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Cruising at 32,000 feet amid stormy weather, about 11:12 p.m. UTC the pilot asked control whether it could ascend to 38,000 feet. They then ascended to 37,400 feet in about 30 seconds in a steep climb. Commercial planes are not designed to ascend so quickly, it may have been climbing at a rate twice as fast as it could and should. The stall warnings -- which blare the words "Stall, Stall" -- went on as the plane started the steep climb and continued until it crashed, according to information on the flight data recorder.

Yesterday on the network radio news they were reporting how many dollars cash on hand Apple Corporation had earned. They reported Apple could give every American $550 in cash were the cash to be distributed. In contrast, if the cash of Microsoft corporation was distributed, there would be only $150 per American (not sure of this number).

To the Editor: Congressmen Toomey, Casey and Meehan are touting the Keystone Pipeline (a pipe that would move dirty tar sands oil across the country from Canada to the Gulf Coast for export) as a jobs bill. But research shows that the Pipeline would only create mostly temporary jobs — around 3,000 jobs per month for about 12 to 18 months. And, after the Pipeline is completed, only around 35 to 50 permanent jobs will remain. As far as jobs bills go, that’s pretty anemic. Instead, our congressmen could create millions of good-paying, long-lasting American jobs (that can’t be outsourced)...

We’re all too familiar with the pattern by now: His exultancy, the maximum Dear leader Obama the second, ruler of all and master of no responsibility will decree some outrageous and illegal act. This will be followed by the surrender monkeys of the GOPe almost getting into fist fights in a mad dash to be first to solemnly announce that once again, Impeachment is ‘off the table’. And just as with any other rule breaking, the psychological science of operant conditioning applies. The result is an increase of a behavior that is rewarded and less for which is punished. Were...

Why else would we be in turmoil and nothing seems to get corrected ?

“Mayor Putz can’t even get a blizzard right!” de Blasio tried to wipe the egg off his face....b/c he had overreacted. He defended the shutting of roads, schools and mass transit, insisting New Yorkers “got lucky” when accumulation barely topped 6 inches.....his restrictions were far from ordinary and far from necessary. One business-owner complained unreasonable demands for early closings cost him $3 million....he was still steamed by de Blasio’s warning that business owners should not be “cheapskates.” The storm also exposed that the mayor and the governor.....once described as longtime friends... clearly don’t talk to each other, or even cooperate....

I have my friends and family members trained not to call between 11 and 2 lest I have to miss Rush. But last week I had phone calls with customer service representatives from Comcast and Verizon plus an issue with the main sewer line which required the city's Utility Department to come and dig up part of my yard. Since I have no control over these CSRs or the city's Utilities Department, Murphy's lousy law always seems to kick in when I have to deal with these kinds of situations causing me to miss a lot of Rush's show. When...

Let's play Connect the Dots. This is not a rocket scientist level game once you complete the connections. Obama's hatred for the West, Western Europe and especially the Brits goes back to the days when the Brits carved up the old Mesopotamia into what is now much of the Middle East. He returned Churchill bust -- a gift from the Brits – within days of entering the White House and routinely disrespectfully props his feet atop the desk fashioned from the timbers of the famed warship HMS Resolute the Brits gifted to President Hayes in 1880) due to their sometimes...

A while back (I think within the past three months) there was a very interesting article posted here about inventions by white men. I have not had any luck finding it through FR search. Does anyone remember it? Does anyone have it? Can anyone post a link to it? Thanks.

I heard a sound byte today from the FOX internet ...

Group ID# 2669 Group Name Free Republic Racing Group Password jimrob

When is a bird in the hand worth two birds in the bush I think it would depend on how you acquired the bird in the hand. Did you apply yourself and work hard to get the bird in the hand or did the government give it to you after first taking it from your fellow citizens? Ross Perot said it as well as anyone could say it. There is no shortage of good sounding ideas in D.C. The problem is finding a leader who can implement the idea. I have an idea to solve poverty. Everyone earning less than...

