Free Republic

The sequel to the self-styled "ground-breaking" YouTube debate on CNN may be history before it even begins. The Rudy Giuliani campaign has cited scheduling conflicts in saying it will skip the Republican version of this week's Democratic debate, while Mitt Romney has mocked the seriousness of the questions and also seems likely to withdraw. John McCain, one of two candidates who had agreed to participate (Ron Paul is the other), has also expressed doubts about the Democratic debate's level of decorum and aides say he may reconsider his commitment. Undeclared candidate Fred Thompson may still not officially be in the...

President Bush is a competitive guy. But this is one contest he would rather lose. With 18 months left in office, he is in the running for most unpopular president in the history of modern polling. The latest Washington Post-ABC News survey shows that 65 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush's job performance, matching his all-time low. In polls conducted by The Post or Gallup going back to 1938, only twice has a president exceeded that level of public animosity -- Harry S. Truman, who hit 67 percent during the Korean War, and Richard M. Nixon, who hit 66 percent...

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Cavel International can resume slaughtering horses in it's DeKalb facility while it awaits a final decision on its appeal of a state law forbidding the practice. Cavel attorney J. Philip Calabrese said an injunction was granted Wednesday that allows Belgium-based Cavel, which has been shuttered since June 28, to operate while the appeal is being heard. “It allows Cavel to operate pending resolution of the appeal,” he said. “I imagine it's going to take a little bit of time to get everything together, but they'll reopen shortly.” The plant “will be operating soon,”...

I got this message in a bulliton post on myspace. It is really well writen adn I agree with it. But the bulliton said Jay Leno wrote it. it doesn't sound like Leno. If anyone knows, let me know... thanks! --------------------------------------------------- JAY'S LETTER FOLLOWS "The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the...

I have a friend who is in a very difficult situation. He had impregnated his girlfriend and she is planning on getting an abortion. He is vehemently opposed to this and is willing to pay for anything but an abortion. Doesn’t the father have any rights in this? Shouldn’t his wants and actions be considered in a court of law? Can anyone site a court case or record that has some kind of precident in a father’s rights? This is just sick that if he wants the baby, HIS BABY, whom he helped create, he has no control over his...

I wanted to know how to post a videoclip on freerepublic pages. I know how to do pictures, but is there a formula for video URLs? Thanks!

WASHINGTON - The public backlash over gay marriage has receded since a controversial decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court in 2003 to legalize those marriages stirred strong opposition, says a poll released Wednesday. Gay marriage remains a divisive issue, with 51 percent opposing it, the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found. But almost two-thirds, 63 percent, opposed gay marriage in February 2004. "Most Americans still oppose gay marriage, but the levels of opposition are down and the number of strong opponents are down," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center. "This...

I have a new theory about what's behind everything that's wrong with the Bush administration: manliness. "Manliness" is the unapologetic title of a new book by Harvey C. Mansfield, a conservative professor of government at Harvard University, which makes him a species as rare as a dissenting voice in the Bush White House. Mansfield's thesis is that manliness, which he sums up as "confidence in the face of risk," is a misunderstood and unappreciated attribute. Manliness, he writes, "seeks and welcomes drama and prefers times of war, conflict, and risk." It entails assertiveness, even stubbornness, and craves power and action....

Treasurer spurns rival's request for apology in ad dispute By Rick Pearson and John Chase, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter John McCormick contributed to this report Published March 8, 2006 SPRINGFIELD -- With the Republican primary race for governor taking an aggressive turn, Jim Oberweis asked Judy Baar Topinka to apologize Tuesday for criticizing his TV attack ads while Topinka said he was trying to "bully" her because she is a woman. The crossfire came during and after the third broadcast debate among the four major GOP contenders in the primary election. Reflecting the growing personal nature of the...

It's been a great few weeks for pro-life Americans. On Feb. 28, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of pro-lifers to protest outside abortion clinics, and in a few weeks the high court will hear Gonzales v. Carhart, a case which will determine the fate of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban of 2003. I am hopeful the rearranged court will uphold the legislation President Bush signed into law. On March 6, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed popular legislation making most abortions illegal in the state. Following the Mount Rushmore state's lead, Mississippi, Missouri, Indiana and West Virginia all...

Since the 1960s, liberal organizations have infested American colleges like NIU. These groups have held numerous rallies and events promoting abortion, gay marriage, anti-American propaganda and countless other left-wing agendas. Thank the good Lord NIU has the College Republicans who constantly battle these liberal forces ... oh wait, never mind. They don't. Since my first encounter with the CR in 2004, I have been consistently let down by the group's lack of interest in promoting conservative issues at NIU. Rather than advancing conservative ideology or standing up to liberal detractors, the leadership of the CR has regularly and cowardly shied...

