Free Republic

Bronco head coach Josh McDaniels fired late this afternoon ... didn't make it thru his second NFL season.

This is an email I received from a good friend in New York City. She is a Bryn Mawr graduate, and is a physician currently engaged in cancer research at Columbia University. This is an email she received from a Bryn Mawr classmate of hers who lives in Alaska. Because you, like me, may never have heard of Sarah Palin until today, you may find this an interesting perspective from an Alaskan resident. B Begin forwarded message: Subject: just in from Bonnie's classmate Dear classmates - As an Alaskan, I am writing to give all of you some information on...

Endorsements & Reviews "The War is a remarkable storytelling feat and a visceral television experience."San Francisco Chronicle "There are works of TV art so extraordinary all you can do is be grateful."USA Today "Elegiac and compelling"The New York Times

How some of our elected and appointed governmental officials have served our country. I'm sure this list is not complete, but there is enough to make one think ... ********************************************************************* Service in the Armed Forces A list of who's served our country Democrats: * Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71. * David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72. * Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72. * Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade. * Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam. * Daniel Inouye:...

Battle of Trafalgar, naval battle fought on October 21, 1805, by a British fleet and a combined French and Spanish fleet. It is one of the most celebrated naval engagements in European history. The battle took place off Cape Trafalgar on the southern coast of Spain, pitting a British fleet of 27 ships under the command of Admiral Horatio Nelson against a slightly larger combined fleet of France and Spain, commanded by Vice Admiral Pierre Charles de Villeneuve of France. The French admiral was under orders from Napoleon I to slip out of Cádiz, Spain, which was under British blockade,...

UC to Huggins: Resign or be fired ... Breaking news: Bob Huggins, the winningest basketball coach in University of Cincinnati history, will be fired or forced to resign within the next 24 hours.

GG Choice: Not Good Enough Will our new governor general refer to herself as the army's "commander-in-chief?" For many, Adrienne Clarkson's habit of referring to herself as "commander-in-chief" of our military was irritating and silly. Soldiers tended to raise an eyebrow when they heard it and smiled knowingly. Few of our past GGs -- not Field Marshal Lord Alexander, nor Maj.-Gen. Georges Vanier, nor Roland Michener, nor their successors -- exploited the title, though technically they were entitled to. Think of how much more irritating it will be if our new Haitian-born GG, who is also a citizen of France,...

GOP Off-Track The Republican Party has gone seriously off-track in recent days. As the ‘conservative' political party, the GOP is supposed to believe in and to practice the policy of the less federal involvement, the better. This has been the ‘conservative' position for decades – and the very reason that we rose to national power under President Reagan and then retook the House and Senate after Hillary Clinton's power-grab attempt to nationalize health care. Last week – in the course of two days – the Republicans who control the House of Representatives acted like liberal Democrats by first butting into...

Actor Sir Peter Ustinov dies Double Oscar-winning actor Sir Peter Ustinov, one of Britain's most respected actors, has died aged 82. Sir Peter's agent confirmed the actor had died in Switzerland on Sunday night, but could give no further details. Sir Peter starred in films such as Spartacus, Death on the Nile and Logan's Run, as well as many TV shows. The son of Russian parents, Sir Peter was famed for being a raconteur and was an ambassador for charity Unicef. Sir Peter's agent Steve Kenis told BBC News 24: "He had a breadth of vision of himself and of...

Clinton Admin. Ignored Specific Warning on 9/11 Hijacker For nearly two years, Clinton administration intelligence officials knew the identity of the al Qaeda hijacker whose plane would do the most damage in the Sept. 11 attacks, but did nothing with the information. As early as March 1999, German intelligence was privately warning the Clinton CIA to keep track of Marwan al Shehhi, who would hijack United Flight 175 eighteen months later and steer it into Tower Two of the World Trade Center. The surprise collapse of Tower Two - the first of the two towers to go down just 60...

SACRAMENTO -- In addressing an issue that professional sports teams such as the Washington Redskins have faced and resisted in recent years, the California State Assembly passed a bill Thursday that would require the state's middle and high schools to drop "Redskins" as their mascots if the bill becomes law. The Assembly passed the bill 43-20 after a lengthy, passionate debate about Native American-related mascot names that are common throughout California and the nation. If passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the ban would begin in January 2006 and make California the first state to issue...

