Free Republic

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Call it poetic justice: More than two dozen young people who broke into Robert Frost's former home for a beer party and trashed the place are being required to take classes in his poetry as part of their punishment. Using "The Road Not Taken" and another poem as jumping-off points, Frost biographer Jay Parini hopes to show the vandals the error of their ways — and the redemptive power of poetry. "I guess I was thinking that if these teens had a better understanding of who Robert Frost was and his contribution to our society, that they...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The struggling economy gives Democratic lawmakers another weapon in their effort to expand a popular children's health insurance program. In the end, however, they appear to have made little headway in overcoming a presidential veto. In December, President Bush for a second time vetoed a bill that would more than double spending on the State Children's Health Program. Bush said the bill would encourage too many families to replace private insurance with government-subsidized health coverage. On Wednesday, the House was voting on whether to override that veto. In recent days, Democratic lawmakers have stressed that more families...

Rush Limbaugh’s detractors never learn. They’ve tried everything to come between Rush and his more than 20 million listeners, intending to destroy his appeal and impact. But it’s a hopeless, almost laughable endeavor. They led boycotts against his advertisers -- yet his show continues to generate more revenue than any other on radio. They pressured his affiliates to drop his program, but he’s still heard on more than 600 stations -- more than any other talk host. They tried to keep him off Armed Forces Radio, of course, but he has the most popular program on the military’s radio network.

Like many people, I've been watching with interest the story regarding S-CHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) in the news and have been fascinated with the push for what amounts to socialized medicine by the Democratic Party. Nancy Pelsoi, the Speaker of the House seems to have taken this issue on personally with much time and attention. There are many who view this as purely a politcal game by the Democrats to make the current Bush administration look bad, particularly before the '08 election. Be that as it may, the Dems really are showing themselves to be somewhat sloppy in...

A Maryland family caught in the partisan crossfire over a children's health-care bill in Congress is now stepping back into the divisive debate, advocating this time for state legislation that would expand coverage for adults. Three weeks ago, after 12-year-old Graeme Frost offered a radio appeal for expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), his family became fodder for conservative bloggers. The Frosts were derided as freeloaders who relied on government insurance for their children while they sent two to private school. Bloggers staked out their Baltimore rowhouse, declaring it too fancy for a family that can't afford...

"If the Democratic version of SCHIP were to pass, Graeme Frost's family would be ineligible to purchase an employer's insurance through SCHIP, should it be available and contain either FSAs or HSAs," said Ridenour. "Nancy Pelosi claims conservatives who wonder about the Frost family's eligibility for SCHIP are conducting a 'vicious attack' on the family. Yet she's pushing policies that would limit the family's health insurance choices. Which is worse?"

Michelle Malkin talked to FOX's John Gibson, audio here, about the heat she has taken in reporting on the Frost family. Here's a quick "rough" summary: Gibson: "Dems trotted out a kid to be poster child for this bill then objected when someone would look into background like what is their financial condition, what help do they actually need- you can't do that because you are now a purveyor of hate. Joining me now, Michelle Malkin-somehow you got named a big villain in this battle. How'd you do that?" MM-"I listened to folks in the blogosphere, a number were asking...

"One blog, Free Republic.com, posted a report that said Frost attended a private school where tuition was $20,000 a year, that the family lives in an area where one home recently sold for nearly $500,000, and that a photo and "shows what appears to be a recent remodeling job with granite counter tops and glass-front cabinets.""

To get to the link is tricky. You have to click on the link which takes you to home page of the court. Once there you have to hit the "I agree" button which takes you to a search page. Then simply hit your back button to this post and this time when you click the link it should take you to the case. Court System: DISTRICT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY - CIVIL SYSTEM Case Number:010100081232006 Claim Type:INJUNCTION District/Location Codes:01 / 01 Filing Date:03/08/2006 Case Status:ACTIVE Complaint Information Complaint No: 001(MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE) Vs:(FROST, F HALSEY )...

