Free Republic

Conservation Groups Again Seek Endangered Species Protection For Giant, Spitting Worm In Wash. (AP) Fans of the giant Palouse earthworm are once again seeking federal protection for the rare, sweet-smelling species that spits at predators. They filed a petition Tuesday with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requesting the worm be protected as an endangered species.

Had a few too many at the clubhouse before hitting the first nine…? The fountain continually fluidly flowing near the green making you somewhat cross-legged…? Drank a few too many beers and now you’re playing golf with a popped collar while hitting on the refreshments chick and trying not to piss yourself…? Have you ran way too often to the “concealed” protection of the nearby woods only to find the pair behind you thinking you’re strangely signaling them to play through…? Meet the UroClub (THIS IS NOT A JOKE). “The only club in your bag guaranteed to keep you out...

JOCELYN BOWIE was thrilled by the invitation to join a book group. She had just returned to her hometown, Bloomington, Ind., to take an administration job at Indiana University, and thought she had won a ticket to a top echelon. “I was hoping to network with all these women in upper-level jobs at I.U., then I found they were in the book group,” she said. “I thought, ‘Great! They’ll see how wonderful I am, and we’ll have these great conversations about books.’ ” Ms. Bowie cannot pinpoint the precise moment when disillusion replaced delight. Maybe it was the evening she...

Pull your brakes. Put your foot under. No, under. Set the pedal. Now release the brakes...” Most people remember learning to ride a bike. It is easier when you are 5 and not wearing a full hijab. It is also easier when small boys are not whizzing past on mini-BMXs laughing at you as their parents, on the way to Saturday morning shopping, stare and mutter under their breath. The participants in Britain's only known Muslim women's cycling club are having their weekly lesson in a small park close to the East London mosque. “Most have never ridden,” says Erika...

When is $25 billion in taxpayer cash insufficient to bail out Detroit's auto makers? Answer: When the money is a tool of Congressional industrial policy to turn GM, Ford and Chrysler into agents of the Sierra Club and other green lobbies. AP Ford CEO Alan Mulally, Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli, and GM CEO Rick Wagoner at a Senate hearing on the state of the auto industry That's the little-understood subplot of the Washington melodrama over a taxpayer rescue for Detroit. In their public statements, proponents describe the bailout as an attempt to save jobs, American manufacturing and the middle-class way...

Dutch Club to Recycle Dancers' Energy By Rachel Nolan Wind power is great. But what about all that energy you expend on the dance floor on Saturday night? A next-generation nightclub wants to use that energy to keep the strobes lit and the bass bumping. REUTERS Clubs use 150 times the power of normal households. New nightclubs in Rotterdam and London are harnessing human power to light "eco-clubs." First it was your mom nagging you to turn off the lights. Then came the brick in the toilet to save water, the long-life light bulbs and carbon credits to ease your...

Scandal: 96 Catholic Universities Have Pro-Homosexual ClubsHelp stop this scandal by signing the TFP’s urgent appeal to the presidents of Catholic universities Here is a list Catholic universities with pro-homosexual clubs Historically, Catholic universities have been beacons of truth. They have set a standard of intellectual progress and moral excellence. They have elevated culture, formed the minds of great men, and paved the way for abundant scientific breakthroughs. However, these beacons of truth are now failing. Moral values are being undermined on many Catholic campuses and the principles that once guided souls in the noble task of higher learning are...

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) - - Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan warned the European Union against becoming a "club of Christians" as he pushed Saturday for Ankara's membership in the bloc. "If the EU finds itself as a club of Christians.... it is against the very soul of the EU," Babacan told reporters on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. EU heavyweights France and Germany are both opposed to full Turkish membership, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been particularly vocal on the issue, arguing that the mainly Muslim country does not...

Club for Growth President Pat Toomey was recently quoted, "Earmark reform will shine a glaring light on the profligate pork barrel projects and the politicians who sponsor them," It didn't occur to him that earmark reform also exposes the recipients of multi-million dollar pork projects--including the largest contributors to The Club for Growth. Arkansas millionaire Jackson "Steve" Stephens, Jr., ... has been hounding Mike Huckabee for expanding government for the likes of providing health insurance for children of the working poor, building highways and keeping the sales tax on groceries to improved inadequate schools. Small government, that’s the mantra of...

Teen’s antiabortion club gets green light Virginia high school officials recently gave a green light to a teen’s request for a once-banned after-school antiabortion club, the Washington Post reported. "We just wanted the same rights as other clubs," 16-year-old Stephanie Hoffmeier told the Post. "It's not a radical thing to expect equal treatment." Stafford County, Virginia, school officials initially denied Hoffmeier’s spring request to host the club, which opposes abortion and promotes sexual abstinence, saying the club was not associated with school curriculum. Hoffmeier filed a lawsuit in September contending the decision violated her free-speech rights because other clubs with...

