Free Republic

The source URL link goes straight to the Pennsylvania Department of State. The following, New York Times estimate./A> Has surprisingly become a site favorite tonight. North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan and dare I say.... it? Not yet I won't.

COLUMBUS, OHIO -- John Tortorella, the coach of Team USA for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, isn't backing off on his comments that he'd bench any player who didn't stand for the U.S. national anthem. On Tuesday, Tortorella told ESPN: "If any of my players sit on the bench for the national anthem, they will sit there the rest of the game." The coach seemed taken aback Wednesday by the reaction to his comment, but he did not backtrack on his stance. "I'm not backing off," Tortorella said after the team's on-ice workout Wednesday.

Police shot and killed a man Sunday afternoon near the East Busway in Wilkinsburg after they said he stabbed a Port Authority police dog to death. Bruce Kelley Jr., 37, was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident on Whitney Avenue after 4 p.m. The K-9 officer, Aren, was a 5-year-old German shepherd who worked patrol and explosives. He had been on the job for four years, said Chief Matt Porter of Port Authority police. According to superintendent Charles Moffatt of Allegheny County police, the incident was first called in to 911 dispatch at 3:37 p.m. after two Port...

As this nation embraces our quadrennial presidential election cycle we should be reminded of the incredible heroism of our nation's ancestors. We should be grateful for their courage, their sacrifice, their valor and never forget their memories. The men and women who have left behind blood, sweat, tears, lives and limbs so we may continue to embark on the great American experiment. Some may say our nation's best days are behind us. Our 18 year olds of yesterday that stormed the beaches of Normandy, Iwo Jima and defeated empires that spanned continents and the globe have been replaced by crybullies...

The Japanese lettuce production company Spread believes the farmers of the future will be robots. So much so that Spread is creating the world's first farm manned entirely by robots. Instead of relying on human farmers, the indoor Vegetable Factory will employ robots that can harvest 30,000 heads of lettuce every day. Don't expect a bunch of humanoid robots to roam the halls, however; the robots look more like conveyor belts with arms. They'll plant seeds, water plants, and trim lettuce heads after harvest in the Kyoto, Japan farm. "The use of machines and technology has been improving agriculture in...

"“If this election is about how we’re going to fight to get nothing done, then I don’t want any part of it. I don’t want to be elected president to sit around and see gridlock just become so dominant that people literally are in decline in their lives. That is not my motivation. I’ve got a lot of really cool things I could do other than sit around, being miserable, listening to people demonize me and me feeling compelled to demonize them. That is a joke. Elect Trump if you want that,” he said."

Have you wondered why militant GLBT activists adopted something as seemingly benign as a rainbow, incorporated it into a flag and attempt to use it as a statement for "equality"? Like many and movements symbols, origins and meanings use by those movements are not necessarily what they purport to be. In fact, sometimes they are outright lies. The current politically correct meaning of the rainbow flag is as follows. Now of course such terms seem perfectly innocent. Who could possibly disagree with any of the above concepts or words? You're not against sunshine and nature are you? If you do...

I know this thread and topic is going to go over like a lead balloon but I have to say it. The constant, prevalent and gruesome pro-life themed articles are really becoming a nuisance to this long time reader and occasional poster. This is not a call for a pro-choice viewpoint, I'm not advocating that personally and realize that will, thankfully, never happen here. However there becomes a point when preaching to the choir about the horrors of abortion in heinous detail either visually or in writing just becomes disgusting. I frequent this site overnight and scanning from top to...

In a press conference with reporters today on Capitol Hill, Harry Reid described what he's been up to since injuring his face and ribs in an exercising accident: "As some of you know, I'm an avid reader. Read lots and lots of books, even some good ones during the break. So because -- I have not been able to read. They have told me if you have an eye that's healing and you try to overwork your good eye, it puts too much pressure on it. So I haven't been reading. I'm now on rehab so last night for example...

NEW YORK — J.C. Penney's board of directors has ousted CEO Ron Johnson after only 16 months on the job as a risky turnaround strategy backfired and led to massive losses and steep sales drops. In a statement issued late Monday, the department store chain said that it has rehired Johnson's predecessor Mike Ullman, 66, who was CEO of the department store chain for seven years until November 2011. The announcement comes as a growing chorus of critics including a former Penney CEO Allen Questrom called for his resignation as they lost faith in turnaround strategy. Penney reported dismal fourth-quarter...

