Free Republic

Armed thugs vs a little old lady. But in this case, the armed thugs are California Highway Patrol ("helping out" in New Orleans) forceably disarming the woman and physically dragging her from her house. The woman had committed no crime and had threatened no one. Her only offense was wanting to remain in her house. This video should send chills up your spine. Do you have any Constitutional rights? Or can the government issue an arbitrary order to be executed by extreme violence? Even if it is to "protect" me from harm? Who should make that decision? This is absolutely...

Critics are a dime a dozen, and even then they are overpriced. Disasters such as hurricane Katrina attract two kinds of people. Those who actually do something, and those who criticize those who are doing something. And if one were to believe the talking heads on television, there are far more of the latter and not enough of the former. The amount of critical bloviating about the Bush administration’s response to the disaster to our Gulf Coast has been incredible. This obnoxious criticism has come from every quarter – the news media, the anti-Bush Liberals, the pro-Bush Conservatives, the race-hustlers,...

Government knows best, consumers are stupid. Are we consumers too stupid to take intelligent action? Are we too ignorant to make wise decisions? Are we so helpless that we need the government to make decisions for us? Can the government make decisions that are more efficient than the free market? Is the government smarter than car manufacturers? Will the loss of even more freedom of choice make us feel more secure? With gas prices approaching $3.00 a gallon, a hue and cry has been raised for the government to do something. In the wake of a new federal “energy policy”...

Are you offended? Get over it! According to the Washington Times, Hanover County, VA officials want to change the name of the annual “Dixie Days” Civil War commemoration to something else. The reason? Someone might be offended by the name “Dixie”. Among those that might be offended? Yankees who have moved into the county. And those who can manage to scrape together a relationship, no matter how tenuous, between Dixie, the color gray, the Gray uniforms of the Confederacy, the Confederacy itself, the South with a capital S that rhymes with S and that stands for Slavery.

A Federal Agency Out of Control The reputation of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) has been less than stellar for many years. Agents seem to take great pleasure in harrassing law-abiding citizens while those citizens are exercising their rights to purchase and own legal products, i.e., guns. And the management of the agency appears to allow their agents to run out of control. BATFE may very well have a legitimate role to play in homeland security and law enforcement, that role does not give them the authority to trample our rights with impunity. I will not...

What about a Rice-Allen Ticket in 2008? You heard it here first! Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has great name recognition, solid foreign policy credentials, and a brilliant mind. Former Virginia Governor and current Senator George Allen has a solid conservative foundation, a friendly outgoing personality, and plenty of leadership experience. Rice would strip a lot of black and women's votes from the Democrat ticket; Allen would pull in the conservatives. This is a ticket that could beat Hillary Clinton. This is a ticket that would keep the Democrats out of the White House for eight years with Rice as...

First Oxymoron of the day -- Washington Post's Objectivity Second oxymoron -- Washington Post's Credibility Plus the stupid quote of the day -- "people who cherish the Post's reputation." The Post would rather cave in to a handful of anti-American "peace" activists than show support for the troops and the troops who have died protecting liberty and freedom. Washington Post Runs Away From Pentagon's Freedom Walk (CNSNews.com) - Bowing to pressure from "peace activists," the Washington Post announced that it will withdraw its support for the Pentagon's Freedom Walk -- a Sept. 11 event planned in memory of those who...

Unbelievable! I'm not even Catholic and my jaw dropped when I read this report by James Taranto in Best of the Web. Catholics Need Not Apply No one seriously argues anymore that Roe v. Wade was correctly decided. Rather, pro-Roe advocates rest their case on policy grounds (warnings about coat alleys and back hangers, etc.) or, when they must argue the law, on the power of precedent. Of the five Supreme Court justices who more or less upheld Roe in the 1992 case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, three went out of their way to avoid endorsing the decision, emphasizing...

Ignorance? Or Dishonesty? President Bush has used his recess appointment authority to appoint John Bolton as US Ambassador to the UN. Reading the reactions of Liberal Senators released today makes me wonder – Are some of these Liberal Senators ignorant of the Constitution? Or do they think they can lie to the American people with impunity? Sens. Reid and Kennedy must have collaborated. They both used the “abuse of power” attack. Reid: “[T]he latest abuse of power by the Bush White House.” Kennedy: “The abuse of power and the cloak of secrecy from the White House continues.” What “abuse of...

Allowing Homosexuals Would Boost Military Recruitment, Group Argues By Alexa Moutevelis CNSNews.com Correspondent July 26, 2005 (CNSNews.com) - A group that wants homosexuals to serve openly in the U.S. military said Monday that the military could attract as many as 41,000 new recruits if the ban on homosexuals were lifted. "The 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law hangs like a 'Gays Not Welcome' sign outside the Pentagon's front door," said Sharra Greer, director of law and policy for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). "Thousands of lesbian and gay Americans are ready to answer our nation's call to service, but are turned...

