Free Republic

An employee of Bed, Bath & Beyond in St. Davids Square shopping center reported to Radnor Township Police on June 5 a package containing human vomit was left in the parking lot there. He estimated that about 35 pounds of vomit was in the package discovered June 5 and stated that a similar package was left in the same spot the week before. According to the employee, the package was concealed in a white kitchen trash bag and placed about 10 parking rows from the store behind a tree. Radnor Police redacted information that describes what the hidden package was...

Investigation Continues as Congressman Enters Mayo Clinic May 5, 2006 — Capitol Police have taken disciplinary action against a watch commander for the handling of Rep. Patrick Kennedy's car accident, acting Capitol Police Chief Christopher McGaffin said. Lou Cannon of of the Fraternal Order of Police for the District of Columbia said there are questions about whether Rep. Patrick Kennedy received special treatment. (ABC News) McGaffin said the incident was improperly delayed due to "poor judgment" on the part of police managers and that a field sobriety test should have been administered to Kennedy after his car hit a barrier...

The president showed class and passion in a far-reaching lecture. Saturday evening’s Distinguished Carlson Lecture Series speech by former President Bill Clinton was a breath of fresh air for many of the attendees, most of whom were left-thinking. Clinton outlined five points relating to his goal of creating more integrated communities in a world where, in his opinion, “interdependence” rather than the more common term “globalization,” prevails. The lecture had a broad focus with a “how to fix the world as told by Bill Clinton” feel, but it was clear the president is still as passionate as ever about the...

Linda McQuaig says right may have met its match in hurricane crisis When terrorists struck the World Trade Center, George W. Bush and his handlers quickly adopted a muscular approach to the crisis. Not so with Katrina. While 9/11 prompted the administration to unleash the full resources of America in response, the deadly Katrina crisis had trouble catching Bush's attention. But then 9/11 was quickly spotted as the perfect justification for what Republicans wanted to do anyway: mobilize the U.S. for war and enhance the power of the military-industrial complex. The Katrina disaster offers no such opportunities. On the contrary,...

he city of London was shaken by terror when three bombs exploded last week on the London subway. In the middle of the chaos, media outlets lacked professional and objective integrity by jumping to hasty conclusions and blaming Muslims for the atrocity. The words “Islam” and “terrorism” were recklessly used by media staff and political analysts on television. Not only was it difficult for professionals to differentiate between the act of terror and the faith of Islam, but the connection was made without the slightest afterthought. British Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that the evidence points to al-Qaida but that...

Amnesty International investigates, documents and takes action on human rights violations around the globe using one standard – that of international human rights and humanitarian law – and strives to do so in an impartial way. Nevertheless, the annual Amnesty International Report 2005 covering human rights violations around the globe in 2004 generated criticism in this newspaper from David Forman ("We are not paranoid," May 30) and Michael Ehrlich ("Amnesty International – do your homework," June 2). Forman accuses Amnesty International (AI) of being "out to get" Israel while ignoring serious human rights violations elsewhere in the world. Most of...

'Here it is. The smoking gun. The memo that has "IMPEACH HIM" written all over it. 'The top-level government memo marked "SECRET AND STRICTLY PERSONAL," dated eight months before Bush sent us into Iraq, following a closed meeting with the President, reads, "Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam through military action justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." 'Read that again: "The intelligence and facts were being fixed . . . ."

Jane Fonda now says she was bulimic for the past 35 years

From Scarborough Country to the Spin Zone, the attacks on Professor Ward Churchill are coming across the airwaves. Near Hamilton College in Clinton, New York the hills are alive with the sound of fascism. In a statement released on January 31, 2005, Churchill says, ”...The bottom line of my argument is that the best and perhaps only way to prevent 9-1-1-style attacks on the U.S. is for American citizens to compel their government to comply with the rule of law. The lesson of Nuremberg is that this is not only our right, but our obligation. To the extent we shirk...

Give me a break — or a big glass of vodka. We've gone from shock and awe to shuck and jive, and Captain Quagmire ran the table anyway. Now he's got the White House, the Congress, the Supreme Court, the military and a chip on his shoulder he's calling a mandate. I don't know about you, but I'm getting a Republican haircut just to blend in. For four years it's been one big all-you-can-eat buffet for the corporations, and now they're coming back for more. Go ahead, you marvelous bastards! Rip out all the trees, pave the beaches, build 12-lane...

