Free Republic

By Alicia Borgess THE WASHINGTON TIMES January 10, 2007 Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and Rep. Thomas M. Davis III reintroduced the D.C. voting rights act yesterday in Congress, giving D.C. residents another chance to gain a House vote.     Mr. Davis, Virginia Republican, and Mrs. Norton, a Democrat and the District's nonvoting congressional delegate, co-sponsored the bill, which last year received bipartisan support in one committee.     Ilir Zherka of the D.C. Vote advocacy group said that he hopes for a full House vote in February and that the bill will be enacted by late spring.     The bill would give one vote...

The Meigs County school system is dismissing students around 9 a.m. this morning due to an issue at the Watts Bar nuclear plant, although TVA said the issue has been resolved. TVA declared an "unusual event" at 6:15 a.m., when a water leak in the plant’s cooling system was suspected. That’s standard procedure in the event of a suspected leak, spokesman Gil Francis said, and includes notifying the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "The investigation showed there was no water leakage and, therefore, the (unusual) event was canceled," Francis said. The alert was canceled at 7:35 a.m.

China will restrict broadcast reporting on vicious crimes so the country's young people have a healthier media environment, the Beijing government says. [ ... ] Government statistics show China has nine crime-reporting television channels and more than 200 programs.

A judge under fire for dressing down deer hunters has more problems: Prosecutors filed a complaint, saying she knocked 10 years off a sex offender's sentence without telling them. [ ... ] Separately, a Web site has been created urging Lewis' defeat in the Nov. 7 election. It directs visitors to a videotape and audiotape of her berating two men about deer hunting.

In the wake of Charleston's 17th homicide, Mayor Joe Riley is calling for warrantless searches of offenders on probation, costly investments in the criminal justice system, and changes in state laws aimed at keeping gun-using criminals behind bars.Charleston Mayor Joe Riley is proposing a number of changes to state laws, including: --Mandatory sentences for illegal firearm possession, with a five-year minimum prison term for a second offense.--Prohibiting those convicted of dealing drugs, or any crime carrying a punishment of one year or more in jail, from possessing firearms.--Mandatory sentences for carrying a gun while younger than 21, with a five-year...

Copyright AFP 2005, AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium [Excerpt] "The author (American Dan Brown) wants to damage faith in the church and in Christ, as perfect God and perfect man," says the leaflet.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - In the latest Vatican broadside against "The Da Vinci Code", a leading cardinal says Christians should respond to the book and film with legal action because both offend Christ and the Church he founded.Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Nigerian who was considered a candidate for pope last year, made his strong comments in a documentary called "The Da Vinci Code-A Masterful Deception."Arinze's appeal came some 10 days after another Vatican cardinal called for a boycott of the film. Both cardinals asserted that other religions would never stand for offences against their beliefs and that Christians should get...

Survey shows Americans’ personal misery has increased since early 1990s Discussion at PhysOrgForum General Science : December 29, 2005 As Americans pause to reflect on time gone by on the threshold of a new year, many will have reason to think that their lives have not gotten better, according to a new study by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. In the decade-and-a-half since NORC first surveyed people’s negative life events, researchers have found that the number of troubles people report has increased. Chief among those problems are more incidents of illness, inability to afford medical...

THE FUELS THEY ARE A-CHANGIN' Come gather 'round suckers Wherever you drive And admit that the freedom Around you has died And accept it that soon You'll be screwed to the wall. If your bucks to you Are worth savin' Then you better start thinkin' Or you'll rust in a stall For the fuels they are a-changin'. Come bozos and wombats Who know nothing of science And stretch your mouths wide Spewing on compliance And don't stop too soon For the smoke's still in spin And there's no tellin' who That it's maimin'. For the losers now Will be losers...

SPACE WEATHER ADVISORY BULLETIN #05- 8 2005 September 07 at 01:31 p.m. MDT (2005 September 07 1931 UTC) **** POWERFUL SOLAR FLARE ERUPTS **** One of the largest solar flares on record occurred today, September 07. Very active Region 808 produced a powerful X17 flare (R4 on the NOAA Scale) observed on the NOAA GOES satellite at 07/1740 UTC (September 07, 1:40 p.m. EDT). This flare, the 4th largest in the last 15 years, erupted just as the Region 808 sunspot cluster was rotating onto the visible disk of the sun. Intense radio emissions were also associated with this flare....

Doctors on the scene are seeing some cases of diarrhea and skin infections. Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans appeared today on CNN saying that mosquitoes are breeding there and will be feeding on dead bodies and spreading disease. He is wrong; mosquitoes are not attracted to dead bodies, since they feed on blood. For further information, the following links are provided as a public service: [1] CDC: After a Hurricane: Key Facts About Infectious Disease Includes: - Decaying bodies create very little risk for major disease outbreaks. - Outbreaks of infectious diseases following hurricanes are rare in developed countries...

