Free Republic

The campaign of 2000 is starting a year too early for most voters, but there are reasons the politicians can't wait. Everyone talks about the fierce competition for contributions and the pressure to organize for the earliest primary elections in history. But lost in all the focus on tactics and timetables is the biggest reason of all: The 2000 election has the potential to determine the direction of all three branches of the national government. "This is as big as it gets," said Joe Andrew, chairman of the Democratic National Committee. "It's certainly the most important election of my ...

MACEDONIA: More than half of the refugees displaced by US-led NATO bombing are in Macedonia. Its government has forbidden political exercises like trying to establish a "Kosovar" presence in Macedonia among the Albanians who have been there for many years. "We don't want what happened in Kosovo to happen here." Baton Haxhiu said. "We have never had a problem with Albanians, and that is because we do not allow the KLA to be here. We don't want the British government publishing a KLA newspaper in our country. "This is what started the whole problem in Kosovo. The "Koha Ditore" run ...

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release February 2, 1998 BRIEFING BY ROBERT BELL,NSC SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR DEFENSE POLICY AND ARMS CONTROL--The Briefing Room--4:13 P.M. EST MR. MCCURRY: Good afternoon, everyone. When the President delivered his State of the Union address to the nation the other evening, he indicated he would submit to the Senate for advice and consent the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Tomorrow when the President goes to New Mexico, he is going to visit a facility that is one of the reasons why the President has a high degree of confidence that pursuing ...

Clinton Believes China Will Accede .c The Associated Press BONN, Germany (AP) - China remains unconvinced that NATO didn't target its embassy in Belgrade, but President Clinton believes that Beijing ultimately will accept the bombing as ``a truly tragic accident.'' Clinton acknowledged that the embassy bombing, which killed three Chinese journalists, had created ``a difficult, painful period'' for U.S.-Chinese relations. But he said he remains hopeful that the difficulties will be smoothed out, and negotiations could resume soon on bringing China into the World Trade Organization by the end of the year. China suspended WTO talks with the United States ...

Senator McConnell (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations is pushing an amendment in serious contention to be adopted to provide $20 million to arm the KLA. Also the amendment would declare Serbia a terrorist state, invoking new sanctions punishments and making it impossible to provide any assistance. This is from the guy who as Chair of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, with a nose for sucking up to the deep pocket folks, denied GOP funding to the staunchest GOP champion of campaign finance reform, Congresswoman Linda Smith (R-WA) in her recent Senate race. The fact that ...

"A cultist is one who has a strong belief in the Bible and the Second Coming of Christ; who frequently attends Bible studies; who has a high level of financial giving to a Christian cause; who homeschools for their children; who has accumulated survival foods and has strong belief in the Second Amendment; and who distrusts big government. Any of these may qualify a person as a cultist but certainly more than one of these would cause us to look at this person as a threat and his family as being in a risk situation that qualified for government interference." ...

U.S. Planes To Return From Balkans By ANNE GEARAN .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States will soon begin bringing home planes and pilots dispatched to Europe during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Defense Secretary William Cohen said Monday. More than 350 military planes, from sleek fighter jets to hulking refueling tankers, will begin the return trip as soon as Tuesday. These planes represent about half the number of U.S. aircraft that flew during the 11-week bombing campaign. Many of the other participating planes were already based in Europe. ``The crews who flew the bombers, fighters and ...

HEADS UP ALL FREEPERS!!! Tonight the Rapid Fire Advocate of Truth (also known to us as F. Lee Levin) will be stepping once more into the breach from 7:00 to 7:30 on Internight. Chief among the lowlifes he will be making verbal mincemeat out of will be the slimiest looking lawyer ever seen on TV, Mark Geragos.For your viewing entertainment and enlightenment.

HEADS UP ALL FREEPERS!!! Tonight the Rapid Fire Advocate of Truth (also known to us as F. Lee Levin will be stepping once more into the breach from 7:00 to 7:30 on Internight. Chief among the lowlifes he will be making verbal mincemeat out of will be the slimiest looking lawyer ever seen on TV, Mark Geragos.For your viewing entertainment and enlightenment.

Kosovo Serbs Protest Over Safety By ALEKSANDAR VASOVIC .c The Associated Press BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) - Several hundred Serb refugees from Kosovo protested Monday in downtown Belgrade, demanding better protection before they heed the government's appeals to return to Kosovo. The police ordered the protesters to disperse. Angry both with a government they feel has abandoned them and with peacekeepers who they say cannot ensure their safety in Kosovo, the Serbs demanded that the U.N. Security Council address their plight. ``We demand that the U.N. Security Council stop the rampage of the terrorist gangs ... who destroy Serb property and ...

