Free Republic

Miki Booth shows her husbands and sons BC'c questions Obama.

For all of the wonderful things life in the Internet age provides us, there are some notable drawbacks. One of them is that email and popular social media tools like Twitter and Facebook provide powerful launching pads for unchecked rumors and popular myths. Often these rumors and myths are proven false by websites like Snopes.com and FactCheck.org, but not this time. The Internet has been abuzz with rumors that if you drive down Interstate 35 near the town of Wyoming, Minnesota, you'll see a billboard bearing the image of a smiling George W. Bush accompanied by the question "Miss me...

Former President George W. Bush is back, popping up on a Minnesota billboard funded by people who aren't happy with the way things are going in Washington. The billboard features a king-sized picture of the former president, with a tagline that reads "Miss me yet?" "It's really got people's attention. It's making them think," said Wyoming Mayor Sheldon Anderson. Anderson, a Republican, says he doesn't know who funded the billboard, but he agrees with it. "I think it's time government stayed out of the pockets of the people and is this billboard getting that message across? I don't know but...

Will There Be a Bipartisan Health Care Reform Summit? We Shall See ABC News ^ | February 8, 2010 | Jake Tapper Posted on Tuesday, February 09, 2010 3:19:47 AM by Zakeet House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel about the president's proposed health care reform summit today, asking if the "President is sincere about moving forward on health care in a bipartisan way, does that mean he will agree to start over so that we can develop a bill that is truly...

The Red Bull Stratos team has kept itself under wraps until today’s press conference at the New York Academy of Sciences in NYC. The ambitious project marks the first major attempt at breaking an old but daunting skydiving record, one that starts at the edge of space. In 1960, U.S. Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger stepped out of a capsule at 102,800 feet above the Earth’s surface and, in just minutes returned to the surface by simply falling. The falling part was easy. The surviving part was not—his first jump, from the Excelsior I module nearly ended in disaster when...

Rep. Vern Ehlers, R-Mich., will announce his plans to retire at the end of this term tomorrow at a press conference, according to The Hotline: A press release from Ehler's office says the presser "follow[s] speculation about his plans to continue serving" in the House. Several GOP sources tell Hotline OnCall his wife had a heart attack last week, further lending credence to speculation he will step aside. Ehlers joins a growing list of retiring members of Congress, including 17 Republicans and 11 Democrats.

Content: (what the ratings mean) (BBB, CapCap, CC, L) Solidly very strong biblical/moral worldview, promoting capitalism and personal responsibility with comments of faith in God and a scene of family praying; six “h” words; no violence; no sexual content; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking or drug use; and, nothing else objectionable. Summary: TEA PARTY is a well-made documentary about the “tea party” movement that began in February 2009 in protest of massive government spending. The filmmaking is very good and fast paced and should be seen by all Americans of any stripe to understand how regular citizens can influence...

Two weeks ago, on a near party line vote, a huge Democratic majority in the House agreed to spend $50 million to buy the former cotton plantation on the island of St. Croix.

Federal Government Operating Status in the Washington, DC, Area the following message applies only to Wednesday, February 10, 2010 Federal agencies in the Washington, DC, area are CLOSED. This Means . . . Federal agencies in the Washington, DC, area are closed. Nonemergency employees (including employees on pre-approved leave) will be granted excused absence for the number of hours they were scheduled to work. This does not apply to employees on leave without pay, leave without pay for military duty, workers' compensation, suspension, or in another nonpay status. Telework employees may be expected to work from their telework sites, as...

The heavy snow has taken a toll on some local buildings, and with more on the way the weight of winter is now its own danger. "When something collapses you never know when its going to happen," said Captain Dan Schmidt, Fairfax County (web | news) Fire and Rescue. The roof of Fairfax Fire Station 10 in Baily's Crossroads came crashing down early Monday morning. The 24 to 28 inches of snow and ice proved too much for the 12-year-old flat roof to handle

Currently, 51%=Yes, 43%=No (not sure why a Yes/No poll doesn't add up to 100%)

Mayor Daley’s son Patrick has left his home and his job in Moscow after being summoned back to active duty in the U.S. Army, the mayor disclosed today. “My son had a responsibility. He served fours years in the military, and he’s re-deployed. He will serve his country just like every other son and daughter in this country does the same thing,” the mayor said. The mayor made it clear that his son did not re-enlist, but was summoned back to active duty. It was not known whether Patrick Daley was an Army reservist. The mayor refused to say where...

