Free Republic

Raleigh, N.C. – Two weeks out from election day Maine voters are divided right down the middle when it comes to whether they will reject the state’s law allowing same sex couples to marry. 48% say they will vote to over turn the law while 48% say they will vote to keep it with only 4% of the electorate still undecided. Opinion on the issue predictably breaks heavily along party lines. 74% of Republicans are planning to vote yes while only 25% of Democrats are. Independents may end up deciding which way it goes- presently 50% of them support rejecting...

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,074,757 checks in August 2009, a 12.3 percent increase from the 956,872 reported in August 2008. So far that is roughly 9,076,205 gun bought this year! The total is probably more as NICS background checks may cover the purchase of more than one gun at a time.

Retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc. said Friday it lost $29.4 million in its fourth quarter and could close 80 stores this year. While better than expected, that net income amounted to a loss of 33 cents per share and showed a dramatic reversal for the three months ending Feb. 28. During the same period last year, the company earned $14 million, or 16 cents per share.

FreeRepublic.com, the eleven-year-old conservative granddaddy of political discussion websites, was rated the most popular political website by Hitwise, an Internet data tracking service, for the week ending November 17, 2007 with 5.14% market share. The liberal site, HuffingtonPost.com, founded two-and-a-half years ago, was the only site that came close to Free Republic in interest from net users, with 4.51% market share. In a distant third place, the five-year-old liberal site DailyKos.com, was left in the dust by Free Republic and Huffington Post, garnering only 2.57% market share.The others sites Hitwise listed were, in order, politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com with 2.17%; townhall.com with 2.1%;...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Jeepers, it was just one of those creepers. An investigator specializing in all things bizarre has debugged the mystery of the Santa Fe Courthouse Ghost — a specter captured on a blurry surveillance videotape.

At 4:46 p.m. ET today, Congressman Ron Paul's YouTube channel registered 10,001 subscribers! Dr. Paul now has nearly twice as many subscribers as Barack Obama who is in second place. Here are the current numbers: Paul - 10,001 Obama - 5,768 Clinton - 3,212 Edwards - 2,764 Romney - 2,014 Kucinich - 1,732 Giuliani - 1,389 McCain - 1,259 Gravel - 885 Richardson - 790 Biden - 589 Hunter - 402 Dodd - 230 Huckabee - 205 Tancredo - 190 Brownback - 96 Gilmore - 50

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Saddam Hussein could be hanged within days after the rejection of his appeal by Iraq's highest court yesterday. The former Iraqi dictator was sentenced to death in November over the killing of 148 Shia Muslims from the town of Dujail in 1982. He is facing another trial accused of genocide against the Kurds - but that may now never be completed. The death sentence from the first trial must be implemented within 30 days, the chief judge, Aref Shahin, said yesterday, hinting that it could come even sooner: "From tomorrow, any day could be the day of implementation." Iraq's prime...

$1 million cash found concealed in pickup Wednesday, December 13, 2006 By DAVID FERRARA Staff Reporter State troopers found $1 million cash stuffed inside a hidden compartment in a pickup truck, but authorities refused to say much Tuesday about why they seized the money and the vehicle. The driver was alone in a 2006 Ford F-350, registered in Washington state and headed west on Interstate 10 around 3:15 p.m. Sunday, when he was pulled over, initially under suspicion of speeding, just east of the Eastern Shore Centre, said trooper spokeswoman Martha Earnhardt. Working on a "saturation patrol" designed to investigate...

WASHINGTON - Though Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the war in Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday it is having success enlisting new troops. The Navy and Air Force met their recruiting goals last month while the Army and Marine Corps exceeded theirs, the Defense Department announced. The Army, which is bearing the brunt of the work in Iraq, did the best. It signed up 6,485 new recruits in November compared with its target of 6,150 — meaning 105 percent of its goal. All the services turned in similar performances in October as well, meaning they so far are meeting their...

I have witnessed over the past 2 weeks the early voting of several areas here in tennessee and I have to believe that turnout will be almost as high as 2004. This, to me, bodes well for Corker at least and if I may, I would offer for your consideration that polls are going to be shown to be way off the mark this year. I have not met many depressed republicans nor have i met many energized democrats. My prediction is that the mainstream media has badly miscalculated this year's potential for democrats.

