Free Republic

Bet you think you spend money pretty sensibly. Well, Dan Ariely would bet you don't. A noted behavioral economist with current posts at MIT and Duke, Ariely has been proving for years that consumers often spend more when they plan to spend less. Now he's put his findings into layman's terms in a new book, "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions." In it, he explains how marketers exploit our blind spots of logic and how we can see them coming. Today's shaky economy, he argues, is no place to waste money being irrational. Question: What's one of...

ELIOT SPITZER WAS NOT CAUGHT BY THE PATRIOT ACT: "Currency transaction reporting requirements were enacted in the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, and money laundering was made a crime in overhaul of the federal narcotics laws that took place in 1986. Believe it or not, Karl Rove did not diabolically dream these provisions up to trap unwary Democrats, nor are they part of George W. Bush's post-9/11 Politics of Fear."

ESPN is reporting that Les Miles will be Michigan's next football coach.

Election 2008: Seeking to change his reputation for naivete, Sen. Barack Obama now presents his new vision for Cuba. But what he thinks is new is in fact already U.S. policy. He's been asleep. To read Obama's sunny new manifesto on Cuba policy, published Tuesday in the Miami Herald, you'd think he'd invented sunlight. He paints a picture of the U.S. hopelessly benighted about Cuba, having shut the door to the tyrannical communist regime long ago through a trade embargo, which he calls a failure. He advocates free travel to Cuba and an end to trade restrictions. "A democratic opening...

I can't believe how gullible someone who built a very successful business can be sometimes. The CEO of the firm I work for, a limousine liberal who drives an SUV with a Greenpeace bumper sticker, just sent out this email to everyone: I wanted to let you know that we have initiated a "Green Flier" program at (company name removed). For those of you who book your travel through our travel coordinator the mileage of your trip will be calculated and the appropriate amount of Green House Gas credits will be purchased by (company name removed). For those of you...

I've been playing bingo on-line at a popular bingo site and it appears that almost every game has the same 3-4 winners (not me) and jackpots are won over and over by the same players. Got to chatting on the bingo site and someone suggested that the company pre-determines the winners by customer ISP number. We figure the winners are those who may not play the most cards but make the most deposits. Does this sound plausible? Any software designers out there?

Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin yesterday tried to rally support among black Democrats in Prince George's County, while Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele campaigned with county Democratic leaders who broke ranks this week to endorse him. Mr. Cardin appeared with Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson and about 30 other lawmakers in Hyattsville, aiming to keep a diminishing lead in the polls. In his first public show of support for Mr. Cardin, Mr. Johnson ... But the rally turned sour later. State Sen. Nathaniel Exum, Prince George's Democrat, berated Mr. Cardin for excluding him and other local delegates from speaking...

BRIDGEPORT — Every day was April Fools' Day for P.T. Barnum, the renowned showman and self-proclaimed Prince of Humbugs, a title that leads to questions about the authenticity of the artifacts he left behind. After all, the Bridgeport Renaissance man gave the world the Fejee Mermaid, a fantasy creature that was one of his biggest hoaxes. But leave it to Barnum to play with people's minds, even from beyond the grave. Just as one starts to believe everything in Barnum's collection sprang from his creative genius, along come a couple of archaeological experts to authenticate Pa-Ib, an Egyptian mummy reputed...

WASHINGTON · Rob Durham had a secret -- or at least he thought he did. Even as the prices on gasoline station signs had begun to rise, Durham, a real estate agent and budding entrepreneur in suburban Chicago, received an e-mail from a friend telling him about a "top-secret gas pill" that could significantly boost fuel efficiency while cutting emissions. "The more I saw, the more I believed in it," said Durham, 39, who joined his friend and became a distributor. He still says the product works. Authorities say the pill wasn't just "top-secret," it was also bogus. The additive...

A California inventor has found a way to create limitless electric power without using up fuel --- potentially the greatest discovery in the history of mankind. Edwin Gray Sr., 48, has fashioned working devices that could: Power every auto, train, truck, boat and plane that moves in this land --- perpetually. Warm, cool and service every American home --- without erecting a single transmission line. Feed limitless energy into the nation's mighty industrial system --- forever. And do it all without creating a single iota of pollution. Already, the jovial, self-educated Gray is forcing scientists to uproot their most cherished...

Last night, I decided to see the movie "Syriana". I went in with an open mind and tried to rate the movie like I would for any other. On a scale of 1-10, I gave it 7 1/2. Why? The plot was interesting and honestly, it was not an inconceivable one. Sometimes, it is really "all connected". Sometimes, I had problems following the flow of the movie because it would jump around between the major characters too much. The script did not always identify some of the minor characters either and that led to a little confusion while trying to...

