Free Republic

The artist who created the now-infamous Livermore library mosaic that contains 11 misspellings says she no longer wants to fix it because of the "nasty messages from people who don't understand art." Maria Alquilar, who complained that her name, too, was often misspelled, said she had been overwhelmed by dozens of phone calls and more than 1,000 e- mails since her errors -- from "Eistein" to "Shakespere" to "Michaelangelo" -- were widely publicized. Fed up, Alquilar said Friday that she was reconsidering her decision to correct her work because the people of Livermore had been so mean. "If I come...

When Bias Bites How Long Can a Dissident Survive Inside a Partisan News Station? By Brian Maloney e-mail Brian Maloney at RadioEqualizer@aol.com It's hard to imagine a career that can throw you for a curve more often than one in radio broadcasting. The highs can take you into the stratosphere and the lows into an abyss. It comes with sticking your neck out in public. Sometimes you get rewarded and then, suddenly, you get whacked, mob-style. The last week, for me, has been a blend of the two extremes. A strange existence in another place, where events that by themselves...

Oklahoma Democrats called on Republican Tom Coburn Thursday to apologize for remarks he made during a town hall meeting in Altus last month. Democratic Party Chairman Jay Parmley said Coburn should be held accountable for saying economic development in Oklahoma was stymied by "a bunch of crapheads in Oklahoma City that have killed the vision of anybody wanting to invest in Oklahoma." Coburn campaign spokesman Aaron Cooper said the Muskogee doctor and former congressman was referring to the state Legislature's attempts to address lawsuit abuse and worker compensation reform. Coburn made the remarks at an Aug. 21 town hall meeting...

Imagine that America had a Chief Justice of the United States who actually believed in enforcing the Constitution and, accordingly, issued an opinion that the war in Iraq was unconstitutional because Congress did not fulfill its constitutional duty in declaring war. Imagine also that the neocon media, think tanks, magazines, radio talk shows, and television talking heads then waged a vicious, months-long smear campaign against the chief justice, insinuating that he was guilty of treason and should face the punishment for it. Imagine that he is so demonized that President Bush is emboldened to issue an arrest warrant for the...

The British organization Islamic Human Rights Comission named the three biggest Islamophobes of 2004. US President George Bush became 'Islamophobe of the Year ' for the overall war on terrorism.Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was 'awarded' the title for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The head of Israeli government shared the 'sucess' in the nomination of most Islamophobic politician with French President Jacque Chiraq who promoted the bill for the ban on wearing religious attributes in state schools. According to the Islamic Human Rights Commission, many people can be called 'Islamophobes', and there is no sign that the situation will change for...

The videotaped beheading of American Nick Berg by Islamic militants in Iraq shocked almost anyone who watched it. So when the campaign manager for Rep. Martin Frost, quoted in a Tuesday newspaper column, used a metaphor describing the decapitation of Rep. Pete Sessions with a guillotine, Mr. Sessions, R-Dallas, decried the comments as "personal, disgusting, despicable, hardball politics." "My son can read that," said Mr. Sessions, who is battling Mr. Frost, D-Dallas, to represent Texas' 32nd Congressional District. "It's beyond what should be part of a campaign. It's hyper-negative." Mr. Sessions suggested that Mr. Frost should consider firing the campaign...

IRVING, Texas -- Bill Parcells apologized Monday for calling the surprise plays used in practice "Jap plays," saying the remark was inappropriate. The Dallas Cowboys coach was talking to reporters at the team's minicamp about how his quarterbacks coach and defensive coordinator try to outdo each other when he made the comment, an apparent reference to Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. "You've got to keep an eye on those two, because they're going to try to get the upper hand," Parcells said about quarterbacks coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. "Mike wants the defense to do well,...

GRANDVIEW, Mo. -- Imagine cops throwing you out of your own child's graduation just for expressing your joy.It happened Monday night to several families at a local ceremony, and it was all caught on tape.KCTV5's Liana Joyce reported live on "KCTV5 News at 6 p.m." that there was a dress code and a behavior code that was strictly followed at the Grandview High School graduation. One family who got kicked out for cheering their son's accomplishments said it was being taken too far.It all began when 18-year-old Brandon Sample's family clapped and whistled as the Grandview grad walked across the...

WASHINGTON -- About two months after the Red Cross warned US commanders of widespread prisoner abuses, the commanding general at the Abu Ghraib prison assured the Red Cross in a confidential letter that Iraqi detainees were being given the best treatment possible and that even more ''improvements are continually being made."

BAYBORO -- A handful of students from Pamlico County High School asked school board members Monday night to rescind their school's ban on clothing that contains the Confederate flag, arguing it strips them of their Southern heritage and compromises their First Amendment rights. The three students, all of whom were white, told board members that they don't believe the clothing creates any conflicts at their school, and they presented the board with a 201-name petition urging it to allow the clothing."Most people we've talked to don't have a problem with it," said 17-year-old Kristina Mayeur. "We've talked to black kids...

