Free Republic

The Progressive Paradigm Watching the commentary in the political arena, there appears to be a disconnect in the direct analysis of the true ideology of the progressive left. How can this be? They attack each other with the vociferousness and vitriolic fervor of combatants in a verbal life or death struggle. I contend it is a battlefield where the observer is watching an illusory confrontation, where the perception of the adversaries are being sold to the audience by a media that seeks to give one side an advantage of perception. It is often painted as a battle between conservative and...

"Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," the highly contested anti-Kerry documentary, should not be shown by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. It should be shown in its entirety on all the networks, cable stations and on public television. This histrionic, often specious and deeply sad film does not do much more damage to Senator John Kerry's reputation than have the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's negative ads, which have flooded television markets in almost every swing state. But it does help viewers better understand the rage fueling the unhappy band of brothers who oppose Mr. Kerry's candidacy and his claim to...

Still thinking about the election for U.S. President that will be held in November -- 7. If the election for U.S. President were held today and you had to make a choice, for whom would you vote... (ROTATE NAMES) · George W. Bush, the Republican, OR · John Kerry, the Democrat, IF "UNDECIDED", ASK: And which candidate do you lean toward slightly? IF CHOICE MADE, ASK: Would you say that you are definitely going to vote for him, or probably going to vote for him? Bush /definitely 45% Bush /probably 6% Bush /lean 1% (Total - 52%) Kerry /definitely 38%...

U.S. Economy: ISM Manufacturing Index Rises in July (Update4) Aug. 2 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. manufacturing strengthened in July amid gains in orders and production, a sign the economy began to accelerate after a second-quarter slowdown. The Institute for Supply Management's factory index for last month rose to 62 from 61.1. Readings above 50 signal expansion. The gauge has exceeded 60 for nine straight months, the longest such stretch since July 1972 through June 1973. Construction spending fell in June as rains slowed home construction, the Commerce Department reported. Manufacturing is picking up and inflationary pressures are coming off a bit,''...

May 30, 2004 COMMENTARY A Leader for Perilous Times Bush has risen to the challenge from an enemy that hopes to litter our landscape with dead Americans. But my admiration for the man — for whom I refused to vote in year 2000 — grows ever higher... A president's chief duty is to keep the nation safe in the dangerous tides of international politics. In 2000, I found candidate Bush too little engaged with this challenge. But since 9/11, he has offered the kind of leadership that ranks him with the greatest presidents of my lifetime, Harry Truman and Ronald...

The U.S. Leading Index Edges Up in April May 20, 2004 The Conference Board announced today that the U.S. leading index increased 0.1 percent, the coincident index increased 0.3 percent and the lagging index increased 0.2 percent in April. -- The leading index increased only slightly in April, but the March increase was revised up from 0.3 percent to 0.8 percent as actual data became available. As a result, the leading index is still increasing at an average annual rate of 3.5 to 4.0 percent. -- The coincident index continued on its steady upward trend in April. The growth rate...

The three of the four biggest reports that economists look for in evaluating the strength and trends of the economy are the monthly Conference Board report, the ISM report and the employment reports from the Department of Labor are based on current data. The fourth, Consumer Confidence, tends to lag behind the other economic news, similar to jobs creation, but does not lag as much. Consumer Confidence in April was up. ============================================= The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, which was unchanged last month, rose in April. The Index now stands at 92.9 (1985=100), up from 88.5 in March. The Present...

(to the tune of The Gambler) On a warm summers evening, on a campaign train to nowhere I met up with a waffler, we were both too tired to sleep So staring out the window, thinking of flip flops of our past The boredom overtook us and Ted began to speak He said, son I've made a life out of reading people's faces And knowing what words to say, by the way they held their eyes So if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of flip flops For a taste of your whiskey, I'll give you...

What Goes Around . . . By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Published: February 26, 2004 BANGALORE, India I've been in India for only a few days and I am already thinking about reincarnation. In my next life, I want to be a demagogue. Yes, I want to be able to huff and puff about complex issues — like outsourcing of jobs to India — without any reference to reality. Unfortunately, in this life, I'm stuck in the body of a reporter/columnist. So when I came to the 24/7 Customer call center in Bangalore to observe hundreds of Indian young people doing...

