Free Republic

This afternoon, in one of the more bizarre appearances of his presidency, Barack Obama gave a televised address to a room full of supporters on the "fiscal cliff." He broke no news, but mocked Congress, and hinted at future tax hikes. Observers worried that he may have deliberately scuttled a potential agreement. Even though he has come off his last campaign for political office, President Obama acted like a candidate on the campaign trail--one prepared to use whatever political capital he had accumulated to take shots at the opposition in Congress at the very moment leaders from both sides are...

Since most of Hollywood wants to pay more taxes. And since even a video on YouTube can cause multiple murders at an embassy. Something the administation has stated before the U.N. It seems to me that taxing violent movies might be a good combination. Even do a progressive tax. The more violent the movie the higher the tax. Could even say we are lowering our carbine footprint. Maybe some of the Leftists in Hollywood might like the sound of that. Hollywood needs to be held accountable. I say financially accountable.

Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter SH: So are you saying that, for PR purposes, that they should give in to Obama on the tax rate? AC: Not exactly, I--Well, yeah, I guess I am. SH: You're saying capitulate to Obama? We don't have a revenue problem, Ann. AC: We lost the election, Sean. Hannity seems genuinely flummoxed by Coulter's capitulatory attitude, but does she have a point? Recent polling has been gruesome for Republicans. Not only does an overall double-digit plurality favor raising taxes on "the rich," support for extending all current tax rates has plummeted by nearly 30 percentage...

If Earth is struck by a large solar flare, some in the scientific community believe: The planet will be hit with a widespread loss of power. Air travel would be grounded. Nuclear plants would be crippled and without sufficient back-up power, dozens could meltdown. Satellites would be disabled, causing a serious loss of communication in all areas (military and civilian). Food and medicine would be in short supply, setting up the potential for food riots within days of an outage. The same scientists who believe that a large solar strike could lead to a very rapid societal breakdown say that...

(TheBlaze/AP) — Israel successfully tested its newest missile defense system Sunday, the military said, a step toward making the third leg of what Israel calls its “multilayer missile defense” operational. The “David’s Sling” system is designed to stop mid-range missiles. It successfully passed its test, shooting down its first missile in a drill Sunday in southern Israel, the military said. The system is designed to intercept projectiles with ranges of up to 300 kilometers (180 miles). Israel has also deployed Arrow systems for longer-range threats from Iran. The Iron Dome protects against short-range rockets fired by militants in the Gaza...

An Al-Qaeda-affiliated group in Yemen crucified an alleged US spy, and posted a video of the crucifixion on YouTube, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) said on Wednesday. MEMRI posted the clip, but only to subscribers and with a viewer discretion warning. The Washington, DC-based media watchdog said the man had been crucified by Al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar Al-Shari’a for allegedly directing US drones targeting terrorists in Yemen. It said the YouTube clip was posted on Monday.

Barack Obama isn’t exactly famous for his loyalty; he has a history of jettisoning people once they’ve outlived their usefulness to him. This time, it’s the gay community. On Friday, Obama told an MTV audience that he would not fight for gay marriage his second term, intoning that “it would be up to future generations of Americans to implement meaningful reform.” Here’s the kicker; realizing that some states are now endorsing gay marriage, Obama suddenly became a champion of states’ rights, asserting, “For us to try to legislate federally into this area is probably the wrong way to go.” When...

On Tuesday only one precinct had less than 113% turnout. “The Unofficial vote count is 175,554 registered voters 247,713 vote cards cast (141.10% ). The National SEAL Museum, a St. Lucie county polling place, had 158.85% voter turn out, the highest in the county.” The Supervisor of Elections, Gertrude Walker, had this to say concerning the 141% voter turnout: “They may have had something like that in Palm Beach County, but we’ve never seen that here.” So maybe Allen West wasn’t crazy to ask for a lock-down on the ballot boxes and machines in this county. According to the report...

WASHINGTON -- The Navy said Saturday it is replacing the admiral in command of an aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East, pending the outcome of an internal investigation into undisclosed allegations of inappropriate judgment. Rear Adm. Charles M. Gaouette is being sent back to the USS John C. Stennis' home port at Bremerton, Wash., in what the Navy called a temporary reassignment. The Navy said he is not formally relieved of his command of the Stennis strike group but will be replaced by Rear Adm. Troy M. Shoemaker, who will assume command until the investigation is completed. It...

