Free Republic

California Democratic Representative Anna Eshoo has introduced legislation to regulate the loudness of TV commercials. The bill, which I promise you is real, is called the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, or CALM. Read more about it here. This is the kind of thing where you expect Ashton Kutcher to run onto the house floor in his mesh trucker hat, jumping around and wildly hugging all of the representatives who have been sitting there with their mouths agape since Eshoo introduced this bill and declaring into the CSPAN cameras that we have all been Punk’d.

Our inability to produce a chemical present in every other primate may be linked to a series of chronic diseases. Roger Highfield explains more What does it mean to be human? For most people, it all comes down to that extraordinary object between our ears, and how it blesses us with language, laughter and logic. But not for Ajit Varki, a doctor-cum-scientist who works in California. Not so rare: a molecule absorbed by eating red meat has been linked to inflammation and auto-immune illnesses Not so rare: a molecule absorbed by eating red meat has been linked to inflammation and...

MONTREAL, June 18 (UPI) -- An appeal will be filed in a Montreal court after a Quebec judge overruled a father who grounded his 12-year-old daughter for dangerous Internet use. The lawyer for the father, who can't be identified to protect the girl, told The Gazette newspaper that Justice Suzanne Tessier overstepped the court's bounds last Friday when she ruled in favor of the girl's legal challenge and said she would be allowed to go on a school trip her father had forbidden because of misbehavior. "I don't think this tribunal was the proper forum for a decision like this...

....In conjunction with a U.N. conference on climate change, demonstrators around the world hit the streets with placards urging, "Say no to carbon dioxide." But try to say no without breathing because carbon dioxide is the stuff you exhale. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and thus a culprit in global warming, a principle side effect of which is Al Gore....this conference is in Bali, not the most convenient place on the planet, and the pocket-protector types who have adopted carbon as their cause quickly calculated that hauling and housing 10,000 delegates on that island city would unleash over 100,000...

PRAGUE (Reuters) - A Czech couple who decided to take a DNA test to squash persistent pub gossip and prove that their 10-month-old baby was their own got a nasty surprise. The couple, from the southeastern town of Trebic, had some doubts about the child as her hair was blonde and they both had dark hair. Fellow drinkers' suspicions got on their nerves. But the test showed neither of the parents had the same DNA as the baby, Czech news agency CTK reported Wednesday, suggesting a mix-up at the hospital. Authorities were looking into the case.

Until I talked to Nick Bostrom, a philosopher at Oxford University, it never occurred to me that our universe might be somebody else’s hobby. I hadn’t imagined that the omniscient, omnipotent creator of the heavens and earth could be an advanced version of a guy who spends his weekends building model railroads or overseeing video-game worlds like the Sims. But now it seems quite possible. In fact, if you accept a pretty reasonable assumption of Dr. Bostrom’s, it is almost a mathematical certainty that we are living in someone else’s computer simulation. This simulation would be similar to the one...

When it comes to Sheryl Crow's touring requirements, if it's Tuesday, this must be Bombay. Gin that is. The rock star's performance contract includes specific day-to-day instructions on what kind of booze Sheryl needs in her dressing room (TSG has never seen such attention to detail in any other concert rider we've posted). For each show, Crow requires 12 bottles of Grolsch beer, 6 bottles of "local" beer, and a bottle each of "good Australian Cabernet" and "good Merlot." As for the harder stuff, promoters are directed to purchase specific booze depending on what day of the week the concert...

Pupils up to the age of 11 are being bottle-fed and mothered in school as part of a radical new move to address poor discipline. A state primary school has become the first in the country to take part in the approach, which was developed in the US to give problem children the love and attention they may have missed out on at a younger age. Instead of being given a sharp telling off or a few minutes on the naughty chair, they have one on one sessions with a trained school therapist. The children - aged between six and...

LOS ANGELES - Britney Spears appeared in a tattoo parlor in California with her head shaved completely bald. Video on KABC-TV showed the newly shorn Spears with tiny tattoos on the back of her neck as she sat Friday night for a new tattoo — a pair of red and pink lips. "She just wanted something real small on her wrist, something dainty," Max Gott, the tattoo artist at Body and Soul in Sherman Oaks, told the TV station. "She got some cute little lips on her wrist." Story continues below ↓ advertisement Derrik Snell, who works at the tattoo...

