Free Republic

Politics are heating up in France and Germany as French president Nicolas Sarkozy clings to his political life and German chancellor Angela Merkel is under increasing pressure over more bailouts. The Financial Times reports Merkel to join Sarkozy on campaign trail German chancellor Angela Merkel promised to join Nicolas Sarkozy on the campaign trail as the French president took to the airwaves on Sunday to launch a set of German-style structural reforms aimed at seizing the initiative in his uphill re-election attempt. Ms Merkel’s Christian Democrat party said she would “actively support Nicolas Sarkozy with joint appearances in the election...

This oughta’ help that next fast food lunch go down better. McDonald’s is no longer using an additive filler known as “pink slime” in its world-famous hamburgers. What, you don’t know about the pink slime? That’s spare beef trimmings treated with ammonium hydroxide to make them safe and possibly tastier. Pink slime, for all its yumminess, has been the target of some serious criticism, ranging from newspaper reports to a campaign by TV chef Jamie Oliver to get rid of the stuff. As gross and potentially dangerous as it sounds, the government has said pink slime is not a threat....

Turnabout is fair play, so they say. After Politico first reported a story last week of allegation of sexual harassment from Herman Cain by two women, then continued on to report and even promote the report with 90 Cain stories in five days, the notion of innocent until proven guilty has been voided according to conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh. However, on his Friday radio program Limbaugh proposed using Politico’s rules against Politico by getting a conservative “Larry Flynt,” the publisher of Hustler magazine that offers money for sexual misconduct by Republicans, to do the same against the media,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "What the [bleep] is Politico doing?" said the man on the phone. "And how the [bleep] are they getting away with this [bleep]?" Reporters rival sailors for their proficiency in profanity, and one of the most experienced political journalists in Washington was cussing a blue streak Thursday evening as he railed against the shoddiness of Politico's reporting on the Herman Cain "scandal."

Truth is, James Carville still thinks Hillary Clinton should be president. But just out of curiousity, what does Bill Clinton's former chief political strategist think of the developing Republican field for 2012? Our pal Scott Hennen, one of the country's top conservative radio talkers, asked Carville just that. And the pair had a, uh, candid exchange: HENNEN: Obviously Herman Cain’s faring pretty well right now in the polls, and all along, quite honestly, had the most passionate supporters in this field; a nonpolitician, which has probably served him well, just as an example of the frustration of the conservative Republican...

With the Occupy Wall Street protests gaining steam in the U.S., it seems obvious to link it with the other grassroots movement that recently shook up American politics — the Tea Party. My colleagues' pieces number among a flurry of others pondering the parallel. Michael Scherer recast Occupy Wall Street as the Tea Party of the American left. Roya Wolverson suggested how the two movements, coming from diametrically-opposed sides of the political spectrum, could find common ground (and perhaps actual policy influence) in their mutual distaste for a Washington dominated by the vested interests of corporations. But while the similarities...

Andrew Breitbart wasn’t supposed to be sitting here in a television studio makeup chair. But when he heard that Anthony Weiner was about to announce his resignation, he dropped everything. Mr. Breitbart, the conservative author and blogger who first published Mr. Weiner’s suggestive self-portraits, had ditched his book-signing in central Illinois and hopped on a flight earlier than planned to the Twin Cities, where he was booked as a marquee attraction at RightOnline, a conservative bloggers conference. “To put myself in Decatur, Ill., without a satellite connection would have put me in a bad situation,” he explained as a woman...

For most big news Web sites, about 60 percent of the traffic is homegrown, people who come directly to the site by dint of a bookmark or typing in www.latimes.com or www.huffingtonpost.com. The other critical 40 percent comes by referrals, the links that are the source of drive-by traffic, new readers and heat-seekers on a particular story.

Dead Man Walker?! Is that the kind of civility President Obama pretended to be in favor of? The call for a kinder, gentler political debate certainly did not last long as the democrat party’s Time magazine lashes out in this headline against Conservative American Governor Scott Walker. What do you think? Did this go too far?

In one of the most closely watched U.S. House races in the nation, Republican Daniel Webster now holds a 7-point lead over Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson in Central Florida's 8th Congressional District, according to a new Sunshine State News Poll.

