Free Republic

Illegalize illegals: Time for showdown in open frontier By WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR. The new intelligence law, courtesy of 9/11, is mystifying because it does not face directly what is the most prominent threat to homeland security. It is: inimical action by non-Americans. All the people who participated in 9/11 were foreigners, here under various auspices. And yet the bill that has evolved from the findings of the 9/11 commission reads like an elocutionary exercise by a national committee to avoid saying anything unpleasant about unpleasant people born abroad. Specifically, the threat at this moment is from foreign terrorism. The...

Charges in fatal accident reduced No-contest plea in crash that killed firefighter By GEORGE B. SANCHEZ Herald Salinas Bureau The Monterey County District Attorney's office dropped vehicular manslaughter charges against a woman who struck a volunteer firefighter from Soledad with her car while he battled a car fire on Highway 101 in March. She pleaded no contest to lesser charges Monday afternoon. Oreina Zarco-Alvarez, 28, pleaded no contest to failing to stop and identify herself at the scene of the accident resulting in death, a felony, and driving without a license, a misdemeanor. The most serious charge, vehicular manslaughter, was...

A party divided against itself Land-use politics put a wedge in county Democrats' unity By JOE LIVERNOIS Herald Salinas Bureau On the face of it, the Democratic Party in Monterey County is flush with local success. It's got the numbers and it's got people in key elected positions. Party officials say enthusiasm for Democratic causes is at an all-time high in the county. If the presidential election proved anything, it's that Monterey County is a solid blue county. But something is amiss, as the dreaded divisive issue of land-use politics is taking its toll on party unity. "It's definitely wedging...

Democrats renew efforts on behalf of gays, Latinos DESPITE RISKS, STATE LAWMAKERS PLAN FOCUS ON MARRIAGE, DRIVER'S LICENSES By Kate Folmar Mercury News Sacramento Bureau If at first you don't succeed, should you really try, try again? It's a question that could dog Democrats as two of the most controversial social issues in California -- gay marriage and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants -- come up again when lawmakers return Dec. 6. By tradition, many legislators use the first day of the session to introduce a favorite bill, and Assemblyman Mark Leno and Sen. Gil Cedillo don't plan to wait...

Nevada or bust LOWER COSTS, EASIER LIFESTYLE By Sam Diaz RENO - Vic Monia spends a leisurely 20 minutes behind the wheel of a bright yellow Hummer, commuting between his spanking new factory and 4,000-square-foot home in a gated golf course community overlooking Reno. The days of fighting traffic between his San Jose assembly plant and a home in Saratoga are only memories. So are the high costs and headaches that led him to move his business to Nevada. Monia relocated Momar Industries to Reno earlier this year after 22 years in San Jose. The move was essentially lock, stock...

Try this before someone forces Google to change it: 1) Go to www.google.com 2) Type in: weapons of mass destruction (DO NOT hit return button!) 3) Hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button, NOT the "Google search" 4) Read the "error message" carefully.

GRILL SKILL - A Wendy's Training Video

Pebble Beach resident's book gives conservative critique By JONATHAN SEGAL Herald Staff Writer The man in the white house is fighting a war with The New York Times. But this white house isn't in Washington, D.C. And the man isn't George Bush. It's Bob Kohn. Kohn's white colonial, overlooking the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach, is a continent away from the bustle of Times Square. But the distance hasn't kept Kohn, 47, from becoming a leading conservative critic of The New York Times. Since the publication of his book, "Journalistic Fraud: How The New York Times Distorts the News and...

WHAT DO YOU THINK? The 10-year federal ban on assault weapons expires Monday. Should the ban be extended? Yes No

Californians road-tripping to register Nevada voters Home thought safe for Kerry, so focus is on swing states. Las Vegas -- His shirt soaked with sweat after 21/2 hours of walking door-to-door in the 107-degree morning heat of Las Vegas, Santa Clara construction worker Dan Yoshida put down his clipboard and counted how many Nevadans he had registered to vote. Three. He had caravanned 10 hours with 24 other Bay Area residents to this most unsexy suburban corner of northwest Vegas to offer help in a "swing" state where polls say the presidential election is too close to call. For three...

<p>Google-bombs defused: Has Google gone on the counterattack against Google-bombs? At least two high-profile attempts to manipulate Google's search results -- including one that mocks Google management -- have suddenly and mysteriously gone belly up.</p> <p>Google-bombs are a simple manipulation of the famous search engine that cause certain Web pages to become the top results for certain phrases.</p>