Free Republic

Thanksgiving's coming and you're concerned that your third-grader doesn't know much about the Pilgrims. Join the club. Educators in North Jersey and across the nation say social studies have been given short shrift in today's classrooms -- neglected in the drive to spend more time preparing for math and reading tests mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Just 27 percent of high school seniors were deemed "proficient" in civics and 53 percent had "below basic" knowledge of U.S. history, according to a federal report last year. Anecdotal evidence of a lack of civic knowledge seems to...

Congrats your marriage September 1 !!!!!!

MEXICO CITY - Mexican farmers are setting ablaze fields of blue agave, the cactus-like plant used to make the fiery spirit tequila, and resowing the land with corn as soaring U.S. ethanol demand pushes up prices. The switch to corn will contribute to an expected scarcity of agave in coming years, with officials predicting that farmers will plant between 25 percent and 35 percent less agave this year to turn the land over to corn.

By SUE REID - More by this author » Last updated at 22:07pm on 9th February 2007 A new film alleges the U.S. staged the 9/11 disaster to justify the Iraq war The official story of what happened on 9/11 never fails to shock. Four American airliners are hijacked by Osama Bin Laden's terrorists in an attack on the heart of the Western world on September 11, 2001. Two are deliberately flown into New York's famous Twin Towers, which collapse. A third rams into the United States defence headquarters at the Pentagon, in Washington D.C. The last goes down in...

<p>The Free Republic keyword feature serves a valuable purpose, it alerts posters to topics that they are interested in and supplements those topics which aren't already listed as available topics.</p> <p>1. Please do not add words like "and" and "the" to the keywords. And PLEASE do not add every word from your title to the keywords, that's just plain annoying.</p>

The lingering lesson of Hurricane Katrina is the great value of self-reliance and the terrible danger of dependence. It was a huge storm. Possibly the largest natural disaster ever to hit the United States. It was the storm of the century. But it taught us more about human nature than it did about the power of nature. More frightening than the storm itself, was the widespread personal failure demonstrated in its wake. It was a peek into the entitlement culture and a sad display of the unwillingness and inability of some Americans to take the slightest responsibility for themselves and...

A 16-year-old Michigan girl is in police custody in the Middle East after she tried a to visit a man she met on a the popular website myspace.com. Katherine Lester got on plane to the Middle East Monday to visit a man whose Myspace account says he is a 25 year old from Jericho. US officials stopped Lester Thursday night in Jordan on her way to Israel. Lester told her parents she was going to Canada. Authorities are investigating the teen's departure and confiscated the Lesters' home computer as part of the probe. An FBI spokesman declined to provide any...

When all the fanatical Christians disappear, will traffic finally improve? Wait, did I miss it? Did it happen three days ago, on 6-6-06, a.k.a. Tea Time with the Beast, a.k.a. the Great Day of Reckoning, a.k.a. the National Day of Slayer, all the world crashing down in a heap of hissing steam and belching smoke and balmy gusty breezes sometime around noon just after lunch but not before rush hour and hitting right around siesta? I might have been napping. Did the Apocalypse finally hit? Did the deep wish of roughly a half-billion zealous believers come to pass and were...

No wait, not six. To hell with that. Make it 10. Ten bucks a gallon, no matter what the going rate for a barrel of light sweet crude. That would so completely, violently, brilliantly do it. Revolutionize the country. Firebomb our pungent stasis. Change everything. Don't you agree? Here's what we could do: Give gas discounts to cab drivers (at least initially) and metro transit systems and low-income folks, those who have to drive their busted-up '78 Honda Civics to their jobs scrubbing restaurant toilets and flipping burgers and vacuuming the residual cocaine from the seat cushions of numb SUV...

Think sex and drugs destroy America? Try naive chastity. Oh, and "Purity Balls" There are these things. These unholy events called "Purity Balls" and you should probably fall to your knees right this minute and thank a merciful and lubricious and happily polyamorous God that you do not know what they are and that you have access right this minute to vast quantities of wine to deflect their nasty karmic arrows because, you know, oh my God. But hey, free country. Purity Balls. No, not some sort of newfangled spherical chastity device to be inserted using vacuum tubes and pulleys,...