The local Republican-oriented strategy firm of Landmark Communications is out this afternoon with the first polls in the Republican runoffs for governor and attorney general. In the governor’s race, former secretary of state Karen Handel has a nine-point lead over former congressman Nathan Deal, 45.8 percent to 37.1 percent. Undecideds were measured at 17.1 percent.

Matthew Lesko and Miss Cleo make appearances in John McCain's latest Web video poking fun at his Republican challenger's role as an infomercial pitchman. McCain's re-election campaign on Tuesday released the video featuring half-famous stars from late-night television. The video also recalls a handful of gaffes that have put J.D. Hayworth in an uncomfortable spotlight. The ad follows the revelation last week that Hayworth filmed a 2007 infomercial pitching the services of a Florida company accused of taking advantage of its customers. Hayworth says he didn't properly research the company. His campaign on Monday released three videos of Hayworth addressing...

excerpt: "...the woman tells how Gore greeted her at the door of his room at the Hotel Lucia for the 11 p.m. appointment with a hug that "went on a bit long," then quipped "call me Al." Hotel staff had told the licensed therapist when booking her that the client was Al Gore, but that he was going under the name "Mr Stone." Gore allegedly asked her to focus on his abdominal area and adductors -- the inner thigh muscles -- as well as his back and other areas. While his lower body was covered with a sheet, she said,...

<p>When Glenn Beck told listeners of his radio show on March 2 that they should "run as fast as you can" from any church that preached "social or economic justice" because those were code words for Communism and Nazism, he probably thought he was tweaking a few crunchy religious liberals who didn't listen to the show anyway. Instead he managed to outrage Christians in most mainline Protestant denominations, African-American congregations, Hispanic churches, and Catholics...</p>

The city of Baltimore declared today Frank Zappa Day in honor of the iconoclastic rock musician and composer, who was born there 69 years ago on Dec. 21, 1940. Last week the city's public art commission also announced that a bronze statue of Zappa would be erected outside of a public library sometime next year......

A weeping blonde model claimed yesterday that she ended her affair with Tiger Woods after she woke up in the middle of the night to find him texting other mistresses. Cori Rist, 31, who has a seven-year-old son, said she initially believed the billionaire golfer when he told her his marriage was on the rocks. And she thought she was the only 'other woman' in his life - until she caught him secretly sending texts while he was in bed with her. 'I would wake up sometimes in the night in hotels with him and hear him text messaging,' she...

Porn star Holly Sampson said on an adult Internet talk show that she slept with Tiger Woods at his bachelor party five years ago. "Me and my girlfriends did a bachelor party for Tiger and it was amazing," she said on the show, in which she and other adult stars are interviewed topless. "He picked me to go into the room. I have to say he was really good." Now Jim McBride, the CEO of the celebrity adult Web site MrSkin.com tells Pop Tarts that Sampson has been running ads as a high-paying adult escort for at least seven years.

Suddenly Cori Rist looks like a 5th Tiger Woods mistress. The rumor of a 5th Tiger Woods mistress being Cori Rist has been floated by the New York Daily News where they are citing a source that claims one of Tiger Woods "favorite traveling companions was a delicious blond named Cori Rist." This is just more bad news for Tiger Woods and his supporters, and is tossing even more fuel on the fire that is burning down his public image. It starting to seem like daily there is another woman coming forward with claims about what Tiger Woods has been...

And then there were four. A Las Vegas model claims she had an affair with Tiger Woods, bringing the tally to four women who have been publicly named, the Web site Radaronline.com is reporting. It may not stop there. Yet another woman claiming to have had an affair with the golf pro has offered to spill her guts, and will reportedly do so to a British newspaper in tomorrow's editions, according to the site. Radar also claims that two others are getting ready to come forward as well. The woman is identified as Las Vegas model Jamie Jungers, and she...

A Los Angeles press conference with Tiger Woods’ alleged mistress Rachel Uchitel has been called off. Uchitel, 34, was scheduled to appear with her attorney, Gloria Allred, at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. The cancellation comes as TMZ.com is reporting Uchitel was lying when she said she did not have an affair with Tiger Woods. Citing unnamed sources the celebrity news site writes that text messages between Woods and Uchitel sparked the fight at the billionaire golfer’s home before his bizarre early-morning car crash. Uchitel, a New York City nightclub hostess, has publicly denied an affair with Woods. However, TMZ.com...

