Free Republic

Flying is already a pain. But a story from the Associated Press Tuesday really brings home the point: The wire service reports that an entire plane was diverted on Sunday after a fight broke out over a passenger's right to recline her seat. The AP explains: "The spat began on United Airlines Flight 1462 because one passenger was using the Knee Defender, a $21.95 lock that attaches to a tray table and jams the reclining mechanism of the seat in front. "The male passenger, seated in a middle seat of Row 12, used the device to stop the woman in...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama returned to Washington just after midnight Monday for a two-day break from a summer vacation, during which airstrikes in Iraq and violent clashes in a St. Louis suburb intruded on his golf and beach plans. The exact reason for Obama's return remained unclear, though it appeared aimed in part at countering criticism that Obama was spending two weeks on the Massachusetts resort island of Martha's Vineyard in the midst of multiple crises. ... Obama had meetings on both matters scheduled for Monday. The president was scheduled to return to Martha's Vineyard Tuesday night. The...

Former Vermont U.S. Sen. James Jeffords, who in 2001 tipped control of the Senate when he quit the Republican Party to become an independent, died Monday. He was 80.

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder on Sunday ordered a federal medical examiner to perform another autopsy on a black Missouri teenager whose fatal shooting by a white police officer has spurred a week of rancorous and sometimes-violent protests in suburban St. Louis. The "extraordinary circumstances" surrounding the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown and a request by Brown's family members prompted the order, Department of Justice spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2z5-H8NSGA

...That Al Sharpton Will Hate (strong language)The shooting death of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer has sparked riots, looting, and destruction of property in the St. Louis suburb. This has given the liberal media and race baiters another opportunity to stoke the flames of racism, while the family of the deceased young man wants to mourn their loss in private. Yet, one common sense message was posted on YouTube by a young black man named Jonathan, who is challenging the rioters and the black community to stop blaming police and white people for their problems. Stop burning down...

Several "concerned local veterans" have reportedly pointed out that Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA) of the 26th congressional district sent a political mailer to her constituents in July that featured a stock photo of a "veteran" wearing a hat bearing a German Lutwaffe insignia, according to the Daily Caller. "The photograph is likely a purchased stock photo of a model in a costume contrived from various emblems to look like an official naval uniform. However it is clearly not an American Navy uniform, or that of any U.S. military branch," said Brownley's opponent, Republican Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo) in a press...

Richard Pryor hilariously portrays what the first U.S. President would be like (1977). Featuring: Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, Paul Mooney, Tim Reid, John Witherspoon, Sandra Bernhard, Vic Dunlop, Edie McClurg, Marsha Warfield

American voters want a presidential candidate who isn’t afraid to let it all hang out, and that’s exactly why Joe Biden is the presumptive frontrunner in 2016. Ronald Kessler’s new book, “The First Family Detail,” includes some revealing tidbits, the New York Observer reports: Secret Service agents dread being assigned to protect the vice president, in part because Biden’s a big fan of skinny dipping, according to a new tell-all book.

A demoted worker shot and critically wounded his company's CEO before fatally shooting himself Thursday in a downtown high-rise office building in Chicago's bustling financial district, police said. Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said a worker at a technological company pulled a gun after entering the 17th-floor office to meet one-on-one with his CEO. There was a struggle for the gun, and the CEO was shot twice before the gunman fatally shot himself, McCarthy said. CBS Chicago has confirmed the shooting took place at the offices of the tech company ArrowStream and the shooting victim was its CEO Steven LaVoie.

DENVER, July 9 (UPI) --President Obama turned down a hit of marijuana during a visit to a Denver bar with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. The man who offered the president some weed posted video on Instagram to document his story. The presidential motorcade also passed two people holding up signs offering Obama free marijuana but did not stop. During his evening out, Obama also ate at a pizzeria with several people who had written him letters.

Impeachment isn’t something to take lightly and isn’t a term thrown around casually by many elected officials or political pundits simply because a president takes an opposite position on a give political issue. While a good number of pro-life Americans probably want to see President Barack Obama impeached because of his lengthy pro-abortion record, impeachment as an actuality in the way President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives hasn’t been a serious subject.Until now.Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, in an executive article written for Breitbart News, is calling for Obama’s impeachment.Although Palin is pro-life and diametrically...

The strange and enraging case of Meriam Yehia Ibrahim continues, and the news isn’t getting much better. Freed earlier in the week from prison and a death sentence for apostasy, the young Christian mother found herself and her family surrounded by 40 or more agents at the airport when they attempted to leave Sudan yesterday. She’s out on bail but facing new charges of document fraud: The Sudanese woman who was sentenced to death for being a Christian has been released from her latest detention but has been charged with new crimes, MailOnline can reveal.Meriam Ibrahim has been accused...

A motorcyclist walked away from a crash that could have been deadly. It was recorded by a red light camera in Clearwater, Fla. A car slammed into the bike, sending the rider cartwheeling into the air.

Gerry Goffin, a hit songwriter and former husband of Carole King, died early Thursday. He was 75. Together with King, he wrote such classics as "The Loco-Motion," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Up on the Roof."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he won't attend a Washington Redskins home game until the football team changes its controversial name. In a letter late last week to the team's president, Reid called the Redskins name a racial slur that disparages the American people. The Nevada Democrat, who said he represents 27 tribes in his state, rejected Bruce Allen's invitation to a Redskins home game until the team does "the right thing" and changes its name.

A private chef employed by Miami Heat guard Norris Cole was shot and killed inside a popular South Beach nightclub early Tuesday, police said. Police say 42-year-old Antaun Teasley was found unresponsive inside Club Mansion....

If you’ve ever had a public defender in a criminal case, you probably plead guilty for fear of getting beaten in a trial. Yesterday in Brevard County, Florida however, a public defender got beaten at arraignment, literally. Judge John Murphy is accused of punching veteran public defender Andrew Weinstock in the face repeatedly, after the two exchanged words in the court room. Murphy reportedly wanted Weinstock’s client to waive his right to a speedy trial, and when he refused, the judge said “If I had a rock I’d throw it at you” and then invited him outside of the courtroom...

A man obsessed with Korean culture has gone to extraordinary lengths to look Asian after having 10 plastic surgery operations to change his appearance. Xiahn, 25, who was originally known as Max, became fixated on Korean culture following a year of study in the country. Xiahn, who goes by the pseudonym Oriental Gaucho online, watched hours of Korean soap operas and listened to K-Pop constantly – and in time became overcome with the desire to have plastic surgery so that he would look like a native Korean. ‘As you know, there are thousands of Asian eye styles,’ Xiahn told Metro.co.uk....

A family who was forced to buy healthcare is distraught after their daughter was denied medication because of an Obamacare error. Shelby Higdon needs her medication, but has been repeatedly denied it because the information in her BlueCross BlueShield health insurance account lists her as a male, not a female. “When it was time to get my medicine, they told that they couldn’t give it to me because on my insurance I was registered as a man,” Shelby told WLOS. Her mother, Kris Hitt Hidgon, shares her daughter’s frustration. She has called healthcare.gov “probably about eight times.” Each time Kris...