Free Republic

Republicans have responded to the recent attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with a mix of messages, some of which have prompted sharp criticism from Democrats. Many in the GOP, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and former Vice President Pence, have vocally condemned the attack. Former President Trump has opted, in contrast, to remain silent, while responses from several other Republicans have attracted criticism from Democrats for apparently using the situation to advance a political message. Paul Pelosi was attacked by an intruder in his and the House Speaker’s San Francisco home...

A white lesbian mother is suing a Chicago sperm bank after she claims she was mistakenly sent a black man's sperm and gave birth to a mixed-race daughter. Jennifer Cramblett, 36, claims the mistake has caused her stress and anguish because her family is racist and she lives in a small, all-white Uniontown in northeast Ohio. In a lawsuit filed this week in Cook County, Illinois, Ms Cramblett says Midwest Sperm Bank sent her several vials of a black man's sperm by mistake because the clinic keeps paper records and accidentally transposed numbers on her order. The couple had specifically...

> Some recent findings seem to contradict claims that the glaciers are retreating rapidly. Some glaciers are even said to be advancing. > In the western Himalayas, some scientists have also reported findings that conflict with the long-held view that glaciers are retreating. The Indian government has issued a discussion paper based on these findings. It says: "Himalayan glaciers, although shrinking in volume and constantly showing a retreating front, have not in any way exhibited... an abnormal annual retreat, of the order that some glaciers in Alaska and Greenland are reported to have done. "It is premature to make a...

Is there anyway to remind the ones calling everyone who disagrees with the potus "a racist" that he is also white? What I want to know is why is he considered a black man? Last time I checked he was born from a white mother, whose parents were both white as well. Why is he soley black? To consider him "ONLY BLACK" is racist! Why won't the conservative voices of the airwaves raise that question? I think by considering himself to be only black or all of the voices calling those who disagree a racist, should remember he is as...

NEW YORK – Investors are sitting on the sidelines for a second day as they wait for signals about the direction of the economy. Mixed economic readings are offering the market little guidance. A private research group said its index of leading economic indicators has shown a surprise increase for January. But the Philadelphia Federal Reserve says conditions in the region's manufacturing sector have weakened this month.

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2008 – While some troops will deploy to Afghanistan in the near future, large units must wait until an assessment of needs in Iraq is completed, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a news conference that the situation in Iraq has improved. “I personally believe that there is a real possibility of some additional drawdowns as we look forward,” Gates said. Mullen agreed, saying conditions in Iraq have dramatically improved over the past year. In a briefing this morning,...

Red-Tailed Hawks and Hen are a mixed family and only see their mother as another hawk. Mother has learned to speak a little red-tailed hawk sound. This is a short film animation by o7jimmy (Revski).

WASHINGTON - The Iraqi government has made only mixed progress toward fulfilling goals for political, military and economic reform, the Bush administration said Thursday in a report certain to inflame debate in Congress over future U.S. war strategy. In an interim assessment required by Congress, the administration accused Syria of fostering a network that supplies as many as 50 to 80 suicide bombers per month for al-Qaida in Iraq. It also said Iran continues to fund extremist groups. The report said that despite progress on some fronts by the government of Nouri al-Maliki, "the security situation in Iraq remains complex...

Growing up Bi-racial Joshua Brown (Joshua Brown is a cadet at Millersburg Military Institute in Kentucky. He is studying Journalism and Creative Writing.) Their hair may be black or golden brown. Their eyes may vary from cat green to bark brown. Skin tone may be light with freckles or a Hawaiian sun tan brown. These are some of the physical features of bi-racial persons. Bi-racial persons are faced with tough decisions when it comes to their families. White parents-in-law may not accept white daughters-in-law, or vice versa. The children of bi-racial marriages are often caught in the middle, having to...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Saturday turnout was high in elections for local councils and a powerful clerical body, with some initial reports suggesting allies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad might not have won resounding backing. But analysts said it was too early to see a clear trend in Friday's vote, the first popularity test for Ahmadinejad since he took office last year. Any sign of softer support for Ahmadinejad would encourage Western governments alarmed by his anti- Israel statements and fears Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies. Most official results for the twin polls for councilors and...

Bird flu mixed with human flu lacks punch 18:04 01 August 2006 NewScientist.com news service Peter Aldhous Combining genes from the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus with those from a common human flu virus does not seem to create strains with instant pandemic potential, researchers have found. H5N1 meets two of three requirements for a pandemic strain: it is highly pathogenic and unfamiliar to most people’s immune systems. If it also acquired the ability to transmit easily from person to person, H5N1 would threaten millions of lives. One way this could happen is if the virus swapped genes with human...

