Free Republic

Buc-ee's gas stations have become a popular phenomenon for Americans who want to fill their tank but also grab a sweet treat for the road. Here DailyMail.com takes a look inside the world's largest Buc-ee's station in Tennessee. The 74,707-square-foot station in Sevierville features 120 gas pumps, a barbecue brisket counter with a 'Texas round-up station' and rows upon rows of beef jerky. Since opening in June, the East Tennessee branch near Dollywood and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has drawn in Buc-ee's fans from around the country, as well as the curious but uninitiated. 'I think this one...

One of the few reliable truths in electoral politics is that voters like tall presidents. The average U.S. president is about two inches taller than the average U.S. man, who is 5’9”. Recent presidents have skewed even larger: Every president since Jimmy Carter (5’9.5”) has been 5’11.5” or taller. We haven’t elected a president smaller than the average man in nearly 130 years, when short king William McKinley won his election. “We are a species that equates larger size with maturity, leadership and sex appeal,” wrote Jay Mathews in the Washington Post in 1999. “If we were like some insects,...

I need help from my very enlightened freepers who have infinite knowledge and wisdom to help a woman out. I have a Harvest Right freeze dryer that needs a gasket and an oil/ water separator filter. I need to know the manufacturer and there is nothing on the pump to indicate who made it. Just the words Harvest Right. I called Harvest Right and they don't sell replacement parts and refused to tell me the make and model number. I can't afford a new pump and I'm very disappointed with the company. I can buy a whole new $3500 unit...

Q: On recent trips to Las Vegas traveling on Interstate 15, Riverside resident Janet Field said she noticed that the rest stops along the interstate were closed in both directions. She wondered why the rest stops are not being used, and said they appear to be in good condition. A: Water and electrical problems are to blame for the closures of rest stops on 1-15 between Riverside and Las Vegas, said Caltrans spokeswoman Terri Kasinga. The rest stops outside of Barstow and Baker are just old and need major repairs or rehabilitation work, which is why they are closed. Kasinga...

When Tropical Storm Nate formed and forecasts put New Orleans in its projected path for this weekend, one big question loomed for residents and business owners: Will the pumps work? "That's now a thought in everybody who lives in New Orleans," said Devin Shearman, a manager at Katie's restaurant and lounge, which flooded during an unexpected rainstorm Aug. 5. It was one of two flash floods this past summer that led to revelations about personnel and equipment problems at the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board, the agency that runs the pumping system that drains the city. Some pumps weren't...

First Lady Melania Trump defied many of her fashion critics in Hollywood and the mainstream media by sporting snakeskin pumps as she boarded Air Force One Saturday on a flight to hurricane-ravaged Texas. The New York Post reports that she chose to wear snakeskin Manolo Blahnik pumps as she accompanied her husband on a second visit to the areas in Texas hit by Hurricane Harvey, this time to meet with the victims of the storm. President Trump faced a lot of criticism during his first visit to the disaster area because he spent his time meeting with state and local...

Got this from a email friend today. She says . . . I ALWAYS check the first gallon before pumping more – simply to MATCH the PRICE (advertised) against the ONE gallon pumped into my car. – I “caught” a SHELL station (here in Mesa, Arizona) that had the price 12 cents per gallon HIGHER than the advertised price on the pump AND the sign out front. – I called the local Department of Agriculture (weights and measures division) from my cell phone immediately – waiting for them to show up. They did, some 20 minutes later. The Department taped...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve ramped up its stimulus to the economy on Wednesday, expressing disappointment with the pace of recovery in employment as contentious U.S. budget talks heighten uncertainty about the outlook. The central bank replaced a more modest stimulus program due to expire at year-end with a fresh round of Treasury purchases that will increase its balance sheet. It committed to monthly purchases of $45 billion in Treasuries on top of the $40 billion per month in mortgage-backed bonds it started buying in September. In a surprise move, the Fed also adopted numerical thresholds for policy, a...

As the old saying goes, there is a reason why elections are not held after April 15th. Election outcomes would be quite different if they were held in April as the fermenting anger would still be fresh within voters. For low to middle income Americans, the consequences of leftist government policies have created absorbitant gas prices that are actually -more painful- than the income tax itself as it is paid weekly and exceeds what many in lower income brackets pay in federal taxes (if they pay at all). You can help to get voters to think about the ramifications of...

