Free Republic

The conservative Web site RedState today has posted an e-mail sent to the Republican National Committee by CBS News employee Vincent Cammisa, a tape archivist at the network. Under the subject head reading, “Perverted Internship Program,” the e-mail reads: Please send me information on how I can become an intern for some perverted, phony family-values Congressman. I know there's no shortage of Republican hypocrites on the Hill, so please rush me the info ASAP. And don't forget to keep covering-up your dirty little secrets, it makes great fodder for your enemies. I asked Linda Mason, senior vice president for standards...

Former presidential candidate and vice president Al Gore has recently signed a deal for his next book, the Washington Post reported yesterday. The Assault on Reason is expected to be published in May from Penguin Press. According to editor Scott Moyers, the book is about how “the public arena has grown more hostile to reason,” and how society’s “unwillingness to let facts drive decisions” impedes problem-solving in political and environmental concerns, the Post reported. The Post said that, despite previously saying he has no plans to run for president in 2008, Gore’s timing of the upcoming book brings up the...

WASHINGTON - President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should speak publicly about their involvement in the CIA leak case so people can understand what happened, a leading Republican senator said Sunday. "We ought to get to the bottom of it so it can be evaluated, again, by the American people," said Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In a federal court filing last week, the prosecutor in the case said Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, testified before a grand jury that he was authorized by Bush, through Cheney, to leak information...

LONDON - Gene Pitney, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame whose hits included "Town Without Pity" and "Only Love Can Break a Heart," died Wednesday at a hotel in Wales after playing a show, his agent said. He was 65. Pitney was found dead in his hotel room in Cardiff, Wales. Police said the death did not appear suspicious. "We don't have a cause of death at the moment but looks like it was a very peaceful passing," said Pitney's tour manager, James Kelly. "He was found fully clothed, on his back, as if he had...

SMITHFIELD, N.C. (AP) - The Smithfield Post Office is now the Ava Gardner Post Office. President Bush signed legislation Monday to rename the post office in honor of the Oscar-nominated actress, who grew up in Johnston County. "Ava Gardner was a small-town girl who became a big-time celebrity," said Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., who sponsored the bill to rename the post office. "She represents the can-do attitude and patriotism of the people of Smithfield and Johnston County," Etheridge said. Gardner was nominated for a best-actress Oscar for 1953's "Mogambo." Her films also include "The Night of the Iguana" and "On...

NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans is better prepared for the upcoming hurricane season because of stronger flood walls and better evacuation plans after Hurricane Katrina, Mayor Ray Nagin said in an interview Tuesday. "We should be able to sustain another Katrina," the mayor said. "If a Category 5 hits us, probably the city will be gone and the levees will still be standing. The work they're doing is just incredible," Nagin said of ongoing work by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps, which designed and built the city's levees, has been heavily criticized by residents who note the...

NEW YORK - Paul Tagliabue is retiring as NFL commissioner in July after more than 16 years on the job. The 65-year-old commissioner has led the league since 1989, when he succeeded Pete Rozelle, and agreed last March to stay to complete the television and labor deals. He finally got that done 12 days ago, finishing the most arduous labor negotiations since the league and union agreed on a free agency-salary cap deal in 1992. "I believe that now is a positive time to make the transition to a new commissioner," Tagliabue said in a statement. Roger Goodell, the NFL's...

ABC is in for a "Crash" landing in the Oscar ratings. The Academy Awards were down 10 percent from last year's ceremony, based on preliminary Nielsen Media Research ratings from the nation's 55 biggest markets. If the full national ratings follow suit later Monday, this year's ceremony will likely be the second least-watched Oscars telecast behind 2003, when "Chicago" won best picture. The ceremony, where "Crash" won a surprise best picture trophy, drew a 27.1 rating and a 40 share. Each rating point is equivalent to 1.1 million homes, while the share indicates that 40 percent of the TVs in...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, on a trip geared to help his re-election prospects at home, told the U.S. Congress on Wednesday that fissures in the U.S.-European alliance over the Iraq war must be patched to spread democracy and stem terrorism. After he drew effusive praise from President George W. Bush on Tuesday, the Republican-led Congress gave Berlusconi the rare opportunity to address a joint meeting of Congress, with Bush's Cabinet in attendance. Some Democrats, however, chafed at the event. These Democrats were slow to arrive or sent aides in their place, which a House of Representatives...

In a surprisingly strong Op Ed on Friday, Ted Koppel, the former "Nightline" host who is now an occasional columnist for The New York Times, argues that when it comes right down to it, the U.S. adventure in Iraq is, as some charge, "about the oil." He likened the situation to H.L. Mencken's statement that when someone says something is "not about the money" it is indeed "about the money." The same is true in this case relating to oil. While it's wrong to say that we invaded the country to take over its oil supply, Koppel writes in the...

