Free Republic

Two politicians not known for brevity will face off at 6 p.m on statewide television. When Republican incumbent U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and his Democratic opponent, Beto O’Rourke, face off in their first debate Friday, watch as two long-winded politicians struggle for brevity. This past weekend, a reporter asked Cruz a simple question about Hurricane Harvey. His answer lasted 3 minutes, 57 seconds—which is forever on television. O’Rourke recently used 3 minutes, 38 seconds to give his defense of National Football League players taking a knee during the national anthem to protest police violence against blacks. The abridged version of...

There are now conflicting polls in the race to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. On Tuesday, Quinnipiac University released a poll showing Ted Cruz with a nine-point lead. But Wednesday, an Ipsos poll put Beto O'Rourke up by two points... ...Tuesday, Cruz was up by nine points in the polls and then Wednesday, a different poll had O'Rourke up by two points. That's a significant shift because Wednesday's poll is the first to give O'Rourke the the lead... ...But how can the polls have such different results? "There are different polling techniques," said Sherri Greenberg , Clinical Professor at...

Four years ago a seemingly invincible US senator came within a percentage point of losing his seat in an unexpectedly close election. Mark Warner was pretty moderate as far as Democrats go, a good fit for a state, Virginia, that had drifted out of the Republican column in the last two presidential elections and just elected a full slate of Democratic statewide officials a year before. But midterms are when presidents and their parties get rebuked, and Warner, a telecom millionaire who had once been tipped as presidential contender, took his support for granted. The Republican, lobbyist Ed Gillespie, was...

The man who died after hitting a wall at more than 100 mph at Sonoma Raceway was identified Thursday as 75-year-old James Kenneth Rambo, authorities said. Rambo, a Napa resident, was racing his 1976 Ford Pinto in the Wednesday Night Drags program when the crash occurred. He crossed the finish line of the race and appeared to slam on his brakes, but the vehicle pulled to the left and forced him to hit a K-rail at more than 100 mph, said Sgt. Spencer Crum.

The Rome official, an outspoken critic of the dubia, is teaching a US diocese about Amoris LaetitiaA curious course on matrimony and family is taking place at the moment in the diocese of Austin, Texas. Curious because the three-day event, which began yesterday, is being led by Mgr Pio Vito Pinto, Dean of the Roman Rota – while his office back in Rome appears to have had little or no involvement in the course’s preparation.Judging from its content, its speaker, and its somewhat low-profile nature, the course could set out to push a certain interpretation of Amoris Laetitia in the USA: one...

State Patrol: Front Seat Gas Tank Fueled 'Unsafe' Car It runs on alternative fuel source and the driver can see the road in ways most cars don't offer. But you won't be seeing this classic Ford Pinto back on a Minnesota road any time soon. A Minnesota State Trooper stopped the car Sunday on U.S. Highway 52 in Koochiching County. A State Patrol spokesperson posted photographs of what the Trooper found on the agency's Facebook page. "Much of the vehicle was rusted out," said the spokesperson. Photos show a clear view through what remains of the floor to the road...

Former Fannie Mae executive Ed Pinto, who worked at the mortgage giant before it began buying up risky mortgages, has also described Fannie Mae’s key role in buying up and promoting risky sub-prime mortgages, which Fannie Mae did on a large scale, despite having a capital cushion that was tiny compared to private banks, resulting in its later insolvency and massive taxpayer bailout. A recent book about the causes of the crisis by New York Times business reporter Gretchen Morgenson and financial analyst Josh Rosner, “Reckless Endangerment,” chronicles how “it was Fannie Mae and the government housing policies it supported,...

It has been fascinating to observe the reactions of anti-regulation zealots to the film "Inside Job." Many — including Paul Sperry in his Nov. 18 column on this page, "10 Reasons You Should Not Waste Your Money On Film 'Inside Job,'" — have resorted to constructing a sort of alternate economic history of the past 20 years. In this alternate history, the culprit behind the subprime mortgage meltdown and ensuing economic crisis wasn't deregulated investment banks or speculators taking absurd risks. Instead, it was the poor, aided and abetted by advocates like us at the Greenlining Institute who worked to...

