Free Republic

When the majestic white-tailed sea eagle was re-introduced to mainland Britain after nearly a century, nature lovers were thrilled. But the huge birds of prey have not found any fans among farmers, who have labelled them ‘winged vermin’ and claim they have killed more than 200 lambs. The area around one sea eagle nest was described as a ‘sheep graveyard’. The return of the sea eagle has been hailed as a great conservation victory after they were wiped out early last century. The birds were brought from Norway in a project by Scottish Natural Heritage, RSPB Scotland and the...

There's a heartwarming story in today's Times of Northwest Indiana. Jane Pauley, one-time co-host of NBC's Today and Dateline NBC programs, made an appearance yesterday for Barack Obama. Joining her was Steve Skvara, the retired steelworker who in August of last year tearfully asked Democratic presidential candidates at a debate, "What's wrong with America? And what will you do to change it?" The Times reported: PORTAGE Former television news anchor and Hoosier native Jane Pauley returned to her professional roots Monday during a local appearance on behalf of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. Pauley, who said she worked for the...

The FBI is investigating four major U.S. financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a $700 billion bailout plan by the Bush administration, The Associated Press has learned. Two law enforcement officials said Tuesday the FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and insurer American International Group Inc. Additionally, a senior law enforcement official said Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. also is under investigation. The inquiries will focus on the financial institutions and the individuals that ran them, the senior law enforcement official said. The law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity because...

CHICAGO - The squat brick buildings of Grove Parc Plaza, in a dense neighborhood that Barack Obama represented for eight years as a state senator, hold 504 apartments subsidized by the federal government for people who can't afford to live anywhere else. But it's not safe to live here.

A Nigerian general has pledged to “break the will” of armed groups responsible for a week-long campaign of sabotage against the oil industry in the Niger Delta by launching more raids on their hideouts. The delta witnessed the most intense series of attacks against the oil industry since early 2006 last week when militants strafed army posts and blew up pipelines in retaliation for a raid the military conducted on one of their camps on September 13. The raid – launched using gunboats and helicopters – appeared to signal a more robust approach by the army in Rivers State, one...

Mortgage Politics: A push for more "ownership" — in reality, debt — helped create the subprime mess. Reform is essential, but powerful lobbies and deep-rooted attitudes stand in the way.How did this country get into such a hole, where a $700 billion government mop-up of bad debt seems the only way out? The exact chain of causation is up for debate, but there's little mystery about how it started. At some point, Americans bought more houses than they could afford. Someone should have reined it in. No one did. Why not? The answer may lie in America's housing complex. We...

Guys, I know this is going to come as a bit of a shocker, so I hope you're sitting down before you continue reading. But (deep breath, now)...Clay Aiken has confirmed, in an interview featured on the cover of the upcoming issue of People magazine and first leaked on Perez Hilton's site, that he is indeed (wait for it), homosexual.

They’re Terrorists - Not Activists “I know it when I see it” was the famous response by a U.S. Supreme Court justice to the vexed problem of defining pornography. Terrorism may be no less difficult to define, but the wanton killing of schoolchildren, of mourners at a funeral, or workers at their desks in skyscrapers surely fits the know-it-when-I-see-it definition. The press, however, generally shies away from the word terrorist, preferring euphemisms. Take the assault that led to the deaths of some 400 people, many of them children, in Beslan, Russia, on September 3. Journalists have delved deep into their...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Obama is the next target for a bailout, I am convinced. Now, let me set this up. I'm sure that quite a few of you who are spending any time at all on the computer have received what I have received a gazillion times. By the way, as a little heads up, those of you out there who receive things in e-mail, these flash blast e-mails that go out: If you think I haven't seen it yet, change your mind. By the time you see it, I have seen it so many times, I have practically thrown...

I need help with the philosophy of International Trade. What is the conservative view of International Trade? Thank you, Jonathan

Olympia, Wash. (AP) -- Washington state Democrats sued a state official Tuesday to get a Republican listed on the ballot, arguing a candidate is obscuring his party identity by ballot language that says he "prefers GOP party." The candidate, Dino Rossi, is facing a rematch this November with Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire, who beat him by 133 votes four years ago after three counts and a court challenge. The lawsuit the party filed against Secretary of State Sam Reed argues that "allowing Mr. Rossi to obscure his true party preference and affiliation directly violates the law, would mislead a substantial...