Is he destined for the attorney generalship or the Supreme Court? Maybe the former, then the latter. In the meantime, Eric Holder is deputy attorney general. Before that, he was U.S. attorney for D.C. and previously, a judge on the D.C. Superior Court. He spoke with Roll Call Executive Editor Morton Kondracke on June 16. ROLL CALL: The National Rifle Association says this administration has been lax about prosecuting existing gun laws. What's your answer to that? DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER: That's not true at all. We made a very conscious decision at the early part of this administration ...

Colombian Drug Lords Use U.S. Firms To Launder Money WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Customs Service launched a campaign Monday to warn American companies they may be helping Colombian drug barons launder some $5 billion a year in profits back to their country. Customs and Treasury Department officials told a Senate hearing that Colombian cartels are repatriating their earnings from the sale of cocaine and heroine on U.S. streets without having to move any cash across borders. The scheme -- involving a black market currency exchange and contraband goods -- is ``one of the most insidious forms of drug money ...

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: YUGOSLAVIA: Serbian Premier Mirko Maranjovic announced on May 13, "the real goal of NATO air attacks against Yugoslavia is the destruction of our country and our people. Ruthlessly, regardless of the means or the targets, the NATO criminals are trying to create as many human casualties as possible to destroy our economy and communications" Maranjovic said. Meantime Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic was in discussions with U.N. Human Rights High Commissioner, Mary Robinson. The jackal press and liar-in-chief Jamie Shea, reported only those portions of remaarks made by Robinson, which were critical of Yugoslavia. Liars Lockhart, Shea, CBS, ...

Gov. Signs Florida School Voucher Law Students at Worst Public Schools Can Get Vouchers for Private Schools By Patricia Zengerle Reuters MIAMI (June 21) - Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed legislation Monday making the state the first in the nation to offer a statewide program of vouchers to help parents of students in failing schools offset the cost of private education. Florida's House and Senate approved the controversial plan in April. It fulfills a major campaign promise made by Bush during his run for governor last fall. ''By signing this plan into law, we are honoring our commitment to ensure ...

Bush To Meet With Senate Supporters By DAVID ESPO .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - Texas Gov. George W. Bush makes his first trip to the Capitol on Tuesday as the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, and will meet privately with his supporters in the Senate. There was no public announcement of the meeting, but word was spread by personal letter from Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga. Bush ``will be joined by 20-plus senators who have endorsed his candidacy and who are hosting a meeting,'' Coverdell wrote in a letter sent to all GOP senators except rival White House ...

Pentagon holding meetings with contractors WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon Monday said it had met with Lockheed Martin Corp. to review defense contracts and would hold similar reviews with other big military suppliers. ``The fact is that these meetings are just a continuing effort to make certain that our relationship with our contractors work smoothly,'' Cheryl Irwin, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said. ``They are about process, not about program,'' she said. The Pentagon met with Lockheed on a Saturday about three weeks ago, Irwin said. The Wall Street Journal, citing senior Defense Department officials, said Boeing Co. has been scheduled for ...

Jammin' Ann Coulter will be appearing on the Hannity & Colmes Show @ 9:00 PM EDT this evening.Don't miss this chance to see Miz Coulter strut her stuff(And she's got some kinda stuff to strut!!) in a wonderful Geraldo-free environment.

Early Campaign Finance Vote Slows By DAVID ESPO .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - An effort to force campaign finance legislation to the floor ahead of Speaker Dennis Hastert's timetable appears becalmed in the House, where a petition drive has failed to gather any new GOP support in more than three weeks. Rep. Chris Shays of Connecticut, the leading Republican advocate of the measure, says, ``I make no assumptions'' about whether any additional GOP lawmakers will sign the petition. Thus far, 195 Democrats and independent Rep. Bernie Sanders have backed the effort to force the bill to the floor ...

[excerpt] Sergio Vieira de Mello, the U.N. official who essentially becomes Kosovo's governor under the peace deal... When was this guy elected? ...had expressed concern Sunday that KLA activities could undermine his authority. Authority? What authority? Whence derived? On Monday, he praised the agreement and set about the work of building peace. While Jackson is chiefly responsible for security, Vieira de Mello's tasks include...re-establishing civilian courts and police forces, and preparing for elections. And if those elections and courts happen to "undermine the authority" of the UN?... Vieira de Mello said one of his first acts would be to issuestrict ...

Independent Counsel Act Criticized .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - With nine days left in the life of the Independent Counsel act, the chairman of the committee considering its renewal said Monday that Congress should give the Watergate-era law ``a decent burial.'' Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Fred Thompson said the law is fatally flawed because it provides loopholes that allow an attorney general to protect a president under suspicion, while leaving independent counsels defenseless against unfair attacks. Thompson, who supports leaving the probes with the Justice Department with provisions for congressional and White House input, said he was ...