Free Republic

In a field that already has six candidates — Lt. Colonel Stephen Simpson, businessman Mike Collins, pastor Jody Hice, state Rep. Donna Sheldon and Brian Slowinski —, attendees of the Monroe 10th Congressional debate on Tuesday were introduced to a seventh: former U.S. Marine Mitchell Swan, who only recently entered a race that the others have been in for months. There wasn’t even standing room left for those who arrived late. Jody Hice, who hails from the area, held a barbeque behind the event’s location for his supporters. Politics and barbeque are an undeniably popular pairing in the Peach State,...

A 13-year-old boy has become the new symbol of the grassroots Syrian Revolution that threatens the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Hamza al-Khatib disappeared after his arrest on April 29 after an anti-government protest in Dera'a, where the rebellion was ignited by the arrest by police of children spray-painting revolutionary graffiti from Tunisia. Last Wednesday, however, the young boy reappeared, albeit no longer intact, and no longer alive. [the article goes on to describe the conditions placed by the regime on the return of the boy's body, and explains that a youtube video of that return has been posted. Arutz...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday that the U.S. would not intervene militarily in Syria as it is doing in Libya, and drew a distinction between Libya's Muammar Qaddafi and Syria's Bashar Assad. The latter, she explained, is seen by congressmen from both parties as “a reformer.” “What’s been happening there the last few weeks is deeply concerning," she told CBS's Face the Nation regarding Syria, "but there’s a difference between calling out aircraft and indiscriminately strafing and bombing your own cities," as Qaddafi has done, and the violence by the Assad regime, which merely amounted to "police actions...

In a guest column, John Ziegler, radio host, Palin confidante, and the filmmaker behind Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted, offers his unique perspective on Sarah Palin’s interview with Sean Hannity, and its specific implications towards a potential presidential run in 2012. The views expressed in this guest column are those of John Ziegler alone. ******* As dangerous, counterproductive, and pointless as it can be to try and predict whether Sarah Palin will run for president in 2012, I found myself changing my mind last night about what she likely will, and should, do regarding the...

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is looking to get his reform mojo back. Buoyed by the passage of a redistricting overhaul he had sought for years, the governor who famously promised to "blow up the boxes" of state government is expected to press ahead next year with a broader government reform agenda ... . The goal: reverse the dysfunction of the Legislature, ... With many of his other policy ambitions stifled by the tanking state budget, reclaiming the reform mantle may be an opportunity for Schwarzenegger to burnish his legacy ... The narrow passage of Proposition 11, ... , gives...

Obama praises John McCain in this video:

A year after Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California, he stood with the political world seemingly safe in his colossal grip, hailed as a reformer of ambition and ability, carrying the hopes of the state's voters on his broad shoulders. Midway through his second year, however, and the former Hollywood star and one-time Mr Universe has found that the mantle of Californian politics is becoming more of a burden. The Republican governor's plummeting popularity has forced him to call a special legislative election to push through his troubled reforms. Just 37 per cent of Californians agree with Mr Schwarzenegger's...

The coming economic crisis. Unemployment. Health care for the poor. The almost 1,500 dead soldiers. The almost 100,000 dead Iraqis. Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher. The Christian Conservative takeover of our nation. The missing 9 billion. The missing weapons of mass destruction. The impending invasion of Iran, and Syria. The total failure to protect us on 9-11.

Zhao Ziyang, former Secretary-General of mainland China’s Communist Party, died at a Beijing hospital last Monday. Good riddance to another communist? In this case, no. Not all tigers are incapable of changing their stripes. During his tenure in China’s one and only political party, Zhao took steps that truly can be called “reforms.” Zhao's greatest moment occurred during the pro-democracy rebellion of 1989, which was centered in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. He opposed the use of China’s vast military might against the peaceful protestors gathered in the square. On May 19, 1989, Zhao personally pleaded with the protestors, mostly...

Were Arnold Schwarzenegger the bold reformer he purports to be, were he truly committed to "blowing up boxes" and obliterating "politics as usual," he would have vetoed Assembly Bill 1077 and signed Assembly Bill 2106. But he did exactly the opposite, thus perpetuating - and even solidifying - two aspects of state government that epitomize its dysfunction. AB 1077, the bill Schwarzenegger signed last month, originally dealt with complaints against police officers, but a few days before the 2004 session ended, Assemblyman Herb Wesson, D-Los Angeles, did a classic "gut and amend," stripping out the original contents and inserting authorization...

In mid-July, when the budget stalemate started to drag, the governor’s office announced a press conference. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared in the Capitol pressroom and blamed the standoff on “special interests” causing “chaos.” Schwarzenegger singled out trial lawyers for supporting the “sue your boss” law, passed during the last days of the previous administration to give workers the right to sue employers for various transgressions. He also accused labor unions of blocking an effort to let school districts contract out school services such as busing rather than stick with union contracts. “I’ve always said, 'When the special interests push me...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Scuffles broke out in Iran's parliament Sunday when a reformist lawmaker called on Islamic clerics to question the performance of the country's supreme leader. Hard-liners consider Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, above the constitution and answerable only to God. The Experts Assembly, a clerical body that elects the supreme leader, is required by law to supervise Khamenei's performance but has never issued a national report. "Was the performance of the supreme leader and bodies under his control compatible with honesty, prudence and fairness in the recent sham legislative elections?"...

Feb 18, 2004 AP Interview: Reformer Criticizes Islamic Control, but Says Demonstrations Too Risky By Brian Murphy/ Associated Press Writer TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - The leader of Iran's ruling clerics must be made more accountable to reform demands and should shed some powers to break a "vicious circle" of control, the most prominent dissident lawmaker and brother of the country's president said Wednesday. But Mohammad Reza Khatami - who was deputy parliament speaker and among more than 2,400 candidates blackballed from Friday's elections - warned against public demonstrations to demand change, saying Iranians have no appetite for another revolution. In...

I just saw the the new Luther movie. OUTSTANDING!!!! I'm not a big fan of Hollywood in general, and historic (or mis-historic) movies in particularly, because they ALWAYS seem to fudge on historic facts, but this movie is a real exception. I've read the two best biographies of Luther (Bainton's "Here I Stand" and Oberman's "Luther: Man Between God and Devil") and this movie while a summary--to keep it movie length--is ROCK SOLID historic. At the same time its a moving compelling story....that keeps your interest. A buddy who saw it with me thought the film was only 1 1/2...

Dems take trip on corporate dime; Junket follows attacks on biz excesses By Andrew Miga / Boston Herald Sunday, July 14, 2002 WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats, after railing last week against the rising tide of corporate abuses, Friday hopped aboard a fleet of company jets for a secret Nantucket weekend retreat with top party donors. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a leading Senate health-care reformer who this week will launch a major fight on prescription drug coverage, flew aboard health insurance giant AFLAC's company jet, an aide confirmed. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Bay State colleague Sen. John F. Kerry are among the...

Spiritual Bouquet: If you salute your brethren only, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do that? St. Matthew 5:47 "St. Romuald" SAINT ROMUALDFounder and Abbot(906-1027) In the tenth century Sergius, a nobleman of Ravenna, quarreled with a relative over an estate and, in a duel to which his son Romuald was witness, slew him. The young man of twenty years was horrified at his father's crime, and entered a Benedictine monastery at Classe to do a forty days penance for him. This penance led to his entry into religion as a Benedictine monk....