Free Republic

Clumsy People with Guns (all-new) People who accidentally shot themselves recently: A 22-year-old driver, in the abdomen (gun in waistband) while reaching down to pick up money (Colorado Springs, Colo., October). A 34-year-old hunter, in the foot, where his rifle was pointed while he was loading it (Barrington, N.H., November). A 15-year-old boy, in the hand with a shotgun he was building based on instructions he had downloaded from the Internet (Round Rock, Texas, November). A 59-year-old man, in the hand, while removing his gun from a hook in the men's room at a gun show (Faribault, Minn., November). A...

FRANKLIN, Pa. -- Pennsylvania police said a man who died after being struck by a vehicle may have been left on a roadside for days because his body was apparently mistaken for a dead deer. The man was found on Monday by a motorist, who at first thought the man was a deer because of tan clothing and snow that covered part of his body. The motorist realized the man wasn't a deer after noticing his shoes.

Least Competent Criminals (1) Barbara King, 35, was arrested in Largo, Fla., in October on a warrant for forgery and prescription fraud; when police knocked on her door, a man told them that she wasn't home, but a 4-year-old girl standing alongside said, "Mommy's in the closet!" (2) Police in Memphis, Tenn., reported in October that they had closed down a crack house on Rosamond Street, a task made easier because the resident usually announced the start of business hours by hanging out a sign reading, "Crack House." (3) Christina Goodenow, 38, of Medford, Ore., was arrested in October for...

A woman is suing the Pizza Hut in Lehighton, Pa., because the hot poppers she ordered as an appetizer were, well, hot and popped when she bit into them. Sorana Georgescu-Hassanin claims she may be permanently impaired because the ''excessively hot'' oil in the deep-fried, cheese-stuffed hot pepper severely burned her chin. Her husband, Hatem Hassanin, is suing for the loss of companionship and comfort of his wife. They are suing Pizza Hut for at least $25,000! each. The suit names the Dallas corporation and Richard Whitso n, who owns the Lehighton franchise and his company, QSM, LLC. It says...

An ad for the club in the March 23 edition of the Student Daily Bulletin offered such instruction. "Having sex? Thinking about having sex?" the ad read. "Come to room A205 at lunch on April 4th for condom club. Learn to use a condom correctly and get free condoms from the Health Center."

FORT MYERS, Florida // A Florida woman has been arrested for padding her bra -- with a stolen parrot. Jill Knispel, 35, is facing felony charges after hiding a rare Greenwing parrot in her bra and stealing it from her employer, Baby Exotic Birds, police said. Knispel allegedly stole the bird so she could trade it for a vintage 1964 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia automobile. She couldn't resist telling the car's owner how she got the animal, according to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Turns out the car's owner is friends with the man who owns the $2,000 bird. DNA...

Heard On NPR - "I decide who to vote for ... Democratic Underground" Posted by Mr_Spock Added to homepage Sun Nov 06th 2005, 10:34 PM ET They had a segment where people were describing what information they used when deciding who to vote for. One person said "I get all my information on who to vote for from the Democratic Underground" - ok, I paraphrased the quote because I can't remember it exactly, but that was the jist of his statement. Kinda cool how much influence the internet (and especially DU) is having on the dialog in this country. DU...

Suggestions for what you can do: Host an 'indulgence' party. Encourage guests to wear whatever makes them feel good—sweat suits, flip flops, pajamas—and serve delicious, decadent foods or silly snacks without the guilt. A party is a great way to let your friends know about the Love Your Body campaign. A house party can be your "action" or a celebration at the end of a long day of actions and activities.

Any of you out there have experience with trying to get rid of this virus?

A practicing witch who sought to have her prayers heard at government meetings in a Richmond, Va., suburb had no magic before the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices rejected an appeal by Cyndi Simpson, a Wiccan priestess and member of the Broom Riders Association, who wanted to offer a generalized prayer to the "creator of the universe" in Chesterfield County, Va. "I wasn't going to talk about the goddess," Simpson said previous to today's decision. "I was going to call the elements, maybe offer up an invocation to the highest being."

