Free Republic

It seems that if despotism came to be established in the democratic nations of our day, it would have other characteristics: it would be more extensive and milder, and it would degrade men without tormenting them. When I think of the small passions of men of our day, the softness of their mores, the extent of their enlightenment, the purity of their religion, the mildness of their morality, their laborious and steady habits, the restraint that almost all preserve in vice as in virtue, I do not fear that in their chiefs they will find tyrants, but rather schoolmasters. I...

I just received this picture in the email form a very close friend who is running a super secret time travel program for a super secret government agency belonging to an unspecified foreign country. He writes...Read on

A bill introduced last week in the General Assembly quietly seeks to eliminate a significant motorist protection built into Virginia's existing red light camera law. The proposal of a pair of Democratic state delegates representing Virginia Beach, Joseph F. Bouchard and Robert W. Mathieson, would delete just three words from that statute, but the change would have wide-ranging effects. Under current law, cities that want to install traffic cameras must first submit a detailed engineering justification to state transportation experts. "A locality shall submit a list of intersections to the Virginia Department of Transportation for final approval," Virginia Code Section...

At least one segment of the economy is booming: the market in Obama kitsch. The dedicated supporter of the incoming President need not content himself with a T shirt or bumper sticker. Also available are Obama coasters, lava lamps, jigsaw puzzles, mugs, skateboards, toy trains, CDs, DVDs and, of course, commemorative dinner plates. Ben & Jerry's is introducing a Yes Pecan flavor in honor of Obama's campaign slogan, and Marvel Comics is running a special Inaugural issue of Spider-Man. Pepsi has created the Pepsi Optimism Project with a red, white and blue logo almost identical to Obama's sunrise button. And...

Millions of workers at small businesses across the country will take time Tuesday to watch Barack Obama be sworn in as president -- and will do so with their bosses' blessings. Many companies will allow workers to take a break to watch the swearing-in on TVs or their computers, while others are making rooms available so staffers can gather. Still others are planning celebrations to mark a historic event, and some owners are giving staffers the day off. At BlissPR, a New York-based public relations agency, many employees will be in the conference room watching Obama's inauguration on TV. Abby...

I have often written about the ignorance that has resulted from decades of pathetic, dumbed-down parenting and schooling, and, sadly, there's no shortage of material on this subject. There is often a profound difference between morality and legality, and, if this were a just world, a good percentage of the American Left would be tried for treason. If that seems a radical statement, I ask you: What price should be paid for sowing the seeds of your nation's destruction? What should be the punishment for creating millions of people so ignorant, so effete, so corrupted in judgment that they are...

President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in could be a boon for Said Rangbar, among hundreds of people hoping to cash in on Inauguration Day. The Washington street hot dog stand vendor plans to stock up his cart with food and drinks for the throngs of people expected to pack the nation's capital for Obama's swearing-in. He's among dozens who have applied for a limited number of vending spaces in a D.C. government lottery and some are already grumbling about the scheduling of the lottery. Each space is only 10 feet by 10 feet, but carries the promise of a big payback. "I...

They are calling themselves the Mid-South Community Organizers, and if that name sounds a touch triumphant, the people formerly known as Shelby County's Obama-Biden '08 volunteers just want folks to know they are serious about this whole "change" thing. Nika Jackson, who served as the Obama camp's lone Shelby County campaign staffer for much of the general election campaign, got together with about 50 local campaign volunteers over the weekend to reflect on what was accomplished and to begin plotting a way forward. In conjunction with Obama operations in other Tennessee counties, Memphis' newest group of community activists adopted their...

TUKWILA, Wash. — The Southcenter Mall in Tukwila was locked down Saturday night as police went store to store in an effort to find a young man who shot two other young men, one of them fatally, inside the mall. Police spokesman Mike Murphy, an officer, told The Associated Press there were "thousands" of shoppers at the mall when the shooting took place just before 3:45 p.m. The shooting victims were taken to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, where one of them died. Murphy said he did not know the condition of the other victim.

FWIW - Went to have a haircut. There are four hairdressers/barbers at the shop. All voted for Obama. Today they were all talking about how angry they are with Obama for deleting all of his promises from his website and now talking about not giving them all the goodies they wanted from him. Reality's a bitch, ain't it?

