Free Republic

Republican John McCain boldly declared "Mac is Back" as he predicted victory in his election race with Democrat Barack Obama at a rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. The fired-up 72-year-old Arizona senator, who is trailing Senator Obama in polls, renewed his attacks on his opponent's patriotism and tax plans in a rally before several hundred supporters crammed into a school gymnasium. "I've been in a lot of campaigns, I know when momentum is there. We're going to win Pennsylvania, we're going to win this election," Senator McCain said. "I sense it, I feel it, I know it. "I...

Are you sick and tired of John McCain's mealy-mouthed nonsense about Barak Obama. "He's a good man." "We have no reason to fear Barak Obama." There's only one way to make this guy understand reality. Send him and his campaign people a message that if he doesn't get with the program he's gonna start losing the very voters he's depending on. Tell there's nothing to be gained by spreading this "Obama is OK" nonsense. Tell him for every "undecided" vote he thinks he'll get by being "Mr. Nice Guy" you'll see to it he loses ones. Tell him Obama is...

 Facing the Giants

The weekend’s biggest GOP veep audition looks to be Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s campaign swing through Pennsylvania. The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader reports Pawlenty will visit the towns of Dallas, Factoryville, Tamaqua, Bethlehem, Allentown and the quaint hamlet of Philadelphia during his trip. That’s a pretty extensive trail run for a politician believed to be near the top of McCain’s short list.

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. - Minnesota's No. 1 politician received plenty of encouragement Friday from his constituents about the possibility of being Republican John McCain's No. 2, but Gov. Tim Pawlenty offered few clues about his prospects in return. Pawlenty maneuvered through the Minnesota State Fair, chowing down on fried food and getting an upclose look at some giant snakes. Like the python, rattlesnake and bull snake that appeared as guests on his weekly radio show, the governor squirmed his way around the question that seemed to be on a lot of minds: Will he uproot for a chance to be...

The Israeli army said on Sunday that it had suspended several soldiers after they were filmed exposing their bare buttocks to Palestinians in the south of the occupied West Bank. "All personnel implicated in this unfortunate affair have been identified and immediately suspended from all professional activity," the army said, without specifying the number of servicemen concerned. "This affair dates to a month ago and does not characterise the values taught to our soldiers," a statement said. "It will be settled today and the soldiers implicated will have to answer for their actions." On Sunday the YNet news website posted...

WASHINGTON - Diversity is strength. That sentiment has emerged in recent years as an article of faith in American public life. But research suggests that faith in diversity is being sorely tested. New studies confirm earlier evidence that, at least in the short- to mid-term, diversity weakens civic ties, fostering mutual mistrust and detachment. Beneath all the "happy talk" about diversity, many Americans harbor a deep ambivalence about where it will lead.

Say a prayer for a hero!

US President George W Bush paid tribute to new symbols of capitalism during a visit to communist Vietnam on Monday. He offered encouragement for the country's battle against bird flu and other public health challenges. ... In Ho Chi Minh City, Bush visited the Vietnam stock exchange, where trading began in 2000 and expanded to Hanoi last year. The exchange initially listed two companies and two bonds. Now, there is trading in 56 stocks and funds on the combined exchanges with total capitalization of $3.5 billion. The president, wielding a red-handled mallet, struck a gong to open the day's trading....

Is Ahmadinejad Another Hitler? "Ahmadinejad--I call him Ahmad-in-a-head--I think he's a Hitler type of person," Ohio Republican Sen. George Voinovich said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. "He has made it clear that he wants to destroy Israel. He has made it clear he doesn't believe in the Holocaust. He's a, he's a--we all know what he is," the senator added.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Foundation for Biomedical Research today applauds the stiff sentencing imposed against three members of a radical animal-rights activist group, known as SHAC USA. Federal District Court Judge Anne E. Thompson delivered the sentencing against the group and three of its six members – who were convicted last March on all charged counts for their roles in a campaign to terrorize an animal research company and its employees. Judge Thompson stopped short of delivering the maximum punishment available, though she did sentence the SHAC entity to five years of probation plus restitution and assessments...

