Free Republic

Five Governor's Races Could Indicate GOP Success In 2012 By Chris Cillizza June 21, 2010 The roots of a Republican political renaissance in 2012 lie in the Rust Belt. That swath of manufacturing- based states in the Midwest -- Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan -- with tentacles that reach as far east as Pennsylvania, has been the epicenter of the economic difficulties in the country over the past few years. Each state is hosting a competitive gubernatorial race this fall. Republicans argue that a clean sweep (or close to it) would immediately change the electoral calculus heading into the nationwide redistricting...

In December, the FBI was worried that Border Patrol agents' lives were in danger. But many of those officers never got the memo. Instead, agents say, they first learned of the threat -- that smugglers planned to hire gang members to murder Border Patrol agents -- when a Daily Bulletin reporter called to ask for their opinions. The fact that many officers didn't know about the threat, described in an "Officer Safety Alert" disseminated by the Department of Homeland Security, shows how poor communication among law enforcement agencies can be. The warning is "proof that we're being targeted," said a...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Ostrich beads indicate early symbolic thought 18:25 31 March 04 NewScientist.com news service Stone Age beads revealed by archaeologists on Wednesday could be the strongest evidence yet that humans developed sophisticated symbolic thought much earlier than once thought. The ostrich egg beads and numerous other artefacts, including ochre pencils, carved bone and stone tools, were recovered from the Loiyangalani River Valley, in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The archaeologists who discovered the relics have yet to date them precisely, but believe they originate from the African Middle Stone Age - between 280,000 and 45,000 years ago. This is because they...