Free Republic

We all know the Republican Party has changed in recent years. Tommy Thompson's bid for the U.S. Senate may tell us how much. On Monday, Thompson will incorporate his Senate campaign committee, he said in an interview. That allows him to start raising money, and means a filing of candidacy should follow by early next month. But the real personal and political drama will unfold in the months to come, as the former titan of Wisconsin politics makes his case for a comeback, and deals with questions from conservatives within his own party. "I'm the original conservative," said Thompson on...

One of the deans of Conservative columnists says Thad McCotter SHOULD be in the debates.

Police: Trucker Killed 3 Prostitutes Across South. John Boyer [Pic in URL] has pleaded guilty to killing a woman in North Carolina and faces murder charges in slayings in Tennessee and South Carolina. By EMERY P. DALESIO, JEFFREY COLLINS COLUMBIA, S.C. — Long-haul trucker John Boyer's gray beard and round face give him a grandfatherly appearance, but when he opens his mouth, he seethes with anger toward women. This hatred had murderous results, authorities said, as he picked up prostitutes around the Southeast, killed them and dumped their bodies near interstate highways. He's accused of at least three slayings and...

Since the revolution in Egypt last January, the drumbeat of disturbing news has been nonstop—from the sexual assault on an American reporter in Tahrir Square, to the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, to the ongoing harassment of Coptic Christians, to the horrifying mob attack on the Israeli embassy in Cairo last week. For me, watching the Egyptian revolution has been an intensely personal affair, and my disillusionment has also been personal: I fear that I am about to go into a second exile, from a place that I'd come to love. I worry that in its democratic turn, as in...

When Gov. Cuomo announced there would be a special election in the 9th Congressional District to replace Anthony Weiner, I gave public voice to an idea that had been percolating in my head for some time. As everyone now knows, I wound up strongly supporting the candidacy of Bob Turner, who last week won the seat in a hotly contested race. I want to explain why I did what I did, so there's no misunderstanding of my intentions, or of my future plans. I hope President Obama gets the message that's been sent. If he does -- and if he...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — More than a half-century after federal troops escorted nine black students into an all-white school, efforts to desegregate Little Rock's classrooms are at another turning point. The state wants to end its long-running payments for desegregation programs, but three school districts that receive the money say they need it to continue key programs. And a federal judge has accused the schools of delaying desegregation so they can keep receiving an annual infusion of $70 million.

The IDF has called up a relatively large number of reservists over the week's end, for an open-ended period of duty, in anticipation of possible large scale violence after the expected rejection of a Palestinian Authority bid for United Nations recognition as a state. Arutz Sheva has learned that the reservists have been instructed to maintain "restraint and alertness" but have not been given specific instructions regarding scenarios that could unfold. For example, reservists reported asking what to do if an Arab woman carrying a baby tries to break into a community. "Do we open fire?" They were told: "Open...

"They [the US and Europe] intend to weaken gold's function as an international reserve currency. They don’t want to see other countries turning to gold reserves instead of the US dollar or Euro," stated the 2009 cable, quoting Chinese Radio International. "China's increased gold reserves will thus act as a model and lead other countries towards reserving more gold." ..... Buying gold and allowing the yuan to be traded freely would weaken the US dollar's dominance as the international reserve currency. The move would have major implications, making it more expensive for the US government to borrow money and to...

Chuck and Stephanie Fromm already have been fined $300 for holding Bible studies for their friends at their home, and they face the potential for additional fines of $500 for each study held, according to a legal team taking their case to court. The newest conflict over Bible studies in homes in America arose in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., where city officials say city code section 9-3.301 prohibits religious organizations in residential neighborhoods without a conditional-use permit, a sometimes very expensive procedure. The code cites "churches, temples, synagogues, monasteries, religious retreats, and other places of religious worship and other fraternal...

I saw a quote on Facebook and I was surprised that the person in question said this. Let's see if my fellow FReepers can guess who said the following... "Should any political party attempt to abolish Social Security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things, but their number is negligible and they are stupid."

