Free Republic 2nd Qtr 2024 Fundraising Target: $81,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $36,544
45%  
Woo hoo!! And we're now over 45%!! Thank you all very much!! God bless.

Chit/Chat (General/Chat)

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • Ruger 77/44 44 Mag bolt action carbine

    07/08/2014 12:10:51 PM PDT · by Beagle8U · 51 replies
    Vanity | self
    I just picked up a new Ruger 77/44 bolt action and wondered if anyone here has any experience with them, or favorite loads/reloads for them? It is a SS 44 Mag bolt action carbine with an 18 1/2 inch barrel and Synthetic stock. Michigan just passed a law that will allow pistol cartridge rifles to be used for deer hunting in the 'shotgun zone', so I plan to use it for hunting deer. I'm thinking 240 grain semi-jacketed softpoints should do the job out to 125 yds or so.
  • Germany v Brazil 4pm EDT thread

    07/08/2014 11:52:10 AM PDT · by Perdogg · 71 replies
    Brazil V Germany
  • National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Withdraws Support for ENDA

    07/08/2014 10:53:11 AM PDT · by Citizen Zed · 6 replies
    towleroad ^ | 7-8-2014 | ANDY TOWLE
    "The morning after the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling, we all woke up in a changed and intensified landscape of broad religious exemptions being used as an excuse to discriminate. We are deeply concerned that ENDA's broad exemption will be used as a similar license to discriminate across the country. We are concerned that these types of legal loopholes could negatively impact other issues affecting LGBT people and their families including marriage, access to HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention and access to other reproductive health services. As one of the lead advocates on this bill for 20 years, we do not...
  • In Six Months, Microsoft Will Pull The Plug On Windows 7 Support

    07/08/2014 10:05:09 AM PDT · by Citizen Zed · 72 replies
    Business Insider ^ | 7-8-2014 | JULIE BORT
    Microsoft will end free mainstream support for Windows 7 on January 13, 2015. That means no more security patches if hackers find holes, no more updated features or performance improvements. This move will mostly affect consumers. Businesses that pay for extended Windows 7 support, as most of them do, will be supported for another five years, until January 14, 2020. That's important, because many businesses are right now are in the process of upgrading their old Windows XP PCs, but they're moving to Windows 7, not Windows 8. There's some speculation that, given the popularity of Windows 7, Microsoft might...
  • Obama Measure Up To President Obama?

    07/08/2014 8:47:07 AM PDT · by Citizen Zed · 2 replies
    The Blaze ^ | 7-8-2014 | Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan
    He has failed by his own standards in almost every meaningful respect. You might recall candidate Obama pledging to reduce health insurance premiums by as much as $2,500 per family. Well, guess what? The average annual cost of employer-sponsored family health insurance was $12,680 in 2008, and rose to over $16,000 by 2014. That means that the average family is $5,500 per year worse off than what candidate Obama promised. While the Affordable Care Act is just now being fully implemented, studies indicate that most Americans can expect to pay even higher premiums in the future. 2008 Promise: Annual health...
  • Protesters block a THIRD bus load of illegal immigrants from being transferred further inland......

    07/08/2014 8:15:10 AM PDT · by Morgana · 13 replies
    FULL TITLE: Protesters block a THIRD bus load of illegal immigrants from being transferred further inland in confrontational scenes at detention center, amid reports riot police could be brought in to deal with showdown Confrontational scenes played out again today in a southern California town where demonstrators claim they've diverted a third bus full of illegal immigrants who were brought in to ease an overcrowded Texas facility. Furious residents of Murrieta, California, greeted the bus as it pulled into town, holding signs that read 'Send Them Back with Birth Control' and 'No Vacancy: Try the White House.' The protestors are...
  • Tax Reform To End Inversions And Grow Economy/Jobs

    07/08/2014 7:52:46 AM PDT · by Citizen Zed · 2 replies
    forbes ^ | 7-8-2014 | Steve Abramson
    All our trading partners and over 100 countries have moved to a smart form of consumption taxation, the Value Added Tax, which is important as an equalizer in world trade. Subtracted from exports and added to imports, the VAT eliminates the burden of government from the price-value comparison of goods and services crossing borders. The VAT percentage is equivalent to a retail sales tax, differing by being collected at each stage of production. The VAT does not cascade, i.e., there is no compounding of tax at each stage. The U.S. is at a major competitive disadvantage without a VAT of...
  • The books many start, but few ever finish: Survey reveals the reads nobody reads (HRC 1.9%)

