Free Republic

The Bush Administration has apparently caved to European demands to join Kyoto, despite rejection of the treaty by the people of the United States and the Bush Administration's own statement of principles when it rejected the accord. The German press's recent interpretations of American diplomats' remarks in Europe, to the effect that the United States Government will now, for the first time in its history, accept legal binding of its own people by an arbitrary international regime of imperial character and reach, were correct. Bloomberg article here: Bloomberg August 30, 2007, story by Mathew Carr and Jonathan Tirone.

You know, if you saw this at some small time newspaper, or a blog without multiple levels of editors, you'd be quite forgiving. But when the supposedly most respected newspaper on the face of the planet, with a large office building filled with writers, editors, and staffers, mistakes a key phrase from the Declaration of Independence as a "constitutional right," one has to wonder what's going on with the Old Gray Lady.

Democrats have only two arguments left against extending the Bush tax cuts, but recent data affirm that neither is valid. Sadly, though, Democrats will never abandon their claims because they fit so well into their class warfare template. Even Democrats can't reasonably deny we've experienced sustained economic growth following the Bush tax cuts. Instead, they've resurrected the canard they used to discredit the phenomenal growth of the supply-side Reagan years: Our economic growth has come at the expense of federal solvency. The growth, they say, is illusory, because it has led to record federal deficits, which means that greedy capitalist...

WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's decision to return thousands of dollars from a top fundraiser wanted as a fugitive in California illustrates the perils of the pell-mell rush for political money — your friends can be your worst enemies. Just ask Clinton and her rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards. All three have experience putting out brushfires caused by former rainmakers. Earlier this year, Clinton divested her political action committee, HillPac, of tainted contributions received from a Pakistani immigrant accused of plotting illegal donations. Obama donated to charity money he received in past campaigns from a Chicago developer caught...

As an MRC study has proven, liberal broadcast media has a strong record of skewed coverage of illegal immigration. Print coverage in major metropolitan broadsheets in no different. In her August 30 article, Washington Post staff writer Pamela Constable featured English-speaking illegal immigrants lamenting "hateful talk against immigrants."

"DK: Have you been successful in these bathrooms here before? LC: I go to that bathroom regularly "

A majority of Americans say the United States can win the war in Iraq, but the country is sharply divided along party lines about every aspect of the war, according to a United Press International/Zogby poll released today. The poll shows 54 percent of Americans said the war is not lost. However, among Democrats, 66 percent said the mission has failed already, compared to 9 percent of Republicans who shared that view. The survey also showed the country split on the success of the U.S. troop surge ordered earlier this year by President Bush and on the wartime performance of...

Mesopotamian city grew regardless of kingly rule 19:00 30 August 2007 NewScientist.com news service Roxanne Khamsi Changes in pottery over the years allowed researchers to develop a timeline for the Tell Brak's expansion Contrary to the assumption that ancient cities always grew outwards from a central point, the urban site of Tell Brak in north-eastern Syria appears to have emerged as several nearby settlements melded together, according to researchers' analysis of archaeological evidence. Experts say that the findings lend support to the theory that early Mesopotamian cities developed as a result of grassroots organisation, rather than a mandate from a...

About Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- C.L. "Butch" Otter was elected Governor of Idaho on November 7, 2006. He previously served three terms in Congress representing Idaho’s 1st District (2000-2006). Governor Otter is a father of four and grandfather of four. He is married to the former Lori Easley. They live on their ranch near Star. Governor Otter was born in Caldwell on May 3, 1942. He graduated from St. Teresa’s Academy (now Bishop Kelly High School) in Boise, attended Boise Junior College (now Boise State University), and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the...

Two women bound to wheelchairs are suing Apple for failing to abide by accessibility laws in its retail stores. The women last Friday filed a 17-page lawsuit claiming that Apple violated the federal Americans With Disabilities Act and the California Health and Safety Code because it fails to offer "full and equal" access to disabled persons at its San Francisco flagship store, according to AppleInsider. The plaintiffs cite separate store visits where both experienced frustration and humiliation as a result of their conditions. The plaintiffs said they were unable to reach products or service desks at the retail shop, and...

