Free Republic

As the Republican base fragments and Christian conservatives consider a “fast” from politics, the polling data point to a mid-term Republican thumping. Less than two weeks from now, Republicans will begin their post-mortem soul searching. And as the corpses of their House and Senate majorities grow cold, so should Karl Rove’s 2006 campaign strategy.

CARY, N.C. - The joke around here is that this town's name is really an acronym for "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees." As far as Vernon Yates is concerned, they haven't been contained well enough. Nearly surrounded by pricey subdivisions, the cinderblock Yates Grocery and Farm Supply sells neither anymore. As if things weren't bad enough, style maven Martha Stewart has chosen this Raleigh suburb to build a signature neighborhood of houses designed after her homes in Maine and New York. Holding court near a potbellied stove, the 69-year-old man in the suspenders and NASCAR shirt laments that his old...

Threatening letters critical of the interracial marriage between a Tony Award-winning white actress in the Broadway smash "Wicked" and Taye Diggs, a popular black film and TV actor, have sparked a NYPD probe and an increase in security at the famed Gershwin Theatre, sources said. One of the letters "threatens bodily harm to Taye Diggs," according to a police source. That letter was received Wednesday by Jed Bernstein, president of the League of American Theaters and Producers, the industry's major trade group, with offices on West 47th Street. Sources said that before Wednesday, two other handwritten letters were sent to...

I have created a public register of "bump lists" here on Free Republic. I define a bump list as a name listed in the "To" field used to index articles. Free Republic Bump List Register

If you want to understand just about everything that is wrong with the way American politics is practiced these days - and especially with the malpractice of the media - consider the absurd controversy about Howard Dean's comment that "I want to be the candidate for guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks." For years, Democrats have been talking about how to reclaim "the Bubba vote." That's a reference to white working-class men who, among other things, attach Confederate flag stickers to the back windows of their pickup trucks. The flags are usually situated next to the image of...

Strom's Skeleton The late segregationist's black daughter. By Diane McWhorter Posted Tuesday, July 1, 2003, at 12:11 PM PT In all the words spent on Strom Thurmond's life and times since his death last week, I have seen no acknowledgment of the most interesting of his sundry racial legacies. She is Essie Mae Washington Williams, a widowed former school teacher in her 70s, living in Los Angeles. Presumably she did not show up for any of the obsequies even though Strom Thurmond was almost certainly her father. Williams is black. http://slate.msn.com/id/2085087/

1. I can't reach my license unless you hold my beer. 2. Sorry officer, I didn't realize my radar detector wasn't plugged in. 3. Aren't you the guy from the Village People band? 4. Hey, you must have been doing 125 to keep up with me. Good job. 5. I thought you had to be in relatively good physical shape to be a police officer. 6. I was going to be a cop, but I decided to finish high school instead. 7. Bad cop, no donut. 8. You're not going to check the trunk are you? 9. Gee, that gut...

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - The overwhelming stench of urine was the first thing to hit visitors who entered the shrine in Bethlehem revered as the birthplace of Jesus. The standoff between Palestinian militants and the Israeli army at the Church of the Nativity, which came to an end on Friday after nearly 40 days and nights of high drama, had left one of Christianity's holiest places in a shocking mess. Garbage bags, lemon peels, gas canisters, petrol cans and electric hotplates were scattered throughout the church off Manger Square. A Reuters correspondent saw altars, the sacred focus of...

<p>AMILTON - Eighth-grader Hanna Hoy thought she was doing a pretty good thing when she asked the Board of Selectmen to sign a pledge against hatred, already approved in 54 Massachusetts communities.</p> <p>''Was I surprised when they rejected it? Yeah, definitely,'' said Hoy, a poised, articulate 13-year-old. ''I mean, who wouldn't want their town to be a more accepting place?''</p>

Scanners that could determine our political beliefs, pinpoint our involvements in crime, or even uncover extra-marital liaisons are being developed by neurologists. It sounds like science fiction, but the idea is being taken seriously by neurologists following breakthroughs in research on the amygdala, an almond-shaped region of the forebrain. During one trial, scientists read the electrical patterns of amygdalas in individuals undergoing cognitive trials and decoded volunteers' emotions from their scanners. 'The whole field has become immensely exciting,' said Dr Stephen Lawrie of Edinburgh University's psychiatry department. 'It has immense potential, not just for understanding how we think and feel,...

