Free Republic

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) - More than a dozen soldiers arrested President Manuel Zelaya and disarmed his security guards after surrounding his residence before dawn Sunday, his private secretary said. Protesters called it a coup and flocked to the presidential palace as local news media reported that Zelaya was sent into exile. The chief executive was detained shortly before voting was to begin on a constitutional referendum the president had insisted on holding even though the Supreme Court ruled it illegal and everyone from the military to Congress and members of his own party opposed it. Zelaya was taken into military...

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentines cast ballots in congressional elections on Sunday and are expected to throw out allies of President Cristina Fernandez in a rejection of her interventionist economic policies and combative style. Fernandez, a center-leftist who in 2007 succeeded her husband ex-President Nestor Kirchner, has stagnated with a 30 percent approval rating as Latin America's No. 3 economy hits turbulence after a six-year expansion. Polls show Fernandez's wing of the ruling Peronist party will lose its majority in the 257-seat lower house and barely maintain control of the 72-seat Senate in the mid-term vote.

LOL-he's back and has changed up the description again. At least he's smart enough to meet the winning bidder in public. "You are allowed and most welcome to inspect the document before paying. After the close of this auction (if the auction is successful) I am willing to meet the winning bidder on the steps of the Iowa Capital Building. Address is East 12th & Grand, Des Moines, Iowa 50319"

Aide Claims John Edwards Made Sex Tape Updated 11:15 AM EDT, Sun, Jun 28, 2009 Related Topics:Rielle Hunter Former aide Andrew Young says John Edwards is the father of mistress Rielle Hunter's daughter. A former aide to John Edwards claims the ex-senator and his mistress made a sex tape, according to someone who saw the book proposal. Former aide Andrew Young -- who signed a deal with St. Matin's Press to pen a tell-all book -- says in his proposal that he is not the father of mistress Rielle Hunter's daughter and that the ex-senator, who has denied paternity, is...

[London-based liquor giant] Diageo, along with other companies such as Burger King Holdings, the builders of Nascar racing tacks and movie and television producers, are some of the unlikely beneficiaries of the emergency Troubled Asset Relief Program approved by Congress in the fall. As we know now (and even then) there was a lot of confusion surrounding the legislation with impending elections, threats of economic collapse and pressure from the Whitehouse, which enabled several hidden tax breaks for non-bank companies like the ones we listed above, reports Bloomberg. Recall that in June of 2008 the U.S. Virgin Islands Governor John...

Intimidation of regime opponents with arbitrary detention or house arrest is nothing new in Iran. But the country's current crackdown against citizens angry at the apparent rigging of the June 12 presidential election in favor of the incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is its broadest since the aftermath of the Islamic revolution in 1979. Despite the effectiveness of beating and shooting protesters upset with the results of the June 12 presidential election – the streets of major Iranian cities were quiet over the weekend – the pace of arrests has hardly slowed as Mr. Ahmadinejad and his supporters try to consolidate their...

[snip]An important question about any public provider of health insurance is whether it would have access to taxpayer funds. If not, the public plan would have to stand on its own financially, as private plans do, covering all expenses with premiums from those who signed up for it. But if such a plan were desirable and feasible, nothing would stop someone from setting it up right now. In essence, a public plan without taxpayer support would be yet another nonprofit company offering health insurance. The fundamental viability of the enterprise does not depend on whether the employees are called “nonprofit...

On July 4 from 12:01 a.m. until 11:59 p.m., anyone—resident and non-resident—can fish in any public water in North Carolina, including coastal waters, without the purchase of a fishing license or trout privilege license. slideshow On July 4 from 12:01 a.m. until 11:59 p.m., anyone—resident and non-resident—can fish in any public water in North Carolina, including coastal waters, without the purchase of a fishing license or trout privilege license. All other fishing regulations, such as fish length and daily possession limits, as well as bait and tackle restrictions and park-use fees, apply. Authorized by the N.C. General Assembly and started...

The debate over U.S. immigration policies has become personal for a Longview family. Linda Bischoff said Americans have forgotten the engraving on the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free ..." She also said federal laws and lack of knowledge by the public have forced people seeking refuge to enter the United States illegally. "I used to think, 'Why don't they just get a visa and come here legally?' " Bischoff said of illegal immigrants. "Now, after going through the endless process of paperwork and extreme cost and still not being...

