Free Republic

Rather than cowing the IRS into cooperating with Congressional inquiries, the House's citing former IRS official Lois Lerner with contempt seems to have emboldened further resistance. “The notion that this 'slap-on-the-wrist' is going to make us turn on our friends is ludicrous,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. At issue is correspondence between the IRS and high-ranking Democrats--including Sen. Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Reid (D-NV), Sen. Bennet (D-CO), Sen. Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Pryor (D-AR), Sen. Hagan (D-NC), Sen. Begich (D-AK), Sen. Shaheen (D-NH), Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO), Sen. Franken (D-MN), Sen. Warner (D-VA), Rep. Braley (D-Iowa) and Rep. Peters (D-MI)--who are alleged...

Gimme Shelter has been described by reviewers as a movie that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. However it is more than just than the story of a young woman’s dehumanizing experiences. It provides insight into a journey that began with hopelessness and desperation and because of the caring and support of others who guided her choice of a better life.

Sheilah O’Donnel tells herself that her new home, a townhouse in a development in Chevy Chase, Md., just a stone’s throw from a Safeway, isn’t really all that bad. Sure, it’s near a gas station. And the front window, with its cheerily upholstered cushions, overlooks a dreary parking lot. And yes, it’s kind of small — “an apartment,” O’Donnel, who is 44, sometimes says bitterly, when she’s reminded of her former life with her ex-husband in their custom-built, six-bedroom home. But then again, it’s perfectly maintained and impeccably furnished, and most important, it’s rented with her own money, from the...

If you ever go to the Jaffa flea market in the afternoon, you will be treated to a unique experience. At a designated moment, the peddlers stop hawking their wares, the shoppers stop inspecting the merchandise heaped in piles on the sidewalks and all gather for an open-air mincha (afternoon prayers) session. I love this marketplace prayer. It has a special grace. I always prefer to pray with working-people who stop in the middle of their toil to praise G-d than to recite the prayers in the synagogue. When the Torah becomes our national way of life, a culture that...

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2007 – Reality met Hollywood last month when the cast and crew of the Lifetime Network’s new series “Army Wives” hosted a picnic honoring real Army wives in Charleston, S.C., where the series is filmed. The cast members of Lifetime TV’s new series “Army Wives” enjoy hosting some of their real-life counterparts for a day of pampering in Charleston, S.C., May 5, 2007. It was a chance for the cast to get a better understanding of the real people they’re representing, cast members said. Courtesy photo by Allison Perkins  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, Feb. 20, 2006 – Just as any other day at Al Faw Palace, soldiers work to continue the mission of freeing Iraq. Boom! Suddenly the palace shakes and the noise within becomes faint. Soldiers run around frantically, trying to figure out what has went wrong. A bomb went off within the palace. Seven soldiers lie wounded on the ground. Combat lifesavers rush over to provide the casualties with medical aid. Thankfully, this scenario was an exercise based on a simulated attack on the palace Feb. 17. The exercise prepares soldiers within the palace in the event of...

Nasa tries to figure out real-life Rain Man's brain Robin McKie, science editor Sunday December 11, 2005 The Observer (UK) It took Kim Peek just over an hour to read Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October. Four months later, when asked to give the name of the book's Russian radio operator, Peek quoted the entire relevant passage. It was a prodigious feat. Yet for Peek - the real-life 'savant' on whom Dustin Hoffman's character in the film Rain Man is based - such recall only gives a glimpse of his powers. He knows 9,000 books off by heart; he...

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Three horses died in the first of four races at this year's annual Omak Stampede rodeo in far north-central Washington, which culminates each night with a horse race down a steep slope. The so-called Suicide Race, begun in 1935, has been criticized for years by animal welfare groups. Twenty riders plunge down a 62-degree hill, cross the Okanogan River and race into the grandstand arena. A number of horses have been killed or injured in the race and practice sessions over the years. During Thursday's race, one horse in the middle of the pack stumbled into another...

Relic searchers dig near Jesus' crucifixion site in quest for chest holding 10 Commandments For centuries, many have wondered whatever happened to the Ark of the Covenant, the box the Bible says contained the Ten Commandments of God. Now, a new quest is underway for the legendary chest featured in the film "Raiders of the Lost Ark," trying to prove the claim the Ark is buried below the purported site where Jesus Christ was crucified. An international team has just completed what it calls its first stage of exploration, spending two weeks beneath Mount Moriah outside the walls of ancient...

TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian judge threw out a claim by a 9-year-old hockey player who said an opposing team's hockey coach had threatened to put a "bounty" on his head, according to a legal advisor to the family. John Bijelic had launched the small-claims suit against Peter Higley, seeking $6,400 for, among other things, "intentional infliction of mental suffering." During three days of testimony, the boy said Higley, 35, had said he was going to put on a bounty on him and carry it out himself. But in a north Toronto courtroom Thursday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Pamela Thomson...