Free Republic

Republican Assemblyman Mike "Spanky" Duvall's decision to resign over his open-mike bragging about his sexcapades with a Sacramento lobbyist was one of the dumbest moves I've ever seen. The minute his fellow Republican seatmate heard Duvall's comments, he should have gone to his party's leadership and told them. The leadership should then have called in Duvall, stripped him of his committee assignments and thus taken the sting out of what was bound to be an embarrassing situation. Instead, Duvall was a sitting duck when the tape was leaked. I know the leak didn't come from the Democratic side. For one,...

US clears Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for India Gulshan Luthra, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, September 13, 2009 The US government has cleared yet another high technology system for India, the "futuristic" shipboard Hawkeye E-2D aircraft for Airborne Early Warning (AEW) and battle management. The clearance has been described by diplomatic sources as a fallout of the "successful" visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the signing of the End User Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) of military equipment being supplied or sold by the US to India. Like the Boeing P 8I Maritime Multi-mission Aircraft (MMA), of which the Indian Navy...

What is meant by laws of nature? Presumably it is the business of science to uncover them. Yet few people, and few scientists, ever unpack the term. Many would be surprised to know that there are deep controversies among philosophers about the meaning of "laws of nature." Creationists have the high ground in this arena...

Good for him, have Democrats ever apologized for anything? Rep. Joe Wilson said Sunday that he will not apologize on the House floor for his outburst during President Obama's health care address, even though Democratic leaders have threatened to formally discipline him if he does not. Wilson noted that he already apologized directly to the White House after shouting, "You lie," to the president during his Wednesday address to a joint session of Congress. The outburst triggered a political firestorm, but Wilson told "FOX News Sunday" that Democrats are just "playing politics" by trying to drag out the issue and...

Tonight Fox will run the series finale of King of the Hill, the saga of Hank Hill and his gang of associates living in their exurb paradise of Arlen, Texas.... The beauty of King is that while it pokes fun at Hank’s myriad foibles, it understands the creepy nature of those who dedicate their lives to interfering in the lives of others, always claiming the moral high ground yet inevitably maximizing their own personal power and advantage. From snooty school guidance counselors to pompous college professors to lazy municipal clerks, Hank is constantly beset by nimrods trying to force him...

Known as the “City of Brotherly love”, this earthquake prone city was the home of this faithful church. Founded by the Pergamon King Attalos II, for his brother Eumenes, this city often changed its name during various times of its history, depending upon what ruler the inhabitants wanted to honor. The name Philadelphia was a reflection of the love and commitment that Attalus II showed to his elder brother Eumenes who ruled throughout Lydia before him. Thus, the “City of Brotherly Love”. Attalos wanted his new city to be a center for the Greco- Roman civilization, this way he could...

Ashley Dupre -- the escort who toppled a governor -- is sick of hiding. Eighteen months after the scandal that took down Eliot Spitzer, the 24-year-old wants to become a singer, a mother, an author -- anything but that girl. "Everyone likes an underdog story, and everyone likes a comeback," she said during an exclusive interview and fashion shoot with The Post. "I'm the poster child for redemption."

In the 21st century, the Islamic burka, the full-face-and-body veil, adopted by more women every day, has become the most potent human symbol on earth. But what exactly does it symbolize? Many say it stands for piety. No, that’s wrong, says Marnia Lazreg, an Algerian-born professor of sociology at the City University of New York. Piety has little to do with it; the Koran doesn’t even mention the veil. In truth, the veil stands for political ideology and male power. It also establishes the wearer’s extreme distance from the rest of us. We recognize people by seeing their faces and...

Everyone remembers where they were on that beautiful September morning in 2001, when almost 3000 of our fellow citizens were brutally murdered in the most horrific attack on our country since Pearl Harbor. The memories of that terrible day are forever etched in the minds and hearts of most Americans. The current administration, however, is defecating on the graves of those who lost their lives by diminishing the importance of fighting the war on the radical Islamic forces that would seek to do us harm again. Barack Obama is hell-bent on closing Guantanamo, and bringing the detainees to the shores...

AUGUSTA, Maine - Motorists, drop those cellphones. And lose the laptops, bag the Big Macs, and nix the newspapers and roadmaps while you’re behind the wheel. It’s now against the law to drive while distracted in Maine. More than a dozen states have passed laws making texting while driving illegal, and some states and cities have outlawed use of cell phones while driving. A bill in Congress would force states to ban texting or e-mailing or lose 25 percent of their annual federal highway funding. [snip]

President Obama once again talked about health care in his weekly address. Call this a summary of his speech. The president talked about how anyone can wind up with no insurance. He repeated his oft used numbers, 6 million people will lose their insurance this year and 17000 people will lose it each and every day.