Will the Supreme Court Deal With Reality When It Makes Its Marriage Ruling? Let's be blunt. When a penis is inserted in a vagina there is a good chance that a new human being will result. When a penis is inserted in an anus, there is a passable chance of disease or defect being the result. This is reality and there is no escaping it. Only a real male and a real female can make babies. Put the two sexes together, and there's a good chance of babies showing up. To deal with reality, cultures through all of recorded history...

Personally, I don't think she'll run, but if she does ... who can we put up against her ?

It seems America has a steely determination to kill herself. Let's look at the events of the last few days, since January 12, 2014. Nancy Pelosi named a Muslim Congressman to the very important House Intelligence Committee, which will afford him access to some of the most secretive information on America's war on terror. Rep. André Carson of Indiana has been linked to the Muslim Brotherhood through the Muslim American Society / Islamic Circle of North America (MAS/ICNA) groups, and in May of 2012, asserted that American schools should be modeled after madrassas, which are Islamic teaching schools. The President...

I know this may not be the right forum but with the demonstration tonight against radical islamists speaking in a Garland ISD Texas building and Pamela Geller coming here to be part of it I wonder why I can open a link to her web site" Atlas shrugs"? I have tried for 2 days using every engine I have and it always comes back 504 error or something like that. It would not surprise me if it were deliberate but it could also be my stupidity. can anyone else get to her website?

I yield to almost no-one in my contempt for the French, who typically despite Americans and Jews, and I have happily repeated the oft-told classified ad for a French rifle -- never fired, dropped once. But it's got to be said: while the New York Times and goodness knows how many other American sources are hiding under their beds; while the FBI could do nothing for the originator of Everybody Draw Muhammad Day other than give her a new identity and help HER hide under a new bed, the French, at least some French, are calling out the lunatics who...

Maybe this is a rant as much as it is a question, but I often find myself astonished by third (and 2nd) world culture from what I've seen of it. Mexico: OK, this is probably more 2nd world than 3rd world. They do many things like USA. I have inlaws in Mexico, so I've spent some time there. One thing that seems to be consistent, whether you are visiting someone's home or a gas station, is that the toilets are rarely completely functional! So often they'll have a large bucket outside or in the bathroom that you have fill up...

The Shoe Bomber was a Muslim The Beltway Snipers were Muslims The Fort Hood Shooter was a Muslim The underwear Bomber was a Muslim The U-S.S. Cole Bombers were Muslims The Madrid Train Bombers were Muslims The Bafi Nightclub Bombers were Muslims The London Subway Bombers were Muslims The Moscow Theatre Attackers were Muslims The Boston Marathon Bombers were Muslims The Pan-Am flight #93 Bombers were Muslims The Air France Entebbe Hijackers were Muslims The Iranian Embassy Takeover, was by Muslims The Beirut U.S. Embassy bombers were Muslims The Libyan U.S. Embassy Attack was by Musiims The Buenos Aires Suicide...

My brother has had problem after problem with obamacare, and every time he calls to talk to someone to try to fix it, they cannot open his account. For this reason, they have set up a new account probably 6 times. What I wonder is, does this happen to other folks, and is my brother and all these others being counted multiple times as having obamacare? Is that where the administrations claimed numbers come from?

In case you couldn’t tell by their actions, the GOP currently holds more seats in Congress than they have since 1929, a direct result of mid-term voters demanding change writ large. Their first action was to elect leadership, and incredibly, they chose the same floundering crew who, hand-in-hand with equally inept Democrats in Congress and the White House, have nearly scuttled the Ship of State. We all know that the definition of “Insanity” is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. Let me add one to the mix: “Treason”… which one source defines as the betrayal of...

Separate headline: Shintophoabia on the Rise. I often wonder how today's MSM would cover events from our history.

