Free Republic

Senator Barack Obama has established a battle-tested 50-state grassroots organisation and fundraising “juggernaut” that will crush John McCain in November, according to his senior advisers. With the Illinois senator declaring himself “within reach” of the Democratic nomination after achieving a majority of the pledged delegates - those allocated by vote - on Tuesday, his campaign has already pivoted to preparing for the general election against Mr McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee. Although publicly heaping praise on Hillary Clinton, Mr Obama’s Democratic rival, and carefully avoiding putting pressure on her to drop out before the final states vote on June 3rd,...

Romans were upper crust on daily bread May 21 2008 by Tony Henderson, The Journal WHEN it came to their daily bread, troops at a Northumberland Roman fort took no chances. Excavations at Vindolanda are revealing two massive granaries whose quality even outshone the nearby commanding officer’s quarters. The dig is also uncovering a magnificent flagged roadway next to the granaries. “The masonry of these granaries is far superior to that of the nearby commanding officer’s residence, and although some of the walls have suffered from stone robbing, others are standing to a height of around 5ft,” said director of...

Poll: 70%:22% Oppose giving up Golan for full peace treaty; 57%:32% Negotiations connected to investigation 58%33% PM doesn't have legitimacy to negotiateDr. Aaron Lerner 21 May 2008Telephone poll of a representative sample of 550 adult Israelis (including Arab Israelis) carried out by Panel Institute the afternoon early evening of 21 May 2008 after the announcement of negotiations with Syria, for Israel Television Channel Two and broadcast on the 8:00 PM news.www.keshet-tv.com/VideoPage.aspx?MediaID=37928&CatID=250&CurrentCatID=332Are you for giving up the Golan within the framework of a full peace agreement with Syria?Yes 22% No 70%Do you think that the timing of the advancing of the...

Faced with declining world oil demand and increasing non-OPEC production, OPEC cut output significantly in the first half of the 1980s to defend its official price. Saudi Arabia, which played the role of swing producer in the cartel, bore most of the production cuts. Saudi Arabia crude oil product, which peaked at over 10 million barrels per day for the period October 1980 through August 1981, fell to just 2.3 million barrels per day by August 1985. In late 1985, Saudi Arabia abandoned its swing-producer role, increased production, and aggressively moved to increase market share. Saudi Arabia tried a netback-pricing...

Gold Toothpick-Earwax Spoon Found May 20, 2008—Divers searching for a shipwrecked Spanish galleon on Sunday brought back a solid gold find: a combination toothpick and earwax spoon. The 3-inch-long (7.6-centimeter-long) grooming tool dates back to the late 16th or early 17th century and was probably worn on a gold chain, experts said. It weighs only about an ounce (28 grams), but its value could exceed U.S. $100,000, Blue Water Ventures diver Chris Rackley told the Associated Press. Rackley found the object while hunting for the remains of the Santa Margarita, which sank in a violent 1622 hurricane about 40...

My colleague Ken Vogel reports: BOCA RATON, Fla. - Hillary Clinton compared her effort to seat Florida and Michigan delegates to epic American struggles, including those to free the slaves and win the right to vote for blacks and women. The current stalemate over the two states' primary votes threatens to replicate the disputed 2000 presidential election in Florida, she warned an elderly crowd in Palm Beach County - one of the jurisdictions where Democrats allege voters were disenfranchised in 2000. The pointed speech marked the kick-off of a last-gasp effort by Clinton to prolong her Democratic presidential campaign by...

A federal court jury this afternoon acquitted former Memphis City Council member Edmund Ford Jr. on charges of taking bribes in 2006 in return for his vote and influence on a development and billboard project. The jury of seven women and five men returned its verdict at about 4 p.m. after deliberating the better portion of two days. As a smiling Ford walked out of the federal court room, he said in a loud voice, “My Lord, the Savior is awesome. He is awesome. I just love my Lord.” Ford, 52, a mortician, was indicted on three counts of extortion...

