Free Republic

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she'd come out ahead if she went one-on-one with fellow jogger President Barack Obama in a long run, according to an interview published online Tuesday. "I betcha I'd have more endurance," she told Runner's World magazine. "My one claim to fame in my own little internal running circle is a sub-four marathon. What I lacked in physical strength or skill, I made up for in determination and endurance." Palin, a 45-year-old former beauty queen who became the first woman and youngest person to be elected Alaska's governor, is featured in the...

A second racy lingerie photo has emerged of Miss USA runner-up Carrie Prejean - as well as some details about her past that may shed some light on the beauty queen's well-publicized views against gay marriage. The new image of Prejean appeared Wednesday on the site TheDirty.com, flying in the face of Prejean's assurances to pageant reps that the earlier photo was the only one. The site has been down due to heavy traffic, but CNN reports the second image, like the first, shows Prejean in pink panties and no top, facing away from the camera. Pageant officials met Tuesday...

Central Bankers Warn of 'Tipping Point' By PAUL HANNON and NINA KOEPPEN July 1, 2008 BASEL, Switzerland -- The global economy may be close to a "tipping point" that could see it enter a slowdown so severe that it transforms the current period of rising inflation into a period of falling prices, the Bank for International Settlements said Monday. In its annual report, the central bank for central banks said the impact of rising food and energy prices on consumers' incomes, combined with heavy household debts and a pullback in bank lending, may lead to a slowdown in global growth...

Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain praised New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during a visit to the Big Apple and hinted that Bloomberg could be considered as a possible running mate. Bloomberg is leaving office next year due to term limits and has been rumored to be mulling a run for governor in New York. Asked about that speculation, McCain told the New York Post: “Do I think he could serve the state of New York and the country well? Of course.” When asked about the possibility of Bloomberg, an Independent, running as the GOP’s vice presidential candidate, McCain refused...

Spitting on the Marines [Michael Ledeen] Here is an e-mail from a Marine chaplain recently returned from Iraq. The story speaks for itself—lousy treatment of our troops at our own airports. He writes about Oakland, and while checking around I find that this is a common experience. I hope that one of our leaders will find a way to put an end to such behavior. Marines and Soldiers Returning from Iraq not allowed into Oakland terminal On September 27th 204 Marines and soldiers who were returning from Iraq were not allowed into the passenger terminal at Oakland International Airport. Instead...

Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, said the country is in "great danger" of the U.S. government staging a terrorist attack or a Gulf of Tonkin style provocation, as the war in Iraq continues to deteriorate. The Texas congressman offered no specifics nor mentioned President Bush by name, but he clearly insinuated that the administration would not be above staging an incident to revive flagging support. During the radio interview, Paul said the government was conducting "an orchestrated effort to blame the Iranians for everything that has gone wrong in Iraq."

"If you live your life and don't confess your sins to God almighty through the authority of Christ and his blood, I'm going to say this very plainly, you're going straight to hell with a nonstop ticket," Mr. Hagee said during a service interspersed with religious and patriotic videos. Asked afterward at a political rally whether he agreed with Mr. Hagee, the governor said he didn't hear anything that he would take exception to. He (Perry) said that he believes in the inerrancy of the Bible and that those who don't accept Jesus as their savior will go to hell.A...

Pakistani helicopter gunships have destroyed an Islamic school allegedly used as an Al-Qaeda-linked training camp near the Afghan border, killing up to 80 suspected militants. Local leaders however insisted that most of the dead were teenage students, many of whom were "reduced to bits and pieces", and protests erupted against the Pakistani government and its ally the United States.The airstrike that targeted a madrassa in the troubled Bajaur tribal agency was one of the biggest ever in Pakistan's frontier region, where many Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents have sought sanctuary since 2001."Information we have received from certain local sources and intelligence...

The Maverick!

US OKs wider access for Barr 'morning-after' pillWASHINGTON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. (BRL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) won U.S. approval to sell its Plan B "morning-after" contraceptive without a prescription to women 18 and older, the company said on Thursday. Younger girls still need a prescription for Plan B, the company said in a statement. The Plan B pills may prevent pregnancy when taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse.

President Bush Approves Over the Counter Early Abortion Pill, Pro-Life Base Decries MoveBy John-Henry Westen WASHINGTON, August 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - For his pro-life supporter base, President George W. Bush stepped into one of the biggest political landmines of his Presidential career today with his approval of over the counter status for the abortion-causing morning after pill Plan B. A press release by Human Life International underscored the seriousness of the move as it was titled, "President Bush Files for Divorce with Catholic Base." Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International commented, "President Bush's implied support for the...

n LAPD officer was injured and several demonstrators were arrested at an anti-illegal immigration protest Saturday evening in Hollywood. LAPD spokesperson Sandra Escalante says the female officer apparently hurt her ankle while clashing with protesters. Escalante said "several" arrests were made. The rally, attended by various anti-illegal immigration groups, took place at Hollywood Boulevard and Argyle Avenue. The crowd was estimated at about 200.

