Free Republic

A Burger King franchisee in Florida, was ordered to pay nearly $8 million to a customer who allegedly slipped and fell at the restaurant and needed surgery for his injuries. Richard Tulecki, 48, “suffered lower back injuries resulting in surgery” after he slipped on a “foreign substance” near the restroom of a Burger King location in Hollywood, Fla., according to court documents. The fall caused “serious injuries” which required surgery, and Tulecki suffered a postoperative perforated colon, according to his attorneys. The lawsuit, filed in January 2021, accused Burger King of negligence for “failing to ensure that the area and...

Scientists discover ‘deadliest substance known to man’ By News.com.auOctober 15, 2013 | 1:34pm Scientists have discovered a new type of botox they believe is the “deadliest substance known to man” and have withheld the DNA sequence because an antidote is not known. It is the first time the scientific community has made such a move to withhold such information but security concerns have dictated that they do so. New Scientist reports that just 2 billionths of a gram, or inhaling 13 billionths of a gram, of the protein botulinum produced by the soil bacterium Clostridium botulinum will kill an adult.

“I’m less concerned about style points. I’m much more concerned with getting the policy right…” – Barack Obama This statement he made in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos is something that has stuck with me the past few days. This president is so obsessed with style over substance that “style” has been considered his only strong suit. This is why his “likability” has been so high with people – he’s a nice guy. That is how he has gotten to where he is today without accomplishing anything of substance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Secret Service says it has intercepted a letter addressed to President Barack Obama that contained a "suspicious substance." Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan says the letter was intercepted at a facility away from the White House. He says the letter was received Tuesday.

It might have been Mitt Romney’s most revealing moment in all the Republican debates. Badgered by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was continually interrupting him, Romney appealed to CNN moderator Anderson Cooper to reassert the rules of the debate: “Anderson?” That one-word plaint could stand for all of Romney’s straight-arrowness. It is a virtue and a curse. “Scandal” and “Romney” are two words you expect never to have to see in a sentence together. He’s every bit as upstanding as you would expect from a former Mormon bishop, a father of five and grandfather of 16. Romney is a familiar...

While it is clear from the outset that a large percentage of lurkers and posters on FreeRepublic are staunch supporters of Sarah Palin, there are nonetheless a significant if considerably smaller number who avidly support Herman Cain. My curiosity piqued by this fact, I decided to watch Herman in his interview yesterday on “2012 One-on-One” with Chris Wallace, FOX NEWS Sunday. As the show opened, Chris ran a videotape of Herman at a campaign stop where he commandeered the stage with an undeniable presence, arms spread expansively, and said “Once I am president, Americans will be able to say, “Free...

DEVELOPING: A plane landed on an isolated airfield on Raleigh-Durham International Airport Wednesday after authorities said an “unidentifiable substance” was found in the restroom on a flight.

Holder Urges GOP Oversight To Focus On "Substance," Not "Politically Attractive" Things; Incoming Chairman Vows "Fair" Oversight As House Republicans weigh how to spend their time after taking power of the oversight committees in January, Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday urged the committee overseeing his department to "focus on things that are not going to be politically attractive but will be of substance." Before November's mid-term elections, Republicans on Capitol Hill promised to investigate allegations by two attorneys -- one currently with the Justice Department -- that the department's Civil Rights Division is "hostile" toward "race-neutral enforcement" of voting...

When you look back over the surges of enthusiasm in the politics of the last two years, you see something like this: The Obama enthusiasts who dominated so much of the 2008 campaign cycle were motivated by style. The tea-party protesters who dominated so much of 2009 were motivated by substance. Remember those rapturous crowds that swooned at Barack Obama's rhetoric. "We are the change we are seeking," he proclaimed. "We will be able to look back and tell our children" that "this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to...

A recent New York Sun editorial makes the observation that the essence of Sarah Palin's world view — which the editor has dubbed "Palinism" — is emerging: "...and it is far more substantive than her detractors suggest or than we gained a glimpse of during the campaign. She has been, in a straightforward way, stepping up on certain issues that her fellow Republicans would do well to emulate."The 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate's statement on Israel is one example cited in the editorial: "It provides a glimpse of a leader who would respect Israel’s right to establish, democratically, its own...

What a difference 200 days can make. When Obama took the oath of office at the end of January, the Democrats had a 7% lead in the Rasmussen, generic congressional ballot – a simple poll that asks the question if the election were held today, would you prefer a Republican or a Democrat for Congress (no names – just a question of Party preference). As of September 6, 2009, that lead was symmetrically reversed to a 7% Republican lead – a historic 14% swing. There are two main reasons for that reversal – style and substance.

