Free Republic

By far, the most significant story of the 2008 Republican primaries has been the unlikely candidacy of Mike Huckabee and his_single-handed_resuscitation of Christian conservatives as a force to be reckoned with in the Republican_Party. Yet, regardless of how he fares on Super_Tuesday_and_beyond, Mr. Huckabee will perhaps be best remembered as the man who, however unintentionally, helped persuade evangelicals to vote a Democrat into the White House in 2008 – and possibly in future races, as well. Since the 1970s, conventional_wisdom has held that evangelicals are driven by a single-minded_concern with defending "moral values," while mainline Protestants focus on issues of...

A broad coalition of black conservatives from across the country are holding a press conference to urge former Governor Mike Huckabee to stay in the presidential race for the Republican nomination until the convention. "Governor Huckabee should not be intimidated to stop his bid for the Republican nomination," states Don Scoggins, veteran GOP activist and ... president of Republicans for Black Empowerment, a DC-based national grassroots organization. The concern of the group is the pressure that is mounting by Republican talking heads to push Governor Huckabee out of the race. The consensus is that Huckabee's campaign was deliberately sabotaged by...

McCain's love of amnesty will be a key issue. He supported amnesty in 2003 by name, proposed it in 2006 and 2007 without calling it amnesty, and says that anyone who says that he ever supported amnesty is a liar. He has insulted Americans who advocate border security and has cursed at the thought of building a border fence. The presence of Juan Hernandez in the background of the McCain campaign tells us that John McCain is as weak on border security now as he ever was. Dr. Juan Hernandez, a dual citizen of the US and Mexico, and past...

I am disappointed in the tactics and statements of almost all the presidential candidates, both Democrats and Republicans. My grandmother used to say that you can tell just as big a lie with a half-truth and sometimes a bigger one. Take the half-truths said about Mike Huckabee and taxes. I lived in Arkansas when he was the governor. He did away with the marriage tax penalty and the capital gains tax on the sale homes. He doubled Arkansas' standard deduction and the child care tax credit. He slashed the capital gains tax for both individuals and businesses. In 2001, Mike...

ABBEVILLE, South Carolina (CNN) -– Fred Thompson continued his attacks on all three of his main Republican rivals in South Carolina Wednesday. The former Tennessee senator, running behind John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney in recent surveys in the state, has staked his candidacy on a strong showing in the GOP primary there this Saturday. Asked by a voter Wednesday how his record on "conservative Christian values" stacked up against those of Huckabee and John McCain, he immediately criticized the former Arkansas governor. "Just to cut through the baloney, it was me and not him who received the National...

I remember the good ol’ days, sometimes called “2005,” when Mike Huckabee was fairly reasonable on immigration. He supported in-state college tuition for children of illegal immigrants and opposed an immigration raid of a poultry plant that led to the deportation of illegal immigrants. More recently, he endorsed Bush’s immigration policy, denounced in right-wing circles as “amnesty.” Huckabee insisted that he supports measures that “provide[s] a path for workers to become legal,” and denounced conservative critics of immigration reform, condemning them for being “driven by racism or nativism.” He even declined to have state police enforce immigration laws, despite the...

State Sen. Eric Johnson was among the first prominent Georgians to jump on the Fred Thompson for President bandwagon. The Savannah Republican helped persuade dozens of state lawmakers to endorse the former Tennessee senator earlier this year. But he remained relatively quiet after Thompson officially entered the GOP race this summer. Until last week, that is. That was when Thompson slipped to fifth place in one national poll after doing only a little better in other recent ones. Earlier, he'd led in one national poll and stayed near the front of the pack in others. Against that backdrop, Johnson weighed...

The last month has been the best one of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. He appears to be emerging as a viable conservative alternative -- rising in polls in Iowa and finally putting together a serious fundraising effort. There's just one problem with this rosy scenario. And, its name is the Club For Growth. The Club, a D.C. based organization that proudly touts both its fiscal conservatism and its willingness to dabble in contested Republican primaries, seems intent on not allowing Huckabee to coalesce the Republican conservative base behind his candidacy. From the start...

The plaintiffs in a lawsuit accusing Tyson Foods Inc. of hiring illegal aliens to work at poultry plants are focusing on the meat producer’s relationship with the League of Latin American Citizens. The class-action suit in U. S. District Court in Eastern Tennessee claims Springdale-based Tyson Foods knowingly hired illegal aliens to work for wages below what American workers would take. It was filed in April 2002 on behalf of former Tyson workers in several states, not including Arkansas. Trial is set for March 3. The plaintiffs in Trollinger v. Tyson are chicken plant workers who said they were harmed...

