Free Republic

Gaston: No funds for illegal residents AMY RAINEY AND FRANCO ORDOÑEZ arainey@charlotteobserver.comfordonez@charlotteobserver.com Q&A: Ask questions on immigration Gaston County commissioners have directed county officials to stop funding programs for undocumented immigrants in what marks the Charlotte region's most aggressive measure against illegal immigration. The resolution, passed Thursday by the all-Republican board, blames people living here illegally for a variety of social ills, and also orders county officials to limit their ability to live and work in the county. Some officials charged with enacting the resolution say it would have little effect, but commissioner John Torbett, who introduced the measure, said...

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert briefed opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu on recent developments in the operations in Lebanon in an 80-minute meeting at the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem on Friday. A spokesman for Netanyahu said that no political matters were discussed at the meeting but that Olmert thanked Netanyahu for his recent appearances defending Israel on American and European television networks. He said Olmert told Netanyahu that he was Israel's "best spokesman in the foreign press" - a compliment that could potentially cause a dispute between Olmert and his vice premier, Shimon Peres. Netanyahu condemned a Foreign Ministry official...

Even though it's Rush Limbaugh who correctly gets credit for revolutionizing talk radio, several others first laid the foundation for the medium's eventual societal impact. One of those key players has been Bob Grant, a northeastern broadcast giant, who today was let go from New York's WOR 710 AM. The New York Post's John Mainelli has the scoop: LEGENDARY talk-radio titan Bob Grant is leaving WOR next month by what is said to be a "mutual agreement," The Post has learned. In a move sure to shock fans who made him New York's top-rated afternoon gabber for decades, .....................snip.........................

A three-day dispute between large Internet network backbone companies came to a quiet end on Friday, restoring normal Net service to thousands of customers who had Web sites and e-mails sporadically blocked. Level 3 Communications, which had cut off a direct connection between its network and that of rival Cogent Communications on Wednesday morning, restored normal service late Friday afternoon. But the decision was temporary, made to let Cogent and customers find alternative arrangements, Level 3 said. The link between the two networks will be cut again at 6 a.m. EST, Nov. 9, unless Cogent agrees to pay for the...

NDP MP's family felt so unwelcome, they stopped attending mass after priest refused him communion ... A Catholic MP who was denied communion by his priest for supporting same-sex marriage, says his faith has been used as a "political football" and his young family has stopped attending mass altogether as a result. Charlie Angus, the New Democratic MP for Timmins-James Bay, says his parish priest, who also heads the campaign against same-sex marriage in his diocese, threatened to limit his privileges at church if he did not toe the church's line on the issue. He says Rev. John Lemire made...

Every day I see ribbon-shaped bumper stickers bearing the message "Support Our Troops." While most of us clamor to see the latest movie or ride our bikes on the weekends or plan our summer vacations, these bumper stickers remind us that there are American soldiers still fighting in Iraq, and we shouldn't forget them. Each soldier is someone's father, mother, brother, sister, son or daughter, and while fewer and fewer Americans are paying attention to the war, our troops are still getting maimed and killed. So far, more than 1,700 soldiers have died in Iraq and more than 13,000 have...

What happened? Hello? Hello? Anybody home? "MESSAGE TO DISABLED FLORIDIANS" December 1998, Florida By Governor-elect Jeb Bush "Talking with a variety of Floridians with disabilities and their families has helped understand a lot more about the lives, challenges and dreams of those with disabilities. However, I know that my education continues with everyone new I meet. People with disabilities are no different than anyone else. They want to work, have families, and live independently. As Governor, I would work hard to create an environment that gives people with disabilities every opportunity to be independent and play an active role in...

WASHINGTON - A year ago, an activist group from the Seattle area gave Howard Dean (news - web sites) a thin, golden statue of a backbone. The Oscar-like award honored the former Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont governor for standing up against the Iraq (news - web sites) war and other Bush administration policies. Now, as Dean settles into his new role as head of the Democratic Party, that golden spine has come to represent, for many liberal Democrats, Dean's potential to develop a tougher, take-no-prisoners attitude among the party faithful. "There's no gut-check required for Dean. Dean just needs...

During President Bush's first term, 10 of his judicial nominees were filibustered by Senate Democrats. This month, when the 109th Congress convened, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist finally declared war. Calling the filibusters an "unfortunate break with more than 200 years of Senate tradition," he made the Democrats an offer he hopes they can't refuse. "Right now," he said ominously, "we cannot be certain judicial filibusters will cease. So I reserve the right to propose changes to Senate Rule XXII and do not acquiesce to carrying over all the rules from the last Congress." In other words, if Democrats don't...

UPDATE POST ELECTION Cowboys still depend on their neighbors for help. They expect their neighbors to call on them in times of need. This is called "neighboring" a practice that has endured since the days of the pioneers. In Washington, DC this is called reaching across the aisle. It is time for all Americans to come together and work on the problems we all face. A COWBOY'S IN THE WHITE HOUSE. MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN COWBOYS. It used to tick me off when the Muslim detractors in the Middle East, or the socialist detractors in Europe, Hollywood and others...

I have been talking to a tech at bellsouth.net, and he says there is an internet backbone crash in California that is affecting eBay, MSN, and a lot of other stuff. Yes, I seem to be logged into FR, but many other sites are unavailable, including google.

People, it is my estimation that we attack. Instead of back-peddling on outcries and criticisms produced by the Left, we need to go nuclear. We need to let America know that the DNC has been brainwashing them with the idea that we are the reason for the 9/11 attacks, or the recession, or the prisoner abuse, etc. It's time to pull out the heavy artillery and start going on the offensive. The RNC needs to dictate the tempo of the game, like the majority party is supposed to. It is my opinion that we need to use this power wisely...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell stepped up the Bush administration's attack on the Iranian government on Monday, saying that "hidebound clerics" had dragged Islam into "the political gutter." Powell, following up on President Bush's speech on democracy in the Middle East last Thursday, mixed criticism of Iran with encouragement for conservative Arab monarchies that cooperate with U.S. policy. "The Iranian people want their freedom back," he told an audience at his alma mater, City College of New York. "They do not want to banish Islam from their lives. Far from it. They want to be free...

Homosexual activists and Democrats are urging Republicans to remove Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., from his leadership position for remarks about a Supreme Court case, but a transcript of questions asked during oral arguments indicate justices share his constitutional concerns. The rights groups contend Santorum's comments in an Associated Press interview about a case challenging the constitutionality of a Texas sodomy law, Lawrence v. Texas, were "disparaging an entire group of Americans." Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. However, an attorney who was present during the March 26 oral arguments said Santorum merely echoed the argument of the state of Texas, which is...

Senator Rick Santorum (Republican-Pennsylvania) said on Fox News Channel: 'I do not need to give an apolgy based on you know, what I said and what I am saying now.I think this is a legitimate public policy discussion.There are not, you know, ridiculous comments.More Santorum, in the unedited transcript of his Associated Press interview:I have no problems with homsexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts.

Bush issued his challenge a day after returning from New York where he called on the United Nations to demand that the Iraqi president destroy his weapons of mass destruction. The United States is pressing for a deadline for Saddam to comply. Bush said the United Nations should "show some backbone" and "show its relevance." He added: "Make no mistake about it. If we have to deal with the problem, we'll deal with it." Bush spoke as he welcomed Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a staunch ally in the U.S.-led war against terrorism. It was the second weekend meeting...