THE Prince of Wales warned the British people last night that they were in danger of becoming as obese as many Americans because they did not walk or cycle enough. The Prince, who has a fleet of chauffeur-driven cars and has rarely if ever been seen in public on the saddle of a bike, said: “We are perhaps not very far behind our American cousins in the ‘super-sizing epidemic’.” In his speech at St James’s Palace he gave warning of a worrying sharp rise in childhood obesity. His intervention comes after the British Medical Association said that Britain’s fat youngsters,...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate's top Republican decided Thursday to force a showdown on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito early next week, with the two Democratic senators from Massachusetts pushing to block a vote. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist filed a motion to cut off debate on the Alito nomination after his Democratic counterpart, Minority Leader Harry Reid, objected to a move by GOP leaders to schedule a final vote on his confirmation Monday afternoon. Frist's motion, which requires 60 votes under Senate rules, will come up for a vote at 4:30 p.m. Monday. If successful, senators will then vote...

NEW YORK — If Shakespeare’s plays had gotten ratings in the 16th and 17th centuries, some might have been too sexually daring or violent to be labeled PG-13 or even R. But back then, bans and tossed tomatoes were about the only way audiences and leaders could show their disapproval of explicit scenes and risqué plots. With a modern-day Shakespearian doomed-love tragedy called "Brokeback Mountain" opening this weekend, the debate over this country's ratings system — handled by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) — has once again bubbled over like the witches’ cauldron in “Macbeth.” The much-blogged-about, critically...

A large blindfolded Santa hanging from a noose from a high tree in a man's yard has angered homeowners in a Florida neighborhood, according to a Local 6 News report. The Santa doll, which neighborhood children can easily see, was put up by homeowner Ron Stroia at his home located on 555 West 50th Street in Miami Beach, the report said. "It's just wrong, I mean who would want their children to see this, and it reminds adults of lynching," neighbor Estelle Farnsworth said. "It's just nasty, there is no spirit of Christmas in this." The Santa also has his...

The Democrats are so intent on unseating Republicans in Congress next year that they’re even moderating their strong pro-choice stance on abortion. Case in point: The party has chosen Robert Casey Jr., who is pro-life, to run against Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, the third-ranking GOP member of the Senate and the Democrats’ chief target in the 2006 election. Writing in The New Yorker, Peter J. Boyer reveals that New York Sen. Charles Schumer – chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee – told him: "When we sat down and looked at the map we said our No. 1 take-back seat...

As Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito prepares to go before the Senate in January, Justice Clarence Thomas has blasted the confirmation process for new members of the court. In a question-and-answer session at the University of Alabama School of Law, Thomas told students and other audience members the process is so intense that federal court judges turn down the opportunity to serve on the Supreme Court, and said the confirmation procedure should be "scaled back." During Thomas' own confirmation hearings he had to wage a bitter battle - with former colleague Anita Hill accusing him of sexual harassment - before...

Ronald Reagan was one of the greatest presidents of the 20th century, rivaling even FDR. His accomplishments are numerous. He helped America feel good about itself after the disasters of Vietnam, Watergate and Jimmy Carter. His policies helped strengthen the economy and military to levels unseen at the time, but his greatest accomplishment was helping to bring down communism. By banding together with then English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the late Pope John Paul II, Reagan confronted the "Evil Empire" with vigor and relentlessness, boldly demanding Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall" at the Berlin Wall...

On July 28, the New York Times ran the story of Ayad al-Sirowiy. He was brought to America from Iraq to have surgery. When it was time for him to go back home, young 13-year-old Ayad didn’t want to go. He asked Samir Shakir M. Sumaida’ie, the Iraqi ambassador to the U.N., if he could stay in the United States and work. The Times reported that "when the ambassador shook his head, Ayad’s father covered his face and cried." He said, "I thought the Americans could do everything." As Sumaida’ie toured the Pentagon with Ayad, the young Iraqi noticed a...

WASHINGTON - Evangelicals, Republican women, Southerners and other critical groups in President Bush's political coalition are increasingly worried about the direction the nation is headed and disappointed with his performance, an AP-Ipsos poll found. The growing unease could be a troubling sign for a White House already struggling to keep the Republican Party base from slipping over Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, Gulf Coast spending projects, immigration and other issues. "Politically, this is very serious for the president," said James Thurber, a political scientist at American University. "If the base of his party has lost faith, that could spell trouble...