Free Republic

(SNIP) There is a way to turn the tables, however. The ugly truth is this. One of the major reasons the problems created by Social Security are invisible to the public is that Congress has been embezzling the so-called "Trust Fund" for the past 47 years. Yes, "embezzling" is the only word. (See my longer story on "The Right Idea," at www.taemag.org)(snip)

The Italian intelligence agent killed by American forces in Iraq had U.S. military authorization for his operation to win the release of a hostage, Premier Silvio Berlusconi (search) said Wednesday. In his first major address since Friday's shooting strained relations between Washington (search) and one of its biggest allies, Berlusconi told Italy's Senate that the car carrying agent Nicola Calipari and newly freed hostage Giuliana Sgrena (search) stopped immediately when a light was flashed.

The New York Times last week offered a specious attack on Lynne Stewart's conviction in an embarrassingly ill-informed op-ed by Andrew Napolitano, Fox News's "Senior Judicial Analyst." A little background before we examine this commentator's latest wade out of his depth. Napolitano was once a midlevel state-court judge in New Jersey. Assuming for argument's sake that this experience is a sure sign of actual legal expertise, it would be an exceedingly narrow one: to wit, he might be thought an authority on the constitution and laws of the Garden State. Fox, however, has opportunistically chosen to ignore the "New Jersey"...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States has entered a "dangerous period" in the war against terrorism, and Americans should expect some U.S. combat deaths, President Bush said Monday. Other countries harboring terrorists could also face U.S. action, said Bush, who called on Iraq to allow independent weapons inspections. "This is a dangerous period of time," Bush said during a Rose Garden appearance with two freed U.S. aid workers who had been held for months by the Taliban. "This is a period of time in which we're now hunting down the people responsible for bombing America." The battle against terrorism would...

NETS PLAN NO COVERAGE OF REPUBLICAN OPENING NIGHT: ABC: NFL Preseason Football; CBS: Everybody Loves Raymond; Two and a Half Men; CSI: Miami; FOX: The Complex: Malibu; NBC: Fear Factor ; Last Comic Standing... FCC Commissioner Criticizes Blackout...

(snip) Perhaps the only way to incite real outrage among the good people of the commentariat and the think tanks,” the column said, “would be for Richard Mellon Scaife to give $10 million to a new right-wing group, which would then begin airing nonstop attacks on John Kerry — no coordination with the Bush campaign, of course.” Turns out that was wrong. Today, there is real outrage, but it didn’t take Scaife — or anywhere near $10 million — to make it happen. All it took was a group of Navy Swift boat veterans with a resentment of Kerry and...

Kerry Campaign Explains Bob Kerrey Mixup AP - 1 hour, 16 minutes ago John Kerry, Bob Kerrey. It's easy to get confused. At least that's how the Kerry campaign is explaining claims that Kerry — the Democratic presidential candidate — served as vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Oops. Make that Bob Kerrey — the former Democratic senator from Nebraska who did serve as the panel's vice chairman. (snip) It's difficult to take John Kerry's claims about his intelligence experience seriously when one of his credentials is completely made up," said Republican National Committee (news - web...

An Oil-for-Food Connection? From the August 9, 2004 issue: On whether any of Saddam's loot made its way into Osama's pockets. by Claudia Rosett 08/09/2004, Volume 009, Issue 45 IF, as the 9/11 Commission concludes, our "failure of imagination" left America open to the attacks of September 11, then surely some imagination is called for in tackling one of the riddles that stumped the commission: Where exactly did Osama bin Laden get the funding to set up shop in Afghanistan, reach around the globe, and strike the United States? So let's do some imagining. Unfashionable though it may be, let's...

Set aside Republican speculation that former Clinton national security adviser Samuel "Sandy" Berger was trying to hide classified information from the Sept. 11 commission or that he had provided the material to the Kerry campaign. Do likewise with Democratic suspicions that the FBI's investigation of Berger was leaked to distract attention from the commission's report. Those concerns, all unproven, are partisan and secondary. Keep the focus where it belongs. Did Sandy Berger violate the rules regarding the protection of classified information entrusted to him, and if he did, will he be held accountable for his actions?

