Free Republic

When a country obtains great power, it becomes like the sea: all streams run downward into it. The more powerful it grows, the greater the need for humility. Humility means trusting the Tao, thus never needing to be defensive. A great nation is like a great man: When he makes a mistake, he realizes it. Having realized it, he admits it. Having admitted it, he corrects it. He considers those who point out his faults as his most benevolent teachers. He thinks of his enemy as the shadow that he himself casts. If a nation is centered in the ...

Federal Court Upholds Second Amendment as an Individual Right! Federal Judge Sam Cummings of the Northern District of Texas recently dismissed an indictment against Timothy Joe Emerson for possession of a firearm while having a temporary restraining order against him. The judge cited violations of Emerson’s Second and Fifth Amendment rights, and rejected the Government lawyer’s claim that it was "well-settled" that the Second Amendment was only a collective right. This marks the first time in over 60 years that a federal judge has correctly interpreted the Second Amendment as a crucial individual right. "This is one of the strongest ...

Readers keep pleading with me to tell them more while others, though not hostile, are somewhat suspicious, if not about me, at least about my sources. Once again I shall try and explain my situation. I am not on any government payroll and I do not have direct access to any intelligence agency. As I have tried to make clear on several occasions I am a listener. I don't pry, I don't question and I don't send or receive coded messages. But people are people, wherever they are and as such share the same weaknesses. A common weakness is talking, ...

Beijing to Acquire 50 SU-30 Jet Fighter-Bombers form Russia Washington, June 28 (CNA) Beijing has concluded negotiations for a purchase of 50 Sukhoi-30 jet fighter-bombers from Russia, with delivery beginning in 2002, according to Monday's edition of the US-based Defense News weekly. Gen. Zhang Wannian, vice chairman of the Central Military Committee of the Communist Party of China, visited Russia in June and signed a letter of intent with Russia at that time, the magazine reported. The weekly said that the 50 fighter-bombers, or two squadrons, with a price of US$37 million apiece, will considerably beef up the People's Liberation ...

      S U M M A R Y Underwater noise pollution may alter the ocean habitat, and regulations may be needed to protect marine dwellers.     The Associated Press L O S   A N G E L E S,  June 28— Noise from supertankers, oil exploration and new military sonar equipment scrambles the communications systems of sea life, forcing changes in migration routes and breeding grounds, a new report warns.       “We’re playing Russian roulette with our oceans, and we can’t afford to do that,” said Joel Reynolds, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, ...

Hubbell lawyer John Nields and prosecutors from Starr's office went to the sixth floor of the federal courthouse Monday evening, along with U.S. District Judge James Robertson, who is presiding over both criminal cases against Hubbell. Asked as he left why he was at the courthouse and whether any proceeding was scheduled for Wednesday, Nields said: ``I can't comment about it at all'' and ``I am a fountain of no information.''

USA Today 6-28-99 China close to manned spaceflight By Paul Hoversten, USA TODAY WASHINGTON - China could launch its first manned spacecraft as early as next spring, joining the United States and Russia as the only nations with the capability of sending humans into orbit. U.S. and British space experts believe China has the expertise and equipment to launch, orbit and retrieve a manned vehicle. China's first test launch of an unmanned capsule is set for October to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Reports indicate China hopes to build a full space ...

  Report Says Marine Life Threatened by Underwater Sounds S U M M A R Y Underwater noise pollution may alter the ocean habitat, and regulations may be needed to protect marine dwellers.     The Associated Press L O S   A N G E L E S,  June 28— Noise from supertankers, oil exploration and new military sonar equipment scrambles the communications systems of sea life, forcing changes in migration routes and breeding grounds, a new report warns.       “We’re playing Russian roulette with our oceans, and we can’t afford to do that,” said Joel Reynolds, senior attorney ...

The Clinton administration was first told China may have stolen US nuclear secrets nine months earlier than it originally admitted, a newspaper said. Throughout the uproar over allegations that China stole secrets to every key US nuclear warhead made since the 1970s, Republicans have claimed the White House failed to react quickly or strongly enough to the charges. The White House says it learned of the possible spying in April 1996. But unnamed current and former US officials told the New York Times the administration was informed of the apparent theft in July 1995. Central Intelligence Agency director John ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gridlock triumphed in the Senate as Democrats blocked action Monday on a series of spending bills in a struggle to force Republicans into a protracted debate on health care. "It's a total farce,'' Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said about the Democratic tactics. With four shiny tractors as a backdrop, Lott and other GOP lawmakers held a news conference across the street from the Capitol to accuse Democrats of thwarting a money bill for farm programs. Democrats are "acting like some of the stubborn HMOs'' they frequently criticize, Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said. Unchastened, Democrats later held ...

