Free Republic

An Austin developer has been indicted by a Travis County grand jury on a charge of criminal mischief, accused of illegally cutting down a large cedar tree in South Austin last year. Hunter Wheeler, 36, faces up to two years in prison if convicted of the charge. He declined to comment Wednesday, saying he was not aware of the case. He has previously denied cutting down the tree.

The [Connecticut] state Senate has given final legislative approval to a bill aimed at reducing the pollution that causes global warming. Senators voted 35-0 in favor of the legislation and sent it to Gov. M. Jodi Rell. The House of Representatives approved it earlier. If she signs it into law, Connecticut will be the fifth state to adopt mandatory limits on global warming pollution. The state passed legislation back in 2004. But that law, which established benchmarks for air pollution reduction, was voluntary. The new bill would require total emissions to be capped at 10 percent below 1990 levels by...

Well, it is likely that Sen. Barack Obama won't be going back to Trinity United Church of Christ. Not after this. On Tuesday, Obama responded to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's ill-timed defense by condemning his former pastor's fresh comments as "ridiculous," "outrageous" and "appalling." "When he states and then amplifies such ridiculous proposition as the U.S. government somehow being involved in AIDS, when he suggests that Minister Farrakhan somehow represents one of the greatest voices in the 20th and 21st century, when he equates the United States wartime effort with terrorism, then there are no excuses," Obama said during a...

Last April, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed piece by me titled "Mr. Spitzer Has Gone Too Far." In it I expressed my belief that in America, everyone--including Hank Greenberg--is innocent until proven guilty. "Something has gone seriously awry," I wrote, "when a state attorney general can go on television and charge one of America's best CEOs and most generous philanthropists with fraud before any charges have been brought, before the possible defendant has even had a chance to know what he personally is alleged to have done, and while the investigation is still under way." Since there have...

Didn't get a chance to watch the terrifyingly creepy Tom Cruise video yesterday before Scientologists pulled it off YouTube? Well, we've managed to get our hands on a copy and now we'd like to invite you to watch in all its technicolor glory. Nevermind the orgs, nevermind the SPs and nevermind David Miscaviage, Defamer won't hesitate to put our ethics on ANYONE! Don't miss out, over one billion earth humans have been served. KSW and KFC forever (or something). This is must-see. Do not pass go without watching this video.

I was searching Sanyo USA's website for warranty information earlier today when I spotted a Think Gaia link on their main page. It's worth clicking on just to read the new age nonsense Sanyo is endorsing on their website.

Giving birth is a burden on the world. This is according to British born, Toni Vernelli, 35, who had an abortion 10 years ago to ensure her carbon footprint would be kept to a minimum, the U.K.'s Daily Mail reported Sunday. Vernelli -- who works for an environmental charity -- was later sterilized to help "protect the planet", the Mail reported. "Having children is selfish. It's all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet," Vernelli told the Daily Mail, adding she believes bringing new life into the world only adds to the problem. The Mail also...

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul had a good week. On Sunday, he made off with the Manchester GOP straw poll (Paul took 66 percent; Thompson was next, with 10 percent. Sam Brownback came in last, with half a percentage point). Soon after, Paul picked up the endorsement of Rep. Paul Ingbretson.

Anti-American activist Cindy Sheehan has reportedly claimed an attempt was made on her life after her controversial appearance in Charlotte, N.C., last week.In a posting on Action Center for Justice blog, Sheehan allegedly wrote:In Charlotte, NC, the car that I was riding in that has "Peace Mom vs. Pelosi" had a flat tire when we were going down I-40 toward an interview. Later, when we were having the tire repaired, we found out that it had been cut. We think that's attempted murder.Sheehan canceled her appearance at the Charlotte rally when she arrived and found that a sizable counter-protest by...

It might be the end of the world's most phallically sad SUV. But has the damage been done? The late Rev. Jerry Falwell? He was exactly like a Hummer H2. Oh yes he was. Bloated, arrogant, offensive to millions and deeply wrong in a thousand ways and yet blindly worshipped by a shockingly large and happily uninformed throng of devout minions for no other reason than he was, well, bloated, arrogant and wrong. Is that too harsh? Lacking in prudent subtlety? I'm completely OK with that. See, it is time for much rejoicing. It is time for an upraising of...

