Free Republic

<p>The system that lets foreigners enter the United States on student visas often becomes a visa-for-sale operation that has allowed terrorists to enter the country, according to a new study from a Harvard professor.</p> <p>"In a very critical sense, the U.S. has delegated its role in selecting immigrants to thousands of institutions whose incentives do not coincide with the national interest," said George J. Borjas of his analysis of the public costs and benefits of foreign students at American schools.</p>

<p>Washington's key European allies and the United Nations' chief rejected President Bush's call for a "new and different" Palestinian leadership yesterday, but they welcomed his proposal for creating a Palestinian state.</p> <p>Senior U.S. officials, in remarks that appeared to soften Mr. Bush's unusually tough language on the leader, Yasser Arafat, said he still has a role to play in the months leading to elections expected to take place early next year.</p>

<p>Bring down the barriers. Permit beach buggys to spin through the sandy resting grounds of the endangered piping plover, and be sure bulldozers bore through the arboreal habitat of the threatened Louisiana black bear. After all, according to an internal document uncovered by Audrey Hudson of The Washington Times, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) apparently believes that it's not a "ridiculous possibility" that the toxic sludge being dumped into the Potomac River by the Army Corps of Engineers is bad for the fish living therein.</p>

<p>Whether the Palestinians know it or not, President Bush has paid them a high compliment. He has judged them, in his Monday Rose Garden remarks, capable of moving beyond Yasser Arafat, onto the higher slopes of participatory democracy and free elections.</p>

<p>Monday's Supreme Court decision in Ring vs. Arizona clears away a lot of the philosophical underbrush that has confused state legislators and the courts for many years. In this 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court revived the English common law doctrine that only a jury can decide the facts on which a death penalty can be based.</p>

<p>In Monday's speech on the Middle East, President Bush emphasized that "every leader actually committed to peace" must "stop the flow of money, equipment and recruits to terrorist groups seeking the destruction of Israel. Although he did not mention Saudi Arabia by name, Mr. Bush's comments on this score were directed most certainly at that regime. The Saudis have played a key role in financing the infrastructure of terror responsible for the past 20 months of suicide bombings and other attacks against Israel.</p>

<p>I have been reading and re-reading the text of President Bush's Middle East speech delivered earlier this week from the Rose Garden. It is an intriguing, ambiguous document. Like so many of his speeches, it is really two speeches in one.</p>

What a difference a war makes. My only dealings with the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. (the Army’s equivalent of a postgraduate institution), occurred three years ago, when I sat in on the taping of a seminar there, for a documentary that is finally being aired July 4. The colonels and lieutenant-colonels were discussing President George Washington’s decision to send 12,000 men (five times as many as he commanded at the Battle of Trenton) to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. One of the colonels referenced Colin Powell and, implicitly, the Gulf War by arguing that overwhelming force...

<p>The Pentagon plans to create an intelligence czar to better fight the war on terrorism.</p> <p>A confidential request for the new post went to Congress this week. The plan is emerging amid complaints that the nation's intelligence community, including the CIA and the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, failed to coordinate and share information on terrorism, in particular Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.</p>

In this game of Monopoly, Amtrak president David Gunn – broke and mortgaged to the hilt – is still hoping to play a little longer. But the banker, Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, looks uninterested in granting Mr. Gunn a "Get out of jail free" deal. The Bush administration wants a controversial restructuring of the ailing rail service, including a handover of Amtrak's tracks and tunnels to a new agency, before committing more money. Talks between Mr. Mineta and Amtrak board members ended Monday without a decision on a federal loan that would stave off a nationwide shutdown of passenger...

I have been browsing FR for a few days, and have noticed various distinct factions of conservatism that are often rivals. Of course, there are the conservatives vs. the libertarians. There are those that describe themselves as "Constitutionists" or "Constitutionalists". There is the Buchanan Brigade and the McCainiacs (though I have noticed very few fans of McCain). There are the Bush loyalists (Bushbots?) and those that cannot stand Bush. There are the third-party advocates and the Republican loyalists. There are the dittoheads, and those that cannot stand Rush. And then, of course, there are the conspiracy theorists. My question is,...

