Free Republic

"I could hardly breathe. I was gulping for air. I wanted to wring his neck." So writes Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Senator and former First Lady, in her autobiography "Living History." This particular passage recounts the bitter moment when her husband, then president Bill Clinton, confessed to her his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. Hillary's public retelling of her reaction came a full five years after the 1998 incident. During that time Hillary stood by her husband, famously reaffirming her love for him as he endured impeachment proceedings in the wake of the Lewinsky scandal. Motivated in...

What part of "Body of Comment" underneath the "Body of Thread" when you're posting an article don't you understand? How many times have I logged onto FR and see the main page, only to be greeted with threads such as "Democrats challenge Bush on Iraq" (Thanks again cut-and-run conservatives!) or "Giuliani addresses crowd in California" (GO RUDY! THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BEAT HILLARY!)? Isn't it annoying? (Expected FReeper responses: "Then don't click on the threads then moron!" or the "Aw Geez, not this s--t again picture.") OFFICIAL USE OF PARENTHESIS IN THREAD TITLE ETIQUETTE (1) Location. Listing the...

Mind your P's and Q's and teas BY DAVE BARRY (This classic Dave Barry column was originally published Feb. 15, 1998.) Recently, I took part in a High Tea, which is a ritualistic British type of light meal involving a large quantity of etiquette. Generally, I do not get involved with any level of tea, even Low Tea. Generally, when I am in the market for an afternoon beverage ritual, the one I select is Cold Beer. But in this case I had High Tea, because I was invited by famous etiquette expert Marjabelle Young Stewart, who is on a...

"Stop laughing. It's not funny." Those were the solemn words of Jerry Seinfeld during his visit with David Letterman in his effort to rehabilitate the image of his co-star, Michael Richards, aka "Kramer." Richards, as you know, flipped out at an L.A. comedy club and began screaming racial epithets at some black patrons. It was an ugly scene captured on video, and the actor has been apologizing ever since – doing his public penance for a truly shameful exhibition. Watch 'Kramer' grovel on Letterman show The "act" has ignited a national debate on the use of the "N-word." But, having...

Four years have passed since our country was brutally attacked on a quiet September morning. On that day, thousands of innocent lives were taken from us. The victims and the families who lost loved ones remain in the hearts and prayers of our Nation. We also remember the courage of the firefighters, police officers, emergency rescue personnel, and scores of private citizens who showed us the true meaning of heroism and demonstrated our resolve to the world. The mission that began on September 11, 2001, continues. Today, we see the virtue of the September 11th heroes embodied in our military...

'WOMEN ARE equals now. They can fend for themselves. To offer a perfectly healthy woman a seat simply because she is a woman, however well-intentioned, is creepy. At best, she'll think you're from another country; at worst she'll feel old, or overweight enough to be perceived as pregnant." And that is a lesson in modern manners, according to the new issue of GQ (with Clive Owen on the cover). Glenn O'Brien and other GQ scribes weigh in on e-mails, cellphones, gym etiquette, dressing for travel, how to handle chatty seatmates, sleeping with your friend's ex, online dating, wedding gifts and...

For Cindy Nooney's 3-year-old twin boys, playing with the Thomas the Train set at their local bookstore in Southern California is a major thrill. Jack and Sam push Thomas, Arthur and friends down the track, they run around the table, jump up and down — and, of course, they squeeeaal. Nooney expects as much in the children's section of the store. But on a recent afternoon, she was surprised by an employee who confronted her, calling her darling Jack a tyrant. "He was a little loud but this is a children's section," says Nooney. "They run a noisy, cavernous bookstore...

I have studied the U.S. Flag code for many years but the code itself is not complete and there is much room for interpretation and misunderstanding including which law enforcement agency is responsible for enforcing the U.S. Statues protecting the Flag.

Hi everyone, it's been awhile since we had a refresher course on the posting guidelines. We've had a lot of newbies sign up. Welcome Aboard! The more the merrier! And it doesn't hurt you longtimes to re-read this. As always, we're here to help. Ask questions, we'll do our best to answer. Are you ready maggot? SEARCH If it's a breaking news topic, check breaking news first, it's probably already posted. Check the breaking news sidebar first. Don't try to be the first one with the story, you've already been beaten by about eight threads. To avoid duplicate posts, please...

You and your iPod are just rude By NAHAL TOOSI, Associated Press Published May 20, 2006 The "Podheads'' are everywhere . . . in the mall, at the beach, in Starbucks. As the iPod phenomenon has grown (more than 50-million sold), we need to lay down the etiquette rules. * Take both earbuds off when we're having a conversation. This is about as basic as it gets. Paying partial attention to someone who's talking to you is about as good as paying no attention at all. * If people are tapping their feet along to your music, IT'S TOO LOUD!...

