Free Republic

FINALLY, the people in South Carolina are awakening to the fact our values are not being represented by Lindsay Graham.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Outraged by public corruption and economic woes, Cuyahoga County voted Tuesday to dramatically restructure a government that dates back 200 years. The historic 2-to-1 vote in favor of Issue 6 pushes Ohio's largest county into an era of change and reflects the public's hopes for honesty and a new prosperity. "The need for change has been clear for years, but the status quo dies hard," said State Sen. Nina Turner of Cleveland, an Issue 6 backer. While passing Issue 6, voters rejected a competing reform proposal, known as Issue 5, which was backed by some of the...

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — A little boy's murder that shocked parents everywhere, launched a national television crusade and confounded detectives for more than two decades may finally be solved. Hollywood police today are expected to identify Ottis Toole as the killer of Adam Walsh, the 6-year old snatched from a Sears store at the Hollywood Mall on July 27, 1981. Adam's severed head turned up two weeks later in Vero Beach and his body has never been found.

First round of Exxon payments ordered The Associated Press Published: November 24th, 2008 04:06 PM Last Modified: November 24th, 2008 04:06 PM A judge has ordered the first round of punitive damages be issued to plaintiffs in the nation's worst oil spill.

This is a great slice of Carl Cameron's interview with Governor Palin. link here

Lawmakers closed a budget deal tonight that all had reason to dislike. With Republicans still opposed, the Senate voted 22-14 and the Assembly 41-30 to approve the final fix of the long overdue package. Republican leaders supported the budget deal reached Thursday, but no GOP members voted for the bill. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is expected to sign the budget next week, said the spending plan is "an improvement" over earlier versions, but still fails to solve California's structural financial problems. "Unfortunately the Legislature was unable to make the hard decisions to end our structural deficit, but this budget is...

MESA, Ariz. (AP) - Eight illegal immigrants were arrested during a protest outside of a Phoenix furniture store that had hired sheriff's deputies to keep day laborers away. Protesters have been demonstrating for the past six Saturdays at Pruitt's furniture store in east Phoenix against the arrests of illegal immigrants in the area. Maricopa County sheriff's deputies had arrested 24 illegal immigrants in the area after stopping them for traffic violations. The eight people arrested yesterday on suspicion of violating immigration laws were the first illegal immigrants taken into custody during the actual protests. Sheriff Joe Arpaio says the protesters...

After a decade of repeated arrests and very little jail time, the hammer of the law finally came down on Demetrius Spearman, a homeless junkie, petty thief, legendary car booster and poster child for what's wrong with San Francisco's revolving-door legal system. On Thursday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Garrett Wong sentenced the 38-year-old Spearman to three years in prison for an auto burglary in the Western Addition last October - the harshest sentence handed down in the city for such a car break-in in recent memory. As we first reported a year ago, Spearman has been arrested for thefts...

The Senate drove a stake Thursday through President Bush's plan to legalize millions of unlawful immigrants, likely postponing major action on immigration until after the 2008 elections. This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. WASHINGTON (AP)—The Senate voted Thursday on an effort by opponents to stop a bill supported by President Bush to legalize millions of unlawful immigrants while also tightening the border against future immigrants. The critical vote determining the bill's fate began shortly after 11 a.m. EDT. Bush, seeking to salvage the biggest domestic initiative of his final...

WASHINGTON — Lynda Marie Kirby sexually abused her young son in ways more horrible than anyone could imagine, and she'll pay a steep price for her crimes. Kirby is serving a 125-year sentence, and she will remain in prison for half that time — 62 1/2 years — before she becomes eligible for parole. But there are many in Texas who think Kirby shouldn't spend even another day behind bars. They believe crimes of her nature deserve a greater punishment than imprisonment, and now the state is on its way toward approving the death penalty for child rapists. Texas is...

