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The buzz of anticipation rose as the hall filled. The reserved ringside seats were duly claimed by those of appropriate rank, usually sleek of dress and grey of head. More fans were expected — 700 or so — than there were seats to accommodate them, and ushers worked diligently, as the moment approached, to get all comers settled. Then, right on time, a small entourage arrived. Applause erupted at the sight of the old warrior framed in the doorway, his profile as instantly recognizable as any in Canada. And, as ever, the cheers lit him up. His always stiff...

I have some very disappointing news for some of the more-virulent foes of sane gun-control legislation. If you’re what the National Rifle Association loves to call a “law-abiding American citizen,” no one is going to take away your guns.

This animated video of a Northwestern rough legged hawk, brook fish, farm pig, Galapagos tortoise and bullfrogs singing the chorus to the hymn, "Revive Us Again", to inspire faith in Jesus our Lord. The voice of the frogs are myself and grandchildren, Taylor, Megan, Jamee.

Where to begin with the screed in The New Republic, “Original Sin: Why the GOP is and will continue to be the party of white people,” mislabeled “an historical investigation”? In his claim that racism is the original and irredeemable sin of Republicans, Tanenhaus sets up the contrast to “the civil rights pageantry of the [Obama second] inauguration—Abraham Lincoln’s Bible and Martin Luther King’s, Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s swearing in of Joe Biden, Beyoncé’s slinky glamor [sic], the verses read by the gay Cuban poet Richard Blanco.” In his enthusiasm, Tanenhaus missed the irony of using the word “pageantry,” which the...

MERIDIAN — Heritage Middle School went into lockdown Thursday morning after a report of an armed suspect inside the school. A few hours later, police confirmed that the suspect did not have a weapon, but rather a military-style folding shovel. The report of an armed individual came in to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office around 9 a.m. The weapon was initially believed to be a type of ax. The lockdown at Heritage, in Joint School District No. 2, and surrounding schools, lasted almost two hours. There were no injuries. The shovel was brought into the school from a car in...

One of the things that was apparent as I researched the book on Lexington, Virginia and the Civil War, was the mistreatment of Lexington's citizens (Union and Confederate) by Union general David Hunter's army. As my memory was refreshed, I also recalled how a number of Civil War bloggers have downplayed this aspect of the war, even questioning the veracity of some of the claims of Southern civilians; while others took a "so what?" attitude and, in some cases, actually became cheerleaders in justifying such treatment for the "slave-holding rebels." They often sound more like advocates of revenge than they...

This is from Hannity’s show last night and is the full hour with Dr. Ben Carson. Watch it while you can before it gets deleted from YouTube:

Obama's quiet ally: Who's behind gun control bill no one is talking about As President Obama comes to Chicago to talk gun control, Illinois' Republican senator, Mark Kirk, is pushing a bill to target gun trafficking. It's under the radar, but could have a greater impact than other bills. As President Obama pushes for gun control in Chicago Friday, an unexpected ally from his home state, Sen. Mark Kirk (R) of Illinois, is crossing party lines to propose legislation that could have a greater impact than higher-profile proposals to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, experts say. Senator Kirk and...

We've all heard about the free Obama phones. A friend was recently looking for a part-time work and found this listing on Craig's List [note: the "DMV" refers to DC, Maryland, Virginia]:

LAST SUMMER while driving home to Texas after participating in the first annual Artistic Horizons show in Bozeman, MT, Denise LaRue Mahlke swung through Yellowstone National Park. “One of the things that grabbed me there were the geyser pools,” she recalls. “They were infatuating to me. It was magical how they all looked so different. Some were like mud pots in opaque greens or reds. Others were clear, giant pools that looked incredibly deep and almost iridescent in shades of emerald and sapphire. One reminded me of a peacock feather. I could have stood and stared at them for hours,...

Every so often, you get a “teaching moment” in Washington, and we now have an excellent opportunity to educate lawmakers about the “offshore” world because President Obama’s nominee to be Treasury Secretary has been caught with his hand in the tax haven cookie jar. Mr. Lew not only invested some of his own money in a Cayman-based fund, he also was in charge of a Citi Bank division that had over 100 Cayman-domiciled funds.As you can imagine, Republicans are having some fun with this issue.Mitt Romney was subjected to a lot of class-warfare demagoguery during the 2012 campaign because he...

