Free Republic

It’s a quiet movement that rose from grass roots almost silently. Patriotic people across the nation have risen with a mission to serve U.S. troops, veterans and the families of both. The group began in 2005 and continues to grow as more people learn about the activities of the Patriot Guard Riders. Several from the Texoma area are members and the Riders were on hand Sunday to help with the laying to rest of Bonham’s fallen soldier, Staff Sgt. Michael Shank. In that group of riders there were people who rode from Waxahachie, Ponder and Terrell to name just a...

11-17-06 - HOLDENVILLE, Okla. (AP) - A Hughes County judge has thrown out four absentee ballots because of voting irregularities in a state House race. All four ballots were cast for Democrat Darrell Nemecek, who won in House District 25 by two votes on November seventh. Republican candidate Todd Thomsen requested a re-count, alleging that four voters in Hughes County voted in the race without living in the district. Hughes County shares only one precinct with House District 25. Associate District Judge Gordon Allen agreed with Thomsen and his lawyer after testimony from county election officials who said the incorrect...

PRESIDENT BUSH Is Ending His Nation-Wide Campaign Rally Tour with GOVERNOR PERRY Back in the Great State of Texas at REUNION ARENA on Monday Evening, November 6th! Ticket information: 877-322-2470. You can pick up your exclusive tickets for President Bush’s last campaign rally at one of the following locations: .. Click on link for locations. I'll be heading in from Grayson county. I was told that gates open at 3:30 and close at 6:30. Bush is scheduled to appear at 7:00

I'm not sure when this started, but a crucifix cross* appears to have become a regular part of Hillary Clinton's wardrobe. She wore a gold one July 20, for a speech criticizing advertising directed at children. No picture available.) And she wore the diamond-studded one pictured above to the News last week. A Google Images search doesn't seem to turn up any others, though whenever you think you've noticed something new about Clinton, her aides usually produce rock-solid evidence that it has always been thus. Clinton's Christianity, while never exactly lapsed, has rarely been forefront; noticing the jewelry doesn't strike...

8-16-06 - A non-partisan group dedicated a granite monument of the 10 Commandments on the lawn of the Atoka County Courthouse Wednesday night, as a U.S. senator looked on. Supporters say it’s a unified effort to show that the nation’s courts are wrong in recent decisions over religious displays. The display was actually erected 5 months ago. Since then, no one has filed a complaint or raised the issue in court. Nancy Hyatt, who was on the committee who helped raise financing for the monument, says “It's a celebration of America, it's a free country, it's the code of ethics...

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania town that passed one of the toughest immigration laws in the United States this week overstepped its authority, said a civil-liberties group which announced plans on Friday to sue. The city council of Hazleton, a former coal-mining town of some 31,000 people, late on Thursday passed a measure that will deny a business permit to anyone hiring illegal immigrants. It also imposes a $1,000 fine on any landlord who rents to illegal immigrants, and establishes English as the town's official language. The ordinance states that illegal immigration leads to higher crime rates, overcrowded classrooms and...

Faced with the prospect of spending up to a decade in prison for defrauding clients out of more than $3.6 million, a former Butler County bankruptcy lawyer apparently killed himself instead. Daniel J. Gates, 44, formerly of Zelienople, was found dead Friday near Ocala, Fla., where he'd been living since his indictment in July 2003.

Local band Barefoot will be playing at Kidd-Key Auditorium April 22. By Mary Jane Farmer Herald Democrat Two upcoming concerts are unique in that they are being held at places less common for their venues. Unfortunately, they are both being held on the same evening, April 22, then fortunately, they are two different types of music and therefore will probably appeal to many music lovers. Barefoot to play at Kidd-Key Three hometown boys have put together a band that, according to fans, could break into the big time any day now. Barefoot will be playing from 7 p.m. until whenever...

The following is an excerpt from a published version of the ballot for the TX primary election held on 3/7/06. Democratic Primary Ballot Initiatives 1. Do you support lifting millions of families above the national poverty line by increasing the state minimum wage above its current level of $5.15 per hour?

Not wishing to declare party affiliation at poll By John Reihart Sherman As a home owner and a card carrying registered voter, I was quite taken back when I stepped up to vote and was told by a woman to decide if I was a Republican or a Democrat; there, with others looking at me, I panicked. Were they all Democrats or Republicans? What happens if I “guess wrong?” Is there a wrong? I said, I don’t want to choose before I step into the voting booth, but was told, pick one or the other. What is this, I thought....

