Free Republic

An estimated crowd of 25,000 to 35,000 people attended the Independence Day tea party at Southfork Ranch on Saturday, one organizer said.

With each day Senator Chris Dodd's hold on the Senate seat he has held for almost 30 years grows more tenuous. As the Chair of the Senate Banking committee he deserves a share of of the blame for the economic mess we are in now, and on top of that there are the recent scandals in which he has been involved. Nine moths ago it was disclosed that the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Received TWO VIP Loans from Sub-Prime Lender Countrywide Inc. The Loans were at favorable interest rates. Then in February we learned of a new "funky"...

Russia will seek assurances from President Barack Obama tomorrow that Washington will cease pressing for the former Soviet states of Georgia and Ukraine to join Nato — a policy that was aggressively pursued by George W Bush. On his first visit to Russia as president, Obama is due to hold nine hours of talks with President Dmitry Medvedev and share a breakfast with prime minister Vladimir Putin. Russian sources say both men will warn him about a risk of repeating last year’s war in Georgia. Russia strongly opposes Georgia and Ukraine joining Nato as this would extend the alliance’s reach...

At the Angels - Orioles game last night, I caught this C17 Globemaster III flyover. Sorry about the wobbly camera as my kids were pulling on my shirt as they were looking at the plane.

THE WIDER VIEW: Taking shape, the new bridge at the Hoover Dam 04th July 2009 Creeping closer inch by inch – 900ft above the mighty Colorado River – the two sides of a £160million bridge at the Hoover Dam in America slowly take shape. The bridge will carry a new section of US Route 93 past the bottleneck of the old road which can be seen twisting and winding around and across the dam itself. When complete, it will provide a new link between the states of Nevada and Arizona. In an incredible feat of engineering, the road will be...

With unemployment at 9.5 percent and a federal budget over a trillion dollars in the hole, many Americans were stunned by the lavishness of the White House July 4th celebration. Not content with traditional burgers and hot dogs, the Obama Administration had several tons of exotic food and flown in from Hawaii. Obama’s favorite chefs accompanied the food on the flight. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs defended the extravagance as “a morale booster and a stimulus to the economy.” “Sure, the President could’ve made a show of economizing,” Gibbs observed. “But that would send the wrong message. More spending is what...

Television networks planning Jackson coverage NEW YORK (AP) -- NBC executives changed their minds Sunday and decided to join other networks that will televise Michael Jackson's memorial service live this week. NBC joins ABC, CNN, MSNBC and E! Entertainment in offering the ceremony live. It's set for 10 a.m. PDT at Los Angeles' Staples Center. NBC had initially planned only a one-hour prime-time special on Tuesday night, but said Sunday it would also cover the event live. It was not immediately clear who would anchor. Charles Gibson will anchor coverage for ABC, which is setting aside its typical daytime programming....

Muslims from Minnesota are at it once again. In the past they tried to pressure the Long John Silver fast food chain to drop a toy that was "offensive" to Muslims. This time they have crossed the border to Wisconsin and targeted a brand of fireworks which they deemed "racist".

The head of Mossad, Israel’s overseas intelligence service, has assured Benjamin Netanyahu, its prime minister, that Saudi Arabia would turn a blind eye to Israeli jets flying over the kingdom during any future raid on Iran’s nuclear sites. Earlier this year Meir Dagan, Mossad’s director since 2002, held secret talks with Saudi officials to discuss the possibility. The Israeli press has already carried unconfirmed reports that high-ranking officials, including Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister, held meetings with Saudi colleagues. The reports were denied by Saudi officials.

Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin is expected to travel widely, campaigning for Republican candidates after startling America by suddenly quitting her job. One of America's most unconventional politicians, she left the country reeling on Friday evening by declaring that she is resigning her office this month and deriding the "superficial political blood sport." Almost a year after bursting on to the national scene as John McCain's presidential running mate, Mrs Palin, 45, has now made an unpredictable leap into the unknown. Speculation is at fever pitch that she will seek her party's nomination for the 2012 presidential race. Mrs Palin offered...

