Free Republic

If you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution, let me suggest an idea that you might not have considered: You should learn computer programming. Specifically, you should sign up for Code Year, a new project that aims to teach neophytes the basics of programming over the course of 2012. Code Year was put together by Codecademy,* a startup that designs clever, interactive online tutorials. Codecademy’s founders, Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinski, argue that everyone should know how to program—that learning to code is becoming as important as knowing how to read and write. I concur. So if you don’t know...

Moments before the start of a recent presidential debate at Dartmouth College, Mitt Romney and Herman Cain flung open the doors to their closet-size green rooms and ran into Newt Gingrich. “Oh my God,” Mr. Gingrich marveled. “I’m looking at the ticket right now.” Then he went in for the kill. “I just don’t know how you’re going to feel about being vice president, Governor Romney,” Mr. Gingrich deadpanned. Was that gentle teasing among friends? Full-out mockery? Or was Mr. Gingrich taking a dig at Mr. Romney, whom he is now battling in the polls for the top of the...

I was talking to someone about this before, he's a left winger who believes the world will collapse, the sky will fall, and all bad things will happen if the debt ceiling doesn't get raised, and it got me wondering, with so many looney lefties buying into the B.S. hype, would Obama use this as an excuse to declare Marshal Law or a state of emergency ? I know it sounds crazy, and hell, I'm not a big conspiracy theory guy, but the media, is on his bandwagon, they are comparing the tea party to terrorists, they are predicting the...

Two major names remain on the 2012 bench. Each has a giant persona, comes from a giant state, and has a giant following. Yes, it’s Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Their political friendship, while somewhat recent, seems real — so real that it would be easy to imagine one endorsing the other if only one of them would jump into the race. That would give an instant charge of credibility and buzz to the endorsee, and likely set either Palin or Perry as the Tea Party favorite. Their friendship goes back to their days as...

2012 hopeful Mitt Romney is taking heat today after news got out that he refused to sign a prominent pro-life group’s presidential pledge. Romney, who has come under fire for his stance on abortion before, did not sign the Susan B. Anthony List’s 2012 Pro-life Presidential Leadership Pledge. The pledge, comprised of four statements, promises to appoint only “relevant” pro-life cabinet members as well push to end all taxpayer funded abortions. “Governor Romney pledged in the last campaign that he would be a pro-life president and of course he pledges it today,” the Romney campaign said in a statement. “However,...

Even though Penn and Teller are atheists, they don't spare any religion, or religious figures, and the Dalai Lama is no different, also a nice summery of why no one should be surprised that the Dalai Lama is a marxist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYEOSCIOnrs

Unprompted, Sarah Palin brought up Rick Perry's name yesterday as a strong presidential candidate. "I think he would be a fine candidate.... we have a lot in common. I really like him. But there are so many candidates and potential candidates out there who have so much to offer." Indeed. Except for Palin herself, Perry would probably be the strongest tea party candidate. Meanwhile, here's some vid from the New York Times of her stop in Gettysburg last night, where she reiterated the message that even though the 2012 field is strong, "there will be more strong candidates jumping in."...

I keep seeing articles on this guy, and he is drawing alot of heat, but I can't see his political affiliation anywhere. I thought he may be a republican because it is the south, but usually that would be front and center in the news. Is he an independent ? Does anyone know or have a source ?

I know this sounds a little out there, and I hope I don't get flamed (I'm putting on the safety suit anyway), but what if Sarah Palin doesn't run ? I'm not saying she won't, I'm not hoping she won't, If she does, I fully intend to support her, but what if she does not run? Who would you support in the primary then ? Personally, I'd probably go with Michelle Bachman, but I know some would support Huckabee (personally, I'm not a fan of his), some would support Romney (and I will NEVER ever support him), others might choose...

This is just a thought, and something to consider. There is an old saying that if you lay down with dogs, you wake up with fleas. We've all seen, first hand how corrupt and dirty Obama is, and we all know about the chicago machine. Why would it be any surprise that Obama would surround himself, with people with low moral characters ? and when I say low character, I specifically mean Mr. Rahm Emanuel, the former chief of staff now mayor of chicago. Here is the question, we see how Donald Trump gave $50,000 as a campaign contribution to...

