Free Republic

Venture capitalist Scott Murphy (D) will win the special election in New York's 20th district by 210 votes after all outstanding absentee and military ballots are counted, according to projections made by Democratic Party officials and obtained by the Fix. The projections -- based off of the county performances by Murphy and state Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R) on election night -- show the Democrat gaining 115 votes in Warren County, 96 votes in Columbia County and 70 votes in Washington County as well as scoring smaller gains in several other counties. Tedisco's only major gain, according to the model, will...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the financial system designed to impose greater regulation on major players like hedge funds. (snip) The goal is to repair a system that has proven "too unstable and fragile," he (Geitner) said.

Politically, socially, and culturally, Curt Schilling liked to test the limits. He frequently teetered on the edge, sometimes falling over it. Maybe it is only fitting that he similarly rests on the cusp of Hall of Fame enshrinement. The truth? This decision is simply not as easy as many New Englanders would like to believe. An artist known for painting the outside corner and once accused of coloring a bloody sock, Schilling yesterday officially announced his retirement from baseball. With that news came the end of an era. Schilling spent five years with the Red Sox -- though he only...

<p>Sarah Palin probably won't go for it. But Cecile Richards -- the national president of Planned Parenthood -- says Palin's 18-year-old daughter Bristol would be a great advocate for her group. "I really admire this young woman. I think she should be a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood."</p>

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — LaceDarius Dunn hit six 3-pointers and scored 24 points, leading a late surge as Baylor rallied after blowing a 17-point lead to stun No. 11 Kansas 71-64 in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals on Thursday. The three-time defending champion Jayhawks (25-7) dispatched of the deficit quickly and led by five before Dunn fueled a decisive 12-0 run for the Bears (19-13). Kansas became only the second top-seeded team to lose its opening game at the Big 12 tournament. Baylor was also responsible for the other upset, beating Iowa State in 2001.

A Russian arrives in New York City as a new immigrant to the United States. He stops the first person he sees walking down the street and says, "Thank you Mr. American for letting me into this country, giving me housing, food stamps, free medical care, and a free education!" The passerby says, "You are wrong, I am from Mexico." The man goes on and encounters another passerby. "Thank you for having such a beautiful country here in America." The person says, "I not American, I Vietnamese." The new arrival walks farther, and the next person he sees he stops,...

President Obama is set to, with one stroke of the pen today, break two of the big five promises I wrote about last week here in the FOX Forum. He’ll sign a notoriously pork-filled bill –the so-called “omnibus” or “porknibus” bill, stuffed with at least $7.7 billion of wasteful pork-barrel earmarks, including such vital national priorities as swine odor research in Iowa and Harry Reid’s beloved Las Vegas Natural History Museum.

(CNN) -- It seems like the whole world knows all about Barack Obama, so let me introduce you to the anti-Obama, the second most interesting man in American politics. Rush Limbaugh: Whether or not you agree with him he's something to hear. Rush Limbaugh isn't black, slim, stylish or well schooled. He's a Republican with no elected office but a powerful hold on his party and a place in the news once again. Limbaugh is the host of a radio show heard across the United States, a big-bellied man who bellows into the radios of millions of people. He's confident,...

Wall Street has soured on the new Administration's policy moves. Can this relationship be saved? At least on Wall Street, the honeymoon is over for President Barack Obama. Polls still show the President has strong popularity among the general U.S. population, and Obama continues to command power in Congress. But among investors, fairly or unfairly, there is griping that the new Obama Administration is at least partly to blame for the recent slide in stocks. Since Nov. 4, Election Day, the broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index is off about 25%, and since Jan. 20, when Obama took office, the...

Alarmists get snowed in for Washington, D.C. rally; networks mostly ignore signs of cooling temps, 'record' cold. Temperatures have plummeted to record or near-record lows in 32 states this winter. On March 2, a global warming protest in Washington, D.C. was buried by nearly a foot of snow. And a new study warns that the Earth could be in for a 30-year cooling trend. Reality is not cooperating with the network news’ global warming theme, yet reporters are unwilling to even discuss the possibility that the Earth is cooling. Global warming alarmists repeatedly link weather phenomena like tornadoes, hurricanes, ice...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's Treasury secretary says the administration has inherited "the worst fiscal situation in American history." Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told the House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday that Obama entered office facing a $1.3 trillion deficit — about 10 percent of the nation's economic output. Republicans have complained that Obama's budget proposal would balloon the deficit even higher, to $1.75 trillion.

