Free Republic

President George W. Bush's former speechwriter Matt Latimer reveals that Bush considered Barack Obama unfit for the White House and predicted that vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin would be a disaster for the GOP. "After one of Obama's blistering speeches against the administration, the president had a very human reaction: He was ticked off," Latimer writes in his forthcoming book, "Speech-Less: Tales of a White House Survivor," which has been excerpted in the October issue of GQ. "He came in one day to rehearse a speech, fuming. 'This is a dangerous world,' he said for no apparent reason, 'and this...

Who do Democrats trust more for news: FOX News or The New York Times? With all the vitriol directed against FOX News, one would think that it is a no brainer. But a new Pew Research Center for the People and the Press shows that it is FOX News. While 43 percent of Democrats have a positive view of FOX News, 39 percent of Democrats feel the same way about The New York Times. . . . .

Is the ACORN scandal worthy of national broadcast news coverage? ABC News anchor Charlie Gibson suggested Tuesday that the answer is no.But Gibson told a radio show Tuesday morning that he wasn't even familiar with the story — and it might be "just one you leave to the cables." ABC reporter Jake Tapper has filed some reports on the scandal, and Gibson was asked on WLS Radio's "Don & Roma Show" what he thought of the story. "I don't even know about it," Gibson said, laughing. "So you've got me at a loss. ... But my goodness, if it's got...

Many liberals lambasted the Bush administration on detention policy and warrantless surveillance, often arguing that they violated the Constitution. Now the Obama administration is pushing ahead with plans to require every American to purchase health insurance. Doesn't that also violate the Constitution? The Constitution created a federal government limited to its enumerated powers. Everything Congress is allowed to do is spelled out in Article I. The 10th Amendment makes it explicit: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Nothing...

A senior Hamas terrorist, involved in planning the 2002 suicide bombing of the Park Hotel in Netanya, was arrested overnight Monday in the West Bank, security officials announced Tuesday. IDF soldiers detain a... IDF soldiers detain a Palestinian man (illustrative) Photo: AP [file] SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World Muhammad Harwish, head of Hamas's armed wing in Tulkarm, was apprehended along with his personal aide, Adnan Samara. The two were being interrogated by security forces. A Duvdevan special forces unit, along with personnel from the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and special Border Police forces, arrested the pair after encountering...

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says his government is losing the battle against Maoist rebels. More than 500 people have been killed in clashes between the rebels and government forces this year. Dr Singh has told a national gathering of police chiefs that Maoist rebels now pose the gravest threat to India's internal security. He says security forces have not achieved much success and need a new strategy. Dr Singh says the insurgency cannot simply be treated as a law and order problem, but instead deserves a holistic approach. The rebels are now active in 20 states across India, particularly...

As the state’s shortage of primary care doctors grows, people are waiting longer for medical care, according to a new survey by the Massachusetts Medical Society. “The shortage is getting more severe,” said Dr. Mario Motta, the medical society’s president. The state’s health care dilemma can serve as a valuable lesson for a nation whose residents are locked in a frenzied debate about health care reform, he added.

New Book Claims George W Bush Said Barack Obama 'Has No Clue' George W Bush believed Barack Obama was "a cat" who "has no clue", dismissed Sarah Palin as a nonentity and insulted Hillary Clinton's posterior, according to a new account of life in the White House under the former president. Alex Spillius in Washington 15 Sep 2009 George W Bush believed Barack Obama was "a cat" who "has no clue", according to a new book. For all his politeness in public, Mr Bush is alleged to have privately mocked fellow big name politicians, claims his former speech writer Matt...

Days after Armadillo Aerospace's Scorpius rocket qualified for a $1 million rocket prize, Masten Space Systems is readying its own Xombie lunar lander prototype for a slightly easier blastoff challenge. Although the potential payoff isn't as big, the drama could be just as high. The Xombie is due to begin its first trial at 7 a.m. PT Wednesday, shortly after the sun comes up over the test site in Mojave, Calif., according to organizers of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. And the team leader behind the Xombie's rise, company founder David Masten, says the flight could be a nail-biter.