    07/08/2014 6:44:44 AM PDT · by InvisibleChurch · 87 replies
    ukmail ^ | 7-8-14
    It's the cultural crime we don't dare admit - starting that big, high-brow book with the best intentions before leaving it half-read down the back of the sofa. So those who give up on tough reads will be relieved to hear they're not alone. A mathematics professor has singled out which books are our most 'unread' - and intellectual big-hitters are far and away the worst culprits. Readers in their droves gave up on Hillary Clinton's memoirs, Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time and Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century before they were even a tenth of the...
  • WATCH: Man busts two women trying to steal his beach gear on Fourth of July

    07/08/2014 6:34:01 AM PDT · by GrandJediMasterYoda · 12 replies
    kdvr.com ^ | 7/8/14 | BY CHUCK HICKEY
    WATCH: Man busts two women trying to steal his beach gear on Fourth of July NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — Volusia County Beach Safety & Ocean Rescue told WKMG it was called to a report of an altercation on the Fourth of July of an apparent attempted theft of beach gear. A man walked up to where he caught two women attempting to take his canopy and other items. At first he pretended to see if they needed help, then he told the women they were stealing his stuff. At first, the women acted like it was a big mistake,...
  • Ohio man's online potato salad effort takes off

    07/08/2014 6:11:17 AM PDT · by Citizen Zed · 5 replies
    Times Leader ^ | 7-8-2014
    An Ohio man who turned to a crowd-sourcing Internet site to help him pay for a batch of potato salad has raised at least $35,000 from the effort and says he's now considering a huge public potato-salad party. Zack "Danger" Brown of Columbus says he turned to Kickstarter to help him finance the initial $10 effort. But six days into the campaign, he's raised money from at least 3,000 backers worldwide, and the whole thing has taken on a viral life of its own on the Internet.
  • How conservatives took a page from the radical left

    07/08/2014 6:00:51 AM PDT · by Citizen Zed · 11 replies
    WaPo ^ | 7-8-2014 | Philip Bump
    In Murrieta, California, scores of conservative protesters block buses filled with immigrants from arriving in the city. In Nevada, hundreds rally to bolster rancher Cliven Bundy's fight against what they see as improper government intrusion. These are to some extent offshoots of a broader, fading movement -- the tea party -- which saw protests at statehouses, over phone lines, and at the Capitol as a critical form of engagement. Meanwhile, in Washington, the Supreme Court rejects forcing employers to pay for birth control against their religious beliefs. It rolls back the Voting Rights Act and campaign finance laws. House Speaker...
  • Israeli military launches new Gaza airstrikes, prepares for potential ground invasion

    07/08/2014 5:50:25 AM PDT · by Citizen Zed · 3 replies
    Fox News ^ | 7-8-2014
    Israeli military officials said early Tuesday that they had carried out airstrikes targeting at least 50 sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as part of a new offensive aimed at halting rocket attacks by militants as President Barack Obama urged both sides to exercise restraint.  In a statement, the military said it was seeking to "retrieve stability to the residents of southern Israel, eliminate Hamas' capabilities and destroy terror infrastructure operating against the State of Israel and its civilians." "We have repeatedly warned Hamas that this must stop and Israel's defense forces are currently acting to put an end of...
  • Appeals court rules immigrant ‘dreamers’ can get driver’s licenses

    07/08/2014 5:45:52 AM PDT · by Cringing Negativism Network · 7 replies
    The Washington Times ^ | Monday, July 7, 2014 | By Stephen Dinan
    A federal appeals court ruled Monday that young adult illegal immigrants whom President Obama has given tentative permission to be in the country — so-called “dreamers” — are also entitled to driver’s licenses and ordered Arizona to issue them. Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/7/court-immigrant-dreamers-can-get-drivers-licenses/#ixzz36segyNlv Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
  • The BIG threat to Obamacare (video)

