Free Republic

Two different headlines over the past week have confirmed what's been increasingly obvious for a long time: George W. Bush is no conservative. Glaring Contradictions In case you missed them, here's a review: 1. Bush signs the housing bailout. Here's my best summary of the housing debacle: Homeowners borrowed much more than they could afford; banks gleefully loaned them the money; and then Wall Street, the self-described smartest people on the planet, bought large quantities of those securitized loans. Which part of that couldn't have been prevented with a little more foresight (and a lot less greed)? Conservatives are supposed...

Smoking ban costing some workers their jobs

Army identifies 3 soldiers killed in Alabama chopper crash

101st Airborne prepares for deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan

Firms seek to cut payments to state

I would like to request that you keep in your prayers the soul of my grandfather, Liberato (Rod) Rodriguez, who passed away peacefully earlier this evening, and his family. My grandfather was a great man who dedicated his life to his wife and family. He was a World War II Veteran who earned a Purple Heart by taking several bullets to the stomach and leg. Ironically, he nearly died while recovering from his injuries from a bout of the hiccups. I guess he was unable to hold down any food or water for many days. Other than that, I do...

Beginning Monday, January 9th, our afternoon programming line up will alter slightly as we strive to keep you Michigan’s best informed radio audience. We are pleased to announce that the Mitch Albom Show will continue to anchor afternoon drive from a new time 5-7 p.m. This enables WJR to continue the 10 year tradition of bringing the Mitch Albom Show to you LIVE in the afternoon. This also will allow Mitch the time to address other demands of his career while continuing a show that we at WJR and Mitch are both proud of. In addition, Mitch will also continue...

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Governments could not force Michigan landowners to give up their property for private economic development projects under measures approved Wednesday by the state Senate. The legislation, approved 36-2, is aimed at strengthening the rights of property owners in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that a Connecticut town could force homeowners to relinquish property for a commercial project. It now goes to the House. The Senate voted 35-3 to approve a separate measure that would change the state constitution to bar governments from forcing private landowners to sell their property if the land will...

GREENVILLE -- Diantha Eldridge remembers all the Marines in their crisp dress blues, how they came to her home in Greenville in 1992 to pay respects to her son. Although he signed the funeral guest book, she has no memory of one certain Marine -- Anthony Swofford, author of "Jarhead," a gritty account of the Gulf War and now a major movie, opening Friday. She does take issue with the book's depiction of her son, Marine Lance Cpl. Troy Collier. Eldridge said she tried to reach Swofford to give him a piece of her mind. "We would have had a...

When Tom Kekoni showed up for work at Babbitt's Sports Center on May 17, he had no idea it would be his last day. That morning, a sales manager approached Kekoni, a 46-year-old certified mechanic, and asked him whether he had made a certain recent purchase. The mechanic acknowledged he had, and the sales manager informed him that he didn't need to punch in for work. Kekoni thought the guy was teasing him. "Too late, I already did," Kekoni responded. A little later, the sales manager again approached Kekoni, asking if he believed him. Kekoni said he did, but he...

It's not about the money, insists Mohammed Adnan Bhutta. Never mind that his federal lawsuit asks for $165 trillion - that's $165,000,000,000,000 - from a long list of Genesee County police and court officials, as well as President Bush and former Attorney General John Ashcroft. Bhutta, a Pakistani-born limousine driver, says he was tortured, humiliated and otherwise mistreated by local police and federal agents who confused him with a terrorist in the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001. "This is nothing to do about money. I'm making a point here. I'm totally innocent. I want to clear my name," said Bhutta,...

Don't round up the militia just yet to help keep the government from taking your property. Private-property rights advocates are up in arms over a June 23 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says local governments can condemn peoples' homes and turn the property over to developers for shopping centers, office parks and other private business projects. ``Under the banner of economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to being taken and transferred to another private owner,'' Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote in a blistering dissent to the court's 5-4 ruling in a Connecticut case. ``Nothing is to prevent the...

