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London - Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse has been diagnosed with emphysema and is being treated at a London hospital, a British newspaper report said Sunday. The Grammy award-winning singer's serious lung condition has been attributed to the abuse of crack cocaine and cigarettes, her father Mitch Winehouse told the Sunday Mirror newspaper. Doctors warned his daughter that she could end up in a wheelchair within a month if she fails to stop using the drugs, he said. The 24- year-old then told him, 'Don't worry about me, dad. I know I've got to stop taking drugs now.' Winehouse was...

LONDON (AP) - Sky News television says British singer Amy Winehouse has been arrested on suspicion of assault. London's Metropolitan police said Friday they have arrested a 24-year- old woman on suspicion of assault but are not naming her. British authorities do not usually name suspects until they have been charged.

Even on a gray day in Paris last week, there was one place you could find a crowd of tourists from places as varied as Rome, Tokyo and Orlando, Florida — gathered at the Pere Lachaise cemetery, around the graveside of Jim Morrison. Forget Chopin, Oscar Wilde, and the hundreds of other luminaries interred among its chestnut trees, the frontman of The Doors has long been the cemetery's headline draw. Part of the attraction is the almost mystical magnetism he exuded in life; part is the macabre mystery of his demise: How did one of the legends of the rock...

Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy said yesterday that he is entering treatment for an addiction to prescription medications, an announcement that comes as police continue their investigation into a car crash involving the congressman near the Capitol. Calling his addiction a "chronic disease," Kennedy said he does not even recall the accident, which occurred early Thursday and raised questions about his behavior and how U.S. Capitol Police deal with members of Congress. The congressman's office has said Kennedy (D-R.I.) was disoriented behind the wheel because he had taken prescription medication to calm stomach inflammation and to help him sleep. No one...

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) crashed his car near the Capitol early Thursday, and a police official said he appeared intoxicated. Kennedy said he had taken sleep medication and a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness. Kennedy, D-R.I., addressed the issue after a spate of news reports. His initial statement said: "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident."'Later, however, he issued a longer statement saying the attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan on Tuesday to treat Kennedy's gastroenteritis.Kennedy said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after a final series of votes...

Setting up a conflict with the Romney administration, lawmakers on Monday advanced a longstanding Beacon Hill proposal to decriminalize the possession of enough marijuana for teens to roll dozens of joints. Approved 6-1 by the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee, the proposal would change the penalty for possessing marijuana to a $250 civil fine for anyone caught with less than an ounce of the drug, regardless of age. In addition, parents of those 18 years and younger would be notified of the infraction. Currently, someone convicted of such an offense can be sent to jail for up to six...

NEW YORK -- Nicole Richie wouldn't say no if she went back in time and had a second chance to try heroin. Richie told Jane magazine that given a second chance, she "probably would" try heroin again because that's her personality. After going to rehab, Richie is fine now and is planning her wedding to Adam Goldstein. The former "Simple Life" star said she wants five kids: three girls and twin boys. Meanwhile, it happens to just about every daughter. At some point, your dad says something about you that makes you wonder if he even knows you. Nicole Richie...

ITHACA--New York State Congressman Maurice Hinchey, recently under fire for “racking up a stunning $161,393 [in free travel] footed by special-interest groups,” is excusing his actions by blaming “Republican spin.” But a non-partisan group tells a different story. Writing in the Ithaca Journal, Hinchey, claims that his trips, to such places as Rome, Shanghai and Morocco, are ethical because he does not consider the groups that footed the bills to be lobbyists: "[A]ll of my privately funded trips abroad have been sponsored by well-known and highly regarded non-partisan, non-profit organizations that are dedicated to informing public policy.” Therefore, Hinchey...

We are signing this petition as an appeal to place the image of Ray Charles on the U.S. Treasury's ten dollar bill. Upon Mr. Charles' recent passing, we are reminded of the impact this great American had on the development of American culture and music. Known as "The Genius" since the early 1950s, Ray Charles is a founding father of modern rhythm and blues, jazz, rock and gopsel music. In the course of his remarkable life and career, Mr. Charles overcame personal adversity in the forms of blindness, extreme poverty, racial oppression and drug-addiction to become one of the most...

Rita Grant has a new life. A year ago, the former homecoming queen and gymnastics whiz was shivering through foggy nights on San Francisco sidewalks, panhandling streams of traffic and shooting up with dirty heroin needles on a downtown median dubbed Homeless Island for the dozen or so down-and-outers -- like Rita -- who lived there..