We just got back from the graduation ceremony for the 2008 class from USU (The Uniform Services University {for health sciences}). My kid is now a M.D. The same kid that lost her lunchboxes, forgot books needed for homework, and kept a half full Thermos of rotten milk over Easter vacation. She’s now ready to heal. She has changed immensely, it’s interesting to me when she looks at me with her ‘Doctor Eyes’ when she says “howz it going dad?” Their graduation ceremony was held at the “Daughters of the American Revolution” hall in Washington D.C.. The Marine Corps band...

Strasbourg, 20 May (AKI) - The European Court of Human Rights is to consider claims from eleven terrorism suspects that they suffered psychiatric damage when they were imprisoned by the British government. On Wednesday the court will hold a public hearing in Strasbourg to investigate the claims in a case brought against the British government. The applicants, none of whom have British nationality, were allegedly involved in extreme Islamist terrorist groups with links to al-Qaeda, the court said in a statement. Six of the applicants are Algerian, and the others are French, Jordanian, Moroccan and Tunisian. Another was born in...

Don't blame us for prices - oil execsA Senate Judiciary Committee seeks answers from Big Oil execs for rising oil prices on day that crude crossed $130 a barrel. By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer Last Updated: May 21, 2008: 3:47 PM EDT NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Amid increasing public outcry over record-shattering oil and gas prices, senators on Wednesday hauled industry executives in to testify about the recent runup. **SNIP** The executives said it did, and that they are doing all they can to bring new oil supplies to market, but that the fundamental reasons for the surge in...

I've used photobucket extensively to post images on FR. Now my images show up on FR on my computer but not to any of the other freepers. Anyone having the same trouble or know what is going on.Just so ya'll know...I know I am doing everything right to post.

Krakow, May. 21, 2008 (CWNews.com) - A Polish newspaper has predicted that the beatification of Pope John Paul II will take place next year. Zycie Warszawy speculates that the late Pontiff could be beatified on April 2, the anniversary of his death, or on October 16, 2009, the anniversary of his election to the papacy. Earlier this month another Polish newspaer, Dziennik, had said that the beatification could take place on October 16 of this year, the 30th anniversary of John Paul's election. That prediction appeared unrealistic, since the cause for beatification of the late Pontiff still has several hurdles...

Our president was busy today with public events. President Bush signed H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, President Bush Signs H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 President Bush marked this the Day of Solidarity with the Cuban people. President Bush Discusses Cuba, Marks Day of Solidarity He met with the Maronite Patriarch of Lebanon Nasrallah Sfeir in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, President Bush met with Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander George Lisicki in the Oval Office. Vice President Dick Cheney delivered the main address during U.S. Coast...

Getting stuck in the mud on its first attempt to leave Manhattan was not the last or the least of the troubles that the aircraft carrier Intrepid has encountered in the past 18 months. The military museum the ship houses was at risk of going out of business last year, as the costs of overhauling the carrier and rebuilding its home pier spiraled past $100 million, almost double the original estimate, said Bill White, president of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. To keep the work going and to stay on schedule to reopen this fall, the museum’s directors...

Washington, May. 21, 2008 (CWNews.com) - US President George W. Bush will visit the Vatican in June during a trip to Europe, the White House has confirmed. President Bush will visit Germany, France, England, and Northern Ireland on his European tour, as well as Italy. The American leader visited Pope Benedict at the Vatican last June as well, in the first formal meeting since the Pontiff's election in 2005. More recently Bush welcomed Pope Benedict when he arrived in the US in April of this year. In other news, Canada’s foreign minister Maxime Bernier is in Rome to meet with...

In a private conversation before the release of the motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum," a leading personality of U.K. Catholicism predicted that the reinstatement of the Traditional Latin Mass would grant again such an abundant flow of graces that it would even effect the restoration of society on sound Christian principles. While that outcome remains to be seen, the release of the motu proprio has certainly sparked a series of controversies and debates — especially in Italy, the heart of Catholicism, and that goes a long way in showing how sensitive the issue is among faithful and non-faithful alike. The...