House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) blamed “hate radio” for demeaning children who were being used to lobby for an expansion of federally funded health insurance in a press conference late Tuesday morning. In the run-up to a House vote to override President Bush’s veto of a $35 billion increase to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, children like the 12-year old Graeme Frost---who suffered brain injuries after a car accident-- have been pushed to the forefront of the debate. Frost’s position as a so-called “poster child” for SCHIP became controversial when his family’s assets were investigated. This reporter asked...

On Thursday, the House of Representatives will vote on a measure to override President Bush's veto of a massive government-subsidized health insurance entitlement expansion plan. I agree with the Democrats on one thing: This is indeed a "defining moment." The left-wing elite is in high dudgeon over conservatives who have dared to question the wisdom of extending the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to middle-class families, adults and even illegal aliens to the tune of $35 billion -- funding dependent on saddling millions of smokers with regressive taxes and maintaining their nicotine addictions. Liberal columnists E.J. Dionne and Paul...

Congress: After smearing a compassionate conservative in their attempt to override President Bush's veto of an overloaded SCHIP bill, Democrats promise to try again. Maybe next time they will tell the truth.SNIPUnder the Democrats' proposed expansion, says the National Center for Public Policy Research, "it is not inconceivable that a parent with one child with an income of $13,690 will be funding benefits for two children in a family of four with an income of $82,600." "Isn't that sad for America's children?" Pelosi said of the prospect of Bush's veto being sustained. Well, no, not if Pelosi is willing to...

Pelosi: Radio attacks on boy unfair By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent 53 minutes ago Seeking support for a vetoed children's health insurance bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi charged Tuesday that "hate radio has made a vicious attack" on a 12-year-old Baltimore boy who receives coverage through the program. Pelosi said the allegations were "beneath the dignity of the debate" that surrounds the legislation. Democrats hope to enact the measure over Bush's opposition, and a House vote scheduled for Thursday. A two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress is required to override a veto, and supporters of the measure appear...

On the conference call, Dara admitted to me that she and Brian had been talking about having children since before they were married. She further admitted that after they were married she voluntarily left a job at a country club that had good health insurance, because the situation was “unmanageable.” From there she took a job at a restaurant with no health insurance, and the couple went on to have a baby anyway, presuming that others would pay for it and certainly long before they knew their daughter would have heart defect that probably cost the gross national product of...

If you thought for a moment that Harry Reid and the Democrats might have obtained some wisdom and maturity over the weekend and put down their child-sized human shields, think again. The presidential veto override vote on the S-CHIP entitlement expansion is set for Thursday. Though they admit they probably don’t have the votes, Democrats are already crowing about this “defining moment.” They have vowed to introduce yet another bill if their override fails. Meanwhile, their universal health care minions continue to inundate the airwaves with noxious “Bush vs. the children” ads. Hollyweirdos are cursing their heads off at critics...

Mark Hemingway discusses the people who hate children enough to give them MCS. We here at NRO are in fact deeply concerned about the world our children will live in. But of all the arguments we have presented against SCHIP, we’re most deeply troubled by the fact SCHIP does nothing to protect kids, who like Graeme Frost, suffer from MCS — Manipulated Child Syndrome. Perhaps the gravest public threat endangering our youth, MCS occurs whenever insubstantial claims of child endangerment are substituted for real political argument. Though MCS has gone largely untreated, the signs are readily visible. Every time you...

A Volvo SUV, a Chevy Suburban and a Ford F-250 may finally bring to an end a long and bitter flame-war between conservative and liberal bloggers over the S-CHIP veto. Michelle Malkin explains, the blogger chorus joins in, and Don Surber sums it up in a song: (To the tune of frosty the snowman) Halsey the SCHIPman Was a workingman, they plead He wasn't made of dough But the children know How he drove 3 S-U-Vs. . . .

I received an unsolicited e-mail this week from a neighbor of the Frost family, the family held up by Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and the entitlement expansionist Democrats. He wrote: They’re good people. Terribly misguided, pathetically leftist buffoons, but still good people. It was a terrible accident and Bonnie is quite beat up with guilt over the events. Lots of neighbors pitched in to cook meals and help out… Bonnie works half time doing freelance editorial work and Halsey, an incredibly disorganized lovable goofball, just can’t seem to hold down a proper job or, when he’s tried, to run a...

