Free Republic

"With Independence Day upon us let's celebrate an under-appreciated American archetype - the hyper-partisan defender of democracy. That is politicians who put country over party in times of crisis. Charles Thomson was the secretary for the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1789. Along with John Hancock his was one of only two names to appear on the original printing of the Declaration of Independence. Thomson wrongly thought that the new country couldn't survive a two-party system, that polarization would reign supreme and the new nation would inevitably devolve into two mobs vying for power every four years. Thomson didn't know...

Disgraced former CBS news anchor Dan Rather is out with a haughty statement on Facebook, urging all of his fellow news anchors and mainstream media editors to destroy Donald Trump and his supporters. “This cannot be treated as just another outrageous moment in the campaign,” Rather said, referring to the Republican presidential nominee’s comments about defending the Second Amendment.

Obama: Gabby Opened Her Eyes For the First Time At the memorial service for the victims of the shooting in Tucson, Arizona, President Obama said that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes for the first time after his visit.

Audio of CBS Reporters Discussing The Best Slander Against Joe Miller Child Molester, Violence and few other ideas

<p>The following voice mail message was inadvertently left on the cell phone of Joe Miller campaign spokesperson Randy DeSoto.</p> <p>The voices are believed to be those of the news director for CBS Anchorage affiliate KTVA, along with assignment editor Nick McDermott, and other reporters, openly discussing creating, if not fabricating, two stories about Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, Joe Miller.</p>

In time for the Persian New Year, CBS's Melissa McNamara trawled the blogosphere (including MySpace blog entries) and found bloggers who think Iran's Islamic extremist government has a point about "300" being "anti-Persian." In doing she, she produced a handful of blogs that appear to generate light traffic and in at least one case is just a rambling screed. McNamara told readers that the "Islamic Republic News Agency" (IRNA) finds fault with the film's version of historical events. She left out that IRNA is Iran's official state-controlled news/propaganda service. CBSNews.com's resident "Blogophile" also noted objections from an Iranian newspaper, Hamshahri,...

A Republican congressman from Indiana created an uproar in the House on Monday by accusing the Democrats of being anti-Christian. "Like a moth to a flame, Democrats can't help themselves when it comes to denigrating and demonizing Christians," said Rep. John Hostettler. Hostettler made the remark during debate over a proposal introduced by Democrats that would have put the House on record as opposing "coercive and abusive religious proselytizing" at the Air Force Academy. According to the Washington Post, Hostettler claimed that "the long war on Christianity in America continues today on the floor of the House of Representatives" and...

Shame On You: The Apple iPod Battery Replacement Problems Are Creating Problems Feb 25, 2005 3:00 pm US/Eastern NEW YORK (CBS) The Apple iPod is one of the most popular consumer electronic products in history. Thus far, 10 million have been sold to music lovers. But you may be surprised to learn what happens when the battery on the iPod dies. Our Shame On You team reports that battery replacement problems are making some people irate over the iPod. See why Arnold Diaz puts Apple in the Hall of Shame. Video at the link Here: is the link to the...

Hoo-boy. It's a hot time in the old blogtown. The pajamahadeen are firing their virtual bullets into the cyber-air in celebration of CBS anchor Dan Rather's announcement on Tuesday that he was retiring as the top talking face of the network after 24 years. "This has been a simply outstanding month," crowed a poster on http://www.freerepublic.com. "Bush won, Arafat died, we're kicking ass in Fallujah, and now this!" Typically, the above-quoted "Freeper" didn't get that Rather may be down, but he certainly isn't out. When he steps down as front man for The CBS Evening News on March 9, he...

Deep inside CBS, there have been discussions about canceling the Wednesday edition of 60 Minutes, the newsmagazine where Dan Rather got into big trouble for using dubious documents in a report on President George W. Bush’s National Guard service. That certainly damaged it at the network, but it’s not the main reason some CBS folks are turning against the show once dubbed “60 Minutes Junior.” Anemic ratings have been even more damaging to its long-term prospects. While the show’s audience is relatively flat since last year, its ratings are down by a third in the key 18-49 demo since 2001....

