Free Republic

Despite intense grassroots pressure, the Texas House refused to allow a vote on whether Democrats will be allowed to chair important committees in the Republican-controlled chamber. A Republican priority for 2023, banning Democrats from holding key committee chairmanships—which allows them to block conservative legislation—is supported by more than 81 percent of Republican voters. In the 87th Legislative Session, 40 percent of committee chairs were Democrats, per Phelan’s decision. Notably, [House Speaker] Phelan immediately moved Tuesday to hold the rules debate the following day, a full day before busloads of Republicans were scheduled to descend on the Capitol to voice their...

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney’s (D-NY) race has been labeled a “toss-up” in what could be a historic loss, as a sitting House campaign chair has not lost reelection since 1992. Dave Wasserman, the House editor for Cook Political Report, moved New York’s 17th Congressional District from “Lean Democrat” to “Toss Up.” Wasserman noted that Democrats are now admitting the DCCC chair is in “serious danger” in his home district.

Have been looking into massage chairs. Anyone able to answer some questions please? 1. What are some good ones and ones to avoid? 2. Does a good chair help with sciatic nerve pain? 3. Why do people sell them if they are so good? 4. Private message me if you know of a good one available in Houston/SA/Austin areas. 5. Any other input on the subject? Thanks in advance.

Two women who attended Dragon Con in Atlanta are recovering from head injuries after they were hit by chairs thrown from a hotel balcony Sunday morning. Two chairs were tossed from the 10th floor of Marriott Marquis hotel in downtown Atlanta about 1:40 a.m., Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. John Chafee told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That floor had a terrace area from which chairs could have been thrown so police said they do not believe the chairs came from a guest’s room, Officer carlos Campos said. ... McDaniel thinks her Loki costume from the “Avengers” movies helped lessen the blow from...

FRESNO (KMJ) -- Investigators are now trying to find out who was responsible for a brawl at a Fresno DMV. The fight saw furniture being thrown around and people running for cover - in the DMV on Olive and Weber. One of the chairs thrown across the room even shattered a counter top. It was captured on internal surveillance cameras and on onlooker's cell phones. Gabrielle Forman told our news partner KMPH Fox 26 News she was only there to change the registration on a car.

<p>ST. LOUIS — With lethal-injection drugs in short supply and new questions looming about their effectiveness, lawmakers in some death penalty states are considering bringing back relics of a more gruesome past: firing squads, electrocutions and gas chambers.</p> <p>Most states abandoned those execution methods more than a generation ago in a bid to make capital punishment more palatable to the public and to a judicial system worried about inflicting cruel and unusual punishments that violate the Constitution.</p>

Two wooden armchairs that were gathering dust in a Vancouver Island church for decades may prove to save the financially-challenged parish after they were discovered to be rare and valuable Qing dynasty treasures. They'd been there, in a quiet spot along the back wall of the St. Matthias Anglican Church in Victoria, possibly since the parish opened the doors of its new home nearly 50 years ago. Now the church, which has struggled to survive since a damaging schism over same-sex marriage in 2009, is poised for a potential windfall when the chairs are auctioned next month in New York,...

You never know what you'll find next to a Dumpster. That's where Chris Gulley of Rock Island spotted two authentic Cherner chairs, designed in 1958 by Norman Cherner and manufactured by the former Plycraft Inc. of Lawrence, Mass. Gulley didn't know that immediately, though, on that day about 11 years ago when he was driving down Harrison Street in Davenport. All he knew is that the two chairs he saw sitting next to a Dumpster in an alley were very unusual-looking and that he wanted them. "I knew instantly they were special, and I about killed us both turning the...

Body of murdered cyberwar expert found in landfill Military man dumped into three-ring whodunit Dan Goodin January 5, 2010 The body of a decorated US Army officer was found dumped in a Delaware landfill on New Years Eve day, a few days after he expressed concern that the nation wasn't adequately prepared for cyber warfare, according to news reports following the bizarre whodunit. Events surrounding the murder of John P. Wheeler III, who most recently worked part-time for defense contractor Mitre Corporation on cyber defense topics, read like a Tom Clancy novel. The 66-year-old worked for three Republican administrations, was...

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed the announcement by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas that he will meet the Prime Minister during a U.N. conference. Netanyahu said that for a long time he considered the possibility of the two meeting, without preconditions, in order to advance the peace process. Netanyahu said, “The Palestinians will raise during the meeting the issue of Jerusalem and refugees and we will state our opinions.

Brad Pitt offers above the odds for Hollywood market chairs13/05/2009 Lucky Brad Pitt is obviously recession-proof. While haggling for a pair of chairs at a Hollywood market, he was told by the dealer they only cost $1,500. Our mole says: "He asked if the guy would take 'twelve'... $12,000. The dealer was stunned, it made his week." All right for some..

I was thinking of getting myself a gift for Christmas in the form of a new leather chair. I saw Rush's chair on his EIB store website a couple of times, but I don't like buying something if I can't try out first--especially office chairs. Actually, the thing that really scares me away from the EIB chair is spending $500+ for a real unknown. I looked at this one and was impressed, but I've got to know: is it really all that comfortable? Could it support a 6'2" 200 lbs. guy for 3-7 hours a day? Could any fans out...

The Ministry of Defence has bought each of its 3,150 Whitehall civil servants a £1,000 chair as it plans the biggest cuts in the Armed Forces since the Cold War. The Herman Miller Aeron chair, described as the "most comfortable office chair in the world", is also the most expensive. It is the kind David Dimbleby uses on BBC1's Question Time and has been on display at the New York Museum of Modern Art as one of America's designs of the decade. The purchase is part of a £342 million refurbishment carried out at the ministry. It was sanctioned just...

Protesters delivered a motley crew of seats to the board of education Wednesday. The board discussed buying chairs costing as much as $584.50 each, after member Patrice Robinson complained about the old ones.School board's chair talk has citizens rockin' mad Can spend up to $7,000 for seats By Ruma Banerji banerji@gomemphis.com May 22, 2003 Who knew furniture could cause such a buzz? The airwaves were hot Wednesday with radio talk show callers up in arms about the school board's plans to spend as much as $7,000 to buy new executive chairs. Wednesday, an anonymous donor called board member Sara...