Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- Former Vice President Dick Cheney hinted that, in the waning days of the Bush administration, he had pushed for a military strike to destroy Iran's nuclear-weapons program. In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Mr. Cheney described himself as being isolated among advisers to then-President George W. Bush, who ultimately decided against direct military action. "I was probably a bigger advocate of military action than any of my colleagues," Mr. Cheney said in response to questions about whether the Bush administration should have launched a pre-emptive attack prior to handing over the White House to Barack Obama. "I...

Experts see double-digit Dem losses By: Josh Kraushaar August 31, 2009 04:50 AM EST After an August recess marked by raucous town halls, troubling polling data and widespread anecdotal evidence of a volatile electorate, the small universe of political analysts who closely follow House races is predicting moderate to heavy Democratic losses in 2010. Some of the most prominent and respected handicappers can now envision an election in which Democrats suffer double-digit losses in the House — not enough to provide the 40 seats necessary to return the GOP to power but enough to put them within striking distance. Top...

AUBURN, Calif. -- A fast-moving wildfire burned dozens of homes and scorched hundreds of acres Sunday afternoon in Placer County, prompting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency. The fire started near Highway 49 and Bell Road in north Auburn at about 2:20 p.m. (map). It destroyed at least 60 structures, many of them homes in the North Park and South Park subdivisions, and the blaze burned about 275 acres overall. "It's absolute devastation. My sister's house is up there, and we think it's the only one standing," resident Jody said. "We weren't able to get back into...

THE most ominous domes tic event of the 1970s was the collapse of self-gov ernment in New York City, which before being put into receivership by the state was liberalism's laboratory. Since then, California has been the slate on which liberalism boldly writes its recipe for decline -- high taxes, heavy regulation, subservience to public-employee unions and environmentalism that is simultaneously apocalyptic and chiliastic. Because California's calamitous present -- creative accounting as a rickety bridge to the next budget crisis -- might prefigure the nation's future, next year's gubernatorial election is portentous. An intriguing candidate is Tom Campbell. Colorful he...

At the heart of this inquiry lies the nature of the community where Garrido chose to make his home after serving just 11 years of a 50-year sentence for a previous sex attack. For contrary to initial reports, this is far from being mainstream, middle-class, suburban America. Together with his new wife, Nancy, whom he had met while she was visiting her uncle in jail, Garrido settled in a crime-ridden backwater where nobody pries into anyone else's business - unless they are willing to pay the price. 'The people here are like hillbillies,' says one local film-maker. 'They are all...

Do you long to hear the dulcet sounds of the salpinx, barbiton, aulos or the syrinx? Of course not, because no one has heard them in centuries. Most people have never even heard of them. But you will soon have the chance to experience musical instruments familiar to ancient civilizations but long since forgotten.

Vicki Kennedy should be considered as a potential interim replacement for her late husband in the U.S. Senate, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle said Sunday. "I think Vicki ought to be considered," Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said on CNN's "State of the Union." "She's a very brilliant lawyer. She's a very solid individual," Hatch said of Sen. Edward Kennedy's widow. "She certainly made a difference in Ted's life, let me tell you. And I have nothing but great respect for her." Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), a close friend of Ted Kennedy, said he too would be supportive of...

During the summer slump, two United Nations agencies — United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) — issued highly controversial new guidelines for sexuality education of children around the world. These groups have a long history of pushing “reproductive health care,” and the new report, International Guidelines on Sexuality Education, builds on an earlier report released by the International Planned Parenthood Federation to promote the “need and entitlement” for sexuality education for children beginning at age five. Not surprisingly, both documents argue for “guaranteeing” the sexual rights of children and for integrating...

This attempt by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to control the booming Burmese python population in south Florida is amusing. If you haven’t heard, the commission began a permit program that allows reptile experts to capture and kill Burmese pythons in state-managed lands around the Everglades. There are likely more than 100,000 pythons in the Everglades, some possibly more than 20 feet long. ASSOCIATED PRESS Pythons have become a big nuisance in Florida, but that’s not the only place they have been found. This 11-foot Burmese python was captured by the Riverside County Department of Animal Services on...