A draft version of the Senate jobs bill began circulating around Washington, offering a glimpse of the package of spending items and tax cuts Senate Democrats envision as the basis for legislation Majority Reid Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wants to begin debating within days. After a meeting between President Barack Obama and the bipartisan congressional leadership of the House and Senate, Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made clear that the jobs bill remains a work in progress so the document does not represent the final package. Reid had hoped to unveil the legislation Tuesday but ongoing discussions between Democrats...

Marvel Comic’s Captain America is the mightiest soldier with the super powerful secret soldier formula that makes him a super man. Sadly, this muscle bound hero that took on the whole Nazi army during WWII seems to be afraid of those American people who’ve joined the Tea Party movement. Not only is Cappy quaking in his little red booties, but he’s sure that the Tea Party folks are dangerous racists, too. Isn’t it wonderful that a decades old American comic book hero is now being used to turn readers against our very political system, being used to slander folks that...

Sen. Richard C. Shelby, Alabama Republican, will stop blocking Senate confirmation of about 70 government appointees nominated by President Obama, his office said. Mr. Shelby had placed "holds" on most of Mr. Obama's nominees, delaying the Senate from acting on them, in a dispute over federal spending involving his state. "The purpose of placing numerous holds was to get the White House's attention on two issues that are critical to our national security -- the Air Force's aerial refueling tanker acquisition and the FBI's Terrorist Device Analytical Center," Shelby spokesman Jonathan Graffeo said in a statement Monday night.

Coach Inc. (COH) is opening its first men's-only store as the retailer moves to extend its reach beyond traditional female customers. The store will be on trendy Bleecker Street in New York City's West Village, taking over space that was occupied by a Ruehl boutique that was closed as Abercrombie & Fitch Inc. (ANF) shuttered the concept last year. Coach, known for its leather handbags and accessories for women, wants to explore "a broader men's opportunity for the brand globally," said Mike Tucci, Coach's president of North America retail. Coach is also opening a few men's shops in department stores...

I recently switched from IE6 to Firefox and now have a glitch which is rather annoying. I enter a reply message on a thread and click preview. I then get an error message stating FireFox could not find the link I was connecting to (there is no link in the message) or I was not logged on. I back arrow to the screen with the message entry and click preview again. This time it works and I am able to post the message. Any suggestions or hints on how to correct this problem will be greatly appreciated. Mike

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security improperly conducted a threat assessment of Wisconsin pro- and anti-abortion rights groups before an expected rally last year. The department said in a memo released last year that it destroyed or deleted all of the copies of the assessment after an internal review found it violated intelligence gathering guidelines about "protest groups which posed no threat to homeland security." The assessment was shared only with the director of Wisconsin's intelligence-sharing center and police in Middleton, where the rally was expected to take place. The report was compiled prior to a February 2009 meeting in

Just wondering.

Last week was the final straw for Bruce Bethke and his family. His wife, Karen, answered the phone, and it was a collections call from T-Mobile, demanding payment on the cell phone account of her stepdaughter, Emily Bethke. She burst into tears and told the agent what the family, in increasing irritation mixed with their sorrow, had been telling T-Mobile for months: Emily is dead.....

  It seems Michael Jackson's longtime doctor, Arnold Klein, was telling the truth about Michael's propensity to pee in bottles ... based on the L.A. County Coroner's autopsy report and a strange item found by the foot of the bed. TMZ first published the autopsy findings yesterday. Among the items found in the bedroom where Dr. Conrad Murray was treating Michael Jackson -- "a closed bottle of urine atop a chair." Back in November, we posted a story about Dr. Arnold Klein, who told us that Michael Jackson had a habit of peeing in cups and other objects, often in...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The rarely-shuttered US government closed down for a second day Tuesday, as the northeast braced for another massive snow blitz just days after a historic blizzard paralyzed the region. Schools in the Washington area were shut and thousands of homes were without power after a massive snowfall barreled across the area Friday and Saturday, leaving some areas entombed in as much as three feet (one meter) of snow. Forecasters said residents now face another wintry onslaught, with another 10 to 20 inches (25 to 50 centimeters) of snow forecast to fall on Tuesday and Wednesday. Unlike the...

