Free Republic

Congressman Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., stepped into a political hornet's nest Friday morning while explaining why he voted "present" yesterday on a House resolution to keep the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Asked about Wednesday's bombshell appeals court ruling that the Pledge was unconstitutional, Ackerman said he thought the decision had a "tremendous amount of merit." "I think there was a tremendous amount of merit in what the court decided," the liberal Democrat contended to WABC Radio's Curtis and Kuby. "Some of the people I represent and some people in America are nonbelievers," Ackerman added, then joked,...

Aguilar being taken to the hospital Escaped inmate loses freedom, arm A Bernalillo County jail escapee had a brief flirtation with freedom Thursday night, but it ended abruptly in an apparent meeting of a pair of handcuffs and a train.Ezequiel Aguilar stumbled into the parking lot of the Icehouse nightclub off of First Street, next to the train tracks, at about 9:30 missing his right arm. Fire department officials say it appears he was attempting to use a locomotive's wheel to cut off a pair of handcuffs.Aguilar had been the object of a search for much of the evening....

June 28, 2002Memorial of Irenaeus, bishop and martyr Psalm: Friday Week 29 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel Reading I2 Kgs 25:1-12 In the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign,on the tenth day of the month,Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his whole armyadvanced against Jerusalem, encamped around it,and built siege walls on every side.The siege of the city continued until the eleventh year of Zedekiah.On the ninth day of the fourth month,when famine had gripped the city,and the people had no more bread,the city walls were breached.Then the king and all the soldiers left the city by nightthrough...

<p>KARACHI, Pakistan - They're here and everyone knows it: Al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives are hiding in the overheated slums, finding anonymity in the crowded bazaars and darkened alleyways, regrouping in mosques, resting easily in safe houses and immigrant neighborhoods.</p> <p>Countless Taliban and Al-Qaida fighters have escaped the U.S. dragnet in Afghanistan, and a former mayor of Karachi said his multiethnic city of 15 million was in danger of being ``Talibanized'' by the escapees. Karachi's huge size and porous harbor, plus its history of political violence and religious extremism, have made it the new center for Islamist militants and political terrorists in the region.</p>

(CNSNews.com) - Capitalizing on Thursday's Supreme Court decision in favor of school vouchers, House Republican Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) introduced legislation to provide education scholarships to disadvantaged children in the nation's capital. "The Supreme Court has spoken on education choice," Armey said. "Now it's time for Congress to do its part on behalf of low-income parents that simply want a better education for their children. Needy children in the District and across the country have waited long enough." The bill would provide families with incomes below the poverty line, scholarships of up to $5,000. Students with family incomes up...

.

LONDON (AP) _ Tired of losing your cell phone? Having other people listen in on your conversations? What about all the times you've had to turn it off at public events, or leave it behind while swimming? Two British inventors unveiled a prototype of a device Friday that could solve those problems. But there's a drawback _ your dentist would have to install it inside one of your molars. Unofficially known as the ``telephone tooth,'' the device would allow you to receive phone calls, listen to music, even connect to verbal sites on the Internet without anyone nearby hearing a...

In a profile on former Philadelphia 76ers' owner and NBA televison analyst Pat Croce, the Philadelphia Daily News' John Smallwood details Croce's role in the newest made-for-TV sport. The National Network (TNN) debuts the extreme sport called Slamball on August 3rd.Excerpt: "It's pretty wild," Croce said. a minority owner in the project. "It's the first extreme team sport. It's four-on-four basketball on a spring-loaded court. Inside the three-point arch are trampolines. These guys kill each other. It's like the ['Air Bud' guys] playing basketball. We got the players from inner-city LA and Chicago. They wear skateboard gear and helmets,...

Rampant anti-Semitism in the Muslim world, from schools to press, TV and internet, not only makes Middle East peace impossible, but makes us all targets now Just before he was given the boot by President Bush, Yassir Arafat made an extraordinary offer — extraordinary because it was not one of the specific demands Bush was about to make, extraordinary because Arafat acknowledged a hidden horror: the indoctrination of the delusional young people who carry out suicide bombings. In a six-page private memorandum he sent to President Bush and Arab capitals outlining his 100-day plan for reform, Arafat said he would...

        Home           Join the ACU   Order The Book Introduction     Chapter 1      Chapter 2   Chapter 3    Chapter 4         Chapter 5             Chapter 6           Chapter 7     Chapter 8    Chapter 9       Chapter 10         Chapter 11     Notes Hillary Rodham Clinton What Every American Should Know Chapter 3 Cattlegate In 1978—as her husband was on the verge of election as governor of Arkansas—Hillary was dabbling in cattle futures. At the time, the combined income of the Clintons was around $60,000; so Hillary couldn’t risk a lot—a mere $1,000 to dip her toe into an uncertain stream. However, it turned out she was enormously lucky—so lucky, in fact, that a lot of cynics in Arkansas and elsewhere came...