Geithner Said to Ignore Obama Wind Down Order on Citi theme: tender young president's authority "overrun" by "senior advisors." Maggots Heal Diabetic Wounds After Other Methods Fail in Study Bill Clinton: Obama’s Bill Worth 2 Million Jobs

Unhappy members of the Congressional Black Caucus “probably would be marching on the White House” if Obama were not president, according to CBC Chairman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). "If [former President] Bill Clinton had been in the White House and had failed to address this problem, we probably would be marching on the White House," Cleaver told “The Miami Herald” in comments published Sunday. "There is a less-volatile reaction in the CBC because nobody wants to do anything that would empower the people who hate the president." CBC members have expressed concern in recent months as the unemployment rate has...

Forty-four percent (44%) describe themselves as conservative on fiscal issues such as taxes, government spending and business regulation. Forty percent (40%) say they're moderate when it comes to fiscal issues, while only 11% claim to be fiscal liberals. "Conservative" is still the most positive description you can give a political candidate as far as voters are concerned. Forty-two percent (42%) view it as a positive, while only 17% think it's a positive to describe a candidate as a liberal.

Major Update: The Obama White House will be burned down by green greed ($$$$) and fraudulant solar power investment. Ironic, isn’t it? It turns out that the bureaucrat responsible for overseeing Solyndra had direct financial ties to Obama and Solyndra: Steve Spinner, who helped monitor the Energy Department’s issuance of $25 billion in government loan guarantees to renewable energy projects, was one of Obama’s top fundraisers in 2008 and is raising money for the president’s 2012 reelection campaign. Spinner did not have any role in the selection of applicants for the loan program and, in fact, was recused from the...

At Donna Karan's Fashion Week party in NYC on Monday, singer Wyclef Jean revealed that he's "a huge fan of Sarah Palin,” the former Fugee told Women’s Wear Daily. Wyclef explained that he’s big on the Alaskan politician “'Cause she’s rad.” The star continued singing Palin’s praises: “She’s shrewd. She’s cool. Because at the end of the day, I’m for the people, because this is the United States of America ... this is what America’s really about.”

I"m begging the indulgence of my fellow freepers since I've been here a long time and this will be the first vanity I've ever posted. My beautiful wife Amy is a writer and she has a new young adult novel coming out on Tuesday. The title is Cold Kiss and it's a hard cover issue from Harper Teen, Harper Collins young adult imprint. Far be it from me to indulge in hyperbole, but this is the greatest novel ever written in human history. My wife has published a number of books before, but not in the young adult genre which...

Remember Enron? When this huge company went belly-up because of mismanagement, misrepresentation and criminal intent the Bush administration was put through years of screaming headlines, congressional investigations and dubious investigative specials on the wall-to-wall talking heads of the cable news channels. In the end there was no connection found between the Bush administration and the leaders at Enron who broke the law.

RUSH WAS RIGHT ... AS USUAL! Yes, I am a fan of Rush Limbaugh -- long before and ever since 9/11. And yes, I am a life-long fan of the Minnesota Vikings. And NO, you won't hear the liberal hypocrites at ESPN like Chris Berman and Tom Jackson criticize the Vikings trying to pump life once again into the aging and failing quarterback body of Donovan McNabb. And you won't hear that criticism, because it would be an affirmation of everything that Rush Limbaugh said before he was dismissed in yet another bogus liberal manufactured hate crime for even...

Friends, it's Sunday night again. Warm up the tubes for another 4 hours of classic radio programs. Listen Live Info

NEW YORK -- In Tiffany Spaulding's 12 years in the pharmaceutical industry, she has worked for three companies, two of which no longer exist, and relocated to four states. Now 39 and living in Brookfield, Conn., she hasn't had a promotion in five years and says she sees no chance to advance, stuck behind a wall of baby boomers. She would quit and turn her hobby of jewelry design into a business, she says, if not for the home and school loans that eat up half her salary. Spaulding, according to a new report, is a typical member of the...

