Free Republic

History is not a Hallmark card. Sometimes, history breaks your heart. I know this because I have often recounted history in this space, tales of black men and women bought and sold, cheated and mistreated, maimed and lynched. And whenever I do this, I can be assured of e-mails and calls of chastisement. I still remember one of the first, an earnest lady who pleaded with me to leave this history behind. Telling such tales, she said, could not help but make black people resent white ones..............I find the same value in recounting those stories that my former boss Bert...

EPA Set to Issue Tough Air Pollution Rules Power plants and factories will both face higher costs. A Clean Air Interstate Rule, will impose tighter caps on emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide. The latter, a Clean Air Mercury Rule, will require plants to install cutting-edge pollution control technology. EPA will likely propose the interstate rule in the spring and finalize it by year-end. This regulation will apply tighter, nationwide caps on emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide from all stationary sources, rather than focusing on power plants in the eastern U.S., as in the previous version. In...

Yesterday marked something of a watershed moment in my life; for the first time since 1980, I exited the U.S. stock and bond market. My "paper" loss was staggering while my actual loss as a long term investor was approximately $900.00. The markets have been an enjoyable hobby of mine since I was 16 years old. That which prompted me to make this move is a new understanding of what this administration is truly all about which I share with you for your consideration, and comment. Hopefully, some of you will provide guidance in determining whether I'm on the right...

On the second-to-last day of school in Seattle, the fifth-grade class at B.F. Day Elementary School is bustling around the art room, cutting streamers, trying on hats and testing out their twirls. Volunteers from the Fremont Arts Council are also busy, helping students scissor through fabric, glue on streamers and parade their wares around the school......Like many Fremonsters, the kids who attend B.F. Day are excited about next Saturday’s parade.The Fremont Solstice Parade will be held on June 21st at noon- directions can be found on the Fremont Arts Council’s website.

The radio ad aired by one of Obama's labor allies re-injects ethnicity into the Democratic primary contest in sharp terms. "Hillary Clinton does not respect our people," the ad says in Spanish (original and Clinton campaign translation after the jump), referring to the lawsuit that failed today to shut down special caucus sites on Las Vegas' strip. "Hillary Clinton is shameless.""Sen. Obama is defending our right to vote. Sen. Obama wants our votes. He respects our votes, our community, and our people. Sen. Obama’s campaign slogan is 'Si Se Puede.' Vote for a president who respects us, and who respects...

CNSNews.com) - Human rights activists are demanding that Iran abolish its practice of stoning people to death.A new report, published Monday, comes as nine Iranian women and two Iranian men are now awaiting that "cruel and unusual" fate, Amnesty International said.AI calls stoning a "grotesque and unacceptable penalty" that should be halted immediately.Article 102 of Iran's Penal Code says that men should be buried up to their waists and women up to their breasts for before the stoning begins. Article 104, which refers to the penalty for adultery, says the stones used should be large enough to cause pain but...

HONG KONG (AP) -- Asian markets plunged Wednesday on growing speculation the U.S. economy -- a vital export market -- is sliding into a recession that could lead to a global slowdown. (snip)""American financial mismanagement has brought us to this economic meltdown," said Francis Lun, a general manager at Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong. "Asian stock markets are all suffering; nobody has escaped." (snip) "In Europe, where markets had fallen sharply Tuesday, stocks slid again. Britain's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX were both down about 1.2 percent in morning trading."

Iran has made important strides toward transparency....

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - In an unlikely marriage of desire to secede from the United States, two advocacy groups from opposite political traditions — New England and the South — are sitting down to talk. Tired of foreign wars and what they consider right-wing courts, the Middlebury Institute wants liberal states like Vermont to be able to secede peacefully. That sounds just fine to the League of the Southa conservative group that refuses to give up on Southern independence. "We believe that an independent South, or Hawaii, Alaska, or Vermont would be better able to serve the interest of everybody, regardless...

Dealing with global warming will be painful, says one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress. To back up his claim he is proposing a recipe many people won't like _ a 50-cent gasoline tax, a carbon tax and scaling back tax breaks for some home owners.Dingell says he hasn't rule out such a so-called "cap-and-trade" system, either, but that at least for now he wants to float what he believes is a better idea. He will propose for discussion: _A 50-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline and jet fuel, phased in over five years, on top of existing taxes. _A tax...