Free Republic

Opening the handwritten letter from President Obama brought a glimmer of hope to her life as he promised her that things would get better for her and her family. And despite the fact Destiny Mathis, from Hobart, Indiana, treasured the letter, more than two years later she has no choice but to sell it as she and her three children face eviction from their home. The 26-year-old was an avid campaigner for Mr Obama in 2008, getting T-shirts made and encouraging people in her neighbourhood to vote.

WASHINGTON – Perilously close to a government shutdown, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders forged agreement late Friday night on a deal to cut more than $37 billion in federal spending and avert the first closure in 15 years. Obama hailed the deal as "the biggest annual spending cut in history," and House Speaker John Boehner said that over the next decade it would cut government spending by $500 billion. "This is historic, what we've done," said the third man in the talks, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Think the auto bailouts are still unpopular? Fifty-four percent (54%) of Americans say they are less likely to buy a General Motors car because the federal government is the automaker’s majority owner. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just nine percent (9%) say they are more likely to buy a GM car for that reason, while 33% say the government’s majority stake in the company has no impact on their purchasing decisions.Twenty-seven percent (27%) say they or someone they know has avoided buying a GM car because of the bailout and government takeover. Fifty-three percent (53%) say

Not a sign of a confident campaign: Here’s hoping Nevadans will have a permanent reason to ignore him soon.

Elected officials say no thanks to Obama invite By Mike Wereschagin PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, June 2, 2010 Congressmen Jason Altmire and Tim Murphy have previous engagements. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. and Rep. Mike Doyle are out of town on anniversary trips with their wives. Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato will be campaigning in Philadelphia. When President Obama and Sen. Arlen Specter land at Pittsburgh International Airport today, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl will receive them by himself.

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) - The Zionist Organization of America on Tuesday asked potential students and donors to the University of California, Irvine to look elsewhere after months of growing tension between Jewish and Muslim students. In a statement, the New York-based organization lambasted Chancellor Michael Drake for not condemning anti-Semitic speech on campus and enabling a years-long history of "bigotry, discrimination and the violation of civil rights" by the school's Muslim Student Union. "We're not asking the university to infringe on anyone's free speech rights, but our contention all along is that the chancellor has his own free speech rights,...

Two new documents laying out the Obama administration's defense and homeland security strategy over the next four years describe the nation's terrorist enemies in a number of ways but fail to mention the words Islam, Islamic or Islamist. The 108-page Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, made public last week by the Department of Homeland Security, uses the term "terrorist" a total of 66 times, "al Qaeda" five times and "violent extremism" or "extremist" 14 times. It calls on the U.S. government to "actively engage communities across the United States" to "stop the spread of violent extremism."

We all know the economic planners want us to go right back to where we were, going in debt to buy things to make the economy look better for the next election. That's why they are keeping interest rates artificially low to get more and more people to borrow at low interest things they really couldn't afford at market interest rates. If you can't buy it with cash don't buy it. Also conservatives should live within their means. Your kids will be better off not having some consumer products now if we can get some more people that will preserve...

ABOARD USS NIMITZ IN THE INDIAN OCEAN, Nov. 16, 2009 – Two soldiers working deep inside this aircraft carrier serve as liaisons between the aviators of Carrier Air Wing 11 and coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan. Army Maj. Johnnie Gallegos and Army Sgt. 1st Class Percy Patterson joined Nimitz Carrier Strike Group as ground liaison officers when Nimitz entered the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. Their work directly supports a tactical directive issued in July by Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, that places limitations on the use of force that could...

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2009 – The Army, Navy and Air Force nurse corps are highly trained, capable and critical to the wartime mission of each service, the corps’ leaders told a congressional committee this week. The Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee heard testimony March 18 from the services’ nursing chiefs. Each reported a healthy force that plays a vital role in maintaining the health of America’s servicemembers and saving lives on the battlefield. Despite a nationwide nursing shortage, all three services have had success in recruiting and retaining nurses, the leaders said. New incentive and training programs will help boost...

A new playbook for House Republicans urges them to run essentially as independents, showing empathy for voters, emphasizing local issues and ignoring many traditional party campaign practices. The advice for House candidates is part of an effort to minimize Republican losses in a year when voters are exasperated by the economy, the Iraq war and President Bush: “Encourage Republican candidates to establish themselves in a personal manner, emphasizing local issues whenever possible.” “Candidates have to have a positive alternative vis-à-vis their Democratic opponents.” “Work to develop an issues matrix that is different than in years past and also shows a...