Tiger Woods was braced for new trouble tonight amid reports that at least two women are set to go public with claims that they had affairs with the world’s highest-earning sportsman. RadarOnline.com a celebrity news website, reported that several women had come forward claiming to have had sex with the billion-dollar golfer, including one who purports to have “explosive” answerphone recordings. Jaimee Grubbs, 24, a Las Vegas cocktail waitress, tells this week’s edition of Us Weekly magazine that she had a 31-month affair with Woods, starting in April 2007, and that she has more than 300 text messages — some...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WSAZ) -- West Virginia Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R) called for hearings into the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, also known as ACORN, Wednesday in a letter to the chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. ...

Now that's one smart little monkey who knows where to take a whizz when it needs to. What better to relieve itself on than a politician, most of whom spends their lives whizzing on their constituents day in and day out. Particularly these crooked African politicos who take our billions and billions in aid, pocket most of it and let their people continue to live in the dark ages. I wonder if it was this disgusting chimp?

David Letterman "jokes" about Sarah Palin's teenage daughter having sex with A-Rod during a baseball game. For good measure he suggests the daughter would be of interest to Eliot Spitzer, infamous for soliciting a prostitute. If Ed Schultz condemned Letterman, I missed it. But let Sarah Palin's acceptance of Letterman's belated apology include thanks to the US military for making freedom of speech possible for all Americans, and Schultz condems Palin as "nothing but political slime." View video here.

Obama state senate grant probed By Chris Fusco and Dave McKinneyChicago Sun-Times reporters A $100,000 state grant for a botanic garden in Englewood that then-state Sen. Barack Obama awarded in 2001 to a group headed by a onetime campaign volunteer is now under investigation by the Illinois attorney general amid new questions, prompted by Chicago Sun-Times reports, about whether the money might have been misspent. The garden was never built. And now state records obtained by the Sun-Times show $65,000 of the grant money went to the wife of Kenny B. Smith, the Obama 2000 congressional campaign volunteer who heads...

A week after a high-profile send-up of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live," the NBC comedy show returned to making fun of the Alaskan governor in a skit where New York Times reporters sought to probe the possibility Palin's husband was having sex with the couple's own daughters. "What about the husband?" asked a Times reporter during a mock assignment meeting for the paper. "You know he's doing those daughters. I mean, come on. It's Alaska." The assignment editor for the Times, portrayed by actor James Franco, responded: "He very well could be. Admittedly, there is...

"Just bought a brand-new purebred puppy? Welcome him or her into your home with a free gift bag! Call us today at 1-866-834-6061 to claim your bag and hear about our products," reads a new ad appearing in the July 7 issue of Dog Fancy magazine, which is on newsstands now. But when respondents call the number, they'll learn that the ad was placed by PETA and that the bag offered is really a body bag--for the unlucky dog in an animal shelter who is "sentenced to death" because the respondents bought a purebred pup from a breeder or a...

Another Controversy for Sarah Palin Former Police Chief Says He Was Fired for Challenging Palin's Campaign Contributors Gov. Sarah Palin is already facing ethical questions over her firing of the Alaska public safety commissioner, and now she faces questions over the firing of a longtime local police chief. After taking over as Mayor of the small town of Wasilla, Palin fired the longtime local police chief. The former police chief, Irl Stambaugh says he was fired because he stepped on the toes of Palin's campaign contributors, including bar owners and the National Rifle Association. Stambaugh's lawyer, William Jermain, says the...

First of all, I urge everyone to please VOTE in this poll. Will Bristol's pregnancy affect your vote. http://www.usmagazine.com/ Also, I am new to this board, but just wanted to tell everyone that I called and cancelled my subscription to US Weekly,. I also told them I wanted to leave an editorial comment, and they passed on what I had to say to their editors. To complain about this cover story, call them toll-free: 1-800-283-3956 We cannot let this go. This is gutter journalism, and of course, they didn't see need to spread any vicious lies about Palin like they...

Is it just me, or was there a tone of defiance in George Stephanopoulos's voice this morning as he declared that Rush Limbaugh can't stop John McCain? The "This Week" host was a guest commentator on today's Good Morning America, and co-anchor Robin Roberts began by playing a clip of a recent Rush comment. ROBIN ROBERTS: Let's start with the Republicans. Of John McCain the big lead over Romney, but not everyone is rallying around McCain. Let's listen to this for a moment. Cut to Rush clip. View video here.

