Free Republic

I'm in need for some ammo to throw at a liberal here and the search is failing me again. Does anyone have examples of precedents to Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst in Congress during Obama's speech? I have an idiot here who is claiming that this has *never* happened before, ever. I know I've read of some (like the 06 SOTU) and I used that one, but he won't accept that and he wants an exact parallel situation, where a Congressman heckled a speaking President. Anyone got any references? Thanks.

Maybe worse than the first Camaro wreck is the first Chevy Camaro breakdown. This "p**sy magnet" Bumblebee-yellow Camaro lost all electrical power and coasted to a stop with a scant 40 miles on the odometer. The ecstatic new owner, a forum fan-girl by the name of BUMLB, was crushed when the car conked-out cruising through a parking lot at a leisurely 5 MPH, completely losing all electrical power, locking the gear selector and the key in the ignition. A flatbed towed the disabled car to a dealer where diagnosis found the cable running from the trunk mounted battery had frayed...

GM DEFAULTS (GM) Joe Weisenthal|Apr. 22, 2009, 12:41 PM| This was only a matter of time. Everyone from inside and outside GM assumed that the company would default on its debt and likely go bankrupt barring some miracle. But now it's official. The company's CFO says the firm will not make its June 1, $1 billion debt payment according to the {Wall Street Journal}. The announcement comes as smaller rival Chrysler appears headed for liquidiation.

I came up with this tonight when my Mac's iTunes hit a streak of Big Country while in DJ/shuffle mode. The original song can be heard at the link above. (Obama’s) Chance – with apologies to Big Country and Scott Adamson (R.I.P.) To the tune of Big Country’s “Chance” All the rain came down On a cold old town As he carried you away From the Clintons’ hands That always seemed like fists Reaching out to ask for pay He came like a hero from the Senate floor With “Hope” and “Change” as gifts But the only “change” you ever...

Brace yourselves for a mess. The New York Times is reporting that the Obama administration intends to allow California and other states to set their own emissions and fuel economy standards. Obama is expected to announce his decision this week, maybe even as early as today. The move, which Obama campaigned on during the run up to last November's election, would overturn the prior Bush administration's denial of a waiver to California that allows the state to set its own standards. If the report is correct, it's not clear yet what the implications of the decision will be or how...

A Hawaiian Chevrolet dealership setup a jacked-up Suburban to crush a vintage Honda Accord to send a message to anyone buying Japanese. The message became somewhat cluttered when the tiny Honda broke the SUV. James Severtson, the general sales manager of Island Chevrolet in Hilo, Hawaii, hired a Chevrolet Suburban monster truck to drive over a used Honda Accord before a large crowd in order to highlight the importance and strength of American automakers. Instead, Severtson highlighted domestic quality issues when the truck blew a hydraulic hose and started leaking fluid after its first pass over the Accord. A few...

Well, we have to say we saw this coming. Ford has officially sold off approximately 20% of its stake in Mazda. The sale reduces Ford's share from a controlling 33.4% interest to just over 13% and puts about $540 million into the Dearborn coffers, based on a sale price figured at Mazda's closing value Tuesday. The cash infusion will certainly help Ford's bottom line in these rough economic times, and the fact that the shares are being sold back to Mazda (7 percent) and to about 20 of its strategic partners means that Ford's remaining stake will still give it...

Chinese carmakers SAIC and Dongfeng have plans to acquire GM and Chrysler, China’s 21st Century Business Herald reports today. [A National Enquirer the paper is not. It is one of China's leading business newspapers, with a daily readership over three million.] The paper cites a senior official of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology– the state regulator of China’s auto industry– who dropped the hint that “the auto manufacturing giants in China, such as Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) and Dongfeng Motor Corporation, have the capability and intention to buy some assets of the two crisis-plagued American automakers.” These...

So.... It's pretty much over, our candidate has conceded. He was outspent by a candidate who received vast contributions from unions and other special interests. So, all you people who *insisted* on supporting our enemies in the UAW in the name of some misguided concept of "save American industry" - I hope you're happy. Enjoy the president that YOUR dollars helped elect!

