Free Republic

<p>Whatever happened to those long, hot, aimless days of summer, when playmates were always an arm's length away and there were no adults directing our activities?</p> <p>When we poured into the streets early in the morning and romped until well past sundown, returning home only to stoke our little furnaces with bologna sandwiches and Kool-Aid?</p>

SAINT THOMAS MORE MARTYR, CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND—1535 Feast: July 9 Twice in the history of England there appears the figure of a great martyr who was also chancellor of the realm. Thomas Becket, whose story appears earlier in this volume, gave his life to keep the English Church safe from royal aggression; Thomas More gave his in a vain effort to preserve it from further aggression. Each was a royal favorite who loved God more than his king. The coincidence is striking, although on closer comparison the differences are also striking; first, those of time and status, between the...

PAKISTANI troops will "teach India a lesson" if it invades Kashmir, President Pervez Musharraf said in a television interview. The military leader said he "couldn't care less" about India's recent moves to scale down the tension between the nuclear-armed rivals in the BBC interview first aired yesterday. "We don't see de-escalation as a response," Musharraf said. "We couldn't care less whether they de-escalate or not," he added. "We are totally prepared for them and we will teach them a lesson if they come across the Line of Control. "They dare not violate our international border, they dare not violate the...

WASHINGTON, June 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- "Today the National Organization for Women is naming Wal-Mart -- the nation's largest company with close to one million employees -- a Merchant of Shame," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "Wal-Mart faces numerous allegations of sex discrimination in pay, promotion and compensation; of wage abuses, violation of child labor laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act; exclusion of contraceptive coverage in employee insurance plans and discrimination on the basic of sexual orientation. The list of Wal-Mart's workplace 'don'ts' is far too long." "Wal-Mart is number one on the Fortune 500 list. It's also the...

Castro Calls Meeting on Constitution Sat Jun 22, 6:48 PM ET Fidel Castro ( news - web sites) has called a special parliamentary session for Monday to approve inscribing Cuba's socialist system as "untouchable" in the nation's constitution — a move backed by a massive signature drive. In a letter read on state television early Saturday evening, Castro agreed to National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon's request for a special session to approve the proposed constitutional change. Alarcon previously had announced that lawmakers would meet in regular session on July 5, and the proposal had been expected to be approved then....

America's present predicament is that of a great nation rendered vulnerable by its very openness. In the global war against terrorism we are now forced to wage, we are lucky that in George W. Bush we do not have a Hamlet, wringing his hands endlessly over whether or not and how to respond. What we do have is a president more like Shakespeare's King Henry V at Agincourt, clear both in his view of the battlefield and on the stakes of the conflict at hand. The president's clarity of vision has defined terrorism for precisely what it is — evil....

The Holy Sacrifice of the MassThere is probably no doctrine in the Catholic Faith that has been misunderstood more by Protestants than that of the Holy Mass. The Mass is the central act of Catholic worship: Christ's sacrifice on Calvary is perpetuated because the priest offers it anew to the Father. It is not a new sacrifice, but the same one that Jesus offered on the Cross 2,000 years ago, the difference being that in the Mass it is — in a sense — unbloody. Jesus does not die or suffer again at each Mass, but is simply re-presented, re-offered...

IDF set to expel bombers' families By Aluf Benn, Amos Harel and Gideon Alon The political-security cabinet decided on Friday that Israel Defense Forces troops will enter Palestinian cities in the West Bank and operate in them for "as long as it is required." The decision also authorized Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to order a future operation in the Gaza Strip. The cabinet decided in principle in favor both of the expulsion of families of suicide strikers from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, and of the expulsion of terror operatives from the territories. The implementation of this expulsion...

Rishon Letzion Magistrate's Court on Saturday extended to Wednesday the remand of Yosef Cohen, The 27-year-old Israeli who was arrested Friday on suspicion of shooting dead a 32-year old Palestinian in a village near Nablus on Friday. Cohen told the court he was innocent. "I did not do it, I did not kill him," said. Cohen, a resident of the West Bank community of Yitzhar, and other settlers, allegedly came into the village of Arak Burin, near Nablus, following the funerals of the victims of the Itamar terrorist attack on Friday. There they allegedly continued to riot, vandalize Palestinian property...

The most serious challenge for Christianity today isn't one of the other religions of the world, such as Islam or Buddhism. Nor is it simple atheism, which has no depth, no mass appeal, no staying power. Rather, it's a religion most of us think is dead. That religion is paganism — and it is very much alive. Paganism is simply the natural gravity of the human spirit, the line of least resistance, religion in its fallen state. The “old” paganism came from the country. Indeed, the very word “paganism” comes from the Latin pagani, “from the fields” or “country-dwellers.” Country...

