Free Republic

If the Democratic National Convention failed to produce a bounce for John Kerry, the same cannot be said of Illinois State Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic Party’s candidate for United States Senator from Illinois. While this rising star in the Democratic Party spouted some conservative themes during his speech, the rhetoric may be deceptive. While Obama spoke of individual responsibility – such as stating that the government cannot teach kids to read, parents must – his ideology and voting record is quite different. Obama is very liberal. Among his campaign contributors are George Soros, People for the American Way, pro-abortion...

WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama acknowledged Sunday he was considering a run for president in 2008, backing off previous statements that he would not do so. The Illinois Democrat said he could no longer stand by the statements he made after his 2004 election and earlier this year that he would serve a full six-year term in Congress. He said he would not make a decision until after the Nov. 7 elections. "That was how I was thinking at that time," said Obama, when asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" about his previous statements. "Given the response I've been getting...

The fifth week was the toughest for Katie Couric, whose viewership on the "CBS Evening News" has dropped each week since her debut the day after Labor Day. Her broadcast averaged 7.04 million viewers last week, third to NBC's "Nightly News" (8.56 million) and ABC's "World News" (7.97 million), according to Nielsen Media Research. CBS points out that the "CBS Evening News" is the only one of the three network newscasts with more viewers last week than the same week a year earlier. NBC's margin of victory last year was 2.2 million. "Where we were last week or even in...

Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday blasted the Bush administration for war and homeland security policies that he said leave Americans more vulnerable to attack. Kerry’s remarks came in a Faneuil Hall speech on the eve of tomorrow’s five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. In his fourth speech this year at the venue, Kerry accused the administration of using the tragedy that killed about 3,000 Americans to justify the war in Iraq. “It is immoral to treat 9/11 as a political pawn (to) excuse the invasion of Iraq,” Kerry said. “They were attacked and killed not by Saddam...

Live into some seriously inclusive diversity with the ever tolerant Barbara Harris But as in most situations, not all is sweetness and light. Even as many of us embraced and celebrated Bishop Jefferts Schori's election in those early moments at Trinity Church, Columbus (where we were, by rule and custom, to be sequestered until the House of Deputies could be notified by two representatives of the House of Bishops and could vote to concur in the election) the whining, dissident so-called " traditionalists" were out the front door and on their cell phones conveying the balloting results to their constituents....

Recently the Trib showed a map of the proposed 640-mile-long Trans-Texas Corridor-35 and the initial 316-mile toll road-and-rail segment between San Antonio and Dallas. Notice the area through Williamson, Bell, Fall and McLennan counties, then deduce why TXU’s previous plans to build three coal-burning plants in Robertson and Milam counties were suddenly switched to McLennan County. You will see, raising its ugly head, a 10-mile-wide “blue line” east of and roughly parallel to our Interstate 35. This marks the path of the TTC-35 tollway with its proposed electric-powered bullet train. With 11 coal-burning plants planned in Texas, is corporate TXU...

Since there is much buzz these days about an apparent relationship between Bill Clinton and Canada's Belinda Stronach, some of you might find it amusing to see just what kind of person she is. Click on the source URL to get to a list of articles about her. You will be amazed. Most of them were written durring the time she was running for the leadership of Canada's Conservative Party. After she lost the leadership race, she was elected an MP and became a member of the opposition cabinet. She basicly did next to nothing there, then jumped ship to...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Mission: Impossible III," the first big action film of the summer, opened disappointingly at the weekend box office in North American, despite a whirlwind publicity tour by its pricey star, Tom Cruise. The spy thriller sold $48 million worth of tickets in its first three days in theaters across the United States and Canada, distributor Paramount Pictures said on Sunday. The Viacom Inc.-owned studio said the figure was within its expectations of a bow in the $50 million range, but it was gratified by the international showing, where it earned $70 million after opening virtually everywhere...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two months after she caused a stir by driving a car while holding her infant son in her lap, pop star Britney Spears received an unexplained house call from child welfare authorities. A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said on Tuesday deputies accompanied workers from the county's Department of Children and Family Services on a Saturday visit to Spears' home in the beachfront enclave of Malibu. The spokesman, Sgt. Ken Cheurn, declined to discuss what prompted the DCFS house call, saying, "It was their investigation." But he said the matter was settled at...

Ok, here on FoxNews we have, oh abut 1000K people gathering in white t-shirts in Dallas. If you aren’t paying attention to this, you should be. I am going to propose a heretical idea. We have 11 MILLION or so of these people who are HERE, and they are NOT going to be leaving soon. If even a third of those 11 million get even slightly militant, we have one VERY serious problem. VERY, VERY serious. Here is the idea: Against the strident advise of the all the lawmakers in Washington, we just give them all amnesty. Then the GOP...

