Free Republic

Despite President Obama's speech about healing, shared responsibility and shared pain, conservative pundit Sarah Palin is plastered, unflatteringly, along one San Francisco street (so far). The posters -- found and publisehd by SFist.com -- espouse "Enrage them with fear until they feel justified in their violence." Granted, Palin has brought even more spotlight on herself with a recent diatribe against "irresponsible journalists." Maybe the president's message stressing the strength of our words and how we use them will stick ... like a poster to a wall.

This sleazy ad has been on cable news all day. Former presidential candidate and country bear Fred Thompson wants old people to get "Absolutely FREE," government-backed reverse mortgages. What do we know about this shady company Thompson is endorsing? ...Oh right, and they're government-backed! That's how investors get paid. (Fred Thompson, a true Fiscal Conservative, makes a big point of this "full government backup" in his terrible ad.) Reverse mortgages are available to homeowners who are 62 years old or older and own their homes outright or have a substantial amount of home equity, according to the HUD site. The...

Among U.S. allies across the world, Korea faces perhaps the biggest dilemma over the U.S.-initiated sanctions against Iran for its nuclear development program. Iran is Korea’s biggest export market in the Middle East and joining in the sanctions will instantly affect the trade with a two-way volume of $1 billion. But Seoul, on the joint front with Washington in the hard process of denuclearizing North Korea, cannot afford to lose U.S. confidence in its support for the global nonproliferation efforts. Washington delivered its specific requests for the anti-Iranian measures when Robert Einhorn, the State Department’s special advisor, visited Seoul earlier...

U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston has endorsed former House colleague Nathan Deal for governor. Runner-up in the July 20 Republican primary, Deal faces the top vote getter, former Secretary of State Karen Handel, in an Aug. 10 runoff. Earlier, Kingston, a Savannah Republican, had supported his longtime friend and ally Eric Johnson, a former Savannah state senator. Johnson ran third in the seven-way primary. "For those who supported Eric Johnson," Kingston said, "Nathan is the natural fit for the ... runoff." He praised Deal's record on taxes, immigration and curbing Medicaid fraud, as well as his "perfect" score from the American...

...in a memorandum dated June 2, 2010, President Obama directed agencies to extend a host of benefits to their employees’ same-sex domestic partners as permitted by law. He also directed me to issue guidance to ensure consistent and appropriate implementation of his memorandum. This memorandum constitutes OPM’s guidance.I. DEFINITION OF “DOMESTIC PARTNER” For purposes of ensuring consistent implementation of the President’s memorandum, a “domestic partner” is a person in a domestic partnership with an employee or annuitant of the same sex.[1] The term “domestic partnership” is defined as a committed relationship between two adults, of the same sex, in which...

Aznar said that a “pyromaniac” like Zapatero can not be the fire chief! The former prime minister responds with a gesture insulting jeers from students at the University of Oviedo EL PAÍS - JAVIER CUARTAS / AGENCIAS - Oviedo – 18/02/2010 (English Translation) The former prime minister and president of the Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies (FAES) José María Aznar has questioned today during a “rough” conference on the crisis at the University of Oviedo, the ability of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to achieve consensus or face economic situation because, in his view, “the head of the arsonists can...

President Obama will be in Savannah to stump for his economic program March 2, the next stop on his White House to Main Street Tour, according to a White House press release. The day-long visit represents the president’s third stop on the tour that began in Allentown, Penn., on Dec. 4, and stopped last in Cleveland late last month. Both trips wound between small businesses and a town hall meeting. The goal of the tour is to give ordinary people a chance to describe their economic challenges, according to the White House official, speaking on background. It also provides him...

Since the publication of the first Interim Report on 2 July 2009, the investigation has continued, still in close association with foreign investigation organisations and the companies involved and in coordination with those responsible for the judicial investigation. The working groups have continued their work of gathering and analyzing information useful to the investigation. Their activity has focused on * the elements of wreckage recovered, * the meteorological situation, * the maintenance messages transmitted by ACARS, * the certification and the continuing airworthiness of the Pitot probes, * events where speed inconsistencies were encountered in cruise. This second interim report...

THR Film Review-Bottom Line: A titanic entertainment — movie magic is back! A dozen years later, James Cameron has proven his point: He is king of the world. As commander-in-chief of an army of visual-effects technicians, creature designers, motion-capture mavens, stunt performers, dancers, actors and music and sound magicians, he brings science-fiction movies into the 21st century with the jaw-dropping wonder that is “Avatar.” And he did it almost from scratch. There is no underlining novel or myth to generate his story. He certainly draws deeply on Westerns, going back to “The Vanishing American” and, in particular, “Dances With Wolves.”...

On December 7th, the entirety of the Department's semiannual agenda was made available online at www.dol.gov/asp/regs/agenda.htm and at www.regulations.gov. The regulatory agenda is a listing of all the regulations the Department of Labor expects to have under active consideration for promulgation, proposal, or review during the coming one-year period. Live Q&A Sessions We will host a series of live Q&A sessions with our leadership to answer your questions about our regulatory agenda: View the Replay - Secretary SolisView the Replay - Occupational Safety and Health AdministrationTuesday, 9 a.m. EST - Office of Labor Management StandardsTuesday, 10:30 a.m. EST - Wage...