Healing Words Today's Scripture “…the tongue of the wise brings healing” Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Are your words bringing healing to the people around you? The Bible clearly tells us that life and death are in the power of our tongue. We can use our tongue to build people up and encourage them with words of healing, or we can just as easily sow negative seeds with our words. The Bible says that the tongue of the wise brings healing. Choose to be wise today by choosing healing words. Choose to look for the best in others...

Increasing allegations of corruption and profiteering are raising serious questions about the UN-run carbon trading mechanism aimed at cutting pollution and rewarding clean technologies

Dangerous Sunrise on Gliese 876d Illustration Credit & Copyright: Inga Nielsen (Hamburg Obs., Gate to Nowhere) Explanation: On planet Gliese 876d, sunrises might be dangerous. Although nobody really knows what conditions are like on this close-in planet orbiting variable red dwarf star Gliese 876, the above artistic illustration gives one impression. With an orbit well inside Mercury and a mass several times that of Earth, Gliese 876d might rotate so slowly that dramatic differences exist between night and day. Gliese 876d is imagined above showing significant volcanism, possibly caused by gravitational tides flexing and internally heating the planet, and...

Two children who attended a private Christian school in Wisconsin were illegally strip-searched and had their constitutional rights violated by a state social worker, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled Monday. In Michael C. v. Gresbach, the court said state worker Dana Gresbach violated the children's Fourth Amendment rights to freedom from unreasonable search when she entered Good Hope Christian Academy in Milwaukee, Wis., had the children pulled from the classrooms and told them to remove their clothing when she suspected the parents of spanking in February 2004. Stephen Crampton, vice president of legal affairs and general counsel...

Here is the 2008 Presidential Electoral Vote Projection Map and State Poll Average Chart for Wednesday, May 21, 2008. . .John McCain now leads Barack Obama 249-237 on the Electoral Vote Map, with Colorado moving into Obama's column. Fifty-two votes remain in the "tossup" category. . .Don't forget to check out the charts at the bottom of the page for Latest State Polls, 50-Day Average of National Polls, and Latest National Polls. . .

Having God’s "Unreasonable" Faith " Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you " —Matthew 6:33 When we look at these words of Jesus, we immediately find them to be the most revolutionary that human ears have ever heard. ". . . seek first the kingdom of God . . . ." Even the most spiritually-minded of us argue the exact opposite, saying, "But I must live; I must make a certain amount of money; I must be clothed; I must be fed." The great concern of our lives...

Wellington, New Zealand - It seemed like an almost literal answer to their prayers. When two New Zealand pilots ran out of fuel in a microlight airplane they offered prayers and were able to make an emergency landing in a field -- coming to rest right next to a sign reading, "Jesus is Lord." Grant Stubbs and Owen Wilson, both from the town of Blenheim on the country's South Island, were flying up the sloping valley of Pelorus Sound when the engine spluttered, coughed and died. "My friend and I are both Christians so our immediate reaction in a life-threatening...

2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 snip... If we had a dollar for every thumbs up during a weeklong test drive, we'd have the down payment for one of the 6,400 2008 Challenger SRT8s to be built. Sadly, however, all are spoken for. The car is sold out, unless you bid on one of a couple dozen some dealers are offering on eBay for up to $25,000 over sticker. After a 35-year absence, Challenger has returned, an update of the muscle car that debuted in the fall of 1969 for a five-year run before high insurance rates and demands for greater fuel...

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Hillary Rodham Clinton says she is willing to take her fight to seat Florida and Michigan delegates to the convention if the two states want to go that far. In an interview with The Associated Press, Clinton was asked whether she would support the states if they continue the fight. The presidential candidate said Wednesday, "Yes I will. I will, because I feel very strongly about this." Clinton is calling for delegates from both states to be seated at the convention based on the primaries. Both states were stripped of their delegates because they voted early,...

