Free Republic

UNITED Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in the Indonesian province of Aceh today for a tour of the region worst hit by the Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami disaster. Annan touched down at 9.45am (1345 AEDT) in the city of Banda Aceh, which bore the full force of the disaster that killed more than 146,000 people around the Indian Ocean, two-thirds of them in Indonesia. The UN chief yesterday made an impassioned appeal at an emergency summit for almost $US1 billion ($1.32 billion) of urgent assistance for millions of survivors threatened by disease.

It hardly seems fathomable, but John Kerry is actually less gracious in admitting defeat than was Al Gore in his bitter-end insistence that he won. Last night I received an e-mail from John Kerry which said, essentially, “Hey, we both know the Republicans stole the election in Ohio. I’m not going to do anything about it. But you should be pissed!” ”Dear Patrick,” the letter reads … No American citizen should wake up the morning after the election and worry their vote wasn't counted. No citizen should be denied at the polls if they are eligible to vote. And, as...

Halftime of the Orange Bowl featured a number of musical acts. Last on stage was Ashlee Simpson, famous for her hilarious lip-synching disaster on Saturday Night Live. Well, everything went according to plan this time, but the entire Orange Bowl jeered when she was introduced, and jeered when she was done singing. If it hadn't been so funny, it might have been sad...

The confirmation hearings of Alberto Gonzales to President Bush’s cabinet post of Attorney General will be the game in town during the next several weeks. Democrats are indignant about Gonzales’ role in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. What role? Well, you see Alberto Gonzales wrote a memo. And if you read the memo in juuuuust the right light, you can see that Gonzales signed of on Lynndie England’s sadomasochistic jailhouse party. Well, not really. But that’s what Democrats will say. Hill Democrats feel rather like the naked pile of Iraqis in Abu Ghraib after having had their hats handed two...

As we draw ever closer to the launch of Ankle Biting Pundits, (which you should visit just to get an idea of what we're talking about) the two jabronis that run the site are have a serious disagreement about what the site should look like. Frankly, we are at an impasse, as each of us has dug in his heals over two irreconcilable features of the site. Understand when we use the term "irreconcilable" it doesn't mean either of us is quitting, just that we have differing ideas on teh new site. We will both contribute the same as we...

Heretofore we have supported Dino Rossi’s struggle against the forces of thievery out in the Washington Governor’s race. We even wrote an article about how the Democrats stole the election, and can certainly understand the anger both he and his supporters feel about the Ukraine-style heist. .But his latest move is silly, irresponsible and has probably already damaged his political prospects for the future. To recap, Rossi won an very close Governor’s race against Democrat Christine Gregoire. He won again after the first recount. But yet another recount (and some “found” ballots in heavily Democrat King County) later, and Gregoire...

Daschle, 57, led the Senate Democrats through a tumultuous decade of a government shutdown, the impeachment of a president, the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and an anthrax assault on his Senate staff. Now he says he is focused on the future and a possible new career with a Washington law firm, investment house or public policy think tank. He has pretty much ruled out lobbying.SNIPduring an interview Friday in his stately office at the Capitol overlooking the Mall, Daschle declined to discuss the campaign or his feelings about Frist, dismissing such an exercise as "corrosive and so totally unproductive."SNIPAs...

For a good start to the weekend, please post opinions and thoughts on your favorite Seinfeld episode.

Ok folks, many on FR have pointed out the absurditiy of someo of my posts. I am new on here, so im learning really quickly what I can and cant do, but I just love the ability to communicate with fellow conservatives around the country, and a lot of times i just want to put up a post that is likely to get some kind of response.

Kerry Team Reassigned As Va. All but Conceded By Michael D. Shear Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, October 4, 2004; Page A04 RICHMOND, Oct. 3 -- Sen. John F. Kerry's top campaign officials in Virginia have been reassigned to work in other states, effectively conceding the commonwealth to President Bush even as the Democratic presidential candidate rides a wave of momentum nationally from his performance in last week's debate. Susan Swecker, the Kerry campaign's state director, and Jonathan Beeton, the press secretary, were scheduled to leave Virginia on Sunday night, Beeton said. An additional 18 campaign staff workers were sent...

