Free Republic

TEHRAN, Iran – Thousands of protesters streamed down avenues of the capital Thursday, chanting "death to the dictator" and defying security forces who fired tear gas and charged with batons, witnesses said. Turning garbage bins into burning barricades and darting through choking clouds of tear gas, the opposition made its first foray into the streets in nearly two weeks in an attempt to revive mass demonstrations that were crushed in Iran's postelection turmoil.

Gun rights enthusiasts, including rock 'n roller turned avid hunter Ted Nugent, are expected to call in to a talk radio show in Fairbanks, where Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has scheduled an appearance. --snip-- Palin spokesman Dave Murrow says while the governor is in Fairbanks, she will sign several pieces of legislation supporting citizens' rights to carry and bear arms. Murrow says the governor has been a consistent supporter of Second Amendment rights and the bills reflect that.

Michael Jackson's memorial service the latest stop for Houston Democrat known as 'The Funeral Lady' for the stars Shocked to see Texas U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee join the star-studded memorial tribute to Michael Jackson earlier this week? Probably not if you’re from Houston. The congresswoman, who represents the 18th District, has a reputation in her hometown for, let’s say, making herself available to speak at events, occasions, funerals — particularly when cameras are nearby. Just a few days earlier, in her signature braid, Jackson Lee stood alongside Beyoncé at her pre-concert press-conference to address hunger —both women grinning for...

Appearing on MSNBC Thursday afternoon, Washington Post writer and founder of the paper’s On Faith blog, Sally Quinn, exclaimed of Sarah Palin: "Well, clearly, she has not put her family first...And these children have, it seems publicly, to have been exploited by her in a, I think, really unfortunate way." Even anchor David Shuster, who on Wednesday declared that Palin had "no future" politically, questioned Quinn’s accusation: "Sally, the use of the word ‘exploited’ is pretty strong. Give us some specific examples that you think qualifies for that?" Quinn was happy to elaborate: "Well, you know, she brings them all...

Not all promises made by Obama were able—or should I say not intended—to be kept, namely the promise to not increase taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 and couples making less than $250,000. The McCain campaign and other Republicans, not to mention economics keeping a tally of the programs Obama was promising and the tax dollars it would cost, called this promise a load of bull. But no fear, Obama team, several reporters from the Associated Press printed a number of “Fact Check” articles, in which Obama’s critics’ claims were dismissed as lies, myths, and exaggerations. Unfortunately, and not...

In a stunning rebuke of the Obama administration, NASA's James Hansen, one of the world's foremost climate alarmists, called the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the anti-global warming bill that recently passed the House, "less than worthless." Not only that, he referred to it as a "counterfeit climate bill" that employs a "Ponzi-like 'cap-and-trade' scheme" setting the nation on a "disaster course" as a result of the 219 members of Congress he accused of voting for it without reading it. As you might have already deduced, Hansen's complaint is that the bill doesn't go far enough to solve what...

Removal of Rush Limbaugh from the airwaves seems to be a constant theme among the DUmmies. And the first place they want to start is at Armed Forces Radio as we saw in a DUFU EDITION last January. And now the DUmmies have returned to this topic as you can see in this DUmmie THREAD, "Recommend this thread if you agree that Rush Limbaugh should be thrown off Armed Forces Radio." Yes, it wouldn't suprise me a bit if the Obamatons TRY to remove Rush from Armed Forces Radio but the result would be a huge OUTCRY from military...

In an interview with private TV network Globovision that was broadcast Tuesday in Venezuela, Secretary Clinton got tough on Iran, calling for "even stricter" sanctions and saying its "pursuit of nuclear weapons" would "be very destabilizing in the Middle East and beyond."

NOTE: For those that don't know, Wisconsin's own airline, Midwest Express, is going belly-up. Midwest Airlines Inc.'s union flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, have filed for federal mediation after contract negotiations stalled, the union announced Wednesday. The union said the talks have stalled because the company is demanding large cuts in pay and benefits. Company executives have declined to discuss the negotiations, although the company says its needs concessions to stay competitive.Midwest last year ran into financial trouble because of soaring jet fuel prices and a decline in travel, and is now being sold to Republic...

SAN JOSÉ, July 9 - Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said on Wednesday that his presence in Costa Rica is not to respond to any negotiation and that what is appropriate is for the leaders of the de facto regime in his country to present excuses and the requirements for their withdrawal from power “in the next 24 hours.” On arriving in San José for the announced mediation by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias on the Honduran situation, Zelaya explained to journalists that he is there to hear, through the mediator, what the coup leaders have to say and see how...

