Free Republic

Today I attended what was billed on Conservatives for Patients' Rights as a Town Hall for my local Congresscritter, Leonard Lance. Unfortunately, Congressman Lance was not there, and the 100 or so irate voters who turned up were informed by his somewhat bewildered staffer that this was a "Mobile Office", intended to deal with constituent service issues, like late Social Security checks and the like. Well, we were not going to let the opportunity go to waste, and there was a cordial, if somewhat heated, discussion. Every single person who showed up opposed the Democrat plan. So, all in all,...

As the political debate about how to pay for and pass health reform grows louder and more contentious, we shouldn't lose sight of the reason we're even having this conversation: We have a huge, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve the lives of all Americans, insured and uninsured alike. Health insurance is fundamentally about peace of mind. If you have good insurance, you don't have to worry about an accident or sudden illness. You know that whatever happens, you and your family will be taken care of. (snip)

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Former figure skating champion Nicole Bobek has been charged with being part of a Northern New Jersey drug ring. The 31-year-old Bobek made her first court appearance Monday by video from the Hudson County Jail. (snip) She is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Hudson County. Attorney Sam DeLuca entered a not guilty plea for Bobek. She was held on $200,000 bail and faces up to 10 years in prison if she's convicted. (snip) Prosecutor Edward DeFazio says 20 people have been arrested in connection with the ring. Bobek won the women's U.S. figure skating...

NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez's first hit at the new Yankee Stadium was a doozy. Rodriguez belted a game-ending, two-run homer in the 11th inning to give New York a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.

According to a congressman's wife who attended a Republican women's luncheon yesterday, Karl Rove explained the rationale behind the president's amnesty/open-borders proposal this way: "I don't want my 17-year-old son to have to pick tomatoes or make beds in Las Vegas." There should be no need to explain why this is an obscene statement coming from a leader in the party that promotes the virtues of hard work, thrift, and sobriety, a party whose demi-god actually split fence rails as a young man, a party where "respectable Republican cloth coat" once actually meant something. But it does seem to be...

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Sixth-graders at a Queens school were getting quite an education - in homosexuality, French kissing and cursing - thanks to three books widely available in classroom libraries. But after numerous complaints from parents at Public School 150 in Sunnyside, the books - a profanity-laced poetry book, short stories about homosexuality and a novel called "First French Kiss" - were pulled from the shelves last week. Several parents learned of the racy books after overhearing their kids snickering about the sexual themes. The poem "I Hate School" in a book called "You Hear Me?" includes the rhyme, "F--- this s---, up...

Children have been subjected to rape and prostitution by United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti and Liberia, a BBC investigation has found. Girls have told of regular encounters with soldiers where sex is demanded in return for food or money. A senior official with the organisation has accepted the claims are credible. The UN has faced several scandals involving its troops in recent years, including a DR Congo paedophile ring and prostitute trafficking in Kosovo. The assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations acknowledges that sexual abuse is widespread. "We've had a problem probably since the inception of peacekeeping - problems of this...

May 11, 2006 -- The 2004 Republican National Con vention presented New York City with an age-of-terror public-safety challenge of unprecedented scope - and the NYPD, with characteristic brisk efficiency, did Gotham proud. Not to hear The New York Times tell it, though. The paper's campaign to smear the NYPD's policing of the event is rising to new levels of absurdity - and now it's enlisted the Civilian Complaint Review Board into the effort. The paper yesterday published excepts from a CCRB letter to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly - a document leaked to the paper before it was even delivered...

A believer spells out the difference between faith and a political agenda Are you a Christian who doesn't feel represented by the religious right? I know the feeling. When the discourse about faith is dominated by political fundamentalists and social conservatives, many others begin to feel as if their religion has been taken away from them. The number of Christians misrepresented by the Christian right is many. There are evangelical Protestants who believe strongly that Christianity should not get too close to the corrupting allure of government power. There are lay Catholics who, while personally devout, are socially liberal on...

At the newscast at the top of the hour, George Weber reported that Teddy Kennedy has cancelled a scheduled book reading for schoolchildren in Brooklyn, NY, where he was to read his A Dogs Eye View of DC because of extensive media interest. Weber closed the segment by noting that the name of the Senator's dog was named "Splash"...

