Free Republic

Newsmax commentators on comedian saying red states are the only ones in which people with different viewpoints can still laugh together. Comedian Bill Maher said he likes performing in red states, TW Shannon and Rogan O'Handley react - Via Newsmax's 'John Bachman Now.'

Research has suggested that modern music really isn’t as good as the old classics. A study has found that golden oldies stick in millennials’ minds far more than the relatively bland, homogenous pop of today. A golden age of popular music lasted from the 1960s to the 1990s, academics claimed. Songs from this era proved to be much more memorable than tunes released in the 21st century. Music from the vinyl era is still very popular among young people Scientists tested a group of millennials on their ability to recognise hit records from different decades. The 643 participants, typically aged...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans increasingly think Democrats have a better plan for healthcare than Republicans, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted after the White House announced that more people than expected had signed up for the "Obamacare" health plan. Nearly one-third of respondents in the online survey released on Tuesday said they prefer Democrats' plan, policy or approach to healthcare, compared to just 18 percent for Republicans. This marks both an uptick in support for Democrats and a slide for Republicans since a similar poll in February. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius stepped down last week after...

The latest poll from the Wall Street Journal-NBC New York-Marist doesn’t merely show disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner in the lead over competitor Christine Quinn. He now leads her by a margin of 25 percent to 20 percent among Democrats. Even more shocking,

<p>It is, of course, a really silly thing to even think about, given the clout of the Chicago Machine boys currently occupying the White House.</p> <p>But, just say, the Real Great Talker continues his spiraling descent in the polls over the next 12-18 months; already the Democrat is barely tied with Any Republican in opinion polls looking toward 2012.</p>

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A straw poll of US conservative activists saw Texas congressman Ron Paul emerge as the preferred Republican presidential candidate to run against President Barack Obama in 2012. Some 31 percent of the more than 2,000 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) attendees who participated in the poll voted for the outspoken libertarian. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate in 2008, came in third with 7.0 percent, some way behind former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (22 percent), who had won the CPAC poll for the last three years. There were boos among the crowd as the...

LONDON (AFP) – Most passengers would be willing to stand during flights if the fare was free, according to a poll released Wednesday by Irish no-frills airline Ryanair. More than 80,000 passengers, 66 percent of those polled by Ryanair, said they would be happy to stand during one-hour flights. Thirty-four percent said they wanted a seat. "With 120,000 passengers voting and 80,000 saying they would stand on board, Ryanair will continue to explore the concept of 'fare free standing' flights with Boeing and the relevant aviation authorities in the US and EU," Ryanair's head of communications Stephen McNamara said. Under...

Suspect: I prefer drink to Koran (Filed: 26/09/2006) A suspected terrorist accused of plotting a bomb attack claimed he was more interested in girls and drinking than Islamic extremism. Anthony Garcia, 24, admitted he bought 1,300lb (600kg) of ammonium nitrate fertiliser, which could have been used to make a huge explosive device, on the orders of his friend Omar Khyam, 24, the alleged leader of the plot. But, he told the Old Bailey, he thought it was to be shipped to Pakistan. Garcia denied he was a devout Muslim and told the court he had wanted to become a model...

There's no helping you. This site is now just a diversion -- like a train wreck. This site is inherently for and about raving egomaniacs, and Jim's site policies -- which amount to excluding reality and actual dialogue in favor of political/militaristic pornography -- is conducive to cognitive dissonance, which at the times your worldview is threatened leads you into psychotic breaks (on the political cognitive plane, that is, and just maybe in other realms too). Not to mention that your baseline politics is based in mythology about American demographics, science, economics, ethics etc. You spoonfeed each other in the...

Turkey bird flu strain may 'prefer humans' Staff and agencies Thursday January 12, 2006 British scientists said tonight there was possible evidence that the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in Turkey was of a kind with a small mutation that preferred to attach itself to humans, rather than birds. The indications of a possible mutation in the disease were found in analysis of viruses taken from two of the fatal human cases of bird flu in Turkey. The same small signs of a preference for attaching to human cells were found in previous cases of bird flu viruses in...

