Free Republic

If it weren’t for the tea party, Congress would work well, Hollywood actor Sean Penn said during a recent appearance on CNN with host Piers Morgan. And he also said tea partyers should be forcibly committed for mental health treatment. Really, the tea party is to blame for nearly all of the issues facing Congress, he said, as Politico reported. “I think they have — there’s a mental health problem in Congress,” Mr. Penn said. “This would be solved by committing them by executive order, I think. Because these are our American brothers and sisters, we shouldn’t be criticizing them,...

~ FR Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Halloween: Trick or Treat!! ~ WELCOME JIG Two little girls dance with anticipation as they wait for a welcoming home ceremony to begin on Fort Steward, Ga., March, 7, 2013. Fifty soldiers, assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, returned home after being deployed for more than six months in Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Richard Wrigley Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before....

The sign will soon read “Will Work for Responsible Government” – mark it down. I’m sorry to have to come across as a cruel hearted fellow (nah, I’m not really sorry), but, as we go forward with the series of biblical plagues emanating from the Obama administration and the Democrats in Congress and I hear sniveling, I’m going to start asking people in a rather direct (translate – rude) manner, “who did you vote for?” Because why? Because elections have consequences, Mr. Tears of a Clown. Wait for it my friends, it’s coming. Democrats wailing and gnashing of teeth because...

The president said Wednesday that the notices sent to consumers suggest that they're losing their coverage "somehow because of the Affordable Care Act." He argued, however, that consumers only lost coverage if insurers altered those policies at all after the law took effect. In that case, Mr. Obama said, insurers had to "replace them with quality, comprehensive coverage." "Today that promise means that every plan in the marketplace covers a core set of minimum requirements," he said. Insurers "can't use allergies or pregnancy... or the fact that you're a woman to charge you more." He advised the public, "If you're...

WASHINGTON – US State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki responded Wednesday to Israel's announcement of building 1,500 units in east Jerusalem saying "We do not consider continued settlement activity or east Jerusalem construction to be steps that create a positive environment for the negotiations." At no time in the course of pursuing negotiations toward a two-state solution have we condoned settlement activity or east Jerusalem construction," she added. Psaki stressed the importance of the peace talks and the need to resolve the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. She added that releasing prisoners is a difficult but necessary step to guarantee an...

Reading the political news every day can get quite depressing as one continually sees an insane lack of common sense from the Republican establishment. In a perfect world, every elected member of the Republican party (and the inner bosses) would adhere to Constitutional principles and stand united against the anti-American forces of progressive liberalism. Sadly, we don't live in a perfect world and this is reflected in the Republican establishment hell-bent on destroying the Tea Party. This is utter political suicide as that, without the fiscally conservative Tea Party base, Republicans will not likely be able to gain seats in...

October 30th, 2013 08:02 PM ET 41 minutes ago Biden apologizes, says Obama tried to log on to health site Posted by CNN Staff (CNN) – President Barack Obama tried to log onto the Obamacare website, according to Vice President Joe Biden, who added his name to those apologizing for the online snafu that has rocked the introduction of the administration's sweeping health care initiative. "The President tried to get online and my daughter tried to get online. I did not, because it was clear that I wasn't getting online," Biden told CNN's sister network HLN on Wednesday. The Vice...

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "totally blew it," during today's testimony, in Buzzfeed's estimation. We agree. Here are ten reasons why: (1) Despite calling Obamacare's roll-out a "debacle" (over which she's presided), Sebelius still attempted happy talk: "The Affordable Care Act, by any fair measure, is working for millions of Americans." - Sebelius — Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 30, 2013 (2) She actually said Obamacare's disastrous website "has never crashed," (!) adding that it is "functional." That claim requires some hardcore parsing to even remotely justify, and regardless, it's insanely terrible messaging. As if on cue, Healthcare.gov...crashed this morning and remained...

Kyle Olson of EAGnews, an education reform non-profit based in Muskegon, recently published a video exposing the content of the curriculum that will be used by fourth grade teachers for the Common Core national standards in English. Olson takes issue with the use of a children’s book called “The Jacket.” Olson explains, “The story centers around a young white boy named Phil who wrongly accuses an African-American student of stealing his brother’s jacket. This is a fun little book about racism and white privilege – a left-wing concept that teaches students the values of an American society are actually designed...