City Lawmakers Rally Around Embattled Rep. RangelSep 13, 2009 10:04 am US/Eastern NEW YORK (CBS) - City lawmakers are rallying around Congressman Charles Rangel as the House Ethics Committee looks into his finances. Supporters say everyone needs to wait before passing judgment. There were dozens of voices Saturday, many of them local politicians, pleading for patience. "We ask for fairness," City Council member Inez Dickens said. "We want to expose the truth," councilwoman Melissa Mark Viverito said. Many of the demonstrators were livid. "Leave Charlie the hell alone!" Reverend Reggie Williams, of the American Red Cross, said. All of the...

Rep. Joe Wilson said Sunday that he will not apologize on the House floor for his outburst during President Obama's health care address, even though Democratic leaders have threatened to formally discipline him if he does not. Wilson noted that he already apologized directly to the White House after shouting, "You lie," to the president during his Wednesday address to a joint session of Congress. The outburst triggered a political firestorm, but Wilson told "FOX News Sunday" that Democrats are just "playing politics" by trying to drag out the issue and force another apology. "I've apologized one time. The apology was accepted...

RACINE - Normally inside Mechanix Auto Shop, repair is done on cars. Saturday, it was done on a man's reputation. Hubert Hoffman, a member of www.opencarry.org, organized a gathering to support Frank Hannan-Rock. Most everyone there was openly carrying a firearm, which is legal in Wisconsin. "You stand by your friends," Hoffman said. "Frank was, in my opinion harassed and detained unlawfully." It all started Wednesday night when Racine Police were investigating a raccoon shooting in Hannan-Rock's neighborhood. They noticed he was wearing a gun on his hip and asked him questions. "I did nothing to provoke them," said Hannan-Rock....

Obama: conservative anger is 'coarsening' By Mike Soraghan - 09/13/09 10:42 AM ET President Obama says the angry scenes on televised town halls represents a "coarsening of our political dialogue." In an interview to be aired tonight on 60 minutes, Obama indicated that he didn't think the opposition expressed to his agenda represented the national mood, just the best television. "In the era of 24-hour cable news cycles, the loudest shrillest voices get the attention," Obama said, in the interview which was previewed on Face the Nation. "What I'm trying to figure out is how can we make sure that...

Yesterday, the greatest president in American history said this about Enemy of the People Joe Wilson: “I’m a big believer that we all make mistakes,” Obama said. Wilson “apologized quickly and without equivocation. I am appreciative of that. “I do think that, as I said last night, we have to get to the point where we can have a conversation about big, important issues that matter to the American people without vitriol, without name-calling, without the assumption of the worst of other people’s motives,” Obama said. Today, Richard Wolffe quotes an unnamed White House “senior adviser” regarding the inability of...

Have you read the latest news about the cutest squirrel in the world jumping in front of a young couple’s camera on vacation? Did you know that Michael Jackson’s brain wasn’t buried with the rest of his remains? How about the outrage over that evil Republican yelling “You lie!” to Obama, in the midst of another of his historical speeches? How horrific is the announcement that Oprah might quit her daytime show after this season, her only 19,678th in a row? Welcome to the Western mainstream media, where you get well entertained and superbly brainwashed, but never properly informed. The...

The Democratic Party struggled at the national level throughout the 1970s and ’80s — all but shut out of the White House — because it was defined by its most extreme elements: war protestors, loony peaceniks, angry black activists, crime apologists, etc. It took years of concerted effort by the Democratic Leadership Council, Bill Clinton and others to reclaim the Democrats’ reputation as reasonable and pragmatic. The Republican Party of today is stuck in the same place, defined by Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, birthers, tea partiers and Joe Wilson. John McCain fell into the trap of being defined by the...

Mobsters in Japan hit the books to beat new laws ELIZABETH JACKSON: They're members of the biggest, meanest organised crime group in Japan. But these tattooed gangsters are being sent back to school by their godfathers. Under new laws, mob bosses can be sued for the misdeeds of their underlings. So the leaders of the feared Yamaguchi-gumi have begun testing their mobsters' knowledge of the laws.

More Britons travel to Somalia for 'jihad': report (AFP) – 14 hours ago LONDON — Intelligence chiefs have warned British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government that Somalia is the next challenge in efforts to stem Islamic terrorism, a report said Sunday. The officials have warned that the number of young Britons travelling to Somalia to fight in the war-torn country or take part in "terror training camps" is rising, the Independent on Sunday said, citing unnamed sources. In particular, they are concerned about the number of people with no direct family connection to Somalia who are travelling there. The number...