Like Reagan, Bush Must Seize Moment Chicago Sun-Times, by Mark Steyn I feel a bit like a guy who's been dating a pleasant lady in the office for a couple of years and suddenly bumps into the gal he always adored in high school. As readers will know, I'm very supportive of George W. Bush, especially on the foreign policy front. But it was unfortunate that a week of 24/7 Ronald Reagan greatest hits on the cable networks should have had to stop once or twice a day to cross to a blinking, groggy Dubya at some G-8 press conference...

Oh Captain! My Captain! By: Walt Whitman O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done, The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle trills, For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths--for...

<p>Washington, DC, Jun. 9 (UPI) -- One afternoon in 1973 I was still in high school when I read that Gov. Ronald Reagan would be attending a luncheon at the Boundary Oaks Restaurant, located in nearby Walnut Creek, Calif. The cost of attending a private reception with Reagan, eating lunch and then hearing him speak was $6 - - tax and tip included.</p>

Gratitude, grief, and -- guilt June 8th, 2004 Ever since the news of his death reached me, I have been struggling with my thoughts and emotions. Ronald Reagan changed my life for the better, as he did for hundreds of millions. Some were liberated from Communist tyranny, while others of us were freed from confiscatory tax rates. All of us basked in his radiant, optimistic personality. While I benefited from his tax reductions and the victory, after decades of stand-off, in the Cold War, my biggest debt of gratitude is owed to President Reagan over something far more personal. He...

Why is Bill Clinton bringing out his memoirs five weeks before the Democratic National Convention? Why is Harry Thomasson – Clinton loyalist and media person – releasing his film The Hunting of the President at the same time? And why has the former president chosen to schedule a book-signing in Boston during the Democratic conclave? Coincidence? If you think so, you don't know Bill and Hillary.

-Snip- .....This is where the amazing thing happened. When Whitford said, ''President George Bush was at Concordia [University] yesterday,'' the students erupted with applause and cheers. They were cheering for George W. Bush! The University of Wisconsin -- where Students for a Democratic Society, SDS, was born; the place known to be so far left it's off the charts -- had students cheering for a Republican president! -Snip-

UNITED NATIONS - An Iraqi official said today there was a list of cash bribes made by Saddam Hussein's government to journalists, politicians and groups in connection with the US$67 billion ($108.92 billion) UN-run oil-for-food programme. Jalal Talabani, a Kurdish member of the Iraqi Governing Council, said Iraqi officials combing Saddam's files had not decided whether to release the list as part of a burgeoning scandal over the defunct programme. "We have a list of cash paid to journalists, personalities, groups and parties," Talabani told a news conference after conferring with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan over an Iraqi interim government.

WASHINGTON, April 26 — The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into accusations that Republican Congressional aides stole sensitive Democratic memorandums, and the department has tapped David N. Kelley, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, to lead the politically charged case, officials said Monday. The decision to bring in Mr. Kelley, rather than have prosecutors in Washington pursue the case, came after lawmakers from both parties urged the Justice Department to appoint an independent prosecutor to avoid the appearance of a conflict. The department said in a letter dated Monday that it was confident that Mr. Kelley would conduct...

WASHINGTON -- If your eyes have begun to turn square from watching the network coverage of the 9/11 commission, you will know that some of its highly partisan members are more concerned with their political agenda than with improving America's security, our safety or even purging terrorism from the world.

CIA Warned of Attacks As Early As '95 WASHINGTON (AP) - The CIA warned as early as 1995 that Islamic extremists were likely to attack U.S. aviation, Washington landmarks or Wall Street and by 1997 had identified Osama bin Laden as an emerging threat on U.S. soil, a senior intelligence official said Thursday. The official took the rare step of disclosing information in the closely held National Intelligence Estimate for those two years to counter criticisms in a staff report released Wednesday by the independent commission examining pre-Sept. 11 intelligence failures. That staff report accused the CIA of failing to...

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators signaled Wednesday that they are unlikely to curb Democratic-allied independent political groups in time to affect this year's presidential election. Statements from members of the Federal Election Commission at a hearing indicated that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to line up the necessary votes to impose regulations this year on the groups. The Democratic groups plan to spend tens of millions of dollars to defeat President Bush.