Free Republic

DirecTV recently announced it will drop the Inspiration Network from its lineup, leaving its stable of profane and worldly channels untouched. Incredibly, reports indicate the provider also misrepresented the development by suggesting the network initiated the split. In reality, it appears the decision was wholly that of the provider. Perhaps the most baffling aspect of the decision lies in the fact that DirecTV did not gain anything – or save any money – by dropping the network. Unlike the majority of channels carried by the company, the Inspiration Network does not charge a license fee to providers. Many failing networks cost carriers...

In just the last twelve months Congressional members and top level administrators at the Department of Homeland Security have warned of threats to the national power grid so serious that should they occur life in America as we have come to know it would change almost instantly. Former DHS head Janet Napolitano, in a letter to her successor, advised that “a massive and serious cyber attack” on the US Homeland is imminent and that a “natural disaster — the likes of which the nation has never seen — is also likely on its way.” This was followed up by a...

An essay comparing the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, 73 years ago today, to the near future collapse of the American civil society, from a blogger with the FR Seal of Approval. -- I. TACOMA NARROWS 73 years ago today, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington State collapsed. The way in which it collapsed was brought on by a positive-feedback situation, where the destructive force was only bounded by the structural integrity of the bridge itself. There are some serious lessons in this collapse for the future of American society. First, let's get a basic understanding of why the...

Over coming weeks millions of Americans will be tuning in to NatGeo’s new American Blackout film about surviving in a post-power grid collapse environment that lacks electricity, fresh water and the normal flow of commerce. For most it will be nothing more than standard evening entertainment, but what if such an event turns out to be a future American reality? Such a scenario may seem improbable, but just in the last several years we’ve seen it play out time and again all over the world, albeit in situations limited in time and scope. Hurricane Katrina and over 50,000 people stranded...

What happens when major portions of the United States loses power? How will people cope? How will people die? From this forum, I heard of this docudrama and set the DVR. I only made it 40 minutes in until I started hiding my head under the couch pillows and at the one hour mark, I fled the room where my husband was watching. He put it on hold for tonight, because he wants to know what happens. I will hear it second hand from him. At first, from the timeline, 2006, I thought this was previously aired six years ago....

A catastrophic, prolonged failure of the electrical grid—the sort of event whose effects are depicted in National Geographic Channel’s upcoming American Blackout, which premieres Sunday—may seem like just apocalyptic science fiction to some viewers. Unfortunately, though, the possibility of such a breakdown is all too real. (See related interactive: “Survive the Blackout.”) Government and utility industry officials are so concerned, in fact, that in November, they will stage a massive emergency drill, called GridEx II, that will involve thousands of utility workers, business executives, National Guard officers, FBI antiterrorism experts and government officials from the U.S., Canada and Mexico. They’ll...

Downtown Detroit was hit by a power outage at around 1 p.m. today. Multiple buildings appear to have lost power including city hall, Detroit News is reporting. CBS Detroit reports that the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice and the People Mover in downtown Detroit have also lost power, while Local 4 News reports that some Wayne State University buildings lost power and there were reports of people stuck in elevators. We recently reported how the city was racing against the end of Daylight Savings Time to restore reliable service to thousands of street lights. The city's office of emergency management...

It seems some liberals are having a collective meltdown over an online conservative protest called "Facebook Blackout." Facebook has established a pattern of silencing Conservative posters and pages so, on August 24 and 25th, we are going to grant them their wish. Silence from out side. Any advertising dollars that they lose will be their lesson.

Customers have been calling on Time Warner Cable and CBS Corp. to resolve their ongoing carriage dispute that has resulted in channels going dark in several markets including Los Angeles and New York. Now politicians are demanding an end to the blackout. Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who recently won John F. Kerry's Senate seat, on Tuesday asked the Federal Communications Commission to step in and restart negotiations.

Time Warner Cable's blackout of CBS continued Saturday, and neither side indicated a resolution of their dispute over fees is imminent. Time Warner dropped CBS Friday in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and several other cities, leaving three million customers without the network's programs. The issue is fees that the cable company pays CBS to air its programs. Each has accused the other of making unreasonable demands ... The CBS stations that went dark are WCBS and WLNY in New York; KCBS and KCAL in Los Angeles; KTVT and KTXA in Dallas; WBZ and WSBK in Boston; KDKA, WPCW-CW in...

On Monday, police in Cincinnati arrested a group of teenagers who reportedly terrorized folks in the downtown area, in a series of violent assaults. All of the beatings and robberies took place between June 1 to July 4. Cortez Baker, 16, Randolph Jones, 16, and Kentrelle Aldridge, 16, have all been charged with several counts of robbery and assault, and more charges are likely to be filed.