A modesty-saving swimsuit for Muslim women, known as the "burqini", is about to be worn for the first time by the members of one of Australia's most distinguished institutions: the volunteer lifesavers.Surf Life Saving Australia, usually associated with strapping, bronzed – and bared – physiques, and sun-streaked hair beneath trademark yellow and red caps, is seeking to update its image by recruiting from ethnic communities, notably Muslims. The government-funded initiative, which coincides with the organisation's centenary next year, comes almost 12 months after violent clashes between young white Australian men and Muslim teenagers on Sydney's Cronulla beach. The riots were...

So I just read that Olbermann has been selected as the Golden Child to co-host MSNBC's election night coverage with Chris Matthews. Is anyone else not completely outraged by this???? He's the single most biased personality on cable news. In fact, one of his latest diatribes tore apart our President and the Republican party in general. Is he going to act like this on Tuesday night?? There will be no straight reporting...only his skewed vision of how things are going. SO frustated...

Jill Tarter favors her flying-saucer/Martian salt-and-pepper set. But don't mistake her for one of those kookie types who live in desert trailers prepping for the aliens to arrive. Tarter, with a Ph.D. in astronomy, is director of the Center for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Research, a northern California group of some 120 scientists and technicians who are listening for signs from outer space.

A sticky summer evening in a swanky restaurant in Marbella and I am poised for romance, excitement, untold wealth and a few dozen glasses of Cristal champagne. I've washed my hair, ironed my dress and put on some slap. The candles are lit, the music's on low, the waiters are hovering, and on the other side of the flickering flame sits my hot date for the night - self-made multimillionaire Scott Alexander. He, in turn, is trying to catch his reflection in the back of a dessert spoon. And fretting about it. 'I usually try on 20 or 30 different...

His dragon-slaying heroics have kept his legend alive through the centuries. But the Church of England is considering rejecting England's patron saint St George on the grounds that his image is too warlike and may offend Muslims. Clergy have started a campaign to replace George with St Alban, a Christian martyr in Roman Britain. The scheme, to be considered by the Church's parliament, the General Synod, has met a cautious but sympathetic response from senior bishops. But it clashes with the increasing popularity of the saint and his flag in England. The World Cup brought out millions of St George...

US Marines Build Shrine To Islam By Paul Sperry FrontPageMagazine.com June 13, 2006 http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=22845 We are at war with militant Islam, but you wouldn't know it from the Pentagon, which is busy erecting a shrine to Islam just five short years after Islamic terrorists destroyed a good chunk of its own building and killed more than 100 of its occupants. Worse, it's consulting on the project with a Wahhabi-educated cleric posing as a moderate. Last week, military brass -- along with representatives from the terror-tied Council on American-Islamic Relations -- dedicated the first Muslim prayer center for the Marines as...

THESE ARE THE SENATORS WHO VOTED TO GIVE SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS REGARDLESS OF POLITICAL PARTY, THESE POLITICIANS NEED TO BE DEFEATED IN 2006, 2008 OR 2010, WHENEVER THEY NEXT COME UP FOR OFFICE. SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW; THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION -- THAT IS, UNLESS THEY DO NOT MIND SHARING THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY WITH FOREIGN WORKERS WHO NEVER PAID INTO IT AND AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE BEING LEFT OUT. Grouped by Home State Alabama: Alaska: Stevens (R-AK), Yea Arizona: McCain (R-AZ), Yea Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR),...

I am curious why none of the media covers the most important aspect of the Malvo shootings. If you look at Newspapers on the dates when the shootings are underway you discover something I find quite interesting. The shootings begin to dominate the news the day before the debate on the Iraq war starts and they catch them the day after the declaration of war??? If you ask most people "do you remember the debate about starting the second Iraq war", they will all answer "yes of course". But if you followup with the question "name one point in the...

I recently received a reply to a post that stated: "This should be beneath a "freeper". Sad." So I asked.. what is it that makes a FReeper? My reply (and I will admit was tasteless) was also questioning. It stirred controversy and was removed? Why Moderators? Can you not tell me? Did it not meet with your "FReeper" mentality? According to all posted guidelines it should be listed but no, you chose to delete it. Yes.. I'm the first one IBTZ, I'm sure you'll nick me for speaking up..

