Free Republic

SHULLSBURG - After weeks of considering the options and the best possible fit for the Shullsburg School District, the board of education decided at a special meeting May 23 to move all teaching staff into the CESA #3 coop for health insurance coverage. The district's support staff and administration are already part of the coop, explained district administrator Loras Kruser. As a result of the move, which will begin July 1, the district will save a projected $86,654 over the current health insurance plan the district has with WEA, according to Kruser. Rates vary depending on whether staff members select...

Candidates for Wisconsin’s third district congressional seat will hold a debate from 7-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at Pioneer Crossing in the Pioneer Student Center. The debate is being co-hosted by UW-Platteville and the Platteville Chamber of Commerce. Incumbent Ron Kind, a Democrat who has held the seat since winning election in 1996, is facing challenges this election season from Republican Dan Kapanke and Independent Michael Krsiean. “I’ve already had a few debates with [Kapanke] and I’m looking forward to have the opportunity to get Representative Kind in the mix,” said Krsiean. Krsiean said that as an Independent, his...

The FBI has arrested a Platteville Police Officer, charging her with smoking crack cocaine. The news came as a shock to the small police department. Monday afternoon Platteville Police Chief Doug McKinley got a visit from the FBI. "They let us know that they'd had an ongoing investigation concerning a member of our department." Officer Michelle Salentine was arrested without incident when she reported for duty. She appeared in federal court Tuesday, accused of smoking crack cocaine. Salentine joined the Platteville Police Department in September of 2004. "Been a very good officer, but apparently had some things going on that...

I'd like to hear from all the FReeper guitarists out there!

We often get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life in the big city and suburbia. We so easily forget that just a short drive away are some of the most scenic, relaxing, and simply fun destinations in the country. Do yourself and your family a favor and take some time to get away from the craziness of life and the stress of the current economy. Visit a few areas of the Southeast United States that are considered by many to be "hidden gems". Mountain Rest, South Carolina Who can say no to a name like Mountain Rest?...

WASHINGTON -- The leading candidate to run the Treasury Department's $700 billion bailout program has withdrawn his name from consideration, according to people familiar with the matter. Frank Brosens, a hedge-fund manager and big Democratic donor, was considered the top contender to run the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is now considering several other candidates, including Herb Allison, who currently heads mortgage titan Fannie Mae.

Calexico, Calif. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Calexico, Calif. east commercial facility detained a Mexican truck driver after they discovered 8.85 tons of marijuana commingled with a shipment of television screens at the port Friday afternoon, Port Director Billy Whitford said today. The 25-year-old driver, a resident of Mexicali, was registered in the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program and was driving a 1992 GMC tractor-trailer with a shipment manifested as flat screen televisions. As the truck waited in line to enter the U.S. through the FAST lane at about 4:20 p.m., CBP canine officers conducted...

Fed up with what they see as poor management and a lack of support for those on the frontline, U.S. Border Patrol agents Monday announced a lack of confidence in their leadership. Amid rallies in Washington D.C. focusing on illegal immigration, leaders of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) - the union representing the country's 11,000 non-supervisory border agents - announced it had cast a unanimous no-confidence vote in U.S. Border Patrol Chief David V. Aguilar. The 100-0 vote stemmed from complaints that field agents lack support from the top, a situation they say is exemplified by the case of...

College faculties, long assumed to be a liberal bastion, lean further to the left than even the most conspiratorial conservatives might have imagined, a new study says. By their own description, 72 percent of those teaching at American universities and colleges are liberal and 15 percent are conservative, says the study being published this week. The imbalance is almost as striking in partisan terms, with 50 percent of the faculty members surveyed identifying themselves as Democrats and 11 percent as Republicans. The most liberal faculties are those devoted to the humanities (81 percent) and social sciences (75 percent), according to...

We're still a week away from the election, but one race is already over. Voters won't have much choice next Tuesday in the State Senate race for District One, after a judge's decision that the challenger isn't qualified to run. Mell Traylor is originally from Savannah, but lives most of the time on Hilton Head Island. He tried to claim residency at a cousin's house in Savannah, but Monday, a judge ruled against him. There was a special hearing on the residency issue last week, during which that cousin acknowledged Traylor does not live with him. Incumbent Eric Johnson says...

Please join me in welcoming my daughter, Ankica Evelyn, into the world. She arrived at 0027 on Saturday morning, weighing eight pounds even. She has brown hair and (so far) blue eyes. Baby and Mom, the FReeper Terabyte (which is why I'm Terabitten), are doing well. We had a bit of a scare in that Mom had some complications that required unplanned surgery. By the unfailing and undeserved grace of our Lord, Mom came through fine and is recovering nicely. Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all my days.

