Free Republic

In the weeks before Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced her resignation, she spoke privately with a range of prominent Republican officials – including former Vice President Dick Cheney and former mayor Rudolph Giuliani. It's not clear, from records or interviews, who may have been courting who, and none of the men have made comments suggesting Palin hinted at any future plans. But the calls underscore Palin's position among prominent Republicans. This May, documents indicate, Palin called former Vice President Dick Cheney; former New York City mayor and GOP presidential primary contender Rudolph Giuliani; and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who is...

The Catholic bishops of Honduras have urged the people of that country "to overcome emotional reactions and to seek the truth" in the midst of a political crisis that began with the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya. In their July 3 statement, which was delivered to a television audience by Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, the Honduran hierarchy steered clear of partisan politics, but insisted that the rule of law should be upheld. The bishops called attention to the fact that President Zelaya was removed from office on the basis of a valid court order. They noted that "the...

KATHMANDU (AFP) — Nepal's anti-corruption authority has come up with a novel solution to rampant bribe-taking at the country's only international airport -- the pocketless trouser. The authority said it was issuing the new, bribe-proof garment to all airport officials after uncovering widespread corruption at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport. "We sent a team to observe the growing complaints about the behaviour of airport authorities and workers towards travellers and we discovered that the reports were true," said Ishwori Prasad Paudyal, spokesman for the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

Krauthammer's Take [NRO Staff] From Friday's "All-Stars." On Palin’s resignation: Look, this is the most unexpected and, I would say, erratic political announcement since John McCain declared in the middle of September he was going to suspend his campaign so he could solve our financial crisis, which, unfortunately, he didn't. It also had a tinge here of Nixon's 1962 "you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore" resignation—actually, it was his concession speech in '62. It had a personal edge. And on one level, you can accept it and say there was a lot of heat in the kitchen....

Iran's most intact jar burial, which dates back to the Elamite era, was transferred to the Haft-Tappeh Museum last week. Containing a skeleton in fetal position, the jar was discovered during the latest excavation carried out several months ago at Haft-Tappeh, a major Elamite site near Susa in Khuzestan Province, the Persian service of CHN reported on Tuesday. "This is the first time such an intact jar burial has been unearthed," director of the Restoration Department of the Haft-Tappeh and Chogha Zanbil Center Kazem Borhani said. "Urgent actions were taken to preserve the artefact in situ in order to safely...

For a party that is supposed to be the American Hizballah (Party of God) the GOP sure seems to be incurring his wrath.Is Sarah Palin a lightweight, politically inept, or crazy like a fox? Only her hairdresser knows...Mark Sanford? Is that bum still around? Don't cry for me Argentina...Papa Bush wasted a 92% approval rating, falling victim to the Clinton smear machine. All George W wasted was a once-in-a-century opportunity and trillions of dollars. Of course, it was the Bush-Cheney gang versus the entire MSM smear machine by that point...Show me a conservative Democrat, and I'll show you a liberal...

The low-cost airline would charge passengers less on "bar stools" with seat belts around their waists. Michael O'Leary, the chief executive, has already held talks with US plane manufacturer Boeing about designing an aircraft with standing room. He is now seeking approval from the Irish Aviation Authority before ordering a new fleet of carriers, according to The Sun. A Ryanair spokesman told the newspaper: "If they approve it, we'll be doing it." Mr O'Leary is reported to have got the idea from the Chinese airline Spring, which has put forward similar plans. It estimates space could be made for up...

Congress is busying itself trying to overturn Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’s decision to stop producing the F-22 fighter. But President Barack Obama has threatened to veto a spending bill for the entire Defense Department if it contains a single F-22 over the 187 now authorized. Gates has said that, without a doubt, Obama should veto a bill that includes additional F-22s. The fact that there are doubts demonstrates the mess our defenses are in. The House committee wants to make a down payment on 12 more F-22s in 2011; the Senate committee wants seven more in 2010. The House...

It works out that US President Barack Obama is a man of heartfelt, long-held principles. It also works out that his principles are divorced from reality and unresponsive to any facts that contradict them. This much was made clear by a New York Times report on Sunday which discussed a recently "rediscovered" 1983 article Obama published in a student magazine on the subject of nuclear disarmament when he was an undergraduate at Columbia University. Obama's article, "Breaking the war mentality," was ostensibly a feature story showcasing two student organizations that advocated a freeze in the US's nuclear arsenal. But the...

