Free Republic

AUSTIN – Texas' $30 billion system for financing public schools is unconstitutional, and the state must stop funding education within a year if the Legislature doesn't find a new, equitable method, a judge ruled Wednesday. ... State District Judge John Dietz ruled moments after closing arguments in the case brought against the state by more than 300 school districts. The districts contended that the system violated the state Constitution by not providing equal educational opportunities. Dietz said he would issue an injunction ordering state funds for public education to cease within a year if the Legislature does not find an...

I came across an article recently in a publication that apparently doesn't even permit excerpting, but it is especially timely, considering all the hogwash we're hearing about respecting Muslim "holy shrines" and other such bilge. The fact is, Muslims consider it idolatry to attach any special significance to a building, so they are only too willing to tear down an old mosque to build a new one, and this article details the trials of a Saudi architect who is trying to preserve Arab historical sites and buildings.

The women's beach volleyball team from the Canary Islands are making waves, and the Australian player Nicole Sanderson makes a jackass of herself. "Must-See TV" if there ever was any!

WASHINGTON — Redistricting in Texas has left some Democrats with the odds stacked against them as they search for a political home. In Democrat Rep. Nick Lampson’s (search) case, his hometown of Beaumont is still in his district, but so are over 300,000 new voters, leaving him with the task of selling himself for the first time since he was elected in 1996. "It’s not that I have no connection at all — I’ve been a Houston-area member of Congress for these four terms," Lampson told FOXNews.com. "I think I have proved my independence and have shown that I am...

BOSTON--If you want to know just how the new campaign finance laws are transforming politics, look no further than a crowded press conference here at the Four Seasons. Harold Ickes, the New York lawyer behind two new liberal fund-raising outfits, took time out of his Democratic Convention duties to crow that the unlimited soft money he'd raised had made "Democrats competitive." He then turned over the mike to colleagues who promised to use the rest of the convention to rake in yet more cash. Thus was the last pretense at campaign finance "reform" dumped into Boston Harbor. ... But the...

Democrats filling the hotels, sidewalks, cafes, bars and restaurants of Boston and swarming through the FleetCenter this week have a message they desperately want the rest of America to hear. We are not liberal. These politicos will spend the bulk of this week insisting that the Democratic Party is the one that represents the values and ideals of Middle America. The Republicans, they will say, are the ones whose beliefs are so far beyond the norm that they simply cannot be trusted. Even the City of Boston is in on the act. The city, its boosters and local journalists are...

Michelle Malkin has a new column out, and it's linked through the NRA's home page, under "More NRA News & Information..." It's a good read, and even worth going through all this trouble to get. The opening line sets the tone for the article, and grabs your attention "I am what this year's election pollsters call a "security mom." I'm married with two young children. I own a gun. And I vote." and follows later with the heart of the piece, discussing her real concern: "Security moms will never forget that toddlers and schoolchildren were incinerated in the hijacked planes...

Conservatives and members of the Senate Republican leadership say that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is committed to using a controversial procedural tactic that would rewrite the chamber’s filibuster rule. While Frist said he was actively considering changing the Senate rules several months ago, it now appears that the majority leader is on board with an effort by leading conservative senators to execute the tactic, which would prohibit lawmakers from filibustering judicial nominees. The most logical time to change the rules would be this fall or at the beginning of the new Congress in January. Senate Democratic leadership aides...

That's what U.S. authorities wondered as they expelled two security guards at the Iranian mission to the United Nations last weekend, after the mission was warned repeatedly against permitting its employees to videotape the Statue of Liberty, the subway, bridges and other New York landmarks.<snip> ...Hassan Abassi, head of the Revolutionary Guards' Center for Doctrinaire Affairs of National Security Outside Iran's Borders: "We will map 29 sensitive sites in the United States and give the information to all international terror organizations," ...Mr. Abassi, about compiling a target list of "29 sensitive sites." And also: "We have a strategy drawn up...

AUSTIN — Democrats blame Gov. Rick Perry and the GOP-led Legislature for slashing children's health insurance and failing to fix public school funding. But, so far, not one Democrat is willing to use those tempting political targets and run in 2006 against the Republican governor, who has two possible challengers inside his own party. What gives? Prospective candidates, mindful that Democratic nominees have lost three straight gubernatorial elections, appear to be wary of moving too soon. "The state is not in transition now — it's completely in the hands of Republicans," said Democratic consultant Kelly Fero, adding that a "defeatist...

