Free Republic

A large segment of the American Hispanic community has historically shared conservative Republican values, even though today many of them vote Democrat. In fact, a close look at US history demonstrates that Hispanics have traditionally been closer to conservative Republican values than to those of the Democrat Party. The GOP needs to establish a clear agenda to reach and mobilize these millions of American Hispanics who are not getting the conservative Republican message. Their presence in the party and their vote is critical and it is still today a swing vote up for grabs. Democrats should not assume that American...

Although the Stephenville, Texas, UFO sightings are getting a lot of attention now, it is only one of many, many such incidents reported by Americans and people around the world. Like the Stephenville case, other similar sightings have involved reliable witnesses such as pilots, peace officers, former military personnel and other "trained observers." Hundreds of such sightings have multiple witnesses of these kinds. In some cases, several aircraft crew members or several peace officers responding to reports observe the same thing. Incidents involving military personnel have also included multiple reliable witnesses. And of course, average people have also had these...

snip...Clinton's senior advisers have grown convinced that the media deck is stacked against them, that their candidate is drawing far harsher scrutiny than Barack Obama. And at least some journalists agree. "She's just held to a different standard in every respect," says Mark Halperin, Time's editor at large. "The press rooted for Obama to go negative, and when he did he was applauded. When she does it, it's treated as this huge violation of propriety." While Clinton's mistakes deserve full coverage, Halperin says, "the press's flaws -- wild swings, accentuating the negative -- are magnified 50 times when it comes...

Sources with knowledge of the probe at the Villages at Rippon Landing said investigators are examining why a number of townhouses in a five-block area were bought and resold quickly, for a large profit, even as the real estate market was cooling and unsold homes dotted the neighborhood. The new buyers sometimes failed to pay the mortgages, sending homes into foreclosure and hurting lenders. Renters found themselves unexpectedly forced to move.< snip >A Northern Virginia appraiser who spoke on the condition of anonymity said he approached authorities several months ago after becoming suspicious when a client told him about an...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Democrat Barack Obama said Wednesday that rival Hillary Rodham Clinton's less-than-straightforward answers in a Democratic debate raise questions about her ability to assume the presidency. "This may be smart politics by Washington's standards, but it's not what America needs right now," the first-term Illinois senator told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Chicago. "Turning the page means offering the American people a clear sense of your principles and where you'd lead." Obama complained that during Tuesday night's debate Clinton didn't provide clear answers on a number of occasions.

On the endless go-rounds about illegal immigration I wrote a while back: What if it’s all an illusion, just like the Cinco de Mayo “nationwide protests” by Hispanics was an ‘06 (election year) illusion that had nothing behind it in ‘07 (no elections). What if everyone is being played a little bit, here, being prompted to emotional reactionaryism as a means of reaching into and infecting those Americans of good-will who until the “flashpoint” and the sudden hue-and-cry couldn’t be moved to hate? Moved to grousing, yes, but never before moved to real, unadulterated hate? Illusionists are clever sorts -...

Immigration used to be a debate among Republicans. Now the issue survives mainly as a weapon. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney-- who once commented on illegal immigrants, "I don't believe in rounding up 11 million people and forcing them at gunpoint from our country" -- attacks Rudy Giuliani for not rounding up enough illegal immigrants when he was mayor of New York. Giuliani -- who once said, "If you come here and you work hard and you happen to be in an undocumented status, you're one of the people who we want in this city" -- criticizes Romney for tolerating...

Given the responses I got the last time I focused on this issue, I almost hate to bring it up…but here goes. I think Tony Snow is exactly right when he says here: “I deeply admire what [Mr. Bush] did on immigration and I think he’s right,” Mr. Snow said. “I think the policies the president outlined generally are the ones that eventually this country is going to adopt.” Let us hope so, because the alternative “solutions” out there - “let everyone in and register them all Democrat” on the left and “ship them all back to Mexico no matter...

Housing experts painted a grim picture of Los Angeles' real-estate market Tuesday as City Councilman Richard Alarcon called for city, state and federal funds to help bail out city homeowners who can't pay their mortgages. Warning that the region is embroiled in a foreclosure upheaval, Alarcon said he's also considering asking lawmakers to declare a state of emergency to direct state and federal money to counseling and loans for people about to lose their homes. "We're in a crisis. We don't need bureaucrats who are going to sit on their thumbs and not get things done. Who do we go...

