Free Republic

I read and heard a lot in the news today about "Taliban regime resurgent"I wonder who would be trying to give aid and comfort to an enemy in a time of war?

I’m trying to eliminate some of the confusion regarding illegal aliens and the use of three terms: Hispanic, Latino and immigrant. Hispanic As a 40-year resident of North Texas, I’ve become accustomed to the following definition of the term “Hispanic.” It’s an American, not English, word derived from the Spanish word Hispanohablantes, which means "Spanish speaker." It encompasses Spain, Puerto Rico and The Philippines, et al. But Spanish is not spoken in about half of South America where Portuguese, French, Dutch, Guarani and English also are official languages. And many Caribbean nations have chosen official languages other than Spanish. The...

Selected audio from President Reagan's radio spots from 1975 - 1979.

Democrats and Republicans joined together to strip a pet project of Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) from the 2009 intelligence authorization bill — the same project Democrats defended last year. The Murtha earmark, $23 million for the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), was one of a handful of pet projects eliminated from the bill in a lopsided 17-4 vote. Several Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee joined with Republicans to support the amendment, which was sponsored by Rep. Pete Hoekstra (Mich.), the panel’s ranking Republican. Hoekstra said he did not recall who voted against his amendment, although he said it included...

Trying to raise a real man in today’s world may be harder than splitting an atom. Everyday our kids are bombarded with images and messages of the most unmanly things imaginable. Magazines are full of sexually ambiguous models dressed in feminine clothes in homo-erotic poses. There’s a new book out every month about how you don’t need a man in the house to raise a man. TV shows typically are full of metro-sexual, gay, and otherwise wimpy male characters, and nearly every Hollywood movie that comes out has at least one homosexual character. Almost every dad in the movies or...

America's Regional Hot Dog Styles Posted by Jenn Sit, July 2, 2008 at 5:00 PM As we head into the 4th of July weekend, hot dogs are everywhere. They're on our grill and on our plates. They're on our TVs (the annual hot dog eating contest on ESPN). And this being Serious Eats, they're on our mind. Let's discuss. We bring you Serious Eats' definitive guide to America's regional hot dog styles. Sonorans (Tuscon and Phoenix, Arizona) Bacon-wrapped hot dogs are grilled, then nestled in steamed bolillo rolls and topped with pinto beans, chopped tomatoes, onions, mustard, mayo, and jalapeños....

One signed all three bulwarks of the Republic. The other was second only to James Madison as the architect of the Constitution. Robert Morris and James Wilson were two of the most important, yet least publicized, of the Founding Fathers. Why has Philadelphia not commemorated some of its most important citizens? Wilson was according to American Heritage magazine, one of the most underrated Americans in history. Historian Gary Wills wrote, "A signer of the Declaration, a principal drafter of the Federal Constitution, the principal ratifier, and the profoundest theorist of it, Wilson is the least known of the Founding Fathers."...

Excerpt: SEOUL - South Korean police said Friday they have arrested members of a major drug-trafficking ring with suspected links to Afghanistan's Taleban insurgents. ‘Police have rounded up a drug-trafficking ring involving Afghans andPakistanis who are suspected of being linked with the Taleban,’ a National Police Agency spokesman told AFP. ‘They are suspected to trying to smuggle raw materials for heroin production into Afghanistan,’ he said. Police said two Afghans, three Pakistanis and four Koreans tried to use South Korea as a shipping point for several tons of acetic anhydride destined for southern Afghanistan. The chemical is heated with morphine,...

In Defense of the Republic Many citizens of this fine land describe it as a "democracy" in their conversation about our government and elections. There is an element of democracy in every representative form of government, but that does make a given country a democracy. The United States of America - notice the plural on what makes up America, several sovereign states - was founded with clear understanding that each of the original states - and those to be added over the years - were "Free and Independent States" (last paragraph of the Declaration of Independence). The federal government is...

When hang means, as it generally does, "to suspend," then hung is the correct past-tense and past participial form of the verb: "Yesterday, I hung a picture on the wall"; "I have hung many pictures on many walls." When hang means "to put to death by hanging," however, hanged is the correct past-tense and past participial form: "We hanged the horse-thieving varmint yesterday"; "We've hanged nigh unto forty horse thieves this year." Given that hanging has become a fairly infrequent means to a fairly infrequent end, you might think that this is an unimportant distinction. But, because of a colloquial...

Hey anyone catch Lars Larson show being televised on CSPAN and do you know if there is a repeat scheduled. We missed it and really wanted to enjoy watching one of our local/state conservatives on national tv.

