Free Republic

As I’ve written about before, America’s election season degrades mainstream political discourse even beyond its usual lowly state. The worst attributes of our political culture — obsession with trivialities, the dominance of horserace “reporting,” and mindless partisan loyalties — become more pronounced than ever. Meanwhile, the actually consequential acts of the U.S. Government and the permanent power factions that control it — covert endless wars, consolidation of unchecked power, the rapid growth of the Surveillance State and the secrecy regime, massive inequalities in the legal system, continuous transfers of wealth from the disappearing middle class to large corporate conglomerates —...

45 Seconds: Memoirs of an ER Doctor from May 22, 2011. My name is Dr. Kevin Kikta, and I was one of two emergency room doctors who were on duty at St. John’s Regional MedicalCenter in Joplin, MO on Sunday May 22,2011. You never know that it will be the most important day of your life until the day is over. The day started like any other day for me: waking up, eating, going to the gym, showering, and going to my 400pm ER shift. As I drove to the hospital I mentally prepared for my shift as I always...

Someone just sent me a GOP Valentine Card and I had to pass this along. Very funny stuff - I love the bottom left card...

JEFFERSON CITY — House Republicans revolted yesterday against scores of proposed earmarked projects, demanding that their party instead use $1 billion of the state’s federal stimulus money for a refund to taxpayers. House Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin, said this morning that GOP members rejected a spending plan drafted by the House Budget Committee and insisted on a large taxpayer refund. The decision came yesterday during a closed caucus meeting. “Over half the caucus has said we overspent, acting like Washington D.C.,” Richard said at his weekly donut breakfast with Capitol reporters. “”We said, ‘Fine, we’ll come up with another plan.’”

They just anounced that Harriett passed away at the age of 79, from leukemia. Her family was at her side.

'There was no inkling that something like this would ever be linked with him,' a funeral chapel co-worker says. He was a private man who kept to himself. He paid the rent on time. He stayed out of trouble. He won his employer's respect, even getting a referral for a second job. Michael J. Devlin, 41, was never a suspect in the disappearance of Shawn Hornbeck four years ago, even though the boy lived in his Kirkwood apartment in full view of neighbors.

Dixie Shunk says she can't even remember picking up the shotgun that January night two winters ago. One second, her hands were empty. The next, the gun was there, the stock wedged under her arm and her finger reaching for the trigger. He was coming directly at her, she says, and she jerked the barrel up to meet him. She said her son was screaming: "I'm killing you! I'm killing you right now! "And I'm killing the rest of them, too!" There was no time, she would say later, to drop to her knees and ask God to help her...

We (including my 7year old son) are driving down from St. Louis to San Antonio in the end of May for my brother-in-laws med school graduation. We are staying at the Menger for that weekend right on the river walk. Since we are driving, we are taking the week off to spend tooling around the Hill Country. If anyone knows of a good "local" place to stay and any good local things to hit I'd be appreciative. We like state parks and outdoor activities. I've got the Texas travel guide so we have a few things lined up like Sea...

Did anyone see the comic that has the Jewish community in an uproar? I saw a glimpse of it on the news. It started with a lighten menorah and in each frame are the last words of Christ, phrase by phrase, as the flames are extinguished. At the last the menorah turned into a cross. Powerful stuff. I couldn't find the comic, but here are the words of the creator. STATEMENT FROM JOHNNY HART REGARDING THE B.C. COMIC STRIP FOR RELEASE APRIL 15, 2001 The true purpose of Christmas and Easter is to honor a man. The same man, Jesus. ...

I just got this email from Federer - Let's help Bill DUMP DICK!!! From: WJFHQ@aol.com Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 20:53:32 EST Subject: URGENT 72 HOUR APPEAL To: update@federer.org VICTORY IS WITHIN OUR GRASP! The race is a literal dead heat. Gephardt is falling in polls and resorting to desperate tactics. Gephardt had the FEDERAL COURT force us to stop airing a commercial of him speaking at the Gay & Lesbian Task Force event in Washington, DC. because it was hurting him so bad. We appealed the decision. Thursday, Nov. 2, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has given us ...