It's a shockingly eco-friendly plan from the world's most toxic retailer. Did hell just freeze over? Sometimes you just have to let the possibility breathe. Sometimes you just have to allow that something grand and good and healthy might actually be born from the bowels of the dank and ravenous megacorporate world, like flowers from a dung heap, like vodka from old potatoes, even if it comes right alongside the nastiest, most abusive federal environmental policy you will see in your lifetime. Take Wal-Mart, the most famously offensive, town-destroying, junk-purveying, labor-abusing, sweatshop-supporting, American-job-killing, soul-numbing, seizure-inducing, hope-curdling retailer in the known...

<p>Thanks to John McCain, Free Republic will shut down tomorrow at high noon for 30 days. No non government approved electioneering messages may be transmitted over the internet for the 30 days immediately preceding a primary election.</p> <p>That is all.</p>

Yes, I know you were drunk. Must've been. Either drunk or on serious meds and/or you just didn't give much of a damn about anything anyway because you're just one of those people, one of those types who comes lurching around the city like a chunk of numbed pain in your big-ass mid-'80s burgundy car with the white top and chrome bumpers -- an old Cadillac? Monte Carlo? -- early last Sunday morning to wreak casual havoc. Is that about right? Do you remember any of it? Here is what I'm guessing: probably not. Let me tell you what happened,...

Arkansas mom gives birth to a whole freakin' baseball team. How deeply should you cringe? Who are you to judge? Who are you to say that the more than slightly creepy 39-year-old woman from Arkansas who just gave birth to her 16th child yes that's right 16 kids and try not to cringe in phantom vaginal pain when you say it, who are you to say Michelle Duggar is not more than a little unhinged and sad and lost? And furthermore, who are you to suggest that her equally troubling husband -- whose name is, of course, Jim Bob...

Apparently, it wasn't just "invade Iraq and Afghanistan in my name." A special report: Scene: White House private residence, night, not long ago. President Bush present in his most favoritest guns 'n' bunnies PJs. Laura asleep, knocked out by a combination of too much Good Housekeeping and excessive hair-spray fumes. Suddenly, a burst of black smoke. A deep, resonant voice speaks: "Psst! George! God here, taking a break from supervising the well-being of eight billion troubled souls along with infinite galaxies of unimaginable vastness to speak with you directly one more time because, well, you're special, aren't you, George? Yes...

Leather, techno, sex & war: more only-in-SF juice to make you proud. Take that, uptight neocons. It was the moment when we walked by a jam-packed S.F. City Hall and realized it was open to host a VIP techno dance party, while immediately outside its gilded doors upward of 50,000 revelers wandered and shimmied and flaunted their costumes and drank nasty Red Bull cocktails in the huge Civic Center plaza for the third annual Love Parade, everyone baring flesh and shaking their groove thangs to any one of 200 world-class (well, some of them) DJs spinning their wares on over...

At last, one scientist BushCo will definitely -- albeit resentfully -- listen to. Sometimes. So now we know. This is what it takes. This is how far the nation has to crumble and this is how many people have to die and this is how many tens of billions it has to cost and this is how far his dirt-low poll numbers have to fall before Bush will finally come out and say he agrees with one of those godforsaken gul-dang book-learned scientist types. You know the ones. Those informed and well-educated data-crunchers he normally despises like a kid hates...

Sure a quake kit is a great thing -- if you can afford it. Too bad about everyone else. You are not ready. This is just a fair guess. You are not fully prepared for the monster life-slapping colon-rattling quake that is slated to devastate our fair state somewhere between the time you finish reading this sentence and about 2035 -- an epic disaster that will make Katrina look like a waterslide and that, if all predictions and all experts are to be believed, will look something like "The Day After Tomorrow" crossed with "28 Days Later" with a dash...

