Free Republic

Who is your favorite Freeper? Who is the most legendary Freeper? Which Freepers stick in your head as memorable? Who is the most infamous Freeper? Nominate your favorites for Legendary Freeper status.

“It’s not often that Barack Obama and Hassan Nasrallah [the leader of Lebanese Hizballah, a Lebanese Islamist group backed by Iran and Syria] agree, but both made important speeches this week, and both appeared to concur that American power was on the decline.” The reference is to the president’s speech at West Point, which Young sees as gloomy and pessimistic, highlighting American problems and disunity; economic weaknesses; and eagerness to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan (though he is sending some more soldiers there temporarily). Young continues: “Listening to Hassan Nasrallah gloat at the weakness of the United States, you had...

Recently Jim Robinson posted two threads declaring Free Republic’s determination to see Conservatives elected and ousting Rino's from government. Jim and a great many Freepers believe that we need to take back control. But the RNC is not hearing us. Activism is called for NOW. 2010 is nearing and we need Conservative candidates to run. The time is ripe and people are ready for another 1994 type election. But we need to make the RNC hear us loud and clear. This is the Rino Free America Project. Get involved. Make them listen. Write a letter and MAIL it. Republican...

The BDN’s recent series of stories on guns in Maine revealed, among other things, the chasm that lies between those who want to regulate gun ownership and use and those who believe gun ownership is as sacrosanct as the secret ballot and free speech. It’s unlikely the gap will be bridged in the near future, but both camps would do well to work at understanding that their extreme positions may undermine their goals. For the first 100 years of the nation’s history, the Constitution’s Second Amendment was generally understood as supporting the rights of states to keep militias. In 2008,...

John Limbert will be the senior Iran official at the State Department, replacing Dennis Ross, who has moved to the National Security Council (and who has not been heard from publicly since). Should America be concerned? Yes. Limbert is not a neutral arbiter; he serves on the advisory board of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). What is the National Iranian American Council? The Council is widely considered the de facto lobby for the Iranian regime in America. It opposes sanctions on Iran, soft-pedals any controversial events in Iran, and counsels "patience" regarding Iran's stance towards its nuclear program. The...

In September 2007, Israeli fighter jets destroyed a mysterious complex in the Syrian desert. The incident could have led to war, but it was hushed up by all sides. Was it a nuclear plant and who gave the orders for the strike? The mighty Euphrates river is the subject of the prophecies in the Bible's Book of Revelation, where it is written that the river will be the scene of the battle of Armageddon: "The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from...

QALQILYA, West Bank -- Commanders of the U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces who have been locking up criminals and battling Hamas militants here for nearly two years have maintained morale in the ranks with a single promise: They will one day be the anchor of security for an independent Palestinian state. The lack of progress toward that goal is starting to sap Palestinian public support for the forces and erode morale among troops, even as they win praise and fresh funding from Washington for their accomplishments. Palestinian Security Forces train in the West Bank city of Nablus in August. Meanwhile, the...

Every now and then, you stumble upon a town that's gotten everything right—great coffee, food with character, shop owners with purpose. These 10 spots have it all, in perfectly small doses.

STORM LAKE -- A 55-year-old Storm Lake man was arrested Thursday morning for allegedly making terrorist threats to Taco John's employees, according to a written statement from the Storm Lake Police Department today. Roger Crawford entered the Taco John's on East Milwaukee Avenue and threatened to...use mustard gas on the establishment, the statement said. Crawford remained angry when he left the fast food restaurant traveling westbound on Milwaukee Avenue on a bicycle.

When the conversation at the ladies' luncheon suddenly swung from cats and grandchildren to the ammo shortage, I finally verified I was not imagining things. We're living in strange times. Perilous times. Definitely uncertain times. The Internet is full of kooks and near-kooks preparing for "the end of the world as we know it," or TEOTWAWKI. Some have a precise date set for the apocalypse. Hmm. I think I'm going to keep on working on keeping my soul clean and taking my chances on that one. Others predict the economic collapse of the United States. This is TEOTWAWKI in a...

ity the broadcast journalists. Just this once. They bend earnestly forward to ask questions of the Iranian president, enunciating as though he were hard of hearing—Charlie Rose, Brian Williams, Scott Pelley, George Stephanopoulos, Mike Wallace—and he shreds them. He says calmly that he is only interested in "the scientific approach" to whether or not the Holocaust happened. Returning question with question, he asks, "Did the Palestinians have anything to do with it?" and wonders why they must be "destroyed today under the pretext of the Holocaust."