Sorry for the vanity, but I wanted to put this on the floor for discussion. Last night I started a thread called Gephardt Prepares for Defeat (URL above) and Southack posted a comment that absolutely stunned me. "Dick wants Carnahan's Senate seat, should the deceased Carnahan win and force the Democratic governor to make an appointment. That might mean that Dick has to first lose his seat in Congress..." Now before you think this is nonsense, Carnahan’s numbers have skyrocket since his death and the last poll, a week after his death, shows him leading Ashcroft by 10%. Also, no ...

Washington Post, Tues, Oct. 24, 2000 Matthew Vita, Washington Post Staff Writer "Although Democratic hopes are riding high, Gephardt says he is prepared should Election Night end in disappointment. 'Sometimes you don't get it over the goal line,' he said. 'The important thing is not whether you get it over the goal line, but whether you tried, whether you gave it everything you could.'" ________________________ Help disappoint Gephardt! The race is neck-and-neck. Your urgent help is needed. We need $32,953 to complete our media purchase. Please contribute to Bill Federer for Congress at www.federer.org

MODESTO, CA: Steve Wilson, Owner of Buffalo Arms is running for a U.S. Congressional seat in the 18th District of California. His opponent, Democrat Congressman Gary Condit is a strong Clinton supporter and good friend of California Attorney General Bill Lockeyer. On May, 23, 2000 Steve Wilson's business, his livelihood, and his family became the latest victims of the on-going siege of the Constitution. At about 5:30 p.m., according to Wilson, "between six and eight agents" from the California Department of Justice stormed in to Buffalo Arms, located on the corner of 8th and K streets in downtown Modesto with ...

This morning before Rush's morning update on KMOX (St. Louis), the radio guy went into detail about Rush's mom, who passed away yesterday. Sounded like she was a neat lady. I can't find anything written about it anywhere. Has anyone else heard anything?? Or was I dreaming??? If it's true, my condolences Rush, it's always hard to lose "mom".

I just notified email from the Missouri Republican party that KMOX, is conducting an online poll for the next Senate race. Help Senator Ashcroft defend his seat from Met "Clinton" Carnahan. Click Here For KMOX Poll GO ASHCROFT!

Posted: Wednesday, March 1, 2000 | 9:06 p.m. E-mail this Story to a friend Bush woos young voters with stop at Saint Louis University Wednesday, March 1, 2000--GOP presidential aspirant George W. Bush brought his campaign to St. Louis today. he appeared at St. Louis University's West Pine Gym. Here, he is swamped after he spoke and took questions. (Wendi Fitzgerald/P-D) Connie FarrowAssociated Press ST. LOUIS -- George W. Bush could not have picked a better site for a town hall forum than Saint Louis University if he was hoping to put aside any lingering concerns that he might ...

Reality Check We're barely 50 days from the Y2K rollover and suddenly the American public is fully convinced Y2K is solved. Yet they have made this decision lacking any real evidence whatsoever. One bureaucrat's lie is another man's proof, it seems. To get the real picture on Y2K, you have to zoom out and see what's really been going on... November 8, 1999 We are now barely 50 days away from the Y2K rollover. Perhaps more importantly, we are 310+ days past the day everybody once said they would be done with all Y2K repairs. Yet here we stand ...

More than 1,000 schools nationwide will likely have to shut their doors to fix Y2K-related failures after Jan. 1, said Department of Education Deputy Secretary Mike Smith at a press conference today. "I'd be very surprised if somewhere on the order of 1,000 to 1,500 schools" did not have to shut down in order to fix Y2K-related failures, Smith said, citing the somewhat bleak results of a recent Department of Education survey. While 96 percent of school districts say that they will complete fixes to their "mission-critical" systems before Jan. 1, only 86 percent of those surveyed indicated that they ...

      PANIC IN THE YEAR ZERO Y2K recession forecast for U.S. Depression in some parts of world, economist predicts By David M. Bresnahan © 1999 WorldNetDaily.com The U.S. economy is headed for a Y2K recession, and much of the world could face a depression, according to one economic expert. John F. Mauldin, investment analyst for ProFutures Fund Management and author of a book on Y2K investment strategies, is expecting a major recession in the U.S. and a depression in many other countries. He goes so far as to predict 20 percent unemployment in the U.S. after the ...