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The heart-wrenching photographs taken in the moments after the Boston Marathon bombings show the blue-and-yellow jackets of volunteers, police officers, fire fighters, emergency medical technicians, even a three-foot-high blue M&M. Conspicuously absent are any clerical collars or images of pastoral care. --SNIP-- When the priests at St. Clement's, three blocks away, heard the explosions, they gathered sacramental oils and hurried to the scene in hopes of anointing the injured and, if necessary, administering last rites, the final of seven Catholic sacraments. But the priests, who belong to the order Oblates of the Virgin Mary, weren't allowed at the scene. The...

US Secretary of State John Kerry again warned Wednesday that time was slipping away to reach a Middle East peace deal, and for the first time said there may only be a year or two left. Appearing before US lawmakers for the first time since becoming America's top diplomat in February, Kerry said his three trips to the region already were proof of his commitment to try to find a way to resume peace talks, AFP reported. The Obama administration is "trying to find out what is possible," Kerry told the House foreign affairs committee, as he laid out the...

Pastrami lovers came out bright and early Friday morning to line up in front of Langer’s Deli in Westlake as the restaurant celebrates its 65th anniversary by giving away free sandwiches. By 7 a.m., nearly 40 people had formed a queue outside the eatery on the corner of South Alvarado and West 7th streets. “This is a way for the owner, Norm Langer, to show his appreciation to his customers and to the community at large for everything they’ve given him,” said spokesman John Schwada. On Friday and Saturday, customers will receive a free No. 19 sandwich, the deli’s most...

American cities have never experienced modern total war, leaving Americans to imagine the impacts of catastrophic warfare on their urban centers. This article examines post-1945depictions of the death of U.S. cities in films, short stories, and novels from the “thriller,” “future war,” and science fiction genres since 1945. Cities are conspicuous by their absence from fictions of future war and its impacts, often disappearing offstage to allow the plot to follow survivors in small-town and rural settings. This pattern spans depictions of the immediate days after atomic bombing (or a surrogate disaster such as a stray meteor or plague) and...

As Tea Party Activists must know by now, the House passed line item veto powers for president Obama. SEE: US House votes to give Obama limited line-item veto Thursday February 9, 2012 “WASHINGTON(Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted to give President Barack Obama a limited line-item veto authority on Wednesday in a rare display of bipartisanship on bitterly divisive spending and budget issues.� CLICK HERE for the roll call vote. I never though Paul Ryan would sell out to the Washington Establishment and approve granting this blackmailing power to the President, and ignore our Constitution’s written procedure regarding...

Who has really gone "well over the line," Rick Santorum or Barack Obama? Former White House Press Secretary and current campaign adviser Robert Gibbs is alleging that GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum went "well over the line" when he questioned Obama's Christian values. Gibbs told ABC's "This Week" that it's time to get rid of this mindset in our politics that, if we disagree, we have to question character and faith." See here. If Robert Gibbs really believes that Rick Santorum went "well over the line" by merely questioning Obama's so-called "Christian virtues," he must then concede that Barack Obama...

During construction of the Hiawatha Line, the joint venture in charge of the light-rail project told federal authorities that minority and disadvantaged subcontractors were being included. Now it has agreed to pay the government $4.6 million to resolve allegations that those claims were false. According to the Justice Department, Minnesota Transit Constructors Inc. violated the federal false claims act by telling federal transportation officials that it hired companies qualified as Disadvantaged Business Enterprises to work on the light rail. The program helps businesses owned by minorities, women and other disadvantaged individuals obtain work on federal construction projects.

National Park Service spokesman Bill Line has lashed out at conservative critics of the trashing of the National Mall by attendees of the leftist One Nation Working Together rally held at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.The Park Service is part of the Interior Department which is headed up by Obama appointee, former U.S. Senator Ken Salazar (Dem.-CO).Line spoke to the Daily Caller, in an unprecedented protest of coverage by the Caller and other conservative news sites and blogs that criticized the One Nation Rally for the large amounts of trash left at the Lincoln Memorial, the World...

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday noted that it was Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), not him, who promised to “drain the swamp” of corruption in Washington. Pelosi famously vowed in 2006 to “drain the swamp” that ensnared Republican members and their leaders during the George W. Bush administration. During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Hoyer clarified that he has never used that phrase. "I didn’t use that term," Hoyer said when asked if he thinks Democrats have "drained the swamp." "What I believed and continue to believe is that we have made the ethics process work, and...