What follows is Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence from his Autobiography. A good portion of the text was deleted or changed by the Congressional delegates; these deletions are indicated by brackets (the last two paragraphs, Jefferson's original and Congress's version are presented side by side in Jefferson's text and here); changes made by Congress are also in brackets but are clearly marked. It was very important to Jefferson that he preserve his original document alongside the version eventually signed. Why? What are the significant differences? What do you make of these deletions? In the second paragraph,...

Okay, I'm waiting for Republicans to go on the attack here. If Democrats hold up drilling, aren't we then, in theory, using up more of the world's existing supplies? When is the GOP going to get clever here? This is such an easy position to take. By not drilling, we are using more of our foreign neighbor's supplies, an argument the Dems have used against us for decades. Also, ethanol taps into our food supply. If we use our food to make fuel, then we have less food to feed the poor. That's downright "evil"! Another dacades old Dem argument....

This is an interesting article as not much was known about her. She was on Leno the other night and it was an interesting interview. It turns out that she is a character as she is or has been a race car driver and is also a pilot. She flies John around the country to his rallies. After hearing that about her and reading this I now have a lot of respect for her. Election 2008 : Cindy Hensley McCain has been disparaged as a trophy wife, a Barbie, an heiress with fancy purses, even the Paris Hilton of politics....

Hi. I have a Syrian officemate and we got into an argument Friday about the history of the Palestinians. I need an unbiased and preferably short source to read to bone up on their history. Does anyone have any recommendations? thx, 'Pod.

As one of 23 Senators who voted against invading Iraq in the first place, I have voted in favor of every proposed timetable to bring this war to a close. At the same time, if my son or daughter were in the situation of our men and women in uniform, I would want them to have everything necessary to stay as safe as possible. I have supported the troops over the course of their deployment, consistently voting for all funding requests for our nation's military needs. Now, our original military mission in Iraq has long been completed, but our young...

As gas prices continue to increase, Congress continues to blame others while ignoring practical steps to stop the pain Americans are feeling at the pump. To lower gasoline prices and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need real solutions to our energy challenges.

Here's to Tony Rezko, the latest addition to the list I maintain on my profile. I started the list about a year ago in response to a list of convicted republicans. Several significant officeholders and other influence peddlers were added in recent months, but I'm sure I missed a few. I verified every name on the list for conviction and party affiliation, so if you have a link or a source for background, like a web publication or the name of a police investigation, please provide it. Incomplete List of Democrat Criminals: *indicates sex scandal, ** indicates sexual assault/rape/murder Current...

The Snubnose: The little gun that could… When I started out more than 90 percent of all police officers carried a revolver for a sidearm. No, they weren’t cap & ball muzzleloaders ... I’m not THAT old! As you can verify at any police firing range you choose, nowadays almost NOBODY carries a revolver anymore. With one exception ... Most officers now pack the latest polymer-framed, computer-designed, indestructible, laser-guided wonder pistol in (insert your favorite) caliber that fires thermonuclear-tipped hollow-point projectiles at a muzzle velocity just shy of the speed of light. The real shootists scorn anything made of “plastic,�so...

The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription Note: The following text is a transcription of the Constitution in its original form. Items that are hyperlinked have since been amended or superseded.

<p>Dedicated in memory of all those who landed in Normandy June 6, 1944.</p> <p>In loving memory and with eternal gratitude. Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Uncle Ralph. At ease, fellas. Bravo Zulu.</p>

In a one hour interview with UNIVISION, Obama GUARANTEED "comprehensive immigration reform" in the first year of his presidency. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=d94L6v2mBD4 Clip is only 2:36.

It's time for a new HTML reference so you can make your posts look cool. HTML means Hyper Text Markup Language. It's a set of simple commands used to format the text of your posts, add images, or links, or change the appearance. URL is Uniform Resource Locator. It's the name of the page or the picture that you see, the www.http:// stuff. You'll need to use the URL to make links and post pictures. Quotation Marks Quotes have to be used around the URLs for web pages and images on Free Republic. Some systems do not require this. Ours...

Years ago, when Jack Greenberg left the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to become a professor at Columbia University, he announced that he was going to make it a point to hire a black secretary at Columbia. This would, of course, make whomever he hired be seen as a token black, rather than as someone selected on the basis of competence. This reminded me of the first time I went to Milton Friedman's office when I was a graduate student at the University of Chicago back in 1960, and I noticed that he had a black secretary. This was four years...

http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/greatlakeskids/GreatLakesMovie5.html

video

FLDS Beliefs 101 – “Keep Sweet” "Keep Sweet" was a favorite phrase used by Rulon Jeffs, Warren Jeff's father, the prophet before him. Here is how Rulon Jeffs described the meaning of keep sweet in a talk on Dec. 6, 1991, in Sandy, Utah: ''I want you all to understand the continual use of the two words ''keep sweet'' means keep the Holy Spirit of the Lord, until you are full of it. Only those who have it will survive the judgments of God which are about to be poured out.” In 1994, again in Sandy, Utah, Rulon Jeffs also...

