Free Republic

WASHINGTON — The Associated Press reports today that President Barack Obama will make an appearance on the Food Network show “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” and four other network shows in order to carry his message on healthcare reform to all those who need to cook more but eat less.... Besides “Throwdown,” the president will appear on “Barefoot Contessa,” “Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin,” “Giada at Home” and “Rachael Ray.” He personally decided not to go on “Paula’s Home Cooking,” because according to White House sources, the Georgia-based Paula Deen’s cooking was not healthy enough, and her demographic skewed to the...

Geneva, Switzerland - Dr. Hans Furter has been tracking tales of genocide for over 4 decades. From the Pol Pot’s killing fields of Cambodia to Slobodan Milosevic’s campaign of ethnic cleansing in the former Yugolsav Republic, Dr. Furter says he had thought he had seen it all before but now he says evidence is surfacing that may implicate the United States and President Barack Obama in tale of mass killings that, if proven true, would rival the Stalinist purges.

I don't enjoy Sean's radio show. It's too predictable, and he plays the nice guy too much. Any thoughts?

The Senate Republican campaign operation is citing a Tuesday exchange between California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and U.S. Army Gen. Michael Walsh in its latest fund-raising pitch to supporters. During a hearing before the Environment and Public Works Committee, Walsh referred to Boxer as “ma’am,” a moniker the chairwoman did not appreciate. “Do me a favor, can you say ’senator’ instead of ‘ma’am’?” Boxer said, interrupting the Army general. “It’s just a thing. I worked so hard to get that title, so I’d appreciate it. Thank you.” Smith responded: “Yes, senator.” In an email pitch to supporters, National Republican Senatorial...

The soaring costs of a college degree are prompting colleges to consider a three-year degree program. Britain has long granted a degree for three years of college. I would like to suggest a one-year degree program. And I don’t mean an associate’s degree. Here are some hard facts most colleges will never tell you and most parents could not tolerate hearing. The general requirements of the first two years at most colleges are what high school should have been. That is what junior should have learned had he not been busy getting high, getting drunk, and being socially promoted. Better...

This is a rare footage of a redheaded woodpecker and it’s LOL laughter!

Spokane, WA—What was once a scenic, peaceful drive along I-90 into Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, has now turned into a dangerous highway where state troopers use Gestapo-like tactics to enforce environmental laws. Its victims have been threatened, coerced, and now tasered.

Microsoft requested on Tuesday some $20 billion in bailout funds from the federal government, claiming that as the company controlling an overwhelming share of the OS market, it is too big to fail. The company said low adoption rates for Windows Vista, the ensuing ad campaign trying to convince people that they really do like Vista, and the increased need for development resources to rush Windows 7 to market to make people forget about Vista have necessitated the bailout. "We want to make it absolutely clear that this is not a crisis of mismanagement," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in...

In a move sure to spark outrage, the White House announced today that GM and Chrysler must cease participation in NASCAR at the end of the 2009 season if they hope to receive any additional financial aid from the government. Companies around the globe—Honda and Audi, to name two—have drawn down racing operations, and NASCAR itself has already felt the pinch in the form of reduced team spending. A complete withdrawal from America’s premier racing series is expected to save more than $250 million between GM and Chrysler, a substantial amount considering the drastic measures being implemented elsewhere.

NEW YORK -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York bought $6 billion in Treasurys on Wednesday, continuing its latest attempt to improve conditions in private credit markets and spur lending.

Senators who served with Alaska Republican Ted Stevens, as well as the man who beat him last November, voiced relief at the Justice Department’s decision to throw out the case against him. Sen. Lisa Murkowski , R-Alaska, said she was pleased the charges against her former colleague would be dropped, “but I am deeply disturbed that the government can ruin a man’s career and then say ‘never mind.’ There is nothing that will ever compensate for the loss of his reputation or leadership to the State of Alaska.” Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska, the Democrat who narrowly defeated Stevens last...