Obama for Father's Day: Stay Home, US Dads By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS June 19, 2009 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Growing up without a father left a painful hole in his heart, President Barack Obama told a lawnful of boys at the White House Friday in a remarkably personal Father's Day weekend message. He implored fathers everywhere -- and the kids when they're a bit older -- to stay home and stay involved in the lives of their own children. ''This isn't an obligation,'' said the father of two in a message to millions of wayward dads. ''This is a privilege to...

MACHIAS, Maine — A 77-year-old Princeton woman faced down a man armed with a sawed-off shotgun and sent him running after she pointed her own gun at him, according to court documents. Doris Gatchell’s daughter, Eileen Newman, said Monday that family members had since nicknamed their mother “Annie Oakley.” Suspect Dean T. Moore, who was arrested shortly after the Friday, June 12, incident, made his first appearance Monday in Washington County Superior Court. He faces up to 30 years in jail and fines of up to $50,000 on each of the two most serious charges of burglary with a firearm...

MACHIAS, Maine (June 16) - After being told by her daughter that a man in their home was an armed intruder, a 77-year-old woman pulled a gun on him and sent him running, according to court documents. The Bangor Daily News reported that family members have been referring to Doris Gatchell of Princeton as "Annie Oakley" after she confronted the man Friday.

“The EU shares Iran's concerns over the situation in the Middle East,” Gallach told the Mehr News Agency in an interview recently. She said the European bloc believes that a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be achieved through dialogue and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.... ...Gallach also said Iran and the West can “open a new chapter” in relations now that President Barack Obama has expressed his willingness to enter dialogue with Iran.

BEIRUT – Syria's foreign minister praised President Barack Obama's address to the Arab and Islamic world in Turkey, and many Arabs were cheered by the American leader's promises to push for a Palestinian state.... But he hinted that Arabs expect Washington to pressure the new hard-line Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the creation of a Palestinian state.

What Sen. Arlen Specter (R.-Penn.) dubbed the “moderates’ compromise” that he and two other moderate Republican senators voted for Tuesday is fast becoming the “last straw” with the five-termer for conservatives in the Keystone State. “I consider Sen. Specter a friend and, despite disagreements on a number of issues, I admired his work to confirm [Supreme Court nominees] John Roberts and Samuel Alito,” Pittsburgh businessman Glen Meakem told me today, “But his support of [the $838 billion stimulus package] is too much. Pennsylvania voters are fed up with Specter’s perennial charade.” Predicting that “there will be a Republican primary fight...

A one-time motel in a small central Maine town could soon be offering an eye-opening way to start the day — topless coffee shop waitresses. The Vassalboro Planning Board on Tuesday will consider a business permit request for a topless coffee shop on busy Route 3. The one-story building has also been the home to several other business ventures, most recently Mac Daddy's Pub at the Fat Cat Grille, which closed three or four years ago. Neighbors have mixed opinions. Some say Vassalboro is a rural town and that a topless coffee shop would bring the wrong crowd. But others...

Mainers -- even staunch Democrats -- probably should celebrate the re-election of Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Not because Chambliss is a wonderful legislator or has ideas that will solve the nation's problems. Neither is true. I think Chambliss, now starting his second term, is a mediocre senator, at best. But Chambliss' re-election in a runoff in Georgia kept Democrats from gaining a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate and, in the process, made Maine's senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, two of the most powerful people in Washington. The two Mainers -- with moderate to liberal leanings -- will hold...

Following are excerpts from an Iranian children's show which aired on Channel 1, Iranian TV on December 29, 2008. TO VIEW THIS CLIP AND OTHERS YOU MUST LOG IN BY SIGNING UP FOR A FREE MEMRI TV REGISTRATION [www.memritv.org ] To register for MEMRI TV, go to the MEMRI TV site and click "Register" at upper right hand side. TV host: "Tell me, children, you are all wearing kaffiyeh scarves. What are you trying to show? That you are friends of the Palestinian children, and that you are all worried because of what is going on. "What did the enemy...

