Free Republic

RelatedCRESTON, Iowa — Rick Perry began his final push in the Iowa Republican caucuses Tuesday by sharpening his claim to be the sort of leader the country badly needs, and which his rivals decidedly are not. “You need to ask yourself: If we replace the Democrat insider with a Republican insider, is that going to change Washington, D.C.? No, it’s not,” he told 150 or so Iowans crammed into a coffee shop a week ahead of caucuses likely to winnow the presidential field. “I will go to Washington to be an anti-establishment outsider.” At one stop after another, he jabbed...

<p>Editorial: You just thought Arizona was anti-immigrant Let’s check in on the virtual fence, over in Arizona, to see how this high-tech solution to our porous border is delivering on its promise. If the goal along our southern flank is to secure every inch, then electronic eyes posted along the 1,900-mile frontier are in our future.</p>

OSCEOLA, Iowa — Paula McClaflin left Sunday service at Calvary Bible Church still undecided about the Republican contest for president, even though she had just mingled with candidate Michele Bachmann. “She’s got a great personality,” McClaflin said. “But I need to hear from the others.” She’s not alone. With about two months before the Iowa caucuses, the first leg of the GOP presidential contest, the race is up for grabs. A new poll by the Des Moines Register had businessman Herman Cain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in a statistical dead heat, the choice of 23 percent and 22...

— Rick Perry gave an odd speech in New Hampshire. Then again, it was oddly Rick Perry. The video of his speech Friday to a conservative Christian group has gone viral — not as viral as Mark Block pitching his boss Herman Cain while smoking a cigarette, but then, Perry doesn’t smoke. The Perry video, however, has spawned similar amounts of interest. Perry begins the speech with a riff about how much he loves the motto of New Hampshire: “This is such a cool state, I mean, c’mon: Live Free or Die. You gotta love that, right?” Understand that this...

Over his 10 years in office, Rick Perry has picked more Texas Supreme Court justices than any other governor, and if he wins the White House, his choices could be a clue about what kind of justices he would nominate in Washington. While Perry has been praised even by his critics for bringing diversity to the state’s highest civil court, critics say the governor leaned heavily on conservative, business-friendly ideology and gave too little consideration to judicial qualifications. Texas high-court judges are elected, but the governor fills vacancies when sitting justices step down, so six of the nine current justices...

My daughter encountered a coyote while walking her four month old Golden Retriever puppy yesterday. She was walking on a trail near her home by Grapevine Lake. She was unable to scare the coyote by yelling and had to call for assistance from another hiker. She is small and her puppy is small. What's a good defense against a coyote?

Never thought I'd see a Doonesbury comic like this. Disillusionment, anyone?

Did someone from the Obama administration sent out a directive requesting that people post something on forums like Facebook about healthcare. Two different people make the exact same post on my Facebook page. It was: No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day and do something useful, like writing or calling your representatives.4 hours ago · Comment · Like / Unlike

Holy Stewardship A statement from the Office of the Presiding Bishop concerning actions in Fort Worth on April 14, 2009 The Episcopal Church, with the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and the Corporation of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, filed in court today for a declaratory judgment as the rightful owners of all diocesan property, real and personal, including funds and endowments. We feel sorrow that the former diocesan leaders took such actions that led us to this time. However, this is a necessary step in order for the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, comprised of Episcopalians of the...

It is not the fault of Jenna or Barbara Bush that their father, the president, has gotten us into a war that he doesn't know how to get us out of. And, although you can blame parents for almost anything, George W. and Laura Bush are no longer responsible for the behavior of their twin daughters, who are in their mid-20s. Presidents, like the rest of us, don't get to choose their relatives. Remember Billy Carter? Anyway, Jenna and Barbara are far from George W. Bush's biggest familial problem. The law of averages has given him at least one ne'er-do-well...

Garrison Keillor must have come to Dallas itching for a fight. He must have come here expecting – even intending – to have his worst expectations confirmed. There's no other explanation for the deeply insulting remarks he directs in a syndicated opinion column at the fans who went to Highland Park United Methodist Church last week to hear him speak. An adoring crowd could not have been rewarded with more contempt if they had gone to see the Sex Pistols.

