Free Republic

Republican senators uncertain of support for a proposal to allow illegal immigrants with jobs to remain in this country reached for a compromise late Monday to bolster votes for the measure. Meeting into the evening in the office of Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., the lawmakers considered allowing illegal immigrants who have been in the country more than five years or other connections to the United States to remain legally and eventually seek citizenship. "We're looking at the roots concept, and that is if they have been here more than five years," Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said after leaving the...

ISRAEL was ready to make compromises, acting prime minister Ehud Olmert told moderate Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas today as he claimed victory in watershed elections. But he warned that Israel was also willing to take its destiny into its own hands in the absence of a partner for peace. "I call on the head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmud Abbas, I am telling him directly that during thousands of year we had a dream of peace in Israel, this land and its historic borders will always remain the wish in our hearts. "But understand. We are ready to make compromises,...

There are few things more disappointing in politics than a well-intentioned compromise that falls short, solving nothing and satisfying no one. But that's what appears to be happening in the Senate as Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter tries to build consensus around a proposal for dealing with the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. More than two years after President Bush floated the idea of a guest-worker program to connect "willing workers with willing employers" and eliminate the underground economy manned by illegal immigrants, the Judiciary Committee is marking up a bill that combines a variety of proposals....

WASHINGTON - The White House is quietly pushing a Dubai company to "significantly restructure" and partner up with a U.S. outfit to keep the port deal from sinking, sources told the Daily News yesterday. "It's in the hands of the company now. ... They're going to have to significantly restructure," said a Republican source familiar with White House expectations. A revamped deal to allow Dubai Ports World to take over six major U.S. ports - including Manhattan's cruise ship terminal and Newark's container depot - would have to be something along the lines of the Marine One contract. British- and...

What do you think about this image? How does it strike you? I think this picture illustrates an ongoing trend in churches to compromise with the world and incorporate worldly styles of worship (IE, contemporary praise 'n worship music, electric guitar, drums, a whole performance atmosphere) to draw the world into the church. It seems that more and more churches are attempting to draw the world in instead of energizing and educating the body of believers so that they can go out into the world. Catering to the unbelievers in the church does not help the believers that are...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Rep. John Boehner of Ohio upset a former deputy to indicted Texan Tom DeLay on Thursday to become majority leader of the scandal-rocked U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Roy Blunt had appeared to be the front-runner, based on a long list of public commitments, but Boehner, who campaigned on a vow to seek to renew the party's "spirit and vision," defeated Blunt and Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona in a secret election by fellow Republicans. Boehner had 122 votes to Blunt's 109. Shadegg dropped out after a first ballot loss. Boehner's election represented a shake-up in...

Separation anxiety: The wall between military and commercial technology Seattle Times 01/22/06 author: Dominic Gates Last April in Everett, in a tense meeting with an investigator sent by Boeing headquarters, a small group of 787 engineers dropped a bombshell. The engineers, veterans of Boeing's work on the B-2 stealth bomber two decades ago, told investigator Rick Barreiro that technology and know-how developed for that secretive military program would be used in manufacturing the company's newest commercial jet. The engineers refused to sign forms declaring that the 787 program is free of military data. One said he feared signing would leave...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House and Sen. John McCain have reached agreement on McCain's amendment that would ban torture of detainees in U.S. custody, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Republican said on Thursday. A White House announcement was expected shortly. "The deal is done and he's heading to the White House," McCain's spokeswoman said. Under bipartisan pressure, the White House accepted McCain's amendment, which would ban cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners. The White House had sought protections from prosecution for interrogators accused of violating the rule, but McCain rejected that, saying it would undermine his amendment. The...

Republican leaders in Congress hope to complete a bill to curb the growth of student loans, Medicaid and other benefit programs before Christmas, though they might delay extending tax cuts until next year. Staff aides and lobbyists are skeptical about the prospects of finishing work in the next few weeks on five-year spending cuts of up to $50 billion. But failure to deliver would disappoint GOP loyalists eager to see their party burnish its budget-cutting credentials, It also would push the contentious issue into January or February, muddying next year's agenda. The House will return Tuesday for a scheduled two-week...