JACKSON, Miss. - Republican Gov. Haley Barbour said Tuesday he will not run for president in 2008 because he is too busy with Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. Instead, Barbour, 58, said he intends to seek a second term as governor in 2007. "There's no way I could run for president and do what I've got to do as governor. And, obviously, being governor comes first," said the former GOP national chairman, responding to questions from The Associated Press. Barbour also dismissed the possibility of a run for vice president in 2008. "Why would a Republican pick a running mate for Mississippi?"...

WASHINGTON - Betty Friedan, whose manifesto "The Feminine Mystique" became a best seller in the 1960s and laid the groundwork for the modern feminist movement, died Saturday, her birthday. She was 85. Friedan died at her home of congestive heart failure, according to a cousin, Emily Bazelon. Friedan's assertion in her 1963 best seller that having a husband and babies was not everything and that women should aspire to separate identities as individuals, was highly unusual, if not revolutionary, just after the baby and suburban booms of the Eisenhower era. The feminine mystique, she said, was a phony bill of...

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - President George W. Bush vowed on Wednesday the United States will rise to Israel's defense if needed against Iran and denounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for "menacing talk" against Israel. In a Reuters interview aboard Air Force One en route to Nashville, Bush also said he saw a "very good chance" that the governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency will refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. "I am concerned about a person that, one, tries to rewrite the history of the Holocaust, and two, has made it clear that his...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said on Wednesday that Congress would attempt to address growing concerns about rising fuel prices and soaring oil industry profits. "We intend to do something about" rising prices to consumers, Chairman Arlen Specter said at a hearing into whether oil industry mergers in recent years have made gasoline more expensive at the pump. Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, said he was shocked by the size of oil company profits, adding, "It just may be time to legislate in this field." After the hearing, Specter raised the possibility of modifying federal...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - A former Democratic election worker in this impoverished city was sentenced Monday to a year and a half in federal prison for scheming to buy votes in the November 2004 election. A City Hall volunteer also accused in the scheme was given probation. U.S. District Judge G. Patrick Murphy said the case reflected an American election process "under attack" by fraud. Former precinct committee member Sheila Thomas and her attorney, Paul Sims, declined to comment after the sentencing. Yvette Johnson told reporters: "I'm just glad that it's over." The two were convicted last year of...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. is not interested in any government bailout to help it reverse its financial slide, the company said on Thursday. In a statement, the auto giant said there were many steps it could take with the federal government to help its business short of a direct, massive aid package. "Ford has not asked for -- and is not interested in -- a government bailout," said Dan Brouillette, the company's vice president of government affairs. President George W. Bush, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, hinted that he would take a dim...

Washington (AP) - House Republicans moved to seize the initiative for ethics reform Tuesday with a comprehensive package of changes, including a ban on privately sponsored travel like the trips arranged by lobbyist Jack Abramoff. "I know that fact-finding trips are important, but private travel has been abused by some," Speaker Dennis Hastert said at a news conference. Hastert, an Illinois Republican, responded aggressively after months of inaction and unfavorable headlines about lawmakers' ties to Abramoff, who showered donations, expensive meals, travel and skybox seats on members of Congress. Abramoff has pleaded guilty to corruption-related charges and is cooperating with...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter on Friday announced he would vote to confirm Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. "I intend to vote to support Judge Alito's nomination as associate justice of the Supreme Court," said the Pennsylvania Republican at the conclusion of his committee's confirmation hearing. Specter, a moderate who supports legalized abortion, announced his support of Alito, a conservative appeals court judge who was grilled closely on his past statements in opposition to a woman's right to an abortion. Most, if not all, of the eight Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are expected...

NEW YORK - Bode Miller knows he puts his life at risk when he skis drunk, but the outspoken Olympic favorite admits he may try the dangerous activity again. "Talk about a hard challenge right there. ... If you ever tried to ski when you're wasted, it's not easy," Miller told "60 Minutes" for a segment that will air Sunday. "Try and ski a slalom when ... you hit a gate less than every one second, so it's risky. You're putting your life at risk. ... It's like driving drunk, only there are no rules about it in ski racing."...

Robert Novak is finished with the network on Dec. 31. CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein says: "Through the years, Bob has offered incisive analysis for much of CNN's programming, including Crossfire, The Capital Gang, Inside Politics, Evans and Novak, The Novak Zone, and Novak, Hunt and Shields. Bob has also been a valued contributor to CNN's political coverage. We appreciate his many contributions and wish him well in future endeavors."