Free Republic

Recently, entertainer Pat Boone wrote NewsMax editor Christopher Ruddy a letter regarding his feelings on Abu Ghraib and Iraq, the contents of which are published here with permission: Mr. Christopher Ruddy Editor, NewsMax Dear Chris, Hasn't anybody got the guts to accuse the worst perpetrator in this whole Abu Ghraib prison debacle - CBS and 60 Minutes II? What do you call it when, in time of war, someone takes military intelligence and turns it over to the enemy, who in turn uses it to kill Americans? Isn't that the definition of treason? Did Benedict Arnold do worse? Did Julias...

Tin SoldierAn American Vigilante In Afghanistan, Using the Press for Profit and Glory By Mariah Blake In April 2004, a former U.S. Special Forces soldier named Jonathan Keith Idema started shopping a sizzling story to the media. He claimed terrorists in Afghanistan planned to use bomb-laden taxicabs to kill key U.S. and Afghan officials, and that he himself intended to thwart the attack. Shortly thereafter, he headed to Afghanistan, where he spent the next two months conducting a series of raids with his team, which he called Task Force Saber 7. By late June, he claimed to have captured the...

Dan Rather and Mary Mapes, the reporter/producer team behind the discredited Bush National Guard hit job, won a prestigious Peabody Award last Thursday for their Abu Ghraib story which aired earlier last year on 60 Minutes II. The University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication issues the awards every year and Horace Newcomb, director of the Peabody Awards, insisted to the New York Times: "It was one of the most important stories of the year and was one of the crucial components of the ongoing conflict in Iraq." Mapes, who was fired by CBS over the Bush...

THE CBS REPORT issued last week by Richard Thornburgh and Louis Boccardi left a number of interesting questions unanswered. The Internet in general and the blogosphere in particular are a means of harnessing open-source information. So we'd like to invite the blogosphere to help answer some of the questions Thornburgh and Boccardi left dangling. (1) Who is Michael Smith? The report identifies him only as a "journalist" in Texas. The panel does not appear to have spoken with Smith and tells us nothing of his previous work. Does he or did he work for a mainstream newspaper? A local television...

The editors of the Weekly Standard have issued a call to the blogosphere for help in tying up a few of Rathergate's many dangling threads: "Fishing expedition." Here they are: (1) Who is Michael Smith? The report identifies him only as a "journalist" in Texas. The panel does not appear to have spoken with Smith and tells us nothing of his previous work. Does he or did he work for a mainstream newspaper? A local television station? Does he write for a website or run a blog? Has he been involved in politics? As the man who led Mary Mapes...

A war of words has erupted within the halls of "60 Minutes" following Dan Rather's admission that CBS News aired a report on President Bush using questionable documents. On one side of the battle is Steve Kroft, a veteran correspondent on the Sunday edition of "60 Minutes." On the other is Don Hewitt, founder of the pioneering newsmagazine. Kroft argues it's unlikely the Sunday show would have made the mistake of using the documents that bolstered Rather's report - which aired on the Wednesday telecast, formerly known as "60 Minutes II." So much so, Kroft and staffers on the Sunday...

BYLINE: By C. BRYSON HULL, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: JASPER, Texas BODY: Hawthorn pulled the chain out, showing it to jurors during cross examination of a police detective just a few hours into testimony Wednesday. In doing so, he stole a moment used to great dramatic effect by the prosecution in closing stages of the King and Brewer trials. Berry's trial began as two pre-trial distractions came to an end. First, State District Judge Joe Bob Golden denied a last-minute defense motion to move the trial from Jasper, about 125 miles northeast of Houston, because of intense media coverage and...

Grab a seat! Yer gonna need it… ‘Mornin’ folks! How the hell are ya this mornin’, anyways? Coffee’s on, and is it good this mornin’! Ya best grab a cup and get some! Feller’s gotta have his eyes open some ‘fore he heads out the door inna mornin’. Paper’ll be along directly, too. I gots first dibs onna funny pages! Well, it looks like CBS News done deconstructed. Their ratin’s in some of them big city markets was lower than the re-runs onna other channels! Lots lower! That’s pretty bad, folks. Well, in case ya didn’t know, them documents that...

Dear Mr. Conant, I am 40 plus year customer of your fine company, having enjoyed my first bowl of Campbell Chicken Noodle Soup when I was about four or so. While times change and life moves on, one thing that has remained constant is my being a fan of your excellent products from Campbell Soups to Pepperidge Farms breads and cookies, to Prego pasta sauces, and for the women in my family, always Godiva chocolates! Knockwurst and can of Franco American Spaghetti is still a favorite of mine despite After speaking with my wife and looking through our cabinets and...

Courtesy Of The Red,White And BlueCBS 60 Minutes II Oct. 29, 2003 Toby Keith is not only one of the biggest stars in country music -- he may also be one of the most talked about, and argued about. He has won legions of new fans by writing songs that are defiant, and defiantly patriotic. But not everyone has liked what they heard – and he’s attracted a few high-profile enemies, including the Dixie Chicks’ lead singer, Natalie Maines. None of that, however, has dimmed his luster. Next week, he is a favorite to win Entertainer of the Year at...

On CBS...President Bush on the 2nd Anniversay of 9-11.60 Minutes 2 is presenting a special episode.

From the newsletter: ============================ Hi. We're back! No more interruption for basketball. Friday we have a story about women having their "virginity restored" through plastic surgery, an interview with publicity-shy Johnny Depp; and a report on how Congress has equipment to prepare itself against a WMD attack, but the firefighters and cops who will first respond first don't. Then my column looks at the arrogant "planners" in New York City who are forcing store owners to pay big fines because they dared put "illegal" things on awnings. Did the stores use obscenities? No. They used things like the words: "Free...