Here's a primer designed to answer the biggest questions TV viewers may have about watching the Games. Q: What networks in the United States will carry the games? A: NBC is the only network. It paid $820 million for the right to carry the Games — it has broadcast every Olympics, summer or winter, since 1984. But action won't be limited to just NBC, whose local affiliate is KING-TV (Channel 5). Other stations in its empire — MSNBC, CNBC, USA and Universal HD — will also take part. Further coverage will air on its new Universal Sports Channel (115 on...

I'm sure most of us have read by now enviro-saint RFK Jr.'s sentimental recollections of how snowy D.C. and Northern Virginny were back in his golden, Camelot childhood. How there was a ski-slope in Maclean and how a visiting delegation of Eskimos once built an igloo in the back yard of his Dad's Hickory Hill manse (still up for sale apparently). My question is: is there anyone here with meteorological knowledge who would know where to look to find temperature and precipitation figures for our little bailiwick for that era (early sixties) to compare to those of recent years?

In an oped in USA Today, John Brennan -- Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism -- responds to critics of the Obama administration's counterterrorism policies by saying "Politically motivated criticism and unfounded fear-mongering only serve the goals of al-Qaeda." Brennan writes that, "Terrorists are not 100-feet tall. Nor do they deserve the abject fear they seek to instill." In the oped, titled "'We need no lectures': Administration disrupts terrorists’ plots, takes fight to them abroad," Brennan writes that politics "should never get in the way of national security. But too many in...

WASHINGTON (AP) - By now, it is abundantly clear that Michelle Obama loves french fries. The first lady talks about this "guilty pleasure" all the time, trying to ward off any notion that she is a nutrition nanny even as she cajoles Americans to eat better. Now, her conversation with the public about the nation's health and fitness is about to get a lot more pointed. After laying the groundwork for nearly a year, she launches a campaign on Tuesday against childhood obesity that she hopes will change the way millions of Americans eat, exercise, look and feel. < snip...

WASHINGTON -- A second major snowstorm in less than a week was blowing Tuesday toward the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. with more flights expected to be canceled. Plows still hadn't touched some roads, utility workers were struggling to restore power and shovels were in short supply. Forecasters predicted the snow would start Tuesday afternoon and continue into Wednesday, along with wicked winds. A foot or more was forecast for Washington and as many as 18 inches for the Northeast travel hub of Philadelphia -- which could cause travel problems as far north as Boston. Some areas are already under...

As D.C. continued to dig out from Snowmageddon and is keeping an eye on another storm system, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was busy making a climate change announcement. NOAA, part of the Department of Commerce, is going to be providing information to individuals and decision-makers through a new NOAA Climate Service office. “More and more, Americans are witnessing the impacts of climate change in their own backyards, including sea-level rise, longer growing seasons, changes in river flows, increases in heavy downpours, earlier snowmelt and extended ice-free seasons in our waters. People are searching for relevant and timely information...

Now on the books--“Every member of a subversive organization, or an organization subject to foreign control, every foreign agent and every person who advocates, teaches, advises or practices the duty, necessity or propriety of controlling, conducting, seizing or overthrowing the government of the United States … shall register with the Secretary of State."

GUATEMALA CITY – The climate of insecurity in Guatemala is forcing women to arm themselves to protect themselves and their families, the official Diario de Centroamerica newspaper said Monday. A report by the daily says that, regardless of their profession, more and more women are acquiring weapons and are registering them with the Digecam regulatory agency. Some 9,200 weapons have been registered at that agency in the name of women, a figure that represents 4 percent of the total weapons registered. Digecam assistant director Guillermo Mejia said that while it is not very common for women to approach the institution,...

Dramatic new evidence that abstinence-only sex education can succeed in public schools ought to be good news for Texas, right? After all, state law requires an emphasis on abstinence, and most school districts stop there. But education experts caution that the program tested is very different from the curriculum offered in many Texas schools. And while elements can be found in some North Texas classrooms, not even the researchers can say for certain which parts of their specially designed program made it work. Advocates of abstinence-only classes praised the study, published last week in the latest issue of the Archives...

