Free Republic

Ballance to hold another fundraiser before prison term starts Dec 26, 2005 : 3:37 pm ET RALEIGH, N.C. -- Former Rep. Frank Ballance is holding one last fundraiser before he begins serving a four-year prison term at the end of this week. Ballance, a Democrat from Warrenton who represented the First District of North Carolina, resigned in June 2004 for health reasons before completing his first term. He was sentenced to prison in October after pleading guilty to funneling tax dollars into his foundation and using $100,000 for himself and his family. He will be honored Wednesday at the Roanoke...

VIENNA (AFP) - Iran started a new round of converting uranium ore into the feedstock gas for making enriched uranium, a move likely to complicate diplomacy over Iran's disputed nuclear program, diplomats said. UN inspectors "are reporting that the first drums of new uranium ore were fed into the process at the uranium conversion facility in Isfahan this morning," a diplomat who asked not to be identified told AFP. Enriched uranium can be used as fuel for a civilian nuclear reactor or as atom bomb material. The conversion into the precursor gas is a second round after Iran already processed...

CHICAGO - The biggest corruption trial in Chicago in decades opened Wednesday with a federal prosecutor launching a blistering attack on former Gov. George Ryan, saying he betrayed the public's trust by taking cash and gifts to help insiders land lucrative state contracts. "The fix was in in Illinois government," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon. The verbal pounding brought Ryan defense attorney Dan K. Webb to his feet to demand a mistrial the minute Fardon sat down. The request was denied. Ryan, 71, is accused of giving a lobbyist friend, Larry Warner, free rein to steer contracts to his...

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Training in five key career fields restarts for 400 Airmen here Sept. 19, six months sooner than base officials forecasted more than a week ago. Then, more students will start training the following week, said Col. Jessie Canaday, 81st Training Group commander. And more students will gradually enter training each week after that as this base continues to recover from the pounding it took from Hurricane Katrina. Air Force officials determined what training would start based on the service’s critical needs, said the colonel, commander of the Air Force’s largest training group. “We’re taking...

SIERRA VISTA - Dana Jackson, an apprentice with the Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative, worked out of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico for two years. He's now returning to the Gulf Coast, this time with some of his SSVEC co-workers to help repair the power infrastructure after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi Delta area earlier this week. Jackson, originally from Meridian, Miss., has an idea of what awaits him and the rest of the crew. "I worked offshore on oil rigs, so we were out there for a couple of hurricanes," said Jackson, whose family and friends are safe...

Freepers, help me come up with concrete actions, consistent with our conservatism and the true spirit of America, to blunt the homelessness, unemployment and possible hunger, disease and social breakdown that Katrina left in her wake. Our group has influenced and ensured the fairness of elections. We are watchdogs for the press and brave extreme heat and cold to stand up for our Country, our Soldiers and human life. Our prayer groups have seen miracles happen. We can make a difference for the future of our children by acting this week. We all want to give what we can, and...

The long arm of the law just got longer at San Diego City Hall, with the District Attorney's Office informing top officials there yesterday that it has launched a criminal investigation into the troubled pension system and its 13-member board of trustees. In a confidential letter, hand-delivered to City Attorney Michael Aguirre and distributed to top city officials, the district attorney's investigators gave City Hall until Wednesday to hand over records or face possible search warrants. With that, the investigators confirmed for an already rattled city establishment that they are marching down a well-worn path, one trekked for more than...

Farmers, environmentalists and pollution cops are unhappy with the system for policing pollution caused by farm irrigation that went into effect a year ago. And almost no one can point to evidence that the new system of testing by coalitions of farmland owners is doing any good. The first reports that might show whether the coalitions have managed to prevent toxic substances such as pesticides from running into rivers or sinking into groundwater are due April 1. But two of the nine coalitions that cover the Central Valley -- including the one handling farms in San Joaquin County and the...

WASHINGTON - George W. Bush embarked on his second term as president Thursday, telling a world anxious about war and terrorism that the United States would not shrink from new confrontations in pursuit of "the great objective of ending tyranny." Four minutes before noon, Bush placed his left hand on a family Bible and recited 39 tradition-hallowed words that every president since George Washington has uttered. With 150,000 American troops deployed in Iraq (news - web sites) at a cost of $1 billion a week and more than 1,360 killed, Bush also beseeched Americans for patience. "Our country has accepted...

Cuba's armed forces have begun their biggest military exercise for nearly 20 years, involving hundreds of thousands of troops and civilians. The exercise, called Bastion 2004, is a response to "the continued aggression and threats" of the US, Cuba says. The manoeuvres are being led by Defence Minister Raul Castro - brother to President Fidel Castro and second in the Cuban hierarchy. The US said the drill was an attempt to "distract" Cubans from daily hardships. The exercise will involve exercises with Cuban air force MiG-29s, anti-aircraft units and elite troops. Two days of civil defence exercises at the end...

OSLO (Reuters) - A decade after the world pledged to prevent "dangerous" global warming, 194 nations meet next week to review whether rare heatwaves and a fast Arctic thaw may signal that the planet is nearing the brink. The Dec. 6-17 U.N. talks in Buenos Aires will also seek ways to persuade the United States to rejoin a U.N.-led fight against climate change and also try to involve developing nations like China, India or Brazil. Ministers will review the U.N.'s 1994 climate change convention, signed by ex-U.S. President Bush (news - web sites), and its goal of limiting greenhouse gases...

SACRAMENTO — Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has opened a legal defense fund to fight a political scandal involving himself and various associates. Unlike other campaign funds, Shelley's account can raise money from donors in unlimited amounts, as long as the money is used exclusively for legal costs involving problems arising from his government duties. Shelley's legal troubles began in the summer, when the FBI and state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer opened investigations into the origin of donations to Shelley's 2002 campaign. In addition, the state auditor is examining his awarding of no-bid contracts to political associates. "We thought the...

Senate starts marriage amendment debate 1 hour, 3 minutes ago Christopher Curtis, PlanetOut Network SUMMARY: On Friday the U.S. Senate started its debate over the Federal Marriage Amendment, which aims to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Despite accusations of playing politics, the U.S. Senate started on Friday its debate over the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), which aims to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage across the country. The chief Senate sponsor of the FMA, Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., opened the debate. "We are here today because traditional marriage is under assault," he said in a quote published...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - While President George W. Bush (news - web sites) has been taking a political hammering on Iraq (news - web sites), he is quietly reaping the first election-year benefits of a steady improvement in the US economy. Opinion polls show Bush's popularity rating sinking as low as 42 percent, a worrisome sign for his chances in the November 2 contest against Democratic challenger John Kerry (news - web sites). The president's standing has plummeted along with appreciation of his military operation in Iraq. A majority of Americans now think the invasion was a mistake, and nearly 60...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. government has launched a "good news" offensive in Iraq (news - web sites), and a couple of Baghdad street kids, peddlers of soda pop, have been recruited for the first wave of attack. On a two-day visit, U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans said thousands of new businesses have sprung up here since the war, and gave an example of new entrepreneurship: two boys he spotted by the road selling soft drinks to Baghdad's parched drivers. For the man who runs the Bank of Baghdad, however, those cola kids don't impress much. His own reading on...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - If anyone deserves a quiet retirement it's Dolores Huerta, but the co-founder of the United Farm Workers, who raised 11 children even as she led marches and strikes that repeatedly put her in hospitals and jails, isn't slowing down. She re-learned how to walk in time to march on Sacramento last year after a near-fatal aneurism left her incapacitated. And now she's giving away a $100,000 award she recently received for her lifetime of service, to launch a new foundation in her name.