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A federal probe is being launched into the death of Tweet, a gentle giant giraffe who tragically collapsed in his Boston pen after wrapping his scenes for the film “Zookeeper.” Animal rights activists complained that Tweet was seen gnawing on a toxic tarp. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees companies that care for wild animals, will investigate whether Tweet was mishandled, after receiving the complaint yesterday from PETA. “We’d be looking to see if Tweet’s death is related to any noncomplicance with the Animal Welfare Act,” said agriculture spokeswoman Jessica Milteer. Tweet, 18, appeared in the hit movies “Ace...

Sen. Wicker: How can they (DemocRATs) be so quick and expeditious in voting on Joe Wilson's sanction?

Last week, around the same time President Obama was giving his health-care speech to Congress, I was in Washington to interview some administration officials for an upcoming story in Esquire. They were so damn positive. And hardworking. And energetic — the kinds of people who actually wake up at dawn to go running just so they can get to the office by 7:30, who eat salads and read only useful books. They don't watch television. They never drink more than a glass or two of wine. Sometimes they might indulge in a social beer, but it really is a social...

Broad-based gains in consumer confidence continued in September, with the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index reaching a 30-month high. But the improvement is not rubbing off on the grades President Obama gets on handling the economy.The Economic Optimism Index rose 2.2 points, or 4.4%, this month, registering 52.5 vs. 50.3 in August. Index scores above 50 indicate optimism, below 50 indicate pessimism. This month's reading puts the index 5 points above its 12-month average of 47.5 and 8.1 points above its reading of 44.4 in December 2007, when the recession began. It's now 1.3 points above its all-time average of 51.2....

DENVER (CBS4) Coloradans who couldn't make it to Washington, D.C. held two rallies at the State Capitol Saturday to protest health care reform and other issues. One rally was held in the afternoon and one was held at night. The protesters listened to an audio recording of the nation's founding documents and rallied around the principles stated in the Constitution. They sang patriotic songs and cheered as a host of speakers spoke about the increasing deficit, rising taxes and growing government. Many of protesters held signs that read "No More Debt" and "Vote Out Clunkers In Congress." "We will not...

n the last few days, the Census Bureau has severed ties with the advocacy group Acorn, and the Senate has voted to deny it access to federal housing funds. That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that it took this long—and hidden-camera video footage of Acorn workers apparently advising others to commit crimes—before federal officials would act. Allegations of fraud have dogged Acorn for years, sometimes resulting in convictions. Last week in Florida, authorities arrested 11 Acorn workers and charged them with submitting fake voter registration papers. Two months ago, GOP Representative Darrell Issa of California issued a 88-page...

The Justice Department has indicated that the Obama administration is in support of renewing a pair of controversial sections of the USA Patriot Act that expire later this year. The provisions that will expire in December include Section 206, that allows "roving" wiretaps so FBI agents can tap multiple phones or computers (with court authorization) that a specific person (target) may use.

If Jay Leno Wants Better Reviews He Can Start By Removing the Lapel Flag Posted By John Nolte On September 15, 2009 @ 4:57 pm In Entertainment, Featured Story, Politics Critics love David Letterman. They love him because he’s mean and liberal and does everything they demand: further the leftist agenda through the brutal use of humiliation to target any public figure (or their child) who might derail Leftist causes. And contrary to conventional wisdom, Letterman’s not edgy. In fact, he’s just the opposite. Doing exactly what those who can criticize you want you to do is not edgy. Kissing...

A former aide to George W. Bush and Sarah Palin is dismissing a claim by onetime Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer that the former president was clueless about Palin when she was tapped as John McCain's running mate last August. ... But Jason Recher, who served as special assistant to President Bush and as a traveling aide to Palin during the campaign, said the former President was well aware of Palin — especially since the two met in person in Alaska just three weeks before Palin was added to the Republican ticket.

