Free Republic

In a country's hinterlands, a distant region seldom visited by outsiders, a television crew investigates why so many residents are fleeing the area. When local officials catch wind of the crew's presence, they begin interrogating people the journalists interviewed, and pressure others not to talk. Russia? Uzbekistan? China? No. This incident took place in North Dakota, in the heart of the United States. That's where a team of reporters I supervise went to shoot a story about the Great Plains emptying out. When the sheriff of Crosby, a town near the Canadian border, heard about it, he contacted the U.S....

CALGARY, June 23, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Recently, Canadians voted in a nationwide contest for who they thought was the “Greatest Canadian” of all time. They chose socialist icon, Tommy Douglas, the “father of medicare,” and founder of the extreme left party, the New Democrats.  The 2004 “Greatest Canadian”, however, held views on the poor and disabled that his zealous fans on the left would like to keep quiet. In the July 3 edition of the Western Standard, John Robson quotes Douglas’ 1933 master’s thesis, where he argued that “The subnormal family presents the most appalling of all family problems.” “Because this class...

Subject: Don't take hubby shopping Dear Mrs. Fenton, It has come to our attention that over the past six months, your husband, Mr. Bill Fenton has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We have documented all incidents on our video surveillance equipment. We have identified and classified 15 objectionable types of conduct, to date, summarized below in the attched memo from our Internal Security Dept.Based on this continuing egregious pattern of conduct, harmful to our company's reputation, we regrettably must ask, no, we must insist that you please refrain in the future from bringing your husband along with...

Borders!!! Language!!! Culture!!!

...Q: Why do you think we should abolish the Electoral College? A: "I think our president should be chosen by the majority of the American people. That is ordinarily the case. But in 2000, as we all recall, we elected this president with fewer votes than the other candidate got. I just don't think in the modern era that is appropriate."...

What would happen if a world-renowned scientist and evolutionary ecologist told hundreds of his colleagues that 90 percent of the human race needed to be wiped out by exposure to ebola or some other deadly virus? Apparently, according to a scientist who claims to have witnessed such a remarkable event one month ago, the fiend would get a standing ovation and an award. Forrest Mims III That's the story being told by Forrest Mims III, a member of the Texas Academy of Science, chairman of its environmental science section and editor of the Citizen Scientist. The speech Mims heard...

To start, I have some thoughts in wishing to entertain you. Understanding MATH Uncertainty=how long your wife tells you she will shop before you both entering the mall Certainty=the actual time you two leaving the mall Unknown and independent variables=what your wife wants next Dependent variables=what you must do next Implied number=the correct way to understand what she told you Step functions=her way to indicate a numerical measurement from times to times Imaginary objects=what she expects from you Absolute minimum=what you can expect from her Superior Court of California County of Sacramento Case # 05FL04999 I am writing a true...

Repulsive "Wifely Expectations" pact emerges in Iowa kidnap case FEBRUARY 17--This country, as you know, is filled with the deranged. And then there's Travis Frey, a 33-year-old Iowa man who is facing charges that he tried to kidnap his own wife (not to mention a separate child pornography rap). Frey, prosecutors contend, apparently is a rather demanding guy. In fact, he actually drew up a bizarre four-page marriage document--a "Contract of Wifely Expectations"--that sought to establish guidelines for his spouse in terms of hygiene, clothing, and sexual activities. In return for fulfilling certain requirements, Frey (pictured right) offered "Good Behavior...

Mother's body kept in wardrobe for years From Richard Owen in Rome IN AN echo of Alfred Hitchcock’s spine-chilling thriller Psycho, an Italian man kept the dead body of his widowed 71-year-old mother in her bedroom wardrobe for three years, pretending to neighbours that she had become a recluse. Mirko Sartori’s grisly secret emerged when his landlord called round to find out why the rent had not been paid. The landlord first found Signor Sartori’s body, crushed beneath his red Fiat Panda in the garage, and then a note nearby saying “Mother forgive me.” It was not clear whether Signor...

IN AN echo of Alfred Hitchcock’s spine-chilling thriller Psycho, an Italian man kept the dead body of his widowed 71-year-old mother in her bedroom wardrobe for three years, pretending to neighbours that she had become a recluse. Mirko Sartori’s grisly secret emerged when his landlord called round to find out why the rent had not been paid. The landlord first found Signor Sartori’s body, crushed beneath his red Fiat Panda in the garage, and then a note nearby saying “Mother forgive me.” It was not clear whether Signor Sartori had intended to kill himself or whether the car jack had...

