Free Republic

Max Baucus finally gave the public a glimpse of his health care plan. Families who fail to get health insurance could be fined up to $3,800 under a health care reform plan proposed by a top Senate negotiator. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee is leading talks among the "Gang of Six" senators to hammer out a bipartisan compromise, offered what he described on Tuesday as a "framework" and not a "final product." But the detailed proposal comes just days ahead of a self-imposed Sept. 15 deadline for such a deal. Baucus is pushing...

It is so refreshing to see that our own government helped create an Islamic stronghold within the Balkan Peninsula. Serbia jails 4 Muslims for plotting terror attack Tue Sep 8, 2009 12:28 BELGRADE, Sept 8 (Reuters) - A Serbian court on Tuesday sentenced four Muslims to prison terms ranging from four to eight years for plotting to attack a football stadium in a southern town of Novi Pazar, a spokeswoman said.

Quick vanity question: Glenn Beck just said the Obama administration is now SCRUBBING as much as they can FROM THE INTERNET to PROTECT their CZARS. Are we in the process of beating them to the punch?

A California judge today tentatively scheduled a trial for Jan. 26, 2010, for a case that challenges Barack Obama's eligibility to be president based on questions over his qualifications under the requirements of the U.S. Constitution. If the case actually goes to arguments before U.S. District Judge David Carter, it will be the first time the merits of the dispute have been argued in open court, according to one of the attorneys working on the issue. In a highly anticipated hearing today before Carter, several motions were heard, including a resolution to long-standing questions about whether attorney Orly Taitz properly...

The German army has been inundated with international criticism for ordering an air strike on two hijacked fuel tankers in Afghanistan. But the governor of Kunduz province where the attack happened has now praised the German forces. "They made the right decision at the right time," Mohammed Omar told SPIEGEL.

A song to sing along the road or wishin you could go.

Advocates want illegal immigrants and their supporters to boycott the 2010 Census in protest of the government’s impasse on immigration reform legislation, according to a report by Boston.com. Because census figures are used to calculate federal funding to cities and towns, state officials and pro-immigrant groups are warning that a large-scale boycott could force Massachusetts to cut services such as school lunch programs and highway construction – furthermore enhancing its chances of losing a seat in Congress. But proponents argue the boycott will pressure politicians to get serious about a comprehensive reworking of the nation’s immigration system, providing a path...

The $1 movie rentals available through DVD kiosks like Redbox could spell "disaster" for the film and video industries—or at least, that's the argument of representatives for video stores and Hollywood unions, who want movie lovers to dump Redbox and return to their corner "mom-and-pop" DVD rental outlets. Video Business reports that the Video Buyers Group, a trade organization for some 1,700 independent brick-and-mortar video stores, is prepping an ad campaign that'll paint Redbox as a threat to the film industry as we know it. Why? Because its $1-a-night rental rate is "generating less revenue" for Hollywood studios than the...

After Glenn Beck scored a touchdown for the right with the announcement this weekend that Obama's Green Czar Van Jones had resigned, liberal MSNBC host Keith Olbermann came out swinging. In a post made to his Daily Kos blog, Olbermann says he wants readers to help him did up dirt on Beck, as well as Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. Olbermann promised his fans: "Tuesday we will expand this to the television audience and have a dedicated email address to accept leads, tips, contacts on Beck, his radio producer Burguiere, and the chief of his TV enablers, Ailes."

Health Emergency? Dial 911, Not U.N. Medical Services Tuesday, September 08, 2009 By Tom McGregor With a full medical team of eight doctors and 11 registered nurses — and a budget of $38 million — the occupational health clinic at the United Nations should have all the resources it needs to meet any kind of emergency. Yet the U.N. Medical Services Division (MSD) offers this important piece of advice for any U.N. employee in New York City who suffers a life-threatening condition at work: Don't call us. Call 9-1-1. On Aug. 24, the United Nations Office issued a statement to...

A White House panel of independent space experts says NASA's return-to-the-moon plan just won't fly....However, President Barack Obama's expert panel said any plan to go beyond low-Earth orbit was "not viable" with current spending....

The U.S. Marine Corps is acting as the lead service on the Bell-Boeing MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor, with three deployments to Iraq under its belt and a squadron flying from the deck of the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship. Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (Afsoc) is growing its own fleet of CV-22s, steadily building hours and mission profiles. The Marines have recently suffered critiques from Washington for cost and performance issues, most notably in a May Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that cited the aircraft’s “unresolved operational effectiveness and suitability issues.” But the service takes exception to several...

ISLAMABAD — President Asif Ali Zardari plans to celebrate the coming Eidul Fitr in New York and attend the UN General Assembly and Friends of Democratic Pakistan Summit. - President Zardari along with his entourage would celebrate Eidul Fitr in the USA where he has a scheduled meeting with US President Baraak Obama at FoDP summit on September 24.

Food is becoming more expensive and the problem is only going to get worse, Glenn Beck said on his TV show last week. “Why is the world's bread basket running low on bread and you haven't heard anything about it?” asked Beck. While huge wildfires burn in California, the state’s farmers are suffering through an environmental crisis that the government is making worse, he said. Central Valley, a 400-mile long area spread out over 18 counties “is responsible for 57 percent of the state's total farming” and California represents around 13 percent of the nation’s farming. Federal environmental rulings aimed...

This Wall Street Journal editorial hits the nail on the head when it comes to why President Obama is in danger from his own left wing and offers an explanation for why the president is relying on so many czars to consolidate his power in the White House. Basically, Jones was apparently one of many sops the president has tossed to the far left in the form of appointing "movement progressives" whose radical views can be hidden because they don't need senate confirmation. Our guess is that Mr. Jones landed in the White House precisely because his job didn't require...

Note: The following text is a quote: DOMESTIC TERRORISM In the Post-9/11 Era 09/07/09 Members of our Evidence Response Team set up their crime scene equipment after the June 10 shootings at the Holocaust Museum in D.C. Nothing before or since has come close to the terror attacks of 9/11 in terms of lives lost, scope, and impact. And we know that al Qaeda led and inspired operatives still seek to strike our homeland—including with weapons of mass destruction. Which is why globally-fueled terrorism continues to occupy much of our time and attention these days. And yet, as we were...

It makes me sad and a little sick that Van Jones, the White House Green Jobs Czar, was forced to resign after being targeted by a vicious smear campaign. The Obama administration lost a brilliant mind who worked day and night to, as Van would say, "get the greenest solutions to the poorest people". Indeed, Van did as much as anyone to put the concept of the Green Collar Economy on the map, including publishing a best-selling book with that title. More than that, he was one of the nation's most pragmatic environmental visionaries, someone who was always thinking up...

Van Jones's resignation has the left wringing their hands, infuriated that Glenn Beck and few righties managed to get one of their own booted out of office. So, what's the best way to strike back? By dredging up dirt and slinging mud. At least that's the opinon of Keith Olbermann, who told his followers to "Find everything you can about Glenn Beck, Stu Burguiere, and Roger Ailes." Olbermann was moved in part by the Van Jones resignation, and in part from this tweet from Glenn Beck's Twitter feed, "FIND EVERYTHING YOU CAN ON CASS SUNSTEIN, MARK LLOYD AND CAROL BROWNER.”...

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<p>The government in Kenya has replaced almost all of the country's most senior police officers in what analysts say could be the start of major reform.</p> <p>Human rights groups blame the police for much of the killing that took place during violence that followed elections in 2007.</p>