Free Republic

After decades on the political sidelines, liberalism is making a comeback. Polls show plunging support for Republicans and their brand of conservatism among young, independent voters and Latinos. But what kind of liberalism is emerging as the dominant voice in the Democratic Party? Well, it isn't your father's liberalism, the ideology that defended the interests and values of the middle and working classes. The old liberalism had its flaws, but it also inspired increased social and economic mobility, strong protections for unions, the funding of a national highway system and a network of public parks, and the development of viable...

If you're wondering who's largely to blame for the alleged heating up of the climate you need look no further than Jane Fonda. That's what "Freakanomics" columnists Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt suggest in Sunday's New York Times Magazine. "If you were asked to name the biggest global warming villains of the past 30 years, here's one name that probably wouldn't spring to mind: Jane Fonda. But should it?" the authors ask. According to Editor & Publisher, the two cite Fonda's anti-nuclear thriller "The China Syndrome," which opened just 12 days before the Three Mile Island accident in...

Veteran actress and feminist Jane Fonda has been slammed for not paying her female employees working in the actress' radio network Green Stone Media. The twice Oscar winner and the radio network's co-founder Gloria Steinem have been accused of "putting their own reputations above their female employees' finances." According to the New York Post, Fonda and Steinem are 'refusing to pay severance, and the founders won't file for bankruptcy protection because it would publicly embarrass Jane and Gloria.' However, the 'Klute' star's spokesperson has denied the reports and said that the accusations are unfounded. "This is pure speculation. There is...

California lawmakers among Congress' richest By Erica Werner ASSOCIATED PRESS Article Launched: 06/15/2007 03:05:17 AM PDT WASHINGTON -- California boasts some of Congress' wealthiest lawmakers, annual financial disclosure forms filed Wednesday show, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and the state's senior senator, Dianne Feinstein, among the most well-off. Both Democrats are married to wealthy investors worth many tens of millions of dollars. Pelosi and her husband, Paul, own a vineyard. Feinstein and her husband, Richard, boast a condo in Hawaii, another one in Tahoe City and interest worth $5 million to $25 million in a hotel. The...

CANNES, France (Reuters) - Hollywood star and long-time environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio has a message for the world: go green now, before it's too late. As DiCaprio tells it in film documentary "The 11th Hour", launched on Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival, people are living in the last minutes of the final hour before it may be too late to do anything about global warming. "Global warming is a reality. It is happening," DiCaprio told reporters gathered for the movie's debut. Last year "An Inconvenient Truth" explored the same environmental issue by telling of former U.S. Vice President Al...

Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio sent out a message about global warming at the Cannes Film Festival. The heartthrob has made a film, the 11th Hour, warning that human beings face extinction as a result of the environmental crisis. At a press conference in the South of France following the screening, The Blood Diamond actor, 32, attacked US President George Bush, saying: "It's very simple. He's done very little for the environmental movement." The Titanic star's latest film, which he narrates, follows another environmental warming documentary by former US Presidential candidate Al Gore, shown at the Cannes Film Festival last year....

When it comes to Sheryl Crow's touring requirements, if it's Tuesday, this must be Bombay. Gin that is. The rock star's performance contract includes specific day-to-day instructions on what kind of booze Sheryl needs in her dressing room (TSG has never seen such attention to detail in any other concert rider we've posted). For each show, Crow requires 12 bottles of Grolsch beer, 6 bottles of "local" beer, and a bottle each of "good Australian Cabernet" and "good Merlot." As for the harder stuff, promoters are directed to purchase specific booze depending on what day of the week the concert...

People aged between 50 and 64 have the UK's largest "carbon footprints", according to research. But they are also the most concerned about climate change, and want the government to do more to tackle global warming, the study says. The report - Greening the Grays - is published by the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York. The research included analysis of UK residents by age and expenditure, along with surveys and focus groups. Researchers found that people in the 50-64 age group have a carbon footprint of 13.52 tonnes per capita per year, compared with the UK average...

Cadillac Deval: When not heli-commuting gov rides in style

"If New York City is a business, it isn't Wal-Mart -- it isn't trying to be the lowest-priced product in the market. It's a high-end product, maybe even a luxury product. New York offers tremendous value, but only for those companies able to capitalize on it." -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg January 2003These seem the best of times for America's elite cities. Wall Street's 2006 megabonuses created thousands of instant millionaires, and, with their venture-fund soulmates in places like San Francisco, Boston and Greenwich, the best people are prowling for Ferraris, planes, multimillion-dollar condos, the newest $200 lunch place and the...

