Free Republic

Sometime in the past year, this tiny planet we live on in an obscure corner of our Milky Way galaxy went through some sort of tipping point, a “state change” of sorts, and now things are different from how they’ve been at any other time in the 300,000 year history of the human race. Nobody knows for sure what that change or tipping point is. — One theory is that variations in dust concentrations in the Northern Hemisphere’s atmosphere — a function of the temperature of the Atlantic Ocean allowing more or less fine dirt to be picked up and...

After watching the deranged, delusional National Rifle Association press conference on Friday, it was clear that the Mayan prophecy had come true. Except the only world that was ending was the NRA's. Their bullying power to set gun policy in this country is over. The nation is repulsed by the massacre in Connecticut, and the signs are everywhere: a basketball coach at a post-game press conference; the Republican Joe Scarborough; a pawn shop owner in Florida; a gun buy-back program in New Jersey; a singing contest show on TV, and the conservative gun-owning judge who sentenced Jared Loughner. So here's...

A British fan of the TV comedy "Friends" said he stayed awake for a record-breaking 84-hour marathon, viewing every episode of the show. Steve Misiura, 31, said has submitted his feat to Guinness World Records, which currently lists 72 hours as the record for unbroken TV viewing, the Daily Mail reported Thursday. He said he experienced nausea, stomach cramps and hallucinations while watching the adventures of Ross, Rachel and friends. "I love 'Friends,' but this did indeed hurt. At around 72 hours I wanted to die," Misiura said. "I started hallucinating," he said. "I was saying to my friend, 'What's...