New $1 billion Yankee Stadium is on deckBy KAREN MATTHEWS, Associated Press Writer August 16, 2006 NEW YORK (AP) -- No tears were shed Wednesday for the historic stadium where Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio played out their storied careers. Politicians and baseball officials who gathered to break ground on a new Yankee Stadium shared memories of the old ballpark but said the new one would be even better. "Yankee Stadium is an iconic stadium, a place where Ruth and (Lou) Gehrig played, where popes and presidents have spoken," Gov. George Pataki said. "But so, too, will the...

THE world is hotter than it has been for four centuries - and probably the hottest for 2,000 years - the United States' most prestigious scientific organisation said yesterday. In a report to the US Congress, the National Academy of Sciences reported that the "recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia". A panel of top climate scientists told politicians that the Earth is heating up and that "human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming". Their 155-page report said average global surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere rose...

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - One of two young boys allegedly abducted by their father was found dead in a lake Wednesday, and the other boy and their father were found nearby with knife wounds, authorities said. Katron Walker, 32, had cut his own throat and stabbed himself in the chest, Terre Haute Police Sgt. David Smith said. His 2-year-old son, Monte, was also hospitalized with injuries. Police were called to the lake early Wednesday after a resident recognized Walker's van from an Amber Alert and spotted him with the boys. "He was running from a trailer and had both boys...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Central Criminal Court of Iraq convicted 12 security detainees May 10 through May 16 for various crimes including organizing, heading, leading, joining armed groups, murder and possessing illegal weapons. The trial court found Mahdi Ahmed Musa Ali al Jabouri guilty of violating Article 194 and Article 406 of the Iraqi Penal Code for organizing, heading, leading, joining armed groups and murder, and sentenced him to death. Coalition Forces apprehended him for leading a terror cell in Mosul. The defendant said he believes in killing Coalition Forces, Iraqi Police and Iraqi National Guard members because he says...

Time to dust off the whoopee cushions and hand buzzers. April Fools' Day is here and there's no better place for wisecracks and shenanigans than at work. In its annual April Fools' Day survey, CareerBuilder.com found 33 percent of workers have played a practical joke on a co-worker and 17 percent are planning office tricks for this year's holiday. Although it might be thrilling to finally one-up the office funnyman, pranks also help beat something that's no laughing matter: workplace stress. More than half of workers reported working under stress in another CareerBuilder.com survey. Stress and worry on the job...

Shuttle from Selma taking marchers to New Orleans By Cassandra Mickens Tuesday, March 28, 2006 8:58 PM CST The Selma Times-Journal The Dallas County New South Coalition, the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, the 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement and the Dallas County Democratic Conference have joined together to shuttle area residents to the Return, Vote and Rebuild March in New Orleans Saturday, April 1. Those interested in marching will board charter buses at Memorial Stadium at 3 a.m. Saturday. The cost of the trip is $30 per person. Call (334) 418-0800 or (334) 875-3947 for more information. The...

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2006 – Millions of Shiite Muslims from around the Middle East recently were able to make a pilgrimage to the Iraqi holy cities of Karbala and Najaf with few security problems. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today that this shows a lot about the capabilities of Iraqi security forces. At a Pentagon news conference, Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace also spoke about an operation in Baghdad that freed a hostage, confiscated arms and shut down an improvised-explosive-device factory. Arbaeen, which marks the death of Imam Hussein -- a...

Fourteen indicted in Appalachia election fraud probeFriday, March 03, 2006 By STEPHEN IGO Times-News WISE - Fourteen individuals, including the mayor/town manager of Appalachia, a town councilman, and two law enforcement officials, were indicted by a Wise County grand jury on multiple counts stemming from an alleged conspiracy to conduct election fraud during the 2004 town elections. The indictments show the investigation hasn't been just about pork rinds, Special Prosecutor Tim McAfee said during a press conference at the Wise County Courthouse. The investigation into allegations of voter fraud evolved from early reports of attempted vote buying before town elections...

Editor's note: The Supreme Court announced Feb. 17 that it would again hear arguments in the free-speech case of a whistleblower, apparently so that Justice Samuel Alito can break a tie. That case is Garcetti v. Ceballos. WASHINGTON — New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. was sworn in Jan. 31, giving him five months to serve during the Court’s current term. But during that period, Alito will likely have only one chance to show his First Amendment stripes. That chance will be in an important one, and it begins Feb. 28, when the Court hears a trio of First...