Free Republic

Let's face it, John McCain isn't going to reach out to conservatives on any of the issues that trouble us. He can't reach out without losing his base: moderates and independents. So conservatives have to find a way to pin John McCain down on important issues without forcing him to abandon his base. Easier said than done! Global warming, supreme court judges, stem cell research, and taxes are issues that won't be revisited. McCain has said all that he is going to say on them. In fact, he's probably going to move more to the center and left on these...

Israeli capital found in directory separate from Jewish state WASHINGTON – The latest unclassified telephone directory of the U.S. State Department lists contacts in the Israeli capital of Jerusalem separately from those of the Jewish state. The move comes as the U.S. promotes a political division of Jerusalem to accommodate demands of the Palestinian Authority, which seeks to base the capital of a future Palestinian Arab state in the city. The split of the Israeli capital is on the table at the Annapolis Middle East peace summit beginning Tuesday.

U.S. diplomats in Iraq, increasingly fearful over their personal safety after recent mortar attacks inside the Green Zone, are pointing to new delays and mistakes in the U.S. Embassy construction project in Baghdad as signs that their vulnerability could grow in the months ahead. A toughly worded cable sent from the embassy to State Department headquarters on May 29 highlights a cascade of building and safety blunders in a new facility to house the security guards protecting the embassy. The guards' base, which remains unopened today, is just a small part of a $592 million project to build the largest...

Police assemble by Browns' home By PAT GROSSMITH AND KRISTEN SENZ Plainfield – Dozens of heavily armed state police and federal agents have assembled near the rural Grafton County home of tax protesters Ed and Elaine Brown. About 50 state troopers, some armed with high-powered rifles, along with a vehicle from the explosives unit gathered this morning in Plainfield, a small town where Edward and Elaine Brown have holed up in their home since being convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to lengthy federal prison terms. The Browns have been aware of increased police activity all morning. In an audio...

netWMD is proud to participate in the 2,996: A Tribute to the Victims of 9/11 project. Stuck to the top until Sept. 12. Sareve Dukat kept her composure, even though the United States was under attack by Islamo-fascists, drunk on religion, hatred, and a lust for power. The date was September 11, 2001. An airliner full of civilians was just cynically rammed into tower #1 of the World Trade Center in New York City. Ms. Dukat would not survive the day that has become the defining moment for a generation of Americans, myself included. Dukat, who was working on the...

Defense Department to Kick Off ‘Why We Serve’ TourBy Steven Donald SmithAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2006 -- Beginning next week, 13 servicemembers from across the force will fan out across the country to speak about their military experience. Thirteen servicemembers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan meet with Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England before they begin their speaking tour across the country. The Why We Serve speaking tour is a program created to respond to the requests of the American people who invite returning veterans to participate in community events and a variety of public affairs...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2006 --- The Department of Justice has launched a Web site to protect servicemembers’ rights, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzalez said yesterday. Gonzales, speaking to the Disabled American Veterans annual convention in Chicago, said the Justice Department has made it a priority to enforce civil rights laws for American servicemembers. “The law recognizes that although we can never thank you enough for your service, we can take away some of the worries that soldiers might face when they are deployed,” he said in prepared remarks. The government promises that servicemembers’ jobs will still be theirs when...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George Bush said the United Nations resolution to halt the fighting between Israel and Lebanon will stop Hezbollah from acting as a "state within a state" and deal a severe blow to the efforts of Syria and Iran to exert influence in the Middle East. In a statement released by the White House Saturday, Bush urged the international community to support the resolution, which could lead to a likely ceasefire on Monday, "and make every effort to bring lasting peace to the region." Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said Saturday that his group will abide by...

This web site provides information to US citizens covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) If you are not a UOCAVA citizen, and wish to vote absentee as a regular state voter, please click here for links to State Election Sites. If you wish to vote in person, please contact your local county election official (listed in the Government Pages of the telephone book). Only 113 days until Election Day!

WASHINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) - A stolen laptop computer containing sensitive information on more than 26 million U.S. military veterans and servicemembers has been recovered and a preliminary review indicated no data was taken, the FBI and Veterans Affairs Department said on Thursday. The laptop and the external hard drive taken in early May from a VA employee's residence in suburban Washington were recovered, authorities said. "A preliminary review of the equipment by computer forensic teams has determined that the data base remains intact and has not been accessed since it was stolen," the agencies said in a statement. "A...

ATLANTA (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday approved rules governing Georgia's new photo IDs for voters, clearing the way for the State Election Board to decide whether to require them for the July 18 primary. The rules establish what kinds of documents must be presented to obtain one of the free IDs, as well as where and when they will be distributed. Critics of the law — which mandates that all voters present a government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot — are expected to respond by seeking an injunction to block the law. The Republican-backed law...

