https://freerepublic.com/tag/by:smartaleck/ en-us Sun, 17 Jun 2007 17:06:06 GMT Focus Forum 15 https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1851706/posts The Washington Post Challenge Index measures a public high school's effort to challenge its students.... The Washington Post https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1851706/posts#comment Sun, 17 Jun 2007 17:06:06 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1557136/posts The Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee wound up looking like the group of boobs that their behavior has demonstrated them to be when the vetting of the William Rusher papers elicited no mention whatsoever of Samuel Alito in connection to Concerned Alumni of Princeton or anything else that could paint him as the bigot that Democrats insinuated he was: Earlier, the panel's chairman announced that staffers had examined records of a controversial Princeton University alumni group once cited by Alito in a job application, but had found no mention of Alito. While the alumni group appeared to fizzle out... Captain's Quater's blog https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1557136/posts#comment Fri, 13 Jan 2006 03:21:26 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1510252/posts If you think that employers' health insurance costs have gotten out of hand, that's nothing. The rhetoric about health insurance costs is what I would argue is most out of control. I think that both the Left and the Right are abusing the issue, with the Left trumpeting it as a rationale for national health insurance and the Right buying into the notion that employer-provided health insurance is a major competitive disadvantage for U.S. companies See full article for examples and analysis. http://www.techcentralstation.com/102705B.html TechCentral https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1510252/posts#comment Thu, 27 Oct 2005 15:01:27 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1472407/posts NEW YORK (Nov. 20, 1776) – The grieving mother of an American soldier killed in action during the recent failed defense of Fort Washington is demanding an audience with Gen. George Washington. “George is the biggest butcher on the face of the earth,” Mrs. Ima Benedict declared to a throng of nearly 25 Loyalist pamphleteers and newspapermen. About 30 fellow protestors on a street corner on the upper west side of Manhattan joined Mrs. Benedict today at what has been dubbed “Camp Arnold” by supporters of Mrs. Benedict’s cause. The group held aloft homemade placards reading “No Blood For Representation,”... The American Thinker https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1472407/posts#comment Sun, 28 Aug 2005 20:34:08 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1463085/posts If you want to know everything wrong with the 9/11 Commission in a single sound bite, consider this from Al Felzenberg, its official spokesman, speaking Wednesday: ''There was no way that Atta could have been in the United States at that time, which is why the staff didn't give this tremendous weight when they were writing the report. This information was not meshing with the other information that we had.'' Chicago Sun-Times https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1463085/posts#comment Sun, 14 Aug 2005 12:56:22 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1447836/posts IT is not just mad sheiks who are rewarding youngsters who dream up fantasies of evil Americans and heroic suicide bombers. Our taxpayer-funded Adult Multicultural Education Services does the same, funding a writer's prize for a schoolgirl's essay on blowing up American soldiers. Mad, I know. But multiculturalism does mess with minds like that. I won't mention the name of the self-described "South African Kiwi" girl who has just won the junior short story competition at the annual City of Greater Dandenong Adult Migrant Education Services awards, sponsored by AMES. The Government pays AMES, which it set up, to run... Herald Sun https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1447836/posts#comment Thu, 21 Jul 2005 20:39:03 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1427089/posts In rooms less than 25 feet apart, Young's 27-year-old son and Saviano's 48-year-old daughter are near the end. Like Terri Schiavo, the woman who died here about two months ago, they will live out their final hours in Hospice House Woodside. "I can't believe this is happening to me," says Saviano, tears welling up, learning firsthand what hospice is when it isn't on the television, when it isn't in the courts. Two months after the Schiavo case exposed an entire nation to one family's bitter battle with death, the hospice has returned to its normal rhythms. In the past 60... Washingtonpost https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1427089/posts#comment Tue, 21 Jun 2005 03:26:22 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1426972/posts Suspicions about Islam after Sept. 11 have given rise to resentment, fear and violence in Europe. But in the U.S., which has welcomed Muslims with its freedoms and opportunities, a more tolerant, open Islam is emerging – and setting an example for the rest of the world, says writer REIHAN SALAM. Because the majority of Muslim Americans emigrated from repressive countries, and because they've been welcomed with open arms, there is a pervasive sense of gratitude for American freedoms and a belief that any political grievances ought to be addressed at the ballot box. Law enforcement