LOS ANGELES -- The climate on Mars is showing a warming trend and recent images have shown the first evidence of seismic activity on Earth's neighbor planet, scientists said today. New gullies that did not exist three years ago have been pictured on a Mars sand dune -- just another of what scientists say are surprising discoveries found by cameras aboard the 8-year-old Mars Global Surveyor that are changing notions about the climate and formation of Mars. "To see new gullies and other changes in Mars surface features on a time span of a few years presents us with a...

FBI bulletin outlines possible terrorist plot at Texas border BY ALFREDO CORCHADO AND JASON TRAHAN The Dallas Morning News DALLAS - (KRT) - Dirt roads trace pale lines across a desolate landscape of bald peaks and plunging canyons near Texas' Big Bend and bridge the international boundary at dozens of improvised crossings. For decades, these routes have been used to smuggle drugs and humans. Now there is growing concern they could become deadly conduits for terrorism. The concern is buttressed by a confidential but unclassified FBI intelligence bulletin, obtained by The Dallas Morning News, that contains the vague outlines of...

Corwyn (Cory) William Zimbleman Tucson, AZ (formerly of Champaign, IL) Age 53. Born April 18, 1952 to the late Willard and Gilda (Ebert) Zimbleman, died June 10, 2005. Throughout his life Cory was an extraordinary artist. His artistic talent and imagination would bring awe to all who viewed his work. His works grace an LP cover and numerous books; using Computer Aided Design (CAD) he designed home and business exteriors, interiors, and furniture for several architectural firms. His talent went beyond the fine arts as he added sculpturing, woodworking, metals, and other mediums to his repertoire. Having never gained the...

I am absolutely outraged and believe the entire bush and blair administrations need to be put in shackles and tried for war crimes in the Hague. Impeachment should begin in the US immediately for bush, cheney and most of their cabinet. These outrageous, deadly actions makes Watergate seem insignificant. Everyone in CONGRESS who has supported the bush administration over the lies and deceptions of the illegitimate Iraq War should resign immediately or also face impeachment. bush and his administration and blair and his administration should also be tried along with Sadam. Does the United States House of Representatives need anything...

The eastern half of Antarctica is gaining weight, more than 45 billion tonnes a year, according to a new scientific study. Data from satellites bouncing radar signals off the ground show that the surface of eastern Antarctica appears to be slowly growing higher, by about 1.8 centimeters a year, as snow and ice pile up. The gain in eastern Antarctica snow partly offsets the rise in sea level caused by the melting of ice and snow in other parts of the world. The finding also matches expectations that the earth's warming temperatures would increase the amount of moisture in the...

Hormonal changes may actually alter the chemical balance in the brain and trigger some of the mood swings associated with a woman's monthly menstrual cycle, according to a new study. The study suggests that cells in a brain region called the hippocampus generate different types of receptors for the brain chemical GABA during various phases of the menstrual cycle. These changes may affect a woman's susceptibility to anxiety, depression, and seizures. Both estrogen and progesterone have effects on nerve cell activation, but the mechanism behind changes in seizure activity and increased anxiety are unknown, write the researchers. They say their...

What is happening to Free Republic Mr. Robinson? The Bush Haters and Republican Haters are getting louder and more daring by the hour. These phony conservatives who claim the Conservatism purity are savagely attacking President Bush and the GOP as bad as the worst liberals. The Bash Bush feast is becoming a part of every thread. Everywhere you see Bush is a traitor, Bush wants to sell our sovereignty to Mexico, Bush is a liberal, Bush has no spine, Bush is destroying our economy, Bush is puppet in Vincent Fox hand, Bush is this Bush is that, everything wrong in...

What happened? Hello? Hello? Anybody home? "MESSAGE TO DISABLED FLORIDIANS" December 1998, Florida By Governor-elect Jeb Bush "Talking with a variety of Floridians with disabilities and their families has helped understand a lot more about the lives, challenges and dreams of those with disabilities. However, I know that my education continues with everyone new I meet. People with disabilities are no different than anyone else. They want to work, have families, and live independently. As Governor, I would work hard to create an environment that gives people with disabilities every opportunity to be independent and play an active role in...

