Free Republic

If you're going to drop names, drop big ones. Last night, our friend Tammy invited Sheryl and me to have dinner with Mary Cheney. She was in LA (fresh from a Larry King appearance) to promote her new book - Now It's my Turn: A Daughter's Chronicle of Political Life. Of course we were pleased at the invitation. How many times do you get a chance to meet the daughter of a sitting vice president, especially one at the center of controversy herself? Mary, as most of you undoubtedly know, is the first publicly out homosexual child of such a...

THE INTERVIEW WITH GOD I dreamed I had an interview with God. “So you would like to interview me?” God asked. “If you have the time” I said. God smiled. “My time is eternity.” “What questions do you have in mind for me?” “What surprises you most about humankind?” God answered... “That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again.” “That they lose their health to make money... and then lose their money to restore their health.” “That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they...

He may have not been the “perfect dad”, but he is mine and I miss him He was not always there in my childhood, but when he was, he was my hero. And I miss him. We “lost” him in the mid ‘80s, when I say “lost”, I mean not physically, but, in a more “spiritual and emotional way” I remember many things that he did or said that made me mad or was annoying then But, man, what I wouldn’t give to have those days back! I remember how he would mangle Christmas carols every year, changing to the...

And you thought those people that set up roomfulls of dominos to knock over were amazing... There are no computer graphics or digital tricks in the film. Everything you see really happened in real time exactly as you see it. The film took 606 takes. On the first 605 takes, something, usually very minor, didn't work. They would then have to set the whole thing up again. The crew spent weeks shooting night and day. By the time it was over, they were ready to change professions. The film cost six million dollars and took three months to complete including...

See for example this thread first. The Feds are now set to announce on Cross-border drugs they will pounce not drugs from señors but those for seniors will Viagra get street-sold by the ounce?

PARIS (Reuters) - One third of French people say they are racist, a French human rights watchdog said on Tuesday, after a survey that showed an increase from last year in the number of people who acknowledged being racist. Some 33 percent of 1,011 people surveyed face-to-face by pollsters CSA said they were "somewhat" or "a little" racist, up 8 percentage points from last year, according to an annual report by the National Consultative Commission for Human Rights. The poll asked the question "When it comes to you personally, would you say you are ..." followed by a list of...

6th International Editorial Cartoon Competition 1. The theme of the 6th International Editorial Cartoon Competition, is “Cartooning in a dangerous environment”: to illustrate the pressure under which cartoonists perform their craft: the “chill” of a potential libel suit, the temptation of self-censorship, and security, political, economic and/or editorial constraints to artistic expression. 2. Prizes: three prizes will be given: a first prize of $1500, a crystal trophy, plus a Certificate from the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, a second prize of $750, and a third of $500. All sums are in Canadian dollars. Ten additional cartoons will receive an ³Award of...

These are the remarks I made at the funeral yesterday. Kim proofread and made improvements to them and stood beside me while I spoke. I actually wandered my way into this with some comments on the weather (snowing - like the day Elena was born seven years ago this Friday), the Music (my sister Jill sang Ave Maria. Same song as at our wedding but sounded so different in this different context), and the picture Elena slept with (which I’ll write about later).

The commercial will be broadcast on cable channels By SAMANTHA LEVINE Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Another day, another Tom DeLay ad, another rejection. After four Houston TV stations initially refused last month to show an ad criticizing the Republican House member from Sugar Land, at least one local station is refusing to run a new spot that promotes the lawmaker and attacks a prominent supporter of the Democrats. "We have chosen not to take the spot in its current form," said D'Artagnan Bebel, vice president and general manager of the local Fox affiliate, KRIV (Channel 26)....

Gold Star Parents to Iraq

http://www.thetriplehelix.org/ anyone familiar with organization? Arizona State University has a sub organization ther and wondered what people thought.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged young Russians to observe the traditional moral values of Orthodox Christmas, which is celebrated in Russia on January 7, according to the old calendar. ''The positive influence of Christmas celebrations on the creative and public activities of Russian citizens is growing from year to year. It is important that the younger generation accepts the traditional moral values,'' Mr Putin said in a message greeting the Orthodox Christians and Russians on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas. He attended a Christmas service in the Transfiguration Cathedral in Yakutsk (Sabha republic), in Siberia yesterday, where he was...