Nissan has just announced a new version of its entry level Versa sedan today, along with an MSRP that will make that car the lowest priced in the country—$9990 before destination and handling ($10,685 after). The new base model Versa replaces the standard 1.8-liter four with a 1.6-liter unit, an engine that produces 107 horsepower and can deliver 34 miles per gallon on the highway (26 city) when paired with the standard five-speed manual transmission. The optional four-speed automatic delivers a slightly lower 26/33 mpg rating. As you might expect, Nissan has decontented the Versa somewhat to be able to...

Spotted this on another forum. It may take a second to puzzle it out. :D

Video Link

A senior labour leader with the Canadian Auto Workers union confronted Americans buying Asian cars recently about their choices and compared Japanese car dealers to the enemy in the Second World War, according to a union summary of the trip. Ron Carlyle, the CAW's chair representing workers at General Motors Corp.'s car plant in Oshawa, Ont., spoke at a GM union leadership meeting this past spring about a trip he took to a NASCAR event in the United States. Minutes of the meeting, dated March 20 and posted on the CAW Local 222 website, describe what Mr. Carlyle said. "Ron...

A 19-year-old man accidentally shot and killed himself Tuesday morning while he was attempting to rob a Grand Prairie home, authorities said. Cameron Sands, 19, of Fort Worth kicked in the door of the house and then shot himself in the stomach as he pulled a gun out of his pants to shoot the homeowner, Grand Prairie police said. The homeowner was not injured.

Microsoft on Thursday revealed its plans for an advertising network built into its Zune media players, offering advertisers a direct line to consumers through the device. Yahoo writes that the company demonstrated the concept using a phony Doritos mockup. In the example, a user could befriend a musician through the Zune social page on a Doritos’ sponsored concert to view news and updates on the artist’s profile. Once added to the friends list, users could also email the profile to friends, as well as downloading selected tracks from the website for playback on the Zune. When the recipient receives the...

GameStop to stop selling Zunes Microsoft is in for more bad news regarding its Zune personal music players, as GameStop on Thursday announced it decided to stop selling the flash-memory digital music player in its stores. The video-game retailer said lack of consumer demand and the device's ill fit with its existing offerings prompted the decision, which was made about a month ago. The retail chain is made up of hundreds of stores across the US, and will not order new stock, clearing out existing inventory exclusively on its web store.

The Unanimous Declaration of Independence made by the Delegates of the People of Texas in General Convention at the town of Washington on the 2nd day of March 1836. When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers are derived, and for the advancement of whose happiness it was instituted, and so far from being a guarantee for the enjoyment of those inestimable and inalienable rights, becomes an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression. When the Federal Republican Constitution of their country, which they have...

Ford executives belittle Taurus design while pushing next version EXECUTIVES TRASH CURRENT TAURUS' DESIGN, PUSH NEXT LINE OF SEDAN DETROIT - Belittling your product probably isn't a great marketing tool, but two top Ford Motor executives recently criticized the looks of the new Taurus sedan, with one comparing it to doofus cartoon character Homer Simpson. While speaking in Detroit this month, Chief Executive Alan Mulally and Derrick Kuzak, head of global product development, took shots at the current Taurus. During a speech to industry insiders, Mulally hinted that a new, nicer-looking Taurus is coming in the next year or so,...

Own a Ford product? Ford doesn't agree. Once we've paid for a car and driven it off the dealership lot, most people believe that you own that car. You have all rights and privileges of ownership, nobody but you (and the bank, perhaps) can determine what you do with it. Or, so we thought. Ford Motor Company recently decided to go after two car clubs, the "Black Mustang Club" and the "Rice Haters' Club" for various trademark and copyright infringements. In both cases, the clubs had put out an annual calendar, featuring photos of members' cars, some of which were...

We're not used to thinking of them this way. But many advanced military weapons are essentially robotic -- picking targets out automatically, slewing into position, and waiting only for a human to pull the trigger. Most of the time. Once in a while, though, these machines start firing mysteriously on their own. The South African National Defence Force "is probing whether a software glitch led to an antiaircraft cannon malfunction that killed nine soldiers and seriously injured 14 others during a shooting exercise on Friday." SA National Defence Force spokesman brigadier general Kwena Mangope says the cause of the malfunction...