Free Republic

As the president-elect has repeatedly made clear, his first full day in office will be a busy one. He has promised to effect a wide array of changes. But what about his second day? If he has some free time, we have some suggestions. As the threat from international terror groups and homegrown radicalization increases, clamping down on domestic Islamist networks should be a priority. In particular: terror financing. Under the Obama administration, the federal government appeared to ease up on prosecutions of American Islamist charities linked to terror. This was a marked change from the years after 9/11, when...

The reason the country is uneasy is a distinct sense of not just incompetence but incomprehension. CIA interrogators will face a special prosecutor, and Khalid Sheik Mohammed will bask in a civilian trial in New York. Obama banishes the term "war on terror." Obama may have declared the war over. Unfortunately al-Qaeda has not. More jarring still were Obama's references to the terrorist as a "suspect" who "allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device." You can hear the echo of FDR: "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- Japanese naval and air force suspects...

The student newspaper at the University of Virginia published a cartoon mocking Christians and Christianity after determining it met its own "criteria" at The Cavalier Daily, but later jerked it and has been backpedaling ever since. The illustration – and another earlier cartoon – were the subject of an alert from the American Family Association, which urged readers to take advantage of a special website procedure it set up to send an e-mail to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, with a copy to Daniel LaVista, the executive director of the state Council of Higher Education for Virginia. "Last week, the University...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani said Friday that he misspoke when he said he spent as much time, if not more, at ground zero exposed to the same health risks as workers combing the site after the Sept. 11 attacks. "I think I could have said it better," he told nationally syndicated radio host Mike Gallagher. "You know, what I was saying was, 'I'm there with you.'" The former New York mayor struck a nerve with firefighters and police officers when he said Thursday in Cincinnati that he was at ground zero "as often, if not more,...

Giuliani: I Misspoke About Ground ZeroAug 10 04:07 PM US/EasternBy LIBBY QUAIDAssociated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani said Friday that he misspoke when he said he spent as much time, if not more, at ground zero exposed to the same health risks as workers combing the site after the Sept. 11 attacks. "I think I could have said it better," he told nationally syndicated radio host Mike Gallagher. "You know, what I was saying was, 'I'm there with you.'" The former New York mayor struck a nerve with firefighters and police officers when he said...

Calling Rudy Giuliani unqualified to lead, the city's firefighter union is vowing to try to torpedo the former mayor's bid for the presidency. Uniformed Firefighters Association president Steve Cassidy told The Post that if the Republican front-runner starts to get "real traction, we will go after him."

Today's the big day--all the GMs sign the best UFAs to their teams. So far Briere has signed with the Flyers (see my rant about that below), the Wings were negociating with Hasek, the Preds re-signed Nichols, the Bruins got Fernandez, the Ducks got Schneider (they are REALLY stacked now), Buffalo signed Mair, and more. Here's the free-agent signing tracker: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=4965

Here’s an unwelcome birthday gift for Rudy Giuliani, as he travels around the city raising money: protests from fire fighters and family members of September 11th victims. They've shown up in the past at Giuliani's presidential events. Today, they’re gathering in Bay Ridge, and they have plans to follow him nationwide starting sometime around January, according to Jim Riches, a deputy chief with the fire department whose son was killed in the World Trade Center attacks. “We have all the UFA, the UFOA, and the fire members are all behind us -- the International Association of Fire Fighters,” said Riches....

The controversy surrounding the World Trade Center memorial is growing, with one of the city's fire unions effectively withdrawing its support from the 9/11 Memorial Foundation. At issue is the International Freedom Center planned for the site. Victims' families and the Uniformed Firefighters Association say it won't focus exclusively on the attacks, and some fear certain exhibits could be anti-American. “To talk about a Freedom Center is offensive,” UFA President Stephen Cassidy said Wednesday. “It's offensive to the victims, it's offensive to the victims families, it will bring no peace to anyone who goes there, and we don't want it...

