Free Republic

Charles Darwin observed “ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.” That was certainly true in 1995 when a man named McArthur Wheeler boldly robbed two banks in Pittsburgh without using a disguise. Security camera footage of him was broadcast on the evening news the same day as the robberies, and he was arrested an hour later. Mr. Wheeler was surprised when the police explained how they had used the surveillance tapes to catch him. “But I wore the juice,” he mumbled incredulously. He seemed to believe that rubbing his face with lemon juice would blur his image and make...

Artist Says Slain Animal Was Not Meant to Be Obama An editorial cartoon in Wednesday's New York Post that some say compares President Obama to a chimpanzee is being denounced as insensitive at best and racist at worst. The cartoonist denied he had Obama in mind. The cartoon, drawn for the Page Six section by Sean Delonas, who has been criticized for previous work, shows two policemen, one with a smoking gun, looking at a dead chimpanzee. One says, "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill." The chimpanzee reference is to a 200-pound chimp that...

The United States of Anxiety: survey reveals a jittery nation overcome with self-doubt By David Usborne in New York 09 September 2003 It is two years this week since the terror attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. A repeat of those awful incidents has so far not materialised and George Bush is crowing that the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq have been removed from power. Have Americans regained their old optimism, therefore? Hardly. That is the overall conclusion of a new survey released by Euro RSCG Worldwide, an international advertising group. The survey and...