Awesome Animals More Weird Mating Habits: The longest-lasting copulation, according to University of Arizona biologist John Alcock (interviewed for an August Knight Ridder story), is that of the lowly "stick insect" (of the phasmida family), which goes on for several months at a time, even though, he said, it is "not clear this is welcome to the female." The male attaches himself to the female's back, which allows her to continue with her daily routine during the mating, while also discouraging competitor males. According to other biologists, some ticks spend up to eight hours on what resembles foreplay, and butterflies,...

The winner of the Vonage Award for doing stupid things: In Clovis, N.M., in July, Danny J. Jimenez, 51, was sentenced to six years in prison for a pair of 2003 burglaries. Police had captured Jimenez by following the blood trail that stemmed from his encounter with a pawn shop's glass jewelry case. Later, investigators learned that an injury to Jimenez's head did not come from the jewelry case but occurred when Jimenez accidentally hit himself with a hammer while burglarizing a church later that night. Said a detective, "(Jimenez) had a big, round (indentation) in his forehead that was...

Super-Clumsy People Evelyn Davison, 74, of Austin, Texas, filed a lawsuit in June against a neighbor who had failed to bring in her empty garbage can after a pickup. Davison discovered it in her driveway, and, attempting to move it by herself, she said she was seriously injured when she accidentally fell into it. And the Minnesota Court of Appeals sent a case back to trial in May, ruling that Jenell Casarez could indeed sue Amy and David Klema for injuries suffered as a guest in their home. According to the lawsuit, Casarez needed to use the bathroom, which was...

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton should be ashamed of themselves for what they did in New Orleans a few days ago. Of course it was no surprise since they both tried to turn the whole deck into a race card, what’s so disgusting is their claim that the sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina was racially motivated In the first place all one has to do to de-bunk their ridiculous statements is to go a few miles west to where the eye of the hurricane hit and the damage was unbelievable. The area is predominantly white but did they get aid...

1994 -- Tamara Jo Klemkowsky, 32, of Waldorf, Md., was hospitalized with several broken bones in April after she fell out the window of a chartered party bus traveling 55 mph. Klemkowsky had leaned too hard on an emergency window while mooning a passing car, causing the window to give way.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 9) - Al Gore helped airlift some 270 Katrina evacuees on two private charters from New Orleans, acting at the urging of a doctor who saved the life of the former vice president's son.Gore criticized the Bush administration's slow response to Katrina in a speech Friday in San Francisco, but refused to be interviewed about the mercy missions he financed and flew on Sept. 3 and 4. However, Dr. Anderson Spickard, who is Gore's personal physician and accompanied him on the flights, said: "Gore told me he wanted to do this because like all of us he...

An empty fuel truck being converted to store water blew up outside a Sykesville, MD company yesterday afternoon, killing a 28-year-old employee, Howard County fire officials said. The tanker exploded when a worker for Renehan's Water For Pools used a blowtorch to cut into the back of the used tanker, said William Mould, a spokesman for the fire department. The explosion threw the victim 15 yards toward the company's garage. Authorities declared him dead at the scene. Linda Sherman, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, said the victim's name would not be released until relatives...

In Old Saybrook, Conn., in October 2004, Alan Hauser, who was parked with engine running, sitting with his mother-in-law, accidentally hit the accelerator, causing the SUV to jump a curb and plunge down an embankment into the Connecticut River, where rescuers (who were later cited for heroism) pulled the woman out 30 minutes later. (Hauser managed on his own.) The woman, 75, suffered serious brain damage from being submerged, and in August filed a lawsuit against the city for not having guardrails, not having regular patrols of trained and equipped rescuers, and not having more signs warning people of the...

Day One: Attend an actual Cuddle party! Day Two Morning Session: Creating the Context - In this section we will examine who we are to ourselves and to others, both in our day-to-day lives and in our roles as facilitators. We will discuss what it is that we are trying to create and what it means to set and maintain the intention for a group of people. Afternoon Session: Building the Relational Skillset - In this section we will create a new understanding of what it means to listen to others and to be with them. We will learn how...

The National Organization for Women recently posted an Emergency Alert with the headline, "Bush Picks Anti-Roe Nominee ... Women's Lives on the Line." In the alert, NOW posted photos of four women it said "are the faces of women who died because they could not obtain safe and legal abortions," the false threat being that a Supreme Court reversal of Roe will result in unsafe and illegal abortions and ultimately women's deaths. It's interesting that this emergency alert about "safe" abortions comes from a group that fights abortion clinic safety regulations to the point that many mills have lower standards...