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Saturday said the government must guard against going too far in trying to fix the troubled economy, cautioning that "one of the worst things you can do is overcorrect." Democrats said Bush was relying on inaction to solve the problem. Bush, in his weekly radio address, said the recently passed program of tax rebates for families and businesses should begin to lift the economy in the second quarter of the year and have an even stronger impact in the third quarter. But he urged caution about doing more, particularly about the crisis in the housing...

Fort Lewis, Wash., native Spc. Dennis Speek, explosive ordnance disposal technician, 789th Ordnance Company (EOD), explains how EOD personnel use the robot known as the “Talon” to handle explosives by remote control while standing in front of the Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal Rapid Response Vehicle (JERRV) at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Sept. 18. The JERRV is similar to the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles that are being phased into service replacing the Humvee. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tony Lindback. FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians have seen a change in the enemy’s tactics, techniques...

Why elephants avoid the high road 17:20 24 July 2006 NewScientist.com news service Roxanne Khamsi Elephants do their utmost to avoid going uphill, a new satellite-tracking study shows – their finely balanced metabolism may reveal why. Researchers tracked elephants by satellite and found that the animals avoid travelling up slopes whenever possible. Calculations suggest an explanation for this behaviour: the big beasts would have to spend hours eating to compensate for travelling up even a relatively gentle incline. Scientists know that elephants can climb relatively steep mountainous terrain if they must. The North African general Hannibal is even said to...

WASHINGTON - If a prosecutor calls him as a witness, Vice President Dick Cheney probably can't avoid testifying in his former chief of staff's perjury trial, legal experts said Thursday. "There may be significant issues of executive privilege and significant issues of classified information. But there are obviously significant factual issues that bear on the charges the prosecutor has brought" in the CIA leak investigation, said former federal prosecutor E. Lawrence Barcella Jr. "So there is a far better than average chance that you are going to see the vice president sitting in the witness chair" if he is summoned,...

WASHINGTON For the second time, the Supreme Court on Monday shied away from getting involved in a child custody fight between a San Diego woman and her former lesbian partner. The birth mother, known as Sharon S., is trying to prevent her former partner from adopting one of the two children the women were raising together. Sharon S. and her partner Annette F. separated after an incident of domestic violence that Sharon blames on Annette. The California Supreme Court rejected the attempt by Sharon to prevent the adoption, which she consented to by signing an adoption petition in August 1999....

DES MOINES, Iowa -- An investigation concluded that a Des Moines woman faked her own death to avoid paying traffic tickets. Polk County investigators said Kimberly Du, 36, faked her own obituary and forged a letter telling a Polk County judge she was dead. Du is spending time in the Polk County Jail in connection with a forgery charge. Court documents show that Du tried to avoid paying several tickets by sending a letter to the courthouse. The letter is allegedly signed by Du's mother and said Du died on Dec. 5, according to court documents. Investigators said the information...

Nigeria 'must act quickly to avoid bird flu' By David Rennie in Brussels (Filed: 13/02/2006) The chances of a global influenza pandemic will be increased unless swift action is taken by Nigeria, the site of Africa's first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, experts suggested yesterday. Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, is cursed by one of the world's most corrupt and ineffective governments. A swan found dead on a beech in Greece Dr David Nabarro, the United Nations bird flu chief, said that the arrival of the virus in Nigeria increased the prospect of it spreading worldwide, because...

US will not avoid Iran challenge, says Bush By Alec Russell in Washington (Filed: 02/02/2006) President George W Bush rammed home yesterday the pledges in his State of the Union address that America would not retreat from its global responsibilities or shrink from the challenge of Iran's nuclear ambitions. "We must never lose sight of our capacity to lead this world towards peace," he told a rapturous crowd in Nashville, Tennessee. "If we ever get weary or tired or uncertain or withdraw within our boundaries the enemy is not going away," he added in an echo of Tuesday night's annual...

Among tax experts and policy wonks, there has always been a debate about what constitutes a "fee" as opposed to a "tax." The general public might have some vague notion of a difference between the two but, more times than not, they just don't care. If a citizen pays a $10 "fee" for something, that $10 has left his or her wallet just as surely as if they had paid a $10 tax. However, ever since 1978 with the passage of Proposition 13, the distinction between "fees" and "taxes" has had a significant legal consequence. Certain vote requirements -- either...