Free Republic

Many years ago, a phrase was coined by the leaders of the Soviet Union to describe those in the West who naively promoted the cause of Russian Communism when in reality they were held in contempt and were being cynically used by the Soviet hierarchy. The term "useful idiot" more than ever applies to a vast swath of citizens in the United States who have been cynically used by the hardcore left for a cause they are unwilling to understand.

"Four people flagged down officers late Saturday night, claiming they had been jumped and stabbed. It turns out the three men and one woman were actually the attackers who picked on the wrong guy."

Marijuana is causing America to be more and more dysfunctional. Its time we recognize that we have a problem. Educational info on marijuana

link only http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aK4daf8MD.Bw

Atheists Split Over Message By JAY LINDSAY BOSTON - Atheists are under attack these days for being too militant, for not just disbelieving in religious faith but for trying to eradicate it. And who's leveling these accusations? Other atheists, it turns out. Among the millions of Americans who don't believe God exists, there's a split between people such as Greg Epstein, who holds the partially endowed post of humanist chaplain at Harvard University, and so-called "New Atheists." Epstein and other humanists feel their movement is on the verge of explosive growth, but are concerned it will be dragged down by...

I think I've come up with a foolproof plan to end crime in America, and I have liberalism to thank for it. It consists of disbanding every police unit in the country and encouraging the United Nations Security Council to draft a binding resolution that places strict sanctions on domestic criminals who continue to break the law. How do I know this will work? Well, I can't be 100% positive that it will, but most people in the world support that very same plan when it comes to dealing with the problem of international terrorism, and everyone knows that the...

Animal activists bit off more than they could chew this morning when they chained themselves to the killing area of an abattoir at Ipswich in south-east Queensland. The 12 protesters got a fright when meatworkers took matters into their own hands and used angle grinders to cut the chains off the activists so they could get back to work. The group had hoped their actions would disrupt the World Meat Congress, which is under way in Brisbane. Protester Angie Stephenson says it was terrifying. "The workers, they were standing around cheering and whooping and yelling and making lewd comments so...

Lance Armstrong's record setting seventh Tour de France victory, along with his entire Tour de France legacy, may be tarnished by what could turn out to be one of the greatest sports scandals of all time Armstrong is being quizzed by French police after three banned substances were found in his South France hotel room while on vacation after winning the 2005 Tour de France. The three substances found were toothpaste, deodorant, and soap which have been banned by French authorities for over 75 years. Armstrong's girlfriend and American rocker Sheryl Crow is quoted as saying "we use them every...

Both college towns, Boston and Boulder, Colo., share another distinction: They lead the nation in marijuana use. Northwestern Iowa and southern Texas have the lowest use. For the first time, the government looked at the use of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and various other substances, legal as well as illegal, by region rather than by state for a report Thursday. Regions could be as specific as Riverside, Calif., or as broad as all of the state of New York (minus New York City). Federal officials say the information will help states decide where they should spend money for treatment and prevention...

HINESBURG, Vt. Champlain Valley Union High School just graduated its last Crusaders, with the School Board set to pick a new name for the school's teams by fall. Redhawks, Bobcats and Red Wolves are all vying for the honor of having the school in Hinesburg name its teams for them. There continues to be debate in the five Chittenden County towns served by the school on whether the name needs to be changed. Some argue that the name Crusaders is an important school tradition. Others see it as a symbol of religious oppression.

Tourists hoping to buy a cannabis joint in Dutch coffee shops could be in for a rude awakening this year under a test plan to curb drug tourism. Soft drugs are legally banned in the Netherlands but under its policy of "tolerance", people are allowed to have less than 5 grams of cannabis in their possession. Government-regulated coffee shops can hold a stock of up to 500 grams. In Context Amsterdam Trip: A policy of tolerance in the Netherlands has created an indifferent view of marijuana and one of the lowest pot-smoking rates in the industrialized world. "We are developing...

TWO people were injured by centipedes, and no fewer than 22 suffered mishaps involving nightwear. Britain is a perilous place in all sorts of unusual ways, according to new statistics on hospital admissions. The Department of Health data, reported in The Times newspaper, also included people requiring hospital treatment in Britain for accidents which happened overseas. Thus, of the near-million people seen by emergency hospital staff in the 12 months to April 2004, six had been stung by scorpions, 451 had been stung by hornets and 24 had been bitten by rats. The house was no haven, with nine needing...

The DUmmies have locked down their website again preventing new mebership sign-ups.

I have read many messages which object to same-sex marriage but I am still waiting to learn what specific adverse consequences opponents of gay marriage anticipate to result from its legalization. In other words, suppose same-sex marriage becomes law during 2005. By 2010 or 2015 what specific indisputable adverse consequences to society do opponents predict to occur? With respect to those critics of same-sex marriage who refer to "God's law" and "procreation" --- do they believe that heterosexual couples who cannot have children, or who do not wish to have children, should also NOT be allowed to marry? The essence...

