Free Republic

Masten Space Systems' Xoie rocket prototype has apparently taken the lead in a nail-biting race for a million-dollar prize from NASA. The Masten team's "try, try again" effort at California's Mojave Air and Space Port was aimed at winning the top prize in the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge's Level 2 contest. Although the contest's outcome hasn't been announced, it looks as if Friday's flight was good enough to best Texas-based Armadillo Aerospace, which qualified for the prize with its Scorpius rocket last month. A dark-horse team in the race, California-based Unreasonable Rocket, put in a valiant effort during several...

Space scientists in the US and UK are planning an incredible mission to go sailing on an alien lake on the far side of the solar system. They are proposing a mission in NASA's low-cost Discovery series to launch an unmanned, nuclear-powered "boat" to Saturn's biggest moon Titan in 2015. It would bob about on a vast sea of liquid methane called Ligeia Mare, radioing home photos and other data for six months.

While wine snobs have blighted the earth for thousands of years (you can bet there was at least one guy curling his lip at the vintage of Jesus’ first and best miracle), beer snobbery is a relatively young art, especially in the U.S. This is because every beer in the country once tasted exactly the same. Oh sure, there were Bud lovers and MGD aficionados who would swear they could tell the difference, but if you gave them a blind taste test, you’d soon discover they’d just keep asking for another “test taste” until there wasn’t any beer left and...

The jury is still out on whether Matt Smith will be accepted as the new Doctor. On the one hand, David Tennant is a name that has become firmly established in the cultural vernacular that anyone following in his footsteps would struggle. Then again, Matt Smith is just one of many changes being made to the show which is now in the hands of Steve Moffat, a man that many fans consider to be the best writer of the re-vitalised series.

"Doctor Who's" star may have said goodbye to the Tardis, but he still feels a deep pang of sadness at leaving what he describes as "the best job in the world." However, the series is in good hands with Steve Moffat taking over control of the show and introducing a new Doctor for an even newer generation of fans.

Eye-gouging is considered such a foul, filthy act that it’s banned by even our most blatantly combative exercises, including mixed martial arts and pro wrestling. Sheriff Urban Meyer of the Gainesville PD isn’t as concerned, apparently. Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes was caught on film purposefully jamming his fingers through the facemask of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey on Saturday in an effort to rip at Ealey’s eyes. It was about as ugly and unbecoming of a play as there is in football. For the act, Meyer will bench his star linebacker for the first half of the Gators’ game against...

Thanks for killing the planet, dog owners. Well, that's a rough paraphrase of a New Zealand study that claims a medium-size dog leaves a larger ecological footprint than an SUV. In "Time to Eat the Dog? The Real Guide to Sustainable Living," authors Robert and Brenda Vale argue that resources required to feed a dog — including the amount of land needed to feed the animals that go into its food — give it about twice the eco-footprint of, say, building and fueling a Toyota Land Cruiser. Noting that a cat's pawprint was roughly equivalent to a Volkswagen Golf's, "New...

Government Education… It not only provides an illustration of the cost up…quality down and lack of control of a government run program for comparing to the public option in Obamacare, it is a good argument when juxtaposed to things like the “Fairness Doctrine” because unlike watching TV or listening to the radio, school is mandated upon our children. Our kids are too often being indoctrinated and not taught, at least with TV and radio an adult can change channels or turn it off.

It's been a tough few years for the GOP. The party lost control of Congress in 2006 and then lost the White House in 2008 with three traditional Republican states — Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia — abandoning the party. So even if political winds start blowing harder behind them and even if they can capitalize on Democratic missteps, Republicans still will have a long way to go over the next year because of their party's own fundamental problems — divisions over the path forward, the lack of a national leader and a shrinking base in a changing nation.

Chris Christie leads Jon Corzine 47-41 in PPP's final poll of the New JerseyGovernor's race, with Chris Daggett at 11%. Corzine had pulled to within a point of Christie on our poll three weeks ago after trailing by as many as 14 points over the summer, but his momentum has stalled since then and Christie's built his lead back up to 4 points last week and now 6. Christie's advantage is due largely to his support from independents and because he has Republicans more unified around him than the Democrats are around Corzine. Christie leads Corzine 52-29 with indies, as...