VIRGINIA ISSUES: Kilgore Learns the High Cost of Compromise 2005 Virginia Election Analysis By Joe Glover “You can’t make friends of your enemies by making enemies of your friends.” The pundits are spinning the demise of Jerry Kilgore as a defeat for conservatism and a victory for the “moderate” middle of the road. Such conclusions are based on the idea that successful campaigns appeal to so-called “swing voters” who support “reasonable” candidates from either party on a given day. The poll numbers from Tuesday’s election tell us something entirely different, since two unapologetically pro-life, anti-tax conservative candidates fared much better...

VIENNA, Austria - The United States and Europe have agreed on a compromise plan to accept expanded nuclear activities by Iran, but only if the enrichment process — a possible pathway to nuclear arms — is moved to Russia, senior officials and diplomats said Thursday. If accepted by Iran, the proposal could end a tug-of-war over whether to refer the Islamic republic to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. The officials and diplomats, who demanded anonymity in exchange for discussing the strategy, said the plan would allow Iran to continue converting raw uranium into the gas that is spun...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a watered-down document on poverty, human rights and U.N. reform for world leaders to approve at a summit this week, after shedding many of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's most ambitious goals during weeks of bitter debate. The compromise 35-page document is supposed to launch a major reform of the United Nations itself and galvanize efforts to ease global poverty. But to reach a consensus, most of the text's details were gutted in favor of abstract language. A definition of terrorism and details on how to replace the discredited U.N. Commission...

U.N. reform agenda watered-down General Assembly adopts wording stripped of details UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a watered-down draft document on poverty, human rights and reform for this week's summit of world leaders to consider, shedding many of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's ambitious goals after weeks of bitter debate. The compromise 35-page document is supposed to launch a major reform of the United Nations itself and galvanize efforts to ease global poverty. But to reach a consensus, most of the text's details were gutted in favor of abstract language. A definition of terrorism and details...

The constitutional wrangling in Baghdad is par for the course in Iraq's nation-building -- at least as filtered through the Western media. As the deadline approaches, we read that the whole magilla's about to go belly up, there's no agreement on the way forward, Washington's going to have to admit it called things disastrously wrong and step in to salvage what it can by postponing the handover to an Iraqi administration/the first free elections/the draft constitution/whatever. This time 'round, we were reliably informed that the constitution was turning into a theocratic rout of Kurds, women and any other identity groups...

SACRAMENTO — As of today's broken deadline for a deal, four crucial weeks in California politics have slipped away with no pact between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders on his Nov. 8 state government "reform" election. The Democrat-dominated Legislature returns today from summer recess with members set to promote bills on pressing issues such as health care, transportation, housing and energy, while leaders and the Republican governor supposedly focus on an agreement regarding his special election. Though recess talks to avoid a divisive ballot fight stalled early on, Schwarzenegger saidrecently, "I'm optimistic and I continue working to make sure...

SACRAMENTO -- State legislators wrapped up work Friday for a monthlong summer recess with focus already sharply shifted to the looming battle over the November special-election agenda and an August deadline for compromise on ballot measures. With a state budget approved and out of the way, the legislators will spend the next 30 days at home in their districts while legislative leaders ostensibly work with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to craft a compromise on his special-election agenda that both sides can live with. Yet with discussions currently occurring only at the staff level and Democrats having little motivation -- politically or...

Looks like John McCain may have come to his senses about Supreme Court nominees: DrudgeReport: Sen. McCain [R-AZ] Strong Words On Supreme Ct Nomination at Dallas Fundraiser: 'During the campaign, President Bush said he will appoint judges who will strictly interpret the constitution... thinking anything else is either amnesia or ignorance... elections have consequences... whomever he nominates deserves an up or down vote and no filibuster... and an up or down vote is what we will have'Strong words indeed. But they were given out of the mouth of one of the ringleaders of the Gang of 14. This gives me...

Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, hoping to revive his image as a bipartisan problem-solver, might try to capitalize on this week's budget deal by working out a series of compromises to avert an ugly and expensive election battle. But coming to terms with Democratic legislators on several of Schwarzenegger's proposals will be complicated. And interests on both sides, in the end, might prefer a November war. "I wouldn't go to Vegas and bet on (a deal),'' noted Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata on Friday. Schwarzenegger is expected to sign the state's $90.1 billion general fund budget early next week....

Last month it was my duty to serve on the jury in the trial of Edgar Ray Killen. It was my unpleasant charge to decide the fate of a fellow human. In the course of my 55 years I have survived a war, earned a bachelor's degree, suffered and exalted, traveled the world and worked my way from high school dropout to senior engineer. Still, nothing prepared me for this, nor did any of the other 11 jurors seem any less humbled by this task. No one took this lightly. My fellow jurors seemed to be a good representation of...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - After months of bickering and political recriminations, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders put differences aside and forged a bipartisan compromise over the state budget. Whether such comity can extend to negotiations over Schwarzenegger's proposed reform initiatives and the fall special election remains the looming challenge. Recent polls show the public has lost confidence in Schwarzenegger and holds the Democrat-controlled Legislature in even lower regard than usual. The poor standing has prodded both sides to say they want a global agreement on the initiatives to avoid a bruising showdown in November. "Everyone's willing to talk," Schwarzenegger spokesman...

The days of the judicial-filibuster compromise are numbered. The scuttlebutt on Capitol Hill these days is that the McCain compromise will vanish as soon as a Supreme Court nomination appears. That's because the so-called compromise has that one huge loophole: It allows Democrats to filibuster (and thereby block an up-or-down vote on) any nominee they define as an "extraordinary" circumstance. And if Democrats' recent behavior is any indication, "extraordinary" will be used as a ruse for discriminating against judges who give even the slightest hint of holding pro-life views or having faith in God. "Any agreement that opens filibusters to...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's renewed call for greater cooperation between Democrats and Republicans will be tested in the coming days as the administration tries to forge a budget agreement before next week's start of the fiscal year. It may not be easy. Democrats, who control both houses of the Legislature, said Wednesday they have given ground on a variety of issues and will be reluctant to compromise further. At issue is nearly $1 billion in spending that separates the two parties. Democratic leaders said they are looking for the governor to bring the two sides together. "We are...

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Responding to a precipitous drop in popularity, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday said he wants to seek compromise with Democrats on the state budget and the issues he has placed before voters for a November special election. "I feel that there is an agreement to be had," said Schwarzenegger, appearing more contrite than usual as he answered questions from reporters during a Capitol news conference. "We can resolve this, and then we can go together to the special election - Democrats and Republicans alike - and also that we can solve this budget. It's all about the...

WASHINGTON - A leading Senate Democrat rejected a GOP offer on Wednesday to end the impasse over the nomination of John R. Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Republican Sen. Pat Roberts (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, offered to disclose some information about secret intelligence intercepts that Democrats have sought. Democrats want the names of U.S. individuals mentioned in the intercepts that the National Security Agency gathered and that Bolton requested — and received — while he was the State Department's chief arms control official. Sen. Christopher Dodd (news, bio, voting record),...

Not only is there a bright side for conservatives in the recent Senate “compromise” on Presidential appointments, but it’s hard to find any reason at all to justify celebration by liberal Democrats. President Bush’s long-stalled 5th Circuit nominee, Priscilla Owen, now sits on that federal bench, and confirmations of capable conservatives Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor are soon to follow. Even the prospective nominations of William Meyers and Henry Saad have been sidetracked in thought only. Make no mistake – the dam has cracked and its eventual collapse is as easy as ever to see. The seven Republican signatories...

