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I am Puerto Rican, born and raised in the Palestine of the Caribbean — an island that has been passed around for centuries by two colonizing powers. I grew up with a father who believed that the United States was the Garden of Earthly Delights. In his telling, America was a magical Oz where everyone was equal and anything possible. He painted it not just as a country, but as an ideal. I never fully believed it, but that was his mantra. He gave me two choices when I turned 16 and was deciding where to go to university: Either...

Talk about complete concept rejection. Skydance, Fox and Paramount's Terminator: Dark Fate reboot — hoping to revive the franchise after three failed attempts — bombed in its domestic box office debut with $29 million from 4,086 theaters, well behind expectations. Not even the return of James Cameron in the producer's chair and original series stars Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger could spark interest among many fans and the general moviegoing public. Nor is the movie likely to be rescued by the foreign box office, where it finished Sunday with a foreign tally of $94.6 million, including a lackluster China debut...

WASHINGTON – A UC Irvine graduate arrested Tuesday on Capitol Hill while demonstrating for a bill to help illegal immigrant students knew she could be deported but decided to sacrifice for the cause, fellow activists said. Capitol police arrested Antonia Rivera, 28, of Santa Ana, and 11 other young people for disorderly conduct as they sat in a circle in the middle of the Hart Senate Office Building. Nine more activists were arrested later Tuesday for unlawful entry at the offices of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Antonia Rivera, a UC Irvine graduate, came...

t - 3 hrs and counting down..

Oklahoma's local law against illegal immigration is among the toughest in the nation. The law went into effect Nov. 1, and advocates for undocumented workers and activists for tougher immigration measures both say that since then, thousands of immigrants have left Oklahoma. Among other things, the new law makes it a felony to harbor, transport or aid an illegal immigrant. Hispanic leaders say the law is causing widespread fear in the Hispanic community. Builders say they can't get enough workers and are threatening a lawsuit to try to block the law. But backers of the measure say it's doing what...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A new state immigration law that targets illegal immigrants has created fear and panic in Latino communities across Oklahoma and will force many immigrants -- both documented and undocumented – to leave their jobs and homes, Latino groups said Wednesday. Latinos and their supporters reacted to the law on the eve of its Thursday effective date after a federal judge in Tulsa took under advisement a request to block its enforcement. In a two-page ruling, U.S. District Judge James H. Payne wrote that the plaintiffs had failed to introduce enough evidence to meet the burden of...

TIJUANA, Mexico - An illegal immigrant who took refuge in a Chicago church for a year to avoid being separated from her American-born son was deported from the United States to Mexico, where she vowed Monday to continue her campaign to change U.S. immigration laws. Elvira Arellano, 32, became an activist and a national symbol for illegal immigrant parents as she defied her deportation order and spoke out from her sanctuary. She announced last week that she was leaving the Adalberto United Methodist Church to try to lobby U.S. lawmakers. She had just spoken at a Los Angeles rally when...

(Babelfish) Flash: Elvira Arellano Already Has Been Deported To Mexico The activist pro immigrant Elvira Arellano already has touched Mexican soil. Towards the 10 p.m. was given by the agents of the Office of Control of Immigration and Customs (HOISTS) to civil employees of the Institute of National of Migracion (INM), revealed to La Opinion official...

JACKSON, Miss., Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A Mississippi subcontractor made an appearance in court on charges of hiring illegal aliens for bridge construction sites. Jose S. Gonzalez, the owner of the Tarrasco Steel Co., appeared in federal court following his arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Northern District of Mississippi ICE agents arrested the 32-year-old as part of an ongoing investigation into charges he hired illegal alien workers from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico at construction sites throughout the Gulf Coast region. Tarrasco Steel is a subcontractor that provides steel rebar and installation services to highway bridge construction projects. In...

KABUL, Afghanistan - A top Taliban military commander described as a close associate of Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar was killed in an airstrike this week close to the border with Pakistan, the U.S. military said Saturday. Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani was killed Tuesday by a U.S. airstrike while traveling by vehicle in a deserted area in the southern province of Helmand, the U.S. military said. Osmani was the Taliban's chief military commander in southern Afghanistan and played a "central role in facilitating terrorist operations" including roadside bombs, suicide attacks and kidnappings, the U.S. said.