New Fire Department Opens in Husseniya The fire department has already started providing protection to the city as it responded to a car bomb explosion. By U.S. Army Spc. C. Terrell Turner 1st Brigade Combat Team 4th Infantry Division CAMP TAJI, Iraq, June 23, 2006 — Local community members celebrated the grand opening of the Husseniya Fire Department June 3 as part of an ongoing effort by Iraqi army and Multinational Division–Baghdad soldiers to improve fire protection services for the people of the Baghdad region. Firefighters, trained in Baghdad and Bahrain, stood in front of their fire engines and...

TORONTO (CP) - It could take half a century or more for someone infected with prions - the cause of mad cow-like diseases - to start showing symptoms, say researchers, who drew that conclusion after studying a similar illness among Papua New Guinean people who once feasted on their dead. Their findings suggest that the number of human cases of variant Creutzfeld-Jacob disease (vCJD) could end up being much larger than originally suspected, say the researchers, whose study is published in Friday's edition of The Lancet. With 160 cases, the United Kingdom has the highest number of recorded cases in...

ABOARD USS RONALD REAGAN, At Sea (NNS) -- Mothers aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) received a warm embrace from Sailors from the Supply Department as a special luncheon celebration was prepared for them on the aft mess decks May 10. The ceremony was designed to celebrate Mother’s Day for the hundreds of mothers assigned to Ronald Reagan, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 14, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 7 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7, who will be away from their children on the special day. Culinary Specialists, food service attendants and members of the ship's 3 & 2 Association provided the...

Security Issue Kills Domestic Spying ProbeBy DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer 12 minutes ago WASHINGTON - The government has abruptly ended an inquiry into the warrantless eavesdropping program because the National Security Agency refused to grant Justice Department lawyers the necessary security clearance to probe the matter. The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, or OPR, sent a fax to Rep. Maurice Hinchey (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., on Wednesday saying they were closing their inquiry because without clearance their lawyers cannot examine Justice lawyers' role in the program. "We have been unable to make any meaningful progress in our...

Greensboro Leaders To Take Polygraph ExamLeaked Report Is Subject Of Investigation UPDATED: 5:15 pm EDT May 2, 2006 GREENSBORO, N.C. -- City leaders are looking for the truth through the use of a polygraph exam. Some members of the City Council are taking the exam to prove they didn't release to the media a confidential report about the police department. Council members voted 8-1 to submit to the exam. Dianne Bellamy Small gave the dissenting vote and has said in the past that she's not responsible for the leak. Another member of the council, Yvonne Johnson, said she didn't like...

ECONOMIC REPORT Durable goods orders soar 6.1% in March Aircraft orders up 71%; demand strong across the board By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Orders for new U.S.-made durable goods increased 6.1% in March, led by strong demand for airplanes, machinery and electronics, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The increase in new orders was the largest since May 2005 and far exceeded the 2.1% gain expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. See Economic Calendar. The stronger-than-expected report helped send bond prices falling again, with yields rising to the highest level in four years. See Bond Report. Orders rose an...

Lawmaker's warning: Vote in New Orleans race could tip taxman U.S. actor/comedian Bill Cosby makes a face during a rally for voting rights of displaced residents in New Orleans April 1, 2006. Many citizens scattered across the country since Hurricane Katrina may be unable to vote in the city's April 22 mayoral election, according to rally organizers. REUTERS/Lee Celano BATON ROUGE, La. When New Orleans residents scattered about the country by Hurricane Katrina cast their ballots in the mayor's race, they'll be giving state tax collectors a way to locate them. One Louisiana lawmaker says he wants people to know...

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2006 – The Defense Department has long understood the value of caring for and celebrating children of servicemembers. April is designated as the Month of the Military Child, underscoring the important role military children play in the armed forces community. The Month of the Military Child is a time to applaud military families and their children for the daily sacrifices they make and challenges they overcome. Military children face many obstacles unique to their situation, such as having a parent deployed for extended periods of time and frequently being uprooted from school. "Military children endure a great...

Something is very wrong at our elite universities. Last month Larry Summers resigned as president of Harvard; today Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi will speak by video to a conference at Columbia University that his regime is cosponsoring. (Columbia won't answer questions about how much funding it got from Libya or what implied strings were attached.) Then there's Yale, which for three weeks has refused to make any comment or defense beyond a vague 144-word statement about its decision to admit Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi--a former ambassador-at-large of the murderous Afghan Taliban--as a special student. The three backers of the foundation that,...

