Free Republic

Excuse this simple post.... I really feel we need to set aside a thread to THANK Joe Wilson!! Joe singlehandedly spoke up AGAINT the despicable LIES of President Obama last night! Whether or not you feel it was the appropriate place for him to speak out or not, he DID say what most of us were thinking while listening to the President spew out bold faced LIES. Joe Wilson's website has been down since last night! Let's use FreeRepublic right now to say THANKS!! THANK YOU JOE WILSON!!!!! I have donated $$ towards your re-election!! Polly

A couple of weeks before Van Jones resigned his Washington job, I happened to have a casual conversation with an old friend about a media organization we’d both been instrumental in founding in the distant last millennium. He was complaining that the group had, rather soon after it began, turned into an arena for ambitious self-promoters instead of being the advocacy organization which its founders intended. Most of this happened in the 15 or so years when I was too preoccupied with earning a living to pay attention, but I believed my friend’s annoyed recital of pointless power struggles within...

Bluegrass Blues by: Sarah Carlsruh, September 10, 2009 It turns out that not many parents in the Bluegrass state want their children to attend public school. Paul DiPerna, author of School Choice Survey in the State: Kentucky’s Opinion on K-12 Education and School Choice, found that people are not happy with the current public school system. This August 2009 study is of Kentucky voters’ opinions on their state’s school system. Strategic Vision, a public relations agency, conducted this survey by making live phone calls to a random sample of 1,200 likely Kentucky voters. Its screening questions were such as to...

Lawyer Hedges On Closing Gitmo By January Questions remain on how to deal with the 226 detainees WASHINGTON - The U.S. Defense Department top lawyer on Thursday said the Obama administration remains committed to closing the Guantanamo Bay prison by early next year but stopped short of assuring it will happen. Pentagon general counsel Jeh Johnson's comments came as Congress weighs how to revamp a military court system — a key part of President Barack Obama's pledge to close Guantanamo by Jan. 22. But legal questions remain on how to prosecute and detain the 226 suspected al-Qaida, Taliban and foreign...

INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indiana court has ruled that a pizza shop must pay for a 340-pound employee's weight-loss surgery to ensure the success of another operation for a back injury he suffered at work -- raising concern among businesses bracing for more such claims. The Indiana Court of Appeals decision, coupled with a recent Oregon court ruling, could make employers think twice before hiring workers with health conditions that might cost their companies thousands of dollars at a shot down the road. "This kind of situation will happen again ... and employers are undoubtedly worried about that," said Lewis Maltby,...

If you doubt that Virgina gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell would be a fiscal conservative, just pay a visit to his Alexandria campaign office. The carpet is dingy, the lighting is terrible, and a thin, low-paneled ceiling is probably all that separates you from the assumed rodent metropolis overhead. Okay, so perhaps it wasn't that bad — but if Bob McDonnell is paying a lot for a top-flight campaign, it's not in the form of rent. I'm sure that Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has worked better venues. However, he seemed to be perfectly at ease campaigning for McDonnell yesterday, even when...

"Obama is correct," Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, tells Newsmax. "The legislation states illegals won't get the affordability credits [to pay for their healthcare]. But Wilson's comment is correct in that the normal enforcement mechanism was excluded from the bill. I think that's the fundamental question."

Madame Speaker, Vice President Biden, Members of Congress, and the American people: Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah LIE blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah LIE blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah LIE LIE LIE blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Big cars and trucks are out. Smaller ones that offer more for your dollar are in. And many drivers will hang onto the new cars they buy longer. We've seen some of this before -- in the 1970s. But there's reason to believe that this time, American car-buying habits have changed forever. Scarred by the worst financial crisis since the 1930s and still leery of high gas prices, people are walking into showrooms intent on spending less. The trend is strongest among baby boomers, who are 44 to 63 years old and make up a...

Democrats must drop efforts to censure a GOP representative who shouted "You lie" during President Obama's speech, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday. Democratic leaders Thursday were looking into what formal action the House could take against Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., whose outburst during Obama's address on healthcare reform to a joint session of Congress the night before, shocked the chamber, The Hill reported. "It's time for us to talk about healthcare, not Joe Wilson," said Pelosi, D-Calif. One option Democrats considered was censure. Pelosi nixed censure, as well as a call for Wilson to apologize on the floor. "I'm...