Mixed picture emerges of global gay rightsBy DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer Sat Jul 1, 2:24 PM ET A security officer in tights leads the annual Gay pride Rainbow Parade in downtown Vienna, on Saturday, July 1, 2006. (AP Photo/Lilli Strauss) NEW YORK - While cities around the world hosted upbeat gay pride parades in recent weeks, human-rights activists kept watch on a contrasting set of developments: gays beaten by demonstrators in Moscow, convicted on sodomy charges in Cameroon, targeted by sweeping anti-gay legislation in Nigeria. "It shows there are still dangers in just being gay — and dangers in...

Waving a Palestinian flag, a group of Muslims and Arab-Americans on Monday joined thousands of demonstrators in the state capital participating in the national boycott to support immigrant rights. While their presence was welcomed by the predominantly Hispanic crowd, their message received a mixed reaction. During speeches at a downtown park and on the steps of the Capitol, 25-year-old Lara Kiswani spoke about amnesty, the rights of workers and other issues important to immigration advocates. But she also used her speeches to criticize the war in Iraq, denounce the U.S.A. Patriot Act and rail against Israel's policies in the Middle...

SAN JOSE — Republicans concluded their state convention Sunday with mixed grades for GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger — remaining neutral on his infrastructure push even as he promoted the public works plan on national television. General assembly delegates tabled support of his $222 billion, 10-year proposal to upgrade everything from roads to levees with $68 billion in voter-approved bonds and other funding mechanisms, over concerns about state debt. Meanwhile, on "Meet the Press," the governor said that "those people that are criticizing my infrastructure deal and my strategic growth plan are people that are a little bit confused about the...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - For months, the young Shiite couple could not decide whether to move from Dora, a mostly Sunni Arab neighborhood and one of Baghdad's most dangerous. After death threats, the murder of a neighbor and the birth of their first child, they decided it was time to go. High rents kept Rana Ali and her husband, Hussein Youssef, from finding a new home in one of the capital's safest areas, where Shiites are dominant, and they could not afford refuge in Iraq's overwhelmingly Shiite south. Instead, they settled in nearby Saydiyah, another majority Sunni area only marginally safer...

U.S.Army paratroopers with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, search for a weapons cache on the outskirts of Tall Afar, Iraq, Nov. 18, 2005. U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Nathan Kish Paratroopers' Missions Yield Mixed Results The search for a man connected to insurgent activities was unsuccessful, but a search for a weapons cache yielded dozens of artillery rounds. By U.S. Army Pfc. James Wilt 82nd Airborne Division TALL AFAR, Iraq, Nov. 29, 2005 — U.S. Army paratroopers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division conducted a raid...

9/11 Panel Gives White House Mixed ReviewBy BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer 1 hour, 10 minutes ago Fred Fielding, a member of the Sept. 11 commission, prepares to join other panelists in a progress report on the 2004 recommendations aimed at guarding against future terrorist attacks, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, Monday, Nov. 14, 2005. Fielding, a former Nixon White House counsel, praised U.S. attempts to integrate the Arab and Muslim world into the global trading system and in fighting terrorism financing. The Bush administration was given a mixed review and was criticized for not...

How's this for size? The 10ft Liger who's still growing... He looks like something from a prehistoric age or a fantastic creation from Hollywood. But Hercules is very much living flesh and blood - as he proves every time he opens his gigantic mouth to roar. Part lion, part tiger, he is not just a big cat but a huge one,standing 10ft tall on his back legs. Called a liger, in reference to his crossbreed parentage, he is the largest of all the cat species. On a typical day he will devour 200 lb of meat, usually beef or chicken,...

Bush gets mixed reception at Christian college By Caren Bohan Sat May 21, 5:00 PM ET GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Reuters) - President Bush on Saturday championed faith in American society, but ran into some criticism as courted his Christian base in a commencement speech at a Michigan college. "We need to support and encourage the institutions and pursuits that bring us together. And we learn how to come together by participating in our churches and temples and mosques and synagogues," Bush told graduating seniors at Calvin College, a Christian liberal-arts college. The college describes itself as a "center of faith-anchored...

Shaunti Feldhahn, a right-leaning columnist, writes the commentary this week and Diane Glass, a left-leaning columnist, responds SHAUNTI FELDHAHN for ajc.com As a kid, I never realized there was a bias against interracial dating -- or that any serious racial bias still existed. Like most kids in the Washington, D.C.-area melting pot, I grew up around everyone from the children of African diplomats to kids who came over on the boats from Cambodia. My classmates spoke every language and lived in everything from luxury lake homes to public housing. Our dinner guests were just as likely to be from Nigeria...