Free Republic

(Vanity)

ALLENTOWN, Pa.-The new movie "Promised Land" digs into the fierce national debate over fracking, the technique that's generated a boom in U.S. natural gas production while also stoking controversy over its possible impact on the environment and human health. Written by and starring Matt Damon and John Krasinski, the film comes at an opportune time for a big-screen exploration of the issues surrounding the shale gas revolution, with cheap natural gas transforming the nation's energy landscape and "fracking" now a household word. But viewers shouldn't necessarily expect a realistic treatment of drilling and fracking. It's not that kind of film...

Obama's new Egypt -- the one he midwifed. I'd like to know why the President of the United States has not made one public condemnation of this annihilationist rhetoric. This is hardly the first -- it is repeated almost daily. But the flapping tongue in the White House has nothing to say on it. Silence is sanction. Here's a round-up of the promised genocide of Christians and Jews by supremacist Muslims. Egyptian Cleric: 'The Final Annihilation [Of The Jews] Will Come At The Time Of The Mahdi;' 'Not A Single Jew Will Be Left On The Face Of The Earth,...

The Objet1000 is Objet Ltd.'s largest printer to date and features a 1,000mm x 800mm x 500mm build envelope along with the company's renowned Connex multi-material capability. This printer, which was displayed at Euromold 2012, is big and means business; it's not your average hobbyist printer that you would find in your neighbor's garage. Measuring about the size of a compact car, the Objet1000 was designed to be used within industries such as automotive, defense, medical, or any other sector that may benefit from large, industrial size, 1:1 precise prototypes. It uses the effective and efficient technology previously used by...

Before lawmakers get back to the business of arguing about taxes, deficits and other issues as they open a new session of Congress today, there was just a nice moment outside the Capitol. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who suffered a stroke last Jan. 21, came to the Capitol for the first time since then. And as C-SPAN cameras watched, he made a very public return — slowly walking up the steps of the Capitol with assistance from Vice President Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va. Kirk, 53, was cheered on by other members of Congress, including his Democratic colleague...

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson.(Reuters / Jonathan Ernst) The head of the US Environmental Protection Agency announced she will step down from that role in the coming weeks, but a new report suggests her resignation may in fact be motivated by a 180 to be expected from President Obama. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson tells reporters that her decision to walk away as the top environmental regulator in the country after nearly four years comes at a time when she is “ready in my own life for new challenges, time with my family, and new opportunities to make...

Hastert says violation of namesake rule threatens GOP's ability to lead By Justin Sink - 01/03/13 11:48 AM ET Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said Thursday that current Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) decision to pass the "fiscal cliff" compromise bill without a majority Republican support threatened the party's "ability to lead" on future votes. Under the so-called "Hastert Rule," Republican Speakers of the House customarily do not allow a vote on the House floor unless a majority of the GOP majority supports a bill. Tuesday's vote on the fiscal cliff compromise deal passed the House 257-167, but Republicans voted...

With Benghazi still burning in the rear-view mirror of its wobbly foreign policy, the Obama administration is set to ship the Islamic Brotherhood government of Egypt 10 F16 fighter jets and 200 Abrams tanks and charge it to U.S. taxpayers... ...the Islamic Brotherhood is not a U.S. ally. Nevertheless, the Obama administration is prepared to arm them to the teeth with cutting-edge tanks and planes

ELEVEN YEARS AGO, al-Qaeda terrorist Richard Reid tried to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 with a bomb hidden in his shoes. As a result, air travelers to this day must remove their shoes to pass through security at US airports. In 2006, terrorists plotted to destroy as many as 10 planes flying from London to North America using peroxide-based liquid explosives smuggled in their carry-on luggage. So passengers now must limit any liquids they carry through security checkpoints to minuscule containers sealed in clear plastic bags. It is fundamental to the Judeo-Christian outlook that human beings are not naturally...

Our Al-TV Qatar hero shows us how it’s done: please turn on your traveling music. Now look at them yo-yo's that's the way you do it You play the guitar on the AL-TV (snip)That ain't workin' that's the way you do it Money for nothin' and chicks for free   Now that ain't workin' that's the way you do it Lemme tell ya them guys ain't dumb   (snip)We gotta install some microwave ovens   (snip)See the little faggot with the earring and the make-up Yeah buddy that's his own hair   That little faggot got his own jet airplane...

