Free Republic

<p>Wesley Clark wants to overturn the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and allow open homosexuals to serve in the armed forces, the Democratic presidential candidate says in an exclusive interview with the Advocate.</p> <p>"The armed forces are the last institution in America that discriminates against people. It ought to be the first that doesn't. They ought to have the right to be who they are. They shouldn't have to conceal their identities," Mr. Clark, a retired Army general, told the magazine.</p>

<p>We disagree with Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge's remarks on Wednesday supporting the legalization of millions of illegal immigrants now living in the United States. Speaking at a town hall meeting in Miami Wednesday, Mr. Ridge declared that the government "had to come to grips with the presence of 8 million to 12 million illegals" now in the country, in order "to afford them some kind of legal status some way." While Mr. Ridge said he was not advocating the granting of citizenship to this group, history suggests that legalization is often a first step in that direction. The idea of legalization is not new for the Bush administration; it was seriously considering granting permanent residency for illegals right before the September 11 attacks. Late Wednesday, Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security, said that Mr. Ridge's remarks simply reflected the congressional debate on immigration, and that the administration had not taken a firm policy stance on the matter. But even a soft policy stance would be unacceptable.</p>

<p>Partisan salvos are being fired across the country, while divisions in America's oldest political party strain its cohesion. As the national opposition party during most of the past three decades, the Democrats' liberal catechism has drifted further and further from its earlier majoritarian base.</p>

Why This Tech Bubble Is About to BlowA year after the market hit bottom, tech stocks are back to dangerously inflated levels. Sadly, there's only one way this can end.By Paul Sloan, Michael V. Copeland (November 2003 Issue) As is their normal state on a busy September trading day, Seth Tobias's phones were lit up like Times Square, and at the other end of the line was a broker with an investment "idea." "Have you looked at Vignette (VIGN) lately?" the salesman urged. "Or Verso Technologies?" Both were software companies that had raised millions of dollars in boom-era IPOs and...

<p>Aaron McGruder, whose cartoon strip "The Boondocks" is known for its attacks on Republicans, went on the syndicated television show "America's Black Forum" this past week and denounced National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice as a killer.</p> <p>"I don't like Condoleezza Rice because she's a murderer," Mr. McGruder said, adding, "We can discuss this illegal Iraq war, the slaughtering of innocent people, and because she's one of the big hawks in this administration, I do not even see why this is a point of contention."</p>

<p>A Web site called "PatriotPetitions" has begun collecting signatures for a letter to President Bush, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and congressional leaders on behalf of accused Army Lt. Col. Allen B. West.</p> <p>The West case has stirred anger across the country among pro-military people. It is a daily topic on talk radio. The 4th Infantry Division is moving to court-martial Col. West on a charge of assault for scaring an Iraqi detainee into talking. Col. West admits he violated the rules of interrogation by firing his 9 mm pistol twice to frighten the Iraqi. He has asked to retire at the 20-year mark rather than face a trial.</p>

<p>The latest proposed victim in our struggle against terrorism is Army Lt.Gen. William G."Jerry" Boykin, recently named deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence. His mission is to reinvigorate the search for Osama bin Laden, Mullah Omar and other leaders of global terrorism. By training and experience, he is marvelously prepared for his new duties ? having risen from a Delta Force commando to top-secret Joint Special Operations Command, through the CIA, to command of the Army's Special Forces. For a quarter century, he has been fighting terror with his bare hands, his fine mind and his faith-shaped soul.</p>

<p>SEOUL ? The United States is trying to persuade South Korean educators to tone down anti-Americanism in textbooks, standardized tests and lessons in middle and high schools.</p> <p>Although anti-American sentiment, which reached a peak last year, is declining, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul is worried about how the United States is being presented in the classroom ? and it intends to do something about it.</p>

BooknotesMexifornia: A State of Becoming C-SPAN Washington, District of Columbia (United States) ID: 177866 - 08/19/2003 - 0:59 - $24.95Hanson, Victor Davis, Professor, U.S. Naval Academy, Military HistoryMr. Hanson talked about his book Mexifornia: A State of Becoming, published by Encounter Books. The book looks at the hybrid culture emerging in California and which citizens benefit from different political stances.

