Free Republic

Watch out James Patterson, Stephen King and Dan Brown. Sarah Palin has you beat — at least this week. All that experience on the campaign trail has served Palin well. The 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, who is popular among many U.S. conservatives, has excelled in the first week of her multi-state, campaign-style media tour to promote her new book which was released on Nov. 17. The former Alaskan governor’s memoir, “Going Rogue: An American Life” topped the charts in its first week of publication. Nielsen Bookscan said the new author eclipsed best-sellers Patterson and King whose books also debuted...

10 Reasons That Sarah Palin Could Win the Republican Nomination by Nate Silver 1. Enthusiasm. People tend to see electorate through a one-dimensional lens, in which a fixed number of voters are trying to decide between two or more candidates. But that's not really how politics works, especially in primaries. Rather, the playing field is (at least) two-dimensional: people are not merely trying to decide whom to vote for, but also whether to vote at all. Because of the reach of her brand, Palin has the ability to engage the sorts of voters who might ordinarily stay at home. In...

When the clock strikes midnight tonight, Sen. Robert Byrd will become the longest-serving member of Congress ever — a capstone on a remarkable career in which the adopted son of a coal miner propelled himself from poverty to the pinnacle of legislative power, where he could, did and still does send billions of federal dollars back across the Blue Ridge to help build his home state of West Virginia. Byrd’s stat sheet speaks for itself: • Served 20,774 days — or 56 years and 10½ months — in Congress • Attended 18,582 Senate roll call votes • Elected to Senate...

New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland are among the top five least corrupt nations, according to a new survey released by Transparency International. Canada is in the top ten. Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan are the most corrupt. Canada ranks amongst the top ten least corrupt countries in the world while conflict-torn states such as Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq are labelled as nations rife with bribery and corruption, according to a new 2009 corruption perception index revealed Tuesday by Transparency International. New Zealand rates as the least corrupt nation followed by Denmark, Singapore and Sweden. Others on the...

Signature in the Cell makes 2009 list of top ten bestselling science books Today Amazon.com announced their bestselling books of 2009 and Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design (HarperOne) by Dr. Stephen C. Meyer made the top ten in the science category. According to Amazon.com, books on its 2009 list of best sellers are “[r]anked according to customer orders through October. Only books published for the first time in 2009 are eligible.” The book's publisher, HarperOne, reports that the book is entering its fifth printing in as many months, and continues to sell strongly both...

States in New England top a new set of rankings, while the South still lags. If you want to be healthy, live in Vermont--or at least act like you do. It is the healthiest state in the country, according to a new report from the nonprofit United Health Foundation.

Top Ten Cheney 2012 Slogans 10. "Yeah, I'm a compassionate conservative. I let you live, didn't I?" 9. "The Secret Service's new job? Protecting other world leaders from me." 8. "I'll crush all enemies foreign & domestic. Then I'll figure out a goal for Week Two." 7. "I shot a guy in the face and he apologized to me." 6. "Democrats will need Universal Health Care after I'm through with them." 5. "Want to see world leaders bowing? Oh, they'll bow alright." 4. "Do what I say or I'll have my daughter kick your $*%." 3. "On my World Apology...

New Ox-Am Dictionary Names 'Teabagger' Word of the Year Finalist By Noel Sheppard Created 2009-11-16 19:06 The New Oxford American Dictionary on Monday named its 2009 "Word of the Year," and listed as one of the finalists "teabagger." Fortunately, its definition was different than the sexual connotation many media members and liberal bloggers conveyed by using the term. Regardless, its inclusion is still quite offensive to millions of Americans. I guess the good folks at NOAD weren't concerned with that when they wrote the following press release [1]: Facebook fans will undoubtedly recognize the New Oxford American Dictionary's 2009 Word...

Thanks to all those who replied. I received some very good nominations, also some names I wasn't aware of (and then there were the frivolous wastes of time). I still think popular culture is a battlefield for conservatives. One most don't realize. So it's nice to know who is already engaged. Here are my own choices. Tell me what you think: OK Here is my list of the ten greatest conservative filmmakers: 1 -Frank Capra 2- James Carabatsos (script writer as well as producer) 3- Lionel Chetwynde 4- John Ford 5-Elia Kazan 6- John Wayne 7- Clint Eastwood 8- John...

