Free Republic

WASHINGTON - Three times this year, a lobbyist sought help from Rep. Christopher Cannon for his clients and got it. The lobbyist was the congressman's brother, Joseph Cannon. The Utah lawmaker acknowledges helping his brother's clients, including pressing Congress last month to intervene in a business dispute over an Internet contract estimated to be worth as much as $1.3 billion. "If my wife decided to lobby, then we would probably say, 'No talking to my office.' I just don't see my brother in the same category," Cannon, R-Utah, told The Associated Press. Cannon has a financial interest in his brother's...

President Bush Approves Over the Counter Early Abortion Pill, Pro-Life Base Decries MoveBy John-Henry Westen WASHINGTON, August 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - For his pro-life supporter base, President George W. Bush stepped into one of the biggest political landmines of his Presidential career today with his approval of over the counter status for the abortion-causing morning after pill Plan B. A press release by Human Life International underscored the seriousness of the move as it was titled, "President Bush Files for Divorce with Catholic Base." Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International commented, "President Bush's implied support for the...

President George W Bush has announced that the US is to boost its aid package to Lebanon to $230m. The money would be used to help rebuild Lebanese homes and infrastructure, he told reporters at the White House. He also called for the quick deployment of a peacekeeping force for Lebanon. "The need is urgent," he said. The international community must designate the leadership of the force and give it a "robust mandate" as soon as possible, he said. A UN resolution calls for 15,000 troops to uphold the week-old ceasefire. Mr Bush said he hoped France would send more...

Topinka Spokesman Dismisses Endorsement (CBS) CHICAGO -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich has won a surprising endorsement from the Republican mayor of New York City. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in Chicago on Thursday to promote New York as a host of the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Bloomberg called Blagojevich a fighter for the people of Illinois, especially in health care issues. “If I lived here, I would vote for him,” Bloomberg said of the Democratic governor. In response, a spokesman for GOP rival Judy Baar Topinka dismissed Bloomberg’s endorsement as from an “out of towner.”

Next week is a big one for Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island: He must decide whether he's going to run for re-election as a Republican or as an independent. The deadline is 4 pm on Wednesday — almost exactly a week from right now. If Chafee doesn't believe he can win the GOP primary against challenger Steven Laffey, he may decide to forgo the whole thing and create a three-way race between himself, Laffey, and presumptive Democratic nominee Sheldon Whitehouse. This would create an interesting dilemma for Elizabeth Dole and the NRSC, which has already pumped a lot of...

Drug Warriors Push Eye-Eating Fungus USA -- Why are members of Congress advocating the use of a dangerous crop-killer in Columbia? On April 16, the New York Times ran a full-page ad from contact lens producer Bausch and Lomb, announcing the recall of its “ReNu with MoistureLoc” rewetting solution, and warning the 30 million American wearers of soft contact lenses about Fusarium keratitis. This infection, first detected in Asia, has rapidly spread across the United States. It is caused by a mold-like fungus that can penetrate the cornea of soft contact lens wearers, causing redness and pain that can lead...

President Bush is an easy target these days. Two-thirds of Americans disapprove of the job he is doing and even Bush’s loyal supporters are taking the opportunity to pile-on. Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family and other evangelical leaders are criticizing the president for inaction on social issues dear to their hearts and threatening to withhold their support in the November elections. While the threat seems intimidating at first glance, the concept of staying home in November carries little long-term consequences for President Bush and Republicans but virtually certain consequences for the very issues social conservatives wish to...

White House threatens Buy American veto WASHINGTON, May 11 (UPI) -- The White House Thursday threatened to veto the House versions of the 2007 defense authorization bill. The White House took the action because of a series of "buy American" provisions. The White House contends that the prohibition on purchasing foreign goods for the U.S. military will cause "irreparable damage" to U.S. efforts to build alliances and coalitions. One of the prohibitions bars procurement from any entity that has exported or transferred certain items linked to the U.S. Munitions List to the People's Republic of China. The White House argues...

The party of Ronald Reagan has devolved into the party of Lyndon Johnson, George McGovern, Henry Waxman, and Al Gore.  On spending, LBJ’s Great Society seems greater than ever. Washington Republicans’ Spend-O-Rama famously included 13,997 pork-barrel projects that lodged like baby-back ribs in last year’s appropriations bills. President Bush’s $92.2 billion request for Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina funding has expanded to $109 billion after Senate manhandling. It now features such germane adornments as $6 million for Hawaiian sugar growers and $1.1 billion for private fisheries. Another $700 million would redirect train tracks that CSX Corp. invested $250 million to...

