Free Republic

JOIN US:   PROTEST RALLY!   Monday, August 26th at 6PM at City Hall (South End) Led by Artist Scott LoBaido, 4th generation New Yorker Supported by NYC C.L.A.S.H. " A TRUE REVOLUTION " Click here for a message from Scott LoBaido Mayor Bloomberg has decided to supercede the city council's proposals to ban smoking in NYC with a totalitarian one of his own, backed up by his own hand-picked gestapo, Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden and his agents. On Monday, August 12th, the mayor made his proposal public --  TO BAN SMOKERS EVERYWHERE IN NYC (NY Times Reports:  Bloomberg...

Anti-tobacco lobby still blows smoke Tuesday, August 20th, 2002 Lindor Reynolds Cigarettes don't cause lung cancer; ineffective advertising causes lung cancer. A coalition of health groups -- including the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society and Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada --yesterday condemned Canada's anti-smoking public education program, claiming it should be directed at the tobacco industry, not at smokers. In an open letter sent to Health Minister Anne McLennan, they demanded anti-tobacco advertising that is "ambitious, hard-hitting, explicit and in your face." That's a good start. Making smoking illegal would be a better solution, but apparently the rights...

. . If you know a Veteran, someone in your family, friend of the family, neighbor, who served their country, take a brief moment of your day to thank them. Thank them for the sacrifice they made for the better good of their country. We at Free Republic, and the USO Canteen FReeper Style, are thankful for every service member in our military, who has served our great nation. So, to the men and women who answered the call, in both times of war and peace, thank you. . Message from Snow Bunny to all those who visit the Canteen....

HARRISBURG | -- Smokers are taking up the old ritual of hand-rolling cigarettes and the new practices of e-commerce to get around Pennsylvania's month-old cigarette tax increase. State officials fear the two options — one legitimate, one questionable — could shave millions of dollars from state tobacco tax revenue.Pennsylvania tripled its cigarette tax last month to $1 per pack to help balance the state budget.

Welcome to The New Hobbit Hole Concerning Hobbits The New Hobbit Chronicles This is a continuation of the infamous thread New Zealander Builds Hobbit Hole originally posted on January 26, 2001 by John Farson, who at the time undoubtedly thought he had found a rather obscure article that would elicit a few replies and die out. Without knowing it, he became the founder of the Hobbit Hole. For reasons incomprehensible to some, the thread grew to over 4100 replies. It became the place for hobbits and friends of hobbits to chit chat and share LoTR news and views, hang out,...

Good FRIDAY morning everyone!Today mark's the 25th anniversary of Elvis's death. Israel is preparing for both biological and chemical Iraqi attacks, in additional to all the other kinds of likely attacks.Another little girl is missing...this time from Virginia, and after her parents were discovered shot to death.**Prayers** for all involved.....

<p>Neil Bush says son Pierce was misdiagnosed seven years ago with attention-deficit disorder, forcing the family to resist efforts to medicate Pierce with Ritalin.</p> <p>August 14, 2002 -- ANGRY New York parents who say school officials pressured them into medicating their children have a very powerful ally in their corner - President Bush's brother.</p>

must, in some way, relate to the news of the day. The Review threads are linked for your edification. ;-) Practice makes perfect.....post on.... ecumenical \eh-yu-men-i-kul\, adjective; also: ecumenic \eh-yu-men-ik\: ecumenical, ecumenicalism; noun ecumenically; adverb Of worldwide scope or applicability; universal. Of or relating to the worldwide Christian church. Concerned with establishing or promoting unity among churches or religions worldwide or general in extent, influence, or application There wasn't an 7 Archimandrite of Dane's Island and the townlands nor a minx 8 from the Isle of Woman nor a one of the four cantins nor any on 9 the whole...

<p>August 13, 2002 -- Anti-smoking advocates who convinced Mayor Bloomberg to propose a tough new law banning butts in bars, company cars and all restaurants have already zeroed in on their next targets: parks and beaches.</p> <p>"Our parks don't allow alcoholic beverages. Our parks don't allow dogs in a lot of them. They don't allow loud music. But they still allow smoking," said Joe Cherner, the city's leading anti-smoking spokesman.</p>

In a tactical misstep, Mayor Michael Bloomberg boasted inaccurately Friday that the City Council speaker supports his sweeping new anti-smoking bill. The legislative leader, Gifford Miller, later emphasized he has yet to back it. Bloomberg's latest turn against smoking is far-reaching and would make it illegal to light up even in workplaces, which now have designated smoking areas. The bill would also apply to outdoor cafes, where smoking is currently permitted.