For education & discussion only.       Ordinarily, politicians have few real friends and do not long remain friends with those they do have. This is because politicians dwell in a brutal, zero-sum world, in which power is finite but competitors for it are infinite. Those who appear to be pals are usually in a position to do something for one another. And real friendship in this arena is nearly as rare as altruism. Take the president and vice president of the United States.  BILL CLINTON and Al Gore have been as close as people holding these two ...

The fourteenth annual Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) will take place on September 17, 18 & 19, 1999 at the Airport Renaissance Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. Missouri was chosen in the hopes of celebrating another major grassroots victory. On April 6th, 1999, the state will vote on a concealed carry reform measure called Proposition B. If Prop. B is enacted, then Missouri State will go from having no concealed carry law at all to a "shall-issue" carry law state with limited reciprocity. "GRPC brings national rights leaders together with grassroots activists in order to set the pro-gun agenda for ...

Join Bill Kurtis for an in-depth look at one of today's most explosive issues. This special five-part series examines the role of guns in America, from the NRA to the recent, tragic school shootings. This is THE CLOSEST YOU'LL GET TO THE TRUTH.

Earlier this evening I got a call about a quick poll on behalf of Senator John McCain. Thinking it was probablly a fundraising pitch I cautiously agreed. I was asked to listen to a tape by the Senator and then would be asked a few questions. The tape started with the Senator talking about Chinese campaign contributions to the DNC and Clinton's '92 and '96 cappaigns. After some rather stong comments on this, the Senator suddenly shifted to contributions by corporate PACs and special interest groups. This a key element of his proposed campaign finance reform, which I feel unnecessarily ...

LOST CONCEPTS On a computer’s hard drive, a certain kind of data corruption can render specific files unusable. When this occurs, such files are called lost clusters. The files are unusable because they are no longer properly connected to the remaining files on your computer. If the lost clusters are not fixed, they can and will lead to computer errors. There is a similar phenomenon within the human mind: lost concepts, ideas that are disconnected from reality, improperly connected to the remaining concepts within the mind and, consequently, cannot be applied to the appropriate context in reality. The person whose ...

LOST CONCEPTS On a computer’s hard drive, a certain kind of data corruption can render specific files unusable. When this occurs, such files are called lost clusters. The files are unusable because they are no longer properly connected to the remaining files on your computer. If the lost clusters are not fixed, they can and will lead to computer errors. There is a similar phenomenon within the human mind: lost concepts, ideas that are disconnected from reality, improperly connected to the remaining concepts within the mind and, consequently, cannot be applied to the appropriate context in reality. The person whose ...

70-YEAR-OLD MOTHER ADMITS KILLING 8 OF 10 CHILDRENPHILADELPHIA: An elderly Philadelphia woman Monday admitted that she smothered eight of her 10 infant children over a 19-year period beginning in 1949. Marie Noe, 70, a gaunt white-haired woman who suffers from diabetes and arthritis, had maintained for decades that her children had succumbed to crib death, now known as sudden infant death syndrome, while police reported that they could find no evidence of foul play. A 1963 article in Life magazine cast the housewife and part-time factory worker from Philadelphia's Kensington section as one of the most bereaved mothers in America. ...

At a December news conference last year, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Henry Shelton, was forced to acknowledge that the timing of last year’s two military operations was “absolutely incredible”. His incredulity is understandable. On Aug. 20, 1998, American cruise missiles struck Sudan and Afghanistan three days after Clinton’s televised “mea sorta culpa” regarding his deposition earlier that day. Though the administration initially charged the Sudanese pharmaceutical factory with being a chemical-weapons plant, it recently unfroze $24 million worth of the owner’s American assets Quietly conceding that the plant had no military value whatsoever. Operation ...

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Tom DeLay swears it's only the force of his personality that has everyone in Washington persuaded -- mistakenly, of course -- that he's the guy running the House of Representatives while Speaker Dennis Hastert sends out for sandwiches. "I'm just -- I'm aggressive, and I've been aggressive all my life," says DeLay, the majority whip, not unhappily. And the speaker, he says, is just understated. Hastert doesn't think it's his job to talk to the press, DeLay notes, and will never suit those who were expecting Newt Gingrich, the Sequel. "Denny has a completely different style ...

While author Bob Woodward has broken plenty of White House-related nuggets about the impeachment drama, an upcoming documentary may provide some Hill-related insights about the scandal. Bart Everly, a New York-based documentary filmmaker, is planning a fall release for a flick mostly focusing on Rep. Barney Frank's (D-Mass.) role in the impeachment matter. Frank told HOH that he gave Everly access to the back rooms of the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment mess to provide insight about the Democrats' private deliberations. "I'll be somewhat prominent because he put a mike on me," Frank said of the flick that will ...