As Gaza Fighting Continues, Egyptian Clerics Intensify Antisemitic Statements; Columbus, Ohio Muslim Scholar/Leader Dr. Salah Sultan: Muhammad Said That Judgment Day Will Not Come Until Muslims Fight the Jews and Kill Them; America Will Suffer Destruction Following are excerpts from interviews with several Egyptian clerics, which aired on Al-Nas TV and Al-Rahma TV on December 28 and 29, 2008. One of the clerics, Dr. Salah Sultan, is president of the AmericanCenter for Islamic Research (ACIR), a nonprofit organization registered in Ohio and located in Columbus. On his website, he states that the main purpose of the ACIR is to "serve...

[snip] Hamas Is Selling Arab Territories out of Greed [snip] Hamas and Its Ilk Are More Loyal to Iran Than to the Arab Cause

ABC News Reporter Jake Tapper's Political Punch Blog has a report on Sen. Barack Obama's push-back on John McCain's description of his tax policies, Tapper begins with a quote from Obama in Florida, here is the whole report: "The reason that we want to do this, change our tax code, is not because I have anything against the rich," Obama said in Sarasota, Fla., yesterday. "I love rich people! I want all of you to be rich. Go for it. That's the American dream, that's the American way, that's terrific.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day... Look what I said on June 7th, 2008... McCain needs to pick a younger, charismatic, and (above all) conservative woman for the VP spot.

This man must not be elected.

Ugggh I am livid. I just found out Google did a street view of my neighborhood, not only that they got me outside in the picture. They should be required by law to give forewarning that they are taking pictures in your neighborhood.

Newcastle, ME, Jul 11, 2008 / 03:15 am (CNA).- St. Patrick Catholic Church in Newcastle, Maine will celebrate its bicentennial this weekend. The church, whose building was completed in 1808, is the oldest continuing parish on the Atlantic Seaboard north of St. Augustine, Florida.The celebrations will begin at noon on Saturday with the ringing of the church bell, one of the last church bells to be cast by the American hero Paul Revere, the Bangor Daily News says.Parishioners will conduct tours of the church cemetery and portray in costume some of the historical personages buried there.Bishop of Portland Richard J....

WASHINGTON - Homeland security officials on Friday hinted at a possible face-saving deal to end their standoff with a handful of states over new driver's license rules — a dispute that, left unresolved, could cause big air travel headaches. For weeks, the Homeland Security Department has been headed toward a showdown with some states over a law called Real ID, which would require new security measures for state-issued driver's licenses. Yet a late Good Friday letter from a top DHS official suggested Washington may be backing away from a messy fight. South Carolina, Maine and Montana are the only states...

This is driving me nuts. When I go into a specific forum, such as religion, I want to hit the comment button and ONLY see the comments for the religion forum. Not every other forum. I like being able to see what's being talked about the most and being able to see the latest comments from individuals is the best way. Is this going to be fixed or is this it? If this is it, then the site is unusable for the way I've been used to using it for the the last 10 years. Has anyone figured out a...

Of cables and conspiracies Feb 7th 2008 The Economist An online frenzy that seems way out of line WHEN two undersea cables were damaged, apparently by ships' anchors, five miles north of Alexandria on January 30th, it seemed like a reminder of the fragility of the internet. The cables—one owned by FLAG Telecom, a subsidiary of India's Reliance Group, the other (SEA-ME-WE 4) by a consortium of 16 telecoms firms—carry almost 90% of the data traffic that goes through the Suez canal. When the connections failed, they took with them almost all internet links between Europe and the Gulf and...

We dont have tv but we have cable modem. How do I find and link to the Game? for the children? Please?

...Speaking on Social Security, Democrat hopeful Barack Obama boasted that "here's an area where John (Edwards) and myself were actually quite specific." A few minutes later, Bill Richardson wondered, "What is wrong with having been like myself -- 14 years in the Congress, two Cabinet positions?" ...The new verbal tic is part trend and part defensive posture. Since the Me Generation, "I" and "me" have become increasingly tangled up as Americans have looked for ways around tricky constructions. As sportswriter Red Smith once put it, "Myself is the foxhole of ignorance, where cowards take refuge, because they were taught that...

ST. ANDREWS, Canada -- When the people of this tiny seaside resort town learned that tankers filled with liquefied natural gas might some day sail near them toward proposed terminals in two Maine towns, they mobilized opposition to the plan... That isn't a surprise, given the opposition that has met proposed terminals for liquefied natural gas, or LNG, in many coastal towns in the U.S. Canada's opposition has drawn protests from the U.S. government. In part, U.S. officials complain that Canada seems to have no problem with another proposed LNG terminal on Canadian soil 30 miles to the east of...

