Free Republic

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Wide-eyed children around the world will be hearing from Santa's "elves" at the North Pole after all. During Christmas seasons for decades, these dedicated elves responded to thousands of letters addressed to "Santa Claus, North Pole." All that was ending with a U.S. Postal Service decision to discontinue the program based in the small Alaskan town amid privacy concerns. The elves from Santa's Mailbag vowed to fight the decision, while North Pole residents voiced outrage. A reversal of the Postal Service move was announced Friday. "We never wanted to spoil people's Christmas," said agency spokesman Ernie...

The mayor of North Pole, Alaska is calling a recent postal service decision an assault on Christmas. For years, the U.S. Postal Service has delivered thousands of letters to Santa Claus in North Pole, Alaska. Now, in the interest of efficiency and security, the post office has changed its policy. It will no longer deliver letters to Santa here, and requests for a North Pole postmark will be filled through its Anchorage office. The decision has angered many residents, most notably the owner of the area’s primary attraction, the Santa Claus house.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Starry-eyed children writing letters to the jolly man at the North Pole this holiday season likely won't get a response from Santa Claus or his helpers. The U.S. Postal Service is dropping a popular national program begun in 1954 in the small Alaska town of North Pole, where volunteers open and respond to thousands of letters addressed to Santa each year. Replies come with North Pole postmarks. Last year, a postal worker in Maryland recognized an Operation Santa volunteer there as a registered sex offender.

To say that “Notes Left Behind” is a book about a 6-year-old girl who died is accurate, but woefully inadequate. By filling her family’s house with hidden messages of love and hope, Elena Desserich continues to celebrate life long after she succumbed to pediatric brain cancer.

"Australia: Islamic cleric harasses families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan with haranguing phone calls and letters" SNIPPET: "Mr Sher's father Felix received a phone call and letters, allegedly from self-styled Muslim cleric Sheikh Haron, just before his son's funeral." SNIPPET: "Other Australian families of men killed in Afghanistan have allegedly received similar letters in the past two years. On Tuesday Sheikh Haron was charged with seven counts of "using a postal service or similar service to menace, harass, or cause offence". He was granted bail to appear in court on November 10. [...]"

902 surviving letters by Vincent van Gogh are to be published for the first time this week. Mostly written to the artist's brother Theo, the letters offer personal insights which give lie to the idea that van Gogh was a "reckless and unreflective genius". * ABOVE: letter by Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo, Arles, c. 21 November 1888 Translated extract from the letter: "What you write about the Dutchmen interests me greatly. I hope one day to get to know both of them personally. How old are they? I dare to believe that in the final reckoning they’ll...

This is a Vanity. If it shows up in the wrong place, would some kindly soul remove it to a better place. I have recently seen the movie "Amazing Grace", with Ioan Gruffudd, about William Wilberforce and his efforts to end British participation in the slave trade. At one point, his friend, PM Pitt, tells him that one of the reasons he's having trouble is that it is rumored that WW was corresponding with Thomas Jefferson. Is it true? Does anyone know what they were writing about? Jefferson had slaves, and WW was against it.

PDF so I can't cut/paste. Grassley letter to Chairman of FCC about problems with Mark Lloyd. Now's the time to take out another czar. http://grassley.senate.gov/upload/Letter-to-FCC-Chairman.pdf

Sweetness and Light is forbidden, where they have the complete text of the letter, so, here's a repost from 2006. Text of KGB Letter on Senator Ted Kennedy Special Importance Committee on State Security of the USSR 14.05.1983 No. 1029 Ch/OV Moscow Regarding Senator Kennedy’s request to the General Secretary of the Communist Party Comrade Y.V. Andropov Comrade Y.V. Andropov On 9-10 May of this year, Senator Edward Kennedy’s close friend and trusted confidant J. Tunney was in Moscow. The senator charged Tunney to convey the following message, through confidential contacts, to the General Secretary of the Central Committee of...

A black sergeant who was at the home of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. when he was arrested says he’s been maligned as an “Uncle Tom” for supporting the actions of the white arresting officer. Cambridge Sgt. Leon Lashley gave a letter to Sgt. James Crowley to give to President Barack Obama during their so-called beer summit with Gates on Thursday night at the White House. In the letter, which was also sent to CNN, Lashley says Gates “may have caused grave and potentially irreparable harm to the struggle for racial harmony.”

