Free Republic

FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - President Bush said on Sunday there were "positive signs" Syria was heeding U.S. calls to deny sanctuary to fleeing members of Saddam Hussein's administration. "There's some positive signs. They're getting the message that they should not harbor Baath Party officials, high ranking Iraqi officials," Bush told reporters after he attended Easter services at Fort Hood, where he was accompanied by two recently rescued U.S. pilots held prisoner in Iraq. Increased U.S. pressure on Syria since the toppling of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by U.S.-led forces has fueled speculation that Damascus could be the next target...

Socialism in America's Congress: A Primer [all links provided were current and up-to-date as of the date of posting; I have no control over their effectiveness if they later change or disappear.] "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened." (Norman Thomas, 1936 presidential candidate on the Socialist ticket) The war with Iraq has brought out the worst in liberals, all across America. We have witnessed those who preach...

It started around noon on the slushy street corner of Clinton and Water Street with Jonalvy44, accompanied by a student from Syracuse University who was filming the Rally for her class. As light snow fell, SirTaurus joined him with a huge American flag and then nicmarlo; a local talk radio show sent out a representative and interviewed jonalvy, SirTaurus, and nicmarlo; shortly thereafter, Mark joined us and then Glen and his daughter and son (two teens!), complete with signs and handmade posters. Helen and Don (who have two sons in the military) came with American flags. Before we knew it,...

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. Have you ever wondered about THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS? What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas? Today, I found out. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of...

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The members of President Bush's economic team might not matter because the game plan is bad, Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said Friday. "If they don't have a good plan, it doesn't matter which team they've got," the outgoing Senate majority leader said in a conference telephone call with South Dakota reporters. Friday's resignation of Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill is a recognition of failure, Daschle said, calling it overdue. Daschle, who will be minority leader in the next session of Congress, said he hopes the administration will make changes in its economic plan. "We're going in the...

NEW YORK (AP) - Hours before Election Day, Voter News Service said Monday it still hadn't worked all the bugs out of a new system designed to provide media organizations with exit polling information from voters. As a precaution, NBC and CBS last weekend began conducting their own joint poll of voter attitudes about the midterm election. VNS, a consortium consisting of ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox and The Associated Press, counts actual votes and also conducts exit polling in certain precincts. That information is used by its members to project winners in individual races on Election Night. * *...

In his last interview, some 24 hours before he was killed, Movsar Barayev sat slumped in a chair, peering at the camera with weary and dazed eyes. "Our group is called Islam's suicide brigade," said Barayev, who led the hostage operation. "Our goal -- and we have repeatedly declared it -- is to stop the war and remove [Russian] troops [from Chechnya]." Barayev, a nephew of slain guerrilla leader Arbi Barayev, said the hostage-taking was ordered by Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev. "We act on the order of our superior military emir ... Shamil Basayev," a stumbling Barayev told NTV at...

Opponents of Alabama's top judge have revealed — unintentionally — their true feelings about the man determined to honor the Ten Commandments in a government building. A lawyer's letter sent to the wrong person reveals bitter religious intolerance by those opposing Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore. The chief justice of the state's highest court is being sued for placing a Ten Commandments monument in the Supreme Court building. The letter was written by Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which opposes the Ten Commandments display. But a copy was mailed to Judge Roy Moore's attorney — apparently...

LOS ANGELES - I am going to talk of controversial things. I make no apology for this. It's time we asked ourselves if we still know the freedoms intended for us by the Founding Fathers. James Madison said, "We base all our experiments on the capacity of mankind for self government." This idea? that government was beholden to the people, that it had no other source of power is still the newest, most unique idea in all the long history of man's relation to man. This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government...

Suspicious package found at terminal 4 in LAX, per FOX, reporting now.

WASHINGTON -- The imperial presidency has arrived. On the domestic front President Bush has found that in many ways he can govern by executive order. In foreign affairs he has the nerve to tell other people that they should get rid of their current leaders. Amazingly, with Americans turning into a new silent majority and Congress into a bunch of obeisant lawmakers, he is getting away with such acts. The lawmakers are worried that Bush will play the "patriot card" in the November elections to attack dissenters and opponents. The Democratic leaders have already rolled over. They have given him...

