Free Republic

If the sport of football ever dies, it will die from the outside in. -- Jonah Lehrer If an increasing number of economists and trend analysts are to be believed, we may one day look back at something like Colt McCoy's concussion against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011 as one of many galvanic events that blew football apart, and reduced the country's most popular sport to a marginal pastime. It's unlikely that such a colossal financial concern as football could be killed off entirely, but as Malcolm Gladwell first wrote in the New Yorker in 2009, it's not crazy to...

As hard as it may be to believe, these adorable pups have been abandoned and are on the lookout for new owners. The eight-week old Jack Russell crosses, with their sad puppy dog eyes, are among a record 16 puppies in only five days taken into one Welsh rescue centre. ‘They are really cheeky, playful little things, so I’m hopeful we should be able to find good homes for them,’ said Nicky Owen from North Clwyd Animal Rescue. . . .

Anyone else experience this? It's just on Free Republic only.

Fellow Conservatives: Former Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey announced this week that he will not run for the open seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Senator Ben Nelson. Kerrey's decision eliminates the Democrats' strongest possible recruit and all but guarantees that the winner of the Republican primary will be the next Senator from Nebraska. This is great news, but now the question is whether Nebraska's next senator will be a true conservative we can trust or another establishment Republican who lets us down after the election. Thanks to your support, conservative champion Don Stenberg is gaining momentum in the race...

The Senate is seriously considering a bill by Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown that would increase foreign worker importation, even as millions of Americans remain unemployed. The legislation would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to add the Republic of Ireland to the E-3 visa program. If passed, an additional 10,500 visas would be available to workers from Ireland to compete for U.S. jobs. The two-year visas can be renewed indefinitely. Senator Brown's bill (also sponsored by Mark Kirk of Illinois) is very similar to a bill sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. Schumer's bill has been temporarily blocked...

Dear (ShadowAce), Energy and jobs are two things that Americans need to survive. The Keystone XL Pipeline would provide both, free of cost to American taxpayers. That is why this week, I introduced the bipartisan Keystone for a Secure Tomorrow Act (K-FAST) to allow Congress to act immediately and approve the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Congress has the obligation and the legal ability to say yes. In fact, in 1973, after years of delay, Congress took similar action and passed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act in order to build the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The Keystone XL Pipeline is a...

ELLENSBURG -- From Bigfoot to the disappearance of D.B. Cooper, the Pacific Northwest is full of mysteries. Another mystery burred deep in the hills of eastern Washington keeps resurfacing. Ellensburg and its surrounding valleys and Manastash Ridge are beautiful in any season. Some believe what lies beneath is a deep, dark hole with supernatural powers. A man named Red Elk is one of the only people alive known to have ever seen the mysterious hole.

War Drums

Scarlett Johansson isn't ready to talk yet about Nate Naylor, her just-revealed boyfriend of five months. The sartorial choices of Rick Santorum and the Republican National Committee, however, were fair game for Johansson, 27, who stepped out at a Tuesday fundraiser for President Barack Obama hosted by Vogue in NYC. Santorum, 53, was the surprise winner in the Republican primaries in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado on Tuesday -- but Mitt Romney's rival won't be winning any fashion awards for his talked-about sweater vests, Johansson joked. "Oh gosh, so sad," the We Bought a Zoo actress said. "My dad wore them,...

So , NFL & NBC Apologize to me? No M.I.A. needs to Apologize for herself on national TV spots! So, NFL & NBC here is an "M.I.A." back at you.

The Giants will celebrate their Super Bowl XLVI victory in New Jersey Tuesday. After a ticker-tape parade along the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan beginning Tuesday at 11 a.m., the Giants will return to the Meadowlands' MetLife Stadium for a rally beginning at 3 p.m. Gov. Chris Christie announced the rally at MetLife Stadium in a tweet today, saying "All Giants fans in NJ should be there of [sic] you can." Details still have not emerged, however, as to whether those hoping to attend the rally will need to acquire tickets.

New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker was so upset over dropping a crucial pass late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 21-17 loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, he nearly started crying at the podium. Welker isn't going to get any pity from quarterback Tom Brady's wife, Gisele Bundchen, though. After her prayers for a Patriots' championship went unanswered, Bunchen lashed out at the team's receiving corps for failing to haul in her husband's passes. While waiting for an elevator at Lucas Oil Stadium, Bundchen was being heckled by Giants fans when she spoke to people in...