(CNSNews.com) - Efforts to discredit radio news commentator Rush Limbaugh escalated this week with a new radio ad campaign hammering Limbaugh for comments he made about the abuse of Iraqi inmates at the Abu Ghraib prison. Still unresolved, meanwhile, is the Palm Beach County, Fla., prosecutor's investigation of Limbaugh for possible "doctor shopping" in connection with Limbaugh's admitted former addiction to painkillers. The separate media and legal challenges to Limbaugh are part of a longstanding strategy employed by the political left, according to Mark Levin, director of the Landmark Legal Foundation and a supporter of Limbaugh. "There's no question they've...

Somebody needs to help Rush Limbaugh. He seems to be one satiric column away from a spot on the couch next to Dr. Phil. I had no idea Limbaugh would be such a wet noodle, a tough-talker with a rhetorical glass jaw. But after last week, a week of relentless "sympathy shopping" on his part, it just may be that Limbaugh isn't butch enough to sip coffee with the gals on The View. "Who am I?" he intoned to his listeners in one of his many Hallmark moments. "I am a kid from Missouri who wanted to be on the...

<p>Six years ago, the national drama revolved around a heavily investigated leader, his allegedly partisan prosecutor, and the media's fervent desire to save the leader from the prosecutor by hailing the leader as essential to the country and demeaning the prosecutor as a sleazy menace. That was then, and this is now. The current legal situation surrounding Rush Limbaugh does not involve lying under oath, abusing public office, and inappropriate adultery with the much younger help. But now that he has admitted his dreadful addiction to prescription pain-killers and made the painful steps of recovery, Mr. Limbaugh faces a sleazy and reportedly duplicitous Democratic prosecutor in Palm Beach County: Barry Krischer. Where on Earth are the press corps who so despised the alleged use of the prosecutor's office for political gain six years ago? In the May issue of the American Spectator, Sam Dealey, a reporter for The Hill newspaper, lays out the whole Limbaugh story, including the scandalous or questionable tactics of the Limbaugh-haters. Start with former housemaid Wilma Cline and her crooked husband David, who became Mr. Limbaugh's drug suppliers. David Cline skipped bond on a cocaine-trafficking charge for seven years, and then served five years in prison. He was arrested again in 2000 for drug and fraud convictions that earned 18 months probation, which was no doubt violated by feeding Rush's regrettable addiction. Do you remember all those network news reports breathlessly relaying the Clines' story last fall? Where are they now? The Clines sold their story to the National Enquirer for $250,000. Mr. Dealey reports the Clines tried to blackmail Rush, demanding $4 million to keep their mouths shut. Remember all the splashy news magazine stories last fall? Where are they now? Unlike Bill Clinton, Rush Limbaugh never tried to dismiss the story as nothing but lies for cash. But the press that so passionately underlined the tabloid payoff for Gennifer Flowers in 1992 made no attempt to scrutinize Mr. Limbaugh's accusers about low character or outsized greediness. Then there's Barry Krischer, the Florida state attorney for Palm Beach County. Mr. Krischer initially suggested there would be no prosecution of Mr. Limbaugh, since the usual pattern was to target the drug sellers, not the users. But once liberals around the country smelled the political potential of legal trouble for Rush — perhaps leading to a crumbling of his massive radio popularity and an easier road to the White House for the Democrats — waves of pressure rolled over Mr. Krischer, and he floated out with the partisan tide. In December, Mr. Limbaugh's defense lawyer Roy Black was shocked to hear from a Palm Beach Post reporter that he had been told Rush intended to plead guilty to a third-degree felony, an utterly false story. Mr. Krischer's spokesman Michael Edmondson told the Post reporter not to call Mr. Black for comment, but he did. Mr. Black quickly demanded Mr. Krischer start an ethics inquiry into Mr. Edmondson's tactics, which Mr. Krischer has refused to consider. Mr. Krischer apparently thinks little of the ethical codes of law and order. In January, the Fort Lauderdale-based Sun-Sentinel newspaper formally requested records from the Limbaugh case. Without contacting Mr. Black or Mr. Limbaugh, the Krischer team released confidential memos, claiming their moves were endorsed by the state attorney general's office and the Florida Bar. Both groups angrily deny they had approved the controversial tactic. Even with all these sleazy moves, Mr. Dealey reports Barry Krischer is a lock to be re-elected to his legal post, such a sure thing in his liberal county that the local Republican Party won't even field a candidate against him. Since that's the case, Mr. Krischer can pursue Rush without any political consequences — except maybe the passionate backing of the Carvilles, Begalas and Clinton-lovers across the fruited plain if he wanted to seek higher office. The same national media that leaped all over this story at the beginning have yet to tell the comprehensive story, one that includes prosecutorial abuse and medical-privacy issues that have even inspired the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to side with Mr. Limbaugh. Where are the salivating watchdogs of Ken Starr now? Where is Keith Olbermann trying to find facial resemblances with infamous Nazi thugs? Aaron Brown publicly proclaimed he could not remove "the permanent smirk that seems to be attached to my face" over Rush's problems last fall. Is the CNN anchor ready to wipe if off his face now? Love is never having to say you're sorry. So, too, it seems, is hate.</p>

