Free Republic

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) crashed his car near the Capitol early Thursday, and a police official said he appeared intoxicated. Kennedy said he had taken sleep medication and a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness. Kennedy, D-R.I., addressed the issue after a spate of news reports. His initial statement said: "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident."'Later, however, he issued a longer statement saying the attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan on Tuesday to treat Kennedy's gastroenteritis.Kennedy said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after a final series of votes...

How the hell did we get into this mess?'"          The War on Drugs is nothing more than alcohol Prohibition dressed up for the 1990s. It certainly can't stop people from making, selling, or using drugs, any more than the Volstead Act ever stopped them from making, selling, or using alcohol, but it has succeeded in boosting the price of drugs from mere pennies a pound to hundreds of dollars an ounce -- which anyone who knows anything about economics will immediately recognize enormously increases the incentive to enter the illegal drug market.          It's driven the weakest competition out of...

Prosecutors crack down on Katrina fraud By Kevin Krolicki NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Thursday announced a coordinated initiative to fight fraud related to Hurricane Katrina and said billions of dollars in hurricane relief funds were at risk of being wasted or stolen. The anti-fraud command center will include representatives from the FBI, tax authorities, Secret Service and state and local police. The storm-battered Gulf Coast region is preparing for an influx of federal money that could top $200 billion. "We all know why we are here," assistant FBI director Chris Swecker said at a meeting of officials...

BOURNE – Hurricane Katrina evacuees hastily handed $2,000 in federal relief money last month have been living it up on Cape Cod, blowing cash on booze and strippers, a Herald investigation has found. Herald reporters witnessed blatant public drinking at a Falmouth strip mall by Katrina victims living at taxpayer expense at Camp Edwards on Otis Air Force Base. And strippers at Zachary's nightclub in Mashpee, a few miles from the Bourne base, report giving lap dances to several evacuees. ``They were tipping me $5 a pop,'' said a Zachary's dancer named Angel. ``I told them I felt bad taking...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA wasted millions of dollars over a two-year period by shunning commercial airline flights and instead using its own planes for routine travel, according to a government report provided to The Associated Press on Thursday. The Government Accountability Office found that NASA spent at least five times more by flying employees on its own planes in fiscal 2003 and 2004, compared with the cost of commercial coach tickets. The extra spending totaled about $20 million. The GAO also reported that 86 percent of NASA's own passenger flights in those two years — or about seven of...

Millions 'wasted' planting trees that reduce water By Charles Clover, Environment Editor (Filed: 29/07/2005) Millions of pounds in overseas aid are wasted every year planting trees in dry countries in the belief that they help attract rainfall and act as storage for water, scientists said yesterday. In fact, forests usually increase evaporation and help to reduce the amount of water available for human consumption or growing crops, according to a four-year study. Research on water catchments on three continents says it is "a myth" that trees always increase the availability of water. Even the cloud forests of tropical Costa Rica...

WAUKESHA - A former Oconomowoc police officer faces a disorderly conduct charge for allegedly firing a gun randomly out the window of a car he was driving during a night out drinking. A criminal complaint alleges David R. Borenz, 30, of Oconomowoc, told police he could not remember the Nov. 3 incident because he drank about 14 beers and perhaps two shots of liquor the night he went out in Oconomowoc with a friend and a fellow city police officer. Borenz’s friend allegedly was a passenger in the car and saw him drive up to an automatic teller machine at...

