Free Republic

With all the hoopla thats going on surrounding the possible resignation from the Supreme Court by one of its members, a funny thought occured to me. If the retiring member happened to be from the Liberal wing of the Court it be in the best interests of President Bush to nominate...no one. Bluntly, just leave the seat vacant. The benefits to such a position could be: 1) There's nothing in the Constitution or case law that prevents him from doing so. Thus decisions would be based on a more secure 5-3 score rather than the usual uncertain 5-4. 2) The...

SOUNDING THE ALARMIf they had them, alarm bells would be going off right now in the offices of the Congressional Black Caucus. This, after the stunning defeat on Tuesday of five-term Rep. Earl Hilliard, who after his 7th District in Alabama was redrawn found himself challenged in the Democratic primary by moderate Artur Davis. The Alabama 7th was a heated race. Both men are African-American and had bases in the black community. But Davis was able to raise money in the white community, as well, particularly among Jewish voters. It was this Jewish support for Davis that made some of...

NEW YORK - The growing list of American corporations that have doctored their books or found other ways to cheat is quickly becoming a crisis for American capitalism. Continues. =========================================== Wall Street succumbs to the Clinton Malady What's happening on Wall Street? Barely a day goes by without another horror story of massive corporate fraud and corruption. In December, the flavor-of-the-month was Enron, the largest bankruptcy case in U.S. history. A month later, it was Global Crossing and the fourth-largest U.S. bankruptcy filing ever. In February, Tyco International was accused of hiding over $8 billion worth in acquisitions --...

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell keeps trying to preserve some wiggle room for U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. President George W. Bush keeps slapping him down. The reason: Mr. Powell believes U.S. foreign policy must be practical, which means living with the fact of Yasser Arafat; Mr. Bush insists that it be moral, which means Mr. Arafat has to go. In Kananaskis yesterday, Mr. Bush ruled out any possibility of Washington treating with Mr. Arafat, no matter how legitimate his mandate from the Palestinian people. "I meant what I said, that there needs to be change," he...

ANALYSIS: Milosevic Fights Cold War Every time Slobodan Milosevic comes off worst in a courtroom confrontation he mysteriously falls ill By Mirko Klarin in The Hague (TU No. 271, June 17-23, 2002) Slobodan Milosevic has fallen ill for the second time since his trial began on February 12, leading to speculation about the tight schedule imposed by the judges. The former Serb president is suffering from a cold with a high temperature, leading his supporters to claim that the fast pace of the trial is designed to exhaust the accused, so that he will be unable to present an effective...

Can you help our most excellent FRiends at FREE BRITANNIA? They are being viciously attacked by the lunatics of The Guardian. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you PATRIOTS! The scenerio: A leftist who was previously banned off Free Britannia has gone to the Guardian site, after having visited Democratic Underground, in an attempt to swamp Free Britannia with leftists, and / or to get the site shut down. FreeBritannia: has put in a new security system, but they are still under threat of being shut down. The Guardian site is also permitting its people to put up the...

BMDO It's been several days since the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty expired. Despite the shrill cries of doom we've been hearing for the last year from the Perennially Worried, the earth is still calmly spinning on its axis. We were warned that pulling out of the ABM Treaty would destroy our relationship with Russia, and would initiate a new arms race. In contrast, since the Bush administration announced we were exercising our right to rescind the treaty, our relationship with the Russians has become even closer, and we have agreed to eliminate the lion's share of our stockpiles of...

Statement of Bob Chase, President of the National Education Association on the U.S. Supreme Court Decision on Private School Tuition Vouchers The National Education Association pledges to continue to fight for children and public education - and oppose divisive and counterproductive proposals to divert energy, attention, and resources to private school tuition vouchers, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, the Cleveland private school voucher case. Just because vouchers may be legal in some circumstances doesn't make them a good idea. The record is clear that American public schools have improved dramatically - and are continuing to...

In regard to the Atlantic bombing story on 60 Minutes II this evening, did anyone notice that the "out-of-the-way coffee shop" where the FBI met Richard Jewell and his attorney, in order to let them no that he was not a suspect in the Atlanta bombings, just happened to be a "Caribou Coffee" shop? A coffee chain owned by Muslim supporter(s) and basically people who rally behind the radical Palestinians in the Middle East.  They recently condemned Starbucks' Israeli owner of anti-Muslim rhetoric at  a speech given by him in Seattle (earlier in June '02, I believe)? An accusation, by...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq on Thursday denounced the Turkish parliament's decision to extend permission for a U.S.-led force to use a Turkish base to patrol a no-fly zone over northern Iraq. In a Foreign Ministry statement faxed to The Associated Press, Iraq said the parliamentary vote contradicts Turkish calls for safeguarding the security ( news - external web site) and the integrity of Iraq's territories "The Turkish government bears legal and international responsibility for any damages inflicted on Iraqis by this hostile force," the statement said, calling the patrols an "aggressive force that is conducting a daily aggression on Iraqi...