Pelosi: ‘Many Members of the Republican Caucus Don’t Believe in Government’ By Penny Starr January 3, 2013 (CNSNews.com) – In an interview on Thursday with National Public Radio, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that many Republicans do not “believe in government.” "There are many members in the Republican caucus who do not believe in government,” Pelosi said in an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep. “And bless their hearts, they act upon their beliefs. “So day to day, we vote here on issues that eliminate government initiatives for clean air, clean water, food safety, public safety,...

Two Placer County teenage girls were arrested for allegedly using drugged milkshakes to knock out the parents of one of the girls so they could log on to the Internet, Rocklin police said. Internet access at the Rocklin home was routinely shut off at 10 p.m., said Lt. Lon Milka, a department spokesman. Milka said that on Friday evening, a 15-year-old girl – who had a 16-year-old friend from Roseville visiting – offered to pick up milkshakes from a local fast-food restaurant for her parents. The parents drank about a quarter of the milkshakes but didn't finish them, saying they...

Guns are again the topic of conversation across the nation in the aftermath of the Connecticut school mass shooting. Opinions range from banning all but flint-lock rifles to having the federal government ensure a police office on duty in every school. Unfortunately, neither of these ideas can work. Banning private firearms violates the Constitution, the most recent Supreme Court decisions, and public sentiment. On the other hand, a police officer at each school would be too expensive to afford when our government representatives refuse to cut any spending at all, even if it is to spend two million dollars to...

(CNSNews.com) – President Obama issued a statement Wednesday rejecting several provisions of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including a conscience protection for military chaplains that he called “ill-advised”. Section 533 of the NDAA provides legal protections for military chaplains, barring the Defense Department from forcing them to perform services which violate their moral or religious beliefs.

John Boehner looks too calm and resolved. The other Republicans don't appear to be coming together trying to get a group to vote against "Cry baby" Boehner. I think the Fix is in folks we are about to be "Lead" by the Doormat until he can hand the gavel over to Pelosi......

Crazies. Cliff divers. Nihilists. Nutjobs. Those are just a few of the descriptions being applied to the 151 House Republicans who broke with Speaker John Boehner—they included his own supposed wing men, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Whip Kevin McCarthy—to vote against the fiscal cliff deal Tuesday night. In truth, what the fine print of the bill demonstrates is that the Republicans who refused to vote for the fiscal compromise had every right to be disgusted by it—that is, if you expect legislators to hold true at all to the beliefs that inspired them to run for office in...

An Illinois Senate Committee banned semiautomatic assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips. KMOV reported An Illinois Senate committee, in a party-line vote, has approved restrictions on semiautomatic assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips. One measure would ban the sale of semiautomatic handguns and rifles. People who currently own such weapons could keep them, but would have to register them. The second proposal would limit ammunition magazines to 10 or fewer rounds. Sen. Dan Kotowski, the bill’s sponsor, says he wants to concentrate on the high-capacity magazines because they make assault weapons more lethal. Democrats are pushing the gun restrictions in...

In March, Coach is Right published a story of official cover-up and falsification of witness testimony involved in the 2004 death of David Koschman at the hands of Richard Vanecko, nephew of former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. After 8 years, that story has finally come to a head. In the early morning hours of April 25th 2004, Koschman and three friends bumped into someone from a group which had been visiting the bars in downtown Chicago. A moment later, a member of that party struck Koschman, driving his head into the street causing brain damage from which the young man...

It’s an embarrassing time to be a Republican Congressman—albeit an outgoing Congressman.  As negotiators, we utterly failed to meet our two objectives: to reduce spending and prevent tax increases. President Obama demanded tax increases with small spending cuts, and that’s exactly what passed. Thanks to the leadership of Speaker John Boehner, the House passed a bill which raises taxes by $620 billion while cutting spending by a mere $15 billion over 10 years. Usually, a compromise is an even trade (one-for-one). In this trade, House and Senate Republicans traded $41 dollars in tax hikes for every $1 dollar in spending...

Connoisseurs of democratic decadence can savor a variety of contemporary dystopias. Because familiarity breeds banality, Greece has become a boring horror. Japan, however, in its second generation of stagnation, is fascinating. Once, Japan bestrode the world, jauntily buying Rockefeller Center and Pebble Beach. Now Japanese buy more adult diapers than those for infants. America has its lowest birth rate since at least 1920 — family formation and workforce participation (which last year hit a 30-year low) have declined in tandem. But it has an energy surplus, the government-produced overhang of housing inventory is shrinking and the average age of Americans'...