Free Republic

Economic trends foreceaster Gerald Celente bears news nobody wants to hear: the economic crisis is going to get worse. ABC6 Anchor John Deluca travelled to New York to talk with Mr. Celente, who has been featured by major newspapers and television networks, and asked the question on everyone's mind: how much worse?

They may both lean to the right and share similar dye jobs, but that doesn't mean Elizabeth Hasselbeck wants to be lumped in with caustic conservative Ann Coulter.

SAN DIEGO -- Have you noticed the little orange cones surrounding a certain ill-fated vice presidential candidate? When a presidential nominee chooses a running mate as a gimmick, not to accentuate his strengths but to mask his weaknesses, he is asking for trouble. And when that running mate becomes a laughingstock and a liability, it doesn't just hurt the ticket but also reflects poorly on the person who did the choosing because it shows he bungled a major decision. And since the candidate is not likely to choose again, the best he can do is to keep his running mate...

WASHINGTON - Deep seated racial misgivings could cost Barrack Obama the Whitehouse if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo news poll that found one-third of white harbor negative views toward blacks -- many calling them "lazy", "violent" or responsible for their own troubles.

Just days after Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was made the surprise Republican candidate for vice president, she has been vigorously attacked on left-wing blogs and even her hometown newspapers. It's a stark contrast from the 80 per cent approval rating she enjoys as governor in an out-of-the-way state.

Any chance Barack Obama would carry Arkansas dried up Friday. Neither Obama nor his running mate, Joe Biden, could come to Arkansas without Bill or Hillary and draw much more than a polite crowd. New GOP vice presidential pick Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska could. She'd have to go to the Embassy Suites in Rogers, the corporate hanger out at Northwest Regional Airport or the Springdale Convention Center, but she'd draw one. I could see her in a duck blind in Stuttgart wearing camo and an NRA cap, too. GOP candidate John McCain united his party by picking this conservative...

As John McCain has shocked pretty much everybody with his pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, it's important to prepare for the attacks on her that will be launched, starting this afternoon, by the Democrats and the media. For attack they will, relentlessly. And they'll start with these three things:

Reaction to Republican presidential candidate John McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate: ___ "Gov. Palin is a proven reformer who is a wise steward of taxpayer dollars and champion for accountability in government. Gov. Palin's success is due to her dedication to principle and her roll-up-your-sleeves work ethic and serves as a wonderful example of the spirit of America. By selecting a working mother with a track record of getting things done, Sen. McCain has once again demonstrated his commitment to reforming Washington." — President Bush.

......What do you get when you combine lax caucus rules with bare-knuckle Chicago politics? Caucus fraud – which was rampant, many of the pro-Hillary groups opposing Obama’s nomination allege. A 98-page report that documents and analyses the caucuses held in 14 states, including CO, HI, IA, KS and MN cites numerous examples of voter disenfranchisement, intimidation and fraud:

The Department of Defense has awarded Bell Helicopter and partner The Boeing Co. a five-year, $10.4 billion contract to make 167 V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The contract includes 26 CV-22 aircraft for the Air Force Special Operations Command and 141 MV-22 aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps. The contract includes an option for additional aircraft. The fuselage for the V-22 is built by Boeing Rotorcraft Systems in Philadelphia. Bell builds components for the aircraft in Fort Worth and completes final assembly at its Military Aircraft Assembly Center in Amarillo. The V-22 is a tiltrotor aircraft with proprotors and engines installed...

John McCain has already succeeded in winning over the conservative base despite all the media hype to the contrary, says nationally syndicated talk show host Michael Medved. In an exclusive interview with Newsmax, Medved said he believed the entire story about the breach between McCain and the conservative movement was “media hype,” projected by the mainstream liberal-leaning media and by certain talk show hosts on the right. “The MSM emphasized the alleged split because it was a story line that weakened Republicans and suggested a crippled Republican candidate,” the popular conservative radio host said. On the right were individuals “so...

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. will have a new sponsor in 2008. Hendrick Motorsports announced Friday that long-term contractual commitments to the team's current sponsors will preclude Budweiser as primary sponsor of Earnhardt's car when he joins Hendrick next season. We have agreements in place with sponsors for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, which prevent us from having a relationship with Budweiser,'' team owner Rick Hendrick said in a statement. ``Honoring our commitments is important to us. The trade-off is missing an opportunity to bring Budweiser, a marquee brand synonymous with NASCAR and its fans, into the...

HUMANS are just one of the millions of species on Earth, but we use up almost a quarter of the sun's energy captured by plants - the most of any species. The human dominance of this natural resource is affecting other species, reducing the amount of energy available to them by almost 10 per cent, scientists report. Researchers said the findings showed humans were using "a remarkable share" of the earth's plant productivity "to meet the needs and wants of one species". They also warned that the increased use of biofuels - such as ethanol and canola - should be...

WASHINGTON - A mechanical monster grabs the F-14 fighter jet and chews through one wing and then another, ripping off the Tomcat's appendages before moving onto its guts. Finally, all that's left is a pile of shredded rubble _ like the scraps from a Thanksgiving turkey. The Pentagon is paying a contractor at least $900,000 to destroy old F-14s, a jet affectionately nicknamed "the turkey," rather than sell the spares at the risk of their falling into the wrong hands, including Iran's. Within a workday, a $38 million fighter jet that once soared as a showpiece of U.S. airpower can...

NEW YORK - With his roommate still unconscious from a car crash, Anthony Giordano told officers he was the injured man's brother and took his wallet before embarking on a $22,000 spending spree, police said. Giordano, a former Long Island resident, was extradited to New York from South Carolina on Friday, according to the Suffolk County Police Department. He was facing charges of identity theft and grand larceny. Authorities said Giordano, 47, was already lying to his roommate at the time of the crash, telling Geoffrey MacMurdo he was a Sept. 11 victim and New York firefighter.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A woman was arrested Tuesday after her husband woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible headache and later learned he had a bullet lodged in his head. St. Lucie County Sheriff's deputies initially thought Michael Eugene Moylan had been hit by a stray bullet, but later realized the couple's story did not match up, Sheriff Ken Mascara said. April Moylan, 39, was arrested Tuesday and was in the process of being charged with attempted murder, Mascara said.

NEW YORK -- OK, Mike Nifong committed misconduct. I'll go ahead and say that right now. I recall watching the start of the Duke rape trial last year, as District Attorney Nifong appeared to be as cocky as Star Jones fresh out of liposuction. My significant other (who happens to be an attorney) watched in disgust, yelling at the top of her lungs "What in the hell is he doing! You shouldn't be on TV running your mouth like that!" That's when I knew Nifong was in trouble. My girl is not only drop dead gorgeous, she is also a...

Kaziah, an artist from Utah paints portraits of fallen US soldiers

If you're a woman who's ever been stopped by former Trooper James Randy Moss, the Tennessee Highway Patrol wants to talk to you. Moss, 40, resigned from the THP last month after being accused of receiving oral sex from Knoxville porn actress Barbie Cummings during a traffic stop in Middle Tennessee. The resulting investigation has expanded to cover more than 25 previous traffic stops by Moss, all involving women drivers, said Tommy Thompson, 15th Judicial District attorney general.

BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT (TICKER) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. apparently will join forces with NASCAR's most successful team. Earnhardt is set to announce his intention to join Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, according to a report on ESPN.com on Tuesday. NASCAR's most popular driver, Earnhardt has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday at 11 a.m. EDT, when he likely will officially announce his intentions for next season.