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2006 – The Defense Department presented an award to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, an America Supports You member, at the U.S. Navy Memorial here yesterday evening. America Supports You member Joie Chitwood, president and chief operating officer of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, accepts the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service from Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, March 7. The speedway has a long tradition supporting America's troops and their families. Photo by Paul X. Rutz  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

SIERRA VISTA — Victims of Hurricane Katrina who fled to Southern Arizona to escape the devastation had to miss out on this year’s annual Mardi Gras celebrations. So, Mardi Gras was brought to them. Workers at Sierra Vista’s Department of Economic Security offices raised more than $500 to stage a New Orleans-style party for families displaced by the disaster last year. The Veterans of Foreign Wars headquarters was transformed into a carnival of color and celebration, in honor of four of the 12 families who received help from the DES and are still living in Sierra Vista. “We just thought...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2006 – The Defense Department is preparing to release detainee hearing transcripts containing the names of persons held at the detainee facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a senior Pentagon official said here yesterday. A New York federal district judge recently ruled in favor of an Associated Press lawsuit that sought the release of some uncensored transcripts taken from detainee hearings at Guantanamo, according to press reports. The department will abide by the judge's ruling, DoD spokesman Bryan Whitman told Pentagon reporters. The U.S. Justice Department declined to appeal the judge's ruling, which requires DoD to provide the...

Early reports show the AFL-CIO spent $49 million (27 percent of its total annual budget) on political and lobbying activities but only $30 million (or 16.5 percent) to represent its members. That gap contributed to the breakaway from the AFL-CIO of the Teamsters, the Service Employees and other unions.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2006 – The Defense Department announced today the revision of a memorandum on the policy and procedures for the reimbursement of privately purchased protective equipment for Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The new memo, which was signed Feb. 10 by David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, incorporates the original guidance published on Oct. 4, 2005, expands the list of reimbursable equipment, and extends the eligible purchase period for reimbursement. The full reimbursable equipment list now includes: Complete ballistic vests; Most component parts of ballistic vests, including side-plate body armor;...

The nonprofit organization Students for Sensible Drug Policy announced late last week it has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education alleging that the department is refusing to release state-by-state data on the number of students affected by a law barring them from receiving financial aid because they have a drug conviction unless SSDP pays a hefty fee for the service. The student group wants information about the impact of the Higher Education Act's (HEA) drug provision, authored by arch-drug warrior Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), and in effect since 2000. SSDP is part of a large coalition of student,...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2006 – The Defense Department raised a record-high $15.1 million in the 2005 Combined Federal Campaign, exceeding the department's goal by $2.3 million. DoD recognized its organizations for their fundraising efforts today at the Combined Federal Campaign awards ceremony in the Pentagon. "By all of these contributions, you have enabled the Department of Defense to maintain its distinction as the largest single charitable organization in the world," Michael B. Donley, director of administration and management for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, said to the ceremony participants. DoD participation in the Combined Federal Campaign was 60...

By Mehmet Kalyoncu This provocative analysis of Turkey's nuclear ambitions, informed by current political realities and a historical summary of the country's previous plans and nuclear partnerships, asks the devil's advocate question: what do the US and EU plan to give Turkey to keep it from going nuclear? Recent heated statements of a nuclear variety made by both Iran and Israel toward each other introduce a whole new dimension for Turkey’s security concerns in its neighborhood. Given the current circumstances, Turkey could even be considered late in developing nuclear capabilities for defense purposes. However, that Turkey can and that Turkey...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2005 – About 300,000 wallet-sized cards and key fobs with critical employment and job-training information will be distributed to military personnel and veterans over the next six months, the U.S. Department of Labor announced today at its annual pre-Veterans Day salute. The department also unveiled the Recovery and Employment Assistance Lifelines -- REALifelines -- Advisor. This new online tool will provide valuable information and resources to help returning wounded and injured veterans successfully transition into civilian employment, Labor Department officials said. "The 'Key To Career Success' cards and REALifelines online advisor are part of our outreach efforts...

In a move that divided the city's famously left-leaning politicians, the Santa Cruz City Council on Tuesday voted to create a city department to distribute medicinal marijuana. If it eventually comes into being -- something that is doubtful at this point -- the Office of Compassionate Use would become the first such municipal office in the country. The vote marks the latest salvo by the council in a long-running battle over medicinal pot. Three years ago, the council allowed medicinal marijuana to be given away on the steps of City Hall as journalists from around the world recorded the moment.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2005 – "Veterans make great employees" was the clear message from the Labor Department at a National Press Club event here Oct. 20. "Today, men and women in uniform ... work so hard on our behalf to protect our freedom (and) our liberty. As they give their best for us, we want to be there for them," Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said, keynote speaker for the occasion. "The good news for returning veterans is that the demand for skilled talent is very strong." Chao announced the Labor Department's kickoff plans to enhance protection of employment rights for...