(CNSNews.com) - The American Association of Retired Persons, a senior citizens advocacy group not known for supporting Republican positions on issues, said it likes the Republican prescription drug plan that passed the House of Representatives early Friday morning. "The passage of prescription drug legislation by the House of Representatives moves the Medicare program one step closer to providing millions of older and disabled Americans with some help against the rising costs of prescription drugs," said AARP spokesman Chris Hansen in a statement. Hansen called on the Senate to act quickly on the House bill because "AARP members need this...

Fox News's decision to display the office telephone number of the San Francisco federal judge who struck down the use of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance on Wednesday has raised eyebrows among some broadcast journalists. Bob Roberts, a reporter for WBBM Radio news in Chicago, commented in the industry newsletter Shop Talk: "Where I come from, that's harassment. There are plenty of ways to air the story without stooping to that level." Other news organizations focused on how the ruling by Judge Alfred Goodwin of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco had touched off...

NEW YORK Throughout history a constant barometer for judging the level of hate and exclusion in any society has been anti-Semitism - how a country treats its Jewish citizens. Jews have been persecuted and delegitimized throughout history because of their perceived differences. Any society that can understand and accept Jews is typically more democratic, more open and accepting of "the other." This predictor has held true throughout the ages. During the Holocaust, Jews and other minorities of Europe were dispatched to the camps and, ultimately, their deaths in an environment rife with anti-Semitism. Nearly 60 years later in a modern,...

U.S. Withdrawal from NATO Bosnia Mission Ruled Out June 28, 2002 01:41 PM ET By John Chalmers BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) - The United States will not pull out of NATO's peacekeeping force in Bosnia over its spat with the United Nations on the powers of the new International Criminal Court, a NATO official said Friday. Washington threatened last week not to take part in any U.N. or U.N.-authorized peacekeeping operations unless the Security Council granted its forces immunity from arrest or prosecution by the war crimes court, which starts work Monday. The threat raised fears the United States could rip...

Copenhagen - Denmark, the European Union's incoming president, plans talks with the United States to heal a rift on the Middle East, but said on Friday the peace process must continue. US President George W. Bush has set the removal of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as a condition for a peace settlement that includes a Palestinian state. Arafat is contesting elections set for January 2003. Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said he meet US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday to discuss Bush's peace plan, which was received with reservations in Europe and among Arab allies of...

NEW YORK (AP) _ A man who pleaded guilty to more than 100 felony counts in a horrific 1982 rampage of robbery, rape and assault in several Long Island communities was freed from prison on Friday, state officials said. Robert Williams, 39, walked out of the Shawangunk maximum security prison in upstate Wallkill at 9:30 a.m., said Linda Foglia, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Correctional Services. Williams, who was sentenced to 15-30 years in prison, was released because he has served two-thirds of the 30 years, complied with prison rules and razuicipated in treatment programs. Four accomplices are...

I want to learn Linux and have ample room on my system to set it up for a dual-boot. However, which "flavor" of Linux should the "uninitiated-yet-computer-savvy" user go for? I've seen people refer to Lindows, Redhat, Mandrake, and several other varieties. Which is best option, and why? Thanks!

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Federal investigators say they have uncovered an alarming array of potential terrorist materials at the home of a Saudi Arabian man with Boston ties who was briefly enrolled at a Massachusetts flight school. <!endsumm!> According to an affidavit filed in federal court this week, the items seized from Saleh Ali Almari's suburban Washington apartment included a sketch of a plane hitting the World Trade Center, a postcard with an aerial view of the Pentagon, books on chemical weapons and aircraft identification, and videos on air and water disasters. Investigators claim in the court documents that the materials...

<p>WASHINGTON — The undoing of Alabama Rep. Earl Hilliard is the fault of Israeli extremists, say the candidate and his Muslim supporters, and the electoral assault is not likely to end with the defeat of the five-term black congressman in this week's primary run-off.</p>

PALESTINE PLANS "GIANT SUICIDE BOMB" The Palestinian leadership announced today that it would be stepping up its campaign of suicide attacks by configuring the entire state of Palestine as "one bloody great enormous bomb". The plan is seen as a last ditch attempt by the Palestinians to bring peace and stability to the region, as well a quelling its own dissenters, by "utterly destroying them all, as well our Israeli neighbours". Peace (artist's impression) he plan, which is expected to bring peace "very suddenly" to the area, comes on the heels of recent increased activity by suicide bombers within...