Free Republic

State Senator Scott Brown, the Republican frontrunner for the late Edward Kennedy's US Senate seat, is asking Governor Deval Patrick to investigate whether state employees on state time researched whether Brown could run for Congress while serving in the National Guard. Brown says he was alerted that an employee of the Executive Office of Public Safety had called the adjutant general's office asking whether Brown were disqualified from running because of his position in the Guard.

"I'm not the first President to take up this cause,but I'm determined to be the last."Is he saying he will craft a system so perfect that no one will ever want to change it again? Or is it something more sinister? I honestly don't know what he's getting at. I am willing to accept an innocent explanation.

We deeply regret to inform you that without the necessary budgetary legislation by the State Legislature in Harrisburg, the City of Philadelphia will not have the funds to operate our neighborhood branch libraries, regional libraries, or the Parkway Central Library after October 2, 2009. Specifically, the following will take effect after the close of business, October 2, 2009: * All branch and regional library programs, including programs for children and teens, after school programs, computer classes, and programs for adults, will be cancelled * All Parkway Central Library programs, including children programs, programs to support small businesses and job seekers,...

The United States today said it is taking seriously revelations by former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf that aid provided by America for the war against terrorism was diverted during his tenure to strengthen defences against India. A state department official said the US takes all such allegations seriously and there is a procedure to investigate any violation, diversion of its aid by any country. But the official refused to confirm if any investigation in this regard was in place with respect to Pakistan. At the same time, he said, the allegations were not specific and as of now the US...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. customers who smoke in an Avis or Budget rental car after Oct. 1 will be fined up to $250, the Avis Budget Group said. The ban makes Avis and Budget the first major car rental companies to ban smoking in a North American fleet, USA Today reported Monday. "The No. 1 request we get is for a smoke-free car," Avis Budget Group spokesman John Barrows said. Avis and Budget cars will be inspected on return for the smell of smoke, Barrows said, adding it costs more to clean a smoky car because the car...

If only. Lawrence McDonald begins his insider’s account of the fall of Lehman Brothers with seven “what if” scenarios, speculating on how different decisions might have saved his former employer. If only Dick Fuld, Lehman’s chief executive, had listened to those who warned of impending losses on the bank’s property portfolio. If only Fuld had not antagonised Hank Paulson, the then Treasury secretary. And so on.* Mr McDonald is far from the only person who believes that the Lehman bankruptcy could have been avoided. Alan Blinder, the former Federal Reserve vice-chairman, has called the decision to let the bank fail...

With Democratic state Rep. Ty Harrell facing questions about his use of campaign money, his Republican challenger is looking at making another run at him. Apex Town Councilman Bryan Gossage says he is taking a careful look at challenging Harrell again in 2010, Rob Christensen reports. "Our message last year was that the liberal tax, borrow, and spend policies of the incumbent were wrong for the district and wrong for the state," Gossage said in a statement. "Unfortunately, higher taxes and unemployment numbers are some of the best proof of that." Harrell defeated Gossage by a 54-46 percent margin in...

Here's a question: if I went out and made a claim I believed but no one else thought possible - that a greyhound could outrun a cheetah, for example - would that be considered a lie or just naive, wishful thinking?

EXETER – Firearms manufacturer Sig Sauer, in their part to help stimulate the economy, has announced a "Cash for Your Klunker Handgun" program. Purchase a new SIG SAUER P220, P226, P229, 1911, SIG556 pistol, or SIG556 rifle from your dealer's inventory from Sept. 7th through Nov. 30th, and Sig Sauer will give you $200 for your old pistol or revolver. To receive your $200 payment, simply send your old firearm with a copy of your form 4473 and proof of purchase of your new Sig Sauer firearm (no later than Friday, Dec. 4) to: SIG SAUER, Inc., Attn: CK-1, 18...

This is no way to treat a saint. The machine-gun murderer of young Bronx prosecutor Sean Healy, who once worked with Mother Teresa in India, has been granted parole -- thanks to a shocking screw-up at the Bronx DA's Office, The Post has learned. Incredibly, Bronx DA Robert Johnson's office -- which is in the courthouse where Healy's image is memorialized on a plaque -- was a no-show at all three of trigger-happy drug dealer José Diaz's appearances before the Parole Board. That's because the DA's office learned about the hearings only after they were over -- from a concerned...

The public’s assessment of the accuracy of news stories is now at its lowest level in more than two decades of Pew Research surveys, and Americans’ views of media bias and independence now match previous lows. Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally get the facts straight, while 71% say that news stories are often inaccurate. In the initial survey in this series about the news media’s performance in 1985, 55% said news stories were accurate while 34% said they were inaccurate. That percentage had fallen sharply by the late 1990s and has remained low over the last...

I mean this in partial jest. Only black people can call each other the N word. Now, the only epithet that I'm aware of that is close to being on the same level of the N word is the C word for women. Don't ever use either word. However, the media's propaganda has gotten so over the top, and the politicians' pandering has too gotten over the top, that it's getting to the point to where "racist" is the epithet for conservatives.

Wells Fargo says it has fired an executive who had been under investigation for personal use of a bank-owned house in the exclusive Malibu Colony.

The Obama administration has proposed the possible pull out of all 40 F-16s from Misawa AB to the government of Japan. The discussion are supposed to have taken place back in April and have only now been released. The move could possibly start at the end of the year with the agreement of the new incoming administration of Democratic Party of Japanese leader Yukio Hatoyama. As part of the same strategic review plan the US has also told Japan that they may also remove 50 or so F-15s from its base in Kadena, Okinawa. Both proposals are pending as the...

Research conducted at Texas A&M University casts doubts on the notion that El Niño has been getting stronger because of global warming and raises interesting questions about the relationship between El Niño and a severe flu pandemic 91 years ago. The findings are based on analysis of the 1918 El Niño, which the new research shows to be one of the strongest of the 20th century. El Niño occurs when unusually warm surface waters form over vast stretches of the eastern Pacific Ocean and can affect weather systems worldwide. Using advanced computer models, Benjamin Giese, a professor of oceanography who...

In a troubling sign for President Obama, his popularity is dipping -- in New York of all places -- as he tries to get a handle of the bad economy, the ongoing war in Afghanistan , while trying to push through a controversial health care bill. Although 57 percent of registered voters across the state believe Obama is doing either an excellent or good job in office, the president’s support has slipped over the summer, according to a Marist Poll released today. Forty-three percent of state voters currently say Obama is falling short of expectations since taking office in January....

Kanye West — you know, the moron who suffered a Bush Derangement Syndrome attack in the middle of a Hurricane Katrina national telethon — made a fool of himself again tonight. Aggrieved that country singer Taylor Swift beat out pop diva Beyonce for an MTV Video Music Award, he pounced on stage, ripped the microphone out of Swift’s hands and had a hissy fit on Beyonce’s behalf. I’m sure he considers himself on par with Rosa Parks now:

America has been greatly blessed by God and has stood as the greatest country in the history of the world for over 200 years. America has many foreign and domestic enemies that are seeking her destruction.This thread is a daily call and reminder for people of faith who believe in God and in the power of prayer to make a commitment to intercede for America at this critical time in her history2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will...