Free Republic

I was just listening to WISN Radio when the program was interupted by a commercial for a famous 98 year old Milwaukee Restaurant. The commercial was comprised of a series of sound clips providing colorful reminiscences of the years the establishment had been in business. There were short selections ranging from musical clips and sports highlights to actual pieces of Presidential speeches. Sporting events commemorated included famous Packers and Braves victories. The Presidential sound clips included:"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." -- Roosevelt"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do ...

Did red tape contribute to fire deaths? McInnis claims bureaucratic delays in tackling forest blaze By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- Four firefighters might have lost their lives last month in Washington state because of red tape and the Endangered Species Act, a Colorado congressman said Tuesday. Citing unnamed sources, Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo., released a detailed timeline of events leading up to the deaths of four firefighters July 10 in the Okanogan National Forest near Winthrop, Wash. If the timeline proves accurate, McInnis said, it raises questions about whether federal agencies put environmental laws ahead of safety ...

CARACAS, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he was ``worried'' by rising capital flight from his South American nation and warned unnamed ``capitalists'' he said were trying to derail his government: ``We are watching you.'' Chavez, a former paratrooper whose fiery anti-capitalist rhetoric has concerned many investors in the world's No.3 oil exporter, compared his government with the socialist regime of Chile's ex-president Salvador Allende, which was toppled in a military coup in 1973. ``We are worried because capital flight has increased; because there are a group of Venezuelan capitalists taking out dollars, perhaps even to destabilize ...

Tuesday July 31 5:25 PM ET Bush Endorses Election Reform, Avoids Specifics Photos Reuters Photo Click on Source Code for Full Article due to Copyright Restriction. ____________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Questions or Comments Privacy Policy - Terms of Service

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's Roman Catholic Church on Tuesday condemned a recent bomb attack and threats against churches in Caracas and ordered the capital's main houses of worship closed for three days in protest. Interior Minister Luis Miquilena said police were investigating the incidents last week and on Monday at three churches, which he said were the work of ``provocateurs.'' The Catholic cardinal of Caracas, Ignacio Velasco, said a small bomb explosion at a central church last Wednesday, which injured one woman, and subsequent bomb alerts in two other Catholic churches in the city constituted ``terrorist acts.'' Velasco ...

US angry as Chile asks Kissinger about death By Toby Harnden in Washington August 1, 2001 London Telegraph WASHINGTON reacted furiously yesterday to a request by Chilean judges for Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state, to answer questions about an American journalist killed during the 1973 coup in Chile. A Bush administration official condemned the Chilean supreme court decision to send questions to Dr Kissinger, saying the move increased unease about the proposed International Criminal Court in The Hague. The administration source said: "It is unjust and ridiculous that a distinguished servant of this country should be harassed by ...

Meanwhile Schundler stays on message... Democrats are rolling on the floor this morning laughing because of another classic "panic and react" story that only the GOP does best. There are probably people at the RNC who will read the NY Times article below and actually think it is a GOOD story. This is a perfect example of individuals ready to trash the base in order to get their names in the paper yet they will maintain they are "helping" the Republican Party by doing what they are doing. According to the "experts" who are advising our party leadership, it ...

Law, in the eyes of the American Civil Liberties Union, is a weapon. It is the means by which the power of government is molded and the freedom of the people is shaped for the ACLU’s purposes. This is the only explanation for the ACLU’s continuing war against that free association of young Americans known as the Boy Scouts. Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Scouts’ First Amendment right to set the moral parameters for membership in their organization. The Court’s decision in Boy Scouts of America vs. James Dale backed the Scouts’ policy of excluding homosexuals, atheists, ...

Government to Borrow $51 Billion This Quarter, in Part to Pay for Bush's Tax Rebates By Jeannine Aversa Associated Press Writer Published: Aug 1, 2001 WASHINGTON (AP) - The government, in a sharp reversal of last spring's borrowing plans, announced Wednesday that it will tap $51 billion from the credit markets this quarter in part to cover the cost of tax-rebate checks arriving in mailboxes around the country. The Treasury Department's turnaround from a previous projection that it would actually retire a big chuck of debt rather than increase its borrowing in the quarter, drew fire from Democrats. Democrats argued ...

Hear twelve of the thirteen women Senators speak out in a rare joint interview about power, politics, Chandra Levy, the Gary Condit controversy and more.

