Free Republic

WASHINGTON - Surprising fossils dug up in Africa are creating messy kinks in the iconic straight line of human evolution with its knuckle-dragging ape and briefcase-carrying man. The new research by famed paleontologist Meave Leakey in Kenya shows our family tree is more like a wayward bush with stubby branches, calling into question the evolution of our ancestors. The old theory was that the first and oldest species in our family tree, Homo habilis, evolved into Homo erectus, which then became us, Homo sapiens. But those two earlier species lived side-by-side about 1.5 million years ago in parts of Kenya...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, the consummate New Yorker, sought on Tuesday to convince conservative Iowa Republicans he has plenty in common with them. -snip- The couple hundred people listening in the high school gymnasium gave him a polite but hardly rip-roaring reception. A partition divided the gym to make it appear better attended than it was. Dozens of those who showed up didn't look old enough to vote. Handmade signs hung from a blue curtain behind the podium. Just before the candidate took the stage, a few in the audience tried to start a "Rudy,...

<p>WASHINGTON - The public's confidence in President Bush's job performance and the nation's direction has slipped in the opening weeks of his second term, particularly among people 50 and older, according to an Associated Press poll.</p> <p>Adults were evenly divided on Bush's job performance in January, but now 54 percent disapprove and 45 percent approve. The number who think the country is headed down the wrong track increased from 51 percent to 58 percent in the past month.</p>

Oscar-winner Michael Moore has taken a veiled swipe at Mel Gibson's controversial movie The Passion Of The Christ - his revenge after Gibson refused to back Fahrenheit 9/11. Moore was disappointed when the Australian heart-throb actor pulled out his financial backing of his expose of George W. Bush's regime and his reaction to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Braveheart star then refused to join Moore for a joint discussion with Time Magazine's editors, who were considering them for a joint Man Of The Year award last year. On the subject of Gibson's biblical opus, Moore tells Vanity Fair, "If...

Organizers of President George W. Bush's inauguration are confused by reports Kid Rock has been ousted from the list of performers - because he was "never booked" in the first place. Kid Rock, real name Robert Ritchie, was recently the target of outrage from several conservative groups when it was reported the star might be included in the president's festivities. The Campaign For Children And Families sent out emails to 2.5 million supporters decrying the appearance. But organizers insist the rocker was never set to join Jojo and Hilary Duff as a performer at the January 18 youth concert, which...

NEWSWEEK put Christmas on the cover of its December 13th issue, and the reaction among orthodox Christians was widespread and emphatic. Once again a leading member of the legacy media had produced a hit piece on Christian belief, employing many deceits, including the use of false dilemmas, the employment of only scholars with radical views, and the omission of evidence in support of the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus. The author, Newsweek managing editor Jon Meacham, didn't even try very hard to conceal his bias, becoming to religion reporting what Dan Rather has become to political reporting. My...

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Charities could be among the biggest winners from the box-office success of the anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11," according to a published report. The Wall Street Journal reported that about 60 percent of the net profit ultimately generated by the film could go to charities yet to be identified by Walt Disney Co.

SAN FRANCISCO - The technology and entertainment industries have long been at odds over the best way to secure intellectual property rights as digital technology advances. Now, five of what industry executives say are the world's most powerful computer, cellphone and electronics companies are planning a new system for protecting digital music, video and software from illicit file sharing that they hope will at least narrow that gap. A global consortium of technology companies is laying the groundwork for a campaign to convince Hollywood and the recording industry that it has finally found an acceptable way not just to limit...

NEW ORLEANS - Despite the likelihood of a split national championship, BCS coordinator Mike Tranghese said Saturday a playoff system for college football won't even be discussed among proposed changes for next season. "We're engaged in almost weekly discussions on the next BCS model, but a playoff is not one of the items we're discussing," he told The Associated Press. "And it won't be when we sit down four months from now." Tranghese runs the Big East Conference and serves as the Bowl Championship Series chief as part of an annual rotation among the six major conference commissioners. "The university...