Not about smoking rights. This is about personal bar/restaurant owner's rights to keep Big Government out of running and ruining their lives!

. . If you know a Veteran, someone in your family, friend of the family, neighbor, who served their country, take a brief moment of your day to thank them. Thank them for the sacrifice they made for the better good of their country. We at Free Republic, and the USO Canteen FReeper Style, are thankful for every service member in our military, who has served our great nation. So, to the men and women who answered the call, in both times of war and peace, thank you. . Message from Snow Bunny to all those who visit the Canteen....

July 4, we celebrate the founding of our nation, but how many Americans understand – much less respect – the founding principles? I fear that, for most Americans, July 4 is a celebration of a day off of work, an excuse for fireworks and feasting on barbecue but not a day to celebrate and enshrine the liberties the Founders sought for us. Some of this is the result of dumbed-down schooling, but a large part, I fear, is simple contempt for our founding principles. Let's look at a few founding documents to see what's your take on them. On June...

<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) - Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson proposed Tuesday to abandon a plan to raise California's car tax and instead increase cigarette taxes to $3 a pack -- the highest in the nation.</p> <p>"This tax is a voluntary tax. If you don't smoke, you don't pay the tax," said Wesson, D-Culver City.</p>

Timing Suspicious On Mysterious Suburban Crop Circles Could Eerie Mystery Have To Do With Movie Release? Is it a case of mysterious crop circles -- or an elaborate movie hoax? A soybean farmer in Naperville said the broken, concentric rings that appeared in a field off Diehl Road left him scratching his head. "Have you ever heard of something so crazy?" Steve Berning said. "Unbelievable." Berning said the circles appeared last weekend and damaged more than 10 percent of his 8-acre field. The circles do resemble similar ones seen in England, but in this case, the timing of their appearance...

In a recent column on cigarette smuggling, I mentioned that organized crime and even terrorist groups have now become engaged in this lucrative trade. It exists because of wide variations in state taxation of tobacco. Cigarettes are taxed just 2.5 cents per pack in Virginia, but $3 per pack in New York City. It is naive to think that nefarious groups are not going to exploit this difference for easy profits. Organized crime has been deeply involved in interstate cigarette smuggling for decades. However, recent sharp increases in state cigarette taxes have increased its involvement, according to law enforcement...

Need help. Seeking lawyer to assist gunowner whose sporting rifle and shotgun were illegally seized in Oak Park Illinois. In the absence of an America Gun Liberties Union (just like the ACLU) to accept cases related to the 2nd Amendment and other pillars of a strong Republic I am broadcasting here and elsewhere to find assistance. Gunowner is a Texas marketing guy who was on assignment in Oak Park domiciled in a rental Condominium when the landlord discovered his possession of sporting firearms. Since hunting and target shooting opportunities are available to visitors his possession was unremarkable. He has...

"A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke" -- Groucho Marx Frankly, I'd far rather have the companionship of a woman than even a good cigar, but that's the way one of the greatest comedians in the world expressed his love for cigars. But, I'll give it to Groucho, in a free society an individual should be allowed to make their own choices. Duck Soup Groucho died at the ripe old age of 87, which surely shows smoking cigars was not bad for his health. Sir Winston Churchill, arguably the greatest man of the 20th...

<p>HATTERAS, North Carolina (AP) -- Navy divers preparing to raise the 160-ton gun turret of the ironclad USS Monitor from the bottom of the Atlantic have found what is believed to be the skeleton of one of the Civil War ship's doomed sailors.</p>

Join the FR smokers lounge bump list...click on the logo Welcome Friends, foes and associates to the completely remodeled Free Republic...Smoker's Lounge Here you will find a comfy place to smoke, drink, joke or whatever. We always have a great time, so sit back, relax and...Smoke 'em if you got 'em shsshshsshsshsshssh shsshsshsshsshsshshsshsshsshshsshshsshsshsshssh shsshsshsshsshsshshsshsshsshshsshshsshsshsshssh shsshsshsshsshsshshsshsshsshshssh aaaaa,:`___________________________||`,:'.",`.;'`,:'.',`: <--------Life is good! A very special thank you to Registered for providing us with this fine logo....we will bear it with pride.