Free Republic

All politicians pander. Dick Gephardt took it to a new low this week. During an appearance at the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic organization, the House minority leader promised to introduce legislation bestowing permanent residency status upon millions of illegal immigrants. "Our proposal will bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows," said Gephardt, "and into the light of accountability and greater cooperation in our fight against terrorism." Of course, the Missouri Democrat knows that his proposal has less than a zero chance of winning approval in the House. But that's beside the point as...

Is the Bush administration up to the task of dealing with the corporate crisis now upon us? The markets don't think so. Markets are sensitive to government policy and don't like what they're hearing from President Bush. The Dow Jones average has fallen 7 percent since Bush's Wall Street speech last week, and not even Alan Greenspan has been able to change things. It's not the first time presidents have disappointed the markets. On June 22, 1930, nine months after the Great Crash, The New York Times wrote of the "disillusionment of Wall Street on the score of reassuring pronouncements...

JEROME -- Sometimes, it might be best to just run and hide. That could be the best course of action for somebody facing an intruder in the home, said Sgt. Jack Johnson of the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office. "If you can safely get out, then get out of the house. Get in the car, drive down the road and be a good witness," he said. A Jerome woman was shot and wounded in the leg early Saturday after she took a revolver and went to investigate an apparent intrusion into her home, according to police reports. She later told...

JEROME -- A woman was wounded by her own gun early Saturday morning when a masked assailant broke into her Jerome home. The woman, whose name police did not release, was in stable condition Saturday at Magic Valley Regional Medical Center, said Jerome Police Detective Dan Chatterton. The woman was in at her house at 330 Second Ave. W. when she heard a suspicious noise in the house around 2 a.m., Chatterton said. Taking a handgun and a cordless telephone, the woman went to investigate the noise, Chatterton said. A person wearing dark clothing, a mask and gloves confronted the...

<p>WASHINGTON — Urban legend has turned to reality in a suburban Georgia community where fun and games that led one child to lose an eye has forced local lawmakers to curb horseplay with BB guns.</p> <p>A recent ordinance passed in Alpharetta, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta, has outlawed the use of BB guns, pellet guns and paint guns for children under the age of 16 unless under adult supervision.</p>

President Bush identified border security as one of the key areas of homeland defense in his State of the Union address this week. So key, in fact, that his 2003 budget proposes to spend nearly $11 billion to deter those who would steal into the country by land, sea or air. Much of that 25 percent increase in the overall border security budget is slated to go to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The agency is to bring a new entry-exit system on line to track the arrival and departure of non-U.S. citizens. "This new system will dramatically improve our ...

SACRAMENTO – Rather than wait patiently on the sidelines while the three major Republican candidates for the gubernatorial nomination slug it out, Democratic Gov. Gray Davis has decided to join the fray. Davis' top campaign aides announced yesterday that he has begun airing an ad across the state that questions leading GOP candidate Richard Riordan's commitment to abortion rights, implying that the former Los Angeles mayor's previous support for anti-abortion causes means he can't be trusted. Riordan, who enjoys a large lead in polls over his two Republican rivals, Secretary of State Bill Jones and businessman Bill Simon, has made ...