Republican, Father's Rights Candidate Dr. Mark Klein Enters US Presidential Race By Joel Leyden Israel News Agency Des Moines, Iowa ----May 4...... Dr. Mark Klein, a retired psychiatrist and father of four, has announced his candidacy for US President. Dr. Mark Klein, a Republican conservative, father's and children's rights activist, stated that he entered the presidential contest because he was disconcerted with the collapse of traditional families values, the abortion rate and the unaffordable living situations that exist for many Americans. "We need a grownup in the White House whose top priority is restoring stable affordable middle class family," Klein...

ALEC BALDWIN TAPES INTERVIEW; WANTS OUT OF TV Wed Apr 25 2007 17:04:40 ET **Exclusive** Alec Baldwin has taped an interview with Rosie O'Donnell for ABC's VIEW, sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT. O'Donnell told the studio audience off camera that this will be the actor's only interview. "He is leaving the country," O'Donnell told a stunned audience, says a source. [It was not clear if it was for vacation or an extended period of time.] She said she advised Baldwin against doing the interview. MORE During the session, to air Friday, Baldwin apologized for his tirade against his daughter. He...

Since Oct. 1, the Department of Motor Vehicles has notified more than 180,000 car owners in California that it is moving to suspend their auto registrations because their cars are uninsured. Hundreds of thousands more suspension warnings are expected to go out in the months ahead as the state's latest crackdown on uninsured motorists moves into high gear... Nowhere would the effect be greater than in Los Angeles County, where an estimated 23% of drivers are uninsured, compared with 14.3% in the state at large. According to 2003 California Department of Insurance statistics, the most recent available, Los Angeles County...

WASHINGTON – Nearly all non-Mexican illegal immigrants caught sneaking into the United States are being held until they can be returned to their home countries, the Bush administration said Wednesday. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said this marks the end of the “catch-and-release” practice that for years helped many illegal immigrants stay in the United States unhindered. “There is a real deterrent effect to this policy,” Chertoff told reporters in Washington, pointing to a 20,000 drop in the number of illegal immigrants caught crossing the southwest border between this summer and the same period last year. “Although we're not ready...

Hizbullah must immediately stop firing rockets into civilian areas in Israel, Human Rights Watch said Saturday. "Lobbing rockets blindly into civilian areas is without doubt a war crime," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "Nothing can justify this assault on the most fundamental standards for sparing civilians the hazards of war." "Most of the attacks appear to have been directed at civilian areas and have hit pedestrians, hospitals, schools, homes and businesses," the humanitarian organization's website stated. Since July 12, when Hizbullah captured two IDF soldiers and killed eight, Human Rights Watch researchers have been documenting the...

SAN FRANCISCO A 98-year-old woman who had a nearly four-decade career as an accountant finally graduated from high school on Wednesday, 80 years after she left without a diploma. Josephine Belasco still goes out for cocktails with friends, reads the newspaper and cooks Italian dinners for her family. But she said she always regretted dropping out of Galileo High School. After her younger sister became bed-ridden with a severe case of strep throat and wasn't expected to live, she quit school to take care of her and got a job at an insurance company to help support the family. Her...

1 hour, 18 minutes ago The Washington state Republican Party has adopted a resolution calling for an end to the Constitution's guarantee of automatic citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. Delegates supporting that platform said their concerns included the cost to public hospitals and the expense of welfare for the children of indigent or deported illegal immigrants. "I think voters realize immigration is a problem and we are trying to grapple with solutions to the illegal-immigration problem," Diane Tubeless, state GOP chairwoman, said of the resolution adopted Saturday with little debate and few dissenting votes. The 14th Amendment...

NEW YORK - Molly the cat is finally free. After two weeks stuck behind a brick wall in a 19th century Greenwich Village building, workers rescued the bashful 11-month-old feline from her plight late Friday, according to Jean Tannenbaum, a spokeswoman for Animal Care & Control of New York City. Representatives of Animal Care & Control, a private organization with a city contract to handle lost, injured and unwanted animals, have worked alongside a team of rescuers to drill and hammer out bricks in the cellar of the 157-year-old building to get Molly out. They used special cameras, set out...

