Free Republic

The Norwegian terror attacks allegedly carried out by right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik present an opportunity for introspection for “Muslim-bashers,” the Times Editorial Board wrote Tuesday. It is unfair to blame ideological extremists for violent actions, just as ‘tea partiers’ were unfairly blamed for allegedly inspiring the shooting of Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others in Tucson, the board said. What [Robert Spencer, operator of the anti-Muslim website Jihad Watch] failed to address is the fact that his site, and others cited by Breivik such as The Gates of Vienna, make a habit of blaming all Muslims for the actions...

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: It turns out we don’t have to do anything radical to solve this problem. Contrary to what some folks say, we’re not Greece, we’re not Portugal. It turns out that our problem is we cut taxes without paying for them over the last decade. We ended up instituting new programs, like a prescription drug program for seniors that was not paid for. We fought two wars, we didn’t pay for them...

Now in retirement, Lutz is still as vocal as ever about cars and the auto industry. In his new book, Car Guys versus Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business, Lutz documents what he believes was the greatest factor in the demise of the U.S. auto industry. No, it's not the unions (although that contributed). No, it's not uncompetitive wages compared to Asian manufacturers. His answer: "Management incompetence" Over the course of his career, "management became way too scientific, B-school oriented; way too cost focused; and it was almost considered childish to be to be enthusiastic about...

What could possibly be the reason why the US has such (loading article, please wait…) There’s a fascinating piece on Engadget that discusses at length why many Europeans are paying less for faster internet connections than US citizens on average. The reason why this is the case, says the report, is one simple word: government. As a case in point, the article discusses the situation in the UK because it was, at one point, like the US – little competition, high costs and poorer quality services. It wasn’t until the government forced the incumbent industries to participate in “local loop...

During the 2008 campaign Barack Obama ran more against lame-duck President Bush than against his Republican opponent, John McCain. The campaign is now long over, and yet President Obama still seems haunted by the ghost of his predecessor. Last week, for example, he was railing at the Bush phantom, whom he blamed for his received economic mess. In the world of Barack Obama everything he inherited was someone else’s fault — unless he believes past policies offer him some advantage and thus are to be claimed as entirely his own. The stock market is sliding. Gas and food prices are...

President Obama was the spirit of full bipartisan cooperation in discussing Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to reform Medicare and other fiscally challenged entitlement programs. Fifteen months ago, that is. “We’re not going to be able to do anything about any of these entitlements if what we do is characterized . . . as, well, you know, that’s — the other party is being irresponsible; the other party is trying to hurt our senior citizens,” the president told House Republicans back in January 2010. “If we’re going to frame these debates in ways that allow us to solve them,” he said,...

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday told Republican lawmakers that they would shoulder the blame if the country got too close to defaulting on its debt and roiled markets worldwide by not approving a debt limit increase. In yet another warning about the perils of not allowing the U.S. to borrow more to fund spending already approved by Congress, Geithner said it would be deeply irresponsible for lawmakers to use debt limit negotiations for political gains.

SATURDAY, Feb. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Your past record of good deeds won't help you escape blame when you do something wrong, suggests a new study. But you may get off easier if you're perceived as a victim. Click here to find out more! U.S. researchers looked at study participants' reactions to a number of fictional scenarios representing real-life transgressions, ranging from stealing money to harming another person. The results showed that, no matter how many previous good deeds a person had done, they received just as much blame -- if not more -- than people with less heroic backgrounds....

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said today that it was “unfair” to blame the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies for inflation in emerging markets and defended the Fed against accusations that it has contributed to the rise of global food prices, which have fueled political instability in countries like Tunisia and Egypt. Bernanke was asked about the situation in Egypt during a rare question and answer session following a speech today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. He initially rejected the premise of the question, but went on to discuss food prices.

Today a UN committee looked into whether Israel was complying with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). And, of course, human rights groups came out in full force to blame discrimination against Palestinian women on Israel — including the poor quality of girls’ education, domestic violence, and early marriage. According to an NGO Monitor press release this morning, left-wing human rights groups like Badil, Al Haq, and the Defense for Children International “submitted a statement to the Committee prior to the review, regarding women’s rights in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. In...