Great interview of Ambassador Bolton in advance of his talk tomorrow at Hillsdale College's First Principles on First Friday's Lecture in which he will be delivering a report card on President Obama's foreign policy.

Teenagers’ obsession with mobile phones and computers is taking a toll on their education, suggests a new research. Andrew Kakabadse, professor of international management development, Cranfield School of Management, found that almost 60 per cent of teenagers were submitting coursework downloaded from the web without reading, rewriting, or understanding it. The survey also found that the students’ addiction to text messaging was also affecting the standard of English, reports Times Online. Three in ten respondents used text-message abbreviations, such as l8 (late) or RU (are you) in their coursework, with more than half of the 260 pupils saying they were...

The communications director for the National Endowment for the Arts is no longer in his job amid a flap over suggestions he suggested artists work to further President Obama's legislative agenda. A conservative artist writing on the site Big Hollywood first complained that the official, later identified as Yosi Sargent, had been on a conference call with artists aimed at furthering President Obama's legislative agenda -- a bit of a no-no for the agency, which does its best to stay apolitical. [SNIP] Huffington Post's Ryan Grim reported that Sergant had been "asked to resign," and played it as another scalp...

The House's proposed health national health plan would establish "school-based health clinics" on campuses, and one group is warning it could give Planned Parenthood direct access to American schoolchildren at taxpayer expense. The American Family Association, or AFA, is warning that Section 399Z-1 of H.R. 3200, or the House plan, titled "School-Based Health Clinics," allows a "non-profit health agency" to serve as a "sponsoring facility" for health clinics that operate during school hours. AFA has provided a document with actual language from H.R. 3200 that outlines requirements for the program. AFA notes that under this provision Planned Parenthood would be...

The event, hosted by Young Americans for Liberty, will be held Sept. 25 at Northrop Auditorium on the campus of the University of Minnesota. Organizers said Bachmann and Paul will discuss "monetary reform, limited government and free market economics" and that their appearance is designed to counter "President Obama's health care proposal, bailout mania and the rapid rise of government control and spending." Bachmann, who is in her second term representing Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District, has attained a national profile as a conservative spokeswoman as a result of her regular appearances on cable television. Paul, of Texas, attained a similar...

Boehner defies Obama's claims. Brief newsvideo at link. "HR3200 does not contain any restrictions on non-citizens participating in and paying for coverage available." Democrats rejected opportunity to restrict access by non-citizens.

*** Ayers, Wright, Rezko and now Van Jones.....these are not coincidental but an alarming pattern of behavior and ties to far-left radicals.... Rockville Centre *** Where did Obama hire Jones? Morons 'R Us?....... Staten Island *** There is a far more sinister power ousted czar Jones holds -- he can dictate how $787 billion tax dollars are allocated. Jones was a co-writer of the stimulus package. Jones and Ayers are board members of the Apollo Alliance, along with Weather Underground terrorist, Jeff Jones. Green Brook, NJ *** The resignation of a radical who had no qualifications to create "green jobs"...

Welcome Awaits Iraq Shoe Thrower Dargham al-Zaidi is helping to prepare the family home for his brother's party The Iraqi journalist jailed for hurling his shoes at former US President George W Bush is to be freed on Monday - to an uncertain future. Muntadar al-Zaidi's release after nine months in prison will be celebrated by many across the Arab world to whom he has become a hero. He is reported to have been offered money, lucrative jobs, marriages and even a career in politics. His brother says an official boycott may stop Zaidi's return to journalism. Zaidi, a reporter...

Choice and competition. Choice and competition. Choice and competition. Such were the words President Obama last night claimed were his core principles in providing affordable health insurance for all. As a means to providing choice and competition, the President said, we should institute a public option that doesn't have to deal with such pesky things like highly paid executives and all that extra "wasted" money that constitutes the evil bane of man's pitiful existence, PROFIT.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- The White House on Thursday released the following proclamation from President Obama regarding Pariot Day and National Day of Remembrance and Service. "Through the twisted steel of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the scarred walls of the Pentagon, and the smoky wreckage in a field in southwest Pennsylvania, the patriotism and resiliency of the American people shone brightly on September 11, 2001. We stood as one people, united in our common humanity and shared sorrow. We grieved for those who perished and remembered what brought us together as Americans. Today, we honor...