<p>"It will take an extraordinary united all-people's front with a movement on the ground to defeat the Bush right-wing agenda in 2004," declares the online manifesto. "It can be done with the combination of the labor vote, the women's vote, and African-American and Latino vote, combined with the youth vote, the peace vote, the environmental vote, the senior vote, the farm vote, etc., all of whom are pledged to work as they never have before."</p>

<p>More than six decades ago, George Shultz graduated college. Now, he's finally made it. Republican Shultz has signed on as one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's economic advisers. Presumably he is supposed to balance Democrat Warren Buffett. The day before, Mr. Schwarzenegger announced Mr. Buffett as his economic guru. Is this triangulation, Terminator-style?</p>

<p>LONDON- Scientists have once and for all debunked astrology's central claim that our human characteristics are molded by the influence of the sun, moon and planets at the time of our birth in the most thorough scientific study ever conducted on the subject.</p>

<p>It is hard to imagine how our grandparents and great-grandparents lived at the end of the 19th century. The United States was still largely a rural society, and the amenities we take for granted today were unknown then.</p> <p>Most people lived on farms. Few Americans had running water, bathtubs, hot water, or flush toilets. Central heating, electricity and telephones were rare. There were no antibiotics. Infant mortality was high, and life expectancy was 30 years lower than it is today. For most people, educational opportunities were very limited. In 1890, only 5 percent of the eligible population attended high school.</p>

FIRST-PERSON: An unnecessary boost to the gay rights movement Jun 27, 2003 By Kelly Boggs McMINNVILLE, Ore. (BP)--In the wee hours of the morning of June 28, 1969, New York City police raided The Stonewall Inn located in The Big Apple's Greenwich Village. Officers were there to cite the after hours "private club" for selling liquor without a license. The Inn, a known gathering place for homosexuals and the like, was packed to capacity. When officers sought to arrest the bartender, a doorman, three drag queens and an apparent lesbian, the crowd erupted. Over the next five days sporadic rioting...

Their Arabian Nightmare Scared moms fight for kids freedom By WILLIAM SHERMAN DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Her Saudi Arabian husband beat her and refused her access to their children, who were kept under close watch in the desert kingdom and other countries against their will for six years. But last week, the woman got her revenge, unlike many other American women in the same circumstances. With the help of hired commandos, she snatched her children back in a daring raid in Durban, South Africa, where they had been sent to attend school with two Saudi families. The children were hustled...

Latest Developments Washington Shelved Report of Deficit (AFP) - In the midst of negotiating a steep tax cuts package, the US government shelved a report that showed the United States faces future federal budget deficits of more than 44.2 trillion dollars.President George W. Bush's administration chose to keep the findings -- commissioned by then-Treasury secretary Paul O'Neill -- out of the 2004 annual budget report, published in February, London's Financial Times reported.The newspaper desribed the study as "the most comprehensive assessment of how the US government is at risk of being overwhelmed by the 'baby boom' generation's future healthcare and...

<p>Tort reform is a popular issue for Republicans on the stump. At a March speech to the American Medical Association, President Bush said, "Without fair and reasonable limits, the legal system looks more and more like a lottery. And with trial lawyers getting as much as 40 percent of the awards and settlements, it's pretty clear who is holding the winning ticket." Tort reform is a major plank of the president's plan to reform health care. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans blew an opportunity to make progress on limiting excessive lawyers' fees.</p>

Tim's speech to the Press Club will be replayed on C-SPAN @ 8PM. Get a cold one and sit back........and don't throw the 'empty' at the TV!

So as to provide the liberals I have to work with, with proper information, I have downloaded the CENTCOM 'pdf' page that contains the deck of cards with the "Most Wanted" Iraqi scumbags and have taped it to a prominent spot in my office:CENTCOM Cards {{{Nudge, nudge, wink, wink}}}

<p>What does the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his outspoken stance against the Iraq war have to do with NASCAR?</p> <p>On the heels of Dale Earnhardt Jr. steering his way to a fourth straight victory at Talladega on Sunday, NASCAR Chief Executive Officer William C. France is being asked that NASCAR "cease and desist from further support for Jesse Jackson and/or his nonprofit organizations" as U.S. troops are engaged in combat in Iraq.</p>