Free Republic

Poolside Polemics In this season of bikinis and barbecues, why are we still buying books about Bill? By LOUIS MENAND Photograph by Amy Arbus ill Clinton is into his seventh year as President of the United States. He cannot be re-elected to that office, and he is not likely to run for another one. His impeachment and trial were carried out by people who, whatever their other shortcomings, cannot be accused of understating the case; but his acquittal was greeted with loud public approval. No one is going to try that again. And anyway, what would be the point? Clinton ...

For a look at what an American Patriot is doing to amend our U.S. Constitution, for the better, visit: www.imadwipap.comIt has to start somewhere, with someone, and this person has joined the fray.

NATIONAL ISSUE When House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R- Texas, talks about advancements in computer technology, he does so with the amazement of a doting grandfather. The No. 2 House Republican calls Internet entrepreneurs ''these kids,'' and ''youngsters.'' Armey also uses the Net to be a doting grandfather. His office computer's desktop screen features pictures of his baby grandson. He uses his House e-mail account in part to keep up with the little one's developments and to plan fishing trips with his sons. His wife signs her e-mails to the family ''High-tech Mama.'' Armey may not exactly be a computer ...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. WASHINGTON -- President Bill Clinton and Republicans squared off Saturday on issues they see as winning ones for the 2000 campaign: The president appealed to parents with his plan for more teachers and smaller classes while Michigan Gov. John Engler touted GOP success at cutting taxes. In his weekly radio address, broadcast while the president and his family spent the weekend at Camp David, Clinton announced $1.2 billion in grants to hire 30,000 teachers for the new school year. Congress approved the program with bipartisan support last year, when lawmakers were ...

LOS ANGELES—New citizens. New economy. New issues. California has done it again. The most populous and powerful state in the union has remade itself. And by deciding to move its presidential primaries to the early-bird date of March 7, 2000, California will finally exert the kind of influence on nominating a candidate it does in electing one. Now dominated by Democrats after years of Republican rule, the state is going to be the arena for the coming battle for the great, satisfied but fickle, Moderate Middle. The old issues? Crime and taxes. The new ones? Maybe not guns or ...

His and Hers on the Senate Floor? The NEW YORKER magazine's Jeff Toobin is reporting on Monday: President Bill Clinton may run for the U.S. Senate seat from Arkansas after he leaves office... MAG: BILL CLINTON MAY RUN FOR SENATE IN 2002

EVEN AS THE GOVERNMENT prepared to release the Cox Report revealing how the Communist dictatorship in Beijing had stolen the design information for every advanced nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal, the Democratic National Committee was announcing the appointment of its new "political issues director," Carlottia Scott, a former mistress of the Marxist dictator of Grenada, and an ardent supporter of America's Communist adversaries during the Cold War. What could the DNC have been thinking to make such an appointment at such a political juncture? And what might this tell us about the roots of the nation's security crisis-the dramatic ...

HILLARY WATCH During the G8 summit, HRC bought 18 pairs of shoes from Bruno Magli for $5,000. Said a Bruno Magli representative, "They are classic mid-heel pumps, in black, bone, navy, brown. It's not normal, though, to buy this many shoes at once."

NO FIVE-DAY WAITING PERIOD ON CHINESE NUKES Rep. Traficant (D-OH), House of Representatives, June 14, 1999 Mr. Speaker, China spies and buys our secrets. Then China points their missiles at American cities. Now if that is not enough to put trigger locks on Chinese missiles, a White House spokesman said, and I quote, 'We will grant China swift admission to the World Trade Organization.' Swift admission no less. Beam me up here. I am firmly convinced those experts at the White House are smoking dope. I yield back the fact that there is no 5-day waiting period on Chinese nukes. ...

If all Serbs are monsters as some in the West seem intent upon portraying them, why has there been no Serb-inspired terrorism against the NATO countries that led the air war? Why have no planes, buildings or hotels been blown up, no politicians kidnapped, no civilians slaughtered, all common tools of the terrorist trade the world has seen time and again? Certainly, many of us got ourselves into a high moral dudgeon over Canadian Serb protests outside the U.S. consulate in Toronto during the air war. But that, while annoying and costly given the fact taxpayers had to pay ...

Isn’t the country just getting tired of these people? NEW YORK CITY is a quaint, little petting zoo of old-style liberals who’ll happily vote for Hillary. These joyless coots think Mayor Rudy Giuliani is a balcony-strutting Il Duce wannabe who must be stopped lest he make New York even cleaner and safer. Times Square was just the start. If Giuliani makes it to the Senate, all Americans will be herded into theme parks and forced to scrub off graffiti while wearing Disney-made mouse ears. Whistle while you work shall make you free. Aside from the nuts, though, there are millions ...