Breaking news: at least 2 people (believed men) were stopped on freeway near Palo Alto. When CHP arrived, they took off. The car has Tennesse plates. It is unknown why, at this time, the men are evading police. The CHP has stopped all traffic in one direction of the freeway, as the suspects are "contained" within a lane of traffic.....developing.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is an abridged version of Dr. Hanson's lecture at a seminar on quot;Liberal Education, Liberty, and Education Today,quot; delivered in Phillips Auditorium at Hillsdale College on November 11, 2001. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The study of Classics -- of Greece and Rome -- can offer us moral lessons as well as a superb grounding in art, literature, history, and language. In our present crisis after September 11, it also offers practical guidance -- and the absence of familiarity with the foundations of Western culture in part may explain many of the disturbing reactions to the war that we have seen...

CHINA’S President yesterday gave a baffling performance in front of hundreds of journalists that made his often tongue-tied American counterpart look eloquent by comparison. President Jiang Zemin stood in front of the assembled foreign and local journalists, whom he had formally invited to Beijing’s Great Hall of the People for a “joint meeting” with President George Bush, and refused to answer all their questions. Seeking guidance from his press secretary, Mr Jiang simply pretended, live on national television, that he had not heard two separate questions about imprisoned Catholic bishops and religious freedom. Chinese audiences, whether journalists, party members or ...

There are so many things that tug at our heartstrings, from the round-the-clock work by recovery crews at ground zero in New York to the latest videotaped message by Osama bin Laden from his secret, cowardly platform somewhere on the planet. Here is the difference: The televised images from New York are broadcast around the world as they happen, with a truthful, real-time, honest commentary of what is on the screen. If you are there when it is being taped, you can see it as it happens, and it is no different than what is seen halfway around the world ...

Unfortunate as it is, it's a sign of the times that Osama bin Laden's videotaped admission of his involvement in the planning of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center has been dismissed by so many as a trick of the U.S. government. Most of those who are skeptical of the videotape's integrity live in other countries, and we should understand their skepticism. But many skeptics live among us, here on U.S. soil with valid citizenship, who also question the validity of the videotape. They should not be dismissed. America's government is not pure and infallible. It ...

November 30, 2001 Dear Friend, I hope you had a joyous Thanksgiving holiday. This week in Washington, Congress has remained in session handling a number of issues concerning our nation. I wanted to take this opportunity and let you know of a specific issue that I have mentioned to help our country get back on its feet after slipping into a recession and surviving the attacks of September 11th. Have a good weekend and God bless. Sincerely, Scott McInnis, Member of Congress McINNIS ENCOURAGED BY TALK OF INCLUDING A PAYROLL TAX HOLIDAY AS PART OF THE ECONOMIC STIMULUS Washington, DC ...

Deny Visas To People From Arab and Muslim Countries? YES: Every step must be taken to keep America safe in this time of tension and crisis NO: A nation of immigrants should not support such a discriminatory policy.

An American Airlines A-300 reported mechanical trouble while waiting to take off Monday morning, about an hour before it crashed just outside News York's JFK Airport. AA Flight 587 was scheduled to take off at 8:00 a.m. but was held on the ground for an hour and fifteen minutes to repair an unidentified mechanical problem, a travel agent familiar with the flight told WABC Radio. Additionally, a United Airlines pilot says he over-heard a radio report from Flight 587's pilot saying he was experiencing engine trouble before the plane exploded in mid-air over New York's Jamaica Bay. The Bush administration ...

The Red Cross is offering refunds to those who donated to the charity's "Liberty Fund" and are unhappy that all of the money isn't going directly to victims of the World Trade Center attacks. "We don't want to keep funds from people who contributed with one thing in mind and find that it's being spent on another thing," said New York fund-raising chief Dolores Swirin. Swirin told the New York Post Sunday that 3,000 people have contacted the charity in the last 10 days demanding explanations of how their contributions are being spent. The Red Cross has raised over a ...