Free Republic

Dan Rather came under criticism after it was revealed by the Washington Post that he had given a keynote speech at a fund-raiser for Texas Democrats: GERALDO RIVERA: Let me just read you this news account, April 5th, USA Today: "Conservatives and pundits had a field day at Dan Rather's expense Wednesday after the CBS anchor apologized for being the star attraction at a recent Democratic fundraiser in Texas that raised 20 grand." Was that one of the worst mistakes you've made at least recently? DAN RATHER: Well, it certainly was one of the dumbest mistakes I ever made. But...

September 9, 2004 Documents Suggest Special Treatment for Bush in Guard By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE and RALPH BLUMENTHAL ASHINGTON, Sept. 8 - President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the National Guard came under renewed scrutiny on Wednesday as newfound documents emerged from his squadron commander's file that suggested favorable treatment. At the same time, a once powerful Texas Democrat came forward to say that he had "abused my position of power" by helping Mr. Bush and others join the Guard. Democrats also worked to stoke the issue with a new advertisement by a Texas group that featured a former lieutenant colonel,...

Have at him!

Excerpts.... The Kerry end is near? At this precise time every four years, the most media-savvy members of the Gang of 500 begin to think about their roles in the premiere post-election forum that revisits the actions and players of the presidential race. But if nothing changes in the race as it now stands — with President Bush winning a decent-sized victory — much of the talk will be about the greater technical proficiency of the Bush-Cheney effort.Democrats, who deny up and down that they had anything to do with the documents, tell ABC News that they plan to continue...

<p>September 10, 2004 -- THE populist revolu tion against the so- called mainstream media continues. Yesterday, the citizen journalists who produce blogs on the Internet — and their engaged readers — engaged in the wholesale exposure of what appears to be a presidential-year dirty trick against George W. Bush. What the bloggers and their audiences did was call into profound question the authenticity of four documents proudly trumpeted by CBS News in a much-heralded investigative report on Wednesday night's edition of "60 Minutes" about the president's National Guard service in the early 1970s.</p>

This is a serious crime, altering military records to not only slander a war-time President, but that also suggest criminal activity. These forged memos suggested serious charges against our President, and should not be taken lightly. Whenever the Democrats suggest the Republicans might have done something wrong, they demand a full-scale congressional investigations. These memos are linked to sources inside the DNC, and it is important to get to the bottom of this. Whomever did this commited a serious crime. Our limp-wristed Representives must grow a backbone and demand that this be thoroughly and quickly investigated. I can guarentee you,...

Here is a pretty good current summary of the situation: The Shot Heard Round the World   The echoes of the big Internet bang which annihilated a 60 Minutes story in under 12 hours are still resounding. The key riffs apparently started at Powerline and as Samizdata notes, the distributed intelligence of the Internet took over. Under the scrutiny of thousands of analysts, the CBS story began to melt down.   The start of it all:  Documents Suggest Special Treatment for Bush in Guard   -more- The Thread that broke the Camels Back:Post 47, and the Freepers who busted C.B.S. Let us...

The White House yesterday accused John Kerry of "coordinating" attacks on President Bush's National Guard service in response to the president's widening lead in the polls. "You absolutely are seeing a coordinated attack by John Kerry and his surrogates on the president," White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters aboard Air Force One. "The polls show Senator Kerry falling behind, and it's the same old recycled attacks that we've seen every time the president has been up for election." Mr. Kerry refused to denounce Texans for Truth, a group known by its tax code classification as a 527, for...

SACRAMENTO - Last year, prison guards received ``fitness pay'' worth $33.2 million -- nearly a sevenfold increase from 1999 -- even though they're no longer required to even take a physical fitness test, much less pass one. The guards' union proclaims its members walk the toughest beat in the state, but the cost of their contract has been under mounting scrutiny because the state is relying on borrowing billions to balance the books. Legislative critics complain about what they call overly generous salary provisions, and say that point is brought home by a close look at the fitness pay given...