The largest Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation in Texas has voted to leave the mainline denomination over theological differences. Highland Park Presbyterian Church of Dallas, which has approximately 4,000 members, overwhelmingly approved a resolution recently that would involve the congregation seeking dismissal from PC (USA). Eighty-nine percent of the members present at the Congregational and Corporate Meeting held at the church voted in favor of leaving PC (USA). Last month, Highland Park Presbyterian leadership unanimously approved a resolution to begin the process of dismissal from PC (USA). The Session recommended dismissal from the mainline denomination and membership into the newer more...

<p>Here’s a sobering thought for you. A global wine shortage may be around the corner.</p> <p>According to a report released this week by Morgan Stanley Research, there was a global undersupply of about 300 million cases of wine in 2012, the largest deficit recorded in almost 50 years.</p>

NFL kickers are so accurate now, they’ve booted field-goal drama between the uprights, over the netting and right out of the stadium. Almost every kicker is “Mr. Automatic.” They seldom miss. It’s time to make their jobs more difficult with a couple of drastic rule changes. Placekicking success in the NFL has been trending upward for decades, and shows no signs of plateauing. Halfway through the 2013 season, placekickers are on pace to set the league’s season record for field-goal success: 86.0%. From every 10-yard increment, in fact, kickers are better than ever. (See accompanying chart.) Even on attempts from...

Borders , language and culture !

The Boomerang Nebula, called the “coldest place in the Universe,” reveals its true shape with ALMA. The background blue structure, as seen in visible light with the Hubble Space Telescope, shows a classic double-lobe shape with a very narrow central region. ALMA’s resolution and ability to see the cold molecular gas reveals the nebula’s more elongated shape, as seen in red. Credit: Bill Saxton; NRAO/AUI/NSF; NASA/Hubble; Raghvendra Sahai Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array telescope, astronomers view the coldest known object in the Universe, the Boomerang Nebula. At a cosmologically crisp one degree Kelvin (minus 458 degrees Fahrenheit), the...

Kyle Olson of EAGnews, an education reform non-profit based in Muskegon, recently published a video exposing the content of the curriculum that will be used by fourth grade teachers for the Common Core national standards in English. Olson takes issue with the use of a children’s book called “The Jacket.” Olson explains, “The story centers around a young white boy named Phil who wrongly accuses an African-American student of stealing his brother’s jacket. This is a fun little book about racism and white privilege – a left-wing concept that teaches students the values of an American society are actually designed...

A spike in the trafficking of the illegal drug Captagon, popular in the Middle East, is connected to Syria's brutal civil war ... In one month, Lebanese authorities confiscated more than $200 million worth of a potent amphetamine that is almost entirely unheard of in the West. But in the Persian Gulf, Captagon, as the amphetamine is known, is the most sought-after drug on the street, and the conflict in Syria, with its attendant lawlessness, is making it even easier to obtain. As the war drags on, it is all the more likely that Captagon will take on a significant...

Defending President Barack Obama's much-maligned health care law in Congress, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was confronted Wednesday with a government memo that raised security concerns about the website consumers are using to enroll. The document, obtained by The Associated Press, shows that administration officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were concerned that a lack of testing posed a potentially "high" security risk for the HealthCare.gov website serving 36 states. Security issues are a new concern for the troubled HealthCare.gov website. If they cannot be resolved, they could prove to be more serious than the...

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We are currently learning whether the United States really needs a president. Barack Obama has become a mere figurehead, who gives speeches few listen to any more, issues threats that scare fewer, and makes promises that almost no one believes he will keep. Yet America continues on, despite the fact that the foreign and domestic policies of Barack Obama are unraveling, in a manner unusual even for star-crossed presidential second terms. Abroad, American policy in the Middle East is leaderless and in shambles after the Arab Spring — we’ve had the Syrian fiasco and bloodbath, leading from behind in Libya...

Members of the Allied Forces Foundation Pipe and Drum Corps play bagpipes in Union Station in Washington, D.C. (CNSNews.com/James Beattie) (CNSNews.com) - An organization that serves British and American soldiers and its families was told by Union Station security in Washington, D.C., Saturday that it could not play its bagpipes, because it did not have a permit. The Allied Forces Foundation (AFF), which helps wounded soldiers and their families in the United Kingdom as well as the United States, had a luncheon at Pizzeria Uno’s on Saturday for their families and supporters in the buildup to the Marine Corps...