Free Republic

It’s not clear when, how or why April became National Grilled Cheese Month, but for those of us who truly love this tasty meal or snack, it’s a great thing. Here are a few fun facts to know about grilled cheese and the quest to find a favorite!

Orly Taitz on Night Lights with James Lambert 21MAR11-part 1of2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ll2tSD6qYgc Orly on Night Lights 21MAR11 part 2of2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcDa46-y2Co&feature=related

The US Navy has fired a laser gun from one of its ships for the first time. Researchers used the high-energy laser (HEL) to disable a boat by setting fire to its engines off the coast of California. Similar systems had previously been tested on land, however moist sea air presented an extra challenge as it reduces a beam's power. The navy said that ship-borne lasers could eventually be used to protect vessels from small attack boats. The US military has been experimenting with laser weapons since the 1970s. Early systems used large, chemical-based lasers which tended to produce dangerous...

On April 5, President Obama kicked off his newly-minted presidential campaign by announcing that he would be conducting a “Facebook town hall” event streaming live via the website and via the White House website on April 20. Just to ensure that the Facebook audience recognizes that this isn’t merely another media appearance but an endorsement of Obama by the Facebook executives, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg quizzed Obama before an audience of over 1,000 Facebook employees and other internet mavens. The recorded result will be chopped up and distributed via Facebook and the White House...

Otherworldly Planet Rise .Explanation: What would a sunrise look like on another world? So far, humanity has only recorded sunrises on Mars and Earth, but it is fun to wonder what they would look like on planets known and yet unknown. Planets far from their parent star would record the rise of an unusually bright point of light rather than a round orb. Although this might appear to be what is pictured above, the careful combination of long exposures and creative lighting is actually based on Venus-rise from planet Earth a few weeks ago, captured through Mesa Arch in Canyonlands...

The crisis in the Ivory Coast has important lessons for Europe, Israel and the United States. And none of these lessons is being conveyed by the Western media. The most important aspects of the crisis in the Ivory Coast are being overlooked or deliberately disguised by the Western media. One can read media report after media report without discovering the basic fact that the Northern Ivory Coast “rebels” are Muslims. Indeed they are Muslims who by and large entered the Ivory Coast as infiltrators, through borders that are poorly patrolled, from neighboring countries. A better advertisement for stronger border control...

NYSE Euronext has rejected an $11.3 billion buyout offer made by Atlanta-based IntercontinentalExchange Inc. and NASDAQ OMX. ICE (NYSE: ICE) and NASDAQ (NASDAQ: NDAQ) said in a joint statement NYSE Euronext's board of directors “without engaging in any dialogue or discussion, has summarily elected to deny its stockholders the opportunity to benefit from a clearly superior proposal to the announced transaction with Deutsche Börse, a proposed transaction that is indisputably financially inferior.” The NASDAQ-ICE bid for the New York Stock Exchange is in competition with a $10.2 billion offer made by Deutsche Börse AG, Germany’s biggest exchange. The two also...

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is vowing to Newsmax readers that organized labor will not steal back the dramatic come-from-behind victory of Supreme Court Justice David Prosser even if unions end up paying for a recount. On Friday, Gov. Walker visited Newsmax and its CEO, Christopher Ruddy, at the company's West Palm Beach, Fla. headquarters. In his exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV — part of a national tour to drum up national support for his dramatic fight against public unions who are seeking recall elections of Walker allies in the Wisconsin legislature — the Republican governor says there is no way any...

Although publicly, representatives suggest Winfrey has, and always will support the president, an insider told Pop Eater’s Rob Shuter (recycled with a different headline spin in the NY Daily News) that Winfrey will hold back on any 2008-style endorsement efforts. ... This is where the Wisconsin union thugs should come in. I think they should send a letter to The Oprah and demand that she publicly and enthusiastically support The One – aka The Zero – during his reelection bid or they will assume she is supporting the opposing candidate(s) by default and suffer the consequences.

President Obama over the weekend had his 63rd golf outing since moving into the White House. But he's not a golf enthusiast so much -- he really just wants some fresh air. "It's the only excuse I have to get outside for four hours at a stretch," he said in an interview with Hearst Magazines. Obama said he loves the White House but misses things from normal life -- especially on the weekends. "I just miss -- I miss being anonymous," he said. "I miss Saturday morning, rolling out of bed, not shaving, getting into my car with my girls,...