CALLER: Hey, my point to you was in the last hour you were speaking with another caller, and you guys had agreed that all these policy initiatives out of the administration were, in essence, a big-time federal power grab. My question is when are the states going to stand up and say, "No more?" If they don't stand up on Tenth Amendment grounds, which would be the right thing to do, why don't they stand up on selfish grounds? Their politicians, they're losing power. When are these state guys going to say enough? RUSH: This is an excellent point, and...

Lindsay Lohan faces ban from India Lindsay Lohan could be banned from travelling to India following a documentary and false child trafficking claims. By Dean Nelson in New Delhi Published: 12:24PM GMT 18 Mar 2010 Hollywood actress and model Lindsay Lohan could be blacklisted by the Indian government following her trip to the country last December when she falsely claimed she had rescued 40 child workers. Her comments, which highlighted the plight of child labourers, ruffled feathers in India and alerted officials who discovered she had broken the country's visa rules by travelling as a tourist while working on a...

RENO, Nev. -- A fight broke out Thursday at a Reno, Nev., clinic giving shots for swine flu when someone reportedly tried to cut in line. Washoe County Health District spokeswoman Judy Davis says she didn't have any details of the incident, but it involved people in high-risk groups waiting for a chance to get the shot. A witness told the Reno Gazette-Journal that a man took a swing at a woman, then jumped on her and they fell to the ground. They left after a security guard stepped in and broke up the fight. Davis says 1,200 vaccines were...

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel posted this photo essay showing the HUGE lines of people being forced to wait outside in the rain for flu shots.

I recently had my second opportunity in Sderot to host a group from the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). EAPPI is a program supported and funded by the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, a major supporter of the anti-Israel divestment campaign. According to NGO Monitor, EAPPI policies reflect a radically pro-Palestinian agenda, presenting a biased Palestinian narrative and failing to make any mention of Palestinian terror or the human rights of Israelis. In fact, the principal agenda of EAPPI includes the Ecumenical Campaign to End the Illegal Occupation of Palestine.

The following is the full text of Caroline Glick's speech after accepting the 'Guardian of Zion' award. For nearly as long as I can remember, the image of the watchman on the gates of Jerusalem has been the singular image of Jewish strength for me. It is has always been to the Jewish watchmen, ever vigilant, to whom we have owed our lives, and our survival as a people. Today these watchmen preserve our freedom in our land. For 50 generations in exile, it was the memory of those Jewish Centurions, manning the barricades, that inspired us to keep faith...

US President Barack Obama has drawn a line on Israeli settlement expansion before he meets with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas as part of his urgent quest to revive peace talks. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Obama made it clear, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited here last week, that he wants "no natural growth exceptions" to his call for a settlement freeze.

The New Haven firefighter case is one of the most controversial rulings in Sotomayor's record, and one that will no doubt be a prime source of criticism from conservatives. The case, Ricci vs. DeStefano, was brought by Frank Ricci and a group of his firefighting colleagues (all non-black including one Hispanic man). The men were denied promotion after an examination to determine their eligibility to move up yielded no successful black candidates. As a result, the New Haven authority decided to discard the exam results and grant no promotions. Ricci and his colleagues argued they'd been discriminated against, but their...

Today, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announced that a statewide study of future rail lines would include all options. That's something, supporters of a line through Rochester feared wouldn't happen. So today, there is new hope the city will see the dream of a rail line, come true. It takes a little over an hour to travel from Rochester to St. Paul. A new rail line could cut that time in more than half. “Whether is the legislature, or University of Minnesota, or other things to get up there and back, obviously it would be a real benefit," Brede says. That's...

Raisinet Theory on Immigration The political obfuscation of the phrase "back of the line".... Consider hundreds of people waiting in line for a new hit movie. They've been waiting outside the theater for hours in the cold pouring rain. Along come a bunch of people who sneak in the back door of the movie theater and sit down in front of the big screen. The manager of the theater knows that it's unfair, but instead of kicking them out and making them get in the back of the line outside in the rain, he stipulates that as punishment for cutting...

Mitt Romney is an intelligent man who sometimes seems eager to find bushel baskets under which to hide his light. Romney faults Rudy Giuliani for opposing the presidential line-item veto. But Giuliani doesn't, unfortunately. The facts -- not that they loom large in this skirmish -- are: When in 1997 Bill Clinton used the line-item veto, with which Congress had just armed him, to cancel $200 million for New York state, Giuliani harried Clinton all the way to the Supreme Court. It agreed with Giuliani that the line-item veto was an unconstitutional violation of the "presentment" clause. Today, Giuliani says,...

