Free Republic

CHICAGO — U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., a Chicago Democrat who took a hushed medical leave two months ago, is being treated for bipolar disorder, the Mayo Clinic announced Monday. The Rochester, Minn.-based clinic specified his condition as Bipolar II, which is defined as periodic episodes of depression and hypomania. Hypomania is a less serious form of mania. "Congressman Jackson is responding well to the treatment and regaining his strength," the clinic said in a statement...

The Chick-fil-A saga continues. It all started when president and COO Dan Cathy made statements against gay marriage. and now, things have ramped up into a national debate. Rev. Billy Graham, the legendary evangelical minister, has now entered the fray, coming to the aid of Chick-fil-A. The polarizing 93-year-old is against gay marriage, and earlier this year, he publicly endorsed a constitutional amendment to ban it in North Carolina. Graham has traditionally stayed away from "thorny social issues" for years, according to CNN, so this should raise some eyebrows. Here's the statement from Graham: “I want to express my support...

There is a phone at the top of youtube to "ask president Obama" I don't know if this is just for the state of the union, but google/youtube should have to bill Obama's campaign for the value of the advertising. Anyway, this mistake I found is really funny. Go to the link and mouse over the phone. Leave your cursor there until the tool tip to comes up.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Iran is laying the groundwork for making nuclear weapons someday, but is not yet building a bomb and called for continued diplomatic and economic pressure to persuade Tehran not to take that step. As he has previously, Panetta cautioned against a unilateral strike by Israel against Iran's nuclear facilities, saying the action could trigger Iranian retaliation against U.S. forces in the region. "We have common cause here" with Israel, he said. "And the better approach is for us to work together." Panetta's remarks on CBS' Face the Nation, which were taped Friday and aired Sunday,...

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) tells Don Imus this morning he thought ht would have been a "good President." In fact, he added, "a great President."

I know, I know, granted you will be even busier very soon. After all, golf season kicks into high gear shortly. NBA and NHL brackets await. Summer vacations and that all-consuming campaign whistle stop tour will no doubt slam you. But I would ask, while the rest of us are also busy working, saving, planning ahead, fighting to protect our Constitution, and trying to keep up with where and why you're spending our Department of Defense funds - I'd ask that you find time to tell Americans the truth about the state of our union and what you are doing...

Governor Palin posted the following Facebook note this morning: Please make up your mind, Mr. President. You can’t vacillate when spending America’s human and fiscal resources in yet another foreign country without good reason. You said that Libyan leader Gaddafi has got to go. Many of us heard that as your call to action and agreed, “Okay, you’re right. He’s an evil dictator who kills his own innocent people, so enforce a no-fly zone so he can’t continue an aerial slaughter.” But then you said our mission in Libya isn’t to oust Gaddafi after all. (Or vice versa on the...

~ EXCERPT ~Sarah Palin rides to the sound of the guns. It was a chilly, wet and blustery afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin — one more appropriate for a late-season Packers game than a springtime political rally. The stirring NFL Films theme,  “The Classic Battle,” would’ve been a more apt musical choice than Van Halen’s “Right Now” to accompany Palin as she entered the stage outside the state capital building to address thousands of Tea Party members, along with a good number of extremely hostile, expletive-hurling government union rowdies.In the last few months, political professionals and insiders have been writing off...

A worker at a KFC restaurant in Sydney has been suspended after he was filmed screaming vicious insults and threatening to attack a customer. The violent outburst happened at a Halal-friendly KFC in Punchbowl on December 26, allegedly after a customer became angry after being refused bacon on their burger. The Punchbowl restaurant does not serve bacon or pork in accordance with Islamic law, and one employee can be heard saying "we don't have bacon" before the other begins yelling. "Don't record me bitch!" he screams as he approaches the counter. "Don't f---ing record me!" The employee continues to yell...

The Berkeley City Council will consider a resolution that would declare the Army private suspected of leaking classified information to WikiLeaks a hero and call for his release. The council plans a vote Tuesday on the resolution in support of Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is being held in a military brig in Virginia. A city commission already has approved it. Bob Meola, who authored the resolution, tells the San Francisco Chronicle that Manning is a patriot who deserves a medal. ---snip---

CELEBRATION, Fla. – Celebration, Disney's master-planned, picture-perfect central Florida community, has never reported a homicide in its 14-year existence — until this week. Residents of the town five miles south of Walt Disney World woke up Tuesday to the sight of yellow crime-scene tape wrapped around a condo near the Christmas-decorated downtown, where Bing Crosby croons from speakers hidden in the foliage. A 58-year-old neighbor who lived alone with his Chihuahua had been slain over the long Thanksgiving weekend, Osceola County sheriff's deputies said. The community's famous friendliness is what brought investigators to Matteo Giovanditto's body: Neighbors hadn't seen him...

The first civilian trial of a Guantanamo detainee ended yesterday with the stunning acquittal of an alleged Al Qaeda operative on all but a single count. A federal jury convicted Ahmed Ghailani, 36, of conspiring to destroy U.S. buildings and property in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans. But the jury - after 4 1/2 days of deliberation - cleared Ghailani of more than 280 other counts, including the top charges of murder and murder conspiracy. Even though the charge he was convicted of carries a mandatory 20-year-to-life sentence,...

Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo resigned Thursday just before charges were filed in connection with the largest and most widespread corruption probe in Ohio history. Russo resigned by letter to Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones at about 9 a.m., said Jim McCafferty, spokesman for the commissioners. Russo, 60, of Bratenahl, was then charged at 9:30 a.m. in a 21-count criminal information in connection with the Cuyahoga County public corruption investigation. Federal prosecutors allege that Russo enriched himself at the expense of taxpayers. Here is Frank Russo's resignation letter, which was addressed to county commissioners: I humbly submit my resignation...

OFFICIAL HEARING NOTICE / WITNESS LIST: September 7, 2010 NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing entitled "Firearms in Commerce: Assessing the Need for Reform in the Federal Regulatory Process" for Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. By order of the Chairman.

Self-styled environmental activist Jonathan Lee(age:13,) a Korean-American from Mississippi, visits N. Korea and had his picture taken with a N. Korean female soldier.

Speaking to press about being charged for ethics violation, Charles Rangel responded to a young reporter at MSNBC, "That was a dumb question."

Well everyone, the SPIN JOB has begun on Connecticut’s Attorney General’s (ETERNAL GENERAL) “mispeaking” to the press and the vets on his military record. This comment from Paul Begala will not only, IMHO, go “viral”, but become a “classic” real soon. Keep this in mind come November folks when you step into the voting booth!

“Draw Muhammad Day” is in two days. Check out the spate of profanity-laced death threats against the organizer on Facebook from Internet jihadists. A bloodthirsty sample: Related: The latest on the threats to Lars Vilks’ life…Swedish Mohammed cartoonist in hiding after arson attack. Remember: It’s in the Koran. In their own words. Not ours.

KNOXVILLE — A federal jury this afternoon convicted Sarah Palin e-mail intruder David C. Kernell of felony destruction of records to hamper a federal investigation and misdemeanor unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer. The jury acquitted Kernell, 22, of felony wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Phillips declared a mistrial on the fourth charge, felony identity theft, after the jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked.

<p>NEW YORK — A person with knowledge of the decision says Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be suspended for four to six games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.</p> <p>The person spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity because the league hasn't announced its decision.</p>