Free Republic

Among the radicals of Islam, there is a demonstrable belief in the effectiveness of disproportionate response. We in the West are bewildered by such thought. We have come to believe that the biblical dogma that states "an eye for an eye" is a rather brutal reference; when in fact it was a statement defining proportionality of response to any given offense. We have been programmed to believe that responding to any given offense in a disproportionate manner is fundamentally wrong. This is why we are so outraged when we read headlines like this: Ten UN Workers Slaughtered over Koran Burning...

"But you see I get called a whole lot of other names as well for being conservative; Because I wont stay on the Democrat Plantation like I'm supposed to - just because the color of my skin. It ain't about Color, it's about Content and Character. It ain't about color. And for those people who believe that just because you disagree with the president, that that makes you a racist, I have two observations for you. Number one, if you're black, and you disagree with the president, (I told some of my callers) it may shock you, but some black...

Since we've announced our support for Herman Cain two weeks ago, we've been involved in several discussions about the probability of a Cain Nomination. The most common objection seems to have been coined from on high in the smokey back rooms of the RNC and MSM - that is - He's never won an election. True. Neither did Dwight Eisenhower. Yes, Cain didn't command an army - but his experience as a private sector executive and a former Chairman of the KC Federal Reserve Bank provide at least as much transferable experience to being a civilian President as Eisenhower's military...

American politics just keeps getting more polarized. Be assured that Obama wants it that way. I argue in Radical-in-Chief that Obama's long-term hope is to divide America along class lines (roughly speaking, tax payers versus tax beneficiaries). Obama's attack on the Supreme Court at his 2010 State of the Union address, his offensive against the Chamber of Commerce, his exhortation to Hispanics to punish their enemies, and several similar moves were all efforts to jump-start a populist movement of the left. Like his socialist organizing mentors, Obama believes that a country polarized along class lines will eventually realign American politics...

Since Saturday February 19th, I believe we've heard the following statement repeated endlessly on twitter, blog posts, and even a news report. ACT/SAT rank = Wisc #2 ... no collective bargaining states: Virginia 44, Texas 47, Georgia 48, N.Carolina 49, S.Carolina 50 This "fact" was even mentioned in an hourly news update. The problem with this statement, like so many other politically motivated statements, is that it appears to be completely false.

Former US President George W. Bush cancelled a trip to Geneva over the risk of legal action against him for the alleged torture of suspected militants at Guantanamo Bay, rights groups said Saturday. He was scheduled to address a Jewish charity gala.

This house believes that natural gas will do more than renewables to limit the world's carbon emissions ... For:With no global agreement on cutting carbon emissions, with coal consumption continuing to grow, and with governments around the world cutting subsidies for renewables, the only cost-effective way to limit carbon emissions is with low-cost, low- or no-carbon fuels... Against:"We can't solve a problem by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created it." So said Einstein, and that is particularly applicable in this case. We will not solve the climate problem by burning more fossil fuels...

Less than a week after a State of the Union address that relegated foreign policy to an almost parenthetical concern, the turmoil in Egypt serves reminder yet again how global events can surprise and demand a presidency's attention nonetheless. ... Finally, as my former NSC colleague Elliott Abrams points out, Egypt vindicates President George W. Bush's strategic insight in his 2003 speech to the National Endowment for Democracy: Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe -- because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased...

The people of Egypt have been demanding “reform” of their government for some time. Yet, the demand for “reform” has fallen on deaf ears, ...throughout the Western World. One comes to understand that the overriding Foreign Policy in the West, with respect to the Middle East, was “STABILITY.” Justice, and Freedom were of minimal importance, as long as the region was “STABLE.” Of course, the region has not been “STABLE”... U.S. Policy did not change in this matter until 9/11/2001 when George W. Bush decided that only a “Freedom Initiative” could bring long lasting “STABILITY” to the region. President Bush...

State-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has produced first shale gas in the country at Icchapur in Durgapur district of West Bengal, reports Our Bureau from New Delhi. ONGC said the 2,000-metre deep well at the shale formation encountered gas on January 25. "The breakthrough is significant as India is the first Asian country where gas was discovered from shale outside USA and Canada," ONGC said in a statement. Shale gas is non-conventional natural gas reserves found in non-porous rock and requires fracking technology to extract gas from shale. India has huge shale deposits in Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan, the...

