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Border Militia: We'll Shut Down the Border with Machine Guns Casey Nethercott is the leader of a militia group dubbed the Arizona Guard and said during a TV interview broadcast on Friday, "When this Minuteman thing is over, if it doesn't work, we're going to come out here and close the border with machine guns." KVOA TV-4 in Tucson carried a report on Friday by reporter Nancy Perla that toured the group's compound that sits along the Arizona/Mexico border near Douglas, Arizona. The camera showed two older model American made SUV's, both painted black, that Nethercott claims are "armored vehicles"...

Though the legal wrangling in the Terri Schiavo case has been loud and contentious, the brain-damaged woman's physical response to having her feeding tube removed is likely to be very serene. "The process of starving to death seems very barbaric but in actuality is very peaceful," said Dr. Fred Mirarchi, assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. "The patient's experience is really pretty benign," said Dr. Joanne Lynn, a hospice physician associated with Americans for Better Care of the Dying, a group working for improved end-of-life care. "Overwhelmingly, what will happen is nothing."...

TUCSON, Ariz. - A civilian group's plan to have volunteers near the border observe and report illegal immigrants and smuggling activity to the Border Patrol represents "the recipe for a tragedy," a top agency official in Arizona says. "They were recruiting by saying, 'Let's go help the Border Patrol,' and I think some people could be sucked in, not knowing that that's not the kind of help the Border Patrol is asking for," said Michael Nicley, head of the agency's Tucson sector. The sector covers nearly all the Arizona-Mexico border, the busiest illegal entry point along the country's southern frontier....

Saving Private Ryan was no problem for Tom Sizemore. Saving himself from the slammer could prove to be more of a challenge. The legally challenged thesp, on probation for abusing his ex-girlfriend Heidi Fleiss, landed behind bars Thursday at a scheduled hearing after a probation officer reported to the judge that Sizemore had failed a Feb. 1 drug test. Judge Antonio Barreto Jr. informed Sizemore that his "drug use is out of control" and ordered him jailed. His bail was set at $25,000. "I had hoped and wanted to see a positive performance," Barreto said. Sizemore had been granted permission...

Join us for Free Republic's OfficialSeason III Premiere thread of  "The Apprentice" Thursdays, 9pm EST on NBCThis Season: Book Smarts versus Street Smarts  

<p>She is dizzy, almost wobbly. Her head aches, her coughing won't stop, and because she doesn't have enough money she has not filled her four prescriptions nor seen a doctor recently.</p> <p>But that doesn't stop her.</p> <p>Soon it will be midnight, and Ipifania Dominguez will be back at work cleaning up blood, bone and fat in the world's largest pork slaughterhouse. She'll be back in the "head room," as she calls it, where meat is cut from pigs' heads.</p>

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- John Kerry has wired $250,000 in unspent campaign funds to help Democrats pay for a second recount in the election for Washington state governor, party officials say. The donation Wednesday about doubled the available funds but the party still has no more than half the $1 million or more required to pay for a hand recount of all 2.9 million ballots, chairman Paul Berendt said. "John Kerry really came to our rescue," Berendt said, "but our ability to pay for a statewide recount is still subject to money which is not in... "We are working to move...

Imagine being awakened (or wakening your favorite liberal) the day after Thanksgiving by a phone call from Star Wars' Darth Vader, reminding you to get your butt out of bed and head to Target. Target Stores - the same bunch that kicked out the Salvation Army this year - is offering its customers a prerecorded wake-up call the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. They figure it will get more people up and out to their store to shop for Christmas presents. Hardcore shoppers - or just annoyed liberals can be jolted awake by a rooster crowing, or a crying baby,...

IMPORTANT- New education benefit for Activated Reservists -- H.R 4200 authorizing the creation of a new education benefit was signed into law on October 28, 2004. The new benefit, Chapter 1607, makes certain individuals who were activated after September 11, 2001 either eligible for education benefits or eligible for increased benefits. The Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and VA are working on an implementation plan for this new benefit and at this time we are unable to provide more than general information about chapter 1607. The VA asks that you please be patient as they work...

