Free Republic

‘Two and a Half Men’ swaps Angus T. Jones with lesbian character “Two and a Half Men” is about to become “Two Men and a Gay Woman.” Partly as a replacement for Angus T. Jones — whose screen time will be sharply cut after he publicly bashed the show as “filth” last year — CBS’ hit sitcom is going to add a recurring and possibly permanent lesbian character named Jenny. She’s the 21-year-old illegitimate daughter of the late Charlie Harper, who was played by Charlie Sheen, who himself was booted from the show after tangling with his bosses. The role...

President Barack Obama ordered the start of $85 billion in government spending cuts, beginning a potentially decade-long wave of belt-tightening that risks curbing U.S. economic growth this year. The White House released the order tonight, the deadline set by a law passed two years ago to avoid a debt default, and the Office of Management and Budget sent Congress a detailed list of program cuts. The reductions’ impact will become clear over the next several weeks, as agencies inform affected government contractors and notify employees about furloughs, most of which wouldn’t begin until some time in April. “What’s important to...

The new conventional wisdom in the aftermath of the 2012 elections is that Republicans face two challenges: first, that the United States is no longer a center-right nation, but a center-left one; second, that the country’s demographic shift away from whites will make it tougher for Republicans to win votes. The proposed solution is that Republicans must compromise on the party’s core policies, from immigration to taxation to social issues. The conventional wisdom is wrong. I once worked in South Africa for a centrist party, the Democratic Alliance, which faced the same challenges as Republicans do, only far more extreme....

Speaking on Meet the Press, Ohio Governor John Kasich -while noting the race was 'close'- was of the opinion that Romney's all but taken Ohio, and stressed that he hasn't previously made this kind of claim. You'd think the state's most powerful Republican would be close enough to the action to have a feel for Republican mood, momentum, and ground game there  (he's not the only GOPer looking at Ohio close-up and coming away with a real positive impression, either): "Look, they're very close. But I believe right now we are currently ahead. Internals show us currently ahead," said the Governor...  "I...

Land O'Lakes, Florida, Saturday, October 27, 2012

Man dies after live roach-eating contest in Fla. MIAMI (AP) — A contestant in a roach-eating contest who downed dozens of live bugs and worms collapsed and died shortly after winning the contest in South Florida, authorities say. About 30 contestants ingested the insects during Friday night's contest at Ben Siegel Reptile Store in Deerfield Beach about 40 miles north of Miami. The grand prize was a python. Edward Archbold, 32, of West Palm Beach became ill shortly after the contest ended and collapsed outside the store, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office statement released Monday. He was taken to...

..............Incredible as it may seem to most outside observers, Mitt Romney is actually what currently passes for a moderate in today’s Republican Party..... Romney was sold – in the teeth of opposition from a significant section of the Republican grass roots – as the pragmatic choice, the compromise they had to make with ideology to secure victory. And when he loses, those activists are going to go as vengefully crazy as Cain’s Rhode Island Reds. Anyone who doubts the reaction of the GOP stalwarts to Romney’s impending defeat should bear in mind this single, if chilling, fact. Most of them...

I have heard conflicting stories as of late. I know Obama has more cash than Romney when looking at the individual accounts. But that doesn't include national committees and Super PACS. What is the current scoreboard? How much covert coordination goes on between candidates, committees, and SuperPACS?

n view of the public frustration with a decade of largely unsuccessful U.S. war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the impending cuts to the U.S. military budget, there is an active debate at present as to what military strategy and force structure should be fashioned for the future. Unfortunately, many taxpayers and most politicians are totally illiterate when it comes to the subject of warfare. (Judging from the dismal results in the last ten years, a similar conclusion might to drawn concerning the U.S. officer corps.) In an attempt to fill this critical knowledge void and perhaps raise the level...

Don Gwinn began his presentation with a rousing analysis of the state of gun control in America today. He said a headline in The Onion summed things up nicely: “Obama gives bold speech on gun control, alone, quietly, in his office with the lights off”. Gwinn cited Tom Shafer’s boiling anger at the mainstream media’s clarion call for gun control after a left-wing kook attempted to assassinate Gabby Giffords. Gwinn reminded everyone what happened in 1999 after Columbine. The Million Mom March sprang up overnight and George Soros and his allies poured tons of money into that and other gun...