Everyone knew the NFL was going to make America's Team pay for winning against Detroit last week. The NFL and the Liberal Media both loathe the Dallas Cowboys. EVERY bad call went against Dallas today, including that abortion of an overrule when Dez Bryant caught that ball, fumbled it into the end zone, and recovered it for a Touchdown. The rest of the NFL season is just Kabuki.

I'd take Romney. He seems more like he is learning, understanding, and trying to be more conservative as the years go on. Bush on the other hand is floating ideas that seem far less conservative to me as the years go on. However, CRUZ IS MY TOP CHOICE!!! Go CRUZ!

Why didn’t the House include the Preamble to the Bill of Rights? I just listened to members of the House read the entire United States Constitution aloud on the floor of the House. This is the third Congress to follow this tradition. However, as before, the Congress failed to read Article 1. Section 1. in its entirety. That begs the question, why did the Congress intentionally omitted reading this language in the Constitution. Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined...

Some quick thoughts regarding the Islamic ideology

Link to live coverage of the hostage situation.

This week I went online and changed my voter registration from Republican to Unaffiliated. Didn't see the point and it felt good. Anyone else?

Anyone remember this? I'm looking for the video. Not sure how today he could be in any way surprised or opposed to the actions in Paris if such a reaction is "natural." Here's a story where the "natural" statement is referenced, but not sure where Obama said it. http://www.newsmax.com/FrankGaffney/Obama-hides-malpractice-film/2012/09/24/id/457434/

People of Free Republic. I would like your critique of the following statement: To say that "I am a Muslim but I am not a member of Al Qaeda or ISIS." is virtually identical to saying that "Sure, I'm a member of the Nazi party but I'm not a member of the Waffen SS or the Einsatzgruppen."

For several years the terms GOPe and RINO have been used to describe less than conservative members of the Republican Party. As of today those terms are dead. There are no RINOs and there is no GOPe. There are only Republicans and the GOP. The Party has chosen their future. When only 25 members of the house GOP are willing to listen to their constituents and vote in a principled manner to remove a known betrayer, that tells you all that you need to know about the party as a whole. In my mind, there is nothing that can save...

Okay. Boehner won the speakership by a narrow margin. Two questions. Can he be removed if he doesn't get the message from the conservatives and do you think he will change his tact now that he has been told in no uncertain terms the conservative base is very unhappy with him and his actions to this point or will he simply ignore us going forward?

For universities looking to make their football teams nationally known and profitable, the great college-football realignment is likely coming to completion. There are fewer major conferences. Just a few short years ago, the Big East was 5-0 in bowl games, but now survives only as the weak American Athletic Conference. The WAC no longer sponsors football at all. The Conference USA is an empty shell. Even the Mountain West Conference, despite subsuming the best of the WAC and Big West, is weaker than it once was. The Big 12 may be looking to expand back to 12 teams from 10....

Thoughts?

Today’s reelection of John Boehner proves there is but one party, the Uniparty. Political parties represent the common interests of their members, and to this end the two wings of the Uniparty have far more in common than differences. Their rhetoric often contrasts, but their mutual interests are on display. Witness the fifth year of Obamacare, out of control spending, executive and judicial tyranny. Both wings despise the Tea Party more than each other. The framers’ constitution wisely divided power and provided checks that reached across the branches. Congress can deny appropriations, congress can override presidential vetoes, the senate can...

It should be a 'NO BOEHNER ' kind of day but as I lay out possible outcomes of the day, there are harsh realities on the table. Only a small group are really committed to changing things like Gohmert, Brat, Bridenstine, Massie and Amash among others. Remember names like that. They are greater men (moles and Judases excepted) than the ones who represent you and claim to be conservatives or even "patriots" like my congressman Scott Perry does. (Perry has announced he won't support Gohmert tomorrow) It is my conviction that 95 percent of Republicans in Congress either repudiate conservatism...

Does anyone have a listing of email addresses and numbers for members of the Liberty Caucus? This would extremely helpful in the push to oust Boehnor.

