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The Philadelphia protester who torched two police cars in 2020 – and was then tracked down by investigators through the website Etsy – was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for the attack. Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal, 35, pleaded guilty in March to downgraded charges of obstructing, impeding and interfering with law enforcement officers for firebombing the two cop cars outside Philadelphia City Hall as protests raged in the city. At her sentencing hearing Thursday, Blumenthal said she was high on drugs and in the throes of addiction when she torched the cars, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. “My substance abuse left...

KING ARTHUR's myths and legend could have been based-upon a legendary British general whose betrayal in battle led to his death, historians sensationally claimed.While King Arthur is one of the most popular figures in English folklore, historians still debate whether he existed. The legendary warrior was believed to have fought-off Saxon invaders with the Knights of the Round Table and armed with his magical sword Excalibur. In a number of later romanticised depictions of King Arthur, he was claimed to have been bound by a strict moral code of chivalry and honour. Discovering the truth about the mythical UK hero,...

Madoc In AmericaNative American Histories in the USA Is truth stranger than fiction? Of course it is; it always has been One subject that has been debated for the last four hundred years was whether or not a Khumric-Welsh Prince called Madoc discovered America. Queen Elizabeth I was persuaded by her advisors that this was so and the Khumric-Welsh discovery was put forward as somehow giving England a prior claim in the political wrangles over first rights in the New World of the Americas. No one ever thought to investigate the British records. Caradoc of Llancarfan wrote about it circa...

I think we all agree that the quality of the opuses here on Free Republic has dropped considerably. Yes, I know that the plural of opus is opera. To me, opera is just some people putting themselves on a stage and waving their arms around and screaming something that nobody understands. By golly, that is exactly what the opus writers do. Still, the dictionary assures me that "opuses" is also a correct plural form of "opus". If you don't like it, well, write that into your opus....in Italian. My Dad always told me, "If you're going to write an opus,...

Halloween had its beginnings in an ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of the dead. The Celtic peoples, who were once found all over Europe, divided the year by four major holidays. According to their calendar, the year began on a day corresponding to November 1st on our present calendar. The date marked the beginning of winter. Since they were pastoral people, it was a time when cattle and sheep had to be moved to closer pastures and all livestock had to be secured for the winter months. Crops were harvested and stored. The date marked both an ending and a beginning...

The Bible, long debated as the bestsellingest book of all time, might also be one of the most quoted texts. But how much of what is cited as coming from the Old and New Testaments is actually in the Bible?"Spare the rod, spoil the child" This could very well be a paraphrase of Proverbs 13:24, but the statement doesn't really exist in any translation of the Bible. The Bible verse actually reads: "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him."Samuel Butler, a 17th century British poet, actually coined the phrase...

How family lore shapes characterBy James Carroll October 08, 2012 **SNIP** When Oklahoma was made a state in 1907, barely four decades before Warren was born there, it incorporated the so-called Indian Territory — that culmination of the multiple betrayals of Native Americans, an end of the “trail of tears.” The Cherokee people, in particular, paid the price of the “forced relocation” across thousands of miles, with thousands dead. More than in the rest of America, ghosts of the Indian wars abound in Oklahoma. Warren’s family, tracing itself to those Cherokees, was haunted by them. That the anti-Indian prejudice directed...

Goes back to 2005, maybe earlier. I know all about stuning, beebers, showers, moose, sisters.....but is this one that I've missed??

<p>In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty.. oh wait, that’s not how this goes. Let’s try again.</p>

The 2009 FreeRepublic LexiconAKA "The Freepism, Freepology, Lingo, Dictionary, Terminology, Lore Handbook" A revised and condensed version of The Lexicon of FreeRepublic, culled from Lexicon of FreeRepublic - 4th Edition and Freeper Lingo Thread (the history and meening of 'Freepisms' including pictures). Thanks to the many Freepers who contributed, especially Bugbear and Risky Schemer, the originators of the first lexicon! (see also The 2008 FreeRepublic Lexicon) I have attempted to include all definitions and histories provided to me and give credit to those who provided me the information. I apologize, in advance to those I failed to credit, but please...

