Free Republic

By Michelle Malkin  •  July 30, 2008 11:07 AM How afraid is the Democrat leadership of truly maverick conservative GOP Sen. Tom Coburn, who is waging war with Hapless Harry Reid over binge spending and secrecy? They’re so afraid of his effectiveness that they are trying to kneecap him with bogus Ethics Committee complaints about his practice of not charging for delivering babies at the Muskogee Regional Medical Center. Coburn continues to serve as an OB/GYN in Oklahoma.Jill Stanek read my mind: If Sen. Coburn were aborting babies for free instead of delivering them, he’d be getting awards instead of ethics...

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Four peace activists were arrested on Friday as they attempted to make a "citizens arrest" of Karl Rove, who was one of President George W. Bush's top aides before leaving the administration last year. "It should be Karl Rove in that van. War Criminal!"

WASHINGTON — Rep. Dennis Kucinich's quest to impeach President Bush will get an official airing in the House Judiciary Committee on Friday. The fact that the hearing is taking place was almost as improbable as its intended outcome — the ouster of the president. Under the Constitution, impeachment powers lie in the House. But despite deep divisions between the House Democratic Caucus and White House on a broad swath of issues — the Iraq war, the economy, energy, climate change, to name a few — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pointedly said impeachment is off the table. The hearing Friday,...

On the Senate floor today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., claimed the issue of judicial nominees doesn’t matter to Americans. “I’m telling you, Madam President, I can't ever remember going home and somebody saying, ‘Could you guys (confirm) some more judges? We need to take care of this judges problem.’ ” Reid said. “Frankly, judge(s) is not a big issue (compared) to all of the other problems we're facing in America.”

Dukakis calls for end to Electoral College Dave Wedge By Dave Wedge Tuesday, July 8, 2008 Calling it “critically important” to eliminate the Electoral College system, former Bay State Gov. Michael Dukakis called on lawmakers to join a growing number of states supporting a switch to a national popular vote to elect the president. “I think it is high time we got rid of the Electoral College and elected our presidents the way we elect every other elected official in the country - by a vote of the people,” Dukakis wrote in a letter e-mailed to state lawmakers yesterday. “The...

In a move backers are calling a “pilot test,” the Democratic Party convention in Denver this August has banned fried foods from the premises. “Republicans are telling the American people that our comprehensive healthcare plan is infeasible, that it will ‘break the bank,’” Howard Dean, Democratic National Committee Chairman, asserted. “That just shows the myopia of the right wing when it comes to caring for the health of the American people.” “A lot of our nation’s health problems start with a poor diet,” Dean contended. “Fried foods are among the worst things people can eat. If we can put a...

Protestors rallied Downtown yesterday to as part of the United Nations' International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The organization Pittsburgh Against Torture held a silent procession through Downtown to raise awareness of the on-going incarceration and torture of prisoners.

Five years to the day that President Bush appointed him press secretary, Scott McClellan testified at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee to tell what he knew about the Bush administration's efforts to go to war in Iraq and about the leaking of the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame to the news media - all of which he revealed in his recently published book. However, what this hearing actually revealed were two things unintended by the committee's chairman, John Conyers (D-Mich.). First, it revealed more about what Mr. McClellan does not know than what he does know. Mr....

On September 13-14, 2008, Lawrence Velvel, the dean of the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover, plans to convene a 'convention' at the school's facilities; the attendees of which will plan strategies to prosecute members of the Bush administration for war crimes. "This is not intended to be a mere discussion of violations of law that have occurred," stated Velvel in a press release. "It is, rather, intended to be a planning conference at which plans will be laid and necessary organizational structures set up, to pursue the guilty as long as necessary and, if need be, to the ends...

When the Republicans choose their candidate on September 4th, there is a very real chance that they could throw the election into an unexpected chaos as they pull a genuine September Surprise. I think there is every reason to believe John McCain won't be the nominee. Ok, let me say that again. McCain will not be the Republican candidate in November. Here's how it could happen: At some point in mid August, John McCain will announce that he has decided that he can not accept his party's nomination for president. The reason will be health-related, and that may turn out...

CNN's Lou Dobbs is known for his fiery protectionist rants, but now he's calling for an extreme response in the wake of the Food and Drug Administration's inability to prevent a salmonella outbreak.