DIRECTOR Michael Moore, whose anti-Iraq war film Fahrenheit 9/11 touched off a firestorm of controversy, topped an annual list today of Hollywood's least-intriguing celebrities. The outspoken documentary-maker ranks No.1 on this year's Frigid 50 published by online movie magazine FilmThreat.com. The website, known for an anti-establishment take on the entertainment industry, said its list named the stars it found to be the "least-inspiring, least-intriguing people in Hollywood". Ranked No.2 was actress Halle Berry, who followed up her Oscar-winning turn in Monster's Ball with less critically lauded roles in such films as Gothica and Catwoman. "The Frigid 50 ice pack have...

Time Once Again to Be America Get Off of the Internet and Into the Streets! If we could have handled this without you we would have done it already, but we can't! We need you! to come out and protest and help organize. Be Counted, Be Heard, Be America! We held a demonstration in LaFayette Park in front of the White House last week, and the readers and members of ReDefeatBush have voted to hold one again at noon Friday November 19th to protest the misadministration of the vote for the presidency. Please join us as we hear from Libertarian...

Project for a New Democratic Party. It's clear to most of us that the Democratic party power structure is not friendly towards the goal of most of us: a "success oriented" Democratic Party committed to moderate/progressive values. Over the last few years we all have tried to push the Democratic Party in our direction through a variety of means: supporting particular candidates, online donation, threats to desert to a third party. All of these approaches have failed. And they have failed because the people running the party, the apparatchiks, are not threatened by electoral failure. They've worked their way into...

After days of expressing confidence about the documents used in a "60 Minutes'' report that raised new questions about President Bush's National Guard service, CBS News officials have grave doubts about the authenticity of the material, network officials said last night. Those officials, who asked not to be identified, said CBS News would most likely make an announcement as early as today that it had been deceived about the documents' origins, and that it was mounting an intensive news investigation of where they came from. But these people cautioned that CBS News could still pull back from an announcement. Officials...

ATLANTIC CITY - Two Philadelphia men were arrested on gun charges after an Atlantic City drugstore employee, alarmed by the pictures he was processing, called police. The film, taken to an Eckerd Drugs for one-hour developing Saturday, showed two men posing while holding a pistol, cash, and a bottle of cognac. The men were standing next to a [excerpted] sedan in front of several casinos and a bank, Atlantic City Police Lt. Michael Tullio said. Police found the car in the Sands Hotel Casino's parking garage, confronted the two suspects, and found a loaded .38-caliber revolver, Tullio said. Timothy Garland,...

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) came under fire from a fellow Republican Tuesday who faulted him for his handling of a gun liability bill. The bill was soundly defeated after a series of procedural moves by Democrats on the day their presidential standard-bearer returned from the campaign trail. “It was not our finest hour,” freshman Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) said of the controversial bill. It was defeated 90-8 after Democrats successfully added amendments to extend the assault-weapons ban and close the so-called gun show “loophole” and its chief sponsor turned against his own bill. “To me, [it] looks like...

5 Cranbrook Teachers Allegedly Smoke Pot On CampusNo Students Involved, According To ReportsPOSTED: 8:30 a.m. EDT September 17, 2003Five faculty members of Cranbrook schools are accused of smoking marijuana during a campus event. Three teachers from the Cranbrook Upper School and two teachers from the Brookside Lower School were fired for the allegations, Local 4 reported. Sources told Local 4 that the alleged incident happened Labor Day week, before school started. No students were involved.

For the Netherlands' famous network of cannabis-peddling coffee shops the high times could be about to be stubbed out - for good. A tough new anti-smoking law due to take effect from January of next year is about to turn the Dutch work place into a smoke-free zone and coffee shops are not exempted. Under the new law every company in the country must ensure that their employees are not exposed to tobacco smoke. Lighting up a joint in one of 800 coffee shops therefore faces extinction from 2005. Coffee shops will still be allowed to sell joints but their...

Meet New York's 'Naked Cowboy' By Jeff Pearlman Newsday staff writer Originally published May 15, 2003 The sky is gray and the afternoon is long, and if ever a Monday in New York City has felt interminable, it is today. On the neon financial news crawlers that help light up an otherwise damp Times Square, bleakness rules. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISES FROM 5.9% TO 6% ... PLANNED U.S. LAYOFFS INCREASE FROM 85,396 IN MARCH TO ',399 IN APRIL ... 95,000 AMERICAN MANUFACTURING JOBS LOST IN APRIL; BIGGEST DECLINE SINCE JAN. 2002. How then, to explain ... this?

Fugitive hides in creek, dies from the cold Chase ends in Snohomish County woods Tuesday, March 26, 2002 By GORDY HOLT SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER LAKE STEVENS -- It began when Snohomish County sheriff's deputies spotted a man driving a stolen pickup truck. It ended hours later, when the man was plucked from an icy creek, where he had been hiding from police. He died of hypothermia early Saturday. The King County Medical Examiner's Office last night identified the man as Matthew L. Burke, 29, of Snohomish. Jan Jorgensen, spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Department, said he was known to...