June 24, 2002Gramm Spars With VetsBy Paul Kane Stepping into a conflict to promote former Republican presidents, Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) has instead become Public Enemy No. 1 to some in the Vietnam War veterans community.For the past month, Gramm has been the lead opponent to a bill authorizing the construction of a visitors center at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a move that has resulted in a leading veteran of that war to attack the Senator in vitriolic terms for his lack of military service.Gramm is incensed with a provision in the bill, inserted by Energy and Natural Resources Chairman...

Not so long ago, this remote outpost in the Pacific was the scene of a promising experiment in the blending of conservation and tourism in wildlife refuges. Some tourists flew to Midway Atoll for the world-class fishing. Others flocked here to achieve an odorous but exhilarating proximity to some of the word's largest seabird colonies. Still more visitors came to snorkel in clear-bottom lagoons with sea turtles, spinner dolphins, and giant manta rays. And World War II buffs made the long journey to walk the runway from which B-17s took off to bomb the Japanese fleet in 1942. But earlier...

WASHINGTON - The cost of prescription drugs is fast becoming one of the hottest issues in public life – from the chambers of Congress to courtrooms across the nation. Despite rising federal deficits, the House and Senate are gearing up for votes on drug-benefit bills that could add anywhere from $350 billion to more than $800 billion to the federal budget over the next 10 years. Meanwhile, some 35 state attorneys general are discussing strategies to take drug companies to court to force reductions in "fraudulent" pricing. Some say that the potential windfall to state treasuries could rival the tobacco...

BEIRUT, LEBANON - From his no-frills offices, Nicolas Abou-Samah is preparing for a revolution. His weapon is satellite television. His mission: empowering women of the Middle East. After two years of planning, Heya TV (Arabic for "she") will begin broadcasts this summer. Like the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network – which gained international recognition for its coverage of US operations in Afghanistan – Heya TV will boast celebrity anchors and be based in a Middle East state with relatively little censorship. But it also will be first station in the region to target a female audience and will air "anything and...

WASHINGTON - President Kennedy had his Bay of Pigs. Now concern that a misstep in Iraq could leave President Bush with something similar – like a "Bay of Basra" – is influencing deliberations over how to carry out the president's order to depose Saddam Hussein. Mr. Kennedy's 1961 plan to free Cuba from the Marxist Fidel Castro using anti-Castro Cubans ended in disaster – and only bolstered a regime that survives today. Mr. Bush has approved stepping up cooperation with the Iraqi opposition, largely through the CIA and State Department, with the goal of bringing down Hussein's regime. But many...

WASHINGTON - In outlining a Middle East road map that dumps Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat off at the nearest exit, President Bush has returned to true north on his moral and political compass. Mr. Bush has never respected, trusted, or liked Mr. Arafat, refusing even to invite him to the White House. But the official US line has been that, despite his faults, Arafat is still the representative of the Palestinian people, and as such, an unavoidable companion on the path to peace in the region. No longer. By demanding Arafat's ouster as one precondition of US support for a...

Entertainment: FCC, broadcasters discuss workplace diversityWASHINGTON (June 24, 2002 7:44 p.m. EDT) - Broadcasting companies need to hire more minority and female employees, industry and government figures said Monday, even as differences arose on how to boost such hiring. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell, son of Secretary of State Colin Powell, told industry figures that ensuring the presence of minorities and women in media companies is a "strategic priority for the nation and any industry that hopes to make money in a diverse future." The FCC held a hearing on a new set of government rules designed to improve...

Democratic gubernatorial camps at odds over debates By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN The Associated Press 6/25/02 6:44 PM LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Democratic candidates James Blanchard and David Bonior have agreed to appear together in at least four debates, but candidate Jennifer Granholm now says she wants to debate only twice before the Aug. 6 primary. Blanchard's debate negotiator, Bob Kolt, says Granholm is breaking the pledge she made when she accepted Blanchard's call to do five debates. In a June 4 news release, Granholm said, "I agree to five debates. ... I look forward to meeting you on the debate...

[Q EMPHASIS AS USUAL] From: Bryan & Linda Conner To: TRUMPET WIND MINISTRIES Prophetic Email List Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 8:52 PM Subject: Re: Colorado Fires Update from Cindy Jacobs This is an update on the Durango Missionary Ridge Fire: As I sit here another fire has developed north of Durango about 3 miles. On the west side of the mountain. This is a totally different fire! The Missionary Ridge Fire has already come down on the east side of the mountain in many areas and burned homes. Both of the lakes in our area are dry and the...