Free Republic

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey was named the "Best State to Live in for 2021," according to one new study. WalletHub compared all 50 states across 52 key indicators of livability that range from housing costs and income growth to education rate and quality of hospitals. Based on those factors, the Garden State came out on top. New Jersey's living conditions ranked fairly well, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic. Here is the breakdown with 1 as the best and 25 as average: 7th – % of Population in Poverty 24th – % of Insured Population 18th – % of Adults...

OAN Exclusive: Online Movement QANON Exposed as Hoax

My decision to be a Democrat was never a decision. It was just expected of me. It was understood. Born into a family of Democrats, my grandfather would often spend weekends talking to me about his respect for Franklin Roosevelt and his annoyance with President Reagan. I listened and absorbed, but was not yet ready to think critically about what I was told – or to decide for myself. [snip] My parents have since turned their back on me, my wife, their grandchildren, and their extended family. Adding to this, they decided to make the maximum contribution to my Democrat...

A new music video from Iraqi Kurds mocks the terrorist group, Islamic State aka ISIS. It's the latest effort by Iraqis fighting horror with humor. How to combat the ruthless tactics and gruesome crimes of the terrorist group ISIS? For a group of Iraqi Kurdish entertainers, it's not with guns, bombs, or munitions. They're fighting back with humor. Iraqi Kurdish KurdSat TV broadcast a new musical parody video on Oct. 12 that mocks the terrorist group ISIS in Saturday Night Live fashion: a group of bearded men pretending to be ISIS fighters play air guitar on rifles, pretend to sword-fight,...

The Washington Free Beacon's Adam Kredo is reporting that a new computer virus is wiping out computer hard drives in Iran (Hat Tip: Sunlight). A mysterious new computer virus has infected Iranian computers and is completely wiping users’ hard drives, according to Iranian officials. The “efficient” virus is said to “wipe files on different drives in various predefined times” and cannot be detected by anti-virus software, Iran’s official Information Technology Organization revealed in a statement over the weekend. The malware does not appear to be as sophisticated as previous viruses that have targeted computers governing Iran’s nuclear program, according to...

ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta) – The home base for Occupy Atlanta has tested positive for tuberculosis. The Fulton County Health Department confirmed Wednesday that residents at the homeless shelter where protesters have been occupying have contracted the drug-resistant disease

Kenya says it is surprised and shocked by reported comments about the country contained in leaked U.S. diplomatic memos. The German magazine Der Spiegel says the cables depict Kenya as a "swamp of corruption." Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua says that if the report is true, the comments are malicious and a total misrepresentation of Kenya and its leaders.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- Thousands of minks escaped from a fur farm in western Denmark — possibly set free by animal rights activists, police said Monday. Authorities and residents were chasing down about 5,000 minks from the farm near Asp, 200 miles northwest of Copenhagen, police said. Investigators believe animal rights activists raided the farm overnight to set them free . . .

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin Questions Need to Combat Warming NASA administrator Michael Griffin is drawing the ire of his agency's preeminent climate scientists after apparently downplaying the need to combat global warming. In an interview broadcast this morning on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" program, Griffin was asked by NPR's Steve Inskeep whether he is concerned about global warming. "I have no doubt that a trend of global warming exists," Griffin told Inskeep. "I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with." "To assume that it is a problem is...

Washington – Senator John Kerry issued the following statement in response to White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, assorted right wing nut-jobs, and right wing talk show hosts desperately distorting Kerry’s comments about President Bush to divert attention from their disastrous record: “If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I’m sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but...

They're mostly a liberal bunch. Yet the would-be chairmen in a House under Democratic control promise to rule from the center. They'd have little choice, given the likely balance of power they would confront if elected. George W. Bush would still occupy the Oval Office, and no one thinks Democrats could win control of the House by more than a few seats next month. And that would include three dozen or more moderate "blue dog" Democrats. The dynamics ensure that despite the overwhelmingly liberal cast of the chairmen-to-be — as measured by liberal interest groups such as Americans for Democratic...

