Free Republic

The American Spectator FEATURE Mister Connerly comes to Florida Ward Connerly wants to end racial preferences in a key state. Fearing a backlash, Jeb Bush and other Republicans think he should stay in California. Are they right? Bill Duryea is a staff writer for the St. Petersburg Times. The reception Ward Connerly got in Florida earlier this year could not have been much chillier. From the perspective of the state's political establishment, the California businessman and conservative crusader could have smuggled in a load of citrus-devouring fruit flies and he would not have been treated with the same disdain. What ...

President Djukanovic of Montenegro has lashed out at the Yugoslav army, which has resumed control over key road-blocks and border-crossings. "Those who ordered the tanks out of their barracks should be well aware of the stupidity of their actions," said Mr Djukanovic. He said the Yugoslav army - known as the VJ in Serbo-Croat - were "again trying to discipline" Montenegro. The issue of army road-blocks - especially at Kumbor, on the road to neighbouring Croatia - has inflamed public opinion. The VJ, which is loyal to President Milosevic in Belgrade, has an estimated 30,000 troops deployed in Montenegro, ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Twisting his fist as if digging in a dagger, President Clinton complimented a reporter on his tough question at a news conference. The reporter set up his question by congratulating the president on ``your success and resolve in Kosovo.'' Then he went on to ask Clinton if he would work as hard to return Palestinian refugees to their homes as he did to send ethnic Albanians back to Kosovo. Clinton paused to ponder his answer. ``That's really good,'' the president said. ``That's really good.'' He turned to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at his side and remarked, ``You ...

If teen violence is the question, religion isn't the answer. Addressing a "God Not Guns" rally of ministers near the Capitol a couple of weeks ago, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay offered this explanation for the Littleton, Colo., killings: "I got an e-mail this morning that said it all. The student writes, 'Dear God: Why didn't you stop the shootings at Columbine?' And God writes, 'Dear student: I would have, but I wasn't allowed in school.' " The view among Republicans is that adolescent violence is inevitable given the decline of religion. Indeed, until the early 1960s' Supreme Court decisions ...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - As church bells pealed Thursday, a torrent of water was unleashed through a manmade gap in the 162-year-old Edwards Dam in the nation's first government-ordered demolition of a dam in the name of conservation. The removal of the hydroelectric dam opens an upstream stretch of the Kennebec River to Atlantic salmon, striped bass, endangered shortnosed sturgeon and other fish for the first time since the 1830s. It is seen as a precedent for other projects, particularly in the West, where some dams have been targeted for similar ...

The Clinton administration still owes the public a full explanation of the errors that led to the May 7 bombing on China's embassy in Belgrade. It should tell all, and assign responsibility, sooner rather than later. Until it does, its credibility will suffer. China has its own internal political reasons for continuing to reject the administration's description of the bombing as "accidental." But in the absence of facts, it is hard to completely dismiss China's dismissal of the administration's account as "not logical." The continuing confusion about the sequence of events that led to the bombing evidently was not ...

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (AP)-- An Air Force F-16 crashed Thursday in a remote area of Florida, killing the pilot.The single-seat jet went down about 150 miles north of Miami shortly before noon.The F-16, part of the 93rd Fighter Squadron, was one of four planes on a training mission from Homestead Air Reserve Base, 30 miles southwest of Miami.The crash happened in a remote section of northern Okeechobee County, making it difficult for rescuers to reach the scene. The pilot, whose name was not released, may have ejected, officials said.

Iranians Sign Military Pact with NATO Member Greece By Patrick Goodenough CNS Jerusalem Bureau Chief 01 July, 1999 Following the first visit by a European Union defense minister to Tehran since the Islamic revolution, Iran and Greece are to sign a military pact in Athens later this month, a move analysts warn could undermine NATO unity and strategy in the region. The treaty was announced this week by Greek Defense Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos, who together with Iranian leaders - including President Mohammed Khatami - took pains to stress it would not target any other country. He said Armenia, too, would ...

(CNS) - The United States isn't the only country naming public buildings after former President Ronald Reagan. Press reports say a group of Polish politicians are trying to rename Warsaw's central Constitution Square in honor of Ronald Reagan. The group calls itself the Committee to Commemorate President Ronald Reagan's Merits. Today it announced it will ask the Warsaw city government to change the name of the square, which derives its current name from the 1952 communist constitution. A committee spokesman told a wire service reporter, "We decided to honor Ronald Reagan, the winner of the Cold War, the man who ...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic still has firm control of his army, is trying to rebuild a political base and is capable of moving against pro-Western Montenegro at any time, NATO's supreme commander asserted Thursday. ``Milosevic retains formidable power in Yugoslavia and he's an expert at dividing the opposition,'' Gen. Wesley Clark told the Senate Armed Services Committee. In his first appearance on Capitol Hill since the NATO air campaign against Yugoslavia, Clark said he sees little evidence that Milosevic's authority is ebbing or that he might be overthrown or forced to step aside. ``He still has his ...