  The White House and the military Military intelligence is considered an oxymoron in many circles.   Whether the result of misunderstanding or keen perception is a debate for another time.  What will be discussed is how this administration can so totally screw up militarily, vis a vis Kosovo. One of the most troubling aspects of this administration is not its lack of military experience present, but its attitude.   The president's draft dodging entailed a letter in which he expressed an utter disdain and dismissal of all things military.  The first family's personal abuse of military aides has been ...

Medical Care As A Right: A Refutation by ROBERT M. SADE, MD Medical University of South Carolina 171 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC 29425 Reprinted with permission: NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE (December 2, 1971) Abstract: From man's primary right -- the right to his own life -- derive all others, including the rights to select and pursue his own values, and to dispose of these values, once gained, without coercion. The choice of the conditions under which a physician's services are rendered belongs to the physicians as a consequence of his right to support his own life. If medical care, ...

The U.S. Will Intervene Anywhere, Any Time, Anyhow By EDWARD ZEHR "The revelation that American reporters knew about a U.S. strategy to create a pretext for NATO's war on Yugoslavia -- but did not report on it -- raises serious questions about the independence of mainstream news organizations." -- Seth Ackerman, Fairness And Accuracy In Reporting Flushed with "victory" Bill Clinton has spent a full week barnstorming in Europe to push his new doctrine of "humanitarian" intervention in future crises from Timor to Timbuktu. (I exaggerate, Clinton obviously doesn't want to know about East Timor and things have been ...

Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. Blood money: Is the international trade in blood putting patients at risk? Oliver Klaffke New Scientist; This Week, Pg. 13 May 2, 1998 POLICE in Vienna are accusing an Austrian company of selling blood plasma containing HIV and the hepatitis C virus to China and India, alarmingly reinforcing warnings by the WHO and the Red Cross that there is a higher risk of contamination if donors are paid for blood. The Austrian health ministry says that between 1994 and 1996, up to 1500 ...

As part of a new and aggressive effort to track down parents who owe child support, the federal government has created a vast computerized data-monitoring system that includes all individuals with new jobs and the names, addresses, Social Security numbers and wages of nearly every working adult in the United States. Government agencies have long gathered personal information for specific reasons, such as collecting taxes. But never before have federal officials had the legal authority and technological ability to locate so many Americans found to be delinquent parents -- or such potential to keep tabs on Americans accused of ...

For fair use Buy George? A megapublisher bets twice that readers will. by Evan Smith With the possible exception of a spicy-hot former ingredient of Menudo—the group, not the soup—no one has seen his vida loca picked apart more thoroughly by the press in recent weeks than the plausibly White House-bound governor of Texas. Now it's publishing's turn. But while hordes of little girls are clamoring for quickie biographies of Ricky Martin, is anyone out there dying for a tome on George W. Bush? How about a pair? The German media conglomerate Bertelsmann apparently thinks so, because two of its ...

Yesterday, while driving back from Washington, I was listening to WTOP, 1500 AM, a local news station in DC. They had a story where the deputy who heads the nuclear weapons portion of the Department of Enegey resigned over differences between him and Richardson. This guy wants a separate agency spun off. Richardson doesn't, citing control. And why was this announced on a Saturday evening?So have we heard anything on the Sunday morning news shows about this resignation? Have we heard about it in the regular evening news? I would guess not.By the way, I was explaining to a friend ...

Gore was the Democratic candidate of choice, and Bush the GOP candidate; 51 percent said they’d vote for Bush, while 36 percent said they would choose Gore. Among Republicans in the poll, 61 percent preferred Bush. His closest rival was Dole, who was the choice of 11 percent. Magazine mogul Steve Forbes placed third with 6 percent, and all other GOP candidates got single-digit support. The poll suggests that a Bush juggernaut is gaining momentum among Republicans. A year ago at this time, an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed that only 34 percent of Republicans supported Bush. (Now that's momentum) ...

WASHINGTON -- If you're planning to visit a national park this summer, you may find you have to hike for miles into the back country before you escape the crowds, traffic jams and ringing cell phones. In popular parks such as Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and the Great Smoky Mountains, national parks no longer are refuges from the stresses of modern life, park officials and visitors say. "To reach a pristine place, where there are no horns honking or cell phones ringing, is becoming a rare kind of experience," said Kevin Collins of the National Parks and Conservation Association. To ...