Free Republic

The top 10: 1. Snoopy 2. Texas A&M's Reveille 3. Scooby Doo 4. Eddie from the TV show "Frasier" 5. Pound Puppy toys 6. Painting "Dogs Playing Poker" 7. Song "How Much is that Doggie in the Window" 8. Georgetown's Jack the Bulldog 9. The song "Who Let the Dogs Out" 10. Brian Griffin from the animated TV show Family Guy For the complete list, see: http://www.akc.org/pdfs/press_center/top_125_dogs_in_pop_culture.pdf

Yea! It's actually on TV! Merrty Christmas! Lu, lu, lu. Lu, lu, lu, lu. Hoooowwwwl!

In the opinion of Arlington Mayor Russell Wiseman, President Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday night on the war in Afghanistan was deliberately timed to block the Christian message of the "Peanuts" television Christmas special. Wiseman made the statements on his Facebook page, where he declared Obama to be a Muslim. Only people on Wiseman's "friend's list" had access to the post. He has more than 1,600 friends on Facebook. --snip -- At another point he said, "you know, our forefathers had it written in the original Constitution that ONLY property owners could vote, if that has stayed in there, things...

Tenn. mayor claims Obama blocked 'Peanuts' specialFriday, December 4, 2009 (12-04) 11:04 PST Arlington, Tenn. (AP) - The mayor of a suburban Memphis city accused President Barack Obama of deliberately timing his speech about the war in Afghanistan this week to block the airing of the "Peanuts" Christmas television special. According to The Commercial Appeal, Arlington Mayor Russell Wiseman posted the statements on his Facebook page and said the president is Muslim. Obama is Christian. "We sit the kids down to watch 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special' and our muslim president is there, what a load.....try to convince me that...

President Barack Obama ... ... is slated to deliver a prime-time address on Tuesday night in which he'll lay out his plans for the American war in Afghanistan. The address before the United States Military Academy at West Point on Tuesday night will not only be used to announce the immediate order to deploy roughly 30,000 more troops, but the administration will also use the occasion to convey how it intends to turn the fight over to the Kabul government, the New York Times reported. But the administration may also face an unforeseen enemy as it lays out its long-awaited...

<p>It's a little early to issue a death certificate for the career of Michael Moore -- but his latest film, "Capitalism: A Love Story," has grossed just $14 million in seven weeks of release.</p>

It is seldom recognized, commented historian René Dubos, that each society and every civilization creates its own diseases.1 Is the peanut allergy epidemic man-made? And if so, how has it been created in millions of children in just 20 years and who or what are its architects? The features of the epidemic continue to puzzle doctors. In the US alone, 5.6 million people – 2% of the population – are allergic topeanuts and nuts almost all having experienced onset as toddlers. This epidemic tipped into critical mass around 1998 when the first flood of allergic children entered kindergarten sending a...

Peanut butter sandwiches, favoured by cartoon character Charlie Brown, could be the secret to beating heart disease, according to new research. A study in the US reveals snacking on peanuts or peanut butter at least five days a week can nearly halve the risk of a heart attack. A team of experts at Harvard Medical School in Boston came up with the findings after studying the eating habits of thousands of women with type two diabetes. The condition dramatically increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Poor diet and lifestyle has led to a surge in the numbers affected...

Here is the nanny state at its most ridiculous. Healthies -- people that obsess about health -- are on the march in Madison, Wisconsin trying to get the state government to ban people from feeding peanuts to squirrels on the state Capitol grounds. It's a state emergency, ya know? Why these casually discarded peanuts could just maybe affect a child that has an allergy. We MUST ban the evil peanut to SAVE THE CHILDREN! One would think that people are dropping dead every 5 seconds from peanut allergies with all this energy and focus directed against that monstrous Mr. Peanut....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5ajv_Db-_g

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The return of peanuts to the snack menu at Northwest Airlines this month has prompted a spasm of protests from travelers with allergies.. The change comes four months after Northwest merged with Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and in the midst of a national salmonella outbreak involving Peanut Corporation of America. Georgia, where the company has a plant, is the top peanut-producing state in the country. Northwest began handing out the goobers as snacks on February 1, as Delta has been doing for years. In Minneapolis, where Northwest is based, news of the change has resulted in...

