Free Republic

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Kenneth Bacon, a former reporter and Pentagon spokesman who later served as a top advocate of displaced people all over the world, died Saturday, according to Refugees International. He was 64. Kenneth Bacon was "one of the great voices in humanitarian advocacy," says Joel Charny of Refugees International. Kenneth Bacon was "one of the great voices in humanitarian advocacy," says Joel Charny of Refugees International. Bacon had served as the president of Washington-based Refugees International since 2001, the group said in a statement Saturday. The former Wall Street Journal reporter died Saturday morning from an aggressive melanoma...

Many supporters of the principle of separation of church and state say that the Intelligent Design Theory of creation ought not to be taught in public schools because that it contains a religious bias. They say that Intelligent Design proponents suggest that the evolutionary development of life was not the result of natural selection, as Charles Darwin suggested, but was somehow given purposeful direction and, by implication, was guided by God. Arguing in favour of what they believe is a non-prejudicial science, they contend that children in public schools ought to be taught Darwin’s explanation of how the human race...

Gov. Bill Richardson recently made a quick-turnaround trip to Chicago to take part in an immigration forum— scoring some Windy City press coverage in the process. Richardson was in Chicago June 11 for an immigration panel discussion at the annual conference of the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.-- snip -- Richardson's comments at the gathering were the subject of a Chicago Sun-Times news story and a news spot on a CBS television station there. "Yes, we have to strengthen our border security, but we also have to protect the millions of immigrants who are already in America," the Sun-Times quoted...

In an interview posted on the Democratic National Committee's web site, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says she doesn't like the way President Bush "repeatedly" talks about achieving victory in the Iraq war. "I was very troubled recently, particularly by [Bush's] first speech to the Naval Academy," the former top Clinton diplomat complains in a DNC audio webcast. "They clearly had some kind of a new pollster in the White House tell them that the word 'victory' had to be repeated endlessly," Albright griped. "Plus, [there was] the backdrop that said 'victory' and then there was 'victory' on the...

SANTA FE— The New Mexico Rail Runner Express will need about $320 million in state transportation money, Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught said Thursday. At least one lawmaker and legislative analysts say that's about $200 million more in state money for the commuter railroad than they were earlier told. Faught says she never meant to mislead legislators about the cost. Gov. Bill Richardson's commuter-train service would link Belen, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. With federal money added in, the total cost is now estimated at around $390 million, Faught said in an interview. But staff members with the Legislative Finance Committee say...

Gov. Bill Richardson is coming clean on his draft record _ the baseball draft, that is, admitting that his claim to have been a pick of the Kansas City A's in 1966 was untrue. For nearly four decades, Richardson, often mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential candidate, has maintained he was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics. The claim was included in a brief biography released when Richardson successfully ran for Congress in 1982. A White House news release in 1997 mentioned it when he was about to be named U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. And several news organizations,...

Gov. Signs Gun-Permit Bill in Raton By Dave Kavanaugh Journal Staff Writer RATON— In the midst of several bill-signing ceremonies around the state, Gov. Bill Richardson chose the National Rifle Association's Whittington Center as the backdrop to add his signature to legislation allowing more New Mexicans to legally carry concealed handguns. House Bill 641 lowers the minimum age for concealed-carry permits to 21 from 25, extends the license term to four years from two and allows for a waiver of license fees for law enforcement personnel and retirees. Additionally, the legislation, approved by lawmakers during the recent session, removes the...

Graphics of the Gorelick memo

The Hunting of the President U.S.A., 2003, 89 Minutes, color Director: Harry Thomason, Nickolas Perry Screenwriters - Harry Thomason, Nickolas Perry, based on the book by Gene Lyons, Joe Conason Producer - Douglas Jackson Coproducers - Chad O'Connor, Amy Greenspun, Keith Sky Cinematographer - James Robertson Music - Bruce Miller Associate Producers - Ben Harrell, Dana Stoltzner   Friday, Jan 23 5:30 PM Prospector Square Theatre     There can be no doubt that we live in one of the most tumultuous political climates of the nation's history, a climate where politicians can be toppled on a whim, election results...

The (executive privledege review) transcripts may also shed light on the military's repsonse to President Bush's unprecedented order to shoot down any hijacked civilian airplane. Pentagon sources say Bush communicated the order to Vice President Dick Cheney almost immediately after Flight 77 hit the Pentagon and the Federal Aviation Administration, for the first time ever, ordered all domestic flights grounded.'There are unanswered questions,' said Richard Ben-Veniste, a comission member and former federal prosecutor, as to whether the shoot down order had been rehearsed for, whether it had been prepared for, and what measures were in place to protect the Capitol,'...

Former White House Drug Spokesman Bob Weiner Blasts John Stossel ABC 20-20 Report as 'Distorted, Inaccurate Excuse for Legalization' Former White House drug policy spokesman Bob Weiner is blasting last night's ABC 20-20 drug piece by John Stossel: "It was a distorted and inaccurate excuse for drug legalization. It blows off the successes and real reductions in use generated both by government drug policy and efforts by parents, teachers, coaches, businesses, community coalitions, religious leaders, and law enforcement." Weiner, who was Director of Public Affairs for the White House Office of National Drug Policy May 1995-August 2001 under Drug Czars...