Free Republic

Washington (CNSNews.com) - Experts on election reform and voting fraud overwhelmingly agree that election fraud is a problem that needs to be corrected immediately. That was the message at a debate on election reform held at the Cato Institute Wednesday. Sen. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) said the election reform bill introduced by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), which is currently sitting in the Senate, is urgently necessary. Dodd's bill, the Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act of 2001, would set aside $3.5 billion in funding to establish a nationwide standard for voting systems. The bill was introduced in light of the...

CNSNews.com) - While the Senate earlier this year refused to include oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as part of its energy package, many House and Senate Republicans still hope the measure will be part of the final congressional bill sent to the president. The House passed energy bill does contain a provision for ANWR drilling. The House-Senate Energy Conference Committee will begin trying to reconcile the two versions of the bill Thursday, June 27 and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), chairman of a House energy subcommittee, is among those who are optimistic that ANWR still has a...

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - Australia's conservative government has endorsed Washington's policy of striking pre-emptively against terrorists planning to attack the U.S., but it is now facing domestic criticism from opponents concerned that this could entail an assault on Iraq. In remarks that caused a stir in Australia, Defense Minister Senator Robert Hill said this week the country was willing to support the "strike-first" strategy enunciated by President Bush on June 1. The reaction from other U.S. allies has been less enthusiastic. "The need to act swiftly and firmly before threats become attacks is perhaps the clearest lesson of September...

Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack's interest dimmed Tuesday as a member of the public droned on toward the end of a Commissioners Court meeting. He casually flipped through his agenda, looking back at some of the items he and his colleagues had just approved. To his great dismay, Radack saw that he had just voted to spend $2,200 to send 10 county HIV and sexually-transmitted-disease counselors to two Planned Parenthood seminars on human sexuality. Radack, a social conservative not averse to using his political power like a Louisville slugger, immediately prevailed upon his colleagues to go back and retract their...

DUBAI, June 20 (Reuters) - A boycott of U.S. goods by Saudis angered by Washington's Middle East policies has led to a sharp fall in U.S. exports to Saudi Arabia, diplomats and economists said on Thursday. Official U.S. figures show exports plunged 33 percent to $2.8 billion between September, the month that suicide-bombers, most of them Saudis, attacked U.S. cities, and March. In the first quarter of 2002, exports fell 43 percent to $986 million from $1.74 billion a year earlier. Many Saudi consumers have shifted to European and Japanese products, encouraged by campaigners wearing Palestinian chequered headscarves who have...

Billy Joel has checked himself into a rehab clinic for the rich and famous — capping a tumultuous few months that saw the 53-year-old star pull out of a concert tour and crash his Mercedes. The Piano Man had planned a 10-day stay at Connecticut's Silver Hill Hospital several weeks ago to get help with a "personal problem," said Claire Mercuri, his spokeswoman.Joel was reported to be getting treatment at the hospital's chemical dependency treatment center. Mercuri declined to give specifics.Although many of Joel's friends acknowledged his reputation as a heavy drinker, they said a series of professional and personal...

Hail to the Army's Oldest Division - The 'Big Red One' By J. David Galland The U.S. Army celebrated its 227th birthday last Friday, June 14. Amid the celebrations, speeches and cake cuttings, my memories drifted back to when I first began soldiering 34 years ago in 1968, just after the Army's 193rd birthday. Both now and then, my first year as a soldier, American troops are serving in combat against America's enemies overseas. Thinking of that span of time and the Army's rich history, I thought it fitting to remember and celebrate the legacy of the oldest division in...

We Don't Have Mladic, Says Yugoslav Army Chief June 20, 2002 04:42 AM ET BELGRADE (Reuters) - The Yugoslav Army says it is not shielding the fugitive Bosnian war crimes suspect General Ratko Mladic and does not know where he is. Mladic, who Washington warns could be key to more U.S. economic aid for Yugoslavia next year, is not under army protection, Chief of Staff General Nebojsa Pavkovic told state television on Wednesday evening. "We do not protect Mladic and we don't know where he is. For the last few months we have not had any information about where he...

Federal investigators are ending their probe into one of former President Bill Clinton's most controversial pardons without bringing any charges, the Daily News has learned.The Justice Department is expected within a month to shut down its probe into whether Clinton gave clemency to four convicted felons of the Hasidic enclave of New Square after the town voted 1,400 to 12 for Hillary Clinton in her Senate election."The New Square part is likely to be closed without criminal charges being brought," a person close to the investigation told The News.The investigation was launched after it was learned that Hillary Clinton...

n a historic first for the City Council, a public hearing was held yesterday on several measures supporting reparations for the descendants of African slaves.The hearing by the Governmental Operations Committee would have been unlikely just a year ago, before term limits contributed to a massive shakeup of the Council's leadership and infused the 51-member legislative body with 38 new members, including many African-Americans, Hispanics and the first Asian member.Many of the Council newcomers attended the hearing called by Councilman Bill Perkins (D-Harlem), the committee's chairman and deputy majority leader.The issue of reparations for the slavery era is a...