CASEVILLE, Mich. (AP) — A World War II Navy veteran photographed wearing a Medal of Honor at a Memorial Day event could face federal charges because it was a fake that he bought for $500, authorities say. William Kovick, 76, surrendered the medal and four other military honors last week. FBI investigators say Kovick acknowledged that he bought the Medal of Honor in 1977 for $500. He also said he mail-ordered a Navy Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals and wore them along with the Medal of Honor. Ordering and owning unearned medals is legal, but wearing...

CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A suburban Detroit school district could join the ranks of universities, hospitals and districts elsewhere in the country by offering naming rights to buildings, athletic facilities or even events. The Plymouth-Canton school board is expected to vote Tuesday on a policy that would allow the district to consider commercial naming opportunities for buildings and programs. The district in western Wayne County doesn't expect to campaign aggressively to sell naming rights. But "it becomes part of the menu of opportunities for potential donors," said Tom Sklut, Plymouth-Canton's chief development officer. Naming rights also would supply an...

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The nation's largest supplier of bullet-resistant vests to law enforcement agencies is urging its customers to replace vests containing the fiber Zylon, saying they may not be safe. Second Chance Body Armor said Wednesday it had sent notices to police agencies nationwide. The warning affects about 58,000 Tri-Flex vests and an additional 40,000 Ultima and Ultimax vests with Performance Pacs, the company said in a statement. New research shows that vests made even partially with Zylon "may fail to perform and result in serious injury or death," it said. Second Chance, based in Central Lake,...

GOODRICH - An in-class demonstration of how to put on a condom was the most controversial of the sex education curriculum recommendations approved by the Board of Education on Monday. Sex education programs for eighth- and ninth-graders will include a demonstration by the teacher of how to properly put on a condom, using his or her fingers. Parents will have the option of opting their children out of the class altogether, or just the few days that include the condom demonstration. "Middle school is critical, especially the year between eighth and ninth grade," said Al Craven, a school health specialist...

DETROIT (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has named Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Walter A. Hurley to head the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids, church officials announced Tuesday. Hurley succeeds the late Bishop Kevin Britt, who died in May 2004. Cardinal Adam Maida, archbishop of Detroit, has been serving as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Grand Rapids since Britt's death. Hurley is to be installed as the 11th Bishop of Grand Rapids on Aug. 4 in the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Grand Rapids, the Detroit archdiocese said in a statement. The Grand Rapids diocese, established in 1882, comprises 162,670 Catholics,...

DETROIT (AP) — The city's historic commission has reversed an earlier decision that would have allowed a humpback whale mural to be covered with advertising so developers can raise money for renovation of the abandoned building whose wall the painting decorates. Last month, the commission voted to allow an ad to cover the mural. A reversal of that vote was brought about when the panel took a new vote June 8 on the issue, The Detroit News reported Friday. The blue and green 108-foot "Whaling Wall" mural on downtown's early 20th century Broderick Tower faces fans as they sit in...

A jury has awarded $284,000 to a Bad Axe man who claims he was fired from his job for being fat. The eight-person jury in U.S. District Court awarded Steve Pasanski the money in a wrongful discharge discrimination case against Continental Rental, Inc. The four-day trial concluded Friday in the Bay City courtroom of U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson. "I'm grateful to the jury, and I'm glad the legal process vindicated Steve Pasanski," said Glen Lenhoff, the Flint attorney who represented the plaintiff. "I hope overweight people are encouraged by this." Pasanski, since being fired in August 2003, underwent...

LANSING -- As other states and nations vigorously pursue embryonic stem cell research, it appears that none of the $2 billion bond Gov. Jennifer Granholm is asking voters to approve will be used for such research into cures for diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Current state law outlaws such research and a ban on state funding for embryonic stem cell exploration is contained in authorizing language for the bond. Granholm and lawmakers are working on a deal to put a bond issue before voters in November. A funding ban is a mistake, say embryonic stem cell research advocates who contend...