Free Republic

Sara Weaver-Balter has forgiven the federal agents who shot and killed her mother and brother 18 years ago on Idaho’s Ruby Ridge.

A real survivor Posted: Tuesday, Nov 29, 2005 - 11:10:22 pm PST By CANDACE CHASE The Daily Inter Lake Marine Sgt. Caleb Pleasants, 22, of Whitefish is relaxing and healing at his parents’ house after being shot in the leg while serving in Iraq. His parents’ home was decorated with yellow ribbons and signs. Craig Moore/Daily Inter Lake Whitefish Marine tells story of being wounded in Iraq Sgt. Caleb Pleasants watched a bullet ricochet off a ledge, then hit a wall and fall to the ground in a desert town near the Syrian border. He leaned over and picked up...

A roar erupted from a crowd of about 200 Friday afternoon as a C130 aircraft swooped down from a cloudless sky onto a runway at Glacier Park International Airport. Flag-waving family members surged forward as the aircraft slowly lumbered over to Edwards Jet Center. The soldiers of the Headquarters 495th Motor Transportation Battalion of the Montana National Guard were home. "Oh my gosh I'm going to cry, " Sarah Snyder said as she waited for her dad, Warrant Officer Steve Snyder. As the ramp lowered from the huge plane, a color guard, Gov. Judy Martz and Maj. Gen. John Prendergast...

Justice of the Peace David Ortley had harsh words for a Kalispell man who was sentenced Tuesday for poaching a trophy bull moose last November. "There are people who are born and raised here who can go through their whole lives without an opportunity to legally hunt a moose like this," Ortley told Frank Wayne Campbell. Campbell, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of killing a bull moose without a license or a permit and one count of possessing an unlawfully taken moose. Those misdemeanors came on top of Campbell's guilty plea last week to felony driving under the influence....

<p>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With ads by the Bush-Cheney campaign and the liberal grass-roots group MoveOn.org already battling it out on the airwaves, another set of ads was rolled out nationwide Monday, the first conservative attack ads against presumptive Democratic candidate John Kerry.</p>

Aristide wasn't forced out March 06,2004 ERIC STEINKOPFF DAILY NEWS STAFF If Jim Refinger knows one thing it's this: Ousted Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide is safe. There was no kidnapping, as some sources reported. There was no injury. And for Refinger there was no mystery. Refinger was there. The former Jacksonville police sniper and retired Marine was part of a private security team hired to protect Aristide's inner circle. "We left with him (but) I won't talk about where we went," Refinger said Friday from his home in Jacksonville where he just returned. "We escorted him safely out. "Everything...

<p>GRAND RAPIDS -- A Michigan school district told a teacher activated for military duty that he must cover the cost of a substitute during part of his absence and give the district some of his military pay.</p> <p>At a school board meeting this week, angry teachers, students and district residents criticized the decision by administrators at Kenowa Hills Public Schools.</p>

The Associated Press 3/3/2004, 6:54 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) — In John Kerry's search for the perfect running mate, some Democrats have raised an intriguing question: Could former two-term President Bill Clinton serve as vice president? Mark Tushnet, a constitutional law professor at Georgetown University Law Center, says the Constitution does not specifically address the issue and no court has ever considered it. "The answer is unclear," he said. The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution imposes a two-term limit on presidential candidates, but imposes no limit on the vice presidency. As vice president, however, Clinton could succeed the president upon...

2 PM ET** EXIT POLLS, CAMPAIGN AND MEDIA SOURCES TELL DRUDGE: KERRY LEADS BIG IN OHIO, NY, MARYLAND, CONN, MASS, R ISLAND, GA [NO DATA, TECH DIFFICULTIES], CALIFORNIA -- TOO EARLY... MORE... Sample: Kerry up 12 over Edwards in Georgia; Kerry up 24 in Ohio; Kerry up 35 in Maryland... Developing...