The United States of America vs. Bill Keller How hard is it to be executive editor of the New York Times today? The White House calls him a traitor. He gets roasted every day on talk shows and blogs. The newsroom is losing faith. The paper is shrinking. And the worst part is that fighting back means overcoming his own nature... ...For a meeting without historical precedent, the president of the United States had called the Times to the White House to personally try to prevent a state secret from appearing in print—an exposé of the National Security Agency’s efforts...

Fat is not a feminist issue, as Susie Orbach once claimed. Fat is a class issue. Rich, educated people are not fat; you see almost no children in private schools who are overweight. Fatness and obesity are directly related to lower education and lower incomes. What is sad is that at a time when this country is richer than ever and ought to have better schools than ever, we have far more fat people than ever — a dangerous explosion of flab. Last week the Department of Health issued a report grimly called Forecasting Obesity to 2010 and its findings...

IT IS the axis of evil most feared by the security services - veteran, cool-headed Irish terrorists teaming up with Islamic extremists. Now, in the wake of the failed bid to blow up 10 transatlantic aircraft, the Sunday Express has pieced together the links between the two groups that signal a new era of terror. There is also a further potent mix to the pot - former special forces' soldiers-turned-mercenaries from Britain and the US who are willing to sell their deadly expertise to the highest bidder. The Sunday Express has learned: Continuity IRA terrorists have visited Iran and Syria...

Imagine going to get your car repaired, paying for it, and then finding out that the work was never done. With the help of insiders, NBC4 uncovered an apparent scheme at several Los Angeles area Jiffy Lube stores. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has asked customers who have had problems at Jiffy Lube stores to contact the DA's Consumer Protection Division, by e-mail, at jiffylube@lacountyda.org

Excerpts of former President Bill Clinton's remarks earlier this month at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colo. I don't know how long they can make this old dog hunt. Ever since 2000, the 2002 and 2004 elections were about, "No matter how bad you think we are, you can't vote for them, because you can't trust them to defend the country. And oh, by the way, forget about global warming; let's talk about flag burning and gay marriage." I mean, I just don't know how long you can milk that old cow without its milk running dry. ... My...

<p>Dear Etta: I need your help to let the Jacksboro area squirrel hunters know Mepps still buys squirrel tails. Every year it gets tougher to get the tails we need to dress our spinners, but we know from experience a little ink or air time is always a big help. Details are below. Any assistance you can offer, Etta would be sincerely appreciated. Should you need additional information please contact me.</p>

Spanish Jews knew there were hard times ahead. Prime Minister Zapatero has not disappointed them Keen on populist tirades against the United States "Dickhead Bush" and "Ketchup Queen Kerry", his whole campaign did not bring much attention until the moment Al-Qaeda decided to blow up Madrid trains, killing almost 200 people and bringing to an end Spain's membership of the West. From that moment on, everybody knew nothing would be the same, and Spanish Jews knew there were hard times ahead. Prime Minister Zapatero has not disappointed them. 'Understand Nazis' Although many experts had foretold of the imminent disappearing of...

Is this the oldest human virus? (Filed: 18/07/2006) The papillomavirus has been afflicting humans and their ancestors for millions of years. Now scientists have worked out how it has evolved, reports Roger Highfield Hundreds of millions of years ago, a relative of this virus made dinosaurs sprout warts. When our ancestors split from the apes up to seven million years ago, the virus split with them. Among the earliest modern humans, it was still multiplying, spreading and evolving. Today, this virus, perhaps the oldest to afflict humankind, is causing more suffering than at any time in its history. Although many...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - No one in the bleachers at the Sioux Falls Canaries game was quite sure what was going on down on the field. They were all quiet, wondering and transfixed on the little old man digging into the batters' box. The infielders moved up on the grass, giggling, and pitcher looked as uncomfortable as anyone else would have felt. But to 83-year-old Jim Eriotes, it was serious business. Eriotes led off Tuesday's game for the Canaries against the St. Joe (Mo.) Blacksnakes and took four big swings _ even fouling a pitch off _ before striking out....

WILLIAM Jefferson Blythe III was born on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Ark. After his mother remarried, he took the family surname, Clinton. Clinton was a good student. He enjoyed playing the saxophone and even considered a professional musical career. While in high school, a fortuitous meeting with President John Kennedy led him to choose a life of public service.

