Free Republic

You have to got to read the DU threads. These guys are leaving the country in droves. I've never seen so much swearing in my life.

"Annoy a Liberal," the bumper sticker said, "Work. Succeed. Be Happy." The unexpected epiphany amid Sevier County traffic on a tourist-saturated October day brought a smile to my face. The sticker was on a pickup, not a hybrid. The driver wore a baseball cap, not a beret. He drank coffee, not a latte. He ate a biscuit, not a croissant. There was no windsurfing equipment in his truck. My mind whirled with other ways to annoy a liberal. Watch Fox. Listen to Rush. Drive an SUV. Buy a gun. Shoot game instead of skeet. Grow, smoke or chew tobacco. Pray....

It's now a property tax increase vs. the wheel tax. Knox County commissioners voted Wednesday night to enact an 18-cent property tax boost if a referendum to repeal the wheel tax succeeds. In an 11-6 vote, the 6 percent property tax increase would only go into effect if voters repeal the current $30 wheel tax. That was the decision after a lengthy debate in a specially called meeting to deal with the county's stagnant budget situation. "The (school) children continue to suffer because we are a stagnant society here in Knox County," said Commissioner Craig Leuthold, who made the motion...

President Bush is scheduled to visit Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Monday where they are currently storing uranium recently discovered in Iraq. It is thought that he will discuss this recent discovery and the recent alerts concerning Al-Queda

I'm surprising the wife with a surprise trip to NYC for our ten year anniversary next Friday. Neither one of us has ever been there so I'm looking for recommendations for places to eat, best way to see sights, etc. We're staying in Midtown Manhattan at the Sofitel. Friday night we've got tickets to see Chicago at 8, and Saturday night we've got tickets to see the Blue Man Group. Besides that we're wide open. So, if any NYC freeper experts would share their expertise it would be greatly appreciated!

Fellow Freepers, I'm attempting to plan a surprise 10 year anniversary trip to NYC for my wife. I've never been there, thus I'd like to seek your advice on the best area to stay, eat, shows to see, etc., etc. We'll mainly just be sight seeing, shopping and would like to take in a show. Now, we're from Tennessee so keep that in mind. I guess we'll have to put our shoes on when we get there. Any advice on location (Manhattan, East side, West Side, Central Park area, Times Square, etc.) and hotels would especially be helpful! We're going...

Freshmen entering the University of Tennessee this fall will find they have at least one thing in common with their classmates. Under a new program called Life of the Mind, all first-year students will be required to read "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride. During the freshman Welcome Week they will participate in one-hour discussion sessions about the book, led by faculty volunteers from a variety of academic disciplines. "The Life of the Mind program is a superb opportunity for the University to acquaint new freshmen students with some of our...

I need some help. Now, I'm usually pretty computer savvy but I am frustrated to no end with FR sidebars. Currently my sidebar lists breaking news only. I've attempted to add other categories through preferences, etc. to no avail. If I log out I get sidebars for breaking news, general interest, news/editorials down the whole page. What gives? How do I setup my sidebar to view the same categrories as when I'm not logged in. I am subscribed to Breaking News, General Interest, Religion, etc.

Little to cheer about for tree huggers By Don Williams November 8, 2002Glancing at giant TV screens over the shoulders of friends talking in a restaurant Tuesday night, I watched the brave new world of Republican rule arrive piecemeal. The volume was down, so I got my first returns from on-screen graphics. Trimmed in red, white and blue, screen after screen showed Republicans winning most races for Senate and House. Added to a Republican president, this puts virtually all the power in Republican hands in the mightiest nation that ever existed. I didn't have to catalog the things I wanted...

Dissent greets beltway decisionTransportation chief says 'no choice' but Orange RouteBy Hayes Hickman, News-Sentinel staff writerAugust 1, 2002Boos, insults and one state legislator's near-tussle with state troopers interrupted Transportation Commissioner Bruce Saltsman as he announced plans to build the Knoxville Beltway along the controversial Orange Route. The words had barely left Saltsman's mouth before the shouting began at Wednesday's press conference - particularly from state Rep. H.E. Bittle, who has vehemently opposed the Orange Route. The route would come directly through Bittle's own community in West Knox County's Hardin Valley, and the legislator confronted Saltsman on an alleged promise to...

DOCTORS, HOSPITALS OWED BY ACCESS NOT COUNTING ON PAYMENT By Paula Wade, The Commercial Appeal Nashville - The collapse of TennCare MCO Access MedPlus in October has left Tennessee's doctors, hospitals and other medical businesses with an estimated $80 million to $100 million in debts - and little hope they will be paid. State insurance regulators are liquidating the parent company of the failed managed-care organization, but the process is unlikely to yield much in assets. Parent firm Tennessee Coordinated Care Network was a one-employee shell corporation whose entire operations were performed by an affiliated management company that state officials ...

Some Muslims find Charlie Daniels' New Song Offensive by Doug Mason Zaynab Karnes hasn't heard Charlie Daniels' controversial new song "This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag," but the Muslim woman is familiar with the sentiment expressed in its first verse: "This ain't no rag, it's a flag/And we don't wear it on our heads." "My own grandmother told me I should take 'that rag' off my head," says the 28-year-old Knoxville native, whose family settled here before the Civil War. Karnes was raised Baptist but converted to Islam 1 1/2 years ago. She wears hijab, or Muslim dress, which ...

The other day while waiting to perform some local elementary school volunteer work, I struck up a conversation with an older gentleman seated next to me. Jack was his name. We exchanged warm plesantries as we normally do here in the South, and discussed our enthusiasm for the work to be done. While conversing, we discussed the motivation as to what brought us to our volunteering. In both cases, geographical history was a major contributor. I explained to him that I had grown up in the area where we were volunteering and had answered a call in the local newspaper ...