I'd like to see counter-protesters holding signs that say " Stop Lying! Cops are dying! Everytime this mob of anarchists (and that is what they are) start chanting and flashing their "Lying Signs" start shouting back at them " Stop Lying.......Cops are dying"

John Boehner epitomizes all that is wrong with the Republican Establishment. Boehner has thwarted every plan to overturn or ameliorate the most heinous aspects of Obama's neo-tyrannical rule. These days, I like to call Boehner Crying Cheeto. That is because he is an odd orange- or yellow-color, and cries at the drop of a hat. Boehner started, seemingly, on the right track. He was helpful in engineering the Contract with America in 1994, which helped propel Newt Gingrich to the position of the Chairman of the House. He quickly turned, however, and was involved in an unsuccessful attempt to unseat...

OK. So all the "pragmatic" conservatives who bit the bullet and voted for RINOs once again in November 2014 got their reward with the Republican votes for Obama and his trillion-dollar budget increase for 2015 in the lame duck session. These are the same people who scolded us about risking another 2 years of Harry Reid and a return of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker if we stayed home on election day. Well, I think reality is that anyone who votes for a RINO in the 2016 primaries, or in the general election, is voting for Hillary (or Warren or whomever...

A British soldier “shakes hands” with a kitten on a snowy bank, Neulette, 1917. In the Christmas truce film Joyeux Noël, a cat runs back and forth between the enemy trenches to soldiers that feed it. One names the cat Felix and the other Nestor, and when the two meet in No Man’s Land during thet ruce, a sweet argument ensues between the two men over whose cat it is and what is, in fact, its name. The director of the film, Carion, drew on a real life story of a cat who did this during the truce and was...

Where are folks gathering ?

Yesterday at my job I was walking through the building and one of my fellow associates was jesting about me working long hours, so I sighed and said a little spur-of-the-moment rhythm: Yes, we're now here but we aren't being queer We'll soon be out of here Well another associate, who happens to be an homosexual, overhead this from around the corner and went and complained that I made an derogatory comment and that it was an unforgivable act as far as he goes. Word got back to me about what the young man had said and I went to...

Does the administration have any role in which cases are argued in the Supreme Court? Do they have to take one side? Or can the simply pass on the case? What are the terms used for passing a case, or agreeing with one side? Thank you!

Watching the start of the Quick Lane Bowl: Rutgers vs North Carolina, now on ESPN. Several Rutgers players/coaches wearing NYPD hats at kick-off. Good to see considering much of the past left wing history of RU.

No sense in breaking my Christmas Tradition. Every generation has their heroes. When they pass, we compare them with the newcomers. And they come up short. The Beatles. Muhammad Ali. Ronald Reagan For Dad, it was Al Jolson. Joe Louis. Cal Coolidge. But my father knew music. Kid, he told me, here's the deal: Caruso - Power Gigli - Passion Bjoerling - Perfection I acknowledge his wisdom... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVYCudlVMSM Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Freepers! Merry Christmas Freepers!

Hello all. Sitting here at home and wondering if anyone else out there is spending this evening alone. On this night of all nights when families gather and friends share gifts and time, some of us are, for various reasons, spending Christmas Eve solo. Not necessarily a bad thing - alone doesn't always mean lonely. But, it does mean alone. Check in if that includes any of you, my fellow Freepers.

Is it possible that the world is witnessing a low threshold war that is actively being prosecuted by various actors on the international stage? Could it lead to a Political realignment as economic sanctions cripple countries hostile to the United States and other freedom loving peoples....

Common Core and the Bill Gates Foundation and George WillYou know it is awful when cautious and moderate conservative George Will is against you because Common Core is just another Federal power grab. My reasons for being against Common Core are: The Federal Department of Education is highly affirmative action as in employment preferences being given to liberals, lefties, militant women, gays, blacks, minorities/ I don't like it when these fanatics are running the show.The various States are always more fair on such hiring practicesThe Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is really the Melinda Gates Foundation. She calls the shotsShe...