What is Going On in CALIFORNIA? The Organizational Roots of the "Separation of Church and State". A BlueBay Investigational Report. By VannRox 27 June 2002 Posted 27 June 2002 to Free Republic for Commentary and discussion. Note: This report concerns the Wednesday June, 26 decision by the activist [reversed 19 out of 20 cases in the latest US Supreme Court session] and politically dominantly Socialist Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals, declaring the Pledge of Allegiance to be unconstitutional. This ruling has surprised and enraged many. Others, better versed in the ability to communicate and reason, are now presenting their...

Victory for School Choice WEB RELEASE: June 27, 2002 CONTACT: (202) 955-1300 John Kramer Lisa Andaloro [School Choice] See Related Information Washington, D.C.-Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its most important educational decision since Brown v. Board of Education, upholding the constitutionality of Cleveland's school choice program. The Institute for Justice and its clients issued the following statements: Clint Bolick "This was the Super Bowl for school choice and the kids won," said Clint Bolick, vice president for the Institute for Justice. "This decision makes good on the promise made nearly 50 years ago in Brown v. Board of Education,"...

SACRAMENTO – A potentially landmark measure to raise California's legal smoking age to 21 narrowly survived its first public hearing yesterday as a swarm of tobacco lobbyists silently looked on. The unexpectedly close vote in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee served notice that, despite assurances from industry leader Philip Morris, tobacco companies are likely to put up a fight against the high-profile legislation. "There was a decision made not to formally oppose the bill, but to work the hell out of it in the shadows," said Assemblyman Paul Koretz, a West Hollywood Democrat who recently introduced the measure,...

"Jihad, Las Vegas!" A Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Willie story by Greg Swann "C'mon, Sahib," the Cabdriver said. "Let's get rollin'." Sahib said, "Again I must remind you that my name is not Sahib. And also I must ask you again to wait. Even now I am about to win the jackpot." Sahib was sitting at a penny slot machine in the casino of the Stratosphere, in fun-filled-Las-Vegas-Nevada. Max coins, no less, a real player. "Jeesh!" said the Cabdriver. "Your jackpot's a hundred freakin' bucks!" "No, you are very much mistaken. The colossal-grand-jackpot on this machine is ten thousand American coins." "It's a...

  NEW YORK CITY--Recent polls indicate that a growing number of Americans are fearful the current crisis in the Middle East may prevent the government from implementing an immediate solution to what has become known as the "David Blaine Problem." "This city, let alone this world, isn’t big enough for David Blaine and the rest of us," said Thomas Rye, a 42-year-old city mechanical engineer who was blocked from entry into his Manhattan apartment last month as Blaine astonished the world with yet another "miracle." Blaine, best known for his eerie Charles Manson stare, his friendship with Leonardo DiCaprio...

Who's bad?Amid a messy $200 million dispute with Sony, Michael Jackson adopts temporary blackness and summons Al Sharpton to his cause. But racism hasn't torpedoed your career, Michael: Your music sucks.- - - - - - - - - - - -By Bomani JonesJune 26, 2002  |  Sony has just realized something that's been apparent to everyone else for about a decade now: Michael Jackson is washed up. Jackson has yet to take the hint, but he hasn't released a cutting-edge album in 20 years or an above-average album in 15. Even so, he's been treated like the megastar...

[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 6/27/02 ] McKinneys 'guilty' of rescuing voters By J.M. RAFFAUF T. Levette Bagwell / Staff On Election Day 2000, a crowd of voters still packed the halls at 10 p.m. at Stoneview Elementary School. Most had been in line for hours. By poll closing time on Nov. 7, 2000, long lines had developed at the Stoneview precinct in DeKalb County. Hundreds of people were waiting to vote. Poll workers were able to process only 100 voters per hour. As the polls closed at 7 p.m., many were locked out or otherwise discouraged from voting both by...

WASHINGTON - Rep. John J. LaFalce, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, announced Wednesday that he will retire from Congress at yearend. Rep. LaFalce faced a tough primary as a result of a New York redistricting plan that was finalized this week. Under the plan, Rep. LaFalce would have been pitted against fellow Democrat Louise M. Slaughter, as parts of his Buffalo-area district would overlap parts of her territory in Rochester. He said he is planning to pursue a new career. "Whether this career change will take me back to the law, or a career in social...

Ethics complaint to Senate names Graham Bob Graham is accused of using Senate staff and offices to work on a state university ballot initiative. By ALISA ULFERTS, Times Staff Writer © St. Petersburg Times TALLAHASSEE -- U.S. Sen. Bob Graham used government staff and property to kick-start a drive to resurrect a statewide university board, according to a complaint filed by a California businessman whose consulting firm was fired by the campaign. Robert Kaplan, whose company Zonetal helped raise money for the ballot initiative, also filed complaints this week with Florida's attorney general, elections commission and two state attorneys accusing...

The Ninth District Quart, in a landmark decision, has outlawed the use of the word (G*D)in swearwords. The U S Senate disapproved of the decision 50 3/4 to 49 along party lines.