Free Republic

Sparks fly. Power lines dance. Danger all around.

CINCINNATI — Mitt Romney assumed the mantle of change agent here Thursday, promising over and over again to bring “big change” to the White House as he opened a two-day campaign swing across the critical battleground of Ohio. .....Although Romney’s crowd of about 3,000 was smaller than many of the other rallies he has staged this week, the throng packed inside a Cincinnati warehouse was electric. Every time Romney spoke of “big change” — a phrase he used at least a half-dozen times — his supporters’ screams were nearly deafening, a sign of the growing enthusiasm among Republicans.....

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Aug. 4, 2008 – When Pfc. Tommy Smith enlisted in the Army in 2006, he joined the infantry looking for excitement and adventure. Army Pfc. Tommy Smith, a Rome, Ga., native, greets an Iraqi boy during a patrol through a remote village in the Taji area northwest of Baghdad, Feb. 20, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brad Willeford, Multinational Division Baghdad  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Rome, Ga., native is deployed to Multinational Division Baghdad with the 25th Infantry Division’s Company A, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, and...

If you want your children to be happy adults and even happy children -- and what parent does not? -- minimize the excitement in their lives. The more excitement, the less happy they are likely to be. In both adults and children, one can either pursue excitement or pursue happiness, but one cannot do both. If you pursue excitement, you will not attain happiness. If you pursue happiness, you will still experience some moments of excitement, but you will attain happiness only if happiness, not excitement, is your goal. When we give our child a present, he experiences excitement, and...

FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 23, 2006 – Team spirit was evident last night all over the streets of the downtown area here known as Sundance Square. Whether it was wearing the school colors of two teams ready to take each other on in a gridiron challenge, or the uniform pride of armed forces members, there was no doubt this is an all-American event. Judy McBride arranges giveaway items at the Bell Helicopter booth at a Dec. 22 pep rally at Sundance Square in Fort Worth, Texas. The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl kicks off at 7 p.m. Dec. 23...

Tomorrow morning President Bush will be speaking approx 25 miles from my home and my sons and I are fortunate enough to have gotten tickets. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity and I cannot begin to express how excited all three of us are. I am worse than a little kid on Christmas morning. Sorry for the vanity post but I just couldn't help it. :)

Excitement at Neolithic site find Archaeologists say it will improve understanding of the Neolithic period Archaeologists have unearthed what is thought to be one of the largest Neolithic settlements in Britain. The discovery, which includes buildings, a human burial pit, tools, pottery and ritual objects, was uncovered at a Northumberland quarry. It is hoped it will boost understanding of the period, which dates back thousands of years. The discovery was made during routine archaeological investigation of the quarry, which is run by Tarmac. The settlement, near Milfield Village, Northumberland, includes at least three buildings dating to the 4000 BC Early...

CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq (August 17, 2005) -- A New Town Square, Penn., native found his first deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom both challenging and exciting. Lance Cpl. Shane P. Costello, a provisional infantryman with Battery K, 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, assists in providing security along the Iraqi-Syrian border near Waleed to hinder the entrance of foreign fighters into Iraq. “We were tasked with setting up the vehicle check points from Syria into Iraq and patrolling the city of Waleed,” Costello explained. “We search the vehicles coming into the country looking for anything that might be suspicious.”...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Draft 1996 audit pointed to sponsorship problems, but not final report Last Updated Wed, 29 Sep 2004 22:01:22 EDT OTTAWA - There was mystifying testimony at the inquiry into the sponsorship scandal on Tuesday, when a 1996 audit was produced. The draft of the audit warned of dire consequences unless the problems were corrected. But in the final report those warnings were gone. INDEPTH: Sponsorship Scandal The audit of what was then the section of the Department of Public Works that administered advertising contracts, found recurring problems. Contracts were backdated, there was no evidence all potential suppliers were given the...

A Thousand Relics Found in Egypt Jan 28, 04 | 11:57 am A French-Egyptian archaeology team has retrieved more than 1000 artifacts, including statues and busts of pharaonic gods and goddesses, from the Mediterranean Sea floor off Egypt's northern coast of Alexandria, according to the Egyptian antiquities officials earlier this week. The 2003 Abu Qir Bay Department of Archeology Mission under the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the European Institute for Underwater Archeology unearthed artifacts during archaeological surveys which helped define the topography around the sanctuary site or the temple of Heracles. Dating back to the third and fifth centuries...

Richmond International RacewayPontiac Excitement 400 Saturday Night - May 3, 2003 on FX - 4pm PT / 7pm ET The present facility was built on the site of a half-mile track that first hosted dirt auto races in the 1940s. The original track was paved in 1968. RIR was redesigned in 1988 between the spring and fall races. Recent renovations have made it one of the most modern speedways on the tour. God Bless Our Country, Troops, Leaders and Allies. We Will Never Forget the price that others have paid for our FReedom.

NASA digital images discover ancient "Ramayana" bridge between India, Lanka PTI Washington, October 09 2002 The NASA Shuttle has imaged a mysterious ancient bridge between India and Sri Lanka, as mentioned in the Ramayana. The evidence, say experts matter-of-factly, is in the Digital Image Collection. The recently discovered bridge, currently named as Adam's Bridge and made of a chain of shoals, 30 km long, in the Palk Straits between India and Sri Lanka, reveals a mystery behind it. The bridge's unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man-made. Legend as well as Archeological studies reveal that...

The Kuiper Express spacecraft may be sent to Pluto. NASA Returning To Nuclear Programs BY STEFANO COLEDAN NASA may go nuclear again to provide power for both instruments and propulsion to spacecraft flying on deep-space missions. With Sean O'Keefe as its new chief, and the blessing of the Bush administration, the space agency plans to bring nuclear fission reactors back in style.Besides getting all the electricity they need from radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), spacecraft propelled by nuclear engines will cut considerably the travel time to distant planets, says Ed Weiler, NASA's chief scientist. "For 40 years NASA has been doing...