Free Republic

Vice President Kamala Harris cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate early Friday morning, confirming passage of President Joe Biden’s massive $1.9 trillions coronavirus relief plan. The spending package passed at 5:35 a.m. after a full night of debate, pushed forward by Democrats looking to force through a budget reconciliation deal without the support of Republicans.

Health care reform might be President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy, but not if you ask Republicans running for the House this year. According to them, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is the driving force behind the enterprise, assisted by an army of subservient lieutenants. In district after district, GOP candidates have unleashed a barrage of press releases, emails, and ads criticizing the California congresswoman for her efforts and explicitly tying their Democratic opponents to her, often while avoiding mention of the president’s role altogether. While Obama’s work to advance health care legislation is also a target in some contests, it...

DEER RIVER, Minn. -- Some say footprints found in northern Minnesota belong to the legendary Bigfoot. The prints were found by a Cass County grater operator near Deer River, Minn. When Bigfoot believer Bob Olson heard about the footprints from his granddaughter, he went to see for himself. He made casts of two of the 15-inch prints, which make the 6-foot-5-inch tall man's size-14 feet look small.

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, Dec. 2, 2005 – International man of mystery, David Blaine, stopped by Brooke Army Medical Center here Nov. 22 to perform "street magic" for the wounded warriors recovering at the hospital. Blaine performed three shows at the center - in the Amputee Care Center, the Burn Center and the hospital auditorium - for different groups of patients. Well known for his on-the-spot magic tricks, Blaine thrilled his BAMC audience with his street-style magic as he moved about the rooms performing sleight of hand and card tricks for the patients. Internationally famous for changing the face of...

'Help! Mom!' casts liberals as villains By Cheryl Wetzstein The Washington Times Published October 16, 2005 WASHINGTON -- Katharine DeBrecht, a married mother of three, wanted to make a point about the importance of conservative values. So, she penned a children's book -- "Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed!" -- to stand up to the "liberal agenda that's being thrown at our kids from the left." **SNIP** Liberals have lambasted the book as "brainwashing" and "Nazi propaganda." The Democratic Underground Web site listed Mrs. DeBrecht as one of its "Top 10 Conservative Idiots" last month. "If ever there...

Although the state's $3 billion stem-cell research institute could help companies such as VistaGen Therapeutics of Burlingame find new cures for a range of health problems, it won't bolster California's coffers the way its backers had promised, a new study has concluded. Many claims supporting last year's passage of Proposition 71, which launched the research effort, ``are based on unrealistic assumptions about the potential economic impact,'' according to the study unveiled Tuesday by the California Council on Science and Technology. ``Some statements about these returns verge on hyperbole.'' The report by the non-profit advisory group, which was created by the...

Va. Police Remove 246 Cats From Two Homes Mon Jul 11, 6:20 PM ET FAIRFAX, Va. - Animal control officers have removed 187 cats from a house in Mount Vernon and 59 cats and one dog from a home in Falls Church, authorities said Monday. In the Mount Vernon case, police went to a home on Ludgate Drive, Friday, to find Ruth Knueven, 82, living inside with 187 cats. Officers said the dead bodies of 86 more were left in trash bins outside. Most of the surviving cats were sent to an animal shelter, but animal control officers said they...

<p>While White House and national GOP officials insist they won't get involved in the California recall, a memo obtained by The Chronicle outlines a Republican strategy to oust Gov. Gray Davis and help President Bush before the 2004 presidential election.</p>

Man casts first stone Stockpiling rocks as weapons may have preceded sculpting them into tools. 21 June 2002 JOHN WHITFIELD A thrown rock can carry the force of a revolver bullet. Our instinctive feel for the ideal projectile could explain the design of hand-grenades, the collecting habits of geologists, the size of handballs and the weight of the imperial pound, says an engineer. Understanding that instinct could illuminate the lives of prehistoric hominids, believes Alan Cannell, who lives in Curitiba, Brazil. He thinks that selecting and stockpiling rocks as weapons may have preceded sculpting them into tools1. For millennia, a...