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) - Sen. Lindsey Graham's role in a compromise on filibusters against President Bush (website - news - bio) 's judicial picks did not go over well with some GOP regulars in this Republican state. The first-term Republican, who in 2002 succeeded Strom Thurmond, was among 14 lawmakers - seven from each party - who abandoned their leaders and reached a deal among themselves. They agreed to confirm some of Bush's stalled federal court nominees while leaving the door open for rejecting others. "It's one of the hottest issues I've seen since I've been chairman," said...

Some Japanese World War II soldiers were recently found on the island Mindanao sixty years after Japan surrendered. There is apparently no connection to Vietnam Veteran John McCain who didn't know that the Democrats lost the 2004 elections.

For more than two hundred years, even the most controversial of presidential judicial nominees had been accorded the courtesy of an up-or-down vote when they reach the floor of the Senate. In the last session of Congress, however, the Democratic leadership broke with this tradition, routinely filibustering (requiring a 60-vote supermajority to end debate) 10 of President Bush's nominees to appellate courts and threatening the same treatment of six more. As a result, President Bush had fewer circuit court nominees confirmed in his first term than any president in modern times.The effect was not only to deny these nominees a...

Pardon me while I wipe the egg off my face. Last week I was one of a handful of conservatives praising the Senate compromise on judicial nominees, which preserved the filibuster while guaranteeing several of President Bush's most conservative nominees an up-or-down vote. I argued Democrats would be chastened into using the filibuster judiciously -- only "under extreme circumstances" in the words of the compromise itself. Boy was I wrong. In less than a week, the Democrats were back to their old tricks, filibustering John Bolton's nomination as ambassador to the United Nations. Democrat Sens. Robert Byrd of West Virginia,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The first week of June has been remarkable in our nation's history. It was this week in 1776 that a congressional committee was formed to start drafting a Bill of Particulars for King George to consider. Just a month later, it was ratified as the Declaration of Independence. It was during this week in 1942 that the battle of Midway -- the turning point in World War II in the Pacific -- was fought. Within days, Congress was deliberating appropriations for more carriers. In 1944, this was the week during which hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers...

Will President Bush show John McCain and the rest of the ‘Filibuster Five’ why it’s unwise to pick a fight with a Texas Cowboy? Or, like every moderate Republican (and the French they work so hard to emulate), will Mr. Bush, Senator Frist, and company simply surrender? In the battle for the judiciary—undoubtedly the most important non-terrorism related issue we face—the American people need to know which George W. Bush is going to show up at the shootout. Will it be the man that supported McCain’s campaign finance reform bill in an effort to set a new 'tone,' let Ted...

Despite continuing outrage among conservatives over last week’s sellout of Senate Republicans by seven “moderates” in their midst, it is clear that Arizona Senator John McCain, the apparent leader of the effort, presumes himself to be a big winner. While McCain has been positively deferential towards Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist when questioned directly, his actions dealt a severe setback to Frist’s efforts to solidify Republican Senate clout. Appearing widely in front of network cameras (a place he clearly relishes), McCain nevertheless pronounced that the compromise had been undertaken “in the finest traditions of the Senate.” Any presumed victories resulting...

On the day John McCain engineered the "deal" that undercut Bill Frist and apparently sacrificed fine nominees to his own ambition for reputation, The New Yorker hit the stands with a lengthy profile of Arizona's senior senator. The magazine confidently predicted the senator's 2008 presidential run and quoted him as saying, "When people are in close races, I am the first Republican who is asked to come and appear for that person. I am the most sought-after of all Republicans. In this last campaign, I was the one asked by the president to travel and campaign with him. . ....

