Free Republic

"Whether this weekend finds you blowing two feet of snow off the driveway or counting the hours until "Downton Abbey," make time to watch the video of Dr. Ben Carson speaking to the White House prayer breakfast this week. Seated in view to his right are Senator Jeff Sessions and President Obama. One doesn't look happy. You know something's coming when Dr. Carson says, "It's not my intention to offend anyone. But it's hard not to. The PC police are out in force everywhere."

The Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner will attempt to become the first human to break the sound barrier unaided by a vehicle. He is going to jump out of a balloon at more than 120,000ft (36.5km) above Roswell, New Mexico. In the near vacuum at that altitude, he should accelerate beyond about 690mph (1,110km/h) within 40 seconds. If all goes well, he will open a parachute near the ground to land softly in the desert, 10 minutes later.

My daughter is travelling to europe over winter break and needs to be able to use her phone. Buying a new sim card and a prepaid plan seems to be the most cost efficient. This however, will require a jailbreak. Any advice would be most appreciated!

Thilo Sarrazin's comments about Muslims have triggered outrage in Germany and abroad, but have met with willing listeners among the general public. His rhetoric is slowly bringing about change in Germany, transforming it from a tolerant society into one dominated by fear and Islamophobia. ***more Socially Acceptable The Turkish-German writer and sociologist Necla Kelek made a speech at the presentation of Sarrazin's book on Monday in which she defended his ideas. Kelek is a fan of Sarrazin and has won several awards in Germany, bestowed by people who -- like her -- see all the problems of the world as...

Hello everyone, Bear with me on this vanity, as I don't post many. I'd like some personal opinions based on freepers experience, attending the following institutions: Clemson, Virginia Tech, Binghamton University, and University of Vermont. These are the final choices we're making regarding college for my son next year. We have to make a decision as to which one, by the end of the month. There is also a possiblity that he will transfer out of one of these colleges for his junior year to an Ivy. Any insights to these schools would be appreciated. You can only learn so...

Don’t read the rest of this article unless you’ve finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The predictions for book 7 will necessarily involve the revelation of some important plot details from book 6.

Okay, I'm not the most computer savy...I installed a linksys broadband router, the signal at the second computer is strong, but I can't get the receiving PC to allow me access to the internet. I've been to linksys's site, and it hasn't really helped me either. Is there something "simple" that I'm not doing? Internet explorer keeps asking me whether I want to use dial up or if I need a password to log on. I use comcast as my broadband provider.

Anyone hear this anywhere else? She opened her show with this announcement.

Election 2004 Cookie Cook off... Now, cast your vote for which batch of cookies you'd bring to the party: Laura Bush's Oatmeal-Chocolate Chunk Cookies Teresa Heinz Kerry's Pumpkin Spice Cookies Poll: http://www.familycircle.com/marketing/04_cookie_cookoff/index.html

Concerned about Republican inroads into the Hispanic community, congressional Democrats are trying to fend off a proposed merger between Univision Communications Inc. and the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation.clip The merger would place Jerry Perenchio, Univision's billionaire CEO and a registered Republican, at the helm of a corporation owning 65 Spanish-language radio stations. The closest competitor, Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS), has 27 stations.clip"If the Univision merger is approved, there may be less diverse programming, news sources, and viewpoints available to Spanish-speaking audiences," Daschle wrote. "This could significantly impact public debate and lead to less local and community-oriented programming." Several weeks earlier, eight...

<p>Plans are under way for an invasion of New Hampshire. Or Wyoming. Or maybe Delaware, Montana or Alaska. Sparsely populated and independent in spirit, they're all attractive targets for a bloodless coup in the making. Within the next several years, according to plan, 20,000 Libertarians would move to a single state and begin infiltrating. They'd find jobs, join civic groups, get elected and take a hatchet to taxes and laws.</p>

This is from the Los Angeles Daily news which is part of the Los Angeles Newspaper group,so I've only posted an excerpt....it's a great article. Use the link for more. It's been years since country crooner Toby Keith cared what you thought about him. His independent attitude was born long before he grabbed headlines recently for a swaggering jingoistic anthem celebrating the kicking of Taliban butt. Although Keith has long been a top country attraction, it wasn't until ABC News anchor Peter Jennings reportedly booted him off an Independence Day special (the network denies he was ever booked) that everybody...

<p>"In preparation for the nationally televised pageant, Lewis spends 2 1/2 hours a day working out, followed by hours of practice on her violin, which she will play for the talent portion of the contest.</p> <p>She's also polishing her issues platform of promoting accessible arts programs for children and studying current events by reading newspapers, watching CNN and listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio. This month, she'll participate in mock interview sessions to prepare for the interview portion of the competition, which is worth 50 percent of a contestant's score.'</p>

Heads Up! Victoria Jones just announced that she will be interviewing the author of a controversial unverified article regarding the Condit case: She hasn't announced "who" this is, but it's John LeBoutillier who authored the pulled Newsmax article regarding Condit/Levy and the carribean biker. She has mentioned the gay angle.

This is a story about two publishers--an old-fashioned socialist and a Silicon Valley techno-millionaire--and one proud but obscure magazine. It is set in Chicago and Berkeley, Calif. It involves a leap of faith. The magazine is called In These Times. It was founded 25 years ago by the old-fashioned socialist, James Weinstein. You have likely never heard of this left-wing political journal or its founder. Weinstein was never very good at promotion. In These Times is assembled in a converted watch factory at 2040 N. Milwaukee Ave. It is known for its feisty "We'll write about it if you won't" ...

FRANKFURT The opposition Christian Democrats scored gains in an election in the state of Hesse, officials said Monday. Despite negative publicity over a slush fund scandal, 39.6 percent of voters backed the conservatives in Sunday's voting, according to initial results issued Monday by the state statistics office. That was up 6.6 percentage points from the last local poll four years ago. Hesse includes the city of Frankfurt. In the vote for Frankfurt mayor, the Christian Democratic incumbent, Petra Roth, scored 48.6 percent, 14 percentage points clear of the Social Democratic challenger, Achim Vandreike. She faces a runoff vote April 1. ...

Bush, Gore Divisiveness Claims a Corner Not that this election has hardened the divisions among us, but at 34th Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW, where Bush and Gore partisans shout across the street at each other and the Bush folks have set up large canisters of hot water for tea, a sign on the containers says, "Bush Supporters Only. Gore Supporters Already Receive Enough Handouts." Ouch. Here outside the vice president's residence, Bush folks chant, "Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye," while Gore loyalists sing "God Bless America." Separated by a dozen bored D.C. police officers, each group ...

Arnold Schwartzenegger just hit Matt Lauer over the head with Bush's sweep of all the polls...Matt of course tried to spin it by saying that NBC's poll show him only 2 points ahead...Arnold replies by stating that NBC is always behind in these things. He also spoke about the reforms coming, when the republicans take the White House and Congress...Go Arnold!!!! Arnold will be on during the next segment with Al Roker...

MTV Poll The Choose or Lose Poll...the Debates: three official presidential debates have now come and gone. Did they have any effect on how you plan to vote next month? Choose or Lose http://www.mtv.com/nav/intro_chooseorlose.html

Freep this Poll: Dr. Laura? (see bottom right)Click Here For Dr. Laura?