The Justice Department, in the wake of its humiliating decision to drop the corruption conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), has agreed to throw out the results of the 2008 Senate race, in which Stevens was narrowly defeated by Democrat Mark Begich. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator in history, was thought to be favored to win re-election last year against Begich, the mayor of Anchorage, until the 85-year-old Stevens was indicted for lying on Senate financial disclosure forms about renovations done to his home by a contractor friend. He was later convicted of seven felony counts. But the decision...

Pittsburgh, PA. The Super Bowl XLIII Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, the only team to win six titles, will soon be losing half of those trophies. After a meeting between NFL Commissioner Rodger Gadel and President Barack Obama, Obama decided to redistribute half of their Steelers Super Bowl victories and trophies to less fortunate teams in the league. “We live everyday in the country that invented the Super Bowl.” said Obama “We are not about to lose this Great American tradition in the wake of these difficult times.” Obama’s plan calls for the Steelers, who are a successful NFL team, to give...

Just received this from Michael Steele in the email: "As one of my first official acts as Chairman, I've commissioned a survey of Republican activists in EVERY state. I want to hear from each of you to understand your thoughts and opinions about our Party and how we can once again be the party of ideas. That's why I'm asking you to do two very important things for me: 1) Please take a moment right now to fill out online the State of the Republican Party Survey for the RNC. I want you to be honest and candid in your...

In his history-making appearance on the Tonight Show, President Barack Obama stunned the nation with his offhand crack “I bowl like one of those retards in the Special Olympics.” During last Fall’s presidential race, Obama inspired titters by scoring a 37 in a bowling match in Pennsylvania. He says, though, that he’s been practicing in the White House alley and has recently scored as high as 129 in a single game. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs asked that Americans “show some class by not mocking the President’s lack of skills or his choice of words in describing them. The President has...

PART I: DOMESTIC & SOCIAL ISSUES 1. A recent national poll reported that nearly 25% of Americans want the government to pass more socialism. Do you agree or disagree? • Agree • Disagree • Undecided 2. Which do you believe creates more jobs for the American economy: Government Programs and Spending or the American Free Enterprise System? • Government Programs & Spending • American Free Enterprise System 3. The Obama Administration has proposed spending as much as $1.5 trillion to bail out the banking industry. Do you agree or disagree with this proposal? • Agree • Disagree • Undecided 4....

Check this out.

Thanks for viewing! A short inspiring, beautiful, scenic, flowered event with a singing tip on how to be happy and healthy!

NEW YORK (CAP) - In a nod to pilot Chesley B. (Sully) Sullenberger, Burger King this week will introduce a limited edition Sullen Burger, which will be distributed with a 5-inch-tall action figure of the Hudson River hero. "We wanted to salute a true American hero, and what better way to do it than through dedicating a burger in his name," said Burger King spokesman Arthur Shankman. "And we called it the Sullen Burger, because his name is Sullenberger, which sounds the same." The burger, explained Shankman, is actually a chicken patty ground together with tomatoes and onions and deep...

President-Elect Barack Obama says his patience with the media is “running thin.” “Everywhere I go, they’re there,” Obama complained. “I’m barraged with questions. My every movement is photographed and analyzed. I can’t seem to get a moment’s peace.” Obama says he isn’t buying the argument that this is par-for-the-course if you’re President of the United States. “I didn’t mind it so much during the campaign,” Obama admitted. “I needed the exposure then. But enough’s enough. From now on, information will be given out on a need-to-know basis. If I think there’s something that some people need to know I’ll issue...

(2009-01-06) — Concerns about the readiness of President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for director of Central Intelligence were put to rest today when former President Bill Clinton called his old Chief of Staff Leon Panetta “the perfect pick to head the CIA.” Mr. Panetta has no previous experience in the intelligence community and served 16 years as a U.S. Congressman, raising questions at CIA headquarters in Langley, VA, about his ability to guard the nation’s secrets. However, President Clinton, called him “a trustworthy public servant who knows how to keep his mouth shut.” “Leon was by my side for two and...