HAZLETON, Pa (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday struck down as "unconstitutional" a local law designed to crack down on illegal immigration, dealing a blow to similar laws passed by dozens of towns and cities across the United States. U.S. District Judge James Munley said Hazleton, in northeastern Pennsylvania, was not entitled to implement a law that would impose fines on businesses that hire illegal immigrants and penalize landlords who rent rooms to them.

While code enforcement inspectors and city police plotted to raid an overcrowded west Frederick house early Tuesday morning, its nine residents slept. Before the surprise inspection, a woman and her four children dozed in a 10- by 12-foot bedroom. Her uncle slept in the adjacent bedroom while her nephew curled up in a crudely converted attic space. Two other men slept in the house's primitive basement apartment. A 7-year-old boy tucked into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bed roll was dreaming about playing with dogs. Later in the afternoon, the city code enforcers decided to condemn 5712 Butterfly Lane, a...

"A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control." --Proverbs 29:11 I call them "meanies," those men and women who spend their days spreading vitriol on the internet. Nameless, faceless, they lurk in the shadows of many websites and blogs, waiting for any opportunity to tear those with whom they disagree to shreds. With a toolbox full of putdowns and vulgarities, they work hard at trying to show that their opponents are not only wrong, not only stupid, but actually evil. Mean-spiritedness is not a new problem, but never before have "meanies" had...

Sales of existing homes plunged in March by the largest amount in nearly two decades, reflecting bad weather and increasing problems in the subprime mortgage market, a real estate trade group reported Tuesday. The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes fell by 8.4 percent in March, compared to February. It was the biggest one-month decline since a 12.6 percent plunge in January 1989, another period of recession conditions in housing. The fall in sales in March was bigger than had been expected and it dashed hopes that housing was beginning to mount a recovery after last...

It doesn't seem like it's been 35 years since baseball was so important to black America; it seems like another century, like the story should be illustrated in black-and-white clips. The 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson integrating baseball is tomorrow, and African American participation in what was once American's pastime has dropped to a stunning low. Only 8 percent of Major League Baseball players are African American. Historically black colleges and universities field teams that are often one-third to one-half white and Hispanic because African American children have no interest in playing the sport their fathers and grandfathers would play...

BOYDS -- A mother who found the bodies of her two children hanged in the woods Tuesday off Barnesville Road told their father about two weeks ago she wanted to end their relationship, according to Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger. The bodies were found after the children's mother received a call from the father, Gerardo Roque, who was apparently distraught over their relationship, police said. Roque, 35, threatened to harm the children and told the mother where she could find them, police said. "She found all three of them hanging," Manger said. "She got her children down. Officers were...

For a couple of days now, the site has been crawling. It doesn't matter if I am logged in at my office or home.My cable internet service is like having dialup.It's going to be hell for the LIVE American Idol threads..and it was not fun on last night's 24 thread.

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, in one of his harshest attacks on the United States in seven years in power, accused Washington on Saturday of attempting to force its will on the world. The White House said it was "surprised and disappointed" by Putin's accusations but added Washington expected to continue to work with Moscow in areas such as counter-terrorism and reducing the spread and threat of weapons of mass destruction. In a speech in Germany, which one U.S. senator said smacked of Cold War rhetoric, Putin accused the United States of making the world a more...

BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton should tap into her feminine side and wear dresses and skirts instead of trousers, fashion designer Donatella Versace was quoted as saying on Thursday. "I can understand (trousers) are comfortable but she's a woman and she is allowed to show that," Versace told Germany's weekly newspaper Die Zeit in an interview.

As county officials are considering where to locate the latest employment center for day laborers, the new county executive is talking about loaning money to the workers so they can open their own businesses. Montgomery County began funding day-laborer centers as a solution for immigrant workers more than 10 years ago, and County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) believes it is time to expand the thinking. He wants to move away from relying solely on the centers to address the employment needs of a growing number of day laborers.

...Baseball fans thirsty for a good pennant race, a legit battle among potential world champions, should keep their eyes glued to the AL Central this September. Three of the five best teams in baseball are duking it out for two spots. Actually, no need to wait until September. The final leg of the race begins Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, where the team with the best record in baseball, the Detroit Tigers, takes on the playoff-bound Yanks in the first of a three-game set. Next into the Bronx? The Minnesota Twins, who have baseball's best record since June 10 (49-20) and...