Afraid or not, it's her duty to testify, judge says A rape victim is in jail and her accused attacker is free today after the woman's refusal to testify raised the ire of a Hamilton County judge. Patrick Dinkelacker, a Hamilton County Common Pleas judge, Friday charged the 33-year-old Cincinnati woman with contempt of court, saying he wants to send a message: Not showing up for court - even if you're fearful of retaliation - is "slapping the court in the face." The woman is the fifth victim or witness in the past month to fail to show up for...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department is considering whether to bring charges against two ABC News employees who smuggled depleted uranium into the United States as part of a report on port security, government sources said. The network said Thursday that its employees had done nothing illegal. Federal authorities recovered a shipment of about 15 pounds of harmless material within an hour of its arrival at the port of Los Angeles, California, the sources said. ABC said two producers packed the depleted uranium into a suitcase sent to Los Angeles aboard a container ship from the Indonesian capital of Jakarta....

Reds fire Bowden, Boone Louisville's Dave Miley takes over as manager The Reds today fired general manager Jim Bowden and manager Bob Boone. Dave Miley, manager of the Reds' Triple-A farm team at Louisville, was named interim manager for the rest of the season. Boone left the clubhouse about two hours before today's 12:35 p.m. game with the Phillies, dressed in street clothes. He shook reporters' hands but declined to comment. Hitting coach Tom Robson and third-base coach Tim Foli were also fired today. The Reds called a noon news conference at Great American Ball Park. Miley is a 23-year...

Peter Jennings takes up U.S. citizenship After pondering the idea seriously for a decade -- and weathering a recent controversy in which his Canadian roots were an issue -- ABC News anchor Peter Jennings has become an American citizen. The Toronto-born journalist, who was raised in Ottawa and still retreats from fame every summer to a farm in the nearby Gatineau Hills, said yesterday the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. and his recent travels throughout the country have made him feel "much more connected to the Founding Fathers' dreams and ideas for the future." Mr. Jennings, who...

Friendly fire pilot risks prison to clear his name ... Maj. Harry Schmidt has chosen to face a court martial -- and possible prison time -- in a high-risk bid to clear his name over the friendly fire accident that last year killed four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. The U.S. fighter pilot yesterday rejected an air force offer of a less formal legal proceeding that would carry a maximum penalty of 30 days of house arrest and loss of one month's pay. Instead, he has elected to chance a 64-year prison sentence by demanding the air force try him by...

Friendly fire pilots escape court martial Two U.S. F16 pilots will avoid criminal charges in the friendly fire bombing deaths of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, an air force general will announce today. Maj. Harry Schmidt and Maj. William Umbach will not face courts martial over the April 2002 accident that left four Canadians dead and eight others injured. Lt.-Gen. Bruce Carlson of the USAF will make the announcement this afternoon. His decision will be in line with recommendations handed down by an air force judge who presided over hearings into the accident in January. Col. Patrick Rosenow reported that the...

Hillary's new book "Living History" appears to be struggling (at least at Amazon.com) in spite of a massive media campaign to shove it down America's throat. In the non-fiction rankings (I didn't look under fiction - perhaps I should) "Dereliction of Duty" by former White House military aid Robert Patterson was #1, followed by Blumenthal's "The Clinton Wars", and in third place Ann Coulter's "Treason: Liberal Treachery ..." which will not be released until 24 June. It would appear that Hillary's new book will soon be in the discount bin at your local book store.

4 p.m. (Intermountain) - The Brian Griese era officially came to a close today when the Denver Broncos released their former starting quarterback to clear space under the salary cap. Brian Griese's signing bonus was the biggest in team history, but his performance was hardly one for the books. Griese was once touted as the replacement for John Elway, but the Broncos cut ties with the former Pro Bowl selection after two mediocre seasons. Griese was benched in Denver's final game in 2002, then was given permission to talk with other teams about a possible trade before Jake Plummer was...

The penchant for acronyms amongst the military establishment, which has a way of carrying over to the media, gave Pentagon war planners pause when trying to come up with a name for the war in Iraq. Operation Iraqi Liberation, an early suggestion, and the one Pentagon planners liked, was quickly dropped when one astute individual pointed out the acronym for Operation Iraqi Liberation, or OIL, for short, probably wasn't a good idea. Thus we have Operation Iraqi Freedom … the name no doubt influenced by the "Freedom" fries that are quintessential American fare.