Free Republic

PEORIA —Caterpillar Inc. and other large companies are being criticized by the Obama administration for reporting now that they will take millions of dollars in hits to their earnings because of one portion of the new health care legislation. Caterpillar and Deere were accused of being “premature and irresponsible” by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke for saying a change to Medicare Part D laws would hurt their earnings in the present quarter. Those companies are also being questioned about the amounts they are claiming — amounts that seem to get larger with every company that makes a report to...

AUSTIN - Continuing to use his executive authority to implement education programs rejected by the Legislature, Gov. Rick Perry Wednesday ordered the state's first incentive pay program for teachers. The program will use $10 million in discretionary federal funds to reward teachers who succeed in economically disadvantaged schools. The money will be distributed in $100,000 grants to 100 campuses that show marked improvement in student performance.

PEORIA - Ten big, red apples have caused a sticky situation at District 150. Billboards featuring a large red apple went up in 10 locations Monday. They're part of a six-month, $19,000 campaign to promote the district. But half of the six School Board members have taken issue with the ads. They didn't realize the billboards were going up and don't support this kind of spending when the district's deficit is more than $7 million. "It is not the time to be spending money on marketing," board member David Gorenz said Tuesday. Members Sean Matheson and Martha Ross also disagree...

I thought I would make jump into the open source world today. Linux is supposed to be more stable, robust, and powerful than Windows, and the relatively easy system requirements made it a good choice to load on my older Athlon 1000 PC. The installation process was simple enough too. I threw in the SUSE disc and waited as the computer did the rest. The new OS is up and running without a hitch. But for some strange reason, I cannot get the darned thing to make my Sound Blaster Live soundcard to work. In an attempt to Google a...

PEORIA - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., received a cordial welcome from the Illinois Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention at the Peoria Civic Center on Saturday, and in returned pledged to fight for benefits for veterans and soldiers. He spoke to the audience of almost 300 at the event and received a standing welcome from most in the hall and a standing ovation at the conclusion. Durbin's talk was interrupted three times by applause. There were no hecklers or protesters. The senator's recent remarks linking the treatment of prisoners at the Army's Guantanamo Bay prison with Nazi and other police-state...

PEORIA - A Pekin woman faces up to 10 years in federal prison for allegedly threatening President Bush by telling him in a letter she had put anthrax in the note. Jessica A. Moyer, 21, appeared in U.S. District Court in Peoria on charges of threatening the president and mailing a threatening communication. She said little except to her attorney, Bill Anderson, during the five-minute hearing. Moyer's address was listed in court records as 4105 N. Brookdale, Apt. 2C3, but Pekin police report no such address. The indictment was handed down April 20 but unsealed Thursday. It alleges Moyer sent...

Former Illini are skeptical Group wonders if U of I pursued black candidates before settling on Zook --- CHAMPAIGN (AP) - Sixty-two former Illinois football players are questioning whether the university searched hard enough for a black or minority coach to replace Ron Turner before hiring Ron Zook from Florida. The former players wrote a letter to athletics director Ron Guenther on Nov. 22, the day Turner was fired, asking him to "enact a search process that includes several African-American candidates and other coaches of color." They attached a list of candidates. Copies of the letter were sent to interim...

SPRINGFIELD - State Rep. Ricca Slone is seeking a recount of ballots in the 92nd District legislative race against Republican Aaron Schock, who emerged as the apparent winner, she said Monday. Petitions for the recount were filed on Slone's behalf Monday with city and county election authorities, she said. According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, however, she may have done that prematurely. Cris Cray, director of legislation for the board, said Slone may have to file her paperwork again after the state certifies election results, which it is not set to do until late Friday morning. Slone is...

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker was "shocked" by criticism leveled at him from television broadcaster Steve Stone, which general manager Jim Hendry felt were "personal" attacks. On Thursday during the postgame interview with Baker, Stone questioned the manager's moves in the 12th inning of the Cubs' 2-1 loss to Cincinnati. Stone also criticized the team during an interview on WGN Radio on Thursday after the game. "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth," Stone said on WGN Radio. "Let me tell you something, guys, the truth of this situation is [this is] an extremely talented bunch...

I just checked my email and this is what I found: Has anyone else received anything like this from the address 'activist@democrats.com'? Viruses found in the attached files. The attached file poster_death.zip is infected by I-Worm/Netsky.C. The attachment was moved to the virus vault. The original message follows: --- here is the --- Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.692 / Virus Database: 453 - Release Date: 5/28/2004

LOS ANGELES - Coca-Cola Co. on Monday unveiled C2, a cola with about half the carbohydrates of the original, and a new advertising campaign designed to sell the drink to devotees of trendy Atkins-style diets. Coca-Cola C2, featuring the familiar red label, but with black lettering instead of the traditional white, will be available in U.S. stores in early June, the company said at a promotional event in Hollywood.

PEORIA - Caterpillar Inc. Chairman Jim Owens does not plan to meet with protesters who are scheduled to march on the company today to demand that it stop selling bulldozers to the Israeli military. Owens, in a letter mailed Monday to the parents of a young activist killed by a bulldozer in the Gaza Strip last year, said he has compassion for them but asks that they understand the company's position in the matter. Responding to a letter he received last week from Craig and Cindy Corrie, parents of Rachel Corrie, Owens said: "I realize the facts supporting our long-held...

I have had it. My Gateway laptop, just over a year old, is doing something strange and I get the feeling I am going to need to have it serviced for the third time since spending nearly three thousand dollars for it, just over a year ago. I really love the fact that it has a good processor, a built-in wireless network card, and a huge 15.7 inch screen, necessary for what I do in my work. Unfortunately, the hardware problems I have experienced with this computer have given me the impression that buying a Gateway was not wise. Maybe...

If you thought Saddam Hussein was full of malarkey, get a load of what's coming out of the Vatican. On Tuesday, a senior Roman Catholic leader ripped the United States for treating Saddam like a "cow." Further, he said he felt sorry for the despot and urged the world to join a pity party for Saddam. The speaker was one of the pope's right-hand men, Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Vatican Justice and Peace Commission and former long-time head of the Vatican's diplomatic mission to the United Nations. In other words, when he talks, people listen. But in this...

U of I trustee tables retirement resolution; lack of support cited November 14, 2003 By JOHN SUPINIE of Copley News Service CHAMPAIGN - Chief Illiniwek lives. But he's still facing high-level opposition in the latest fight that involves the American Indian mascot at the University of Illinois. During Thursday's board of trustees meeting at the Illini Union, Frances Carroll withdrew her resolution to retire the Chief but said she would reintroduce it in March. Carroll, whom Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed to the board earlier this year, said she decided to pull the agenda item at 3 a.m. Thursday after she...

Calling all Texas Freepers, or anyone with an opinion... I have had a great opportunity drop in my lap for a job in the Houston area. This job would provide me the chance to be more than I am (or could ever be) in my current situation and quite frankly, everything about it sounds great. In addition to the opportunity to actually work on developing a real career (rather than simply working and seemingly spin my wheels), I will be compensated at a much higher level than I am currently. Another appealing aspect is that I would be doing most...

I work in the construction industry, and my job occasionally takes me into public school buildings to perform surveys and make sales calls. This morning, I went into a building errected in 1968 and noticed the following text on a dedication plaque in the lobby of the building: "Through their desire to secure for all youth in this school community the required facilities for unexcelled educational opportunity by giving without measure of themselves, their talents and their resources, these citizens with God's help have brought this educational institute into being. To such youth and to the devoted teachers and staff ...