In an interview today on Meet The Press, Joe Biden didn't say that. But you thought he did, didn't you? That's because Joe Biden is capable of saying anything anytime. The fact is, if you've ever talked to anyone who was on the verge of getting kicked out of a bar, you've met Joe Biden. Maybe the most responsible thing Team Obama has done is to keep this boob under wraps. Here's a few of my favorite Biden quotes from campaign 2008. Imagine what's out there over 36 years...

Our new neighbor from San Francisco is looking for a good home for their dog and I'd like to keep it from going to a shelter (especially an Animal Control situation). He said he's really loveable and friendly with kids and cats, but his wife said the dog makes her nervous when it stares at her and she wants it out of the house.

Hunting Humor!

Pointing out that “the president is, after all, a Black man, we deem it appropriate for the media to adjust the composition of its workforce.” Failure to do so would reputedly force the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to boycott the networks. NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said, “At a time when the country is excited about the election of the first African-American president in U.S. history, it is unthinkable that minorities would be so grossly under-represented on broadcast television.” Jealous suggested that the networks’ ratio of Blacks to other racial groups “ought to...

Breaking News! (Wasilla, Alaska) Republican Gov. Sarah Palin is being named as a possible conspirator in a weapons theft case reportedly occurring several years ago....

The seemingly miraculous rise of Barack Obama to the US presidency has inspired a widespread religious-like devotion. A recent Reuters survey gleaned some revealing insights into the thinking of many Americans. “Look, he was born in a stable,” claimed Ivy Green, a respondent from Fresno, California. “And Kenya’s not that far from Bethlehem. Who else do we know of that started so low yet rose so high?” “Jesus came to Jerusalem riding an ass,” observed Mark Gulliver, a respondent from Ames, Iowa. “Well, the ass is the symbol of the Democratic Party. Since Barack rode the Democratic Party to Washington,...

Outdated rock ‘n roll singer Meatloaf exploded Tuesday after learning he could get better gas mileage by losing weight. “You’re kidding me?” he said when learning of a University of Illinois study that concluded America will be out of fuel by the end of 2020 if fat people don’t exercise, lose weight, and become generally miserable because they’re no longer fat and content. [Full disclosure: Your stupid narrator is fat and content.] “Hell, if I had known I could burn more fossil fuels by eating another hamburger a day, I would have done it earlier. But it’s never too late...

In yet another sign of the impending doom the incoming Obama administration faces, President-elect Barack Obama and his family will be homeless for two weeks in January. The Obamas had asked White House officials if they could be squatters in the Blair House about two weeks before the traditional date so their two daughters could attend their new school when classes resume Jan. 5. [No president-elect has ever moved into the White House with children before, you see.] Obama aides say the White House can’t meet the request because the current administration still has plans for the historic government home...

The rapidity with which the forthcoming Obama Administration is moving to stake the claim of “gayest ever” has pleased leading homosexual advocacy organizations. “It’s not just ‘lip service,’” boasted Rod Steward, of the “Emerging LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender/transsexual) Majority.” “It’s full, to-the-hilt backing.” Steward said he was most optimistic about homosexuals serving openly in the military. “Don’t ask, don’t tell added an aura of uncertainty in the minds of America’s enemies,” Steward opined. “Openly gay troops tap into a primal fear that could be a very potent weapon against Islamic fundamentalists. Just as the outnumbered ancient Greeks were...

MUMBAI - Ajmal Amir Kasab, the sole surviving member of the 10-man team of Pakistani gunmen that left hundreds dead or wounded after a bloody three day rampage in Mumbai, today blamed the mayhem on an "email mixup" that left him and his colleagues unaware that Barack Obama had won election as President of the United States. "What? Oh bloody hell, now you tell me," said Kasab, as he was led away in handcuffs by Indian security forces. Kasab, 21, apologized to Indian President Pratibha Patil, explaining that no one in his group had known about the recent U.S. election...