Hollywood’s 9/11 Propaganda Docudrama Opens A New Box of Demons "United 93" is an odd film by any standard. Filmmaker Paul Greengrass (notable for his terrific 2002 docudrama "Bloody Sunday" about the 1972 British Army massacre of 27 civilians in Northern Ireland) wrote and directed what is a disturbingly prosaic piece of dramatic conjecture about one of the most puzzling events of 9/11. As a fictionalized docudrama, "United 93" punctures all suspension-of-disbelief because of the intrinsic absurdness that the mightiest military power on earth couldn’t scramble a dozen squads of F-16 fighter planes to perform aerial escorts for the "11...

Google has a Miro-themed header today. Anybody seen any potential problems here?

Rod Ames gets help from Battalion Chief Coby Farnham to move his Harley-Davidson away from his smoldering home Thursday after Lacey firefighters knocked down flames at the home at 75th Avenue and Chinook Street on Johnson Point. Ames cleared the land and helped build his home in 1973. “God has blessed me and my life a lot more than other people. So this is just 'oh well,' ” Ames said. “It's been a wonderful home.”

Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 12:25:27 -0500 (EST) Subject: Found: boy’s hat Hi: Friday, at the corner of 11th street and 8th ave, adorable navy blue or maybe black fleece hat with triangles jutting out ofit of all different colors. Sorry did not post right away. For older child. -Helene =============================== Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 17:34:48 -0500 Subject: RE: Found: boy’s hat Helene, I’m sorry, I know that you are just trying to be helpful, but what makes this a “boy’s hat”? Did you see the boy himself loose it? Or does the hat in question possess an unmistakable...

If there were poetic justice, if Hollywood or the publishing industry had true courage, the story of Rachel Corrie would be coming to a big screen or bookstore near you. For now, the streets of Seattle will have to do. Tonight marks the third anniversary of the day Rachel died. A public reading of her mature writings will be held at 5 p.m. at Westlake Plaza. Rachel was in the Middle East, trying to protect the home of a Palestinian from immoral demolition, when an Israeli soldier driving a Caterpillar bulldozer killed her. He ran her over. Maybe the young...

"A Decent Respect to the Opinions of [Human]kind": The Value of a Comparative Perspective in Constitutional Adjudication Constitutional Court of South Africa February 7, 2006 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Associate Justice Supreme Court of the United States South Africa's 1996 Constitution famously provides in Section 39: "When interpreting the Bill of Rights, a court . . . must consider international law; and may consider foreign law." Other modern Constitutions have similar provisions, India's and Spain's, for example. In the United States the question whether and when courts may seek enlightenment from the laws and decisions of other nations has provoked heated...

Police: Puppy Shot Man Trying To Kill Dogs POSTED: 7:02 am EDT September 9, 2004 UPDATED: 7:05 am EDT September 9, 2004 PENSACOLA, Fla. -- A man who was trying to shoot seven puppies was shot himself when one of the dogs made the .38-caliber revolver discharge, deputies said. Jerry Allen Bradford, 37, of Pensacola, was charged with felony animal cruelty, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday. Bradford was being treated at an undisclosed hospital for the gunshot wound to his wrist, said sheriff's Sgt. Ted Roy. Bradford said he decided to shoot the 3-month-old puppies in the head...

State Supreme Court judge ruled today that New York City can ban protesters from using the Great Lawn in Central Park on Sunday for a rally, the largest planned for the Republican National Convention. Justice Jacqueline Silbermann W. Silbermann wrote in her ruling that the protesters' group, United for Peace and Justice, was "guilty of inexcusable and inequitable delay" in bringing its case against the city, according to The Associated Press. The group sued to try to force the city to grant a permit to rally in the park after months of negotiation failed to produce an agreement on where...

The following is the text of Senator John Edwards's remarks to the Democratic National Convention, as recorded by The New York Times. JOHN EDWARDS. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Now you know why Elizabeth is so amazing, right? I am such a lucky man to have the love of my life at my side. Both of us have been blessed with four extraordinary children: Wade, Cate, who you heard from, Emma Claire and Jack. We are having such an extraordinary time, myself and my entire family at this convention. And by the way, how great was Teresa Heinz Kerry...