Free Republic

Recently, I added a DVD-burner to my XP-based PC with no problem at all. My brother, however, in imitation, has gotten one of those no-name with no-software DVD-burners for his Win98SE machine, and has discovered the off-the-shelf burning software he bought gags and dies. he has a very fast (well, it was a few months ago) PC with 500+ meg memory.

Okay, so this evening was like a glass of cold water hitting me in the face. The GOP is on its way to nominating McCain as our Presidential candidate. If this happens, I WILL NOT vote Republican this Presidential election. Here is my question, could Huckabee or Romney drop out, and endorse the other candidate, and request their delegates to join them in that support? Could a VP promise from either of these men, with egos set aside, save the conservative vote? I am willing to vote for EITHER of those two men for POTUS, and am willing to bet...

The New York Sun December 10, 2007 Bloomberg Seeks To Question Candidates About Guns By GRACE RAUH Staff Reporter of the Sun December 10, 2007 Mayor Bloomberg is trying to force every presidential candidate to take a stand on guns. A bipartisan coalition he co-founded with Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is asking all presidential candidates to complete a 16-question survey about restrictions on gun trace data, gun trafficking, federal enforcement of gun laws, and punishment levels for breaking gun laws. The survey allows Mr. Bloomberg, seen as a potential presidential candidate who could jump into...

Just a simple question to kick-around unless someone knows for sure? I'm watching the Nativity Scene the other day (Good movie, by the way) and I notice that the villagers around Mary, Joseph and family have pull carts with solid, wooden wheels. I guess I've always assumed this type of wheel came first as far as history goes... Then I started thinking about other movies like Gladiator, The 10 Commandments, various other "BC" movies and notice that they've got wooden, spoked wheels...Even though all of these movies took place much, much earlier in history than the Nativity Scene. The only...

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans sharply challenged President Bush's top military general and ambassador in Iraq on Tuesday in a blatant demonstration of misgivings within the GOP about the protracted war. "Are we going to continue to invest blood and treasure at the same rate we're doing now? For what?" asked Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., who supports legislation setting a deadline to bring troops home. The deep-seated doubt expressed at the hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee reflected just how far Congress had come since the war began over four years ago. And Republican senators raised tough questions that rivaled...

Calendar question over star disc Some observers have likened the disc to a winking face Archaeologists have revived the debate over whether a spectacular Bronze Age disc from Germany is one of the earliest known calendars. The Nebra disc is emblazoned with symbols of the Sun, Moon and stars and said by some to be 3,600 years old. Writing in the journal Antiquity, a team casts doubt on the idea the disc was used by ancient astronomers as a precision tool for observing the sky. They instead argue that the disc was used for shamanistic rituals. But other archaeologists who...

WASHINGTON - When climate scientist Andrew Weaver considers the idea of tinkering with Earth's air, water or sunlight to fight global warming, he remembers the lessons of a favorite children's book. In the book, a cheese-loving king's castle is infested with mice. So the king brings in cats to get rid of the mice. Then the castle's overrun with cats, so he brings in dogs to get rid of them, then lions to get rid of the dogs, elephants to get rid of the lions, and finally, mice to get rid of the elephants. That scenario in "The King, the...

Fellow FREEPers: The time has come for me to donate my old vehicle. It still runs but is not a beauty cosmetically speaking. :) We will just be getting another vehicle and the trade-in value is pretty low, so I'd rather just let someone else have it. Now I've done a bit of research and have not come up with anything worthwhile--one place supposedly takes cars and gives them to poor people (Charity Cars, Inc.), but a rating by a charity rating moderator only gives them a 2 out of 4 stars. I'd like to find a higher quality organization....

Reports from the state Republican convention this weekend suggest that state GOP members are excited about former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is likely to run for president. Think about this: The state GOP is becoming the party of liberal Arnold Schwarzenegger, supporter of socialized health care, minimum wage hikes, global warming extremism, debt spending and tax increases. Giuliani is the premiere police-state Republican. This is no longer the party of Reagan. Is it time for supporters of limited government (remember that idea?) and a humbler foreign policy (to use GW Bush's election words) to jump ship?

This thread will continue right up till the end of the night. Focus on Mass./New England and nationally, too. Governorships, Senate/House, ballot questions...who will control the Senate and House nationally? Key races... keep it here!

