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WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers voiced their confusion and concern over the sweeping secret surveillance programs revealed recently, after receiving an unusual briefing on the government's yearslong collection of phone records and Internet usage. "People aren't satisfied," Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., said as he left the briefing Tuesday. "More detail needs to come out." -- Some congressmen acknowledged they'd been caught unawares by the scope of the programs, having skipped previous briefings by the intelligence committees. "I think Congress has really found itself a little bit asleep at the wheel," Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., said. Many leaving the forum declared themselves...

WASHINGTON (CBSDC) – With the use of domestic drones increasing, concern has not just come up over privacy issues, but also over the potential use of lethal force by the unmanned aircraft. Drones have been used overseas to target and kill high-level terror leaders and are also being used along the U.S.-Mexico border in the battle against illegal immigration. But now, these drones are starting to be used domestically at an increasing rate. The Federal Aviation Administration has allowed several police departments to use drones across the U.S. They are controlled from a remote location and use infrared sensors and...

The United States is worried that Shaul Mofaz and his Kadima party’s joining a unity government with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu could result in an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities at any given moment, according to a report on Channel 10 News on Thursday. U.S. government officials told Channel 10 News that they believe a Likud-Kadima joing government could make a decision about an Israeli attack on Iran at any moment and perhaps even before the U.S. presidential elections in November. .....

Someone alert Glenn Beck. Last year NPR announced that it was accepting $1.8 million from the Open Society Foundations, which you likely know is funded by George Soros. The money is being used to fund a local-national initiative, known as the Impact on Government project. According to NPR the plan is to have two public radio reporters in every state keeping tabs on state government issues. So far, so good? Not really. The NPR newsroom was apparently less than thrilled that NPR had accepted Soros money.

As the H1N1 flu outbreak strikes the U.S. early and hard, health officials are pointing to a worrisome number of child deaths and warn that supplies of vaccine will remain scarce for at least the next couple of weeks. Delays in producing the vaccine mean 28 million to 30 million doses, at most, will be divided around the country by the end of the month, not the 40 million-plus doses that states had been expecting. The new count from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention means anxiously awaited flu-shot clinics in some parts of the U.S. may have to...

Ok, so like most on this thread I have called and written my senators, Congressmen and Governor. Out of the 12-15 correspondences I have not one single reply. I have gone to the TEA parties, 9/12 in DC and a Town Hall. I have written in our local paper, continue to send and forward emails and PRAY EVERY SINGLE DAY! However, last night I had a very disturbing dream which delved deep into my psyche... Honestly, I am concerned. More than I wanted to admit and more than I ever thought. I am concerned for my children, for my job,...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is currently safe, but Washington has "concerns" over what could happen if the advancing Taliban topples the government, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an interview with Fox News. The security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is "an issue that we have very adamant assurances about from the Pakistani military and government. We've done a lot of work over the years evaluating that," Clinton told Fox News in an interview in Baghdad. "I think that the current thinking of our government is that it is safe," she said, according to a transcript of the...

US officials are publicly taking a wait-and-see approach to the formation of a new Israeli government, but privately many have expressed concern that Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu might preside over a right-wing coalition. Arabs see little hope for peace from whatever government emerges "There would be great unease" at the prospect of such a government, said one Capitol Hill source. He predicted that a governing coalition of parties from the Right could embolden the left flank of the Democratic party and turn up pressure, particularly in the US Congress, to pass measures that made clear demands on Israel. He distinguished,...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2007 – Iraqi citizens are increasingly coming together to voluntarily battle al Qaeda in Iraq, thereby saving American lives and reshaping military operations in the country, a coalition commander said today. “The willingness of the Sunni population to turn on (al Qaeda) has been a watershed in this war; there’s no other word for it,” Army Col. Martin Stanton told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Baghdad. Stanton is chief of reconciliation and engagement for Multinational Corps Iraq. “The ‘concerned local citizens’ are responsible for a significant drop in U.S. casualties,” he said. For...

FOB KALSU – Members of the Concerned Local Citizens program in Hawr Rajab found several improvised explosive devices and explosive materials and took them to Coalition Forces for safe disposal Oct. 23. In three separate locations, concerned citizens led Soldiers to caches that contained one 122mm artillery shell, four two-liter bottles of homemade explosives, a bundle of four 57mm rounds and four blasting caps. The citizens claimed that one cache was found in a home belonging to an individual on the Coalition’s wanted list. All materials were destroyed in a controlled detonation pit at ECP 20, a joint security site...

