Free Republic

These hilarious pictures show how Sara the dog loves nothing better than to spend her days on the swings at her local park. In one of the weirdest canine behaviours, the Labrador-Chow cross even goes beserk with excitement when her loving owners mention the word 'swing'. She even prefers it to going for a walk. While most would expect a dog's favourite activity to be chasing rabbits or sniffing around woods - happy Sara almost seems to smile as she contentedly rocks back and forth. Real estate developer Erik Lanier, from Boone, North Carolina, USA, discovered Sara's secret love when...

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - Last week, South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer said he would sacrifice his political ambitions if Governor Mark Sanford resigns. Sanford refused, and now Bauer finds himself on defense. The issue? His private life. Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer wants to talk about where he would take the state if Gov. Mark Sanford leaves office. And unless Sanford decides to step down soon, making Bauer his successor, the lieutenant governor will likely run for the number one job. But since his remarks on the subject last week, Bauer has become a target -- first, accusations on a...

If you’ve ever been stuck on hold with a congressional office in the past, at least you’ve been able to enjoy some good patriotic music, as opposed to the lilting tones of generic smooth jazz that have been driving elevator users insane for decades. For years, congressional offices have played patriotic anthems as the background music during hold times. Not any more. After we were startled by the hold music when we called a House office recently, sources on Capitol Hill informed us this week that the Democratic House leadership has made a sweeping decision that congressional offices now have...

DORRIS, Calif. -- Agents from the Siskiyou County-Wide Narcotic Task Force were assisted by the California Department of Justice, Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol in the service of a search warrant at the Elm Motel in Dorris, California. Drug agents learned that a shipment of opium had been intercepted by U.S. Customs en route from Thailand on its way to the Elm Motel in Dorris on Highway 97, just south of the California Oregon border. The opium had been hidden in the hollow handles of broomsticks that were mixed in with baskets and bamboo items. Drug agents...

FLASH TRAFFIC: WASHINGTON UPDATEIRAN HAS ENOUGH URANIUM TO BUILD AT LEAST TWO BOMBS ***Note: Today is the last day to sign up for The Joshua Fund "prayer & vision trip" to Israel in Nov By Joel C. Rosenberg (WASHINGTON, D.C., September 1, 2009) -- Last night, Lynn and I and several members of our Joshua Fund team hosted a dinner party for Dr. Dore Gold and a small group of evangelical Christian and Catholic leaders and journalists at our home.A long-time friend and senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Gold is the author of several New York Times...

AMERICAN.COM A Magazine of Ideas Eliminating the Public Option Is Not Enough By John S. HoffTuesday, September 1, 2009 Filed under: Health & Medicine, Government & Politics Even if the public option is excised, the healthcare bill still would impose a heavy blanket of federal regulation on every aspect of healthcare. The Obama administration has signaled that it may be willing to forgo creation of a federal government insurance plan (the so-called “public option”) as part of its healthcare “reform.” This is far less of a concession than it appears.Even if the public option is excised, the healthcare bill under...

(CNSNews.com) – Anyone who posts comments on the White House’s Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter pages will have their statements captured and permanently archived by the federal government, according to a plan that the White House is now seeking a contractor to carry out. The Executive Office of the President is looking for a private contractor to capture and archive comments and information posted on social networking and new media sites where the White House has established a presence. While the Presidential Records Act (PRA) generally requires that the administration preserve information generated by the president and his staff, the...

Last night’s Red Eye discussed how Hollywood films like to use certain kinds of villains over others. Host Greg Gutfeld has a beef with the new "Rambo," "GI Joe," and Quentin Tarantino’s "Inglourious Basterds."According to Gutfeld: “These three films have two things in common. They avoid present real danger in the world and choose villains that are not just safe but politically correct to hate.” On some level this is true. The film industry, like any other business, generally wants to appeal to the largest audience possible. Picking “safe” enemies is one way to do that. As far as...

CLEMSON — U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has earned a reputation for reaching across the aisle with Democratic colleagues on various issues, said President Barack Obama and the Democratic controlled Congress should adhere to that same bipartisanship concerning health care. “There will be some in the Democratic Party that will want to do it alone and that would be a mistake,” Graham said during a speech at the Clemson Rotary Club’s weekly Monday meeting. “Health care is one-sixth of our economy, and this needs to be passed with support from both (Houses).” Graham said both parties should collaborate on...

The spy agency faced a Monday court deadline to turn over more papers, but the agency responded by telling the federal judge in the case that dozens of remaining documents must stay secret.