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President Bush is lending Rudolph Giuliani some big-money muscle for his potential presidential bid. When Mr. Giuliani traveled through Iowa on a scouting trip Monday, reporters didn't recognize the woman at his side, Anne Dickerson, who was on her first road trip since discreetly becoming Mr. Giuliani's lead fund-raiser a few weeks ago. (The hiring of Ms. Dickerson was first reported on The New York Sun Web site yesterday.) Ms. Dickerson rose to prominence during the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign, when she wrangled Texas-size cash from donors. Sources said the White House signed off on her role as Mr. Giuliani's presidential...

"He [Michael Graham] also mentioned my abridgement of First Amendment rights, i.e. talking about campaign finance reform....I know that money corrupts....I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I'd rather have the clean government."

I MAY HAVE ENGRAVED ON MY TOMBSTONE:"SHE MADE JOHN McCAIN MAD!" After attending Senator McCain's morning Town Hall yesterday, I was so disgusted at the way the local politicians censored citizen questions that I abandoned the idea of attending the evening session. The Tempe mayor laid down the ground rules: only questions and no "speeches" (which obviously included statements that disputed McCain's claims). It was a royal sham from the word go, just like Bush press conferences. I'm sure it was packed with McCain toadies, because they started a standing ovation when he walked in and of course most people...

Assistant Education Secretary for Civil Rights Stephanie Monroe has announced that the Bush Administration is investigating universities that have fewer women in science and math programs than feminists would like. We are more than five years into the Bush presidency, but it appears that Bill Clinton's feminist policies are still in force. Is President George W. Bush a feminist, or is he just a typical gentleman who is intimidated by feminists and unable to cope with their unreasonable demands, tantrums and rudeness? When it comes to public policy and personnel appointments, the result is the same. The gender police have...

CHICAGO - Former Gov. George Ryan, who drew international praise when he commuted the sentences of everyone on Illinois' death row, was convicted of racketeering and fraud Monday in a corruption scandal that ended his political career in 2003. Ryan, 72, sat stone-faced as the verdict was read and afterward vowed to appeal. "I believe this decision today is not in accordance with the kind of public service that I provided to the people of Illinois over 40 years, and needless to say I am disappointed in the outcome," the former governor said. Ryan faces up to 20 years in...

ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - New York Gov. George Pataki has vowed to veto about $2 billion from the legislature's budget, including property tax rebates, saying lawmakers violated the constitution by modifying his programs. (Snip)

If you don't believe your federal government is actively working to destroy your way of life, to subvert common-sense standards, to further racial injustice and double-standards, to deny individual rights in favor of group rights, just read on and see what is happening right now in Virginia. The city of Virginia Beach this week reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department – that's the federal agency headed by President Bush's pick of Alberto Gonzales – to lower the standards of math exams for local police recruits. Why, you ask, would Washington be interfering in the setting of standards for...

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- Linda Thompson barely gets by on her $200-a-week job. The 47-year-old elder care worker is able to cover the rent and fuel costs for her Pelham apartment, gas up the van that gets her to clients in Boston and buy some groceries. By the end of the month, there's nothing left for nice things like new clothes or dinner with friends. Or health insurance. So with the prospect of being forced to pay for a policy under the state's sweeping health care reform bill or face a fine, Thompson is worried that her tightly stretched budget is...

On Feb. 21, Doubleday will publish the book that cost me my job: "Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy." The germination began when I heard about the extraordinary efforts made by the White House to ram the Medicare drug benefit through the House of Representatives during the night. Until that point, I had given President Bush the benefit of the doubt—even on things with which I was uncomfortable. For example, I had reluctantly concluded the Iraq War was justified on the basis of what I knew at the time it began. I don't normally...

Tuesday, April 4, 2006 10:54 p.m. EDT Romney to Sign Mandatory Health Bill BOSTON -- Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill Tuesday that would make Massachusetts the first state to require that all its citizens have some form of health insurance. The plan — approved just 24 hours after the final details were released — would use a combination of financial incentives and penalties to dramatically expand access to health care over the next three years and extend coverage to the state's estimated 500,000 uninsured. If all goes as planned, poor people will be offered free or heavily subsidized coverage; those...