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NEW YORK - According to intelligence that has been retrieved from the computer laptop and files of Muhammed Khan of Pakistan, Al Qaeda plans to attack before the November 2 elections but new details are just now surfacing as to what the plan really looks like. The plans call for a major assassination of a high profile political figure, which most likely will be triggered by another public statement from Osama bin Laden, and that will lead to the all out attack against the U.S. homeland. It is possible that the political assassination could occur in Saudi Arabia or Yemen...

NEW YORK - It appears as though yet another foreign leader, (just one of several who Kerry refused to name), has chosen to endorse his candidacy. The Red Communists of China, and their official news outlet, the state run "People's Daily" formally endorsed the Democrat from Massachusetts for the race of President of the United States. The communist newspaper said in its endorsement, "(Sen. Kerry)...looks squarely at China's position and influence in Asia and the world at large, and he opposes the containment of China and stands for contacts with the country."

NEW YORK - The economy has set yet another benchmark in the recovery under the present administration. U. S. manufacturing has expanded for a record 14th straight month and a new report says hiring in the factory sector is still on the increase. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity rose from 61.1 the month previous to 62.0 in July. (Any number above 50 demonstrates growth.) The index has stayed above 60 for another record - nine months. The employment sector of the index showed growth as well as the rating came in at 57.3...

Declaring that "America needs continuity in such tough and challenging times," St. Paul Minnesota Mayor Randy Kelly has joined the swelling ranks of elected Democrat officials and is backing Republican President George W. Bush for re-election. "The President and I do not agree on a lot of issues, but in turbulent times what the American people need more than anything is continuity of government even with some imperfect policies," said Mayor Kelly. Kelly follows the lead of former two term governor from the state of Georgia, United States Senator Zell Miller. Miller appeared on "Meet The Press" on Sunday declaring...

CAPTION CONTEST FOR THE STUPID CORNY KERRY SALUTE!

NEW YORK - Thousands gathered at New York City hall park yesterday to renew their marriage vows and make a pro-active and positive statement that marriage is a sacred covenant between a man and a woman. The effort brought together the largest coalition of churches in New York ever in support of a single matter. The Church of God In Christ, a predominantly black denomination, CONLICO - the largest coalition of hispanic churches in NYC, and the City Covenant Coaliton all combined forces and efforts to get out the message - marriage is sacred, and God designed it as a...

EDITORIAL - For the last 120 days we have talked about the need to send a message of support for the institution of marriage as it has been defined from the beginning of civilization. The day has arrived and the time to act is here. Today at City Hall Park in downtown NYC. You are invited to come and renew your marriage vows. Marriage by definition is a sacred covenant between one man and one woman. This ceremony today is extremely significant to this regard. Significant in size and scope. Today unified African American churches from the COGIC denomination (Church...

I have created a public register of "bump lists" here on Free Republic. I define a bump list as a name listed in the "To" field used to index articles. Free Republic Bump List Register

Maytag recently announced that it's moving its Galesburg, Ill., production facility to Mexico. A group called Americans Against NAFTA has protested Maytag's decision. Spokesman Russ Anderson said, "We want to spread the word of what we believe Maytag is doing and the destructive effects it will have on Galesburg and the surrounding area. We want to tell everyone that we don't think it's right to put 1,600-plus people out of work for the sake of corporate greed." This is a typical plea against more liberalized international trade agreements, and if we followed it our nation would have less wealth. Let's...

My recent column "From Whence Comes Income" sparked considerable favorable reader response, not to mention thoughtful reader correction of my grammar error in the title: "From Whence" is redundant. Quite a few readers were a bit confused about my assertion that market allocation of goods and services are infinitely more moral than the alternative. The first principle of a free society is that each person owns himself. You are your private property, and I am mine. Most Americans probably accept that first principle. Those who disagree are obliged to inform the rest of us just who owns us, at least...

Here's part of a letter from a reader: "A hard-working, conscientious person can earn $10,000 a year in a fast-food restaurant. At the same time, movie stars and athletes, who make very little contribution to society, can earn in excess of $10,000,000 a year. A baseball player earns more with every swing of the bat than many people do in a year." The reader's inference is that there's something unfair about income differences of such magnitude. It also reflects ignorance about the sources of income in a free society; that's music to the ears of political demagogues with an insatiable...