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein and three former officials in his regime on Tuesday told the court handling their trial that they were on a hunger strike in protest of the judge overseeing the proceedings. Saddam said he had not eaten in three days, while his former intelligence chief, Ibrahim Barzan, said he had been on strike for two days. Their claims of a hunger strike could not be independently confirmed. The defendants are being held in U.S. detention, and U.S. officials could not immediately be reached to comment. Investigative judge Raid Juhi did not deny the defendants were refusing...

Imagine yourself in the stands at the Kentucky Derby. A new horse by the name of President's Choice, a strong thoroughbred that racing aficionados have been talking about, is favored to win. "And they're off!" Now imagine everyone's shock when the gates fly open and the odds-on favorite starts running the wrong way. We saw something similar last night. Samuel Alito, the "conservative" judicial nominee over whom all good little Republicans were drooling, cast his first vote as the nation's newest black-robed oligarch. This morning's edition of the Washington Post reported: "New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito split with the...

Best-selling author and Muslim dissident Ibn Warraq argues that freedom of expression is our western heritage and we must defend it against attacks from totalitarian societies. If the west does not stand in solidarity with the Danish, he argues, then the Islamization of Europe will have begun in earnest. The great British philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote in On Liberty, "Strange it is, that men should admit the validity of the arguments for free discussion, but object to their being 'pushed to an extreme'; not seeing that unless the reasons are good for an extreme case, they are not good...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Tens of thousands of angry Muslims marched through Palestinian cities, burning the Danish flag and calling for vengeance Friday against European countries where caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad were published. In Washington, the State Department criticized the drawings, calling them "offensive to the beliefs of Muslims." While recognizing the importance of freedom of the press and expression, State Department press officer Janelle Hironimus said these rights must be coupled with press responsibility. "Inciting religious or ethnic hatred in this manner is not acceptable," Hironimus said. "We call for tolerance and respect for all communities and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington on Friday condemned caricatures in European newspapers of Islam's Prophet Mohammad, siding with Muslims who are outraged that the publications put press freedom over respect for religion. "These cartoons are indeed offensive to the belief of Muslims," State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said in answer to a question. "We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable."

Caracas, Jan 27 (EFE).- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday that rumors about his plans to wed a soap-opera star were an attempt to tarnish his image ahead of the December presidential vote, when he plans to seek re-election. After denying any romantic relationship with Venezuelan actress Ruddy Rodriguez, Chavez postulated that the U.S. "empire" and its Venezuelan "lackeys" were behind what he called a disinformation campaign. Chavez, a self-styled "revolutionary" who is a staunch ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro, regularly criticizes the United States for having an "imperialist and interventionist" position toward Venezuela. "The campaign has already begun to...

Fellow Americans, there comes a time every mans life when we must give up ourselves before we are worthy to recieve. There comes a time in this war on terror when in order to protect liberty, we have to give it up in the mean time for safty. That's right folks. Today, Americans have forsaken the creator for the creation and have decided that they would value our "civil liberties" than protecting western civilization and rich white people from the tender mercies of radical Islamic terrorists. Selfish liberals insist and whine that Bush has no right to spy on Americans...

Yaa, you repukes are not doing so well, huh? Imagine, you repukes control the presidency, both houses of Congress, and appointed 7 of the 9 Supreme Court justices. Yet the Supreme Court thre out sodomy laws in all 50 states and recognized the right of government to seize land for any reason. And you couldn't pass your Social Security changes could you? Sorry, that was your last shot. Come November, we're going to start seeing more Democratic faces in the House. It's the end for you guys. You guys are celebrating when Bush's numbers go *up* to 45%. Then Faux...

Bush’s giant Right Wing Noise Machine (RWNM) loves to preach about the Bush economic miracle. In fact, the RWNM’s current thinking is Bush doesn’t spend enough time talking about his economic triumphs. If only he did, then everyone would fall in line and believe in the great Bush economic miracle. There is one problem with this argument: it’s a lie. Any way you look at the Bush economy, it comes up short. Today, I want to compare Bush’s job creation record with other economic recoveries. As usual, Bush comes up way short. The national Bureau of Economic Research has identified...

Why does anybody support George w Bush as President? He is clearly the worst President I have ever seen -- a complete disaster. And before you say anything, I have been a registered Republican for 25 years.

After reading all of the crap that people have been saying regarding Adult Private Social Clubs, I felt that I had to post an article and give my opinion. I am sick and tired of all the religous groups that are saying that there are drugs, prostitution, minors, non-consenting people, and just immoral people at these clubs! First of all, who do these people think they are to decide what is morally right or wrong for me? I believe that I have a good set of morals. I am a law abiding, tax paying citizen, I work full time and...