CNN’s Lou Dobbs has been on a tear about the recent tainted-tomato salmonella outbreak, but this time he’s taken it a step further and is calling for the ultimate political punishment. The “Lou Dobbs Tonight” host placed the blame for the recent salmonella outbreak squarely on President George W. Bush, calling for his impeachment on the June 19 broadcast. Contaminated tomatoes from an unknown source or sources have sickened 383 people since April, according to the Associated Press. “You know, I have heard a lot of reasons over the years as to why George W. Bush should be impeached,” Dobbs...

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Anyway, thank you Roger, thank you. What a night! I'm getting giggles! It's so exciting here -- Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell -- because there's news in the air.

Thirty-one-year-old Jin Chon is obsessed with televisiontalk shows. He starts each weekday morning with Barbara and the gang on "The View" and rarely misses his daily dose of Ellen and Tyra. Other favorites: "Entertainment Tonight" and "Access Hollywood," where he luxuriates in the latest gossip. For Chon, there are few things more rewarding than flipping on one of his must-see shows and finding they've booked his favorite celebrity guest: Hillary Clinton. That happens a lot. In the past year, she has been a repeat guest on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," swooned over "Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick (McDreamy) Dempsey on "ET"...

There is only a little over a half a year left in Bush's presidency yet that hasn't kept Congressman Robert Wexler from continuing to screech for his impeachment. This time Wexler thinks he has found the key for the impeachment. It comes in the form of Scott McClellan's book, "What Happened?" which is short on actual facts but does include a passage where Scotty spotted Karl Rove and Scooter Libby walk into a private room together. CHIMPEACHMENT NOW!!! Of course, if McClellan eventually does testify before congress there will be nothing solid to be found which is why Rush...

British Journalist to Try to Make Citizen's Arrest of John Bolton During U.K. Trip Wednesday, May 28, 2008 John Bolton may need some additional protection at his speech Wednesday evening in Wales, United Kingdom, as a journalist from the Guardian newspaper plans on making a citizen's arrest of the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Bolton is appearing at the Hay Literary Festival in Wales to promote his new book, "Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations." The Telegraph newspaper reports that George Monbiot wants to arrest Bolton for war crimes as the ambassador prepares...

Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., says Scott McClellan's book is full of "shocking revelations," and the former Bush press secretary should testify to the House Judiciary Committee about the administration's "deliberate efforts to mislead the American people into the Iraq War." Wexler has pushed for the impeachment of Vice President Cheney. "Scott McClellan must now appear before the House Judiciary Committee under oath to tell Congress and the American people how President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and White House officials deliberately orchestrated a massive propaganda campaign to sell the war in Iraq to the American people.......

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama owns a piece of T.J. Wells’ heart. And of his leg. You may have heard of wearing your heart on your sleeve, but your political convictions on your calf? That’s what Wells, a culinary arts student-to-be at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, has been doing since May 12, after the Illinois senator made a lasting impression on him during a May 4 speech at Headwaters Park. On May 12, Wells went out and got a full-color portrait of Obama tattooed on the back of his right leg – a place that was chosen, he...

The May 29 edition of Rolling Stone looks ahead to the summer concert season, and the rock-music mag is praising the Dave Matthews Band for their use of biodiesel for buses and "biodegradable goods for catering." But this exchange was interesting, about Al Gore's "Live Earth" concerts. ROLLING STONE: Some people argue that the live experience is sort of inherently "un-green."DAVE MATTHEWS: ThereÂ’s no doubt that it is. The whole joke of Live Earth was how wasteful it was. But the idea that touring will end is sad. IÂ’d like to think that the traveling minstrel is not a thing...

Biden: 20 percent of GOP ‘probably ready to go to war on any circumstance’ By Klaus Marre Posted: 05/23/08 11:55 AM [ET] Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) said Friday that “20 percent of the Republican Party is probably ready to go to war on any circumstance.” Biden, the outspoken chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made the remark in the context of refuting charges that Democrats are weak on national security issues. “I’m sick and tired of Republicans characterizing Democrats, generally, as well as [Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.)], as being weak on national security,” Biden...

