Free Republic

It’s not been a good few weeks for Britain’s National Health Service since it was dragged into the debate over plans to reform the U.S. health care system. After U.S. opponents of ObamaCare and domestic critics — such as MEP Daniel Hannan — highlighted problems with the NHS (some very real, others exaggerated) to warn against the dangers of socialized medicine, defenders of our state-run system rallied to its defense, dismissing the concerns of U.S. conservatives as scaremongering. One of the biggest areas of concern for those who oppose increasing government control over health care in the U.S. is the...

I just sent a contribution to Joe Wilson. Joe is the Congressman who got so mad he called Obama a liar during Obama's speech last night. That was right after Obama finished calling everyone else who has told the truth about his health care boondoggle a liar. I just called Joe's office to thank him and tell him he spoke for me! 803 939-0041. He is up for re-election in 2010 and he sounds like someone we want to keep around. https://www.completecampaigns.com/public.asp?name=Wilson&page=2

The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee wants levies on insurers to pay for Obamacare and fines for families who don't sign up. To keep Obamacare alive, Baucus has proposed a Rube Goldberg scheme of fees and fines on insurers and the uninsured designed to forcibly bring everyone into the loving and protective arms of the nanny state...

I generally don't like those that are holier than thou. As the saying goes, "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" or, "those without sin should cast the first stone". Most often, those that make judgments about others are likely far from perfect themselves. I generally try and not make judgments about others. That's because I have plenty of my own problems. I've had plenty of financial struggles, professional struggles, and I've done plenty I'm not proud of. The only time I make moral judgments is on the issue of corruption. That's because often at my own expense...

Russia has made a once-banned book recounting the brutality and despair of the Soviet Gulag required reading in the country’s schools. The Education Ministry said excerpts of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s 1973 epic “The Gulag Archipelago” have been added to the curriculum for high school students. The three-volume book was banned by Soviet censors, sparking Solzhenitsyn’s retreat into exile. The decision announced Wednesday was taken because of “the vital historical and cultural heritage on the course of 20th-century domestic history” contained in Solzhenitsyn’s work, the ministry said.

When a judge in California set a trial date to determine whether Barack Obama is constitutionally eligible to serve as president, only one news service in the entire country bothered to cover the story. Do I have to tell you which one that was? You might recall one of the excuses the media establishment has used to explain why this is a non-story. "Every judge who has looked at this issue has thrown out the case!" they say. In fact, the media have dutifully reported every single time a judge has thrown out a case pressing the eligibility issue. Can...

Loyal to Liberty For a moment last night something unprecedented, unheard of, indeed almost unbelievable happened while Barack Obama was giving one of his televised, teleprompter specials: his audience actually heard the truth. Of course they didn't hear it from Obama. "A republican House member shouted, "You lie" during [Alleged] President Obama's health care speech to Congress on Wednesday." As we sadly would expect from the gutless gaggle of eObama lickspittles that dominates Congress at the moment, "members of both parties condemned the heckling." Thanks I'm sure to this pressure "After the speech, South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson issued a...

When he is not calling the president a racist or finding some other way to infuriate plenty of Americans, Glenn Beck, the provocative and popular conservative broadcaster, occasionally drifts into reverie. “I know it’s easy to romanticize the past, especially if you grew up in a small town like I did,” Mr. Beck told listeners of his radio program one day in March 2007. “But it seems to me that my hometown of Mount Vernon was full of leaders.” Mr. Beck went on, recalling how the whole town seemed to turn out to fill sandbags when the dangerous Skagit River...

Yosi Sergant has been asked to resign from his post as Communications Director for the National Endowment for the Arts, reports the Huffington Post.: At issue was an August conference call in which the NEA encouraged select artists to participate in an administration project dubbed "United We Serve" and led by the first lady. The NEA released a statement: "On August tenth, the National Endowment for the Arts participated in a call with arts organizations to inform them of the president's call to national service. The White House office of public engagement also participated in the call, which provided information...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson called it "Medical Diplomacy." Exporting medical care, expertise and personnel, we can help defeat terrorism by enhancing our medical and humanitarian assistance to vulnerable countries. In August 2007 a combined team of medical and veterinary professionals from the U.S. Army Reserve, a dental team from the U.S. Air Force and medical personnel from the U.S. Navy joined host country doctors and nurses from Mali to provide medical, dental and veterinary care to rural villages in the impoverished West African country. In each village visited, host country personnel...

