Free Republic

Despite the awful outcome of the election we are all still Americans and should be proud of that fact so before you go to bed tonight I want you to sing "I'm proud to be an American" loud and proud.

Posted on May. 21, 2008 By Robert BryceLet’s Sue OPEC! That’ll Teach ‘Em! When it comes to energy policy, Congress goes from dumb to dumber. The latest example: a bill passed by the House of Representatives on May 20 that will allow the U.S. government to sue OPEC for conspiring to raise prices. There are several reasons why the bill, which passed by a margin of 324 to 84, makes no sense. I’ll focus on two: reciprocity and hypocrisy. First, reciprocity. If the U.S. can demand that foreign oil producers increase their output, what’s to stop them from demanding that...

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council expressed "grave concern" Friday at reports of arms smuggling to Lebanon, but dropped a direct call to Syria and Iran to enforce a U.N. arms embargo. Instead, the presidential statement agreed by all 15 members and read at an open council meeting underscored the obligation of all countries, "in particular in the region," to ensure that the arms embargo is not violated. The council also expressed concern at allegations that Lebanese and other groups and militias are rearming, and voiced "deep concern" about recent statements by Hezbollah "that it retains the military capacity...

A middle school teacher in Prescott, Wis. has been fired and the Pierce County Sheriff is investigating claims she had sex with a 13-year old student. "It's just shocking to hit Prescott like this," said Tom Riley a Prescott resident. The 38-year old woman was a substitute at Prescott Middle School. The student's father says he found the two having a middle of the night rendezvous together at the teacher's home after the boy stole his mother's car. Sources said the woman's husband, and 13-year-old daughter were home at the time. The father filed a restraining order which claims the...

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...

extended waranties illustration Illustration by Mick Wiggins Two possible exceptions/ What breaks down and when/ Stingy warranties/ If you must buy an extended warranty /Share your story This holiday season, shoppers are expected to spend a whopping $1.6 billion on extended warranties for laptops, flat-screen TVs, other electronics, and appliances. And almost all of it will be money down the drain. Retailers are pushing hard to get you to buy extended warranties, or service plans, because they're cash cows. Stores keep 50 percent or more of what they charge for warranties. That's more than they can make selling actual products....

Note that this came during a time when the tide was turning against the South. Note how the Southern soldier stands upright, with a broken sword underfoot, while the Northern Soldier is dejected and "broken"... (Where have we heard that before?) Note the phrase, "useless war." Should we have listened to the defeatists back then, and have allowed the odious practice of slavery to go on? Should we listen to the defeatists now, and allow Islamo-fascism to rule the day?

Writing the history of our time in song. Two men who greatly damaged our national defense are standing near some bushes. MIDI - BLACK AND WHITE There's some who say Bill Clinton's worse While others have claimed that Carter's cursed Well, we all know how bad they were It's difficult for all to concur...for all to concur Each one had sucked in his own way But neither will leave the stage today...stage today One's known for rape, that's clear to most He dropped his pants from coast to coast The other knew not what to do With hostages held, he...

The White House defended a United Nations measure meant to halt the 26-day battle between Israel and Hezbollah, despite criticism by Lebanese officials that the proposal was too favorable to Israel and wouldn't ensure an end to the fighting. Debate over the measure came as the fighting between the two sides intensified, further highlighting how difficult the diplomatic path will be. Hezbollah fired its most lethal rocket barrage so far into Israel, killing at least 15 people. See continuing coverage of developments in the Middle East conflict, including a news tracker with the latest updates on the crisis, an interactive...

Head of UN relief team in Gaza warns of humanitarian crisis if IDF enters Gaza; estimates are that 25,000 Gazans will flee their homes In parallel to international condemnation of Israel for the Israel Defense Forces operations in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations on Sunday warned of a humanitarian crisis if the go-ahead for a ground incursion is given. The world body said some 25,000 Gazans will be forced to leave their homes in the north of the strip if the army widens its offensive to include residential areas used by gunmen as grounds to fire Qassams into Israel....

I have seen the light! I am reborn! I realize now that I have been a RINO, a wimp, a Republican and not a True Conservative. I had been laboring under the impression that since it has taken 60+ years of liberal small steps to get to the point we are at now, it would take decades of conservative small steps to get back to a more conseravative view of government. I was wrong. We can do it now, and all at once. You see, when we got 2 new Justices on the Supreme Court, I thought that was good....

