Free Republic

MSNBC hosts agreed this weekend that white voters hold President Obama to a higher standard than his white predecessors because he is black. "[Obama] now has a specific record of governing," MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry said today on her show. "A record that, I contend, because of his race will be held to a much higher standard than it would have been for a white incumbent. Those white voters who found what they were looking for in 2008 will not necessarily be so enthusiastic in 2012." Alex Wagner, host of MSNBC's NOW, agreed. "I think race absolutely has to do with...

De Beers says it will reduce its production to extend the life of its mines. Taking into account the moderated output diamond prices could rise by at least 5 per cent a year for the next five years, according to Des Kilalea, a diamond analyst at RBC Capital Markets. In 2008 De Beers produced 48m carats and the company will cut production to 40m in 2011. In the last two decades the industry has found no new diamond deposit to match the two biggest mines in Africa, owned by De Beers, or the best Russian mines of Alrosa, the other...

...snip....TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Already volatile Honduras slid toward greater instability after soldiers blocked an airport runway to keep ousted President Manuel Zelaya from returning, and protests that had remained largely peaceful yielded their first death. ...snip...Critics feared Zelaya might try to extend his rule and cement presidential power in ways similar to what his ally Chavez has done in Venezuela — though Zelaya denied that. But instead of prosecuting him or trying to defeat him at the ballot box, masked soldiers flew the president out of the country at gunpoint, and Congress installed Micheletti in his place. ...snip..."This is a...

Haven't seen so much media-generated hysteria since forever. But it's all bull. Smoke. All of it. Every. Single. Year. 30,000 Americans are killed by this exact same Flu. Type A. How many Americans have succumbed to this one? (that's a rhetorical question) I suspect, this is all an elaborate ruse. To cover up our "dear leader's" plummeting approval numbers. Someone, has been doing some polling. That's what I think.

ENQUIRER's exclusive bombshell expose as Sen. John McCain's wife, Cindy, is caught with another man! Not only that but multiple witnesses have caught the pair lip locking on several other occasions. "I couldn't believe I was watching Cindy McCain passionately kissing and hugging another man!" That's the stunned reaction of an eyewitness who says he watched in shock - and snapped photos - as the former presidential candidate's wife romantically kissed a long-haired man who resembles "a washed-up '80s rock musician." Sources told The ENQUIRER investigative team the pair have been seen at concerts and sporting events acting very lovey-dovey

UNITED NATIONS - The United States and France reached agreement Saturday on a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at ending the fighting between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said. Bolton refused to comment on the text, but an official with knowledge of the document said the draft calls for a “full cessation of violence” between Israel and Hezbollah, but would allow Israel the right to launch strikes if Hezbollah attacks it.

Following the sparks that flew today in the Senate when Ted Kennedy demanded to run the Alito Hearing and subpoena 30-year-old college magazines from a group to which Alito belonged that were unkind to minorities and women, Brit Hume said that if this is true, it is not very impressive of Alito and may be the beginning of Alito being in real trouble for confirmation. I was surprised that Hume had such a take.

Global warming is likely to produce a significant increase in the intensity and rainfall of hurricanes in coming decades, according to the most comprehensive computer analysis done so far. By the 2080's, seas warmed by rising atmospheric concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases could cause a typical hurricane to intensify about an extra half step on the five-step scale of destructive power, says the study, done on supercomputers at the Commerce Department's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J. And rainfall up to 60 miles from the core would be nearly 20 percent more intense. Other computer modeling efforts have also...

CONCORD, N.H. -- The author of "The Da Vinci Code" -- which suggests that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and had a child, but the church hushed it up -- says he left out the most controversial part.

Do you keep falling asleep in meetings and seminars? What about those long and boring conference calls? Here's a way to change all of that. 1. Before (or during) your next meeting, seminar, or conference call, prepare yourself by drawing a square. I find that 5"x5" is a good size. Divide the card into columns-five across and five down. That will give you 25 one inch blocks. 2. Write one of the following words/phrases in each block a. synergy b. strategic fit c. core competencies d. best practice e. bottom line f. revisit g. expeditious h. to tell you the...

Stars may align badly for stocks next week 'Market astrologer' sees possible repeat of 1987 crash By William Spain, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 12:56 PM ET Oct. 10, 2003 CHICAGO (CBS.MW) -- A tricky planetary set-up -- along with political/economic events and an ongoing slump in the U.S. dollar -- could put an end to the stock market's recent heavenly performance as early next week, according to one star/stock watcher. On Friday, market astrologer Henry Weingarten warned that Mercury will be at a 90-degree angle to Saturn during a key earnings week. That positioning means investors' recent bullish thinking "will be...

Trial for officers in Kmart raid starts June 2 By LISA TEACHEY Coypright 2003 Houston Chronicle Two former Houston police officers who were at the helm of a botched raid at a westside parking lot will go to trial June 2 to answer charges of official oppression. Capt. Mark Aguirre and Sgt. Ken Wenzel, who appeared in court today for the trial setting, each face five charges of official oppression for ordering the arrests of more than 300 people, including many teenagers, at a Kmart parking lot in the 8400 block of Westheimer on Aug. 18. The scene of hundreds...

The RAND Corporation's Drug Policy Research Center released a study Monday that casts grave doubt on the validity of the "gateway theory," the intuitive but unproven notion that the use of marijuana leads to the use of harder drugs. The "gateway theory" has guided US drug policy for a half-century and has been used by prohibitionists to justify imposing tough penalties for even the possession of small amounts of marijuana. In recent months, drug czar John Walters and others of his breed have seized on the "gateway theory" to campaign against relaxing marijuana laws in the states. While the RAND...

Former President Bill Clinton will lecture Feb. 12 at Bass Concert Hall, members of UT's Distinguished Speakers Committee confirmed Thursday. Event information such as time and ticket availability will be announced later this month, after it has been approved by Clinton's staff, said DSC Chairman Marc Eichenbaum. Clinton has typically drawn $100,000 per appearance at universities around the country since leaving office in 2001. But the former Arkansas governor opted to waive his standard fee as a favor to longtime supporter and distinguished UT alumna Liz Carpenter. Carpenter, former press secretary for Lady Bird Johnson, will also be honored that...