New Yorkers are known to throw things onto the field at Yankee Stadium when the Red Sox are in town. At times they boo their own mayor at parades. Some refuse to surrender their seats to pregnant women on the subway, while others cut in line and never apologize. But somehow a city whose residents have long been scorned for their churlish behavior is now being praised for adopting rules and laws that govern personal conduct, making New York an unlikely model for legislating courtesy and decorum. From tighter restrictions on sports fans and car alarms to a new $50...

New paint blocks out cell phone signals ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 1 (UPI) -- A Rochester, N.Y., company has developed paint that can switch between blocking cell phone signals and allowing them through. "You could use this in a concert hall, allowing cell phones to work before the concert and during breaks, but shutting them down during the performance," said Michael Riedlinger, president of NaturalNano. Using nanotechnology, particles of copper are inserted into nanotubes, which are ultra-tiny tubes that occur naturally in halloysite clay mined in Utah. Combined with a radio-filtering device that collects phone signals from outside a shielded space,...

AN Australian tourist has been charged with assault after telling a Texas woman to stop talking on her mobile phone at the movies. Pauline Clayton was enjoying a matinee screening of Brokeback Mountain in a Texas cinema when her day suddenly turned ugly. The former Sunshine Coast councillor said about halfway through the movie, a mobile phone started ringing nearby, a woman answered it and started talking. "I put one finger up to my mouth to shoosh her," Ms Clayton said. "She ignored me - I then leaned across and touched her with three or four fingers on the top...

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The National Association of Theater Owners wants the Federal Communications Commission to allow the blocking of cell phone signals in theaters. John Fithian, the president of the trade organization, told the Los Angeles Times theater owners "have to block rude behavior" as the industry tries to come up with ways to bring people back to the cinemas. Fithian said his group would petition the FCC for permission to block cell phone signals within movie theaters. Some theaters already have no cell phone policies and ask moviegoers to check their phones at the door,...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Two teenagers stole and burned a rainbow-colored American flag representing gays and lesbians that was displayed outside a store, police said. The 17-year-old boys took the flag from outside of David Wade's culinary supply store, called Inner Chef, according to Bloomington police. Wade said the flag, called the "New Glory," shows that all Americans are welcome at his business. A witness saw the boys take the flag and took a picture of their license plate with a cell phone camera. Police later tracked the plate and questioned the boys, who said they burned the flag because they...

Business etiquette coach Barbara Pachter likes to tell the story of a financial executive who, dining with a potential client, licked his knife clean at the end of the meal. "It was a $30 million dollar lick," she said at a recent etiquette seminar in Goshen, New York, referring to the value of the deal the executive lost by offending the potential customer. Businesses are turning to etiquette training to boost their bottom line, according to the coaches who train employees on everything from shaking hands to buttering bread. Simply put, better-behaved employees are more valuable than brutish oafs, they...

Tiger Woods was playing No. 9 at Pinehurst, a 175-yard par 3. He hit his tee shot short, on the fringe. Putting through the fringe, he rolled his birdie attempt well past the hole. On his 12 to 15 foot par putt, he missed. He then DRAGGED his putter blade 5 feet down his line toward the hole, ragging the grass noticeably. After retrieving his ball, he made a half-hearted attempt to smooth the green, but the ruffling was still visible.

No national reaction to nose-blowingNorway's national soccer coach Åge Hareide has no intention of dropping controversial striker John Carew, who is now the focus of an investigation in Turkey, accused of blowing his nose on an opposing player.Carew has admitted to blowing, but not aiming. He has also claimed that photographs of the incident are manipulated, and display an unnatural amount of material being expelled toward an opponent, 19-year-old Turk Aytar Ac.Crew, currently at top Turkish club Besiktas, faces punitive action from the football federation there, where the incident has become a full-blown scandal.For the time being Norwegian football officials...

Funeral organist Isabel Ball, who usually plays Rock of Ages without percussion, was understandably surprised by the unexpected accompaniment of gunfire. After the smoke and the shooter had departed, Ball said her boss, Jerry Spears Jr., told her: "Isabel, if that ever happens again, you get down under the organ." "If there’s trouble, it’s going to come out then," the 88-year-old Valleyview organist said of final rites. Funerals often witness a convergence of grudges and guilt that spill out in the midst of keening and grief. "They’ve had to call the police to separate the family. They will fight right...

I just got an e-mail from a long-time member of Free Republic, gently chiding me for using the term "Free Republican" rather than the term 'FREEper.' No particular argument with anybody, but I am wondering why the slang term is acceptable, and the formal term is not. Of course, there are Free Republicans who are not members of the Republican Party (for the record, I am one of the most fervent members of the Republican Party one can hope to meet), but one generally assumes most on Free Republic make the distinction--that a Republican (a member of that political party)...