Free Republic

"The legislative cannot transfer the power of making laws to any other hands... The power of the legislative, being derived from the people... [is] only to make laws, and not to make legislators." — John Locke, “Second Treatise of Government”Here, however, is a paradox of sovereignty: The sovereign people, possessing the right to be governed as they choose, might find the exercise of that right tiresome and so might choose to be governed in perpetuity by a despot they cannot subsequently remove. Congress did something like that in passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare. The point...

A well placed GOP source tells Convention Daily that in addition to retired General and Florida voter Tommy Franks scheduled speech tonight, several other flag officers will give testimonials prior to President Bush's acceptance speech.

Some of the most powerful and arrogant libs on Capitol Hill now find themselves politically vulnerable-in 17 days we can put them out of our misery once-and-for-all: As Americans continue to rise-up against the power-mad Left, every $10-20 helps... why not take-out the ringleaders while we've got this gang of neo-Bolshevik thugs on the run...? Democratic seats long-considered bulletproof -for 50 yrs and longer- are now coming up for grabs, as 2010 figures to be an election year like no other- be part of it! Like Dick Morris says, under-confidence is every bit the danger Republican over-confidence is... what that...

A man accused of hiding two pounds of hot dogs in his pants before leaving a grocery store sans paying faces a misdemeanor theft charge, according to a recently released arrest affidavit. A loss prevention worker at a Publix at South U.S. 1 and Prima Vista Boulevard last week told investigators she saw a man later identified as Allan Polhemus on aisle five "conceal a package of hot dogs in his pants," an affidavit states. The 32 ounce package of Publix jumbo beef franks was valued at $6.99. The wiener packaging describes the dogs as "meaty & delicious" and as...

You have got to be kidding me: During consideration of H.R. 3126, legislation to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee voted to pass an amendment offered by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) that will make ACORN eligible to play a role in setting regulations for financial institutions. The Waters amendment adds to the CFPA Oversight Board 5 representatives from the fields of “consumer protection, fair lending and civil rights, representatives of depository institutions that primarily serve underserved communities, or representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgages” to join Federal...

At the conservative How to Take Back America Conference over the weekend, Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., had some harsh words for President Obama. Franks told those assembled: “Obama's first act as president of any consequence, in the middle of a financial meltdown, was to send taxpayers' money overseas to pay for the killing of unborn children in other countries. Now I gotta tell you, a president that will do that, here's almost nothing that you should be surprised at after that. You shouldn’t, we shouldn't be shocked that he does all these other insane things. A president that has lost...

BORN IN THE USA? Gives Obama 2008 pass, but would require papers in 2012 ...As WND reported, Franks told a townhall meeting in Kingman, Ariz., over the weekend he was considering a lawsuit to establish Obama's eligibility. The congressman's spokeswoman, Bethany Haley, said Franks did consider a lawsuit during the runup to the 2008 election and immediately after the results were announced. But she confirmed to WND today that the congressman no longer is considering immediate action. Franks did, however, today sign onto a move in Congress that would demand proof from future candidates, beginning with the 2012 race,...

A Senate panel has subpoenaed financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG, seeking evidence of fraud in last year's mortgage-market meltdown, according to people familiar with the situation. The congressional investigation appears to focus on whether internal communications, such as email, show bankers had private doubts about whether mortgage-related securities they were putting together were as financially sound as their public pronouncements suggested. Collapsing values for many of those securities played a big role in precipitating last year's financial crisis. The subpoenas are the latest in a series of moves by Congress to trace the roots...

The Senate version of health care reform allows federal funds to go to insurance companies that pay for abortion. When asked if he thinks the House will approve this version of the bill or something similar in House legislation, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said that the final outcome rests with pro-life Democrats. “Everyone knows what Leader Boehner’s position is on protecting human life, and we don’t do the whipping for Majority Leader [Steny] Hoyer,” Michael Steel, Boehner’s press secretary, told CNSNews.com. “The question is: Will pro-life Democrats support this version of the bill?” said Steel....