is seen not as... Dallas Morning News https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1426972/posts#comment Tue, 21 Jun 2005 00:13:43 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1377742/posts The courtroom was mostly empty Monday, Jan. 24, 2000. The quiet wasn't remarkable that morning, but five years later, the quiet is what I hear. A handful of Terri Schiavo's immediate family members and a few close friends sat in the first few dark wooden benches. I was the only reporter there. There were no cameras, no curious spectators, no protesters. Nobody accused Michael Schiavo of abuse. Nobody appealed to the Pope. Nobody proclaimed that Terri was trying to talk. No politicians were grandstanding, no special interest groups were shouting, nobody was invoking God's will. The once-close family had battled... St. Petersburg Times https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1377742/posts#comment Tue, 5 Apr 2005 14:23:38 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1347629/posts Hunter S. Thompson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Woody Creek on Sunday night. He was 67. The Denver Post https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1347629/posts#comment Mon, 21 Feb 2005 06:09:45 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1339941/posts The investigation of a Citrus County couple accused of torturing five children is beginning to reveal a large family that managed for years to avoid the scrutiny of state and school officials. Authorities say John and Linda Dollar used a cattle prod, a hammer, pliers, a vise and starvation to punish five of the eight children in their care. But why did no one notice? Continued in article....about them and their arrest. St. Petersburg Times https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1339941/posts#comment Thu, 10 Feb 2005 02:08:40 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1322041/posts Best speeches Ronald Reagan, 1981 "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem. From time to time, we have been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. But if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?" His speech signaled a moment of change and spelled out a political philosophy. John F. Kennedy, 1961 "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not... Dallas Morning News https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1322041/posts#comment Sun, 16 Jan 2005 22:06:34 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1311230/posts It is time for this blog's second annual review of the performance of the Los Angeles Times, which is known to Patterico readers as the Los Angeles Dog Trainer. ... Documenting a whole year's worth of this paper's distortions, omissions, and misrepresentations is a Herculean undertaking -- much like when Hercules cleaned a year's worth of manure out of a barn in a single day. The parallels are striking indeed. In fact, because there is too much material here to put in a single blog post,... Patterico's Pontifications: https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1311230/posts#comment Fri, 31 Dec 2004 00:26:11 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1300325/posts A reader writes in..... I'm an atheist, but I celebrate Christmas. I believe the holiday season is also about taking the time to remember family and friends, help those less fortunate a appreciate the good around us. My children love the magical story of Santa Claus, and sometimes we just need the calendar to tell us to take a breather from our harried lives and gather those dear to us. Do you think I'm a hypocrite for celebrating what for most people is a religious holiday? - Terenne James, Richmond VA Reply from Marilyn- No, I don't. I think your... Column in Parade Magazine - Ask Marilyn https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1300325/posts#comment Mon, 13 Dec 2004 15:30:40 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1237987/posts <p>When John Kerry (news - web sites) talks about the economy, he invariably focuses on the anemic employment gains of the past two years. As anyone who has struggled to find work knows, jobs have been the key missing ingredient in an otherwise-healthy economic expansion.</p> USAToday via Yahoo News https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1237987/posts#comment Thu, 7 Oct 2004 17:00:52 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1231481/posts And don't miss continual updates and fact checking in real time on Noted Now on ABCNEWS.com. ABC News via the Notes https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1231481/posts#comment Thu, 30 Sep 2004 15:19:43 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1212088/posts Excerpts.... The Kerry end is near? At this precise time every four years, the most media-savvy members of the Gang of 500 begin to think about their roles in the premiere post-election forum that revisits the actions and players of the presidential race. But if nothing changes in the race as it now stands — with President Bush winning a decent-sized victory — much of the talk will be about the greater technical proficiency of the Bush-Cheney effort.Democrats, who deny up and down that they had anything to do with the documents, tell ABC News that they plan to continue... ABC Notes https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1212088/posts#comment Fri, 10 Sep 2004 14:54:07 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1202641/posts Do the arguments in this paper not hold true for Bush as