Free Republic

The Passion Of The LiberalMarch 3, 2004 IN THE DOZENS and dozens of panic-stricken articles the New York Times has run on Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ," the unavoidable conclusion is that liberals haven't the vaguest idea what Christianity is. The Times may have loopy ideas about a lot of things, but at least when they write about gay bathhouses and abortion clinics, you get the sense they know what they're talking about. But Christianity just doesn't ring a bell. The religion that has transformed Western civilization for two millennia is a blank slate for liberals. Their...

2004 VOTE Grocery workers set to vote on pact'People are ready to take the deal,' checker saysBy David Washburn and Mike FreemanSTAFF WRITERS February 28, 2004 Nearly five months of picketing through fire, rain and holiday weekends for poverty-level pay have striking and locked out grocery workers in the mood to accept a deal, almost any deal. Most employees believe they will be disappointed today when they learn details of the agreement struck this week by the United Food and Commercial Workers union and Southern California's three major supermarket chains. Yet they predict that the union rank and file will...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, February 12, 2004 Miller Delivers Floor Speech on Deficit of Decency in America WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Zell Miller (D-GA) today delivered the following statement on the floor of the United States Senate addressing several social issues facing the country: The Old Testament prophet Amos was a sheep herder who lived back in the Judean hills, away from the larger cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Compared to the intellectual urbanites like Isaiah and Jeremiah, he was just an unsophisticated country hick. But Amos had a unique grasp of political and social issues and his poetic literary skill...

In a holding pattern Those left standing are weary but united, resolute By Jenifer Goodwin STAFF WRITERJanuary 30, 2004 They stopped chanting on the picket lines at the Albertsons in Allied Garden, having lost the zeal for such passionate protesting sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. These days, they mostly stand around, signs on their shoulders like fishing poles, chatting, snacking, exchanging news about families and job searches. Sixteen weeks into the Southern California grocery strike and lockout, the number of pickets has dwindled. Some left for jobs at other grocery stores, a few found temporary tax season work at H&R...

<p>One afternoon, Mustafa Saied, a junior at the University of Tennessee, was summoned by a friend to a nearly empty campus cafeteria. The two settled themselves in a quiet corner, and Mr. Saied's friend invited him to join the Muslim Brotherhood.</p>

Randy Mayeux: Here is why we Deaniacs love our fellow 12:01 AM CST on Saturday, December 20, 2003 By RANDY MAYEUX The Howard Dean campaign revolutionizing presidential politics isn't just a political entity. It is a social phenomenon. I went to my first Dean "Meet-Up" ; a monthly Web-enabled gathering run by volunteers ; at the beginning of the summer. The mix and excitement of the people got me hooked. The crowd quickly outgrew two early locations, and additional Meet-Up spots now are added almost every month. I was there when Mr. Dean took the stage in front of...

For pickets, a growing sentiment of pessimism Reduction in benefits takes mounting toll By Jenifer Goodwin and Mark Sauer STAFF WRITERSDecember 20, 2003 Job-hunt front has been grim for many pickets Maria Vazquez's electric bill is two weeks past due. She scraped together enough to pay her phone bill a month late. She's not sure when the cable bill is due because she stopped opening her mail. "It's too overwhelming," said Vazquez, one of 70,000 area grocery workers who've been on strike or locked out since Oct. 11. Strikers are trying to put on a brave face, but they're feeling...

Union to pull picket lines from warehouses Teamsters to return to job; grocery shipments to resume By Frank Green STAFF WRITERDecember 20, 2003 The union that represents striking and locked out grocery workers in Southern California will pull its picket lines off the supermarket chains' distribution centers Monday, allowing 8,000 Teamsters to return to work. Officials of the United Food and Commercial Workers union said the move, which they announced as contract talks with the grocery chains resumed yesterday, was a good-faith gesture to jump-start the bargaining process. Teamsters drivers and warehouse workers walked off the job Nov. 24 when...

Woodstock still sets his soul free By Michael Hill ASSOCIATED PRESSAugust 15, 2003 BETHEL, N.Y. Duke Devlin was among the 400,000 people who converged on Max Yasgur's farm for three days of Woodstock in 1969. Unlike roughly 399,999 others, though, he never left. Visitors to the now-preserved hillside stand a fair chance of meeting Devlin, who resembles Santa Claus crossed with a Harley rider. Woodstock left a deep impression on Devlin, and he's taken it upon himself to tell tourists what it was like at the legendary festival, which went down 34 years ago today. "It's like hearing it from...