Brigadier General James H. Schwitters is in many ways the face of leadership in the 21st-century American Army: Thoughtful, deliberate, battle-seasoned, all business, nothing like “the perfumed princes” the late Col. David H. Hackworth railed against for so many years. Schwitters is simply a bone-hard warrior with a calculating mind and far too many parachute jumps (operational and training) under his belt to continue counting. He knows how to fight, survive, achieve the given objective, and think outside of the box to accomplish all three. He’s the kind of general-officer the Army – in fact the entire U.S. Defense Department...

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNI) and Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) are working together to help bring communications back to installations affected by Hurricane Katrina. According to Tina Donbeck, CNI’s Information Technology (IT) Program Manager, Applications Branch, “NRL has offered up their Infralynx Assured Communications System. It consists of two mobile communication vans, which will deploy to the Gulf Coast and provide classified and unclassified connections. The vans also have satellite capabilities that will help with radio communications,” she said. CNI’s IT Department is also helping to set up wireless connectivity for the ships in Mayport, Fla. “It...

Nine Lives, The Story of Felix Bloch By William John Hagan Houston Home Journal 09/03/2005 Felix Bloch is without question one of the world's most over-qualifiedbus drivers. The former grocery store bag boy took a second job as a busdriver in North Carolina in 1992. It was a wise move, as Mr. Bloch's careerin the food industry came to a screeching halt when he stole about onehundred dollars worth of food from his primary employer. This was Felix'sonly criminal conviction and while he lost his job bagging groceries, the bus companyallowed him to stay on as a driver. Before his...

Passport proposal a controversial security matter Bush administration reconsiders its plans By LARA JAKES JORDAN Associated Press Writer Traffic lines up on the Rainbow Bridge plaza for entry into the United States from Niagara Falls, Ontario, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. AP Photo/DON HEUPEL NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. -- Millions of Americans like Kathy Currier could soon run into trouble returning home from Canada because they don't have passports. On a recent trip back across the border, Currier, 49, cleared security screening with her driver's license and birth certificate. But if she needs a passport in the future to get back into...

U.S. Policy Options for Iran: Sham Elections, Disinformation Campaign, Human Rights Abuses, and Regime Change Excerpt from Executive Summary While the Bush administration has been reluctant to adopt an unambiguous policy of regime change for Iran, the outcome of the Iranian electoral process, disinformation campaign, and violations of human rights require adoption of an explicit regime change policy for Iran.  An ambiguous American policy was somewhat effective prior to the June 2005 Iranian elections. That policy allowed Washington to support the European diplomatic initiative toward Iran without fear of being blamed for sabotaging negotiations by threatening the regime’s existence....

In a scathing rebuke of the federal government's treatment of Native Americans, a federal judge yesterday ordered the Interior Department to include notices in its correspondence with Indians whose land the government holds in trust, warning them that the government's information may not be credible. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth, who has presided for nearly 10 years over a class-action suit on behalf of 500,000 Indians whose land the government has leased to mining, ranching and timber interests, issued one of his most strongly worded opinions on the case. Lamberth ruled that the government essentially has to tell trust-account...

WASHINGTON – The Interior Department was ordered Tuesday – by a judge who called it a "pathetic outpost" – to admit it can't provide accurate information about lost royalties owed to American Indians. In a scathing condemnation of the government's treatment of American Indians, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth directed the department to enclose notices in its correspondence saying information provided on trust assets may not be credible. The notices also are meant to alert people that they may be members of the class-action lawsuit brought by lead plaintiff Eloise Cobell in 1996 on behalf of more than 300,000 American...

KEMAH, TX — In the early 1990s, Kemah Fire Chief Larry Suniga was working as an inspector for an insurance company and serving with the Webster Volunteer Fire Department. He was also going through a divorce. Suniga decided that he needed to spend more time with his two young children. To do so, he would have to go back to school. He began to think about a future in firefighting. He was certain that fire prevention would be an important aspect of the business, so he enrolled in every class and earned every certification he could. He committed about two...

WHERE IS THE LEFT ON IRAN??? Amy Goodman from Democracy Now interviews Roya Hakakian and Dilip Hiro, Jun 20, 2005. • Roya Hakakian, Iranian-American author and journalist. She grew up in Iran before leaving for the United States when she was 18. She is a founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. Her memoir of growing up in post-revolutionary Iran is titled "Journey from the Land of No." See website: www.RoyaHakakian.com. • Dilip Hiro, veteran journalist on the Middle East. His trilogy of books on Iraq and Iran are considered some of the most definitive histories of the...

