Free Republic

"This home is just one more way we can honor the Americans who have fought to defend our country with pride and valor," said Gov. Jeb Bush. State's newest nursing home for vets should ease need for care Tuesday, June 18, 2002 Associated Press PORT CHARLOTTE - The waiting list hasn't even been started, but there's already plenty of interest in the state's newest nursing home for veterans, officials said Monday. At a groundbreaking ceremony for the Douglas T. Jacobson nursing home in Charlotte County, state officials said they expect all 120 beds in the facility to be filled a...

<p>Crime in nearly a dozen big Bay Area cities, which has been declining for 10 years, went back up last year, according to figures released Monday by the FBI.</p> <p>But experts who study the causes of crime say this does not seem to be a big problem, largely because of the way crime statistics are created -- the FBI releases simply the number of crimes committed in a given city without correlating that number with an increase in population.</p>

<p>AUSTIN — The Catholic diocese in which Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tony Sanchez grew up has banned him from speaking at church facilities because of his position favoring abortion rights.</p> <p>Bishop Edmond Carmody of Corpus Christi on Monday also said Democratic lieutenant governor candidate John Sharp is banned because of his abortion stance, the Austin American-Statesman reported.</p>

While most all of the stories of bitter troubles in Raleigh today are about the state's troubled budget and redistricting battles, an unrelated - but little-noted - one involving a person connected to the legislature happened about a week and a half ago, when the legislature's Assistant Sergeant-At-Arms was sentenced on felony charges. Maxine Holley - who had pled guilty on Feb. 4 to charges of making false statements to a federal agency - was sentenced to six months electronic house arrest, community service, and two years probation in what was a welfare-fraud case. The 58-year-old former chairman of the...

U.S. Probes 350 Reported Bias Crimes Tue Jun 25, 1:39 PM ETBy CHRISTOPHER NEWTON, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department ( news - web sites) has investigated 350 reports of crimes against people of Middle Eastern or South Asian origin since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, including alleged threats, assaults, bombing plots and vandalism, an assistant attorney general said Tuesday. Prosecutors say they believe most of the crimes were in retaliation for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon ( news - web sites). State and local authorities have begun prosecuting about 70 crimes,...

Dollar Continues Slide - Spectre Of US Financial Default LoomsBy Simon English in New York The Daily Telegraph - London 6-24-02 America's shaky financial position got markedly worse yesterday when the slide in the value of the dollar accelerated and a political row left the government in danger of defaulting on its debt. Republicans in the House of Representatives are refusing to back an increase in US debt levels in the latest dispute with the White House over economic policy. The government needs another $450 billion (£300 billion) to meet immediate bills but is facing opposition from politicians alarmed at a...

MARION COUNTY, Fla. -- Residents in a Marion County, Fla., neighborhood said an aggressive pack of wild boars is terrorizing their neighborhood, according to Local 6 News. Families in the Crystal Lakes subdivision have witnessed the pigs raiding their back yards for food during the last three weeks. "I saw a pig looking in the window," resident Edwin Aundrea said. "It spotted me when I tried to chase him away and it chased me in the house." Some homeowners purchased traps and shotguns to protect their yards and family. However, it is illegal to discharge a firearm in the residential...

Yesterday National Review Online reported continuing Republican frustration with Majority Leader Tom Daschle's decision to shut down the confirmation process in the Senate. In the last six weeks, no Bush-administration nominee has been confirmed in the full Senate, leading to major backlogs in filling administration posts. In the justice field alone, there are a total of 31 nominees, including 15 candidates for the federal judiciary, 13 United States marshals, two U.S. attorneys, and one Justice Department official, waiting for confirmation votes. There are no problems with their nominations; all have been approved by Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy's Judiciary Committee. It's...

"I applaud President Bush and Secretary Mineta for their timely support," Governor Bush said. "Florida's seaports play an important role in the state's economy and are a major component of our domestic security. A vast quantity of people and cargo pass through our seaports everyday and with this grant money we can continue to keep Florida's seaports safe." Governor announces federal grant to upgrade port security Tuesday, June 18, 2002 Associated Press TAMPA - The U.S. Department of Transportation is giving Florida $19.7 million to upgrade security at the state's 19 deep-water ports, Gov. Jeb Bush said Monday. The grant...

Arafat has long had stormy relations with fellow Arab leaders By DONNA BRYSON   14:28 ET Associated Press Newswires Copyright 2002. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Yasser Arafat has history of stormy relations with his fellow Arab leaders - Lebanese who accused him of helping to cause their civil war, Gulf sheiks angered that he sided with Iraq against Kuwait, allies who felt they could not be sure of his allegiances.That history could be coming back to haunt him, tempting Arab leaders to go along with U.S. President George W. Bush's plans to shunt...