WASHINGTON (AP) – A longtime political supporter of Vice President Al Gore was acquitted today of charges he funneled about $100,000 in illegal contributions to the President Clinton, Gore and other politicians. Franklin L. Haney was found innocent of 42 charges that he tried to mask illegal political contributions in hopes of gaining influence with powerful Democrats. Afterward Haney released a statement that said he was ``deeply gratified with today's verdict.'' ``We had faith that this day would come. ... We look forward to putting this trial behind us and getting on with our lives.'' Haney' wife and five ...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United Nations sharply criticized NATO governments Thursday for having spent billions to bomb Yugoslavia in the name of returning ethnic Albanians to Kosovo but refusing now to pay for their resettlement. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has received only $140 million of the $400 million it says it needs to help repatriating refugees rebuild their homes and lives in Kosovo, said Soren Jessen-Petersen, the deputy high commissioner. ``I find it unacceptable that the international community is not in the position to give us the necessary funds,'' he told a news conference. He said he ...

It sounds like the plot for a cheap thriller: a conspiracy to snatch Lenin's body from his Red Square tomb and bury it in the middle of the night so Boris Yeltsin can stay in power. But that is the feverish scenario sweeping Russia's media and political circles, amid speculation that Yeltsin is looking for ways to outlaw the Communist Party - his biggest rival. Ordinary Russians are worried that their country is edging toward yet another crisis. ``Moscow ... is filled with alarming rumors and expectations about an unconstitutional course of events,'' said Andrei Piontkovsky, a political analyst. ...

This is my first post, but I have arrived at the point that I don't know how much more of this pleasure that I can stand! (this is from an old joke about the squirrel having intercourse with a skunk} To get to the point I am about to put in for disability as I believe I have contacted an Arkansas malady known as "The Clinton Clapp". On the more serious side I firmly believe that the only cure for this is that all who want to see this man take his rightful place in History; The first U.S. President ...

I walked over to the White House in a better frame of mind today -- my renewed attitude. It was still hot, muggy, overcast and generally unpleasant out. I worried that all of the sidewalk would be roped off because of the false alarm this morning when someone reported a sniper on the roof of the Treasury Building. Actually, there were snipers quite visible on several rooftops surrounding the White House today. Anyway, security was the same as usual when a dignitary is inside the White House with the president. I took my signs with me, but I decided not ...

Numbers were best available, officials say By Steven Komarow, USA TODAY Many of the figures used by the Clinton administration and NATO to describe the wartime plight of Albanians in Kosovo now appear greatly exaggerated as allied forces take control of the province. "Yes, there were atrocities. But no, they don't measure up to the advance billing," says House intelligence chairman Porter Goss, R-Fla. Instead of 100,000 ethnic Albanian men feared murdered by rampaging Serbs, officials now estimate that about 10,000 were killed. 600,000 ethnic Albanians were not "trapped within Kosovo itself lacking shelter, short of food, afraid to ...

Friday, July 2, 1999 Australia out of step and tune for Games As a United States citizen, a resident of Orange County, California, a musician,a piano teacher, a child advocate, an activist, and the mother of two young musicians, I vehemently protest at the action of SOCOG in rescinding the invitation to Orange County high-school students to play at the 2000 Olympics. These students have already worked and practised for nine months in order to prepare for this event. They are devastated. They have made untold sacrifices, such as changing colleges to stay close to home for rehearsals, spent hours ...

The lottery is nothing but a tax scam. See Story

Dear Forum: For weeks I have been reading along with you the praises of George W. and the rants of the controlled press about Clinton's popularity polls which have dropped but remain at 57% or higher every other day. Do you believe over 50% of the citizens of the United States still favor this guy? If you were all Texans out there, I would ask you to name one thing George W has done for Texas? And, the only solid answer I get, if any at all, is "he gave us the right to carry" which, if you look again ...

Teamsters Kevin McNulty and Marc Nardone have plead GUILTY today to all counts stemming from the beatings of anti-Clinton protestors Don and Teri Adams on October 2nd at City Hall in Philadelphia. Here is my account of how that occurred today. I arrived at courtroom 1108 of the Criminal Justice Center at 9:00. Nobody else was there, except for an elderly gentleman who held the door open for me. Sometime later, Assistant District Attorney Bruce Saegle, the prosecuting attorney, asked the gentleman into a conference room for a discussion. The man was Charlie Radich, who is seen on the videos ...