Fannie, Freddie say mortgage servicers triggered foreclosure crisisBy Zachary A. Goldfarb Posted at 12:27 PM ET, 12/ 1/2010 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac defended their role in the foreclosure crisis in prepared testimony to Congress on Wednesday, while at least one federal regulator said the mortgage giants had contributed to the problem. Speaking to the Senate Banking Committee at a hearing on the national foreclosure debacle, Fannie and Freddie executives emphasized that they are not responsible for managing payments by borrowers on home loans or foreclosing on homeowners when they default. These tasks, executives say, are the responsibility of mortgage...

'Inside Job" bills itself as "the first film to expose the shocking truth behind the economic crisis." It exposes whoremongering Wall Street traders, economic consultants who lie on their resumes and Hank Paulson's conflicts. But it doesn't answer what caused the crisis. Of course, it thinks it does. "This is how it happened," the film confidently tells viewers before taking them, oddly enough, all the way back to the 1980s. Why then? Because the Reagan administration — "supported by economists and financial lobbyists" — started a 30-year regulatory vacation that fomented unparalleled "greed and immorality" on Wall Street. "Progressive deregulation...

CHICAGO: US first lady Michelle Obama's favourite city-based designer Maria Pinto is going out of business as sales have waned in a bad economy. Pinto, whose clientele also includes talk show host Oprah Winfrey, is closing her store Lola Black LLC. In a five-day sale starting here next week, her collection of daywear, eveningwear and accessories would be liquidated at 50-70 per cent off. Her designs were carried by major stores like Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys and Takashimaya in New York, as well as high-end boutiques across the country, reported Chicago Tribune. But the designer hit a rough...

Freida Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire, the widely popular beauty from India might be seen in the next James Bond movie. There is a chance that very soon we will see Freida as the love interest of secret agent James Bond in his next spy escapade. All this buzz came up after it was reported by sources that the 24-year-old sensational actress was called for a screen test for the next 007 movie.

Maria Pinto Closes Chicago Boutique. What's Michelle Obama to Wear? by Lesley Kennedy  Posted Feb 15th 2010 at 4:26PM (Image not included due to Free Republic rules pertaining to Getty Images) Even designing dresses that turned Michelle Obama into a fashion trendsetter couldn't keep Maria Pinto in business. The designer has closed the doors to her Chicago boutique, reports the Chicago Sun-Times, and she is expected to seek bankruptcy protection this week. Pinto tells the Sun-Times "economic challenges and soft buying trends at the top end of the apparel market" contributed to her business woes.  ''I am confident that the 'Maria Pinto' name will not go away,...

WASHINGTON -- Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday recalled 3.8 million pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles for a cruise control switch suspected of causing engine fires. It is the fifth largest auto industry recall in U.S. history. Ford said the recall of 1994-2002 model-year vehicles includes the company's hot-selling F-150 pickup truck, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator and Ford Broncos. The company said it would start sending out recall notices to vehicle owners immediately.

When Ford Motor Co.s much-anticipated rival to Ferrari goes on sale next summer, it will debut with a 139,995 US dollar price tag. Ford officials announced pricing for its 2005 Ford GT supercar Monday at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, nearly two years after the vehicle debuted as a concept in Detroit at the 2002 North American International Auto Show. The company will begin building the GT in Wixom, Michigan, early next summer in volumes limited to about 1,750 units annually over a two-year production run. "The Ford GT is a showcase of Ford Motor Companys heritage," says Marty...

Nearly one in four voters in a new USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll say the Green Party's Ralph Nader should run for president again in 2004. Nader expressed surprise and said the numbers showed that "people are looking for alternatives to the Democratic and Republican duopoly." A Draft Nader organization is setting up shop in all 50 states, and he has asked California to put his name on the Greens' presidential primary ballot for March, USA Today reported today, but he says he won't decide until December whether to jump in. You can bet that no one wants Nader to run more...

TELEVISION It's not pretty, but 'Animal House' defines a generation BY GLEN GARVIN ggarvin@herald.com LOS ANGELES -- Dean Wormer: Who dumped a whole truckload of Fizzies into the swim meet? Who delivered the medical school cadavers to the alumni dinner? Every Halloween the trees are filled with underwear; every spring the toilets explode. Marmalard: You're talking about Delta, sir. Nobody had ever seen anything like it. It was rebellious, it was anarchic, it was gross. It had kids getting wasted and puking and being promiscuous, sometimes all at once. Its heroes were drunks and slobs and Peeping Toms; its villains...