Free Republic

There’s a reason why it usually doesn’t end well when a kid goes straight from a life of party and privilege to the bright lights of a professional sports career. They have no clue how to handle the responsibility of fame and fortune. Just look at the fall of Johnny Manziel. There’s a reason why it usually doesn’t end well when someone mired in unemployed poverty wins the lottery and lands in the lap of luxury. They are oblivious about how to maneuver the challenges of money and power. Just look at the depressing case of David Lee Edwards. And...

Top honors on Friday typically go to ABC's Shark Tank, but the reality competition was down sharply from its year-ago premiere. It sank 45 percent among adults 18-49 to a 1.1 rating.

When Republican fundraisers solicited the party’s big donors on behalf of Mitt Romney this year, the centerpiece of the pitch was a state-of-the-art campaign to identify the party’s likely voters and make sure they came to the polls on Election Day. Political pros call these county-by-county, block-by-block campaigns the ground game. And while most of the media attention focuses on candidate speeches, debates, and ad buys, it’s the ground game where elections are won and lost. On Tuesday, Republicans lost the election on the ground. As the Republican Party picks up the pieces from overwhelming defeat, the first fingers are...

President Obama spoke of being president in the past tense during last night's second presidential debate with Mitt Romney: "The way we're going to create jobs here is not just changing our tax code, but also to double our exports. And we are on pace to double our exports, one of the commitments I made when I was president. That's creating tens of thousands of jobs all across the country."

Embattled presidential candidate Herman Cain decided to try to sing away his blues during an appearance at the National Press Club today. The former pizza magnate burst into an a capella rendition of a gospel song as questions about alleged decade-old claims of sexual harassment swirled. Saying he wanted to share his faith with the assembled reporters, Cain used his rich baritone voice to nail a verse from the Dottie Rambo number “He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need.”

Karl Rove said Monday that Herman Cain has failed to properly respond to the POLITICO report that at least two women accused him of inappropriate behavior, saying he needs to say “yes or no.” “He’s not denying, but he ain’t responding and that’s not the best place to be,” Rove said on Fox News. “If these allegations are not true, say they aren’t true and put it behind you. If not, better get everything out sooner rather than later because in a situation like this, if there is something there, that something’s going to come out.” Continue Reading Text Size...

When the World Stopped Turning: A 9/11 tribute A Tribute of slides and footage to the lives lost September 11 2001. Music: Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) by Alan Jackson This is graphic so if you don't want to see footage from the towers then do not click on.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has told President Barack Obama that he intends to stay on the job, Treasury said in a statement on Sunday afternoon. "Secretary Geithner has let the president know that he plans to stay on in his position at Treasury," Assistant Treasury Secretary Jenni LeCompte said. "He looks forward to the important work ahead on the challenges facing our great country." Geithner had indicated he might leave after a debt-limit increase was approved, but administration officials indicated that both Obama and the White House chief of staff had urged Geithner not to leave now.

Luxury watch maker Tag Heuer announced they are ending their relationship with the world's former top golf star. The contract is believed to be worth more than $10m (£6m) and the Swiss firm are the sixth major sponsors to drop Woods following revelations about his personal life two years ago. The Swiss watchmaker suspended use of Woods' image in the US after details of his extramarital affairs came to light following a 2009 crash outside his Orlando, Florida home.

Twenty-five U.S. special forces killed early Saturday in Afghanistan were on a mission to rescue another team of military personnel pinned down by insurgents, a U.S. military official told CNN. The helicopter that went down in eastern Afghanistan carried 30 U.S. military members, including 22 Navy SEALs and three other special forces. They were part of a "quick reaction force" sent in to pick up others engaged in a fierce firefight, the official said. In the single deadliest incident since the start of the decade-long Afghan war, the Army Chinook carrying a team of U.S. special forces and U.S. and...

El Al plane carrying 279 passengers on board takes off en route to New York but forced to return to attempt emergency landing after technical fault found in left wheel; over 70 MDA rescue teams at scene. A state of emergency was announced at Ben Gurion Airport overnight Sunday because of a technical fault on board an El Al flight expected to land at the airport. The El Al flight 027, carrying 279 passengers on board, took off en route to New York but was forced to turn back and perform an emergency landing when it was discovered that there...