<p>Iowa labor leaders Wednesday urged TV stations to pull anti-immigrant political ads that appear to represent a coalition of Iowa workers.</p> <p>"They don't represent anybody in the labor movement in Iowa," said Iowa Federation of Labor President Mark Smith.</p> <p>The ads, airing on KCCI and WHO television stations in central Iowa, call on the presidential candidates to change their positions on allowing more immigrant workers into the United States. The image of a fist hitting a punching bag, printed with a human face, is shown while a narrator talks about foreign workers dragging down wages and taking jobs away from Iowans.</p>

<p>The phone rang about 5:30 Sunday morning. It was my friend Kim calling to let us know they'd caught Saddam Hussein. She sounded pumped, excited. Finally some good news out of Iraq.</p> <p>I wasn't convinced. I hung up, turned on the TV, and the cynicism kicked in.</p>

Sexy actress Uma Thurman is a big fan of American President George W. Bush - but only because she finds him "entertaining". The Kill Bill stunner - famous for her liberal views - is deeply disappointed with the political achievements of America's premier but is sure he could redeem himself as a television personality. She jokes, "He should have his own show. He's a very charismatic guy. He's funny. I really wish he wasn't running the country. I didn't want him to be elected, but I hoped he wouldn't do a bad job. I have to say it's been less...

One flower may not prove the winter is over, but yesterday's employment report provided a strong indication that the economy is in an accelerating recovery. The surge in employment was greater than most economists had expected, including gains in October and higher counts than previously reported for both August and September. "At business cycle turning points, upward revisions are the rule," said Robert J. Barbera, the chief economist of ITG/Hoenig. "You can be pretty confident that the initial estimate for October will be revised upward, as well." The growth in employment now appears to have begun in August, as tax...

For more than two years now, the Democrats seeking the presidency have planned on running a 2004 campaign built around the weak economy and patterned after Bill Clinton's 1992 defeat of President Bush's father. But with the economy having surged this past quarter they are suddenly confronting the possibility of a far less encouraging historical comparison: that the election year economy could be more like the one Ronald Reagan ran on in 1984, when the country was coming out of a long slump. The rapid change in the outlook — underscored by figures released on Thursday showing the fastest quarterly...

Beyoncé Knowles and 50 Cent have two of the best-selling albums so far this year. Nonetheless, when Borders Books & Music recently redesigned the layouts of the music sections in its more than 420 superstores, the CD's from these and other young hit-makers were booted from prime browsing display space in favor of albums from the likes of Rod Stewart, Sting and Barbra Streisand. The rearranging proved prescient, as the release of the latest Billboard top 200 albums chart demonstrated. While Clay Aiken, runner-up in the most recent "American Idol" contest and no hipster himself, took the top spot with...

<p>America stood up to terrorism again last week. We shook off the leftover paralysis of Vietnam and opened a new front in the long struggle against state thuggery. We took another step in the long effort to make the world safer for our children.</p> <p>We invaded Iraq.</p>

<p>U.S. Sen. John Kerry on Saturday accused the Bush administration of being unwilling to compromise with key allies to win their support for a potential war with Iraq.</p> <p>But the Democratic presidential candidate from Massachusetts stopped short of saying he had changed his position since last fall when he supported a resolution giving Bush broad authority to order an attack if diplomacy failed.</p>

<p>A Des Moines lawyer says the church must embrace gays, not simply tolerate them.</p> <p>Congregations that merely show tolerance for gay and lesbian members should not pat themselves on the back, according to prominent attorney and former Des Moines School Board member Jonathan Wilson.</p>

Some top Iowa Republicans are privately panicking over the Democratic voter-turnout operation. The absentee ballots are starting to arrive in courthouses around the state and, as predicted, the Democrats are doing a far better job of lining up absentee ballots. If this continues, it will be a landslide year for Iowa Democrats. One top party leader said privately his party will spend $3 million in an effort to add 190,000 ballots to the mix on Election Day. They've put out 80,000 absentee-ballot requests and more are on the way. He expects Democrats to produce 130,000 absentee votes by the end...

<p>Complicated doesn't even begin to describe it. A high-powered team of African-American lawyers and scholars is preparing to file lawsuits against companies it claims profited from slavery prior to 1865. They're looking for financial compensation and apologies in industries, including banking and insurance. The ultimate goal is to use these suits as a vehicle for a case that leverages Congress to pay reparations for slavery as well.</p>