RAYMORE, Mo. -- A Raymore family is missing a loved one and says that Raymore police are to blame. Kelly Wesner and her family lost their cat, Tobey, who had been a member of the family for 18 years. Wesner said Tobey managed to sneak outside without anyone noticing. What happened next left Wesner dumbfounded. Raymore police were called after someone reported an aggressive cat had scratched a young girl. According to a police report, the cat was wild, sick, and had all four legs out with claws extended. The report also stated that the cat was very large. Wesner...

Proof that one man’s loss is another man’s gain: in the hours following South Carolina’s GOP Rep. Joe Wilson’s “You lie!” outburst during President Barack Obama’s joint address to Congress Wednesday evening, his 2010 Democratic opponent has raised about $100,000 from 3,000 people, according to a spokeswoman for the House Democrats’ campaign operation. The Democratic grassroots immediately sprang in to action last night to aid Rob Miller, an Iraq War veteran who unsuccessfully challenged Wilson in 2008 and is seeking a rematch next year. “Defeating the man who yelled ‘liar’ at Obama: Good-bye Rep. Joe Wilson,” states ActBlue, which collects...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Census Bureau said the number of uninsured Americans increased in 2008 to 46.3 million, compared to 45.7 million in 2007. The bureau also said the U.S poverty rate of 13.2% in 2008 was an increase from 12.5% in 2007. This was the largest annual poverty rate increase since 2004, the bureau said. The statistics released Thursday cover the first full year of the current recession. The median -- or midpoint -- household income declined slightly to $50,303. The data underscore the need to revamp the U.S. health-care system, President Barack Obama said, adding that more recent...

http://www.sodahead.com/blog/128707/obamas-health-care-plan-by-reverand-manning/

If there’s one thing President Obama’s good at, you would have thought, it would be harnessing the powers of new technology. He’s got the Blackberry addiction. He’s got the Twitter feeds. He’s the most tech-savvy POTUS in US history, who quite possibly wouldn’t even be doing the job he’s doing now if it weren’t for his supreme, almost Neo-like mastery of that thing we call the Interweb. So how come he has just gone and managed to lose the most important debate of his political career so far - over health care - largely as a result of being beaten...

Hell of a speech last night, eh?  Here are a few of my favorite gems. Under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Translation: I, Barack Obama, ignoring thousands of years of failed price-control schemes, will impose price controls on health insurance. I will force insurers to sell a $50k policies for $10k. What could go wrong? We were losing an average of 700,000 jobs per month. True. And your employer mandate would kill hundreds of thousands of low-wage jobs that would never come back. They will no...

Use this official list to determine protocol order when developing seating charts, speaking programs, announcements and any list or documentation related to special events that involve US government officials. If you have questions about specific situations, contact your local Congressional office, Visits offices at military bases, state/local government protocol officers or international trade development officers. These rules apply while on US territory (including embassies). For events held outside the United States, always follow local custom. The President of the United States Heads of State/Reigning RoyaltyVice President of the United StatesUse this official list to determine protocol order when developing seating...

Yesterday, Barack Obama told the nation that he was tired of dishonest debate and “scare tactics,” but how honest was Obama himself in last night’s speech? The Associated Press fact-checks Obama and finds him … wanting. For a man eager to paint his opposition as liars, Obama told a couple of whoppers himself in front of the joint session of Congress: OBAMA: “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits either now or in the future. Period.” THE FACTS: Though there’s no final plan yet, the White House and congressional Democrats already have shown they’re...

Ride 2 Recovery has launched an online auction to help our nation's wounded warriors. Todd and I are so happy to help such a worthy organization. Please click on this link to view the auction and begin bidding - and, as always, thanks for all your support. -Sarah Palin 100% of proceeds from this auction will benefit the Ride 2 Recovery program whose mission is to improve the health and wellness of wounded warriors by providing a life changing experience that can impact their lives forever.

A couple of stories have recently come out that really put the lie to President Obama's claims that "his" healthcare bill is revenue neutral. These on top of the original plan-killing news that came out of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office in July. In July the CBO said that Obama's plan was clocking in at over a trillion dollars and said there would be no savings despite the rosy picture that the administration tried to paint for it all. Early in September, the CBO dealt Obamacre yet another body blow to its claims of fiscal savings. CNSNews reports that the...