WASHINGTON -- A Pennsylvania congressman and longtime friend of the late Rep. John Murtha said late Monday the congressman's large intestine was damaged during gallbladder surgery and the complications led him to be hospitalized. The Pennsylvania Democrat died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., where he was admitted on Jan. 31. The gallbladder surgery was performed days earlier at the National Naval Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md., which didn't immediately return messages seeking comment. The gallbladder surgery was performed days earlier at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Rep. Bob Brady said an infection developed and that...

If you don't know why this is funny, I'm not going to bother explaining it to you. If you don't recognize any of the characters (one character in particular, but you know what I mean) in the lineup of what this Polish newspaper (not Norwegian, as was previously reported) thought were Olympic mascots, then you very likely don't know why this picture is funny, and that's OK. Not every joke can be obvious. Might I suggest Jay Leno's comedy if you're feeling curiously left out of the joke here? He has this hilarious bit called "Headlines", and you're totally going...

Real Healthcare Reform: Kill the Lawyers Townhall.com ^ | February 8, 2010 | Bruce Bialosky Posted on Monday, February 08, 2010 7:58:48 AM by Kaslin Now that a stake has been driven through the heart of the omnibus healthcare bill proposed and drafted by the Obama-Pelosi-Reid Axis (with an assist from Henry Waxman), we can get down to real reform. The President has stated that he wants to work with Republicans. Then let’s start with the most obvious cost control factor – malpractice/tort reform. Changing His Tune: Super Majority-Less Obama Wants to Televise Health Talks (video) CBS News ^ |...

TALLAHASSEE - Picture a Vegas-style Bellagio on the beach. Rows of neon-lit slot machines, blackjack dealers and craps dice. In Florida? It might not be as unlikely as it seems. For the first time, the Florida Legislature's conservative, anti-gambling façade is showing cracks. As Gov. Charlie Crist pushes his Seminole gambling deal yet again, legislators are beginning to think bigger — with even anti-gambling conservatives weighing the idea of trying to use Florida's tourist appeal to create lucrative casino complexes. Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, who strongly opposed the expansion of slots in South Florida, now says that since gambling...

Madison's highest paid city government employee last year wasn't the mayor. It wasn't the police chief. It wasn't even the head of Metro Transit. It was bus driver John E. Nelson. Nelson earned $159,258 in 2009, including $109,892 in overtime and other pay. He and his colleague, driver Greg Tatman, who earned $125,598, were among the city's top 20 earners for 2009, city records show. They're among the seven bus drivers who made more than $100,000 last year thanks to a union contract that lets the most senior drivers who have the highest base salaries get first crack at overtime....

Authorities launched a criminal investigation Monday into the cause of an explosion that killed five people at a power plant under construction, saying they couldn't rule out negligence. "If everything went right, we wouldn't all be here right now," Middletown Mayor Sebastian Giuliano said. "There's a point where negligence raises to the level of criminal conduct, and that's what we're investigating."

The stunning wife of footballer Robbie Keane is pictured here showing off their baby son Robert. Former Miss Ireland contestant Claudine married the Celtic footballer in June 2008 and gave birth to their first child eight months ago. Speaking about her marriage, the 26-year-old blonde told Hello! magazine: 'Friendship, having things in common and working at it is really important.

This is Not about Murtha and his passing .. (Well maybe in a way it is)! This is just a rant and observation of mine. As a former Combat Ranger, having seen two tours in Nam .. I feel that I have a right to say this.Something I am seeing almost everywhere that I go and Most Especially on Lefty, Liberal sites is this: "You shouldn't be "bad mouthing a decorated veteran".The crap that is thrown around by the lefties .. REALLY, REALLY is something to behold! It's the Lefty, Liberals who are always holding their Anti-war rally's and bad...

Truly amazing: the power of Glenn Beck. He mentioned A Patriot's History of the U.S. today on his radio show, then again on the TV show, and lo and behold, #1. Big stuff happening. Can't tell all yet, but watch our web pages, www.patriotshistoryusa.com and www.rockinthewall.com. Oh, and if anyone knows how to do a screen saver, I'd like to bronze this one.

