Free Republic

Las Vegas — Elena Brady, president of the Asian-American Republican Coalition of Nevada, remembers the first time she heard that an Asian woman was running as a Republican for governor of Nevada in 2006. She was thrilled yet puzzled because she’d never before heard of the candidate, Mimi Miyagi. Brady was in for a pair of shocks. First was that Miyagi was an x-rated film actress with more than 40 movies to her credit. The other was that she actually did know Miyagi. Under her real name, Melody Damayo, she had been one of Brady’s most active volunteers during the...

The myth of the redemptive Hispanic is finally cracking. For years, conservative open-borders advocates have touted Hispanic “family values” as a prime reason to increase immigration. Hispanic immigrants, these conservatives say, will save America from itself. At a time when Anglo and black families are disintegrating, when society is becoming increasingly atomized and alienated, Hispanics will bring the traditional values that the country so desperately needs. In a classic iteration of the theme, Larry Kudlow wrote on NRO last May that Hispanic immigrants would “become a much-needed churchgoing blue-collar middle class . . . that is crucial to a healthy...

“Youths” Kick Man to Death on Crowded Antwerp Bus The Belgian state is no longer able to guarantee the security of its citizens. On Saturday afternoon Guido Demoor, a 54-year old Flemish train conductor on his way to work, was kicked to death by six “youths” on a crowded bus near Antwerp’s Central Station. The incident recalls the rush-hour murder ten weeks ago of Joe Van Holsbeeck, 17 years of age, in a crowded Brussels Central Station on 12 April. Guido Demoor, a father of two, intervened when six “youths” got on bus 23 in Antwerp and began to intimidate...

I have had three computer-related disasters just this last week. Any help would be appreciated, even such advice as to cut my losses and buy a new computer. First problem: My HP notebook computer does not work anymore. All I get when I turn it on is the screen showing the HP logo with the words "F10=Enter Setup." When I press F10, it changes to "Entering Setup" and then nothing else happens no matter what I do. I've already tried putting in the Windows XP CD that came with the machine, but still nothing. Nothing happens with this computer no...

I'm thinking of getting Roadrunner installed at my home, and I would like to hear from anyone who has used it before and what they think of it in terms of performance and value as compared to other Internet services. I'm used to the really good performance at my college's computer lab, but I have to graduate eventually (and thus no longer have a good excuse for putting off 24-hour access to FreeRepublic). Thanks in advance.

Some years ago Owen Harries, the founding editor of The National Interest magazine, coined a term, "Gorbachevism," to describe a new sort of politics. Gorbachevism was a politics that "substituted daring for thought" and that accordingly consisted of "a series of leaps into the unknown." Mikhail Gorbachev was, of course, the first Gorbachevite. His bold attempts to reform the Soviet Union brought about its total collapse — a standard of achievement that is hard to match. But George W. Bush is bidding to match it with his proposed reforms of immigration law. These reforms — an open-ended "guest-worker" program, an...

Canadian pop rocker Avril Lavigne loves songwriting because it means she can slob around in her pyjamas all day - and she doesn't even need to wash. The Sk8er Boi hitmaker is holed up in a hotel composing new tracks at the moment, and loves being out of the public eye because she can relax as much as she likes. Describing her current days, Avril says, "I'm waking up and writing every single day. (Bandmate) Evan (Taubenfeld) and I wake up and we get breakfast and then we hop into the living room or family room or TV room and...

Hi, everybody. After five and a half years with my fairly-faithful IBM Thinkpad, it's time for an upgrade. I don't want a notebook computer, but I don't want some honking big tower either. I've looked at the Gateway Profile 4 and like that design--something compact, yet with enough computing power to last for years. The only drawback is that the Gateway model seems kind of pricey. Any suggestions on similar compact desktop computers, or on dealing with Gateway in general? Basically, I want a Pentium 4 machine with a DVD writer and a 60-80 GB hard-drive. I also want the...

<p>"[King George III] has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws of Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands."</p>

American pop star Britney Spears is to get a pair of inflatable, throbbing breasts that will pulsate in time to her dancing - at least her waxwork model will at Madame Tussauds museum in London. "There are plans to make a new figure of Britney Spears," a spokeswoman said. "She'll be very sexy and she'll have heaving bosoms. But this is only in the very early stages of planning." She said the model would be based on one of Britney's videos, in which she dances breathlessly around a pole, and would be accompanied by professionals who would teach museum visitors...

