Free Republic

Newsday is cutting as many as 100 jobs through voluntary and non-voluntary buyouts, the Long Island newspaper's publisher said Thursday. "We have been engaged in a thorough review of everything we do, establishing priorities for next year based on our strategic objectives," Publisher Timothy Knight wrote in an e-mail to employees. A story about the cuts was also posted on the newspaper's Web site. "It is clear that we will face continued revenue challenges next year and, as a result, we need to make significant changes in the business in order to have a healthier newspaper for the future," Knight...

TORONTO -- Some marketers have concerns about advertising in U.S. newspapers because of circulation scandals that have rocked the industry, media buyers said yesterday at the Audit Bureau of Circulations conference in Toronto. "I'm getting a lot of questions from clients about it. I remind clients that the vast majority of publications play by the rules," said David Verklin, chief executive officer of Carat North America, a major buyer of advertising time and space. Speaking on a panel about what advertisers want from print, Mr. Verklin said pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer Inc., one of Carat's large clients, is "very concerned" about...

OXFORD, Miss. -- A former Georgia politician is guilty of defrauding elderly blacks by charging them a fee to pursue tax credits and other phony reparations from the U.S. Treasury. Morris James Senior -- the president of the Montezuma, Georgia-based National Resource Information Center -- faces up to 20 years in prison and a 250,000 dollar fine for each of the 23 counts. His center claimed to sell information to promote education, growth and success and to help enhance communities. But a federal jury found that James and his center defrauded victims of $431,000. James appeared before church groups and...

In the continuing dispute over the elevation of a gay priest, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh said yesterday that its leaders may take steps to exclude two churches that have pursued a lawsuit against the diocese...

In the wake of voter approval of a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage in Oklahoma and controversy within the Episcopalian Church concerning the consecration of a gay bishop last year, the Rev. Dr. T. Lee Stevens of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Bartlesville took on the subject of "Homosexuality in the Scriptures" during a public forum held Tuesday. The forum, sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bartlesville, was the latest in a series on a variety of subjects held regularly at the church. Stevens began the discussion by describing that he and some members of St. Luke's began...

Well, that didn't take long. The ink was barely dry on last Tuesday's election, the promises of reconciliation barely out of the President's mouth, when the Far Right leveled its howitzers at a favorite old nemesis. In the crosshairs was not the typical liberal irritant. Not Teddy or Hillary or Teresa; not even the vanquished JFK II, who now limps back to the Senate to lick his wounds. It was a fellow Republican who dared to break out of lockstep with the New Order. Yes, it was our own Milquetoast moderate senator, Arlen Specter. Pennsylvania's senior senator was warmly endorsed...

Guantánamo Bay Nov. 7 My dear wife, They are letting me write one letter to let you know that I am alive. I am at the new Liberal Media Re-Education Camp here at Gitmo; I am not allowed to see a lawyer or make phone calls. They are afraid that if I talk to a lawyer, I'll pass a coded message to my old colleagues on the Editorial Board, telling them to oppose the flat tax or support Arlen for Judiciary Committee chairman or something. This letter will be censored, so I have to be careful. First thing: I am...

Parties vie for drain chief, prosecutor jobs CHARLEVOIX - Incumbent Charlevoix County drain commissioner and Green Party member Jo Anne Beemon faces a challenge in the Nov. 2 election from a Republican county soil erosion officer she accuses of undermining her authority. Beemon frequently knocked heads with the county's all-Republican board of commissioners since her election in 2000. She accuses the county board of improperly delegating her duties to commission-appointed county soil erosion officer Marc Seelye, who's running against Beemon for the drain commissioner post. "The question is, can a drain commissioner act independently as an elected official, by and...

Fast Eddie Rendell (Gov. Pennsylvania) is on Fox News Sunday tomorrow. Chris Wallace is the host. Email Chris and respectfully ask him to ask Rendell about the local CBS News footage catching local Philadelphia Democratic operatives hand-carrying voter registrations from felons out of the local prison. It’s illegal to hand-carry registrations. It’s illegal for these people to have access to inmates. It’s illegal for felons to vote. And Fast Eddie is more concerned about the felon vote than the military vote. Here’s where to check for local listings and airtimes. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,137085,00.html Here’s how to contact Chris Wallace: fns@foxnews.com

Governor Gives Prisoners Right To Vote PHILADELPHIA -- The war in Iraq is a big issue in the presidential race and many soldiers fighting overseas are worried that their vote may not get counted in Pennsylvania. There are over 26,000 troops from Pennsylvania overseas and ballots were sent to them late because of a controversy over whether Ralph Nader should be included on the ballot. Rep. Curt Weldon, a Republican, was in downtown Philadelphia Wednesday. He angrily accused Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, of not supporting a lawsuit that would guarantee those votes would be counted if the ballots come...