Factories Operate Near 20-Year High 20 minutes ago By Eric Burroughs NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. factories boomed at close to a 20-year high in February, according to a survey released on Monday that also suggested a turnaround in hiring may be on the horizon after a three-year struggle. The Institute for Supply Management said its monthly manufacturing index fell to 61.4 in February from January's two-decade high of 63.6, showing the ninth straight month of expansion in the sector that makes up less than a fifth of the U.S. economy. Even though the index fell below the 62.0 level...

Commissioners find support for keeping Commandments By Alan Choate The Daily Inter Lake Though not universally popular, the county commissioners' stance against removing a Ten Commandments monument at the Flathead County Courthouse has drawn praise and promises of support from county residents and at least one gubernatorial candidate. "I've gotten, man alive, dozens of calls," said Commissioner Gary Hall, who has been the most vocal on the issue. "Just support calls, thankful that we're standing up, and not rolling over. "I've never gotten this many positive responses on anything I've done" as an elected official. Americans United for Separation of...

Billings Heights dedicates Reagan Post Office By DIANE COCHRAN - Billings Gazette - 2/14/04 The Heights post office has become the first building in Montana to be named for former President Ronald Reagan. The naming came, in part, from legislation sponsored by Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont. ‘‘Remember the character and the resolve of this man, and apply it to our life, no matter your political persuasion,'' Burns said during a dedication ceremony on Friday. ‘‘He was a guy who inspired a lot of us to do good things. '' Burns was joined by Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont.; Bob Klein, U.S....

Scholar to scrutinize JFK presidency By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian Was John F. Kennedy really a great president? Allen Matusow, a scholar of U.S. presidents, will give his answer Monday night in the next installment of the University of Montana's President's Lecture Series. Matusow will discuss Kennedy's tenure in office, his political legacy and recently released documents that shed more light on his presidency. Although it has been 40 years since Kennedy was assassinated, there has been no president - no person - in the past 50 years who has grabbed the public's attention and held it like John...

Stokes' highway dispute takes more twists and turns By Alan Choate The Daily Inter Lake A four-year fight between KGEZ radio owner John Stokes and the state of Montana over highway right-of-way has become even more convoluted, with settlement talks going nowhere, the station's financial backers seeking foreclosure and Stokes asserting that the state is paying people to sue him. Meanwhile, the project that set off the dispute — the widening of a 2.7-mile section of U.S. 93 south of Kalispell — was awarded to a contractor last week, and wooden stakes along the road mark where the new highway...

Cigar-loving Arnie plans a 'smoking plaza' at state capitol By Oliver Poole in Los Angeles (Filed: 17/02/2004) Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's cigar-smoking governor, is to tear a roof off the state capitol so that smokers can enjoy their vice inside the legislature. The Austrian-born actor, elected governor last November, is facing protests for deciding to turn a courtyard in the building into a "smoking plaza". It will include a drinking area. Part of the roof will be removed to get round a California law banning smoking in offices, bars and restaurants. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan has angered the anti-smoking lobby The governor's...

