Free Republic

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...

Rush has put the original letter to Clear Channel President for sale on Ebay! The letter from Dirty Harry Reid and signed by 41 Democrap Senators is up for bids. All funds received will be donated to the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation. He has challenged all the signers of the letter to match the donation, since they all are such big supporters of our Military.

The cover story of the October 8, 2007, issue of Newsweek was "A Mormon's Journey: The Making of Mitt Romney". Mitt Romney responded to the article with a letter that was printed in the October 15 issue of the magazine. That letter follows:The Making of a CandidateI am an American running for president, not a Mormon running for president, but I am also very proud of my faith. And I am not a cafeteria Mormon, choosing some parts to accept and reject -- I am "true blue, through and through." My family and I are better people and far happier...

I served in the Army. I didn't serve during a war. But even then when I was a long way away from home, it sure was great receiving letters from home. Please pass these videos below along. Maybe folks will get the idea to send a letter (or email) from home to a Soldiers who enables you to sleep in peace at night. I want you all to know something too: Our Troops put rucksacks sacks on their back that dig into your back while you march. They have helmets and body armor on in temperatures that are over 100...

BAGHDAD — Coalition and Iraqi forces are changing the military landscape of the insurgency, creating an environment in which the Iraqi leaders have the opportunity to make political progress and establish a foundation for stabilization here. General David H. Petraeus, Multi-National Forces – Iraq commander, thanked U.S. military and Coalition force members for their sacrifices during recent operations in an open letter.Petraeus said that the letter, dated Sept. 7, is a detailed description or what Coalition forces have accomplished or have yet to accomplish as he and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker finalize their assessment for presentation next week to Congress.“My...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2007 – The surge has allowed coalition and Iraqi forces to achieve tactical momentum and has given momentum to local reconciliation efforts, but national efforts still lag, the top coalition commander in Iraq said in a letter to servicemembers and civilians of Multinational Force Iraq today. “Up front, my sense is that we have achieved tactical momentum and wrested the initiative from our enemies in a number of areas in Iraq,” Army Gen. David H. Petraeus wrote. “The result has been progress in the security arena, although it has, as you know, been uneven.” Petraeus and...

What he's telling the troops before he tells POTUS and the Congress

AUSTIN — Just two months before he perished defending the Alamo, Davy Crockett described to his daughter and son-in-law the land he treasured enough to die for its independence. "I must say as to what I have seen of Texas it is the garden spot of the world," the famed frontiersman and former congressman from Tennessee wrote. "The best land and the best prospect for health. ..."The Texas Historical Commission announced Tuesday it bought the letter, which is believed to be the last that Crockett penned before he and about 200 other Alamo defenders were killed by Mexican forces led...

For those of you joining the party late, about two weeks ago I started a project intented to get an encouraging letter of support into the hands of every Marine and Sailor in the 1st battalion 1st Marine regiment. Along the way I’ve gotten a lot of help from other bloggers like Captain Ed, Hugh, Lex, Blackfive, my fellow RMA members, Jenn, and Lashawn to name a few. Groups such as Soldiers Angels have helped out as well.I just wanted to take a quick second and let everyone know how the project is going. I have officially broken the 300...

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who has been put on the “fast track” to sainthood, was so tormented by doubts about her faith that she felt “a hypocrite,” it has emerged from a book of her letters to friends and confessors. Shortly after beginning her work in the slums of Calcutta, she wrote: “Where is my faith? Even deep down there is nothing but emptiness and darkness. If there be a God — please forgive me.” In letters eight years later she was still expressing “such deep longing for God,” adding that she felt “repulsed, empty, no faith, no love, no...

ON SUNDAY, seven soldiers from the 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Iraq penned a passionate opinion piece in the New York Times that further illustrates the complexity of what is "really" happening in Iraq. Of the almost 3,000 soldiers from the Army's storied 82nd Airborne Division currently serving in the hottest of Iraqi neighborhoods, seven felt confident enough in their misgivings to sign an opinion piece. Insurgents are exposed, leaders stand up, and stability occurs. General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker understand the principles of counterinsurgency and are applying them up and down the chain...