Unbelievably Scary Videos & Evidence I Just Viewed Yesterday

ANDERSON, S.C. -- An Anderson man is dead after being strangled with a vacuum cleaner hose, and his common-law wife is charged with his murder. Anderson County Sheriff's deputies said they received the call at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday. A spokesman for the sheriff's office said Evelyn Pressley admitted to killing Jerome Powers. Deputies said Pressley beat and strangled Powers with vacuum cleaner accessories. Deputies said the couple lived together on Bellhaven Road in Anderson for about eight years. Pressley is being held in the Anderson County detention center Monday. An autopsy was planned.

MINNEAPOLIS (Jan. 13) - Minnesota voters, who eight years ago elected a former professional wrestler as their governor, may find a self-proclaimed vampire on the ballot for the office this year. "Politics is a cut-throat business," said Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey, who said he plans to announce his bid for governor Friday on the ticket of the Vampyres, Witches and Pagans Party. Like Jesse "The Body" Ventura, who was elected governor as an independent in 1998, the 41-year-old Sharkey once was a wrestler. He went by the nickname "The Unholiest of Kings: Tarantula" on obscure professional circuits. "I'm a satanist...

RICHMOND -- The Virginia Court of Appeals today upheld the conviction of a Virginia Beach man who police say solicited oral sex from an undercover officer in a department store restroom. The court rejected defense arguments that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down anti-sodomy and similar state laws nullified a Virginia statute outlawing oral sex. "We're still considering whether or not to take an appeal," said Greg Nivens, an Atlanta-based attorney with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a gay rights group representing Joel Singson. In a 20-page opinion, Judge Robert J. Humphreys dismissed suggestions that Virginia's sodomy law...

FEMA head Michael Brown has had a tough couple of weeks. Politicians are in front of cameras calling for his resignation, petitions are being signed for his removal, bloggers want him to assume room temperature, and the talking heads on cable repeat his name no less than 30 times in an hour.And if you think things can't simply get any worse for this man, think again. A TIME investigation reveals discrepancies in the FEMA chief's official biographies TIME has found discrepancies in his online legal profile and official bio, including a description of Brown released by the White House at the time of his nomination in...

How many of you are as surprised as I am that these two well know TV personalities were highly decorated war heroes?

HILLARY AWARENESS DAY - Friday Jan 14th 2005 - HR is pleased to announce that a formal on line web-conference will be held on the above date. There will be many topics presented, hand out material and formal discussions. Registration for the event is free and those wishing to attend must be pre-registered to post and participate. Information on the link.

I have heard it several times tonight and it appears that the mainstream press is prepared to help the Dems get the spin out. The angle is that they need to find a way to connect to the American people on Moral issues. Translation: They want to continue to be Godless Liberals who despise righteousness but feign comprehension while throwing gullible Christians a few inconsequential bones in order to gain votes. Do not go for the rope-a-dope.

Iran has proved to be the undoer of presidents, having cost Jimmy Carter his job in 1980 and nearly depriving Ronald Reagan of his legacy in 1987. The road to the White House in 2004 may again run through Tehran, this time for George W. Bush. There is no way Bush can transform Iraq into a winning situation. The failure to find weapons of mass destruction, the growing national question of whether we were lied to and the ongoing open season on American troops have combined to deprive Bush of credit for his amazing success on the battlefield in much...

Marine Corps General Reienwald was interviewed on the radio the other day by a female interviewer concerning guns and children. Regardless of how you feel about gun control this is one of the best comeback lines of all times. It is a portion of a National Public Radio (NPR) interview between the female broadcaster and US Marine Corps General Reinwald as he was preparing to sponsor a Boy Scout Troop visiting his military installation. FEMALE INTERVIEWER: So, General Reinwald, what things are you going to teach these young boys when they visit your base? GENERAL REINWALD: We’re going to teach...

Sean Penn broke his silence following his controversial trip to Iraq with an interview last night on CNN's ''Larry King Show'' by saying he went to Baghdad seeking information, but doesn't feel he is in a position to share what he learned with the American people. Sean Penn on CNN Asked by King what the purpose of his trip to Iraq was, the actor-director said: ''The purpose was information.'' Insisting in a somewhat rambling interview that he doesn't think he ''hurt this country's position,'' Penn accused the Bush administration of trying to ''herd us into this position. We as citizens...

<p>CALL me a sucker, but I believe that most of the ways the state spends the taxes I send it are worthwhile.</p> <p>The state educates people (half the general fund), provides income and health care to poor people (a quarter), locks up bad guys, supports local government and provides parks. The rest of what it does accounts for just a few pennies on the dollar.</p>

Tony Blair walked into a humiliating ambush at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg today as African leaders angrily accused him of acting like a modern day colonialist. The Prime Minister's attempt to take a leading role in third world development, an aim he descibred as his "passion", was severely marred by a bad tempered attack from President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and President Sam Nujoma of Namibia. Hurling a tirade of abuse at Mr Blair, Mr Mugabe, in his keynote speech to the summit, threatened to shed blood if that was what it took to continue his controversial land reforms,...