June 8th, 2005: Senate Event, Partial Transcription: “The plight of Iranian women and children under Islamic rule”. Full transcription of Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky: Begin Transcription ### Good morning to all of you and thank you [Organizer] I’d like to thank our distinguished panelists for being here and I also know that we have distinguished senators coming by and welcome to all of you. The president in fact did make it clear in his State of the Union Address that the United States supports the democratic aspiration of the people of Iran. As part of our commitment to spread...

The International Committee of the Red Cross is granted a privileged status to inspect the conditions of prisoners of war and other detainees in return for confidentiality. But in recent years it has demonstrated a habit of selective media leaks damaging to American purposes. This is the backdrop for two recent incidents that make us think the U.S. should reconsider the ICRC's role. The first concerns a story we heard first from a U.S. source that an ICRC representative visiting America's largest detention facility in Iraq last month had compared the U.S. to Nazi Germany. According to a Defense Department...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The state's social services agency went to court to block a 13-year-old girl who is pregnant and living in a state shelter from having an abortion, and the girl wants to challenge the judge's decision. The ACLU filed an emergency appeal on Wednesday asking a judge to overturn the ruling that would essentially force the girl to become a mother, said Howard Simon, the organization's executive director for Florida. The girl, named L.G. in court documents and described as a longtime ward of the state, learned she was pregnant two weeks ago and had planned...

U.S. State Department Official Asks for International Agency Funding Assistant Secretary Kim Holmes explains U.S. multilateral priorities 22 April 2005 The level of the State Department's request for new funding for international organizations shows that the United States values its participation as a member and views the work of those organizations as important to U.S. national interests, a top official says. Kim Holmes, assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, said the $2.34 billion fiscal year 2006 budget request is "sizeable" because it funds organizations and partnerships "that help make Americans -- and people around the world -- safer,...

Before you make that next trip to Cancun, read the following: Mexico Public Announcement April 6, 2005 This Public Announcement is being issued to alert U.S. citizens to the deterioration in recent weeks of local law enforcement in Cancun caused by a persistent shortage of municipal funds to pay for police and public services. Police responsiveness to emergency calls and investigation of crimes has been severely impaired, and the U.S. Consulate in Merida has received several reports of petty corruption and extortion aimed at U.S. travelers. This Public Announcement supplements the Announcement issued on January 26 and it expires on...

A congressional investigation has discovered that dozens of terror suspects on federal watch lists were allowed to buy firearms legally in the United States last year. Over a nine month period, the panel discovered, 58 people suspected of ties to Islamic- based, militia-style or other groups applied to buy a gun, and 47 were approved. Yes, at the very same time U.S. troops were risking their lives to disarm terrorists in Iraq, 47 terror suspects were buying guns without so much as an official scowl. You see, it's not illegal for someone on a terrorist watch list to buy a...

A Middle East democracy? By Aristotle Tziampiris (1) Anascent democratic movement is emerging in the Middle East that could constitute an historic turning point for the region and so deserves the full support of the international community and of the European Union in particular. Iraq’s recent elections are an example. Although marred by violence and the overwhelming non-participation of the country’s Sunni population, the polls were an unprecedented and largely positive development. In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak unexpectedly announced proposals to amend the country’s constitution and allow multiparty presidential elections. If Parliament endorses and implements such reforms, it will mark...

We did it... We protested churchill. There was a collection of pro-Churchill moonbats that showed up, and we protested them as well.

TROUBLE SPEAK Ward Churchill copied 'original' art piece Takes a swing at TV reporter who confronted him -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: February 26, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Professor Ward Churchill Adding to a growing list of allegations, controversial University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill appears to have violated copyright law by claiming a reknowned artist's work as his own. Churchill, whose integrity has been challenged since news broke earlier last month of his paper blaming victims of 9-11 for the attacks, made an Indian-theme serigraph in 1981 called "Winter Attack" and printed 150 copies. But one of the buyers,...

PUT SOME PRESSURE ON PROF CHURCHILL AND U OF C ACT NOW: Please express your concerns about Professor Churchill by sending POLITE AND THOUGHTFUL emails to the Department of Ethnic Studies - The University of Colorado, Boulder, to UC’s Board of Regents, to UC’s Interim Chancellor, and to Colorado’s Governor. Please also contact Colorado’s state house members and U.S. House and Senate reps. Remember, being rude and hurling insults will get you nowhere. Intelligent and thoughtful comments will have an impact. For more info, click here.