Free Republic

Article http://www.msnbc.com/news/606592.asp?0dm=C21VN has Poll asking why active Scout enrollment is down.Query seeks to identify low enrollment is a result of SCUSA decision that allows BSA to establish membership standards.Poll is 3/4 - 4/5 down the article on left side.

AT NANOSCALE, THE LAWSOF HUMANS MAY NOT APPLYBy Michael Becker Small Times Correspondent July 30, 2001 -- As nanotechnology moves from the realm of science fiction to the real world of commercial application, legislation and regulation are going to have to play catch-up. Legal experts say the lag between technology and The respirocyte would be a spherical nanorobot, approximately 1 micron in size. Just a 5cc dose should do the work of all red blood cells in the blood stream. But what laws would govern its use? These bacterium-sized gadgets would likely to force a debate over existing regulations. the ...

A Thurston County judge yesterday fined the state's biggest teachers union $400,000 for illegally using union fees for political purposes -- the largest court penalty ever awarded in a state Public Disclosure Commission investigation. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Gary Tabor ruled that the Washington Education Association had intentionally violated state law in campaign spending, and matched his $200,000 fine with another $200,000 in punitive fees. He also ordered the WEA to reimburse the state for investigative and court expenses. The state plans to seek more than $100,000 in such costs, said Vicki Rippie, director of the PDC. Rippie said ...

At approx 5:45pm local ABC Richmond, Va. affiliate broke programming for a Special Report. The news caster on the scene outside the main gate of Fort Lee (an Army base in central Virginia)spoke live indicating that a human body "wrapped in cellophane" was uncovered from a construction site ( a parking lot under construction) and that investigators say the body resembles Chandra Levy.

/n.b. cum grano salis/ Betrayal in the Balkans H.K. Roy As a CIA agent, Roy witnessed the breakup of Yugoslavia as it slid out of the Cold War and into civil war. He reports on the bloodbath in Bosnia and describes his harrowing escape from Middle Eastern terrorists. When the Central Intelligence Agency selected me in mid-1995 to lead an all-volunteer team to Sarajevo to carry out a highest-priority mission, I had mixed emotions. One year earlier, my team and I had made it most of the way to Sarajevo on a similar mission but were turned back at ...

Politicians are racing to pass hate-crimes laws. If they succeed, the real targets won't be criminals, but Christians. Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry didn't really want a "hate-crimes" bill to land on his desk. But when it did, he signed it inside of three hours. As a political matter, his change of heart made perfect sense. The bill's ostensible purpose was to increase penalties for crimes motivated by bigotry-the sort of thing that naturally scores high poll ratings. But its real power lay in its title: the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act, named for a black man murdered ...

House Republican Leader Dick Armey (R-Tex.) said Wednesday House Republicans are not unified on some issues but he said the division isn't as big as the establishment media makes it out to be.He said he believes the division stems from the lack of a "common enemy" for House Republicans. "A few years ago we had a common enemy...we all felt threatened by President Clinton, so we tended to come together. What I think you are seeing now in the House is a competition for the attention of the president," Armey said during a speech in Washington.Armey also praised House Republicans ...

From Ruthy Dupree: Praise the Lord! Rejoice in His Holy Name! Christian's surgery was a success! He came through the amputation beautifully and the doctors say that he is still in critical condition, but it is a miracle that he came through the surgery at all! Thank you - THANK YOU!! Your prayers have done more for our family than any doctor on earth could do. You all are so wonderful, I praise the Lord for each and every one of you! Now it's just a meter of healing and getting through the infection. But after all that we've been ...

Bush, Norwood announce agreement on patients' rights08/01/2001Associated Press WASHINGTON – President Bush struck an Oval Office deal on patients' rights legislation with a pivotal Republican lawmaker on Wednesday, clearing the way for swift House passage of a measure to combat HMO horror stories. Bush told a hastily arranged White House news conference that the measure would meet his principles by protecting patients without encouraging "frivolous lawsuits." "After a lot of labor and a lot of discussion, we shook hands in the Oval Office about 10 minutes ago," Bush said, standing alongside Rep. Charles Norwood, the Georgia Republican who has worked ...

In a political breakthrough for the White House and Republican leaders, a key lawmaker on Wednesday cut a surprise deal with U.S. President George W. Bush that appears to clear the way for the House of Representatives to pass a scaled-back patients' bill of rights with limits on lawsuits against HMOs and big employers. Georgia Republican Rep. Charlie Norwood's decision all but doomed a more far-reaching bill of patient protections, which won Senate approval in June and, with Norwood's once steady support, appeared on course for House passage despite a White House veto threat. The administration and House Republican leaders ...