With the deluge of threads being posted, and slated to increase greatly as the election heats up, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE .. especially if it's a news/breaking thread ... add the appropriate keywords to your posting form. So, if someone's looking for the latest string of "Obama" or "Sarah Palin" articles, let's say, they just click on that particular keyword at the top of the page, and those articles containing the keyword will come up chronologically. Thank you! Popular keyword options at the top of the main page: ~~~~ *110th *2008 *2008polls *ayers *bailout *barackobama *biden *bo *democrat *democrats *demron *economy...

It's been at least 30 seconds since the last vanity and I was starting to go through VANITY withdrawal symptoms so I decided to take matters into my own hands... I mostly experience twitching and the shakes but now its diarrhea too. Please keep these senseless vanities coming... /s

I see it so often that someone logs onto a thread and proclaims it to be a waste of time that it begs the question: Why log onto the thread at all? Isn't it by definition a waste of time? We saw that a lot on Duncan Hunter threads, now on the certifigate threads. I'm sure there are some religion threads that would qualify. So I offer this thread where Freepers can log on and let other freepers which ones they consider to be a waste of time. Maybe at some point in time we'll have the capability to filter...

Is prayer to saints / Mary Biblical?" The issue of Catholics praying to saints is one that is full of confusion. It is the official position of the Roman Catholic Church that Catholics do not pray TO saints or Mary, but rather that Catholics can ask saints or Mary to pray FOR them. The official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that asking saints for their prayers is no different than asking someone here on earth to pray for you. However, the practice of many Catholics diverges from official Roman Catholic teaching. Many Catholics do in fact pray directly...

SEXY new all-female professional football teams are threatening to steal the spotlight from their NFL counterparts. The hugely popular half-time Lingerie Bowl – which aired during the Superbowl – has created its own women’s league with the stunners taking to the field in saucy underwear as well as pads and helmets. Launching in 2009, the Lingerie Football League (LFL) will comprise 10 franchise teams from Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix, Seattle, San Diego, Chicago, Miami, Tampa, Atlanta and New England. And we're sure you won't mind seeing a few of these lovely ladies touch down.

The Obama campaign announced that from now on all media questions must be submitted in writing, in advance. “Too many trick questions are being asked,” said Harvey Sain, deputy media specialist for the Obama campaign. “The Senator’s message is getting lost in the media’s demand for answers to trivial matters. Iraq, Iran, drilling, taxes…these petty concerns should not be allowed to distract voters from our promise of hope and change.” Sain also questioned the motives of reporters asking such questions. “Are they shills for McCain?” Sain asked. “Or are they closet racists? Either way, we’re putting a stop to it....

Republican Sen. John McCain, engaged in increasingly sharp attacks on rival Barack Obama, pledged that if elected president, he would work closely with Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, praising her as an effective leader and an "inspiration to millions of Americans." "I respect Speaker Pelosi. I think she's one of the great American success stories," McCain said during an interview with The Chronicle prior to a fundraiser at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. "We talk about (New York Sen.) Hillary Clinton and her inspiration to millions of Americans. Speaker Pelosi has been an inspiration as well" in a role...

California Democratic Representative Anna Eshoo has introduced legislation to regulate the loudness of TV commercials. The bill, which I promise you is real, is called the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, or CALM. Read more about it here. This is the kind of thing where you expect Ashton Kutcher to run onto the house floor in his mesh trucker hat, jumping around and wildly hugging all of the representatives who have been sitting there with their mouths agape since Eshoo introduced this bill and declaring into the CSPAN cameras that we have all been Punk’d.

Presidential contender Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who has faced widespread criticism of his characterization of rural Americans as bitter and racist, says the intensity of the reaction “proves the validity of what I said. The animosity shown toward the first credible Black man to run for president is evidence enough that racism is still the mainstream of rural America.” “I don’t totally blame them for being bitter,” Obama went on. “I’m articulate, clean and charismatic—everything that they’re not. And I’m a millionaire, to boot. It’s got to be hard on these rednecks to see a Black man outshine them by...

