Free Republic

Amid rumours about his poor health, a video showing Vladimir Putin's shaking hand as he greeted Belarus's leader resurfaced this week. The clip, which was filmed just before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, showed him gripping a chair and pressing his hand to his chest to stop it shaking as he greeted Alexander Lukashenko. It fueled further speculation of the state of his health after footage and images appeared to show his bloated face and slouching posture. But the scenes of Putin's apparent struggles are reminiscent of a clip that showed Adolf Hitler's own failing health as Germany faced...

A circular firing squad is forming in the Kremlin, with everyone pointing their guns at each other: Vladimir Putin's regime looks under serious threat for the first time since he came to power, writes Professor MARK GALEOTTI Western counter-intelligence campaigns are being aimed at the secretive FSB In Russia, anyone can be denounced as a warmonger or a traitor, or even both Putin has been picking off key figures in the secret police, the FSB, and politicians in a bid to retain his hold on power as the war continues When the demonic despot Joseph Stalin suffered a severe stroke...

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday said women who have accused former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden of alleged inappropriate contact ''need to be heard.''

Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday called on the White House and Congress to provide sufficient funding and enough judges to ensure that the federal judiciary can do its job well despite the fiscal problems the country faces. In his annual report on the federal judiciary, Roberts recognized the battle in Washington over the “fiscal cliff,” saying the country has a fiscal ledger that has “gone awry” and must address the longer-term problem of a “truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt.” He said the judiciary has been doing its part to cut costs aggressively, but can only go so far...

As the political odds turn against Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown's tax measure, political insiders are turning their attention, however reluctantly, to the fallout should, indeed, voters reject the sales and income tax hike on Tuesday. The measure would deliver $6 billion a year in new revenues and should it fail, Brown and the Legislature have already passed $6 billion in so-called "trigger cuts" that would be imposed, overwhelmingly on K-12 schools. So that would seem to be that. But it's not. As Brown campaigns – with increasing desperation – for the measure, he insists that were it to fail,...

Superintendents Paint Dire Picture If California's Prop. 30 Fails As Gov. Jerry Brown's revenue-raising proposition loses support, school superintendents say class sizes could grow, cherished programs could die and jobs will be lost. What we face is the biggest challenge in public education since the state of California was founded," said state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson By Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times October 26 As children peered at them through an elementary school fence in Cerritos on Friday, about a dozen school superintendents explained the consequences they will face if California voters fail to approve Proposition 30. In...

<p>In honor of Andrea’s passing, I have asked my congressman to propose the adoption of this song as the U.S. national anthem. True, Miss True wrote the number as an autobiographical reflection on her days as a porn-movie actress but, consciously or not, it accurately distills the essence of American governmental philosophy in the early 21st century: excess even unto oblivion.</p>

Andrea True, a porn star turned pop singer who recorded a classic hit of the disco era, "More, More, More," died Nov. 7 at a hospital in Kingston, N.Y. She was 68. The Gilpatric-VanVliet funeral home in Kingston announced her death but did not release a cause. She lived in Woodstock, N.Y.

Andrea True, the disco star who had such hits as 'More More More' and 'What's Your Name, What's Your Number,' died Nov. 7 in a Kingston, N.Y. hospital, the Daily Freeman reports. The Gilpatric-VanVliet Funeral Home, which handled the arrangements, announced her passing with an obituary notice. The 68-year-old's cause of death was not released. …

Idiotic. Disgusting. Stupid. Moronic. I guess you could say that Ann loves to shock us, but at this point, who’s shocked? She obviously can’t behave well enough to attend a respectable political gathering. It’s not a lack of intelligence. It’s an indifference to self-control and a preening sort of narcissism that compels her to need the spotlight, even if it’s unflattering. (For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s audio of her calling John Edwards a “faggot” at CPAC today.) --- Michelle Malkin - ***4:15pm update*** Ann Coulter just finished her riff on Al Gore, tossed...

Gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly said Friday he'll unleash an expanded team of auditors to "wring the inefficiency" out of state government and help close a $5 billion budget shortfall if he is elected California's top executive. In a meeting with The Bee's Capitol Bureau, Westly, the state controller and the new leading Democratic gubernatorial contender, came across as a candidate for accountant-in-chief as he sketched out financial charts and figures on an easel board. The former eBay executive proposed increasing the number of state auditors by nearly one-fifth - from 210 to 250 - and said he would seek additional...

Fellow Americans, there comes a time every mans life when we must give up ourselves before we are worthy to recieve. There comes a time in this war on terror when in order to protect liberty, we have to give it up in the mean time for safty. That's right folks. Today, Americans have forsaken the creator for the creation and have decided that they would value our "civil liberties" than protecting western civilization and rich white people from the tender mercies of radical Islamic terrorists. Selfish liberals insist and whine that Bush has no right to spy on Americans...

After reading all of the crap that people have been saying regarding Adult Private Social Clubs, I felt that I had to post an article and give my opinion. I am sick and tired of all the religous groups that are saying that there are drugs, prostitution, minors, non-consenting people, and just immoral people at these clubs! First of all, who do these people think they are to decide what is morally right or wrong for me? I believe that I have a good set of morals. I am a law abiding, tax paying citizen, I work full time and...

Last week, the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District voted to place yet another multi-billion bond measure on the ballot. This $3.8 billion proposal is, of course, on top of the $9.5 billion in bonds that have been approved since 1997, the most recent, less than 18 months ago. Of course these figures do not include interest on the bonds which nearly doubles the taxpayers' obligation. It will be very interesting to see if voters, once again, allow themselves to be fleeced. To put into perspective the magnitude of these multi-billion dollar bonds, all one has to do...

Civil War mystery may be solved by modern technology. (PRWEB) June 28, 2005 -- One of the mysteries of American Civil War lore may have finally been solved. The famous rebel yell, long known to have an unnerving effect on Union soldiers in the American Civil War, has just been examined by the History Publishing Company. Using as its core base, the only known yell by a living Confederate soldier recorded early in the Twentieth Century, History Publishing Company, through the use of sound technology, has emulated the sound of a company of soldiers charging a Union line. “The effect...

COPENHAGEN -- New research indicates that parts of the brain that govern fear and anxiety are switched off when a woman is having an orgasm. In the first study to map brain function during orgasm, scientists from the Netherlands also found that as a woman climaxes, an area of the brain that governs emotional control is also heavily deactivated.

The leadership has asked that FLORIDA residents call their State Senator to encourage them to vote for Terri.. The Senate could bring this up for a vote on Wednesday.. Jessie Jackson may have the votes of two more Senators... One more to go.. The rest is up to you.. If you don't live in Florida, don't call! To find your State Senator, call http://www.myflorida.com/ CALL!!

I honestly believe that the threat of lawsuits against individual downloaders was and is bogus. I have not seen one shred of evidence to the contrary. I've downloaded tons of songs beginning back with Napster. It never hurt the recording industry one ounce. What hurts them is when there is no interest. Luckily for them, Napster and Kazza kept the interest alive. When Napster first came out everyone loved it and there was no talk of lawsuits. The recording industry was booming. Sales were up and I remember news pundits and other talking heads say that the reason sales of...

GIDDY WITH FAILURE, Democrats are breaking new ground in political strategy. Deep in a hole, they are digging still deeper. They have found a new method of dealing with setbacks: They find out what caused them, and do it again. Having unexpectedly lost four Senate seats in the 2002 midterms because of their obstruction and carping, they decided they hadn't attacked and obstructed enough. With a bare majority in the 107th Congress, they used a technical loophole to keep Bush's judges from reaching the floor of the Senate. In the 108th, with a bare minority, they are using a technical...

<p>FOR all you conspiracy theorists out there, I've got a hot new one for you: Based on the available evidence offered over the past few days, it appears key Democrats on Capitol Hill are secretly in the employ of the president and his political adviser, Karl Rove.</p>