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - A U.S. House committee on Wednesday approved a bill aimed at stamping out the $12 billion Internet gambling industry by stopping businesses from accepting credit cards and other forms of payment. The bill, cleared by voice vote in the House Financial Services Committee, would prohibit a gambling business from accepting credit cards, checks, wire transfers and electronic funds transfers in illegal gambling transactions. Unlawful gambling, under the legislation, would include placing bets on online poker sites, for example, and any other online wager made or received in a place where such a bet is illegal...

Best-selling author and Muslim dissident Ibn Warraq argues that freedom of expression is our western heritage and we must defend it against attacks from totalitarian societies. If the west does not stand in solidarity with the Danish, he argues, then the Islamization of Europe will have begun in earnest. The great British philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote in On Liberty, "Strange it is, that men should admit the validity of the arguments for free discussion, but object to their being 'pushed to an extreme'; not seeing that unless the reasons are good for an extreme case, they are not good...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Tens of thousands of angry Muslims marched through Palestinian cities, burning the Danish flag and calling for vengeance Friday against European countries where caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad were published. In Washington, the State Department criticized the drawings, calling them "offensive to the beliefs of Muslims." While recognizing the importance of freedom of the press and expression, State Department press officer Janelle Hironimus said these rights must be coupled with press responsibility. "Inciting religious or ethnic hatred in this manner is not acceptable," Hironimus said. "We call for tolerance and respect for all communities and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington on Friday condemned caricatures in European newspapers of Islam's Prophet Mohammad, siding with Muslims who are outraged that the publications put press freedom over respect for religion. "These cartoons are indeed offensive to the belief of Muslims," State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said in answer to a question. "We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable."

Some people watch the Super Bowl just for the commmercials. Are Stargate fans in for a treat this year! Former Stargate SG-1 leading man Richard Dean Anderson ("Jack O'Neill") is jumpstarting the rest of his career with a new commercial for MasterCard. At the end of December he shot the commercial for their "Priceless" campaign, which is now set to air during Super Bowl XL on Sunday, February 5. In the ad Anderson slides down a wire, drives a semi truck through a fence, and blows up a building -- then is found in a convenience store purchasing replacements for...

* The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone. * Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury. * Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better. * Coca-Cola was originally green. * It is impossible to lick your elbow. * The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...) The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38% * The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400 * The average number of people airborne...

Swedish girls design anti-rape belt A group of Swedish teenage girls has designed a belt that requires two hands to remove and which they hope will deter would-be rapists, one of the creators told AFP on Tuesday. "It's like a reverse chastity belt," one of the creators, 19-year-old Nadja Björk, told AFP, meaning that the wearer is in control, instead of being controlled. The military-style buckle has a latch that the wearer has to move through a labyrinth into the correct position in order to unlock the belt. "You need two hands to open it, so the rapist can't hold...

They have not reformed taxes. They have not reduced federal spending. They have not repaired Social Security. And they are starting to crawfish on the War on Terrror. We may soon lose control of Congress, and when we do, will we really care? Maybe we can get Ronnie Earle to indict a few more of the useless, worthless, and invertebrate members of the Republican Congressional leadership which has frittered away the historic opportunity to produce change afforded by the electoral victories of 2004 through lack of principle and sheer cowardice. What do we need democrats for, when we have the...

An author friend (former network newsie) is taking an in-depth look at the recently defunct News Troika. It will be a great "insiders" book. In less than a year, three of the most powerful men in America have left the public scene. Tom Brokaw has retired to the ranch, Peter Jennings is dead and Dan Rather is wiling away his days wrapped in self-pity, suspended in journalistic limbo. Rather is still employed by CBS, but he is regarded in the newsroom as a “Dead Man Walking.” Much is known about ther foundations of two of these men. Brokaw was pretty...

Will Somebody Say Thank You? Turn on TV, read the local newspaper or listen to your local radio station, and all you are going to hear, see and read are accounts of people knee-deep in playing the blame game. What you don't hear is anybody saying "thank you." From the safety of France, Pierce Brosnan took the time to tell the world: "This man called President Bush has a lot to answer for. I don't know if this man is really taking care of America. This government has been shameful." Instead of lifting a finger to help Katrina's victims, this...

Tomorrow is a great day for Fathers. We used to get ties, handmade ashtrays, fingerpainted pictures and all sorts of lovingly made cards from the kid(s). Here are the FoxNFriends playing with a Black and Decker Battery powered 25' tape measurebut who really NEEDS such a wonderful tool...?Page and Kirin seemed to really appreciate this measuring device. Image #1Image #2Image #3Image #4Happy Father's Day to all our Freeper Dads!G

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Can anyone explain what Kenneth B. Mehlman, Chairman of the REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE was doing in Rottach-Egern, Germany between May 5th and the 8th 2005 ? He was meeting with Richard Perl, James Wolfensohn, Paul Wolfowitz, Virginia Governor Mark Warner, William Luti, Richard Haass, Franco Bernabe, Ziad Abu-Amr, Henry Kissinger and David Rockefeller. What was going on ?