The following letter was sent to Senator Warner after his comments urging President Bush to start an Iraq troop withdrawal: Senator Warner, It wasn’t that long ago when I saw you and a whole bunch of other Senators sitting around the table at the confirmation hearing of General Petraeus. One after another, you and others uttered your “words of wisdom” and wished the General “Godspeed” I wondered what the General was thinking at that moment, whether he shared my suspicion that he was being sent there TO FAIL, thereby giving you and others a Get Out of Iraq Free Card....

Q. I have long been a dedicated reader of your reviews. You were responsible for directing me toward the works of Bresson, Bunuel, Bergman, Tarkovsky and Herzog (particularly Bresson) and thus inspiring my love for the movies. I will forever be indebted to you for having changed my life in this regard. I am also a proud American who enlisted voluntarily in the United States Marines Corps. I served for one year and a half in Iraq . I saw more of the destructive impact of war on the lives of the Iraqi people and those of the men around...

I’m working with the 1st Battalion 1st Marine Regiment to get every one of their soldiers a letter of support from home. This is where you, my readers, come in to the picture; I need you to write these men and women, and then spread the word about the project to everyone you can. We need about 1000 emails in order to get one to every Marine. Please put letters from home in the subject line. Update: The address I’ve set up for project Letters From Home is letters@thinking-right.com

A new letter purportedly written by the author of terrorist threats against Goldman Sachs claims the whole thing was a hoax "conceived by three misguided teenagers." The four-page letter, hand-printed in red ink on lined paper just like the original batch of 40 letters mailed to media outlets around the country in June, was sent to a Daily News reporter last month and immediately turned over to federal investigators.

Hey oooo, How is everyone doing? It's been awhile since I wrote and wanted to catch you up on the glorious nation of make benefit of Iraq. the unit that is replacing us is starting to arrive and so the end is in sight. We are more than happy to see them here. We are now starting to do some turnover actions and will be doing so for the next few weeks. It has been typical July weather for the Middle East, that is to say hot. Although hot doesn't quite describe it, it's pretty close to southern CA or...

A box of yellowed letters written in the 1960s by a self-absorbed, angst-ridden university student with a penchant for long words and philosophising has given intriguing insights into the author - the future Senator Hillary Clinton. They were written by Mrs Clinton, the favourite to win the Democratic presidential nomination, between 1965 and 1969 when she was a student at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, and was keeping in touch with an old school friend called John Peavoy. The assured, fiercely disciplined politician had then "not yet reconciled myself to the fate of not being the star" at university and was unimpressed...

WASHINGTON, July 28 — They were high school friends from Park Ridge, Ill., both high achievers headed East to college. John Peavoy was a bookish film buff bound for Princeton, Hillary Rodham a driven, civic-minded Republican going off to Wellesley. They were not especially close, but they found each other smart and “interesting” and said they would try to keep in touch. Which they did, prodigiously, exchanging dozens of letters between the late summer of 1965 and the spring of 1969. Ms. Rodham’s 30 dispatches are by turns angst-ridden and prosaic, glib and brooding, anguished and ebullient — a rare...

Biking across the country has become a popular form of advocacy this summer. A little more than a week after 42-year-old Brian Pate stopped in Madison on his ride to protest the war in Iraq, Gary Fitch is spending the weekend here as part of his "Letter of Hope" campaign. The 55-year-old letter carrier from St. Paul, who is on unpaid leave for the summer from the United States Postal Service, arrived in Madison Friday to collect letters from young people and others in which they detail their hopes and dreams about the future.Fitch, like Pate, began his ride in...

Let's get back to the U.S. Army. As I know according to my experience of working with them, and without exaggeration, they are kind people and no one knows better than I do. I've been working with them as an interpreter for three years and those guys really want to present the best they have in order to help people, make the country safe and create a united Iraq for its people. They have great patience and endurance and great effort of working day and night just to do something or to make sure it is done properly. They help...

