bomb on board Pan Am Flight 103, destroying the plane in flight. The blast killed 270 people, including all 243 passengers (189 of whom were American), 16 crew members, and 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland. After being sheltered for years by the Libyans, al-Megrahi was finally convicted of the crime in 2001 and sentenced to life...

Our Lot: How Real Estate Came to Own Us by Alyssa Katz, a liberal journalist who writes for Mother Jones, is the best book yet on how the sacred cause of “diversity” merged with pedal-to-the-metal capitalism to bring us the Great Mortgage Meltdown. The book hasn’t garnered the attention it deserves—probably because it makes clear the bipartisan responsibility of both her opponents on the Right and her friends on the Left. Our Lot focuses equally on the misdeeds of both capitalists and leftists. But I won’t give the boiler room boys as much attention in this review because they’re a...

THOSE rumors of an imminent Chelsea Clinton wedding have picked up steam. A Post reporter yesterday spotted preparations in full gear for a very large gathering on Chappaquiddick island. A big stage was being built and a large tent, capable of seating hundreds, was going up near the property's breathtaking water view. Martha's Vineyard has been abuzz all summer with speculation about Chelsea's supposed nuptials with her investment-banker boyfriend, Marc Mezvinsky. But so far, there have been nothing but denials from the Clinton camp, and talk that President Obama was going to attend seems to have no foundation, as he...

... The Silver Gull is one of the few private beach clubs left in New York, a 46-year-old throwback in the Breezy Point section of Queens which, despite the state of the economy and the plethora of free beaches in the region, continues to serve as a summer getaway for a few thousand New Yorkers. Its membership is made up largely of middle-class families and retired couples from Brooklyn and Queens, all of whom pay from $715 to $4,260 to rent a bath cabin, cabanette or cabana for the summer season, along with a membership fee of $390 to $465...

The crisis over the Swedish newspaper article claiming IDF soldiers killed Palestinians and snatched their organs refuses to fade away, with Sweden's Foreign Minister denying a report that his country would work together with Italy to pass a resolution condemning anti-Semitism at an upcoming informal meeting of European foreign ministers. Monday's Haaretz quoted Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini as saying that he and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt agreed to work to pass a resolution saying that the EU, under the Swedish Presidency, strongly condemned anti-Semitism and would work against its manifestations in Europe. Frattini, according to the paper, said...

Conservatives, Yesterday and Today Gregory Rodriguez August 31, 2009 Think back to the spring of 1968. The U.S. is mired in Vietnam. The country is in turmoil. The sitting Democratic president abruptly pulls out of his campaign for reelection, and the leading conservative columnist of the day neither gloats nor does a victory dance. It's nearly impossible to imagine this happening today. We could chalk this up to the deterioration of civic discourse and the rise in political polarization (or is it the other way around?). But it's really part of a much more significant shift that has fractured the...

August 29, 2009 — Today’s Evolutionary Just-So Story is brought to you by New Scientist: “Girls Are Primed to Fear Spiders.” Once upon a time, while cavemen were out hunting and gathering, the women back home had to learn to avoid dangerous animals. David Rakison of Carnegie Mellon University put this all into evolutionary terms for the rest of us:...

Hundreds of protesters waved signs and railed against big government today in what organizers billed as part of a cross-country tour. The Tea Party Express Tour stopped in Las Vegas near Las Vegas Boulevard and Sunset Road and will eventually make its way to Washington, D.C. Organizers estimated 700 to 900 people attended. Ellen Bernal and Al Delmastro were part of the Tea Party Rally today at the Sports Center of Las Vegas. Photo by John GurzinskiHundreds of protesters turned out for the Tea Party Rally today at the Sports Center of Las Vegas. Photo by John Gurzinski.

Local Unions Partner with Mexican Consulate in Thirteen Cities to Offer Innovative Worker Rights Programming CHICAGO--(Business Wire)-- The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is proud to partner with the Embassy of Mexico, the U.S. Department of Labor and allied organizations to promote the first "Semana de Derechos Laborales", or Labor Rights Week, UFCW International President Joe Hansen joined the Mexican Consul General of Chicago, Manuel Rodríguez Arriaga, to launch the national outreach and education program that is taking place in thirteen cities across the country. As Labor Day 2009 approaches, Semana de Derechos Laborales, which continues through...

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is deep into rehearsals for his appearance as a dance contestant on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." ABC just released some photos of DeLay reheasing with his partner, two-time "Stars" champ Cheryl Burke. On his Twitter account DeLay described the photo shoot thusly: "I am back from LA. The photo shoot was so much fun. It was like going to Disneyland. You know politics is showbiz too. (photos at link)

Ankara has denied NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen's suggestion that differences between Turkey and Greece have been hindering further defense cooperation between NATO and the European Union. The remarks by Rasmussen, who assumed office on Aug. 1, came ahead of his arrival in Turkey on Thursday for a two-day visit as part of a tour of NATO countries, including Greece. “We have come to the point where it is causing us problems in our missions. In Afghanistan, NATO cannot conclude an agreement to support EU police. Off the Horn of Africa, both NATO and the EU have missions in the...

Inspired by the speed and spending of the Apollo moon landing, the Apollo Alliance — a coalition of community organizers, environmentalists and big labor — is aggressively pushing President Barack Obama’s plan to regulate carbon emissions through cap-and-trade. If a recent meeting of labor and environmentalists is any indication, however, cap-and-trade may end up in a disaster more reminiscent of the Apollo 13 mission than the triumphant Apollo 11 landing. Earlier this month, the AFL-CIO and its Washington state affiliate hosted a conference on the proposal in Wenatchee, Wash. Despite labor’s seat at the table, Bob Baugh, executive director of...

I am writing a paper called "Hollywood Interference" and I would appreciate it if my fellow FReepers could give me quotes and links to their quasi-political activities. I am writing a paper on how actors and actresses have interfered and damaged the US by their interference in affairs of state.

President Barack Obama will speak at the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh next month. Obama will address the labor convention on Sept. 15. The organization endorsed Obama during last year's presidential election. Labor unions have been vocal supporters of Obama's proposed health care overhaul. However, the incoming AFL-CIO president has expressed frustration with the president's wavering support of a government-run public option to cover those without health care insurance. Obama will also travel to Pittsburgh later in the month for the economic summit of the world's top 20 industrial and developing economies.

There's an old joke in which three men each get a wish from a genie. Two men ask for possessions as nice as their neighbors'. But the third man cites a neighbor who has a prize pig -- and rather than asking for one like it, he directs the genie to kill his neighbor's pig. Some people take a similarly spiteful approach with regard to your right to free speech. They don't just want an equal right; they want yours taken away. That approach is at work in a liberal group's attempt to silence conservative commentator Glenn Beck. The group...