Lance Armstrong’s former teammate, Tyler Hamilton, says Armstrong and other team leaders encouraged, promoted and took part in a doping program in an effort to win the Tour de France in 1999 and beyond, according to a report aired Sunday night on “60 Minutes.” Hamilton said he saw Armstrong take performance-enhancing drugs, EPO and testosterone and also saw him receive a banned blood transfusion. “I feel bad that I had to go here and do this,” Hamilton said. “But I think at end of the day, like I said, long-term, the sport’s going to be better for it.” In the...

Bishop T.D. Jakes, a Dallas megachurch pastor who will be preaching at Lakewood Church during Memorial Day weekend, is calling out Franklin Graham on his his hesitancy to accept Obama as a Christian and asking he apologize for casting speculation onto the president’s faith. We didn’t question the Christianity of President Bush when he said he accepted Christ, and I’m disappointed in Rev. Franklin Graham in that regard,” Jakes told Martin. ”…And I would hope that he would see the rationale in apologizing for such statements — because if the president’s faith is suspect, then all of our faiths are...

Christian Bashing T.V. Series Set to Air!!! ABC will be launching this on the air very soon. The title is so offensive to Christians and women that we cannot even print the full title in this email. This is not a series that you would want your children or grandchildren to see. ABC is set to launch a new T.V. series with the offensive title of GOOD CHRISTIAN BITC**S What’s worse, we’re sure it will be shown primetime when children are home from school. The show is not just offensive to Christians, it’s also degrading to women!!! Please click here...

Key medical providers have taken a stand against Obamacare's initial blueprint so complex it's unworkable. Earlier this spring, the administration released the long-awaited draft regulations for "accountable care organizations," (ACO). These networks of doctors and hospitals would collaborate to keep Medicare patients healthier and share in the savings with taxpayers. Obama's health care overhaul law envisioned that hundreds of such ACO's would be quickly set up around the county to lead a bottom-up reform of America's bloated health care system. However, in an unusual rebuke, a consortium representing premier organizations such as the Mayo Clinic sent a position papaer to...

Amazing Grace (2007, PG) William Wilberforce's longsuffering pursuit to end the British slave trade, inspired by his Christian faith and the encouragement of his mentor, John Newton. Chariots of Fire (1981, PG) Inspiring story of a young Scottish runner who is willing to put obedience to God before an Olympic gold medal. A Man for All Seasons (1966, G) The inspiring story of Sir Thomas More, the 16th century Chancellor of England who was beheaded by Henry VIII because he would not compromise his beliefs. More is played by Paul Scofield, whose last lines in the film are: "I die...

An evangelist is still recovering from burns after six young Muslim men beat him with clubs and belts and set him on fire last month in a village near this Punjab Province city, the Christian told Compass. Area Christians said they found the Rev. Wilson Augustine, 26, of Village No. 44-SB, unconscious with burns on his head, hand and arm on Nov. 22 near the bus stop of Village No. 101-NB on the outskirts of Sargodha. Christian elders Austin Masih and Nadeem Samuel of nearby villages said that Augustine, who was ordained in a small Presbyterian church in Village No....

Twenty years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that state laws that interfered with the free exercise of religion were constitutional provided their requirements applied equally to everyone. At the time, I and others warned that the Court’s ruling was a blow from which religious freedom might never recover. Twenty years later, I’m sad to say, we were right. The decision, Employment Division v. Smith, involved two Oregon drug counselors who were fired for using peyote during a Native American religious ceremony. While it makes intuitive sense that drug counselors should be fired for using illegal drugs, the majority decision, written...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office is being coy about who paid for a party Wednesday that celebrated the “accomplishments of the 111th Congress.” The event, according to an invitation obtained by POLITICO, was in the Cannon Caucus Room Wednesday afternoon. It was closed press, and invited guests were “advocacy groups.” When asked who paid for it, Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for the California Democrat, declined to reveal who was footing the bill. “No taxpayer funds or lobbyist money paid for the meeting,” Elshami said in an email to POLITICO. When pressed further, Elshami said “No taxpayer or lobbyist. What more...

The Daily Telegraph has learnt that concern over the release of a “significant” number of Islamic extremists has driven ministers to draw up rules for their supervision. Probation officers have been issued with a “menu” of restrictions that can be placed on terrorists freed on licence. The curbs are understood to include orders to have contact with only Government-approved imams, not to visit certain mosques, not to associate with anyone with a criminal record and not to use computers. According to Ministry of Justice figures, at least 20 convicted terrorists have been freed from jail this year after completing their...