When one considers groups of likely voters, the Amish probably aren’t the first cohort to come to mind. To begin, this highly-religious, often secluded community generally avoids heading to the polls. However, in a highly-contested election cycle, considering all that’s at stake, there’s a grassroots effort afoot to court these individuals in both Ohio and Pennsylvania (two, important swing states). Considering the religious community’s isolation, the choice to engage the Amish may seem curious. But, considering that approximately 60,000 adherents reside in Pennsylvania and another 60,000 in Ohio, their votes, especially in a close race, are precious. And considering that...

Chris Rock's Election Message to White People

I am just sitting here in a bizarre sense of smug self-satisfaction reading about New York governor Andrew Cuomo and various Democratic senators and politicians asking the Federal government to pick up 100% of the costs in rebuilding their state and "the greatest city in the world". Their line of thought? They can't print money like the Federal government can so, buddy, get those printing presses up to speed. This is one of those road to Damascus moments. What exactly is the role of government? Well we've seen what it is, government is the ultimate tool and the ultimate control...

The 4th and final of the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates have come and gone for 2012. Here are the three things we can walk away with. - Romney can't lose a debate coin toss, going 3 for 3. Which of course means nothing. - Obama gets more moderated debate time, going 3 for 3 in the time column. Which of course means nothing. - Free Republic crashes before any debate and doesn't get back to normal until dawn the next day. I would like to state that I have been here since the 2004 election season. I can't lay...

We are announcing this morning an important development at Newsweek and The Daily Beast. Newsweek will transition to an all-digital format in early 2013. As part of this transition, the last print edition in the United States will be our Dec. 31 issue. Meanwhile, Newsweek will expand its rapidly growing tablet and online presence, as well as its successful global partnerships and events business. Newsweek Global, as the all-digital publication will be named, will be a single, worldwide edition targeted for a highly mobile, opinion-leading audience who want to learn about world events in a sophisticated context. Newsweek Global will...

I have to ask this very seriously, do you know that this site has been completely unusable to perhaps thousands and thousands of others during either the first Presidential or Vice-Presidential debate and for an hour or so after their respective conclusions? This has never happened in previous election cycles during debates, election night results or during large breaking news events. Slow? Yes. Unusable, no. I've had multiple tabs opened for the debates this year and the FR one just wheel spin, wheel spin, wheel spin... blank page, no progress bar moving on the address bar. It's just the internet...

Rudolph the red-state reindeer? A Texas couple determined to find out who had been damaging a sign in their front yard proclaiming their support for President Obama's re-election bid caught the offender on Wednesday. Tom Priem, a software support engineer in Austin, told FoxNews.com he and his wife, who live on a block where political signs dot front yards, were fed up with seeing only their Obama sign repeatedly defaced. “The sign had holes poked in it like somebody had stuck a knife through it,” Priem said Friday. “At first I thought it was somebody who didn’t like Obama.” Priem...

I have a question now that "Eastwooding" is now the new internet meme. Where is the chair and who owns it now? I think after Thursday's speech this empty chair would have a significant historical and/or collectable value. Many FReepers have no doubt spent time watching countless episodes of Pawn Stars, American Pickers, Cajun Pawn Stars, Hardcore Pawn etc. After watching re-runs of these this weekend I have to ask this question. Where is the chair now and is there a certificate of it? I would love to see what the sale of this item could bring as a fundraising...

Barry Diller, the chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp which recently acquired sole control of Newsweek, said that a plan to end its print edition is coming as soon as this fall. His comments came in IAC's quarterly earnings call and were first reported in a two-sentence story by Bloomberg News's Sarah Frier ("Newsweek, the 79-year-old magazine, will eventually transition to an online-only publication") and then in a tweet from her colleague Edmund Lee ("Barry Diller says by September-October, plan for digital only Newsweek will be announced"). The first actual quote from Diller came later in a post by Politico's Dylan Byers: "The...