Free Republic

Last January, Democrats took the reins in Congress, portraying themselves as agents of change who would restore trust by ending pork-barrel politics in Washington. But now after three months of Democratic rule, it’s clear Democrats are exactly who we thought they were all along — the same old party of tax-and-spend government. And congressional pork is back, with a vengeance. The Democrats’ failure on pork is a genuine disappointment for anyone who believes, as I do, that reforming the earmark process is essential to bringing real change to the way Congress spends taxpayers’ money. When I first ran for Congress,...

Velazquez-Nava, 24, had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit when the crash occurred early Wednesday on Pacific Coast Highway, police said. He is a native of Mexico who federal authorities said was in the U.S. illegally. The crash killed Clark, the director of "A Christmas Story" and the "Porky's" movies, and his son Ariel, 22. Velazquez-Nava suffered minor injuries in the accident.

Movie Director Robert Clark, Best Known for 'A Christmas Story,' and Son Killed in Car Wreck Wednesday, April 04, 2007 LOS ANGELES — Film director Robert Clark, best known for the beloved holiday classic "A Christmas Story," and his son were killed Wednesday in a head-on crash with an alleged drunken driver on Pacific Coast Highway, the filmmaker's assistant and police said. Clark, 67, and son Ariel Hanrath-Clark, 22, were killed in the accident in Pacific Palisades, said Lyne Leavy, Clark's personal assistant . The two men were in an Infiniti that collided head-on with a GMC Yukon around 2:30...

Film director Bob Clark and his son Ariel were killed in an early morning collision along a stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, authorities said. Clark directed the classic holiday film "A Christmas Story" in 1983 and was the producer of the "Porky's" films, along with about two dozen other features.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A central Missouri high school drama teacher whose spring play was canceled after complaints about tawdry content in one of her previous productions will resign rather than face a possible firing. "It became too much to not be able to speak my mind or defend my students without fear or retribution," said Fulton High School teacher Wendy DeVore. DeVore's students were to perform Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," a drama set during the 17th Century Salem witch trials. But after a handful of Callaway Christian Church members complained about scenes in the fall musical "Grease" that showed...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2006 – Troops conducting urban operations soon will have the capabilities of superheroes, being able to sense through 12 inches of concrete to determine if someone is inside a building. The new "Radar Scope" will give warfighters searching a building the ability to tell within seconds if someone is in the next room, Edward Baranoski from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Special Projects Office, told the American Forces Press Service. By simply holding the portable, handheld device up to a wall, users will be able to detect movements as small as breathing, he said. The Radar...

Navy investigators are searching for whoever is responsible for hiding a wireless video camera in a shower stall for female sailors. The camera was found aboard the San Diego-based command ship Coronado on April 14. A Navy spokesman says the camera's battery was dead and a search of nearby compartments didn't turn up its receiver. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Navy's Seventh Fleet have interviewed several sailors and civilians aboard the ship -- which left San Diego for Japan last month. Authorities say so far no arrests have been made.