Free Republic

Marijuana Group Targets Vermont Legislators Montpelier — A national group pushing a bill to legalize marijuana for medical purposes plans to target Vermont legislators next year who oppose or don’t actively support the measure. The Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.C., group that advocates decriminalizing marijuana both for medical and recreational use, is advertising for a state-wide political coordinator to help organize its efforts here. “What we’ve seen in Vermont, as well as some other states where we’ve been working in the Legislature, is that our problem is not with public opinion,” said Bruce Mirken, communications director for the Marijuana...

October 12, 2003 -- Beverly Blagmon lives in the School Street housing projects in southwest Yonkers, a once-vibrant manufacturing area just north of New York City long mired in unemployment and poverty. Beverly has asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, gout and an enlarged heart, and her blood has a dangerous tendency to clot spontaneously. She is 48, and she had her first heart attack in her late 20's. One of her brothers died of heart failure at 50, and another died of kidney failure at 45, as did a sister who was 35. A young cousin recently died...

<p>Emily Peters / The Town Talk Posted on October 12, 2003 Sometimes, Rapides Parish students have to face a few swift swats to the backside to pay the price for misbehaving at school.</p> <p>But the Rapides Parish School Board is paying the real price in defense costs when some parents sue the school system because their children face corporal punishment at school.</p>

<p>BATON ROUGE - When asked how they will approach black voters, a key to who wins the Nov. 15 runoff for Louisiana governor, Republican Bobby Jindal and Democrat Kathleen Blanco said they have very specific strategies.</p> <p>Jindal said his message of a stronger public education system and better access to affordable health care will appeal to black voters, 29 percent of Louisiana's 2.7 million registered voters.</p>

ITHACA--The nightmare began with a telephone call on a dreary winter afternoon. Anne and Doug Sutton had been upset that their daughter, Erica, was defying their order to stay out of Internet chat rooms. Late at night, Erica would talk on the computer with people who claimed to have multiple personalities and said they were sexually abused. When they confronted Erica, she became incensed. They immediately suspended her computer privileges. The next day, concerned about the blowup, the Suttons called Erica's therapist at school. The therapist cut them short and passed the call to a Tompkins County social worker. Get...

When you drink your morning coffee tomorrow… say thanks to the pope who made it all possible. People began going crazy over coffee 600 years ago in the Middle East. The earliest coffee fanatics were Muslim mystics, trying to stay awake for nighttime worship.Early coffee houses were such "brewing grounds" for radical ideas that authorities in Mecca tried to outlaw the drink!When coffee hit Europe in the late fifteen hundreds, priests at the Vatican labeled it an atheist concoction and wanted it banned there too!That's when Pope Clement 8th gave his blessing to the bean. "This Satan's drink is so...

Now that winter weather is approaching, you might find yourself stuck in the TV room. Fear not! The following is one man’s guide to what’s on. Feel free to add your own. This excludes pay-cable (like HBO, Cinemax, etc.) And you have to allow for regional variations (e.g., differences in time, football game coverage, affiliates, etc.) Includes selected talk shows. All times Eastern.Sunday 9:00AM TVLand – Burns & Allen - Cameo by Ronald Reagan.9:00AM CBS - Sunday Morning.Retrospective on the Pope’s 25th Anniv. 9:15AM AMC – To Catch a Thief – Too bad AMC added commercials, though10:00AM TOON – Scooby-Doo...

The Talk Shows Sunday, October 12th, 2003 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV). MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-DE) and Richard G. Lugar (R-IN). FACE THE NATION (CBS): Rep. David Dreier (R-CA), California Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D) and former White House chief of staff Leon E. Panetta (D-CA). THIS WEEK (ABC): Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-MA), former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican Lindy Boggs and Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez, the...

FW man killed hanging out carPolice, driver say father of 6 stuck head out window, hit sign pole when truck swerved01:04 AM CDT on Sunday, October 12, 2003By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News A Fort Worth father of six who had just married his longtime sweetheart was killed early Saturday when he stuck his head of out a pickup truck window and hit a sign pole, police and the driver of the pickup said. The passenger, Shawn Garrison, 26, died from head injuries suffered when he struck the sign, the Tarrant County medical examiner ruled. A woman told...

An Impish Delight, October 11, 2003 Reviewer: Cheri L. Bacon from Placerville, California United States One of the best things about Mr. Franken's book is how well footnoted it is. Seriouly, this may be the best footnoted book I've ever read. If you don't believe me, check out page 16. This book really hits the mark. I've become a true believer, a fundamentalist Frankenphile. Not only did I buy the book, I also bought the cassette tapes for the road. Then, only yesterday, I bought an autographed copy for only $100 via the Democratic Party's website. It's do to arrive...

JERUSALEM - Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia told the ruling Fatah party Sunday he will not seek renomination when a new Cabinet is formed in three weeks, Fatah officials said. Speaking after a meeting of the Fatah central committee, Qureia would only say that a new government would be formed in three weeks "with a new prime minister too."