CPAC Reset Political Clock to 1993 John McCain, the 2008 Republican Party nominee for president, was not invited to speak at this past weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference. Neither was former President George W. Bush, and neither was former Vice President Dick Cheney. “Our big effort this year was not to look back, but to look forward,” said David Keene, the chairman of American Conservative Union, a CPAC sponsor, on Saturday. The 36th annual meeting of the conservative movement — the largest ever, with more than 8,500 attendees, as organizers delighted in pointing out — was marked by its rejection...

Ever since he began his uphill battle for the Presidency two years ago, Barack Obama has been getting mobbed for photos and autographs, and that enthusiasm and passion has only grown since he entered the Oval Office. But even President Obama must be a little taken aback by the identity of some of his well-wishers on Capitol Hill of late. After his address to Congress last Tuesday, the same House Republicans who had decried his stimulus plan as the work of just another tax-and-spend liberal crowded around him like starstruck tween girls at a Jonas Brothers concert, all just to...

E-mail a tea-related photo to the White House! Title it "Tea party" president@whitehouse.gov

John Mauldin, president of Millennium Wave Advisors, was among the few analysts whose forecasts for 2008 proved accurate. Mauldin, author of the popular "Thoughts from the Frontline" e-letter, joined us to discuss the economic situation in Eastern Europe. From The Business Insider: If you think things are bad here, take a quick peek at what's going on across the pond: The Telegraph: Stephen Jen, currency chief at Morgan Stanley, said Eastern Europe has borrowed $1.7 trillion abroad, much on short-term maturities. It must repay – or roll over – $400bn this year, equal to a third of the region's GDP....

WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Congressional Republicans, having vowed to return to the conservative principle of limited government, denounced on Thursday President Barack Obama's $3.55 trillion budget as wasteful. While Obama's fellow Democrats control Congress, he may need the support of fiscal conservatives in his own party, and possibly some moderate Republicans, to pass any budget. "I have serious concerns with this budget, which demands hard-working American families and job creators turn over more of their hard-earned money to the government to pay for unprecedented spending increases," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. Obama's first budget proposal, for the 2010...

A carnival float depicting a flying U.S. President Obama with Europe being dragged along is seen during the traditional carnival parade in Duesseldorf, Germany, on Monday...

So, a CNBC host is calling for a new “tea party” to protest Barack Obama’s out-of-control spendulus/entitlement culture? We’ve been doing it all week. Seattle, Denver, Mesa. Kansas this weekend. And more outbreaks to come. I’m posting a second round of photos from KFYI’s anti-porkulus protest in Arizona yesterday in opposition to Barack Obama’s visit to push his massive housing entitlement campaign. Thanks to La Mano at Sticker Patch for the pics. The revolt against the savior-based economy continues… (photos at link)

The cost of a tank of gasoline has marched higher since the start of the year, defying a continued slide in oil prices and reduced demand. So what gives? Industry experts said refiners are trying to reclaim profit margins that disappeared late last year when gasoline prices collapsed after reaching $4 a gallon last summer. "Refined-product prices were way underpriced relative to the cost of crude oil. The refiners were losing money," said Bryant Gimlin, energy risk manager for Gray Oil, a fuel wholesale marketer based in Fort Lupton. A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the metro area has...

NEW YORK — Stocks are turning higher as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other lawmakers hold a news conference announcing an agreement on an economic stimulus bill. Reid has said the legislation should create 3.5 million jobs. Senate Republican Susan Collins of Maine put the cost at $789 billion. That is less than either of the bills that the House and Senate passed earlier. The market’s move higher comes a day after a steep selloff. Stocks have fluctuated throughout the session, and investors are hoping the stimulus plan will help revive spending.