Federal Government Operating Status in the Washington, DC, Area the following message applies only to Tuesday, February 9, 2010 Federal agencies in the Washington, DC, area are CLOSED. This Means . . . Federal agencies in the Washington, DC, area are closed. Nonemergency employees (including employees on pre-approved leave) will be granted excused absence for the number of hours they were scheduled to work. This does not apply to employees on leave without pay, leave without pay for military duty, workers' compensation, suspension, or in another nonpay status. Telework employees may be expected to work from their telework sites, as...

These are chilly times for global warming. Climategate unmasked the international conspiracy to suppress climate data that undermines the bogus theory of man-made warming. Glaciergate exposed the junk science that went into the 2007 report of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. More recently, scientist discovered the IPCC report contained gross errors about the depletion of tropical rain forests, giving rise to Amazongate. Even Britain's chief science adviser, John Beddington, spoke the other day of the "substantial uncertainties" inherent in "large-scale climate modeling," and of how warmists resort to exaggeration — he omitted prevarications — to paper over yawning...

Italy's agriculture minister defended his sponsorship of McDonald's new all-Italian burger Monday amid criticism that he is selling out to a multinational corporation and sacrificing Italy's culinary reputation in the process. Minister Luca Zaia has argued that McDonald's new McItaly burger — using all Italian beef, Asiago cheese and artichoke spread — will pump €3.5 million ($4.8 million) more a month into the pockets of Italian farmers grappling with tough economic times. But for a country that gave birth to the Slow Food movement a quarter-century ago and prides itself on its varied, delicious and healthy cuisine, Zaia's enthusiastic support...

Poor Baby! ARTICLE HERE

At the turn of the twentieth century, "progressive" Vermonter named John Dewey kick-started a makeover of America's education system. Psychologizing introduced an emotionalism to education that defocused the student from facts, knowledge, and contributing to the prosperity of society. Teachers gradually split into factions, with ruinous consequences for American society. Some teachers continued to embrace the knowledge goal, but many of them began to indoctrinate their captive young sponges in "critical thinking" -- a euphemism for rabidly questioning everything and adopting a mindset that rejects all that has gone before. Traditional American values and free-market capitalism have become primary targets...

Issued by The National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington, MD 3:04 pm EST, Mon., Feb. 8, 2010 ... WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. * PRECIPITATION TYPE... SNOW. * ACCUMULATIONS... 10 TO 20 INCHES. * TIMING... MID-AFTERNOON TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. * TEMPERATURES... TEMPERATURES NEAR FREEZING AT THE ONSET TUESDAY AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES WILL DROP INTO THE UPPER 20S TUESDAY NIGHT AND...

HELSINKI (AFP) – Finnish researchers called for a revision of climate change estimates Monday after their findings showed emissions from soil would contribute more to climate warming than previously thought. "A Finnish research group has proved that the present standard measurements underestimate the effect of climate warming on emissions from the soil," the Finnish Environment Institute said in a statement. "The error is serious enough to require revisions in climate change estimates," it said, adding that all climate models used soil emission estimates based on measurements received using an erroneous method. The institute said that while emissions from soil were...

The lede from an article out Sunday in the SF Chronicle reads as follows: The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay. Interesting. So, what to make of this fact? According to the article, folks aren’t making much of it. Andy Pugno, general counsel for the group that sponsored the Prop. 8 campaign, rebuffed claims that his group might bring it up if Walker ultimately rules against them. “We are not going to...

RIGHT ON— On Sunday the left went bonkers after they discovered that the TelePrompter-less former Governor Sarah Palin wrote notes on the palm of her left hand for her speech to the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville. The far left absolutely freaked over this non-issue rather than focus on her brilliant speech knocking the Obama Administration’s horrid record on economics and national defense. Today Sarah fired back… She wrote “Hi Mom!” on her palm during her campaign stop with Governor Rick Perry of Texas. Hah! Here’s one of the actual photos from Daylife. It’s not a fake:

Six months ago, network executives were complaining that the White House was costing them tens of millions of dollars by pressing them to carry presidential news conferences in prime time. Problem solved: President Obama hasn't held a full-scale news conference since July. Instead, he answered a dozen people's questions last week on YouTube, most of them easily finessed and -- extra bonus! -- no annoying follow-ups of the kind posed by real, live journalists. It would be hard -- impossible, actually -- to argue that Obama hasn't been accessible to the media, not with his constant television interviews. The man...