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock star, HuffPost blogger and rumored Senate candidate, took a swipe at Jack Cafferty over comments he made yesterday on CNN. In talking about actors running for office, Cafferty described Baldwin's credentials as "questionable," but noted that Al Franken is Harvard-educated. That prompted Baldwin to ask: "So Franken fits the mold for Cafferty because he went to Harvard? I would like to make a deal with Cafferty. Jack, you don't tell people that a career in the performing arts disqualifies them from seeking elected office, and I won't say publicly that your being convicted of leaving the...

The prospects for conservatism as a political force in the United States are arguably grim. The GOP's electoral prospects may be on the verge of drying up due to demographic shifts, particularly the growth of the Hispanic vote -- the kind of shifts that, in the past, have driven major political parties into extinction.   There are serious problems with the youth vote as well. Some commentators insist that the GOP must begin distancing itself from moral issues such as abortion and gay marriage, that it must put on a more "socially progressive" face if it is to win this...

video clip ALSIP, Ill. (AP) -- Three gravediggers and a cemetery manager unearthed hundreds of corpses from a historic black cemetery south of Chicago, dumping some in a weeded area and double-stacking others in existing graves, in an elaborate scheme to resell the plots, authorities said Thursday. All four were charged with felonies. Frantic relatives of the deceased descended on Burr Oak Cemetery - the final resting place of lynching victim Emmett Till and blues singers Willie Dixon and Dinah Washington - in hopes someone could tell them their loved ones' remains were not among the pile of bones that...

This week in Syfy: Why the heck did they re-brand the SciFi channel as syphie? I mean, series, what a hugh mistake!Assuming Kevin is on vacation, I did want to remind everyone that the new season of Eureka premiers Friday at 9 PM ET.

ELCA Churchwide Assembly to Consider 144 Memorials from Synods 09-149-JB CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Comprehensive immigration reform, Israel and Palestine, Lutheran Disaster Response, and fuller participation in church leadership are topics of memorials recommended for specific discussion at the 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The recommendations were made by a 15-member memorials committee appointed by the ELCA Church Council, which met here last month. Memorials are requests from the church's 65 synods that ask for churchwide assembly action on significant policy issues. The committee considered 144 memorials for the 2009 assembly, recommending action on each...

Warren Buffett tells CNBC that consumer sales by Berkshire Hathaway companies have remained "very, very soft" in recent weeks. In a taped interview with our Julia Boorstin today (Thursday) at Herb Allen's Sun Valley media conference, Buffett says he'll know when things pick up because he gets constant "contemporaneous" updates on sales from his companies. Buffett says the economy is in a very "tough period" right now. -- He says he continues to support President Obama "100 percent."

Instead of looking on the half empty glass and to appoint all the so called failures of Netanyahu, I choose to focus actually with a optimistic point on the other full half of the glass ,and why? because its only the first 100 days.in Sports they call it the test of the result,the measure is not how and why, the main point is on the final result, and in our case , its still early to summarize the work of the present government, but upon completion of the first Hundred days, it's possible to say that the test of the...

Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. has returned to the fold, giving the Democrats a 32-30 majority in the state Senate—again—and taking the title majority leader. Espada (D-Bronx) said during a news conference this afternoon that his disagreement with fellow Democrats on June 8, which led to a Republican-led coup, “has never been about titles,” though he received the title of temporary president as a result of the coup. “Today I stand here with another title,” he said. “I tell you very clearly, I have always been a Democrat. I will continue to be a Democrat. I never left home. I had...

QUESTION: In Costa Rica, Zelaya, I think that he’s already there for the process. I don’t know if Micheletti is going to participate or not. I don’t know if he confirmed yet. And I want to know if the U.S. is in some way monitoring this process with Oscar Arias. MR. KELLY: Yeah. QUESTION: If you were getting any updates. MR. KELLY: Yeah. QUESTION: Or this process will continue. MR. KELLY: Yes, I do have an update. We understand that the mediation talks were supposed to have started about 20 minutes ago. I understand that President Zelaya is already there....

This anecdotal and no, I won't disclose the company involved for reasons you should be able to divine. I work for a fortune 500 defense contractor. In the last few weeks, some of our larger programs have been informed that our funding will be 'de-obligated' and replaced with stimulus funds. Today I was informed that I must account for all dollars in play and come up with a plan to convert everything over to stimu-dollars.The company management has been informed that we will be required to go to the Federal Register and report that all the people currently working on...