Free Republic

I see the rim. I see the rim. A quarter century later, Bob Scrabis can still see the rim. Seven seconds remained in that first round 1989 NCAA tournament game between Princeton and Georgetown when Scrabis, the Tigers’ captain and lone senior, raised up to shoot the basketball. Before the game Scrabis’ own coach, the chronic pessimist Pete Carril, had set the betting line. “I think we’re a billion-to-one to win the whole tournament,” he said. “To beat Georgetown, we’re only 450 million to one.” Yet Carril’s 16th-seeded Princeton Tigers trailed the Hoyas, the most dominant and polarizing brand in...

Reagan: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you and good evening. The sponsor has been identified, but unlike most television programs, the performer hasn't been provided with a script. As a matter of fact, I have been permitted to choose my own words and discuss my own ideas regarding the choice that we face in the next few weeks. I have spent most of my life as a Democrat. I recently have seen fit to follow another course. I believe that the issues confronting us cross party lines. Now, one side in this campaign has been telling us that...

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly love, generosity and devotion exist and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy...

While watching The Five today on Fox News Channel, I noticed two glaring advertisements: the first was welcoming Judge Janeen (sp?) back to her regular time slot and the second was a long advertisement promoting Tucker, Hannity, and Laura Ingraham's like they were rock stars. This was pure grovel, grovel trying to get back on the right side of their loyal viewers. They won't get me back for Special Report or most of their other shows (goodbye forever, Chris Wallace!), but they know they can't survive without these prime time money makers.

Freepers, please celebrate with me the fact that Hillary will have another birthday tomorrow NOT being President. Rather, she should be thankful that she has not yet been locked up for her many crimes. Please share your birthday greetings to one of the biggest grifters in US political history.

With the passing of Congressman Elijah Cummings, I wonder whatever happened to Lois Lerner and how conservative groups like True The Vote were targeted and maligned by the IRS and People like Cummings. Did True The Vote, and other conservative non-profits, ever get the vindication they deserved? And did Lois Lerner have a dime of her ridiculous government pension taken from her following the investigations she unleashed on conservative non-profits? Just wondering.

The American public once again views “inadequate funding” as the top problem facing public schools, according to the annual PDK Poll. But the public will soon know exactly how much every public school actually spends, thanks to new federal reporting requirements. This leap forward in school finance transparency may forever change how Americans think about public education. The PDK poll has provided a barometer of public perceptions of public schooling since 1969. The latest survey confirms the public still believes schools have too little money. This view is shared across socioeconomic communities: “[A]among the best-off Americans, those in $100,000-plus households,...

She turns 71 today. Time to celebrate like we did on election night 2016! I feel like I should celebrate every day that we were spared having this loathsome person elected as our President.

Happy Birthday to Hillary, She Belongs in a Pillory As she turns 70 tomorrow, I think we should all give thanks to every day since the 2016 election that this horrible person was denied the presidency. She really does belong in a pillory.

The Clintons were "dead broke" when they left the White House in 2000 ... now, after Hillary's 4 years as Secretary of State and 4 years running for the 2016 presidency, they are worth $125 million. If she wins in November, where will their net worth be in 2020 or 2024? Asking for Freepers usually well-informed opinions.

One of the many things that goes unreported and not commented upon in the great Hillary Clinton email server evasion is: What has been the cost to the American taxpayer due to her decision to use a private email server during her time at the State Department and how much more will this cost the taxpayer before this is concluded (if ever)? Another question: while she has said it was "permitted" or "allowed" she has never said "WHO permitted this." Why hasn't the news media raised this question, if even just among themselves? Why isn't congress raising this question as...

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Forgive the vanity but I wonder what Freepers expect with tonight's speech. As in: how many strawmen will be set-up and knocked down? How many times will we hear "as I've said many times" and "let me be perfectly clear"? How many times will others be blamed (Bush, the intelligence community, his defense department for not providing him with a strategy, the world in general)? Will he specifically denounce Islamic terrorism or will he dance around that? How many times will the personal pronouns be used to refute the argument that he has waffled and been indecisive in foreign policy?...

n Washington, it is never too early to discuss who will next reside in the White House. But the real question is not who; it's what he will do there. Could even a President Paul, Lee, or Cruz accomplish the dramatic downsizing of government that we need? How would he push a Tea Party agenda, given what I call the Big Conundrum? The Big Conundrum is that those of us who believe in limited government abhor how much power has been appropriated to the executive branch. It would seem a type of hypocrisy to use those same powers to radically...

Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security Committee have decided to push ahead with confirmation of President Obama’s nominee for the No. 2 job at the Department of Homeland Security amid objections from Republicans. GOP members on the panel see the move as an effort by Democrats to rush the approval of a controversial nominee by taking advantage of new Senate rules. Last month, the Senate adopted procedures that allow confirmation of presidential nominees by a majority vote instead of the 60 votes required in the past... Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.), the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, called the...

We, the undersigned, call on Congress to pass and the President to sign into law a one-year timeout on the President's health reform bill. Some people want the health care law repealed, some want it fixed or expanded, and some want it implemented just as it was written. But all of us agree that the law is not ready for prime time. Already there have been politically selective waivers, exemptions, and delays of parts of this law; in fact, half of the legal deadlines have not been met. Unions are being forced to seek waivers or face changing their current...

The White House press briefing is almost 15-20 minutes behind schedule... What's up? Is Jay Carney renegotiating his pay for having to do this stuff (without bursting into laughter?

The Masters used to limit commercials to something like 4-6 minutes per hour of broadcasting... This year, it has to be close to 20 minutes. What Happened?

In this week's duel of "gotcha" recordings, Mitt Romney sounds callous toward those who have grown dependent on government programs. But President Obama may have more to fear from the latest reminder that he "believes in redistribution" of wealth. After all, it was around this point in the 2008 campaign that a confident and cruising Obama campaign was put on the defensive after its candidate gave a revealing answer to a question posed by Joe (the Plumber) Wurzelbacher. "When you spread the wealth around," candidate Obama opined, "it's good for everybody." Would a President Obama be as hostile to American...

This is the real choice of this election... If you knew all about their backgrounds, ideology, plans for governance, and these candidates were running for president of the United States as an incumbent who has racked up a ruinous record in his first term: would you vote for that person for a second term? Maybe it's unfair to imagine "philosophers" like Karl Marx or Saul Alinsky running for high office -- so consider those popular politicians who practiced statism, government control of all facets of society, the power of the fist (Hitler, Stalin, Mao) -- would you have voted for...