PADUCAH, Ky. -- Members of a sect of Amish living in Graves County said they will not comply with a Kentucky law requiring them to display a bright orange triangle on their horse-drawn buggies and feel just as safe with reflective tape instead. Nine Amish men who refused to display the triangle were ordered to jail this week for also refusing to pay court-imposed fines over the matter. Eli Zook, a member of the Old Order Swartzentruber sect and one of the men sent to jail, told The Paducah Sun on Friday he feels safe with the tape and two...

Pakistan's bid to get access for its textile products to the EU was blocked by Delhi. As Abdus Salam Murshedey strolls through his vast garment factory in Dhaka, hundreds of seamstresses stitch shirts for export shipments he says will be boosted by a relaxing of Indian import rules. Murshedey has built his company, Envoy Group, into a multi-million dollar firm with 18,000 employees on the back of orders from major Western high street brands including Zara, Next and French retail giant Carrefour... "I'm going to have to recruit thousands of new workers to meet new Indian orders. Already we've received...

Video - Herman Cain defends his 999 plan during his interview with Chris Wallace

......One was born into a privileged family in a tony Michigan suburb; the other, onto a flat expanse of West Texas dirt with no indoor plumbing. One spent his youth tooling around his father’s car factory; the other, selling Bibles door-to-door so he could afford to buy a car. One excelled at Harvard University, simultaneously earning law and business degrees and swiftly climbing the corporate ladder; the other, his hope of becoming a veterinarian dashed when he flunked organic chemistry at Texas A&M University, joined the Air Force. [Perry graduated from A&M] Where Mitt Romney is obedient and cautious, Rick...

Rahm Emanuel on Solyndra: ‘I don’t remember’ C.J. Ciaramella 36 mins ago Chicago mayor and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said he doesn’t recall anything about the Obama administration’s $535 million loan to the recently bankrupt solar company Solyndra. Speaking to Chicago radio station WLS 890AM at a news conference about a new wellness initiative, Emanuel said he didn’t remember anything about the failed investment loan by the Department of Energy, which critics say was fast-tracked to fit the White House’s political agenda. “Ya know, I’m focusing on a major announcement today for the City Of Chicago,”...

"Class warfare ... may make for really good politics, but it makes for rotten economics," Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee, told "Fox News Sunday." The president is planning on proposing the new and higher rate as part of a broader long-term deficit-reduction plan he's unveiling Monday. It will likely include a mix of entitlement reform and new revenue, and will be aimed at the bipartisan "super committee" trying to find about $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade. Ryan said the millionaire tax provision will undermine economic growth. "If you tax something more,...

San Ramon Valley Unified School District installs 10k photovoltaic panels at five schoolsIn a move that is proving to be controversial with some, some California school districts are looking to a high-tech way to save money, even if the payback won't be achieved until well over a decade later. CNN is reporting that some California school districts are looking to low-interest federal loans to install solar panels on schools. CNN singled out the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, which has installed roughly 10,000 photovoltaic panels at five of its 35 total schools at a cost of $23 million. Under...

Dominique Strauss-Kahn admitted a “moral fault” and expressed regret to his family and the French people but continued to strongly protest his innocence against accusations that he sexually assaulted a chambermaid in a New York hotel in May, in his first interview since the case was dropped last month. The former head of the International Monetary Fund definitively ruled out running as a candidate in the French presidential election next year as a result of the scandal. “I wanted to be a candidate, but that is behind me. I am not a candidate for anything. I will take time to...

When was the last time both and Buffalo and Detriot won their first two games? The Lions put up 48 points on KC today, Buffalo put up 38.

In what appears to be an attempt to minimize inflammatory statements by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, a former American president claimed the PA's upcoming statehood bid at the United Nations is simply an “act of frustration.” Former U.S. President Bill Clinton added in the interview aired Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press” that he believes “the Palestinians understand that they have to negotiate borders and security with the Israelis.” He added, however, that at the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. will do what it must to block the bid, and if necessary will exercise its veto power. The...

