Free Republic

A poor substitute for the usual thread.

Olympia Snowe has sold out the country. Having been banished to our world after Asland chased her out of Narnia, Snowe is intent on corrupting this place too. So we should melt her. What melts snow? Rock salt. I’m going to ship this 5 pound bag of rock salt to her office in Maine. It’s only $3.00. You should join me. It is a visible demonstration of our contempt for her. First she votes for the stimulus. Now this. It’s time to melt Snowe. ORDER YOUR BAG HERE. The mailing address is: 3 Canal Plaza Suite 601 Portland, ME 04101...

Obama and Public Debate George Joyce At a town hall meeting in Chester, Va. back in August last year candidate Obama had this to say about the important value of public debate regarding health care: "People say, 'Well, you have this great health care plan, but how are you going to pass it? You know, it failed in '93,' And what I've said is, I'm going to have all the negotiations around a big table. We'll have doctors and nurses and hospital administrators. Insurance companies, drug companies — they'll get a seat at the table, they just won't be able...

Senator Jim Inhofe, one of the few elected officials who uses the sense God gave him, will introduce an amendment late today or tomorrow that will prohibit bringing detainees at the Guantanomo Bay prison to the United States. He has a petition he would like people to sign that he would like to present along with that amendment. It is here. Please look to the left for the Sign Petition Here button. http://inhofe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=85a9de00-802a-23ad-46ac-a02dc0ebb8b8 I hope we can help him out.

For early rising FReepers who want to check in with what they are hearing, or anything else.

Morning Talk Shows renewed thread because the old one seems lost.

This is a revival of the weekly moring talk show thread at least for the duration of the election. I am using the old ping list. If you do not want to be included, send me a private mail and I will remove you. Good morning!

Fox News is announcing that Tony Snow has died. Heartbreaking news.

Spitting on the Marines [Michael Ledeen] Here is an e-mail from a Marine chaplain recently returned from Iraq. The story speaks for itself—lousy treatment of our troops at our own airports. He writes about Oakland, and while checking around I find that this is a common experience. I hope that one of our leaders will find a way to put an end to such behavior. Marines and Soldiers Returning from Iraq not allowed into Oakland terminal On September 27th 204 Marines and soldiers who were returning from Iraq were not allowed into the passenger terminal at Oakland International Airport. Instead...

Thread 5 Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, our nation has fought a global war against violent extremists who use terrorism as their weapon of choice, and who seek to destroy our free way of life. Our enemies seek weapons of mass destruction and, if they are successful, will likely attempt to use them in their conflict with free people everywhere. Currently, the struggle is centered in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we will need to be prepared and arranged to successfully defend our nation and its interests around the globe for years to come. DOD Our enemies include all...

Pius XII, the wartime pontiff often condemned as "Hitler's Pope", was actually considered an enemy by the Third Reich, according to newly discovered documents. Several letters and memos unearthed at a depot used by the Stasi, the East-German secret police, show that Nazi spies within the Vatican were concerned at Pius's efforts to help displaced Poles and Jews. In one, the head of Berlin's police force tells Joachim von Ribbentropp, the Third Reich's foreign minister, that the Catholic Church was providing assistance to Jews "both in terms of people and financially". A report from a spy at work in the...

Zimbabwe’s neighbours fell in behind the brutal regime of Robert Mugabe yesterday and demanded that the West lift all sanctions on his country. With opposition growing at home and a crumbling economy, pressure was mounting on the heads of surrounding states to urge their friend and comrade to reconsider his position. But in a communiqué issued at the end of what was billed as a make-or-break summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), 14 leaders reaffirmed their solidarity with the veteran President of Zimbabwe. Their words will come as a crushing blow to campaigners who believed the tide to...

Tony's doctors have detected a growth of some kind. He will have surgery on Monday. They are not saying that this is or is not cancer. Please be so kind as to offer your prayers, your support for this good man.

Presser on-going now.

Judge Walton, at the end of yesterday's "festivities" culminating in the mental breakdown of the lead prosecutor, indicated that they would resume at 9:30 Eastern. In anticipation of that, I am setting up this thread even though I don't as yet see any FDLers gathered in the court room.

The Bottom Line By Christy Hardin Smith @ 5:00 am Summations in the Libby trial will begin today, and hopefully conclude, although you can never be sure of that in a trial that has defense counsel asking for four hours and having that whittled down to three by the presiding judge. (And with pending motions from both sides requesting additional time for arguments that were filed over the weekend, I'm thinking we are not likely to finish today.) This morning, Jane, Pach, and I will be sitting in the courtroom to watch the closings, and Emptywheel will be manning the...

"There are certain themes and classic techniques that the Defense bar takes advantage of at Summation. Some call them old chestnuts. Some treat them like the works of Shakespeare. Among the themes you will usually hear from the Defense is often a discussion of reasonable doubt. The usual jury charge judges give says something along the lines of “beyond a reasonable doubt is not beyond all doubt. It is the level of certainty you would use in making a serious decision in your own life; buying a house, choosing a job, planning an education.” The Defense’s job is to confuse...