In Tucson, on Wednesday evening, we saw President Barack Obama in his full Chauncey Gardiner mode. After the drubbing of November 2010, Obama's handlers have come to understand that Obama does best when, like Chauncey, he says nothing at all. Chauncey Gardiner, the reader may recall, is the protagonist of Jerzy Kosinski's 1971 prescient satire, Being There, which was later made into a movie of the same name, co-scripted by Kosinski. As the plot goes, Chance the Gardener, a sheltered simpleton, finds himself thrust into the world upon the death oh his wealthy protector, his name now misinterpreted as "Chauncey...

My husband and I were talking tonight and that is always a good thing because he is smart as a whip and to the point and I always learn from him when he opens up. He rarely engages me in political talk because I am basically "too involved" in his opinion. That usually means I know more than he knows about politics. Anyway, he brought up how odd it was to see clapping and cheering at the memorial service last night. In fact, he had to stop watching the "show" because it upset him too much. It broke his heart...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Last year tied for the warmest since data started in 1880, capping a decade of record high temperatures that shows mankind's greenhouse gas emissions are heating the planet, two U.S. agencies said. Global surface temperatures in 2010 were 1.12 degrees Fahrenheit (0.62 Celsius) above the 20th century average, tying the record set in 2005, the National Climatic Data Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Wednesday. "These results show that the climate is continuing to show the influence of greenhouse gases. It's showing evidence of warming," David Easterling, the chief of the scientific services...

We've heard that Jared did not listen to the radio or watch TV. Where did he plug in to find his favorite books, movies and conspiracies? Can we blame the internet in general? Or do we blame the vast splintered paranoid liberal left wing that occupies more of the internet than anything else? He obviously knew how post to YouTube and use social media - and links between and to his pages were found to exist before the shooting. Can We Blame The Internet? What else can we blame?

It was no less depressing for being predictable. News of the horrendous Jan. 8 shooting of Democratic Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 17 others had just broken when some on the left were exploiting it to malign conservatives. Yet the left has blamed the “vitriolic” rhetoric of conservatives and the Tea Parties as inciting violence. The mainstream media has enabled and even joined liberals in tarring the right with inciting political violence, right down to the gossip, entertainment and “lifestyle” outlets.

The Show Firefly was cancelled? Blame Palin! ...Dangit...out of beer. It's Palin's Fault! BlamePalin. Ed Schultz put a bacon strip in his boxers after his 3rd Big Mac... BlamePalin! cut my finger BAD on a soup can lid, soup is all I can afford because of her! Blame Palin! It's too cold outside ...BlamePalin Bieber-fever and a possible Menudo reunion..BlamePalin! 2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply I BlamePalin for "The Event" sucking. Auburn won the National Championship...BlamePalin! The Seahawks beat the Saints... Blame Palin! The Cleveland Cavaliers suck... Blame Palin Ruined my best shirt...yep, It's Palin's fault!

A neighbor says the parents of the suspect in Saturday's shooting spree in Tucson are devastated and guilt-ridden. Jared Loughnerappeared in court Monday on federal charges that he tried to assassinate U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed a federal judge. He is also accused of killing five others and wounding or injuring 13 others. Wayne Smith, who lives across the street from the family, said Randy and Amy Loughner blame themselves.

In the six plus years that I have been posting on FreeRepublic, I have posted only 48 threads. This will be the first that is solely my own thoughts and composition. As I have scanned the headlines and read various articles over the last couple of days I have found myself wishing that I had the ear of the nation, and a bully pulpit, just for a moment or two. I am posting now, not to draw attention to myself, but rather to what I think is a crucial idea in responding to a situation like the one in Arizona....

Don’t ever let a horrible slaughter at a supermarket go to waste. Democrats plotted to blame the tea party patriots for yesterday’s slaugher in Arizona. A democratic operative admitted this to The Politico. Of course, Politico buried it in their story. One veteran Democratic operative, who blames overheated rhetoric for the shooting, said President Barack Obama should carefully but forcefully do what his predecessor did. “They need to deftly pin this on the tea partiers,” said the Democrat. “Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people.”

WATCH THE CNN VIDEO AZ Massacre: Palin "Allowed This Kind Of Instance To Happen."