Should the government get in the health insurance business?The question will be debated fiercely in coming months as President Obama and some Democratic lawmakers push for the creation of a government-run plan to compete with private insurance companies for the business of nearly 50 million people who are without insurance. Insurers say they fear they will be driven out of the business, unable to compete with the government’s market power to demand lower prices. Other critics warn of another unwieldy federal bureaucracy subject to the whims of Congress. But supporters say private insurers have failed to offer affordable coverage to...

Thanks to the John Locke Foundation, taxpayers will be able to see where some of their state and local taxes are going. The foundation launched the website NC Transparency”. Taxpayers can now check on agencies budgets, salaries, even test scores and school district enrollment.

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Monday it is necessary to link any resolution of the U.S. plans for missile defense in Europe with other countries' interests. "No one says missile defense is in itself harmful or creates a threat to someone. On the contrary, it is aimed at resolving a number of specific problems. The issue is to link this or that missile defense configuration with other countries' interests," Medvedev said at a joint news conference after talks with U.S. President Barack Obama in Moscow. Medvedev also said the Obama administration, unlike its predecessor,...

Well, the presidential primary sweepstakes is heating up already. Many people have written Sarah Palin off. Heck, many thought she never had a chance anyway and they're gloating about it. And, unfortunately, "conservative" Governor Sanford blew his chances. Keep it zipped up fellas. And the media, as usual, is panting hard for the most liberal Republican they can find in the primary race. Namely, Governor Slick Willard Romney. Hey, Romney's ok. IF you're one of those liberal/moderate RINO types that loves big government forcing big government "solutions" for health care, etc, down your throat. AND if you can morally ignore...

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and the United States signed on Monday an agreement on military transit, both overland and by air, via Russian territory to Afghanistan. The deal was signed at Kremlin talks during President Barack Obama's first visit to Russia and was praised by the U.S. leader as Moscow's willingness to help in the war against the Taliban. Russia was reported to allow 4,500 flights a year to carry U.S. troops and weapons to the country across its territory free of charge. "President Medvedev and I have agreed on the need to combat the threat of...

Following her letter to reader's yesterday, Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth informed staff this afternoon, in a memo obtained by POLITICO, that general counsel Eric Lieberman will "review recent events to make sure that our business processes are consistent with, and will not in any way compromise, our journalism." Weymouth also said that executive editor Marcus Brauchli and senior editor Milton Coleman will "codify parameters for Post newsroom participation in live events." Brauchli told POLITICO Thursday that the a controversial flier publicizing a July 21 event at Weymouth's house ignored the parameters laid out by the newsroom. According to the...

Welcome to the GLENN BECK television thread...Shake the cobwebs out of your brain...We are another day closer to the REVOLUTION! All comrades, infidels, sick twisted freaks and lurkers are welcome and are encouraged to participate in the thread!

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary wants passengers to stand on the budget airline’s flights, in a bid to pack in more people and boost profits. Passengers would pay less to huddle next to what have been described as “bar stools”, with seatbelts around their waists. O’Leary got the idea from Chinese airline Spring, which put forward similar plans — estimating they could pack in up to 50 per cent more passengers and slash costs by 20 per cent.

Thousands of people have come out to show their support of the new government in Honduras. But the media is reluctant to cover or report accurately what has happened, and what is happening in Honduras. But these Honduran bloggers are determined to get the word out and set the record straight in light of media bias, and the irresponsible support Obama and other world leaders are giving to this would-be usuper. More-

Astronomers love their sky maps, and this latest is a doozie. It reveals thousands of previously undiscovered knots of cold cosmic dust, each a potential star waiting to be born. The new atlas of dust covers the inner regions of our Milky Way Galaxy, where stars, gas and dust are all packed tightly together, where chaos reigns, where massive stars are born. It's so dusty in there that optical telescopes can't see anything. But cosmic material emits and reflects various forms of radiation besides the visible. The new observations were made in submillimeter-wavelength light, which is between infrared light and...

LifeNews.com Note: Tom Glessner is a pro-life attorney who is the president of NIFLA, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates. NIFLA is an organization that provides legal, medical and practical help for pregnancy centers across the country. Recently the nation has seen a wave of deaths of celebrities — Ed McMann, Michael Jackson, Farah Fawcett and Billy Mays. Very few people in the general public had personal relationships with these departed public icons. Yet, the intensity level of mourning that the nation has exhibited upon the news of these deaths shows that millions of people identified with these...