Can a presidential candidate justify a long and friendly relationship with someone who, back in the 1970s, extolled violence and committed crimes in the name of a radical ideology -- and who has never shown remorse or admitted error? When the candidate in question is Barack Obama, John McCain says no. But when the candidate in question is John McCain, he's not so sure. Obama has been justly criticized for his ties to former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers, who in 1995 hosted a campaign event for Obama and in 2001 gave him a $200 contribution. The two have also...

Man says Clinton supporters less educated TRIBUNE REVIEW By Salena Zito Nearly 800 students and supporters of Hillary Clinton packed the Hopewell Area High School auditorium yesterday to hear the former first lady's proposals to strengthen the U.S. military. With the exception of one man, all seemed to be enthusiastic supporters. Chuck Grawley, 51, an instructor at two local colleges, held his 8-month-old daughter Emily while waiting for the event to begin. Grawley was not there to see Clinton. He was there to see the crowd. "Statistically and empirically, the people in this room are less educated and less informed...

...The latest revelations on the torture front show - the memo from John Yoo - as well as revelations from Phillippe Sands' book - means that Donald Rumsfeld, David Addington, John Yoo should not leave the United States any time soon. They will be at some point indicted for war crimes. They deserve to be...

Credit the public with sense. Earth Hour, hysterically promoted by The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, the ABC, SBS, Sky News and the federal and state governments, resulted in no significant fall in power usage. Check the graphs from our National Electricity Market Management Company, tracking power use between 8pm and 9pm (a period in which demand always plummets):

LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Sydney Opera House to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge went dark as people switched off lights in their homes and skylines dimmed around the world on Saturday to show concern with global warming. Up to 30 million people were expected to have turned off their lights for 60 minutes by the time "Earth Hour" -- which started in Suva in Fiji and Christchurch in New Zealand -- completed its cycle westward. More than 380 towns and cities and 3,500 businesses in 35 countries signed up for the campaign that is in its second year after...

All day today Google has been pushing an Earth Hour agenda:On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv, will hold events to acknowledge their commitment to energy conservation.Given our company's commitment to environmental awareness and energy efficiency, we strongly support the Earth Hour campaign, and have darkened our homepage today to help spread awareness of what we hope will be a highly successful...

Today, Google has decided to celebrate "Earth Hour" in this way on their main page: Here is some text to explain their actions: Google users in the United States will notice today that we "turned the lights out" on the Google.com homepage as a gesture to raise awareness of a worldwide energy conservation effort called Earth Hour. As to why we don't do this permanently - it saves no energy; modern displays use the same amount of power regardless of what they display. However, you can do something to reduce the energy consumption of your home PC by joining the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has asked for a grand jury investigation into whether White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former counsel Harriet Miers should be prosecuted for contempt of Congress. Pelosi is demanding that misdemeanor charges be pursued against Miers for refusing to testify to Congress about the 2006 firings of federal prosecutors, and against Bolten for failing to turn over White House documents related to the purge.

Rosie O'Donnell Blames Bush for Staph Infection Photo of Ken Shepherd. By Ken Shepherd | February 5, 2008 - 13:54 ET Greg Pollowitz of NRO's Media Blog already beat me to the punch, but it bears repeating on NewsBusters. The only fresh angle I can bring to this is that, to my recollection, this is the first time Rosie O'Donnell has attempted an original blog post in prose. For the occasion she blamed President Bush for a nasty staph infection back in 2000. I'm sure given enough time and inspiration from Joni Mitchell's greatest hits she can re-work her post...

Rocky Anderson, it turns out, is not stepping aside quietly. Joining a list of liberal luminaries, including Noam Chomsky and George McGovern, Salt Lake City's outgoing mayor submitted a letter Friday that calls on the House Judiciary Committee to investigate the Bush administration for abuses of power. The letter, signed by 18 political and cultural figures, asks House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., to hold hearings on alleged violations of the law under President Bush that include kidnapping and torture, warrantless wiretapping, a war of aggression against Iraq and disseminating false propaganda to deceive the American people. It came...