In a case closely followed by environmental and business interests, a rewritten plan for restoring endangered and threatened wild salmon runs on the Columbia and Snake rivers in Washington state and Idaho includes studying the possibility of breaching four major hydroelectric dams if other steps don't reverse the decline. The revised Northwest plan, known as a biological opinion, was submitted Tuesday by the Obama administration to U.S. District Judge James Redden in Portland, Ore., who had been critical of a previous plan submitted by the Bush administration that rejected even a study of breaching the four dams on the lower...

Lott was among a group of students who gathered around to watch the fight, and were seen laughing. He says that's why he was one of three witnesses to the fight that were suspended in addition to the attackers. Asked why he laughed, he had this response, "Every kid laughs in a high school will laugh. If you see a fight every kid will laugh. Any fight you see we always laugh, it's like adrenaline we just laugh." Lott's mother, Shenico Greer, says she was appalled by the video, and has already given her son a talking to about laughing...

The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office yesterday launched a criminal probe into ACORN, while the Senate overwhelmingly voted to ban federal funding for the nonprofit group after two New York workers were caught on video aiding a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute. A spokesman for DA Charles Hynes confirmed the investigation but would not comment further. On the Senate floor last night, in a stunning turnaround from votes earlier this year supporting ACORN, lawmakers passed a bipartisan measure, 83 to 7, to strip its funding. The vote opened up the first split between Sens. Charles Schumer, who sided with...

This is the message that the **Maroochydore High School, Queensland, Australia**, staff voted unanimously to record on their school telephone answering machine. --------------------------------- I'm sure San Francisco schools have similar messages---NOT. MP3 http://files.me.com/cdodsworth/i7qpru.mp3

DENVER, Colorado – A strong core of believers continue to tout the notion of frequent alien visitors to Earth — UFOs — although this view is largely dismissed by skeptical, mainstream researchers. But UFOlogists come in two flavors: Those who spend money to investigate the possibility, and those who simply aim to make money off the whole concept.

Freeper Canteen:Do You See the Glass as Half Full or Half Empty?   Today We Want To Know...If You See The Glass As Half Full Or Half Empty Click here and take the quiz! At the last question, choose "CODE", then submit, to get your answer. After you do so, please post your findings in the Canteen!   Have fun!

Medicare: As Democrats try to remake the health care system in the face of bitter opposition, the federal public option for the elderly is preparing to cut benefits. This should be part of the debate, but of course it's not.Supporters of the health care revision tell us that its $1 trillion price tag won't add a dime to the national deficits. But the reality is, any program that expands Washington's reach into health care will cost far more than the rosy projections we're hearing. History shows that the bureaucracy always spends far more on programs than the Beltway experts say...

Saying she was "alarmed about the direction our nation is headed," former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton officially launched her bid today as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. Surrounded by hundreds of supporters in a ballroom at the Marriott Tech Center, Norton, who has been serving as the executive director of the Denver Police Foundation, said she wanted to stop what she saw as an out-of-control government in the nation's capital. "At every turn, Washington's giant hand seems to be grabbing everything in sight," said Norton, who served as lieutenant governor under former Gov. Bill Owens. "Seizing control of...

Here's another cartoon that Chris sent me this evening. Hope y'all enjoy. Earlier this morning I posted another cartoon he drew. Link

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. is one of only a few lawmakers casting a vote in support of ACORN, and the Democrat is taking a lot of heat for it. On Monday, the U.S. Senate voted 83-7 to block federal funds to ACORN, which has received federal housing grants to help low-income families learn how to get mortgages. Casey, D-Pa., was among the seven in opposition to that measure.

Oversight: As the Senate votes to de-fund Acorn, add pimping, tax evasion and human trafficking to voter fraud paid for with taxpayer dollars and you have an organized criminal enterprise. It's time to investigate.After Acorn workers were caught on tape in three cities allegedly abetting what they believed was a fraudulent-mortgage and sex-trafficking scheme, the Senate has voted overwhelmingly to strip the group of funding in the Transportation/Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. The amendment, offered by Nebraska Republican Sen. Mike Johanns, passed by an 83-to-7 margin and marked the third time this year that Republicans have tried to block...