Free Republic

................And I've continued to believe that Citizens United contributed to some of the problems we're having in Washington right now. You know, you have some ideological extremist who has a big bankroll, and they can entirely skew our politics. And there are a whole bunch of members of Congress right now who privately will tell you, I know our positions are unreasonable, but we're scared that if we don't go along with the tea party agenda, or the -- some particularly extremist agenda, that we'll be challenged from the right. And the threats are very explicit. And so they toe...

On Wednesday, Great Britain’s Girl Guides (their equivalent of U.S. Girl Scouts) and Brownies removed God from their 103-year-old oath. Instead of the passage where they used to promise to “love God,” they will now vow to be true to "myself" and develop "my beliefs." The organization said the move is intended to attract girls from secular families. Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, condemned the move, saying, "These values have their roots in a Christian outlook. Taking ‘God’ out of the promise denies the history and foundations of the movement without offering anything in its place, with the...

An insight into how liberals and conservatives differ not just in politics but also ways of thinking.

As the father of two young girls who have shown such poise, humor, and patience in the unconventional life into which they have been thrust, I mark this Father's Day—our first in the White House—with a deep sense of gratitude. I observe this Father's Day not just as a father grateful to be present in my daughters' lives but also as a son who grew up without a father in my own life. My father left my family when I was 2 years old, and I knew him mainly from the letters he wrote and the stories my family told....

The latest conflict simmering between Lebanon and Israel is all about food: Lebanese businessmen accusing Israel of stealing traditional Middle Eastern dishes like hummus. Fadi Abboud, president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, said Tuesday his group plans to sue Israel to stop it from marketing hummus and other regional dishes as Israeli. "It is not enough they (Israelis) are stealing our land. They are also stealing our civilization and our cuisine," said Abboud. He said his group also seeks to claim the eggplant spread baba ghannouj and tabbouleh, a salad made of chopped parsley and tomatoes, as Lebanon's own. Hummus...

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton gestures at Amana Colonies in Amana, Iowa November 6, 2007. After a stormy couple of weeks Clinton will attempt to right the ship on Thursday night at a campaign debate with her rivals. REUTERS/Joshua Lott/Files

George Clooney is convinced he ruined John Kerry's chances in the race for US president in 2004 - by snubbing an invitation and hurting his feelings. The Ocean's Twelve actor was one of several screen stars invited to ride on Kerry's election train, but it all went downhill for the Democrat when Clooney stayed away. He recalls: "Kerry asked me to ride on his train - he had a train going cross-country after he was nominated and some actors went on board. I called him and explained that I couldn't do it. I'd hurt him. I'd actually caused him harm...

 AFTERWORD: ON CLINTON SMALLNESS--BRINKLEY MISSES THE POINT THE FAILED, DYSFUNCTIONAL CLINTON PRESIDENCY(DECONSTRUCTING CLINTON'S HOFSTRA SPEECH) part1: The "Brinkley" Lie   by Mia T, 12.27.05   One of the American historians I most admire, Douglas Brinkley out there, sitting here, was quoted in the paper today as saying that I would be viewed as a great president except for the fact of the impeachment, which is just there. bill clintonHofstra apologia November 11, 2005 clinton's ranking will likely get worse over time. Economic issues fade in importance. Moral issues presist and grow. (paraphrase) Douglas Brinkley February 2000(discussing C-SPAN PRESIDENTS POLL)...

NEW YORK — Following the screening of a documentary about his presidency, Bill Clinton told the audience that he became an enemy of right wing America in an attack led by Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr. "The Hunting of the President," a movie about what filmmakers Harry Thomason and Nickolas Perry call a political smear campaign against Clinton, was show to a crowded New York University theater Wednesday. The documentary premiered in Little Rock, Ark., on Tuesday. Clinton, who addressed a group of about 1,000 people, said Starr was "the instrument of a grand design." He said the roots of...

Excluding homosexuals does not reflect God's way, that of compassion, writes Dorothy McRae McMahon. The Bible is an amazing testimony to the wonder of the grace and faithfulness of God as people journeyed down the ages. It gives clues to the way we are to live with that God, but only clues. It takes little reading to discover that understandings on many issues, and particularly on human relationships, changed over the centuries, even in biblical times. We do not now have slaves and masters. We do not in our church believe that men are morally superior to women and thus...

Was poking around DU a few minutes ago and came across this (coloring mine): Tonight Thursday, February 06, 2003 Exclusive: Former President Bill Clinton joins Larry live for the hour. (LOL, should be some interesting posts here on FR tomorrow.)

clinton on in 4

MIDI - STAYIN' ALIVE - scroll to bottom of right column Well, you can tell by the way he lies, I guess He's the worst we've had…a POS He loves cigars and intern cows He sent kneepads to the gang from NOW But he will not leave…just won't leave Because he still wants to deceive You'd think he was 10 years of age He just cannot get off the stage Now he's getting softballs…we're expecting all the softballs He's on Larry King Live…Larry King Live It is not surprising…no, it's really not surprising He's on Larry King Live…Larry King...

Clinton is eager to tell his story Says writing memoirs is a way to 'come to terms' By Bob Minzesheimer USA TODAY Bill Clinton, who's getting nearly $12 million for his memoirs, says everyone eventually should write his or her life story. ''Everybody talks about how terrible this book-writing is. I've enjoyed it,'' the former president tells C-SPAN in an interview to be shown Sunday (6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET/ 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. PT). ''Everyone who is fortunate enough to have lived to be 50 should sit down at some point and write the story of his...

Stung by reports that North Korea has failed to abandon its nuclear weapons program as part of a 1994 deal negotiated by his administration, ex-President Bill Clinton revealed this week that he threatened the rogue nation with war in order to get them to comply. In remarks that went completely unreported by the mainstream press, Clinton told an audience at the University of California's Davis campus last Sunday that eight years ago, "we literally threatened to attack and planned to attack North Korea if they didn't end their nuclear weapons program." Clinton seemed anxious to minimize his administration's North Korean...

Stung by reports that North Korea has failed to abandon its nuclear weapons program as part of a 1994 deal negotiated by his administration, ex-President Bill Clinton revealed last week that he threatened the rogue nation with war in order to get them to comply. In remarks that went completely unreported by the mainstream press, Clinton told an audience at the University of California's Davis campus last Sunday that eight years ago, "we literally threatened to attack and planned to attack North Korea if they didn't end their nuclear weapons program." Clinton seemed anxious to minimize his administration's North Korean...

On the anniversary of the attacks in New York and Washington, former US President Bill Clinton says we can only counter the threat of terrorism by reparing the widening rift between the haves and the have-nots of our planet The central reality of the twenty-first century world, as the spread of terrorism and the vulnerability of the United States to it demonstrate, is that our era is globally interdependent but far from integrated. We learned on 11 September that the very forces of globalisation we helped to create - open borders and commerce, easy travel, instant communications, instant transfers and...