Free Republic

Life is a challenge these days in Germany if you are not a football fan. You simply cannot avoid it. The media is awash with interest in Sunday's World Cup final, with the 'Nationalelf' (national 11) involved against old rivals Argentina. The stunning 7-1 semi-final win over hosts Brazil resulted in football euphoria only seen before in the country when West Germany won previous World Cup tournaments in 1954, 1974 and 1990. "Three days to go", "two days to go", "one day to go" - these have been the headlines from Germany's biggest selling tabloid Bild. It's the countdown to...

Down in the polls, Republican Kenneth T. Cuccinelli on Thursday launched his sharpest attacks of Virginia’s gubernatorial campaign, accusing Terry McAuliffe of being a liar and of lacking substance while the Democrat said the attorney general’s economic plan would wreck the state’s economy. The candidates’ third and final debate covered little new ground but was marked by increasingly sharp exchanges, with Mr. Cuccinelli saying that being in favor of jobs and education is all well and good, but that talking is different from laying out a plan. “They’re not plans. I like those, too. I like education — I like...

North Korea greeted the weekend by stating through its KCNA news agency that it is entering a "state of war" with South Korea. This seems like much more serious news than an earlier KCNA story about using nutritious leeks in seasonal dishes, but there's reason to be skeptical that NoKo's latest declaration means anything at all. The statement wasn't accompanied by an actual attack, which would have been the most obvious sign that North Korea was serious about this. Instead, it's just more chest-beating, this time in response to the "provocation" of the U.S. flying stealth bombers over South Korea....

Depending on who you are, if you receive e-mail updates from the Obama-Biden campaign you may have gotten a few strident notes in your inbox over the last week. In making the closing pitch to supporters and potential donors, the President’s campaign has struck a negative tone attempting to shame supporters who haven’t done enough into doing more. “You’ve waited until the last minute here,” one e-mail dated November 2 fumes to a supporter who has not contributed enough money to Obama for America. Noted for its versatile use of technology and micro-targeting, the Obama campaign blew its Republican opposition...

Rosie O'Donnell's 'The Rosie Show' To End; Final Episode To Air March 30 Access HollywoodAccess Hollywood – 13 mins ago On Friday evening, the Oprah Winfrey Network announced that "The Rosie Show" will tape its final episode on Tuesday, March 20. The final episode will air, Friday, March 30. PLAY IT NOW: Who Is Rosie O’Donnell’s New Celebrity Crush? "I loved working with Oprah in the amazing city of Chicago," Rosie said in a statement. "I was welcomed with open arms and will never forget the kindness of all I encountered. It was a great year for me - I...

The Obama administration issued a rule today that is sure to disappoint insurance agents: Fees paid to brokers and agents won’t count as medical care, under limits imposed on insurers in the 2010 federal health law. Photo by Thomas Hawk via Flickr That’s key because under the health law, insurers must spend at least 80 percent of their premium revenue on medical care and quality improvement – or issue rebates to consumers. The target is 85 percent for large-group issuers. Brokers had lobbied hard to have their fees exempted from the calculation of administrative costs, which also includes such expenses...

...Since Gingrich had taken control in January 1995, Republicans in the House had held together. Focused on fulfilling the Contract with America, they passed a flurry of legislation, which kept them occupied — and their divisions concealed — for the first two years. By July 1997, however, the contract was finished, and conservatives, particularly those elected in the Revolution of ’94, were growing frustrated with Gingrich’s leadership. The speaker was disorganized. “He knew nothing about running meetings and nothing about driving an agenda,” DeLay writes in his memoir, No Retreat, No Surrender. He was erratic. “On Monday, we would say...

Look Up and See!

We put a hurting on Tom Petty’s “Free Falling” two weeks ago, which I posted later that week, changing it to “Fleebagging.” Last week, we destroyed Wings’ “Band on the Run” so thoroughly with our “Dems on the Run” cover that my video edit program went on strike before it would repurpose the clip from the NARN stream. But this week, we have the real deal in terms of a song spoof of the runaway Democrats from Wisconsin — and this time, we made the wise choice of not performing it live. Set to Warren Zevon’s “Lawyers, Guns, and Money,”...