<p>WASHINGTON — A Second Amendment group is filing a lawsuit demanding that the nation's capital ease up its gun laws, which are considered the most restrictive in the nation.</p> <p>The CATO Institute, a public policy research group that bases its work on libertarian principles, is crafting a legal challenge to Washington, D.C.'s law, claiming that all Americans have the right to defend themselves.</p>

McConnell's office, "There have been other calls." ----- Original Message ----- Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 8:17 PM Subject: Re: [grassroots_leadership] ALARM! CALL NOW! > > At 08:03 PM 4/25/02 -0400, you wrote: > >Is the Senate trying to create a new "poison pill," so Robert Ford and > >company can say "the CWP holders called to say 'don't do this', so I'll > >vote against the whole package"? > > > >I'll fire off the calls, but hope we're not getting sucker-punched. > > > This was a vote of the full senate on the BUDGET! > Nothing to...

Proposals in the General Assembly to allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry their hidden guns into schools are alarming educators across South Carolina. "Parents will be outraged to learn the General Assembly would consider making it public policy to have concealed weapons in places where we believe school children are the safest," said Robert Scarborough, executive director of the S.C. Association of School Administrators. But some lawmakers say allowing qualified, armed citizens to take guns to schools -- which are now "gun-free" zones -- gives extra protection to children. "Criminals should have to worry whether a citizen ...

Sunday, February 3, 2002 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Halt abuse of Senate rule&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Recent debate over legislation to expand a concealed weapons law in the Senate ended with a threat by a single senator to generally hold up Senate business. The threat has become too routinely acted upon, to the detriment of the legislative process. Continued abuse of the Senate rule that permits a single senator to indefinitely put a hold on legislation should no longer be tolerated by that body. There's a great difference between holding up a bill because of its substance and using the rule as a tool of retaliation.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ...

Hollings plans hearing on port security Saturday, February 2, 2002 BY TONY BARTELMEOf The Post and Courier Staff&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Senate leaders pushing for better security at American seaports will hold a national hearing in Charleston on Feb. 19, officials said Friday.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-Charleston, who once described ports as "a gaping hole in our national security," will conduct the hearing.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hollings sponsored the Port and Maritime Security Act of 2001, which provides $93.3 million in grants to U.S. seaports and $390 million more for Coast Guard, Customs and other agencies responsible for port security.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The bill passed the ...

How would you react if the person worshipping next to you in church was also carrying a concealed weapon?That could soon happen if some state lawmakers have their way! The bill, proposed by state representative Jake Knotts, is sparking heated debate in the state legislature and also on the streets of Charleston.The church, a place of worship and soon some parishioners may be carrying concealed pistols. A proposed state law would allow guns inside the church if officials there give their blessings.(Rev. Keller)"I think the whole idea is ridiculous." Reverend Bert Keller leads the services at the Circular Congregational Church ...

Task force aims to cut gun-related killing Joint federal and state effort combines technology, education, police presence Wednesday, January 23, 2002 BY JAMES SCOTT Of The Post and Courier Staff &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the wake of Saturday night's shooting deaths of a Charleston police officer and an emergency flight nurse, U.S. Attorney Strom Thurmond Jr. announced Tuesday a joint federal and state program aimed at cutting down on gun-related killings in South Carolina.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Gathering with area leaders at North Charleston City Hall, Thurmond outlined the goals of Project Cease Fire, a statewide initiative that will use new technology, increased education ...

A crowded airport thronged with people, slowed by security. A passenger bolts through the security measures and races up the escalator, yelling, "To hell with you. I'm gone." A National Guardsman starts to draw his gun. Even in the holster it has a bullet in the chamber and the safety is off. The Guardsman's finger is on the trigger, and halfway out of his holster, his gun fires. … What do you think happens next? This never occurred. Not as a single incident. But both pieces of this scenario did occur, and the idea they could happen together should make ...

COOPERS & LYBRAND, NAVY AND TQM - FRAUD OR MISTAKE Was the Navy Defrauded? You be the Judge! What is the real relationship between certain senior naval officials and their retired counterparts working for Coopers and Lybrand? Was it innocent as Department of Defense Inspector General Audit Report 94-113 claims, or was it really criminal? Ten million dollars was spent to employ them, but even the Inspector General found no measurable value in the resultant product JUNK YARD DOG OR WHIMPERING PUPPY President Reagan described Inspector Generals as "junk yard dogs" that take a bite out of crime. This ...