<p>There's considerable unnecessary confusion and debate on public policy issues that would be more intelligently discussed and resolved if we'd say what is actually meant rather than using euphemistic disguises.</p> <p>The Grutter and Gratz vs. Bollinger cases before the United States Supreme challenge the University of Michigan's use of racial preferences for undergraduate and law school admissions.</p>

The March 10 issue of Human Events carried a special report on the 10 most outrageous government programs. Their 18 judges included conservative/libertarians such as former Rep. Dick Armey, R-Texas, former Delaware Gov. Pete Dupont, Mark Levin, president of the Landmark Legal Foundation, and David Boaz, Cato Institute's vice president. The Legal Services Corp. headed the list, followed closely by the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act and the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931. Rounding out the list were: Americorps, Endangered Species Act, No Child Left Behind Act, Amtrak, Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards, Title X Family Planning Act, and the...

Early March, Mrs. Williams and I abandoned the snow and the cold to vacation in Panama City, Fla. We savored the hospitality of our many friends, not to mention several fresh fish dinners served at Captain Anderson's restaurant and at the homes of our friends. Commanding Officer Capt. Fred Stutt invited my friends Greg Brudnicki, Les Brackett and me to a VIP tour of the Coastal Systems Station. Coastal Systems Station is one of the U.S. Navy's major research, development, test and evaluation laboratories. Among its facilities is the Ocean Simulation Facility – a massive hyperbaric chamber capable of simulating...

We've all seen gasoline prices rising – is that good news or bad news? Congress could enact price controls and "odd and even" days for gasoline purchases like they did in the 1970s. Sure, we'd be paying lower prices, but the selling price of a good is just one element of its cost. The full cost of a good includes all additional resources expended for its acquisition. These additional resources might include time and travel that are by no means free. Say that Congress legislates gasoline price controls that sets a maximum price of $1 a gallon. As sure as...

There's a little-known law called the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931. It remains on the books today. Before saying what the law is and its effects, let me run by you some of the language used, in the early 1930s, to push the law through Congress. Rep. John Cochran of Missouri said he had "received numerous complaints in recent months about Southern contractors employing low-paid colored mechanics getting work and bringing the employees from the South." Alabama Rep. Clayton Allgood complained: "Reference has been made to a contractor from Alabama who went to New York with bootleg labor. This is a...

We're often confronted by the enigma of decent people professing identical goals but advocating polar opposite policies. Sometimes the political alignment is seen as conservative vs. liberal where, for example, conservatives fight against minimum wage increases and liberals support those increases. The enigma is: Why is it that two groups of people, professing concern for low-skilled workers, advocate vastly differing means to help them? I think that part of the answer lies in differing visions of how the world works; but that answer only applies to honest people who don't have a self-interested hidden agenda. Consider what might have been...

<p>If you're a poor adult in America, for the most part, it's all your fault. That's true, at least today, whether you're black, white, brown or polka dot.</p> <p>According to the definition the U.S. Bureau of Census uses, a family of four with an income of more than $18,244 is not poor. The poverty cutoff for a single-person household is $9,359, and that for a two-person household is $12,000. With those definitions, the poverty rate was 11.7 percent, or about 33 million Americans living in poverty in 2001.</p>

If you're a poor adult in America, for the most part, it's all your fault. That's true, at least today, whether you're black, white, brown or polka dot. According to the definition the U.S. Bureau of Census uses, a family of four with an income over $18,244 is not poor. The poverty cutoff for a single-person household is $9,359, and that for a two-person household is $12,000. With those definitions, the poverty rate was 11.7 percent, or about 33 million Americans living in poverty in 2001. The greatest percentage of poverty is found in female-headed households. Over 70 percent of...

Aversion therapy is sometimes used when there are associated behavior patterns that are pleasant but might be regarded by a third party as undesirable. For example, alcoholics love consuming large amounts of alcohol. Aversion therapy involves associating alcohol consumption with a very unpleasant stimulus. One method is to require the alcoholic to take a sip of whiskey having first taken a nausea-inducing drug. Sipping the whiskey is followed immediately by violent vomiting. In future, just the smell of alcohol produces the unpleasant memory of vomiting – and hopefully the patient will stop drinking. Aversion therapy is used in the treatment...