By you own admission, the Free Republic hates democrats, non-Christians, gays, the environment, strong women and pacificts to name a few. That's about 80% of your fellow Americans that you oppose. You claim to be defenders of the constitution and yet you support amendments allowing the federal government to tell you who you can marry and what religion you should follow. You claim to believe in free speech and in the next sentence say you will censor anyone that doesn't agree with you. And yet you claim to to be pro FREEDOM? I don't get it.

In an effort to put in one place all the reasons why I/we think that Saddam Hussein worked actively with Osama Bin Laden, I am starting a thread which can be saved and added to over time. We know Saddam worked with the PLO and other terrorists, he funded them. He at LEAST knew that 9/11 was coming. less than two months before 9/11/01, the state-controlled Iraqi newspaper “Al-Nasiriya” carried a column headlined, “American, an Obsession called Osama Bin Ladin.” (July 21, 2001) In the piece, Baath Party writer Naeem Abd Muhalhal predicted that bin Laden would attack the US...

Annan attacks fortress Europe over migrants United Nations chief pleads for warmer welcome Ian Black in Brussels Friday January 30, 2004 The Guardian Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, has launched a scathing attack on "fortress Europe", warning that its "dehumanising" policies towards immigrants are leading many to their deaths. The UN chief used an appearance before the European parliament to demand a more positive approach that sees immigration as beneficial and not simply something to be curbed. "The public has been fed images of a flood of unwelcome entrants, and of threats to their societies and identities," he told MEPs....

http://clubweb.interbaun.com/midiman/xmas.HTML MIDI - RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER You know John, Joe, Dick, Howard and Dennis and KerryCarol and Wesley and Sharpton who's scaryBut do you recall...the one running who's most stealth of all Hillary, Queen of Evil...she would sell our country outWe don't know if we'll win it...to our troops she's pleased to shoutAll of our fighting forces made their feelings very clearBehind her back they whispered...get her the hell out of here She went to Afghanistan, then off to IraqSoldiers took an insta-poll...do not let that witch come back Upstaged by our fine leader...mess kits soon flew through...

Yesenia Sanchez didn't worry about her noncitizen status -- until she turned 16 and couldn't get a driver's license. Now 20 and attending college, Sanchez fears she won't find a job when she graduates. She doesn't have a Social Security number. Like other young people nationwide, she's pinned her hopes on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act -- also called the DREAM Act. The proposal before Congress would give undocumented youth an opportunity to become legal U.S. residents. Sanchez is one of thousands of young people who've come out of the shadows to lobby for the bill...

To Hillary's right is a soldier sending us a stealth message. He does not want to be there. MIDI - FLY ME TO THE MOON Gag me with a spoon...they made me sit by Hillary Why is something this atrocious happening happening to me In other words...go away...in other words...what a bad day All the brass has warned us that we've got to treat her nice Otherwise they're gonna make us clean the grease trap twice In others words...go away...in others...what a day (musical break - you can advance to 1:44) Gag me with a spoon...it's really more that I...

Progress in the Arab world is being hindered by the Bush administration's post-Sept. 11, 2001, tightening of visa restrictions and the U.S. government's treatment of terrorism suspects, a team of Arab intellectuals contends in a new report to be released today in Jordan.

SACRAMENTO – Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger hoisted a broom outside the state Capitol yesterday, but was unable to sweep away the sexual-misconduct controversy that has consumed his campaign for the past four days. Gov. Gray Davis, who signed legislation requiring most employers to provide health insurance for their employees yesterday, claimed that the drive to oust him in tomorrow's historic recall election is losing steam. Davis said polls conducted by his and other campaigns since the allegations against Schwarzenegger surfaced Thursday show the race "closing dramatically." "It's almost a dead-even race right now and I believe all the momentum is on...

<p>Wherever Administration Moderator went, he was greeted by huge, enthusiastic crowds of cheering people – people as far as the eye could see - reaching out to Administration Moderator and he reaching back at every opportunity. Administration Moderator has got the right stuff, he loved being with the FReepers and the FReepers loved being with Administration Moderator. There is a genuine connection between the Moderator and his message and the FReepers. Administration Moderator could capture the presidency in 2004!</p>

Through the federal government, President Bush has been able to declare WAR in a "foreign" country. Unlike Viet Nam, Bush jump started the war with Iraq. With all of this diversion going on, WHY doesn't the media report on the real truth? That being that the de facto unlawful government state of Hawaii isn't a "STATE" at all and never has been. The fraud, lie and coverup has been all along that Hawaii has been militarily occupied for the past 110 years. There lives today 274 men/women that are of the true nationality of being Hawaiian. They never signed the...