Radical animal-rights activists may be the last people you'd think would be planning school lessons for your children. Well, think again. Through its innocuous-sounding "educational" programming arm known as TeachKind, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has found a way to reach school children starting as young as kindergarten with its extremist agenda. The opportunity for PETA (search) to gets its message into the classroom has been paved, at least in part, by various laws on the books in at least 12 states mandating humane education in public schools — thus creating a demand for curricula centered on teaching...

According to MoveOn, apparently the GOP party platform is to end the right to privacy, pollute the air, put arsenic in the drinking water, reduce wages to pennies on the dollar and let employers do human experimentation. The also think we are trying to appoint judges who will rules that Social Security in unconstitutional. These are your modern Democrats. Totally disconnected with reality. ========================== We may only have eight days to stop right-wing Republicans from seizing absolute power to appoint far-right judges. We've created a powerful new ad, "Smashing the Courts," that exposes Republicans^? attempts to break the rules of...

Terri Schiavo is not the first innocent victim of murder sanctioned by judicial fiat, although the heroic efforts of her parents alerted the world about her heartbreaking death sentence. Almost four decades ago, the fallacious concept of "brain death" was introduced to pry open the legal doors to the killing of another group of unnoticed innocents — people who agree to donate their vital organs at death. People are encouraged to consent in writing to allow another person to benefit from their vital organs, such as the heart or liver, after they die. Potential donors overcome their discomfort about the...

Has anyone suggested a pre-emptive strike against anyone profiting from this human tragedy. The logical thing would be to boycott any bookstore that would carry a Michael Schiavo or Felos penned book and to let Barnes & Nobles, Waldensbooks, Borders, etc. know it BEFORE it is published!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been pointed out on another thread that the judge in Florida has ordered nothing by mouth for Terri Schiavo.First: Is this true?Second: If so, what is the authority for such an order? Removal of a feeding tube, I can understand, under certain circumstances. This may even be legal in Florida.But nothing by mouth? This is an order to kill her.Where does this power come from? Could he order her shot? Could he order a lethal injection?If not, is it possible that his order is facially illegal?

I just saw this on DUmmies, they're loving it. Show is on now. I've been turning him off since I saw how badly he wants Terri to die.

Virtual Electronic Banks The basic idea of a bank is to first accept deposits from customers and then use those deposits as a basis for extending credit. The catch is that, instead of actually giving away their customers deposits, banks merely duplicate the money and back the duplicate dollars with the original deposit dollars. My idea is to allow consumers to do the same thing on their own. Private individuals could open virtual electronic banks directly with the Fed. These virtual banks would be purely electronic and entirely managed by the Fed. Individuals would not have any access to or...

These days nothing the United Nations touches turns to gold. Even for specialized agencies that theoretically could do good work. When the SARS epidemic was hop scotching across the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) purported to be in the forefront of efforts to develop treatments and find a cure for the disease. But the WHO was reluctant to send staffers to Taiwan, hard-hit due to its extensive commercial and economic ties with China. For the WHO, politics was more important than health. A better name for the WHO might be the World Harm Organization. Taipei is not a member...

Has anyone else seen this website? These are some real winners here. http://www.forsakethetroops.info Quote of the Day: The fact that the photograph caused so much anger and drama (and apparently caused one marine mother to have a mental breakdown) means that we've served our purpose. Perhaps now, people are realizing that the US military is not all it's cracked up to be, and people don't like that vulnerability. Despite the best efforts of some whiny gun-happy rednecks, this picture does not violate the TOS/AUP of our hosting provider, and we therefore regretfully tell the fine rednecks at the concerned website...

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) - Sudan's foreign minister said Monday a U.N. report concluded that no genocide was committed in his country's Darfur region, where tens of thousands of civilians have died in a nearly two-year crisis. At U.N. headquarters in New York, diplomats confirmed that the report did not find that Sudan had committed genocide, but they said it was very critical of Sudanese government actions. The report was expected to be circulated in New York on Tuesday. The United States has accused Sudan's government of directing militia who attack civilians in what Washington has called a genocidal campaign in...