July 20, 2005 Liberty vs. Security How do we find balance between liberty and security in today’s environment? Since September 11, the government has taken several actions that are designed to improve the security of Americans – for example, the Patriot Act, more surveillance cameras, etc. In light of those actions, are we more secure? Have we lost any freedoms? Are the actions taken within the scope and intent of the limitations set upon government by our Constitution? Two items of interest over the last couple of days brought these questions to mind. First, Heather MacDonald, writing in frontpagemag.com, takes...

The Democrat Smokescreen The flap over Karl Rove and the CIA “Operative” is not just an attack on President Bush in particular and Republicans in general. The Democrats and their sycophantic allies in the mainstream media think they have the perfect issue that will both damage the President while obscuring good economic news. So, as you peruse your morning paper and notice the screaming headlines about Rove and his alleged crimes, consider the following: Windfall for Washington The deficit is shrinking, thanks to the Bush tax cuts. Friday, July 15, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT Let's see if we can get...

Democrat partisanship disguised as moral outrage Yes, I know, “Democrat partisanship” is redundant. Nonetheless, the Democrats are in high dungeon since investigators have released an email showing that Karl Rove possibly, might have, allegedly done something that, if the Democrats keep saying so, if they can stretch the law far enough, might, just might be a violation of the law. The rumor is that in 2003 Rove allegedly “leaked” the name of a “CIA Operative” to some reporters, thereby maybe putting said “Operative”, a “warrior on the front lines of the War on Terror” in danger. Consequently, Karl Rove must...

July 7, 2005 Idiot Commentators Make Idiotic Statements The idiot talking head Brian Williams of NBC made the statement that the British may have considered the American founding fathers to be terrorists in our Revolutionary War. The statement is so idiotic, so incredibly ignorant as to be unbelievable that anyone with an IQ greater than his shoe size would say it. Did George Washington target civilians? Did the rebellious Americans strap bombs to their bodies and blow themselves up in public places? Did Americans kidnap and behead anyone, military or civilian? The idiot bloviator needs to go back and study...

July 7, 2005 Subsidizing Failure Did you know that Amtrak loses $1Billion (that Billion, with a capital B) each year? Did you know that Amtrak has a government imposed monoply on rail passenger service? Did you know that Amtrak spent $3Billion on its high speed Acela trains that are now out of service due to faulty brakes? Did you know that Amtrak is deferring $10Billion in maintenance costs? Would any reasonably intelligent person invest money in any other company that was such a miserable failure? Of course not. Then why is the government forcing the American public to pour more...

My Response July 5, 2005 A display of a religious symbol does not impose religion on anyone. No one is forcing you to change your beliefs just because there is a symbol of someone’s religion. The intent of the Establishment Clause is to prevent the government from declaring that the "official" religion is any particular religion. Since the immigrants that initially came to America wanted to avoid religious persecution, they did not want an official government sponsored religion as the Brits have The Church of England, or France has Catholicism as its official state religion. Why do atheists have the...

Missing the whole picture June 28, 2005 The Supreme Court’s recent ruling that prohibits a display of the Ten Commandments in a Tennessee courtroom again focuses attention on the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the Constitution by the Court. The decision shows how activist judges (to use Mark Levin’s label) actually ignore the words in the Constitution they want to ignore while basing decisions on specific words, phrases, or clauses. By narrowing the scope of their justification, activist judges can pick and choose words from the document, turning the Constitution into a smorgasbord on which they base their half-baked decisions. In...

Kennedy's imaginery quagmire June 27, 2005 On a scale of 1 to 10, my respect for Senator Ted Kennedy is about a minus 25. That was before I saw his vicious attack on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that was filled with lies and distortions that only a moveon.org radical left-wing idiot could appreciate. Kennedy's tirade made me wonder where he gets his information. His characterization of the war in Iraq, especially his term "intractable quagmire" bears no resemblance to reality. I think all Kennedy did was dust off an old Viet Nam era anti-war diatribe, change Viet Nam to...

Restoring private property rights -- A call to action June 27,2005 "It is paramount that Congress act with all possible haste to present to the people a constitutional amendment to restore the original meaning of the Fifth Amendment. That amendment must state that no person's property may be taken for the purposes of economic development. Until such an amendment is ratified, no boundary separating public and private land exists. All is open to confiscation and redistribution upon decree of public officials who may or may not have the best interests of the public at heart." - New Hampshire Union-Leader editorial...

I am seeking information regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of Sgt. Christopher Pusateri, who was killed in or around Mosul, Iraq on February 16, 2005. I need good, solid information, preferably from someone who was there. The press articles regarding Sgt. Pusateri's death have some inconsistencies that I am trying to resolve. If you have any information, please freepmail me. Thanks, G9