LITTLE ROCK — The Catholic Diocese of Little Rock announced today it has been awarded a $151,500 grant to provide services to immigrant crime victims across Arkansas. The U.S. Department of Justice provided the funding to Arkansas under its STOP (Services, Training Officers and Prosecutors) Violence Against Women program, created by the federal Violence Against Women Act of 2005. The state Department of Finance and Administration awarded the two-year grant to the diocese. The money will be used to create a Crime Victim Services Unit under the diocese’s immigration services program. Two additional employees will be hired to provide education...

In 1978, a young scholar in his early 30s named Bill Donohue, working on a book about the ACLU, went to New York City to interview its founder, Roger Baldwin. Donohue asked him why the ACLU was opposed to a moment of silent "meditation" in the classroom. Baldwin responded, "I suppose you could get by with that, but it's a subterfuge, because the implication is that you're meditating about the hereafter, or God, or something."   That revealing moment allowed Donohue to confirm that Baldwin opposed a moment of silent meditation because he feared some student might actually think...

recently wrote a critique of the art community’s lack of dissent in the face of many controversial decisions made by the current administration. Entitled “The Artist Formerly Known as Dissident,” one of the key points argued in the article was the potential danger associated with the use of the art community as a tool of the state. Little did I know how quickly this concern would be elevated to an outright probability

  The refugees returning to the Promised Land after 70 years of captivity in Babylon had a problem. He was a killjoy named Haggai, and he was chewing them out for rebuilding their houses.   Well . . . that's not exactly the case. His complaint wasn't so much that they were building their houses as that they were doing this without so much as a thought to the God who had brought them back from captivity in direct fulfillment of the promises He had made to them. Haggai's point was not "God is a killjoy" but "God demands...

New TV Ad on “Seniors’ Bill of Rights” WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee (RNC) today unveiled a new national television ad highlighting its Seniors’ Bill of Rights, which specifies six protections that must be part of any effort to reform health care. The web video, entitled “Seniors’ Bill of Rights,” can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbjq6OfkMlg&feature=player_embedded Steel is calm, yet direct; Obama can take a few lessons from this guy.

(If someone can get this to Gov. Sanford, thank you. Please add to it.) Dear Governor Sanford, You have the chance of a lifetime. When true love emerges in a life, when a soul-mate returns that knowledge, your life has began anew. To put aside preconceptions of what you "should be" to sacrifice what you are sorely requires too hard a price. The route seems simple. Your long time companion and wife and you are in a situation which will probably never heal. Your love for her and the children will live on. Yet your true love, Ms. Chapur, if...

Excellent video at the link. Thank you Flagstaff for the great big Western Welcome!Found this on an AARP Online Community website:Tea Party Express - What a night in Flagstaff http://www.aarp.org/community/groups/displayTopic.bt?groupId=1162&topicId=3838551 lousygolfer said: on September 1, 2009 12:40 PM ET Last night the Tea Party Express (http://www.teapartyexpress.org) - a caravan from L.A. to Washington stopped here in Flagstaff. A Democrat sheriff with 32 years in office, a Republican state treasurer and plain ole citizens spoke to over 1,000 people (in a town of just over 50,000) about returning our country to a critical services oriented, thrifty conservator of our money. Healthcare...

An Empire of Consumption by Byron W. King Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Just reading the newspapers gives me a daily diet of economic gloom. For example, my pessimism for today (Aug. 26) started with the headline of my local newspaper this morning. The Pittsburgh Tribune Review delivered a banner message, "Record Red Forecast at $1.58 Trillion." (I think they printed the newspaper before the word came out that Sen. Ted Kennedy died.) Then for a national perspective, I looked at The Wall Street Journal, which published a slightly different alliteration, "Decade of Debt: $9 Trillion." And finally, for an international view, The...

Is it really possible for anyone to live happily to 100? The good news is that your body was designed to be 100 - you just have to get out of the way. Getting out of the way means taking an honest look at the habits and lifestyle you are living with today. Most of us have developed habits that limit our true health potential. But don't let these bad habits of the past discourage you - it is never too late to make new choices. What you did in the past can be changed, and your body will respond...

The inside of the current Islamic Center where the new mosque will be located (Photo: Pamela Juhl) Iranian financial backing prompts calls from politicians to halt building of mosque in the capital The new mosque to be built on Vibevej in Copenhagen’s North West district will be partially funded by Iranian sponsors, reports Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper. The project is being headed by the Shia Muslim organisation Ahlul Bait and is expected to cost 50 million kroner. It was previously thought that the mosque would be funded solely by private donations from Danish Muslims. The building’s architect, Bijan Eskandani, referred to...