Free Republic

Here's a fun exercise for conservatives: Spend some time just listening to your liberal friends. Don't bother to say anything at all. You'll be amazed. I've certainly been wowed every time I've tried it. Libs believe the darndest things. They're not as cute as the things kids come out with, but having millions of adults who are stuck in false beliefs puts our society at a lot greater risk. Among the pearls of political wisdom I picked up from ordinary, friendly, prosperous and apparently intelligent lib friends were the following: 1. Christians. Believing Christians are scary folks, sort of proto-fascists,...

The first organized demonstration against the state's recently passed constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil unions ended at the Dane County Clerk's Office, where a posted sign indicated that marriage licenses are issued Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. The rumor was that a same-sex couple or two would challenge the state prohibition by trying to obtain a marriage license, but nothing was attempted after the protesters, about 100 strong, learned that Clerk Bob Ohlsen was not in the office. It's unlikely they would have gotten far, in any case. As the clerk behind the glass...

Julia Field covered her auburn curls with a blazing pink cowboy hat and listened to her stomach growl. A year ago, the stay-at-home mom from Oak Park would never have imagined herself fasting to protest war. Until then, she had volunteered at her son's elementary school and belonged to the local PTA. Now, armed with a bright pink lawn chair and a motivating dose of outrage, Field has joined a national fast that began July 4 in Washington and has become--from 4 to 8 p.m. for two weeks--a one-woman anti-war crusade. "It might be a little lonely today," Field said...

Less Than 24 Hours Until The Return to the Scene of the Crime Emily showed up to the concert in London sloppy drunk. She was so inebriated she couldn't speak, much less sing. Natalie and Martie, in a panic, yelled, "You're drunk again?" * This is what Emily dreamt last night. She confesses to having these types of anxiety dreams before a big show. Another common one for Emily is where she shows up for a show and, unbeknownst to her, discovers that Natalie and Martie have added choreographed dance steps. * You can't really blame Emily for being anxious...

They may not be running for elected office, but the Dixie Chicks appear to be struggling to work out a kind of political map of their own, heading for concert arenas where ticket sales are brisker and the fans may be more forgiving. The pop-country trio — whose lead singer Natalie Maines set off a firestorm when she criticized President Bush during a 2003 concert in London — announced eight new concert dates in Canada and the Northeast for the first leg of their summer concert tour on Tuesday. At the same time, at least 12 U.S. sites, concentrated mostly...

US President George W. Bush has warned rising oil prices will mean a "tough summer" for US consumers as the high cost of gasoline (petrol) showed signs of becoming a big political issue. But even as more Americans expressed discontent over the price of filling up their gas tanks, Bush suggested there was little his government could do in the short term about the problem. "We're going to have a tough summer because people are beginning to drive now during tight supply," Bush said as he toured a California facility developing hydrogen-powered vehicles. "The American people have got to understand...

Pretty much sums up the entire mindset of the Democratic Party in 4 frames

Greenpeace ship damages coral reef Tuesday, November 1, 2005 Posted at 5:11 AM EST Manila — Environmental group Greenpeace said Tuesday its flagship Rainbow Warrior accidentally struck a coral reef in a central Philippines marine park while on a trip to expose the impact of climate change in Asia, and that it has agreed to compensate the park. The Greenpeace ship briefly ran aground Monday at the Tubbataha National Marine Park, a World Heritage Site in the Sulu Sea, 650 kilometres southeast of Manila, damaging a 96-square-metre area of the reef, a joint statement released by Greenpeace and the park...

HAVANA -- About 200 intellectuals, activists and artists from Latin America and elsewhere issued a letter Monday urging the top United Nations human rights watchdog to side with Cuba in an expected battle over the communist country's rights record. A U.S.-backed resolution to condemn the island's record is usually presented at every spring meeting in Geneva of the U.N. Human Rights Commission, which this year was to open Monday and run through April 22. No resolution targeting the island has emerged this year, but Cuba expects such a proposal will be presented and considered in mid-April. Last year's resolution passed...

Plantation, Florida: The Democrats unleashed their girl power in Florida on Saturday, deploying daughters of the presidential contender John Kerry and those of the former presidents John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton. Also in the charm brigade were the daughters of Senator Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards, and of the former vice-president Al Gore, the beaten Democratic candidate in 2000. "We're all going to take back our future," Vanessa Kerry said at a rally in Plantation, north of Miami, one of several the girls deployed in the pivotal state. "He needs your help," she said in reference to her...

Have any of you been over to the lib blogs recently? They're getting wound up of kerry's suckiness, so they are discussing rioting, if the election is close again. Check out any of the comments on http://atrios.blogspot.com for example. This is a funny piece about it: Liberals are Not Entitled to Their RageLiberals lunacy is matched only by their idiocy.

The writing's on the wall - and it's not very polite, reports Charlotte Edwardes in Chamonix. In this pretty ski resort that hugs the foot of Mont Blanc, an ugly Anglo-French conflict is brewing. Local residents are aggrieved at what they call l'invasion anglaise - an influx of Britons buying apartments, setting up businesses and acting as if they own the place - and they are fighting back. Until a few days days ago, the spray-painted insult "Putain les Anglais" (F--- the English) could be read on a wall. "English go home" is sprayed on car bonnets and walls of...

March 13, 2003 The French Chicks? By Hailie Brook POCATELLO - There will be 'wide open spaces' in radio play that were once filled by the tunes of the Dixie Chicks.An overwhelming listener response has prompted KZBQ to boycott the Chicks music until further notice.During a concert in England, the Chicks made the statement,  "Just to let you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas."The KZBQ Morning Show team wanted to know how listeners felt about the comment.  So team members Paul Anderson and Mike Sanders polled their audience to find out if they...