Free Republic

NEW YORK A syndicated newspaper column by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, which slammed Ohio's handling of the recent presidential election, is being accused of "blatant inaccuracies" by the Ohio Secretary of State's office. Carlo Lo Paro, press secretary for Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, claims that Jackson's column, distributed earlier this week through Tribune Media Services, contains numerous inaccuracies that hint at improper behavior by Blackwell's office. "We expect someone writing an op-ed and a syndicate distributing that op-ed would fact-check information and have a responsibility to the facts," Lo Paro told E&P Wednesday. "We believe someone can have...

Once, about four years ago, I found myself being tailed late at night by a car I didn’t recognize. I was by myself, it was around 11 p.m. in my hometown, a city with enough violent crime to make a person more than a bit wary. I saw the guy’s headlights in my rearview mirror, noticed he was fairly close to me and had been for a few miles. I was on my way to shoot some pool with friends, and decided to turn off the main road, mostly to convince myself he wasn’t really following me. He followed. I...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - Staff Sgt. Joshua Olson called it his "Alive Day," the one-year anniversary of the day he lost his leg in Iraq. He marked the date by traveling from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington back to the Fort Campbell woods where he once instructed men as a squad leader. Instead of camouflage, he wore jeans and a T-shirt, and used crutches to get around on one leg. He wanted to get back to the comrades ---snip---

The American Civil Liberties Union (search) on Tuesday sued a southwest Missouri school district for prohibiting a high school student from wearing gay pride-themed (search) T-shirts. The district has said the T-shirts were disruptive and therefore a violation of school dress code. The lawsuit filed in federal court also names Webb City High School Principal Stephen P. Gollhofer. "Because I'm gay, my school is trying to take away my constitutional right as an American to express myself," the student, Brad Mathewson, said in a statement. "The school lets other students wear anti-gay T-shirts, and I understand that they have a...

I was warned by a Democrat the morning after the election that the Country is still divided. I guess I was supposed to ask him what we have to do to get the left to co-operate with our majority! Hello,the Country has been divided since the early Sixties when the left flipped out and started to flip us off whenever we expressed support for traditional American values. It took me until several years ago to realize the insanity wasn't tempority. It was when I, and people of like view, confronted them about their screwy views that they began to notice...

My un-American Democratic Party Originally published on May 24, 2004. Republished Oct. 21, 2004 Imagine you've got a Muslim neighbor who is actually a radical, but hasn't yet revealed to you his inner radical thoughts. He may seem like a nice family-oriented, hard-working, reliable guy, but then at a barbecue he tells his private view that the "worldwide Jewish movement" is the embodiment of evil, and that Israel must be destroyed. One moment you think he's a reasonably normal guy, and a moment later you realize he lives in a very dark world. Still, there he is, smiling at you...

In last week’s debate, many disturbing aspects of Senator Kerry were brought to light. Of special interest to our military professionals conducting the war on terror, and those who support them, were his notions that he knew how to solve military problems--based on four months as a lieutenant. He has decided the Army needs two more Divisions and more special forces. Generals and Admirals in the Armed Forces of the United States are the world-class experts in warfighting. They grew as junior officers and enlisted, competed against other highly qualified officers, and progressed through the ranks to become the architects...

Kerry has said that our military is overtaxed in Iraq and that he would create two more divisions to fix it. His two new divisions was one of several options discussed in Congress in 2002 and 2003. Creating two new divisions was rejected as a viable solution. The report makes it clear why Kerry's solution is the wrong choice. The following extract is a discussion of the option titled "Increase the Army's End Strength." Extract: "In this option, the active Army would grow by 80,000 personnel--enough, CBO estimates, to provide the service with another heavy division, one more light division,...

Ceremony salutes mobilized Texas National Guard brigade Hundreds of Soldiers from the 56th Brigade Combat Team stand in formation outside the hangar. This is the largest single mobilization of a Texas National Guard unit called to a combat zone since the start of the war on terrorism. (Texas National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Ken Walker) By Staff Sgt. Ken Walker 100th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment FORT WORTH, Tx. (8/18/2004) — Little Lauren Carrington stood on the chair next to her grandmother waving two small American flags as high as her small arms could reach. On a platform overlooking...

BOSTON - If you watch next week's Democratic National Convention, you'll see the face of the party as Sen. John Kerry and party leaders want you to see it. But there will be only about 5,700 delegates and other party members at Boston's Fleet Center, while there are about 48 million registered voters across the country who call themselves Democrats - and they don't always think the same as the people on the convention stage. For now, Democrats are unified to an almost unprecedented degree by their intense desire to defeat President Bush. That could help Kerry win the White...