<p>HELENA — Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Brian Schweitzer will keep his promise to pick a nontraditional running mate by announcing today that his choice is Republican state Sen. John Bohlinger of Billings. Bohlinger, 67, is an 11-year veteran of the Legislature who is known for his often-liberal stands. Schweitzer, who has been campaigning to succeed Republican Gov. Judy Martz for a year, announced in September that he would take applications for the lieutenant governor’s spot on the ticket and urged any interested Montanan to apply. Bohlinger did not return a telephone message Wednesday, but political insiders in both parties were eager to discuss the implications as word spread of the state’s first bipartisan ticket in more than 30 years. Chuck Denowh, executive director for the Montana Republi-can Party, said Schweitzer’s choice of a Republican for a running mate doesn’t change the fact that Schweitzer is a Democrat with an ideology driven by liberal interest groups. “He’s still driven by those same interest groups, like extreme environmentalists who want to drive all the jobs out of the state,” Denowh said. “People don’t vote for lieutenant governor; they’re voting for the governor.” Two Democrats who recommended Bohlinger to Schweitzer told The Associated Press the choice shows Schweitzer’s desire to work with both parties. “It’s a way of really reaching across the aisle and saying, ‘Let’s get together on these issues,”’ said Rep. Chris Harris, D-Bozeman. “It emphasizes there are bipartisan solutions to the problems in Montana.” Ray Peck of Helena, a former Democratic lawmaker who served with Bohlinger in the House during the mid-1990s, said he wasn’t surprised Bohlinger agreed to run with a Democrat. “He has very firm convictions and he stood for those in the House and against a very strong conservative leadership,” he said. A retired businessman, Bohlinger is regarded as one of the most liberal Republicans in the Legislature. During the 2003 session he argued for raising taxes to fund education and human services. In the past he has supported bills to create a sales tax, toughen seat belt laws and expand the hate crimes law to give protection to gays and lesbians. Bohlinger was a state representative from 1993-99 and won election to the Senate in 1998 in a Billings district that leans Democratic. He won re-election to that seat in 2002. Bohlinger told the Billings Gazette in an interview posted on its Web site Wednesday night that he plans to run with Schweitzer but does not plan to leave the Repub-lican Party and that he would resign his Senate seat if elected lieutenant governor. He has two years remaining on his current term. A Bohlinger-Schweitzer campaign would be the first bipartisan pairing since the 1972 Constitution required the governor and lieutenant governor to run as a team. Calls to state attorneys to clarify the logistics of a bipartisan ticket were not returned. Secretary of State Bob Brown, who is a Republican gubernatorial candidate, said in a statement Wednesday night that Bohlinger’s “decision to switch parties does not surprise me. "John Bohlinger and I are good friends, even though we differ on the issues,” Brown said. “I wish he would have informed me prior to his decision to apply with Brian Schweitzer to be his lieutenant governor so I could have visited about it. " Schweitzer, a Whitefish farmer, is one of two Democrats running to succeed Martz, who is not running for re-election. His opponent in the June 8 primary election is Gallatin County Commissioner John Vincent of Gallatin Gateway. Four Republicans are in the race to succeed Martz: Brown, Billings businessman Pat Davison, and former state Sens. Tom Keating of Billings and Ken Miller of Laurel.</p>

By SARA KUGLER, Associated Press Writer NEW YORK - The American soldier, who bears the duty of "living with and dying for a country's most fateful decisions," was named Sunday as Time magazine's Person of the Year. • Person of the Year 2003 (TIME Magazine) The magazine's editors chose the nameless soldier to represent the 1.4 million men and women who make up the U.S. military, which led the invasion of Iraq (news - web sites) nine months ago and a week ago captured deposed leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). About 130,000 U.S. soldiers remain in Iraq, with...

The Last Refuge of the Democrats by Fred Barnes, for the Editors 12/15/2003, Volume 009, Issue 14 DEMOCRATS ROUTINELY COMPLAIN that President Bush and his political team call them unpatriotic for criticizing Bush on the war in Iraq. Democratic senator John Kerry, a struggling presidential candidate, last week went one step further. Addressing the Council on Foreign Relations, Kerry claimed to know ahead of time how the Bush crowd would react to his speech. "I know what the Bush apologists will say to this--that it is unpatriotic to question, to criticize, and to call for change," Kerry said. "I believe...

Hillary: 'Right Wing Apparatus' to Blame for Troop Comment Firestorm New York Sen. Hillary Clinton said Sunday that she was right to tell U.S. troops that Americans back home were starting to doubt President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, calling complaints that her comments undermined military morale "the latest flaming charge by the right wing." "Let me correct the record. It didn't happen," Clinton told CBS's "Face the Nation." "I know that's the latest flaming charge by the right wing, but that's not what happened." The top Democrat claimed instead that she was merely responding truthfully to a...

By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer MOSUL, Iraq - Insurgents attacked a U.S. military patrol in northern Iraq (news - web sites) on Sunday, killing one soldier and wounding two, the U.S. military said. A bomb also was detonated on a railway, derailing half the carriages on a freight train but causing no injuries. Guerrillas set off a roadside bomb as an American convoy passed through the center of Mosul, 250 miles north of Baghdad, at around midday, Master Sgt. Kelly Tyler said. "I heard an explosion and came running toward the site of the attack and saw three soldiers,...