Associated Press NEW YORK -- NEW YORK Tyson Foods will no longer use antibiotics to raise chicken that is sold fresh in stores and will launch a $70 million advertising campaign to tout the shift, the nation's largest meat producer said Tuesday. The company said fresh chicken raised without antibiotics was shipped to stores Monday and will be sold beginning later this week in packaging that emphasizes that there are no artificial ingredients. "We're providing mainstream consumers with products they want," Tyson Chief Executive Richard L. Bond said at a news conference. Consumers will have to pay slightly more for...

HOUSTON, April 16 — Tyson Foods and ConocoPhillips have cooked up a new recipe for your pickup truck. The two companies announced Monday that they were forming an alliance to produce and market diesel fuel made from pork, poultry and beef fat. It was another sign that farmers and agribusinesses, which are now producing corn for ethanol, will be playing an increasingly large part in the country’s energy future. The new brew should be available at the neighborhood filling station by the end of the year. The companies said that the diesel, which will be shipped and distributed through existing...

A federal judge has ruled that workers can file a class-action suit against Tyson Foods Inc. for depressing wages by hiring illegal aliens. Howard W. Foster, a Chicago lawyer for the Tyson employees, described the ruling in Winchester, Tenn., as a "very big step," allowing him to seek damages for thousands of workers at eight plants -- including one in Glen Allen, Va. -- instead of just the four original plaintiffs. The case, filed in 2002 under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), is one of a growing number across the nation challenging illegal aliens in the...

Hispanics head for higher ed (Especially in Northwest Arkansas.) Gema Vargas, 20, will be a senior at UALR in the 2006-07 school year. She came to this country as a child. Her father, who had fled a war in Nicaragua, got a job in Arkansas, then brought his family up. Because they were considered war refugees, the Vargas family got the necessary papers to stay here comparatively easily, Vargas said. She said that a majority of Latino college-age students in the U.S. don’t have papers, which means they’re here illegally. Vargas speaks English fluently — although, she says, she sometimes...

The Mexican people aren't the only ones who realize that the "country" known as Mexico is no longer a civilized nation. Thousands of animals are leaving the 3rd world cesspool that should be an oil rich world superpower. El Cujo, a miniature Chihuahua who recently crossed the border complained about Mexico's poor health conditions. "I may eat crap, nibble my butt, and look like a rat with acromegaly, but I don't want to live in a country that has to send ambulances to another country for emergency healthcare. El Cujo also knows that US doctors don’t extort families of foreigners...

This e-mail from the Tyson folk arrived a short time ago, and I am posting it for those who have yet to hear from Tyson to see (and compare responses). I am not italicizing the letter for ease of reading.Thank you for your message. Contrary to what you may have heard, Tyson Foods has zero tolerance for employing people who are not authorized to work in the U.S. We use all available tools provided by the U.S. government to help verify the documents of the people we hire. Tyson voluntarily participates in the Department of Homeland Security's Basic Pilot program,...

LOS ANGELES - Hundreds of thousands of mostly Hispanic immigrants skipped work and took to the streets Monday, flexing their newfound political muscle in a nationwide boycott that succeeded in slowing or shutting many farms, factories, markets and restaurants. From Los Angeles to Chicago, New Orleans to Houston, the "Day Without Immigrants" attracted widespread participation despite divisions among activists over whether a boycott would send the right message to Washington lawmakers considering sweeping immigration reform. "I want my children to know their mother is not a criminal," said Benita Olmedo, a nanny who came here illegally in 1986 from Mexico...

This should be a list of who is planning to close their business on Monday, May 1 in response of the Great American Boycott. We should compile it and boycott them ourselves if possible! Remember to go shopping or work overtime on May 1!

This is my first vanity post, so be nice! I just heard on FoxNews that the meat packing company "Tyson" will be closing Monday to allow their employees so march in the protest on May 1st, whihc is this coming Monday. Are they an American company? They seem to forget they it's "Americans that purchase their product and keep them in business.... I also left them an email on thier website stating my feelings on them supporting this protest march... Okay, I feel better now..... Thank you! Pleasse also go to the Tyson website and leave them an email as...

Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat producer, says it will temporarily shut down nine of its beef and pork plants Monday because many of the workers plan to attend immigration rallies.

Apr 25, 7:36 PM EDT Ark. Hispanic groups plan rallies, not boycott, for May 1 By DANIEL CONNOLLY Associated Press Writer LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Demonstrations in favor of giving illegal immigrants a chance at legal status are scheduled in De Queen, Little Rock and Springdale next Monday, three weeks after rallies in those cities attracted thousands of people. But some organizers in Arkansas say they won't support calls by national groups for immigrants to show their economic power Monday by not working or shopping. "We are not supporting or against that (boycott)," said Margarita Solorzano, one of the organizers...