Free Republic

Sunday morning 6:50AM - Started my day by making a cup of coffee. The blinds were slightly open - I could see out. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye - Not A deer - BUT TWO young does happily munching my tomato plants. DANG-IT!In my current locale I am not going to open fire on them and risk the neighbors calling law enforcement - discharging a gun HERE is sort of illegal. "BUT OFFICER, IT WAS SELF DEFENSE! The deer were threatening me!!"No, no - not going to go there... So I go out the door...

Jon Bates owns Addicted to Fitness, a gym in Naples, Florida. As a personal trainer, he ends his nights by running 3.5 to 4 miles for both mental therapy and as a way to get his workout in. Bates said his friends give him a hard time about being outside in the humidity and heat when he has access to an air-conditioned gym, but he enjoys his outdoor runs, and the chance to sweat in the fresh air. So last Monday, he set out for his usual run, but on a slightly different route. He told Runner’s World he kept...

Former US president Jimmy Carter lashed out at British Prime Minister Tony Blair for being "so compliant and subservient" to the Bush administration in Washington. "I have been surprised and extremely disappointed with Tony Blair's behaviour," Carter told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper as he promoted his new book "Faith and Freedom." "I think that, more than any other person in the world, the prime minister could have had a moderating influence on Washington, and he has not," said the 81-year-old former head of state. He faulted Blair for not having been a constraint on US President George W. Bush's decision...

...Venezuelans would prefer at this time if the Carter Center stayed away from our country. The role the Center played in the recall referendum, before and after it, left a very bitter taste in all of those like me, who are certain that the outcome was fraudulent. ... Carter ... did not demand that the CNE do the “hot audits” on August 16th. ... There are lies in the reports from the Carter Center, such as that the boxes containing the ballots never left their sight. Thus, Venezuelans in the opposition think the Carter Center failed them completely by being...

Bwahahahah!!! Gasp! Bwahahahahahahah! (tears of laughter, blogger convulsing on the floor subject to one of the biggest laugh attacks recorded in blogdom). (Breathe, breathe deeply, garner composure, start writing again) Today we learn that Jennifer Mc Coy of the Carter Center will brave Venezuela to offer help in consolidating peace and democracy! The nerve! What is in store for us? Are they going to approve the new judicial system whose near uniform composition will ensure "peace" through a "uniform justice" (pun intended)? Will they offer to monitor the 2006 elections to validate yet another "fair" Chavez victory? ... I have...

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has long been rumored as desperately seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2008. And while many political observers fully expect the power hungry former First Lady to hit the campaign trail within only a few months of being re-elected as a US Senator in 2006, US News & World report claims to have a confirmation of sorts. From USNews.Com's Washington Whispers: Hillary's in… You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends...

Researchers Say They Have Shark Repellent That 'really Works' By Ian James/Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Excited by the scent of blood, a dozen sharks dart about in a frenzy as a researcher dips a pole in the sea and squirts out a clear, yellowish substance. Within seconds, the sharks jerk their snouts away and vanish. Researchers say they finally have found a potent repellent to drive away sharks, after testing off Bimini island in the Bahamas. It's a goal that's eluded scientists for decades. If proven effective, the repellent one day might protect divers, surfers and...

SAMMAMISH, Wash. - A sixth grader sprayed nonpoisonous dog repellent on a cookie intended for her teacher and has been expelled, officials say. The situation developed when the pupil brought some store-bought chocolate chip cookies to school Monday for a party at Elizabeth Blackwell Elementary School in this suburb east of Seattle, Lake Washington School District spokesman Peter Daniels said.She handed one cookie to her teacher, who took a bite. About half a dozen other students bit into cookies that apparently had been hit with overspray and -- like the teacher -- coughed at the bitter taste and strong odor...