Lies of omission about 9/11 -- stoking fears of terrorism THEY WANT YOU TO BE AFRAID The following post was censored by freerepublic.com shortly after it was posted on their "public" forum on 9/11/04. That forum is designed to appear as though it is a community forum open to all, but this post only received three responses before it and its replies were deleted, and a repeat posting at 4 am PST on 9/20/04 didn't stay online for 5 minutes! Someone is apparently watching closely over the content of the freerepublic.com forums and censoring them 24/7 (though they might have...

According to Matt Drudge, "A careful review of the tape also shows a white colored 'X' transposed over Cheney's face during the speech as well." ...but what about the text below? What does the fine print below the big X say? Does it shed additional light on the sinister plot by CNN to make a mockery of the Vice President's important address to the American Enterprise Institute and the nation?

<p>You people are jerks. Not likeable jerks either, but the kind folks would like to smack in the back of the head with a shovel. Think Judge Snells from Caddyshack or Neidermier from Animal House.</p> <p>I know this probably comes as a shock to you, but if you do some serious soul searching, you'll realize that I am right.</p>

Concluding Question: The Meta-Group and the United States Government It seems clear that the meta-group, with its influential connections on at least three continents, was powerful enough to effect changes, through the Russian 9/11, in Russian history. The question arises whether they could similarly effect changes in American history as well. As we have seen Russian sources claim that the U.S. Government has had access to he meta-group, for such especially sensitive projects as the assassination of Abu al Walid al-Hamadi. They claim the meta-group's involvement in a number of U.S.-sponsored regime changes in eastern Europe, from the overthrow of...

I am an internet java script sent to infiltrate your site and transform you from political neanderthals into a modern 21st Century progressive mode. This is your first warning. Do not try and resist. It is useless. Accept your fate. You will be assimilated.

A paleontologist testified in the Dover school board trial about how fossils connect species.The ancestor of the whale and its first cousin the hippopotamus walked the Earth for 40 million years, munching on plants, before dying out in the ice ages. Known as the anthracotheres, it became extinct 50 to 60 million years ago, but not before its evolutionary tree diverged — the whale forging into the oceans, the hippopotamus to the African swamps. Kevin Padian, a University of California-Berkeley paleontologist, told the story of the whale’s journey, along with the travels of its closest living relative, in U.S....

Diplomats: Iran May Compromise on Nukes Tuesday, October 11, 2005 NA, Austria — Iran has signaled it may grant access to sites linked to possible work on nuclear weapons and other demands from the U.N. atomic watchdog agency to avoid referral to the Security Council (search), diplomats said Tuesday. The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive negotiations, said a high-ranking delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (search) was in Tehran on Tuesday to discuss details of a possible Iranian offer. Besides seeking access to two military sites, the agency...

Here's a poser for you: you're trying to knock together a TV ad highlighting the effects of war on children. What's the plan? Well, you could go down the traditional route of earnest voice-over accompanying footage of said kids miserably awaiting a better life or, on the other hand, you could arm up a squadron of attack aircraft and go and raze a Smurf village to the ground. Let's face it, it's a toughie. Not for Unicef Belgium though, which earlier this week reduced an enchanted Smurf hamlet to smouldering rubble - much to the horror of some TV viewers...

Muslims say a federal report supporting charges that New Jersey counterterrorism officials were compiling reports on Muslims solely because of their religion confirms what they have been claiming for years. "This shouldn't surprise anyone,'' said Yaser El-Menshawy, chairman of the Majlis Ash-Shura of New Jersey, the state's council of mosques. "Although it's wrong and it's bad law enforcement, Muslims understand that we have fewer rights than anyone else right now. I'm sure people in law enforcement realize that and know they can get away with things with Muslims that they can't with any other group.'' The Institute for Intergovernmental Research,...

So, any of you catch the hilarious op-ed in the NY Times today? The one where the author, upon hearing that Oprah has re-ignited her book club to include living authors again, basically begs to be on the show? Sounded familiar. Sadly familiar. This is me: "Please, Oprah! Pleeeeezzzzeee!" Yup. I've written to Oprah a few times. ... I've told her about following my heart to success. About putting my brother through school so he could follow his heart, too. About the sales of the book. The movie deal with Jlo and Laura Ziskin. The TV deal at Lifetime. About...