Barack Obama is once again unleashing his formidable campaign skills as he prepares for the upcoming election. But facing shrinking poll numbers and growing discontent, this campaign is different from the one he ran in 2008. Gone are the calls for unity, the righteous rhetoric, and the hope and change. This time we see a more cynical and ruthless candidate, as Obama sheds all bi-partisan pretenses, accelerates his “transformation” of America, and at the same time attempts to expand his base. Desperation, it seems, is revealing more of his true character and his style of leadership.

I have to wonder if all the Romney haters on this site were the same people who ran home to mom when they lost at games as kids. I did not vote for Romney in the primaries. If you asked anyone that knows me, they would say I am right of Reagan. What I don't understand is all of you that love this country,which I truly believe you do, that are willing to not vote for Romney and potentially allow this country to fail by re-electing Obama!, how does that make sense?

Mitt Romney just felt like chatting. Just after wrapping up his final event in Iowa on day four of his five-day bus tour through battleground states, the Republican nominee briefly made an appearance in the back of his campaign plane to chat up reporters as he prepared to fly to his home state of Michigan for a final day of events. "When we land, you'll look around and see all the trees are the right height," Romney joked, making fun of a line he frequently used while he was campaigning in Michigan during the GOP primary. But Romney was cautious...

Former Republican presidential contender and Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum announced the formation of a new conservative group Friday, saying it will seek to thwart President Obama's bid for re-election in 2012. "The defeat of Barack Obama, and those who support his policies, will be our first priority."

Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum launched a new conservative group on Friday with the goal of recruiting 1 million members to help get Democratic President Barack Obama out of the White House. The former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania said the group, Patriot Voices, is committed to promoting "faith, freedom and opportunity" and will offer financial and other support to conservative candidates in the November 6 general election. "We're going to be holding candidates accountable and getting involved with candidates, supporting them and, of course, supporting Mitt Romney and making sure Mitt is the next president of the United States,"...

What happened in Wisconsin Tuesday night was not about an election or a politician. It wasn’t about collective bargaining or budget deficits. It was about something far more important and far more intangible. It was about who and what we are as Americans. The people of Wisconsin had a choice. Would they, and in turn the rest of America, whose eyes were riveted on this small northern state, be a people with their hand constantly extended to the public trough shouting “give me, give me, give me”? Or, as the Tea Party has tried to exemplify, would we become the...

In Puerto Rico, for the price of 20 delegates, Mitt Romney sold out his conservative principles. There is a long history of Congress requiring English to be the language of government and schools for territories seeking to be admitted to the Union — e.g., Louisiana, Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma. For all of the territories that had large non-English speaking populations, Congress announced before the territories voted on the question of statehood that a change in language policy would be a prerequisite for statehood. In the case of Puerto Rico, where according to the latest Census only 15% of residents...

...WALLACE: The polls show a surprisingly close race Tuesday in Alabama and Mississippi. Question -- are you going to win them both? GINGRICH: I think we'll win both. We are campaigning very aggressively on both states. As almost everywhere, you start a little behind because of Romney's money and the length of time he's advertising. And as you campaign, you catch up with him pretty rapidly, and I think we're probably polling ahead in both states right now. We have great organizations in both states and in particular in Alabama where Senate Majority Leader Jabo Waggoner has put together a...

A two-and-a-half-hour drive couldn’t separate Patricia Tayman from Newt Gingrich’s rally in Dothan. The Pensacola, Fla., resident left Sunday’s event with a smile on her face, confident Gingrich is the right man to lead the country in the years to come. “I’m psyched, and I’m just praying he can pull it off in Mississippi and Alabama and get back ahead of things,” she said. “I’ve watched the different debates, and after seeing him in person, I’m behind him 100 percent now.” Enterprise resident Tracy Bullinger said her trip to the Circle City was worth it as well. “I did not...

So, West Virginia has won three different BCS bowl games in the last six years - with three different coaches no less. What to make of this? Well, first of all, it puts the Mountaineers in a pretty select group of college football programs that have won three or more of these since the system was created in 1998 – eight programs to be exact. There’s Ohio State, USC, Florida, LSU, Texas, Miami and Oklahoma that have won at least three BCS bowl games in the last 14 years. And now, um, catch your breath here, West Virginia. That’s right,...