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When the White House and Congress wanted to take old cars off the road and replace them with newer models, they passed "Cash for Clunkers." However, when it comes to the clunkers in America's military aircraft, things are quite a bit different. For more than a decade, Congress has wrangled with how to replace our aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers. The planes that provide much-needed in-flight fuel to military aircraft have been in circulation since 1957. Yet, despite the desperate need for an upgrade, political gamesmanship has delayed the Air Force from trading them in. While they are not...

Business economists are split on whether the Federal Reserve's massive infusion of credit into the economy will lead to inflation in the next couple of years.

HONG KONG — Former U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, once questioned about her lack of foreign policy experience, will make her first trip to Asia in September. The former Alaska governor will visit Hong Kong to address the CLSA Investors Forum, a well-known annual conference of global investment managers, the host announced Monday. Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Alan Greenspan have spoken at the event, hosted by brokerage and investment group CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. "Our keynote speakers are notable luminaries who often address topics that go beyond traditional finance such as geopolitics," company spokeswoman Simone Wheeler said in a...

Bank of America, the nation’s largest bank, made a watershed change this month in how its millions of customers resolve their disputes, when it eliminated arbitration clauses from their credit card contracts. BofA’s announcement came on the heels of a legal settlement reached between the Minnesota attorney general and the National Arbitration Forum, one of the largest arbitration firms in the nation. The NAF agreed to cease all consumer arbitrations as a result of the lawsuit. Just days later, the American Arbitration Association halted consumer debt collection arbitrations, pending a review of their practices and procedures. These events will make...

Human rights advocates are calling the case of a German homeschooling family "a critical human rights battle." On September 22nd, the Schmidt family of southern Bavaria in Germany will face a hearing in which government officials will decide if they may keep custody of one of their sons. Hans and Petra Schmidt have been teaching their children, Josua, 16, and Aaron, 14, for more than nine years in an attempt to shield them from what they hold to be a hostile moral and heavily secularised environment in German public schools. To date the Schmidts have been forced to pay nearly...

Just when you thought John Edwards would slink off into ignominy, he stands up, throws off his jellyfish ways, and becomes a man. Ironically, John Edwards could teach Rick Pitino a thing or two about manhood. News reports indicate that Edwards will publicly announce soon that he is indeed the biological father of 18-month old Frances, the child borne by Rielle Hunter, his former campaign staffer. This entire saga has revealed huge, embarrassing gaps in the character of John Edwards. From first denying that he had any relationship at all with Hunter; to a key staffer's lying that he, not...

PHOENIX -- An employee of a pawn shop shot and critically wounded one of two gunmen who had pointed a gun at a worker during a robbery attempt Sunday morning, Phoenix police said. At about 11 a.m., two armed Hispanic men wearing masks entered Casa De Empeno Pawn Shop at 4126 W. Indian School Road. One of the gunmen pointed his weapon at the neck of a 15-year-old worker seated by the door, said Sgt. Andy Hill of the Phoenix Police Department. The store manager stepped out and fired several shots at the robbers, Hill said. A bullet struck one...

Fewer Americans are afraid that they will be unable to pay for healthcare services and fewer expect to postpone medical treatments due to costs, according to a Thomson Reuters survey published Monday. Researchers found a steady increase in people's confidence about their ability to pay for healthcare services — it rose 12 percent between March and July this year. The survey of 3,000 households showed, unsurprisingly, that people who made more money were more confident they could pay for medical care, and people who had insurance were far more confident about paying than those who lacked insurance. "These findings are...

JACKSON, Miss. -- Jackson police say a local grocery store owner shot and killed an intruder Sunday afternoon. It happened in the 1400 block of Highway 80 at the Gipson Warehouse. Police believe a man was trying to break into the warehouse when the owner shot him in the chest, killing him. The Gipson Warehouse owner isn't facing any charges because of the Castle Doctrine, JPD Chief Tyrone Lewis said. The Castle Doctrine allows property owners to protect his/her land and themselves.

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint urged Aiken County Republicans to step up to the plate and fight for this country's freedom Friday. "The debate now is between socialism and those who believe in freedom," DeMint said to the crowd gathered at the Aiken Municipal Building. "This is a unique country we need to fight for. We don't need to send people to fight and be killed and maimed if we don't fight here." DeMint, R-S.C., was the featured speaker at the Aiken County Republican Party's Bronze Elephant Reception, capping off his statewide South Carolina on the Move Tour. Several Aiken City...