WATERVILLE — Imagine there is a civil war in this country, it becomes ravaged, and you are sent off to Somalia as a refugee. You leave behind everything you know — your language, culture, many of your loved ones — and are immersed in a whole new world. You have 12 children to support. Try to find a job, when you cannot speak the language. Try to get hired, when you are the only white person in a pool of black candidates for one job. "You go to find work and you can't even fill out the application because you...

Britney Spears has been pulling out all the stops, and the wine, in an attempt to woo back ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, if tabloid reports are to be believed. According to The Sun, Britney turned up unannounced at Justin's LA pad, claiming she was there to collect some of her possessions. After Justin invited the pop damsel in, says the newspaper, she launched a conserted effort to get inside Timberlake’s boyband boxers, sitting him down to show him some newly-developed photos of the two of them together, and insisting they drink a bottle of wine she had in her bag "for...

AMMAN, Jordan -- Since the tragedies of 9/11, Americans have been obsessed with the idea that the world, and especially the Islamic world, "hates America." Over and over we ask, "Why do they hate us?" And President Bush has repeatedly provided an answer: "They hate us because of our freedoms." Such an answer, of course, supposes that there is an unquenchable and irredeemable jealousy brewing beyond the horizons of human rationality; that we have simply become too big and powerful and "free" for anyone really to like us; and that therefore there is nothing we can actually DO about this...

The special circumstance of the Philippines as a major exporter of English-capable manpower is a strategic advantage and strength for which we should be truly grateful. In truth, only God knows where our country’s economy would be right now if not for the English we have acquired after almost a half-century of colonization by the United States. We can rant and rave forever against this colonization from an ideological or geopolitical standpoint, but one fortunate fact will be indisputable: our passable English has made the great life-saving difference for some eight million Filipinos who work overseas for lack of gainful...

Demons and threats throughout history: As the Bush Administration beats the war trumpets against Iraq, a remarkable similarity can be discerned between the Middle East today and eighty years ago. The important question is whether the United States is likely to succeed in reshaping the strategic landscape in this troubled region more than did the British. There is a legacy of imperial domination, trickery, unkept promises, and double-speak, all of which have combined to undermine the notion that any progress or healthy transformation, could ever emanate from dealing with the West, be that at the military, diplomatic, or economic levels....

The former St. Mary's Church in downtown Mansfield may soon become home to an Islamic high school. The Al-Noor Academy in Quincy purchased the old church in September and plans to renovate it into a school, according to Al-Noor principal Robert Mond. Mond, who recently moved to Mansfield himself, said the school will not tear down the old church but renovate it into a school for ninth- to 12th-graders using some of the existing classrooms in the building. Mond said it has not yet been decided if the Quincy school will be moved to Mansfield or if the old church...

EU President Moeller said it would work with poorer countries to improve human rights, their economies and education systems to counter Islamic extremism BRUSSELS - The European Union has warned of the threat of Islamic fundamentalism, saying that over a year after the Sept 11 attacks, no one could claim that the international war on terror had been won. 'We are looking into a strategic threat which could take - and it will - the next 10 years, 20 years, 30 years,' said Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency. 'One year has...

Whyalla will become a 'Welcome Town' for asylum seekers if the Federal Government changes the policy to allow them out of detention and into the community while their applications are processed. Whyalla City Council took a step into the unknown on Monday night when they agreed to support, in principle, to allow two to three asylum-seeking families into the city without any public consultation. While the gesture is only symbolic at this stage, it will probably become a reality if the Federal Government policy is changed. The proposal was originally suggested by Whyalla Rural Australians for Refugees, but was brought...

<p>WASHINGTON — Arizona taxpayers may be stuck next year with paying the full tab of jailing thousands illegal immigrants convicted of crimes.</p> <p>Congress left town last week to campaign for the Nov. 5 elections without reaching an agreement with the Bush administration on funding a Justice Department program that provided $546 million last year to the states.</p>

Humanitarian Groups Express Outrage SAN DIEGO -- The U.S. Border Patrol has issued new guidelines warning humanitarian groups not to transport illegal immigrants -- even if they are in need of medical attention. The guidelines state that driving the immigrants to a hospital or another location can be viewed as "illegal and can result in prosecution." The orders are already being protested by groups working to aide illegal immigrants who become stranded or exhausted trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. A pastor with the Tucson, Ariz., based Samaritan Patrol said the law provides for humanitarian assistance and that his organization...