LAHORE, Pakistan - A Pakistan man killed his three young daughters Tuesday before confessing to police, prompting one officer to shoot him dead, an investigator said. Mohammed Ashraf, 38, used a knife to cut the throats of his daughters aged 3, 5 and 9 before dawn in the eastern city of Lahore, said senior police investigator Amir Zulifquar. Ashraf then went to a police station to report his crime, and was charged with murdering his daughters and placed in a cell. "As I left the police station after questioning Mohammed Ashraf, one of my guards opened fire and killed him,"...

(Washington) An anonymous Washington DC airport ticket agent offers some examples of why our country might be in trouble: 1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. 2. I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, then she interrupted me with, "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts," Without trying to make her look stupid, I calmly explained,...

Photos of IDF bases and top secret IAF facilities have recently become available to the public courtesy of Google’s satellite imagery service, Google Earth . Google Earth, launched a year ago, initially featured low-resolution photos of Israel. Lately, however, the company improved the resolution of those satellite images, and last Friday they succeeded in matching the images’ standards to those of all other Google photos. This allows users to see detailed aerial photos of IAF bases and the top-secret power station located near the southern city of Ashkelon. The current resolution is two meters per pixel and it allows for...

June 7, 2006 — A federal judge ordered two attorneys to settle their dispute by using the children's playground game "rock, paper, scissors." The ruling yesterday by Judge Gregory Presnell of the U.S. District Court in Orlando, Fla., stated that he was so dissatisfied with the case's "latest in a series of Gordian knots" that he is fashioning "a new form of alternative dispute resolution." In the dispute at hand, the two attorneys could not agree about where to take the sworn statement of a witness in a case concerning payment of insurance claims. The judge's order states that the...

What is wrong with people nowadays? Some of you may remember back in July of 2004 my niece Emma was seriously injured and had to have half her skull removed, along with half her brain. The Doctors and the Police determined that this was not accidental and charged my sisters boyfriend, who was taking care of her at the time, with 2 counts of aggravated child abuse. Well the trial ended today and he was found not guilty on the first count which they said he had no criminal intent to injure my niece. Forget the fact that out of...

Nature, it should be pointed out, always bats last. This is true even in Florida, where, as novelist Carl Hiaasen makes clear, life is more than a little surreal, and where three people were recently attacked and killed by alligators in less than a week. Previously, 17 people had died from alligator attacks in Florida since 1948. There is no record in the United States of three fatal alligator attacks in one year, much less in one week in one state. So something clearly is going on in Florida. Yesterday, as if to emphasize Hiaasen's point, an alligator walked through...

Pakistan nuclear case 'is closed' By Zaffar Abbas BBC correspondent, Islamabad Dr Khan is credited for developing Pakistan's nuclear deterrent Pakistan has announced an end to investigations surrounding the leaking of nuclear secrets by the disgraced nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan. It says that the release of a key suspect linked to Dr Khan's network means that the inquiry into his operations has come to a close. A former national hero, he has been under virtual house arrest since February 2004. In 2004 he admitted leaking nuclear secrets to North Korea, Libya and Iran. 'Thorough' investigation A military spokesman said...

LES CROSETS, Switzerland - Former Swiss skiing star Corinne Rey-Bellet and her brother, Alain, were shot and killed in their parents' home, and police were trying to find Rey-Bellet's husband. The attack late Sunday night, which also left Rey-Bellet's mother hospitalized with serious injuries, occurred in the Swiss mountain resort of Les Crosets, according to the Valais state police. Rey-Bellet's mother was able to call police despite her injuries. Police said the attacker, who fired five shots, fled and eluded a search. Police spokesman Renato Kalbermatten said authorities were trying to find Rey-Bellet's husband, who lived with her and their...