<p>Saddam Hussein's devilish practice of using human shields isn't exactly new. It was pioneered by an American, in fact, during the last year of the Civil War.</p> <p>"Your officers, now in my hands, will be placed by me under your fire, as an act of retaliation," Union departmental commander Gen. John G. Foster wrote his Southern counterpart in an edict, and with that a sordid new standard was set in the conduct of war.</p>

The Hunley Burial This site does not engage in rebel flag waving nor does it have any intention of refighting the Civil War. That being said, we have the utmost respect for the men, women (yes, there were) and children who stood up for their right to freely exit a union they freely entered. This past weekend, the crew members of The Hunley, the first submarine to ever successfully sink an enemy ship were laid to rest in Charleston, SC. Fourteen governers from the south were invited to attend. A grand total of zero showed up. While some cited scheduling...

Litefoot and Jesse Jackson call for OutKast apology Posted: March 04, 2004 - 11:39am EST by: Wilhelm Murg / Correspondent / Indian Country Today NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Native rapper Litefoot, along with civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, are calling for OutKast to apologize at this year’s Gathering of Nations Pow Wow for their performance at the 46th Annual GRAMMY Awards. The Gathering of Nations will run April 22 - 24 at the University of New Mexico Arena. OutKast’s appearance at the awards ceremony in faux American Indian costumes, complete with a smoking tipi and dancing girls in buckskin...

Are you tough enough to be a Santa Cruz librarian? Think twice before you answer. For the past six years, 76 workers' compensation claims in the city-county library system amount to about $460,000 in medical bills, lost work time and other costs. There were 17 claims last year alone. That's a far higher injury rate than other systems report. • With four times the workforce at about 400 employees, Santa Clara County's library system reported 18 worker claims in 2003. Los Gatos' public library, with a staff of 32, had one injury claim in 2003. • A San Jose Public...

As ASUCR closed out their year last Thursday with one last meeting, student groups came out in a final attempt this year to secure funding to increase safety for women of color. "We stand in solidarity with women of color," said a representative of the Student Coalition for Peace. "There is a war in the United States and here at UCR. We want funding and security not UCR affiliated to protect against UCPD and the Greek community. The anger expressed by a number of students at the meeting stemmed from the allocation and subsequent de-allocation of funds for a safe...

<p>Normally healthy and vigorous, Deborah Dashow Ruth of Kensington has developed a case of shingles, her ulcer is acting up, and her head has been throbbing since the United States invaded Iraq a week ago.</p> <p>Meanwhile, San Ramon advice-line nurse Jan Howe has been deluged with calls from people stressed out by current events. And the staff at the adolescent psychiatric unit at St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco is seeing an upsurge in calls and requests for admission.</p>

GLAAD News Pop: TALK-SHOW HOST MICHAEL SAVAGE THREATENS CRITICS IN RADIO DIATRIBES Date: 2/28/2003 7:53:53 AM Pacific Standard Time From: javier@glaad.org (Loren R. Javier) GLAAD News Pop Feb. 27, 2003 TALK-SHOW HOST MICHAEL SAVAGE THREATENS CRITICS IN RADIO DIATRIBES On his radio program today, talk-show host Michael Savage threatened to shut down GLAAD and other organizations who are asking MSNBC to reconsider its decision to give him a television show beginning next month. In his comments, Savage noted that in today's political climate, he would invoke the power of U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Justice Department to shut...

Ruined Snow Penis Stimulates Debate When a few members of the Harvard crew team decided to build a snowy representation of the male anatomy on Feb. 11, they never imagined it would be so hard to keep it up. The 9-foot snow phallus, constructed in Tercentenary Theater, was torn down just hours after its erection. But its impression still sparked an intense debate, from dining halls to dorm rooms, over the appropriateness of public displays of genitalia. Even The Economist magazine weighed in on the discussion, offering the destruction of the sculpture as evidence of American prudishness on its usually...

<p>Black leaders who focus on racial divisions are too often showered with media attention and, what is worse, given a free pass on demagoguery. Presidential candidate Al Sharpton, handled with kid gloves by other White House contenders, comes to mind. At the same time, leaders such as Clarence Thomas, J.C. Watts, civil-rights leader Roy Innis and even Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice are often called "sellouts," or worse, for not viewing every issue through a racial prism.</p>

Student group addresses sexuality, gender issues Alison Pierce Most Stanford students probably don’t spend time thinking about what it means to be “queer.” However, an increasingly visible and vocal queer community exists on campus, and a new student-run group called Querillas seeks to support it by increasing awareness about gender, sexuality and racial issues through activism, discussion and bimonthly meetings. Querillas’ stated mission is “to create and sustain queer activism and to mobilize, educate and empower members of the Stanford community. This is to effect fundamental, long-lasting changes in the University’s structure to ensure a commitment to furthering queer liberation.”...