Free Republic

The NFL hasn’t been sufficiently accepting of Michael Sam, who came out as the first openly gay professional football player earlier this year, due to the religious Right’s influence in NFL locker rooms, says one ESPN commentator. On Tuesday, Pardon the Interruption’s Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon were discussing former NFL coach Tony Dungy’s recent comments that media attention would have pushed him away from drafting Sam. Kornheiser said he was optimistic that NFL players would be personally tolerant of Sam, though. “I’m more skeptical,” Wilbon countered. “I think there is a component, a subculture of the religious Right, that...

Tiger Woods finished an hour and a half before eventual winner Rory McIlroy teed off. In that moment, the Tiger Woods Era of golf officially ended. Over the weekend, lead Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee said, "There was a beginning of his career, middle of his career, and this is the end of his career, no question about it. Chamblee isn't the only talking head in golf who thinks the Tiger Era died this weekend. At Golf.com, a roundtable of writers all agreed. Eamon Lynch a Golf.com put it best, saying, "This point isn't even worthy of debating. It's demonstrably...

Former Dallas Cowboys fullback Robert Newhouse, who will be remembered most for throwing a touchdown pass to Golden Richards while running to his left in Super Bowl XII on one of Tom Landry’s famous trick plays, died Tuesday night. He was 64. Newhouse battled health issues since suffering a stroke in 2010. He spent much of the past year at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., hoping to get a heart transplant. Newhouse never got strong enough for the transplant before succumbing to heart disease at the Mayo Clinic, his son Rodd Newhouse confirmed Tuesday night. Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/07/22/5988448/former-cowboys-running-back-robert.html#storylink=cpy

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) responded on Facebook to a True Blood TV episode that featured a storyline with a massacre at a fundraiser for Ted Cruz at the George W. Bush Presidential Library. In the episode, a pair of left-leaning vampires show up at the Republican fundraiser to search for the parents of their enemy. Pam, the female vampire, catches a glimpse of herself in a mirror with a sparkly dress and big hair and exclaims, “I’m a Republican!” Except instead of “Republican” she invents a sexually crude word that’s not worth repeating here because it’s juvenile and debauched. After...

Glenys and Royston Smith, 88 and 91, fell to their deaths in December Both suffered from an array of medical conditions, including osteoporosis They had said days before they were afraid of burdening their family Investigators found the note written in pen on their kitchen whiteboard An inquest today in Bournemouth, Dorset, ruled the deaths were suicides The great-grandparents who had been married 67 years, had said just days before they felt unable to go on, and were afraid of burdening their family. Cindy Hoyle, the building's caretaker who found the couple, said Mr Smith had told her days before...

The moment Paul Trott let his two dogs out in the backyard he could see a problem. Someone had broken the gate at the rear of the yard, and the dogs made a dash for the opening and into the alley beyond. As his partner Josh Lyczkowski ran out the door to collect the dogs, they heard someone in the alley shout “No! Don’t! Stop!,” according to Lyczkowski. Then they heard a gunshot. Their largest dog, Tito, a Cane Corso that weighed about 120 pounds, had been fatally shot in the head. Lyczkowski arrived so soon after the shooting that...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said in a phone interview with Alaska Dispatch News on Tuesday that she plans to speak out against oil company-funded efforts to maintain the oil tax structure put in place in January. “I don’t want Alaskans to be deceived,” she said.

New York is America's most unhappy region, a new study has found - while Richmond tops the table as American's most contented place. The study from the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research relies on a large survey that asks respondents about their satisfaction with life. Researchers say that despite this, areas such as New York still attract people because of its job prospects.

If the amount of press ink used to report a study is any indicator of its contribution to public understanding, the National Institute on Retirement Security's (NIRS) 2013 report, "The Retirement Savings Crisis: Is It Worse than We Think?" might be the gold standard on the subject of retirement security. The report concludes that 84% of Americans are falling short of reasonable retirement savings targets and, even when total net worth is considered, two-thirds are at risk of an inadequate retirement income. The total "retirement savings gap," NIRS claims, may reach $14 trillion. According to New York Times writer Nancy...