<p>In one of the shortest session in its history, the Senate's final session of the year lasted a total of 12 seconds Monday.</p> <p>Only one senator, Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island, was in the chamber to gavel open the Senate and adjourn it until January 3.</p>

Pat Buchanan was very moved. Chris Matthews "heard greatness this morning." Joe Scarborough said Romney "hit it out the park." But with his speech on faith this morning, Mitt clearly didn't make a believer out of Sally Quinn, doyenne of the DC establishment and wife of former WaPo editor Ben Bradlee. SALLY QUINN: I have to say that I'm really stunned because I think it was an obliteration of the idea of the separation of church and state. He eliminated anybody who was a doubter, an atheist, an agnostic, a seeker. It's like, if you believe in God or Christ,...

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has scheduled a committee vote Thursday on contempt resolutions against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former presidential political guru Karl Rove for failing to respond to subpoenas. Under Judiciary Committee rules, the vote could be postponed for a week, but Leahy said he intends to move the criminal contempt resolutions as soon as possible. Last week, he rejected the White House's executive privilege claim in preventing Rove and Bolten from appearing before his panel, calling it "overbroad, unsubstantiated, and not legally valid," setting the stage for Thursday's showdown. Rove and Bolten...

Hippies are just born problem-solvers, aren't they? /s

Activists Strip Before Peres Speech (IsraelNN.com) A group of Greenpeace activists stripped off their clothes Thursday afternoon at Tel Aviv University shortly before President Shimon Peres began a speech at a conference on nuclear arms. The activists had painted radiation symbols on their stomachs and called on those present to “strip the Middle East of weapons of mass destruction.” Activists said they were protesting because no speakers at the conference doubted Israel’s need for nuclear weapons. Peres joked about the strippers, saying “I think we should turn down the air conditioning in here, I was concerned for their health.” On...

Heather Mills Launches Pro-Vegan Campaign With Racy Ads Monday , November 19, 2007 Substitute rat's milk for cow's milk and you will help save the world. At least, that’s what Heather Mills believes. The 39-year-old former model turned activist turned estranged wife of Paul McCartney launched a pro-vegan campaign Monday in Hyde Park, in England. Animal charity Viva! features Mills on two huge traffic-stopping billboards and a series of ads that advocate the reduced consumption of dairy and livestock. "The startling truth is that animals farmed for meat and dairy are now one of the greatest threats to the planet,”...

House Democrats pushed through a $50 billion bill for the Iraq war Wednesday night that would require President Bush to start bringing troops home in coming weeks with a goal of ending combat by December 2008. The legislation, passed 218-203, was largely a symbolic jab at Bush, who already has begun reducing force levels but opposes a congressionally mandated timetable on the war. And while the measure was unlikely to pass in the Senate — let alone overcome a presidential veto — Democrats said they wanted voters to know they weren't giving up. "The fact is, we can no longer...

Congressman Dennis Kucinich says he will offer a resolution to the House of Representatives to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. The Democratic lawmaker who will introduce his privileged resolution next week said on Friday that the momentum is built for Cheney's impeachment. "Millions of citizens across the nation are demanding Congress to stand up against the Vice President's abuse of power," Kucinich said. "The Vice President continues to use his office to advocate continued occupation of Iraq and prod our nation into a belligerent stance against Iran," added the US presidential hopeful. While the American media has decided to keep...

The immunization of Democratic House staffers against a host of major illnesses before attending NASCAR races for a public health fact-finding mission is being criticized by Republican lawmakers who call it an overreaction and an insult to the sport's fans. Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is conducting a study of homeland security measures at mass gatherings and says the recommendation to get immunization shots is a solid preventive policy. "I am sure you would agree that providing immunizations to personnel involved in public safety is good public health policy, and there is...

I've just learned that Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO) will be introducing a resolution in the House of Representatives on Monday condemning Rush Limbaugh for his "phony soldiers" remark. This is significant because it has the potential to dramatically up the stakes in this fight. If the Democratic leadership allows it to go for a vote, it will force all the Republicans in the House to either vote for it, against it, or skip the vote -- and to pass judgment on the powerful conservative talk show host's contention that troops who don't support President Bush's war policies are "phony soldiers."...

Here's a fun exercise for conservatives: Spend some time just listening to your liberal friends. Don't bother to say anything at all. You'll be amazed. I've certainly been wowed every time I've tried it. Libs believe the darndest things. They're not as cute as the things kids come out with, but having millions of adults who are stuck in false beliefs puts our society at a lot greater risk. Among the pearls of political wisdom I picked up from ordinary, friendly, prosperous and apparently intelligent lib friends were the following: 1. Christians. Believing Christians are scary folks, sort of proto-fascists,...

