Free Republic

Joe Scarborough's critique of Ben Carson goes way beyond policy differences. Scarborough questions whether Carson has the "character" to be president. On today's Morning Joe, Scarborough twice suggested Carson was "quirky" and said his theory on the pyramids is "crazy." Scarborough suggestively asked whether Carson "has the temperament, whether he has the character to be President of the United States?" View the video here.

Greetings! I just published an invention on Quirky, and would like to get some up votes, and other positive thoughts from the FR community. Thanks in advance, FRiends.

VADUZ, Liechtenstein - Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein can see almost his entire realm from the castle — mountain ridge to mountain ridge and down to the capital below. In a Europe of nations coming together in a vast continental superstate, Liechtenstein is a quirk of history that harks back to an older world — of separateness, neutrality and sharp survival instincts. Created by Napoleon in 1806, it has managed to avoid the upheaval of the past century to celebrate its bicentennial, starting Wednesday, in peace and prosperity. This wedge of central Europe is no fairy tale kingdom, however,...

WASHINGTON - Rep. Bob Beauprez (news, bio, voting record) of Colorado will be confronted by waffles, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. Rep. Nancy Johnson (news, bio, voting record) of Connecticut will see her face plastered on an oversize milk carton. When Rep. Jerry Weller (news, bio, voting record) of Illinois marches in a parade, he'll be tailed by someone in a duck costume. As House Republicans move ahead with plans to vote on Social Security changes this summer, a Democratic opposition group will use the July Fourth recess to pressure GOP lawmakers it believes are undecided about the legislation...

In Moscow, a sculpture of a pickle will commemorate one of Russia’s beloved snacks. 38 designs were judged by Muscovites in a popular vote for the most original concept. Ten finalists were selected for the second round, after which the winner will be cast in bronze. The contest is organized by the Knyazev production center which wants to unveil the statue as “a monument to a truly Russian snack”. Constructing random monuments is all the rage in Russia. After decades of the obligatory statues of Lenin and Stalin on every town’s main square, people are acquiring a taste for sculptures...

Nearing the moment when he will become the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry has become more elusive to the swelling ranks of reporters who follow him around the country. Gone are the days when the senator from Massachusetts would plop himself down in a seat in the press section of his campaign plane, his knees propped up against the seat in front of him, and chat for 30 minutes. On the rare occasions when he visits, he leans in from his private cabin, asks, "How we doing?" and retreats as photographers and reporters crowd into the aisle to...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - It costs more than $130 and weighs about 18 pounds, and its cover features a pair of chefs hiding in the reeds and hunting for flying cows. It is also one of the best-selling books of the season -- "The Complete Far Side," a two-volume, 1,250-page collection of 14 years of the iconic comic panels drawn by artist Gary Larson. From the first panel on Jan. 1, 1980 -- a pair of crabs marveling at the odd appearance of human babies -- to the last -- a Jan. 1, 1995, double panel in which the cartoonist...