Free Republic

TALLAHASSEE, FL—In a controversial move sure to cause outrage, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill declaring that the sky is blue. “Through sheer malice, bigotry, and hatred, I declare the sky is blue!” said DeSantis at the signing ceremony. “Maybe next I’ll declare grass to be green, enforcing myopic reality on everyone! Mwuh ha ha ha!” DeSantis then signed the bill with ink he declared to be black no matter what anyone else thought about it. “Nooooo! Colors exist on a spectrum!” screamed an activist outside. “Who is to say the sky isn’t yellow? I guess, maybe, some sort...

This is the cutest that spider mating has ever been.You don’t often feel bad for spiders. But when a fuzzy, black-eyed jumping spider raises his green forearms into the air, wiggles his butt, and flashes his orange knees, only to have a lady spider literally turn around in the middle of his dance...what kind of monster doesn’t feel a pang of empathy? It doesn’t even matter that arachnids are unlikely to experience rejection and angst the way humans do—you feel for the little guy. It’s somehow worse once you know that male jumping spiders evolved this ability specifically to woo...

Multiple sources closely connected with Thursday’s First Annual Pride Kick-Off at City Hall have confirmed to G Philly that the city’s Pride flag will add black and brown stripes below the traditional six-color rainbow layout. The new permanent design will be, from top to bottom: black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. “The black and brown stripes are an inclusionary way to highlight black and brown LGBTQIA members within our community,” said one source involved with the flag-raising event who asked not to be named. “With all of the black and brown activism that’s worked to address racism...

A California man allegedly mistakenly shot and killed a member of his own gang who was wearing the colors of a rival gang. Andrew Chavez, 21, was arrested Wednesday on murder charges several days after police began investigating the death of Michael Sanchez in Madera, California, according to the Los Angeles Times. Chavez reportedly shot and killed Sanchez,who was walking home from a bar while wearing the colors of a rival gang, “in cold blood,” the Madera Police Department told the Times.

I've wanted to make this piece for a couple of years now. The situation in Ukraine has finally put me over the edge.I can't wait to have a president that gives a damn about using American power abroad to shut down the bad guys again. My fear is by the time we get that person it will be too late...Liberals who see this will say, "sniff, but what about bin Laden?" What about him?Everyone reading this post should give themselves credit because the decision to take him out is a no-brainer (which is why even Democrats could handle it).The real...

Theology in colors: Icon of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross In the Middle Ages there was no audio and video recordings, photographs, Internet. Historians worked on the basis of tradition and written documents, the lives of the saints were written according to the "literary decorum." Visual imprinting of historical events occurred sometimes many years later, and sometimes centuries, and was conducted in accordance with the canon. Studying the works of art, you can learn a lot about the events themselves, and on the attitudes of people in different eras. Illuminated gospel [Urbin. gr. 2] page 21. AD 1122. Apostolic...

University of Rochester What links speed, power, and the color red? Hint: it's not a sports car. It's your muscles. A new study, published in the latest issue of the journal Emotion, finds that when humans see red, their reactions become both faster and more forceful. And people are unaware of the color's intensifying effect. The findings may have applications for sporting and other activities in which a brief burst of strength and speed is needed, such as weightlifting. But the authors caution that the color energy boost is likely short-lived. "Red enhances our physical reactions because it is seen...

The government seems to mess up everything, even the color of cars. While I'm not so fond of Viridian Joule, Inferno Orange, Tucson Bronze and other crazy car colors, some people are. But in this bad economy those colors are seen less and less each day. The government and its policies have kept this economy at rock bottom and the color of cars sort of bland.

"Dino fuzz" pigment discovery in feathers may strengthen dinosaur-bird link. Pigments have been found in fossil dinosaurs for the first time, a new study says. The discovery may prove once and for all that dinosaurs' hairlike filaments—sometimes called dino fuzz—are related to bird feathers, paleontologists announced today. (Pictures: Dinosaur True Colors Revealed by Feather Find.) The finding may also open up a new world of prehistoric color, illuminating the role of color in dinosaur behavior and allowing the first accurately colored dinosaur re-creations, according to the study team, led by Fucheng Zhang of China's Institute for Vertebrate Paleontology. The team...