How do you know if you're a Democrat? If you've ever met someone down on his or her luck, and you wanted to help, then you're a Democrat. If you have ever seen the look in a child's eyes of fear, of hunger, or of aspiration, and wanted to help, then you're a Democrat. If you have ever wanted leadership that had common sense, that cared about the future, and that wanted progress over partisanship, then you're a Democrat. If you believe that we are better off working together than apart, then you're a Democrat. If you believe in community,...

“The New York Times” wrote that CNN’s top executive, Eason Jordan, admitted that for the past 12 years the news network concealed information about Saddam Hussein’s brutality and did it in order to keep their Baghdad bureau open. Jordan thinks he made the right call but here’s the real deal on CNN’s bargain. NOW CNN ADMITS it had evidence of Saddam Hussein’s human rights atrocities and refused to reveal it to the viewers of the world. In many instances, the CNN big wigs actually knew Saddam Hussein was imprisoning and torturing some of their own employees but they refused to...

NEWBURGH, N.Y. -- A college basketball player who turns away from the U.S. flag during the national anthem was jeered by flag-waving students at a road game, even while she was on the bench. Toni Smith, a senior at Manhattanville College, was booed at Mount St. Mary at a game Thursday night. Smith is protesting "that the government's priorities are not on bettering the quality of life for all of its people, but rather on expanding its own power.'' She has turned away from the flag all season. Before Thursday's game, the Mount St. Mary student government handed out small...

MIDI - PUT ON A HAPPY FACE Nancy Pelosi, we plead…put on a burqa, please Appeasement has been your creed…put on a burqa please You show it every time how much you loathe…the USA Please climb up on that Golden Gate you've got…and fly away You're a RAT, you're a liar…put on a burqa, please Dear, your pants are on fire…put on a burqa, please Like all the libs you are so filled with sleaze Just put on a burqa, please You're in the weasel axis…put on a burqa, please First thought is raise our taxes…put on a burqa,...

<p>As you can see, we have had another visit from this pest. We go through this every day, generally several times.</p> <p>When we dust him immediately, we get people telling us we should leave them for people to tear into. When we don't, we get people telling us to get this crap off of FR and to "not have another repeat of yesterday's nonsense".</p> <p>I have decided to hijack this thread and use it to get opinions. What do you all think? Should this troll be nuked each time he shows up, or should we let him post?</p>

Former President Jimmy Carter warned Wednesday that the United States would make a "tragic mistake" if it attacks Iraq without the support of its allies. He also said a military campaign to topple Saddam Hussein would put U.S. troops at greater risk than they faced in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and recent attacks in Afghanistan. Those efforts relied heavily on aerial bombardment, but Carter said air attacks alone will not dislodge the Iraqi dictator. "To capture him, we would have to go into the streets of Baghdad," he said. "The costs would be enormous." Carter made the remarks at...

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien has linked the Sept. 11 suicide attacks to the perceived arrogance and selfishness of the United States and the West. Chretien is the first leader of a western major nation to suggest that the suicide hijackers might have been motivated by what he describes as the misguided policies of a rich and powerful West that did not understand the need for restraint. The veteran prime minister, who has been in power for nine years, told the CBC in an interview aired late on Wednesday that there was "a lot of resentment" about...

Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the Soviet Union, told reporters in St. Petersburg Tuesday that any military operation against Iraq may be conducted only with the authorization of the United Nations Security Council. Gorbachev said, "It should be generally accepted that such an action [must be] necessary for the whole global community and such a decision might only be taken by the U.N. Security Council." Gorbachev supported the view that U.N. inspectors should return to Iraq. He also stated that "his opinion was shared by Russian President Vladimir Putin and he supported him in that." Gorbachev headed the Soviet...

On the anniversary of the attacks in New York and Washington, former US President Bill Clinton says we can only counter the threat of terrorism by reparing the widening rift between the haves and the have-nots of our planet The central reality of the twenty-first century world, as the spread of terrorism and the vulnerability of the United States to it demonstrate, is that our era is globally interdependent but far from integrated. We learned on 11 September that the very forces of globalisation we helped to create - open borders and commerce, easy travel, instant communications, instant transfers and...