Catholic Students Forbidden To Attend March for Life 1/30/02 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE VILLANOVA, PA- Can professors at a Catholic university punish pro-life students for attending the annual March for Life? A new debate is brewing at Villanova University. Students faced opposition and punishments from their professors at the Catholic university for trying to attend the annual March for Life in Washington D.C., forcing some to miss the January 22nd event. "[My professor] told me I shouldn't go, it would be an unexcused absence, and I would get a zero for the day," said a female nursing major, who's professor was ...

HARARE, Zimbabwe - From factory laborer and mine worker to trade union leader and presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai has risen from obscurity to pose the first real challenge to one of Africa's last and most resilient old-style rulers. Tsvangirai, head of the labor-backed Movement for Democratic Change, who turns 50 on Sunday, is expected to benefit from a massive protest vote against the increasingly autocratic President Robert Mugabe in presidential elections this weekend. He founded his party in 1999 after urban unrest in which Mugabe deployed troops for the first time to crush food riots triggered by soaring inflation. ...

Feb. 27-29 - Zimbabwe holds its first democratic elections. April 18 - Robert Mugabe becomes prime minister. A coalition government is formed between his Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front and its longtime foe, the Zimbabwe African People's Union led by Joshua Nkomo. 1982 - Troops from Mugabe's majority Shona tribe begin a harsh crackdown on the minority Ndebeles. Mugabe claims Nkomo was leading the Ndebeles in an armed rebellion. At least 20,000 people, mostly civilians, are killed, according to human rights groups. 1985 - Mugabe's party wins an overwhelming election victory, and the country edges toward one-party rule. ...

About a year ago, I wrote about Tony Blair's strange project to Canadianize Britain -- transforming the House of Lords into an Ottawa-style Senate of cronies and pliant deadbeats, introducing quot;asymmetrical federalismquot; to the Celtic provinces, etc. The curling fever that has gripped the United Kingdom since they trounced Kelley Law in Utah suggests that even Mr. Blair's electors are getting with the program.And now, as further evidence, we have the Commonwealth Conference in Queensland, in which the traditionally Canadian role was played by the British Prime Minister. The issue this time was Zimbabwe, quot;the jewel of Africa,quot; as Robert...

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Mar 08, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- The final day of campaigning in Zimbabwe's most sharply contested presidential race began Friday after the Supreme Court ruled tens of thousands of people were not eligible to vote. The court, largely stacked with judges loyal to President Robert Mugabe, ruled in favor of a government appeal that would ban those who hold dual citizenship from voting, disqualifying many whites and tens of thousands of black farm workers from neighboring countries. In his last day on the campaign trail, Mugabe, 78, toured his ruling party's rural strongholds north of ...

C By Monday, the world should know the results of elections in Zimbabwe, where 78-year-old Robert Mugabe, Marxist freedom fighter turned tyrant, is fighting (literally) to cling to power. His opponent for president, Morgan Tsvangirai, leads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and is as brave, principled and resolute as Mugabe is tyrannical and corrupt. Zimbabwe, arguably, is the saddest story in Africa - a continent replete with horror stories and needless violence where the people of virtually every country were better off in every way under colonialism than they are with independence. When it won independence through a ...

<p>The Clovis Unified School Board voted 5-2 to approve the club, with members Richard Lake and Susan Walker dissenting.</p> <p>Supporters say the club promotes tolerance and equality among students of varying sexual orientation; people against the club say it promotes homosexuality and has no place in the schools.</p>

MIAMI -- Just as Christian conservatives are making a fresh run to repeal Miami-Dade's gay-rights ordinance, local officials are joining hands with the gay community to market Greater Miami as the Gay Riviera. "Our gay friendly environment extends beyond our local businesses to our government officials and policies," says a purple pamphlet published by the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau to lure gay and lesbian travelers. "Come see why Greater Miami is truly the Gay Riviera." The $40,000 brochure is part of a broader strategy to expand gay tourism and commerce to Miami Beach and the rest of ...

<p>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) --  Members of a Christian activist group will try to show shareholders at The Walt Disney Co.'s annual meeting next week a video of gays and lesbians at Walt Disney World during Gay Days.</p> <p>The goal is to show shareholders footage of members of the same sex holding hands, kissing and cuddling during the annual festivities, said Phillip Vaught, executive director of the Forest, Va.-based Christian Action Network.</p>

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — The Army has refused to discharge an officer who admitted to homosexual conduct and volunteered to resign his commission. The Army wants Capt. David Donovan to continue in his job as a military policeman and information systems management officer rather than pay back the cost of training him. Donovan’s four requests for discharge — including one supported by Fort Bragg’s commanding officer — have been rejected. "Even though officers state they are willing to pay back the financial amount, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to have their request approved," said Lt. Col. Stan Heath, ...