Who are your living heroes of today?

POLIWOOD: D Tonight at 7:30 on Showtime. Director Barry Levinson’s 90-minute “Poliwood” is billed as a film essay. That’s like calling the back of a cereal box a novel. Say what you will about Michael Moore, but at least he knows how to spin a story. Levinson (“Rain Man”) aims to explore the crash of politics, celebrity and media. He’s fascinated as to why performers are greeted with hostility when they become politically active. He trails famous members of the Creative Coalition, Hollywood’s nonprofit, nonpartisan lobbying group for arts funding, through the 2008 Democratic and Republican presidential conventions. The coalition’s...

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon says, “Unless we fight climate change, unless we stop this trend, we’ll have devastating consequences for humanity.” Other leaders make similar silly statements. Obama claims the “threat from climate change is serious, it is urgent, and it is growing.” But which way is it growing? Which trend are they going to stop? The one predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or the one Mother Nature is providing? They’ve chosen the IPCC even though all their predictions (scenarios) are wrong. But it is worse. Global temperatures of the last few years are impossible...

I thought I read this somewhere about a year or two ago. Any help on this?

But I have a problem with pit bulls. And it has more to do with the two-legged creatures holding their leashes (if there is a leash).Because of their sheer numbers—estimates show that there are anywhere from 5 million to 10 million pit-bull-type dogs in the U.S. today, out of about 61 million total dogs—pits have become the dog du jour for a lot of people, not just gangbangers and wannabe thugs who use a pit as proxy for toughness. About 20 percent of dogs in ASPCA shelters are pit mixes. I've seen those who adopt these dogs for all the...

VA GOV: McDonnell by 9% NY-23: Hoffman by 4% NY GOV: Cristie by less than 2%, but Corzine and the dems steal it like they did for Franken

The technical term for the following video is “busting his chops.” Joe Scarborough provided a wonderful satire of Keith Olbermann’s 2008 election-night bias on this morning’s edition of Morning Joe. A partial transcript follows the video, which really must be watched for the full effect.

“In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much,” she said. “See, that’s why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service, “ Michelle Obama No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn’t perform any official duties. But this hasn’t deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession. Just think...

Can any ofyou Freepers recommend website or log that has a solid coservative guide and/or recommendations for the candidates and issues in the Harris County (Houston), Texas election tomorrow? Thanks Pardon the vanity, but evey vote counts

Saturday's decision by Republican Dede Scozzafava to drop out of tomorrow's special Congressional election in upstate New York is a potentially big political moment that could help to return the GOP to first principles—or could lead to internecine ruin. Much will depend on how GOP leaders and conservative activists respond. Picked by GOP elites without a primary and with a voting record to the left of many Albany Democrats, Ms. Scozzafava faced a revolt by local and national conservatives in favor of businessman Doug Hoffman, who was nominated on the Conservative Party line. The longtime GOP assemblywoman saw herself falling...

This is just too funny. Putting the joke-subtitles asside, what kind of cat behavior is this??? ...and I thought Hitler Obama-Hitler-You-Tube paradies were funny :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnY6k1ybTHg&feature=player_embedded

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Man and dog reunite for the first time in a decade. Gary Rowley greeted his Boxer-lab mix "Brindle" Sunday morning with a smile and a leash. "His coloring hasn't changed except his gray snout. [It] used to be black. But my god! I didn't realize he was so thin! He's definitely taller!"

I just experienced virtualization in a computer lab environment. The PC’s use VMWare Workstation and have a virtual machine with Windows XP Pro and Office 2007 and another virtual machine with Windows XP Pro and Office 200. I'm thinking very seriously about purchasing VMWare Workstation or possibly installing equivalent open source virtualization software. My goal is to upgrade my Dell (Inspiron 530 Intel Core2 processor Q6600 (2.40Ghz 1066FSB) w/Quad Core Technology and 8MB cache and 4GB DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz) with Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit and install virtualization as well. But, before I take the plunge I have many...