I'm not debating if the birth certificate today is real or not, my question is......Why did he release it now and and not sooner ? If its a fake, why didn't he release a fake one, years ago ? WIth his access to resources, and with the power and money of the Democratic party, and its donors, why didn't they produce, if not the real, then a fake Birth Certificate a long time ago ? Heck, with this kind of money and resources, they not only could produce the best fake on the planet, if they wanted to, hell, they...

We all know the standard drill for a math class. The teacher delivers lectures on a new concept, students do some homework problems, and after a few weeks they take an exam. Some do well, some do poorly, and then it's on to the next topic.

Are you sick of highly paid teachers? Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit! We can get that for less than minimum wage. That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan-- that equals 6 1/2...

The media is spread alot of different info on this, here is the question, I keep getting this line, which doesn't sound right. That the previous RAT governor, actually left a surplus, or was projecting surplusses up until 2014, and that the (obviousley evil kitten drowning puppy killing) Republican, gave tax breaks to out of state companies like wal-mart thus creating the budget deficit..... This garbage, is obviously being passed in the mainstream media, and keeps getting repeated, also that the payroll costs, or union costs to Wisconson make up a small meager part of the budget, and that its...

Congressman Mike Pence, a respected national pro-life leader, is stepping down from his position as chairman of the House Republican Conference one day after a huge win for pro-life and Republican candidates. The move doesn’t come from any problems associated with the incoming Republican leaders or Pence but is seen as a potential step towards a gubernatorial bid in Indiana or a possible 2012 presidential race. Pence has already said he doesn’t believe it’s fair to House Republicans to split his attention between the duties of a leadership post and a potential bid for higher office. Pence informed fellow House...

Long story short. I am looking to get a new cordless phone that is bluetooth enabled. This way I can link my cordless phone and my cell phone (i.e. when at home, and without having to do call forward, I can get the cell phone calls on my home phone). I know the Vtech DS6321 is the newest model that I know of that does this, but has one drawback, or is missing one feature that I need. Call Blocking on the phone. My current cordless phone has call blocking on it (Panasonic KX-TGA740), but none of the other features...

Question for any freepers out there who would know. What hotels do MLB teams stay in, when they stay in the Windy City of Chicago? Particular interest, what hotels do the Mets and Yankees stay in, when they are in Chicago? I know this is an odd question, I'm doing some research for future vacations, in different cities, and this was something that wound up interesting me.

I had another posting regarding using salad dressings to cook with, this is kind of a follow up, but with more detail.....and not for the weak of heart. My buddies came across something on the web about bacon cereal. This guy fried up his bacon, chopped it up and put it in a bowl (like it was cereal) and then added blue cheese (like it was milk).Naturally, under the theory that everything is better with bacon, we decided to come up with something similar. We would do the same thing, but instead of blue cheese, add bacon flavored ranch dressing...

Here is the question, in terms of both safety and taste. Can you cook or fry with salad dressing? I know you can marinate with some oil type salad dressings (alot of folks use italian salad dressing to marinate chicken, steaks and pork chops, etc). However, can you actually fry foods using say, creamy salad dressings? Like creamy italian or ranch style dressing? Or, also a weird but strange question, if you are eating something and pour creamy style dressing over it, can you put it into the fridge and reheat (probably via microwave) later on and eat it again,...

I'm getting some hot sauces shipped to me over the next couple of days, and wanted to get some opinions from folks who have either tried them or in some ways experienced them. One set I'm getting is from Dave's Gourmet, i.e. the guy who created the "Insanity sauce" and the "ultimate insanity sauce". The batch I'm getting is the spicy 6 pack which is Roasted Pepper & Chipotle Sauce, Roasted Garlic Hot Sauce, Scotch Bonnet Sauce, Insanity Sauce, Cool Cayenne Sauce and Hurtin Jalapeno Sauce. Has anyone here ever tried any of these sauces and does anyone have an...