Saudi terrorists kill US military adviser to royal family's guards By Robin Gedye (Filed: 09/06/2004) Saudi terrorists yesterday killed an American military adviser to the elite National Guard hours after al-Qa'eda warned Muslims to stay away from westerners, who were now a priority target. The dead man, Robert Jacobs, 62, worked for the Vinnell Corporation, an American defence contractor hired by the US military to train the guard, whose duties include protecting the Saudi royal family. Saudi police at the scene of the shooting It was the fifth assault on westerners in Saudi Arabia in five weeks and the second...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A majority of Senate Democrats vowed to block prison guards' lucrative pay raises this year, forcing the union to renegotiate what senators said is an unaffordable contract. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week called for trimming $300 million from the guards' contract, the bulk of the $465 million he wants to shave from all union contracts negotiated by his predecessor. The 31,000-member California Correctional Peace Officers Association has long been a political powerhouse, helping to elect former governors Pete Wilson and Gray Davis. About 350 of its members - less than 2 percent - earn more than...

With summer fast approaching, Iran’s internal security forces are gearing up to crackdown on anti-government demonstrations which usually escalate in the months of June and July. There have been many protests in Iran’s major cities already. In March, violent anti-government protests erupted in Fereydoun Kenar, Marivan, Boukan, and Isfahan. And earlier this month, teachers in Tehran and elsewhere staged demonstrations that led to the closure of many schools across the country. Moreover, more than 20,000 people took part in a protest by tea growers in northern Iran last week. To stem the rising momentum of popular protests, Iran’s theocratic rulers...

WASHINGTON -- Under the glare of an international spotlight, the first of several courts-martial of American soldiers accused of abusing Iraqi prisoners is set to begin Wednesday with the trial of Spc. Jeremy Sivits. Experts say the trials are likely to be the most important in the history of the U.S. military justice system. "I can't think of a more important set of courts-martial," said Eugene Fidell, president of the Washington-based National Institute of Military Justice, citing "the extraordinary volatile climate in which these cases are going to play out domestically and internationally."

Much information on the Iraq prison torture story is making it's way into the major media. Most of it is confusing, if not deliberately misleading. Given the amount of information available to the average news reader, a better understanding of the situation could likely result from reviewing the events of the story in chronological order.

A short-staffed prison in Mexico has hired 42 of its most fearsome inmates to act as guards. The convicts-turned-wardens will each be paid between £20 and £100 a month. They will help the real guards keep control in the overcrowded prison at Tepic. According to Mexican newspaper Reforma, the prisoners chosen were those who instilled the most fear in their fellow inmates.

In a rebuff to the Schwarzenegger administration, Attorney General Bill Lockyer declined Friday to prosecute six officers involved in a videotaped beating of two California Youth Authority inmates. While acknowledging that the guards might have used excessive force in the Jan. 20 altercation at a Stockton youth facility, Lockyer said several factors support an earlier decision by San Joaquin County prosecutors not to press charges. In a carefully worded letter released Friday, Lockyer cited the prior records of the youths and noted that they started the fight and sustained only minimal injuries. Administration officials said they were disappointed by Lockyer's...

EDMONTON -- Corrections Canada won't let guards at maximum-security prisons wear stab-proof vests because it sends a confrontational "signal" to prisoners, says a department spokesman. "If you have that kind of presence symbolized by (a stab-proof vest), you're sending a signal to the prisoner that you consider him to be a dangerous person," said Tim Krause. "It interferes with what we call 'dynamic security.' We want staff to talk to prisoners, to see how they're doing." At Stony Mountain Institution only guards in the emergency response unit are allowed to wear the stab-proof vests, said unit manager Linda Garwood-Filbert. The...

<p>State Attorney General Bill Lockyer is considering filing criminal charges against two guards at a California Youth Authority facility who allegedly beat a couple of young prisoners without justification Jan. 20. While an argument can be made that the state attorney general should seldom second-guess local DAs - San Joaquin County prosecutors initially filed charges but have dropped the case - in this case there are compelling state interests in prosecution.</p>

<p>GRAND RAPIDS -- A Michigan school district told a teacher activated for military duty that he must cover the cost of a substitute during part of his absence and give the district some of his military pay.</p> <p>At a school board meeting this week, angry teachers, students and district residents criticized the decision by administrators at Kenowa Hills Public Schools.</p>

Watchdog: Nuke Guards Cheated in Drill Monday January 26, 2004 6:01 PM By TED BRIDIS Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Government security guards who repelled four simulated terrorist attacks at a Tennessee nuclear weapons plant were tipped in advance to plans for the mock attacks, compromising the security drills, the Energy Department's watchdog office disclosed Monday. The surprising successes by guards at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn., spurred an internal investigation, which determined that two guards defending the mock attacks ``were inappropriately permitted to view the computer simulations of the four (attack) scenarios,'' said Gregory...