POLL: Will Katie Couric make a good network evening news anchor? Yes No Not sure

By KATE SHEEHY February 8, 2006 -- EXCLUSIVE A dimwitted teen phoned in a terrifying bomb threat to LaGuardia Airport - forcing panicked passengers to evacuate a plane - so she could buy herself time to get on the flight to avoid an explosive love triangle. Airheaded Anna Tarasov, 19, admitted to The Post yesterday that she came up with the scheme because the subway made her late for her impending flight from New York to Georgia to confront a jealous boyfriend. "I remember thinking it wouldn't be such a big deal. It totally slipped my mind about the terrorists,"...

A woman got a 30-day jail sentence for leaving her three young children home alone for several hours while she and her boyfriend attended a videotaping of "The Jerry Springer Show." Shannon Cook, 25, pleaded guilty earlier this week to misdemeanor child endangerment. She also was placed on probation for a year. The two girls and one boy, all under the age of 4, have been placed in foster homes... Police said Cook left the children alone at a suburban home Oct. 19 while she and her boyfriend went to Chicago for the taping. About five hours later, the two...

She Has Called for an Investigation Into Why Soldiers Are Not Fully Protected Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton called the Bush administration "incompetent" when it came to protecting the troops in combat and called the lack of adequate body armor for soldiers and Marines "unforgivable." So far in Iraq, more than 2,100 American troops have been killed. Critics like Clinton, D-N.Y., say that many of these deaths are the result of inadequate body armor. A secret Pentagon study of 93 Marines who were killed in Iraq found that 74 died after they were hit by a bullet or shrapnel in the...

According to The Superficial website, Palthrow was quoted by a UK website as saying the folllowing: "American actress Gwyneth Paltrow has praised Londoners for their resilience after the British capital's transport network was attacked by suicide bombers on 7 July (05). The Shakespeare in Love beauty, who lives in London with her rock star husband Chris Martin and daughter Apple, admits she is amazed by the locals' courage in the face of adversity. She says, "I find the English amazing how they got over 7/7. There were no multiple memorials with people sobbing as they would have been in America....

Louisiana is mad as hell. For the past 5 years, at least, "Internet Kooks" and a statewide radio show have been letting the truth out about how our politicians are destroying our state. The Blanco Administration doesn't like it and plan to do something about it. Too bad what they're planning isn't honest.

MIDI - GOOD SHIP LOLLIPOP On Sean Penn's ship "Idiot"...he's in need of a new fix-it kit His camera crew...starts to sink and they don't know what to do On Sean Penn's ship "Idiot"...he has thrown a hissy fit His photo-op...suddenly has taken quite a ker-plop He used his red cup...nice red plastic cup To start scooping that water out The guy is a dolt...big dolt...of that there is not a doubt On Sean Penn's ship "Idiot"...he is taking a big ego hit It isn't cool...we laugh as he plays the fool On Sean Penn's ship "Idiot"...he is truly...

MIDI - FAME (38 second intro) The press follows her...they're loving it, that's for sureStub her toe and it makes the news...she is really hating those evil Jews She's camped out in a ditch...soldiers think she's a *itchShe makes their job harder to doWhen will she get a clue Hey, Cindy, go homeFame...your 15 minutes ended...look at your watch, will you pleaseFame...Casey had proudly defended...this nation you think is sleazeFame...what in the world are you doing...you have been hurting his friendsFame...hear his voice come from heaven, "Mom, please make your madness end" (musical break) She's out of her mind...her...

MEET madcap Amanda Griffiths of Chorlton, the PhD student who is studying for a doctorate - in air guitar. Amanda is researching the phenomena of playing along to famous electric guitar solos with nothing more in your hands than a fistful of fresh air as part of her doctorate at the University of Salford. And the 32-year-old is even a special guest at the Air Guitar World Championships held in Oulu, where she will give a lecture on the subject. Her love of the invisible instrument first became serious in 2002 when she came fourth in the UK championships. Her...

Guess what? I bought a new car! Everyone's like, "Oh, does that mean you sold your book?" or "I thought you said you couldn't afford to go out to Takah the other night. And now you bought a car?" Of course I have no money. It's just that I finally figured out how this credit thing works. It's like the best thing ever. The more money you borrow, the more the banks are willing to give you. These lender people don't seem to care that I don't actually have a job and can't really afford this stuff, but whatever. I...