<p>Which lawyer would that be? That would be Jay R. Grodner of Deerfield , Ill. I suspect his life has been made an absolute hell because of something he did a few weeks ago ... and that's the very least this prepuce deserves.</p>

The New York Times is still obsessing over Blackwater – well at least it gives Halliburton a break. Today the Times reports: The American security contractor Blackwater USA has been involved in a far higher rate of shootings while guarding American diplomats in Iraq than other security firms providing similar services to the State Department, according to Bush administration officials and industry officials. The Times doesn't have any precise figures for Blackwater, but explains: In 2005, DynCorp reported 32 shootings during about 3,200 convoy missions, and in 2006 that company reported 10 episodes during about 1,500 convoy missions. While comparable...

Warning! A roving band of Hippie Icons may soon be coming to a city near you! It all started on a sunkist Saturday at Wild Adventure theme park, here in Valdosta, Georgia. Concerts are a regular here, and I've seen some great bands: Foreigner, Styx, REO Speedwagon. Before I begin, let me just say that I am 35 years old. Never really saw the hippie movement. Read about it, saw the footage of Woodstock, etc. But I never really experienced it. And for that, I think God. It was an outdoor event, with families lining lawn chairs up, loading the...

Happy New Year (pardon the title of the thread).I just had to pass this along to all you Freepers and others who may have just come here to FR for the first time to get your mind right.I had the bad fortune of seeing the ABC Early Morning News twice this morning on the first day of the new year.Here is how it unfortunately went.For only about 15 to 20 seconds they spoke of the New Year, 2007.Then next, IMMEDIATELY, in the very next story they proclaimed the 3,000th death in fighting in Iraq.Then, the anchor asked the reporter on...

One of the New York Times' largest shareholders stepped up an attack on the newspaper giant yesterday in a move some industry observers consider a veiled attempt to dethrone company scion Arthur "Pinch" Sulzberger Jr. In a shareholder proposal filed yesterday, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, which owns a 7.6 percent stake in the Times, urged the company to split the jobs of chairman and publisher, positions currently held by Sulzberger.

Let’s see if we get a retraction out of Wonkette now. Thanks to Sean Gleeson for finding this. Update: How did Sean do it? I set up a Facebook account, and followed the trail, from Ashley Herzog, to Megan Del Corral, to Meredith Chan, to “Princess Nina” (whoever that is). I had to do a lot of e-mailing private messaging and stuff. Update: Let’s just get this posted before it mysteriously disappears from Webshots.

If you haven’t seen it yet, don’t miss Hamid Karzai’s devastating response to this question from AP Democratic operative Jennifer Loven, trying to brace Karzai with the leaked NIE: Q: Thank you, sir. Even after hearing that one of the major conclusions of the National Intelligence Estimate in April was that the Iraq war has fueled terror growth around the world, why have you continued to say that the Iraq war has made this country safer?

Billionaire philanthropist George Soros compared the Bush administration to socialist and communist regimes Thursday while criticizing America's war on terror. The liberal political activist said the U.S. strategy of fighting a "war" against terrorism is "false" and a "dismal and disheartening situation." Critics say Soros is only trying to hurt Republicans' chances in the November elections and warn that he is undermining efforts to protect Americans from terrorists. Soros told an audience at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, "We are working with a very false frame when we talk about a 'war on terror,' and yet it is universally...

Feel the love, and the love of country, in this one: Jara sang (1000+ posts) Fri May-26-06 04:50 PM Original messageSo, we are on the eve of yet another nationalist holiday. Is it fascism yet? Before anybody jumps on me for NOT "supporting the troops". I would just like to say that I don't think wars of aggression, bombing and murdering civilians, and imperialist dogma is particularly worthy of a holiday.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday denied a report that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI in connection with a corruption probe.ABC News, citing high level Justice Department sources, said information implicating Hastert had been developed from convicted lobbyists who are now cooperating with the government.But department officials, who asked to not be identified, said the story was not accurate and that Hastert was not under investigation. "The story is wrong. Hastert is not under investigation," one official said.