Like many, I was tempted to write with outrage about the sellout called compromise by seven Republican senators on the judicial filibuster issue this week. But what the heck. We Republicans have a man in the White House who would do John Wayne and Gary Cooper proud. Most of our Representatives in the House don’t need bloodhounds to find their spines. And Arnold Schwarzenegger, God bless him, is governor of California. We send most of our girlie-men to the Senate - and there’s only seven left there. Time to give thanks for small blessings, I suppose. Here’s a little quiz:...

After talking for months about the “constitutional/nuclear/whatever option,” Senate majority leader Bill Frist was finally set to bring the measure to the table. The move to restore the rights of the majority in consenting to judicial nominees by a majority vote was finally going to signal the end of the Republican weasel-ness that plagues the party every time it gains power. Then the weasels stepped in. The “great compromise” resulted in the Republicans giving up everything while the Democrats gave up nothing. The give-take deal worked as it always has. Republicans give, Democrats take. The parties shake hands and the...

Blaring from network and cable TV: “Democrats forced the Senate to put off a final vote this week on John R. Bolton’s nomination to be U.N. ambassador, the latest setback for the tough-talking nominee President Bush has called "strong medicine for corruption and inefficiency at the United Nations.” This was done by another filibuster that might delay the vote until June, thus shattering the myth that the two parties had joined together in a bond of trust that would end the obstruction that has kept Bush appointees from getting an up and down vote. When is Bill Frist, the Senate...

The judicial filibuster agreement reached by a group of 14 Republican and Democratic senators may be a truce, but it is not a treaty.It remains to be seen if the Senate’s tradition of up-or-down votes for judicial nominations will be re-established. And make no mistake, every tool for returning to that tradition remains on the table. As Majority Leader Bill Frist and even some signatories to this agreement have acknowledged, this includes the constitutional option.Those who founded this republic designed the Senate without the minority’s being able to filibuster anything at all. After a rules change made the filibuster possible,...

Because politics is the ultimate zero-sum game, John McCain's role in brokering the deal over President Bush's court nominees makes him the big winner from a mixed result. The senior Republican senator from Arizona was the moving force on his side of the aisle for the compromise that angered both parties' extreme elements. In Washington, where score is kept daily of such things, it may well go down as a significant step in his road to the presidency. Of course, conservatives hold great sway in the GOP nomination process, but those who see this matter as a nail in McCain's...

The biggest winner is Senator John McCain, who once again sold out both principles and party, to the applause of the mainstream media. Not only is he assured of good publicity, he has pulled the rug out from under Majority Leader William Frist, his probable chief rival for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination. Winning a showdown with the Democrats by using the so-called "nuclear option" to stop the filibustering of judicial nominees would have given Senator Frist the kind of name-recognition that McCain already has and would be a major achievement to solidify the support of the conservative Republican base....

Many conservatives are unhappy with the judicial confirmation compromise reached Monday among Senate moderates of both political parties, but I'm not. In the short run, this agreement will lead to confirmation of more conservative Bush nominees to the federal bench. In the long run, it will preserve the ability of conservatives in some future Democrat-controlled Congress to stop the appointment of radical judicial activists by a Democratic president. As in any compromise, neither side got all it wanted, but conservatives clearly came out ahead.

Drat. The battle royal I predicted last week is off in the U.S. Senate. The battle was to be fought between Democrats and Republicans over what conservatives call "the constitutional option" and liberals call "the nuclear option." That it was reported throughout the media as the "nuclear option" is still more evidence the media are liberal. Obviously the argument over whether the media are liberal or not is another of America's unnecessary debates. So too is the argument over whether the president's judicial nominees are "activist" an unnecessary debate. What distinguishes the president's nominees from what in the recent past...

Though even some conservatives disagree, no matter how you spin it, this compromise agreement among the 14 self-anointed Senators is a big loser for Republicans and for the country. The best way to measure this is to compare what is likely to happen with the agreement in place with what likely would have happened had the agreement not been reached. Republicans received only one "concession" in the deal: Democrats agreed not to filibuster three judges, Janice Rogers Brown, William Pryor, and Priscilla Owen. But many believe Republicans had sufficient votes in the Senate, especially with Vice President Cheney's tie-breaking vote,...

