Free Republic

You misquoted Nathan Hale. He did not 'lose' his life. He gave it. "I only regret that I have but one life to give to my country."

So now we have public warnings about a possible terrorist attack, based on intelligence information -- like the Dims are screaming were needed pre-9/11. Is it doing any good? Are we responding in any way that will stop these attacks? NO. So what is all the 'what did he know and when did he know it' brouhaha about? IF ONLY the Repubs would point this out! I am happy to see Bush looking really angry at the Dims, for the first time since he took office. He is the only one who can speak and be heard by the public. Everyone else is censored out by the lamestream media.

In 1998? THIS administration was not in place yet. The Governor of Texas was not in charge. The ____ who was in charge did nothing. He did nothing the whole time he was in office. Bush started working on it the minute he could. The fact is, there was a workable plan, ready to be presented on 9/10 -- sadly, not in time to do anything to prevent the bombing, but at least in time to quickly respond to it. This in itself is far more than his predecessor ever did.

Perhaps part of the reason was that PC thinking blinded the previous administration to the reality of terrorism. This kind of thinking is still around, preventing Bush from taking the measures needed to secure our country. The Left is saying, why didn't Bush DO SOMETHING back then? Listen, the Left doesn't want Bush/Ashcroft/Rumsfeld to DO SOMETHING even now, after the horrible events of 9/11. Secure the borders, go after suspects, and guard airports and other potential targets. They don't want us to do it EVEN NOW. What makes anyone think they would have ALLOWED Bush to do it BEFORE 9/11?

So... when going to see the Liberty Bell, instead of being happy and proud of my country, which did so much to create a place where human freedom could flourish... I will be confronted with this guilt-provoking claptrap. Washington is no more to be blamed for having slaves in his day and age as he is to be blamed for not having proper refrigeration equipment. "Freedom" was a new concept -- it was just being explored and invented -- and Washington was helping invent it. He was a creature of his age -- as we all are. Someday, people in the future will be just as appalled at some aspect of our lives as we are of this aspect of our ancestors' -- and it won't be what we expect! I am sick of this 'hate-America' stuff. It is killing us.

We do not 'worship' buildings, but they can be sacred to us. They hold meaning for us. They are the repositories of our history. They help focus our faith and our communities. But perhaps the greatest testament to this particular spot -- the only one SOME people will accept -- lies in the gospel of John. Mary herself said, "The place is sanctified." And should remain so. This IS an outrage. The seventy-times-seven has been reached and exceeded, still with no repentance in sight. In other words -- ENOUGH ALREADY! This Christian is very angry!

If the Temple building wasn't important to Jesus, why did He defend it by kicking out the moneychangers? Places are important. There ARE such things as 'sacred places.' And the sense of history one gets when going into a place like the Church of the Nativity is irreplaceable. It is worth the price of a few fleeting lives -- it is the symbol of many MANY lives of faith dedicated to preserving our religious history. That some people undervalue it says more about our disposable society and its lack of values than the value of the place and the building.

It is a LIE that the IDF blew the door off the church. The PA terrorists shot their way in 4 days ago. Are your other statements LIES too? Mr. Jefferson rejects your claim of his spirit. Change your screen name, LIAR.

Odd... spooky almost... how this story makes absolutely NO mention of the Palestinian terrorists' suicide bombings of innocent Jewish civilians in Israel. Not one word in the whole story despite its multiple mentions of Israel's actions against the PA. A very telling omission!

These articles present the Palestinian demand that their territories be 'Judenrein' -- no Jews allowed. Why is it that Israel proper is to be fully integrated and accessible to Palestinians, but no reciprocity on their side toward Jews? And no matter how I look at the map, I cannot understand how getting 90% to 95% of the land requested could possibly result in 'islands' of Palestinian control in a sea of Israelis. Another question posed by the articles is, how do they figure they 'gave up' 78% of 'their' land? What is the baseline? Also, how can one believe that the PA has 'recognized' Israel when their speeches, schoolbooks and publications still call for its annhiliation? (Not to mention their actions, which speak louder than words.) Yet another is, how can the US be considered complicit simply because of $$ sent to Israel when just as much $$ is sent to the Arab/Muslim powers? I have a real problem with these articles, and do not consider them supportive of the Palestinian position at all.