A journalist listed as a potential Army witness in the case of an officer refusing to go to Iraq is concerned the military is threatening free speech and free press rights as it builds its case against the soldier. Sarah Olson, a radio producer and freelance journalist in Oakland, Calif., is one of two reporters listed as potential witnesses in the government's case against 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, his attorney Eric Seitz said. The officer refused to deploy to Iraq on June 22 with his Stryker unit, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division based at Fort Lewis, about 50 miles...

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2006 – The Marine Corps will get to the bottom of allegations that some of its members wrongly killed a number of civilians during two separate operations in Iraq, the organization's commandant told reporters here today. Gen. Michael Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, said during a Pentagon press briefing June 7 that three Marine officers, a battalion commander and two company commanders, have been relieved of duty while investigations continue on two incidents of Marines' alleged misconduct in Iraq. Photo by Helene C. Stikkel  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. At a Pentagon news briefing,...

SAN DIEGO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sounded more conciliatory Thursday toward President Bush's plan to send 6,000 National Guard troops to the Mexican border, but the governor's advisers said he still has not decided whether to participate. "If that will help to prevent people from coming across the border for right now, then we are more than happy to join in and to help temporarily," Schwarzenegger said. "But it definitely should not be a permanent solution." Schwarzenegger is concerned that California Guardsmen will be caught up in an open-ended mission on the border that could drag beyond the two years...

The divide between conservative and liberal America was on full display at the Oscars, with both the winners and losers championing social and political topics heralded by the left. Across the United States, in blogs and on call-in radio talk shows, conservatives seethed that their point of view was not represented in the choice films honored with nominations -- let alone among those given awards. "This year's Oscar nominees include stories of homosexual sheep herders, a transvestite and Japanese prostitutes," ... American conservatives are accustomed to frowning at liberal Hollywood, but they were more disaffected than ever by the left-of-center...

WASHINGTON - Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday said he has "significant concerns" about Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, calling President Bush's latest choice one of the most conservative judges in the United States. "A picture of Sam Alito is emerging that may explain why the extreme right-wing is popping champagne corks," Reid, D-Nev., said in a Senate speech, referring to a 20-year-old document in which Alito asserted "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion." Abortion rights activists are concerned that Alito and recently confirmed Chief Justice John Roberts would move the Supreme Court to the...

DES MOINES, Iowa - The nation's governors voiced sharp worries Saturday for the National Guard troops they share with the federal government, with concerns about recruitment targets, benefits and job prospects. Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee, incoming chairman of the National Governors Association, said more attention must be paid to the needs of guardsmen returning from overseas deployments, especially younger Guard members who need to find work. More than 30 governors gathered here for their summer meeting. Both Democrats and Republicans said changes caused by the huge demands placed on the Guard and Reserves for the war in Iraq need more...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council expressed serious concern on Thursday at the flare-up of fighting between Hizbollah guerrillas and Israel in a disputed Syria-Lebanese border zone. The 15-member body called on Lebanon to extend control over the entire country by deploying its army in all areas and "to put an end to all attacks emanating from its territory." The Security Council last September demanded foreign forces withdraw from Lebanon and militia, like Hizbollah, be disarmed. "In this context, they expressed serious concerns at (Wednesday's) attack," the council said in a press statement. On Thursday, Israeli helicopters struck...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

<p>Hi, I am a life-long republican from Iowa, and am very concerned with the direction the Republican party is going. As a man of faith, I am very skeptical that George Bush holds the same faiths I do, I feel he politicizes it FAR too much. I hope this is a true and open dialogue so that we may keep to our values and keep “the good” in office. I want my two children to grow up in a country with real Republican values, many of which reflect the Christian household I was brought up in. I was also taught there MUST be a separation of church and state, a small government, and compassion for fellow man are necessary. I want to live in a country where I can speak my mind about the issues that matter to me without fear.</p>

WASHINGTON (AP) - Half of Americans have concerns that terrorists might be winning the war on terrorism, and one in five feels strongly that way, according to an Associated Press poll that found many people pessimistic about their security. Fears about an attack against this country are high. Two-thirds in the poll said it was likely terrorists would strike before the November elections. And a third said it was likely there would be an attack at one of the political conventions this summer. More than 30 months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, two-thirds of Americans acknowledge some concern that...