72 Congressmen slam media for failing to cover Gosnell, Planned Parenthood infanticide remarks WASHINGTON, D.C., April 18, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a sternly worded letter, 72 congressman have accused the three leading mainstream media networks – ABC, NBS, and CBS – of “blatant media bias” for failing to cover two of the biggest abortion-related stories in recent years: the trial of “House of Horrors” abortionist Kermit Gosnell, and remarks made by a Planned Parenthood representative in support of infanticide. “The broadcasters’ blackout of the Planned Parenthood infanticide lobbying scandal and the Gosnell ‘House of Horrors’ murder trial are the biggest...

>Earlier I shared what happened when I asked an AP reporter and a Washington Post reporter about their personal Gosnell blackouts.It was so illuminating that I decided to check out a few other media outlets. I headed over to Politico. Since Washington Post reporter Sarah Kliff tried to justify her lack of coverage of the Gosnell trial by calling it a local crime story, I thought I’d add other local stories into my search. Thanks for the idea! So here’s what I found out. Politico‘s search engine pops out 165 results on Trayvon Martin (local crime story in Florida), 94...

The .300 AAC Blackout has taken the industry by storm and is considered one of the hottest new cartridges for hunting feral hogs with AR/MSR platform rifles. This versatile cartridge provides the ability to shoot subsonic ammunition for low-noise applications and supersonic ammunition for longer-range shots. Nikon has developed the all-new P-300 BLK riflescope to embrace both applications and to harness the effectiveness of this exciting new caliber. “When you look at what the .300 Blackout cartridge can do in terms of effectiveness, it really is an amazing caliber. Nikon is excited to jump into the mix and give shooters...

Another Super Bowl in the can, and the official results are in. Beyoncé was hot, the commercials, not (with the exception of Chrysler’s odes to our military and farmers, butt they weren’t technically commercials). There was a delay of game penalty called due to a temporary brown-out in the Chocolate City. And, oh yes…the Ravens won! So from the top: did you see Beyoncé shaking her considerable Behindce all over the half-time show?   Beyoncé the Super Knowles No wonder she didn’t have time to practice for the inauguration and had to lipsync! Last night’s performance was not just live,...

Lights out during the Super Bowl. President Obama fought for 4 years to have the power grid updated. The GOP resisted him for 4 years. This is America on GOP obstruction. Having the power reliability of a banana republic. When will you wake up and realize the GOP should never be allowed anywhere near the levers of power? When the lights give out during your open-heart surgery? This is serious and yes, it is political as it is about responsible governance.

Here's an encouraging update on the nationwide legal challenges to ObamaCare by religious institutions that will be forced to provide insurance coverage for such things as abortion drugs, birth control and sterilizations that violate their beliefs. This story is a week old, actually. Strangely, you haven't seen any real coverage of this development in mainstream media, perhaps because it concerns a crucial legal setback for Barack Obama and Kathleen Sebelius in a New York federal court. As is Eric Holder's style when his Justice Department is challenged, he attempts not to argue the typically weak legal issues he has but...

Here's an encouraging update on the nationwide legal challenges to ObamaCare by religious institutions that will be forced to provide insurance coverage for such things as abortion drugs, birth control and sterilizations that violate their beliefs. This story is a week old, actually. Strangely, you haven't seen any real coverage of this development in mainstream media, perhaps because it concerns a crucial legal setback for Barack Obama and Kathleen Sebelius in a New York federal court. As is Eric Holder's style when his Justice Department is challenged, he attempts not to argue the typically weak legal issues he has but...

Much of New York was plunged into darkness Monday by a superstorm that overflowed the city's historic waterfront, flooded the financial district and subway tunnels and cut power to nearly a million people. The city had shut its mass transit system, schools, the stock exchange and Broadway and ordered hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers to leave home to get out of the way of the superstorm Sandy as it zeroed in on the nation's largest city. Residents spent much of the day trying to salvage normal routines, jogging and snapping pictures of the water while officials warned the worst...

For those who don't remember what a large-scale blackout is like, take a look at what happened earlier this week in India, where 670 million people lost power. The images were haunting. Miles of stalled cars, snarled because traffic lights were dark. Electric trains that didn't run. Miners trapped underground. India's blackout was caused by a host of electrical issues ranging from bad energy policy to an overburdened electrical grid. A shortage of rain for hydroelectric dams this year and a shortage of coal for factories does not help the over strapped grid and are the most likely causes for...