<p>There can be little doubt that legal actions against Rush Limbaugh are politically motivated. The radio commentator with 20 million listeners is one of the most able communicators of conservative political ideas in America. It is hard to imagine that the historic Republican takeover of Congress in 1994 would have happened without Mr. Limbaugh articulating the virtues of smaller government day in and day out over the airwaves. It is no surprise that liberals would sink to any level to try to silence such an important conservative voice. But the evidence against Mr. Limbaugh's accusers is not merely circumstantial. The case they have made and how they have made it exposes the whole prosecution as a partisan witchhunt.</p>

Do You Condemn Rush Limbaugh? May 7, 2004 Listen to Rush… (…prove why this torture picture scandal is really just political) (…play more audio of "the media" politicking and pointing at El Rushbo) BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Let's go to the NBC Nightly News last night. Chip Reid, reporter, is doing a report on the uproar on Capitol Hill over the possible resignation of Rumsfeld. He's on with Brokaw. He says, "Now a backlash from many conservative Republicans today during debate in the House on a resolution to condemn the Iraqi abuse some Republicans also condemned the Democrats accusing them of...

I can only comment on the talk show hosts that are on WABC or WWOR radio in the NY Metro region, all can be heard live here http://www.wabcradio.com/ (except for Rush). Feel free to add your comments. Top Tier:Rush Limbaugh - Strengths -incredible insight, extremely politically savvy, good listener - patient, educational... solid conservative credential on all fronts, can be funny at times, excellent at satire. Weaknesses - can be full of himself at times. Even though many of his comments (talent on loan from God, maja-Rushdie, the all-knowing...) are said tongue-in-cheek, it gets a little old... his self-promotions can...

Palm Beach prosecutors investigating Rush Limbaugh all but admitted this week that they currently have no real evidence that the number one radio host violated Florida's drug laws - and won't be able to prosecute the top talker for "doctor shopping" unless a judge lets them look for evidence in Limbaugh's confidential medical files. State Attorney Barry Krischer made the startling admission in a brief filed with Florida's 4th District Court of Appeals, which is currently weighing whether Limbaugh's medical records are fair game. In the filing Krischer confessed, "The State will not be in a position to know what...

<p>WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Prosecutors who want to review Rush Limbaugh's medical records argued in court papers that privacy rights shouldn't be used to hide criminal wrongdoing.</p> <p>Seizing the conservative radio commentator's medical records in their investigation of his prescription drug use didn't violate his constitutional or privacy rights, Palm Beach County prosecutors said in documents filed Monday.</p>

Palm Beach County Assistant State Attorney James Martz admitted yesterday that when his office seized the medical records of top talk radio host Rush Limbaugh in November, it was an extreme invasion of privacy - comparing the action to a legally justifiable strip search of a drug suspect. Though Limbaugh has yet to be charged with a crime, Martz "asked judges to consider very intimate invasions of privacy that have been upheld by the courts -- including strip searches and forced removal of evidence from people's bodies," according to Tuesday's Palm Beach Post. The Palm Beach prosecutor invoked a 1999...

The president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world we assume. We think. Do you know why we have to do this, according to the president? Do you know why we need a constitutional amendment to see to it that everybody understands and knows what marriage means? Do you know why? Why? It's not just that. It's not just some people breaking the law. It's that we're not enforcing the law! We've already got law. But since nobody's willing to enforce it, we've got to put another law on the books, this time in the Constitution....

On today's show, Rush was claiming that pro-marriage people should be civily disobedient and force the pro-gay marriage activists to overcome the opposition.