Seven House Democrats have written Attorney General Eric Holder invoking a list of grievances from radical Islamist groups and asking that Holder meet with representatives from those groups to hear their concerns, the Investigative Project on Terrorism has learned. The grievances include the use of convicted felons as informants in mosques, alleged religious profiling of Somali Muslims in Minnesota and elsewhere and allegations that the FBI is working with foreign governments to question American citizens who are terror suspects. In the letter, the representatives said: "These concerns raise legitimate questions about due process, justice, and equal treatment under the law....

Im was an officer in one of North Korea’s elite special forces. He fought for his government, even though it oppressed his people on a scale seldom seen before. Im’s superior had a 12-year old mentally challenged daughter. She was a good girl, but not very intelligent. She needed a lot of attention from her parents; a mother and a father she loved very much. There is no room for the mentally challenged in Kim Jong-Il’s North Korea, however. Im’s superior was told to hand his daughter over to the government. Because the officer knew what happens to such children...

U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a letter from Senator Edward Kennedy to Pope Benedict on Friday and asked the Roman Catholic pontiff to pray for the senator, who is suffering from an incurable brain tumor. Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough said the Pope and the president concluded their half-hour meeting with a discussion about Kennedy, whose brother John F. Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic president of the United States. "The president delivered a letter from Senator Kennedy to the Holy Father. He also asked that the Holy Father pray for ... Kennedy, who as we all know is...

RT @AbahJake: - Robert Fisk: Secret letter 'proves Mousavi won poll' -The Independent http://bit.ly/t5wJq #iranelection (via @DougCurran )Other messages say heavy clashes are under way in locations away from Tehran...

Glenn Beck: The Letter Audio Available: June 17, 2009 - 10:36 ET GLENN: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership: I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political...

Very interesting. When men were men and women, women No corrections made. "I have a great Deal of Leisure, which I chiefly employ in Scribbling, that my Mind may not stand still or run back like my Fortune." John Adams, Letter to Abigail Adams, 29 June 1774, (third letter written on that date) From Adams Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society. March 1 1780 My Dearest Friend I had scarcly closed my packet to you when I received your Letters dated Ferrol [John to Abigail, 11 December 1779 ( L17791212ja)] and Corunna [John to Abigail, 16 December 1779] . I am...

BY Richard Sisk DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Tuesday, February 17th 2009, 11:38 PM Marine Lance Cpl. Julian Brennan was killed by a land mine on Jan. 24. Related News Articles Obama signs stimulus package into law Bronx boro prez bound for Washington Green is going to grow in wallets of New Yorkers Hillary warns North Korea on missile launch WASHINGTON - President Obama has adopted role model Abraham Lincoln's practice of writing deeply personal letters to the families of troops killed in battle. He signs them "Barack." Bill Brennan, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Julian Brennan, said at first...

TEXT:TRANSLATOR NOTE (TN): VERBATIM TRANSLATION BEGINS HERE:PAGE 1 OF 3  IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, MOST MERCIFUL, MOST GRACIOUS-TO MY BELOVED BROTHER MUKHTAR -MAY ALLAH PRESERVE HIM.IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, MOST MERCIFUL, MOST GRACIOUS. MAY ALLAH I SPEACE AND MERCY BE UPON YOU.   I ASK ALLAH THAT YOU AND ALL THE BRETHREN BE IN THE BEST OFCONDITIONS, WITH PEACE OF MIND AND IN A STATE OF GRACE, AND I ASKALLAH TO PROTECT YOU FROM EVIL.   FOR A START, I LOVE YOU IN GOD, AND ALLAH KNOWS THAT I CARE FOR YOU.I AM ALSO VERY HAPPY WITH OUR...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://dallas.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/dl020309.htm Man Arrested in New Mexico for Sending Threatening White-Powder Laced Hoax Letters to Banks Across the U.S. DALLAS— At a press conference held today in Dallas, acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas, Robert E. Casey, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas FBI, and Randall C. Till, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Fort Worth Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, announced that special agents and postal inspectors arrested Richard Leon Goyette, a/k/a Michael Jurek, 47, yesterday at the airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico,...

Blog Link has PDF in downloadable format with attachments referenced below: 2 February 2009 Monday U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, - (D - WA) Washington, D.C. Office 511 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3441 202-228-0514 - FAX via Fax: 202-228-0514 Re: U.S. Constitution; FIRST CONGRESS; THIRD CONGRESS Dear Senator Cantwell: Your representation as a U.S. Senator is formally requested within this letter. Due to a rapidly growing concern among voters in the State of Washington there appears to be a developing crisis requiring your membership in the U.S. Congress to fully cooperate with the voters and address four questions...