Tucked away on Seattle's Portage Bay, a sleek, 85-foot speedboat sat idle for years — save for an annual jaunt to maintain its engine. The Navy paid $4.5 million to build the boat. But months before the hull ever touched water, the Navy gave the boat to the University of Washington. The school never found a use for it, either. Why would the Navy waste taxpayer dollars on a boat that nobody wanted? Blame it on Sen. Patty Murray and Congressmen Norm Dicks and Brian Baird. All three exercised their political muscle to slip language into a 2002 spending bill...

A woman left infertile after cancer treatment says she feels "distraught" after losing a five-year legal battle to try to become a mother using her own embryos. Natallie Evans had mounted a "last chance" appeal to keep the six frozen embryos, which were fertilised by her ex-partner. But the European Court of Human Rights ruled that her rights to become a mother did not outweigh the rights of her ex-boyfriend, Howard Johnston, not to become the father of her children. Ms Evans, 35, from Melksham, Wiltshire, and Mr Johnston, 30, from Cheltenham, embarked on IVF in 2001 after she was...

How do I create a tagline? Couldn't find directions anywhere. Thanks!

Vatican has adopted a tougher line with Islam By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent (Filed: 18/09/2006) At first sight, there may seem to be little divergence between Pope Benedict XVI's approach to Islam and that of his predecessor. The present Pope, a scholar who has made an extensive study of the faith, is clearly keen to promote understanding between Christians and Muslims and has many personal contacts. At his inaugural Mass as Pope in April last year, he made a point of welcoming Muslim leaders. In reality, however, Benedict XVI has adopted a far more cautious approach than the late John...

Israel to triple force on Lebanon front line By Tim Butcher, Adrian Blomfield in Tyre and Harry Mount in New York (Filed: 10/08/2006) Israel vowed yesterday to expand the ground war in Lebanon to try to deliver a knockout blow to Hizbollah, amid warnings that the conflict could last at least another month. The decision by the security cabinet after a six-hour meeting in Jerusalem increased the pressure on major powers struggling to win agreement on a United Nations resolution to end the four-week-old conflict. Israel plans to triple the size of its ground forces "Plans by defence minister Amir...

First Rail Line Into Tibet Opens With Environmental Warnings LHASA, Tibet, July 6, 2006 (ENS) - With the opening of the new railway line through the Tibetan Plateau on Saturday, and the increased number of travelers expected to visit the area as a result, WWF and its wildlife trafficking monitoring arm, TRAFFIC, are calling for conservation measures to protect the world's largest and highest plateau. Billed as the highest railway in the world, the final stretch of the Qinghai-Tibet rail line opened Saturday, running over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from central China to the Tibetan capital Lhasa. Environmental groups are...

GOP dares Pelosi: Sign on the line By Josephine Hearn U.S. House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) gestures as she speaks during a taping of 'Meet the Press' at the NBC studios in Washington, DC May 7, 2006. NO SALES NO ARCHIVES REUTERS/Alex Wong/Meet the Press Freshman Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry (N.C.) wants to help House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — well, sort of. McHenry has prepared an ethics complaint for Pelosi to file against a fellow Democratic lawmaker, Rep. William Jefferson (La.), who is under investigation by the Justice Department for allegedly having received more than $450,000...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (May 5, 2006) -- There are no pencil-pushers at 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. There are only extra trigger-pullers. The Darkhorse battalion, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5 in Fallujah, is making it a point that no one gets a free ride. Everyone earns their campaign ribbons. Administration clerks are pulling convoy security. Legal assistants are truck drivers. Everyone gets outside the wire and everyone earns their combat pay. Some Marines never thought they’d see the field, even before arriving at their first duty stations. Lance Cpl. David Reister was told at his military occupational specialty school...

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2006 – The Pentagon Channel has added video podcasting to its line of products that distribute the channel's military news and information to the nation's men and women in uniform. "We work hard to communicate with the men and women of the department around the world," Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said. "I am pleased that we are using video casting and other increasingly important technologies to reach our global audience with all the news and information available on the Pentagon Channel." The channel's video podcasting line-up includes: "Around the Services in Brief," the daily...

