Free Republic

Let’s be honest, whether fair or not, Philadelphia has a certain reputation. It’s a city where football fans booed and threw snowballs at Santa Claus. Baseball fans once threw D cell batteries (the big ones) at visiting outfielder J.D. Drew. And now, it’s where an adorable robot who was only counting on the kindness of strangers to hitchhike across the country was vandalized, effectively ending his summer trip. hitchBOT’s trip came to an (Friday) night in Philadelphia after having spent a little over two weeks hitchhiking and visiting sites in Boston, Salem, Gloucester, Marblehead, and New York City. Unfortunately, hitchBOT...

Authorities in New Jersey are hunting an internet celebrity known as "Kai the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker" after a man was found dead on Monday. Kai, whose real name is Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, has been charged with murder by police and is considered armed and dangerous. On Tuesday McGillvary had written that he had been "drugged [and] raped" in a post on his Facebook page. "What would you do?," he asked his 2,500 followers. An arrest warrant for McGillvary was issued on Thursday. Authorities in New Jersey said his whereabouts were "unknown" and offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to his...

A West Virginia man who claimed to be the victim of a drive-by shooting along a rural Montana highway while working on a memoir called “Kindness in America” has confessed to shooting himself, authorities said Friday. Valley County sheriff’s officials said they believe 39-year-old Ray Dolin shot himself as a desperate act of self-promotion, but they offered no further details.

People don’t hitchhike anymore. At least not like the glory days of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s when hitchhiking was a popular, fun and even a safe thing to do. But it went away. Colin Flaherty wondered where it went. So this San Diego writer set out on three-month adventure with a pack and an extended thumb to try and find out.

From: Michael Steele, RNC Chairman To: Subject:  Congratulations to Christine O'Donnell and Delaware GOP Candidates Dear , Congratulations to Christine O'Donnell and all of our Republican nominees in Delaware on their primary victories last night. The people of Delaware have spoken.  And just like voters across America, they are demanding commonsense conservative candidates who will focus on the issues that matter most to them: creating jobs, turning the economy around and protecting our most cherished freedoms. Christine O'Donnell is exactly that type of candidate and the RNC is proud to support her and our entire slate of Republican candidates...

LUCASVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio executed a hitchhiker Thursday who admitted to killing one motorist who gave him a ride and shooting two others during a three-week string of shootings that terrorized the Cincinnati area in 1983. Michael Beuke, 48, died by lethal injection at 10:53 a.m. EDT at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, about 90 minutes after the Ohio Supreme Court turned down his final appeal.....

A man says a three-month-old kitten apparently hitched a cold, 200-kilometre ride in the wheel well of his SUV. Marc Lichty left Olympia, Washington, after finishing a day of work on Wednesday. He heard meowing when he stopped at a rest stop along the way home but couldn't see a cat, KPTV-TV reported. When he reached his home in Tualatin, Oregon, he heard the meowing again and grabbed a flashlight. Sure enough, he says, "the cat was up underneath in the spare tire spot." Daughter Jenna helped coax the passenger out with a bit of salmon. Lichty says he can't...

Excerpt - The suicide bomber who blew himself up Monday morning in an Eilat bakery tried to hitch rides to the center of the city, according to the testimony given by Lt. Col. Yossi Woltinsky. Woltinsky picked up the terrorist Monday morning, but asked him to get out of his car when his suspicions were aroused. Immediately after, he notified the police. With a significant amount of luck and determination, the terrorist could have been caught before he managed to carry out his atrocious attack. ~ snip ~

Starring: Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy, Anna Chancellor, John Malkovich, Warwick Davis, Alan Rickman (voice), Stephen Fry (voice) It opens with a perfectly choreographed dolphin musical number, and ends with the disembodied head of deceased author Douglas Adams. This is the long awaited adaptation of his novel, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” and as the dolphins flawlessly perform their rendition of “So Long and Thanks for All the Fish” you’ll realize you’re in for one hell of a ride. Don’t panic. It only gets a little weirder.

Don't panic.