After Action Report Coast Guard Academy Graduation support rally, May 21, 2008 Hi folks, it was good to be back in the saddle again. Today, the following Eagles took part in what is most likely our annual Coast Guard Academy Graduation support rally: Jim Bancroft Larry Baily Carolyn VanZorge Fernando Martinez Bill Wilkins Eva Bauman Kathy Upton Pamela Hall Dave Russo Dan Maloney "NEW" Eagle Ted Bakacs Paul Leblanc The New York/New Jersey Eagles showed up earlier than most due to dedication on their part and computer failure on my part which would have had me only 10 minutes late...

DALLAS — The creator of the popular religious children's television show "Davey and Goliath" has died. A memorial service will be held May 31 at St. Mark's School of Texas in Dallas for Richard Towne "Dick" Sutcliffe. He died May 11 in Dallas from complications of a stroke. He was 90. Sutcliffe created "Davey and Goliath," a Christian-themed children's show about a boy and his talking dog that used stop-action animation. Along with Gumby creators Art Clokey and Ruth Clokey Goodell, Sutcliffe created the Sunday-morning series to spread a religious message without losing younger viewers with overly complicated concepts, his...

------------------------------------------------------ Robert Hirsch, an energy advisor, says CNBC morning show prediction was a citation of the 'Dean of Oil Analysts.' By Jeff Poor Business & Media Institute 5/21/2008 3:38:13 PM It may be the mother of all doom and gloom gas price predictions: $12 for a gallon of gas is “inevitable.” Robert Hirsch, Management Information Services Senior Energy Advisor, gave a dire warning about the potential future of gas prices on CNBC’s May 20 “Squawk Box”. He told host Becky Quick there was no single thing that would solve the problem, due to the enormity of the problem. “[T]he prices...

Soaring oil prices continued to pummel the stock market and hack away at investors' hopes for a resumption of the rally that had carried equities well off the lows seen during the worst of the credit crisis earlier this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which plunged nearly 200 points Tuesday, shed another 227.49 points on Wednesday, falling 1.8% to 12601.19, off 5% on the year. All 30 of its components finished in the red. The two-day slide was the Dow's worst in nearly three months. Crude futures surged to a fourth straight record, up $4.19, or 3.3%, to $133.17...

Welcome to “The Levin Lounge”… Step in and have a virtual FRink.Will we hear… Taking the country by storm, one radio station at a time – and kicking the BUTTS of the competition! Welcome all, to the most FUN LIVE THREAD on FreeRepublic.com! You can call Mark’s show: 1-877-381-3811

So what is the answer? The Marines may have hit on the solution: rather than lowering the quality of special operations troops in order to increase the size of the force, they are raising the quality of their line troops to take on some of the missions currently performed by special operations forces. This has been done by training certain Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) to be "Special Operations Capable"; such units are now designated as "MEU(SOC)s." A typical MEU(SOC) is built around a Marine rifle battalion reinforced with an artillery battery, an amphibious assault vehicle company, a reconnaissance platoon, and...

Billary gave an impassioned speech in Boca Raton Florida in attempts to gain delegates in both Florida and Michigan. In her speech she states that her campaign’s struggle to succeed at this task is similar to the ending slavery. Clinton goes on to say: that it is also similar to “fighting racial discrimination at the ballot box” she stated. “This work to extend the franchise to all of our citizens is a core mission of the modern Democratic Party” Clinton adds. Let’s rewind to 2000 when Condoleezza Rice spoke at the Republican National Convention shall we? Rice recalls: “The first...

On the outskirts of Las Vegas, ­Warren Jeffs, the prophet and leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the polygamist sect of Mormonism known as the F.L.D.S., barreled down Interstate 15 in a red Cadillac Escalade. Driving him was Isaac Jeffs, one of his dozen or so brothers. Naomi Jeffs-a beautiful 32-year-old blond with hair to her knees who was both Warren's former stepmother and the wife he reportedly called 91-rode in back. They carried $57,000 in cash in the lining of a suitcase, 16 cell phones, 12 pairs of sunglasses, four laptops, three wigs, a...