Some news audiences are more politically savvy than others, according to a new poll, with readers of The New Yorker and similar high-brow magazines being the most knowledgeable. The survey, conducted between April 30 and June 1 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, measured the political knowledge of 3,612 U.S. adults. Participants were asked to name the controlling party of the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. secretary of state and Great Britain's prime minister. Overall, just 18 percent of participants answered all three questions correctly. More than 50 percent of Americans knew that the...

A horrific news story has slowly made its way into the headlines here in the Twin Cities. A local resident, his wife and three daughters spent the evening of the Fourth of July at Valleyfair, a local amusement park. They were leaving the park at midnight when a criminal began to molest his twelve-year-old daughter. The father intervened to defend his daughter, and the offender put out a call for his "homies." Eight "men" materialized and began to beat up the father. They knocked him to the ground and took turns stomping on his head. The man's wife and daughters...

Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Merkley is excited by a new poll that for the first time shows him ahead of Republican Sen. Gordon Smith - even if the two-point lead is well within the survey's margin of error. Jeff Merkley "The fact that we're in the lead is tremendous," said Merkley spokesman Matt Canter, saying he thinks that's probably the first time Smith has found himself in such a position in his nearly 12 years in the Senate. However, Smith's own pollster, Bob Moore, said he didn't trust the methodology of the poll by Rasmussen Reports. It uses an automated...

Burdened by credit card debt? It may not be your fault. Sen. Barack Obama says in many cases, the credit card companies are to blame for "pushing" financially strapped Americans "over the edge." The banking industry disagrees. In a speech in Chicago Wednesday, Obama outlined his plan to "build an economy that works for all Americans." He spoke mostly about personal credit card debt, which he views as a problem with a government solution. Obama says the sour economy is forcing Americans to put more and more of their debt onto credit cards. (The American Banking Association on its Web...

If everyone from Al Gore to Newt Gingrich thinks global warming is indeed a serious problem. Why aren't they and the media allowing the opposing views to be given? The scientists who disagree with them are seldom seen or heard from. Why? Repercussions? That there has been a virtual black out on the opposing view is troubling to me.

NEW ORLEANS — Sen. John McCain, in his post-victory debut before the conservative movement's top donors and leaders, will address the Council for National Policy's annual winter meeting here today. *snip* "Many conservative leaders did not support him, but he is a proud conservative Republican who thinks he can earn their support in the general election," Mr. [Charlie] Black added.

Barack Obama criticised over 'cult-like' rallies By William Lowther in Washington Last Updated: 4:24pm GMT 23/02/2008 For many it is simply a sign of his charisma. But for a growing number of Barack Obama sceptics, there is something disturbing about the adulation with which the senator and Democratic presidential frontrunner is greeted as he campaigns for the White House - unnervingly akin to the hysteria of a cult, or the fervour of a religious revival. Thousands wait in line to see him wherever he stops. Members of the audience have taken to rushing the stage during campaign rallies, forcing the...

Barack Obama is hot, hot, hot. Comparisons leap to mind — Eugene McCarthy and his student legion, eager to shave, bathe and "get clean for Gene," even George Wallace in early September of '68. The Internet is awash with tributes, declarations of undying fealty, pornographic mash notes, even love songs: "... you can barack me tonight ...." The Internet is awash with millions of dollars for the man from Illinois. If Hillary Clinton isn't terrified, she should be. It's difficult for even the most level-headed pundits and pros to step far enough back to cast a cool-enough eye on the...

I am disappointed in the tactics and statements of almost all the presidential candidates, both Democrats and Republicans. My grandmother used to say that you can tell just as big a lie with a half-truth and sometimes a bigger one. Take the half-truths said about Mike Huckabee and taxes. I lived in Arkansas when he was the governor. He did away with the marriage tax penalty and the capital gains tax on the sale homes. He doubled Arkansas' standard deduction and the child care tax credit. He slashed the capital gains tax for both individuals and businesses. In 2001, Mike...

1. SLEEP FOR CHILDREN CAN REDUCE OBESITY RISK CHICAGO | Researchers found that if third-graders sleep more, they are less likely to become obese by sixth grade.