    07/08/2014 5:38:16 AM PDT · by Citizen Zed · 3 replies
    cnbc ^ | 7-7-2014 | @_DanMangan
    In a nutshell, plaintiffs in the case Halbig v. Sebelius claim those often-valuable subsidies are illegal because the Affordable Care Act only authorized such tax credits for people who bought insurance through one of the exchanges originally set up by an individual state or the District of Columbia—not the federal exchange. Nearly 90 percent of the people who enrolled in plans via the federal exchange qualified for those subsides because they had low or moderate incomes. Take away those subsidies and many, if not most, of the enrollees on HealthCare.gov might not buy insurance next year because they will find...
  • Wall Street pins its hopes on Hillary Clinton

    07/08/2014 5:27:40 AM PDT · by Citizen Zed · 14 replies
    cnbc ^ | 7-8-2014
    As its relationship with Democrats hits a historic low, Wall Street sees a solution on the horizon: Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mrs. Clinton was the industry's home state senator, and the financial sector was the second-largest giver to her presidential campaign in 2008. In her post-State Department life, she has been showered with lucrative speaking fees from Goldman Sachs, J. P. Morgan and other financial firms. In her talks, she says it is unproductive to vilify the industry, and she avoids the kind of language that puts off financial executives, as when President Obama referred to "fat cat" bankers in 2009....
  • Critics Hate 'America,' Public Gives Patriotic Docudrama A+

    07/08/2014 4:46:34 AM PDT · by servo1969 · 16 replies
    Breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood ^ | 7-7-2014 | Christian Toto
    In case we needed any more proof of the disconnect between mainstream movie critics and the public ... enter America. The new docudrama from the team behind 2016: Obama's America, earned some of the surliest reviews in recent memory. Critics sniffed the film was "odious," "hypocritical," and filled with "outright lies." One august reporter directly told readers not to see the film. Here's how the critic at RogerEbert.com starts his review: In 2012, political commentator, author, disgraced former university president and convicted felon Dinesh D'Souza Others reveal their news biases directly, like this critique in the Salt Lake Tribune: The...
  • Fans of Quinn and Rose Daily Discussion - Tuesday, July 8, 2014

    07/08/2014 2:36:02 AM PDT · by sneakers · 14 replies
    Quinn and Rose are off the air, and we await word that they are returning soon. (Stand by) Meanwhile, our friendly group of dedicated FReeper Q&R fans will meet in our usual spot - same time, same station - as we always have! So grab your coffee - or whatever you choose to start your day - and drop in for some political chit-chat, or just to shoot the breeze! We are all coming from - or going to - work, but we all stop in to say ‘hi!’ Feel free to join us!
  • A look at the Minuteman missile, mission, future

    07/07/2014 11:04:03 PM PDT · by Citizen Zed · 11 replies
    Sacramento Bee ^ | 7-7-2014 | ROBERT BURNS
    The Air Force's nuclear missiles have stood ready for war on short notice for more than 50 years. Americans tend to assume the missiles are safe, if they even remember they exist. But safety cannot be taken for granted. President John F. Kennedy said the missiles represent "the most awesome destructive power that any nation or any man has ever conceived." The Air Force operates just one type of land-based nuclear missile, the Minuteman 3. It is a class of weapon known as an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM. The term refers to the fact that it has global reach....
  • Muslim student loses scholarship after refusing to meet foundation's head for drinks

    07/07/2014 10:53:53 PM PDT · by Citizen Zed · 28 replies
    Russia Today ^ | 7-7-2014
    After refusing to meet for drinks with the head of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation, the organization told the Hispanic student she was not eligible for a scholarship given she was Muslim, the young woman claims in court. Moriah Elusta has sued the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation (ILLCF) and the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) in Cook County Court. She is seeking punitive damages for breach of contract and violation of due process. Elusta, a student of UIC from 2011 to 2014 who was on track to graduate in three years with a 3.32 grade point average, claims ILLCF’s...
  • Jihadis Tug at Edges of a Staunch American Ally

    07/07/2014 10:40:42 PM PDT · by Citizen Zed · 9 replies
    ny times ^ | 7-7-2014 | BEN HUBBARD
    MAAN, Jordan — Hanging from the facade of a shuttered bank on a bustling market street in this sunbaked town were two large, white banners emblazoned with black letters. “We congratulate the Islamic nation for its epic conquests,” one read. “Granted by Allah to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.” The banners went up last month after about 100 local residents carried them through downtown, waving the black flags of jihad and praising the extremist group that has seized territory in two neighboring countries.