Pro-family leaders are expressing outrage over a compromise deal in the Senate that will allow a vote on some of the president's heretofore filibustered judicial nominees, but preserves the tactic for liberal Democrats to use against nominees they deem too conservative. Last week, 14 members of the U.S. Senate -- seven Republicans and seven Democrats -- proudly announced a Senate compromise to end Democratic filibusters against three of President Bush's judicial nominees: Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown, and William Pryor. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid told reporters that filibusters will continue against two other Bush nominees -- William Myers and...

The deal on confirmation of judicial nominees seems to have been struck by seven Democrats essentially supported by their party's base and seven Republicans at odds with theirs. It contains one crucial phrase -- Democrats will filibuster only in "extraordinary circumstances" -- and it is undefined. Unless it is defined by the Democrats' recent behavior. But can anyone contrive to tickle coherence from that behavior? Democrats have agreed to stop filibustering the confirmation of three judges they have hitherto identified as extraordinarily dangerous to fundamental American liberties. One of the three, Priscilla Owen, is an impeccable representative of mainstream conservative...

In my daily perusal of the news, I caught two items that illustrate, quite clearly, how liberals view the role of the judiciary, thus revealing, in stark terms, how critically important is the battle over the judicial filibuster. First, I read about a commencement speech at Brandeis University by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justice who authored the opinion declaring same-sex "marriage" legal in Massachusetts. Newsmax.com reported Justice Margaret Marshall said, "Our courts function as a pressure valve to defuse political and social tension."

Sen John McCain is on Imus in the Morning on MSNBC right now. More explanation about the senate "compromise" and the actions of the "magnificent seven".

Conditions were perfect for a showdown in the Senate over the judicial appointment process. Democrats had managed to convince half the population that the filibuster is some sort of constitutional right endowed by our Creator, and that Bill Frist and those evil Republicans were fixin’ to “nuke” the constitution by ending the misuse of the filibuster, used here only to block the confirmation of qualified nominees on the sole basis of the DNC litmus test. Too bad this half of the population has never read the constitution. A shame they don’t know that their litmus test is a litmus test....

Punish the Senate Filibuster Compromisers! I'm sure you've heard about the so-called "deal" put together by "moderate" Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate, which will stop Sen. Frist from putting a halt to the Democrats' unconstitutional judicial filibusters but will allow a few of President Bush's nominees to be voted on and confirmed. Seven Republican turncoats shredded the Constitution by cutting a deal allowing a "super-MINORITY" of just 14 Senators to block or confirm any nominee. Real conservatives - hard-working, patriotic, Americans who love our Constitution and believe it should be upheld - are VERY ANGRY about this "deal"....

All you conservatives out there – listen up! Take a deep breath! Climb down from the ledge! Chill out! Things are not as bad as they seem! As a matter of fact, things are downright rosy! In spite of what all the conservative pundits are saying – including Rush Limbaugh, Bill Bennett, Laura Ingraham, Thomas Sowell – we did not get rolled in Monday’s deal with the Democrats. As a matter of fact, it’s just the opposite. The Democrats have been taken to the cleaners…only they don’t know it yet! As usual, they have followed Teddy Kennedy’s advice and he...

The Senate Democrats hung tough and the Republicans wimped out. The Republicans had the votes but they didn't have the guts. That is the bottom line on the compromise agreement that will allow votes to proceed on judicial nominees without a filibuster, except in "extraordinary" cases. In other words, the Democrats will filibuster only when they feel like filibustering, since they will define what "extraordinary" means to them. Although the Republicans have more votes in the Senate, and also have Vice-President Cheney to cast the deciding vote in case of a tie, the Democrats stuck together. None of them went...