President Barack Obama will propose a new higher tax rate for millionaires, the White House confirmed Saturday, giving his deficit-cutting proposal a populist sheen that will invigorate the Democratic base but draw swift opposition from Republicans. He will call it the “Buffett Rule,” a nod to billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who has criticized a system that allows the rich to pay a smaller portion of their income in taxes than middle- and working-class Americans because wages are taxed at a higher rate than investment income. Obama will include the tax in a new proposal that he’s set to release Monday...

This man [ Mitsuo Fuchida ] who led the first wave of airplane attacks on Pearl Harbor during the Second World War was honored with United States citizenship in 1966. His attack caused the deaths of 2500 Americans the morning of December 7, 1941. “After World War II ended, Fuchida became an evangelist Christian preacher and frequently travelled to the United States to minister to the Japanese expatriate community. He became a United States citizen in 1966.”

The United States Air Force was established September 18, 1947.The U.S. Air Force song "Wild Blue Yonder"

Sorry about the trick title - the bible says to pray for those in authority over us. I pray for our president, that God would touch his heart, open his eyes, and that Obama will change his ways, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. So please, even if you don't support Herman as a candidate, keep him in your prayers - let's pray for all our leader's, politicians, and candidates. I posted on another thread that Herman Cain just had an AWESOME interview on Chris Wallace. I hope it gets a separate thread today - I’m technologically...

Video at link.

With Europe set to open in a little over 12 hours, and with rumors of Greek default once again flying around in their private taxpayer funded jets (only to turn back to their point of origin shortly after take off), we wish to remind readers that a chart is worth a thousand words. In this case several charts, courtesy of Reuters, which has created the ultimate in interactive data presentations on the Euro crisis.

A major earthquake struck northeast India early Sunday evening that sent tremors as far as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. The quake, which struck in the mountainous region near the town of Mangan in north Sikkim state, registered 6.8 on the Richter scale. Aftershocks measuring 6.1 and 4.8 followed half an hour after. So far, 7 people in Sikkim, 2 in Bihar, 2 in West Bengal have been reported dead and around 33 injured. Five people were reported dead in neighboring Nepal, killed when the wall of the British High Commission in Kathmandu collapsed, and one person was killed in nearby...

Earlier this week there was the case of Solyndra, the hi-tech solar panel manufacturer that went bust last month, despite receiving more than $500m in federal loan guarantees. Yesterday it was the turn of LightSquared, mired controversy over its use of satellite frequencies for a national 4G mobile network, which critics say could disrupt the Global Positioning System (GPS) that operates millions of navigation devices, including those used by the US military and for hurricane and tornado tracking. LightSquared's plans have been opposed by GPS users, including an industry group named Coalition to Save Our GPS, whose members include consumer...

Americans are pumping money into bank accounts at a blistering pace this year, sending deposits to record levels near $10 trillion on escalating fears that the U.S. economy is on the verge of another implosion. There's no sign that the flood into checking, savings and money market accounts is slowing down. In the last three months, accounts at U.S. commercial banks have increased $429 billion, or 10%, almost double the increase for all of last year. There's one big problem: Banks don't want your money. "Banks and credit unions are doing everything they can to get rid of the cash...

The Navy’s former top civilian has rocked the service in a military journal article by accusing officials of sinking the storied naval air branch into a sea of political correctness. Former Navy Secretary John Lehman, himself an ex-carrier-based aviator, wrote that the swagger and daring of yesterday’s culture has given way to a focus on integrating women and, this year, gays. Pilots constantly worry about anonymous complaints about salty language, while squadron commanders are awash in bureaucratic requirements for reports and statistics, he added. “Those attributes of naval aviators — willingness to take intelligent calculated risk, self-confidence, even a certain...

The votes are in, and the winning candidate in last night's state GOP convention straw poll in Los Angeles was self-described Libertarian RonPaul. Paul captured a stunning 45 percent of the vote. RickPerry, a non-attendee, picked up a solid 29 percent, followed by MittRomney, another non-attendee, who came in a distant third. Convention participant Michele Bachmann was fourth. Does this mean that Paul, the perennial presidential dark horse candidate, has emerged as the Republican front runner? Most likely not, even in unpredictable California. Still, the Paul victory among the 833 voters may tell us something about Republican activists who, like...