America Radio, the liberal news and talk radio network headlined by the comedian Al Franken, has another week to find a buyer. A lawyer for the network, Tracy Klestadt, told a bankruptcy hearing Monday that the company was in "advanced negotiations with a few parties" about a sale, and expected to have more definitive news on a deal in a week. Under its financing agreement, the network had faced a deadline of this Wednesday to have a deal in place for a buyer, but Klestadt said the network's lender had informally agreed to extend the deadline by about a week....

Conservative Fox News commentator Sean Hannity will be the "special guest" Oct. 26 at a fund-raiser for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Don't tell Democrats who have embraced Schwarzenegger this year after he raised the minimum wage, signed legislation curbing global warming, and actively courted the Democratic Legislature. The event at the Sheraton Grand in Sacramento costs $1,000 per person, but "platinum" sponsors can pay $100,000. Platinum sponsors listed on the invitation (at left and below) are Chevron executive Jack Coffey; developer Gerry Kamilos and his wife, Karen; and McDonald's franchise owner C.C. Yin and his wife, Regina. Hannity has been a...

To my best calculations, this is my 1,000th screen name at Free Republic! This one will undoubtedly soon be banned, and besides this one, I only know of one other that's still active. I first signed on in September 1999, and I only had a dozen screen names for the first two years. But when the fascist mods showed up, the screen names multiplied. On some days I have had as many as 6! Here's to disrupting the most dangerous website in America! You guys are fools for supporting this place.

I know I'm going to catch hell for this, but it's time to say something. Israel is wrong. There aren't two sides to this anymore. I've heard all I want to hear from Israel. It's time to stop the attack on Hezbollah, withdraw back into Israel, stop firing bombs into Lebanon, and shut up for a while and let everyone else sort this out. It's not just Israel's problem. There are hundreds of millions of lives at stake in the Middle East, and this time not only has an Arab country, and that's what Hezbollah is, withstood Israel's attack, but...

As someone who was (unfairly?) zotted oh so many moons ago because as a n00b I didn't understand the point to which some mods didn't understand sarcasm, I would like to put forward the (perhaps heretical) notion that we shouldn't be quite so quick on the zot. Recently, a FReeper put forward the notion of a "probationary period" before being allowed to post. I would argue that as long as the posts are rated "PG" (I understand that this is a family chat board) we should allow ALL viewpoints to be presented here. There are a couple of good reasons:...

I died because I'm poor. I'm floating in the water. My Mom is accross from me. Mosquitos swarm around us. They're our only friends. I'm in the United States. Of, America. Not Vietnam. I'm not on T.V. It's really me. I'm dying 'cause I'm poor. Mama's eyes are fluttering. Like a butterfly. This is real. Please, people. Not a photo op. I'm dying 'cause I'm poor. I spit on Mama's lips, to give her moisture. Her face turns cold. I'm crying 'cause I'm poor. Oh, Mama! Dear sweet Mama. I wail into the sky. Where's that promising Bush? Mama didn't...

One look at you tells me all I need to know about you. I am so tired of liberals that think they are so brilliant. You are such a stupid jackass. You are so stupid you probably believe that the Bush administration orchestrated the attacks on 9/11. Every time you go on the internet, every time you make a bank transaction, or pay a bill, every time you try to email a congressman or senator they are getting so much information off of you. Of course it is all a conspiracy by the Bush administration. I have screwed around by...

Here's something for you to ponder over... http://distressedamerican.cf.huffingtonpost.com/ Any thoughts?

THESE ARE THE SENATORS WHO VOTED TO GIVE SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS REGARDLESS OF POLITICAL PARTY, THESE POLITICIANS NEED TO BE DEFEATED IN 2006, 2008 OR 2010, WHENEVER THEY NEXT COME UP FOR OFFICE. SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW; THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION -- THAT IS, UNLESS THEY DO NOT MIND SHARING THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY WITH FOREIGN WORKERS WHO NEVER PAID INTO IT AND AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE BEING LEFT OUT. Grouped by Home State Alabama: Alaska: Stevens (R-AK), Yea Arizona: McCain (R-AZ), Yea Arkansas: Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Pryor (D-AR),...

What's wrong with you people? Your corrupt, despicable party has control of everything and you still complain. Whine and bitch. Whine and bitch. I feel sorry for you. Bill O'Reilly, Tom Delay, Rush Limbaugh mentality makes for a new meaning for Republican "CONVICTION".