Free Republic

Governor Corbett's budget cuts have been the source of much debate in recent months, and today a protest in downtown Erie brought out police forces. For the past few weeks it's been peaceful protests downtown by a group calling for action against budget cuts to human services. They gathered on State Street earlier today in front of the building which houses the governor's Erie office. Within a few minutes, the protesters moved into the street, blocking traffic completely.

Obama losing support as he panders. President Obama has long been criticized for his policies, but now more and more people are criticizing him for his conduct as President. There have always been those who dislike him for his affiliations, his controversial history, and even (sadly) for his race. Now Obama is giving people something more-and real to dislike.

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland has a balanced budget, low unemployment and a strong currency. On the face of things, the pristine Alpine nation has much to be proud of amid the economic turmoil in surrounding Europe and the United States. But as investors rush to trade U.S. dollars and euros for Swiss francs, sending the currency to record highs in recent weeks, Switzerland's enviable economic record has become a heavy burden.

A federal judge in Oklahoma has issued a temporary restraining order barring the state from adopting a constitutional amendment voters passed last week that forbids state courts from enforcing Islamic law, also known as Shariah.

Report from the Border: With the Alabama Minuteman Support Team by Mike Vanderboegh, Team Coordinator Part Five: Old Baldy the Right Way & Working the Line the Wrong Way Tuesday 0800: The floor of HCC has not softened. Chris, who says he needs beauty sleep "to maintain his manly charm" oversleeps but so do the rest of us. The truth is we are all sleep starved and will be as long as were here. The first thing I do is grab Big John and induct him into our team. We've been operating short since Ranger's departure. Mark is not yet...

I just returned from a week on the Mexican border with the New Mexico Minuteman Project. Based in Hachita, the New Mexico Minutemen, aided by volunteers from all over the country-- Washington state to Georgia, Alabama to Pennsylvania and Florida to California-- spend their time broiling by day and freezing by night trying to assist a Border Patrol whose leaders do not want their help. I led a three man recon team from Alabama but this is not about our story, it is about theirs. Hachita was chosen by the Minutemen because it lies at the junction of Routes 9...

This is the first email that Mike Vanderboegh sent telling about his experiences with the October Minuteman Project. Part One: 26 Hours-- The Economics of Just Getting There Friday 30 Sept 1600hrs Departed Birmingham. Had filled up the tank that morning, cost: $48.25. With the running around necessary to leaving had to top it off another $14.00 in Bessemer @ $2.99 a gallon, which was pretty typical all the way across. Stopped at Cracker Barrel in Meridian MS. Stopped again at Rankin MS for gas: 9.2 gallons, $26.54. About midnight we stopped again at Wascom, TX, bought 13.35 gallons, $40.02....

September 8, 2005 — Several Border Patrol agents were involved in a shooting near the Hidalgo port of entry Saturday. The Mexican consulate in McAllen was notified when the incident occurred, said vice consul Sandra Mendoza, but they have yet to receive a written report. “It is very important for the Mexican government to investigate all incidents along the border,” Mendoza said. “In this case the agent shot a Mexican national and we are asking that the Border Patrol provide us with a report about this case.” Border Patrol spokesman Roy Cervantes confirmed a shooting took place but would not...

There is a new kind of tree growing out west. Botanists have yet to decide how to classify it. Politicians and the major media seem to want to ignore it. The sight of one is enough to make weathered old cowboys who thought they'd seen everything in life break down and cry. Not many people have seen these trees, for they grow in out of the way places in the southwest desert along the border with Mexico. But those who have seen them are haunted by the memory. In an era of free trade agreements and politically correct euphemisms for...

Struggling to Kneel -- a true story by John Ashcroft Though we all enjoy the brilliant array of fall colors, few of us understand the process that produces the glorious display. As days grow shorter, trees produce less green chlorophyll and leaves reveal their natural, spectacular color. Much like a tree, my dad's true colors were most vivid at the end of his life. When he had just hours left to live, I saw my father at his brightest and finest. It was a day I will never forget. Before each of my inaugurations as governor of Missouri, I requested ...

Records on file with the National Archives and Records Administration and sent by the Florida secretary of state's office on Nov. 27 show that Texas Gov. George W. Bush has already won the U.S. presidential election. According to published information, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified the state's ballots Nov. 26 in favor of Bush, giving him the Sunshine State's crucial 25 electoral votes. After Harris certified the results, she sent them to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who then signed the certificate of ascertainment identifying the presidential electors. Bush then sent them via registered mail to the national archivist ...

K-141 is down. The Kursk, an Antyey type 949A nuclear attack submarine, was lost in the Barents Sea. The Kursk, one of eight active Oscar II class submarines, was the pride of the Russian navy and the leading edge of the new Northern Fleet. Commissioned in 1995, the Kursk was the Northern Fleet's most powerful weapon. It made a high-profile voyage to the Mediterranean in September 1999 and was due to return later this year as part of a planned Russian nuclear task group deployment to the Middle East. The August Russian naval exercise in the Barents Sea was designed ...

Vicente Fox Voted Mexico President MEXICO CITY -- Opposition candidate Vicente Fox won Mexico's presidential elections Sunday, ending the ruling party's 71-year lock on the presidency, President Ernesto Zedillo said. Moments later, ruling-party candidate Francisco Labastida said: "The citizens have made a decision that we should respect, and I'll set the example myself." Fox, who had been waiting for more official results before declaring victory, assured Mexicans there would be a calm transition if he won. "From today forward, we need to unite. ... We have to work together to make Mexico the great country we have all dreamed of," ...