Free Republic

Founded in June 2000, Smartertimes.com is dedicated to the proposition that New York's dominant daily has grown complacent, slow and inaccurate. Even an ordinary semi-intelligent guy in Brooklyn who reads the newspaper carefully early each morning can regularly notice errors of fact and of logic. Smartertimes.com is dedicated to assembling a community of readers to support a new newspaper that would offer an alternative to the dominant daily. Smartertimes.com — "Smarter than the Times, and almost as arrogant, but with only a tiny fraction of the circulation." Edited by Ira Stoll at Brooklyn, N.Y. To reach the editor, e-mail editor@smartertimes.com. ...

Robber Lifted Mask to Greet Passers-By DUBLIN (Reuters) - A knife-wielding robber gave himself away by lifting his mask to greet passers-by as he went to raid a shop next door to his childhood home, Irish newspapers reported on Thursday. Displaying what his defense lawyer called a "sheer lack of criminal professionalism" Paul Fulham lifted his stocking mask to reveal his face to people he recognized, and was so drunk he couldn't find his way out of the shop after the bungled raid. "He was going through Christmas in an alcoholic haze and went to the only shop in town ...

The ACLU's religion purge is in high gear http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- THE American Civil Liberties Union is on a mission -- but not from the Creator. It's goal: to obliterate evidence of America's religious heritage. Last week, the ACLU filed a suit to have a Ten Commandments monument removed from the courthouse lawn in Vincennes, Ind. Such displays are a breach of the mythical wall separating church and state, according to our judicial law-givers. In May, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a ruling holding a similar monument in Elkhart, Ind., unconstitutional. This statue has stood in front ...

Just returning tax dollars to their rightful owners By REP. TOM DELAY LATER this summer, married couples paying taxes will get $600 of their money back. Single taxpayers will get $300 checks. The legislation President Bush signed Thursday gives refunds to all who were overcharged, eliminates the death tax, offers relief from the marriage penalty and reduces tax rates across-the-board. This year, the first $6,000 of an individual's taxable income or the first $12,000 of a married couple's taxable income will be taxed at a new, lower rate of 10 percent. This marks a one-third reduction from the current 15 ...

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said someone may steal from it at night, so they created a night watchman position (GS-4) and hired a person for the job. Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So they created a planning position and hired two people: one person to write the instructions (GS-12) and one person to do time studies (GS-11). Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?" So they created a Q. C. position ...

MEMO FROM: Pat Lewis, Human Resources Director RE: Christmas Party DATE: December 1 I'm happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23, starting at noon in the banquet room at Lou's Open Pit Barbecue. No host bar, but plenty of eggnog! We'll have a small band playing traditional carols. Feel free to sing along, and don't be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus! ********************* MEMO FROM: Pat Lewis, Human Resources Director DATE: December 2 RE: Christmas Party In no way was yesterday's memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. ...

This poll needs our help!!Was the U.S. Supreme Court's move to stop recounts fair?Yes - 29%No - 71%

I need help. Actually, my aunt needs help. She received this email from her liberal daughter-in-law. I told her I'd run this by FReepers who will jump on it like a dog on a bone, replacing the spin with facts. Consider it a bit of red meat!! A Zimbabwe politician was quoted as saying that children should study current events in the U. S. closely, for they show that election fraud is not only a third world phenomena. 1. Imagine that we read of an election occurring anywhere in the third world in which the self-declared winner was the son ...

I stumbled upon this wonderful profile on the Texas FReepers page. I hope everyone enjoys it as I did. I'm a hispanic woman whose activism and views are a tribute to my Republican parents, who were conservative before it was cool for Texans OR hispanics. (Nixon and pre-Nixon). I am wealthy; one of "those" members of the GOP with a VERY rich INHERITANCE. But, HA HA, the democrats can't put estate taxes on this one. Let me tell you about it. I grew up in a poverty-level household, but never knew it until I was grown. My parents were migrant ...

I just received this from a conservative friend who received it from a liberal family member. Here's what the enemies are saying about the "rabid Republican mobs." May this serve to further our resolve. BTW, you FReepers in Florida ROCK!!!FYI - From: (Rabid Liberal's name and email removed from this field) Subject: "BLACK-SHIRT COUP IN FL" (THREAT TACTICS TO STEAL ELECTION WORKED) From indymedia.org In a move resembling the uprising of the fascist mobs which brought Mussolini to power in 1922, pro-Bush mobs stormed the offices of the Dade County Canvassing Board earlier today. Shouting "Let us in, " "No ...