ATLANTA (AP) - The peanut processing company at the heart of a national salmonella outbreak is going out of business. The Lynchburg, Va.-based Peanut Corp. of America filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Virginia Friday, the latest bad news for the company that has been accused of producing tainted peanut products that may have reached everyone from poor school children to disaster victims. "It's regrettable, but it's inevitable with the events of last month," said Andrew S. Goldstein, a bankruptcy lawyer in Roanoke, Va., who filed the petition. The salmonella outbreak was traced to the company's...

The Texas Department of State Health Services on Thursday ordered the recall of all products ever shipped from the Peanut Corporation of America's plant in Plainview, Texas, after discovering dead rodents, rodent excrement and bird feathers in the plant. The order, which applies to products shipped since the plant opened nearly four years ago, came a day after the discovery of filth in a crawl space above a production area during a health services inspection, the department said in a news release. Inspectors also reported that the plant's ventilation system was pulling debris "from the infested crawl space into production...

Washington — U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, chairman of a House subcommittee on oversight and investigation, gaveled hearings open today on the salmonella outbreak saying, “the psychological cost has been widespread.” ... • In one e-mail, Lightsey wrote Parnell discussing positive salmonella tests on its products, but Parnell gave instructions to nonetheless “turn them loose” after getting a negative test result from another testing company. • In another e-mail, Parnell expressed his concerns over the losing “$$$$$$” due to delays in shipment and costs of testing. • Parnell in another company-wide e-mail told employees there was no salmonella in its plants,...

A recent discovery at Case Western Reserve University may help keep food and drugs safer and fresher longer and electronic equipment dryer and more secure than ever before The finding involves a nanotechnology-based technique to block the transport of damaging gases through a polymer, making it stronger while using less material. It was made in the labs of the National Science Foundation-supported Center for Layered Polymeric Systems at the Case School of Engineering.

In the end, Tom Daschle had to go, not because of his tax problems, but because he had allowed a glimpse inside the Obama sausage factory. And what folks saw could have made even a certain peanut plant look pristine by comparison. It can be argued that Daschle's tax avoidance was less egregious than Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's, even though the amount was substantially more....

BLAKELY, Ga., Feb. 3, 2009 (CBS) A former employee of the Georgia peanut plant at the center of a criminal investigation in a nationwide salmonella outbreak says he saw a rat dry-roasting in a peanut area. Jonathan Prather was one of 50 people who lost their jobs last month when the Peanut Corporation of America shut down its plant in Blakely. The outbreak is blamed in as many as eight deaths and has sickened some 500 people, authorities say. Many products made with peanut paste from the plant have been recalled.

Do you know why the FDA is in charge of keeping America's food supply safe?Because no other nation would have them.That's the thought I'm left with after learning… and this was no big surprise… that the FDA played a larger role than we thought in allowing a salmonella outbreak to sweep through the nation, sickening hundreds and possibly killing 8 people.I told you a couple weeks ago there would be more to this story.By now you know that the salmonella outbreak has been tied to Peanut Corp.'s peanut processing facility in Georgia. I was surprised that our normally-bungling FDA was...

The following recalls have been announced:

FDA inspectors found many problems at Georgia peanut plant Federal officials say an often-cited Georgia plant sold products tainted with salmonella. The Georgia peanut butter plant linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak had deficient cleaning programs and sometimes shipped products that initially tested positive for the bacteria, the federal official in charge of the investigation said Tuesday. Michael Rogers, director of regional investigations for the Food and Drug Administration, said government tests at the processing plant in Blakely, Ga., also found salmonella present on surfaces in the plant. It has been closed during the investigation, which began Jan. 9. He...

ATLANTA (AP) — Health officials are investigating a salmonella outbreak that has reportedly sickened nearly 400 people in 42 states, but they don't know how the bacteria are spreading.