William Hinson, president of a major renewal organization, dropped a bombshell during May's United Methodist General Conference: "I believe the time has come when we must begin to explore an amicable and just separation that will free us both from our cycle of pain and conflict". We find in large sections of mainline churches a sub-Christian religion with alternate doctrines of biblical authority, the church, and even salvation. Most Methodists, left and right, responded with shock, rallied around the flag of unity, and declared their dismay. This is an understandable reaction and shows a good instinct for one's church. But...

Speed and Power: Complements, Not Substitutes June 2004 By William R. Hawkins Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld wants to radically restructure the U.S. military, particularly the Army, to put even more emphasis on the speed of strategic deployment. Under the so-called "10-30-30 plan," major forces must be capable of deploying to a distant theater in 10 days, defeating an enemy within 30 days and then be ready for redeployment to a new battle somewhere else within another 30 days. This is a much more ambitious goal than the previous standard of being able to deploy a corps-sized force of up...

The Bush administration's civil war.THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION has lived hard, and it shows. Democrats demand the firing of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and few Republicans in Congress rush to his defense. Pro-Rumsfeld noises come mostly from the White House. Without informing the White House, Attorney General John Ashcroft releases memos that damage the credibility of a member of the 9/11 Commission, Jamie Gorelick. This occurs days before President Bush is interviewed by the commissioners, including Gorelick, creating what aides believe is an awkward situation for the president. Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff trashes the Bush foreign policy...

82nd Airborne soldiers re-enlisting in high numbers Division has already met goals for retention for fiscal year '04 Monday, April 12, 2004 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FORT BRAGG Though thousands of 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in the past two years, some of them taking hostile fire, the storied unit is exceeding its retention goals and re-enlisting soldiers in droves. Despite reports that the Army's increased operations in the war on terrorism is hurting retention, deployments have helped the division retain experienced soldiers, a spokesman said. "They came in to do something and they are actually doing...

Four Army divisions -- 40 percent of the active-duty force -- will not be fully combat-ready for up to six months next year, leaving the nation with relatively few ready troops in the event of a major conflict in North Korea or elsewhere, a senior Army official said yesterday. The four divisions -- the 82nd Airborne, the 101st Airborne, the 1st Armored and the 4th Infantry -- are to return from Iraq next spring, to be replaced by three others, with a fourth rotating into Afghanistan. That would leave only two active-duty divisions available to fight in other parts of...

ANSAR SPOKESMAN: - Ansar al-Islam behind UN bombing Sources in Ansar al-Islam tell TV 2 Nettavisen that former members of the organisation allegedly are responsible for the UN bombing in Baghdad. Ansar al-Islam is divided. A number of the former members of the organisation, who were active while Mullah Krekar was the leader, have given up and gone home. However, a small group has seized control and is still active, Mullah Krekar’s brother Khalid Faraj Ahmad tells TV 2 Nettavisen. He emphasizes that he has no knowledge of the persons responsible for the recent car bombings in Iraq. - Ansar...

US Asks S. Korea for Thousands of Soldiers By Seo Soo-min Staff Reporter The United States has asked South Korea for a light infantry division consisting of at least some 2,000-3,000 soldiers to keep the peace in Iraq, citing the Polish Division in Iraq as an example, a senior government official said yesterday. ``The United States has asked for a division of light infantry soldiers capable of operating on a self-sustainable basis,’’ the official said. He added there was no mention of the exact size, although the Polish Division was mentioned as a likely model. The request was made by...

Friends, In light of recent national and international events, it should be clear to most of you that the Christian underpinnings of western civilization are being knocked out from under our feet. Recent acts of judicial fiat in both Canada and in our own country have made it abundantly clear that the "post-Christian" world envisioned by anti-Christian radicals for centuries now may be close at hand. Rather than continuing to scratch and claw our own eyes out over our differences (which will not, by the way, be resolved on this forum) I suggest that we call a temporary truce. Nearly...

A Quarter Ounce a Day George McMahon of Tyler is one of seven people in the United States currently granted federal permission to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, under the "Compassionate Investigational New Drug" (IND) program of the Federal Drug Administration. At age 52, McMahon has outlived the typical life span of most people diagnosed with the disease from which he suffers -- Nail Patella Syndrome. NPS is a hereditary neurological disorder that attacks internal organs and the immune system and is usually characterized by some deformity of fingernails -- hence the common name. Eight percent of those with NPS...

America's 'digital division' heads for Saddam's stronghold By Donald Macintyre in Qatar 07 April 2003 Units from the hi-tech US 4th Infantry Division, which was blocked by a decision of the Ankara parliament from entering Iraq from Turkey, have begun a 350-mile dash north from Kuwait towards Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home stronghold some 100 miles north of Baghdad. Deployed in combat for the first time since the Vietnam War, the 4th Infantry is seen as a counterweight to Iraqi forces to the north of the capital and could be used if pro-Saddam forces tried to stage a last stand in...