Free Republic

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues had a solid debut this weekend, though it wasn't strong enough to take first place away from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Among the other new releases, American Hustle got off to a great start, while Saving Mr. Banks and Walking with Dinosaurs disappointed. Overall, it was a very good weekend at the box office—the Top 12 earned $137.3 million, which is up a whopping 37 percent from the same weekend last year. Unless all five Christmas Day releases bomb, the 2013 box office is now guaranteed to top last year's $10.84 billion record.

A dwarf actor who has starred in Star Wars and Harry Potter has escaped jail after he admitted exposing himself on a train for a second time. Nicholas Read, 41, flashed his penis at two medical students while travelling on a train to Manchester. The father-of-one also took a picture of one of the horrified women using a mobile phone.

The Republican presidential nominee, an Arizona senator, was a maverick, which was part of his charm. He spoke and acted impulsively, which was part of his problem. Voters thought his entertaining dimensions might be incompatible with presidential responsibilities. For example, he selected a running mate most Americans had never heard of and who had negligible experience pertinent to the presidency. This was 1964. Barry Goldwater, whose seat John McCain occupies, chose to run with Bill Miller, a congressman from Lockport, N.Y., near Buffalo. Miller, Goldwater cheerfully explained, annoyed Lyndon Johnson. After the Goldwater-Miller ticket lost 44 states, Miller retired to...

Apparently it has never occurred to our political pollsters that Barack Hussein Obama is the Bradley Effect personified. While our floundering POTUS continues to garner approval numbers hovering in the 50% range, his policies are judged much more harshly by polled Americans. The Real Clear Politics average, for instance, reports B.O.'s job approval average at 49.4%. His hand-maidens in Congress however, receive only 24.5 % approval and of those asked about the direction in which our country is going, only 35.9 % believe we are headed down the right path. Just exactly who do they think is holding the steering...

Do you think Obama is over-exposed? Q. How did Obama react to his teleprompters being stolen? A. He was speechless. Q. What sign was Barack Obama born under? A. For Sale. "Suppose I was Barack Obama. And suppose I was an idiot. But I repeat myself....." Barack Obama threatened to fire his Cabinet because he thought that they were ignoring him. Obama said that if he wanted to be ignored, he would have given another speech to the public. Q: How is Barack Obama like a maxed out credit card? A: They're both plastic and worthless.

If ubiquity were the measure of a presidency, Barack Obama would already be grinning at us from Mount Rushmore...Despite his many words and television appearances, (he) remains more an emblem of change than an agent of it. He's a man with an endless, worthy to-do list, but, as yet, no boxes checked "done." This is a problem that style will not fix. Unless Obama learns to rely less on charm, rhetoric, and good intentions and more on picking his spots and winning in political combat, he's not going to be reelected, let alone enshrined in South Dakota. The president's problem...

A 78-year-old Carroll woman says she's so tired of seeing President Barack Obama on the airwaves that she's selling her television sets - two of them. Deloris Nissen, a retired nurses' aide and former Kmart employee who was raised on a farm near Audubon, placed a classified advertisement with The Daily Times Herald for Friday's paper. In the $5.50 ad, Nissen tells readers she has two television sets for sale. The reason: "Obama on every channel and station." In an interview Nissen said she is serious about selling two TVs - and genuine about her disgust with what she believes...

In the end, it may be Obama's transparency that does him in. Not the kind he promised in the campaign, of course. More and more supporters are waking up to the reality of the man they helped put into the White House. In a sweeping but concise recounting on how President Obama's agenda is now all but lost, largely through a dead-on-arrival proposed budget, Byron York inasmuch predicts Obama may be already a lame duck president barely 60 days into his first term. How is this possible? How did it happen? Much is made of the popular but overused word...

It’s official. With Monday’s press conference, the Obama Administration has become the longest running telethon in American history. Just when you think the president couldn’t possibly go back on stage, there he is again, explaining all the wonderful things he can do with your money. In the best tradition of celebrity philanthropists, he’s giving his time, his face and his teleprompter skills to a cause that means a lot to him. Oh, the cynics might say it’s what he does instead of governing, but the cynics don’t understand his sincerity. They don’t realize that he knows how blessed he is,...

It hasn't been a very good week for President Obama, the stupidity of the AIG scandal, special Olympics and suicide bomber gaffes, and the report of the Congressional Budget Office that Obama's deficit projections were entirely bogus all has taken the shine off the Obamamessia. But the scandals and gaffes are only part of the story. Polls are showing that America is becoming skeptical about the president’s all at once approach to implementing his liberal agenda. And congress is feeling it also. Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, chairman of the appropriations committee, said: “To maintain a schedule like the one...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 January 10 The Crab that Played with the Planet Credit & Copyright: Ron Wodaski, Newastro Remote Telescope at New Mexico Skies Explanation: Wandering through the constellation Taurus, Saturn made its closest approach to planet Earth last month, tilting its lovely rings toward appreciative skygazers while rising high in midnight skies. On January 4th and 5th, Saturn also crossed in front of the high and far-off Crab Nebula...