Free Republic

NEW YORK — President Barack Obama's candid thoughts about Kanye West are provoking a debate over standards of journalism in the Twitter age. ABC News says it was wrong for its employees to tweet that Obama had called West a "jackass" for the rapper's treatment of country singer Taylor Swift. The network said some of its employees had overheard a conversation between the president and CNBC's John Harwood and didn't realize it was considered off the record. The network apologized to the White House and CNBC.

The city just installed high-tech cameras that catch every car that rolls through the city limits. And city residents say they are willing to give up privacy for protection. Resident Kay Stelter says she feels a little better knowing that there are an extra set of eyes keeping tabs. "I do, even though it makes me nervous that it's me that they're seeing," she said. For years, people in Medina have relied on gates to protect their homes and property. But now they've added surveillance video. The Medina City Council approved the cameras after Medina reported 11 burglaries in 2008...

<p>Grand Ayatollah Hoseinali Monrazeri, in a message to all Shiite clergy, says "the recent events and atrocities should be an alarm bell for the clergy," and warned that their silence regarding recent offenses is being abused by the government.</p> <p>Pointing out the power of every word uttered by the clergy, Ayatollah Montazeri called on them to find a way out of the crisis that has gripped the country since the disputes over the June presidential elections.</p>

<p>SHARPSBURG, Md. -- An unknown Civil War soldier began his journey home to New York state Tuesday, nearly a year after a visitor to the Antietam National Battlefield spotted his remains in a cornfield that saw the fiercest fighting of the war.</p>

New World Record 48 pound Rainbow Trout. On September 5th Sean Konrad obliterated the IGFA all-tackle world rainbow record with a 48-pound rainbow out of Saskatchewan's Lake Diefenbaker...

Well, its over,we got the word today Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announce it, the Recession is "very likely over at this point." Great News Right? Well maybe not. Before you take out the champagne and invite your friends over for a party understand that there is much more to the story. Bernanke went on to say that we will have an under-performing economy well into next year "From a technical perspective the recession is very likely over," Bernanke said, cautioning that unemployment is likely to remain high. "It's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some...

After what could be the first grizzly bear attack on a human in the Upper Green, a 46-year-old sheepherder was life-flighted to Idaho Falls early Monday morning after being seriously mauled. The grizzly began its rampage in the early hours in a sheep herd grazing near Forest Road 617, at the eastern edge of the Gros Ventre Wilderness near Tosi Creek. The herd is tended by Marcello Tejeda, of Rock Springs, and Jorge Mesa, both of whom were awakened by what they thought was a black bear in the sheep, according to their employer, rancher Mary Thoman of Fontenelle. Monday,...

In a warming world, scientists have told us to expect more rain and less snow in the Northwest -- but not less overall precipitation. New evidence, however, suggests that dry years are becoming more severely dry across the region. Even in the rain-drenched Northwest, the trend could escalate water conflicts if it continues. Farmers, conservationists and city water managers would face severe challenges trying to balance human needs with the survival requirements of endangered salmon that need cold, clean, rushing water. Researchers with the U.S. Forest Service looked for changes in the amount of water flowing out of mountain basins...

Americans decidedly oppose the government's efforts to save struggling companies by taking ownership stakes even if failure of the businesses would cost jobs and harm the economy, a new poll shows. The Associated Press-National Constitution Center poll of views on the Constitution found little support for the idea that the government had to save AIG, the world's largest insurer, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the iconic American company General Motors last year because they were too big to fail.

Perhaps the most notable thing about the “Sovereignty or Secession” rally at the state Capitol on Monday was the absence of any remotely mainstream speakers. That little problem in presentation did not escape the event’s organizers from the Texas Nationalist Movement. In fact, several speakers bitterly complained that neither Gov. Rick Perry nor a single one of the 70-plus supporters of Rep. Brandon Creighton’s HCR 50, a resolution asserting Texas’ “sovereignty” from the federal government, made an appearance. Back in April, Perry flirted with the idea of secession when he told reporters after a Tax Day tea party event: “There’s...