It's not just California that's dragging the country down. Did you know Wisconsin was in trouble? A new report by the Pew Center on the States, called Beyond California: States In Trouble, shows us the 10 that are weighing the country down. The ranking looks at budget gaps, foreclosure rates, lost state revenues, unemployment, money-management practices, and where "super-majority" requirements are killing efforts to fix the financial mess. Scores for each category are tallied for an overall ranking. We bring you the top 10, counting down from bad to worst. The higher score, the bigger the crisis. California gets a...

The same economic pressures that pushed California to the brink of insolvency are wreaking havoc on other states, a new report has found. And how state officials deal with their fiscal problems could reverberate across the United States, according to the Pew Center on the States' analysis released Wednesday.The 10 most troubled states are: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.Other states -- including Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, New York and Hawaii -- were not far behind.The list is based on several factors, including the loss of state revenue, size of budget gaps, unemployment and...

To regain its strength, an out-of-power party like the Republicans needs ideas to fuel its recovery and leaders to promote and deliver them. In this war of ideas, those committed to presenting a sensible, philosophically grounded conservative case to Americans play a special role. Because conservatives are distrustful of concentrated power, it is awkward to select just seven Washington power players, but here are my picks...

According to The Huffington Post, Michelle Malkin, Mark Levin, Glenn Beck and other right-of-center stars that regularly dominate the New York Times Hardcover Non-Fiction Bestsellers List are - or should be - in a league of their own. No, that isn't Arianna Huffington's blog heaping praise on conservative authors. It's a literal suggestion. With right-leaning books and authors holding so many spots on the list, and more to come - former Sarah Palin, former Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush all have books due out -Huffington Post suggests conservatives should have their own category to differentiate from other works...

Top 10: 1: Florida 2: 'Bama 3: Texas 4: TCU 5: Cincinnati 6: Boise State 7: Gerogia Tech 8: LSU 9: USC 10: Iowa Computer put 'Bama back up over Texas. TCU leaped over Cincinnati to take the top spot for highest ranked non-BCS team. Despite losing LSU gained a spot. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/polls/bcs/

03 August 2009 "TOP TEN" LIST OF JIHADI FORUMS FOR 03 AUGUST 2009 It's been almost a year since a failure of truly epic proportions brought down the most significant websites of the global jihad, on or about 10 September, 2008. A year before that failure, the same sites were the target of a citizen-based effort to drive them off of the Internet. This 2007 campaign against the jihadi forums had the effect of encouraging the creation of a number of new sites, while other forums (e.g. al-Hanein) loosened their membership requirements. The net result was that the events of...

Lots of people want credit for Dede Scozzafava dropping out today. I feel like I have had a view from the inside. Lots of people are trying to give me credit for rallying the base since last July for Hoffman, but from my vantage point, there are four that are being overshadowed by Pataki, Pawlenty, and Palin, but who genuinely and truly deserve a hell of a lot more credit than most. Please though, remember these four: 1. Susan B. Anthony List. First in and last out, they have been under the radar for months. Before the tea party activists....

For the third year in a row, residents and visitors have voted Philadelphia the city with the least attractive people, according to a survey by Travel + Leisure. But that's not all; the City of Brotherly Love also ranked as the least stylish, least active, least friendly and least worldy by 60,000 respondents who ranked 30 cities in several categories ranging from food to nightlife to culture. On the bright side, the beauty of the museums and art galleries was enough to boost Philly to the third spot in the Historical Sites/Monuments category.

Forbes Magazine, famed for its exhaustive lists, has a new one: America's safest cities. The unusual thing about this list is that the list-makers used more than just violent crime statistics to assess the relative safety. Also among the data collected are the number of workplace fatalities, deaths by traffic, and deaths by natural disaster. San Francisco ranks #25 in the list of 40 major metropolis regions,behind New York (#8), Detroit (#12), Chicago (#15), and Los Angeles (#19).

Just about everyone has become familiar with America’s foreclosure capitals – metropolitan areas like Las Vegas with the nation’s highest rate of foreclosed properties (1 in 20) or No. 2 Merced, Calif., (1 in 27). But the problem is expanding to new cities. In fact, as the subprime-mortgage crisis eases for some of the top metro areas, like Merced and No. 3 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., economic pressures are creating new foreclosure capitals. One of them, Reno-Sparks, Nev., broke into the Top 10 foreclosure metros in the third quarter, according to a RealtyTrac report released Thursday. And others are gaining...