they did for Clinton? WMD being irrelevant.Somalia In the meantime, after consultations between the Clinton Presidency and U.N. Secretary- General Boutros Butros-Ghali (but not between President Clinton and the U.S. Congress), an important policy decision had been made and was in the process of being carried out. This was the decision to transform the Somalia operation from a limited intervention with a humanitarian objective (distributing food to the starving Somalis) into an overly ambitious and totally unrealistic plan for "nation-building"--a plan for forcibly imposing national unity on the... An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1202641/posts#comment Mon, 30 Aug 2004 01:16:29 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1199492/posts ******The Growing Scandal Surrounding Kevin Shelly The financial scandal involving Secretary of State Kevin Shelly is growing ominous. First, an investigation by the San Francisco Chronicle revealed that as Assembly Majority Leader, Shelly had sponsored a $500,000 grant to a non-profit foundation run by Shelly political associates for the construction of a community center in San Francisco that was never built. That foundation made payments for highly questionable purposes to certain individuals whom within days made uniform $25,000 contributions to the Shelly for Secretary of State campaign in 2002. Now comes word from the San Jose Mercury News that Shelly... Various from around the net https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1199492/posts#comment Wed, 25 Aug 2004 23:07:12 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1180184/posts Doesn't appear this has been posted on FR for discussion? The proposed 2004 is located in PDF form here http://www.dems2004.org/atf/cf/{59B09D55-4544-4D5F-965C-8DBD20B51054}/Platform%202004%20-%20by%20Comm%20(2).pdf For comparison, the 2000 platform is located here http://www.democrats.org/about/2000platform.html DNC https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1180184/posts#comment Wed, 28 Jul 2004 14:28:23 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1178167/posts PARIS - Lance Armstrong rode into history Sunday by winning the Tour de France for a record sixth time, an achievement that confirmed him as one of the greatest sportsmen of all time. AP via Yahoo https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1178167/posts#comment Sun, 25 Jul 2004 16:01:03 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1161531/posts BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S.-led coalition transferred sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government two days early Monday in a surprise move that apparently caught insurgents off guard, averting a feared campaign of attacks to sabotage the highly symbolic step toward self-rule.......... Allawi "believed that it would improve his hand on facing the security threat, and the security threat is obviously increasing up to the day of June 30th. Is it going to prevent every act of terror? No, and I don't think anybody has tried to claim that," a senior administration official said. Yahoo news AP https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1161531/posts#comment Mon, 28 Jun 2004 11:25:53 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1158469/posts Excerpted... "Given that context, the book itself can only be described as disappointing, even bizarre. It isn't just that it's dull, like so many political memoirs, or that the sections on Gennifer Flowers and Monica Lewinsky are weirdly abrupt and uninformative; it's utterly lacking in perspective. Apparently, Clinton dawdled over the book for several years, concentrating on his childhood, and wound up racing to finish the final, presidential chapters this spring." "At the same time, he finds space not only for trivia but for emotional reactions to the trivia." "In fact, other than the personal issues of interest to him... Washingtonpost via Yahoo News https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1158469/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jun 2004 10:56:23 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1081248/posts Father-Daughter Talk A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat and was for distribution of all wealth. She felt deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican which she expressed openly. One day she was challenging her father on his beliefs and his opposition to higher taxes on the rich & the addition of more government welfare programs. Based on the lectures that she had participated in and the occasional chat with a professor she felt that for years... Internet e-mailing https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1081248/posts#comment Thu, 19 Feb 2004 17:12:39 GMT https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/885338/posts One of the first U.S. soldiers to die in Iraq was not an American citizen. He'd come here illegally as a teenager. His name was José Antonio Gutierrez. He was killed on March 21 by enemy fire while trying to secure Umm Qasr, a port vital for humanitarian aid. He was a 22-year-old lance corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps. It's easy to discount talk of the American dream as hyperbole, a cliché carelessly tossed about. But then there are people like Gutierrez, whose whole life proved that the naysayers were wrong. It is possible to escape the oppression of... OpinionJournal https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/885338/posts#comment Fri, 4 Apr 2003 23:17:27 GMT