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama -- showing strength as a leading attraction in the 2008 Democratic presidential parade -- hits California this month to star at two major San Francisco fundraisers for one of the nation's most liberal senators, Barbara Boxer. The two Feb. 19 appearances by Obama for Boxer, D-Calif., and a separate, exclusive Atherton event to introduce Obama to top Silicon Valley decisionmakers come within days of California visits by a string of big-name Democratic presidential candidates searching for campaign cash. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards is expected in the Bay Area on Feb. 15, and Sen. Hillary...

Gwyneth Paltrow is "deeply upset" over stories claiming she made anti-American remarks, and tells PEOPLE exclusively that she never said anything against her native country. "First of all I feel so lucky to be American. When you look at the rest of the world, we're so lucky, and that's something my dad always instilled in me," Paltrow tells PEOPLE. "I feel so proud to be American." . . . "I felt so upset to be completely misconstrued and I never, ever would have said that," says the 34-year-old Oscar winner. "I definitely did not say that I think the British...

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards acknowledged Thursday that amid his criticism of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a volunteer member of his staff asked the world's largest retailer for help obtaining a hot new Sony Playstation 3 for Edwards' family. Edwards, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, told The Associated Press that the volunteer "feels terrible" about seeking the game unit at Wal-Mart while his boss claims the retailer doesn't treat its employees fairly. "My wife, Elizabeth, wanted to get a Playstation3 for my young children. She mentioned it in front of one of my staff people. That staff person mentioned it...

Historic preservation, condominium conversion and neighborhood character are dominating political debate this fall in Berkeley, where land use has become the hottest issue on the civic agenda. "More people care about land use than any other issue right now," said City Councilman Kriss Worthington, one of the few people in Berkeley who's neutral on the issue. "Berkeley can vote to stop the war, but the war's not going to stop tomorrow. But land use is one of the few things the city has direct control over and you can see the results in your neighborhood." Berkeley, with a population that's...

GLOBAL WARMING: Governor, lawmakers don't exactly practice what they preach - Sacramento -- Despite their outspoken support for landmark legislation to fight global warming, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and some of the leading Democratic lawmakers who voted for the measure still use gas-guzzling vehicles for official state business. Schwarzenegger, who is expected to sign the legislation on Wednesday at a ceremony in San Francisco, typically is escorted by the California Highway Patrol's security detail in a massive 2005 Ford Excursion that gets less than 11 miles per gallon, according to an evaluation by Consumerguide.com. The global warming bill's co-author, Assembly...

LIMOUSINE liberals, move over. You've been out-glammed by Lear Jet liberals who burn beaucoup fossil fuels in the sky as they soar around the planet fighting global warming. Last week, they flew to their Mecca, the Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York City. For the left-leaning and loaded, this is the meeting that has it all -- the mega-rich paying to be seen caring about poor people and the environment, while posing for photos with former President Bill Clinton. The big news of the CGI was an announcement by Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways, that he...

Rodale Books, publisher of former Vice President Al Gore's No. 1 New York Times bestseller about global warming entitled AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, will reissue his first bestselling book, EARTH IN THE BALANCE: Ecology and the Human Spirit in Fall 2006 (Rodale Books, Paperback, $15.95; On Sale October 31). AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, published in May, is No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list with more than 500,000 copies in print. Mr. Gore continues to tour the country to promote both the book and documentary film about the destructive effects of climate change, and what can be done about it....

STRANGE and unfamiliar sound emanated from Hollywood yesterday - total silence. It now looks as if the 9/11 attacks were just meant to be a tepid dress rehearsal for the big show. The atrocities that were narrowly averted yesterday - planes bound for our shores, to be blown up in midair by men who hate - prove one thing beyond doubt: If we care to watch our children grow up, get old enough to retire to Florida, or simply live to see another dawn, we must be vigilant. We cannot relax. The bullet we dodged whizzed by frighteningly close. That...

The Federal Correctional Institute in Terre Haute, Indiana has a new resident. Robert Creamer of Evanston, Illinois moved in recently. He's the husband of far-left Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky--my representative in Congress. Creamer is the former executive director of the Illinois Public Action Council, a defunct organization that appointed itself as the consumer watchdog for Illinoisans. While running this goo-goo group, Creamer got in the habit of kiting checks, which is illegal for a very good reason: It undermines the most important ingredient of a functioning economic system, trust. Schakowsky was on the board of directors of IPAC while hubby was...