A military veteran was pinned with Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals - more than 60 years after he earned them. Adam Macht served as a combat infantryman during World War II in Tunisia, Algeria and French Morocco. He earned a Bronze Star for heroic service and a Purple Heart for wounds suffered in battle. But he never received them - until Wednesday. "This is a long overdue presentation," Chief Master Sgt. Benito Salinas of the Air National Guard said before pinning the three-inch medals to Macht's green Army jacket. The oversight was uncovered when officials at Cypress Place Senior...

MSNBC reported late Wednesday afternoon that a grand jury would hear evidence against Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-4th Ga.) on Thursday. No word is available on how soon a warrant may be issued against McKinney. The Washington Post reports Capitol police want McKinney prosecuted on a misdemeanor charge of assaulting a police officer. The fourth district congresswoman has said she's a victim of racial profiling and insists she struck the officer after he touched her inappropriately.

Sales in February drop more than expected, as median price falls and supply grows. Is the real estate bubble bursting? NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - New home sales fell more sharply than expected in February -- and along with them, the price of a new house -- in the latest signs of a slowdown in what had been a white-hot housing market. Sales sank 10.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.08 million homes in February, from the revised rate of 1.21 million in January, the Census Bureau reported. The report also showed a drop in the median price of a...

Born: 03/21/2006 2:10 AM Weight: 8 lbs Length: 20.05 inches Name: ----not yet ( Any suggestions?)

Hurricane season finally ending, but next year could be bad, too By JOHN PAIN Associated Press Writer November 29. 2005 4:27PM The busiest and costliest Atlantic hurricane season on record officially - and mercifully - draws to a close Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of Americans still dealing with the devastation wrought by Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Despite the end of the June 1-to-Nov. 30 season, hurricanes could still form over the next few months. In fact, a tropical storm took shape in the Atlantic on Tuesday. But no hurricane has been known to hit the United States between December...

Norway finally forgives women who slept with Nazi soldiers By Kate Connolly in Berlin (Filed: 27/10/2005) Norwegian women who slept with German soldiers during the Second World War and have been denied a special pension ever since as punishment are finally to be forgiven. Known as "tysketöser", German whores, they have until now been excluded from the war pension paid to all who remained true to "good national principles" during the occupation. Now, however, Norway's government has quietly reversed its policy of discrimination against the women and will start paying the money to the few dozen still left. "Very few...

Girls finally getting a chance to learn Saturday, March 26, 2005 ANKARA - Turkish Daily News A total of 1,659 girls living in Þanlýurfa have begun their schooling as part of the “Girls Let's Go to School” campaign, a project that has been ongoing for a year, made possible through the cooperation of the Education Ministry and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Girls between the ages of 10 and 14, whose families were persuaded to send their daughters to school instead of making them work in fields, are now taking courses in specially prepared classrooms. Children are able to...

Iraqi Election Candidates Finally Revealed Newspapers Publish Names Of 7,000 Running In Sunday's Election POSTED: 5:33 pm EST January 27, 2005 BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Talk about a short political campaign: With only three days to go before the Iraq election, voters have finally been told who will be on the ballot. Iraqi newspapers Thursday published for the first time the names of some 7,000 candidates for the new National Assembly. Many of the candidates' identities had been kept secret to protect them from assassination. In the former rebel stronghold of Fallujah, where opposition to the balloting is strong, U.S. Marines...

It's all so terrible. The governor has proposed a budget that significantly increases government spending, but not nearly as much as the various government-dependent groups would like it to increase. Listen to the weeping and gnashing of teeth. Children will go hungry. Union workers might actually have to retire with a defined- contribution plan (a promised amount of contributions) like most of us have in the private sector, rather than with the CEO-style, taxpayer-funded defined-benefit plan (a promised amount of benefits) they now have. Overall state spending will go up by only 4.2 percent, K-12 education will go up only...