I'm currently on the Bellevue, Redmond Border in Washington State and for the past 15 minutes theres been a lot of helicopter activity overhead. Seems they're circling around and going all over the place... Anyone in the know, know whats going on? please share. thanks.

article cant be posted link only http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060414/NEWS01/60413075/1010

A fatwa issued by Egypt’s top religious authority, which forbids the display of statues has art-lovers fearing it, could be used by Islamic extremists as an excuse to destroy Egypt’s historical heritage. Egypt’s Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, the country’s top Islamic jurist, issued the religious edict which declared as un-Islamic the exhibition of statues in homes, basing the decision on texts in the hadith (sayings of the prophet). Many fear the edict could prod Islamic fundamentalists to attack Egypt’s thousands of ancient and pharaonic statues on show at tourist sites across the country. “We don’t rule out that someone will...

Is Britain conducting nuclear tests? Ian Sample Saturday February 25, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Yes and no. On Thursday, Britain took part in a "subcritical" test of nuclear material 1,000ft beneath the Nevada desert. But the explosion was too small to produce a nuclear blast. Known as the Krakatau test, the detonation was conducted, according to the Ministry of Defence, for the purposes of "stockpile stewardship", meaning it served to ensure that the country's nuclear bombs have not deteriorated while in storage and will still go off should they ever be launched. At the heart of the test is the...

It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but only retire from sight and afterwards return again. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson And so it happens again today, as it has through a lifetime, with the first Major League Baseball players returning to sight after retiring for a winter. All is good with the world again. It begins in Florida and in Arizona, with pitchers and catchers for eight teams reporting this afternoon to their respective Spring Training camps. Leading the way this year are the Tigers, Orioles, Rangers, Angels, Mariners, Cubs, Dodgers and...

Graffiti scribbled on a mosque in the village of Bnai Elias, calling Mohammed “a pig,” sparked Arab riots in Samaria Sunday afternoon. An Israeli motorist was wounded and evacuated to the hospital. The motorist was lightly wounded when her car was stoned on the Azoun bypass road. After being struck in the head by a rock, she continued driving to the community of Karnei Shomron where she received first aid before being evacuated to the hospital. Four other Israelis were treated for shock after their vehicles were attacked by stone throwing mobs. Hundreds of Arabs rioted in the towns of...

Fisking Osama From todays message from Osama. I Hereby Commit "A Fisking". The Transcript taken from the BBC Translation page. My comments are in Bold... My message to you is about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the way to end it. Well now, that’s interesting. Saying “way to end it” is significantly different that pounding on your chest and talking about victory. I had not intended to speak to you about this issue, because, for us, this issue is already decided on: diamonds cut diamonds. Diamonds cut diamonds? What the hell does that mean? Either A) We (Bush...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2006 – The American people must remind themselves every day that the United States is at war, a top Army general said today. Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, speaking at the American Enterprise Institute here, said that 21st century warfare is more about "will and perception, than taking territory or enemies killed." The will of the American people and people around the world to confront the terrorists and defeat them is the center of gravity in what Pentagon officials are calling "the long war," Odierno, assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said. The...

In the President’s address to the nation Sunday the 18th, 2005, he made this statement, “It is true that Saddam Hussein had a history of pursuing and using weapons of mass destruction. It is true that he systematically concealed those programs, and blocked the work of U.N. weapons inspectors. It is true that many nations believed that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. But much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong.” This is the confession many Americans have been demanding for years now and for what-ever reason, the President decided to make this confession before the world community...

ORLANDO, Fla. - Security guards wrestled a man to the ground in a Wal-Mart after he cut in line to get laptop computers that were on sale Friday, a television station reported. The man started arguing with people inside the store, WFTV-TV in Orlando reported. He then started fighting with the guards, the station reported One man told WFTV that the laptops were being thrown into the air and people rushed toward them, collapsing on each other. Another man described the scene as crazy. Orlando police and Orange County sheriff's officials didn't return phone messages seeking comment. The store's manager...

CARY, N.C. - The joke around here is that this town's name is really an acronym for "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees." As far as Vernon Yates is concerned, they haven't been contained well enough. Nearly surrounded by pricey subdivisions, the cinderblock Yates Grocery and Farm Supply sells neither anymore. As if things weren't bad enough, style maven Martha Stewart has chosen this Raleigh suburb to build a signature neighborhood of houses designed after her homes in Maine and New York. Holding court near a potbellied stove, the 69-year-old man in the suspenders and NASCAR shirt laments that his old...

