Free Republic

USA Today's recent ethical troubles with their former reporter Jack Kelley are the fault of the newspaper's and their determination to expand coverage beyond the United States and make it more "upscale." "When big-time blunders occur in any workplace, the boss or bosses usually are at fault, not clerks or secretaries or salespeople," USA Today's founder Neuharth wrote in his weekly USA Today column, a copy of which Editor & Publisher obtained today. Wrote Neuharth "Not reporters, the buck stops with the boss." The column appears just days after USA Today Publisher Craig Moon received a long-awaited, confidential report from...

NEW YORK (AFP) - Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry challenged President George W. Bush) to prosecute former national security aide Richard Clarke if they can show that he lied about terrorism policy. "My challenge to the Bush administration would be, if (Clarke) is not believable and they have reason to show it, then prosecute him for perjury because he is under oath, Kerry told CBS's MarketWatch. "They have a perfect right to do that," said Kerry. Republicans in Congress want to declassify testimony Clarke gave before Congress in 2002 that they claim is at odds with accounts critical of the...

(subtitle) Suspect tried to affect U.S. foreign policy, officials say A distant cousin of White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was charged with working for the Iraqi Intelligence Servise, after Card turned turned her in to the FBI for contacting him in the weeks before the war, allegedly on behalf of Saddam Hussein's regieme. [snip](and waaaayyyy down the article) Lindauer is a one time journalist and press aide to four Democrat members of Congress.

A rant by a newbie - hopefully its not to tough or out of line.

<p>Arnold Schwarzenegger, the bodybuilder and actor turned politician, promised to call the leaders of the Democrat-controlled legislature to convince them they must work together to cut spending and close the state's $8 billion budget deficit.</p> <p>Schwarzenegger unseated Governor Gray Davis in a recall election yesterday. Both men pledged to cooperate during the transition after an election campaign that included allegations by 15 women of sexual misconduct by Schwarzenegger and charges of incompetence and ``terminating hope'' by Schwarzenegger's campaign against the incumbent Davis.</p>

Among the Bush hatersRich Lowry August 19, 2003In the 1990s, a few lunatics accused President Clinton of murder and other crimes, leading to the coinage of the phrase "Clinton-hating." Thereafter, anyone who said a discouraging word about Clinton's sex-and-lies scandal, his slipperiness with the truth or his poor performance was tarred as a "Clinton-hater" and considered somehow illegitimate. The charge of Clinton-hating, constantly retailed by the media, became one of the most useful tools of the president's defenders. It is curious, then, that the press, which lately was so sensitive to any "hatred" directed toward a sitting president, has shown...

One drag 'can hook children' Half of boys were hooked within six months Children become addicted to cigarettes very quickly, and in some cases just one puff is enough to get them hooked. US researchers say teenagers appear to be more vulnerable than adults to the addictive effects of nicotine because their brains are still developing. Two other studies found children's smoking habits were heavily influenced by teachers and peers who smoked. Forty per cent of 332 children studied in the US research who had tried tobacco, even just once, reported symptoms of addiction. Just over half of the 237...