Charter school enrollment in California has exploded over the past two years, a sign that parents are desperate for solutions to the public school fiasco. Trouble is, the education establishment doesn't want to pay much attention to this trend, especially in Los Angeles, where school district unions and administrators try hard to ignore the glaring fact that charters are extremely popular with parents and growing numbers of teachers. According to the California Charter School Association, there are 574 charter schools in the state - 86 just within the LAUSD, 20 more than the year before. At this rate, by 2012,...

As cat owners know, their feline friend would much rather chase and eat a live mouse than snack on the chocolate equivalent, and now researchers have discovered the reason – cats are simply unable to taste sweet things. An examination of feline genetics has shown a significant defect in one of the genes that codes for part of the sweet taste receptor. This “huge deletion” of 247 base pairs in the gene that codes for the T1R2 protein – one of two proteins that make up the sweet taste receptor in mammals – has left cats unable to detect sweet-tasting...

Why Men Prefer Pretty Faces So you think beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Think again. According to new research from the University of Exeter in Great Britain, the preference for pretty faces over ugly ones is embedded in our brains from the moment of birth and possibly prior to birth. Newborn babies come fully equipped with built-in preferences, including a preference for an attractive face, that help them make sense of their new environment, report the BBC News Online and Newsweek magazine. The Exeter researchers showed more than 100 infants two images that were placed side by...

"...The belief that rotund women are more desirable as wives helps explain why much of the Arab world -- which stretches from the Persian Gulf in the east to Mauritania in North Africa -- is experiencing an explosion of obesity. About half of women in the Middle East are overweight or obese, according to the United Nations' World Health Organization. In some communities, many of which were nomadic until a few decades ago, oil wealth has dramatically improved living standards. The resulting urbanization has introduced some Western habits: high consumption of sugar, fat and processed foods and more sedentary lifestyles....

Hollywood Foreign Press Association today failed to nominate Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" in any categories for its Golden Globes, which often forecast the race for the Academy Awards. Instead the group nominated another biopic for best drama: "Kinsey," which whitewashes sex researcher Alfred Kinsey's interest in pedophilia. Also nominated for best movie drama: "The Aviator," starring Bush-bashing actor Leonardo DiCaprio; "Closer," starring Bush-bashing actresses Julia Roberts and Natalie Portman; "Finding Neverland," starring Bush-bashing actor Johnny Depp; "Million Dollar Baby," starring Bush-bashing actress Hillary Swank; and "Hotel Rwanda," about the African genocide that Bill Clinton and U.N....

Should John Kerry lose, more delegates prefer Clinton in '08 By GENARO C. ARMAS ~ Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Delegates to next week's Democratic National Convention already have an idea about 2008 if presidential candidate John Kerry should lose this fall: They would favor Hillary Rodham Clinton over John Edwards as their next standardbearer. An Associated Press survey found that the first-term New York senator is the choice of more than a quarter of the delegates while Edwards, recently tapped by Kerry to be his running mate, was favored by some 17 percent. Clinton -- former first lady,...

<p>MODESTO -- Prosecutors prefer Scott Peterson's double-murder trial be moved to Santa Clara County if the judge "does not reconsider Sacramento," according to court documents filed Friday.</p> <p>The state court administrative body produced a list of four potential trial sites this week after Judge Al Girolami ruled it necessary to move the case out of Stanislaus County, citing massive publicity.</p>

One in five British men would rather go for a facial and waxing session than have a stag party, according to a survey detailed on Ananova.com. The poll questioned more than 3 500 hen and stag partygoers from across Britain. Both male and female partygoers agreed that women were four times more likely to have more fun on their last night of freedom than men. According to the poll by Rolo, women are 50% more likely than men to give their bride-to-be a night to remember full of dares, cheeky tricks and memorable stories. At the same time, one in...