Free Republic

As U.S. Senator Rob Portman enters his last year of public service in the U.S. Senate, those keeping score would have to agree that his tenure has been remarkably successful by any measure. And his most significant impact may very well be yet to come. Under Portman’s steady leadership, Congress finally appears ready to acknowledge and fix a glaring 35-year-old legislative mistake. The Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act, which overwhelmingly passed the U.S. House of Representatives, has been championed by Portman in the Senate. The EQUAL Act would end the unjust mandatory minimum sentencing disparity...

Baghdad, Iraq – The media hailed the recent battles in the Sunni Triangle and the coordinated attacks orchestrated by radical Shia cleric Muqtada Al Sadr’s militia as evidence of a new crisis in Iraq. The Guardian, for example, referred to the conditions in Iraq as being "[o]n the brink of anarchy," and the New York Times opined that "the events in Falluja[h] and the other cities on Sunday appeared likely to shake the American hold on Iraq more than anything since the invasion…" It wasn’t long before Senator Ted Kennedy waded into these deep political waters, declaring Iraq to be...

Friday, March 5 It's Not Easy Getting to Green Baghdad, Iraq—On Thursday, I decided that I would make the journey from my hotel to the U.S. controlled Green Zone, which is just across the Tigris River. This being my first full day in Baghdad, I began by getting my bearings. I knew from the map that there was a bridge to the northwest of my hotel, and I began making my way there on foot. The area immediately outside the Green Zone is crowded and chaotic. Shops are squeezed together tightly, and trash and debris litter the streets. Mix in...

By now you’ve heard the disheartening news (probably multiple times): Following cries of racism, Rush Limbaugh resigned late Wednesday from his post as a part-time ESPN commentator. Yet even the most cursory review of his comments suggests that his words did not target any suspect class, unless network executives perpetually wallowing in white guilt have achieved minority status. The media’s rapid response to the news betrayed their obvious glee. CNN featured the headline on its website, "Is Rush Racist?"—and the network led with the Rush story ahead of its ordinary litany of trumped-up scandals du jour. Then the other shoe...