Conservatives claim to be in favor of stable families, small businesses, hard work, private schools, investment and homeownership. So why in the world are so many on the right attacking the family of Graeme Frost? Frost is the 12-year-old from Baltimore who delivered the Democrats' reply to a radio address by President Bush in September. The seventh-grader pleaded -- in vain, it turned out -- that the president not veto Congress's $35 billion expansion of the children's health care program known as SCHIP. A car crash in December 2004 left two of Halsey and Bonnie Frost's children comatose, Graeme with...

Using human shields is the work of cowards. This is true whether it’s Islamofascists hiding behind civilians to carry out attacks on American troops, knowing that our rules of engagement forbid firing into non-combatants, or people who use women and children as cannon fodder to advance their own political ends. Nevertheless, the urge to do so seems to be irresistible to the Left. It’s become a staple of humor to assume a headline in the New York Times or the Washington Post if God were to announce the end of the world: “End of the World, Women and Children Worst...

This may be interesting: The Frosts joined the debate through family acquaintance Vinnie DeMarco, the president of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative. DeMarco introduced them to the pro-SCHIP organization Families USA, which put them in touch with Pelosi's office. So who is Vinnie DeMarco? A busy lefty activist with more than the expansion of S-CHIP on his mind. He even has time to go after Wal-Mart, along with guns and higher taxes. He brags about changing the nation by beating on business here. Around two years ago the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative (MCHI) stepped into the breach with the bold...

Conservatives often complain that republicans back down, that they have no spine, that they wilt when faced with criticism of "but its for the children!" Will the fight over the S-CHIP expansion veto be a repeat? Many media outlets and left wing blogs are crowing about all the supposed falsehoods contained in my original post. Before you go running for the hills, tail between your legs, can we at least take a look at each and every point made in that post? You know, the one that "attacks a 12 year old boy". I keep hearing how all my info...

This has been an interesting debate. But the debate appears to be mainly on one side. The Right/Conservative/Moderate side debates the merits of socialized medicine. The Left screams and lies. Mark Steyn: Both The Baltimore Sun and The New York Times have stories on the Frosts this morning, and the interesting point is the matter of whether they do, in any useful sense, represent the "working poor":Mr. Frost works intermittently in woodworking and as a welder, while Mrs. Frost has a part-time job at a firm that provides services to publishers of medical journals.Mr Frost works "intermittently". The unemployment rate...

Mr. and Mrs. Frost, On behalf of everyone involved in the SCHIPS program debate allow me to express my sincere condolences for the unfortunate experiences that have befallen your family. It is excruciating for any parent to experience severe injuries to children and the financial needs that accompany such calamity can be tremendous. Gratuitous personal attacks on your family that have nothing to do with this issue have no place in the debate and those making them should be ashamed. On the other hand legitimate questions have been raised concerning some of your claims which apply directly to your past...

Update 11:50am Eastern 10/10. Here’s the Baltimore Sun’s nutroots-approved follow-up piece on the Frost family, using a single, rotten comment by a stupid RedState commenter to tar all conservative bloggers as hatemongers. Interestingly, the Sun asked the Frost parents to verify their claimed income and the couple declined. Also, the Sun reported that all four of the children attend private schools, not just two. The paper is silent on when the family started receiving claimed tuition breaks and how much the family spent on private-school tuition each year prior to the accident–i.e., at a time when they chose not to...

When Halsey and Bonnie Frost agreed to go public with how the State Children's Health Insurance Program helped them after a car crash left two of their children comatose, the Baltimore couple expected to hear from critics of government-funded health care. But while the Frosts were helping a bipartisan majority in Congress sell a plan to expand the program, they were not prepared for...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 — There have been moments when the fight between Congressional Democrats and President Bush over the State Children’s Health Insurance Program seemed to devolve into a shouting match about who loves children more. So when Democrats enlisted 12-year-old Graeme Frost, who along with a younger sister relied on the program for treatment of severe brain injuries suffered in a car crash, to give the response to Mr. Bush’s weekly radio address on Sept. 29, Republican opponents quickly accused them of exploiting the boy to score political points. Then, they wasted little time in going after him to...