(CNSNews.com) - America is defeated in Iraq, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is a "slave of slaves," and the political strength of President George W. Bush is beginning to "seep away into the sand," according to British MP George Galloway who made the remarks in a speech delivered this week at Damascus University in Syria. The remarks were carried by the Al-Jazeera TV network on November 13. "America is losing the war in Iraq," said Galloway. "[P]ublic opinion in Britain and America is moving decisively against the policy of Bush and Blair." "No American soldier who leaves his barracks can...

In a stunning announcement, GQ magazine has revealed that its "Man of the Year" nomination for 2005 will go to none other than Jennifer Aniston. Putting modesty aside, Aniston, who featured heavily in gossip magazines this year over the break-up of her marriage with Brad Pitt, has starred on the cover and in a photo spread of the 10-year history of GQ's "Men of the Year" issue, wearing only a denim skirt, reports Zap2it. According to the editor of the magazine, Mark Healy, the former Friends actress earned the honour because she showed a lot of poise, grace and good...

Generosity Is No Monkey Business, Study General Science | October 27, 2005 Given the opportunity to spread random acts of kindness, chimps would just as soon pass, finds a new UCLA-led study. The study, published in the Oct. 27 issue of the journal Nature, suggests at least one way in which humans differ from their closest living relatives in the animal kingdom. "Because chimps participate in collective activities such as cooperative hunting and food sharing and they console injured group members and human caregivers, their capacity for empathy and altruism has been an object of considerable curiosity," said UCLA anthropologist...

U.S. More Accepting of Islam, Less Likely Than Britain to Create Radicals By Patrick Bourland - After Britain assigned culpability to its own citizens in connection with the July subway bombings, a wave of concern crossed the Atlantic and sprinkled the American shore: Could something like that happen here, too?Washington, D.C. - infoZine - Recently, prominent Muslims in Washington have whistled a more hopeful tune: something like that probably won't happen here, and concrete reasons explain why. James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute, expressed the idea in the simplest terms. "You can be a third-generation Kurd...

LOS ANGELES, CA, United States (UPI) -- An embarrassed CBS apologized for re-broadcasting an episode of 'The Price is Right' that offered a New Orleans vacation as a prize. The contestant did not win the 'showcase' vacation on the show that originally aired in December and mortified CBS executives yanked the rerun before it aired on the West Coast Thursday, the New York Daily News reported Friday. The network released a statement saying: 'Trips to New Orleans are frequently offered as travel prizes on `The Price Is Right.` Out of consideration for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, we made every...

March 28, 2005 How safe is online romance?Lawmakers want dating sites to disclose background check informationBy DAVID EGGERTAssociated Press Writer State Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, shown during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting March 15 in Lansing, is sponsoring a bill that would require an Internet dating service to disclose prominently on the Web site whether it had conducted criminal background checks on users. AP File Photo Online dating safetySome tips when meeting people through Internet dating: Start slowly. Communicate by e-mail at first, looking for signs of the other user's behavior. Trust your instincts. Guard your anonymity. Sites often allow...

Corporate tax collections in Montana are up 50 percent in the most recent year, but evidently that’s not enough for State Senator Jim Elliott. He wants more revenue and he wants to find it by examining the tax return of every company filing in Montana.1 Senator Elliott has filed a lawsuit to force the Montana Department of Revenue to disclose corporate tax returns for those corporations with over $1 million in Montana sales. Apparently he does not trust the Montana Department of Revenue to do its job, because he wants to use this information to determine whether corporations are evading...

When it comes to the law of unintended consequences, the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance "reform" is rapidly becoming a legal phenomenon. The latest example comes courtesy of the Federal Election Commission, where officials are being asked to extend the law to the very people it is supposed to empower: individual citizens. snip The problem facing the FEC is that McCain-Feingold broadly restricts coordination with, and contributions to, political candidates. So what is the agency to do with all those people who use their Web sites to praise a candidate? Computers and Web access cost money, which could be construed as a financial...

The level of insurgency in postwar Iraq wouldn't be so high if the U.S.-led coalition had been able to invade from the north, through Turkey, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday.

Republicans are all criminal scum. They are complete hypocrites. Bush is a dumb cokehead chimpanzee. That is all. Losers.