Free Republic

Heads are rolling at the Department of Motor Vehicles' San Francisco office over the "Missed Monday" we told you about a couple of weeks back. In all, 19 of the Fell Street office's 34 staffers were no-shows Aug. 23 - the Monday that followed a forced "Furlough Friday" without pay. The mass no-shows created a huge backup at the office, with the lines going around the block. Sources tell us that two of the "ringleaders" have been canned and seven others with histories of taking unauthorized days off have been suspended for 15 days without pay. Ten first-time offenders were...

A Fiery Unknown Ruffles New York’s RepublicansBy MICHAEL BARBARO Published: September 12, 2010 LinkedinDiggMixxMySpaceYahoo! BuzzPermalink. RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Inside an Elks’ lodge here in the heart of middle-class Long Island, a crowd of 150 Tea Party members erupted into thunderous applause over the weekend when Carl P. Paladino, the resurgent Republican candidate for governor, outlined his plan to tame New York’s entrenched political class. Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times Carl P. Paladino, a Republican candidate for governor of New York, says, “I’m taking a baseball bat to Albany with me.” Rick A. Lazio, who has Republican leaders’ backing,...

The New Hampshire Republican Senate primary tomorrow is getting even tighter, with a new PPP poll showing Tea Party-backed Ovide LaMontagne only trailing frontrunner (and establishment pick) Kelly Ayotte by seven points. LaMontagne has gained serious ground since the last PPP poll in July, when he was trailing Ayotte by a whopping 39 points. The latest numbers show Ayotte polling at 37%, while LaMontagne has the second-highest numbers in the multi-candidate field, at 30%. Last time, Ayotte was killing LaMontagne 47%-8%. As we've reported, Ayotte has gotten into some trouble lately, between party in-fighting and some concerns about her conservative...

First the Iranians said they would release the imprisoned hiker "as an act of clemency to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. " In other words an act of compassion in the name of the prophet. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/7998887/Irans-chief-prosecutor-says-American-backpacker-to-be-freed-on-500000-bail.html Then they said this "compassion" has a price of $500,000. No money, no compassion. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/7998887/Irans-chief-prosecutor-says-American-backpacker-to-be-freed-on-500000-bail.html Check me if I'm wrong but isn't this transparent venality in the name of Islam an insult to Mohammad? If not why not? If so where's the Muslim outrage?

Madison Looks at Virginia and PennsylvaniaThe earnest professor of history examines the state governments of Virginia and Pennsylvania with a fine-tooth comb, comparing how the states separate their powers. Federalist #48Separation of Powers (Part 2 of 5) James Madison, 1 February 1788 1 To the People of the State of New York: *** 2 It was shown in the last paper that the political apothegm there examined does not require that the legislative, executive and judiciary departments should be wholly unconnected with each other. 3 I shall undertake in the next place to show that unless these departments be so...

The Boulder Valley School District's ambitious plans for a restructured school lunch program, with an emphasis on healthy food cooked from scratch, are moving forward. But criticism of bland food that's not kid-friendly is still prevalent, leaving questions about whether enough families will choose the hot-lunch option to keep the program self-sufficient. The district sent an e-mail plea earlier this month, encouraging families to show their support for the changes by having their students buy school lunches. The Boulder Valley school board has supported the changes, with members saying they expect it to take time for some kids -- and...

Mexican marines have arrested Sergio Villarreal Barragán, a suspected leader of the Beltrán Leyva cartel, in the central state of Puebla as reported by The Associated Press. Meanwhile, in Arizona sixteen individuals suspected of Mexican drug cartel ties "have been indicted on charges of smuggling drugs through Arizona to Illinois, North Carolina and other states" as reported by KTAR. No word yet on whether the Obama Administration intends on suing Arizona's attorney general Terry Goddard to enjoin him from enforcing the state's laws against drug trafficking.

Esquire Magazine discovered a secret technique used in the pants making industry called "vanity sizing," a merchandizing trick of sizes that make you feel good and want to buy the clothes. Eyewitness News bought four pairs of labeled 36-inch waist pants from different retailers. Old Navy's pants measured 39 inches and H&M at 39.5 inches, while Banana Republic and The Gap both came in at 40 inches. Esquire Magazine's own test measured H&M's size 36-inch dress pants as 37 inches, Calvin Klein's Dylan pant as 38.5 inches, and The Gap as 39 inches. The worst was Old Navy, coming in...

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), spent $823,200 of economic stimulus funds in 2009 on a study by a UCLA research team to teach uncircumcised African men how to wash their genitals after having sex. The genitalia-washing program is part of a larger $12-million UCLA study examining how to better encourage Africans to undergo voluntary HIV testing and counseling – however, only the penis-washing study received money from the 2009 economic stimulus law. The washing portion of the study is set to end in 2011... Because AIDS researchers have been...