Despite its importance in countless Frankenstein movies, most scientists consider the life-giving properties of lightning to be more theatrical than actual. But for bacteria at least, bolts from the blue might just be instrumental in evolution.Rather than wait for a stormy night, Pascal Simonet and colleagues at the University of Lyon in France have used a laboratory lightning generator to show that bacteria in soil can be shocked into incorporating foreign DNA into their genomes. Simonet believes that lightning strikes could play a significant role in bacterial evolution by increasing the frequency of gene swapping, or horizontal gene transfer (HGT). ...

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelans wanting to flee the crime, poverty and political turbulence of their homeland can now visit a new Web site, aptly named ``I want to leave,'' to help them seek a new life abroad. The site, http://Mequieroir.com, which means ``I want to leave'' in Spanish, was launched this month and offers advice on foreign visa regulations, work permits and even culture and climate for citizens of whatever age who are considering emigrating. Its creators say the private initiative aims to satisfy the needs of growing numbers of Venezuelans seeking to leave the South American nation, ...

The Reform Party by a 2/3 Super Majority decided for the first time in its history to become a Pro Life party at the annual Reform Party USA National Convention in Nashville, TN this last weekend from July 26 through July 29. The Reform Party Pro-Life Plank "We affirm the principle espoused in the Declaration of Independence, that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, and among them is the Right to Life. This Right to Life cannot be superceded by any foreign or domestic law. Since the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of ...

On Jim Gilmore's monthly radio call-in show yesterday, the Virginia governor gamely fielded snarky comments from "Jennifer from Alexandria" about Gilmore's handpicked candidate to succeed him, Republican Mark Earley. Listening to "Jennifer" ask Gilmore such questions as "Have you expressed concern to Mr. Earley to really kind of get his act together?" The Post's Craig Timberg thought he recognized the voice of Amanda Crumley, communications director for Democratic candidate Warner. Afterward, Crumley stopped just short of fessing up to the prank call, but conceded, "You've got to break up the monotony somehow."

Energy notebook State now a power seller -- and losing money on the deal. August 1, 2001 From Register news wires Mild weather means that California is escaping blackouts, but it also means that the state is amassing power- trading losses that are adding to the cost of an energy mess now in its 15th month. Internal documents show that so far in July, California has resold the equivalent of 8 percent of the power it bought under short-term and long-term contracts that were designed to reduce the state's reliance on the volatile and costly spot market. The problem ...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senators impatient with President Bush's handling of global warming are urging his administration to have a plan to address the climate change phenomenon by October for the next round of international negotiations. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 19-0 to approve a resolution Wednesday saying any global warming agreement must require mandatory cuts in a number of gases emitted from power plants and other sources that scientists say are trapping heat in the atmosphere like a greenhouse. It asks Congress to agree that ''the United States should demonstrate international leadership and responsibility'' by taking steps ''to ensure ...

Army day marked with threat against Taiwan August 1, 2001 REUTERS in Beijing Updated at 3.08pm: Minister of Defence Chi Haotian marked the 74th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) by repeating China's threat to use force against Taiwan if it sought independence, the People's Daily reported on Wednesday. ''It is in the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation to solve the Taiwan question and realise China's reunification,'' The Communist Party newspaper quoted Mr Chi as saying in the first top-level repeat of the standard threat in months. The military sought a peaceful solution but would not renounce ...

Chastity or at least some coyness about sexual availability -- is in vogue among a group of female pop artists who are bucking the age-old marketing mantra that "sex sells." "Sex is so intimate, and when you give yourself without a strong type of commitment, something's lacking," says Rebecca St. James, 23, an Australian-born pop vocalist for the Nashville-based ForeFront Records. "There's hurt." Pop star Jessica Simpson, 21, has been especially open about her decision to delay sex until marriage. Her song "Heart of Innocence" talks about what she plans to bring to her wedding night. Her virginal status has ...

"The easy part is identifying what has gone wrong with America: the pendulum has swung too far toward a preoccupation with individualism. Too many people shirk their communal and civic responsibilities. Special interest groups have gotten out of hand. Moral agreement has crumbled." "The difficult part is finding effective ways to restore social and moral consensus without a small group of people imposing a set of behaviors and values on all of us. We need ways to restore the family, without reviving a 1950's mentality; to stop criminals and drunk drivers, without opening the door - even a crack - ...

Perhaps we were asking the wrong questions in this past election year. Our Senators/Congressmen do not pay into Social Security, and, therefore they do not collect from it. Social Security benefits were not suitable for them. They felt they should have a special plan. Many years ago they voted in their benefit plan. In more recent years, no congress person has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan. For all practical purposes, their plan works like this: When they retire no matter how long they have been in office, they continue to draw their ...