The Ford Fusion was rated higher in reliability this year than its counterparts- Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. The only car in the family sedan category with better ratings compared to Fusion was the Toyota Prius, the magazine said yesterday. “It’s rare for Consumer Reports to see family sedans from domestic carmakers continue to beat the reliability scores of such highly regarded Japanese models,” David Champion, senior director of the Yonkers, New York based magazine’s Automotive Test Center, said in a statement. World class production Ford’s reliability will translate into future gains as it will help the company capture a...

Some of you may have read my article on cities with the most beautiful women, this however is about the countries with the most beautiful women. It's always possible to find a city with beautiful women in a land of not-so-amazingly beautiful women. These places on the other hand, are entirecountries with beautiful women. 10. Denmark I've been to Denmark many times, & I can say that I've not found anything rotten there to date. And definitely not the women, the women here are as striking as they come. A lot like their Swedish neighbours, the women of Denmark are...

For the first time in recent years, voters trust Republicans more than Democrats on all 10 key electoral issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports. The GOP holds double-digit advantages on five of them. Republicans have nearly doubled their lead over Democrats on economic issues to 49% to 35%, after leading by eight points in September. The GOP also holds a 54% to 31% advantage on national security issues and a 50% to 31% lead on the handling of the war in Iraq. But voters are less sure which party they trust more to handle government ethics and corruption, an issue...

There are a few humorous "top 10 reasons why Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize" lists making the rounds these days. My personal favorite is: "It's his consolation prize for losing the Olympics." However, let's put intentional humor aside for a moment and examine the top 10 bona fide reasons the president was awarded the highest praise from the Norwegian Nobel Committee. I think you'll find that the unintentional humor in this little episode is off the charts. First, it's important to understand that this is the same body that saw fit in recent years to give the award...

EL PASO, Texas -- The Sun City has many things to offer, but according to one online magazine, handsome men isn't one of them. Total Beauty.com ranked El Paso No. 1 for the ugliest guys in the country. "I don't think I'm ugly, no I don't," said Corey Keith of northeast El Paso. But the magazine didn't judge men by looks alone. Editors included physical fitness and education. In the article it said, “Nearly 15 percent of the dudes in this Lone Star City have less than a 9th grade education. The city also suffers from a notably high rate...

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - For people who love chocolate and love travel, what could be better than a chocolate museum. The members and editors of VirtualTourist.com (http:\\www.virtualtourist.com) have compiled a list of the World's Top 10 Best Chocolate Museums. Reuters has not endorsed this list. 1. The Cologne Chocolate Museum; Cologne, Germany Located on the Rhine River, this futuristic building gives visitors three floors of chocolate history to ponder, but the real centre of attention here is the famous chocolate fountain. Museum staff dip waffles in the hot liquid for salivating guests. 2. Musee les Secrets du Chocolat; Geispolsheim, France...

The Florida Gators held the No. 1 spot in the first Bowl Championship Series rankings, despite playing a relatively weak schedule and struggling offensively in recent weeks. The Gators (6-0) had .989 points, giving them a 0.36-point lead over No. 2 Alabama in the standings, released Sunday for the first time this season.

The CBS "Early Show" ran a story about dogs and their intelligence, or lack thereof. In the story, they shared their list of the top 10 smartest and top 10 dumbest dog breeds. These were their picks.

Congratulations to the staff of The Wall Street Journal! Despite the national trend, the WSJ continues to gain circulation. Americans don't like being lied to. Reporting the truth without the liberal spin has paid off for the Journal. As the state-run media continues to lose viewers and readers due to their biased and inaccurate reporting the Wall Street Journal is now the top-cirulating newspaper in the United States.

Despite countless speeches and news conferences, did you ever hear President Obama express the following ideas? 1. Not everything is a federal issue; some things are for the states to decide. 2. I hear what you're saying and you have a good point. 3. One of the beautiful things about our constitution is the liberty given to individuals to pursue their dreams. There is great opportunity in our country to succeed. 4. In an effort to stimulate job growth and despite the objections from my party, I am working with Congress to reduce taxes for small businesses. 5. I am...