A St. Paul man who beat his 4-year-old son for wearing a rival gang's color was sentenced this week to the 86 days he has served in jail. Kenny Tamon Jackson, 30, pleaded guilty to malicious punishment of a child, a gross misdemeanor, in the Aug. 25 incident. Ramsey County District Judge Kathleen Gearin ordered Jackson on Tuesday to have no contact with the 4-year-old until he completes a parenting program. Gearin also sentenced him to two years' probation. According to the criminal complaint, police were called about 12:30 p.m. to Jackson's house in the 500 block of Sherburne Avenue....

I just purchased a package of Peanut Butter M&M's that has led me to ponder three things: Why does the name M&M's contain an apostrophe-s? Why is the package Net weight 1.63 oz.? Maybe related to a metric measure you might suggest. Well they also list that at 46.2g. Why not 1.5 oz. or 50g? Why can't they balance the colors? There's always at least one under represented color. My package has 6 blue, 6 orange, 5 green, 4 brown, 3 yellow, and only 2 red.

Hearing the cable talk-show host solemnly pose the question, I could not suppress a belly laugh. For the anchor was fearful that some white folks might reject Barack Obama because he is African-American - even as a Rasmussen poll was reporting that Obama is beating McCain among black voters 94 to 1. What, other than race, explains how Obama rolled up 90-10 margins among black voters while running against Hillary Clinton, wife of the man novelist Toni Morrison dubbed “our first black president”? Indeed, so one-sided was the primary coverage in favor of Obama as the first African-American with a...

The owner of a Montreal cafe where patrons can smoke a psychoactive variety of sage says he will close up shop next month. Matthew Liscomb told the Montreal Gazette that Les Mentheurs would go out of business on Aug. 23 due to legal battles and changes in provincial tobacco laws. On top of that, he said, business insurance has been increasingly difficult to get. It's not been easy getting insured and it's not legal to operate a business without proper insurance, he told the Gazette. The closure will mark the end of a stormy history for Les Mentheurs, a 30-seat...

DNC Wants Food In Convention ColorsUPDATED: 1:54 pm MDT May 19, 2008 Many caterers are cheering eco-friendly requirements for menus at events hosted by the Denver 2008 Host Committee during the Democratic National Convention, but some see them as a challenge. A request for catering proposals for events sponsored by the Host Committee asks for no fried foods; no individual plastic containers for liquids; reusable, recyclable or compostable plates; and local or organic food -- or both. Another request is for food to be in at least three of the following five colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white. One...

Soldiers of 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment (SCR), prepare to raise the regimental flag over the headquarters during a transfer of authority event on Camp Liberty, Sept. 8. The 2nd SCR out of Vilseck, Germany, relieved the Arrowhead Brigade, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, out of Fort Lewis, Wash. Photo by Spc. Leith Edgar, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. CAMP LIBERTY — The 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment (SCR) “Dragoons” replaced the 3rd “Arrowhead” Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division as the quick-reaction force for the Iraqi capital Sept. 13, allowing the Arrowhead Soldiers to return home to...

ESCONDIDO - He looks like your standard alley cat, nothing to write home about. But officials at the Escondido Humane Society say he is a rare specimen, “a once-in-a-lifetime” cat like none they have ever seen before. They call him Phinny, for phenomenon. It wasn't until they were ready to spay Phinny that they found out he needed neutering instead. And that's how he got his name. Phinny, you see, is a male tortoiseshell, a tricolor cat. He's not quite the missing link in the cat world, but is undoubtedly a rare quirk of nature, for reasons of genetics. “In...

United they stood, not for glory, but because they were a band of brothers. Nobody was watching them, and no glory awaited them. They stood because they were men of honor and dignity. Lesson from the past.

"March 17th: We Veterans have been made aware of a Rally planned by A.N.S.W.E.R. ; with JANE FONDA, Cindy Sheehan and others -to Re-Create the Anti-Vietnam War Marches in D.C.- -But stressing their " End the War NOW " Messages. ONLY they plan to use the VIETNAM WAR Memorial WALL-as their backround-with their now exposed possible plans to Desecrate & cause Damage to that beloved Monument as " an expression of their Free-Speech against the War/President Bush, Our Troops....."

These Colors Do.