I work at a CBS TV station we are on standby for a possible SPECIAL REPORT on Yasser Arryfat... Death? Dunno

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) - Harding E. Smith's son had to wait almost 40 years to give the former Air Force lieutenant colonel a proper burial. The former Los Gatos resident had been missing and presumed killed in action after his AC-47 gunship was shot down over Laos in 1966. The crew's remains were discovered a decade ago, but his were positively identified only recently. He was buried Friday at Arlington National Cemetery. "I'm older than my father was when he was shot down," said Smith's son, Gene, a physics professor at the University of California, San Diego. He said he...

This comes from total reliable sources -- like you can take it to the bank. Oklahoma Republicans have taken over the Oklahoma House for the first time in 80+ years (tied then) and we have only been a State since 1907. Great day to be an Oklahoma Republican! Have been told that the Governor has conceded to the new Speaker of the House -- a Republican. We still don't know about the State Senate here in Oklahoma but my State Senator who was in a tough race won handily with 58% of the vote. With a win by Dr. Coburn,...

Nasa to resume shuttle missions By Daniel LakBy Daniel Lak BBC correspondent in Miami The US space agency (Nasa) says the first space shuttle mission since the Columbia disaster of 2003 is to be launched next May or early June. All shuttle missions had been suspended pending investigation of the accident, in which seven astronauts died. Improvements have also been made to the orbiter and its fuel tank system. Plans to resume the launches in March were put back after hurricanes hit east Florida, where the Kennedy Space Center is located, in July and August. The Nasa official in charge...

WASHINGTON July 20, 2004 — A Senate panel approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday that would ban the burning of the American flag, but opponents of the measure say there's not enough support in the full, GOP-controlled Senate to push through a change to the Constitution. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a one-line change to the Constitution "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States" on an 11-7 vote, which pushes the issue to the full Senate. "The flag deserves constitutional protection, and legal scholars agree that this amendment is the only...

Do they do it to keep us off balance? Just when you're about to write off The Today Show as hopeless DNC surrogates, they pull something like this morning. In separate interviews, Katie Couric made manifest her skepticism about John Edwards, while (the solid professional, IMHO) Jamie Gangel treated Laura Bush in a reasonable and straightforward manner. Katie began her interview with Edwards and wife Elizabeth with a shot between the eyes: "Despite a nationwide bump in the polls when you were named to the ticket, a new poll in NC shows Kerry/Edwards down by 15%." Edwards: "I'm not a...

WEST PALM BEACH - (AP) -- A judge is being criticized for openly questioning and often reporting the immigration status of abused, abandoned and neglected children in his courtroom. Some lawyers call Roger B. Colton's actions disturbing, saying he abuses his power by revealing to law enforcement details disclosed before him. Colton says he is just doing his duty. ''They're violating the law, and I'm a judge,'' said Colton, whose background included nine years as a special agent with the FBI. ``Don't I have some type of obligation to the system to report it . . . when it's smack-dab...

With VERY few exceptions (thanks to the people that were human and to people that wrote me privately) you people are a bunch of fundamentalist zealots. You aren't conservatives...you're fascists. You make me embarrassed to be a Republican.

<p>It took the most destructive fires in California history to ignite reform, but on Friday both houses of Congress passed a more sensible policy on clearing forests to prevent future fires.</p> <p>"House and Senate negotiators led by Republican Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California agreed Wednesday on controversial forest-clearing legislation they hope will curb increasingly dangerous wildfires across the West," reported the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday. "The accord, developed at informal talks led by the Bay area lawmakers, merges widely divergent versions of legislation drafted after President Bush unveiled his Healthy Forests initiative in September 2002."</p>

Go here: http://gis1.tlc.state.tx.us/ The proposed map is the last one listed: Proposed Congressional Districts - HB3 CCR 10-09-03, plan C01374 Current districts are the third option: US Congressional Districts, 108th Congres, plan C01151

Utah's controversial firing squad may be doomed. "Essentially, we're going to discuss the repeal of the firing squad" during a meeting today of the state Sentencing Commission, says executive director Ron Gordon. Gordon has conducted a study that examines different methods of execution and the question of who decides on which method to employ — the Legislature or the condemned person.Lt. Jeff Meyers points to restraints used on prisoners in the firing-squad chair at the Utah State Prison. A new Deseret Morning News-KSL poll found that while 45 percent of Utahns still favor the firing squad, 51 percent believe it...