The Food and Drug Administration is asking consumers to temporarily stop eating all foods containing peanut butter - this, as investigators work to find the source of a deadly salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter and peanut butter paste. So far, more than 470 people in 43 states have gotten sick. At least 90 people have been hospitalized and six have died. Investigators are focusing on bulk tubs of peanut butter produced at the Peanut Corporation of America's Georgia facility. Its products were distributed to nursing homes and to food companies.

MINNEAPOLIS – The salmonella bacteria that has sickened more than 400 people in 43 states has been conclusively linked to peanut butter, Minnesota health officials announced Monday. Federal officials said the outbreak may have contributed to three deaths. State health and agriculture officials said last week they had found salmonella bacteria in a 5-pound package of King Nut peanut butter at a nursing facility in Minnesota. Officials tested the bacteria over the weekend and found a genetic match with the bacterial strain that has led to 30 illnesses in Minnesota and others across the country. "The commonality among all of...

(Eating plant-based meals conserves natural resources and slows global warming) Looking for small ways to make a big difference for the environment? Why not start by making yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? As members of the PB&J Campaign1 (no, I’m not kidding) like to say, “You don’t have to change your whole diet to change the world. Just start with lunch.” Eating a plant-based lunch (such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bean burrito, vegetarian chili, or a hearty salad) instead of an animal-based lunch (such as a hamburger, a tuna or grilled cheese sandwich, fish...

<p>Kellogg had recalled 16 products last week because of the possibility of salmonella contamination.</p> <p>On Monday, the company based in Battle Creek, Mich., said the Food and Drug Administration confirmed contamination in a single package of Austin Quality Foods Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter.</p>

WASHINGTON – The company that sells Little Debbie snacks announced a recall Sunday of peanut butter crackers because of a potential link to a deadly salmonella outbreak. The voluntary recall came one day after the government advised consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods with peanut butter until health officials learn more about the contamination.

WASHINGTON – The latest national food safety investigation took on new urgency Friday as federal officials confirmed salmonella contamination at a Georgia facility that ships peanut products to 85 food companies. On Capitol Hill, the House Energy and Commerce Committee requested records as it opened its own inquiry. The outbreak has sickened hundreds of people in 43 states and killed at least six. Earlier this week, it prompted Kellogg to pull some of its venerable Keebler crackers from store shelves, as a precaution. Although the investigation has gone into high gear, Food and Drug Administration officials say much of their...

(CNN) -- Federal officials are urging consumers to put off eating foods that contain peanut butter until they can be they are sure they do not contain products manufactured by the Peanut Corp. of America, some of which were found to contain salmonella. A salmonella outbreak has sickened almost 500 people and killed at least six. Food and Drug Administration officials said Saturday that peanut butter and peanut paste made from ground roasted peanuts, manufactured in Peanut Corp.'s Blakely, Georgia, plant were found to contain the bacteria, although a direct link to the strain that has now sickened 474 people...

He suffers from an egregiously unfair reputation. His record, though, shows he was quite a good president Oakton, Va. - In this season of new resolutions, Americans would do well to rethink their perceptions of Jimmy Carter. President Carter has suffered the misfortune of having his legacy almost entirely shaped by his political enemies rather than by objective reality or a basic sense of American fairness. Today, Carter is caricatured as a weak-kneed, sweater-wearing puritan who struggled with lust in his heart, presided over a malaised America, and micromanaged even the scheduling of the White House tennis courts. More recently,...

A Mix of Nuts by: Deborah Lambert, December 12, 2008 The food Nazis are at it again. First they banned most of the yummy food groups that make it worthwhile for kids to attend school in the first place. Now they’ve pounced on a North Carolina school district in order to crack down on a particularly dangerous food—peanuts and peanut butter. Of course, peanuts should be avoided by those children who experience allergic reactions. That goes without saying. ,p> But Investors Business Daily (IBD) recently reported that school officials notified parents to stop sending peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to...

Bill Melendez, considered a pioneer in animation and best known for bringing the "Peanuts" characters to life, died early Tuesday morning September 2nd at St. John's hospital in Santa Monica. Doctors say Melendez died "peacefully." He was 91 years old preparing to celebrate his 92nd birthday in November. With his trade mark handle bar mustache, Melendez was a phenomenal talent whose unique style and distinct sense of humor inspired a generation. Melendez began his career at Walt Disney Studios. As a talented young animator he worked on Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, Dumbo and classic "Mickey Mouse" and "Donald Duck" cartoons. Years...