RUSH: Bill Tucker did this report. This is a political year, folks. It is a political year and it's an election year, and CNN decided to take a different look at the so-called prosecution of me. They labeled this "bum rap" and wondered if it's not a persecution, and here are two sound bites from two people that appeared, Howard Simon, who's the director of the Florida ACLU, and Bruce Rogow from the NOVA Southeastern University who is a First Amendment specialist. SIMON: I guess one thing that bothers me about this case is why - you know, and, frankly,...

Paris - Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was probably high on drugs when he decided to invade Kuwait in 1990, said a former chief of protocol in a radio interview on Thursday. Issam Rashid Walid, whose book In Saddam's Shadow is due to be released in French in a few days, also told Europe 1 radio that Saddam had amassed a fortune of about $35bn through various companies he set up, including many in the Brazilian car industry. "Saddam was heavily into drugs. He began in 1959, with cannabis (dagga), and then when he seized power (in 1979), he used...

Perhaps it's just me, but I've seen a recent descent by Rush Limbaugh into defensiveness, petulance, high volume, and lack of fun. I started listening to Rush primarily for the entertainment value: he was the laughing guy giving Liberals the death of a thousand cuts as he threw those little spears bull fighters use into the Liberal Bull until it collapsed, exhausted and bleeding. There was parody, laughter, sharp politcial observation, laughter, and general fun. This seems all behind us now. Rush sounds, most days, petulant, whiney, and definitely not fun. He seems to complain for three hours each day,...

  Krischer: Limbaugh probe hurt by state By John Pacenti, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Friday, January 30, 2004 WEST PALM BEACH -- State Attorney Barry Krischer on Thursday accused Attorney General Charlie Crist's office of trying to impede the Rush Limbaugh prescription fraud investigation for political reasons. Krischer expected Crist's office to file the state's response to Limbaugh's appeal of a decision to unseal the commentator's medical records in the prescription fraud case. Crist's office pulled out of the appeal one hour before a Jan. 12 deadline imposed by the appeals court, said Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for Krischer's...

Two Florida legal organizations blast prosecutors in Limbaugh case By John Pacenti, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Thursday, January 29, 2004 WEST PALM BEACH -- The Florida Attorney General's Office and the Florida Bar -- the two most powerful legal organizations in the state -- said Palm Beach County prosecutors misrepresented their advice in order to release confidential plea negotiations in the Rush Limbaugh investigation. Bothorganizations said they felt they were used by State Attorney Barry Krischer. Limbaugh supporters called for an investigation or even the removal of Krischer from the prescription drug case involving one of America's most loved...

More and more lately I am beginning to suspect an underlying reason for the constant attacks on Rush Limbaugh. I am beginning to suspect that the entire thing is a well thought out project to eliminate Rush and his influence in plenty of time before Hillary makes a run for the presidency. I realize that this is giving a lot of credit to the Democrats, but there does not seem to be any other logical explanation. After all, eliminating Rush is easier than starting a radio show of their own, and eliminating Rush would be a giant step to making...

What the Florida States Attorney's Office (Prosecutor) Said Happened MEMO TO THE FILE January 22, 2004 From Ken Selvig RE: Release of letters from attorney for Rush Limbaugh in response to a public records request We have a received a public records request from Peter Franceschina of the Sun Sentinel for, among other things any correspondence to or from Roy Black and his law firm.  Mr. Black currently represents Mr. Limbaugh in connection with an ongoing investigation. Yesterday by telephone I spoke with Pat Gleason, the AG's most knowledgeable person on the Public Records Law.  I did not tell...

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_012804/content/on_the_rushwire.guest.html

Then it was 1992. I had survived three years in the U.S. Army, Panama, Desert Storm, and many other nefarious deployments. There I was, working a minimum wage job for Longhorn Security Inc., at the State Department of Transportation. Right from one uniform to the next, albeit a completely different uniform, but a uniform. A blue-collared, short-sleeved shirt with dark blue Huffy work pants.

Limbaugh's pill use not extraordinary, lawyer says BY DANIEL de VISE ddevise@herald.com Rush Limbaugh's attorney mounted an offensive Monday, accusing Palm Beach County prosecutors of smear tactics and likening his client to any ordinary American with chronic pain. ''This nation is full of people who take medication every day and will do so for the rest of their lives,'' said Roy Black, speaking in a news conference in Miami. Discussing the prescription-drug abuse allegations in unprecedented detail, Black reasoned that the quantity of medicine Limbaugh is accused of ingesting -- 1,800 pills in 210 days -- works out to roughly...