Assistant V-P says closing range a matter of values, not safety A decision to close an 88-year-old indoor shooting range at the University of Toronto is a matter of "values" and not safety, the school said yesterday. "The debate had gone on for almost decade," said Rob Steiner, an assistant vice-president of the university. "It was generally felt that the presence of a gun range on campus 80 years ago might have been consistent with our academic values ... in the last 10 years those values started to deviate. "This is really a values issue. This is not a safety...

Tampa, Florida (AP) — County records show Hillsborough County officers spent more than $6,000 for 92 lap dances, drinks and tips in an investigation into nudity and liquor law violations at an adult bikini bar. The investigation spanned more than two years. Sheriff David Gee says sometimes that's what it takes to get rid of problems. Gee says vice detectives first targeted Lil Tootsie's nightclub after deputies responded to numerous calls ranging from violence to DUI arrests. The agency recently asked county commissioners to revoke the club's special permit to serve alcohol. Records show sheriff's detectives sought 41 misdemeanor nudity...

FORT HUACHUCA — For years members of the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers have been working to save the World War II Mountain View Colored Officers Club on this southeastern Army Post. Saturday night the group received its first major donation from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe when the tribal chairwoman announced a $50,000 gift. In February Association President Tom Stoney Sr., made a pitch to the tribe and Wednesday he was called back to answer more questions from the tribal council’s 11 members. Stoney had no idea the tribe would make a decision so fast. Tribal Chairwoman Herminia Frias made...

FORT HUACHUCA — The terms of a proposed lease for the World War II Colored Officers Club on this Southeastern Arizona Army post have been approved by the Army Corps of Engineers, said one of the organizers trying to save the facility. It still has to be signed by all parties. “It’s another milestone. Now there is some light at the end of the tunnel, like a flashlight (beam),” said Tom Stoney Sr., president of the Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers. More than three years ago, the association signed a memorandum with the fort to halt the wrecking ball that...

JUNEAU - Among the items federal agents were searching for in Alaska legislative offices this week are hats or garments labeled “Corrupt Bastards Club” or “Corrupt Bastards Caucus,” according to the search warrant. That’s the nickname given to 11 lawmakers after a guest opinion piece published in March listed the contributions those legislators received from VECO Corp. executives, said House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez. “I’ve heard it a few times,” Harris said Friday. “These legislators nicknamed themselves or somebody else did.” In the article, published last March in the state’s largest newspapers, All Alaska Alliance Executive Director Lori Backes questioned...

FORT HUACHUCA — This year’s gala fund-raiser dinner for the Mountain View Colored Officers’ Club Rehabilitation Project is expected to lead into a major effort to obtain donations to restore the World War II facility. Just recently, the association received an artist’s rendering of what the building looked like when it was constructed in 1952. The fort was the major Army post training colored soldiers, as black soldiers were called in that era, for combat during the war. Two divisions, the 92nd and 93rd trained on the post, with one being sent to fight in Europe and the other in...

(Wait a few seconds after you start and the fascianting Yung Joc rap will start playing. Just hit ENTER with yur cursor in the middle of the image. You get the whole thing. )

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2006 – A group of golf enthusiasts plans to donate golf clubs, balls, tees, mats and other golf equipment to servicemembers at Camp Taji, a military base in Iraq. U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Abdul Mercado inside his living quarters at Camp Taji, Iraq. Soon Mercado and others at his base will have golf equipment donated by Golfers 4 Freedom. Courtesy photo    U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Abdul Mercado, 36, of 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery, has been playing for 13 years. For the past eight months he has been deployed to Camp Taji and hasn't been...

TAMPA - It may have been the least likely place for a man who doesn't believe in God to receive a standing ovation, but it happened Sunday morning when Joe Redner went to church. Bishop Randy White, senior pastor at Without Walls International Church, invited the strip club owner to join him in the pulpit and talk about his campaign for the Hillsborough County Commission District 5 seat. "All right, he's not running for pastor. My job's not up," White jokingly told parishioners while introducing Redner, as their continued applause prompted Redner to stand and nod his head in thanks.

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 5, 2006) – Department of Defense ID cardholders are eligible for weekly condominium rentals at 3,500 resorts in 80 countries worldwide. Provided by Morale, Welfare and Recreation and sponsored by Resort Condominium International, the Armed Forces Vacation Club offers space-available condominiums for $299 a week. The program gives Soldiers and other DoD workers affordable accommodations in condominiums that would otherwise go empty, according to Verlin Abbott, RCI director of AFVC. While the program provides low-cost accommodations to vacation resorts across the globe, Abbott stressed that the condos are “space available” only. “Don’t expect to go...