Free Republic

Majority of Americans believe US government encourages illegal immigration According to a Rasmussen Reports survey, 57% of likely voters think that government policies spur illegal immigration. 21% believe the federal government does not encourage illegal immigration, and 22% are not certain either way. The poll was conducted February 2-3 and included 1,000 likely voters and has a +/- 3 % margin of error... ...68% of respondents prioritize securing the border over legalization of the undocumented workers, and only 25% have the opposite view... ...64% think U.S. military should be used along the border to stop illegal immigration...

Three sections of the Patriot Act — the so-called 'library provision' that allows a secret court to issue orders for anything deemed relevant to an investigation; the roving wiretap provision that allows the government to get a wiretap order that doesn't specify the person or place to be tapped; and the 'lone wolf' provision, which permits intelligence wiretapping of people not connected to a terrorist group — are scheduled to expire on February 28. It's February 7. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) recently suggested that Congress doesn't have enough time to consider reforms this year. That was the excuse for...

Newly-leaked diplomatic cables provide evidence that Boeing partnered with a Brazilian company to work on a previously undisclosed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) project. The dispatch from the US embassy in Brasilia dated 15 January 2009 came during the most intense period in the competition for the F-X2 fighter contract, which involved the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. On 13 January 2009, US Ambassador Clifford Sobel met with Nelson Jobim, then Brazil's minister of defence, to discuss Boeing's position in the competition, the cable says. The issue of technology transfer prompted Nelson to praise Boeing's work with an undisclosed Brazilian company.

Just when you thought you were going to get a vacation from Keith Olbermann, a publicist has sent out word that Keith is holding a news conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday to make an "exciting announcement" regarding the "next chapter in his remarkable career." Less than a month ago, Olbermann abruptly exited MSNBC where his "Countdown" had been the network's biggest draw. Both parties remain mum in re the circumstances of the departure. At the time of his exit, the Web site The Wrap reported Olbermann had his eye on creating a media empire like that of Huffington Post (which...

It was only weeks ago that Keith Olbermann abruptly announced his departure from MSNBC's 'Countdown,' but it looks like the opinionated host might have already lined up his next television home. According to the NY Times, Olbermann will announce Tuesday his plans to work with Current TV, a public affairs channel founded by Al Gore and other independent backers. Sources claim Olbermann would have an equity stake in Current TV, and a public relations agency hired by the host has already scheduled a Tuesday morning call for "an exciting announcement regarding the next chapter in (Olbermann's) remarkable career." Olbermann's new...

Hosni Mubarak's control of Egypt's state media, a vital linchpin of his 30-year presidency, has started to slip as the country's largest-circulation newspaper declared its support for the uprising against him. Hoping to sap the momentum from street protests demanding his overthrow, the president has instructed his deputy to launch potentially protracted negotiations with secular and Islamist opposition parties. The talks continued for a second day on Monday without yielding a significant breakthrough. But Mr Mubarak was dealt a significant setback as the state-controlled Al-Ahram, Egypt's second oldest newspaper and one of the most famous media publications in the Middle...

Every year 5,000 so-called honour killings - when a family murders one of its own members - take place around the world. One of the most notorious cases in the West was that of Hina Saleem, who was killed in Italy by her father who claimed she had become too western.

"One of the reasons that the revolt in Egypt is so important is what their new government's foreign policy will be. The Middle East is tumultuous at the best of times, but Egypt hasn't been a part of the fighting since 1973 with the exception of a brief skirmish with Libya in 1977. Now, it looks like Mubarak's regime will fall. Mubarak is 83 years old, and the current riots make it seem unlikely that he will hold onto power until Egypt's election this fall." http://www.rationalpublicradio.com/israel-has-peace-agreement-with-mubarak-not-with-egypt.html

Imagine a play where conservatives invite a far-left wing activist to dinner, only to kill him or her afterward. Would such a play get rave reviews, or would it be shown as an instance of conservatives and Tea Partiers inciting violence? Most of us know the answer to that question. But such a play is making the rounds in Madison, Wisconsin. Except the killers aren't crazed gun-toting Tea Party activists, they're liberal students, and the victims are conservatives. The Last Supper, a production of the Mercury Players Theatre, is set to run through Feb 12 in Madison, and the performance...

NASA has been warning about it…scientific papers have been written about it…geologists have seen its traces in rock strata and ice core samples… Now "it" is here: an unstoppable magnetic pole shift that has sped up and is causing life-threatening havoc with the world's weather. Forget about global warming—man-made or natural—what drives planetary weather patterns is the climate and what drives the climate is the sun's magnetosphere and its electromagnetic interaction with a planet's own magnetic field. When the field shifts, when it fluctuates, when it goes into flux and begins to become unstable anything can happen. And what normally...