…Psst. If I let you in on a little secret, you promise not to tell? Pinkie swear! Alright. I have never been to a political meeting in my life. OK. Now that’s out of the bag, I’ll let you in on another one. Thursday, September 25, 2008 I plan to attend my first Democrat party meeting… and I’m takin’ popcorn and candy. I’m not sure what to expect, but I figure it’ll be pretty cool. I think Whoopie Goldberg is the keynote speaker (I’m told she’s some Jewish chick from the Bronx). She’ll probably drone on about fiscal responsibility and...

Is the St. Petersburg Times picking on Sandra Cichon? They have quoted her three times recently. Most recently they attributed a racist comment to her: A pollster calling Sandra Cichon, a 60-year-old Democrat from Spring Hill, would hear her identify herself as an undecided voter. But is she really? “I can’t imagine having a black president, and I think he’s inexperienced,” she told a reporter recently, eventually acknowledging she was leaning unenthusiastically toward McCain. “I don’t think we (Democrats) have a chance to be in the White House with Obama.” There is only one problem, Ms Cichon said she never...

The government paid more than $1 billion in questionable Medicare claims for medical supplies that showed little relation to a patient's condition, including blood glucose strips for sexual impotence and special diabetic shoes for leg amputees, congressional investigators say. Billions more in taxpayer dollars may have been wasted over the last decade because the government-run health program for the elderly and disabled paid out claims with blank or invalid diagnosis codes, such as a "?" or "zzzzz." Medicare officials say even smiley-face icons could have been accepted. The report by Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security investigations subcommittee, obtained by...

OBAMA'S Stem-Cell LIES This is not a debate about stem-cell research. Like most of everything regarding Senator Obama, its about whether or not he is lying. In this case, the Illinois Senator is making a bold faced lie. Obama is claiming that Senator McCain tried to block stem-cell research but facts are not an Obama strong suit. He forgot that this was one of those "maverick" issues where McCain broke with the president .In 2004, he was one of 14 Republicans who signed a letter to Bush urging him to lift restrictions on the research, which they said had the...

Democrat Takes 52-43 Lead Among Likely Voters, Erases Republican's Post-Palin Pick Gains Barack Obama has seized the reins of economic discontent, vaulting over John McCain's convention gains by persuading voters he both better understands their economic troubles and can better address them. In a head-to-head-match-up he's now supported by 52 percent of likely voters vs. McCain's 43 percent, the first significant advantage for either candidate among likely voters in ABC/Post polls. Add third-party candidates Ralph Nader and Bob Barr and it's essentially the same, 51-43 percent. The contest has shifted from a 49-47 percent McCain-Obama race immediately after the Republican...

Although the conventional narrative about the Iraq war is wrong, its persistence has contributed to the most serious crisis in civil-military relations since the Civil War. According to Mr. Woodward's account, the uniformed military not only opposed the surge, insisting that their advice be followed; it then subsequently worked to undermine the president once he decided on another strategy. In one respect, the actions taken by military opponents of the surge, e.g. "foot-dragging," "slow-rolling" and selective leaking are, unfortunately, all-too-characteristic of U.S. civil-military relations during the last decade and a half. But the picture Mr. Woodward draws is far more...

Is Obama a Manchurian candidate? By Ted Belman Is Obama a Manchurian candidate? Rich Carroll, The Jihad Candidate, Barry ‘Barak Hussein’ Obama, certainly thinks so or at least makes the case for it. I certainly don’t subscribe to the conspiracy, so called, but I do accept the facts as set out therein. Conspiracy theories make for interesting novels when the storyline is not so absurd that it can grasp our attention. ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ and ‘Seven Days in May’ are examples of plausible chains of events that captures the reader’s imagination at best-seller level. ‘What if’ has always been the...

Energy Policy: With nearly 70% of voters demanding more domestic oil, the Democratic Congress is about to sneak a new drilling ban into a must-pass government funding bill — while claiming it supports drilling.Energy Policy: With nearly 70% of voters demanding more domestic oil, the Democratic Congress is about to sneak a new drilling ban into a must-pass government funding bill — while claiming it supports drilling.Earlier this month, Rasmussen Reports found that 69% of voters support offshore oil drilling. That's no wonder, with fuel prices still painfully high and widespread concerns that America is becoming dangerously dependent on oil-rich...

Nine people have been arrested in connection with a drug importation ring that shipped cocaine from Puerto Rico to New York City hidden in boxes of children's toys and puzzles, officials said Tuesday. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent-in-Charge John Gilbride said the five-month investigation revealed that Jose Diaz, 28, of Bronx, N.Y., directed associates in Puerto Rico to ship kilograms of cocaine concealed inside children's toy tool boxes and large toy container boxes to New York City. The organization then used U.S. Postal Service Express Mail to deliver the packages to addresses in Manhattan and the Bronx