<p>After last night’s 21-17 loss in the Super Bowl, the wife of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was making her way to the team’s locker room. Along the way, Gisele Bundchen (I continue to refuse to call her a “supermodel” until she displays at least one super power) vented regarding the inability of some of Tom’s teammates to secure balls that hit them in the hands.</p>

The 2012 Super Bowl ultimately went against the New England Patriots by 21-17, much like in 2008. Now that the New York Giants have beaten the Patriots in the final minutes for the second Super Bowl in a row, it has made everyone rethink the legacies of both teams. New England should have the greatest dynasty in NFL history and even in sports history by now. While Brady and Belichick still have their three titles, ... they should have six or even seven instead - and that has now started to overshadow the rings they do have. If New England...

Okay, comments and predictions here.

So close to the Super Bowl, yet so far. Wide receiver Tiquan Underwood was released by the New England Patriots on Saturday night, less than 24 hours before Super Bowl XLVI -- bad news for him, of course, but a move that increases the likelihood Chad Ochocinco will be active against the New York Giants in Indianapolis. The Patriots signed defensive end Alex Silvestro from their practice squad to take Underwood's roster spot. "Silvestro is a defensive end/tackle. They'll utilize him especially on rushing downs in a four-man front over the guard," NFL Network's Michael Lombardi said Saturday on "NFL...

INDIANAPOLIS -- On one last Hail Mary try, Tom Brady heaved it up for his two star tight ends in the end zone. Neither Rob Gronkowski or Aaron Hernandez, who both got a hand in the play, could come down with it. The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI, the second time the Giants beat the Patriots in the last four years in the NFL's title game. Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw scored the go-ahead touchdown with 0:57 left in the game.

MYFOXNY.COM - New York City will throw a parade Tuesday morning for the New York Giants to celebrate their Super Bowl title. The victory parade will travel through the financial district's Canyon of Heroes. Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/new-york-giants-super-bowl-victory-parade-2012#ixzz1lZJBD5iA

I made a comment there because they were contending he couldn't be President since he was born in the Philippines but both of his parents were and always have been American citizens (from Jacksonville, FL). As far as I know I think that makes Tim a natural born, US citizen. Since the Dems believe that American soldiers should be punished for risking life and limb and denied the right to vote so it wwouldn't surprise me they would try to deny the American born son of two American missionaries HIS rights as they were actually feeding the indigent in a...

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - A college student claims he was injured when a fraternity member in a "drunken stupor" decided "that it would be a good idea to shoot bottle rockets out of his a***," and did so, "but instead of launching, the bottle rocket blew up in the defendant's rectum, and this startled the plaintiff and caused him to jump back," and fall off the fraternity's deck. Louis Helmburg III sued The Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity Inc., of Huntington, West Virginia, and Travis Hughes, a fraternity member, in Cabell County Court. Helmburg claims - in a statement it would be...

From another bulletin board where I hang out: COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America . ABBOTT: Good subject. Terrible times. It's about 9%. COSTELLO: That many people are out of work? ABBOTT: No, that's 16%. COSTELLO: You just said 9%. ABBOTT: 9% Unemployed. COSTELLO: Right 9% out of work. ABBOTT: No, that's 16%. COSTELLO: Okay, so it's 16% unemployed. ABBOTT: No, that's 9%... COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 9% or 16%? ABBOTT: 9% are unemployed. 16% are out of work. COSTELLO: If you are out of work you are unemployed. ABBOTT: No, you can't...

Producer, director and screenwriter Zalman King, whose credits include erotically-charged films such as "9 1/2 Weeks," "Red Shoe Diaries" and "Wild Orchid," died Friday morning at his Santa Monica home following a six-year battle with cancer. King, whose wife Patricia Louisianna Knop, was at his side at the time of his death, was 70.

Written by a housewife in New Brunswick , to her local newspaper. This is one ticked off lady... "Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not, started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001and have continually threatened to do so since? Were people from all over the world, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan , across the Potomac from the capitol of the USA and in a field in Pennsylvania ? Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or...

Dear xxxxxx, At a time when we need to be focusing on creating jobs and growing the economy, partisan extremists in Richmond have a very different agenda: right now they’re ramming through a series of bills that are deliberately designed to disenfranchise Virginia voters. If passed, these measures will make it much harder for many minorities, seniors, low-income populations, and disabled Virginians to cast their ballots. It’s a page that comes straight from Karl Rove’s playbook in the 2000 Presidential election – and it’s outrageous. People died for the right to vote in this country, and we have to protect...

Lieutenant General William Boykin has stared cowards in the face before, and he won't hesitate to do so now. Not even when the same Army he served is trying to take away the freedom he fought to protect. Boykin, an outspoken Christian and Delta Force hero, had been looking forward to speaking at the West Point Prayer Breakfast since the Academy invited him. In the days leading up to the event, the General Boykin settled on a topic: the importance of leaders seeking God. But it was a speech he never got to deliver. The Academy withdrew the invitation when...

