Free Republic

Listing of individual acts of arson, vandalism, sabatoge, liberation, threats, etc. at an animal rights site.

Sorry folks, I didn't include any stories about Obama gawking at the posterior of an unaware teenager. You can read about that everywhere else. The Democratic party (from Blago to Conyers to Murtha) is riddled with scandal right now. On the upside, Cap & Tax has been shelved until the fall. Nonetheless, we have some quality articles for you to read and digg today: http://diggsandburies.blogspot.com/

A new U.S. book claims Ernest Hemingway was a not-very-effective spy for the KGB during the 1940s. The Nobel prize-winning author is listed in "Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America," Yale University Press, co-written by John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassiliev from notes Vassiliev took in Moscow archives. A former KGB officer, Vassiliev was provided with access in the 1990s to Stalin-era files, The Guardian reported. In the book, Hemingway is referred to as a "dilettante spy." His file says he was recruited in 1941 before he went to China, the book claims. He...

President Barack Obama on Friday acknowledged the tough going for his health care overhaul in Congress but rejected the notion the legislation is doomed if lawmakers fail to act by August. "I never believe anything is do or die," Obama said. "We're closer to that significant reform than at any time in recent history," Obama told reporters at a news conference in Italy. "That doesn't make it easy. It's hard. And we are having a whole series of constant negotiations." Conservative Democrats are demanding significant changes before they will support a sweeping health care overhaul, forcing the House to join...

Lt. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III, director of the Air National Guard, said in a letter this week to Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) that he likes the F-22 because its speed and electronics enable it to handle "a full spectrum of threats" that current defensive aircraft "are not capable of addressing."

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's abrupt announcement that she intends to leave office 18 months early caused plenty of GOP operatives to wonder aloud whether she will be dismissed as a quitter if she makes a bid for the presidency in 2012. But the road to the White House runs through Iowa and New Hampshire, and grassroots activists in both kickoff states generally give Palin's decision more-positive reviews. Her prospects seem especially bright in Iowa. "She's still tremendously popular here," said Mary Ann Hanusa, who chairs the Pottawattamie County Republican Party. Hanusa noted that at her group's central committee meeting on...

US News reports that Senator John McCain (R-AZ), unsuccessful GOP presidential nominee in 2008, is considering another bid for the presidency in 2012. If elected, McCain would be the oldest president ever inaugurated, at 168 years old. "Yeah, I remember being at Chattanooga with Grant," McCain recounted while the Surgeon General tended his oxygen tank prior to a recent Senate vote. "Of course, back then we didn't have airplanes, so I flew an observation balloon. A fighter balloon, rigged with a Gatlin' gun. Man, we kicked the stuffin' out of those dirty Rebs that day." Most Americans are aware of...

Federal wage floor will rise to $7.25 an hour on July 24. Hike will be felt in 29 states. Can the job market handle it? The federal minimum wage is set to increase later this month as the job market shows signs of further decay. The federal minimum wage will go to $7.25 an hour on July 24 from its current level of $6.55, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The impact will be felt in 29 states, and many of them plan to match the federal minimum when it goes through. Seven states already have laws mandating $7.25...

On June 11, 23 state attorney generals signed and sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder advising him that they are opposed to renewal of the 1994 Clinton administration’s ban on semiautomatic firearms, erroneously dubbed “assault weapons” by proponents of the ban The 23 state Attorneys General who signed the letter are: Arkansas – Dustin McDaniel Alabama - Troy King Colorado - John W. Suthers Florida - Bill McCollum Georgia - Thurbert E. Baker Idaho - Lawrence G. Wasden Kansas - Steve Six Kentucky - Jack Conway Louisiana - James D. Caldwell Michigan - Mike Cox Missouri - Chris...

Q. In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released just before the start of the Supreme Court nominee's confirmation hearings, 47 percent of people questioned would like to see the Senate vote in favor, with 40 percent opposed and 13 percent unsure. Where do you stand? Do you want Sotomayor to be confirmed? Yes. Sotomayor would be a strong addition to the court. No. Sotomayor would be a detrimental addition to the court. Not sure/No opinion.