Sergiy Kostiuk, for UP Response to President Yushchenko’s article, published in Financial Times, December 22, 2005 Over a half of Ukraine’s population thinks that the country moves in a wrong direction Last year, when Christmas and New Year’s celebration was in full swing in Europe, millions of Ukrainians rebelled against marred regime of Kuchma-Yanukovych. Those events became known as Orange Revolution. Peaceful protest against fraudulent elections ended on December 26th. People of Ukraine chose European democratic values and elected Yushchenko the third President of independent Ukraine. As the year nears its end, Europe celebrates again, but the Ukrainians call the...

EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, Fla. -- In this photo provided by the Everglades National Park, the carcass of a six-foot American alligator is shown protruding from the mid-section of a 13-foot Burmese python in Everglades National Park, Fla., after the snake apparently swallowed the alligator, resulting in the deaths of both animals. (10/05/05 AP photo)

TEQUESTA, Fla. -- Hattie Siegel sits barefoot on her front porch and tells visitors her life story. Not weird enough? Read more strange news LOOK! Strange News Photos Yet there is one chapter of her life that she still cannot explain. That would be Chapter Seven, the one that says she is bankrupt. STRANGE PHOTOS WEIRD! View 99 unusual photos capturing a variety of strange news. New photos are added frequently! The 83-year-old Kentucky native amassed about $1.8 million in fines, all because she would not keep a manicured yard at her Tequesta home. She is losing much of the...

(CBS) CHICAGO Some racy books about teen sex parties are raising eyebrows. The books are so explicit, they could make some adults blush. But as CBS 2's Sylvia Gomez reports, books like "Rainbow Party" are only telling us what the kids already know. "Each girl put on a different color lipstick ? and the guys all drop their pants" is an excerpt from the novel, "Rainbow Party." They're called lipstick parties and the concept, real or myth, is about teenagers and oral sex. ?Rainbow Party? glorifies it. "Doing It" celebrates it. And there are other books as easy to get...

A report that put the public cost at up to $188 million a year brought harsh reaction from immigrant advocates and signaled a key issue in 2006. Conrad Defiebre, Star Tribune Last update: December 9, 2005 at 8:06 AM Printer friendly E-mail this story Related content Talk: Is it time for change? Download the report (.pdf)Politics Coleman makes 3 more appointments State ties steep costs to illegal immigration Former lottery head takes spot on Board of Regents 2001 pension error dogs Kelly Bush visit stirring Twin Cities A new government report that pegs the public cost of illegal immigration in...

INDIANAPOLIS – Undocumented immigrants in Indiana would receive a special driver’s license if they pass an exam and buy auto insurance under a new proposal. State Rep. John Aguilera, D-East Chicago, said the licenses would not help people gain U.S. citizenship but would be more like a permit to grant driving rights to illegal immigrants. “It should be framed as a public safety issue. That’s what we’re trying to impact here,” said Aguilera, the only Hispanic member of the General Assembly and chairman of the Indiana Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs. The commission plans to present the General Assembly with a...

Jack Thompson will give $10,000 to charity if any videogame company makes and releases a game based on a scenario he created. Miami, Florida Attorney Jack Thompson, a long-time outspoken critic of violent and sexually explicit videogames, has done something totally unexpected. Thompson today actually proposed a violent videogame, and will pay $10,000 to the favorite charity of Paul Eibeler (the Chairman of Take-Two Interactive) if any videogame company will "create, manufacture, distribute, and sell a video game in 2006" based on a scenario he created. Thompson's proposal is titled A Modest Video Game Proposal and has been sent to...

In October 2004, enterpreneur Rocco Monteleone started a cereal bar called Bowls in Gainesville, Florida. Located in a college town with no other cereal bars, Bowls appeared likely to be a successful venture. However, recently cereal bar chain Cereality (which has no locations in Florida) threatened Bowls with lawsuits should Bowls tread on Cereality's turf. Cereality has patents pending to give them an exclusive right to six business methods, including "displaying and mixing competitively branded food products" and adding "a third portion of liquid." If these patents are approved by the U.S. Patent Office, Cereality would have a complete monopoly...