January 21, 2009 # Note: The following text is a quote: http://knoxville.fbi.gov/pressrel/2009/kx012109.htm Suspicious White Powder Letters Postmarked from Knoxville Received in New York and Massachusetts On Wednesday January 21, approximately 13 powder-laden envelopes were received at the office of the Wall Street Journal in New York City. The letters reportedly bear a Knoxville, Tennessee postmark. New York City Police Department's Emergency Services Unit and the FBI responded to the scene and are testing the letters to determine whether they contain a hazardous substance. An additional letter was also received today at Harvard Law School addressed to Alan Dershowitz. This letter...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2009 – The Army’s adjutant general apologized yesterday on behalf of the Army for a printing error that resulted in the delivery of 7,000 letters without a by-name salutation to family members who lost a soldier in operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. Brig. Gen. Reuben Jones expressed his disappointment in the error and his team’s concern for the recipients during a special blogger’s roundtable hosted by the New Media Directorate of Defense Media Activity. The letters, which included the placeholder greeting of “Dear John Doe,” were printed and sent by a contractor in late December to inform...

December 9, 2008 Note: The following text is a quote: http://dallas.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel08/dl120908.htm Suspicious White Powder Letters Received Around the United States Robert E. Casey Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Dallas FBI, announces during the last 24 hours, at least seven letters containing a suspicious white powder have been received by the offices of governors around the country. The white powder substance has been field screened and the tests have met with negative results. The white powder substance has been forwarded to local laboratories for further testing. To date, all letters have been postmarked from Dallas, Texas and were received by governors’...

The 2008 election cycle, as endless as it seemed, is over. Emerging from the ashes of Republican defeat is the stark reality that must be addressed if the party is to regain its political viability. The Republican Party must decide who it really is and what it really stands for. Karl Rove, the so-called "architect" of the Bush election victories of 2000 and 2004, suggests that Republicans sit back and calculate their strategy based upon the early policy decisions of the incoming Obama administration. Therein lies the critical flaw of the typical Washington insider: Political posturing at the expense of...

A cache of letters hidden in the basement brings to life a house, a family and the tragedy that would change everything “Dear Folks,” the letter begins, “I think of you when I hear a Beethoven symphony or the words of a childhood hero repeated and more beautiful as I approach my forties. The strength and principles you planted into me at an early age, though inconsistent with the larger culture I grew up in, is now flowering in fertile soil. I see your faces in my mind and remember the courage both of you demonstrated during the McCarthy period...

King children in dispute over their publication in Coretta Scott King biography Coretta Scott King kept the love letters beneath her bed, in a blue Samsonite suitcase. The amorous writings of her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., were among the most cherished possessions of a famously private person, said Lynn Cothren, Mrs. King’s special assistant for 23 years. “That’s why she kept them so close, in her room, underneath her bed.” But Tuesday, those letters and other “intimate correspondence” between the Kings are expected to be in a far less private place: Fulton County Superior Court. The papers...

WBNS TV in Columbus, Ohio is reporting a mysterious powder has been found in a "business sized" envelope in Downtown Columbus. It was delivered to a building and it came from an Ohio doctor. Supposively there was some writing that looked like Arabic writing... I have no more details to report because I'm at work. I just got this from my 14 yr. old daughter.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7, 2008 – The idea of getting people involved in a letter-writing campaign to reach all servicemembers currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan -- about 178,000 -- may seem a little far-fetched for the average person, but Cody Anderson is by no means “average.” For several years, Anderson has been collecting, packing, shipping and delivering care packages and phone cards to U.S. troops stationed around the world. Anderson, 53, a resident of Mineral Buff, Ga., has raised $50,000 in supplies, including personal hygiene items, games and snacks; $50,000 in phone cards; and $21,500 in Beanie Babies, to...

Melissa mayor mailing resolutions to fellow mayors to stop state from using gas tax funds for non-road projects BY DANNY GALLAGHER, McKinney Courier-Gazette Melissa Mayor David Dorman said he sits in his office everyday and watches as cars zoom down State Highway 121, a road that will soon start collecting tolls from drivers who use it to get to Dallas, McKinney, Frisco or the Dallas North Tollway and back again. Dorman said before that happens, he wants to know the roads his citizens and drivers are paying the state to use will be maintained and built with those funds. “I...

Forgive me for having a momentary lapse. I forgot that The New York Times was leading the bandwagon in trumpeting why it is we should have gone into an illegal war. The New York Times became George Bush and the Republican Party’s national “blog.” The New York Times played a role in the outing of Valerie Plame. I do not know why I thought The New York Times had actually repented and was going to exhibit a different kind of behavior.