It was, as a famous Pittsburgher liked to say, a beautiful day in the neighborhood. The world champion Steelers were kicking off their title defense against the Titans. The world champion Penguins were down in D.C., Stanley Cup in tow, to meet the president. Native son Dave Wannstedt was at practice on the South Side, preparing his unbeaten Pitt football team for the weekend's win at Buffalo. That was September 10, 2009, and here's how beautiful it was in this year's Best Sports City: Pittsburgh's Pirates did not—repeat, did not—lose that day. (So it was an off-day. Beauty is in...

A Sarah Palin mask will set you back $30, while a Barack Obama mask is on sale for $17.

Norway is the best place in the world to live while Niger is the least desirable, according to an annual report by the United Nations. The 182 countries were ranked according to the quality of life their citizens experienced. Criteria examined included life expectancy, literacy rates, school enrolment and country economies. However the UN human development index used data collected in 2007 - before the global economic crisis. The UN Development Programme said the index highlighted the grave disparities between rich and poor countries.

Mon Oct 5, 7:53 am ET PARIS (AFP) – Norway takes the number one spot in the annual United Nations human development index released Monday but China has made the biggest strides in improving the well-being of its citizens. The index compiled by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) ranks 182 countries based on such criteria as life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Norway, Australia and Iceland took the first three spots while Niger ranks at the very bottom, just below Afghanistan. -snip- The top ten countries listed on the index are: Norway, Australia, Iceland,...

With David Letterman back in the news, a top ten list is in order. Let's illustrate the panoply of weirdness that are the health care bills working their way through Congress. 10. Doctors who treat the oldest patients will be fined by the government: The government will create a “hit list� of doctors who are in the top 10% of Medicare costs per patient nationwide. Those doctors on the list automatically lose 5 percent of their total Medicare reimbursements, which are already abysmally low. Because the most aged patients are the most costly to treat, doctors will shy away from...

10. Dead people can’t vote at IOC meetings 9. Obama distracted by 25 min meeting with Gen. McChrystal 8. Who cares if Obama couldn’t talk the IOC into Chicago? He’ll be able to talk Iran out of nukes. 7. The impediment is Israel still building settlements. 6. Obviously no president would have been able to accomplish it. 5. We’ve been quite clear and said all along that we didn’t want the Olympics. 4. This isn’t about the number of Olympics “lost”, it’s about the number of Olympics “saved” or “created”. 3. Clearly not enough wise Latina judges on the committee...

Top 10 Reasons Chicago Didn't Get the Olympics 10. Dead people can't vote at IOC meetings 9. Obama distracted by 25 min meeting with Gen. McChrystal 8. Who cares if Obama couldn't talk the IOC into Chicago? He'll be able to talk Iran out of nukes. 7. The impediment is Israel still building settlements. 5. We've been quite clear and said all along that we didn't want the Olympics. 4. This isn't about the number of Olympics "lost", it's about the number of Olympics "saved" or "created". 3. Clearly not enough wise Latina judges on the committee 2. Because the...

Forty-eight days before the release and she’s already topped Dan Brown’s latest conspiracy-theory casserole at both top retailers. To put that in perspective, note that the book doesn’t even have a cover yet. So much for the Page Six hit piece about demand for her being slack. No way to tell yet, obviously, whether the monster launch will have legs or whether it’ll deflate a bit next week after Palinistas are all done ordering their advance copies. But if it goes on to become a mega-seller, it’s a game-changer insofar as it’ll establish her unquestionably as the most prominent Republican...

No one will ever compile a top ten list that everyone will agree with. The subjective criteria used here is based on price, range required, caliber required, history of use and reliablity, and commonness of ammunition, not necessarily in that order. This is not to suggest that a person needs every gun listed. A large caliber rifle, .22 rifle or pistol, 9mm or .45, and pump shotgun are the basics. There will be lots of other opinions, but here is my list that I came up with after 50 years of shooting… not necessarily ranked in order. 1. We know...

America's super rich are getting poorer. For only the fifth time since 1982, the collective net worth of The Forbes 400 — our annual tally of the nation's richest people — has declined, falling $300 billion in the past 12 months from $1.57 trillion to $1.27 trillion. Faltering capital markets and real estate prices, along with divorce and fraud, pushed the fortunes of 314 members down and drove 32 plutocrats off the rankings. Hurt the most: Warren Buffett, America's second-richest citizen. The Oracle of Omaha dropped $10 billion from his personal balance sheet as shares of Berkshire Hathaway fell 20%...

