Free Republic

As I explained recently in an op-ed here on FoxNews.com, Barack Obama appears to be locked in a victimization mentality. Because of psychological injuries he has described suffering at the hands of his father and mother and grandmother in childhood and adolescence (when he could not protect himself), he views anyone who is strong and independent as potentially threatening. This explains why Barack Obama chose the Revered Jeremiah Wright as his spiritual guide and continued to embrace him even after Wright uttered the sentence, “God damn America.” This explains why Barack Obama took no exception to his wife’s statement that...

Imagine, if you will, that you're a normal person and then one day a quasi-famous mentally ill blogger becomes fixated on you the way Gollum was fixated on the Ring. Even though she hasn't been setting the world on fire lately, she has been on TV, on the Howard Stern show and she's written for the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, & The Washington Times. Most people in the know realize she's off her rocker, but how many people are in the know? How many fans does she have who don't realize what she's really like? So this...

A wealthy businessman who raised money for leading Democratic Party politicians, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, pleaded guilty on Thursday to defrauding three major banks out of $292.2 million in loan transactions. Hassan Nemazee, 60, who once ran a private equity firm, admitted in Manhattan federal court to defrauding Bank of America Corp of more than $142 million, Citigroup Inc of $74.9 million and HSBC Holdings Plc of $74.9 million to pay his debt to Citigroup. During the plea proceeding, Iranian-born Nemasee, who owned several multimillion dollar properties and had interests in various companies and hedge funds, said he...

China Loses Gymnastics Bronze Medal 2000 Team Bronze Goes To USA STEPHEN WILSON, AP Sports Writer DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- China was stripped of a bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics on Wednesday for fielding an underage female gymnast, with the women's team medal now going to the United States. The International Olympic Committee acted after investigations by the sport's governing body determined that Dong Fangxiao was only 14 at the 2000 Games. Gymnasts must turn 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible. Dong's results from Sydney were nullified in February by the International Gymnastics Federation. Because...

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 11 (UPI) -- The community organizing group ACORN has agreed to give up its license to do business in Ohio as part of a settlement of a lawsuit by a conservative group. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now became a lightning rod during the 2008 presidential campaign, with conservatives charging the group's registration drives sucked up thousands of ineligible voters or others who were encouraged to register multiple times. Maurice Thompson, the lawyer representing the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, said Wednesday most details of the settlement are sealed, The Columbus Dispatch reported Thursday. "They...

Former Atlantic City Mayor Robert Levy today was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine by a judge who said Levy continues to exaggerate his military service in Vietnam. Levy, 61, had pleaded guilty in federal court in Camden in November to one count of falsifying his service record when he applied for increased veterans benefits in January 2003. During today's hearing, Judge Jerome B. Simandle asked Levy to explain more about the dangerous missions behind enemy lines he told probation officers he participated in. "I just picked up my M-16 and my radio and...

California is poised to become the first state in the nation to ban restaurants and other food facilities from using trans fats, which are known to increase the risk of heart disease, under a bill approved by the state Legislature Monday and sent to the governor. The measure, passed with a bare majority, comes two weeks after a similar ban in New York City became fully effective. California doctor and consumer groups support the law, while restaurant groups have offered a lukewarm response. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not taken a position, a spokesman said. Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia (Los Angeles...

Local scouts donate to Little Sioux camp The Boy Scouts of Troop 66 on Fort Leavenworth were recognized Wednesday for donating $1,074 to help rebuild the Little Sioux Scout Ranch near Little Sioux, Iowa. The ranch was nearly destroyed when a tornado touched down in the camp on June 11, leaving at least four people dead and more than 40 injured. Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, commanding general of Fort Leavenworth, congratulated the scouts on a job well done. Lt. Col. Chip Bircher said his son, Brion Bircher, wanted to help the scouts affected by the tragedy after seeing...

ATLANTA -- A 25-year-old man died after suffering fatal head injuries at Turner Field near the conclusion of Wednesday night's game between the Braves and the Mets. According to The Associated Press, the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office identified the man as Justin Hayes of Cumming, Ga. A release issued by the Braves late Wednesday morning said: "The Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Police Department are investigating the tragic accident that resulted in the death of a 25-year-old male fan at last night's game. Our sincerest and heartfelt condolences go out to his family." It's believed that Hayes fell approximately 150...

Records reveal 'Co-President Hillary' 'She was meeting with Cabinet level officials on a daily basis' The thousands of pages of Hillary Clinton's documents generated while the New York senator was first lady during husband Bill Clinton's presidency reveal a sort of "Co-President Hillary," according to the chief of Judicial Watch, the organization that filed a lawsuit to obtain their release. About 11,000 pages of Mrs. Clinton's daily schedules were released today by the National Archives and Records Administration, and Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton told Fox News a quick overview revealed some interested activities. "It looks like she was co-president,...

