Free Republic

"America is a nation of immigrants; legal immigration is good for America and for those who come here seeking freedom and opportunity. As Governor of a border state, I know firsthand the great richness and benefits that legal immigrants with different cultures, history and traditions bring to America. I support increasing the number of H-1B visas to help meet America's need for more high-tech workers, and I support expanding the H-2A temporary agricultural workers program so that willing workers can help meet America's labor needs. I oppose illegal immigration. The federal government must improve its enforcement of our borders."

Private Clubs No Longer Exempt from Smoking Ban A Franklin County Judge has ruled VFW halls and other private clubs are not exempt from the state smoking ban. By WTVN Newsroom Thursday, May 17, 2007 Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David Cain issued the ruling Thursday, saying the Ohio Department of Health overstepped its authority when it amended the smoking ban passed in November to exempt VFW halls and other private clubs, as long as the patrons were members. "We are actually reading it and will have some internal discussions to decide if we want to take a next step,"...

As controversies go, this one isn't exactly a whopper. It's more of a - well, let's just say it's about a wopburger and what happens when the menu at an iconic Louisville restaurant collides with ethnic sensibilities and political correctness in the 21st century. And, essentially, what happens is the icon blinks first. Which is why the menu at the Blue Parrot restaurant will soon offer an "Italian burger" instead of a you-know-what burger. How, you ask, could something as benign - to say nothing of tasty - as a "sausage patty with melted cheese served with sauce" ignite an...

Ohio Planned Parenthood Abortion Center Sued Over Incest Case Coverup by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com Editor May 10, 2007 A suburban Cincinnati Planned Parenthood has been sued by a teenage girl who accuses it of covering up her sexual victimization by her father. Under Ohio law, doctors, nurses, teachers and other professionals are required to report alleged sexual abuse to authorities and the teen says that didn't happen in her abortion case. The unnamed girl filed the lawsuit in Warren County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday saying she told Planned Parenthood staff about the incest. Abortion business officials told the Associated...

Gee, do you suppose Jimmy makes Roslynn Carter wear a burqua? (Sorry if this is a duplicate.)

Scare At A Central Ohio School By WTVN Newsroom Wednesday, April 18, 2007 Some tense moments Wednesday morning at Gahanna Lincoln High School after police say a student walked into the school office with a knife. Gahanna police say the 18 year old entered the office and began making threats directed at other students and staff members. Two officers responded to the school and eventually used a taser to help take the suspect into custody. As a precaution, the school went into lockdown for about 30 minutes. Charges are pending.

"I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions [banning guns on campuses] because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus." (Roanoke Times, 01/31/06) "'He was a loner, and we're having difficulty finding information about him,' school spokesman Larry Hincker said, a day after the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history." (The AP, 04/17/07)

"Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the [Virginia campus gun rights] bill was defeated. "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus." -- The Roanoke Times, January 31, 2006

It's All About Jenny Ballantine Rush Limbaugh has a fascinating transcript from a town-hall meeting John and Elizabeth Edwards held at the University of New Hampshire Monday. They were questioned by an undergraduate named Jenny Ballantine, who had this to say: "I need to be able to look to my leader and see words of encouragement, words of hope. I need to be able to trust that person. I need to be able to know that I'm going to be grow [sic in transcript] in a world that's not going to be full of hate and prejudice and racism and...

Broadsides - March 29, 2007 NATO, Call Your Office "An attack on one is an attack on all." This, in theory, is the guiding provision of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. And, apparently, that's all it is -- theory. When Islamist nations dispatched terrorist mercenaries to attack the United States on September 11, 2001, what did America's NATO allies do? Nothing. (There were, however, plenty of European candlelight memorial vigils. Gee, thanks! That's only helpful if one uses the candles to set the terrorists on fire.) What was NATO's reaction when Islamist nations subsidized a suicide bombing attack on London's...