President Bush famously botched the truism, but the way it goes is not complicated: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." The first time, it could be argued that the American people were fooled. They didn't give Bush a plurality, but enough felt the country could afford a "compassionate conservative" in the White House. Little did they know what was in store. They condoned the invasion of Iraq because they were lied to about weapons of mass destruction. They were led to believe the war on terror justified assaults on civil liberties. They didn't object...

THEY say that in life you get what you deserve. Well, today America has deservedly got a lawless cowboy to lead them further into carnage and isolation and the unreserved contempt of most of the rest of the world. This once-great country has pulled up its drawbridge for another four years and stuck a finger up to the billions of us forced to share the same air. And in doing so, it has shown itself to be a fearful, backward-looking and very small nation. This should have been the day when Americans finally answered their critics by raising their eyes...

I say forget introspection. It's time to be honest about our antagonists. My predecessors in this conversation are thoughtful men, and I honor their ideas, but let's try something else. I grew up in Missouri and most of my family voted for Bush, so I am going to be the one to say it: The election results reflect the decision of the right wing to cultivate and exploit ignorance in the citizenry. I suppose the good news is that 55 million Americans have evaded the ignorance-inducing machine. But 58 million have not. (Well, almost 58 million—my relatives are not ignorant,...

Of all the dirty tricks in this unhappy presidential campaign, the most outrageous has been the ad campaign by the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," attempting to discredit John Kerry's service in Vietnam. Supporters of the malingering Bush have shamelessly challenged the war record of a wounded and decorated veteran. Their campaign illustrates the tactic of the Big Lie, as defined by Hitler and perfected by Goebbels: Although a little lie is laughed at, a Big Lie somehow takes on a reality of its own, through its sheer effrontery. "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry" is a matter-of-fact...

Many Still Troubled by Reagan's Legacy By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer As one of the first physicians to confront AIDS when it began its rampage through the gay community, Dr. Marcus Conant lobbied the Reagan administration in 1982 to launch an emergency campaign to educate Americans about the disease. It took the president five more years to publicly mention the crisis. By then, almost 21,000 Americans had died and thousands more had been diagnosed. Conant, who lost scores of friends and patients to the disease, is still deeply angry — one of many Americans who view Reagan's legacy in...

Newlywed Gays Brave Critics in Search of Security Fri Mar 12, 3:43 PM ET By Teresa Carson PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - Daffodils line the walkway, a tricycle sits by the front door and family photos are proudly displayed on the shelves in the house where two-and-a-half year-old Avery is trying to finagle himself a cookie. This tranquil domestic scene belies the turmoil, including death threats, lawsuits, Bible thumping and a bitter national debate prompted by this family and others like it. Avery's parents, both women, just got married. Kelly Burke, 34, and Dolores Doyle, 38, have been together for 16...

"How can anyone legislate who you can love?..." THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS CONTINUES Remarks by Barbra Streisand Upon Her receipt of The Human Rights Campaign Humanitarian Award, March 6, 2004 I have been fortunate to receive a few awards in my lifetime, and I always appreciate them, but I must say that this is a very special one because the gay community has supported me from the very beginning. I know that this is a challenging moment in your history. So I am very proud to accept this award from the Human Rights Campaign at this time. You are...

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michael Moore isn't the apologetic type. Any regrets over proclaiming to a worldwide audience during last year's Academy Awards ceremony that George W. Bush was a "fictitious president ... sending us to war for fictitious reasons"? No way. But the crusading leftist author and filmmaker does have a small confession: That rip-roaring acceptance speech after his "Bowling for Columbine" won the Oscar for best documentary almost went undelivered. "Every bone in my body wanted to just thank them, blow them a kiss and walk off the stage," Moore confides, stirring whipped cream into a steaming...

Letter from the fat turkey himeslf titled: Turkeys on the Moon... from Michael Moore

In order to understand why George W. Bush doesn't get it, you have to take several strands of common Texas attitude, then add an impressive degree of class-based obliviousness. What you end up with is a guy who sees himself as a perfectly nice fellow -- and who is genuinely disconnected from the impact of his decisions on people. On the few occasions when Bush does directly encounter the down-and-out, he seems to empathize. But then, in what is becoming a recurring, almost nightmare-type scenario, the minute he visits some constructive program and praises it (AmeriCorps, the Boys and Girls...