[Originally published in The Blue Press, from Dillon Precision] Just Say Nothing by Dave Kopel What if you've just been arrested for something which shouldn't be a crime? For instance, if a burglar breaks into your home, attacks your children and you shoot him. Should you talk to the police in detail about what happened? In a word, "No." Shut up, call the best lawyer you can find, and then continue to shut up. If you talk to the police, you will only make things worse for yourself. Sociologist Richard Leo has written several articles which detail the deliberately deceptive...

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it: FIRST: Emergency The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobiles is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile; network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it...

I am not sure when the ratings for 2007 were added to the site, but it had to be fairly recently. Ratings of note: McCain: 80 (This is up from his 65 in 2006, and close to his lifetime rating of 82.) Kyl: 100 Feinstein: 0 (Check out California's reps - - in that state, with few exceptions, a House representative is basically either a zero rat or a one-hundred Republican. It's the same with Colorado. Weird...) Shays (R): 20 Castle (R): 20 Isakson: 96 (This Georgia senator has been a pleasant surprise.) Durbin: 0 Obama: 7 Jindal: 88 (2007...

Yahoo search to 'battle spyware' SearchScan is a free tool embedded into search Yahoo is introducing new technology to its search engine which will warn users if they are about to click on a website that hosts viruses, spyware and spam. SearchScan uses security firm McAfee's SiteAdvisor technology to warn users about "potentially risky sites". The service, which is switched on by default, produces an on-screen alert. "Our goal is to protect users by allowing them to make a more informed decision about the sites they visit," said Yahoo's Priyank Garg. Rival firm Google introduced similar technology in 2006....

Two-year-old Ali Hussein is pulled from the rubble of his family's home in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq on Tuesday, April 29, 2008. The child, who later died in hospital, was in one of four homes allegedly destroyed by U.S. missiles. More than two dozen people were killed when Shiite militants ambushed a U.S. patrol in Baghdad's embattled Sadr City district, bringing the death toll in area on Tuesday to more than 30, a U.S. military spokesman and Iraqi officials said. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Some say the only way to see Mexico is drive through it. With the construction of highway and toll roads by both the government and private individuals, you are now able to complete a trip from the Texas border to Acapulco on a multi-lane thoroughfare. With the addition of modern road and tolls, driving through Mexico along such corridors offers a chance to take a road trip otherwise not considered. This is not to say the trip allows the same regulations as bordering countries since Mexico has very rigid rules when it comes to its traffic laws, especially concerning accidents....

Maybe the brilliant mind of the Free Republic members can advise on this. I run a genealogy site for the family. In here we post information obtained from the Social Security Death Index (SSDI), published by the U.S. Government. Let's say someone passes on and their spouse is receiving benefits. The SSDI publishes the SS# of the passed family member. Is it possible for the spouse to have complications arising from the theft of their loved ones ID?

On April 25, 1945, during World War II, U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe River, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany's defenses. [Snip] In 1507, German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller used the term "America" on a world map to refer to the huge land mass in the Western Hemisphere, in honor of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci. [Snip]In 1859, ground was broken for the Suez Canal. In 1898, the United States formally declared war on Spain. [Snip] In 1915, during World War I, Allied soldiers invaded the Gallipoli Peninsula in an unsuccessful attempt to take the...

If you wanted to know all about the Big Bang, you'd ring up Carl Sagan, right? And if you wanted to know about desert warfare, the man to call would be Norman Schwarzkopf, no question about it. But who would you call if you wanted the top expert on American usage, to tell you the meaning of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution? That was the question I asked A.C. Brocki, Editorial Coordinator of the Los Angeles Unified School District and formerly senior editor at Houghton Mifflin Publishers - who himself had been recommended to me as the...

Rules that Girls Wish Guys Knew 1. Asking a girl on Friday for a date on Saturday is completely unacceptable. Keyword: Planning 2. Shave every day. One day's growth of facial hair is worse than a girl not shaving her legs for a week. 3. We may be emotional beings, but do not lie to squirm your way out of trouble. We are not as gullible as you think. 4. Learn to clean up the toilet. If peeing standing up is so difficult and you are bound to miss, then may we suggest that you learn to use a toilet...

