Free Republic

Well, I’ve just finished scouring the White House visitor logs. Regular readers know I seem to be one of the few in the media who actually does such a thing. Regular readers also know that I’ve pointed out time and again that the logs are incomplete, misleading, obtuse, and designed to make it as difficult as possible to figure out who has visited and when. So, it is no surprise that neither director Tim Burton nor actor Johnny Depp — hosts of the big 2009 Hollywood Halloween bash at the White House — show up in the visitor logs. At...

Just like clockwork, the Obama administration never misses an opportunity to unload thousands of records it hopes no one will ever bother sifting through during the holidays. On Black Friday, the White House released more visitor log info — trumpeting disclosures it has fought tooth and nail. I’ve started looking through the data. And you can, too, right here:

Judging by the list of journalists he's met with while serving as White House chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel won't have any trouble attracting media attention for his campaign to be mayor of Chicago. The transparency watchdog Sunlight Foundation reviewed the White House visitor's logs and found a long list of journalists who sat down with Emanuel for some face time. Sunlight's Paul Blumenthal notes that while most of Emmanuel's interactions with the press were likely by phone or e-mail, the list of reporters who've met him in person is extensive.

In a case that raises questions about online journalism and privacy rights, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a formal request to an independent news site ordering it to provide details of all reader visits on a certain day. The grand jury subpoena also required the Philadelphia-based Indymedia.us Web site "not to disclose the existence of this request" unless authorized by the Justice Department, a gag order that presents an unusual quandary for any news organization.

Promising “transparency like you’ve never seen before,” The White House released its visitor log this evening under a new voluntary disclosure policy. The log chronicles 481 visits to the White House from individuals ranging from Jay-Z to Bill Gates from January through July. The list includes William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Michael Moore, Robert Kelly (R. Kelly), Malik Shabazz, and Michael Jordan.

On the outskirts of Jimmy Carter's ancestral home, miles from the nearest interstate, sits a state shrine to Georgia's native president. The Plains Visitor Information Center pays tribute to the peanut farmer-turned-president, and it also stands as a reminder that even one of the most sacred names in Georgia politics can fall victim to a budget crisis. It is the least-visited of Georgia's 11 state-run visitor's centers, attracting 65,000 people last year.

Illinois freeper plannning on visiting the Boston, MA area this month and seeking advice on avoidance of tourist traps. Interest is primarily history, (without the usual PC spin seen today in most large cities). Any advice from MA freepers is appreciated. Tips and photos of Boston tourist attractions and tourist traps, posted by real travelers and Boston locals. http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/Massachusetts/Boston-794476/Tourist_Traps-Boston-TG-C-1.html

<p>Few Islamic countries have taken steps to tackle the pandemic as the death toll continues to mount.</p> <p>''I just pray that God ends my life before more symptoms show. I don't want to create problems for my family.''</p> <p>Before his HIV-positive diagnosis in 2001, the Egyptian engineer who spoke these words thought that AIDS was a faraway disease that afflicted only foreigners. He had no idea that the global AIDS pandemic had reached his country. Now he says he would rather kill himself than be rejected along with his family by neighbors and friends, who regard HIV as synonymous with sin and shame.</p>

The good news is that polls continue to show that between one and two-thirds of the public thinks that extraterrestrial life exists. The weird news is that a similar fraction thinks that some of it is visiting Earth. Several recent television shows have soberly addressed the possibility that alien craft are violating our air space, occasionally touching down long enough to allow their crews to conduct bizarre (and, in most states, illegal) experiments on hapless citizens. While these shows tantalize viewers by suggesting that they are finally going to get to the bottom of the so-called "UFO debate", they never...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A visitor center for Capitol tourists will open next fall at a cost of more than $500 million, the Capitol's chief architect told skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday. The center, the largest and most expensive construction project in the building's 200-year history, has been plagued by cost overruns and delays. "My own guess is that I'd be happy if this thing were open by Labor Day of 2007," said Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. "I think this project illustrates the problems that how government is inherently wasteful and inefficient," said...