It may seem to some as something of a dream job - working alongside childhood heroes such as Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck. But in order to get, and keep, a job as a character at a Disney park or resort, employees must abide by a number of strict rules, ranging from the obvious to the bizarre. For anyone thinking of trying to get a job at a Magic Kingdom, here is a rundown of some of the more idiosyncratic employee rules implemented by the bosses at Disney.

New York is America's most unhappy region, a new study has found - while Richmond tops the table as American's most contented place. The study from the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research relies on a large survey that asks respondents about their satisfaction with life.

Denver Broncos team owner Pat Bowlen is steeping down from day-to-day operations because he is battling Alzheimer's Disease ... The Broncos said Bowlen had already been reducing his role in recent years while he was, "courageously and privately battling Alzheimer’s disease." "The Broncos are very saddened that Mr. Bowlen is no longer able to be part of the team’s daily operations due to his condition," the team said on its website. "We continue to offer our full support, compassion and respect to ‘Mr. B,’ who has faced Alzheimer’s disease with such dignity and strength." Team president Joe Ellis will assume...

Watchmaking is a noble tradition stretching back hundreds of years when they would make all the parts by hand. While technology today has lightened some of their workload, it's still a fascinating sight when a watchmaker creates another mechanical beauty.

Outgoing Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) may be down but she wants everyone to know she’s not out. “The only thing that the media has speculated on is that it’s going to be various men that are running (in 2016),” Bachmann said in a new interview with Real Clear Politics. “They haven’t speculated, for instance, that I’m going to run. What if I decide to run? And there’s a chance I could run.” Politics watchers will recall Bachmann’s first failed run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. After winning the not-that-significant Iowa Ames Straw Poll in 2011, she enjoyed a brief...

MINNEAPOLIS — A Twin Cities man is upset about the way his family was treated on a Southwest Airlines flight because of a tweet. Duff Watson says he was asked to de-board a flight from Denver to Minneapolis with his two kids on Sunday after an agent didn’t like a tweet he wrote about her service. Watson and the agent had a disagreement before boarding initially. ... He’s an “A-List” passenger, which means he gets priority boarding. But a gate agent wouldn’t let his 6-year-old and 9-year-old board with him — so they’d all have to wait to board later....

When I load FR certain words are appearing as hyperlinks. I scanned the hard drive using super anti spyware and got rid of one program called "immenent". Also getting pop-ups. Ad block is on and I'm using firefox browser. I also use windows defender. Any help appreciated, thanks.

Word For The Day, Wednesday, July 23, 2014-- potentate ; In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". potentate [poht-n-teyt]hear it pronounced noun a person who possesses great power, as a sovereign, monarch, or ruler. Origin: [1350-1400: from Late Latin potentātus ruler, from Latin: rule, command, from potens powerful, from posse to be able] Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the Word for the Day in a sentence. The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day....

Wild cards, but notable Android entry Summary: Amazon's Fire Phone proved itself to be a good everyday phone even though it's unclear whether Dynamic Perspective and Firefly will be hits. Amazon's Fire gives us something unique in the me-too land of Android smartphones. I was skeptical before I even turned the device on. Amazon's Fire Phone is one of the few things to really talk about in the Android smartphone derby, but faces a few hurdles. My doubts revolved around the following: Was Dynamic Perspective, which delivers 3D effects, useful or a gimmick? After playing with the phone for four...

I was browsing video on Youtube of the MH17 crash scene and noticed something unusual. The source of the video is Russian Television, but posted to Youtube on the 17th here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fjpB5gw3iM in line with the timeline of the crash. Best views :16-:30 in. I searched post-by-post here at FR back to the 17th and didn't see any Title asserting this had been observed. Notice the Chaff falling from the sky...

Narnia meets The Lord of the Rings in a new movie project slated for release next spring. Tolkien & Lewis will delve into the historical relationship between two of the greatest epic fantasy writers of all time: J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. ADVERTISEMENT Hard-core fantasy fans know that Lewis and Tolkien were friends and colleagues, but the average movie-goer may not even realize that the two authors were connected at all, though their best-known works have become blockbuster Hollywood movies. Indeed, there is much exciting history between the two legendary British authors, and each heavily influenced the other. According to...