(CNSNews.com) – At a time of dramatic change in the Arab world, senior figures from more than 30 Arab and other Muslim-majority countries will be in Washington, D.C., this week for the annual U.S.-Islamic World Forum, the first to be held in the United States. For the second consecutive year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will play a prominent role at the forum. On Tuesday evening, she will be the guest speaker at the highlight of the three-day event, an invitation-only gala dinner. Earlier in the day, the forum will be opened by Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)...

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon said Monday the military intervention in Libya cost the U.S. an extra $608 million in the first few of weeks of the operation. Spending is down significantly, though not as much as expected. Defense Department spokeswoman Navy Cmdr. Kathleen Kesler said it will take several weeks to tally exactly how much has been spent. But $608 million is the price tag officials have estimated through April 4 — or for 17 days of the mission, the most recent figures available. The estimate shows a large drop from what the U.S. spent in the early days of...

(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Michele Bachmann (R.-Minn.), who leads the Tea Party Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives and who is considering running for president in 2012, expressed adamant opposition to the spending deal agreed to late Friday night by House Speaker John Boehner (R.-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) and President Barack Obama. “Make no mistake: I oppose this negotiated deal,” Bachmann said in a Twitter message sent out at about 11:00 am on Saturday. “It does not: Cut enough spending, stop funding Planned Parenthood, or defund Obamacare.” Bachmann also expressed her opposition to the deal in a...

Even though the article states kids have been forced to eat the lunches provided by the government for six years, there is no information provided about the health and wellness of the kids. Where are the results from the past six years? How is the obesity rate? How about the diabetes rate?

Some are amused, and some are offended, by Donald Trump's wallowing in the depths of birtherism all over TV news. But not Sarah Palin. When asked about Trump's latest cause--tracking down President Obama's birth certificate--Palin said, "More power to him!" Speaking on Fox News, Palin explained that she approved of how Trump is "not just throwing stones, you know, from the sidelines. He's digging in there. He's paying for researchers to know why President Obama would have spent $2 million to not show his birth certificate."

Few people have ever attracted more polarization than Sarah Palin has. Since her name was announced as John McCain’s running mate in 2008, she has been at the center of controversy. Many Americans love Palin, but an equally large number despise her. Those who speak so ill of her claim she is completely incompetent to be in a leadership position. That may not be entirely true. After becoming governor of Alaska in 2007, Palin immediately passed a state bill on political ethics. This bill requires all Alaskan representatives to receive ethics training, and increases the amount of money a lobbyist...

Two medical clinics run by Catholic Charities provided substandard care to poor immigrants in Maryland and the District, failing to promptly treat emergency cases, properly process and monitor critical lab tests, and reliably document serious errors, according to a lawsuit filed by a former clinic doctor.The suit alleges that in one case a clinic in Silver Spring failed to adequately monitor a 32-year-old woman’s blood-thinning medication three years ago and that the oversight might have contributed to her death from internal bleeding. The whistleblower lawsuit, filed Thursday in D.C. Superior Court, identifies the plaintiff, Charles Briggs, as the sole staff...

Obama and congress are shifting from short-term budget concerns to debates over the nation's long-term economic future,and everything - from Medicare and Medicaid cuts to tax hikes for the wealthy - are on the table.

Pictures are worth a thousand words. This one, via Jason Hart at thathero, is a priceless rejoinder to the class-warfare demagoguery of the public employee unions: As Jason explains: “Consider the average OEA employee’s pay, stacked up against the averages for Ohio private industry workers, government employees, and teachers…The data (aggregated here in a single Excel workbook) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ohio Department of Education, and US Department of Labor paint a picture that belies the union’s class warfare routine. But hey, let’s play their game: while the OEA continues lobbying for higher taxes, think about where...

Article For Immediate Release April 8, 2011 Grassley: More ATF Whistleblowers Come Forward; Senator Seeks Information on Guidance from Headquarters             WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today requested information from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) about guidance it may have given to agents in the field in responding to Grassley’s requests.   Grassley’s inquiry comes in response to documents that the ATF released through the Freedom of Information Act.  Within those documents was an email to the Deputy Director of the ATF, Billy Hoover, regarding suggestions on how ATF agents should be directed to respond...