JUST CAN'T BELIEVE THIS Kirsten Powers was a guest on the O'Reilly Factor last night. The subject was the Mexican woman, Elvira Arellano, who was deported back to her homeland yesterday after twice sneaking into this country illegally and the using a false Social Security card to obtain employment cleaning airplanes at O'Hare airport in Chicago. What Kirsten Powers said was so incredibly inane, so ponderously stupid, that I just had to go online and try to find out a little about her. She's a columnist for the New York Post, a regular contributor on Fox News, and a former...

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) made his yearly appearance in Trempealeau County this Tuesday to a room full of anxious, opinionated, and frustrated citizens at the Blair-Preston Community Center. Feingold opened the listening session by calling attention to the upcoming Senate debate over the Farm Bill, a bill he stressed is very important for rural Wisconsin residents. He intends to fight for several provisions in the bill, including extending the MILC program, increasing support for local farmers and farmers’ markets, and increasing access to broadband internet in rural America. Not one member of the audience was interested in discussing the...

After the 2006 elections, Democrats exalted in their new majority, showering their base with airy promises about what they would do with their newfound legislative power. They had been out of the driver’s seat for 12 years, and were clearly itching to throw the congressional machine into gear. But running Congress is a privilege, one that Democrats have wasted no time in abusing. The coming months will hold many tough legislative battles, and if they persist with their recent behavior, they may find that even their own agenda is threatened. Speaker Pelosi and her leadership team wasted no time in...

The House Judiciary Committee did its constitutional duty yesterday by voting to hold Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress. That's because, under orders from President Bush, they have flat-out ignored subpoenas and refused to cooperate with the investigation into the U.S. Attorney scandal. Our petition calling on Congress to hold chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers in contempt received over 20,000 signatures in less than 24 hours! Sign the petition! Demand that the full House hold them in contempt! Congress has a responsibility to oversee the executive branch and the president....

For Immediate Release 07/25/2007 Pelosi Statement on Contempt of Congress Vote by House Judiciary Committee Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today on a vote by the House Judiciary Committee calling for the full House to seek contempt of Congress citations for White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers following their refusal to comply with subpoenas issued in the U.S. Attorney investigation: “The contempt proceedings in the House Judiciary Committee today are part of a broader effort by House Democrats to restore our nation’s fundamental system of checks and...

te Democrats moved Tuesday to cut off funding for Vice President Dick Cheney's office in a continuing battle over whether he must comply with national security disclosure rules. A Senate appropriations panel chaired by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., refused to fund $4.8 million in the vice president's budget until Cheney's office complies with parts of an executive order governing its handling of classified information. At issue is a requirement that executive branch offices provide data on how much material they classify and declassify. That information is to be provided to the Information Security Oversight Office at The National Archives. Cheney's...

Excerpt - WASHINGTON - House Democrats, responding to Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that his office is exempt from certain national security disclosure requirements, said Tuesday they will try to strip his office's funding. The proposal to eliminate funding for Cheney's office could come up Thursday as an amendment to an annual spending bill, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said. Cheney set off protests from Democrats when he declared that his office was exempt from sections of a presidential order that executive branch offices provide data on how much material they classify and declassify. The White House agreed, saying...

Nancy Pelosi, flush with recent electoral victories, and acting as the presumptive first female Speaker of the House, has secretly promised liberal campaign contributors to the Democratic party a “San Francisco Style” impeachment of President Bush. Asked at the secret meeting exactly what that might mean Pelosi hinted that it might have something to do with WMDs, abused intelligence,...

DEMOCRATIC candidates have a big edge on Republicans one month before elections to decide control of Congress, a flurry of new polls said today, with ratings for President George W Bush and Congress dropping after the Capitol Hill sex scandal. A USA Today/Gallup poll gave Democrats a 23-point edge on Republicans in the battle for Congress, while a CNN poll gave Democrats a 21-point lead. An ABC News/Washington Post poll found Democrats held a 54-41 per cent lead in the congressional horse race among registered and likely voters, which ABC said was the biggest Democratic lead this close to election...