If You Can't Exercise Your Conscience, Vote it! President Obama told the crowd at this morning's National Prayer Breakfast, "We can't leave our values at the door." That's ironic, since the administration is ordering the church to do exactly that when it comes to contraception and abortifacients. Under his new mandate, religious groups have no choice but to set aside their convictions and pay for drugs that can end or prevent a pregnancy. For some people, the decision is bringing the perils of ObamaCare in shaper focus. Coercion like this is at the center of Obama's law, which already forces...

One of Mitt Romney's fundraising "bundlers" works as a lobbyist for the Green energy firm Ener1, which became a flash point for Republicans last week after it filed for bankruptcy three years after receiving a $118.5 million grant from the Obama administration...

(CBS/AP) SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, one of the top prep recruits in the country, has signed a national letter of intent to play at Missouri. The Springfield (Hillcrest), Mo., player says he wanted to remain close to home and that the Tigers — who are entering the Southeastern Conference next season — are the perfect fit. Green-Beckham says he built a close relationship with the Missouri coaches during the recruiting process and that influenced his decision. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Green-Beckham says he slept on his decision Monday night after weekend visit to Columbia, Mo., and he still...

According to the following from Zerohedge, Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Times, American Spectator, Politico, Dirtdiggersdigest and others, Romney is about as big a pro-crony capitalism, taxpayer-funded corporate welfare hog/queen as you can get. He will make Obama look like an amateur. Hence, why Wall Street is lining up behind Mitt Romney. You can't have what many on Wall Street want and support free enterprise. Corporatism/crony capitalism/corporate welfare should be eschewed by conservatives. If only many in the so-called conservative media would be honest with people instead of trying to mischaracterize and pigeonhole Gingrich... Zerohedge On Mitt Romney's Defense of Bain...

Instead of appealing to voters to vote for him based upon x,y and z, he panders for votes by trying to increase his opponents negatives (as in FL) above his own by massively outspending them on negative ads. This approach has led to his negatives skyrocketing and his positives declining among independents and moderates. Fivethirtyeight and others have been monitoring this, and it isn't pretty. With each battle won (temporarily in Iowa and now Florida), he is headed to surpassing Obama's negatives or having lower positives (some show he already has) and he will ultimately lose against Obama if he...

The nerves in Manning’s arm are not healing as quickly as hoped and, worse, don’t appear to be progressing at enough of a rate to indicate that he will play again, according to two sources with knowledge of Manning’s rehabilitation from neck surgery. The vertebrae in his neck that were fused have healed as expected and Manning began throwing in December. But he hasn’t shown improvement in velocity on his passes, and the two sources fear he likely never will again. In addition, two league-affiliated doctors with experience in spinal fusion surgery said it could take up to a year...

I have exciting news. After an almost ten-year struggle involving hundreds of thousands of mobilized Hoosiers, it appears that Indiana will finally be able to enjoy all the benefits of a Right to Work law. On Wednesday, the Indiana House of Representatives passed the Right to Work bill to free nearly 200,000 Hoosiers who have been forced to pay union dues or fees for the privilege of getting up everyday and going to work so they can provide for their families. The Indiana Senate passed an identical bill earlier this week but must still approve the House version before it...

Yesterday, the Senate Education & Health Committee passed Senate Bill 484, which would force women to have an ultrasound 24 hours prior to having an abortion for political—not medical—reasons. Your Senator is expected to vote on this bill early next week. Tell Your Senator: VOTE NO ON SENATE BILL 484! This bill is an intrusion into private, personal medical decisions that women should make in consultation with their physician. It and others like it are being pushed this year by opponents of women’s health in states all across the country. Mandatory ultrasounds and waiting periods are simply delay tactics that...

Dear Friends -- There's something happening in Richmond that I think you should know about. Right now, Republican legislators are going out of their way to make it harder for Virginians across this Commonwealth to vote. Republicans are pushing legislation to prevent thousands of Virginians who do not have government-sponsored identification from casting a regular ballot on election day. They want to make people who register to vote wait five days before casting an absentee ballot. They are also trying to make it illegal to help more than two people with an absentee ballot application in the same election year....

