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WASHINGTON - Dried apples preserved with a cancer-causing chemical. Frozen catfish laden with banned antibiotics. Scallops and sardines coated with putrefying bacteria. Mushrooms laced with illegal pesticides. These were among the 107 food imports from China the Food and Drug Administration detained at U.S. ports just last month, agency documents reveal, along with more than 1,000 shipments of tainted Chinese dietary supplements, toxic Chinese cosmetics and counterfeit Chinese medicines. For years, U.S. inspection records show, China has flooded the United States with foods unfit for human consumption. And for years, FDA inspectors have simply returned to Chinese importers the small...

Ultimately, Jerry Falwell was a man who loved God and who loved people, one who tried to live out the greatest Commandment in his life. Comparisons have been made between Falwell and his contemporary (they both were in the spotlight in the early 1980's) President Ronald Reagan. Both men shared something in common from their early lives. They grew up in homes where their fathers were addicted to alcohol and their mothers were addicted to prayer. And they both went on to great achievement while being known as followers of Jesus Christ. Jerry Falwell's mother listened to a preacher on...

"If we don't finish this, it will follow us home," Command Sgt. Major Neil Ciotola says about the mission in Iraq. As the senior enlisted leader for the Multi-National Corps - Iraq, he oversees more than 158,000 service members and serves as the principal enlisted advisor to the commanding general, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno. Ciotola gave his assessment of the situation in Iraq as well as candid observations on the troop surge, Congress' vote to establish a withdrawal timeline and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's recent comments on the war.With 31 years in the U.S. Army, Ciotola is on his...

My first memory of encountering the “anti-self defense culture”, which I call the “culture of sheep”, was a cold morning in January 1975. I was in the sixth grade and was riding the school bus. Suddenly, another student sitting in the seat ahead of me turned and began striking me. This was completely unprovoked. Naturally I struck back in defense. The bus driver separated us and drove on to Holmes school. Before I knew it I was before Principal Will Allen. Also standing there was Mark, the kid who started the fight. Allen asked what happened, and Mark told a...

MINISTERIAL DECLARATION Building on the spirit of cooperation, collaboration and accomplishment that has characterized the relationship among Canada, Mexico and the United States and which is embodied in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), we the Ministers responsible for Transportation in North America, have met this day in Tucson, Arizona in order to confirm and advance our commitment to developing coordinated, compatible and interconnected national transportation systems. We affirm that such systems will support our shared vision for increased economic and social development, trade, tourism, cooperation and a healthy environment among our countries in the 21st century. We have...

Liberals in the House of Representatives have passed the "hate crimes" bill, H.R. 1592, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, by a margin of 237 to 180. The Senate version (S. 1105), deceptively and sensationally titled "The Matthew Shepard Act," is expected to be voted on soon. But to the consternation of the bill's proponents on the left, and to the relief of those who value the constitutional mandate of "equal protection under the law," the president's office has signaled that a veto is likely should the bill arrive on his desk. This clearly unconstitutional piece of legislation...

Although saying illegal immigration must be addressed by the federal government, Gov. Brad Henry signed an immigration reform bill Tuesday that won overwhelming approval in both state legislative chambers. "While some will undoubtedly claim this state legislation is a landmark step forward, the truth of the matter is we will not effectively address immigration reform until the federal government acts,” Henry said in a statement. Henry, who issued a three-paragraph statement after signing the bill less than seven hours before the midnight deadline, had said during his re-election campaign last year immigration was a federal matter. Opponents pledged to take...

To: POLITICAL EDITORS Contact: Susan Semeleer of the CATO Institute, +1-202-789-5212; ssemeleer@cato.org WASHINGTON, May 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, in a 6-4 vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied a motion by the D.C. government to reconsider the court's blockbuster opinion in Parker v. District of Columbia. On March 9, the court held in Parker that "the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms," striking down a 31-year old ban on guns in the nation's capital. Moreover, the court continued, activities protected by the Amendment "are not limited to militia service,...

TUESDAY MAY 8, 2007 Last modified: House sends sweeping immigration reform bill to governor’s desk OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Legislation described as the nation’s most sweeping attempt to deny jobs and public benefits to illegal immigrants was sent to Gov. Brad Henry’s desk Tuesday. State lawmakers urged Henry to sign the measure into law after it was approved in a bipartisan 84-14 vote by the state House. The bill was approved 41-6 by the Senate last month. “The people of Oklahoma are very strongly for this bill,” said House Speaker Lance Cargill, R-Harrah. Immigrant groups said the bill is a...