MSUNuke and ArkPig620, and I are heading to NM for Memorial Day Weekend. We will spend 2 nights with friends in Las Cruces, NM, and 2 in Albuquerque, NM. We are wondering what attractions are in the Albuquerque, NM area and a safe area/hotel to stay? Of course we are in our 30s and want the drinking/shopping district;) All three (3) of us are military and have CHL, but would like to avoid any local criminals and overzealous law enforcement in our celebrations;) Thanks for the Albuquerque, NM area info!

This week, a complex and controversial piece of legislation began to make its way through the British parliament. One of the provisions of the bill permits the creation of “savior siblings”...Another is a reduction of the legal time-limit on abortion, which up to now has been 24 weeks. A third provision — and the most controversial of all — permits the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos, or “cybrids,” for medical research...It is this third provision that I want to focus on. [snip]The hybrids under discussion in the British bill are totally different. The idea is to take an animal egg...

Consider the poor Washington libertarian. Everywhere else in America his type is an exotic species, a coffee-shop heretic who quotes from "Atlas Shrugged" and steers every conversation toward Ron Paul or gold. Take him or leave him, he doesn't care. He is his own master. Not so the Beltway variety. Here, in the very home of the taxing, regulating leviathan, the libertarian is such a commonplace and unremarkable bird that no one gives him a second glance. Here he is a factotum of the establishment, a tiny voice in a vast choir assembled by business and its tax-exempt front groups...

The Jihadists Admit Defeat in Iraq A prolific jihadist sympathizer has posted an ‘explosive’ study on one of the main jihadist websites in which he laments the dire situation that the mujaheddin find themselves in Iraq by citing the steep drop in the number of insurgent operations conducted by the various jihadist groups, most notably Al-Qaeda’s 94 percent decline in operational ability over the last 12 months when only a year and half ago Al-Qaeda accounted for 60 percent of all jihadist activity. The author, writing under the pseudonym ‘Dir’a limen wehhed’ [‘A Shield for the Monotheist’], posted his ‘Brief...

Canada is set to deport in June the first of possibly hundreds of American soldiers who sought asylum to avoid military duty in Iraq, a group backing the US deserters said Wednesday. Corey Glass, 25, came to Canada in August 2006 after serving in Iraq as a military intelligence sergeant. Authorities told him on Wednesday that his application to stay in Canada was rejected and he would be deported in early June, a spokeswoman for the War Resisters Support Campaign told AFP. According to the group, several hundred Iraq War resisters are currently in Canada, many of them living underground....

Hillary Clinton beat Obama Barack by a 2-1 margin in Kentucky's primary on Tuesday (Obama won easily in Oregon), but the paper's lead headline didn't even reference it. While an article inside the paper did state Hillary's case for staying in despite trailing in delegates late in the game, it also forwarded bizarre suggestions that she should quit because she is...getting too many votes from white people.

Billary gave an impassioned speech in Boca Raton Florida in attempts to gain delegates in both Florida and Michigan. In her speech she states that her campaign’s struggle to succeed at this task is similar to the ending slavery. Clinton goes on to say: that it is also similar to “fighting racial discrimination at the ballot box” she stated. “This work to extend the franchise to all of our citizens is a core mission of the modern Democratic Party” Clinton adds. Let’s rewind to 2000 when Condoleezza Rice spoke at the Republican National Convention shall we? Rice recalls: “The first...

Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, on Friday is scheduled to meet with two Republican governors who have been prominently mentioned as potential running mates, according to Republicans familiar with Mr. McCain’s plan. Charlie Crist, the governor of Florida, and Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, have both accepted invitations to meet with Mr. McCain at his home in Arizona, according to Republican familiars with the decision. One Republican said that Mitt Romney, a former rival of Mr. McCain for the presidential nomination — is also expected to visit him this weekend. Mr. Romney’s advisers declined to comment.

