Free Republic

A Kansas hunter was accidentally shot dead by a dog that stepped on a rifle in the back of the pickup they were in, according to officials. The victim — who has not been identified — was in the front passenger seat of the truck in Geuda Springs late Saturday with a dog in the back with the hunting gear, including a rifle. “The fired round struck the passenger who died of his injuries on scene.” It was not immediately clear if the dead man was the owner of the pickup or if someone else was with them in the...

On a forum discussing math instruction, a father talks about his son’s bad experience with REFORM MATH::: “So they call it the ‘Chicago Method,’ eh? Good God, I thought it was just local 5th grade stupidity. This foolishness is national?? My son had a horrific time with this approach. By the time the teacher had spent week FIVE teaching the kids yet ANOTHER way just to do basic division, all the kids who had understood the first method were either bored out of their mind or have forgotten the approach that they DID understand. That whole episode made us (and...

Short press release argues that improving public schools is easier than many people think. For one thing, we don’t need more money. Here are five concrete steps for making our schools more successful: ignore the official experts; get rid of their bad ideas; rescue reading; save math; emphasize facts and knowledge. For many decades the Education Establishment always claimed--falsely--that we must throw more money at the problem. Now Obama wants to throw ever more billions at education. When the best approach is not to ADD money but to SUBTRACT dumb ideas.

"No matter how much money is spent, literacy rates plunge and SAT scores fall. General knowledge throughout the society becomes more scant. Our better students can’t compete against better foreign students. The depressing statistics are all around us. Everyone admits the public schools are doing a lousy job. The question is, why can't we do more to improve them?"

Republican National Committee Chairman Robert M. (Mike) Duncan 310 First Street, SE Washington DC 20003 Dear Mr. Chairman, The Election as well as the Inauguration is over. The “Other” Party won. President Obama is now our President for better or worse.

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Oct. 30, 2007 – The Military Police Platoon from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, has developed a 10-day preparatory class to implement the basics for Iraqi police recruits before they attend the Baghdad Police Academy, which initiates them as official police officers. Army Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Brinson, the platoon sergeant for the Military Police Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, instructs an Iraqi police trainee in a 10-day preparatory course on how to properly bound when under direct fire at Camp Taji, Iraq, Oct. 27, 2007. Photo...

DORAL, Fla. -- The sting of Republican electoral defeats still fresh, the GOP chairman suggested Thursday the party has strayed and challenged it to refocus on core principles and reform. "We work for the people," Ken Mehlman, the outgoing chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in a speech to a meeting of GOP governors. He reminded the crowd that "good policy makes good politics -- and, for Republicans, this must be a time for self-examination when it comes to our policy." [Snip] "Our nation is stronger and better when Republicans are the party running the government. But, ladies and...

Give the legislative conference committee working on the state budget a mixed grade: The panel, dominated by Democrats, ended work this weekend on a budget plan that both improved and weakened the governor's budget proposal. That leaves Democrats, Republicans and Gov. Schwarzenegger still negotiating a final budget plan for fiscal year 2006-07. And after several years of covering state deficits with gimmicks, luck and accounting tricks, the state needs a plan that honestly balances spending with revenue. The governor's revised 2006-07 budget plan, which Schwarzenegger issued last month, would leave the state with projected deficits of $3.5 billion a year...

2/10/2006 - KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Deep in the heart of Iraqi bunkers are the weapons that helped defeat Saddam Hussein. Surely the dictator would have never thought just five Airmen would track and maintain the same weapons that freed the Iraqi people from his oppression. The mission of the 506th Air Expeditionary Group Munitions Flight is just that. The flight is responsible for Kirkuk’s base defense assets and are accountable for more than 445 line items valued at more than $1 million. “Ammo’s mission here is basically like any other base,” said Master Sgt. Anthony Newton, flight...

When I was teaching, the week we returned from our holiday vacations (substitute "interim") was a good time to reaffirm the goals and ground rules we established when the term began, and to look ahead at what might be accomplished before Spring Fever sets in (substitute "election"). In that spirit, if you'll spit out your gum and stop talking to your neighbor, here are some thoughts on where the California State Senate stands this first week of 2006. As we've shown over the past couple months, the Senate is committed to getting government back to basics. People are tired of...

CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq (Dec. 14, 2005) -- The majority of professional armed forces worldwide receive some form of standardized training in the operation and handling of the weapons they will use in combat. The fledgling Iraqi military and police forces didn’t receive this type of training until May 10, when instructors like Sgt. Michael Magallanez created the Iraqi Small Arms Weapons Instructor Course (ISAWIC) at the newly formed 2nd Marine Division Training Center (DTC) here. The 13-day course is the primary focus of the DTC and teaches Iraqi soldiers and American service members the fundamentals of marksmanship and the AK-series...

Far too few among the Christian community are willing to remain steadfast in their beliefs, in the face of the enormous pressures of liberal social change. Fortunately, Bruce N. Shortt exemplifies the meaning of such worthy resolve. Last year Shortt, along with T.C. Pinckney, made waves at the 2004 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) by stating the obvious. America’s educational system has, over the past several decades, completely degenerated from any pretense of promoting academics. Instead, it is primarily focused on a program of indoctrinating students towards countercultural social transformation. Relentlessly working to eradicate any references to God or traditional morality,...

Can someone explain PING to me? Thanks!

THE STATE LEGISLATURE is due back in session today, and already it faces monumental challenges -- mostly related to the budget, the structure of government and a small number of elementary services. The Legislature should see this session as an opportunity to get back to the bedrock principles of good government. In one week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will present his proposed budget for 2005-06 fiscal year, and with an estimated shortfall of $8 billion, that budget is certain to require some uncomfortable choices. The budget process has urgently needed reform for years, but governors and lawmakers have avoided truly bringing...

US goes back to basics in its war on terrorism By David Rennie in Norfolk, Virginia (Filed: 27/08/2004) Commander David Somers, an 18-year veteran of the US navy, has just taken charge of the most modern - even radical - squadron in his country's fleet. Cdr Somers has served aboard some of the most powerful warships in the world, built and armed to take on the full might of the Soviet navy. Yet the vessels in his new command are only 25 feet long. The soldiers are kept ready for almost immediate deployment He served in the Cold War as...

YPSILANTI, Mich. - In a former elementary school gym, framed by green-tiled walls lined with pictures of the saints and the Passion of Christ, Nicole Myshak begins the Angelus, an ancient prayer better known to her grandmother's generation. "The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary," the 24-year-old intones. "And she conceived of the Holy Spirit," respond classmates and teachers who fill the college chapel. The prayer is followed by a solemn Mass, a daily high point at Ave Maria College, one of a small but growing number of liberal arts colleges that promote traditional Roman Catholicism. Myshak and her...