AOL To Buy The Huffington Post Nathan Olivarez-Giles February 6, 2011 Arianna Huffington is selling the Huffington Post to AOL Inc. for $315 million in cash. The deal, which Huffington announced on her blog on the Huffington Post website and AOL announced in a news release, will move the co-founder of the news site to the position of president and editor in chief of a new Huffington Post Media Group division at AOL. The purchase will increase AOL's news portfolio as it competes against Yahoo's growing online news publication profile and Google's news efforts, as well as traditional media companies...

The Obama administration is claiming that the president has been out in front of the crisis in Egypt. The facts prove otherwise. He has been behind the curve and has badly damaged American interests -- perhaps irretrievably so. Barack Obama's campaign was built on spin and speeches. His presidency has used these tools to present a false image. In this case, his chief spin maestro, David Axelrod, has been peddling the story that Barack Obama has been "out ahead of this" ("this" being the crisis in Egypt). Politico Journalist Josh Gerstein was skeptical and fact-checked Axelrod's boastful claim. Press Secretary...

If anyone thinks politics and football don't mix, they should have checked Twitter after halftime. For starters, up popped the best Twitter hashtag of the day — #Superbowel; and it wasn't a typo. No, many considered "bowel" an apt description of the Super Bowl XLV half time entertainment, featuring the Black Eyed Peas. Disappointed, angry football fans took to Twitter leveling insults at liberals — and President Obama. "No matter how many awesome LED effects they could distract us with, you couldn’t mistake the fact that we were watching a small pack of four musicians — with plenty of sound...

GALVESTON — The crushing news came last month as Maria Sanchez was being prepared for surgery to remove a banana-size tumor along her spine that had crept between her vertebrae. Unable to use her right hand because of the growing tumor, Sanchez, 24, had been at the University of Texas Medical Branch's John Sealy Hospital for six days when, she said, a Spanish-speaking doctor told her she had to leave the hospital immediately because she was an illegal immigrant. The doctor said she should have surgery in Mexico, according to Sanchez. Sanchez's hospital records state that she was discharged because...

Hundreds of Egyptians demanding cheaper apartments rallied outside a government office on Monday, emboldened to press their case by mass demonstrations calling for the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. Many stood for hours outside the downtown offices with their application forms. Some shouted that they would join the protest camp in nearby Tahrir Square if officials did not give way: "If you don't let us in, we will head to Tahrir." Sohir and Amr, a married couple in their late 30s who were looking for an apartment they could afford, said they would not leave the governorate office area until...

A video has surfaced showing the love progressives have for conservatives like Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and talk show host Glenn Beck. As hundreds of left wing activists protested a meeting held by the Koch brothers last Sunday, cameras were rolling and individual activists were asked what they would do with Clarence Thomas and other conservatives. The activists questioned responded by calling for impeachment of Thomas, sending the African-American conservative back into slavery and hanging both him and his wife. One woman challenged Glenn Beck to a duel with her Glock pistol. Others called for the execution of Fox...

The 2008 financial crash originated with a housing bubble. Not long ago, the cheap-money policies of the Federal Reserve, the infusion of trillions of dollars in new foreign investment, and the misguided policies of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae all conspired to extend to millions of Americans lots of easy credit for houses whose inflated prices they could hardly afford. Owning a house was seen as a “right” rather than the just rewards of household sacrifice, delayed gratification, and budgetary discipline. Builders, lenders, realtors, and bureaucrats all got in on the easy-money Ponzi scheme — until a few noticed that...

Today George Soros's latest dose of vitriol against Israel appears in the pages of The Post. Soros vouches for a potential Egyptian government comprised of the Muslim Brotherhood and Mohamed ElBaradei. But then he goes on: The main stumbling block is Israel. In reality, Israel has as much to gain from the spread of democracy in the Middle East as the United States has. But Israel is unlikely to recognize its own best interests because the change is too sudden and carries too many risks. And some U.S. supporters of Israel are more rigid and ideological than Israelis themselves. Fortunately,...

If you "want to be hedged for complete disaster – World War III… you are better off in commodity-related investments", says Marc Faber in the latest issue of US financial paper Barron's. That might seem drastic. But Faber is convinced that China's rise, and its diminishing dependence on America, means that "eventually, we will have a war, big time".

Iran said Thursday the anti-government protests in Egypt were a sign of an "Islamic renaissance" in the Middle East. The Foreign Ministry voiced support for the uprising and said the protests would lead to the emergence of "a real independent Islamic Middle East," according to state television.