Free Republic

Here is the uncomfortable question every Republican senator must ask: at what point is it more of a liability than an asset to have Mitch McConnell serving as Majority Leader instead of Harry Reid? At what point do you bench the player who grounds out into a double play every time he comes to the plate? He [McConnell] has now decided to shut off all debate and join Democrats in blocking Senator Rubio’s (R-FL) amendment, which would have forced Iran to recognize Israel’s right to exist. As we’ve noted, McConnell is not only committed to passing bills supported by Democrats,...

Why one cop carries 145 rounds of ammo on the job Before the call that changed Sergeant Timothy Gramins’ life forever, he typically carried 47 rounds of handgun ammunition on his person while on duty. Today, he carries 145, “every day, without fail.” He detailed the gunfight that caused the difference in a gripping presentation at the annual conference of the Assn. of SWAT Personnel-Wisconsin. .related-content-container span p {font-size: 13px; font-family: Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;} .h2_sidebars_article { background:none repeat scroll 0 0 transparent; border-color: #18347B; border-style:none none solid; border-width:medium medium 3px; color:#000000; font-size:15px; font-weight:700; margin-bottom:10px; margin-top:0; padding-bottom:1px; text-align:left; white-space: nowrap;} At the core...

Josh Ripley didn't have to stop. Running in a recent cross country meet for Andover (Minn.) High, the junior varsity runner was making his way through the trail at the Applejack Invite when he heard a loud scream during the first mile of a two-mile race. Most of the other kids running didn't pay much attention to Lakeville South runner Mark Paulauskas, who was writhing in pain at the time, as they passed by. The only person who decided to pay attention was Ripley. As an Anoka-Hennepin school district release reported, Ripley immediately noticed Paulauskas holding his bloody ankle. Then,...

Analysis: Taking on al-Sadr Carries Risk Wednesday August 30, 2006 6:46 PM By ROBERT H. REID Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - This week's intense clashes between the Iraqi army and a Shiite militia are part of a strategy to whittle away the power of a radical cleric. But the high-risk gambit could trigger more fighting across the Shiite south - at a time when the cleric's stronghold in the capital is virtually off-limits. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has promised to disband militias, including the Mahdi Army of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, as a way to curb the sectarian...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (March 2, 2006) -- Karla Comfort received a lot of looks and even some salutes from people when she drove from Benton, Ark., to Camp Pendleton, Calif., in her newly-painted, custom Hummer H3 March 2. The vehicle is adorned with the likeness of her son, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. John M. Holmason, and nine other Marines with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division who where all killed by the same improvised explosive device blast in Fallujah, Iraq, in December. For Comfort, having the vehicle air brushed with the image of the...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2005 – At Camp Fallujah, Iraq, today, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld passed a box to the camp's sergeant major. The sergeant major then distributed the contents - handfuls of pre-paid calling cards -- to Marines serving there. "The timing on this is great," said Lance Cpl. Nicholas Lutz, a mechanic with the 8th Marines. "It was going to be a short call home for Christmas, but with this it'll be a much better visit with my family." Other Marines cheered when they saw what the sergeant major was handing out, a DoD official traveling with Rumsfeld...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Nov. 22, 2005) -- For many Marines, the Corps becomes a surrogate family as soon as young recruits step on the yellow footprints at Marine Corps Recruit Depots. But, for Lance Cpl. Shannon M. Flaherty, a Sewell, N.J., native, joining the Marine Corps was just another page out of her family’s history book. Flaherty, a 23-year-old, CH-53 avionics technician with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 466, is a third-generation Marine. Fate, chance or a combination of both recently brought Flaherty and her father Chief Warrant Officer 3 James M. Flaherty together for a few days in an unlikely...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 16, 2005) -- America has been a haven for people to build a path for fulfilling their dreams. The Marine Corps has given one Marine a stone to begin. Lance Cpl. Joon-Hyun Ryu, 20, was born in Korea, but moved to the United States with his mother to grasp the opportunities available in America. “My parents wanted me to have a better opportunity for education,” said Ryu, a refrigeration mechanic assigned to 8th Communication Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD). “I started learning the alphabet on the plane to America.” Ryu, a reserve Marine, said he...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Saving the endangered delta smelt, a tiny fish considered a key indicator of the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a report to be released Thursday. The price tag includes projects that also could aid other troubled species and the overall ecology of the delta, which provides drinking water to more than 70 percent of Californians. This summer, scientists said the delta smelt population had fallen to its lowest level since scientific measurements began in 1959. Three other bellwether fish populations also are at record or near-record...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Calling Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger out of touch with voters, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez said Thursday that the Legislature's Democratic majority would consider the governor's proposals to restructure government when ready but were not worried about facing him in a special election. Nunez, D-Los Angeles, criticized Schwarzenegger's plans to bring four sweeping constitutional amendments to voters later this year as "cowboy politics" that seeks to bypass negotiations over the issues with lawmakers. "This is a governor that is strictly a pro-big business governor," said Nunez. "This is not a people's agenda; this is a corporate agenda." Schwarzenegger's constitutional...

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - On the campaign trail, Teresa Heinz Kerry is soft-voiced, elegant and eloquent, and practices a brand of politics rarely heard from the wife of a presidential candidate. She speaks her mind and doesn't let anyone else speak for her. Her opinions are both personal and partisan and she delivers them with aplomb, as she demonstrated in the course of a day of barnstorming for her husband, Democratic presidential contender John Kerry of Massachusetts. Bouncing through a series of meetings and interviews in recession-plagued Midwest towns, Heinz Kerry responded promptly to a question about first lady Laura Bush...

<p>The long-term prospects for California's sputtering economy to return to prosperity look bright, a Palo Alto research group predicted Wednesday.</p> <p>But there's one dark cloud hovering over the road to recovery: The partisan bickering that has all but paralyzed the state Capitol.</p>