I asked an Iraqi I know to write a letter to Americans. I told him he should write whatever he wants. Specifically, I said, "if you could say anything you wanted to the American people, what would it be?" He wrote a letter and was very passionate when giving it to me. I could tell that he had agonized over this letter, what he wanted to say and how best to say it. He speaks English well but has a little difficulty writing it. I wanted to give you his words without any help from my, but I did edit...

Maybe it's just me, but I noticed "tonal" similarities in the recent Goldman Sachs threats, and the 2001 Anthrax letters. What do you think ?

Donald Rumsfeld, Henry Kissinger, Paul Wolfowitz, and John Bolton top the list of individuals who wrote a federal judge on behalf of former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for lying to investigators and a federal grand jury examining the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. On the following 30 pages you'll find an assortment of letters from former colleagues and friends of Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff. The letters, which do not include a missive from Cheney himself, were filed this morning in U.S. District...

Fallen soldier's letter hopeful By CHRIS DOUCETTE, SUN MEDIA Cpl. Stephen Bouzane - with his sister Kelly - whose letter was posted on Facebook.com by a friend, was born in a Newfoundland town and moved to Scarborough as a toddler. Bouzane and two other Canadians died in Afghanistan Wednesday. Memories shared at base Quebec troops counter opposition NATO wants Canada to extend mission Slain soldiers heading home Soldiers died performing vital work Just days before heading off to Afghanistan, Cpl. Stephen Bouzane wrote a heartfelt, open letter detailing his hopes and dreams, as well as how he felt about heading...

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2007 – Until every servicemember comes home, one dedicated group of volunteers will make sure they know they’re remembered. Students, teachers and their mascot show their support for America Supports You home-front group, Letters From Home. Letters From Home sends cards to servicemembers. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Our main effort is collecting cards of support for the troops,” Christine Jovenitti, founder of “Letters From Home,” said. “As they tell us, it’s like holding the hand of the person that wrote it.” To date, Letters From Home and its volunteers have “held the...

A series of letters have been allegedly written by Leading Seaman Faye Turney while in Iranian custody and released by the Iranian government. There is no independent evidence that the letters are genuine - or whether they were written willingly. RELEASED FRIDAY 30 MARCH To British People I am writing to you as a British service person who has been sent to Iraq, sacrificed due to the intervening policies of the Bush and Blair governments. We were arrested after entering Iranian waters by the Iranian forces. For this, I am deeply sorry. I understand that this has caused even more...

<p>ANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- He calls himself "The Bishop." Exactly why is just one of the many mysteries surrounding the increasingly menacing figure.</p> <p>The man -- and investigators believe they are dealing with a man -- is suspected of sending at least a half-dozen threatening letters to financial institutions over the past 18 months and mailing two dud pipe bombs that arrived a day apart in Kansas City and Chicago in January.</p>

KANSAS CITY, Mo. He calls himself "The Bishop" and he's suspected of mailing two inoperable explosive devices through the mail last month. The devices arrived a day apart in Kansas City and Chicago. His work has also been found in Iowa and Wisconsin.Authorities say the devices are thought to be connected to a series of threatening letters sent to financial institutions over the past 18 months.Corporate Counterrorism expert Fred Burton says it could take help from the public to nab the suspect.In his letters, "The Bishop" has ordered financial companies to move the prices of certain stocks to predetermined rates,...

Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy advised her sister-in-law, Joan, to stop being a doormat for her philandering hubby, Ted Kennedy - and if he didn’t shape up, to move out, according to letters up for auction tomorrow in Connecticut. “This is the 20th century - not the 19th - where the little woman stayed home on a pedestal with the kids and her rosary,� Jackie wrote in an undated four-page note to the senator’s wife and miserable mother of three. “Your life matters - as much as him - you love him - but you can’t destroy yourself.� The hand-written...