During these tense times in the Middle East, at least Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can have a good laugh over the pathetic July 26 letter addressed to him by the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division, Sarah Leah Whitson. “Dear President Ahmadinejad,” the letter solemnly begins, “We [at HRW] are aware that you have recently expressed great concern about the current fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, citing in particular the large numbers of Lebanese civilian victims of this conflict.” Your eyes do not deceive you. HRW believes, at least publicly, that it is communicating...

CHAPEL HILL -- The Town Council unanimously backed a call Monday for the impeachment of President George W. Bush, in a meeting in which it managed to touch on politics, panhandling and downtown parking. The council also heard that feelings were somewhat divided about a possible "neighborhood conservation district" for Coker Hills. On the political front, the council voted 8-0 in favor of a call for impeaching President Bush, reacting to a petition from the Elders for Peace group from the Carol Woods retirement community in Chapel Hill. The council members, all registered Democrats, passed the resolution without comment. "The...

Almost all of the population growth in the 21st century will take place in the poorest regions other than Mexico – for example countries of Latin America that have economic and social conditions worse than Mexico and a labor force willing to work for less wages than illegal aliens from Mexico. The poorest regions of the world that face the most population growth include sub-Saharan Africa, other areas of the African continent, and in Central and South Asia. If it’s all a matter of “work that Americans won’t do” and that, so we are told, without such foreign, peasant, servitude...

Re-Name Berkeley? UC Reagan Astute reader Frank King goes the clamor for changing school names one better. Noting the movement to change Thomas Jefferson school in Berkeley, he suggests that Berkeley itself is suspect. Berkeley, California is named for George Berkeley, philosopher and Anglican Bishop. He was also a slave owner and a Christian apologist for slavery. Berkeley's Slaves After coming to the colonies, Berkeley bought a plantation in Newport, Rhode Island-the famous "Whitehall." On October 4, 1730, Berkeley purchased "a Negro man named Philip aged Fourteen years or thereabout." A few days later he purchased "a negro man named...

Divided federation is taking up issue of union consolidation as some leaders thirst for change Changes are brewing in the AFL-CIO. A new committee of union leaders is exploring possible mergers and how to put new life into organizing. And when transformations eventually are made, they are likely to have a significant impact on the labor federation’s Building and Construction Trades Dept. The leadership of long-time AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney is being tested and may be doomed by the defeat of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Unions spent more than $100 million in their attempt to send Kerry to...

<p>Democratic presidential hopeful Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich continues to court romance, feeding the media buzz that has followed him since he shared fantasies about his ideal "first lady" during a New Hampshire campaign debate.</p> <p>"I have been hearing from a lot of people," the congressman from Ohio told ABC yesterday. "I'm amazed by it all. It's like — it's one of those things that just — you know, what can I say?"</p>

Sen. Clinton's writing hand gets workout at book signing 06/10/2003 Associated Press NEW YORK – More than 1,000 people clamored for Hillary Rodham Clinton's new book, an autograph and a chance to meet the senator on Monday as she launched a rock star-like tour to promote her long-awaited memoirs. The scheduled one-hour event at a midtown Manhattan bookstore stretched more than 2 ½ hours, as Mrs. Clinton kept signing copies of Living History and passers-by hopped onto the end of the line. When she eventually walked out into a waiting van, a crowd cheered from behind barricades across the street....

Scroll down a bit to find excerpt at source. Protesters Under Lorries Again Oh man. If you thought yesterday's story about the British peace ninnies who chained themselves to a bomb convoy was funny, you are not going to believe this. They did the exact same thing again today, and the whining went up a few octaves. I can't stop laughing. (Hat tip: Rob Hinkley, who comments: "Even a *squirrel* learns to try a different trick when its first attempt at the birdfeeder fails. This leads us to ask an inevitable question: Are bomb convoy protestors actually as clever as...

When anti-American war protesters descended upon Fox News Channel's Manhattan headquarters yesterday, the No. 1 cable news network used its news zipper to fire back. In red neon letters that crawled across the building from the Avenue of the Americas to 48th Street, the peacenistas were taunted with barbs like: "War protester auditions here today. . . . Thanks for coming!," "How do you keep a war protester in suspense? Ignore them" and "Attention protesters: The Michael Moore Fan Club meets Thursday at a phone booth at Sixth Avenue and 50th Street." "I thought I'd have some fun with it,"...