An orgy of breast-beating in print claims the French 'piss off the planet', Paul Webster reports from Paris At the FNAC Etoile in Paris, more a multi-storey literary warehouse than a bookshop, the shelves are buckling under the weight of ammunition for a political and social war. With titles such as French Arrogance, Falling France and French Disarray, this is heavy-calibre weaponry that is being trained on France's political elite in a war that has broken out over the very soul of the country. Launched against a background of top-level disillusionment with Europe, accelerating unemployment rates, spectacular company failures and...

Schumer wants U.S. to level China playing field At Crucible, N.Y. senator pushes proposed 27.5% tariff on Chinese imports. October 10, 2003By Michelle Breidenbach Staff writer U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer on Thursday brought his fight against unfair Chinese trade practices back to the Syracuse region, where he was inspired this summer to do something about the loss of manufacturing jobs. At a meeting in August, local business and labor leaders asked for Schumer's help. Weeks later, he joined a bipartisan group of senators in Washington to propose a 27.5 percent tariff on Chinese imports. That's the average amount he says...

For legislators, end to remap in sightHouse, Senate leaders cautiously optimistic of final approval today10:28 PM CDT on Saturday, October 11, 2003From Staff and Wire Reports AUSTIN – The House and Senate are to meet Sunday in what could be the eagerly awaited redistricting finale in the Legislature. After many played hooky to witness a disappointing defeat for the University of Texas in Saturday's Texas-OU game, House members planned to get back to work Sunday afternoon. There is optimism, if not pure confidence, that the House will have a quorum to meet and give final approval to a government reorganization...

Immigrant street fighters have brought their violent turf wars to within earshot of the White House The urgent call crackled over the radio as the unmarked police car cruised down the street. Gunfire had been reported a few blocks away: precisely where a gang-related killing had taken place the day before. Was this payback time? Officer Carol Sullivan placed a flashing siren on the car roof and sped off to answer the call. It was just another night on gang patrol. In the heart of Washington DC, two miles from the White House, Latino gangs are on the rise, ruling...

Description Description This is a chance of a Lifetime* sale.  *In dog years Pet Foil Hat Technology Special Edition (PFHTSE)is the almost-patented system that protects you and your pet from the government and aliens!Although this is listed on ebay.nl, the item is, and always has been in Canada. I'm just saving money, because ebay.nl has a cheap listing promotion right now. And it has the benefit of avoiding fbi.com detection.This ultra modern aluminum foil hat will protect your pet from the brain scanning rays of the NSA, fbi.com, and CIA satellites that are monitoring their little subversive thoughts.  You may not have considered...

<p>Wesley Clark may be leading the Democratic presidential pack in the national polls, but he is far behind the front-runners in the crucial early state races that will heavily influence, if not decide, who will become the party's nominee.</p> <p>With behind-the-scenes support from former President Clinton, the retired four-star general from Little Rock, Ark., who was supreme commander of NATO forces, catapulted into the lead in the national polls right after he announced his candidacy last month and has held that position ever since. Three weeks after he entered the contest, he is still drawing 22 percent in the national Gallup Poll &#8212; outdistancing his four top rivals who have been campaigning for more than a year.</p>

Small manufacturers fight U.S. trade policy, endorse Feingold By CRAIG GILBERT cgilbert@journalsentinel.com Last Updated: Oct. 11, 2003 Washington - With its first campaign endorsement last week, a fledgling group of Wisconsin manufacturers made a statement about the politics of job loss in the industrial Midwest. Known as Save American Manufacturing Now, the small-business coalition endorsed Senate Democrat Russ Feingold, whose voting score last year from the nation's best-known business lobby - the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - was a paltry 20%. Why Feingold? Simple. The two-term Middleton senator has repeatedly opposed the big trade pacts of the last decade, from...

<p>The Los Angeles Times editor behind the controversial revelations about Arnold Schwarzenegger's groping exploits said the governor-elect was fair game, and the paper has no regrets about an exposé that came late in the campaign.</p> <p>John S. Carroll, the L.A. Times' top editor, said the decision to go after the gubernatorial candidate was made early in the campaign, without the help of Democratic operatives or Gov. Gray Davis, whom voters decided last week to replace with the Hollywood action hero.</p>

As the man in front of him at the grocery store last week began yelling at a cashier who could not process his American Express card, Gary Dann flipped open his palm-sized camera phone and pressed a few buttons, pretending to look up a number. Moments later, as the man paid in cash, his snarling picture appeared on Dann's Web site (www.fotolog.net/garydann), complete with a less than flattering caption. The rapidly growing audience of Internet phonecam voyeurs responded quickly to the image: "Did he make a big fuss?" asked one. "I hate watching that." Wielding James Bond technology that can...