OTTAWA — Prop comedy. Such a simple concept, so rarely incorporated in the NHL's Breakaway Challenge Skills Competition. Alex Ovechkin won the 2009 event in Montreal by donning sunglasses and a goofy hat. In 2012, two NHL superstars finally gave props to the skills competition again. [...] (vids at link)

Four years ago today, I joined my Uncle Teddy and thousands of excited students at American University to endorse Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Barack Obama had stirred something in young people and the young at heart. I saw the passion in my own teenage children, and I heard it from a different generation of people who said they felt like they did when my father ran for president. We felt strongly that we needed to elect a president who urged us to believe in ourselves, who could tie that belief to our highest ideals,...

Happy 256th birthday, Mozart! Try to give him a listen today. :)

Not long after North Carolina State lost to rival North Carolina for the 11th straight time on Thursday night, reporters asked junior forward Scott Wood how frustrating it was to have never beaten the Tar Heels. Wood's response was brilliant in its simplicity. "Has your wife ever cheated on you?" Wood deadpanned in response. Then after a few seconds of the most awkward silence imaginable, he responded, "that's probably how frustrating it is."

Jeopardy Contestants Don't Know Rachel Maddow

WTF? Censorship on Arizona non-candidate

NASA's Kepler mission has discovered 11 new planetary systems hosting 26 confirmed planets. These discoveries nearly double the number of verified Kepler planets and triple the number of stars known to have more than one planet that transits, or passes in front of, its host star. Such systems will help astronomers better understand how planets form. The planets orbit close to their host stars and range in size from 1.5 times the radius of Earth to larger than Jupiter. Fifteen of them are between Earth and Neptune in size, and further observations will be required to determine which are rocky...

Democrats to others they disagree with, especially if it deals with an Obama political policy: "you are a racist." McCain: Gingrich is "dangerous." Romney: Gingrich is "erratic." Lots more where that came from, too. Especially from Romney. Romney during the last debate: Santorum is "angry." Gov. Christie: Newt is embarassing to the GOP. Get ready....soon Romney and his supporters will be calling Gingrich a "racist"? There will be nastiness, but Romney started it all with his vicious ad-hominem laced ads in Iowa, and neither Gingrich, Santorum or Paul have even come close to taking the hurling of personal insults to...

I'll give a link to the entire Forbes.com article below, which I am quoting and excerpting. I believe that pro-Gingrich people are running ads on this. "In 1989, Bain Capital purchased controlling interest in Damon Corp...During the time that Bain held its ownership of the company, Mitt Romney sat on the board of directors...during that same period, Damon Corp. was busy selling fraudulent reimbursement claims to the tune of millions of dollars...By the time Damon Corp. pleaded guilty...Bain was long gone having sold the company in 1993 to Corning Inc... When Mitt Romney was confronted with the matter during his...

"GINGRICH WAS BORN IN KENYA!! ... HIS GRANDMOTHER SAYS SHE WAS THERE AT THE HOSPITAL IN KENYA WHEN HE WAS BORN! HE WENT TO COLLEGE UNDER A INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP FROM INDONESIA, BECAUSE HE'S SECRETLY A MUSLIM! HE SAT IN REVEREND WRIGHT'S CHURCH OF BLACK LIBERATION AMERICA HATING THEOLOGY FOR 20 YEARS AND HATES AMERICA!!! HE STARTED HIS POLITICAL CAREER IN A KNOWN TERRORIST AND MURDERER NAMED BILL AYERS LIVING ROOM HIS FRONT LAWN BELONGS TO CONVICTED FELON TONY REZKO WHO BOUGHT IT AS A THANK YOU FOR ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS INVOLVING SCAMS AND FRAUD A PROMINENT CAMPAIGNER FOR NEWT...

The president labeled "No Drama Obama," often in frustration by supporters, laid it on the line Tuesday in an election year State of the Union speech that left friends and foes in no doubt about the message. By his own definition a skilled wordsmith, Obama mixed conciliation and optimism -- "America is back" -- with confrontation -- "With or without this Congress, I will keep taking actions that help our economy grow". "It was the opening salvo from the Democratic side in what the 2012 election will be about," Washington's Republican State Chairman Kirby Wilbur said. The president, said Wilbur,...

A pensioner who plunged 40ft down a ravine into a river owes his life to his faithful dog who led him to safety before running to a nearby pub and barking until he raised the alarm. Maurice Holder, 73, says he was knocked unconscious when the ground gave way beneath him as he walked along a steep river bank with his labradoodle Monty. When he regained consciousness 15 minutes later he was lying in water up to his chest with a serious head wound and six broken ribs. But Mr Holder said 11-year-old Monty had stayed loyally by his side...

Caption Algela:

...Rupert Murdock, Rupert Murdock's Kid, Roger Ailes, News Corporation and the Rommney Campaign.