Our favorite Congressman from MA is back in the news again. No, there's not a male escort service operating out of his townhouse this time. That's so 1989. This time, Barney is pushing for, you guessed it, relaxed mortgage standards. Since that worked out so well for our country the first time, Barney wants an encore: Rep. Barney Frank says that unless Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac relax their recent tightening of mortgage standards on new condominiums, the economic recovery could be threatened. That would be the same Barney Frank who famously boasted that the two federal agencies -- which...

Even though the US congress has been mucking up the banking industry since 1916, few Americans are familiar with GSE’s, (Government Sponsored Enterprises). As a result, the people have hired the same people who destroyed the US economy to begin with, to fix the US economy. Those people are now attempting to save the nation from complete economic collapse via the same failed economic policies that caused the crisis… History repeats for benefit of those who have not yet learned the lesson Although the US Constitution affords the federal government no such power whatsoever to engage taxpayer revenue in banking...

A few weeks ago, Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat, said he expected 2009 to be the “best year” for public policy since the New Deal. When it comes to government, Mr. Frank believes bigger is better. Mr. Frank lambasts “Wall Street greed” for spawning this economic havoc, but Americans should be furious at his obliviousness to government greed, his own role in public avarice, and its contribution to this disaster. While Mr. Frank is grossly negligent, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson may be simply negligent. On Dec. 30, the Treasury announced $6 billion in relief...

If you believe Newsweek magazine – something that usually requires a serious suspension of disbelief – the Reagan Era is dead. Politico also chimed in, proclaiming the death of the Reagan revolution. Newsweek doesn’t go on to tell you who killed the Reagan Era, so I will. It was the Republican Party that demolished the shining city on the hill my father built. It was the Republican Party that was 100 percent responsible for the end of the Reagan Revolution.

Peru's entire cabinet resigns over scandalLuis Jaime Cisneros, AFP Published: Friday, October 10, 2008 LIMA - Peruvian President Alan Garcia accepted Friday the resignation of his entire 13-member cabinet, in a bid to avert an opposition censure resolution in Congress over a oil-industry kickback scandal. "The president has accepted our resignations presented to him on Thursday, and will proceed to reshuffle the cabinet," outgoing prime minister Jorge del Castillo told reporters at government headquarters. The kickback scandal has been roiling since Sunday when nine audio tapes were leaked to news media covering backroom negotiations between government officials, a former congressman...

The Democrats are resorting to their usual race- baiting. http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=20157191&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8

Barney Franks on CSPAN now. Time to call and call him out on his lies.

A decade ago, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the United States' two mortgage financing behemoths, were flying high. They were among the most profitable companies in the world, had political connections to the White House and Congress, earned enormous bonuses for their corporate chieftains, and did not have to play by the same rules as other corporations. For all that, they could thank their congressional charters, which established them as Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs).....Yet amid all the turmoil, lawsuits, and financial uncertainty befalling the companies, the current management teams at Fannie and Freddie have something to be thankful for in...

PASADENA - He came, he saw, he talked. Former U.S. Gen. Tommy Franks bantered with the audience and also addressed controversial issues during his talk at Wednesday night Distinguished Speaker Series. Speaking at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Franks called Donald Rumsfeld a "small man with very sharp elbows" and described Osama bin Laden as someone "who deserve\ to die." He recounted tales from his childhood and his "misspent youth," and memories of growing up in Midland, Texas, "among the cactus and among the bushes." Franks attended the same high school a year ahead of first lady Laura Bush. He enlisted...

General Tommy Franks, the former Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Central Command who led U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, tells NewsMax that he is squarely behind the controversial "surge" of troops. "The reason that I say this is a good idea is because that's what the leaders on the ground are saying," says Franks, speaking from Hobart, Okla., the future home of the General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum. As head of the U.S. Central Command, Franks oversaw American military operations in a 25-country region, including the Middle East. He took the position in July 2000 and served until his...

Congressional Rep. Barney Franks has accused President Bush of engaging in a campaign of ethnic cleansing in order to secure the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana for future Republican control. Said Representative Franks, “I believe, as do most other thinking Democrats that the administration's handling of the situation with regards to hurricane Katrina was little short of a conscious campaign of ethnic cleansing. What the Republicans did down there, spearheaded by President Bush, was to allow the hurricane to come in and destroy entire sections of the city and state while making no provisions for...