The deadly SWAT attack against a Lubbock man in July unleashed an astounding 369 rounds, one of which killed an officer; and the man under siege never fired a shot, an FBI ballistics investigation has confirmed. The F.B.I.'s Lori Bailey told the Lightning Tuesday that the tests had been concluded, and results had been returned to the Lubbock police. She would not comment on what those tests showed, but sources tell the Lightning that it pointed to a case of friendly fire. Bailey did say the tests confirmed the investigation of local police, and she lauded LPD's thoroughness in the ...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the United States risks eroding its standing in the United Nations if it does not pay $582 million in back dues before the annual General Assembly session next month. As part of a deal reached last December to lower its share of the U.N. financial burden, the United States agreed to pay part of its debt to the world body, but Congress has not yet passed legislation authorizing the release of most of the money. Annan has warned that other U.N. members "find it difficult to understand why, seven months after ...

The Pentagon and the Bush administration are determined to sell the American people a national missile defense system that will probably increase tensions with allies and adversaries and will surely cost more than $100 billion. Their latest marketing exercise took place on the evening of July 14, when a "kill vehicle" launched from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific smashed into a rocket sent up from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Precisely according to plan, the target was instantly vaporized on impact -- and along with it, or so the Pentagon's uniformed salesmen hoped, the perennial concern that missile ...

President Bush's standing in public opinion has been boosted by broad approval of his work on education and Americans' high regard for his personal qualities like character, honesty and vision, says a new poll released Wednesday.The ABC News-Washington Post poll suggested six in 10 Americans, 59 percent, currently approve of the job done by Bush. Slightly more said they like Bush personally.Bush's job approval had dipped to the low 50s in several polls in early summer and was in the mid-50s in ABC News-Washington Post polling.His approval level in this poll was slightly lower than most recent presidents in the ...

Headlines from Today's Recorder Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2001 Salmon return rate hits 18-year low The number of Atlantic salmon returning from the ocean to the Connecticut River has dropped to its lowest level in 18 years, despite decades of efforts to restore the fish population. Only 41 salmon returned to the river as adults this year, according to the Connecticut River Coordinator's Office in Sunderland. ''I think the one word that everyone is using is 'disappointing.' It's disappointing,'' said Janice Rowan, Connecticut River coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ''But, you know. It's also biology.'' Rowan added. It's ...

Headlines from Today's Recorder Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2001 Salmon return rate hits 18-year low The number of Atlantic salmon returning from the ocean to the Connecticut River has dropped to its lowest level in 18 years, despite decades of efforts to restore the fish population. Only 41 salmon returned to the river as adults this year, according to the Connecticut River Coordinator's Office in Sunderland. ''I think the one word that everyone is using is 'disappointing.' It's disappointing,'' said Janice Rowan, Connecticut River coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ''But, you know. It's also biology.'' Rowan added. It's ...

On this first day of August, President Bush helped broker a deal that would get the PBOR out of the House. The President also spoke to the Urban League reagrding his education reform plan. And, to top it all off, Dubya met with Condie, Donald and Dick regarding US forgeign policy. Looks like another busy day in the life of President Bush. Enjoy your daily dose of Dubya!

National Lawyers Guild Debates Supreme Court Impeachment Campaign The National Lawyers Guild is exploring the legal, economic and viable political grounds for launching a broad-based impeachment campaign against the five members of the Bush v. Gore majority on the Supreme Court. They are asking progressive groups to adopt "sense of the body" resolutions, letters from directors, or even full endorsements so they can assess the real support for mounting a successful campaign. The National Lawyers Guild intends to commit serious resources to the campaign if their national convention endorses it in October. For more info, e-mail impeachment@nlg.org or call 212-627-2656. ...

Lewinsky Spars with Tonesing Fox News The Political Grapevine - July 31, 2001 And now the most illuminating two minutes in television, the latest from Special Report's "Political Grapevine." A "whacky" encounter In a two-part confrontation at New York's Penn Station last week, it appears that Monica Lewinsky struck Washington lawyer and former prosecutor Victoria Toensing with a shopping bag. The Washington Post reports an encounter between the two women at a newsstand at the station in which Lewinsky told Toensing, a frequent talk-show guest during the Clinton impeachment saga, that she owed Monica's mother an apology for suggesting that ...

THURSDAY AUGUST 02 2001 Beijing set to stage biggest war games FROM LYNNE O'DONNELL IN HONG KONG CHINA marked Army Day yesterday with a renewed warning to Taiwan that it will attack it if the island declares independence. It also announced that combined Chinese Forces will start the biggest-yet war games off the island. The country’s largest and most advanced military exercise was due to start soon after tens of thousands of troops had spent the past three months in training on Dongshan island in the Taiwan Strait, a pro-Beijing Hong Kong newspaper said. The Wen Wei Po said ...