PUNK'D: Ashton Kutcher victim suit headed to trial JANUARY 23--Plea negotiations between Rush Limbaugh and Florida prosecutors stalled last month when government officials insisted that the radio host cop to a felony, rejecting a defense suggestion that Limbaugh simply enter a pretrial diversion program and "continue to receive treatment for his addiction." In an exchange of letters (copies of which you'll find below), Roy Black, Limbaugh's attorney, and prosecutor James Martz offered starkly different versions of the punishment Limbaugh, 53, should receive were he to admit that he engaged in "doctor shopping" to score prescription painkillers and other drugs. In...

Palm Beach County prosecutors rejected an overture last month from Rush Limbaugh's attorneys that would have allowed the conservative commentator to enter drug rehabilitation rather than face criminal charges for prescription drug abuse. Prosecutors say they think they have evidence that Limbaugh committed at least 10 felonies by illegally obtaining overlapping drug prescriptions, according to documents released to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Thursday.

Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh is gaining some allies in his pain-pill case, including many of the medical profession's pain specialists. "We're filing an amicus brief arguing that his medical records should not be released," said Dr. Jane Orient of Tucson, Ariz., executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. Limbaugh, 53, is under investigation for allegations of doctor-shopping to get prescriptions for painkillers. Investigators say they believe Limbaugh bought more than 2,000 pills illegally over a five-month period. Court records show Limbaugh suffers from back pain and completed a monthlong drug-rehabilitation program in November. Orient fears if...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Prosecutors rejected a proposed deal offered by Rush Limbaugh's attorney that would have seen the radio commentator enter a court-sponsored drug intervention program rather than face charges, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported today. Palm Beach County prosecutors wanted Limbaugh to plead guilty to one felony charge of "doctor shopping," a third-degree felony. Limbaugh would have received three years' probation, undergone a drug treatment program and been subject to random drug testing, according to records obtained by the newspaper through a public records request. Limbaugh has not been arrested and no charges have been filed. In...

"Scarborough Country" Thursday, 1-15-04, 10:00 to 10:30pm EDT. Transcribed by me from my personal audiotape: Host: Joe Scarborough: "[Garbled] Rush Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, joins us for his first primetime interview on Rush's legal battle. Roy is also an NBC analyst. Thanks for being here, Roy." Guest: Attorney, Roy Black: "That's my pleasure, Joe." Scarborough: "I want to begin, now we've heard over the last couple of months that Rush Limbaugh was involved in a drug ring, he was involved in laundering money, he's been doctor shopping, buying boxes of pills from his maid in a parking lot, and on...

For those who missed it, Limbaugh performed the most perfect comments on Donovan McNabb this morning by not even mentioning his name. Instead he contrasted the way that Payton Manning came out and took responsibility for his performance against the way that the media instantly set out to blame the Eagles' wide recievers for what happened to them. It was the best revenge, because by not mentioning McNabb, no one in the media can say that Rush attacked McNabb, but to all us football fans, what Rush DIDNT say, was LOUD AND CLEAR. Thanks Rush!

Conservatives believe that they are the loyal supporters who worked, voted and contributed money for Bush, yet ever since his inauguration they've seen him ignoring them and reaching out to his enemies.

In 3d hour of today's Limbaugh show, Rush was referring to a newspaper article from California. Was having a little trouble remembering some mundane details of the story and remarked "I'm having a little trouble remembering all the details of the story. I got it off Free Republic this morning!" Rumors confirmed. We are the premier Conservative research source in the nation. and.... welcome Rush. PS, If Rush reads this, I know who has your Grandfather's first set of law books, along with a letter from Westlaw congratulating him on opening his practice, etc. He would be glad to send...

If you missed the interview last night with Roy Black, attorney for Rush Limbaugh, go to Rush's website and listen. Mr.Black mentions that the State Attorney has continued to harass Rush due to volumns of email and letters they have received from "concerned" citizens who want something done about Rush! There is no there there. They are being urged to continue to try and find something to pin on Rush through the urging of the DNC! If you are so inclined, call, write, fax or email the office and let them know how you feel about the railroad job of...

Several months have elapsed and I thought it might be interesting to re-examine the plight of radio megastar Rush Limbaugh. In my previous article on Limbaugh's troubles entitled "Limbaugh's Secret Life", I was initially criticized for accepting The National Enquirer's contention that he was addicted to prescription narcotics. Heck, I was also skewered for surmising that the conservative icon was likely to be subject to arrest, pursuant to his drug activities. In hindsight, I think my points were well taken. My article came out about five days before Limbaugh publicly acknowledged his addiction and need for rehabilitation. And now criminal...