Roseville Assemblyman Ted Gaines announced today he is forming an exploratory committee to plot a run a for the congressional seat of embattled Rep. John Doolittle, declaring that voters have "lost faith" in Doolittle and that he can't win re-election. "What I want the voters to know is that I'm putting the name forward...And I think change should occur," Gaines said in a meeting with The Bee Capitol Bureau. He added that he would be "a viable candidate" if he enters the race. In a statement later, Doolittle responded, "Ted Gaines is sadly mistaken. After spending the last month talking...

LONDON -- Former Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif said Thursday he would return home from exile on Sept. 10 to challenge President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's plans to extend his rule. Sharif told reporters in London that he would return to Islamabad shortly before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and return to his power base in the country's east. -snip-

DELHI: Top private-equity and hedge fund managers made more in 10 minutes than average-paid US workers earned all of last year, according to a new study from two research groups. The 20 highest-paid fund managers made an average of $657.5 million, or 22,255 times the US average annual salary of $29,500, said the study, released on Wednesday by Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy. The study cited data from the US Labor Department and Forbes magazine. “The fact that these pay levels for fund managers are so out-of-sight is going to drive up pay at...

CNN's Christiane Amanpour has set a new standard - and not the kind a news network usually trumpets. God's Jewish Warriors, her two-hour screed against Israeli settlers and American supporters of Israel, is the most poisonously biased and factually shoddy feature to air on mainstream American television in recent memory. The August 21 broadcast was the first of God's Warriors, a three-part CNN series, ostensibly examining the role of people who want "God back in their daily lives, back to the seat of power." In actuality, the deeply false premise of the programs, established in the opening scene, is the...

BERLIN:The chief executives of German auto giant Volkswagen and US technology group Apple met in California recently to discuss a joint venture, a VW spokesman confirmed Thursday. He declined to say whether the meeting between VW's Martin Winterkorn and Steve Jobs of Apple was about the launch of an iCar, which German business magazine Capital said would follow in the footsteps of hit Apple products such as the iMac computer, iPod MP3 player and the new iPhone handset. "It is not about a specific car yet -- it is too soon for that," the spokesman said. Capital said the new...

Here begins a two-part commentary on the verbal bomb-throwing attack on evangelical Christians launched by those who are seemingly terrified that our real agenda is to turn America into some kind of right-wing Christian theocracy.  I mean, these people are serious about this, and there are more than a few of them.  In the last year or so there has been a spate of books published that are sounding the alarm against "a group of religious utopians, (who) with the sympathy and support of tens of millions of Americans, are slowly dismantling democratic institutions to establish a religious tyranny, the...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Some Arkansas lawmakers are spitting mad — over chaw. Representative Pam Adcock says she'll introduce legislation that would bar chewing tobacco from the state House floor. She says she's tried of seeing her spitting colleagues, adding that it's gross. But some in the House say use of chewing tobacco is a personal decision. Smoking is already banned in the Arkansas Capitol.

For many years, we've written some highly critical reports about Spyware vendors, some of whom would then e-mail us asking us to stop referring to their product as Spyware. Claria Corporation was perhaps the worst offender in this regard, threatening to sue anyone (AV Vendors or the press) who called their Gator spyware what it actually was. It has all been part of a massive attempt by the spyware industry to hoist some kind of pseudo-legitimacy on a sector that spent almost a decade trampling user rights and privacy. As part of this push, Zango (formerly 180Solutions) recently sued Kaspersky...

by Mike Rogers My tactics at blogACTIVE have taken a new path from those of the past. Reporting on hypocrisy within the gay community has been going on for years. My goal with this site and my companion site, Proud Of Who We Are, is to take that message further. To educate not just gays and lesbians about these homophobes, but to educate the greater electorate at large. Because of this, I find myself in the odd position of being one of the few people who seems to be willing to tell religious conservatives, who don't approve of people like...

Clearwater, Florida - Fellow Marines salute the American Flag, a symbol of John Graziano's accomplishments. The 22-year-old recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq where he beat the odds after an explosion. Tears of friends and family members at an early evening vigil are telling of his condition. They gathered at Glen Oaks Park near the crash site to show support. His girlfriend, Ashley Berry, is praying that once again Graziano can fight through. Ashley Berry, Graziano's Girlfriend"He's too strong not to. He's been to war and back. He's too strong of a guy not to, he doesn't...