President Bush, calling the alleged rape of an Iraqi girl and the murder of her and her family by a U.S. soldier "a despicable crime, if true," said Thursday that Iraqis will learn about the openness of American justice. Steven D. Green, a former Army private with the 101st Airborne Division, pleaded not guilty to charges Thursday. Green and other soldiers were accused of targeting the girl after seeing her near the Iraqi town of Mahmoudiya earlier this year. "These are very serious charges and what the Iraqis must understand is that we will deal with these in a very...

US President George W. Bush signalled his opposition to a South Dakota abortion ban that forbids the procedure even in cases of rape or incest, saying he favors such exceptions. But Bush declined to predict the outcome of any legal challenges to the legislation, which would make it illegal to terminate a pregnancy except in rare cases when it may be necessary to save the life of the mother. "That, of course, is a state law, but my position has always been three exceptions: Rape, incest, and the life of the mother," the US president told ABC news in an...

The head of Israel's domestic security agency, Shin Bet, has said his country may come to regret the overthrow of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Yuval Diskin said a strong dictatorship would be preferable to the present "chaos" in Iraq, in a speech to teenage Jewish settlers in the West Bank. He also said the Israeli security services and judiciary treated Arabs and Jewish suspects differently. A Shin Bet veteran, Mr Diskin took over as Shin Bet's chief in May. His speech to the students at the Eli settlement as they prepared for military service was secretly recorded and broadcast...

First, the content of a letter to the editor published today in Newsday: Mary Mapes, in discussing her new book, claims that the onslaught of negative bloggers demonized her and led to her firing by CBS. I get the impression that she thinks a continuous stream of misleading information can blur the line between truth and falsehood. That is exactly what Mapes, CBS and the rest of the mainstream media do to our president and the Republican Party every day. Mary Mapes, welcome to the reality you helped create. And now, Newsday's misleading headline for the above letter: Bloggers malign...

The Bush administration clashed with Senate Republicans yesterday over proposals to use oil company profits to beef up heating assistance for low-income households this winter. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said the administration opposes a proposal by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley urging oil and gas companies to devote a portion of their nearly $100 billion profits in the latest quarter to families who need the money to pay heating bills. "No, sir, I wouldn't support it. It is similar to a tax," Mr. Bodman told reporters after speaking to an industry group. His remarks reflect the views...

November 2, 2005 -- Malcolm Pope is one of the top point guards in the area and while he began his high school career leaving Harlem to go to Blair Academy, he's now ready to come back home. "I want to play for a city championship and play against my friends," said the junior, who left Blair on Monday. For now, however, he currently isn't in school.

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) -- Gregg Garvey of Keystone Heights lost his 23-year-old son to battle in Iraq in 2003. He's joined the war protests outside the president's Texas ranch -- but as a supporter of Bush and the military. He says people have had enough Bush bashing, and that Cindy Sheehan's protest "does not represent all of America." Sheehan is the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq last year. She says she'll keep up her anti-war demonstration near Bush's Crawford ranch until the president meets with her or finishes his August vacation. She's been joined by dozens of anti-war...

Coulter dies after motorcycle accident By Stevie L. Daugherty William David Coulter, 48, of St. Francis died July 4 at the University of Louisville Hospital after being involved in a motorcycle accident July 3. The accident occurred at 2:05 a.m. one mile west of Loretto on Hwy 52, according to Kentucky State Police. Coulter was driving a 1999 Harley Davidson west on KY 52 when he dropped off the left shoulder of the road, traveled down an embankment and came to rest in a field, police said. Coulter was flown to the University of Louisville Hospital. He was not wearing...

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -After two bellyflops, Congress is considering a dollar coin again. This time it might actually work. Like lemmings rushing into the fjords, Congress cannot seem to resist a leap into the dollar-coin money pit. Despite two wildly unsuccessful attempts to introduce a dollar coin, legislators are trying again. This time, however, lemmings might fly. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to create a new $1 coin, which would accompany the current Sacagawea piece. The measure enjoyed enormous bipartisan support, passing by a vote of 422 to 6.

U.S. says Israel must give up nukes By Amir Oren, Haaretz Correspondent www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/560278.html The State Department Saturday called on Israel to forswear nuclear weapons and accept international Atomic Energy Agency safeguards on all nuclear activities. This is the second time in about two weeks that officials in the Bush administration are putting the nuclear weapons of Israel, India and Pakistan on a par. The officials called on the three to act like Ukraine and South Africa, which in the last decade renounced their nuclear weapons. The similar phrasing used by the officials refers to Israel's military nuclear capability, as distinct...

A new statewide survey shows that 53 percent of those asked support allowing those with a doctor's recommendation to get up to 2 ounces of marijuana a month free from the state Department of Public Safety. For everyone else, Proposition 203 also would reduce the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a civil offense, punishable by no more than a $250 fine. [No -- 33%, Don't know -- 15%; http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=49912]