Free Republic

Interesting item about Keith Olbermann, from FTVLive this morning: Last week we told you that Keith Olbermann was demanding better security at the Republican National Convention or he wasn't going. Word is that Olbermann was paranoid that some crazy right winger was going to assassinate him. Olbermann demanded his bosses protect him, or he and his sandbox were going to stay in New York. It looks like the suits could not get enough body amour and security guards rounded up for little Keithy. Olbermann says he is staying in New York to help cover the Hurricane Hanna. Las we looked...

Despite Vonage's ignominious IPO and fresh questions about its viability as a stand-alone provider of basic phone services, some smart executives are betting the market – and possibly Wall Street – will embrace another independent provider of phone calls via the Internet. Privately held SunRocket, a two-year-old provider of Voice-over-Internet Protocol (or VOIP) calls, has raised more than $46 million from blue-chip venture investors such as Mayfield Fund and Doll Capital Management, and the company is planning to raise another round of money later this year. What was Vonage founder Jeffrey A. Citron thinking? It would have been an ideal...

OYCE DORRIS knows the big-time, high-stakes telecommunications industry. She helped brainstorm the 800/COLLECT, "The Neighborhood" and 10-10-220 marketing concepts at MCI. But she's no out-of-touch, limo-riding, latte-sipping, Madison Avenue executive. She knows small-town life, too. The Vienna resident has family in Fredericksburg, visits the area, and understands the mix of commuters and country people here. And she's convinced SunRocket, the fledgling broadband telephone company she co-founded with Paul Erickson that recently launched in the Fredericksburg-area market, will fly high, even with suburban moms and rural grandmas who may be distrustful of new technology. The service, Voice over Internet Protocol, uses...

Thanks to its relentless marketing and low prices, Vonage has quickly become synonymous with phone service over the Internet. But when Brandon Sehlke and his wife, Jennifer, moved into a new home in San Antonio two weeks ago, they chose a new Internet phone service from Time Warner Cable, not Vonage or AT&T, his old provider. Skip to next paragraph The deal Time Warner offered was just too good: phone service with a television package and a broadband connection for a promotional price of $89.95 a month. "Getting all three services was better than anything else we could find," said...

WASHINGTON, April 26 — The Bush administration issued a new policy on Wednesday that protects Medicare beneficiaries against the sudden loss of coverage for drugs they are taking under the prescription drug program. Under the policy, insurers can still change their lists of covered drugs, known as formularies. But if they drop any drugs or impose new restrictions, they must exempt beneficiaries who are now taking those drugs. Dr. Mark B. McClellan, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, summarized the policy this way: "In general, a plan cannot change your coverage for the drugs you are using...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Insurance commissioners and other officials from several states are criticizing legislation sponsored by Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., that they say would strip states of their ability to set minimum coverage requirements for health insurance plans. While Enzi says he intends his Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act to allow people who are currently uninsured to afford coverage, officials from half a dozen states warn that the bill could in fact raise costs for many customers while reducing minimum coverage. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee last month approved the bill. Enzi, who chairs the...

DURHAM, N.C. — Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong is expected to seek indictments Monday against at least two Duke University lacrosse players for allegedly raping and assaulting a stripper at a team party last month. Although Nifong himself has not come out and publicly said he will be filing formal charges against any of the players this week, defense lawyers say it's likely he will do so, especially considering there won't be another grand jury session for two weeks. Defense attorneys say Nifong has made it clear that the players will not be given a chance to turn themselves in...

WASHINGTON — Signaling a possible shake-up among President Bush's senior advisers, the new White House chief of staff told top presidential aides Monday to expect changes that "refresh and re-energize the team." He invited anyone who is thinking of leaving before year's end to do so now. Joshua Bolten, who took over the top staff job late Friday, did not ask for anyone's resignation in his first Monday morning staff meeting with the president's senior aides, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said. No one stepped forward to say they would leave, either, McClellan said. But Bolten has Bush's full authority to...

It's likely your home phone is such familiar technology that you barely think about it. Maybe it's time you did. Lots of people are giving up the traditional household "land line" in favor of Internet phone service, also known as Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VOIP. Many more would like to try VOIP - if they could do so cheaply and without sacrificing their current phone line - at least until they see how this new alternative works out. And that's where the Internet telephone provider SunRocket comes in. SunRocket (www.sunrocket.com) is aggressively positioning itself as a low-cost VOIP provider...