Flying saucers and strange beings who have visited Earth aren't the typical topics reported by Peter Jennings, anchor of ABC's "World News Tonight." Jennings, whose new two-hour special tackles the subject of UFOs, admits he and his production team began the project with doubts and a dose of curiosity. "We have a lot of skeptics -- I am very skeptical -- but we seriously investigated something a lot of people are serious about," he said. "And when we come to the end, this is wonderfully interesting. "More than 80 million Americans believe intelligent beings from somewhere else have come here,"...

Hotel Talks Set to Resume WASHINGTON (AP) - The clock is ticking toward the presidential inauguration, and with that in mind, both sides in the hotel workers contract dispute go back to the bargaining table Thursday. About 3,500 workers at 14 upscale D.C. hotels have been working without a contract since Sept. 15. The bellmen, housekeepers, cooks and others have voted to authorize a strike against the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C. That group represents properties including the Washington Hilton and the Marriott Wardman Park - both of which host inaugural balls later this month. It's been almost a month...

Something happened to Richard Cote. And now, almost 11 years later, he wants to tell the world. And whether you believe Cote's story or not, one thing is clear: He's not alone. Reports indicate thousands of people have told authorities they were abducted by aliens. Last year, BBC News reported four million Americans believe it has happened to them. Amazon.com sells a book titled How To Defend Yourself Against Alien Abduction. Type the words "alien abduction" into the Google search engine and you'll be rewarded with more than 85,000 hits -- including a service that offers Christian counselling to people...

1:00pm Ancient Aliens TVG, CC 2:00pm Secret UFO Files TVG, CC 3:00pm UFOs: Testing the Evidence TVG, CC 4:00pm UFOs vs. the Government TVG, CC 5:00pm Roswell: Secrets Unveiled TVG, CC 6:00pm ET Tech TVPG, CC 7:00pm Crop Circle Controversy TVG, CC 8:00pm UFOs: What You Didn't Know TVG, CC 9:00pm Flying Pyramids Soaring Stones TVG, CC 12:00am UFOs: What You Didn't Know TVG, CC 1:00am Flying Pyramids Soaring Stones TVG, CC

The U.S. and other world governments already have detailed secret plans for first contact.When UFOs land, a series of plans created to deal with nuclear emergencies and biological attacks will be activated. Within the scientific community, the question is no longer whether extraterrestrial life exists, but if ET is smart enough to do long division. Scientists are of two minds regarding the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. Skeptics acknowledge simple life-forms might be found on other planets, but insist that intelligent life is unique to Earth. Their belief is based on the assumption that Earth possesses unique physical attributes, including a...

A galactic mystery hovers over the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland: How many of the 2,280 global leaders, including 31 heads of state, gathered in this Alpine resort conduct business with extraterrestrials? This is no whimsy for Davosians. It's on the agenda of the annual powwow of the influential and affluent who will ask forum participants such as Vice President Dick Cheney, Coca-Cola Chairman Douglas Daft and De La Rue Chief Executive Ian Much if the aliens have landed and are collaborating with them to concoct government policy, brew soda pop and mint Iraq's new bank notes. "The...

First it was French wines. Then French fries. Now it's French exchange students who are getting the cold shoulder from American families still smarting over France's opposition to the war in Iraq. "I start talking about exchange programs and they say, `Great.' And when I say they're all from France, end of conversation." She finally became so exasperated that she drafted an open letter to prospective hosts that was more cri de coeur than letters from the lovelorn. "Are we so self-serving that we've lost touch with the true meaning of America?" it went on. "Are our lives so busy...

PASADENA, Calif. - David Lee Roth (news) got an unwanted visitor when a man being chased by police climbed over a fence and tried to hide in the rock star's yard. The former Van Halen frontman's publicist said Roth used a shotgun to hold the man at bay until police arrived, but police spokeswoman Janet Pope could not confirm that Wednesday. "He was laying on the grass when our officers arrived," Pope said of the man arrested. She said Charles Cooley, 47, was being pursued by officers responding to complaints of someone throwing rocks at windows around 2 a.m. Saturday....