Free Republic

2012 was a grim year. There have been many others. May 2013 and all following years be far better! It's pretty much up to us. There have been reasons for sadness.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0MklIdTiaU?feature=player_detailpage] Video link If we are to survive as a constitutional republic, our hopes and our spirits must remain high even in the face of defeat.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GowMI4wvmU4?feature=player_detailpage] Video link We all have work to do. This should help us to do it. One of my favorite poets, Rudyard Kipling, wroteIF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you...

Those who deal with Orioles designated hitter Luke Scott on a daily basis know the deal: Scott is one of the nicer, happier guys in baseball. He is also one of the most outspoken players about things he believes strongly in. That starts with religion and his Christian beliefs. He is also a huge Second Amendment supporter – and has gone on national TV on multiple occasions about the right to carry guns. And he is a big right-wing conservative. Oftentimes he’ll share his opinions in the clubhouse. He says things matter-of-factly, and those around him have come to accept...

WELLINGTON (AFP) – Two blocks of butter have been found intact after nearly a century in an Antarctic hut used by British explorer Robert Falcon Scott on his doomed 1910-12 expedition, a report said. Television New Zealand reported that conservators found the two blocks of New Zealand butter in bags in stables attached to the expedition Hut at Cape Evans in Antarctica. The extreme cold of the polar region has preserved the hut and expedition equipment inside, but recent signs of deterioration had prompted the Antarctic Heritage Trust to launch a preservation project. The trust's Lizzie Meek said the butter...

(CBS) It's lunchtime at the Scotts Miracle-Gro headquarters near Columbus, Ohio, and the eating is healthy. "I'll have some salmon," a worker said. That's because the company that helps Americans grow their gardens is trying to trim its workers waists — and $24 million pear year in health care costs. So there's a full time doctor and a new clinic, which is free to workers and families enrolled in the company medical plan. There is a drive through pharmacy with generic drugs — and right next door: the new gym. It's also free to those who work out more than twice...

Mr Salmond, who had been leader until 2000, was speaking on BBC One's Breakfast with Frost programme two days after he won the SNP's leadership race. He said independence was "as inevitable as anything can be in politics". He said he was attracted to making a return to frontline politics because the SNP was under a "team leadership". "This time I am back and I am back as a team player," he added. "It is a novelty for me but it will be even better." Alex Salmond The realistic way towards Scottish independence is to form an administration in the...