It's all the Jews' fault," US President Barack Obama can say after his Middle East peace plans blow up in Israel's face. But which Jews? President Obama launched his grand master vision for peace in the Middle East by choosing to spotlight his He and his wise men decided that peace between the Palestinian Authority and Israel is in the interests of national security for the folks in Omaha. abundant Jewish advisors, partly in an effort to convince Israel, as well as American Jewry, that he is "good for the Jews."

MIAMI — It sounds like a new book in the Harry Potter series, but "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" will be a high-tech ride and the marquee attraction at the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter," a new theme park area opening in spring 2010 at Universal Orlando Resort. The "Forbidden Journey" ride was named by author J.K. Rowling and described Tuesday by Universal officials in a Web cast revealing details of what the Potter park will look like. Guests will enter the "Wizarding World" through a station archway named for Hogsmeade, the magical village near Hogwarts. A plume of...

...Subtitled "The Commercial Revolution in American Music," Suisman's book (Harvard University Press) focuses on the 1880s through the mid-1920, a period that saw the growth of sheet-music publishing from a printer's sideline to a wildly profitable New York-based industry... These innovations made professionally composed and performed music available to a wider range of Americans than ever before. At the same time, music increasingly became something to be passively appreciated rather than actively made. (This story could have been different, if Edison's wax cylinders, which allowed convenient home recording as well as playback, had won out over Emile Berliner’s disc technology.)...

Here is a poll question that would like to know what religion we Freepers consider ourselves.What Religion Are You Freeper? I know that most Freepers consider ourselves to be a Christian, but there are many of you Freepers who tend to keep your religion to yourselves and basically stick to the political issues. However, inquiring minds would like to know, and it would only take few seconds to answer the poll question.

By now, most NewsBusters readers have seen the Drudge Report item alleging that President Obama called rapper Kanye West (he of the "George Bush doesn't care about black people" fame) a "jackass." This report originated with Terry Moran's rogue tweet to that effect, which later caused ABC to apologize to the White House for relaying off-the-record information to the public at large. Gossip Web site TMZ.com, however, has no such qualms about relaying off-the-record statements made by celebrities -- even, or especially, when the celebrity in question is the President of the United States. TMZ acquired an audio recording of...

Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.) announced today he will not support the resolution reprimanding Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) for accusing President Obama of lying about his proposed health-care legislation, signaling Democratic leaders will lose some votes Tuesday when the roll is called.

The "Hold their Feet to The Fire" rally, a joint effort by the Federation For American Immigration Reform and Radio America and KOGO-San Diego host Roger Hedgecock, this week is featuring live broadcasts from Washington, D.C., by almost 50 local and syndicated radio talkers. The event is meant to bring attention to certain controversial issues concerning illegal immigration. NTS MediaOnline (09/14)

Without ever having been reviewed by either the New York Times or the Washington Post, Mark Levin’s Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto has now sold one million copies, according to its publisher, Threshold Editions. Levin is a nationally syndicated radio host, president of the Landmark Legal Foundation, and served as chief of staff to Atty. Gen. Ed Meese in the Reagan Justice Department. Liberty and Tyranny has been riding high on non-fiction bestseller lists ever since it was released in late March. It debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times best seller list and has remained in...

The Obama administration said Tuesday the federal government's salmon and dam plan for the Columbia and Snake rivers, with modifications, will not jeopardize endangered salmon and steelhead. A drop in the populations of the endangered salmon and steelhead in the region would trigger a new review of the recovery efforts and a consideration of alternatives including breaching four dams on the lower Snake River. But the administration said that the so called biological opinion, "combined with the implementation plan, is legally and biologically sound and based on the best available science." It would order the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...

The proposed resolution of disapproval against Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina added to the already-toxic atmosphere of partisanship in the House. Democrats said Wilson's behavior during Obama's speech to Congress last week was an egregious display of disrespect for the president that could not be ignored. Republicans accused the majority party of hypocrisy and wasting the taxpayers' time. "That's a very serious breach of decorum, and if it goes unaddressed then we will probably see other, worse breaches in the future," Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., said before floor debate began. But Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, a member...