Free Republic

When asked how they would "heal" after the loss of space shuttle Columbia, NASA's engineers responded as one: NASA heals by solving yesterday's problems and launching the next mission. So, indeed, does the American nation. Thus, before the grief had fully faded into memory, we began asking ourselves what had gone wrong, and how to solve it. Many solutions have been proposed, from the incremental (such as safety upgrades and improved inspections) to the radical (such as a new breed of space vehicles powered by plasma engines). But the most radical change, the one that would improve space exploration most...

Missed opportunity It is unfortunate to see our sheriffs and police chiefs miss an opportunity to make an impact like they did with the upcoming permit to carry bill. Since this bill has a very good chance to pass, it would seem the people who make police department policies would offer constructive criticism to ensure the bill has the public's and patrol officers' safety in mind. Instead, the peace officers try to save their dictatorial power in issuing permits. They missed an opportunity for a few simple guidelines for these citizens to follow while in possession of a handgun. As...

Llewelyn Rockwell, the leading intellectual influence of the paleo-libertarian right, was interviewed last night by Bill Moyers on PBS, and if any doubts had remained about the character of Rockwell and movement he leads, they were settled by this program. Asked his principles of when war is justified, he gave as an example of an unjustifiable war the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, which he said was carried out for no other reason than to strike out at somebody, anybody. Asked if he thought Saddam Hussein was evil, Rockwell said, of course he’s evil, he’s a politician. Asked if he feared...

SELMA, CALIF.--Victor Davis Hanson's grape farm here is 3 miles straight down Mountain View Road from the Sun-Maid raisin plant his vineyards supply. Orderly rows of Thompson grapevines, dry and bare in the chill of California winter, surround a modest, two-story gray farmhouse. Inside, black-and-white family photos stretch back five generations, evidence of a family clinging to this land since the railroad brought them from Missouri in 1872. There is no room for nuance here. With just 135 acres of vineyards, equivocation has immediate and very real consequences. Vines are tended properly, or grapes don't grow; fields are irrigated, or...

IIP Home | Africa Issues Friday 7 February 2003 Fact Sheet: Somali-Bantu Refugees to Find New Lives in United States About 12,000 will be vetted for resettlement in 50 U.S. towns The first Somali Bantu refugees will arrive in the United States in the spring of 2003 to begin new lives, according to a Fact Sheet released by the U.S. Department of State February 5. The UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) has attempted for many years to find permanent resettlement sites for them. Approximately 12,000 refugees under consideration for admission to the U.S. spent most of the...

I post on another board with regularity. And it seems that I'm in a discussion with some pro gun control folks concerning my right to keep and bear arms. I remember seeing some articles posted here some time ago concerning one of the big wigs involved with gun control advocates being dismissed from his position for falsifying his statistical results. At the time there were quite a few posts concering it. My question is! Who was the person and what was thier name, and position? It seems that if I remember correctly they may have been a college prof. Any...

The Gun Protest Ban Against Dr. Edward Hudson by Pierre Lemieux How do you kill civil disobedience? It's quite simple: just forbid it. This was done on January 30 by a criminal court in the Province of Ontario (Canada). Among the conditions for his release until his trial, Dr. Edward Hudson has been ordered "not to participate in any public rally or public gun protest in Canada." A comrade at arms, Korean War veteran Jim Turnbull, has been subjected to similar conditions. Just after noon on January 30, Dr. Hudson was led limping into the glass-protected court dock by a...

Adopted in 1888, the .303 arrived in the midst of a huge global upheaval in small arms development. It really was a bit much - one had just adopted a single shot breechloading black powder military rifle in a then gee-whiz smallbore .45 calibre (the.450 Martini-Henry), which had all seemed pretty state-of-the-art at the time, and now there were all these .30 calibre repeating rifles with jacketed bullets propelled by some new fangled smokeless powder.~ Furthermore, velocities now approached (and even exceeded) TWO THOUSAND FEET PER SECOND! This was almost unbelievable in the black powder era, and opened up boundless...

The Decline of the WASPs Revisited By Robert Locke FrontPageMagazine.com | February 19, 2003 One of the great mysteries of modern American history is why the old White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) establishment abdicated its traditional rule in the late 1960’s. This was one of the key events that caused the 60’s to get out of hand. Nobody living in the politically-correct atmosphere of today can be unaware of this establishment’s faults, but as conservatives we can’t help being aware of its virtues, either. Despite the nonsense said about it by the Left, it was the most enlightened ruling class in...