GRAND RAPIDS -- Mark DeHaan remembers a letter from a voter saying she could never support him because his party was pro-choice. That frustrated DeHaan, who was running for Kent County treasurer as a anti-abortion Democrat. Now, he supports a group being formed within the Kent County Democratic Party with a goal of expanding the party's reach to non-traditional Democratic voters. "This type of organization could get more of a message out that there are more pro-life Democrats, get different ideas out there, project a different image," said DeHaan, who is on the party's executive committee. "This club could be...

Washington — The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is fighting a proposal being pushed by Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond that would discourage get-out-the-vote efforts in public housing projects. Bond and the proposal's main backer, GOP Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, said it seeks to prevent a repeat of an incident at a public housing project in California in 2002. In that incident, an AFL-CIO affiliate that used a $50,000 HUD grant to conduct get-out-the-vote efforts in public housing projects in San Francisco reportedly targeted only likely Democrats. Bond said Congress has provided $3 billion under the Help...

It is with a mixture of profound sadness and fond memories that we mark the passing of Richard H. Headlee, a giant of Michigan political history. Every state citizen who believes in limited, responsible and accountable government mourns the loss of a genuine hero. He passed away early Tuesday morning. Dick Headlee was a man of character — honest, dependable and committed to the highest standards of speech and conduct. Integrity was the quiet subtext of everything he did. Dick treated his friends like family. He looked for the best in everyone, and when he found it, he was generous...

Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall On Beacon Street, 3rd Floor Boston, MA 02108 Dear Justice Marshall: On behalf of the American Conservative Union, its Board of Directors and ACU’s one million members permit me to offer our heartiest congratulations and thanks for almost single-handedly making possible President George W. Bush’s historic election victory. In considering the innumerable Americans who labored so hard and so long to achieve this singular electoral result – from Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman to the legions of Republican volunteers – it appears self-evident that your alone deserve the lion’s share of the credit for this...

The day after the election, Slate's political writers tackled the question of why the Democratic Party—which has now lost five of the past seven presidential elections and solidified its minority status in Congress—keeps losing elections. Chris Suellentrop says that John Kerry was too nuanced and technocratic, while George W. Bush offered a vision of expanding freedom around the world. William Saletan argues that Democratic candidates won't win until they again cast their policies the way Bill Clinton did, in terms of values and moral responsibility. Timothy Noah contends that none of the familiar advice to the party—move right, move left,...

Interested in becoming president this year? If so, hope for an electoral college tie. With an unlikely, but plausible, perfect tie -- 269 electoral votes for both George W. Bush and John Kerry -- anyone meeting the Constitutional qualifications for president could end up president. Here's how. Most people know the electoral college, and not popular vote, decides presidential elections. Many people also know that if no one gets a majority of electoral college votes the Constitution directs the House of Representatives to choose the President. This has happened twice (not counting 1876, a technically different situation) -- in the...

So I said to myself, "Self, is the Ol' Ball Coach coming back to Gainesville?'' Well, on the one hand, yes. On the other hand, maybe not. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems at first blush. If it was, Steve Spurrier would have a Super Bowl ring by now and defensive coordinators around the NFL would be trying to figure out how to defend the deep fade. On the one hand, the man is a Gator. He is more a Gator than people who paint themselves orange and blue and get drunk at 7:30 on Saturday morning outside...

Apprentice Ping for tonight. Apparently there is suppose to be some good fireworks in the board room

Mr. Fieger announced that he would donate $2500.00 as a prize in an essay contest. The contest is for High School Seniors to write an essay about the Michigan Film writer, Michael Moore’s movie “Fahrenheit 9/11". Discussion further around the table about this contest being used through a State office. Further discussion on the rules of the contest. Mr. Fieger pointed out that this movie promotes Michigan in the film and to promote film makers to Michigan and hopefully private funding. Discussion on the issue of private funding. Funding to come from corporate contributions and individual contributions.

As polls show he is at a real risk to lose the election, South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle has issued an urgent call for American Indians in the state to vote for him, stressing the fact that early voting laws mean anyone can file a ballot between now and election day. "Voters in Indian Country will once again have the chance to help determine who controls the White House and the United States Senate," Daschle said. "The new early voting offices make participating in this important election easier than ever before." New early voting offices are now open in Pine...