Making clear that he's anything but a fan of Rush Limbaugh, Waldo Proffitt, columnist and former editor of Florida's Sarasota Herald-Tribune, says that Rush is entitled to the same rights as any other American citizen. Proffitt added ominously that, in Limbaugh's case, it appears his rights are at risk. Writing in the Herald-Tribune this weekend, Proffitt noted that Palm Beach County prosecutors have seized the records of four of Limbaugh's doctors and appear to be moving in the direction of charging him with "doctor shopping" – going to different doctors to obtain multiple prescriptions for drugs. "Florida considers doctor-shopping a...

Did anybody watch the tasteless parody of Rush on Fox's pre-game show? It started off by Rush saying he was responsible for McNabb's success. Then a caller asks who's going to win the game. Why Greenbay is Rush said because they have a white quarterback. They had him wanting to pop pills. At one point, McNabb shows up and starts beating the crap out of Rush. During the beating he makes a request for his painkillers. I'm not a Rush fan, but this was trash. They should be ashamed of the implied racism.

On Monday, John in Logan, Utah spurred a classic EIB monologue by saying that conservatives need to stop griping about Bush's domestic big government liberalism, and embrace a "more productive, big-tent view" for the Republican Party. He concluded: 'The conservatives that I know seem to feel that if it isn't conservative, it isn't Republican' and that that's not a way to know how to win." I understood what John meant, but I wanted to take a different tack to explain it than the conventional wisdom that conservatives refuse to be "practical." I think conservatives have a hope that the GOP...

Some of the major markets have reported ratings this past week. New York, Philly, Detroit, LA, Boston, Chicago, San Diego. Here are the results for the total day Rush stations by market comparing Fall 02, Summer 03 and Fall 03. While it's difficult to say that Rush was or wasn't a factor since I don't have daypart information, the stations overall didn't suffer and in 7 out of 8 stations, they had higher ratings than this time last year and 6 of 8 were better this fall than last summer when Rush was on.Below are the numbers from All Access:...

Like It or Not, Bush Leads January 8, 2004 Listen to Rush...(…discuss the substance and politics of the immigration disagreement) BEGIN TRANSCRIPT 12:10 PM ET RUSH: What's still on everybody's mind out there is this immigration business. And we've got some audio sound bites on this and some stories. I want to start out though with a little ditty, if you will, how should I phrase this? I guess I could call it leadership. And I do to want contrast some things going on here, President Bush with recent Democratic presidents, or a recent Democrat president, in the current...

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – As the new year begins, Africa - so often besieged by wars - is seeing a period of growing peace. For the first time in five years, no major wars are roiling the continent, even if low-level conflicts still smolder. A deal to end Sudan's civil war - Africa's longest - could be struck this month. And peace processes are pushing ahead in Liberia, Burundi, Ivory Coast, and Congo.Perhaps it's just a lull between storms. Yet observers see fundamental shifts that may create an era of relative calm for Africa's 800 million people. The biggest new...

I don't normally do vanities, but I'm listening to Rush right now. And if i hear him say again that legalizing the illegals is "leadership" on Bush's part again I think I may vomit. Let's face it either Bush is a conservative who is so hopelessly insecure about the sellability of his beliefs and keeping his job that he casts aside his principles whenever he thinks its expedient (and that's quite often these days). Or he never was a conservative to begin with. There are now only two choices in our government: liberalism or liberlism lite.

The Making of the Money Shot January 6, 2004 Did any of you wonder, when you saw this photo of Howard Dean and Bill Bradley Tuesday in Iowa, how the diminutive Dr. Dean, who claims to be 5'8" and three quarters (footnote), appears the same size as the 6'5" former NBA star? We did too. Well the images below, grabbed from CNN's coverage, show us how this feat was pulled off with some skillful platform use. Click the panels for larger images or watch the clip we've provided to see what's afoot. (Video Only: High Speed || Low Speed) In...

Suddenly Rush Limbaugh Is Concerned About Conspiracies By Chuck Baldwin Food For Thought From The Chuck Wagon January 6, 2004 Nationally syndicated radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has seen the light, or maybe felt the heat. In either case, he suddenly realizes the consequences of living in a society where government agencies have unfettered access to personal information and where individuals have little or no constitutional protections. Welcome back, Rush. For years, Limbaugh has impugned, denigrated, and chastised any caller who dared bring up the subject of federal encroachment on individual liberties, calling them "conspiracy nuts," or worse. He...