Giuliana Sgrena, the Italian journalist hostage, is now saying that American troops shot at her car on purpose trying to kill her. The White House says the claim is absurd. In addition, let me point out some other absurdities: First, Ms. Sgrena is from a communist newspaper called Il Manifesto (search). So how many of you think Il Manifesto sent her to Iraq to report on how well Iraq is doing after its first free election? None of you? What a smart bunch. Of course it didn't. She is an ardent anti-American who was going to Iraq to do a...

Red glow in rocks. Sure looks warm.

At noon today the MP's had a section of Wilson Road blocked off. It was later announced that 60+ Starlings had all died near the old Anderson Golf Course. The birds were all in a very small area. The post MEDCOM did not find any evidence of toxins, but . . . . . . . .

Last Saturday night brought His Imperial Highness Prince Nguyen Phuc Buu Chanh of Vietnam, Regent of the Imperial Dynasty and President of the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League, to Cornell. The Prince, a member of the Vietnamese imperial family gave a lecture, entitled "Revival of Vietnamese Culture: The Nguyen Dynasty," before a crowd of about 50 people. Maria Nguyen '05, vice president of the Cornell Vietnamese Association sang the American national anthem and then played the national anthem of South Vietnam. Aided by PowerPoint slides, Prince Buu Chanh then began his lecture speaking from a podium draped with the American flag...

The Imperial Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam is politically pressuring the government of Vietnam to protect the liberty, religious rights of the Vietnamese people as well as the culture, traditions, languages of the Montagnards and Khmer Krom in Vietnam. (PRWEB) October 23, 2004 -- Today, Vietnam is experiencing a minor period of outward growth. Even the most dedicated Communists are abandoning old communist economic policies, which have proven to be ineffective and sometimes harmful. Capitalism is being introduced, with the Communist Party maintained only as a vehicle to exercise absolute control of the elite Party leaders over the common people. The...

Today a wide coalition of charities, trade unions and campaigning groups announced ambitious plans for next year (14 September). In a world where poverty kills 30,000 people every day, 2005 will be a year of unprecedented opportunity for rich countries to change the rules and practices of trade, cancel poor countries' debts and deliver more and better aid. MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY aims to be the most powerful coalition ever against world poverty. It calls for urgent action and is looking to Tony Blair as he hosts the G8 and holds the presidency of the EU to improve the lives of millions of...

The collapse of the earth's magnetic field, which both guards the planet and guides many of its creatures, appears to have started in earnest about 150 years ago, the NY TIMES is planning to report on Page Ones Tuesday. Science reporter Bill Broad has filed a report, according to newsroom sources, which explores how: 'The field's strength has waned 10 percent to 15 percent so far and this deterioration has accelerated of late, increasing debate over whether it portends a reversal of the lines of magnetic force that normally envelop the earth." Broad explains: "During a reversal, the main field...

News Releases For release: June 17, 2004 at noon Contact: Kathy Dibling, 215-574-4119, Katherine.Dibling@phil.frb.org June SurveyManufacturers See Continuing Growth The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia today released June's Business Outlook Survey. The survey participants report that expansion in the region's manufacturing sector continues. This month the manufacturers were asked to give their capacity utilization rates and the percent of their plants and equipment that have become obsolete in the past year. Philadelphia Federal Reserve Senior Economic Analyst Mike Trebing summarized the survey: "Current indicators suggest that growth in the region's manufacturing sector is continuing. In the June survey, indexes for...

Thousands demonstrate in protest against Govt Madrid March 14, 2004 Around 5,000 angry demonstrators gathered outside the ruling Popular Party's headquarters today, accusing the government of concealing details of the investigation into Spain's worst terrorist attack. Spontaneous demonstrations also broke out in several other Spanish cities today, including one in the Basque city of Bilbao that drew 8,000 in front of a city government building. The demonstrators were upset that the government had initially blamed the armed Basque separatist group ETA for the Thursday bombings that killed 200 people, suspecting it had done so in order to boost the Popular...