Mission Prep Midterm ...terms SNIP In D&C 31:5, what is the blessing associated with those who thrust in your sickle with all your soul? Your sins are forgiven you, you shall be laden with sheaves upon your back According to the manual, what is personal worthiness necessary for and what does it allow us to do? To enter the temple and perform missionary work When asked what potential missionaries should focus on becoming, what was Elder Richard G. Scott's answer? Worthy (so the spirit can guide them) SNIP What did President Howard W. Hunter teach about temples and potential missionaries?...

The three major-party candidate for governor turned up the volume on their criticism of each other tonight during a debate on Twin Cities Public Television's Almanac. After more than two dozen debates, DFLer Mark Dayton, Republican Tom Emmer and the Independence Party's Tom Horner appeared for the last time together on TV before Election Day. The final debate is Sunday afternoon on MPR. Dayton criticized Emmer's cuts-alone approach to erasing a projected $5.8 billion state budget deficit as a recipe for local property tax increases. He said Emmer's reductions in health and human services would have human consequences. "We're talking...

Rest of the Missouri Yes Votes 641,799 (73.1%) No Votes 235,730 (26.9%) St. Louis City Yes Votes 13,263 (41.1%) No Votes 18,989 (58.9%) Kansas City Yes Votes 12,618 (43.5%) No Votes 16,383 (56.5%)

If your sick of Los Angeles don't buy Laker gear and drive their ratings into the toilet. Many NBA franchises support illegal immigration. How many more times are we going to see the Celtics and Lakers in the finals anyway. This is about the 10th time in 60 years I think.

Tonight marks the end of a television era: 24 airs its eighth season finale. The impact of the show on the country has been profound; in the way subjects on the show have been brought into the public spectrum and how Jack Bauer, the protagonist, has become an icon – the man that will do anything to stop evil. While many mourn the loss of Law and Order or Lost, 24 has had a greater impact on America in our post-9/11 era.

Anyone know what happened to the W Virginia player with the knee?

<p>The winter light is kind to the stones. Its mild greyness reveals the beauty of the blue lichen that has grown for thousands of years over their surfaces and even, from the right point on the path, lets you see the sinister shape of a bronze-age dagger carved into bleak rock. I'd love to be able to say it's an encounter that leads me far from the modern world into eerie reveries - but that would be a lie.</p>

The 2007 FreeRepublic LexiconAKA "The Freepism, Freepology, Lingo, Dictionary, Terminology, Lore Handbook" A revised and condensed version of The Lexicon of FreeRepublic, culled from Lexicon of FreeRepublic - 4th Edition and Freeper Lingo Thread (the history and meening of 'Freepisms' including pictures). Thanks to the many Freepers who contributed! (see also The 2006 FreeRepublic LexiconI have attempted to include all definitions and histories provided to me and give credit to those who provided me the information. I apologize, in advance to those I failed to credit, but please understand that it was very difficult to keep up with all the...

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2007 – The fifth and final brigade of the troop surge has arrived in Baghdad and should be fully operational by mid-July, the deputy director for operations on the Joint Staff said here today. “We are starting to see a shift in momentum that comes with having additional forces on the ground,” Army Brig. Gen. Perry Wiggins told Pentagon reporters in a news conference. Troops will clamp down on Baghdad’s northern and southern belts -- areas where insurgents “have had the opportunity to sit back and plan some of these attacks,” Wiggins said. “What we’re trying...

Washington - The Dark Ages is not just a period in human history on Earth. For astronomers it represents the far-flung corners of the universe about which precious little is known, and which could yet hold the key to how planets were first formed. ... Added to that, the new telescope would be able to search further afield for planets that might have the right conditions to sustain life. Mountain gave the example of a seemingly habitable planet, about 1.5 times the Earth's size and orbiting a star about 20 light years away, that was discovered last month by a...

I am wondering, when do we conservatives finally declare war on the mamby-pamby liberals who use our party as a platform against the Democrats, with no real difference in philosophy but rather a means for running a two card monty against us? When do we notify the Republican party that if they elect Rudy, McCain, or any other RINO, we will sit out the election and not vote? I think we should threaten to do this, and if our hand is called, lay it on the table. I am so sick of this. We have GW Bush, a "compassionate conservative"...