Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is holding off major decisions that could put its military forces on a firmer war footing in Afghanistan even as doubts grow about whether the United States can win there. Many military and diplomatic leaders have urged President Barack Obama to send thousands more Marines, soldiers and pilots to try to reverse Afghanistan's crumbling security situation. But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs has said no decision about adding troops is expected for "weeks and weeks," following what he described as intensive evaluation. The troop decision will be a first indicator of whether Obama intends...

Reducible Versus Irreducible Systems and Darwinian Versus Non-Darwinian Processes Recently a paper appeared online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, entitled "The reducible complexity of a mitochondrial molecular machine." As you might expect, I was very interested in reading what the authors had to say. Unfortunately, as is all too common on this topic, the claims made in the paper far surpassed the data, and distinctions between such basic ideas as “reducible” versus “irreducible” and “Darwinian” versus “non-Darwinian” were pretty much ignored. Since PNAS publishes letters to the editor on its website, I wrote in. Alas,...

President Barack Obama can return the U.S. budget situation to a sustainable one without breaking his pledge to not raise taxes on Americans making less than $250,000, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday. "We can get our fiscal house in order. We can go back, as a country, to the point where we're living within our means without violating that basic commitment," Geithner told ABC's "Good Morning America" program. "It's his (Obama's) commitment and he's very committed to that." Geithner also said the government would work to unwind its investments in financial institutions and other companies as quickly...

A Johns Hopkins University student armed with a samurai sword killed an intruder in his garage, Baltimore police said Tuesday.

In a move dripping hypocrisy, Democrats in the House are poised to introduce a floor resolution today to condemn Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) for his outburst during the President’s health care speech to a joint session of Congress last week. After a long litany calling those opposing government-run health care “Liars,” the President claimed in his speech that millions of illegal aliens would not be covered under the Democrat scheme, despite the fact that amendments to every bill were voted down by Democrats in committee that would have specifically required proof of citizenship to sign up.  An incredulous Wilson shouted...

From ALERT PHILA (sorry, you need to be registered to access the site): President Barack Obama will be visiting Philadelphia this afternoon to attend a fund-raiser for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter at the PA Convention Center. There will be intermittent street closures upon his arrival and departure between 3:30 PM and 4:30 PM and again between 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM. As with all presidential visits there will be traffic implications along the I-95 corridor as the motorcade arrives and departs. In addition, protesters are expected to gather at 12th & Arch Streets, including the Independence Hall Tea Party Association...

Goodwill stores often get unusual donations, but the one in Huron received a sofa on Thursday that literally was the cat's meow. A kitten had somehow gotten trapped inside the couch, and its meows alerted store personnel to the young feline's predicament. "We heard meowing and didn't know where it was coming from," store clerk Kaila Voight said. "We finally figured out it was coming from the couch. We removed the cushions and out popped the kitten's head through a slit in the fabric covering the springs," she said. As a precaution, store personnel tore apart the sofa, but didn't...

(English-language translation) In the opinion of Governor Luis Fortuño, a 5-year-old child should not read a book meant for adolescents, nor should 13-year-olds have access to texts written for adults. "In society, we must have all types of texts and books available, of course. As a father, I have to say that there are books that are appropriate when a child is 5 years old. There are others that are appropriate when he is 12, 13 years old; and there are others that are appropriate when he reaches 18, 20. Those that are for 18- to 20-year-olds should not be...

Last week President Obama made a prime-time television speech trying to turn around the lousy public opinion of his Obamacare health care plan, and it worked for a while (although not as big as the phony CNN poll). According to a new poll released by Rasmussen, that bounce the POTUS got from his speech evaporated almost as quickly as it appeared. In fact approval of his heath care plan has returned to the pre-speech levels. Forty-five percent of voters favor the plan while 52% are opposed. A week ago, before the speech, 44% supported the proposal and 53% were opposed:

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the worst recession since the 1930s is probably over.

Counterterrorism officials are warning police departments around the country to be on the lookout for evidence of homemade bombs following raids on several New York City apartments in a hunt for explosives and possible links to Al Qaeda operatives. Investigators issued warrants to search the residences early Monday for explosives material but did not find any, according to a person briefed on the matter who was not authorized to discuss the case and requested anonymity.

Authorities in Laos Jail, Threaten to Kill Christians Local official tells pastor to renounce faith; church member expelled, children denied schooling. LOS ANGELES, September 11 (CDN) — Authorities in Laos last week jailed a church leader in Savannakhet Province for embracing Christianity and threatened to expel him unless he renounces his faith – and kill him if his arrest is made public, according to a human rights organization. Officials from Liansai village, from Saybouthong sub-district and from Ad-Sapangthong district on Sept. 3 arrested Thao Oun, an elder at Boukham Church, at his home and forced him at gunpoint to the...

Doctrinal negotiations between the Vatican and the ultra-traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) are due to start “in the next few days,” according to Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, and Rome will not “let the Lefebvrists off easy for everything.” In particular, he told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper in Bavaria over the weekend, “the SSPX will be told very clearly what is not negotiable for the Holy See. This includes such fundamental conclusions of the Second Vatican Council as its positions on Judaism, other non-Christian religions, other Christian churches and on religious freedom as a basic human right.” Here...

Has any mainstream media outlet mentioned the Patrick Swayze movie that made moonbats nuts during the Reagan era? A Politically Incorrect Vision of Guerilla War by John Milius When Hollywood decides to make a “controversial” film, it is usually about a subject or theme that the Hollywood community, which tends to be to the left of the political spectrum, agrees on and the movie watching audience does not. In 1984, director John Milius, fresh from successful films like The Wind and the Lion and Conan the Barbarian, decided to create controversy in a different way. He made Red Dawn, a...

Obviously I have posted numerous articles here about non-Muslim Brits catering to Islam. To be honest, the US is no better in this regard. Michigan medical students have played right into the hand of the U-M’s Muslim Medical Students Association who had sponsored Fast-A-Thon Wednesday. Trust me it wouldn't be long until the non-Muslims students are asked to do more to "understand" Muslims. Our clock is ticking, and we are not even fighting.

September 15, 2009 Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), ranking Republican on the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, today wrote to committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Inspector General, Kenneth Donohue, calling for an immediate and thorough investigation into the activities of the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). Shelby’s call for an investigation follows recent news reports surrounding the arrest of individuals in Florida for falsifying voter applications while employed by ACORN leading up to the 2008 elections, as well as video of employees in...

By my estimation (purely anecdotal), Rand Paul is second only to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell among Kentucky politicians getting national press. McConnell is the highest ranking Republican in the country. Paul is a Bowling Green ophthamologist (who also happens to be the son of a cult hero Congressman). Rand Paul is scheduled to be on C-SPAN's Washington Journal on Wednesday, 9/16 at 9AM ET and MSNBC's Morning Joe on Thursday, 9/17 at 7:15 AM ET. Wednesday afternoon he will meet with the fiscal conservative thinktank, Club for Growth.

He grabs the microphone and says ... "You can get back to your funeral in a minute. Let me just say that Michael Jackson had the best death of the year!"

What everyone on the Right, including the Neoconservative Right, must acknowledge is that the idea of "spreading democracy" is just as socialistic, if not moreso, on a global scale, as is nationalized healthcare on a country-wide scale.