The latest rumor making the rounds is that Barack Obama replaced General Carter Ham at Africom after the general made a move to help the US security officials at the Benghazi consulate and annex. Ham was replaced by Gen. David Rodriquez on October 18. Tiger Droppings reported: The information I heard today was that General [Carter] Ham as head of Africom received the same e-mails the White House received requesting help/support as the attack was taking place. General Ham immediately had a rapid response unit ready and communicated to the Pentagon that he had a unit ready. General Ham then...

Watch "America's Got Talent" judge turned CNN talker Piers Morgan and you can't help but notice how he badgers conservatives while hurling softballs at left-of-center guests. That hardly makes him unusual in mainstream media circles. What is unusual, though, is the column he just penned for The Daily Mail. The headline says it all,"He's one of the least principled politicians I've met. But I believe Mitt Romney might just save America." Morgan doubles down on Romney's image as a flip-flopper, but he goes on to salute Romney as a man, father and husband and remind us the GOP presidential candidate...

I just heard on a talk show on Fox that Biden called Martha Raddatz "Honey" during the debate. If a Republican had done that it would have been wall to wall news.

(Reuters) - Plans to save Big Bird, the fuzzy yellow character on U.S. public television's "Sesame Street," from possible extinction are taking shape in the form of a puppet-based protest next month dubbed the "Million Muppet March." The demonstration is planned for November 3 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., three days before the general election. Before the presidential debate between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney had concluded on October 3, two men who had never met each floated the Million Muppet March idea on social media. They immediately united to defend public broadcasting. Romney...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Oct 9 - A prototype communications satellite flying as a secondary payload aboard a Space Exploration Technologies Falcon 9 rocket was sent into the wrong orbit because of a problem during launch Sunday evening, officials said Tuesday. One of the nine Merlin engines powering the Falcon 9 rocket shut down early, though the other engines burned longer to make up for the loss of thrust, saving the primary mission of delivering a Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station for NASA. The rocket blasted off at 8:35 p.m. EDT Sunday (0035 GMT Monday) from Cape Canaveral...

California Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday signed legislation extending the state's $100 million tax-credit fund for two more years. The measure allows California producers a 20 percent or 25 percent credit against income and sales and use taxes and is designed to help stem the production exodus that has plagued the state in recent years. "The state of California took a big step forward today, thanks to Governor Brown and the legislature,” said Christopher Dodd, chairman and chief executive officer of the Motion Picture Association of America. “

The Hillary Clinton State Department has finally come up with an honest answer to reporters on its disgraceful failure to protect our ambassador to Libya: “F*** off.” In an email exchange this morning with Buzzfeed’s Michael Hastings, Clinton spokesperson Philippe Reines went ballistic when asked about the State Department’s manifest failures in security.

Turns out Mitt Romney is a big fan of Hollywood. After pulling in $6 million in a fundraiser Saturday at the Beverly Hilton, the Gop candidate could be back in town soon. “This weekend’s event was very successful and there are plans to try to get the Governor back in Los Angeles again after the first or second debate for a similar occasion,” a source close to the Romney campaign told Deadline. The first Presidential debate is October 3, with a second October 16 and a final face-to-face October 22. On Saturday night, 1500 donors showed up for the Romney...

A U.S. ambassador is dead, and over 30 U.S. embassies across the globe are under violent attack as a direct result of President Obama’s attempted appeasement of radical Islam. How many more Americans will die before that policy can be reversed and Obama removed from office? Keep in mind that by international treaty and tradition, every embassy in a foreign nation is considered the sovereign soil of that nation. Climbing a wall and invading an embassy compound is the same as invading that country. The horrific events of Sept. 11, 2012, in Egypt and Benghazi were a logical and predictable...

Team Obama promises it will fill every one of the seats in Charlotte’s mammoth football stadium Thursday night when President Obama closes the Democratic National Convention with a speech accepting his party’s nomination. For weeks, Democrats have been concerned about filling Bank of America Stadium, home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. They feared a devastating image of an enthusiasm gap if Obama spoke to empty upper decks at the venue. But the Obama campaign says it’s got it covered, and that all 73,778 of the stadium’s seats will be spoken for. The campaign also insists this success will showcase a...

Worse still, as a state senator in Illinois, Obama opposed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act and in his defense said something that should put a chill up every mother's spine: There wasn't any question about what was happening. The abortions were going wrong. The babies weren't cooperating. They wouldn't die as planned. Or, as Illinois state senator Barack Obama so touchingly put it, there was "movement or some indication that, in fact, they're not just coming out limp and dead." No, Senator. They wouldn't go along with the program. They wouldn't just come out limp and dead. They were coming...