The Uniformed Firefighters Association's decision yesterday to withdraw support for the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, citing two controversial museums proposed there, may have ended the threat of institutionalized activism at Ground Zero. Good for the UFA. The union's "membership and our 9/11 families believe that the memorial design will take away from the memory and sacrifice of the firefighters who bravely gave their lives during the most horrific terrorist attacks our country has had to face," UFA President Steve Cassidy said. Good for Steve Cassidy. It's going to be especially hard now for the International Freedom Center and the...

September 2, 2004 -- THE first lady walked in, and the room erupted. Then the president walked in, and more than 100 New York City firefighters — everybody in the room wearing a dark blue polo/golf shirt with "NYC firefighters UFA Bush-Cheney '04" and the seal of the Fire Department — broke into the chant, "four more years." My lifelong pal Jimmy Boyle walked in with President Bush, along with UFA President Steve Cassidy, plus Karen Hughes, Condi Rice and many more. I was already inside, along with Gov. Pataki and Rep. Vito Fossella. When the president got to me,...

September 2, 2004 -- THE first lady walked in, and the room erupted. Then the president walked in, and more than 100 New York City firefighters, everybody in the room wearing a dark blue polo/golf shirt with "NYC firefighters UFA Bush-Cheney '04" and the seal of the Fire Department, broke into the chant, "four more years." My lifelong pal Jimmy Boyle walked in with President Bush, along with UFA President Steve Cassidy, plus Karen Hughes, Condi Rice and many more. I was already inside, along with Gov. Pataki and Rep. Vito Fossella. When the president got to me, he grabbed...

NEW YORK — President Bush arrived at the Republican National Convention last night after being endorsed by New York firefighters who praised his handling of the September 11 terrorist attacks.     "Your leadership and compassion sustained us during our darkest hour," said Stephen J. Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York.     "Your post-September 11th policies have strengthened our nation by taking the war to the terrorists," added Mr. Cassidy, who hosted the president at an Italian social club in Queens.

Bush Reaches City, Accepting Firefighters' Endorsement in QueensBy ELISABETH BUMILLERPublished: September 2, 2004 resident Bush swept into New York for the Republican convention last night through the modest portal of a community center in Queens, where he met with more than 100 New York City firefighters who have come to symbolize the Sept. 11 attacks that defined his presidency.The firefighters shouted "Four more years'' when Mr. Bush arrived with his wife, Laura, and Gov. George E. Pataki at the Italian Charities of America Hall on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst. There Mr. Bush was endorsed by New York City's main firefighters'...

Bush Gets Endorsement of NYC Firefighters Bush Touts Endorsement of New York Firefighters Union, on His Way to Republican Convention The Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio Sept. 1, 2004 — President Bush drew the endorsement of a New York City firefighters union Wednesday, a reminder to voters of the Sept. 11 attacks that he has made a centerpiece of his re-election campaign. After a quick stop for a campaign rally in Ohio, his 23rd visit to the state, Bush was headed for New York City where he will accept the Republican presidential nomination Thursday night. First, he was collecting the endorsement...

ARLINGTON, VA - The Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, which represents 20,000 active and retired firefighters, yesterday endorsed President George W. Bush's reelection as President of the United States. In a letter of endorsement to President Bush yesterday, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York President Stephen J. Cassidy said, "There are many issues in which we share common ground. During the attack on our nation on September 11, 2001, your leadership and compassion sustained us during our darkest hour. "Your post September 11th policies have strengthened our nation by taking the war to the terrorists. Additionally your...

NEW YORK (AP) The union representing the city's 8,600 firefighters will endorse President Bush Wednesday night at a social club in Queens, bolstering the Bush campaign's efforts to focus the nation's attention on the president's leadership following the Sept. 11 attacks.Uniformed Firefighters Association president Steve Cassidy said he will announce the union's endorsement as he stands beside Bush at the Italian Charities of America hall in Elmhurst. Cassidy and Bush will share a meal of pizza and sodas with about 100 firefighters and watch Vice President Dick Cheney's address to the Republican National Convention, Cassidy said.``The reason we're supporting President...