The 2008 FreeRepublic LexiconAKA "The Freepism, Freepology, Lingo, Dictionary, Terminology, Lore Handbook" A revised and condensed version of The Lexicon of FreeRepublic, culled from Lexicon of FreeRepublic - 4th Edition and Freeper Lingo Thread (the history and meening of 'Freepisms' including pictures). Thanks to the many Freepers who contributed! (see also The 2007 FreeRepublic Lexicon) I have attempted to include all definitions and histories provided to me and give credit to those who provided me the information. I apologize, in advance to those I failed to credit, but please understand that it was very difficult to keep up with all...

The 2007 FreeRepublic LexiconAKA "The Freepism, Freepology, Lingo, Dictionary, Terminology, Lore Handbook" A revised and condensed version of The Lexicon of FreeRepublic, culled from Lexicon of FreeRepublic - 4th Edition and Freeper Lingo Thread (the history and meening of 'Freepisms' including pictures). Thanks to the many Freepers who contributed! (see also The 2007 FreeRepublic Lexicon) I have attempted to include all definitions and histories provided to me and give credit to those who provided me the information. I apologize, in advance to those I failed to credit, but please understand that it was very difficult to keep up with all...

The 2007 FreeRepublic LexiconAKA "The Freepism, Freepology, Lingo, Dictionary, Terminology, Lore Handbook" A revised and condensed version of The Lexicon of FreeRepublic, culled from Lexicon of FreeRepublic - 4th Edition and Freeper Lingo Thread (the history and meening of 'Freepisms' including pictures). Thanks to the many Freepers who contributed! (see also The 2006 FreeRepublic LexiconI have attempted to include all definitions and histories provided to me and give credit to those who provided me the information. I apologize, in advance to those I failed to credit, but please understand that it was very difficult to keep up with all the...

The 2007 FreeRepublic Lexicon (Draft)AKA "The Freepism, Freepology, Lingo, Dictionary, Terminology, Lore Handbook" A revised and condensed version of The Lexicon of FreeRepublic, culled from Lexicon of FreeRepublic - 4th Edition and Freeper Lingo Thread (the history and meening of 'Freepisms' including pictures). Thanks to the many Freepers who contributed! (see also The 2006 FreeRepublic LexiconI have attempted to include all definitions and histories provided to me and give credit to those who provided me the information. I apologize, in advance to those I failed to credit, but please understand that it was very difficult to keep up with all...

Since my registration on this site, January 15, 2004, I have written satires and commentaries, many of which have included mentions of Free Republic. I look forward to the New Year and my second anniversary with the finest men and women across the globe. It is this place that exhibits more generosity than every country combined. There is no finer place on the Internet. Never forget it is the coup de grace of the coup d'é tat. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, "Free Republic has some of the finest minds I’ll ever know." There is...

Sailors who traditionally dumped barrels of oil into the sea to calm stormy waters may have been on to something, a new study suggests. The old practice reduces wind speeds in tropical hurricanes by damping ocean spray, according to a new mathematical “sandwich model”. As hurricane winds kick up ocean waves, large water droplets become suspended in the air. This cloud of spray can be treated mathematically as a third fluid sandwiched between the air and sea. “Our calculations show that drops in the spray decrease turbulence and reduce friction, allowing for far greater wind speeds – sometimes eight times...

Native lore tells the tale: There's been a whole lotta shakin' goin' onContact: Vince Stricherz vinces@u.washington.edu 206-543-2580 University of Washington This illustration depicts a late 19th century interior ceremonial screen from Port Alberni, on British Columbia's Vancouver Island. It shows Thunderbird carrying Whale in its talons, a common native depiction of seismic activity. The original screen is in the American Museum of Natural History. The image is taken from "Northwest Coast Painting – House Fronts and Interior Screens" by Edward Malin, ©1999, Timber Press, Portland, Ore. Stories of two-headed serpents and epic battles between Thunderbird and Whale, common among Northwest...

Specter-vision gets blurry Posted 11:56 AM This happened so fast, it probably gave the poor guy whiplash. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), fresh off his latest re-election success, probably wanted to demonstrate once again that, despite his GOP party affiliation in a Dem state, he's prepared to fight against Bush's most conservative judicial nominees, especially when it comes to abortion and the Supreme Court. "When you talk about judges who would change the right of a woman to choose, overturn Roe v. Wade, I think that is unlikely... And I would expect the president to be mindful of the considerations which...