Dan Rather (and CBS News) got snookered by political malcontents with an ax to grind. Again. Consider: Both President Bush and Sen. John Kerry say they adamantly oppose reinstitution of the military draft, which was ended in 1973. The Pentagon also says it is vehemently opposed to giving up the all-volunteer army. But that didn't stop "The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather" and reporter Richard Schlesinger from airing a story Tuesday about a Pennsylvania woman's fears that her sons will be drafted. "I think there's a good possibility," said Beverly Cocco, ID'd only as an average voter, and a...

Washington, DC--Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie issued the following statement on CBS’s admission today that memos regarding the President’s National Guard service are not real. “We accept CBS's apology for a breach of the journalistic standards that provide the American people confidence in news organizations, but some disturbing questions remain unanswered. “CBS has now answered questions about the authenticity of the documents but questions remain surrounding who created the documents, who provided them to CBS and if Senator Kerry's supporters, Party committee, or campaign played any role. “Did Bill Burkett, Democrat activist and Kerry campaign supporter, who passed information...

For those so inclined. Feel free to join in. A document expert who isn't Verified a memo he didn't. Now all eyes can see the "BS" in "C", As we bid the fraud network "Good riddance!"

CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER to address, in detail, the issues surrounding the authenticity of the documents broadcast in the 60 MINUTES report on President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard... Developing...

This is an excerpt that captures the point: One day. That was all it took for the ranks of citizen journalists to swarm and then thoroughly discredit a story which ran in the New York Times, the Boston Globe and on a network news magazine. From the Kerry perspective a scandal involving forged documents is a disaster. Kerry had yesterday to get in front of the story and he missed that boat. Instead of being able to stay on message and trying to beat down the post convention pulse which has sent Bush several points ahead in various opinion polls,...

DALLAS - The authenticity of newly unearthed memos stating that President Bush failed to meet standards of the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War was questioned yesterday by the son of the late officer who reportedly wrote the memos. "I am upset because I think it is a mixture of truth and fiction here," said Gary Killian, son of Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, who died in 1984. Another officer who served with Killian and a document expert also said yesterday the documents appear to be forgeries.

Complaints Pour in to FCC Over Super Bowl FlashFri February 06, 2004 06:10 PM ET By Peter Kaplan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Upset television viewers have filed more than 200,000 complaints about Janet Jackson's breast-baring performance at the Super Bowl, a record for the Federal Communication Commission, officials said on Friday. Gripes over the flash of Jackson's breast last Sunday easily eclipsed the FCC's previous record -- 80,000 complaints that came after television actress Nicole Richie used a curse word on the 2003 Billboard Music Awards, the agency said. "The vast majority express outrage that this occurred during a family...

Now even Justin is mad at Janet. Justin Timberlake is telling friends Janet Jackson blindsided him with the last-second, breast-baring addition to their Super Bowl act, sources said yesterday. The pop stars' tiff over Sunday's bosom bombshell came as the head of MTV, which produced the halftime show for CBS, blamed Jackson for the peep show seen by an audience of 89 million. "Janet Jackson engineered it," MTV Chief Executive Tom Freston said. "We were Punk'd by Janet Jackson." As fallout over the flop-out grew yesterday, Timberlake was claiming to pals he was bamboozled by Jackson. "She lied to him,"...

RE: THE GRAMMY AWARDS - PRESS RELEASE ATTN. TELECOMMUNICATIONS: PLEASE RELAY TO ALL CBS STATIONS TO: GROUP OWNER, GENERAL MANAGER, STATION MANAGER, GENERAL SALES MANAGER, PROGRAM DIRECTOR FEBRUARY 3, 2004 WE ARE IMPLEMENTING ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO ENHANCE BROADCAST STANDARD PROTECTIONS FOR SUNDAY'S GRAMMY AWARDS. PLEASE SEE BELOW. BEST. . . . PETER K. SCHRUTH PRESIDENT CBS AFFILIATE RELATIONS **** CBS TO IMPLEMENT ENHANCED DELAY OF GRAMMY AWARDS Additional Measure Will Allow for Video Editing CBS announced today plans to enhance their ability to edit out any inappropriate and unexpected events from the Sunday, Feb. 8 broadcast of the "46th...