Senate Bill Would Override State Health Coverage Rules GOP backers see the legislation as a way for insurers to offer more affordable plans. Critics say it would undermine treatment protections. By Ronald Brownstein, Times Staff Writer March 16, 2006 WASHINGTON — The battle over healthcare moved to a new front Wednesday as Senate Republicans advanced a bill that would change the way health insurance was sold nationwide. On a party-line vote, a Senate committee approved a bill that would preempt state laws that require insurance policies to cover specific services, such as maternity care and supplies for diabetics.

Over the past few days, stories have been leaking out suggesting that Larry King is getting old and isn't putting out the same quality show he used to. Despite this, CNN seems to be throwing him under the bus, as neither Jon Klein nor anyone else at CNN has come to Larry's defense. This despite the fact that after Klein's gutting of CNN, Larry King Live is the only show left on CNN with ratings that aren't a total embarassment. Last night, under the headline "We Respect Larry", Hannity & Colmes wondered why Jon Klein and his CNN destroying staff...

National Popular Vote Announces New Book Entitled Every Vote Equal: A State-Based Plan For Electing the President By National Popular Vote and Its First Legislative Bill in Illinois Former Congressman John Anderson (R-Illinois and Independent presidential candidate), former Congressman John Buchanan (R-Alabama), former Senator Birch Bayh (D-Indiana) and Common Cause President Chellie Pingree announced their support at a February 23rd press conference in Washington, for nationwide election of the President. The group released a book describing National Popular Vote's state-based plan for nationwide popular election of the President, and the filing of its first legislative bill by Democratic, Republican, and...

Rep. John A. Boehner's vote last month against a bill cracking down on illegal immigration is sending "tremors" through the House Republican Conference as the Ohio lawmaker pushes his candidacy for House majority leader. Immigration votes reveal one of the key policy differences between Mr. Boehner and Rep. Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican, in the race to succeed the former leader, Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas. Overall, both candidates can point to strong conservative credentials and high ratings from conservative and business interest groups -- both earned lifetime ratings of 94 from the American Conservative Union and scored high lifetime grades...

Multiple people on the Hill tell me that Blunt is in the lead. Those who are whipping for him are getting good feedback. As an added attraction, if Blunt goes into the majority leader position, it opens up the majority whip position, which a number of representatives are interested in. The desire to be majority whip increases Blunt's vote margin for majority leader by those who want to be whip. Update [2006-1-9 11:52:38 by Blanton]: We hear now that Congressman Jack Kingston will be endorsing Roy Blunt. Kingston is close to DeLay and a Vice Chairman of the Republican Conference....

VIEWPOINT: THE CONCEALED HANDGUN LAW: TEN YEARS LATER By Hon. Jerry Patterson When the Texas Concealed Handgun Law took effect in 1996, pundits and naysayers predicted anarchy. Any minute, there would surely be mass violence as armed Texas citizens began roving the streets settling arguments with gunfire. Certainly, several proclaimed, within a year there would be blood in the streets as Texas returned to the days of the Wild West. Ten years later the facts paint a different picture. Texas under the Concealed Handgun Law isn’t the Wild West, but the Mild West. No recurrent shootouts at four-way stops, no...

BALTIMORE, Nov. 30 -- President Bush choppered into town Wednesday on behalf of Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, leaving behind a fatter campaign treasury for Steele's U.S. Senate bid and demands from Democrats that Steele spell out where he stands on the president's agenda. Bush made it a quick stop on his third fundraising event in as many days for 2006 Republican congressional candidates. He posed for photos with supporters who paid $5,000 and gave an approximately 15-minute pep talk to those and others who paid $125 for a "stand-up" lunch of stadium fare at M&T Bank Stadium, where the...

Under deafening fire, a U.S. Army squad takes cover behind the crumbling mud walls of a shack in an Iraqi village. ''Let's move!'' barks the leader, Sgt. Chris Silas, nicknamed Sgt. Scream, over the noise. Smoke and dust swirl in the 100-degree desert heat as the team plans its retreat. ''Take a position behind that berm and cover our withdrawal!'' Sgt. Scream orders, indicating a mound 30 yards away. Dodging AK-47 gunfire, the troops make their move. Muzzle flashes from their M4 rifles light the midday air as spent ammo casings litter the ground. Darting behind the bullet-riddled shell of...