Free Republic

Former Iranian armed forces chief Hassan Firouzabadi, who once accused Western nations of spying on the country using lizards, has died of coronavirus aged 70, local media reported on Friday. Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami praised Firouzabadi's "continuous efforts" to defend "the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran", in a statement published on the Guards' Sepahnews website. A trained doctor, Firouzabadi joined the Basij Islamic volunteer militia during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88. Serving in administrative roles, he swiftly rose up its ranks before being named head of the armed forces in September 1989 by Iran's supreme leader...

With unexpectedly cold weather in the forecast and pandemic-related curfews in some places, Florida is about to have a Christmas unlike any other in recent memory, and it may involve falling iguanas. The National Weather Service earlier this week warned that South Florida could experience the coldest Christmas Day in 21 years. Morning lows on Saturday could drop into the low 30s and 40s degrees Fahrenheit, the weather service said. “ Brrr! Much colder temps expected for Christmas," the National Weather Service in Miami tweeted earlier this week. “Falling iguanas are possible."

<p>Democrats hope to enlist military veterans in another type of fight — for majority control of the House.</p> <p>Looking ahead to next year's elections, Democrats are trying to recruit at least two dozen military veterans to challenge Republican incumbents, arguing that candidates with a military background on their resumes appeal to independent voters and can help the party break the GOP grip on Washington.</p>

-snip- Although Fehrnstrom is one of Romney’s longest-serving aides, he, like his boss, has no roots in the conservative movement. Fehrnstrom started out as a reporter covering alderman meetings in Boston and lives in liberal Brookline, Mass. His work as a GOP operative has been confined to New England — a region, as he often notes, that’s “pretty rocky terrain for Republicans.” To some influential conservatives, Fehrnstrom is an enigma. It’s not that conservatives don’t trust him. It’s that some don’t even know him. “I’ve never heard of him. I’ve been going to conservative meetings since I was knee-high to...

What do Bigfoot, Sasquash and miniature chameleons have in common? Until recently, nearly anyone would tell you they didn’t exist. That has changed, at least for the dwarf chameleon. Brookesia micra, the world’s tiniest reptile has been discovered on the island of Nosy Hara, northern Madagascar. This tiny creature reaches less than one- inch in length at maturity. Researches discovered these miniature chameleons sleeping in bushes four inches above the ground level. "They mostly live in the leaf litter in the day ... But at night they climb up and then you can spot them." Says lead investigator Frank Glaw....

Rudy Mitt Huckabee   By Don FederFrontPageMagazine.com | Wednesday, December 12, 2007 On the issue of illegal immigration, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney have begun doing passable impressions of Lou Dobbs. But can you trust a candidate whose record contradicts his campaign rhetoric? At the recent CNN/YouTube debate, Romney and Rudy squared off on what's shaping up to be the defining issue of Campaign 2008 -- with the ferocity of rabid mongooses. Rudy -- who wants to "secure the border" (is there anyone, including Hillary, who says they don't?) -- bragged that as mayor of New York...

<p>Some leading Democrats are moving to stake out more conservative positions on gun rights, reconnecting with "people of faith," and even voting to ban partial-birth abortion as the 2004 election approaches.</p> <p>Polls have shown that liberal positions on social issues have cost Democrats elections in the past decade, and strategists are urging Democrats to stake out positions in the political center.</p>