2-3% of the Palestinian population does not equate to 'many' Palestinians being Catholic/Christian. Sorry. Name-calling doesn't change the fact that you tried to misleeeeeeead the readers of this thread.

Regarding the photo of the graffiti about 'destroying our houses,' I read elsewhere on FR that the PA rewards those who offer their children for suicide missions by building them a house after the mission (IOW, killing Jews) is completed. The Israelis wait until the house is built, then destroy it, so that there is less reward for these terrorists. That is the untold story of the IDF bulldozing Pali houses. The poor deprived terrorists and their families then have to be satisfied with the 'honor' of killing Jewish women and children -- and of course their 72 virgins.

Silly, the Democrats don't want the truth -- they just want headlines. Headline is as far as the typical American gets. The stink of the story, not the substance, is what will stick. And anyone who thinks that the GAO (headed by a former executive of Arthur Andersen, talk about conflict of interest!) should get whatever documents they ask for should think about how they would react if the local dog-catcher asked you for the contents of your IRA, 401(k) and IRS returns for the last 20 years. They do NOT have the authority. That is NOT their charter or mission. If the Dems were serious about 'truth' they would have brought this to the SEC or Department of Justice. (Just interrupted by a co-worker who reacted JUST as I predicted above. It's working!)

Anthony Trollope is the BEST Victorian writer in terms of character development. Not exciting plots, but wonderful, dry, droll humor and a solid sense of honor and decency. I HIGHLY recommend him. He wrote about 40 books and I have read them all. (Hint, if you get an annotated edition, read the book itself before reading the notes; I found they often gave away plot twists and had biases that could affect your own enjoyment of the book.)

I figured that sooner or later, the 'thousands of civilian casualties' figure would be disproved. However, I must have missed it when it happened! Do you have a link?

I love it when someone quotes an old song: "We don't want to go to war/ But by jingo! if we do/ We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too! / Russia shall not take Constantinople..." But maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that, someone now will call you a 'jingoist.' (This song being, of course, the source for that stupid taunt of liberal wusses everywhere!)

Yeah, I especially appreciate the remark that 'people don't understand this until it hits them in the face.' AH - hmmm. Personally, I think this play is just an excuse for public doo-doo talk. A man was telling me he saw it, I blushed deep red and walked away. If that maks me old-fashioned, GOOD!

All I want to know is, did he still have his beard or did he shave it before making this speech? If he shaved, that means that this is the opening salvo in his 2004 campaign. If not, if he still has that ridiculous beard, that means he's shelved his ambition for now!

Note that the soldier didn't say that HE PERSONALLY would shoot the reporter -- only that the reporter 'would be shot.' In other words, there's a strong likelihood that you will be shot if you go into the middle of a battle scene! Same thing here in Oakland! :-/

Hmmm, I think there's a word missing. Joe D must have said "It's NOT the same thing in law," otherwise he is agreeing with John Dean! Thanks for posting...

Will an email to our Senators do? This is what I just sent: Dear Ms. Boxer, I know it is useless to ask you, but since your constituents (remember us?) are having a bit of a hard time, and we and the businesses that employ us need a bit of STIMULUS, could you please tell your colleague Daschle to get the bill moving -- and could you please vote for it? Oh, I know, positioning the Democratic party at the expense of the American worker is your priority. It is really too bad that you are happy to sacrifice us so that your party will have an 'issue' to use in the election. I know your answer, just wanted to be on record as supporting the stimulus bill. Sincerely, Jerez Californian and Former Democrat

What standing or authority does the GAO have to call for such information? This is not their mission. If it were a Congressional committee, or a DOJ inquiry, I might feel a bit differently about it. But I have NEVER heard of the GAO doing an investigation on something that had nothing to do with cost control. Think about it. Have you?