Free Republic

(Reuters) - A proposed unmanned floating airship surveillance system is being hailed by city officials in Ogden, Utah as one way to fight crime in its neighborhoods. "We believe it will be a deterrent to crime when it is out and about and will help us solve crimes more quickly when they do occur," Ogden City Mayor Matthew Godfrey told Reuters. The airship entails military technology now available to local law enforcement, he said. Godfrey floated the idea of a dirigible in the skies above Ogden for his city council members last week. The council is expected to vote on...

Long before the tea party movement grabbed half a dozen Senate seats, before its early proponents ever even dreamed of wearing Colonial-era garb in public, there was longtime Texas Republican Ron Paul, the one guy in Congress trying to abolish the Federal Reserve and shrink the government into near nonexistence. Paul won a devoted-bordering-on-cultish following during his 2008 presidential run, one which, obviously, didn't work out. But now Paul is telling the Times that "it’s at least 50-50" that he'll try again in 2012, and this time, with the movement built largely on his libertarian philosophy now a real force...

Freedom's Phoenix is reporting great interest in the TSA Opt-Out Bags they are handing out at Sky Harbor Airport - one of the first airports to "test" strip-search machines. The bags contain a clean pair of gloves for those inclined to a feel-up, so that the TSA agent won't give them whatever cooties are on the used gloves, but also a DVD of Rep. Dr. RON PAUL, the gentleman who introduced the Traveler Dignity Act in Congress, and the number of Marc Victor, esq., who will be happy to represent them in any false arrest or litigation stemming from the...

“Who’s the fat man in the cap?” - this delightful question was put to me this afternoon by a younger cousin looking over my shoulder, who is just about to start at university. The fat man in the cap, as it happens, is Michael Moore. And how wonderfully satisfying it is to hear that the liberal film-maker is not as well-known as once he was. It’s telling, too, that I found myself explaining him using Al Gore as a comparison - the green crusader has utterly eclipsed Moore with An Inconvenient Truth. Interested to see if my cousin represented a...

FOB WARRIOR — Pre-deployment training prepares Soldiers for a wide range of missions they may encounter. Flying a blimp is typically not one of them. Or at least it wasn't for Soldiers here, until a new surveillance blimp took its place in the skies above FOB Warrior. The blimp began operating June 28, and is part of a growing number of these blimps currently being used across Iraq. This equipment takes a special group of Soldiers operating day and night to keep it in the air and out of harm's way. "If the blimp starts losing helium, or if it...

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2009 – A giant, unmanned airship capable of hovering at about 70,000 feet promises to give future warfighters an unprecedented eye on the battlefield. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Integrated Sensor is Structure program, ISIS for short, will provide a detailed, real-time picture of all movement on or above the battlefield. Defense DoD graphic courtesy of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Integrated Sensor is Structure program, ISIS for short, will provide a detailed, real-time picture of all movement on or above the battlefield, explained...

The giant dirigible would use radar to closely and constantly monitor activity on the ground from 65,000 feet. The Pentagon said Thursday that it intends to spend $400 million to develop a giant dirigible that will float 65,000 feet above the Earth for 10 years, providing unblinking and intricate radar surveillance of the vehicles, planes and even people below. "It is absolutely revolutionary," Werner J.A. Dahm, chief scientist for the Air Force, said of the proposed unmanned airship -- describing it as a cross between a satellite and a spy plane. The 450-foot-long craft would give the U.S. military a...

Clark native Tim Lichardus hasn't had a place to call home for the last 12 years -- no apartment, no house, no timeshare. His job as a blimp crewman requires him to live out of a suitcase 11 months of the year. But the job is not without perks. There's no mortgage, no rent and no lawn. In addition, he's traveled to Jerusalem, Rio de Janeiro and China. But he isn't the one waving to worshippers, tourists and sports fans from a thousand feet in the air. He's on terra firma -- come rain, snow or heavy winds -- directing...

