Free Republic

I would like to say one thing, in what is my conception of the Republic, security is the responsibility of the State, I am against militias, I am against the private ownership of firearms, and I’m trying to make you think about that. If you are assaulted by an armed burglar, he’ll use his weapon more effectively than you anyway so you’re risking your life. If the criminal is not armed and you are and you shoot, your life will be ruined, because killing someone over a theft is not in line with the republican values that are mine. The...

Among certain radio talk show hosts, bloggers and their followers, being called a cracker was a high compliment yesterday. They seized upon a comment made Thursday by state Senate leader Don Perata, D-Oakland, who talked about “all these crackers down in . . . San Diego, taking on the governor” over immigration issues. Perata, who made the comment during a news conference, was referring to a forum in La Mesa with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week where some accused him of being soft on illegal immigration. Schwarzenegger later said he was surprised at the “intensity of the prejudice” of some...

Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite, whose 1968 conclusion that the Vietnam War was unwinnable keenly influenced public opinion then, said Sunday he'd say the same thing today about Iraq. "It's my belief that we should get out now," Cronkite said in a meeting with reporters. Now 89, the television journalist once known as "the most trusted man in America" has been off the "CBS Evening News" for nearly a quarter- century. He's still a CBS News employee, although he does little for them. Cronkite said one of his proudest moments came at the end of a 1968 documentary he made...

<p>WASHINGTON -- While blaming President Bush for the high price of gasoline, his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, saying it is no solution.</p> <p>"We deserve an administration that doesn't fake it to the American people and pretend that somehow by drilling in the Alaska wildlife refuge we can deal with the problems of America," Kerry, D-Mass., told university students in San Diego. "We can't provide the supply of oil America needs from the Alaska wildlife refuge or from any other source in the United States, because we only have 3 percent of the world's oil reserves."</p>