Younger Americans just starting out in their careers have always been willing to relocate, but with unemployment high and jobs hard to come by, this mobile generation has become more cautious about making just any move. As a result, cities with staying power and emerging industries may benefit the most once the recession lifts. Leading the list and sharing the number one spot are Washington D.C and Seattle. They're cities with long histories of government jobs and related industries. A Wall Street Journal panel ranked the cities based on job possibilities, affordability and quality of life. One big change, panelists...

Sarah Palin''s new book, "Going Rogue, an American Life" was announced only two days ago and it's already zooming to the top of the bestsellers lists, even though it won't be released until November 17th. Preorders for the former Alaska governor's book have amazingly already made it No. 1 on both Barnes & Noble.com and Amazon.com.

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Kate Winslet, Michelle Obama Make People's Best-Dressed LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – British actress Kate Winslet lead the pack of People magazine's 10 best-dressed women of 2009, with U.S. first lady Michelle Obama chosen for "best accessible glamour." Although the list, released Wednesday, does not have numerical ranking, Winslet, 33, who won an Oscar in February for playing a dour Nazi in "The Reader," was deemed to be the best-dressed woman on the red carpet on 2009 "with her unique brand of sexy sophistication, modern Hollywood glamour and those enviable curves." People named Reese Witherspoon as having the "best short dresses,"...

There is no denying the numbers and the volume of sales surrounding Glenn Beck's newest release, Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government has produced results beyond expectations. After the stunning success of Beck's Common Sense and increased television and radio ratings, publishers had high expectations for his newest endeavour. Three weeks before its release, pre-orders were already outpacing nearly every other political book, including the unexpected flop, 50 Ways You Can Help Obama Change America. Beck's newest book has proven to not only to exceed expectations, but is sure to enrage his detractors. Just 3...

The 75 Best People in the World Buzz up! There are many more do-gooders, but these particular men and women — because of their talent, achievements, virtue, and two other essential qualifications (having to do with puppies and drinking) — make us happy Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/best-people-1009#ixzz0SGRR1wGk Janet Napolitano She's wrestling with the biggest mess in government: the Department of Homeland Security. And she has the best smile in the Cabinet. Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/best-people-1009#ixzz0SGRItZRx

NFL's 100 Best: How did we come up with the 100 best? Anyone who has watched Brett Favre closely and believes he should consider retirement must have a cheesehead over his eyes. In Favre, we are witnessing one of the best players of all time at any position near the pinnacle of his game. His bullet throws cut through the retirement talk. At 33, the quarterback of the Packers still gets more velocity on his passes than anyone in the known universe. Receiver Robert Ferguson knows. His finger was broken by a Favre pass last December. "It's hard to say...

In the latest Forbes magazine ranking of the Best States for Business, Louisiana jumped five spots from 49th in 2008 to 44th in 2009. Forbes ranked Louisiana 50th in 2006, and 49th in 2007 and 2008. The ranking evaluates the 50 states on six different categories, including business costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life. Louisiana's improved standing was the result of significant jumps in three categories. Louisiana's growth prospects ranking moved up from 17th to eighth in the nation. This category reflects expectations for the state's future performance in job growth, income growth...

High ratings drama Monday night with a deluge of broadcast network premieres: >> Fox won the opening night of the fall season for the first time in the network's history. The network aired the two-hour return of "House" (16.5 million viewers, 6.5 preliminary adults 18-49 rating), the medical drama climbing 14% from last year while most of its competitors declined. >> CBS placed second in the key adult demo with its comedy block and "CSI: Miami" (13.7 million, 4.3). "Miami" was down 17%, though still beat ABC and NBC at 10 p.m. combined. "Big Bang Theory" (12.8 million, 4.6), however,...

P2+ Total Day FNC – 1,586,000 viewers CNN – 590,000 viewers MSNBC –454,000 viewers CNBC – 197,000 viewers HLN – 374,000 viewers P2+ Prime Time FNC – 3,238,000viewers CNN— 1,054,000 viewers MSNBC –1,123,000 viewers CNBC – 259,000 viewers HLN – 813,000viewers