Russia has hinted it could walk away from a proposed nuclear arms deal with US President Barack Obama unless Washington shows 'restraint' over its plans to erect a contentious missile defence shield in Central Europe. Just hours before President Barack Obama's arrival in Moscow for a visit considered pivotal to the future of east-west relations, Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian President, signalled the potential for renewed discord between the two former Cold War adversaries. Mr Medvedev said that Russia had no choice but to link the new treaty reducing nuclear stockpiles to the missile shields, which the Kremlin believes is part...

The American lawyer Alan Dershowitz is one of the most prolific, high-profile and indefatiguable defenders of Israel and the Jewish people against the tidal wave of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish feeling currently coursing through the west. So a piece by him in the Wall Street Journal giving expression to the rising anxiety being felt about Obama by American Jews naturally arouses great interest. But just like the majority of American Jews, getting on for 80 per cent of whom voted for Obama, he is a Democrat supporter who is incapable of acknowledging the truth about this President. For most American Jews,...

File this under: It ain't braggin' if it's true.This weekend, Free Republic won a battle in the political and cultural wars over Sarah Palin by exposing an article published by the Huffington Post that mockingly attacked the Alaska governor and her infant son Trig over Trig being born with Down syndrome.The exposure by Free Republic went viral to Twitter, Newsbusters and Hot Air (includes screen grab) as well as numerous blogs. The Huffington Post pulled the article within hours and issued an apology. The author of the piece of work, Erik Sean Nelson, issued his own apology via e-mail and...

Sarah Palin's abrupt decision to step down as governor of Alaska has left many people on both sides of the aisle scratching their heads. Palin has successfully survived fifteen ethics complaints. Her Lt. Governor, Sean Parnell who will succeed her at the end of this month, said Sunday that "she has plenty of time now within which to define how she will further her core values." Her announcement leaves open the possibility that she will run for higher office. Some on the right, such as William Kristol of the Weekly Standard, have said her move was 'crazy like a fox',...

While liberal Democrats on Capitol Hill are working to pass President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's health care system, few are talking about this essential issue: Will health care reform force taxpayers to pay for abortions for the first time in 30 years? The short answer is yes, because there is no explicit provision in the bill to: • Prevent taxpayer funding of abortions as part of the health care benefit Congress is considering. It is ironic that taxpayer-funded abortions would be considered a "health care benefit" since the baby gets no health care benefit from abortion. •...

BOSTON (AP) — A Boston city councilor charged with extortion alleges the state's former U.S. attorney targeted him at the behest of former Attorney General John Ashcroft. City Councilor Chuck Turner sent an e-mail to supporters before a court hearing Thursday suggesting Michael Sullivan sought indictments against him and former Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, another prominent black politician, because he was trying to ingratiate himself with Ashcroft — for whom he now works. "I personally believe that former Attorney General Ashcroft said to Sullivan that if he could take down Senator Wilkerson and myself, he would put up the money to...

Here’s something truly incredible and timeless! (If it doesn’t appear immediately…hit reload a few times. This is the full 16 minute file). Video Link

Bill H1377 would repeal the exemption for schools from the laws protecting children from "harmful material" including pornography. One might ask why this is needed. In years past sensible people assumed that schools could show kids legitimate works of classical art that, while technically showing the nude body, are not normally considered pornographic. People assumed that schools were run by mature people with common sense. But no one dreamed that schools would become purveyors of hardcore pornography and other graphic, disturbing material to children. In recent years, however, abuses against kids by schools have become epidemic across the state. But...

Mike Huckabee, himself once an object of significant media attention, has always chafed a bit at Sarah Palin's rise. And in two different bytes on "Fox News Sunday" today he didn't mince words about her decision to resign. "In a primary this is going to be an issue she'll have to face. Will she be able to withstand the pressure?" he asked. And, referring to the ethics inquiries Palin faces, Huckabee said of his own time as a GOP governor in an overwhelmingly Democratic state:"If that had been the case for me, I would've quit in my first month. If...

5th Set win for Federer in Wimbledon over Roddick