<p>Were on to your shenannagans. When ever a progressive posts a a very smart posts of you,re warped conservativeism, you bravely delete his arguments.</p> <p>However, when some body of the right wing mind set but some what flawed posted a less than brilliant screed, you leave that up and make fun of it just becausee it is typical of the intellect of progressives.</p>

Several of my recent threads / comments have related to a DUI arrest I recently had. I will not defend that. One of the more interesting subjects which came up when I was in jail was whether you can be arrested for "drunk in public" when you are on your own property. My position is that this should not be possible. I like to sit out on my front porch, have a drink or three, and study my shubbery. I am not driving or doing anything else which I consider to be wrong. The overwhelming consensus among my cell-mates is...

none

Cleveland Councilman Zack Reed, known as much for his socializing as his political stances, was arrested in the Warehouse District early Tuesday morning and charged with drunken driving. Reed, 44, said in an interview that he spent part of the night at Liquid, a trendy bar on West Sixth Street, after leaving Monday's council meeting. "I came out [of the bar], didn't go 20 feet and boom, they were on me," he said. Reed faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, not wearing a seat belt, driving left of center and changing lanes without signaling. Special prosecutor C....

Elizbeth teh fIRts's forces killed 0.5million Irish which is faer nore than teh Puritans, and a bit nmore the an Charle's tegh first's plague of teh 1640s, and the evil war he caused,. ther in that land, of beury

For a sizeable proportion of Britons, binge-drinking is a weekend institution, with the young especially showing a greater taste for blind inebriation and its side effects than many of their European neighbors. According to the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS), 48 percent of British men and 31 percent of women aged 19 to 24 admit to having been blind drunk at least twice a month during the past year. Similarly, 38 percent of Britons of both sexes first got drunk before the age of 13, compared to just 12 percent of the French. Within Western Europe, only hard-drinking Danish and...

Truthfully, I really wasn't gloating these past few days. Probably they caught me smiling and laughing a bit, though. Yeah, I had to go into the city (90% liberal) and visit with the Democrats. Couldn't resist. I wanted to actually see the sad faces for myself, up close and live. Local Democrats have been a glum lot these past few days. Many are still grumbling. On Capitol Hill, Democrats were whining like Valley Girls at a sorority party that ran out of wine, pointing fingers at their leaders and talking about making war against the Republicans. Liberal Hill-Rats must have...

US star visits Sudan 28/10/2004 11:00 - (SA) Khartoum - Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie said on Wednesday the situation in Darfur was "unbelievably horrible" and that security remained a major problem, after a tour of Sudan's war-torn region. "It is just the worst thing I have ever seen ... What is happening to the people and women there is just unbelievably horrible," the United Nations goodwill ambassador told reporters in the Sudanese capital. The United Nations says the 20-month-old conflict pitting government forces and Arab militia allies against ethnic minority rebels has created the world's worst ongoing humanitarian crisis, while...

Is it just me or did Bill and Hillary seem to have a funeral Buzz or stupor going on during the Washington DC funeral yesterday. I have watched this twice now and it looks like they are plastered,exhausted, or stoned. What with their appearance and expressions? Anyone else notice.

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has named Representative James T. Walsh (R-N.Y.) its Porker of the Month for February 2004 for spending taxpayer money to fund building renovations at his alma mater. Rep. Walsh used his power as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs/Housing and Urban Development to secure a $4.5 million grant to renovate a science building at St. Bonaventure University. Renovations on the science building actually started after Chairman Walsh secured a $990,000 grant in fiscal 2002 and $405,000 in fiscal 2003. Even more disturbing is the fact that the money comes out of NASA’s...

<p>WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (CNN) -- As attorneys for Rush Limbaugh went to court Monday to try to keep his medical records out of the hands of Florida prosecutors, there have been negotiations on a possible plea bargain for the conservative talk show host, according to a spokeswoman for his radio network.</p>

Second special session grinding toward an end Democrats point to wasted cost to taxpayers By R.G. RATCLIFFE Aug. 22, 2003, 10:26PM AUSTIN -- The second special session on congressional redistricting limped toward a conclusion Friday as House Democrats tried to embarrass the Republican legislative leadership on the escalating cost to taxpayers. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, meanwhile, said he has urged Gov. Rick Perry to allow for a cooling off period before calling a third special session. Dewhurst said a break would give him a chance to negotiate with 11 boycotting Democrats who have shut the Senate down. The two special...