Obama: Jimmy Carter under consideration for my Secretary of State (Chicago, Ill) 4/19/08 – In a statement released late Friday, the campaign of Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill) had this to say regarding potential candidates for the Office of Secretary of State: “In beginning the review process for potential administration appointments, one name stands out among the rest for the critical position of Secretary of State. That name is Jimmy Carter. At 83 years old, he has the knowledge, experience, charisma, character and fortitude required to represent the United States to the world, inclusive of our allies and our enemies. His...

Asian women, fancy coffee, farmers markets, dinner parties and gay friends — these are just a sampling of life's pleasures — if you're white. Excuse me? That's according to Christian Lander, the (white) wit behind the Web sensation Stuff White People Like blog, an irreverent daily missive on the passions of posh urbanites of the Caucasian persuasion. It's the latest in a string of racially charged blogs (first came theassimilatednegro.com, then angryasian.com) that act as a virtual shrink's sofa for those tackling the tricky topics of race and class. Lander is not the only one who uses the Web site...

Dialogue effort is largest of its kind By Sandi Dolbee UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER December 16, 2007 SAN DIEGO – In what is being described as the first such effort of its kind, two major Jewish and Muslim groups will launch “serious education programs” in the United States and Canada aimed at bridging a divide formed from centuries of animosity over land, politics and religion. “When we are killing each other in the name of God, sensible religious people have an obligation to do something about it,” Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said yesterday to about...

(Kyodo)—Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura indicated Tuesday that a meeting of chief delegates to six-nation talks on denuclearizing North Korea, which Japan, China, South Korea and others had initially hoped would begin on Thursday, will now likely be delayed. "At first we wanted to have it from Dec. 6-8 and we discussed it at the trilateral (foreign ministerial) meeting between Japan, China and South Korea in Singapore recently," Komura told reporters. "But right now, a difficult situation has developed and I have been told coordination is still under way." He did not elaborate on what the difficulties were. Under an...

Redone short funny video, with a different twist. We all need a little laughter, now and then. Revski o7jimmy

By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer LONDON - President Bush is sending his national security adviser to the Middle East next week to keep up pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to reach agreement on launching formal peace talks, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. The announcement came as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she was encouraged by what she had heard from the two sides during four days of intense talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials and civic and business leaders in Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank. But Rice also acknowledged tensions between the two...

...The slump in Las Vegas could last until 2010, even if gamblers and vacationers continue to fuel the city economy, said Patrick Newport, chief U.S. economist at Global Insight, based in Lexington, Massachusetts. Prices have already dropped 5 percent from their peak last year and may fall another 15 percent in the next three years, he said...

Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #7 – Baltimore, Maryland 09/27/07 - Official Discussion Thread All-American Presidential Forum on PBS Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland September 27, 2007, 9:00 pm-10:30 pm ET (check your local PBS listings) Moderated by Tavis Smiley. Candidates participating: Sam Brownback Mike Huckabee Duncan Hunter Alan Keyes Ron Paul Tom Tancredo Journalists involved... Ray Suarez is a Washington-based Senior Correspondent who joined The NewsHour in October 1999. Suarez has thirty years of varied experience in the news business. Cynthia Tucker is the editorial page editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist whose work appears in...

How heavy is information? Most of us know that computers represent all types of information—e-mails, documents, video clips, Web pages, everything—as streams of binary digits, 1s and 0s. These digits are mathematical entities, but they are also tangible ones: They are embodied and manipulated as voltages in electronic circuits. Therefore, every bit of data must have some mass, albeit minuscule. This prompted DISCOVER to ask the question: How much would all the data sent through the Internet on an average day weigh? In searching for an answer, we scanned technical databases, tore through reference books, Googled like crazy, and checked...