Free Republic

With its 5-3 rebuff of Bush's executive-power claims, the Supreme Court reminds us what Constitution's all about. By Trudy Rubin Inquirer Columnist As Independence Day approaches, I can't think of any better gift to the nation than the Supreme Court ruling last week that checked President Bush's expanding claims of executive power. July Fourth should remind us how blessed we are to live under rule of law. Most Americans take that blessing for granted and fail to understand how rare is the legacy bequeathed by the Founding Fathers. A 5-3 majority on the court gave us a wake-up call. The...

And now for a reality check on the congressional debate about leaving Iraq. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have a grip. Republicans are right to nix the idea that U.S. troops should withdraw in six months. But the Bush administration has made such a hash in Iraq that U.S. troops have little chance of creating the "secure and united Iraq" that Republicans call for. Bad U.S. policy and worse execution have left Americans with two unpleasant choices: Leave Iraq now and ensure that country's collapse, with awful consequences for them, us, and the entire Middle East; or stay on with no...

They could have just shut up. That's what's interesting. The thing had been said, the controversy had flared and faded, bygones were becoming bygones. They could have moved on, left well enough alone. Instead, they declare themselves, ``not ready to make nice . . . not ready to back down . . . still mad as hell.'' That's the refrain of Not Ready To Make Nice, the first single from the newly released first album by the Dixie Chicks in four years. More to the point, the first since that fateful night in March 2003, on the eve of the...

William Bennett's famous "The Book of Virtues" apparently doesn't include the virtue of shutting your yap when something stupid wants to come out. Bennett went from Cabinet posts under Ronald Reagan and George Bush the elder to becoming Keeper of the Public Morals. He pontificates endlessly in print and on radio about the importance of character, virtue and morality -- in other people. His own character failed him last Wednesday on his radio show when he said America's crime rate would go down if every black baby was aborted. Whoa! Paging Dr. Mengele ... Just a minute. Bennett says his...

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco knows where to turn in times of crisis. She hired James Lee Witt Sept. 3 to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Remember him? President Bush does. "I have to pay the administration a compliment," he said in 2000 during his first candidate debate with Vice President Al Gore. "James Lee Witt of FEMA has done a really good job of working with governors during times of crisis." "Really good job" is an understatement. FEMA was once a joke. Its top jobs were dumping grounds for political henchmen. Clinton made the FEMA director a Cabinet position....

As the American people wise up about the war in Iraq, and the shifting rationale behind it, they aren't letting the press off the hook. Good for them. As President Bush led the nation into the invasion of Iraq, the evidence he cited as justification for the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime was too often echoed by news organizations that holstered the skepticism they customarily bring to their work. As a result, any doubts about the wisdom of the war focused on strategy rather than factual truth. Hussein's purported possession of weapons of mass destruction was accepted as established...

Be a good president and apologize to the nice lady. Cindy Sheehan wants to know why her son died in Iraq. Tell her you made a mistake, Mr. President. Be honest. Saddam Hussein really chaps your hide. You believed reports about weapons of mass destruction. It seemed so him. You really, honestly thought he might use WMDs against Americans. You decided you'd better settle his hash once and for all. So you sent in soldiers like Cindy's son, Casey. Eek. No weapons. No problem. Saddam hated the United States. Everyone knew that. He no doubt provided sanctuary and support to...

No matter how you spin it, Karl Rove is a snake. He opened his mouth when he should have kept it shut. A lot of people do that. Rove, however, did it for revenge. Bush supporters can split more hairs than Bill Clinton. One essential fact remains indisputable. Rove's forked tongue lashed out at a political critic. And he did it secretly. He also dodged responsibility for it as long as he could. What a snake! A full and thorough investigation will determine if he's a common garter snake or a deadly cottonmouth, but his own confessions have him slithering...

I'm writing a Letter to the Editor (our local paper), and need some facts on voter fraud in Wisconsin for the election 2004. Thanks.

So Bob Dole says John Kerry didn't shed enough blood in Vietnam. He calls into question Kerry's medals. Who else does the former Kansas senator think didn't shed enough blood in Vietnam? What other medals for valor does he think are undeserved? All of them? Are all the Silver Stars and all the Bronze Stars and all the Purple Hearts bogus? The United States Navy issued those medals to Lt. John Kerry. He didn't award them to himself. Dole should criticize the Navy. But this is just politics, after all. Dole is a Republican. Kerry is a Democrat. So Dole...

Fellow freepers...could use some help here. My liberal friends keep bringing up the Iran-Contra affair as if their was a illegal cover-up by the Reagon administration. I need to know what really happened. Could you guys give me a hand with this. Thanks.

Fellow freepers...I could use some help on this one. I want to have specific examples of Democratic fraud during the 2000 election...i.e. "Smokes for Votes"...

Do you approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as President?