BUMPER STICKER: ONLY A FOOL BELIEVES THE BIASED LIBERAL MEDIAFormer Texas Senator and respected conservative radio talk show host Mike Richards is offering bumper stickers to get the message out that the liberal media cannot be trusted. If you are interested in obtaining some of these stickers, please send an S.A.S.E. to:Mike Richards11767 Katy Freeway Suite 690Houston, TX 77079Include $ .50 for each bumper sticker you want.

Walter Williams November 8, 2000My new entitlement By appearance alone, no one would ever guess that next year I'll celebrate my 65th birthday. Going by this year's presidential campaign promises, simply by surviving 65 years I acquire the right to have my prescription drugs paid by younger Americans. That's even if that younger person has less wealth and income than I. Does simply surviving 65 years guarantee me the right to live at the expense of young people? Not quite, according to vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman. Lieberman knows his Bible. He said that paying prescription drugs for older ...

Clinton's 'Help' Has Gore in Snit CNSNews.comFriday, Oct. 27, 2000 White House officials say President Clinton will visit California late next week to campaign. And even though Clinton supposedly will stump mostly for Democrat congressional candidates, the Gore campaign is miffed at the unwanted "help." Amid friction with Gore, Clinton is planning to visit other states for his vice president and other candidates in a weeklong bliz because Democrats across the country are begging for his help and saying Gore is foundering, the Associated Press reported Thursday. Other possible states include Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri and West Virginia, the ...

Bush backers invade Gore phone briefing WILLIAM MARCH of The Tampa Tribune TAMPA - Reporters calling in for a dose of Gore spin instead get the telephonic equivalent of Animal House. A group of reporters who dialed into the Gore campaign Wednesday for a briefing on the endgame political strategy got a surprise - beeps, belches, a toilet flush and other disrupting noises, courtesy of a group of rowdies from a conservative chat room group. Gore staff later speculated that one of the hecklers had posed as a reporter to get on the campaign's e-mail media list. Reporters on ...

Heston to campaign in Roanoke for GOP Senate candidate George Allen will speak at a Salem Rotary meeting. By CHILDS WALKER The Roanoke Times    Charlton Heston will appear in Roanoke on behalf of the National Rifle Association this morning to campaign for Republican candidates, including Senate hopeful George Allen. Allen will campaign for himself in Salem. The two will not campaign together.     This shouldn't seem strange, said Allen spokesman Tim Murtaugh.     "The tour he [Heston] is going on is a product of his organization, and the [ former ] governor is on his own schedule," Murtaugh elaborated. ...

NRA aiding Allen with billboards; Heston to visit state RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The National Rifle Association is letting bygones with George Allen be bygones. The NRA, which has endorsed the Republican former governor, has erected large billboards that, while not mentioning firearms, say "Vote Freedom First," and vote for Allen. The gun rights group plans to bring two of its top names - actor-NRA president Charlton Heston and Wayne LaPierre, NRA's executive vice president - to campaign for Allen on Thursday. The NRA's involvement in the campaign is an independent political activity over which Allen's campaign has no control. ...

Bruce Bartlett October 16, 2000Tax cut math Al Gore has been getting a lot of mileage lately out of claiming that George W. Bush's tax plan would give almost half its total benefits to the top 1 percent of taxpayers. This is a damning charge, one that Bush has not done a particularly good job of refuting. Following is an effort to try and explain what the truth is. First, it is important to know that determining what the distributional effects of any tax proposal are is more art than science. Since the 1970s, it has been possible to ...

Thomas Sowell October 16, 2000Pro choice or pro monopoly It is amazing how many people who are "pro-choice" when it comes to abortion are against choice when it comes to education. Indeed, that is the official position of the Democratic Party. Despite Al Gore's rhetoric at the Democrats' convention in July about being against "powerful special interests," there is no more powerful special interest in the country -- nor one with more destructive impact on more people -- than the teachers' unions. These unions -- the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers -- are dead set against ...

Debra Saunders October 16, 2000Gore and Bush spar over hate crimesOn the issue of hate crimes, the difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush could not be more clear. During Wednesday night's debate, Gore spoke of James Byrd Jr., a 49-year-old black man brutally murdered by three Texas racists who dragged the poor man behind a pickup truck for three hellish miles in 1998. The vice president pointed out that the Texas governor did not support a hate-crimes bill supported by Byrd's family. The measure died in the Texas Legislature. Bush responded that he supports the ultimate hate-crime law ...

Maggie Gallagher October 16, 2000Gore for bullyAl Gore seems to have spawned an exciting new vocation in this debate season for voters and journalists alike: Count how many of the most unpleasant schoolyard characters can lurk inside the same wooden body. He began by competing with Hillary Clinton for the title of America's best-known nerd, the brown-noser show-off who knows all the answers and is always sitting in the front seat, arm waving in the air, looking as if he's about to burst, saying, "I know! I know! Please call on me, teacher!" That's the Gore who threw numbers at ...