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack? Not in sections 311 and 312 at Safeco Field on Aug. 5 and Sept. 9. Those will be peanut-controlled zones on those days, the Mariners announced this week, cleaned thoroughly the night before and all peanut products will be banned on those games. Peanut products will not be sold at nearby concession stands. Tickets will be $10 each for those days.

I've been given a ceramic flowerpot by my boss, and she says it was her mother's and may be worth something. It is ceramic with a relief of snoopy and a sunflower. Bottom printing list copyright as 1958 but I doubt the pot is that old. Unfortunately I think this is the only one she didn't throw away. Anyway I have googled alot and cannot find it anywhere to try and ascertain it's rarity or value. Any FReepers know anything about this type of thing?

ATLANTA (AP) - Former President Carter says he'll endorse Democrat Barack Obama after the polls close on the final primaries. Carter told The Associated Press on Tuesday: "The fact is the Obama people already know they have my vote when the polls close tonight." Carter spoke to the AP after addressing the Georgia World Congress Center. Carter, a superdelegate, has remained officially neutral in the race but has offered high praise to Obama. Carter has noted that his children, grandchildren and their spouses back the Illinois senator. South Dakota and Montana hold primaries Tuesday.

A Long Island woman has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines claiming the carrier endangered her 4-year-old son by serving peanuts on her flight, Newsday reported. Tehmina Haque says she was assured several times that peanuts would not be served, but flight attendants changed the plan without notice during her April 18 flight to Los Angeles. Her lawsuit claims she was “tense and fearful .. that her son would have an anaphylactic reaction while imprisoned 35,000 feet in the air,” according to Newsday. An American Airlines spokesman would not comment on the lawsuit. The carrier’s peanut allergy policy reads: “American...

Israel’s secret service has declined to assist U.S. agents guarding former U.S. President Jimmy Carter during a visit in which Israeli leaders have shunned him, U.S. sources told Reuters on Monday...

Very early in my ministry, I found myself in a bitterly divided congregation. I saw things I wished I’d never seen and heard things I wished I’d never heard. More depressingly, I thought things I wish I’d never thought. Finally, I did the best thing I knew to do for my family and for me, and resigned my position. While the church voted to accept my resignation, I sat at home wondering if I really wanted to serve in church ministry—or even to go to church—knowing what I knew about human depravity. I turned on the television for some background...

In A Nutshell, Boiled Peanuts Better For You By KENT FAULK   Lex Legate, owner of the Peanut Depot in Birmingham, Ala., prepares to boil peanuts. (Photo by Michelle Williams)     BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Boiled peanuts, a mushy snack enjoyed by many in the South, may be better for your health than raw peanuts or those roasted dry or in oil, a new study by a group of Huntsville researchers suggests.Boiling brings out up to four times more healthy phytochemicals in the peanuts than raw, dry- or oil-roasted nuts, according to the study by three Alabama A&M University researchers...

TORONTO -- A group of Toronto-area children is asking the Ontario Human Rights Commission to force their school to launch mandatory lunch-bag inspections to screen out foods to which they have severe allergies, a case which could make all Ontario schools do the same. The six children, ranging in age from six to 11, contend that the local school board discriminated against them when it shut down a voluntary lunch screening program at St. Stephen's Catholic Elementary School, in Woodbridge, Ont., aimed at keeping peanuts, egg products or other potential allergy-inducing foods off school grounds entirely. Maurice Brenner, a human-rights...

Police don't know what killed the factory worker or how he ended up under the peanuts. SOUTHAMPTON — - Investigators are looking into the death of a peanut factory worker discovered beneath a pile of peanuts. Calvin W. Branch, 42, of Boykins, worked at the Severn Peanut Company in Newsoms, which is southwest of Franklin. He was found buried Tuesday under a large pile of peanuts in the plant's warehouse. Branch was pronounced dead at the scene. Branch's co-workers had reported him missing about noon Tuesday. Local fire department workers and sheriff's investigators found him about two hours later in...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - For lovers of boiled peanuts, there's some good news from the health front. A new study by a group of Huntsville researchers found that boiled peanuts bring out up to four times more chemicals that help protect against disease than raw, dry or oil-roasted nuts. Lloyd Walker, chair of Alabama A&M University's Department of Food and Animal Sciences who co-authored the study, said these phytochemicals have antioxidant qualities that protect cells against the risk of degenerative diseases, including cancers, diabetes and heart disease. "Boiling is a better method of preparing peanuts in order to preserve these phytochemicals,"...