ALBANY - GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bill Weld is sailing into uncharted waters in New York Republican politics: He's making a major run to line up the backing of the tiny Libertarian Party. Weld confirmed to the Daily News last night that he would "definitely be interested" in winning the Libertarian line "'Libertarian' is not a bad word in my lexicon," he said, noting one of his favorite expressions is: "I want the government out of your pocketbook and out of your bedroom." Asked about the party's opposition to the war on drugs, Weld said he'd back medical marijuana, but added,...

20 EU states warned to toe Brussels line By David Rennie in Brussels (Filed: 05/04/2006) The European Commission launched a barrage of legal proceedings against more than 20 member states yesterday, demanding that they obey EU laws on everything from energy monopolies to subsidies for airlines. Fearing for the health of the single market after an outbreak of protectionism in various countries, the Brussels commission challenged a French decree blocking foreign ownership of firms in 11 "sensitive sectors", from cryptology and arms to casinos. The decree, which came into force on Dec 31 last year, was part of the policy...

Thousands line Phoenix street in protest march Thousands of supporters of immigrant rights march to the office of U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl in Phoenix. Many said they were most incensed by what they see as punitive immigration reform proposals, especially one approved by the House in December that would make unlawful presence in the United States a felony. (Phoenix, Arizona-AP) March 24, 2006 - One of the protesters in a big march in Phoenix says immigrants are "here for the American Dream." Police estimate at least 10,000 people joined the rally calling for more "humane" changes to immigration laws. A...

A memorial illustration for Trooper Steven R. Smith of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

It is an incontestable fact that no kind of fortress, wheresoever placed, however strongly manned, however expensively constructed, and however numerous its garrison, has ever given permanent security to a State-has seldom indeed given it even temporary protection. Moreover, a fortress once invested is certain to fall, unless a relieving field-army can beat the besiegers away. We read in the history of one generation of the "virgin" fortress of Ingoldstadt or of Metz, but when we open the records of another generation, we find that its pride has bitten the dust. In some cases a very small fort in a...

Rice will take tough line with Europe on 'prison plane' flights By Philip Sherwell and Kim Willsher in Paris (Filed: 04/12/2005) Condoleezza Rice, the United States Secretary of State, will urge European governments to back off in the continuing row over alleged secret terrorist detention camps in Eastern Europe and clandestine CIA "prison plane" flights. Dr Rice, who begins a four-country European tour tomorrow, is preparing a "robust" defence of American treatment of terror suspects, as Washington belatedly comes out fighting on the controversy, senior European diplomats told the Sunday Telegraph. Condoleezza Rice: No apologies for tactics Although Dr Rice...

ORLANDO, Fla. - Security guards wrestled a man to the ground in a Wal-Mart after he cut in line to get laptop computers that were on sale Friday, a television station reported. The man started arguing with people inside the store, WFTV-TV in Orlando reported. He then started fighting with the guards, the station reported One man told WFTV that the laptops were being thrown into the air and people rushed toward them, collapsing on each other. Another man described the scene as crazy. Orlando police and Orange County sheriff's officials didn't return phone messages seeking comment. The store's manager...

Remote front line in the war on bird flu In a small laboratory in a Budapest suburb, scientists are developing a vaccine which could prevent a global pandemic Daniel McLaughlin in Pilisborosjeno Sunday October 30, 2005 The Observer The road from Budapest meanders through forested hills and quiet villages, before reaching a neat yellow building guarded by an old man in a boiler suit and a barking alsatian. This is the unlikely front line in the global war against bird flu. At this laboratory, Hungary is leading the fight against the H5N1 virus, which has arrived in Europe after killing...

WASHINGTON - The Senate approved a bill Tuesday to raise the homeland security secretary from last to eighth place in the presidential line of succession, just after the attorney general. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike DeWine (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio, passed without objection just before the chamber adjourned. The companion House bill, sponsored by Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., is pending before the Judiciary and Government Reform committees. If the bill also passes the House, the order of those in line to assume the presidency if President Bush is unable to serve would be: _Vice President Dick Cheney _House...

Full line of credit used up, Democratic Party chairman says Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The state Democratic Party chairman says the party has used up its $150,000 line of credit, an Arkansas News Bureau columnist reports in today's editions. State Democratic Party chairman Jason Willett told columnist David Sanders that the party has reached its credit limit and described it as an "investment" in the future of the party. He added that the money is being used to further the party's efforts in winning back the governor's office next year, and...

Members of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) Black Caucus have become seemingly desensitized to racial slurs. The Caucus did not even blink when the extreme Left’s new champion, Howard Dean, made prejudiced statements right before their very eyes. From Dean’s comments, it seems he believes that a Black person’s place is to be cleaning toilets at a hotel in which whites stay. According to the Washington Times, On Feb. 11, the day before he was elected party chief, Mr. Dean asked, at a meeting of the DNC Black Caucus, "You think the Republican National Committee could get this many people...