Security: When a tropical thug vows to go nuclear, he's easy to dismiss as a blowhard. But Hugo Chavez's menacing plans are growing more specific and call for a stronger U.S. response.Fresh from what he called his most successful "Axis of Evil" tour, the anti-American strongman won not only Russian contracts for new S-300 rocket systems and T-72 tanks last week, but $2.2 billion in Russian cash to buy them. Given his shaky finances, it likely means they're gifts. In return, he's undermining Russia's foe, western-aligned Georgia, by recognizing two breakaway enclaves — Abkhazia and South Ossetia. He can be...

Teens Sue Over Minor League Ejection By BETH DeFALCO, AP TRENTON, N.J. (Sept. 15) - Three teenagers who say they were tossed from a New Jersey ballpark over their refusal to stand during the song "God Bless America" are suing the minor league Newark Bears. The boys argue that their constitutional rights were violated when they were asked to leave Newark's Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium on June 29 by Bears' president and co-owner Thomas Cetnar. Cetnar acknowledged the boys were asked to leave but declined to say why. He also has denied making some statements attributed to him in...

I already agreed waste, fraud and transparency should be addressed first. I mean you have to do that just to save Medicare. How does that help the uninsured. I mean do you really think the private insurance industry is going to lower premiums, or stop canceling people for no reason, or start covering people with preexisting conditions unless somebody makes them...

This is an oldie, but still very pertinent in view of the fact that Obama claims that he is a Christian (for political purposes only), but still doesn't attend Services in any church. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi-V_ilJu0w&NR=1

Laboratory Technician Murdered Yale Student, Police Believe Police suspect a laboratory technician murdered Annie Le, a Yale University postgraduate student whose body was hidden inside the wall of a campus building, investigators have claimed. By Tom Leonard in New York 15 Sep 2009 The technician, who reportedly worked in the same molecular biology laboratory building as Miss Le, had failed a polygraph test this week and had wounds on his chest suggesting a violent struggle, police sources told various news organisations. The body of Miss Le, 24, was discovered on Sunday – the day on which she was supposed to...

With Western Civilization under such vicious attack by secular humanism, it is extremely important to understand how Western Civilization came into being. And more importantly -- what civilization is being left to our children.

Earlier today, we noted how conservatives -- especially the conservative media -- have been targeting Democrats and liberal-leaning groups, with some notable success. Several days ago, Obama administration official Van Jones resigned after conservatives highlighted his controversial statements and actions, like signing a petition suggesting the conspiracy theory that the 9/11 terrorist attacks might have been an inside job. Now, after two young conservatives (dressed up like a pimp and prostitute) produced videos apparently exposing ACORN employees encouraging fraudulent behavior, Republican lawmakers are trying to crush this group that they've long considered suspect. (The Association of Community Organizations for Reform...

Troutville, Va. (AP) - An animal rights group wants to rent a prison building the state plans to close and turn it into the nation's first chicken empathy museum. A People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals official sent a letter Monday to Gov. Tim Kaine asking to rent the Botetourt Correctional Center building in Troutville. Kaine spokeswoman Lynda Tran said the state doesn't lease to private entities except for cases grandfathered in when it purchases buildings.

More on the ongoing Joe Wilson story.

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — Yale lab technician Raymond Clark, 24, has emerged as a person of interest in the probe into the sensational slaying of brilliant university grad student Annie Le, sources said today. Cops descended on the apartment building in which he lives with his girlfriend in Middletown, Conn., about 20 miles outside of the university campus in New Haven, keeping it under surveillance and pulling over cars arriving and leaving, questioning drivers.

The immortal words of Franklin D. Roosevelt not only apply to December 7th, 1941, but September 11th, 2001, as well. Most of our readers are citizens of the United States, and those that aren’t almost surely know of that day of terror some eight years ago today. Some refer to it as 9-11. Others call it simply September 11th. Officially, we call it “Patriot Day.” Over three thousand lives were lost on the several hijacked and deliberately crashed airplanes, the obliterated World Trade Center, and the desecrated Pentagon. Literally hundreds of YouTube videos and thousands of photographs have been made...