Free Republic

Bruce Springsteen is getting some unfavorable comparisons to John Mellencamp following the latter's meltdown at a recent show. The musician walked off after getting into it with a heckler. Now, fans are saying Springsteen and Mellencamp are cut from the same cloth. Taking to social media, several critics blasted Mellencamp and also brought Springsteen into the conversation. Critics claim that both Mellencamp and Springsteen are out of touch with the fanbase that once propped them up. One person wrote, "I have seen JCM five times. Just like Springsteen, these guys used to be in touch with the common man. They...

Taliban officials “expect” President Joe Biden to reopen the U.S. Embassy in Kabul despite U.S. insistence that future diplomatic relations will depend on Taliban behavior. “America should have only a diplomatic presence in Kabul,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Tuesday , per an Afghan media outlet. “We have communication channels with them, and we expect them to reopen their embassy in Kabul, and we also want to have trade relations with them.”...

Remember the story we told you yesterday about how black Olympian Shani Davis was angry that a coin flip decided that white Olympian Erin Hamlin would be the Team USA flag bearer in today’s opening ceremony? Well, the story got worse. Davis skipped the parade of athletes over the entirely fair process to decide a tie:

Obama’s temper tantrums show more than anything else what Obama really is Update: Russia retaliates after US sanctions—See video below Not since Nikita Khrushchev’s 1960 shoe-banging histrionics at the United Nations has a hissy fit gone such a long way to torpedo the persona of an on his way out the door political junkie. Mirthful millions of LOLers—including what was supposed to be the chief aggrieved party—are laughing at a sulking Obama’s 11th-hour expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats. from the USA.

It’s awkward enough when your toddler goes into meltdown mode in a crowded store or on an airplane; the dirty looks and side eye from strangers can be pretty unnerving. But what do you do when the crying fit happens in the White House in front of the President and First Lady of the United States?

HEALTH Secretary Alan Johnson is being lined up to act as emergency Prime Minister amid growing concerns among Labour MPs about Gordon Brown’s state of mind. The 58-year-old could take over as an interim measure if Mr Brown quits for the sake of his own health after an expected meltdown at next month’s local and European polls. A former postman with a common touch, he is seen as the candidate the Tories fear the most. Senior Labour sources said last night he would be the “magic wand” solution to avert a landslide defeat at the next General Election. An increasing...

A national civil rights organization co-founded by Martin Luther King Jr. is pulling its 2008 national convention from Kansas City to protest decisions by the mayor. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference thinks Mayor Mark Funkhouser showed racial insensitivity when he appointed a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps to the park board and when he tried to oust City Manager Wayne Cauthen, an African-American, without consulting with the City Council. Local SCLC members also have criticized Funkhouser and his wife, who allegedly called a mayoral aide “Mammy.”

Folks, we need to tone down the rhetoric. It is dividing us. We can argue passionatley without hating each other or blowing our tops. I am particularly worried that certain FReeepers are letting this get to their heads too much psychologically. In the end, none of us will have any impact. The types of personal insults and tantrums that are flying around are just not neccessary. Here is a small sampling, just from today: It is NOT up to the Pres to appease the knee jerk critics. IT is up to the critics to explain why we should listen to...

Civil disobedience ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS PLAN TO DISRUPT DAILY ACTIVITIES IF WAR BREAKS OUT By Dana Hull Mercury News More photos (EUGENE H. LOUIE / MERCURY NEWS ) Malcolm Moore, 45, Tristen Schmidt, 36, Amy Champlin, 32, practice non-violent protest tactics in Berkeley. If U.S.-led forces attack Iraq, anti-war activists in the Bay Area and around the world have ``emergency response'' plans to immediately blockade federal buildings, shut down commuting arteries and disrupt the financial districts of major cities with massive protests and non-violent civil disobedience. Many organizers have kept their intentions under wraps so that police and officials at U.S....

I work in the Park Shops office building downtown. This morning on the elevator coming in I saw that Peter Jennings will be signing his new book In Search of America November 15th at noon at the Waldenbooks in the Park Shops. Boy what a great opportunity to stand in line and get to tell good ol' Pete what you think of him!! "Hi Pete! Why don't you go "in search of Canada" and get back up there, you America-hating liberal!!!" Any good freep ideas?