This is a WorldNetDaily printer-friendly version of the article which follows. To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33203 Saturday, June 21, 2003 OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOMDNA tests conductedon Saddam's remains?Convoy of luxury vehicles struck by missiles after satellite-phone conversation intercepted Posted: June 21, 20039:07 p.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com DNA tests are being conducted on human remains recovered after U.S. missiles launched last week destroyed a convoy of luxury vehicles believed to have been transporting Saddam Hussein and members of his family, according to a report in the London Observer. U.S. forces initiated the attack, involving an undisclosed number of Hellfire missiles,...

After 2 nights of riots, peace settles on Benton Harbor By JAMES PRICHARD The Associated Press 6/19/03 2:44 AM BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- An intermittent rainfall, a ministerial march for peace and several hundred police officers in riot gear have brought quiet after two nights of riots. Police Chief Samuel Harris expressed hope Wednesday evening that the wet weather would help keep citizens off the streets that night, and he got his wish: There were no reports of mayhem in the city. "Well, God has blessed us," Harris told a group of reporters at Benton Harbor police headquarters. "It...

<p>NO cuts are too little and it's not too late, but had the California Assembly made in December the budget cuts it voted for Monday, the state would be much further along the road back to financial equilibrium.</p> <p>Three months after the start of a special session to deal with a shortfall of at least $26 billion, the Legislature finally is on the verge of approving cuts of $3 billion in the current fiscal year and $5 billion in the next one, which begins July 1.</p>

Washington's war cry means Baghdad's date with destiny could be decided on Valentine's Day. While the White House has yet to set a firm date, analysts say war is likely to break out very soon. U.S. President George Bush has yet to back off his end game, despite growing opposition to war against Iraq in the international community. CTV's Kathy Tomlinson says there are a number of reasons why Washington may declare war within week, or even days.....

That was something much less than a ringing endorsement the President offered Trent Lott yesterday. First he steps onto a platform in Philadelphia and denounces Trent Lott by name. “Senator Lott’s comments,” he said, “do not reflect the spirit of the country. He has apologized, and rightly so” for remarks that the president characterized as “offensive” and “wrong.” Next, administration spokesman Ari Fleischer tells the press on the record that “the president doesn’t think Trent Lott needs to resign.” Odd formulation that, isn’t it? Fleischer didn’t offer a comment on Trent Lott himself (eg, “Senator Lott has the president’s confidence...

Well, it's finally happened. Seven months ago, I filed suit against my ex-wife for sole-custody of our daughter. I did so, not out of animosity towards her, but because of her actions, in-actions and apathy towards our child. She lives about six miles away, yet only visits with her daughter for, at most, two hours a week. She knows that she can pick her up any time she desires by just calling, but has other priorities in her life than our daughter. I have tried talking to her about this, but she doesn't want to listen, saying that everything is...

Lorenzo's oil finally proven to work 17:55 26 September 02 NewScientist.com news service The controversial do-it-yourself medicine that inspired the heart-rending movie Lorenzo's Oil has finally been proved to work. The new research ends years of uncertainty about the treatment and demolishes the claims of experts who repeatedly said it was a worthless quack remedy. New Scientist has learned that Hugo Moser, the neurologist and doctor played by Peter Ustinov in the film, will on Saturday unveil the positive conclusions of a 10-year investigation into the oil's effects on a group of boys affected with the same genetic condition as...

Responding to a wave of corporate scandals that have turned his pro-business reputation into a potential liability, President Bush ( news - web sites) put the final touches on Monday on new policies to crack down on boardroom misconduct, with criminal penalties for the worst offenders. Photos Reuters Photo Bush will present his plan on Tuesday in a Wall Street speech aimed at restoring investor confidence shaken by accounting scandals at telecoms giant WorldCom Inc. and other once high-flying firms, which have laid off thousands of workers and seen their stock values plummet. The speech will come amid new revelations...