A dominant Fox is set to be crowned the winner of the 2007-08 television season, one that the broadcast biz -- and perhaps even Fox -- would just as soon forget. The writers strike, along with the rising popularity of DVRs and the increased availability of programming on multiple platforms, conspired to make this season the lowest-rated on record for the broadcasters. There was also a dearth of breakout hits, with no new show emerging as the biz's savior. Of course, the broadcasters have been losing audience share to cable for years -- but this season saw the most troubling...

The House that Rahm built Tribune-Review By Salena Zito Just before the 2006 midterm elections, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rep. Rahm Emmanuel was asked why he chose such moderate candidates for the House races -- breaking rank with liberal bloggers who were demanding liberal candidates. "Because we want to win," Emmanuel said, promptly ending the interview. Win he did, big time, taking out four Republicans in Pennsylvania alone, making the Keystone State's delegation the House that Rahm built. While the country was distracted by the Democratic presidential nomination battle between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, the Democrats...

Army Gen. David Petraeus, who is to assume control of U.S. forces in the Middle East, says that a continued U.S. presence in Iraq is more likely to blunt, rather than inflame, Iran's growing influence in the region. In a 46-page question-and-answer document submitted in advance of his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Petraeus says the U.S. must work on developing more leverage — primarily diplomatic or economic — to pressure Tehran to abandon its nuclear program. But, he notes, the U.S. must retain military strike options as a "last resort." "A destabilized Iraq, rampant terrorism in the region and a...

US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) (R) reaches for a supporter who fell through a barricade while trying to shake the senators hand during a rally in Tampa, Florida May 21, 2008. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama waves to supporters, as he stands with his wife Michelle, after his speech at his Oregon and Kentucky primary election night rally in Des Moines, Iowa, May 20, 2008. US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) (L) works the crowd as one his supporters cries following a rally in Tampa, Florida May 21, 2008.

ALBANY — Nearly 100 ex-convicts threaded their way among hordes of noisy schoolchildren clogging halls around the Capitol yesterday, advocating legislation to protect their employment and voting rights, close underused prisons, and make re-entry into society less difficult. "This charge is led by people who have done time. You're talking about hundreds of years of time in prison," a former inmate, Glenn Martin, said, unloading his pockets at the state police security checkpoint in the Empire State Plaza concourse. "Talk about unlikely lobbyists, right?" Many dressed in conservative suits, blending with other late-session lobbyists. They carried notebooks with copies of...

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is scheduled to tape an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in Burbank today, then attend campaign fundraisers in Irvine. On her show's Web site, DeGeneres described McCain as "a true American hero" and promised that "we'll get some straight talk from the senator from Arizona," playing off the name of the McCain campaign bus, the Straight Talk Express. "I want to find out if it's really true that he once had a vodka drinking contest with (Sen.) Hillary (Rodham Clinton)," DeGeneres wrote. McCain's appearance is scheduled to air Thursday. The candidate...

American Airlines said Wednesday it plans to lay off possibly thousands of workers, charge passengers $15 for the first checked bag and cut domestic flights as it grapples with record-high fuel prices. Chairman and Chief Executive Gerard J. Arpey didn't put a figure on the layoffs, but when asked whether he expected the figure to be in the thousands he said yes. He said he expects the fees will raise several hundred million dollars, but that was the best estimate he would give. American, the nation's largest carrier, said Wednesday the fee for the first checked bag starts June 15...

100 Explosions on the Moon A map of the 100 explosions observed since late 2005.Not so long ago, anyone claiming to see flashes of light on the Moon would be viewed with deep suspicion by professional astronomers. Such reports were filed under "L" ... for lunatic. Not anymore. Over the past two and a half years, NASA astronomers have observed the Moon flashing at them not just once but one hundred times. "They're explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the Moon," explains Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). "A typical blast is...