Petition for Fire David Gregory.com Bob Wright, Chairman NBC 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112 Dear Chairman Wright: We, the undersigned, are becoming increasingly concerned about the well-being of NBC News' Chief White House Correspondent David Gregory. He has become increasingly ill due to Bush Derangement Syndrome and has turned to alcohol in an attempt to sustain this illness. In the past month, Mr. Gregory has become part of the stories he is supposed to cover. This is not the proper role of a journalist, especially someone as powerful of Mr. Gregory, who covers President Bush and the White...

A bright yellow slime mould that can grow to several metres in diameter has been put in charge of a scrabbling, six-legged robot. The Physarum polycephalum slime, which naturally shies away from light, controls the robot's movement so that it too keeps out of light and seeks out dark places in which to hide itself. Klaus-Peter Zauner at the University of Southampton, UK, who developed the slime-controlled bot with colleagues from Kobe University in south-central Japan, says the idea is to find simpler ways to control a robot’s behaviour. "The computers we have today are very good for what we...

Former U.N. Weapons Inspector Speaks About Iraq Former U.N. Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter is speaking out about the war in Iraq. His speech in Schenectady comes in the midst of President Bush's media blitz, defending the war. Former U.N. Weapons Inspector in Iraq Scott Ritter says politicians on both sides of the aisle just haven't been straight with the American people since the start of the war. Ritter said, “Whatever we're trying to build will collapse unless we first deal with the foundation.� Ritter shared his insight with a fairly full house at the First United Methodist Church in Schenectady....

FORT LAUDERDALE - A Broward county judge on Monday refused to release a 17-year-old suspect in the beating death of a homeless man last week. The other suspect's hearing was delayed one day. The judge, Steven DeLuca, also ordered Thomas Daugherty held for 21 days under juvenile detention and signed an order for a psychological examination of the Plantation youth. Daugherty is being treated as a juvenile, prosecutors have not yet formally announced whether the teen will be charged as a juvenile or an adult.

Global petition to stop the war in Iraq Date: 5 Jan 2006 GLOBAL CALL FOR NONVIOLENT CIVIL RESISTANCE TO END THE U.S.-LED MILITARY OCCUPATION OF IRAQ Contact: dm@aglobalcall.org Global Call to Action Voluntown, CT, USA Our website: www.aglobalcall.org FROM: Nobel Peace and Literature Laureates Cindy Sheehan and other peace and human-rights activists Religious leaders of various traditions Prisoners of Conscience Former government ministers Poets, authors, journalists A Global Call for Nonviolent Civil Resistance at U.S. and British government installations around the world has been issued by Nobel Peace and Literature Laureates along with Cindy Sheehan and other peace and human-rights activists, religious...

JERSEY GOVERNOR RACE TURNS UGLY: CHARGES OF ABORTION, AFFAIRS DRIVE LAST DAYS Sat Nov 05 2005 11:06:43 ET New Jersey Public Radio & Television aired a report Friday night in which New Jersey Democratic Candidate for Governor Jon Corzine was grilled about whether a staffer he allegedly had an affair with -- had an abortion. NJN News’ Michael Aron reported Friday: “The press is interested right now in personal conduct. Corzine was asked about a persistent rumor that he had an affair with a staffer whom the reporter identified by name.” Sen. Jon Corzine: “A, not true. B, I’m not...

if the image above disappears, you can get it here MIDI - KING OF THE ROAD My stock's for sale or rent...what I've said I've never meant That Halliburton rocks...a big gain's nothing to mock I've done so very well with Merck...we were sued by some dumb jerk There are lots of suckers I must thank...I own the bank I had really fooled you with that crap, "Columbine,"...and lots of your money would soon become mine Critics might say it is really a crock...but I have come to love pharmeceutical stock Ronald McDonald has been great...I've made profits while...

Notice where New Orleans lies in the map? Anyone remember how much time pass between the Evac notice and landfall? Give ya a hint. Evac was ordered at 10am sunday. Katrina made landfall at 6:10am monday (both local times). First post, hope it works

More slimy innuendo from the Washington Post aimed at portraying Supreme Court nominee John Roberts as an extremist, this time as someone who regrets slavery ended when the South lost the "War Between the States." A week-and-a-half after she was one of three reporters who wrote a front page hit job, "Roberts Resisted Women's Rights," which distorted an anti-lawyer quip into a slam at women becoming lawyers, Jo Becker got solo authorship on a page two story on Friday about how, when ghostwriting an article for President Reagan, Roberts "scratched out the words 'Civil War' and replaced them with 'War...