Free Republic

It's the scourge of small towns - a major employer lays off half the town and things are never the same. Putaruru in south Waikato was at risk of facing a similiar crisis. However the locals found a novel solution, with a little help from their neighbours. Carter Holt Harvey, the town's biggest employer, has decided to shut the timber mill just before Christmas. Herman Van Rooijen is the local councillor and has a good story to tell of how the town didn't wallow in its problems.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2008 – After being medically retired from the Army last year as a result of mental wounds he suffered in Iraq, Michael Bradley faced a daunting challenge that would later prove pivotal in his recovery: holding down a job in the civilian world. But a new education campaign, America’s Heroes at Work, aims to make employment a less intimidating transition by teaching bosses and managers how to accommodate workers like Bradley -- a pool of productive, capable employees who are afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury. Bradley, who today joined officials from the...

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez faces his stiffest challenge in years Sunday as voters decide whether to approve constitutional changes that would greatly expand his powers and let him seek re-election for decades to come. An emboldened opposition and recent violent clashes in street protests point to a potentially volatile dispute if the vote is close. Chavez has warned opponents he will not tolerate attempts to stir up violence, and threatened to cut off oil exports to the U.S. if Washington interferes. The South American country is a major supplier to the United States — the No. 1 buyer...

Hollywood is missing in action when it comes to fighting for America in recent conflicts, not the least being the war against terrorism. We hereby challenge readers to name one modern American celebrity, apart from the late football star Pat Tillman, who served or fought for his or her country in the past 15 years. "Even Hollywood ... sent its best to wars prior to Vietnam," University of Dayton professor Larry Schweikart reminds us in his new book, "America's Victories," writing that professional actors were as "thoroughly represented" in the fighting military during World War II as any other group....

SNOWMASS, Colo., April 6, 2006 – Michael Brickert is a man of three services, three conflicts, two paralyzed legs, and one can-do spirit that's inspired other disabled veterans. Michael Brickert, a retired Air National Guard first sergeant, soars down the slopes during the 20th National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, at Snowmass, Colo. Photo by Robert Turtil  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Brickert, 58, of Wise River, Mont., was a Navy diver during the Vietnam War. During Operation Desert Storm, he went from being an Army Reserve drill sergeant to pulling personal security detail. During Operation Enduring Freedom,...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2006 – With "the greatest force for freedom in the history of the world on their side," Americans should feel confident in efforts to combat terrorism and spread democracy, President Bush said today in praise of the nation's armed forces. Speaking at the 88th Annual American Legion Convention here, the president thanked the organization for its long-time support of U.S. troops and told veterans in the group they've set an example for today's servicemembers. "Our men and women on the front lines are taking inspiration from the valor and courage that you've shown in the field of...

President Ronald Reagan loved to rail against Congress' pork-barrel spending. But critics say that didn't stop Congress from earmarking $2.3 million for landscaping on the freeway that bears his name, one item among the $24 billion worth of special projects tacked onto the transportation bill signed Wednesday by President Bush. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who opposed the bill with four other senators, said the amount directed to special projects was "egregious." And he singled out Simi Valley's long-awaited landscaping project along Highway 118. "I wonder what Ronald Reagan would say?" McCain asked about the fiscally conservative president. In the city...

One of many cataclysmic changes brought about by the digital revolution is additional difficulty for that ancient problem of distinguishing perception from reality. It is now possible with a keyboard touch [the flicker of an iris or, soon, a brainwave] to create “virtual reality”. Bombarded with the misinformation revolution [as well as information superfluity], judgments about the world and the U.S.’ role become even more difficult. There are, at least, a dozen circles where American interests are critically paramount but where outcome is – perhaps as always — unpredictable: Iraq-Vietnam. Is the reality the constant stream of bloody media stories...

Pope's Dying Hours Uplifted Church's Image Pope John Paul II's Dying Hours Uplifted Image of Battered Roman Catholic Church He Led Pope John Paul II gestures during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, in this Sept. 4, 2002 file photo. Pope John Paul II, the Polish pontiff who led the Roman Catholic Church for more than a quarter century and became history's most-traveled pope, has died at 84, the Vatican announced in an e-mail Saturday, April 2, 2005. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, File) By RICHARD N. OSTLING The Associated Press Apr 3, 2005 — The...

Prosecutors summoned parents of repeatedly truant children to attend a meeting about the law concerning excessive absences, but 241 of the adults didn't show up. Knox County District Attorney General Randy Nichols mailed letters about the Tuesday evening meeting to 582 parents, and about 41 percent were absent. State law allows prosecutors to to hold parents accountable for their children's school absences. Knox County in February arrested 19 parents whose children had 10 or more unexcused absences from school. Parents found guilty can be punished by a year in jail. ---

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

When is it “OK” for an innocent bystander to be brutalized at the whim of a common thug? Amid the collection of worldviews we endeavor to rationalize in our pluralistic cultural, brutalizing ones neighbor and stranger alike is still repugnant to most. Who among us, whether atheist, Christian, or secular humanist will praise and commend the actions of a judge who in the name of love and understanding does not penalize the lawbreaking thief, rapist, and murderer. Why is it so difficult for the average person to apply this simple example of reality to God? If the Creator God...

<p>Pray and Pay A Manhattan church sells advertising space.</p> <p>NEW YORK--Never mind that business about a camel passing through the eye of a needle, said to be analogous, in its difficulty, to a rich man entering heaven. In ads all over town, Citibank has been telling us to "live richly," and it is now doing so on a huge billboard--140 feet long--above the portico of Grace Church, at Broadway and 10th Street. The avenue bends just where Grace Church stands, making the 1846 building visible for miles downtown, a beautiful neo-Gothic jewel nestled among taller structures, a sacred pause before Broadway veers uptown to theatrical fame.</p>

<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - If California's Republicans get their way, Democratic Gov. Gray Davis will join a club so exclusive it has only one member - Lynn J. Frazier, governor of North Dakota during World War I.</p> <p>Frazier served from 1917 to 1921, when he became the first - and for now, the only - governor recalled from office.</p>

Learning from Jesus the Martyrby Curtis J. MitchChristians know Christ by several exalted titles: the Messiah, the Lord, the Savior, the Redeemer. But rarely, if ever, do we invoke Christ as "the Martyr." Yet Scripture describes Him in these very words. We read in the Book of Revelation, for instance, how the Spirit introduces the risen Jesus to the church of Laodicea as "the faithful and true witness" (Rev. 3:14). The key term in this verse is "witness," or in Greek, martys, from which we get the English, "martyr."(1) Among other things, this passage tells us that the biblical vision...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 April 6 Vintage Gamma Rays Credit: ESA / IAS / CEA-SACLAY Explanation: Gamma-rays are the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation. But these high energy photons penetrate and interact in normal materials and cannot be focused by lenses and mirrors like those in optical telescopes. So how do you make an image in gamma-ray light? One way is to use a patterned mask of material which can...

Remarks by the President to the NCAA Sports Champions The East Room 3:42 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Welcome. I like a good, short introduction. (Laughter.) Thanks, Chris, for being here. I appreciate you hosting this, and welcome to the White House. We have never had so many champions inside a room in the White House history, so thank you for making history. Not only on -- when you won the championship, but being here, as well. It's such an honor to welcome you here. It's an unimaginable honor to live here and to share this with people...