<p>MIAMI — For generations fishermen have cast their nets wherever there's water.</p> <p>But some environmentalists are seeking to ban all forms of fishing along parts of America's coastlines, angering some anglers.</p> <p>"We're upset and concerned by the proposals that are there. Those proposals would close about half a million miles of ocean. Yeah, I guess you could say we're mad," Michael Nussman of the American Sportfishing Association said.</p>

WHAT: FReeper Augustus Alzona is forming a slate of nineteen true conservative Republican activists to take over the current local central committee in Montgomery County, Maryland, and then later, work with fellow, state central committee members statewide to gain effective control (by conservatives) over the Maryland Republican Party.  WHY: As most of you who have been keeping up with Republican Party politics over the last four-year election cycle (now ending) know, the Maryland State GOP continues to be basically controlled by so-called "moderates." This phenomenon has also applied to the locally elected party central committee here in Montgomery County over...

President Bush and First Lady Laura hosted the first ever Presidential Fitness Challenge today in Washington. The President and White House staff participated in a three-mile run, while Laura joined the mile walk. Bush finished 26th with a personal best time of 20:29. After finishing the race, the President said he 'felt great.' Tomorrow, the Presidential fitness weekend will continue with another game of tee ball at the White House. Enjoy your daily dose of Dubya!

<p>CHICAGO (AP) -- Ann Landers, the columnist whose snappy, plainspoken and timely advice helped millions of readers deal with everything from birth to death, died Saturday. She was 83.</p> <p>The death of Landers, whose real name was Esther Lederer, was announced by the Chicago Tribune, publisher of her column. She died less than two weeks before her July 4 birthday.</p>

Who murdered Simon Veness, the British banker blown up in Riyadh on Thursday? The car bomb that killed him had all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack, but the Saudi authorities linked it to "alcohol smuggling" among Western racketeers. This implied that Mr Veness might have been involved with bootlegging. Though no evidence has been produced for such a slur, it has not yet been challenged by the Foreign Office. Yesterday the Foreign Secretary merely expressed "concern" and promised to "seek clarification through our embassy". However unclear it may be who murdered Mr Veness, there is nothing to clarify about...

St. John Fisher, 1460-1535 John Fisher, born at Beverley, Yorkshire, was the son of a prosperous mercer who died in 1477. About 1482 the boy's mother sent him to Cambridge University where he distinguished himself as a scholar. He was ordained in 1491 on the title of his Fellowship of Michaelhouse (now incorporated in Trinity College). After studying theology for ten years, he took his D.D. in 1501, and was later recognized as one of the leading theologians of Europe. His university soon discovered his gifts as an administrator; he held in turn the offices of proctor, vice-chancellor and...

Returning to this country from Afghanistan after three months of hard soldiering, 45 Royal Marine Commando may receive less public attention than the return of our footballers, but they have earned the nation's gratitude, and it needs to be declared. Our Armed Forces have grown accustomed to being constantly over-stretched and severed from their families, all without bonus pay, but they do like to feel that their services are appreciated. "The Afghan people feel secure with them," said Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, this week, as another group of British forces, based in Kabul, handed over control of the peacekeeping...

EUROPE LOOSENS ITS POT LAWS From England To Italy, Politicians And Cops Are Getting More Tolerant Of Marijuana Users At the end of May, the Senior Judge of England's highest court, Lord Bingham, publicly declared his country's marijuana prohibition "stupid" and said he "absolutely" supported legalization. This sent a shock wave through the nation's political establishment. While many leaders have recently called for relaxing England's pot laws, including the chief prison inspector and several prominent police chiefs, Bingham, known as a modernizer of England's tradition-bound judiciary, is one of the country's most influential judges. With so many officials calling for...

Israeli troops arrested a senior member of Fatah movement on Saturday, the group said in a statement. Mohammad Lutfi, also known as Abu Lutfi, was taken from his house in Beitunia, southwest of Ramallah, the statement said. Lutfi is a member of Fatah's revolutionary council, as well as secretary general of the group's West Bank operations and director of the Palestinian interior ministry, AFP reported. "As part of its offensive against the political and secular leaders of Fatah and its plots aimed at ending the noble Palestinian intifada (uprising), the Israeli occupation forces abducted Abu Lutfi," the statement said. Fatah...

Israeli tanks and troops strengthened their grip on several West Bank cities yesterday after Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, won the backing of his security cabinet to seize and hold Palestinian territory. Armoured columns poured into the West Bank in response to last week's suicide bombings in Jerusalem, in an operation codenamed "Determined Path". In a major policy shift after two suicide bombers killed 26 people, the government said that it would occupy Palestinian land "as long as terror continues" rather than pull out after targeted offensives against terrorist groups. Israel was angry that it was forced to curtail its...