Monday, September 13 Energy Converter To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me. Colossians 1:29 (NIV) Recommended Reading Colossians 1:9-13 If you've ever plugged a hair dryer into a socket in another country, you know the risks. Many people have burned up their appliances. It's not such a big deal if it's a razor; but a laptop computer is another matter. Some nations use 220 volts; others 110. Most of us get confused about DC and AC, and we're wary of plugging our electronics into strange-looking sockets and hoping for the best....

Gov. Jennifer Granholm's "Cool Cities" initiative has not done much to help the working middle class. Joel Kotin, a professor at Chapman University, sheds light on what is happening in American cities in an article appearing in "The American" titled "Urban Plight: Vanishing Upward Mobility." Mr. Kotin points to a Brookings Institution study that found that New York City and Los Angeles have the smallest share of middle-income neighborhoods of all American cities. The Brookings Institution found that in 2007, Manhattan ranked first in social inequality, with the top 20 percent earning over 50 times more than the bottom 20...

Mark Shields on Friday demonstrated just how far a liberal media member is willing to go to support President Obama and the Democrat Party.

CLICK ON ABOVE LINK FOR COMPLETE EXPLANATION AND CHARTS HERE's A SUMMARY : * 45 million Americans were living in poverty in 2009 * 2009 saw the largest single year increase in the U.S. poverty rate since the U.S. government began calculating poverty figures back in 1959 * The U.S. poverty rate is now the third worst among the developed nations tracked by the OECD * Household participation in the food stamp program has increased 20.28% since last year * The number of Americans on food stamps surpassed 41 million for the first time ever in June * As of...

Catholic bishops have likened the Pope to the headline act at a series of gigs in a ‘cringe-worthy’ guide to his visit this week which insiders fear exposes the Church to ridicule. In a list of ‘useful terms’ in the official booklet, the three open-air Papal masses – the most solemn occasions of the historic trip – are referred to as ‘shows’ or ‘gigs’, terms normally associated with rock concerts. The document also compares the clergy who organise services – known as liturgists – to ‘performers’ or ‘artists’. It refers to the ‘Holy Father’ and the bishops as ‘headline act(s)’...

Maureen Dowd used her 9/11 Op-Ed pulpit in the New York times this past weekend not to recount stories of the tragedy, nor to give rise to support for anyone involved in overcoming what remains an ongoing battle to recover from that most infamous of days. Rather she decided to whine about how Obama has lost her RINO sister Peggy's support, as if anyone should care. Buried within that drivel is yet another example of why so many of us out here in flyover country get our news and opinion from sources like Breitbart, HotAir, Drudge, FreeRepublic, the Times UK...

A survey by one of France's oldest and most reputable polling and market research organisations has challenged the myth of the French lover. More than three-quarters of Gallic couples have bad sex lives, the Institute for Public Opinion found. More than one in three women said they had used excuses such as headaches, tiredness or children being nearby to get out of having sex. Nearly one in six men said they had also made similar excuses. France has long enjoyed a reputation for romance and the French have traditionally thought of themselves as great lovers, more amorous and flirtatious than...

The imam leading the effort to build an Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero says there is a "misperception" that the proposed site is sacred ground. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said Monday that the location where the center would be built, two blocks from the World Trade Center, has a strip joint and betting parlors nearby. He says it's "absolutely disingenuous" to suggest that it is "hallowed ground." He also says the location is important, because it will serve as a platform where the voice of moderate Muslims can be amplified. Rauf make his remarks before the Council...

In his new film "The Conspirator," director Robert Redford digs into a little-known angle of one of the best-known moments in American history: the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Instead of dealing with the shooting in the Ford's Theater in Washington, already a movie subject, Redford takes aim at a back story to the 1865 assassination of the U.S. president -- a complex plot that resulted in seven men and one woman being arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the president, the vice president, and the secretary of state.

<p>FIVE Muslim men planned an armed terrorist attack on a Sydney army base to further the cause of Islam by killing as many people as possible, a Supreme Court jury heard today.</p> <p>Prosecutor Nick Robinson SC said the men took a number of steps in preparation for the attack, including sending one of their number to Somalia to obtain a fatwa or religious decree to permit the plan to go ahead.</p>

There are more than enough fugitive illegal aliens terrorizing us to populate a midsize American city. These skunks have already been taken into custody, brought before a judge and ordered into a process designed to end in their deportation. If we had a sane policy toward securing our borders by now most if not all of them would be gone. Unfortunately our system is not geared toward kicking these criminals out. It is actually a fraudulent scheme to build Democrat Party registration ranks, because incredibly after their initial court appearances our system releases illegal aliens on the strength of their...