Hurricanes sparked a tragic migration from the Gulf Coast, and changed the state forever Craig Schneider, Anna Varela - Staff Sunday, February 26, 2006 It's taken a lot of helping hands to prop up Connie McDowell's life. After Hurricane Katrina wrecked her home near New Orleans, she moved to Cobb County, three children in tow, no job in sight, and a lifetime of possessions washed away. She needed help. Crosspoint Presbyterian Church off South Cobb Drive provided clothes and meals. The Latin American Association helped pay the deposit on an apartment. The federal government provided some money. And Homestretch, a...

Galloway vs. Hitchens: Western Civilization Wins Written by Cinnamon Stillwell Saturday, September 24, 2005 When British Respect Party MP George Galloway spoke before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee regarding allegations that he’d personally profited from the U.N. oil-for-food scandal, he was hailed as a hero to the American anti-war movement. Galloway’s defiance in the face of the U.S. government thrilled his fans on the left, who probably didn’t much care whether or not he’d been cited six times as an oil contract beneficiary by the former Iraqi Minister of Oil. Of course, Galloway denied it all, but he certainly gave a...

I just got the following release from the family support group leader of 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry (my old unit). These four brave men were my friends. Please pray for their families in their time of mourning, and pray for victory, that their deaths will not be in vain. These soldiers are from Alpha Company, 2-121st Infantry Regiment. They were killed on 24 July 2005 in Baghdad, Iraq when an IED detonated near their Humvee while on patrol. SPC Jacques (Gus) Earl Brunson, age 30, from Americus, Georgia. SSG Carl Ray Fuller, age 44, from Covington, Georgia. SGT James Ondra...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs told Congress that its health care costs grew faster than expected and left a $1 billion hole in its budget this year, lawmakers said Thursday. House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer, the Republican from Indiana, said the department can meet this year's health care costs by drawing on spare funds and money from other operations, including building construction. But next year's health care budget falls well over $1 billion short, said Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho. "I was on the phone this morning with Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson letting him...

Vests Nation’s Largest Maker of Body Armor Warns of Potential for Premature Failure of Body Armor Containing Zylon Central Lake, Michigan, June 22, 2005 - In a decision to protect the lives of public safety officers, Second Chance Body Armor is recommending the immediate replacement of any of its bullet-resistant vests containing Zylon® fiber. The country’s largest manufacturer of body armor has issued two safety notices to police departments across the nation after new research from one of the nation’s leading polymer chemists has shown that protective vests constructed only partially from Zylon may fail to perform and result in...

DENVER—An exhaustive investigation by Bob Newman of Newsradio 850 KOA (Denver), who is also a frequent guest military & terrorism analyst on the FOX News Channel and a Men's News Daily columnist, into the genuine Vietnam service record of radical University of Colorado Professor Ward Churchill, has revealed that Churchill’s claimed combat experience is in direct contradiction to his official military records. After a confidential source provided Mr. Newman with documents pertaining to Professor Churchill’s military service and his employment at the University of Colorado, Mr. Newman began an investigation into the documents’ authenticity. Using his own sources and calling...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A Fort Stewart, Ga., soldier credited with saving dozens of lives by beating back an Iraqi attack before he was killed will receive the first Medal of Honor awarded since 1993, according to the officer who nominated him. Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, 33, of the Tampa Bay area, was killed in action when his outnumbered unit was attacked by Iraqi forces at the Baghdad airport on April 4, 2003. Lt. Col. Thomas Smith on Tuesday notified the soldier's wife, Birgit, that President Bush would present the nation's highest award to her and their children,...

WASHINGTON - Cynthia McKinney still prefers an aisle seat, even if her fiercest foe takes the aisle. When President Bush walks through the doors of the House chamber Wednesday night to deliver the State of the Union address, the congresswoman again plans to be standing in his path, ready to shake his hand and smile for the cameras. "I don't know that it's anything that's going to change public policy, but it certainly does make the constituents feel good to know I'm there and they can see me participate," McKinney, D-Ga., said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press....

"Some People Push Back" On the Justice of Roosting Chickens By Ward Churchill When queried by reporters concerning his views on the assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963, Malcolm X famously – and quite charitably, all things considered – replied that it was merely a case of "chickens coming home to roost." On the morning of September 11, 2001, a few more chickens – along with some half-million dead Iraqi children – came home to roost in a very big way at the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center. Well, actually, a few of them seem...