Four Israeli kids were killed and 30 wounded today by a Palestinian homicide bomber. The young Israelis’ crime? They were waiting in line to get into a nightclub in Tel Aviv. This is the Palestinians’ idea of “peace?” According to the BBC, Alon Kotler, a paramedic who treated several of the wounded told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that rescuers had found "young people lying on top of each other, most of them moderately to seriously wounded". What happened to the “truce” the Palestinian Authority (PA) agreed to with Israel at the summit in Egypt on February 8? What has the...

Big-Money Contributors Line Up for Inauguration President Bush wants to lower barriers to building nuclear power plants, and the lobby that promotes nuclear energy could not be happier. To show its thanks, the group has given $100,000 to help pay for his inauguration. "He's a big supporter," said John E. Kane, chief lobbyist for the Nuclear Energy Institute. "Our donation is just a small way of supporting him." The nuclear energy industry's contribution is part of a record-breaking outpouring of corporate cash to next week's inaugural festivities. At least 88 companies and trade associations, along with 39 CEOs and top...

EXCLUSIVE Hook sues for new hand-out Suing ... Hamza       By JOHN ASKILL LOATHED cleric Abu Hamza is suing benefit chiefs from his jail cell — for stopping cash over his alleged terror links. Hook-handed fanatic Hamza, 47, claims he is owed thousands of pounds over nearly three years — despite his family getting £1,000-a- week hand-outs. A jail source said: “He has a cheek.”      Hamza already gets this lot...   Rent-free £500k house for wife and eight children  £2million from the taxpayer to fund 7-year legal fight against deportation  Bed-linen changed daily plus help to...

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!

Ahoy, mateys, Rosie O'Donnell's going full steam ahead--her cruise line for gay and lesbian families has launched on its maiden voyage. The first cruise of R Family Vacations, a new company backed by the comic and gay-rights advocate, set sail Sunday from New York for a seven-day cruise to the Bahamas. O'Donnell was on hand in Manhattan Sunday to celebrate the first of several gay family friendly vacations planned by R Family Vacations. According to the R Family Website, the cruise is a seven-day adventure that will take its 2,100 passengers from New York to Florida to the Bahamas and...

Taliban leader on the line By Hamida Ghafour in Kabul (Filed: 09/07/2004) Mullah Omar, the one-eyed Taliban leader who has eluded capture for three years, has been contacted by Afghan intelligence agents on a satellite phone carried by a captured aide. The brief conversation ended abruptly when Omar appeared to become suspicious and disconnected the call. He has ignored follow-up attempts to contact him. Omar, who recently told an interviewer that al-Qa'eda and Taliban figures maintained communication by "traditional" means, is believed to change his whereabouts frequently. Abdullah Laghmanai, the intelligence chief in the southern province of Kandahar, said contact...

Kerry Cancels Speech, Honors Picket Line Saturday June 26, 2004 10:46 PM By NEDRA PICKLER Associated Press Writer BOSTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry may cancel plans to speak to the U.S. Conference of Mayors rather than cross a police officers' picket line. Kerry spokesman David Wade told reporters Saturday afternoon that Kerry would not give his scheduled Monday morning speech because of protests at the conference. Later, Wade said the campaign was monitoring the situation and still hadn't decided whether he would speak. ``He's never crossed picket lines in his time in public life,'' Wade said. Boston...

An eerie calm prevails at the FleetCenter By David R. Guarino Thursday, June 24, 2004 With convention construction already $5 million over budget and three days delayed due to a picket line, all was amazingly quiet inside the FleetCenter yesterday - 33 days from DNC D-Day. Convention organizers and Mayor Thomas M. Menino say construction's on schedule. But, to the naked eye, the FleetCenter is far from ready for Sen. John F. Kerry's big event. Workers have taken out seats to make room for the convention stage and steel has been added to the ceiling to help light the ceremonies....

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Even as administration officials continued work to finish Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised budget due out next week, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez warned the Republican governor Thursday not to cut too deep. "Make no mistake, we are going to fight very hard for the things that we believe in," said Nunez, D-Los Angeles, at a noontime press conference. "We will tell the governor of those things that we really want in this budget, what we think is important and socially responsible. And the governor can tell us how he plans to see that the revenues are there to...