Free Republic

The last Friday in April is dedicated to undigested cat fur. Yes, you read that right! April 25, 2014, is National Hairball Awareness Day. To honor that day and the cats affected by the issue it addresses, we've found photos of the cutest kittens and most fetching felines around.

It may not be the most appetizing reading before a hearty holiday meal, but the New England Journal of Medicine is devoting part of its Thanksgiving issue to a giant hairball -- and not the feline kind. The prestigious journal details the case of a previously healthy 18-year-old woman who consulted a team of gastrointestinal specialists. She complained of a five-month history of pain and swelling in her abdomen, vomiting after eating and a 40-pound weight loss. After a scan of the woman's abdomen showed

FLASH!!! Dixie Chicks Natalie Manes just now blamed the Free Republic for their downfall on "Hardball." She claims the FR had an organized effort to bring them down.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Doug Flutie retired Monday, ending a 21-year career in which the undersized Heisman Trophy winner threw one of college football's most famous passes and went on to play a dozen seasons in the NFL. The decision by the 43-year-old Flutie was announced by the New England Patriots, for whom he played five games last season. Flutie spent 12 seasons in the NFL and also played in the USFL and the Canadian Football League. He won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player award six times and the league's Grey Cup championship three times. Flutie finishes with 14,715 passing yards...

Reacting to the new Bin Laden tape, Chris Matthews referred to Osama Bin Laden as an "over the top Michael Moore", which drew laughters from the guest Joe "Hairplug" Biden. Click the link above to view the exchange. This insightful comment has drawn strong condemnation from the Michael Moore fan-club sites like Deep Underground (a.k.a. Dumb UnAmericans, or simply DU). One poster writes: "Matthews YOU FREAK, HOW MANY PEOPLE HAS MOORE KILLED? How many people has your boy bush sent to their deaths How many times have you encouraged the public to support the religion of death I hope their...

Just heard this on Chrissy Matthews show about the "Buses"

If it's not OK to do this, please delete this post. I've put clips of Christopher Hitchens from the 2005-08-17 Hardball on putfile.com. His segment is in two parts because there's a file size limit at putfile. If someone would like to host the files, feel free. The files are in Windows Media 9 format.http://media.putfile.com/Hardball---2005-08-17---Hitchens-pt1http://media.putfile.com/Hardball---2005-08-17---Hitchens-pt2

In a wide-ranging interview now wrapping up on Chris Matthews' Hardball show on MSNBC, Howard Dean described the murderous insurgents in Iraq as "fighting for their country." So outlandish was his statement that, probably realizing his folly, he quickly added, "don't get me wrong, I favor fighting against terrorists." Matthews gave Dean incredibly respectful treatment. If Matthews had any criticism of Dean, it came from the left. He called Dean "a voice of reason" and demanded to know why Dean wasn't as critical of the war in Iraq as he was when he was a candidate for the Dem nomination....

Many argue that communism will never be possible because of "human nature". The essence of this false argument is the belief that a communist society would consist of an all-powerful central government that would tell everybody what to do--and would therefore undermine the creative initiative of individuals and the search for happiness. • This argument is based on two false assumptions: (1) It assumes that a communist society will look like the former Soviet Union, or the current China, North Korea, etc (ie: corrupt police states with a feudal-style ruling class) (2) It assumes that people will only work in...

Chris Matthew's show "Hardball" is on the road. His first stop is an interview with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton fainted during a lunchtime speech Monday in Buffalo, New York, but revived and continued her scheduled appearances, aides said. "Indeed, our senator fainted -- hadn't felt well this morning and had a full day," Clinton chief of staff Tamera Luzzato said in an e-mail. The senator's press secretary, Philippe Reines, said Clinton was suffering from a stomach virus during her talk. "She felt weak, needed to sit down and then fainted briefly," Reines said. "She received immediate medical attention at the site and is now proceeding with her schedule as planned." Clinton, 57, was...

MSNBC "Hardball" host Chris Matthews didn't like it one bit Thursday night when Rep. Dan Burton, who was on hand to discuss Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's speech to Congress, accused him of airing a biased report that painted Allawi as a Bush administration puppet. After "Hardball" correspondent Norah O'Donnell explained in her news package, "It was as if Allawi's comments had been written by President Bush's speech writers," Burton blew the whistle. "I was a little disappointed that Norah O'Donnell indicated that President Allawi's speech was written by the White House," he told Matthews. "That is a bias that...

"My people elected me and I don't think you should take their representative away. . . . Vote your conscience. Nothing personal." — Traficant, closing the debate on his expulsion before the whole House "Am I different? Yeah. Deep down, you know you want to wear wider bottoms; you're just not secure enough. . . . Do I do my hair with a Weed Whacker? I admit." — Traficant on his clothing and hair style. The remark elicited muted laughter from the House during otherwise ominous proceedings. "I want you to disregard all the opposing counsel has said. I think...

Doctors in northern India have removed a 1.2 kg ball of hair from a 16-year-old girl's stomach. The Dainik Ujala newspaper says doctors operated on Kiran Singh at a hospital in Dharampur near Shimla. Her parents say she's pulled out her hair and swallowed it since early childhood. Her father Ajit said: "No-one thought much of it initially. It was only when she came of age that she began to over-do the eating. "Now the doctors have relieved her of her misery we hope she gives up the dreadful habit. Someone might just wonder whether we don't feed her enough...