I didn't attend the CPAC conference, but, thanks to the Internet, I got to see a lot of the speeches. Thoroughly loved a lot of what I saw. Rush's speech was spot on. And Ann Coulter had me laughing so hard my ribs hurt. Some excellent speeches from quite a few others well: Jonathan Krohn, Mike Huckabee, etc.. One of the things I noticed before CPAC was that people kept talking about "redefining conservatism". But I kept asking myself over and over... why would we need to redefine conservatism? What's wrong with it that makes it out of touch? But...

Well, I too must admit I am excited about Obama. It is a great testament to the growth of our country. He is our president and I will stick by him and hope we can make progress out of these disastrous economic times we are all facing as a country. However.... My fear is that we all bought hope high and sold reality low. Ultimately words can only go so far. Obama has given many of us hope. When he talks we all show up and we all feel better. We all get gitty in fact, for lack of a...

« Morning Briefing: 12.28.07 Video: On the Road in Iowa » “Substance” Airing in Iowa Posted on December 28th, 2007 By Sean Hackbarth in Announcements   Your efforts are working. “Substance” is now airing in Iowa. We’re only $87,398 away from making sure it stays running through the caucuses. If 2200 people give $40 we make our goal. That’s doable since our average contribution today has been over $70.This wide-open Republican race means anything can happen. “Substance” on the air could be key to success.Spread the word by blogging, leaving blog comments, talking it up on forums, using your...

Life in southern Israel is unbearable. Since last January, on average, 6.3 mortars and rockets have been fired from Gaza on southern Israel every day. As Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i warned the heads of the communities around Gaza last week, due to the improvements in the Palestinian arsenal since Israel vacated Gaza two years ago, the Palestinians now field missiles and rockets with extended ranges that place 130,000 Israelis under threat of missile attack. Wednesday, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi made clear that if Israel wishes to secure its citizens there is only one thing it...

One Of Every Three Popular Songs Contains References To Substance Use ScienceDaily (Nov. 11, 2007) — Know what your kids are listening to when they’re blocking you out with their iPod earbuds firmly in place? If they are listening to popular music, chances are high that they are hearing references to substance use. According to new research presented at the American Public Health Association’s Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, D.C., 33 percent of the most popular songs of 2005 portrayed substance use. The study, in which researchers analyzed 279 of the year’s most popular songs according to Billboard magazine,...

Barack Obama visited New Hampshire, wowed the Democrats there and jumped up more than 20 points in the polls to a tie with Hillary Clinton, all of which means he could be in for it. “Where’s the beef?” more and more people will ask and already are asking, even including Gary Hart, the most famous political target of that withering inquiry. In 1984, when he was trying to wrest the Democratic nomination for president away from Walter Mondale, Hart talked endlessly about the need for new ideas, even though it was not apparent he had any. Mondale noticed as much,...

"...Nick now claims that he was searching for methamphetamine for his entire life, and when he tried it for the first time, as he says, ''That was that.'' It would have been no easier to see him strung out on heroin or cocaine, but as every parent of a methamphetamine addict comes to learn, this drug has a unique, horrific quality. In an interview, Stephan Jenkins, the singer in the band Third Eye Blind, said that methamphetamine makes you feel ''bright and shiny.'' It also makes you paranoid, incoherent and both destructive and pathetically and relentlessly self-destructive. Then you will...

Dems Altering Style, Not Substance Terence Samuel Dec. 9, 2004 As has been authoritatively reported, there is an unparalleled amount of angst coursing through Democratic veins these days, both in Washington and around the country, about what the party needs to do to reverse its recent string of defeats. "Change" seems to be the consensus answer -- but that's where the consensus begins and ends. The increasingly heated debate over who should be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and how he or she should be chosen is only the most dramatic feature of the agonized self-examination....

Debatable Debate Impressions, Part II Edwards – More than a Pretty Face? by Bob Redman (7 Oct. 2004) In my article about the first debate between Bush and Kerry I enumerated eleven of the many cheap shots which Kerry made. During the vice-presidential debate on Tuesday evening, Edwards repeated and/or elaborated on the cheap shots, and added some of his own. A detailed analysis of the whole tissue of obfuscation would run to several pages which most of you wouldn’t read to the end. I therefore content myself with the elucidation of only one of Edward’s trial lawyers' devices which...