Context, people, context: This is the inevitable M.O. every time bloggers and commentators on the right have challenged the Absolute Moral Authority of the Democrat poster child du jour. It happened with Cindy Sheehan. And the military recruiter-bashing thugs at Santa Cruz. And MoveOn.org. And the phony soldier saga. Crush Rush is just the tip of the iceberg. Just ask the mom-and-pop Cafe Press owners who got those cease-and-desist letters from MoveOn.org’s lawyers for daring to defend Gen. David Petraeus.

Hello everyone, its been an interesting few days. I had no idea my post about the family used by democrats to push for expansion of the S-CHIP program would cause such a stir. There have been many questions and comments raised about me and my simple Google research that I thought I'd deal with them all on this post if it's ok with the Mods. My interest in the S-CHIP issue came about because of the way it's portrayed in the media. President Bush's veto was of an EXPANSION of this health insurance program to include higher income families. It...

RUSH: I had some rudimentary information on this two weeks ago, and it wasn't enough for me to trust going with. But since then, it has been verified, and most of it's been verified by a "Freeper" at Free Republic. Everybody is writing about this now, since the Freeper posted it over the weekend. This 12-year-old kid that the Democrats used in the Saturday radio address to whine and moan and cry to President Bush about the S-CHIP children's health program, it turns out that the family of this kid sends its kids to "one of Baltimore's expensive private schools."...

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the federal government Tuesday for disaster aid because of an ongoing cold snap that has destroyed nearly $1 billion worth of California citrus, and industry officials said shoppers will feel the sting through higher prices for oranges, lemons and other produce. Visiting a Fresno orange grove, Schwarzenegger said he was asking the U.S. government for disaster status, which would allow California to seek aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Small Business Administration to offset losses to growers and other businesses. "This is not just about the crop this year. It...

With half of California's navel orange crop destroyed by a cold snap, the wholesale price of the fruit soared Tuesday as agriculture officials warned that consumers will soon be paying more for other produce such as avocados, carrots and lettuce. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday declared a state of emergency in 10 counties hardest hit — even as state officials predicted that the frigid temperatures would continue in many agriculture zones through the weekend. Forecasters predict lows 7 to 10 degrees below normal this week, raising the specter of more crop damage. In the strongest sign of that the freeze will...

Fruity headache for cafe ownersBy Samantha Williams and Karina Dunger 03jul06 Cafe workers ... Julie Hanssens and Jodie Lee / Troy Bendeich BAD weather is set to affect the price of oranges after already crippling Australia's banana industry. The worst frost in 24 years has destroyed 40,000 tonnes - about 25 per cent - of the citrus fruit produced in southern Australia. "They won't hit skyrocketing prices of bananas but there will be some price hike due to the reduction of fruit on the market," Riverina Citrus CEO Peter Morrish said. Oranges currently sell for $2.50kg, with experts predicting rises...

Belgrade, January 25, 2006 Increased electrical power restrictions went into effect this morning in northern Kosovo and Metohija due to the failure of Block A, producing 120 megawatts, in the Obilic Thermoelectrical Facility. Internet service has also been interrupted by insufficient power availability. Nebojsa Aleksic, the director of Elektrokosmet, confirmed for the International Press Center in Kosovska Mitrovica that in addition to regular restrictions in effect until yesterday in northern Kosovo and Metohija according to a schedule of four hours on, two hours off, since this morning increased power restrictions have gone into effect in northern Kosovo and Metohija. According...