Retired steelworker Bill Callaway admitted he never heard of Hugh Rodham, younger brother of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, before he was invited to a campaign rally yesterday in Cedar Creek Park. But Callaway, 64, who formerly worked at U.S. Steel's Clairton works, said he was glad for an opportunity to get a firsthand taste of presidential politics so close to his Rostraver home. "Hey, it's beautiful outside this afternoon, and it gives me a little break from watching my grandkids. And I support Hillary because I think she's a much better candidate," Callaway said. Callaway joined about 65 other Clinton...

What do you think of the Ron Paul Blimp and the campaign finance laws? For those who don't know, I'll briefly summarize the history: A bunch of RP cultists decided to start an effort separate from the campaign to support RP, and came up with the idea of a blimp. They decided to start a website and accept pledges. People pledged wildly, and they quickly met their goal and started trying to collect the pledges. At that point, it occurred to someone that this is America, and you can't just do something like this without a platoon of lawyers, who...

The Capitol One Bowl Tuesday was set to pit Florida against Michigan. ~snip~ The Ron Paul campaign planned to put a blimp up over the Citrus Bowl Tuesday before the game, so more than 70,000 fans attending the Capital One Bowl would be able to see it pass by the arena.

Was out running lunch time errands and I looked up to see a white blimp that said, "Ron Paul '08" and underneath "Google Ron Paul"

Observed traveling West from Raleigh to Greensboro, white blimp with message "Who is Ron Paul Google www.ronpaul2008.com". My husband first observed it while he was traveling West to East from Greensboro to Apex. I saw it approximately 40 minutes later when I left a store in the Greensboro area.

RALEIGH - No, you're not imagining things. That really is a Ron Paul for President blimp flying over the City of Raleigh today. Organizers for the blimp took off this morning at 8am at the Airship Management Hangar in Elizabeth City, North Carolina and they are on their way to Chester, South Carolina where they will make their first stop. This afternoon, the blimp will be flying over north Raleigh and will most likely be visible from Interstate 540 at some point, said Bryce Henderson, a media coordinator for the effort. Organizers say the current schedule has it passing over...

  Ron Paul blimp charts unprecedented courseBy: Kenneth P. Vogel Dec 6, 2007 05:36 PM EST The Ron Paul blimp is set to fly from North Carolina, over Washington, New York and Boston, before heading to New Hampshire.Photo: AP Look! Up in the sky: It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s ... Ron Paul? If a whimsical publicity stunt goes as planned, a blimp hyping the long-shot Republican presidential campaign of the Texas congressman will launch next week.The Ron Paul blimp is set to fly from North Carolina, over Washington, New York and Boston, before heading to New Hampshire,...

. With any luck, the dirigible will be in the Washington, D.C., skyline sometime in the afternoon on Monday..... The plan is to have it floating over Boston Harbor by the weekend of Dec. 15, where Paul supporters will reenact the Boston Tea Party and hold a large rally at Faneuil Hall.....

This is a riot. They're trying to hire this blimp for a month. Looks like they may succeed. Too funny.

Being unhappy. Being happy. Friends who eat like a horse and never put on weight. Childhood admonishments to think of the starving in Africa. These are some of the reasons the overweight give to explain their size because they are too ashamed to admit they simply eat too much, according to a study. Researchers found there is such a stigma attached to being overweight that over-eaters are desperate to find something - or someone - else to blame. The findings mirror comments by Hamish Meldrum, the head of the British Medical Association, who said patients were increasingly seeking weight-loss pills...

My son was able to attend the Air and Sea show today in Ft. Lauderdale FL. The link is to the Flikr slideshow containing his pictures.

Rosie O'Donnell, hosting ABC's popular "The View" morning show, came to the defense of terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed today, suggesting the government elicited a false confession from the 9/11 mastermind by using torture, robbing him of his humanity and treating him like an animal. O'Donnell then argued terrorists are people too, and asserted the U.S. "robs them of their humanity." "They've been treating them like animals … they have hoods over their heads, they torture them on a daily basis," she said. In November, O'Donnell told Hasselbeck in an exchange on "The View" that Americans shouldn't fear terrorists. "Faith or...