Free Republic

<p>Quentin Kopp, the conservative lion who once prowled San Francisco's political scene, calls it "the break."</p> <p>It's the 1975 race for mayor, and it's when everything changed.</p> <p>That year, state Sen. George Moscone forged a modern political alliance of gays, minorities, unions and the city's dominant liberal political machine and defeated John Barbagelata. It was one of the closest races for mayor in the city's history -- Barbagelata lost by a scant 4,500 votes -- but it was the high-water mark for Republicanism in San Francisco.</p>

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) - DNA tests have confirmed that all-American hero and aviator Charles Lindbergh fathered three illegitimate children in Germany, their spokesman said. In a statement, he said the tests supported their assertions that Lindbergh, who won instant celebrity for making the first solo, non-stop transatlantic flight in 1927, was their father. The probes, examined by a Munich university medical centre, compared their DNA with a sample from a member of Lindbergh's family. The result, handed in writing to the three last week, showed a probability of paternity of more than 99 percent."They never had any doubt about the...

I wondered if there was any interest in starting a thread that discusses who the 2004 Democrat Vice Presidential nominee will be, and possibly get some names out that aren't as talked about as one of the Nine Dwarves that might get it as a booby prize. Getting names out there that will help us prepare to get out there loaded for bear next year. My suspicion is that rather than look to Graham, or Edwards, or Clark, the RATs may pick a dark horse. I'd like to see if anyone thinks I'm crazy to think that it might be...

To everyone's surprise, Federal Judge Robert Sweet has once again dismissed the claim of two Bronx teenagers that eating at McDonald's had made them obese.    This was not in the game plan. When Judge Sweet rejected the first claim last January, he virtually drew a road map for the plaintiffs' case. Labeling McDonald's Chicken McNuggets a "McFrankenstein creation of various elements," Judge Sweet suggested, "If plaintiffs were able to flesh out this argument, it may establish that the dangers of McDonald's products were not commonly well-known and thus that McDonald's had a duty towards its customers." Like a patient law...

Sinners have long cherished the fantasy that William Bennett, the virtue magnate, might be among our number. The news over the weekend -- that Bennett's $50,000 sermons and bestselling moral instruction manuals have financed a multimillion-dollar gambling habit -- has lit a lamp of happiness in even the darkest hearts. As the joyous word spread, crack flowed like water through inner-city streets, family court judges began handing out free divorces, and children lit bonfires of "The Book of Virtues," "More Virtuous Virtues," "Who Cheesed My Virtue?" "Moral Tails: Virtue for Dogs," etc. And cynics everywhere thought, for just a moment:...

ANKARA, Turkey, April 8 -- Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, chief of the Turkish armed forces, receives a briefing every day about the position and strength of Iraqi Kurdish militias advancing slowly toward the oil cities of Kirkuk and Mosul in northern Iraq. With the help of U.S. airstrikes and Special Forces, these pesh merga fighters have moved within 20 miles of both cities in recent days. Turkey considers Kurdish control of the Iraqi oil fields a security threat, and if the Kurds enter either city, Ozkok will face the most important decision of his 44-year military career: whether to order an...

<p>Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., poked fun at military analysts and embedded reporters in a Wednesday night speech. At a fundraising event for the Juvenile Diabetes Relief Fund, McCain said he liked the military analysts who are appearing on network and cable news shows talking about the war on Iraq, but wondered where they all come from.</p>

Maybe it’s because the midterm elections went so very well. Maybe it’s because at the White House, politics is the best policy. Maybe it’s because it’s the reign of Karl Rove. An inside look at how the most powerful presidential adviser in a century does what does so well. On a cool Saturday a few days before Christmas last year, Karl Rove showed up in a festive mood at David Dreyer’s house in suburban Washington, D. C., to trim the tree and have a cup of eggnog. Dreyer is a liberal Democrat, formerly the deputy communications director in the Clinton...

Democrats Scramble for Control of Mink's Open House Seat HONOLULU, Nov. 21 -- Eager to retain a contested congressional seat following the historic GOP gubernatorial victory in Hawaii, state Democrats are fielding a winnowed list of prominent hopefuls to succeed the late Rep. Patsy T. Mink. A handful of experienced Republican politicians, however, hopes to beat the odds in the winner-take-all race.

Book Claims Looting Began Before First Tower Fell POSTED: 6:53 p.m. EST November 18, 2002 UPDATED: 7:40 p.m. EST November 18, 2002 NEW YORK -- Author William Langewiesche says something secret and sorry was mixed in with the rescue, sadness and tumult of the attack on America on Sept. 11, 2001. "The looting was shadowy, widespread,..." he writes in "American Ground," referring to less heroic actions of some firefighters, police and later, cleanup workers. Peter Gorman, president of the Fire Officer's Union, has organized firefighter rallies against the accusations at readings and book signings by Langewiesche. "For him to insinuate...

South Dakota Republican Rep. John Thune has just announced that he will not seek a recount in his race against Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson. The election results were officially certified yesterday by the South Dakota Secretary of State. In that final tally, Johnson defeated Thune by 524 votes. Since the race was so close and there were allegations of fraud before the voting, Republican lawyers and election experts have for the last week been looking for evidence of voting irregularities across South Dakota. Thune was briefed on the results of their work and decided not to go forward with a...

WASHINGTON – Interim Minnesota Sen. Dean Barkley announced Monday he will be an independent during his brief stay in Congress, enabling Democrats to remain in control when the Senate begins a postelection session this week. As a result of Barkley's decision, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., will continue in that post when the Senate is gaveled into session Tuesday. That means Daschle can decide what bills the Senate debates during the so-called lame-duck meetings of the current Congress, which are expected to run for at least a week. EXCERPT OF ARTICLE

Folks, this is my first 'vanity' post, I guess, so forgive me if this seems a waste of bandwidth. But has anyone else suspected a possible link between Mohammed, Malvo, and the anthrax mailer? I haven't seen anything in the media, or even here on FR, but consider: *We know Mohammed had some connections to New Jersey, as we can see with the dark Caprice and its plates, and the anthrax envelopes were postmarked from NJ; and *The return address for the anthrax mailings was, if I recall correctly, "Greenhill School". It now turns out that in Mohammed's many trips...

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Pope John Paul II delighted millions of this nation's poorest people today by canonizing the Americas' first indigenous saint, but talk about the saint was eclipsed by a controversial kiss.

SAUDI ARABIA MARRIAGE TO SAUDIS DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION IN THIS CIRCULAR RELATING TO THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN COUNTRIES IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY. QUESTIONS INVOLVING INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN LAWS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO FOREIGN COUNSEL. The following information has been prepared by our Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to assist American citizen women in understanding more fully the cultural and legal differences they may face if they are considering marrying a Saudi man. Read the rest of the article at http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/statemirror.html