SIMMONS: I voted for President Clinton and I voted for President Bush with my eyes and ears wide open. And I think most people are like myself, which is, you keep your options open, and you vote for the issues and the person, not the party, which is why the door is wide open and why different... CAVUTO: But you didn't vote for him the first time, right? SIMMONS: No, I voted both. CAVUTO: Oh, I thought you didn't vote for him on the first run. SIMMONS: President Bush? CAVUTO: Yes. SIMMONS: No. Both. CAVUTO: So, in the last time,...

... He was rushed to the hospital, patched up, and taken back to his barracks. He was later awarded a Purple Heart, a medal for those wounded in combat. "I went back to work the same day," McGinnis said. "I just wanted to get back to it." He wanted to get back to a mission that was not filled with angry people planting roadside bombs, but rather one that was filled with grateful people. "We just freed them from a murderous tyrant," he said, referring to former dictator Saddam Hussein. "There's not a single Iraqi that I talked to that...

Soldier praises support I am a soldier and it is my turn to say thank-you. Since the war against terror began in 2001, I have been thanked for serving our nation by strangers when I attended weddings and funerals. I have been thanked on the street, in restaurants and at the airport. I have received e-mails from family, friends and friends of friends, and even their friends. I was even thanked by a half-frozen Salvation Army volunteer outside a Michigan Wal-Mart in December. In some cases, I have been in uniform. Other times, it is simply the short haircut that...

CALERA (OK) - After losing everything to Hurricane Katrina, a Louisiana woman waits with her family in a hotel room in Dallas for her son to bring money to keep the room another night. Her 23-year-old son will not get there in time, because on his way through Calera, Monday night, he ended up in jail. About 2 a.m. Monday, Calera Police Officer Kurtis Smith attempted to pull over a car for traveling 76 mph in a 55 mph speed zone. The report states Smith turned on his lights and siren, but the car continued to travel 70 to 75...

Nation's roots in danger Can there be a more ignorant movement than the authoritarian "magic Christians"? Since the fall elections, the "Sanhedrin" of this cult of religious neo-fascists strut through public arenas, robes aflutter, declaring their mandate to eliminate the Bill of Rights and the Age of Reason. Claiming an election victory for their god, these strict-construction monotheists now mindlessly prepare for the battle of Armageddon. Armageddon, as I understand, is the final battle forecast in the last book of a much-patched sacred text of a hybrid religion, Christianity. The King James, or Authorized Version, is one of the poorest...

Thomas describes slayings By Jerrie Whiteley Herald Democrat Editor's note: This article contains graphic details. Reader discretion is advised. After listening to an hour-long, audiotaped confession in which Andre Thomas described killing three people, the jurors who will decide his fate were given a break. Thomas faces three counts of capital murder in the deaths of his estranged wife Laura Boren Thomas, their son, Andre Boren and her daughter Leyha Hughes. The trial going on this week concerns the death of Leyha Hughes. After prosecutors rested their case, Judge James Fry told the jury that defense attorneys Bobbie Peterson and...

I couldn't find this posted anywhere nor does it appear on Drudge's site, but on his radio show tonight, he was citing a report that in some Ohio counties, there were more people registered to vote than there were citizens in those counties per the latest census. When asked how this could be, the democrats (I believe) replied that more people moved into those counties after the census.

MERCER COUNTY - State police have stopped hundreds of illegal aliens along Interstate 80 this year, but only one in four is taken into custody. The reason for the low arrest rate is that immigration officials have put a lower priority on such cases. "In Pennsylvania, we prioritize your airports and national security interests, electric facilities, dams, power plants . . . we also prioritize criminal aliens that present public safety risks, such as drug dealers, child sex predators, murders and perpetrators of sexual assault," said Russ Knocke, director of public affairs for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A roadside bomb containing sarin nerve agent (search) recently exploded near a U.S. military convoy, the U.S. military said Monday. Bush administration officials told Fox News that mustard gas (search) was also recently discovered. Two people were treated for "minor exposure" after the sarin incident but no serious injuries were reported. Soldiers transporting the shell for inspection suffered symptoms consistent with low-level chemical exposure, which is what led to the discovery, a U.S. official told Fox News.

Editor in Chief Brandon Ortiz is a senior news-editorial journalism major from Fort Worth It is a custom here at the Skiff for graduating editors to write a column thanking everyone who has helped them and impart some words of wisdom to the young’uns. There are so many people for me to thank that I’m not going to list them all — I’m too afraid of leaving somebody out. But you know who you are, and I sincerely thank you. With that out of the way, I will now devote the rest of this space to explaining why George W....