Free Republic

'Amateur photographer Martin Le-May, from Essex, has recorded the extraordinary image of a weasel riding on the back of a green woodpecker as it flies through the air. The photograph was taken at Hornchurch Country Park in east London on Monday afternoon. Speaking to BBC News, Mr Le-May said he had managed to capture the moment while he was out walking with his wife Ann.'

LONDON, March 3 A photographer in London captured a rare photo showing a small weasel appearing to ride on a woodpecker, but he said the mammal was actually attacking the bird. Martin Le-May of Essex said he and his wife, Ann, were walking Monday in Hornchurch Country Park when they came across the unusual sight. "I heard a distressed squawking noise and feared the worst," Le-May told the BBC. "I soon realized it was a woodpecker with some kind of small mammal on its back." Le-May said the woodpecker was in a struggle for its life with the unwanted passenger,...

"I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend to the death your right to say it." That maxim of Voltaire was among those most invoked by the marching millions in Sunday's mammoth "Je Suis Charlie" rally in Paris. This week, in the spirit of Voltaire, French authorities arrested and charged Cameroonian comedian Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala, and 54 others, with "hate speech." Yes, Monsieur Voltaire, there are limits to free speech in France. Dieudonne's crime? He tweeted, "I am Charlie Coulibaly," the last name of the killer of four innocent Jews in that kosher market. A...

Eric Holder Jr., the nation's first black U.S. attorney general, is preparing to announce his resignation Thursday after a tumultuous tenure marked by civil rights advances, national security threats, reforms to the criminal justice system and five and a half years of fights with Republicans in Congress. Two sources familiar with the decision tell NPR that Holder, 63, intends to leave the Justice Department as soon as his successor is confirmed, a process that could run through 2014 and even into next year. A former U.S. government official says Holder has been increasingly "adamant" about his desire to leave soon...

President Obama is scheduled to address the nation this evening to discuss destroying the terrorist army of ISIS. But before hitting the airwaves, he´s asking Democratic donors to "chip in $10 or more right now to help elect Democrats." He made the ask in an email to supporters of the Democratic party. "There are just 55 days left in this election, Daniel," writes Obama in the email. "That´s 55 days left for Democrats in tight races across the country to build the organization they need to win -- and if we don´t step up right now, it´s going to be...

Jordan’s King Abdullah II rejected on Sunday the notion that his country was an “alternative homeland” for Palestinian Arabs, the state news agency Petra reports. “Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine and nothing but that, not the in the past or the future,” King Abdullah was quoted as having said in a meeting with the Prime Minister, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the Lower House. “We know how this issue has been surfacing since 15 years, or even more, where things start in the spring by the same group, who tense the Jordanian society, and...

Dave Brat is challenging Rep. Eric Cantor in a Republican primary — and giving the House majority leader a verbal thrashing on immigration. “Cantor is following the agenda of the Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce — pursuing policies that are good for big business, but come at the exclusion of the American people,” said Brat, an economics professor at Randolph-Macon College. Brat’s upstart bid against the second highest-ranking House Republican may seem quixotic. But it’s part of a growing national movement to oust GOP leaders who fail conservative litmus tests.

New York Times columnist and Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman is questioning Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn’s claim that Obamacare caused him to lose his cancer specialist. “It’s a garbage story, it really is,” said Krugman in a back-and-forth with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on CNN after the State of the Union on Tuesday. Coburn, who announced earlier this month that he’ll resign from office at the end of the year as he battles his fourth bout with cancer, told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that his oncologist was no longer covered under his health care plan.

Senator John McCain now favors complete repeal of Obamacare, after months of rejecting it as “not rational” and a “false premise” by Senate Republicans. This flip-flop really set off Glenn Beck, who went into a lengthy diatribe Thursday against “the lousy senator from Arizona,” who he called either a “dirtbag weasel” or a “weasel dirtbag.” Beck relentlessly mocked the “mavericky maverick” for trashing people like Ted Cruz when they wanted complete repeal, only to turn around and embrace it when the political winds shifted. Beck asked, “He’s not a wacko bird saying we should repeal this thing, is he?” He...

'Seventy-five years after the Munich Agreement signed with Hitler, the name of Neville Chamberlain, British prime minister at the time, is still synonymous with weakness and appeasement. Is this fair, asks historian Robert Self.'