Police officers in England's Bedfordshire county have been told to take off their shoes and not interrupt anyone praying during raids of Muslim homes, according to leaked guidelines. The 18-point guide, under development before the recent London bombing attacks, says "the Muslim community feels victimized and suspicious of counter terrorist police operations and in the current climate a search at a British Muslim household has the potential to become a critical incident and come under intense scrutiny." Befordshire's largest city is Luton, about 30 miles north of London, one of Britain's hotbeds of radical Islam. A nail bomb was discovered...

CHICAGO (AP) - A stain on the wall of an expressway underpass that some believe resembles the Virgin Mary is again attracting visitors after two car wash employees cleaned graffiti and brown paint off the image. Rosa Diaz and Anna Reczek used a degreaser to clean the wall Friday on their lunch break. Onlookers said they again could see the Virgin Mary. The Illinois Department of Transportation has said the stain was likely the result of salt runoff on the emergency turnoff area under the Kennedy Expressway. A man had scrawled the words "Big Lie" in shoe polish on the...

Many argue that communism will never be possible because of "human nature". The essence of this false argument is the belief that a communist society would consist of an all-powerful central government that would tell everybody what to do--and would therefore undermine the creative initiative of individuals and the search for happiness. • This argument is based on two false assumptions: (1) It assumes that a communist society will look like the former Soviet Union, or the current China, North Korea, etc (ie: corrupt police states with a feudal-style ruling class) (2) It assumes that people will only work in...

Gas costs so much. I cant afford it. Why want Bush do something? Don't say he can't. His daddy or his handlers could be on the phone in 2 minutes with the Rothchilds and by 1 week, oil prices would be under $20 and gas would be 1 dollar a gallon. You know it and I know it. Why want he? Do you know? Is there sombody we can call? Plaese advice.

Bradley Smith says that the freewheeling days of political blogging and online punditry are over. In just a few months, he warns, bloggers and news organizations could risk the wrath of the federal government if they improperly link to a campaign's Web site. Even forwarding a political candidate's press release to a mailing list, depending on the details, could be punished by fines. Smith should know. He's one of the six commissioners at the Federal Election Commission, which is beginning the perilous process of extending a controversial 2002 campaign finance law to the Internet. In 2002, the FEC exempted the...

A Glimpse Ahead Timothy Snodgrass The Impossible Will Come Alive In 2005 01/28/05 In January of 2004, as we began to intercede for the New Year the Holy Spirit gave us the prophetic slogan, "The Seas will Roar in 2004". This year we were given a new slogan, "The Impossible will come Alive in 2005". As the veil of darkness begins to come down over nations and regions, along with great shakings will come great breakthroughs; signs, wonders, healings and a spectacular release of miracles in impossible circumstances. This year, although we are ultimately poised to gain much ground, there...

What's the deal with all the dead scientists?

France has found a new tale of good and evil about which to make clever conversation. As usual the villains are capitalism and America, and “globalization” is the bogeyman combining the two malign forces which have, in their paranoid vision, conspired to diminish la France. Ho hum. The New York Times informs us that Parisian wine and film circles are abuzz with discussion of the surprise hit documentary Mondevino, which reportedly decries the “globalization” and “homogenization” of the world wine industry. Those under attack include Robert Parker, the American wine critic whose tastes have become the single most influential factor...

Bryan Lafond, in a photo taken at his home, before going to the holiday dance at Hampton Academy Junior High School on Friday night.HAMPTON - A parent of a Hampton Academy Junior High School student says the principal of the school told his son to leave the school’s holiday dance on Friday night because the boy was dressed in a Santa Claus costume, which was politically incorrect. Michael Lafond said his son, Bryan, went to the dance dressed as Santa because it was a holiday party. "He asked if he could dress like Santa and we said yes," said Lafond....

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Cartwheels and handstands have gotten an 11-year-old girl temporarily bounced out of her Los Angeles-area school. Deirdre Faegre was suspended for a week after repeatedly disobeying school officials who told her not to perform gymnastic stunts during lunchtime. "Our first concern is the safety of all children," San Jose-Edison Academy Principal Denise Patton told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Patton said Deirdre could accidentally strike another student, or injure herself, and other children could get hurt trying to imitate Deirdre, who has been doing gymnastics for five years.