President Obama has asked me to chair his new President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. I have served for the past two years on the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and I look forward to leading the next phase of this effort as we transition from recovery to long-term growth. The president and I are committed to a candid and full dialogue among business, labor and government to help ensure that the United States has the most competitive and innovative economy in the world. This Story

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid described this week's House vote to repeal and replace ObamaCare as "partisan grandstanding." Other Democratic congressmen called it "a political scam," "unfortunate" and "fruitless." Liberal pundits described it as "useless" and "meaningless." All of which confirms that the GOP is on the right path. Republicans said during the election campaign that they would take this vote. Seasoned Democratic observers like pollster Pat Caddell believe that opposition to ObamaCare helped drive turnout and draw independents into the Republican column. The GOP would have deeply damaged its credibility if it failed to follow through on its pledge.

AKRON, Ohio - A Summit County jury started deliberating around 11:30 Saturday morning in the case of a mother accused of stealing educations for her children from the Copley-Fairlawn school district. At 7 p.m. Saturday, a decision was reached. Kelly Williams-Bolar, 40, is charged with one count of grand theft and two counts of tampering with records. Her father, Edward Williams, 64, is also on trial for grand theft. Prosecutors said Mr. Williams took part in the deception against the district. ...Williams-Bolar, who was standing before the bench with her attorney, Kerry M. O'Brien, nearly collapsed into the arms of...

The European Commission has launched an investigation into Google after other search engines complained that the firm had abused its dominant position. The EC will examine whether the world's largest search engine penalised competing services in its results. The probe follows complaints by firms including price comparison site Foundem and legal search engine ejustice.fr. Google denies the allegations but said it would work with the Commission to "address any concerns". Earlier this year the attorney general of Texas launched a similar investigation following complaints from firms including Foundem. The objections in both cases are from competitors which allege that Google...

Congress is considering legislation that would give government the power to mandate the features and design of every phone, computer, global positioning system (GPS), or any other device with a screen that connects to the Internet. The bill is the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009, or H.R. 3101, and it is gaining votes in the U.S. House. The legislation will soon face a key vote at the Energy & Commerce Committee and then by the full House of Representatives before the end of July! While the bill’s intentions are certainly noble, the technology industry has already...

In June of 2009 Senator Jim DeMint remarked, “If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.” In March of 2010, after a furious battle with badly outnumbered Republicans, the House of Representatives passed a Government overhaul of the United States Health Care industry, ending the speculation that Health Care reform would amount to a a political "Waterloo" for the President and his party. Perhaps, however, the military comparisons don't end here. In March of 1836, after a furious battle with the badly outnumbered Texian army, the Mexican army overtook "The Alamo"...

When the tea party movement began last year I saw it as right-wing reaction, but given the economic turmoil across the country, I tried to understand it. Maybe there was populism within the movement that the left needed to recognize. I attended a local tea party last April 15, tax day, and while I didn't find folks whose minds seemed mutable by liberal populism, at least it seemed possible to have a conversation. I wrote about a former banker and a Democrat who made common cause with some of the protesters around the bank bailout and Goldman Sachs's overall influence...

From a top level source in the House comes the news that the Democrats are still short of the 216 votes they need to pass Obamacare. They have decided, however, to go for broke on Sunday and attempt to pass it whether or not they have enough support. They feel that only by forcing a vote can the force members off the fence. They hope that by employing all means at their disposal, they can round up enough votes for passage. But, if they don't have the votes, they will allow the measure to be defeated. One source called it...

President Obama and the Democrat Party have made a public policy goal of "Health Care Reform," often using the euphemism "Health Insurance Reform." Last Thursday, the President and the Democrats held a nationally televised "summit" whereby they were to demonstrate their vast superiority of insight on this subject. Considering that the Democrats have been studying and legislating this issue for more than a year, the President displayed a striking lack of even fundamental understanding of insurance of any kind. (3 min You Tube video proof) Some have commented on the President's pointless analogy describing his personal experience with auto liability...

Last Thursday, February 18th, 2010; the United States Department of Agriculture agreed to pay "Black Farmers" an additional 1.25 billion dollars to settle a previously "settled" class action discrimination suit. This "settlement" is emblematic of everything wrong with the current state of Government in the United States. It is rife with corruption, crony-ism, racial exploitation, and legislative pandering. If one is to wonder what is the motivating force behind the phenomenon of the Tea Party movement, this case provides a strikingly clear illustration. . . . . . . In 1997, a class action suit was filed against the USDA...