Free Republic

As time races by, most of us barely notice the change that wear and tear inflicts on the objects around us. But everything from much loved teddy bears to the seats we sit on is marked by time every single minute of the day, as these fascinating images from around the world, collected by Bored Panda, reveal. In them, train station seats have the ghostly imprints of the many people who have sat there immortalised on the wall behind, while a bicycle is now an inextricable part of a tree trunk after the boy who left it chained there never...

Is President Obama done with Washington? The 44th president has never been the capital’s biggest fan, but his frustration with life in D.C. is bubbling to the surface in ways both casual and substantive. The president twice went for unscheduled walkabouts last week, taking a trip to a Starbucks near the White House with his chief of staff Denis McDonough on Monday and, the next day, turning up at a burger joint in Alexandria, Va. “The bear is loose!” is the president’s favorite phrase at such moments, and he deployed it again last week. Even the metaphor suggests a man...

RUDY Giuliani is no oil painting, nor is John McCain. Fred Thompson may have cracked it in Hollywood, but he's hardly leading man material. Barack Obama has those ears to contend with, while every time Joe Biden opens his mouth it's like watching an old episode of Mr Ed. Even pretty boy John Edwards is starting to show signs of wear. But according to the US's leading radio shock jock, Rush Limbaugh, it all matters little for the male presidential candidates, because when men age they look "more authoritative, accomplished and distinguished". What does matter, says Limbaugh, is that Hillary...

The dynamic performance by John Edwards in Sunday's Democratic presidential debate, assailing his competitors for the nomination, got high marks from political reporters, Republican politicians and left-wing activists. But not from the Democratic establishment. Once their great hope for the future, Edwards now is massively unpopular among party regulars, who neither like nor trust him.

Inevitably, Harriet Miers' religious views are going to get some scrutiny in the very near future, particularly since the initial reaction to her nomination from Christian Right leaders was significantly warmer than that of other conservatives. So far, all the press seems to have figured out is that she spent many years as a devoted member of a "conservative evangelical church" in suburban Dallas, and that she was raised as a (apparently nonobservant) Catholic. I did a little quick research last night on Valley View Christian Church, and also happen to know a bit about the tradition it comes from,...

A worn-out nation seeks closure on its horror story By David Usborne in New York 14 September 2002 "Sleep and drink," the television producer for a US network replied yesterday when asked about her plans for the weekend after one of the longest stretches of 12-hour days she can remember. There was no smile or ironic tone with her words. She was beat. America, in fact, is beat. The country – and New York especially – is worn out by a week that began with the nation's terror alert reaching Code Orange, then staggered through the emotions of the 9/11...