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has long been rumored as desperately seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2008. And while many political observers fully expect the power hungry former First Lady to hit the campaign trail within only a few months of being re-elected as a US Senator in 2006, US News & World report claims to have a confirmation of sorts. From USNews.Com's Washington Whispers: Hillary's in… You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends...

O.K. here we go with a "new" Congress and the first test for these self-serving twits will be to handle the Electoral Collage task. Can they do it?I personally have my doubts. There will be some that want to have a temper tantrum because they have lost more power this past election. Others will go with the plan of moving the Country forward.However I feel that once again we will see the standard of "Hey I got elected to Congress and now it is time to make a bunch of money to shove into my pocket and the hell with...

ADLAI STEVENSON once argued that a politician is a statesman who “approaches every question with an open mouth”. If the performance of Jan Egeland, of the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, is an indication, the same is true of those paid by the United Nations. A week ago, despite just one day having passed since the Asian tsunami, with the reported death toll one tenth of what it is now believed to be, and ignoring the fact that public holidays are never the easiest times to start organising an aid effort, Mr Egeland saw fit to dismiss...

At this time of the year, charities of every shape and size are hunting for the most generous donors. To find them, the Catalogue for Philanthropy has a counterintuitive suggestion: Look in the nation's poorest states. That's because the Catalogue's Generosity Index for 2004 shows that giving as a percentage of income is highest in states where folks have the least to give. Mississippi - the nation's poorest in terms of average household income - ranks No. 1 in generosity, followed by Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. By contrast, residents of the nation's richest states appear downright Scrooge-like. Connecticut claims the...

Plop in the middle of the entangled, entangling, impossible mess of the United Nations, where Kofi Annan ego attempts achingly to overswell diurnal scandals (this morning's -- "Swiss Firm Suspected of Fraud/Paid U.N. Chief's Son $50,000"), enters John C. Danforth. This resolute human being, who only four months ago became U.S ambassador to the United Nations, announced that he was quitting. Why? And why at this time? Because, he said, he wants to be home. He needs to spend more time with his wife, Sally. "Forty-seven years ago," Mr. Danforth wrote to the president, "I married the girl of my...

Uri Avnery was the first Israeli to meet with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, and one of the last. While many Israelis blamed Arafat for the failure of the Oslo Accords and for leading the reign of terror which replaced it, Avnery said he never lost his faith in the Palestinian leader. "Arafat was not only a great national leader, but he was a partner with whom we could have made peace and should have made peace," said the 81-year-old long-time activist and former journalist. "I was the first Israeli who ever spoke with Yasser Arafat; it was unusual. My...

Michael Moore has broken his post-election silence in two messages posted on his website. The first, posted Thursday, listed his “first thoughts after the election,” which turned out to be the names of all who died on September 11. He ended the post by asking them to “forgive us.” A second message was posted today entitled “17 Reasons Not to Slit Your Wrists,” in which he tries, to no avail, to put a positive spin on the election results for liberals around the country. The “Reasons” include that George W. Bush cannot run again, that he had a “narrow” victory...

All of the polls are starting to show Bush as being ahead. Do not let them fool you into thinking that you could stay home and not vote because Bush is a shoe-in. That is what the media wants you to think so that you willl stay home

I am starting a thread on worthless, liberal local newspapers. Jump in with your favorite -- or least-favorite.

Sorry can't buy Fox's suggestion that Kerry pulled out a pen. Between Kerry's slight of hand trick and Lehrer's wink to Kerry after the debate. Somethings fishy.

Rush just said there is news that the memo's may have been transcribed?

What was the first thing John F. Kerry [related, bio] did after he was discharged from active Navy duty in that ``barbaric war''? The self-described war criminal filed to get his $300 Vietnam war bonus from the commonwealth of Massachusetts. I guess Kerry wanted to grab the dough before he repressed that ``filthy obscene memory'' of a war he regarded with a ``very, very deep sense of revulsion'' and that he hoped, nay, prayed, ``a merciful God will wipe away (from) our memories.'' But not, apparently, until the check from the state cleared. He was discharged on Oct. 13, 1969....

I know that looking on Usenet for good information and commentary is about as prudent as getting stock tips from a local astrologer. However, once in a while it is good to sneak a peek: it is like descending into the basement of an old house and shining a light to see what has been festering or slithering in the dark. On my last expedition, I found a particularly dire American liberal piece, which I hadn’t seen before; I presume it has made the rounds several times. It described the day in the life of an individual named Joe, and...

Joe Scarborough is on Imus right now. He said that Kerry's record is irrelevant because Kerry represented Massachusetts and that's why he took the out of the mainstream stances he took. Total bull.