Westerfield's death-row letters Killer claims he was framed for Danielle van Dam murder By Alex Roth STAFF WRITERMay 3, 2003 From his cell on death row, David Westerfield spends his time reading murder mysteries and writing letters declaring he was framed for the murder of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, his Sabre Springs neighbor. "From the second that the police said that they found dvd's blood on my jacket, I knew I was being set up by one of two groups of people," the former design engineer wrote to one friend. "#1 the police or #2 the parents. My attorneys started...

Local rally at the Oceanside CA ampitheater, just outside Camp Pendleton, home of the 1st MEF currently driving toward Baghdad. Many of those in attendance were wives, girlfriends, and family members of deployed marines.

Attorney breaks his silence on defending Westerfield Feldman discusses trial in magazine By Alex Roth STAFF WRITER December 1, 2002 In court, Steven Feldman is almost compulsively talkative. But outside, when the subject is his client David Westerfield, the defense lawyer has been all but silent. Feldman has been notoriously reluctant &#8211; even after a court-imposed gag order was lifted &#8211; to speak publicly about any aspect of the Westerfield trial, a case that received so much attention that the attorneys and judge became household names. But the lawyer whose controversial trial strategy prompted death threats has finally decided to...

Police were on to killer quicklyInvestigators say first few days key to cracking case By Kristen Green STAFF WRITERSeptember 18, 2002 San Diego police detectives who investigated Danielle van Dam's kidnapping said if it had taken a day or two longer to identify David Westerfield as a suspect, it's likely the case would have ended differently. "If we hadn't homed in on him so quickly, it would have given him a little more time to think up better stories, do some more cleaning," Lt. Jim Collins said. More importantly, police might never have found his green sport jacket stained with...

Plea deal 'minutes away' when body found By J. Harry Jones STAFF WRITERSeptember 17, 2002 Minutes before Danielle van Dam's remains were found Feb. 27, David Westerfield's lawyers were brokering a deal with prosecutors: He would tell police where he dumped the 7-year-old girl's body; they would not seek the death penalty. Law enforcement sources told The San Diego Union-Tribune yesterday defense lawyers Steven Feldman and Robert Boyce were negotiating for a life sentence for the 50-year-old design engineer, a neighbor of the van Dams in Sabre Springs. The deal they were discussing would have allowed Westerfield to plead guilty...

<p>Ed Griffin isn't sure how many push-ups he can do, but the 60-year-old Princeton Township resident is sure to find out today.</p> <p>Griffin is one of 35 recruits undergoing basic training this weekend for the New Jersey Naval Militia, a counterpart of the state National Guard.</p>

<p>Steven Yamamoto has lots of debt. The 24-year-old apartment-rental agent, whose annual income is roughly $35,000, owes a total of $28,000 on six credit cards. He owes another $6,000 on a debt-consolidation loan he took out years ago. And he continues to rack up more debt by using credit cards to pay for gas, entertainment and vacations.</p>

British dating agency plays the politics game By Emma Ross-Thomas REUTERS December 9, 2001 LONDON -- Lonely hearts looking for love through a British dating agency had better make sure their roses are red and their commitment is to the cause. Socialist Partners bills itself as the only dating agency in Britain to link would-be lovers by political persuasion. Peter Shaw, who owns the agency in Bradford, said it did not discriminate against anyone -- except those to the right of center. &#34;I don't turn people away for age, disability or color,&#34; Shaw told Reuters. &#34;I don't turn people away ...

Living in a material world Coming of Age story by KIM PETERSON Staff Writer September 9, 2001 School lets out for the day at Poway High, and out pours a wealth of eager, savvy consumers. Teens swarm out, many dressed like runway models in outfits worth more than many people earn in a day. Cell phones power on. Tricked-out Mustangs and Ford trucks roar from three student parking lots. In this school, and others, many students are copping a new attitude: You are what you own. Growing up in the lap of prosperity, adolescents today are perhaps the most materialistic ...

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) - Steve Perna is wired, though not from his morning coffee. Every day, the car salesman clips a cellular telephone, an e-mail-capable pager and palm-sized personal digital assistant to his waist. He also carries a laptop and has desktop computers at home and the office. "When you get all those things hanging off your belt it looks like Batman's utility belt or something," joked Perna, who manages online sales for a Lincoln-Mercury dealership outside Washington. A caped-crusading superhero he is not. But Perna is among millions of people for whom ...

During my trial, the truth was known, but no one would write it. It's a much better story if I'm guilty. They didn't look at anybody but me. I was set up." Developing ...