Dear Pauline and Rob: What do you think about President Bush's use of profanity at the Group of Eight summit? Embarrassed Dear Embarrassed: Profanity surely has its place; locking your finger in the car door is a #%**#! of an example. The business place – and that's what the G-8 summit is for the president – is not such a place. Profanity in the workplace is offensive to all but the speaker and potentially career-threatening. It reflects poorly on the speaker, even as the speaker believes the reverse is true. Our rule of thumb is to always communicate at work...

Yadira Ortiz's hand almost seemed beyond saving. Dr. David J. Zehr led the effort to reattach Yadira Ortiz's crushed hand, a complex task he likened to 'a puzzle.' Two weeks ago, Yadira and three other students from Spruce High School were rushing to an immigration rally when their Ford Expedition, with an unlicensed 15-year-old at the wheel, flipped over. Yadira's right hand was crushed between the road and the side of the sliding SUV.

Heaven help me, with all the talk about the George W. Bush Presidential Library, a question keeps coming to mind: What's it going to have? Coloring books? Now, don't get all defensive on me. We can tease because he's one of us, right? And you have to admit: There's something ironic about building a library for a guy who has never been in one. Oh, maybe not "never." He did marry a librarian. There may have been some "research" in the stacks back in the day. Go ahead, add the rim shot. Yet here in Dallas and down in Waco,...

No political bias – none at all. So says the independent panel that CBS News asked to find out what went wrong with its infamous 60 Minutes broadcast concerning George W. Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. "The panel," says its 224-page report, "cannot conclude that a political agenda at 60 Minutes drove the ... segment." Why not? Certainly the panel could have drawn that conclusion had it uncovered "smoking gun" evidence – such as an anti-Bush or pro-John Kerry e-mail written by, say, the producer, Mary Mapes. Or if it had found evidence of an agenda in...

MILWAUKEE – For the traveling media charged with tracking John Kerry's every move, it was the rarest of events – an actual candidate sighting. Up close. For more than a month, the Democratic nominee for president has not held a news conference, preferring instead carefully staged events aimed at keeping Mr. Kerry "on message" rather than on subjects that reporters might want to talk about. So when the candidate emerged Monday night in the media section of the campaign plane, it was almost a news event. Reporters leapt from their seats and crowded around him, straining to hear over the...

Yale days shaped paths for Bush and Kerry They studied at same campus in same era, but distinctions clear 01:04 PM CDT on Saturday, May 22, 2004 By TODD J. GILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Both were big men on campus, tapped for membership in the same elite secret society. Both partied hard and had minor brushes with the law. Both were destined for high office. The Yale men vying for the presidency this year, John Kerry and George W. Bush, led parallel lives in college, at a time when Vietnam loomed and America and...

Was it racism or politics that led to man's firing? 08:26 PM CST on Saturday, February 14, 2004 By STEVE BLOW / The Dallas Morning News Something is seriously wrong here. Either I'm not hearing the full story – or racial and political sensitivities at Southwest Airlines are badly out of whack. I fear it's the latter. Jeff Bogg worked almost 16 years in Southwest's maintenance department. He was a quality-control supervisor, overseeing about 10 people. His work record is unblemished, he said. "The only thing you would find in my file is commendations." Several of his co-workers said Mr....

Steroid remarks on mark Bush right to address, since tomorrow's sports heroes are today's kids Amid a laundry list of other election-year topics, President Bush staked out a previously overlooked campaign issue in Tuesday's state of the union address. His unprecedented call for pro sports leagues to clean up their blood systems leads to several questions, namely the Democrats' dilemma: Do they come out in favor of steroids now, and if so, will clubhouses be split along party lines? Should reporters now ask Barry Bonds which candidate gets his vote? Does Howard Dean cite 'roid rage as a factor in...

Vote on gay bishop still echoes in Dallas church St. Michael rector's support of Gene Robinson puts him at odds with many of his parishioners 05:39 PM CST on Friday, January 9, 2004 By GRETEL C. KOVACH / The Dallas Morning News One Sunday not long ago, James Carry stood in the pews at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church and wondered if it would be his last day as parishioner in the church he loved. Months after the Episcopal Church elected its first openly gay bishop, St. Michael, one of the country's largest Episcopal congregations, is still struggling...