New York (CNSNews.com) - As 50,000 Republicans head to their national convention in New York in late August, a coalition of anti-war and anti-GOP activists are planning to throw a welcome party of sorts -- that is, if they can get the permits they need to demonstrate. A number of groups, led by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), are planning demonstrations. But the largest protest appears to be the one organized by UFPJ, which would begin as a march through the streets of Manhattan, move alongside the convention's home in Madison Square Garden, and end with a massive rally...

<p>CHICAGO -- Caterpillar Inc.'s first-quarter profit more than tripled due to strong sales of mining and construction equipment, causing the industry leader to dramatically increase its profit and sales guidance for the year.</p> <p>Caterpillar's results reflect the upsurge in earnings by many manufacturing and machinery companies in the first quarter. Volume and orders have been up throughout the sector.</p>

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A surge in support for conservative challenger Rep. Pat Toomey one week before the primary has narrowed incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter's lead in Pennsylvania's Republican race for U.S. Senate to a scant five percentage points, according to a poll released Tuesday. In a Quinnipiac poll released April 7, Specter held a comfortable lead of 15 percentage points. The primary is April 27. Fifty-one% of the respondents in the latest poll said they considered the moderate Specter, who is seeking a fifth term, "too liberal," up from 43% in the previous survey. Only 14% said they consider Toomey...

<p>WASHINGTON -- China's entry into the World Trade Organization was essentially a done deal in the late 1990s when Wal-Mart Stores Inc. executives discovered a problem: U.S. negotiators had agreed to a 30-store limit on foreign retailers operating in China, an insufficient figure for the ambitious Arkansas retailer.</p>

Choose One: "Strongly agree, the government should not be dictating how citizens choose to protect themselves or infringe on responsible recreational firearm use. Somewhat agree, we need to be careful about restricting rights that are protected under the Constitution. Undecided, I'm not sure what the proper balance is between the Constitution and public safety. Somewhat disagree, some reforms (background checks for handgun applicants or bans on armor-piercing bullets, for instance) make good sense. Strongly disagree, the NRA has distorted the intent of the second amendment and has helped foster a gun culture that is irresponsible and dangerous.

<p>SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. — A pharmacist shot in the leg during a robbery yesterday turned the gun on his attacker, shooting him twice, police said.</p> <p>Ronald Huel Cole, 61, of Shelbyville entered Renegar's Drugstore at about 2:30 p.m. and demanded a shot of the painkiller Demerol, said Police Chief Austin Swing. Cole had a .38-caliber pistol in his hand and about 75 rounds of ammunition, police said.</p>

There are between one and three million guns in Switzerland, according to the justice minister, who described the situation as “worrying”. A "Small Arms Survey" by the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva found that there are 1.2 million guns in private hands in Switzerland. Metzler said a central register would be a step towards increasing public security. She said it would better distinguish people who own guns for hunting or special collections from those who misuse them. Her comments came a week before the second anniversary of Switzerland’s worst-ever shooting spree. On September 27, 2001 a lone gunman...

MADISON - A concealed carry law in Wisconsin would help "level the playing field" for potential crime victims, "such as little old ladies and store owners," said Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire. But Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann said he would just as soon have a thief get away with an armed robbery at a store than have a customer with a gun try to save the day. "I don't want to be in a store where someone wants to intervene," McCann told legislators at a committee hearing at the state Capitol Tuesday. "The shooting will start, and...

Trigger Unhappy Gun advocates fear a state commission is targeting a Maricopa County shooting range. By Chris Limberis You've heard the one about Arizona having two kinds of people: real estate speculators and those in government who want to be. In Arizona, it's all about dirt. Who has it. Who wants it. Who can peddle it. On 1,650 acres in north Phoenix is the Ben Avery Shooting Facility, a well-planned, clean, efficient and well-used collection of 35 gun and archery ranges. To some, it is a shooter's mecca, one of the finest shooting facilities in the country and a paradise...

Is Al Franken a 'Lying Liar,' too? Our book critic puts the screws to the celebrated satirist about his name-calling new book By Jeff Guinn Star-Telegram Books Editor August was hectic for author/satirist Al Franken. In mid-month, Fox News Channel filed suit against Franken and his publisher, Penguin Group, claiming that the title of Franken's about-to-be-published book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, infringed on the copyrighted FNC slogan "Fair and Balanced." On Aug. 23, federal judge Denny Chin denied the FNC request for an injunction blocking publication of the...