Free Republic

Left-wing Hollywood star Bette Midler has insulted the people of West Virginia, describing them as “poor, illiterate and strung out” in a vicious Twitter rant aimed at Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). She later apologized for her outburst, saying she was angry over the senator’s decision to vote against President Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan. Bette Midler lashed out at the senator in a rageful tweet on Monday. “He wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia. Poor, illiterate and strung out,” she wrote. (The term “strung out” typically refers to drug addiction.)

She is 71 years old, a great-grandmother - hardly the type of person you would expect to see in Bronx Criminal Court to answer charges of buying two dime bags of pot. Yet at the appointed time today, Barbara Jackson will make her way to the courthouse, a colorectal cancer survivor ready to plead her case. "I smoke it to live," the feisty granny told the Daily News. "I don't think I should have been arrested." Jackson said she started smoking the green, leafy drug eight years ago - a year after being diagnosed with cancer - to restore her...

BEHIND BARS A former police chief wants to end a losing war by legalizing pot, coke, meth and other drugs SOMETIMES PEOPLE in law enforcement will hear it whispered that I'm a former cop who favors decriminalization of marijuana laws, and they'll approach me the way they might a traitor or snitch. So let me set the record straight. Yes, I was a cop for 34 years, the last six of which I spent as chief of Seattle's police department. But no, I don't favor decriminalization. I favor legalization, and not just of pot but of all drugs, including heroin,...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Aug. 4, 2005) -- Imagine dangling from a helicopter, zipping along at more than 80 miles an hour, with a crystal clear view of the coast and Marines on the ground looking like ants. That’s how Marines with 1st Force Reconnaissance Company spent their day July 28 — literally hanging by a thread to brush up on SPIE-rigging (special purpose insertion extraction) and “fast-roping” techniques. The training was held to requalify those who train Marines in such skills. Fast roping is the “main means” of inserting Marines quickly when a helicopter can’t land, said...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 August 2 Comet 57P Falls to Pieces Credit: Y. Fernández, S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt (University of Hawai`i) Explanation: Comet 57P has fallen to pieces, at least 19 of them. Orbiting the Sun every 5.9 years or so this faint comet - also christened Comet 57P/du Toit-Neujmin-Delporte for its three 1941 co-discoverers - is simply 57th on the list of comets known to be periodic, beginning with Comet...