The events in Japan are disastrous and heartbreaking, but they should not be used to stop us from safely utilizing nuclear energy for the benefit of our nation. As a senior member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, I am a strong advocate for safe and clean nuclear technology to meet the energy needs of our growing nation. Research and development makes technologies safer and more effective. Now is not the time to abandon nuclear energy, as our allies in Germany are doing. Now is the time to finally make the move to newer, safer nuclear technologies...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US House of Representatives voted Friday to pump another two billion dollars into a program that lets consumers trade in gas-guzzling cars and trucks for more efficient vehicles. Lawmakers voted 316-109 to prime the "cash-for-clunkers" program with monies taken from a giant economic stimulus package approved in early 2009 after the vastly popular effort burned through one billion dollars in its first week. The measure must now clear the US Senate, where its fate is far less clear, amid disputes on whether to require higher fuel efficiency and greater emissions reductions before extending the campaign. The...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0902/090205boston.htm February 5, 2009 Two German nationals and a German company indicted for conspiring to export U.S. origin goods to Iran BOSTON - Two nationals of the Federal Republic of Germany and a German company were charged today in U.S. District Court with conspiring to unlawfully procure from the United States, and export to the Islamic Republic of Iran, 26 pump parts, worth more than $200,000, for use in centrifugal sulphuric acid pumps and sulphur pumps, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Iranian Transaction Regulations and the Smuggling Statute....

Researchers work to shrink technology that harnesses sun's energy to both heat and coolEvery day, the sun bathes the planet in energy--free of charge--yet few systems can take advantage of that source for both heating and cooling. Now, researchers are making progress on a thin-film technology that adheres both solar cells and heat pumps onto surfaces, ultimately turning walls, windows, and maybe even soda bottles into climate control systems. On July 12, 2006, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) researcher Steven Van Dessel and his colleagues will announce their most recent progress--including a computer model to help them simulate the climate within...

Man has stolen 2,600 gallons from stations in Travis County.A gas thief is literally cleaning up at gas stations in Travis County — pumping fuel from underground tanks while spraying the pavement with a pressure washer to make it look like he belongs there. The man has struck three gas stations in the past 15 months, making off with about 2,600 gallons of fuel, which he pumps into tanks mounted in the bed of a pickup truck and on a double-axle utility trailer, the Travis County Sheriff's office said. Most recently, he drove into Graef's Grocery at U.S. 183 south...

The Defender 8-Shot allows you to be prepared for any unseen obstacle that might come your way while in the backcountry. It's easy to pack and carry, and handles both buckshot and rifled slugs easily. The rugged Defender 8-Shot features an eight-shot magazine capacity, 18" cylinder bore barrel, non-glare metal surfaces and a lightweight composite stock and forearm. Choose from the full stock version with a removable front TRUGLO® fiber optic sight, the pistol grip model, or the combo version with both pistol grip and full stock included. The full stock model is available in both 12 and 20 gauge.

Plaintiffs say parish violated pump policy Tuesday, October 18, 2005 By Paul Purpura West Bank bureau Jefferson Parish residents are suing Parish President Aaron Broussard and the parish, claiming their east bank homes flooded after drainage pump operators were sent out of town before Hurricane Katrina hit. Broussard and the parish "owed a duty to operate the drainage pumps" and "breached that duty by failing to man and operate" them, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in the 24th Judicial District Court in Gretna. The plaintiffs, who are seeking class-action status, want unspecified damages and want the case to be...

What about simply staging a 30 day boycott of offshore oil? I read a report that said in the first 10 months of 2004, we used 20.4 million bbl/d (barrels per day). So, in a years time let's just say 24 million bbl/d. If we divide that by 12 months, we use 2 million bbl a month. (rough estimation) With 700 million barrels of oil in the reserve, we would hardly put a dent in our reserves, and at the current price of oil ($66.60 per barrel averaged of 4 oil providers on Sept 2 at 730am PST according to...

Nothing but the headline now: "FLASH: New Orleans mayor says attempt to plug breach has failed and rising water about to overwhelm pumps; water will rise rapidly again, as high as 15ft in next few hours..." Link goes here, but no details yet.

Deepening his personal involvement in an industry that has business pending at the Capitol, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this year helped dietary supplement companies launch a lobbying group. An article in the August 2005 edition of Muscle & Fitness magazine, for which Schwarzenegger serves as executive editor, recounts his attendance at a March 5 meeting at which the lobbying group formed and says the governor remains "a phone call away" from the organization. The meeting took place while legislation was pending that would restrict high school athletes from using some performance-enhancing supplements. The bill still awaits action in the Legislature....

What's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger doing in a hot pink dress and matching shoes? A Democratic lobbyist on the losing end of a legal settlement over sales of unauthorized Schwarzenegger bobblehead dolls says he'll roll out a "girlie man" model next month, to satirize Schwarzenegger and try to force a court decision on the celebrity governor's proprietary rights over his evolving political image. "The message is that, Arnold, you ran for office, we can praise you, we can criticize you and we can poke fun at you," said John Edgell. "And if you have a problem with that, sue me." A...