SANTA ANA, Calif., Sept 5 (Reuters) - Former President Clinton warned on Thursday that a U.S. attack on Iraq could prompt Saddam Hussein to use chemical or biological weapons against U.S. interests because he would have nothing to lose. Speaking to a group of Democratic Party supporters at a Santa Ana, California fund-raiser for Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, Clinton said President Bush had to consider Saddam's reaction to an invasion before taking action. "Saddam Hussein is not a good man by our definition," Clinton said. "There's no question ... he has significant stocks of chemical and biological agents." "I think we...

Fundamental changes are taking place in the historical policies of the United States with regard to human rights, our role in the community of nations and the Middle East peace process -- largely without definitive debates (except, at times, within the administration). Some new approaches have understandably evolved from quick and well-advised reactions by President Bush to the tragedy of Sept. 11, but others seem to be developing from a core group of conservatives who are trying to realize long-pent-up ambitions under the cover of the proclaimed war against terrorism.

Carter says Iraq poses 'no current danger' to U.S. 5 September 2002 14:53 WASHINGTON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Former President Jimmy Carter, warning against a unilateral U.S. war against Iraq, said on Thursday that Baghdad poses "no current danger to the United States," and also criticized America's drift away from its historical role as a global champion of human rights. Carter, a Democrat who served as U.S. president from 1977 to 1981, said that while Republican President George W. Bush has reserved judgment, Vice President Dick Cheney and other top administration officials point to "a devastating threat from Iraq's weapons...

<p>KING: Do you remember what you were thinking, Mr. President?</p> <p>CLINTON: Yes.</p> <p>KING: What would go through the mind of the immediate former president watching this?</p> <p>CLINTON: I remember exactly what happened. Bruce Lindsey said to me on the phone, my God, a second plane has hit the tower. And I said, bin Laden did this. That's the first thing I said.</p>

In response to the traitorous military-hating SOB trying to Blame Bush 41 for Somalia, here are excerpts from THE CLINTON CHRONICLES BOOK. These are from Lt. Col. Tom McKenney (Ret) in his chapter "The Unthinkable Commander in Chief." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Any of those Rangers could have told that gathering of politicians that armored vehicle support in such an operation is a must; but the politicians didn't know that, and refused to listen to those who did. Retired Army Captain James H. Smith, the father of Corporal Jamie Smith, himself a disabled veteran in infantry combat in Vietnam, told a May 27...

A musical group called Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks recorded a song twenty-five years or so ago entitled "How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away?" That old song came to mind the other day upon hearing the latest strident remarks from former Vice President Al Gore. At a weekend retreat held for top Democratic fund-raisers, Gore bemoaned that his 2000 campaign had too many consultants and that if he runs for president again he will speak from the heart and "let it rip." Oh really? So does that mean that the last time he ran for...

MIDI - IF YOU'RE HAPPY If you hate this nation, it is time to leave If you hate this nation, it is time to leave If you really hate this nation, don't stay here for the duration If you really hate this nation, you can leave If you love from where you came, you can go back If you love from where you came, you can go back If you love from where you came then you are very, very lame So if you love from where you came, you can go back Will you please take seven million...

MIDI - BROTHER LOVE'S TRAVELING SALVATION SHOW It's late at night and you're hoping that you can find something worthwhile on TV With your remote you start flipping through channels and finally you choose NBC Girls come on the stage…they do a sexy dance Then you see the host dropping down his pants It's Bill…it is Bill…it's Billy Boy's X-rated Sinkmaster Show First, he starts lying then DNA's flying…man, wouldn't you know The crowd is aglow…Sinkmaster's Show Then, Mel Reynolds comes in…oh, look, Marion Barry and Condit and Teddy come too Jesse and Dodd and a gloved one who...

Former President Bill Clinton accepts a flower from a boy after leaving a Fifth Avenue clothing store in New York, Monday, April 15, 2002. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano)

Actress-comedian Ellen DeGeneres has signed up to host a daytime television talk show next year, provided her CBS sitcom remains off the air, Daily Variety reported in its April 12, 2002 editions. DeGeneres is shown at the 52nd Annual Emmy Awards September 10, 2000 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. (Fred Prouser/Reuters)