This is a Revski/o7jimmy classic and an animation that gives one, incite of truth.

No thread but has the video of the new Avatar trailer.

Weekly Sci-Fi Thread (11/01/09) Mon: 8/7 -- Heroes -- NBC Tues: 8/7 -- V -- ABC Thurs: 8/7 -- Flashforward -- ABC 9/8 -- Fringe -- Fox Fri: 9/8 -- Stargate Universe -- SyFy 10/9 -- Sanctuary -- SyFy Also there are variety of scifi shows on www.fancast.com

NEW YORK — Meb Keflezighi became the first US man in more than two decades to win the New York City Marathon on Sunday, while Derartu Tulu ended Paula Radcliffe's two-year grip on the women's title. Keflezighi, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist, earned his first major marathon with a time of 2hr 09min 15sec.

It is in this spirit that I am writing to let you know I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same. It’s not in the cards for me to be your representative, but I strongly believe Bill is the only candidate who can build upon John McHugh's lasting legacy in the U.S. Congress. John and I worked together on the expansion of Fort Drum and I know how important that base is to the economy of this region. I am confident that Bill will be able to provide the leadership and continuity of support...

Has anyone heard anything about a 912DC march part two? Loads of people I know would go if there was another since they couldnt go this time. I also had a great grassroots idea that I would have no idea how to start... sort of a "Mansion March" where thousands of people being represented by Pelosi, Ried, and Frank march in their neighborhood and surround their home... not sure the legality of it, but to get the media there and letting the world see how these fat pigs live would be a big plus... just dont put me at Barney...

We’re not sure it’s exactly newsworthy anymore when a lawsuit challenging President Obama’s election on the grounds that he wasn’t born in the U.S. gets dismissed. (Though rest assured, we’ll be all over it if and when one gains significant traction.) But an opinion issued on Thursday dismissing one of these suits (this one, like others, brought by Orange County lawyer/dentist Orly Taitz) caught our attention. The opinion issued on Thursday, by Santa Ana, Calif., federal judge David O. Carter (a Clinton appointee), delved deeply into standing problems he felt many plaintiffs in the suit suffered. But in the suit...

Psalm 2009 FIRST BOOK OF GOVERNMENT ....PSALM 2009 Obama is the shepherd I did not want. He leadeth me beside the still factories. He restoreth my faith in the Republican party.

It almost seems Speaker Gingrich's climb-down in the NY23 race, has liberated him. Gingrich was on Fox News this morning, and not once but serveral times referred to democrats with the "Socialist" word. He was great.

Rochom P'ngieng, dubbed "jungle woman" when she emerged in Feb 2007, has still has not learnt to speak and refuses to wear clothes. Her father said she had been admitted to hospital after refusing to eat for a month and had made several attempts to return to the forest...

"I completely forgot that I get an extra hour of that precious, precious thing called sleep tonight. Since I'm probably not the only forgetful Lucy around, here's a reminder to set your clocks back and snooze a bit longer."

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

"The grass roots of the conservative movement just claimed a scalp before anyone even voted," said Republican strategist Mark McKinnon, a former senior adviser to President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "The conservative movement is alive, well, kicking hindquarters and taking names. And if you don't measure up, look out."

POMPANO BEACH - A train struck a car occupied by two elderly Pompano Beach women on Friday, killing one of them and seriously injuring the other, the Broward Sheriff's Office said Friday. cartrain

Rev. James David Manning, says Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Bill O’Reilly make 666. O'Reilly's sex scandal case records SEALED . Michelle Obama's disbarment records SEALED . All Obama's records SEALED . Fox news LIES about Orly Taitz , etc...

Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) endorsed GOP special-election candidate Dede Scozzafava on Monday, saying a vote for her Conservative Party opponent is tantamount to a vote for the Democrats in the close 23rd Congressional District race in New York http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/63643-pete-king-a-vote-for-conservative-nominee-is-a-vote-for-dems

Michelle Triola Marvin dies at 75; her legal fight with ex-lover Lee Marvin added 'palimony' to the language After their cohabitation of six years, she took him to court, seeking $1.8 million, but won just $104,000, and that award was later thrown out.Michelle Triola Marvin, a former nightclub singer whose claims as the onetime live-in girlfriend of actor Lee Marvin led to a landmark ruling that established the legal concept of palimony, has died. She was 75. Marvin, who had fought lung cancer for the last 18 months, died Friday at the Malibu home she shared with actor Dick Van...

As O'Donnell reminded viewers, President Bush and Vice President Cheney never went to Dover Air Force Base to honor fallen soldiers returning home while they were in office.

Yet another example of the folly of assigning liberals to guard duty. Joining Rachel Maddow on her MSNBC show Thursday to vent about that pesky wabbit Joe Lieberman was Fire Dog Lake blogger Jane Hamsher. Democrats wield considerable leverage over Lieberman, Hamsher opined, to keep him from joining a GOP filibuster of ObamaCare or punish him if he does -- MADDOW: ... I think you're right to point out that other senators sort of gently expressing their disapproval of his proverbial toplessness at this point is a bigger deal than it would be in the real world, that their words...

I've been receiving a lot of cute Halloween jokes and wonder if all you FReepers are getting them also.Here are a few that I like: "> "> "> ">

Long before "Dirty Jobs" premiered on reality TV, we all understood that some jobs are ickier than others and that we really shouldn't hold an unpleasant job against the person doing it. Hence, the cliché: "Don't shoot the messenger." In the U.S. today, tax collection is seen by many as a dirty job. In fact, some Internal Revenue Service workers are so worried about harassment, violence or just shunning that they use pseudonyms when interacting with the public. You don't want to hold the tax code against IRS employees whose job it is to interpret, administer and enforce it. Still,...

Although I am very happy with the events so far in New York and I support both Hoffman's run against a liberal GOP Candidate and the conservative statement to the GOP, I have some concerns. I think that Hoffman's campaign will encourage more independents to buck the GOP establishment. While I think that this is necessary in showing the GOP that the conservative grass roots don’t want the establishment’s compromising, weak spined, unprincipled moderates, when will conservative enough be conservative enough? There are few politicians that espouse the (small l) libertarian, small government philosophies that I believe in. I am...

Here is video of Democrat Rep. James Clyburn flatly revealing that "the magic number is 50" in the U.S. Senate to pass ObamaCare. That means, the Senate will use the "Nuclear Option" (Reconciliation Process) to ram the bill through the Senate when the time comes. Up to now, as far as I know, no Democrat has come right out and said it, but now Clyburn has. He even said that on the day of the vote, "The Vice-President will probably be in the chair." Meaning to cast the 51st vote for passage, if needed. All their talk of "bipartisanship" is...

Early Saturday morning, 7Online.com, the website for ABC's New York affiliate WABC-TV, reported the previous night's arrest of Jason Shih, an alleged campaign worker for Governor Jon Corzine (D-NJ) charged with "possession of a controlled narcotic and paraphernalia that is used for distribution." For some reason, although the headline "Corzine campaign worker arrested" shows up in a Google News search, the page is no longer available: "We are sorry, but the URL you requested could not be found. The page you are looking for may have been renamed, moved, or deleted." A search of "Jason Shih" and "Corzine" at 7Online.com...

Among the fallacies in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s health care bill is the pretense that bureaucrats are smarter than the rest of us. An unelected bureaucrat would be given czar-like control over our lives, our health, and our pocketbooks. Even super powers. This new all-powerful “health choices commissioner” would be entrusted with more power than most superheroes. The laundry list of that special power is proof that it’s a government takeover of health care.

I just got the American Community Survey in the mail earlier this week. I was curious if any FReepers have actually filled this out or had any related dealings with the Census people. Personally, it reads as a huge invasion of privacy, and I'm leaning towards not filling it out. Other than my Constitutional requirement to participate in the Census every 10 years, I don't feel any obligation to disclose anything further. So, any help from my FRiends out there would be much appreciated.