Two weeks and counting. Whitney Houston died on February 11, 2012. Her death was caused by choices she made on her own. President Barack Obama reacted within two days WASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama's thoughts and prayers are with Whitney Houston's family, especially her daughter. Press secretary Jay Carney says it's hard not to be an admirer of the singer's "immense talent." And, he says it's a tragedy to lose somebody so talented at such a young age. Carney said he wasn't sure if Obama and Houston ever had met. The 48-year-old singer died Saturday. He...

TAIPEI, Taiwan, - Animal rights advocates in Taiwan say that force-feeding pigs to make them super-large before offering them to the gods is inhumane. Activists held a rally Friday outside the Chingshui Zushi Temple in New Taipei City, the Taipei Times reported. The temple is one of a few in the country that still holds "divine pig" contests. Chen Yu-min, director of the Environmental and Animal Society Taiwan, said that Chingshui Zushi, the Buddhist teacher honored by the temple, was a vegetarian. "I would like to make it clear that we are not against the tradition of having pigs as...

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) — As soon as he heard officers were chasing the suspected cop killer in a stolen truck, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy Roger Loftis was certain: His buddy Jeremiah MacKay would be there. In 15 years with the department, "Jer" had earned about a dozen and a half awards for 10851s — the California penal code for grand theft auto. Once, while heading to a bar to celebrate another award, MacKay noticed there were no keys in the ignition of the car next to him at a traffic light, and he veered off. He waltzed...

As the gun control debate rages on, we’ve seen a host of gun-rights advocates standing up for the Second Amendment. In addition to citizens, the NRA, the National Sheriffs Association and countless others, a number of companies—including gun manufacturers, sporting good retailers and gunsmiths—are now taking a stand by refusing to sell to law enforcement in New York and other states with restrictive gun laws. The message in these companies’ statements is essentially about equality—local law enforcement and government agencies should not have rights that citizens do not. Thus, if states such as New York choose to adopt restrictive gun...

Average planetary temperatures haven’t budged in 16 years. Hurricanes and strong tornadoes are at or near their lowest ebb in decades. Global sea ice is back to normal, while the Antarctic icepack continues to grow. The rate of sea level rise remains what it was in 1900. And yet, President Obama and many politicians, newscasters and alarmist scientists continue to insist that carbon dioxide emissions are changing Earth’s climate, and we need to take immediate action to prevent storms like Hurricane Sandy and avert catastrophes predicted by IPCC computer models and “scientific consensus.” Not surprisingly, polls show public support...

I have a tech question: how does one make a jpeg picture link viewable as a picture on free republic? For example, if I want to show this jpeg photo of President Reagan and Mrs. Thatcher: http://www.donnamoderna.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/moda/accessori/thatcher/ronald-reagan-e-margaret-thatcher/67684353-1-ita-IT/Ronald-Reagan-e-Margaret-Thatcher.jpg How can I show the photo itself and not just the link? Many thanks in advance to whoever can show me how to do this.

A Maine Newspaper that had solicited concealed carry permit holder information from police agencies around the state for research and investigative purposes has rescinded its request following harsh criticism from state lawmakers. When Bangor Daily News invoked Maine’s ‘Freedom of Access Act’ to obtain gun owner information on Wednesday GOP politicians, including Gov. Paul LePage publicly decried the move. In a statement that was accompanied by a twitter post of a photo of the governor holding his CCW permit, LePage wrote, “If newspapers would like to know who has concealed weapons permits, then they should know the Governor has his.”...

WASHINGTON A future in which unmanned drones are as common in U.S. skies as helicopters and airliners has moved a step closer to reality with a government request for proposals to create six drone test sites around the country.

Since James Madison's 1815 Address, the 'linguistic standard' of the State of the Union speech has plunged. As The Guardian notes, the lowest on record was George H.W. Bush's 1992 address - only just beating Obama's 2011 address for 'dumbest' speech ever. Whether this is representative of the American people as a whole or the lowest common denominator is unclear but one thing in this evening's speech comes to mind; if you were the President, would you invite, as your personal guest, a CEO who 1) has overseen massive wealth destruction in the last six months, 2) refuses to spend...