5 Health Care Execs Convicted In $1.9 Billion Fraud POSTED: 5:11 pm EDT March 13, 2008 UPDATED: 5:23 pm EDT March 13, 2008 COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A federal jury on Thursday convicted five former executives of a health care company in a $1.9 billion fraud scheme. The officials worked with National Century Financial Enterprises, described as the nation's largest health care financing firm before its 2002 bankruptcy. The five -- some of the company's highest ranking executives -- were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud. The defendants and their attorneys listened without emotion as U.S. District Judge...

CINCINNATI -- A grand jury indicted three people in connection with the armed robbery last month of Boy Scouts at a Christmas tree sale. Prosecutors said Friday that Kenneth Hodge, 19, David Keeling, 19, and Nashon Wallace, 20, would face charges in the Dec. 3 robbery outside Tom’s Drive-Thru in North College Hill. The Boy Scouts, ages 13 and 11 years old, said they were selling Christmas trees in the parking lot along West Galbraith Road shortly before closing when three men approached, with one carrying a sawed-off shotgun. The boys said they thought the men were joking until one...

Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes is expected to retire after suffering another neck injury Sunday and meeting with doctors this week. An announcement could come as early as Wednesday. One source familiar with the situation said Tuesday night: "He is retiring for sure. Noon press conference on Wednesday." However, a Chiefs spokesman denied that and said that Holmes still is weighing his options. A three-time Pro Bowler, Holmes was one of the league's top running backs from 2001-05, rushing for almost 6,000 yards and scoring a then-record 27 touchdowns in 2003. His career appeared to be over when...

MOSCOW - There is a "high degree of probability" that bone fragments found recently near the Russian city of Yekaterinburg are those of a daughter and son of the last czar, forensics experts said Friday. If confirmed, the find would fill in a missing chapter in the story of the doomed Romanovs, who were killed after the violent 1917 Bolshevik Revolution ushered in more than 70 years of Communist rule. The fragments were found by archaeologists in a burned field near the Ural Mountains city where Czar Nicholas II, his wife, Alexandra, and their five children were held prisoner by...

Rep. Gillmor Died In Fall, Autopsy Suggests By Josephine Hearn Sep 7, 2007 (The Politico) Although a heart attack was at first suspected in the death of Rep. Paul Gillmor, an autopsy revealed Friday that he in fact died of massive head and neck injuries sustained in a fall down the steps of his Arlington townhouse. The cause of death was "blunt head and neck trauma," according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for northern Virginia. "The injuries sustained were consistent with a fall and the death appears to be accidental," said Det. Steve Gomez, a spokesman for...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Saraa Barhoum picked at the buttons on her pink bellbottom jeans as she twisted on a chair inside the bustling new Hamas television headquarters. The afternoon light bounced off the sparkly outlines of butterflies on her frilly top, and a colorful hijab framed her 11-year-old face. Saraa wants to be a doctor. If she can't, the young star of Hamas television's best-known children's show said, she'd be proud to become a martyr. Saraa says little Jewish girls should be forced from their homes in Israel so that Palestinians can return to their land. With the...

HILO, Hawaii - Astronomers believe they've glimpsed light from some of the universe's first stars through the world's largest telescope on the Big Island. The astronomy team from the California Institute of Technology, which was to present its findings in London on Wednesday, said they used the Keck II telescope atop Mauna Kea volcano to see farther into space than ever before. By magnifying the telescope's range, the scientists said they were able to see light generated by galaxies 13 billion years ago, when the universe was only 500 million years old. At that time, the universe was still in...

WASHINGTON - In a rare public discussion of her husband's infidelity, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that she probably could not have gotten through her marital troubles without relying on her faith in God. Clinton stood by her actions in the aftermath of former President Clinton's admission that he had an affair, including presumably her decision to stay in the marriage. "I am very grateful that I had a grounding in faith that gave me the courage and the strength to do what I thought was right, regardless of what the world thought," Clinton said during a...

SEATTLE -- A man who tried to position himself as a leader of the anti-war movement by claiming to have participated in war crimes while serving in Iraq is facing federal charges of falsifying his record. Jesse Adam Macbeth, 23, formerly of Phoenix, garnered much attention on blogs and in some alternative media after he began claiming in 2005 to have been awarded a Purple Heart for his service, which he said included slaughtering innocents in a Fallujah mosque. His story was contradicted by his true discharge form, showing that he was kicked out of the Army after six weeks...

BOSTON, MA (FRIDAY FEB. 23) This morning, federal judge Mark Wolf issued an outrageous and horrific 38-page ruling dismissing David Parker's federal civil rights lawsuit against Lexington, MA school officials. David Parker had filed the lawsuit, along with his wife and Rob and Robin Wirthlin, last April after the schools refused to notify parents when teaching about homosexuality and transgenderism in the elementary school. School officials, aided by national pro-homosexual groups, had filed a motion to dismiss the case which was argued before Judge Wolf on Feb. 7. Wolf's ruling is every parent's nightmare. It goes to extraoarinary lengths to...