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, Saad al-Hariri's Mostaqbal party agreed to a constitutional amendment that would allow Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Michel Suleiman to be elected president. Up until now, Hariri and his March 14 allies (the date of the 2005 Cedar Revolution) had resisted Suleiman's candidacy; Lebanese democrats are generally loath to have military men serve as President of the Republic, especially after the last nine years of former commander Emile Lahoud's presidency. But more importantly, Suleiman is Damascus's number one choice to fill the now vacant spot. So why have Hariri and his colleagues, including Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt and leader...

Ex-president Bill Clinton, seen here 19 Novemeber 2007 and his latest campaign trail appearance for his wife Hillary's Democratic White House bid threw an unwelcome spotlight Wednesday back on her vote to authorize the Iraq war.(AFP/File/Pierre-Philippe Marcou )

A British teacher is facing 40 lashes in a Sudanese jail if convicted of insulting Islam's prophet by letting children name a teddy bear Mohammed. Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was arrested on suspicion of blasphemy on Sunday. Ms Gibbons allowed her class of seven-year-olds at the Unity High School in Khartoum to name a teddy bear Mohammed as part of a lesson about animals' habitats. Mohammed is sacred to Islamic philosophy and the penalty for blasphemy is 40 lashes, a large fine or a jail term. The British Embassy in Khartoum confirmed the arrest. A source close to the...

Source: University of California, Davis Date: August 16, 2007 Handsome By Chance: Why Humans Look Different From Neanderthals Science Daily — Chance, not natural selection, best explains why the modern human skull looks so different from that of its Neanderthal relative, according to a new study led by Tim Weaver, assistant professor of anthropology at UC Davis. Model of the Neanderthal man. Exhibited in the Dinosaur Park Münchehagen, Germany. (Credit: iStockphoto/Klaus Nilkens) "For 150 years, scientists have tried to decipher why Neanderthal skulls are different from those of modern humans," Weaver said. "Most accounts have emphasized natural selection and the...

This is not my opus with respects to Free Republic, but it is my opus with respects to NJ. I hated that place since I left it 30+ years ago, when I joined the Marines vowing never to return (we all know that tune) HA! But being a responsible carbon unit I accepted a position back there not really wanting to but as my Rice Krispies whisper to me each and every morning, (besides clean your weapons) "it is better to be employed in NJ than un-employed in Missouri". They (the Krispies) repeated the same thing in Baghdad & Afghanistan...

The conflict in Lebanon, escalation of sectarian violence in Iraq, and growing tensions between Iran and the United States have all drawn attention to the growing importance of the divide between Shias and Sunnis in shaping Middle East politics. In The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam will Shape the Future, Council Adjunct Senior Fellow Vali Nasr offers an in-depth analysis of the various causes and forces that have contributed to this long-born political struggle for the soul of Islam and sheds light on historic moments of Shia-Sunni competition. With the war in Iraq and a Shia majority rule there,...

Two U.N. reports issued last week clearly underlined the growing danger. One, by the secretary general, reported evidence of rearmament by Hezbollah as well as by extremist Palestinian factions and of shipments of heavy weapons across the Syrian-Lebanese border. It said that the Lebanese government had reported seizing a truckload of weapons belonging to Hezbollah, including Russian Grad rockets, and that the Lebanese army had observed four truck carriers bearing eight missile launchers across the border last month. A second report, by an independent group of experts assigned to inspect the border, found no effective controls to prevent arms smuggling...

Egyptian security forces barred voters from entering polling centers in opposition areas Monday during the first national elections since the U.S.-backed government of President Hosni Mubarak pushed through constitutional changes that analysts say were intended to keep the Muslim Brotherhood from power. In Awseem, a dusty town north of Cairo that is a Brotherhood stronghold, security officers lined up behind chest-high plastic riot shields to block all entrances to a locked polling place. Officers clenching automatic rifles alongside a row of police wagons effectively sealed off another voting site. Residents in other towns around Egypt on Monday complained of police...