The Recordarchives Tuesday, June 25, 2002   Author Escapes Diocese, Is Eaten by CrocodilesPublius News Friday June 21,10:32 AM ET By: Pius Publius A 34 year old reporter accused of killing the reputation of Bishops Ademec, Weakland, and several hundred Diocesan Seminary directors was eaten by crocodiles as he swam across a river after escaping from the basement of the diocesan offices of Altoona- Johnson, police said on Thursday. Michael S. Rose, accused by the NCCB of being "too rigid" in his theology,and of having "no understanding of liturgy or church architecture," was captured last week by the Lavender Mafia...

INFORMATION OVERLOAD by Cindy Furnare "Attention all personnel..report to your battle stations. I repeat --- report to your battle stations." Sounds official alright, but if you don't know what to do at your battle stations; you're going to lose the battle. It's just that simple. Our society is suffering from information overload. In my opinion, we need to examine this problem and fix it quick. We will never win The War On Terror if we don't know how to connect the dots and utilize information to its maximum potential. Let's address the most often heard complaints regarding information overload and...

JULY 4 PROTEST IN PHILLY: STOP THE WAR-- Posted on Tuesday, June 18 @ 05:15:59 CDT by FatirahFree Mumia News ....AND FREE MUMIA! By Betsey Piette Philadelphia U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is to receive Philadelphia's "Liberty Award" here on July 4. It is given annually to "an individual or organization...that has demonstrated leadership and vision in the pursuit of liberty of conscience; or freedom from oppression, ignorance, or deprivation." Plans are underway to protest the hypocrisy of bestowing that award on Colin Powell, because he is part of an administration that is hated as the world's most belligerent...

Gender Gap Among College Graduates Has Educators Wondering Where the Men Are By Michael A. Fletcher Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, June 25, 2002; Page A01 BALTIMORE -- As Morgan State University President Earl S. Richardson surveyed the sea of newly minted graduates at the school's 126th commencement last month, his joy was tempered by a question that has grown too conspicuous to ignore: Where are all the men? Not only were the head of student government, the senior class president and 96 of Morgan's 141 honorstudents women, but so were two-thirds of the university's 860 graduates. At colleges and...

June 20, 2002 A Scholar Recants on His 'Shakespeare' Discovery By WILLIAM S. NIEDERKORN n 1995 Donald Foster, a professor of English at Vassar College, made a startling case for Shakespeare's being the author of an obscure 578-line poem called "A Funeral Elegy." After a front-page article about his methods of computer analysis in The New York Times — and after his reputation was further burnished by unmasking Joe Klein as the author of "Primary Colors" — the poem was added to three major editions of Shakespeare's works. Now, in a stunning development that has set the world of Shakespeare...

Lillian Swanson | In Camden County, a First Amendment clashBy Lillian SwansonInquirer ColumnistTwo great institutions - the courts and the press - crashed headlong into each other last week in a Camden County courtroom.On one side were dedicated reporters fighting for their right, under the Constitution, to do their jobs. On the other side was a committed judiciary, responsible for a fair trial for a murder suspect, Rabbi Fred J. Neulander, and appalled that a court order had been ignored.The First Amendment challenge made for high drama - four sheriff's deputies in the courtroom - and more than a few...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Rats exposed to the type of radiation emitted from cell phones do not show an increase in cancer risk, according to the results of a new study. Cell phones emit low levels of radiation that some researchers suggest may be powerful enough to damage DNA, potentially promoting cancer. But other evidence indicates that the radiation that may be absorbed from cell phones is not powerful enough to inflict genetic damage. Despite a number of studies, scientists have yet to decide whether there is a link between cell phone usage and cancer, particularly brain tumors. Studies...

Hubby just called to report on his visit to the local Sierra Club office in Phoenix. He had tried calling many times yesterday, and couldn't get through on the phone lines. Their office front doors were locked--he kept knocking and knocking until they gave up and let him in (LOL). The office window shades were drawn, and they obviously wanted everyone to think they were closed. The woman who runs the office is one PISSED OFF bull dyke(not making this up). She was extremely angry that he was "bothering" them. She said she was "too busy" and "didn't have time...

A proposed constitutional amendment to allow adults to have a small amount of marijuana without being charged with a crime has cleared its first hurdle, the secretary of state's office said Monday. Kristi Geiser, campaign finance officer for the office, said the initiative petitions contain 109,048 signatures, far more than the 61,336 needed to qualify for the November ballot. Verification of the signatures now starts and must be finished by July 8, Geiser said. In counties where there are fewer than 500 signatures on the petition, every one must be examined to determine if the person who signed is a...

June 12, 2002 Mr. Gerald L. Parsky Chairman, Team California 10877 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 2100 Los Angeles, CA 90024 Dear Gerry, With the greatest urgency, I am writing to express my concern over the seeming lack of interest by Team Cal in supporting the Cal Plan approved unanimously May 3, 2002 by the CRP Board of Directors. You voted for the plan and expressed your strong support for its components. The Party’s problem is that all funds from appearances by Bush Administration officials go into the Team Cal account. You therefore have control over all the California Republican Party’s discretionary...