Free Republic

Science fiction space movies can do a poor job of educating people about space. In the movies, hot-shot pilots direct their dueling space ships through space as if they’re flying through an atmosphere. They bank and turn and perform loops and rolls, maybe throw in a quick Immelman, as if they’re subject to Earth’s gravity. Is that realistic?No.In reality, a space battle is likely to look much different. With an increasing presence in space, and the potential for future conflict, is it time to think about what an actual space battle would look like? The non-profit Aerospace Corporation thinks...

Former first lady Michelle Obama said Saturday that she isn't interested in running for office, cautioning that "it doesn't matter who runs" for the presidency until the U.S. becomes unified. The remark came in an interview with actress Tracee Ellis Ross at the United State of Women Summit in Los Angeles when Obama appeared to respond to an audience member urging her to seek office. "Well, that's a whole other story because, that's not the answer either. And when I hear people say, 'you run,' it's part of the problem. We still didn't get 'yes we can' right," she said,...

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday said that after a new Israeli government has been sworn in he will investigate whether there are "realistic options" for a return to peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), Reuters reports. "Once a new government has been sworn in, the Secretary-General will explore with Prime Minister Netanyahu realistic options for a return to meaningful negotiations on a two state solution," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, after Netanyahu was able to clinch a deal to form a coalition hours before a deadline. Dujarric also said Ban was "deeply concerned by recent...

The married couple Allen and Patty Eckman are known for their fine and detailed sculptures made of acid free cast paper. Their art shows mostly sculptures of Indians, but it also includes nature, women, children and animals. The couple have created the sculptures since 1988 and are the only masters of their medium having Eckman Method of Cast Paper Sculpture as their own trademark.

(CNN) -- If you were to judge the success rate of monogamy by the sex lives of public figures, perhaps couples should change their marriage vows to say, "Till a tempting new partner do us part." Talk-show host David Letterman recently joined former presidential candidate John Edwards, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer on a long list of politicians and entertainers (think Jude Law) who have admitted having sex outside their marriage or committed relationship. But do they just illustrate the realities of modern life? In the age of hookups, friends with benefits and...

Fellow FReepers -- We are going to move my aging parents into the finished ground floor of our home. To make this work best we want to install a residential elevator into our existing structure. Architecturally, this is not hard to do, as there are several locations in the home where we can easily fit the 'column' of the lift. BUT ... we don't have the first clue of what this might really cost us. Who has done this? ... and can shed light on the REALISTIC costs of putting in a lift capable of handling my mom in her...

Soldiers train for IED and other situations they may encounter in Iraq on convoys and maneuvers. In the most recent training, an extra training aid was introduced to create a realistic setting for the soldiers. Paintball gun AK-47s, M-4s, M-16s and IED's were used instead of the MILES (A laser system used to detect hits) gear. Photo by TRADOCFORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. (TRADOC News Service, Feb. 15, 2007) -- Cadre of Company B, 305th Military Intelligence Battalion completed the evaluation part of two weeks of training, Saturday. The cadre had trained during hours outside of teaching classes. "We've organized the permanent...

That so many U.S. residents lack health insurance is both a national disgrace and an onerous drag on the economy. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger deserves credit for helping focus the country on this problem. We doubt Republicans in the state Senate would have put forward their own proposal yesterday if the governor hadn't first raised the issue. That said, the Senate GOP plan is vastly more honest and realistic than Schwarzenegger's. It would: Provide tax and regulatory incentives for businesses to offer insurance to employees and tax incentives for individuals without coverage to buy insurance. Loosen state rules to allow a...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2005 – The commander of coalition forces in Iraq today predicted success in what he called the "realistic" mission his troops are performing. Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. spoke with NBC "Today" program host Matt Lauer in Baghdad. "We're going to get where we want to be, and we're going to be successful here," Casey said. "I've been here a little over a year now, and the longer I'm here, the more comfortable I am that this mission is ... realistic and that we can achieve our objectives." Although terrorists continue to launch more than five...

One of the enduring myths about the so called modern "art" is the need (?) to understand it. According to its apologists without understanding there is no real or proper appreciation of the painting/sculpture that one is looking at. In other words a process that naturally begins and ends at the heart must begin in our brain. That means we have already made a wrong start. I remember a quote from Renoir, a painter who is not a favourite of mine but who, nevertheless, hit the nail right on its head when he said: "... art is about emotion, if...

<p>A man in Granite Falls, Wash., who slept with a pistol beneath his pillow woke up one morning last week to find the gun had gone off and shot him.</p> <p>The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Saturday that the man, who was not identified, went to bed Thursday night with a loaded .22-caliber revolved tucked under his pistol. Sometime during the night, the gun discharged and shot him in the chest, but he apparently didn't realize he was wounded until he awoke early Friday.</p>

It is as sure as the tides: In any gun discussion, sooner or later, someone will feel obliged to suggest that desiring to be free to choose to be armed implies paranoia. I can - and do - easily counter this silly digression into armchair psychoanalysis (merely asking any who suggest this "You wear a seatbelt when you are in a vehicle... does this make you paranoid?") but I am left to wonder... is there a term for the polar opposite of "paranoia"? Paranoia is defined as "a mental disorder typified by an irrational belief that one is being persecuted,...