Green Condoms - Google English Translation (Le Monde) The stamp “green” is booming. And condoms are no exception. In recent years, the brand “green” have multiplied. In France, in natural food stores or some pharmacies are the Namnam strawberry or Birds’n Bees green Dr. Theiss. This Swedish brand says use only natural latex and its treatment products (for strength, finesse …) or washing. In England, the spearhead of the animal because there are no condoms certified treatment product of animal origin, such as Condomi or Glyde. APHRODISIAC PRICED FLOOR Across the Channel again, latex condoms have made a place on...

Trevor Francis, communications director of the Republican National Committee, abruptly resigned Monday, and two Republican strategists familiar with the situation said he was pushed out because Chairman Michael Steele didn’t feel he was getting enough credit for the GOP’s electoral success earlier this month. Francis had only been in the job since March, and neither he nor the RNC veered from the sort of vague explanations that typically suggest a less-than-amicable political breakup. RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho would only say that Francis was “pursuing other opportunities,” and Francis allowed just that he was “returning to my career in the private...

Today was the final day for absentee ballots to be received in New York's 23rd District Special Congressional Election. Already three counties have completed the final vote counts, and Hamilton County has already certified those counts to the State Board of Elections. Updated Counts Here: County Hoffman Owens Scozzafava Clinton 7530 10536 686 Essex 3175 3718 432 Franklin 4589 5125 247 Fulton 2489 1969 676 Hamilton* 1265 938 369 Jefferson 10884 10460 1179 Lewis 2676 2169 282 Madison* 9155 8290 724 Oneida* 3225 2243 459 Oswego 12748 11000 950 St. Lawrence 8748 12987 1194 Totals: 66,484 69,435 7,198 * -...

578 Votes Counted for Scozzafava in 3 Election Districts Where Hoffman Received ZERO Counted Votes With 92% of the precincts accounted for and a hefty 5,850 vote differential, news today that Madison County's Board of Election has confirmed that Doug Hoffman received zero counted votes in three of its fifty-five election districts is unlikely to cause the Conservative candidate in yesteday's Special Election in the 23rd Congressional District to rescind his concession speech. But it does raise eyebrows among election watchers who heard numerous accounts of election day malfunctions of a new voting machine system that was in place yesterday....

When the votes are counted Tuesday, the State Senate’s 1st District might have seen its first seriously contested election since 1992. One thing is certain: It will be the first election there since 1994 with no incumbent on the ballot. Not that the candidates are political rookies: Buddy Carter recently was in the state House and Billy Hair chaired the Chatham County Commission for eight years. Carter and Hair are Republicans, which is no coincidence. Shifting boundaries and political loyalties have made the lst – which takes in Bryan County and parts of Chatham and Liberty counties – a GOP...

The British Library formally opened it’s landmark photography exhibition Points of View last night at a well-attended private view. The exhibition marks the librarys first ever photographic exhibition. It opens to the public free. At a risk of running out of superlatives Points of View is quite simply the best exhibition that the library has ever put on. It is a large show, but never feels unapproachable. It is well designed and laid out and presents a wealth of the library’s treasures... The poison in the veins: “After the fall of Ceausescu, the country has long delayed the opening of...

Attorney General Eric Holder tries to kill a TV ad supporting D.C. school vouchers. President Obama isn't taking kindly to a television ad that criticizes his opposition to a popular scholarship program for poor children, and his administration wants the ad pulled. Former D.C. Councilmember Kevin Chavous of D.C. Children First said October 16 that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder had recently approached him and told him to kill the ad. The 30-second ad, which has been airing on FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, and News Channel 8 to viewers in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, urges the president to reauthorize the...

GPS device can track children Updated: Tuesday, 27 Oct 2009, 12:13 AM EDT Published : Tuesday, 27 Oct 2009, 12:13 AM EDT KELLY JOYCE | FOX 35 News ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A GPS device the size of your pinky finger is about to hit store shelves and the web. Some parents say it's a good way to keep track of children given all of the children disappearing in central Florida. The "insignia little buddy tracker" is a Best Buy brand GPS system that's about to hit store shelves. It's already drawn so much interest it's on back...

ORANGEBURG, SC (WIS) - An Orangeburg County highway was shut down for hours Tuesday after deputies stopped a man who they say had a rifle and seven live improvised explosive devices in his car. Authorities are also searching the man's motel room. Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams says Mark Kerron of New Jersey is "the real McCoy"

History comes back to haunt us. Just over 20 years ago, the then British prime minister Margaret Thatcher told Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev: “Britain and western Europe are not interested in the unification of Germany. The words written in the NATO communique may sound different, but disregard them. We do not want the unification of Germany.” She went on to say... About one year after the construction of the wall, Peter Fechter attempted to flee from the GDR together with his friend Helmut Kulbeik. The plan was to hide in a carpenter’s workshop near the wall in Zimmerstrasse and, after...