Psalm 35:3 Draw out also the Spear, and Stop the Way against them that Persecute me: Say unto my Soul, I Am thy Salvation.

Republican presidential candidates "bow and genuflect" to the tea party, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), said Sunday.Asked on CNN's "State of the Union" about President Barack Obama's reelection prospects, Durbin slammed the Republican contenders, saying the tea party had brought the federal government to the brink of shutdown."I don't think people like that kind of politics," Durbin said.Asked about a CNN op-ed by longtime Democratic strategist James Carville, who urged Obama to fire "a lot of people." Durbin said Obama doesn't need to shake up his staff."I think his team has put together a positive, good plan," the senator said

Quiet and serene, with a ghost town atmosphere. A far cry from the hustle and bustle of a month ago. All the wounded had been transferred to Ft. Belvoir or The new Walter Reed National Medical Center, Bethesda. The last 18 wounded warriors were moved on August 27,2011. Pictures and video by [Mrs] Trooprally At 11AM on this most perfect of a day, there was no one to be seen except a few people setting up for the lowering of the colors and a few trucks and cars packing up. Only sound one heard was the low hollow clanking of...

None of the news coming out of Greece this weekend has been reassuring, starting with the dramatic development whereby George Papandreou had to turn his plane around, while en-route to DC, in order to attend to matters back in Athens. Now, according to a Greek newspaper (via Matina Stevis) the troika (EU, ECB, IMF) is demanding the Papandreou government sack another 100,000 public sector workers over the next two years in exchange for the next tranche of bailout money. The Troika is also demanding deeper pension cuts than had been planned to.

Our family is not going to send in any more donations, or give any more money into the Sunday Parish Church collection basket, until both the USCCB and EWTN stop trying to promote 'democrat party' efforts to reward illegal behaviors and support unlawful activities, such as the so-called "dream act", or the new un-legislated amnesty for illegal aliens by this democrat president. (Instead, for now, we will give all our donations and offerings and almsgiving to specific worthy pro-life and other charitable causes, such as "Priests for Life" and "St. Vincent Depaul", and we will use social networking media...

Despite unanimous polling trends showing increasing dissatisfaction with his job performance, President Obama says he’s confident he’ll come out on top after the ballots are counted in November 2012. “In 2008 I was a virtual nobody,” Obama recalled. “Now I’m the president. Just being the president gives you a big leg up on all the up-and-coming nobodies who want to take your place. Consequently, I’d have to say that the odds of me being re-elected are much higher than the odds of me being elected in the first place.” The president boasted that “my ideas are the key. I have...

When the newly-appointed chief of the CIA offers to marry you in exchange to help him cash a few pay cheques he earned from the recent campaign that toppled the Gaddafi regime, who wouldn't jump at the chance? One Taiwanese engineer grasped the opportunity with both hands and as well as wiring her 'fiancé' $30,000, she also managed to get herself arrested. Liu Hsu-jen claims she was contacted by a man claiming to be the newly sworn-in Director of the Central Intelligence Agency David Petraeus on the Internet four months ago.

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are set to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting. Netanyahu is scheduled to arrive Wednesday in New York for the General Assembly meeting. He told his Cabinet Sunday that he will meet with Obama, as well as other world leaders, upon his arrival. White House National Security Council spokesman Ben Rhodes confirmed the scheduled meeting to reporters over the weekend. Obama is not scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to the White House.

I recently received a chain email with the subject line “George Soros — This Is an Evil Man.”...After observing Soros for some years now, I have concluded he’s neither evil nor completely liberal. ......Newsmax was early in identifying Soros as a political force, featuring him on the cover of our May 2004 magazine with the headline “George Soros’ Coup.” Our cover story detailed Soros’ influence in Eastern Europe, supporting emerging democracies after the fall of the Iron Curtain through his Open Society Foundations.On the whole our feature gave a negative view of his activities there. But my own views about...