Albert Einstein once said, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left.” Why? Because without bees, plants don’t get pollinated. Without pollination, say goodbye to fruit, nuts, and some vegetables. We also won’t have natural oils (such as olive oil, sunflower oil, hemp oil, etc.). And we don’t have many natural fibers, such as cotton. You can see how important the bee is to our livelihood and existence. Some economists say the bee is worth about $14 billion to our economy. That’s why I was so alarmed to...

Most of you know that the Supreme Court recently handed the pro-life cause an important victory by upholding a ban on partial-birth abortion. The Court may have banned only one method of abortion, but now we have hope that perhaps there will be additional legal restrictions on abortion in the future. But we must remember that there are other fronts in the battle for human life besides the law. One front is the hearts and minds of those who would perform abortions: that is, doctors. As the BBC recently reported, “The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says there has...

A tiny but determined band of organizations and individuals are standing up to Goliath and are beginning to see his knees wobble. Goliath is the globalist-inspired Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) - better known as the North American Union (NAU) and the Trans Texas Corridor (TCC) - also know as the NAFTA Highway. To date a dozen states have introduced resolutions to oppose the SPP and the NAU. Some states have also included language to oppose creation of a new currency called the Amero. Also opposed in most of the resolutions is the super highway (TCC) to run from Laredo,...

The Media was all a frenzy on the debate about gun control right after the VT killings cynically attempting to push their Constitutionally illegal gun banning ideas on a grieving public. But one Illinois County has bravely decided to make moves to protect their 2nd Amendment rights with action by the County Board. The Pike County Board has adopted a resolution that will oppose any sort of gun control measures that infringe on the right to keep and bear arms adopted by the state of Illinois. A brave move in a state controlled by a gun grabbing, extreme left leaning...

Imagine this: You are a woman who has been raped (forcible rape, date rape, statutory rape, whatever), and you become pregnant as a result. You decide for whatever reason, be it religious or other, that you wish to keep the baby. After the baby is born, the rapist petitions the court for visitation rights with the child. Or the rapist's parents petition the court for grandparent visitation rights. You want absolutely nothing to do with the rapist or his family. Can you exclude the biological father and/or his family from asserting custody/visitation rights with this child? Or imagine that you...

Fred Thompson threw away the script when he ran for the Senate; he may do it again trying for the White House by Frank Cagle It was a scorching summer day in 1993 at the Sevier County fairgrounds. I was standing around with four other political junkies with nothing better to do and we were laughing about Congressman Don Sundquist's ardent pursuit of the goodwill of Congressman Jimmy Quillen. Quillen, the boss of the heavily Republican First District, had torpedoed the candidacy of Winfield Dunn, the last serious Republican candidate for governor. Quillen was playing hard-to-get that summer with his...

There is a case working its way to the Supreme Court that might settle one of the biggest unanswered questions in constitutional law: Does the Second Amendment guarantee an individual right to own a gun? Whether or not you own a gun, this is a case you should care about. I’m not just saying that because I’m the immediate past president of the National Rifle Association. (Last month I completed my two-year term as president and nine years as an officer of the NRA.) I’m also saying it as an attorney who’s been arguing cases in federal court for more...

Oct. 16, 1991, Killeen, Texas -- 24 killed when a man drove his truck through a window of a Luby's Cafeteria and walked around the restaurant shooting people as they hid underneath their tables. --snip--     As an airline pilot, I knew pilots who carried guns in their flight bags prior to 1987, when the Federal Aviation Administration effectively disarmed all pilots. I did not own guns then, and I thoughtlessly bought into the conventional wisdom that airliners should really be "gun-free zones." The September 11 attacks jarred my perspective, and I quickly came to realize that I had been living...

From time to time, I return to my favorite subject, which I freely admit is a tad boring for most people. That subject is Constitutional Law. This time, George Washington made me do it. An article in the New York Times on 27 April reported on the find of a previously unknown letter from George Washington in May, 1787, to Jacob Morris. It was contained in a scrapbook gathered by a 10-year-old girl in 1826, and was found among the trunks and boxes of her descendants’ gift of their mansion and its contents to the State of New Jersey, in...

The Crimes of Al Sharpton –Part 1 * In the Tawana Brawley case, a 15-year-old black girl was found smeared with feces, lying in a garbage bag, her clothing torn and burned and with various slurs and epithets written on her body in charcoal. Brawley claimed that she had been assaulted and raped by six white men, some of them police officers, in the town of Wappingers Falls, New York. Alton H. Maddox, C. Vernon Mason joined Sharpton in support of Brawley. A grand jury was convened; after seven months of examining police and medical records, the jury determined that...

Creates scholorships for VT students who were saved by Holocaust survivor who want to learn how to defend themselves. Also a great line: 'Guns cause shootings like cameras cause pornography'