Dear Schaketo, Please join us in welcoming John Kerry and President Bill Clinton to Philadelphia on Monday, October 25 for a special Fresh Start for America rally. This is an exciting opportunity to show your support for the Kerry-Edwards vision for a stronger America. With only 12 days left until the election, now is the time to stand up and be part of the most important election of our lifetime. Tickets are required for this event. To print your complimentary ticket(s) or to volunteer for the rally, please click here. Or for a list of locations where you can pick...

PARAMARIBO, Suriname -- Delegates at racism conference have removed reference to Arabs, Jews and Christians from a document summing up past abuses against blacks, deciding it would too divisive, officials said Tuesday. -snip- Initial wording in the preamble said blacks suffered ``2,000 years of terrorism and white and Arab criminal supremacy.'' The preamble also referred to ``the various holocausts experienced by African people as perpetuated by Europeans, Arabs, Christians and Jews.'' -snip- The draft still refers to ``a white criminal supremacist world view and manipulation of language, class, and differences in physical characteristics.'' The constitution also sums up the current...

PROVIDENCE -- A coalition of conservative New England Episcopalians announced yesterday that they are forming four new congregations, including two on Cape Cod, that will not be part of the Episcopal Church USA. The new group will instead seek oversight from a foreign Anglican bishop who shares their opposition to last year's consecration of a gay priest as bishop of New Hampshire. The decision to establish the four new Anglican congregations marks the first concrete action taken in New England by Episcopalians unhappy with the election of the Right Rev. V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A coalition of conservative New England Episcopalians has formed four new congregations separate from the Episcopal Church USA, due to differences with the church leadership over last year's consecration of a gay priest as bishop of New Hampshire. Meeting in Providence as the first New England Convocation of the 10-month-old Anglican Communion Network, nearly 250 lay people and 27 clergy from nearly 40 churches affirmed Saturday the creation of four new Anglican parishes in New Hampshire and Massachusetts and commissioned nine pairs of "home missionaries" to set up fellowships that may one day turn into Anglican parishes....

WASHINGTON - A thoughtful reference to an opponent's child or a callous comment to score political points? Those were the competing reactions yesterday to Sen. John Kerry's mention of Vice President Cheney's openly gay daughter, Mary, during the final presidential debate - a mention that provoked an angry response from her parents. Asked by moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS whether he thought homosexuality was a choice, Kerry replied: "We're all God's children, Bob, and I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's...

SAN FRANCISCO - The biggest social issue in this presidential race is the debate over whether gays should be allowed to marry. Louisiana voters recently tilted 4-to-1 in favor of adding a ban on same-sex marriage to their state constitution, and 71 percent of Missouri voters did the same last month. Voters in at least nine more states will weigh the question on their ballots in November, and legislation on the question has been introduced in at least 25 states this year. President Bush supports amending the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the Democratic presidential...

Gay marriage is not on the horizon in Michigan and there is no need for voters to amend the state constitution in a way that would unfairly harm some citizens. In drafting Proposal 2 to ban same-sex marriage, the Citizens for the Defense of Marriage went well beyond what was necessary to achieve that goal. For example, if the proposal is adopted Nov. 2, it could end health and other benefits extended by some public employers to gay couples, and perhaps encourage private companies to do likewise. Additionally, language in the proposed amendment threatens those same domestic partner benefits for...

The choice is vivid. The stakes are vast. Our nation is threatened by jihad warriors who scoff at boundaries. It stumbles toward a fiscal ruin that will punish our children. The rules that protect our air, water and health are weaker than we know. When 45 million of our neighbors fall ill, they have no insurance card to hand to the doctor. We boast of exporting liberty and rule of law, yet watch them erode at home. A hooded prisoner on a box has replaced a soaring lady with a lamp as the global icon of America's intentions. Our national...

PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) -- Delegates from 25 countries vowed at a racism conference Wednesday to unite efforts to seek reparations from corporations and countries that were involved in slavery. Wrapping up the six-day meeting, the Global African Conference adopted a constitution calling for the creation of a committee to oversee lawsuits demanding reparations for the descendants of African slaves. There was no decision on when the committee would be named. "Never before have Africans been so united on one issue," said Ray Winbush, a psychologist from Morgan State University in Baltimore and author of the book "Should America Pay? Slavery...

One of the highest ranking officials in the worldwide Anglican Church is traveling around the United States. He is exploring the possibility of setting up churches for members who strongly disagree with the American church's decision to appoint a homosexual bishop. The decision one year ago by the American Episcopalian Church to elevate an openly gay priest, Gene Robinson, to the position of bishop of the northeastern state of New Hampshire has upset many in the church. Opponents of the decision say it violates historic doctrine. Now Peter Akinola, the archbishop of Nigeria, may offer an alternative. "I am here...