In my experience, whenever the subject of the Confederate secession or of a modern attempt at the same thing occurs someone is bound to respond with a reference to the infamous case of Texas v. White (7 Wall. 700 ). This Reconstruction Era case was written essentially to put a headstone on the Confederacy's grave and to stifle any other State's interests in leaving the Union in the future. It was in all significant respects a politically motivated decision. It ignored certain specific constitutional provisions as well as prior decisions of the court. In short, the decision was just plain...

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN CONCERNING THE NECESSITY OF SEIZING EAGERLY ALL OPPORTUNITIES OF PRACTICING VIRTUE SINCE OUR PROGRESS MUST BE CONSTANT WE HAVE ALREADY shown that the journey to perfection must be marked with continual advancement. Be vigilant, therefore, that you overlook no opportunity of acquiring a virtue, and sedulously guard yourself against the common fault of avoiding what is contrary to the inordinate affections of our nature, since it is by combating them that we rise to heroic virtues. Using the same example to illustrate the acquisition of the virtue of patience, never avoid the persons, the business, not even the...

As the stunned and defeated British army marched out of Yorktown, its band appropriately played “A World Turned Upside Down.” Our forefathers pledged their lives and fortunes to fight and defeat the world’s mightiest army and give birth to America. Our victory over King George was the greatest military upset in the annals of human history. George Washington believed our amazing victory was a result of divine providence. The dream of limited government, personal freedom and liberty, rugged individualism, and self-sufficiency for which our forefathers fought and died is rapidly disappearing in 2009. Once again it is a world turned...

+ THE FUZZY math behind the Massachusetts universal healthcare law is starting to add up - just as Washington studies the law as a possible model for the nation. Because of a recession-related drop in state revenues and a surge in enrollment by the recently unemployed, the truth is emerging at an inconvenient time. Massachusetts doesn’t have enough money to pay for the coverage envisioned by the law. In June, state officials announced they are cutting $100 million from Commonwealth Care, which subsidizes premiums for needy residents. The poorest residents, along with the newest - legal immigrants - will take...

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (CNN) -- The military arrested Honduras President Jose Manuel Zelaya on Sunday morning, the same day he vowed to follow through with a referendum that the country's Supreme Court had ruled illegal, local media reported. The president was arrested at his residence and transported aboard a military plane to an unknown destination, the newspaper La Prensa reported. -snip-

I've had doubts that the reason the liberal elites attack Sarah Palin so viciously is because she scares them. I don't doubt it any longer. Yesterday, Sen. Kerry, when talking about Gov. Sanford's disappearance, told a room full of liberals that he wished it were Sarah Palin that would disappear. Why?

Reagan's comments that day were peppered with Michael Jackson song references: "Well, isn't this a thriller? . . . I know why you're here, and with good reason – to see one of the most talented, most popular, and most exciting superstars in the music world today – Michael Jackson. And Michael, welcome to the White House," said Reagan.

Michael Jackson will live on as a 'plastinated' creature preserved by German doctor Gunther von Hagens. Von Hagens has caused controversy with everyone from the Pope to the chief rabbi in Israel with his practice of embalming corpses with preserving polyurethane. Yesterday, he declared: 'An agreement is in place to plastinate the King of Pop.' Von Hagens said that he spoke with representatives of the Jackson family 'many months ago' and it was agreed that his body will be plastinated and placed next to Bubbles, his late pet monkey who was plastinated a number of years ago and is exhibited...

**BREAKING NEWS** Honduran president arrested (UPDATED) 11:00 AM - According to the newspaper La Prensa, Zelaya was put on a plane with his family and may be on his way to Venezuela, but this was denied by Zelaya's wife who said that she and her children are not with him. Zelaya's wife, Xiomara Castro, told journalists that she doesn't know where her husband is being held. June 28 - Honduran president José Manuel Zelaya, an ally of Hugo Chávez and the Castro brothers, was arrested on Sunday morning by soldiers. Zelaya had pledged to go forward with a referendum on...