21-Year-Old Message In a Bottle Drifts 1,735 MilesSunday, March 23, 2008 SEATTLE, Washington — Merle Brandell and his black lab Slapsey were beachcombing along the Bering Sea when he spied a plastic bottle among the Japanese glass floats he often finds along the shore of his tiny Alaskan fishing village. He walked over and saw an envelope tucked inside. After slicing the bottle open, Brandell found a message from an elementary school student in a suburb of Seattle. The fact that the letter traveled 1,735 miles without any help from the U.S. postal service is unusual, but that's only the...

According to FBI director, Robert Mueller, the FBI collected personal data by improperly using national security letters in 2006. The widespread abuse program to gather confidential data on people in the United States continued into 2006. Mueller said Wednesday before an oversight hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee, that breaches of privacy in counter-terror investigations, which were known to have occurred from 2003 through 2005, also occurred in 2006. A pending report will detail the FBI's continued misuse of national security letters. The breach occurred in part, by banks, telecommunication companies and other private businesses giving the FBI more personal...

The bombing of a military recruitment center keeps getting stranger and stranger. The eight Congressional Representatives from New York City all received a copy of a picture of the targeted office, showing deliberate premeditated intent to hit the recruiting center. They also received a letter, but it contained no threat: Eight House Democrats were mailed a letter and photo of a Times Square recruiting station in Manhattan before it was bombed this morning, according to House insiders.The letter did not contain any specific threats against the lawmakers or the site, but the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI are now...

WASHINGTON - A law enforcement official says police are investigating letters sent to Capitol Hill offices showing pictures of a Times Square military recruiting station that was bombed. According to the official, who was briefed on the investigation, the letters included words to the effect of, "We did it." The official did not know which offices received the letters. The small bomb caused minor damage to the New York military recruiting station before dawn Thursday and police were searching for a hooded bicyclist seen on a surveillance video peddling away.

Letters Suggest Lincoln Wanted to Buy Slaves for $400 Apiece in 'Gradual Emancipation' Wednesday, March 05, 2008 AP ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Barely a year into the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln suggested buying slaves for $400 apiece under a "gradual emancipation" plan that would bring peace at less cost than several months of hostilities. The proposal was outlined in one of 72 letters penned by Lincoln that ended up in the University of Rochester's archives. The correspondence was digitally scanned and posted online along with easier-to-read transcriptions. Accompanying them are 215 letters sent to Lincoln by dozens of fellow political...

Below is the text of a letter former Republican Kansas Sen. Bob Dole sent to radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, as obtained by FOX News. Rush, I have not seen you in a long time but I do hear you frequently and I know that you have serious reservations about Senator McCain. Not that many care but I have not been involved in the Republican Primary contest because Elizabeth, a good conservative, is running for reelection in North Carolina where Romney, McCain and Huckabee each enjoy considerable support. I was the Republican Leader from January 1985 until I left...

Iraqi students hold letters and postcards sent from American children from Boston and Maine, which include post cards and different photos showing America and its way of life. Photo by: Cpl. Bryce C.K. Muhlenberg. HABBANIYAH — Just four years ago, Capt. Brian Von Kraus, now commander of Headquarters and Support Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, was a platoon commander, fighting a kinetic war against insurgent forces here in Anbar. Serving in 2004 at the forefront of clandestine military operations, Von Kraus witnessed the worst of what the enemy could throw at a Marine unit. During...

Islamabad, 31 Jan. (AKI) - US secret service agents operating in the remote border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan claim to have found five letters signed by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, Saudi daily Al-Watan said on Thursday. Citing unnamed local security sources, the newspaper said that the letters are allegedly handwritten in Arabic and bear Bin Laden's apparent signature and seal. They appear to have been sent last December to some of Bin Laden's followers in the region. One of the letters is addressed to the Taliban leader in Afghanistan's volatile southern province of Helmand, Mansoor Dadallah. In the...

Captain Brian Von Kraus, the commander of Headquarters and Support Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, communicates through email to various school officials who have been helping him with “Operation Pen Pal,� which is a letter exchange program bridging the gap between the young students of the local Iraqi schools here, and students of Boston and Maine public schools in the United States. The table in front of Von Kraus is covered in letters and mail from the various schools participating in his program. Operation Iraqi Pen Pal recently completed its first transfer of over...