<p>Tom Daschle is disappointed, radical environmentalists are furious, and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is suing -- all of which means the Bush Administration must be doing something right.</p> <p>Indeed it is. Last week the Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules regarding the enforcement of the Clean Air Act. "Our review clearly established that some aspects of the . . . program have deterred companies from implementing projects that would increase energy efficiency and decrease pollution," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. This includes cases like that of Detroit Edison, which got hauled into court by the EPA for installing more efficient and less polluting turbines.</p>

Iraq is not only part of the Axis of Evil, its diplomats are credit-card deadbeats.U.S. officials say 10 employees of the Iraqi Mission to the UN in New York have run up $70,000 worth of charges on Chase Bank, Macy's and Eddie Bauer credit cards — then bolted to Baghdad without paying the bills. When the victims complained, the U.S. Mission to the UN entered the fray — diplomatically — on Tuesday. "We delivered to the Iraqi Mission a diplomatic note, which said these bills have come to our attention from Chase, and we expect the mission to pay...

Fire trucks, ambulances also seen as 'ideal' weapons NYPD and FDNY brass were warned that terrorists may try to use police cars, fire trucks and ambulances as high-speed bombs after two Middle Eastern men tried to buy an ambulance with cash this month, the Daily News has learned.The two unidentified men went to a northern New Jersey shop that specializes in building replica ambulances and police cars sometime in the last two weeks, a law enforcement source said.But when the men whipped out cash to pay for the ambulance, the owner balked and the men quickly fled without leaving any...

<p>LEAVE a stewpot on the stove untended for too long and a lot of gunk sticks to the bottom and sides. It's a good idea to stir the pot from time to time. This is one potential benefit of the proposed Department of Homeland Security: It'll stir a lot of bureaucratic pots.</p>

"This is a true story about my cousin - Keith Gallagher surviving a very unusual and life threatening incident while serving as bombardier / navigator on a A-6 aircraft off the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Indian Ocean on July 9, 1991. Keith would recover from this accident, return to flight status, and complete his service in the Navy. Keith now works for a telecommunications company and lives in Kansas City with his wife Michelle and their two children."

Texas Doctors Perform Historic Surgery In Utero 6/20/02 Forth Worth, TX -- A Fort Worth newborn with a rare tumor growing inside her neck is the first in the state to have an unusual procedure done during her birth. Baby Guadalupe made history at Cook Children's Medical Center, not only because she was the first planned delivery here, but she was also the first in the state to be operated on while still inside her mother's womb. Baby Guadalupe had a rare teratoma or benign tumor in her neck. Her parents want to remain anonymous, so Neo-natologist Dr. James Miller...

In Afghanistan, the work of USAF Special Operations Forces was not seen but most assuredly felt. Masters of Invisibility By Richard J. Newman, Air Force Magazine It wasn't standard procedure, but the circumstances called for urgent action. North of Kandahar in Afghanistan, several US soldiers had been gravely wounded. Enemy forces were reported to the south. It was broad daylight, and local Afghans--loyalties unknown--were watching from surrounding hillsides. Soon, two MH-53 Pave Low helicopters--Chalk 1 and Chalk 2--from USAF's 20th Special Operations Squadron were speeding toward the site. As they did so, a medic on Chalk 1 pointed out that...

CLARKSDALE, Miss. - In the Mississippi Delta, the land is so flat it's hard to believe the world is round, and the sun-scorched desolation seems to go on forever. No matter how prosperous the nation has become, the Delta is still stuck in the Depression. Billions of federal dollars have spilled over the levees and flooded the Delta over the years without leaving a trace. At a time when unemployment nationally hovers between 5 percent and 6 percent, it can top 20 in some Delta counties, and the region badly lags behind in education and health. Now the government is...

<p>WASHINGTON - President Bush's spokesman yesterday came close to ruling out Yasser Arafat as a partner for peace - and strongly defended Israel's right to self-defense after the latest homicide bombing.</p> <p>Asked about Israel's new policy of reoccupying Palestinian areas, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer replied: "The president understands Israel has a right to defend herself."</p>

<p>June 20, 2002 -- Southwest Airlines hit turbulence yesterday over its plans to enforce a porker-profiling policy that doubles airfares for overweight fliers.</p> <p>A spokeswoman for Southwest defended the policy and said tubby travelers are treated no differently from "normal" customers.</p>