VITALY has tried being drunk and disorderly, disturbing the peace, even assaulting a friend — anything to get inside a Moscow police cell. Any other week, the 42-year-old vagrant would do anything to avoid the city’s notorious police. But with a cold front from Siberia pushing temperatures towards -40C – their lowest in more than half a century — getting arrested has become a matter of life or death. “At least it’s warm in a cell,” he said. “In this weather, if you can’t find a warm place to sleep, you die.”

Veteran UK broadcaster Sir David Frost is to join Arabic-language TV station al-Jazeera, the network has confirmed. Sir David is to appear on al-Jazeera International, the pan-Arab news network's new English-language channel, due to be launched next spring. The Qatar-based channel said Sir David, who broadcast his final Breakfast with Frost programme for the BBC in May, would be among the "key on-air talent". Sir David was quoted as saying he felt "excitement" about his new role. "Most of the television I have done over the years has been aimed at British and American audiences," he said. Distinguished career "This...

How many of you North Texans have picked up on this? Lib Former Congressman has been named a paid "contributor" at FOX News. Slimy, greasy DNC Chairman wannabe gets onto the FOX payroll. Whenever someone calls FOX News a "Right Wing" network rmember these names. Frost, Clift, Estrich, Ferraro, Beckel and Juan Williams just to name a few. However, for many of us, this one is partcularly obnoxious.

American Friends? HardlyBy Gordon LambFrontPageMagazine.com | June 5, 2003 When the first Quakers arrived in America in the late 17th century, they were thought of as heretics, sometimes witches and routinely bizarre. Theirs was a religion based on the ideas the individual is supreme, that the relationship between God and man is a very private affair not to be regulated by government or society, that temperance ("all things in moderation") is a noble way to live one's life. Above all, it prized peace and stated that violence should be avoided if at all possible.The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) has mastered...

South Carolinian Donnie Fowler put it simply: “A Democratic Party without the South is a little bit like greens without the cornbread.” He made the comment at a meeting of party officials who gathered last weekend in Atlanta to grill candidates for the party’s highest position — chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Fowler, 37, a political consultant and son of a prominent South Carolina Democrat, is one of seven candidates seeking the job. “I did this out of frustration,” he said, after seeing the party commit the same mistakes of past defeats. Divided and battered by the second bitter...

PASADENA, Calif. - The Mars rover Spirit found a mineral linked to water during its exploration of the Red Planet, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Monday. Scientists identified the mineral goethite in bedrock studied in the West Spur area of the Columbia Hills. Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, were sent to Mars to look for geologic evidence of a watery past. Both rovers, especially Opportunity, have found such evidence in their nearly year-long treks over the martian surface, but the goethite find is particularly important, a mission scientist said in a JPL statement. "Goethite, like the jarosite that Opportunity found...

WASHINGTON -- Defeated Texas Congressman Martin Frost is among potential candidates for chairman of the Democratic National Committee who are telephoning members about the situation, a leading Democrat said Monday. "The following candidates are making phone calls to DNC members -- Howard Dean, Donnie Fowler, Martin Frost and Leo Hindery," said Mark Brewer, party chairman in Michigan and president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs.

Incumbents who lost their bid for re-election: Georgia House 12. Republican Congressman Max Burns defeated by Democrat John Barrow Illinois House 8. Republican Congressman Philip Crane defeated by Democrat Melissa Bean Indiana Governor. Democratic Governor Joe Kernan defeated by Republican Mitch Daniels Indiana House 9. Democratic Congressman Baron Hill defeated by Republican Mike Sodrel New Hampshire Governor. Republican Governor Craig Benson defeated by Democrat John Lynch South Dakota Senate Class 3. Democratic Senator Tom Daschle defeated by Republican John Thune Texas House 1. Democratic Congressman Max Sandlin defeated by Republican Louis Gohmert Texas House 2. Democratic Congressman Nick Lampson defeated...

Ultra-left wing, liberal-up-the-wazoo, Texas Congressman Martin Frost has been caught cheating on his real estate property taxes. Once caught, Frost has said ALL TOGETHER NOW, "It was simply an oversight." Yep, that's what he said!! Oh, and of course, he'll pay back everything he owes, now that he has been caught!American patriot and brave but sensitive fighter of all things slimey, liberal and pro-Clinton, Texas Congressman Tom DeLay was able to help right a terrible inequity in Texas politics and redistrict the state's Congressional district. That forced leftie Frost to run against a normal American, Pete Sessions.It turns out that...