Already, Kerry is whining about negtive tactics of republicans, when his party has been engaing in those very same tactics since Bush was elected. It appears they like to dish it out, but can't take it. Charles Krauthammer does an excellent job pointing out their hypocrisy in this article: Mudslinging Democrats now cry foul (excerpt) And now, after six weeks of carpet-bombing Bush, the Democrats are shocked -- shocked! -- that the Republicans might answer back with "negativity." And now, Kerry even tries to use his military service to defend his voting record, equating because he served, no one should...

Gen. Giap: Kerry's Group Helped Hanoi Defeat U.S. The North Vietnamese general in charge of the military campaign that finally drove the U.S. out of South Vietnam in 1975 credited a group led by Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry with helping him achieve victory. In his 1985 memoir about the war, Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap wrote that if it weren't for organizations like Kerry's Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Hanoi would have surrendered to the U.S. - according to Fox News Channel war historian Oliver North. That's why, he predicted on Tuesday, the Vietnam War issue "is going to blow...

<p>WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- President George Bush enjoys a 65 percent approval rating among California Latinos likely to vote in the fall election, a new poll by PRM Consulting says.</p> <p>The survey also found 74 percent give Bush high marks in the conduct of the war against global terrorism.</p>

<p>This is, by far, one of the best series of reports on what is really happening in Iraq that I have seen. In the comments section underneath I will provide the links to the reports. It is long, but well worth the read.</p> <p>Right now let’s to go Baghdad for the real story in Iraq and MSNBC’s chief foreign affairs correspondent, Bob Arnot.</p> <p>Bob, thank you for joining us. It’s in the middle of the night over there. I want to ask you, are we getting anywhere in Iraq?</p> <p>Excerpted.</p>

And the fillibuster is not the only lie or distortion the democrats are perpetrating on the public, they are lying, or at best, deliberately misleading the American public on the jobs picture. We need to reveal the truth and expose the distortions behind what is being presented. There are three major statistics when looking at the picture: 1.) Civilian Labor Force Level 2.) Employment Level and 3.)Unemployment Level. None of which can stand outright on it's own. The democrat claim of 3,000,000 jobs lost since Bush took office is true if you only look at the unemployment level, but is...

Behind the war in Iraq is a struggle for economic dominance between America and Europe. A clash of civilisations is nowhere in sight. SOME INDIAN thinkers are interpreting the U.S.-led attack on Iraq as part of the "clash of civilisations" between the "Christian" West and the Islamic world. Such facile academic theories can mislead both the public and policy makers into thinking that the world is simpler than it really is, leading to policy decisions that can have unforeseen consequences. To see this, one has only to visit another popular theory 40 years ago called the "domino effect." It held...

How the Democrats do it, whether they realize it or not Democrats opposed Abraham Lincoln when he wanted to end black slavery. Democrats had their reasons for slavery then, and they have them now. Today Democrats have targeted a different group of people to enslave, taxpayers. All government run social programs are a form of slavery because they put the tax payer in a position of involuntary servitude, regardless of the way the taxes are collected. What do you expect from the party of immorality, the party that tries to save convicted criminals from punishment while at the same time...

<p>There is no development in Iraq that the news media do not treat as a setback, so it comes as no surprise that crepe is being hung by the cartload in the wake of the suicide truck bombing of the U.N. compound in Baghdad.</p>

<p>While most of official Washington was captivated with the fight on the Senate floor to pass an energy bill before Congress left town for its August vacation, a vicious campaign was under way behind the scenes to smear two leading scientists for pointing out serious flaws in the science behind the theory of human-caused climate change.</p>

<p>Within hours of the lights going out in New York, Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton was blaming President Bush for the power failure. While the rest of us thought Mr. Bush was in California visiting a military base, she spotted him in Akron, Ohio, turning out the warning lights at the FirstEnergy facility there.</p>

<p>I love those who blast what's going on in California now as a circus. Seeing Gary Coleman (search), the comic Gallagher, a stripper, Arriana Huffington and Arnold Schwarzenegger on the same ballot is jolting, but you know what's more jolting? The mess that created this mess. That's the real circus.</p>