Ballot Questions (Maryland 2006) This page lists three statewide constitutional amendments and a referendum to appear on the 2006 Gubernatorial General Election ballot. The ballot language of those questions has been certified. Constitutional Amendments and the Statewide Referendum appear on all ballots statewide. Local Referenda and Public Local Law Referenda only appear on the ballots in the county affected. Maryland law does not permit the Initiative process. Question 1 - Constitutional Amendment: Disposition of Park LandsQuestion 2 - Constitutional Amendment: Circuit Court in Banc DecisionsQuestion 3 - Constitutional Amendment: Civil Jury TrialsQuestion 4 - Statewide Referendum: Election Law Revisions

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - Democratic Senate challenger Jim Webb declined to say definitively Tuesday whether he had ever used a common derogatory term to describe blacks, stepping carefully after watching his campaign rival confront charges of racism. "I don't think that there's anyone who grew up around the South that hasn't had the word pass through their lips at one time or another in their life," Webb told reporters. Webb referred to his novel, "Fields of Fire," which aides said includes occurrences of the n-word as part of character dialogue. But he added: "I have never issued a racial or ethnic...

Pulaski County - The Pulaski County Sheriff is found in contempt of court Friday by a Little Rock District Judge. This after the jail would not accept repeat traffic offenders because the jail was closed. Late Friday afternoon an appeal was filed in circuit court by the County Attorney Karla Burnett. Friday District Judge David Steward heard testimony as to why several repeat offenders were not picked up and taken to the Pulaski County detention facility as ordered by District Judge Vic Fleming. (Judge David Stewart, District Judge) "It’s a financial problem a legal problem and a constitutional problem and...

MADISON — Forty-eight percent of likely Wisconsin voters favor a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage while 40 percent oppose the measure, according to a statewide poll released Friday. But the poll paid for WISC-TV of Madison and conducted by Research 2000 showed 12 percent were not sure. And the telephone poll of 600 likely voters conducted Monday through Wednesday was listed as having a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The amendment would declare that marriage is between one man and one woman and that unmarried individuals cannot be granted a legal status similar to...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's activation of the California National Guard to bolster airline security began seamlessly at some airports on Friday, appeared haphazard at others and was rejected at Oakland International - one of three airports the governor said was most important to protect. With 640 activated troops, the Guard's first airport deployment since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was to begin costing about $128,000 a day in anti-terror funding. The scattershot nature of the deployment was evident throughout the state, with troops helping ease long lines at security checkpoints in Southern California but being relegated to distant fields in San...

I am looking at buying, at long last, a better computer. I have the opportunity to buy a bundled WCS 761GX-M754 motherboard and AMD Athlon XP-M processor with 512K of PC-3200 memory. Problem is, my past expertise tops out at the Celron 333, PC-100 memory level, and the system comes without operating system. Can some wizard here tell me if I can install an oldstyle Win98SE installation on this, or will I have to drag my sorry caveman arse into the 21st Century and actually buy XP? What kind of performance sacrifice would I make if I COULD put 98...

UN desperate to question 'father of Islamic Bomb' By Massoud Ansari in Karachi and Philip Sherwell (Filed: 11/06/2006) Washington has stepped up pressure on Pakistan to allow its disgraced nuclear scientist, A Q Khan, to be questioned by United Nations inspectors, after fresh traces of enriched uranium were found on equipment used at an Iranian military site. Dr Khan, who is under house arrest, is believed to hold vital information about Iran's controversial atomic programme, having sold nuclear machinery, plans and technology to the Islamic regime. Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan Gen Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, is resisting pressure for access...

In a city haunted by Katrina, the question is: Will it happen again? By Francis Harris in New Orleans (Filed: 13/05/2006) Hurricane season is approaching New Orleans like a recurring nightmare. Very soon, the great storms which brew in the Gulf of Mexico's warm waters will once again race landwards and attack the city's protective levees. Meteorologists are predicting an "active" six month season. It is a frightening prospect for a city still punch-drunk from last year's flooding. The authorities are making a huge effort to shore up the system. Across the semi-deserted metropolis, engineers are working day and night...

A question given to students during a practice test for a math final at Bellevue Community College has students — and others — shaking their heads because of what they say is a lack of racial sensitivity. It refers to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice although it doesn’t mention her by name, a civil rights activist said. The question read: "Condoleezza holds a watermelon just over the edge of the roof of the 300-foot Federal Building, and tosses it up with a velocity of 20 feet per second." The Condoleezza question went on to ask when the watermelon will hit...

CARACAS, Venezuela - Opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez are demanding further investigation of what they call gross irregularities in the voter registry, pointing to a western state where 1,921 people by the name of Gonzalez are listed with an identical birthday. The electoral council, which is independent but faces accusations that it is pro-government, insists the lists are sound, and plans to release an external audit Tuesday as it prepares for December presidential elections. The case of the many Gonzalezes in Zulia state was reported by Roberto Ansuini, an opposition-aligned researcher and former member of the National Electoral Council...