Some prominent evangelical leaders are criticizing the heads of the National Association of Evangelicals for signing a letter to Muslim leaders containing controversial language. The critical leaders include Dr. Albert Mohler, Gary Bauer, and Dr. Patrick Sookhdeo who voiced opposition to the apology in the letter for the sins of Christians during the Crusades and for “excesses” of the global war on terror, without mentioning Muslim acts of violence. Moreover, the leaders contend the letter compromises the importance of Jesus in Christianity in order to appease Muslims. Mohler noted that the letter “sends the wrong signal” and contains basic theological...

"I was very young, and it was really my first time away home," says Hrivnak, 38, of Bethel Park, who has served in both Gulf wars and began keeping a diary during his first mission in 1990. "There was a lot of anxiety about the upcoming war that night on Christmas Eve," he says. "At our field hospital, some British mercenaries had sponsored this Christmas Eve for us. ... I still get choked up thinking about this: Some big, burly, gruff guy with a great baritone voice got up and sang ‘Silent Night,’ the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ and Great Britain’s national...

AUSTIN — Toll road critics were turned down in their request for wide-ranging transportation department documents, but a judge gave them more time to narrow their request as part of a lawsuit against the state. Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, led by San Antonio resident Terri Hall, sued the Texas Department of Transportation in September to fight the department's toll road efforts. The group claims the "Keep Texas Moving" promotional campaign violates a ban on state officials using their authority for political purposes. It also wants to stop agency officials from lobbying Congress to allow more tolling. On Thursday,...

handwritten letter in which Diana, Princess of Wales claimed that the Prince of Wales was plotting to kill her so he could marry Tiggy Legge-Bourke, the former nanny to Princes William and Harry, has been shown at the inquest into her death. The note was sent to Paul Burrell, the princess's then butler, in October 1993, 10 months after her separation from Prince Charles was announced. The letter written by Diana to Paul Burrell She wrote: "I am sitting here at my desk today in October, longing for someone to hug me and encourage me to keep strong and hold...

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, warning that global warming could drown Santa Claus, sent the following letter to Santa: Talk about thin ice! It sounds like you had one doozy of a summer up in the North Pole, and quite frankly I'm worried. I read the stories about how the Arctic sea ice shrank to a record low this year and that scientists are pointing the finger at global warming. Some say if we don't do something to cut greenhouse gas emissions soon, the North Pole might be ice free in summer as early as 2030. Reindeer fly, but can they...

On Monday I got a letter from a friend of mine who is a sergeant in the US Army. With permission of his commanding officer (he does not reveal any classified information), I'm sharing it with you. He writes: I've been on the ground in Iraq for a few weeks now, and thought I'd chime in with a grunt's-eye view. In Sadr Al-Yusifiyah, an area to the East of Anbar province (just across the Euphrates from Anbar, actually), things are moving in a very interesting and hopeful direction. About six months ago, something happened that the Americans are calling "The...

Before he left to train for a second tour of duty in Iraq, Marine Cpl. Joseph E. Stevenson III of Downers Grove wrote a letter to his family, in case he did not return. Stevenson, 20, died in his sleep on Oct. 28 at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Stevenson was buried last week with full military honors. His parents, Barbara Ann and Joseph E. Stevenson Jr., have given the media permission to reprint their son's letter over the Veterans Day weekend. Letter is kinda long, so go to the link http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=75390

A former leader of an armed Islamic group in Libya, Numan Bin Uthman, has written a letter to al-Qaeda second in command Ayman al-Zawahiri telling him that Jihadi groups in Arab countries have failed and that the strategy of using nonconventional WMD to deter an invasion of Afghanistan was a misguided and failed strategy. The letter needs to be understood in the context of the fact that the microbiologist that Ayman Zawahiri and Mohammed Atef used to infiltrate US biodefense, Ali Al-Timimi, had a stern warning not to invade Iraq hand-delivered to every member of Congress on October 6, 2002...

Via Drudge

Remember that stink manufactured a week or so ago about Rush Limbaugh? Forty-one Democrat senators signed a letter to Limbaugh's boss demanding he be officially scolded over the "phony soldier" flap. The letter is evidently worth a lot of money and the money is going to the children of Marines and law enforcement who have died in the line of duty. So the eBay online auction site has now bumped the letter's value up to $45,000.

Original Harry Reid/Rush Limbaugh Smear Letter "Phony Soldiers" Signed by 41 Senators, Charity Auction Up for auction is the original letter signed by 41 Democrat senators. This historic document may well represent the first time in the history of America that this large a group of U.S. senators attempted to demonize a private citizen by lying about his views. As such, it is a priceless memento of the folly of Harry Reid and his 40 senatorial co-signers. The entire proceeds of this auction.. the entire high bid... will be donated to The Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Foundation, a registered...