ARG is out with new '08 polling in three states: California Democrats Clinton 37 Obama 28 Edwards 15 Undecided 11 Republicans Giuliani 27 McCain 24 F. Thompson 12 Romney 11 Gingrich 5 Undecided 13 Florida Democrats Clinton 45 Obama 17 Edwards 15 Undecided 14 Republicans Giuliani 31 McCain 18 F. Thompson 13 Romney 11 Gingrich 8 Undecided 13 Michigan Democrats Clinton 38 Obama 25 Edwards 14 Undecided 14 Republicans Romney 24 McCain 22 Giuliani 19 F. Thompson 8 Gingrich 7 Undecided 15 Also, Strategic Vision has released a new poll on Wisconsin: Democrats Clinton 38 Obama 25 Edwards 17 Undecided...

WASHINGTON - The United States and the Iraqi government are launching a new diplomatic initiative to invite Iran and Syria to a “neighbors meeting” on stabilizing Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday. “We hope that all governments seize this opportunity to improve their relations with Iraq and to work for peace and stability in the region,” Rice said in remarks prepared for delivery to a Senate committee. Excerpts were released in advance by the State Department. The move reflects a change of approach by the Bush administration, which previously had resisted calls by members of Congress and by...

Legislators will consider a gun-control bill that would require anyone under 21 to wait 10 days before buying a rifle or shotgun. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Margaret Craven of Lewiston, is similar to one she proposed two years ago that mandated a 10-day waiting period for anyone under 22 wanting to buy a gun. Craven is sponsoring the bill with the support of Catherine Crowley of Lewiston, whose 18-year-old son killed himself with a newly purchased shotgun in 2004. Supporters of the bill say a waiting period could cut down on the number of young people who commit suicide...

India undecided about clash of civilisations, says global poll RASHMEE ROSHAN LALL LONDON: Indians are more pessimistic than the rest of the world about finding common ground between Islam and the West even as they remain marginally more optimistic than everyone else that violence will be avoided in the clash of civilizations, according to the first global poll on the issue. The 27-country poll, which collated the views of 28,389 people in large swathes of Europe, North and South America, West Asia, south-east Asia and India, found that 56 per cent overall believes there is no inherent incompatibility between Islam...

In October 2006, the Brandeis Middle East Review and the Middle East Forum at Brandeis invited me to speak at the University, and I quickly accepted. The hosts and I selected the date April 23 and the topic ("The Islamization of Europe?"), and everything appeared settled. But on Jan. 23, former President Jimmy Carter visited Brandeis, Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz quasi-debated him, and the ensuing contention prompted the University to establish a closed student-faculty committee to monitor speakers on the Middle East. (This committee comes on top of an already existing committee the provost created earlier in response to...

....In June, the Austin, Texas-based natural foods grocery chain said it would stop selling live lobsters and crabs — in the name of crustacean compassion. But it’s making an exception in Maine, a state synonymous with lobster

As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with Mideast leaders to jumpstart the peace process, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton called the attempt a waste of time. Bolton, who also said it's time another body replace the United Nations, told the Sunday Times of London the Arab-Israeli conflict was “not a priority," adding: “I don’t see linkage to Iraq, and Hamas and Fatah are in a state of civil war.” Now back at American Enterprise Institute, Bolton let loose on a variety of topics during the interview, from negotiating nuclear weapons with Iran to the reunification of...

FOR a long time, I let my hopes for a decent outcome in Iraq triumph over what I had learned reporting from Lebanon during its civil war. Those hopes vanished last summer. So, I'd like to offer President Bush my updated rules of Middle East reporting, which also apply to diplomacy, in hopes they'll help him figure out what to do next in Iraq. Rule 1: What people tell you in private in the Middle East is irrelevant. All that matters is what they will defend in public in their own language. Anything said to you in English, in private,...

Less than two weeks before her almost certain reelection to a third term, Olympia Snowe issued a fatwa against Exxon-Mobil and climate change policy skeptics who have had the audacity to openly question her advocacy of Kyoto derived mandatory greenhouse gas emissions controls. Senator Snowe urged Exxon-Mobil to stop resisting her efforts to pass symbolic, expensive and futile GHG regulatory legislation, and most especially to gag two vocal critics: the Competitive Enterprise Institute (headed by economic freedom advocate and 1996 GOP Vice Presidential nominee Jack Kemp) and techcentralstation, a web site devoted to markets, technology and entrepreneurial optimism, as opposed...