Free Republic

One singer's rocky performance of the national anthem had her asking for a do-over in the middle of the song. Singer Loomis performed “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Free & Equal Elections Foundation presidential debate featuring third-party candidates on Oct. 24. Loomis' performance kicked off the live taping. She successfully belted out the first few lines of the song but appeared rattled once she got to a higher note and her voice cracked out of pitch. After struggling to sing, "And the rockets’ red glare," Loomis said into the mic, “I f---ed it up. I f---ed it up. Can...

Bandit9’s EVE Odyssey V2 looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. With a top speed of 68 mph and fuel efficiency of 156 mpg, it is compact, efficient, handcrafted, and... Probably about as comfy whichever way you sit on it. In the realm of custom bikes, Bandit9 Motors has carved out a distinct identity for itself since it was established in 2009. Under the direction of Daryl Villanueva, the company continues to explore the limits of motorcycle innovation. Over the years, we've enjoyed several Bandit9 pieces, including the insane supermarine motorcycle and a liquid-metal-electric scooter shaped like a...

Lynchburg mayor shuts down critics, exerts ‘chilling effect on free speech’ amid controversy At an explosive city council meeting last month, Mayor Stephanie Reed called for the press to be shut out.

Dems return to Tammany Hall tactics with backroom dealings to boot Biden Smoke-filled Rooms? Should Biden opt to step aside, it is far from certain that Vice President Kamala Harris would be the automatic stand-in on the party ticket. As Democratic powerbrokers attempt to pressure President Joe Biden into bowing out of reelection, his departure could set up a messy selection process for his replacement that circumvents the primary electorate and threatens to send the party back to the days of Tammany Hall. Biden, 81, has faced calls to step aside as the party nominee in the wake of his...

"har-dee-har-har! just a fictionalization!"

Czech company UDX is flying scale prototypes of a tandem 2-up eVTOL it calls Airwolf. With individually-tilting ducted fan propulsion, it's got enough wing surface for efficient cruise flight as well as agile movement from a hover. Imagine waking early Sunday morning to ride the twisty coastal mountains of beautiful southern California. It's going to be a perfect day and you expect exactly zero traffic, because you're leaving the Hayabusa in the garage and taking your UDX Airwolf hoverbike. You don your lid, crank up your favorite tunes, spin up the ducted fans, lift off and hover out of your...

(It’s a British pub, see)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbY9tXMVXDY

Your ol' pal marty is philosophically opposed to paying a lot for his cigars. Yeah, yeah, I know, Arturo Fuente this and My Father that. Fine smokes, I'm sure, but too rich for my blood. So here are my two latest fave cigar-buying sites for you similarly-minded tightwads: CigarBidCigarPageYou're welcome.

(EXCERPTED) Lawmakers in Sacramento pass plenty of complex, arcane measures every year that can be hard to wrap your head around. But they also pass laws that can have a pretty direct impact on everyday Californians’ lives, including some coming online in 2024 that could affect your commute, your annual camping trip or your paycheck. Here are 16 new laws that will kick in next year, beginning with the ones that go into effect on Jan. 1. Kicking in on Jan. 1 Campsite reservations Gender-neutral toy sections Speed cameras Expanded paid sick and reproductive loss leave Employment protections for cannabis...

A great motorcycle battery provides your engine with the power needed to start your bike regardless of the weather conditions. It's the backbone of your bike’s performance. However, not all batteries are the same. You need the right battery that's built for your bike and provides the best performance. Our buying guide offers a rundown of some of the best motorcycle batteries on the market today. Summary List Best Overall: Yuasa High-Performance AGM Best Value: Mighty Max Best Premium: Shorai LFX Best Lead-Acid: Yuasa Yumicron Our Methodology The first thing to figure out before you order a new battery is...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNbcTorZn3c

Video at link: https://www.rideapart.com/news/689483/gold-wing-offroad-sand-dunes/

Reedley is a small city in California’s San Joaquin Valley, just east of Fresno. But a troubling discovery there in early March has recently come to light — and raises a number of questions. It began with a garden hose attached illegally to a warehouse near the center of town. The building was supposed to be vacant. When code enforcement officers from the city went to investigate, they discovered that it was in use and observed several code violations. “It was pretty clear right off the bat that something was going on we didn’t have a business license for,” Reedley...

Motorcycle to the U.S., But it's Not What You Think The small-displacement Harley-Davidson X350 RA will only be used in dealership training schools. It won't be offered for sale to customers. Harley-Davidson’s image is as star-spangled as anything. And in 2023, that presents a challenge: Building motorcycles in the U.S. is expensive. So when Cycle World published evidence that seemed to indicate Harley was about to import a made-in-China motorcycle to the U.S., Harley fans got notably concerned. The truth is perhaps less scary: Yes, Harley is going to import the Chinese-made bike you see above to the U.S., but...

Bandit9 hops on the space-game wagon. It won’t be sending its motorcycle up into the void – at least not for now – but it toys with the materials NASA spacecraft uses, one in specific. The revamped EVE ODYSSEY adopts the space-grade aluminum used by NASA for its rocket designs. The glint it gives off may reflect the same properties of aluminum space rockets are enveloped with. More than the material, EVE ODYSSEY captures attention with its unibody form, styled like a bullet on the loose. Bandit9 describes EVE ODYSSEY as a bringer of order to complexity. It does so...