Free Republic

The NBA has not ruled out suspending Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas before the legal process plays out fully in Arenas' gun-possession case, according to sources close to the situation. Although it has been widely expected that league officials will abide by their usual practice -- which is to wait for penalties to be meted out through the legal system before imposing their own sanctons -- sources told ESPN.com that suspending Arenas while he awaits his legal fate remains an option under consideration by NBA commissioner David Stern depending on how long the case goes because Arenas has already admitted...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry is "battling for his life" after falling out of the back of a pickup truck Wednesday during what police described as a domestic dispute with his fiancee. Henry was found in the road about eight miles north of downtown Charlotte "apparently suffering life-threatening injuries," according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. Police spokesman Robert Fey said officers were stationed near the 26-year-old Henry's hospital room. He had no information on Henry's condition, but said he was alive. "We ask everyone to pray for Chris," agent Andy Simms of PlayersRep Sports said in a statement. "We...

Given the tragic comedy that Health Care Reform has become, it is probably best for all involved to table talk of reform until coherent, thoroughly understood, language can emerge. Language that will make sense to spend a trillion dollars to realize. No one will ever be happy with any of the current proposals, and it is foolish just to pass a bill just because the President wants us to.

Americas: Venezuela's Hugo Chavez was all bluster last weekend, flashing his missiles, hurling insults and spoiling for a fight with Colombia. The big danger here isn't Chavez, but growing White House indifference to an ally. This fall, when U.S. officials agreed to expanded military-base access in Colombia to fight drug trafficking and terrorism, it never occurred to them how much Chavez would use the arrangement as a pretext for aggression. "They are preparing a war against us," Chavez said Monday. So from Russia, he said, "thousands of missiles are arriving," along with T-72 military tanks "to strengthen our armored divisions."...

Dyron HartA young African-American man from Mississippi who admitted in August to sending death threats over Facebook while posing as a white supremacist received three years of probation from a federal court judge in New Orleans on Wednesday.

Here’s how: The bills require a federal declaration of a “climate emergency” if world greenhouse gas levels reach 450 parts per million. Guess what? The Pacific Northwest National Lab says it is a virtual certainty that level will be reached within a few months. The bill then requires the president to “direct all Federal agencies to use existing statutory authority to take appropriate actions...to address shortfalls" in achieving needed greenhouse gas reductions. The Examiner's David Freddoso reports that Sen. David Vitter, R-LA, is holding a news conference later today concerning this provision. Vitter wonders if companies that support cap-and-trade in...

Tyranny: In his latest absurdity, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is dictating three-minute showers and no singing. Claiming it's to save water, his act is nothing but a "green" fig leaf to cover his socialist mismanagement. 'Some people sing in the shower, in the shower half an hour," Chavez ranted on his Sunday TV show "Alo Presidente." "No, kids. Three minutes is more than enough. I've counted, three minutes and I don't stink." His words echo those of environmental extremists, blaming shopping malls, El Nino, tourists and sabotage. But the water and electricity shortages are his own doing, and the scope of...

Obama declares swine flu emergency 9 mins ago WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama has declared swine flu a "national emergency," the White House said Saturday, as the United States reels from millions of cases of infection and over 1,000 deaths.

The First Lady cited a new study from the Department of Health and Human Services -- which just happened to come out today -- citing breast cancer patients with insurance who had to pay an average of $6,200 in out-of-pocket costs each year. "This is with insurance," Mrs. Obama said. "These are the people who are blessed." The situation is, of course, far worse for those without insurance, Mrs. Obama said. But the insurance companies make life miserable even for those with coverage. "And then there are those annual lifetime caps that insurance companies set," Mrs. Obama said, with "one...

CHRIS MATTHEWS: You guys see Live and Let Die, the great Bond film with Yaphet Kotto as the bad guy, Mr. Big? In the end they jam a big CO2 pellet in his face and he blew up. I have to tell you, Rush Limbaugh is looking more and more like Mr. Big, and at some point somebodys going to jam a CO2 pellet into his head and hes going to explode like a giant blimp. That day may come. Not yet. But well be there to watch. I think hes Mr. Big, I think Yaphet Kotto. Are you...

Kim Clijsters Advances to Finals Over Serena Williams Williams looks a little somber as she begins her serve, then slaps a backhand into the net. Then she hits an ace. Balance returning. She’s got to keep the ball in play here and doesn’t, hitting another backhand into the net. Clijsters is two points from the match and the finals. She’s got to keep that out of her mind. Williams goes up the T but misses, then foot faults. Scolding the lineswoman may help her get back her strength, but she’s down match point. Boos may also drive her back into...

Democrats beat Republicans soundly in 2008. But they're losing the fight with their current opponent - conservatives on the Internet, radio, and television. It was the wrong battle for President Obama and his party to pick in the first place, but the policy decisions and mistakes made since the Democratic takeover have shifted the battle to even less favorable terrain. Worse still, the fight is only just beginning. The strategy early on in the administration was to mock talkers like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. Remember the weeks of discussion over whether Limbaugh was the head of the GOP? That...

More ...

Michael Vic has been signed by the Philadelphia Eagles.

The jury went out with instructions from Judge Hans Liljeberg on Monday at 11:20 a.m. and returned with a verdict more than 24 hours later after spending Monday night sequestered in a motel. Miller, 38, was accused of killing Steve Thomas, 16, inside the now-closed Platinum Club in Harvey early on the morning of Jan. 12, 2002. ...Ten of 12 votes are required for a second-degree murder conviction. "...The court finds that this is indeed a legal verdict," he said... His sister, Germany Miller, was screaming outside the parish courthouse in Gretna after the verdict came down, yelling that Jefferson...

Read and watch the SEIU version of recent events: http://www.seiu.org/2009/08/stop-the-violence-at-health-care-town-halls.php

I heard this from a caller on a local radio station. Apologies to all if it's already been suggested. To me, the idea is brilliant in its simplicity! Simply forward ALL of your junk/spam email to flag@whitehouse.gov

Before I start getting inundated with lib pushback that the right wingers are the violent ones, let me remind you all of two things that have come from this modern era leftist movement in America. Back during the campaign, Obama encouraged his supporters to be very much in the face of those who worked against him: "I want you to argue with them and get in their face..." Now, Obama is telling his drones that it is time to "get fired up again." But there is another rule issued down from on high. This time, you are not only to...

On Aug. 5, the day of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's inauguration as president, Tehran officials said they could not confirm or deny Iran was holding three American journalists detained on July 31 while crossing from Iraq into Iran on the Kurdistan border. According to DEBKAfile's Iranian sources, Tehran is preparing to claim the three captives, Jewish Americans, are Israeli spies, arousing fears in Washington and Tehran that the newly elected president plans to use his captives as a stick to humiliate the Obama administration and force an apology for the way it treated him. Ahmadinejad is furious over the White House's refusal...

There's Michael Vick, former starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, cruel torturer of helpless animals, and sometime promoter of dogfights. Vick personifies the modern comeback story in sports. His horrific acts of barbaric cruelty visited upon dogs in his kennel, as well as his part ownership of a statewide ring of dogfighting venues, led to his conviction in 2007 on several counts of participating in illegal dogfighting activities and supplying money for the gambling operation. He was sentenced to 23 months and was released in May of this year. After his arrest, Vick held what has become the obligatory mea...