Free Republic

If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky? If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved? If George W. Bush had visited Austria...

One minute they were a bunch of carefree teenagers headed to somebody's house to “hang out.” The next minute four of them were dead, one critically injured and others on their cell phones describing for dispatchers the horrific crash scene east of Santa Fe. “Tell someone to get out here. It's really bad. I mean, half the (expletive) car is gone,” pleads Mikhail McReynolds, the first caller to reach dispatchers. “I think people might be dead.” Kate Klein, Alyssa Trouw, an Julian Martinez, all 16, and Rose Simmons 15 were killed shortly after midnight Sunday when the Subaru in which...

The relationship between Ave Maria University and the Catholic Church took a major step forward this month. The university named Diocese of Venice Bishop Frank Dewane to its board of trustees, the first official role for the senior local cleric at the eastern Collier County university. Unlike 18 months ago, when an empty 100-foot church building symbolized a disconnect between them, now everyone is speaking the same language: Collaboration. “It shows that we’re working collaboratively with the diocese,” university President Nick Healy said. “I look forward to continuing to collaborate with the university, particularly with regard to the spiritual and...

I think not. See comparison pics here...

"Starve The Beast" - July 4th, 2009 Perhaps its time. There have been a number of people on the forum talking about this, with one of the most recent converts being "iflyjetzzz". Look, we can rant and rave about market manipulation and government-sponsored games. We can petition the SEC, the FBI and Congress. We can demand that they stop it all we want. But they haven't and likely won't until and unless America gets pissed off enough to force them to act. So how do we make that happen, yet remain within the law? Its not that hard, and in...

YouTube video: Nanny Tax Rap

How do you believe Sarah Palin performed as a candidate for vice president? Palin did great. It wasn't her fault that McCain wasn't a strong leader of the ticket. She did OK. She certainly wasn't the reason why McCain lost. She did poorly. McCain might have won if he made a smarter VP pick.

Supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad celebrated Tuesday after Iran's highest electoral authority proclaimed the validity of its disputed election, paving the way for the incumbent to begin a second term despite claims of fraud.

The North America and Pelican Nebulae Credit & Copyright: Danny Lee Russell Explanation: Here are some familiar shapes in unfamiliar locations. This emission nebula on the left is famous partly because it resembles Earth's continent of North America. To the right of the North America Nebula, cataloged as NGC 7000, is a less luminous nebula that resembles a pelican dubbed the Pelican Nebula. The two emission nebula measure about 50 light-years across, are located about 1,500 light-years away, and are separated by a dark absorption cloud. This spectacular image captures the nebulas, bright ionization fronts, and fine details of...

Sprawling across the northeastern corner of California, this huge, thickly forested county with more cows than people epitomizes the Western frontier - and what seems to be a two-faced political ideology. Modoc has the highest Republican registration of any county in California, it unfailingly elects anti-tax Republicans to office, and the vote here against last month's ballot measure that would have raised a variety of taxes was one of the most lopsided in the state. And yet, per capita, Modoc County gets more state taxpayer dollars than all but one of California's 58 counties. The prevailing attitude among the right-wing...

Fareed Zakaria enters the fray to explain why Iran’s Velvet Revolution is not about to happen. He makes some good points about why Iran 2009 is not Prague 1989 — the regime has money and guns and the religious establishment is not aligned behind the demonstrators. He also makes some less good points — that alleged U.S. support for armed groups fighting the regime, or U.S. rhetoric about a possible military strike, or U.S. support for Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war always rallied people around the regime.

Can anyone recommend some websites where I can download free patriotic music for the 4th? I'm guessing Susa, military marches, themes of the armed forces, that kind of thing?

The Israel Navy intercepted a boat carrying international activists attempting to break a blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday and forced it to sail to the southern port city of Ashdon, the army said. Earlier Tuesday, the navy surrounded the vessel, which was also carrying humanitarian aid, and told the activists to turn back because of security risks in the area and the blockade, according to the army. But the boat later entered Gaza's coastal waters, the Israel Defense Forces Spokespersons' Office said in a statement, after which a naval force boarded it. No shots were fired during...

President Obama moved swiftly to try to repair relations with gays and lesbians by hosting the first ever Pride month celebration at the White House. From ABC News' Jake Tapper ABC News' Yunji de Nies reports: ABBA's "Dancing Queen" filled the East Room, as more than 200 prominent gays and lesbians gathered for the first ever celebration of Pride month at the White House. The President and First Lady entered to thunderous applause. President Obama told the group he is committed to equality for their community. "This struggle continues today, for even as we face extraordinary challenges as a nation,...

The plant fungus that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s has shown up in Plattsburgh, and experts say residents need to act quickly. It's called "late blight" and it affects eggplants, potatoes and tomatoes. The fungus hasn't made it this far north in about a decade, but it moves quickly and can kill an infected plant in as short as a week and a half. The signs that your plants have late blight are brownish lesions on the leaves which make them look wet. Late blight was discovered in the region at unnamed major box stores on Friday....

Hoosier Dairy Farming www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJRy82i8e5Q&feature=email

UPDATES ON TRIP TO WASHINGTON (Monday June 29th): text via phone from Chalice: posted in central time by my phone. Carl Swensson and Mack Ellis served the 11-page Presentments to President Barack Obama, at the White House for FRAUD and TREASON. 11:49am Chalice has video. (woooo hoooo documents being accepted) 11:57am Presentments in the hands of Secret Service 12:06pm 2 Secret Service, names John and Jessica, received presentments They were denied entrance to the Dept of Justice (Eric Holder) 1:06 FBI has been served and they are on the way to District Court 3:05 pm They at US District Court....

Ex-F-22 engineer to sue Lockheed for stealth design By Stephen Trimble A stealth expert on the F-117 and B-2 programmes intends to file suit against Lockheed Martin later this week for concealing alleged deficiencies with the stealth coatings for the F-22. The pending lawsuit accuses Lockheed of knowingly providing defective coatings used to reduce the aircraft's radar and visual signatures, and covering up the problem by adding 272kg (600lbs) worth of extra layers. The lawsuit comes after the Department of Justice declined an opportunity under the Fair Claims Act to take up the case under seal. Now, Darrol Olsen, who...

Small ferry carrying medical supplies that set sail from Cyprus Monday with 21 peace activists, medical supplies intercepted off Strip's shore; passengers say army jammed boat's radio signals. At around noon Tuesday the Israeli Navy intercepted and took control of a boat that had set sail for the Gaza Strip with three tons of medical supplies, Palestinian sources said, adding that the Navy jammed the boat's radio signals. The IDF Spokesperson's Office confirmed the report. Israeli military sources said there was no violence after the small ferry, sailing from Cyprus with activists from the US-based Free Gaza Movement, was intercepted...