A Chicago lawyer is the key player behind the secret talks between the US and Iran. Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday. A close friend of Michelle Obama, Valerie Jarrett is assisting the US government communicate behind the scenes with the representatives of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Jarret, who was born in the Iranian city of Shiraz, is a senior advisor to US President Barack Obama. Last month, The New York Times reported that the US government is engaged in secret talks with Iran aimed at establishing a direct line of communication once the US presidential elections are over. The National...

(CNSNews.com) – House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would not say on Thursday whether he intends to permit or not permit funding for Obamacare in whatever legislation the House enacts to keep the government funded past Sept. 30. The federal fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 and begins on Oct. 1. The continuing resolution under which the federal government is currently being funded expires on Sept. 30. Any money spent after that date by the administration must first be approved in a law passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president. If the Republican majority House includes language...

Excerpt: "Now on Sunday night Romney was here in Palm Beach for a big fundraiser. Word has leaked out about some of the things that he said to the donors. These are things that he's not said publicly in terms of specifics on policy, and one of the things that he talked about was a tax plan. He wants to lower rates but eliminate some deductions for the rich. And I have to tell you, folks, I'm not comfortable with the Republican nominee talking about special plans for "the rich," special plans for "Hispanics." That was part of it, too....

White House press secretary Jay Carney is asked why President Obama hasn't released his college transcripts. Carney dodges the question and tells the reporter, Ed Henry of FOX News, to ask the campaign. Carney then talks about candidates and releasing their tax returns. Ed Henry, FOX News: "I don't know how many years, maybe you do, George Romney released of his college transcripts, but Republicans like to complain that the President has not released his college transcripts. What is the stated reason for that?" Jay Carney, White House: "I would refer you to the campaign. "I think we've answered this...

John Boehner is the ultimate Beltway hack, a man whose unmatched and self-serving skill at political survival has made him, after two decades in Washington, the hairy blue mold on the American congressional sandwich. The biographer who somewhere down the line tackles the question of Boehner's legacy will do well to simply throw out any references to party affiliation, because the thing that has made Boehner who he is — the thing that has finally lifted him to the apex of legislative power in America — has almost nothing to do with his being a Republican. The Democrats have plenty...

Columbus, Ohio (CNN) - Retiring Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said Monday that the upcoming lame duck session of Congress should work together on a handful of key issues to demonstrate a commitment to problem-solving rather than partisan bickering. (snip) He suggested that in the lame duck session, the 18-member bipartisan debt commission should endorse recommendations to help repair the country's deep budget deficit. He called on lawmakers to listen to the commission and have "the courage to move forward and do the tough things that need to be done for our country." (snip) "Once we are elected we ought to...

Video at link. McQueeg goes back to his old, nasty, open borders habits.

The September issue of GQ features a lengthy profile on MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, which reveals a few fresh facts about the “Morning Joe” host. Most importantly, he has a “man crush” on Paul McCartney and a politi-crush on Hillary Clinton. When meeting McCartney backstage at a concert years ago, Scarborough was outed as a Republican, creating an awkward moment that got him booted from the room. When it comes to Clinton, he has quite a collection of Hillary memorabilia in his office. “If I do have a crush on her, that means I’m turned on by competence,” Scarborough told GQ...

(Yes, But However)- Reverend Gatewood is the 2nd vice president of the North Carolina NAACP Conference of Branches. He is currently serving his forth term. Prior to 2005, he was the president of the Durham (NC) chapter. November 2009 – Gatewood Co-Organizes an Anti-Semitic “Hate Fest” Under the Banner of His Position with the NAACP In 2009, Gatewood helped form the “Black is Back Coalition,” with the intent of holding a massive rally in Washington D.C. on November 7th. Gatewood served as the event’s official North Carolina organizer. Among Gatewood’s partners in this coalition were Abdul Alim Musa, the notorious...

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Sen. John McCain hasn't always talked tough on immigration. That haunted his presidential ambitions, and now his political survival hinges on whether he can show that his conversion is genuine. It hasn't been easy. Boycotts, vigils and a legal fight over the state's attempted crackdown on illegal immigrants have kept voters attuned to each nuance in his run for re-election. "Since 2007, I've said we have to secure the border first. I said it in 2008 and 2009 and 2010," McCain told 120 people at a town hall meeting in suburban Phoenix. Leaning against the back wall...