Personal technology enthusiasts yearning for the Mac Experience without the Apple Tax—that huge markup that Mac users pay for off-the-shelf PC hardware with OS X—your days of gnashing teeth may be over. Psystar, a plucky little company from Miami, Florida is, for the moment, selling OpenMac, a Mac clone with Leopard pre-installed for $554. You also get: 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU 250 GB Hard Drive (7200 RPM) 2 GB DDR2 667 RAMIntel GMA 950 integrated graphicsDVD+/-R Optical Drive4 USB ports For another $110, you can get an NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT, and for another $50, you can get...

And now for the top ten scariest runways in the world... #1 of 10 Paro Airport BhutanWho Flies There: Druk Air, the national carrier. Why It’s Harrowing: Tucked into a tightly cropped valley and surrounded by 16,000-foot-high serrated Himalayan peaks, this is arguably the world’s most forbidding airport to fly into. It requires specially trained pilots to maneuver into this stomach-dropping aerie by employing visual flying rules and then approaching and landing through a narrow channel of vertiginous tree-covered hillsides ============================================ #2 of 10 Princess Juliana International Airport St. MaartenWho Flies There: All major U.S. airlines, as well as Paris-based...

This website contains the complete writings of William F. Buckley, Jr. "Well, thanks to Hillsdale College,it is all here, a lifetime's work. Necessarily, you will find infelicities here, and maybe a deviation or two, but it is all an earnest attempt to contribute to the patrimony, preserved here thanks to Hillsdale." W.F.B.

Time Line of Decipherment When the Spanish conquered the Maya empire in the 16th century, they forced their new subjects to convert to Christianity and speak and write in Spanish. But long before the Maya used the Roman alphabet, they had created their own rich and elegant script, featuring more than 800 hieroglyphs. Sadly, the glyphs' meanings were lost in the decades following the Conquest. Ever since, scholars have struggled to decode these symbols, pronounce the words they form, and understand the stories they tell. In this time line, follow the centuries-long decipherment, which has only recently reached the point...

There Is No Gas Shortage But Washington, Wall Street, and ethanol and oil and gas companies want you to think there is, says automotive expert Ed Wallace Demand Is DOWN, Yet Prices Are UP Just so we can all get on the same page, here are the verifiable facts on oil supplies, production, and gasoline demand. In January of this year, the U.S. used 4% less petroleum than we did a year ago. (Oil demand was down 3.2% in February.) Furthermore, demand has been falling slowly since July of last year. Ronald Bailey of Reason Online has pointed out...

I didn't see this poll on the sidebar.. so I thought I would ping it out and ask for comments as well.. it seems that it has inspired a whopping 21% of FReepers to vote FOR John Mccain.. Interesting.... very interesting... any comments?

A REVOLUTION TO TAKE BACK THE US CONGRESS by tenurecorrupts.com I am proposing that we create a popular, bloodless, political revolution in our country. I believe that it is very necessary, very possible, and very doable. The object of this revolution is the destruction of the professional political class which currently dominates and corrupts the US Congress. I am convinced, as are many, many voters, that the bulk of our country's political problems arises out of this 'permanent' Congressional political class, and their devotion to party power and to the financial special interests keeping them in power. There is a...

Subject: TIPS ON PUMPING GAS Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when theground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big...

I am reading Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemies by M. Stanton Evans and recently started Chapter 36, Scott McLeod, Where Are You? What is remarkable is when M. Stanton Evans is describing the make-up of the Ike administration and the status of the GOP in the early 50's, it sounds very much like what is happening now. Case in point, Ike's speechwriter was a Emmet Hughes, a self-confessed Democrat. Another case - while staunch conservatives were fighting against communism within government, they would turn a blind eye to their...

Moderate power firearms By Massad Ayoob Robert Ruark, the great American writer of the mid-Twentieth Century, was also a big game hunter. One of his most popular books, written on the latter topic, was titled Use Enough Gun. That has proven over the decades to be really good advice. That said, there are also a lot of people who use "too much gun." One of the last century's top authorities on guns and hunting was Jack O'Connor, a contemporary of Ruark's. O'Connor was an advocate of medium-powered hunting rifles: the .30-06 Springfield, the 7mm Mauser (also known as 7X57mm),...

I dont know if anyone ever posted this but I just thought we needed a reminder: The accomplishments of George W Bush Abortion & Traditional Values Banned Partial Birth Abortion - by far the most significant roll-back of abortion on demand since Roe v. Wade. Reversed Clinton's move to strike Reagan's anti-abortion Mexico Policy. By Executive Order (EO), reversed Clinton's policy of not requiring parental consent for abortions under the Medical Privacy Act. By EO, prohibited federal funds for international family planning groups that provide abortions and related services. Upheld the ban on abortions at military hospitals. Made $33 million...

I understand his record in the Senate - when he does vote - is fairly liberal. And he's ducked out of a lot of controversial votes in both the Illinois Senate and the US Senate. I need confirmation.