October 26, 2007 -- THERE isn't enough re vealing material in the tedious documentary "Jimmy Carter Man From Plains" to sustain an 800-word magazine profile, let alone a two-hour film. "The Silence of the Lambs" director Jonathan Demme followed Carter along on a 2006-2007 tour to promote his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" but utterly failed to illuminate the personality of the winner of such prestigious awards as the Grammy for Best Audiobook Recording and the Nobel Peace Prize. Nor does Demme go into any depth about issues in the West Bank and Gaza.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- An agricultural researcher at North Carolina A&T State University has developed what he said is a simple process to make allergen-free peanuts. The inventor, Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna, is optimizing the process further to remove allergens from other foods. "We are extremely pleased that we were able to find such a simple solution to a vexing problem that has enormous economic and public health ramifications, both for peanut-sensitive individuals, and the food industry as a whole," Ahmedna said. Ahmedna is an associate professor of food science in N.C. A&T's School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. The new process...

Carter asks US to embrace Nepal MaoistsKATHMANDU: Former US President Jimmy Carter called on his country’s government Saturday to establish relations with Nepal’s former rebel Maoists, who remain on a list of US terrorist organisations. “My opinion is that the US should establish some communication with the Maoists. The people of Nepal have accepted them as political players,” Carter told journalists at the end of a four-day visit to Nepal. The US remains highly critical of the Maoists, despite the fact they signed a landmark peace deal last year and entered government in April. Earlier this week the US...

Squash grown 10,000 years ago in Peru By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer Thu Jun 28, 6:09 PM ET WASHINGTON - Agriculture was taking root in South America almost as early as the first farmers were breaking ground in the Middle East, new research indicates. Evidence that squash was being grown nearly 10,000 years ago, in what is now Peru, is reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science. A team led by anthropologist Tom D. Dillehay of Vanderbilt University also uncovered remains of peanuts from 7,600 years ago and cotton dated to 5,500 years ago in the floors...

MTV transmitted a long, profane self-defense Snoop offered in a phone interview: "It's a completely different scenario," said Snoop, barking over the phone from a hotel room in L.A. "[Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about ho's that's in the 'hood that ain't doing sh--, that's trying to get a n---a for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain't no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC [the cable network home to Imus] going hard on black...

Exclusive: Handwritten Note From Jimmy Carter Interceding for Nazi SS Guard Proven to Have Murdered JewsWe now have a copy of the note that Jimmy Carter sent to the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Special Investigation, interceding on behalf of a Nazi SS Guard. We first reported on this story this morning.

January 15, 2007 -- Has a former president of the United States - a Nobel Peace Prize winner, no less - given his blessing to wanton murder and terrorist assaults against Israel? Sure looks that way. How else to read that astonishing statement on page 213 of Jimmy Carter's new anti-Israel screed, "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid"? To wit: "It is imperative that the general Arab community and all significant Palestinian groups make it clear that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when international laws and the ultimate goals of the Roadmap for Peace are accepted...

The Peanuts gang and FReeper "indcons" wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a great 2007.

Marijuana is now the biggest cash crop grown in the US, exceeding traditional harvests such as wheat, corn and soy beans, says a new report. The study shows that 10,000 tonnes of marijuana worth $35.8bn (£18.4bn) is grown each year; the street value would be even higher. This dwarfs the $23bn-worth of corn grown, $17.6bn-worth of soybeans and $12.2bn-worth of hay. Marijuana is the biggest cash crop in 12 states, with the value of pot grown outstripping peanuts in Georgia and tobacco in North and South Carolina. In California, the biggest producer, it is worth $13.8bn.