It's a fine line between quixotic and committed, and just where Ron Paul falls is an open question as the Texas congressman pursues the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.The case for quixotic: It's a unique conceit to run as an anti-Iraq-war candidate in a generally pro-war party; to vow to eliminate myriad federal agencies, including the CIA, the IRS and the Federal Reserve; and to oppose every act of the federal government not specifically approved in the Constitution (including niceties such as congressional gold medals for such people as Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks and Pope John Paul II)."I've advocated over the...

Monday, April 2, 2007 3:38 AM I propose a bill for free government housing and a stipend of $15,000 per year for each indigent individual in this country. And, no, not everyone can work! This bill would end homelessness and high unemployment and too much dependence on the churches. The government can print more money and can tax the wealthy to pay for this necessity. A coalition of church and state is needed to grant this freedom from want and need. Let us proceed onward and upward to a national, democratic one-party system, with a president and a Congress to...

What if "Mabus", is not a person? If he saw this in a vision, back then, he would have thought it was a persons name. What if it was something else. PROJECT MABUS(2007)- Man And Biosphere program of the United States. This project name is MABUS, it was started in the late 1970's and the United States rejoined the project in 2004. Project MABUS was formed to protect the natural resources and environment throughout the world. So ask yourself this, he stated that Famine, Hunger, and drout was the beginning. What if the "death"/failure of project MABUS,led to mass global...

Clinton: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Is Real (AP) WASHINGTON Presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton told Democrats Tuesday the "vast, right-wing conspiracy" is back, using a phrase she once coined to describe partisan criticism. Speaking to Democratic municipal officials, the New York senator used the term to hammer Republicans on election irregularities. Clinton was first lady when she famously charged allegations of an affair between her then-president husband Bill Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky were the result of a conservative conspiracy. As evidence of the affair eventually came to light, the comment was ridiculed. On Tuesday, she insisted the...

With President Hugo Chavez’s recent decision to take control of food distributors, Venezuela is further pushing its nationalisation programme. Chavez’s government announced a decree last week giving officials the power to take control of food distributors caught hoarding or halting supply, a move aimed at easing severe shortages of meats, milk and sugar in Venezuela’s supermarkets. The president says he will nationalise any privately-owned supermarkets and food storage facilities caught hoarding supplies or violating price controls imposed on basic goods

Gore thought to be among Nobel nominees By Doug Mellgren, Associated Press Writer | February 22, 2007 OSLO, Norway --Former vice president and environmental advocate Al Gore is believed to be among 181 nominees for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. This year, those include Gore, for campaigning to draw attention to the threat of global warming, Irena Sendler, a Polish woman who saved the lives of Jewish children during World War II, and American TV host Oprah Winfrey. Other announced nominees include Canadian Intuit environmentalist Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Bolivian President Evo Morales and U.N. AIDS envoy to Africa Stephen Lewis. Those...

Britney Spears is "on the verge of a nervous breakdown" a tattooist who witnessed her shocking Friday makeover maintains. The singer and mother of two stunned fans and paparazzi photographers when she walked into a hairdressing salon in Los Angeles and asked a stylist to cut all her hair off. When the hairdresser refused, Spears grabbed some clippers, and can be seen in snaps shearing herself bald.

SAN MATEO — The Community Improvement Commission ordered a Shoreview resident Wednesday to remove cryptic messages written on her home or face as much as $5,000 in fines. Estrella Benevides, 46, has until Feb. 14 to erase the painted script from her home in the 1800 block of Cottage Grove Avenue, which has been covered with an inscrutable text containing biblical references, conspiracy theories and glimpses into a painful personal history. The commission ruled that Benevides will be fined $50 for every day following Feb. 14 that her roof, garage and windows remain covered with the messages, up to a...

Karl Rove Gets No Apology From Me September 14, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So where’s my apology to Karl Rove? That’s what many readers want to know: Having accused Karl Rove of leading a conspiracy within the Bush White House to reveal the identity of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame, don’t I owe Rove an apology now that former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage has admitted that he, not Rove, was Novak’s primary source? Well, here’s my answer: Hell, no! Armitage’s involvement doesn’t disprove the Rove conspiracy. It only proves it was a lot wider than we originally thought. We remember...

President Hugo Chávez suggested in a recently broadcasted speech that the US Government itself planned the terrorist attacks upon the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. The ruler lashed out again at Washington due to the subsequent US incursion into the Middle East in retaliation. On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Women's Bank, the head of state said that the reason for the attacks is not clear yet, nor have the identity of masterminds been unveiled. The events, he stated, were "an excuse of the US empire to attack the world with more cruelty and fury,...