Free Republic

The state's ongoing budget crisis provides ample evidence that public employee unions wield immense – even hegemonic – influence over the Capitol's Democratic majority. Every move on the budget affects those drawing public paychecks, and Democrats won't make any move without at least consulting the affected unions. Not only are Democrats highly dependent on the unions for campaign contributions, but an astonishing number of Democratic lawmakers come directly from their ranks. One of them is Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, whose official biography describes him as "an active member in United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and as a representative to the...

Today the much-anticipated social encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Truth in Love) was released, after being delayed for a year due to the global economic crisis. The encyclical includes several passages of great interest to those involved in the pro-life movement. The most pertinent and striking passages dealing with the life issues are reproduced below. To read the complete encyclical click here.

Among the security breaches, investigators found one guard asleep after taking the painkiller Percocet and one who allowed a box of handguns to pass through an x-ray machine...

After a year of silence, fired Oakland City Administrator Deborah Edgerly has filed suit against her former bosses, claiming she was unfairly terminated after refusing to hand out patronage to Mayor Ron Dellums' supporters and pay some of his wife's bills with city money. The mayor dismissed Edgerly in July 2008 after instances of possible nepotism involving her surfaced, including the allegation that she had tipped her nephew, who also worked for the city, of an impending gang raid.In her suit, filed Monday in Alameda County Superior Court, Edgerly says the mayor's wife and unpaid adviser, Cynthia Dellums, directed her...

Let's, for a moment, simply take for granted that Sarah Palin will run as a Republican for President in 2012 and win the party's nomination. (A similar exercise can be done for other candidates of choice, of course.) The question that needs to be answered is: how does she win? That is, what is the path to 270+ electoral votes? I think it would be a safe assumption to say that Palin would win every state McCain won, so she starts with 173 EV right there: Alabama Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska (4/5),...

Do we retaliate for cyber attacks with cyber attacks? If not - WHY NOT?

Today, from the group Stratfor, comes this stunning offer to Iran from President Obama: "U.S. President Barack Obama said July 7 that if Iran stops its nuclear weapon development program, the U.S, has no reason to develop a missile defense system, Interfax reported. Obama was speaking at the Russian School of Economics in Moscow." Is the President unaware that North Korea is a nuclear power, and produces long range missiles that it tests and delivers to other countries?  Are there no other threats from  terror groups or nations, other than Iran for which an American missile defense mightbe useful? As...

Joe said the administration "misread the economy" 60% of Americans are against a second stimulus package. Will the administration draft Stimulus Package 2?

It is very perplexing for us to be here at the Bay Islands Beach Resort, enjoying the fabulous diving and tranquility, and see the shameful, inaccurate reporting by the news media of the political situation in Honduras, especially by CNN.....They won't let go of the erroneous idea that we had a military take over of government..... nobody is telling “the real story”, that of the resolve and pride of the Honduran people, who have legally, properly, and without bloodshed, removed a treasonous, lying, law-breaking, would be socialist/communist dictator from power, not through a military coup, as reported,.... [snip]

When McNamara -- the "Whiz Kid" from Ford -- was first named defense secretary, in December 1960, Time magazine gushed that he "reads widely and well (current choices: The Phenomenon of Man, W.W. Rostow's The Stages of Growth). . . . His mind, says a friend who has seen him in Ann Arbor discussions, 'is a beautiful instrument, free from leanings and adhesions, calm and analytical.'" Nearly 50 years later, the Associated Press would lead its obituary by describing McNamara as "the cerebral secretary of defense." In between, David Halberstam -- who was for the Vietnam War before he was...

MARK STEYN HOSTS Posted early due to work commitments.

MEXICO CITY — A top member of a breakaway Mormon sect was dragged from his home by marauders and killed early Tuesday in a village founded and named for the American families that settled the remote community in the northern Mexican desert. Benjamin LeBaron, 31, and Luis Widmar, 29, a brother-in-law who tried to help him, were grabbed by at least 15 commandos shortly after midnight in Colonia LeBaron, which is about 200 miles southeast of El Paso, witnesses said. The bodies of the men, both naturalized U.S. citizens with five children each, were found nearby shortly afterward, each shot...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A widespread computer attack that began July 4 knocked out the Web sites of the Treasury Department, the Secret Service and other U.S. agencies, and South Korean government sites also came under assault.

Republican candidates hold leads in all three of Virginia’s 2009 statewide races, according to a new poll released Tuesday. Former state Attorney General Bob McDonnell leads State Sen. Creigh Deeds 49 percent to 43 percent in the state’s gubernatorial race, according to an automated poll released by Public Policy Polling. Eight percent were undecided. In the contests for lieutenant governor and attorney general, GOP nominees also led their Democratic opponents by margins outside the poll’s 4-percentage-point margin of error. The poll, conducted June 30 to July 2, surveyed 617 likely general election voters. Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling leads challenger Jody...

I got to Staples Center some time after the parade of Ringling Bros. elephants and just before a bikini-clad woman who held aloft a sign that said, "Go Vegetarian for the Man in the Mirror." I suppose it goes without saying that not all memorial services draw the same crowd. Speaking of crowds, this one was way smaller than the city had planned for. There were hundreds of people on the street rather than hundreds of thousands, which means that a few million tax dollars were spent to have police officers stand around with their arms folded.... maybe the only...

At a speech in Singapore on July 7, Obama adviser Laura Tyson, stressing that she was expressing a personal opinion, said the package approved in February was "a bit too small," according to a Bloomberg news report.

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is comparing his struggle to reverse global climate change to the fight against the Nazis during World War II.

Republican candidates lead Democrats for the second straight week in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.

Dr. Anne Wortham is the author of "The Other Side of Racism: A Philosophical Study of Black Race Consciousness". She is Associate Professor of Sociology at Illinois State University and continuing Visiting Scholar at Stanford University 's Hoover Institution. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and the American Philosophical Association. Pretty strong credentials, don't you think? In researching Anne Wortham I also found that she is a follower of Ayn Rand. That's why I haven't heard of her before. A black university professor who is a Rand fan? Why bring her up? Because I've just come across...

It seems as if the "hope" part of "hope and change" is not working. It could be because the change part is not change for the better. As the economy continues to fall into the abyss, it is clear whether the numbers were "misread" or the policy was just wrong, that the President's economic policy is a failure. Even in congress there is realization that the stimulus didn't work. Many in congress are calling for a new stimulus bill to get the economy going even though only about 10% of the original stimulus has been spent. Others are calling for...