A momentous event occured last week and while it was mentioned here, I didn't see the analysis that it warranted.Ultra-left wing, leftie Congressman Martin Frost is running for reelection from Texas in a new district, one created by the corrective redistricting urged by American patriot and bipartisan champion, Texas Congressman Tom DeLay. Frost had been in a district, mostly black, that delivered him left wing votes every two years. He chose to move to a new district and is now running where blacks votes will be few and honest Republicans are many. He is desperate!! He is trying to look...

Disagreement over yard signs turns to full-scale battle between men vying for Dallas-area congressional seat By Chuck Lindell AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, August 18, 2004 The post-redistricting showdown between Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions and Democratic U.S. Rep. Martin Frost collapsed into a fit of name-calling and vitriol Tuesday, with Sessions' campaign labeled "immature" and Frost's tagged as "bizarre." What started as a snarky disagreement over campaign yard signs erupted into accusations of political dirty tricks and attempted intimidation, then erupted again when Frost's campaign revealed a 2-year-old police report indicating that Sessions had pulled up an opponent's yard signs during...

Martin Frost trying to shut down free discussion of public opposition to amnesty for illegal aliens This is a special request being sent to those of you who live in and around Dallas. You have an opportunity to help prevent Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX) from shutting down free discussion of public opposition to amnesty for illegal aliens. We need you to call Dallas TV stations to support them in their decision thus far to run ads decrying amnesties for illegal aliens. The stations are under great pressure to silence the ads. Your phone calls can keep this free speech...

Tom DeLay's redistricting may do in a 13-term Democrat.TEXAS REPUBLICANS wanted to accomplish several things last year, when they began redrawing the state's congressional districts. They wanted to increase the number of safe Republican seats to give them a majority. And they wanted to take revenge on, among others, 13-term Democrat Martin Frost. This they did by divvying up his shoo-in, 61 percent Democratic district. Now Frost is challenging incumbent Republican Pete Sessions for the newly redrawn District 32.Knocking off the wily former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman would be especially gratifying for Republicans. Frost was the chief architect behind...

Report: Criminal investigation of Rep. Frost launched 06/16/2004 By JIM VERTUNO / Associated Press Democratic U.S. Rep. Martin Frost is under investigation in Travis County for possibly using illegal corporate donations to help finance Texas legislative candidates. State Sen. Robert Deuell, R-Greenville, filed a criminal complaint against Frost, of Dallas, last month. He alleged Frost was engaged in activities similar to those Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle has been investigating involving U.S. House majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land. Frost campaign spokesman Jess Fassler said Frost has done nothing wrong. The complaint alleged Frost raised corporate money in the...

The Congressional District 32 race between 13-term Democratic Congressman Martin Frost and four-term Republican Pete Congressman Pete Sessions will be the most competitive race in the nation, according to Congress Daily, a publication of National Journal. In its annual report on the top House races, Congress daily noted: "Thirteen-term Democratic Rep. Martin Frost and four-term Republican Rep. Pete Sessions are already slugging their way to the general. This battle symbolizes the culmination of partisan hatred over the redistricting battle and will be the most competitive in the nation. The publication also offered its thoughts on a number of other Texas...

Redistricting doesn't stop Democrats Thursday, January 22, 2004 The re-redistricting bomb that U.S. Majority Leader Tom DeLay dropped on white Texas Democrats in Congress was huge. However, all but two have filed for re-election anyway. Wouldn't it be ironic if several won? Ralph Hall of Rockwall switched to the Republicans, whom he'd been with for years in all but the initial after his name, anyway. And Jim Turner of Crockett decided not to run again. With $1 million in his campaign bank, he says he might run for governor or the U.S. Senate in 2006. But the main Democrats targeted...