WASHINGTON—The National Security Agency fired a high level intelligence official just days after he publicly urged Congress to pass stronger protections for federal whistleblowers facing retaliation.Russ Tice, 43, who was once nominated for an award by the agency for his intelligence work on Iraq, was informed Tuesday that his security clearances had been permanently revoked and that he could no longer work at the secretive intelligence agency known for its eavesdropping and code-breaking capabilities.Tice has been at the odds with the agency since he reported suspicions that a female co-worker at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), was a spy for...

Watching political types learn to use the Web is a lot like sitting on the cottage porch in summer -- if you'll recall -- underneath the electric bug-zapping lantern. On a warm evening, you can watch nature run its course around you, punctuated only by the occasional loud pop as one of the Earth's lesser creations hits the lantern and explodes on contact. And the universe keeps turning. --Snip-- The Liberals got themselves a day of negative headlines after the boorish blog of Mike Klander, a party vice-president, was uncovered. This was the one that posted a picture of Olivia...

While not specifically calling it "revenge," Michael Schiavo has fired a shot over the bow at the "Bible-thumping politicians" whom he claims used his wife, Terri Schiavo, as a political football last spring. Schiavo has announced the formation of a political action committee, called Terri PAC, in hopes of raising funds to defeat the politicians who tried to intervene in the seven-year court battle over the life of the 41-year-old brain-injured woman.

CRAWFORD, Tex., Nov. 26 -- Dancing to reggae music and hugging her supporters, Cindy Sheehan led an anti-Iraq war rally Saturday at a one-acre campsite adjoining the ranch where President Bush is spending his holiday weekend. As in August, when she galvanized attention and made headlines for days with similar protests, there were songs and speeches and demonstrators holding signs reading "Bring the Troops Home" near the main entrance of the 1,600-acre ranch where Bush has been vacationing since Tuesday. Unlike then, when hundreds came from all over the country for major events at the two campsites named after...

A knife-wielding elderly man, apparently bonkers for burgers, unleashed a bloody Big Mac attack on a Long Island father yesterday at McDonald's, police said. After trying to fillet the father like a fish in front of his 3-year-old son, the 71-year-old attacker calmly picked up his lunch at the McDonald's drive-through on Route 109 in Farmingdale - and sped off, police said. The wounded father calmed his terrified and crying son, and then drove after the knifeman, jotting down his license plate before calling cops, police said. Witnesses told police the food fight started shortly before 2 p.m. when John...

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - An Oklahoma man was taken into custody after he tried to carry a bomb on board an airplane on Wednesday in Oklahoma City, an FBI spokesman said. ADVERTISEMENT Charles Alfred Dreyling Jr., 24, was detained on Wednesday morning after a security screener using an X-ray machine saw the device in his luggage as he tried to board a flight to Philadelphia at Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City. "Although the investigation is in its initial stages we have found no apparent connection to any type of terrorist activity or group," FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said. Johnson...

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — A man angry with his wife because she nagged him to cuddle after sex while he wanted to watch sports on television has been sentenced to death for killing her with a claw hammer. Christopher Offord, 30 received the sentence Wednesday from Circuit Judge Dedee Costello, who said the brutality of the killing outweighed any mental health issues. "The defendant struck his wife approximately 70 individual blows after spending a happy interlude with her," Costello said. "Her desire to cuddle after sex does not justify the extremely violent, brutal response of the defendant." Offord pleaded guilty...

Edward Theodore Gein died of natural causes, at the age of 78. Ed Gein was born to George and Augusta Gein on August 27, 1906 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He was preceeded in death by his older brother Henry, who died in 1944. On November 17, 1957 police in Plainfield, Wisconsin arrived at the dilapidated farmhouse of Eddie Gein who was a suspect in the robbery of a local hardware store and disappearance of the owner, Bernice Worden. Gein had been the last customer at the hardware store and had been seen loitering around the premises. Gein's desolate farmhouse...

If liberals can call George W. Bush a ‘loser’ and Tom DeLay a ‘criminal’ with no evidence to support their claims, then at a minimum Howard Dean has qualified himself as an authentic ‘psycho.’ In the latest chapter of “The Name Game,” Dean confused Osama bin Laden with Saddam Hussein, unintentionally grouped himself with Republicans as “evil,” and shocked America with the revelation that Tom DeLay is a fugitive from justice. And that was all in one interview. Imagine what would happen if anyone actually listened to him for more than thirty minutes. NBC host Tim Russert asked Dean to...

Through its innocuous-sounding "educational" programming arm known as TeachKind, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has found a way to reach school children starting as young as kindergarten with its extremist agenda. The opportunity for PETA (search) to gets its message into the classroom has been paved, at least in part, by various laws on the books in at least 12 states mandating humane education in public schools — thus creating a demand for curricula centered on teaching children about the humane treatment of animals. Naturally, PETA is only too happy to provide ready-made lesson plans, videos and handouts...