Ladies and gentlemen…. The Distinguished Senator from the great state of Minnesota… This is an actual image! I swear!

First Iran and now China. It seems the surest way to get a malign regime to slaughter its citizens is to have the Obama administration offer it an outsretched hand and a guarantee of indifference toward human rights abuses. Welcome to the Land of Hope.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's abrupt announcement that she intends to leave office 18 months early caused plenty of GOP operatives to wonder aloud whether she will be dismissed as a quitter if she makes a bid for the presidency in 2012. But the road to the White House runs through Iowa and New Hampshire, and grassroots activists in both kickoff states generally give Palin's decision more-positive reviews. Her prospects seem especially bright in Iowa. "She's still tremendously popular here," said Mary Ann Hanusa, who chairs the Pottawattamie County Republican Party. ~snip "I heard a lot of comments [such as], 'I...

GM wants to cancel its contract with the Stillwater mine as part of its bankruptcy reorganization that infused the company with $50 billion in government loans. Platinum is mined in just two other countries — Russia and South Africa — and Schweitzer says canceling the contract would put the United States at a strategic risk and hurt the mining industry.

Peggy Noonan, the sometimes Republican (but hardly conservative) columnist/ Obama supporter, devoted her weekly editorial to sticking a fork in Sarah Palin and pronouncing her "done". Here are some of the linguistic gymnastics Noonan uses to express her disdain for everything Palin: she was not thoughtful She was a gifted retail [politician] She never learned how the other sides think She couldn't say what she read because she didn't read anything. She wasn't thoughtful enough to know she wasn't thoughtful enough. What she is, is a seemingly very nice middle-class girl with ambition, appetite and no sense of personal limits....

L'AQUILA, July 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia could still deploy tactical missiles in its westernmost exclave if the U.S. goes ahead with its plans for a missile shield in Central Europe, the Russian president said on Friday. Dmitry Medvedev said Russia's position on U.S. missile defense in Central Europe had not changed. "We are ready to participate in the construction of a global missile defense by providing both intellectual input and our radars," Medvedev said after the G8 summit in Italy's L'Aquila. "We are glad that there is a readiness in the U.S. to review its plans." Russia opposes the...

With Obama tanking in the polls and nearly half the public opposing his policies, one would think that the White House would seriously reconsider its major policy initiatives that have proven to be very unpopular. Not this White House, however. The more opposition he gets, the more Obama seems to be determined to shove down Americans' throats highly unpopular programs such as the cap and trade energy tax, socialized healthcare, and maybe yet a 3rd economic stimulus bailout.

It's the talk of the sports world. Jordan Crawford's dunk over LeBron James at the Cavaliers star's Skills Academy. I'll make the story short for those who somehow haven't heard it. Crawford, who plays at Xavier, jammed on James, but Nike [NKE 51.64 0.58 (+1.14%) ] confiscated the visual evidence, citing rules that stated that taping was off limits. The story leaked out. Yesterday's story was that Nike had the tape. Today's story? Fans want to see the tape. Ten years ago, this would have all gone away. Fans wouldn't have been able to generate enough noise to pressure Nike...

Senators who voted for the Obama administration’s $787-billion economic stimulus bill defended its performance, saying that despite a weaker-than-expected economy, the stimulus was not a failure and they were not disappointed in the results so far. Republican supporters of the Obama economic plan said that even though the administration’s economic predictions proved wrong, the stimulus is still on the right track. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) told CNSNews.com that the stimulus was not a failure and that the real need was for the administration to spend the money faster. “It means they need to speed it up a bit,” he said....

MOSCOW, July 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's newest Borey class strategic nuclear submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky, has completed the first round of sea trials and is returning to a shipyard in northern Russia, the Sevmash plant said on Friday. Sea trials of the submarine, which is expected to be armed with new Bulava sea-based ballistic missiles, started on June 24 in the White Sea. "A team of workers and submariners has successfully completed the set tasks," Sevmash general director Nikolai Kalistratov said. He added that the Yury Dolgoruky would still have to pass a number of sea trials later this...