Free Republic

Classic flick about the clash between emotional anti-gun war widow and a WW2 veteran (Sterling Hayden) who is sheriff of a small town where the POTUS is set to pass through. A psycho (Frank Sinatra) is planning to beat the odds and take him out. Grand old character actor James Gleason plays the lady's father-in-law, and has the honor to deliver the line: "When the old boys wrote those words 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,' they sounded mighty nice -- but they wouldn't've been worth a plug nickel if somebody hadn't made 'em stick."

The recession is hitting state and city budgets hard in the new fiscal year that starts on July 1. They are responding by firing workers, reducing services, and even increasing taxes. Massive federal aid is the only real solution. The new fiscal year for 46 states and many cities begins on Wednesday. And a flood of red ink caused by the deep pandemic recession is forcing them to fire workers, reduce spending and services, and even raise taxes (one of the worst things you can do in a recession). Without Congress providing up to $1 trillion in federal aid, non-federal...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law marking May 22 as Harvey Milk Day, in honor of the slain gay-rights activist. The law encourages schools and other educational institutions to commemorate the day each year with discussions and other exercises that help students better understand Milk's significance on California politics and the gay-rights movement.

Lionized by Hollywood and California state legislators, the real Milk was a demagogue and pal of Jim Jones. This Friday would have been slain San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk’s 79th birthday, and California state senator Mark Leno has introduced legislation to mark the date with a state holiday. The bill doesn’t call for a furlough from work, but instead instructs the governor to proclaim a “Harvey Milk Day” and designates “that date as having special significance in the public schools and educational institutions” and encourages them to “conduct suitable commemorative exercises.” The legislation passed muster with the state senate in...

The San Francisco Arts Commission is seeking proposals from artists to create a sculpture at City Hall of Harvey Milk, the city's first openly gay elected official. Artists should submit their proposals by Aug. 1. Three finalists will be selected and paid $2,500 each to produce a model for a bronze statue. The models will be put on public display to let city residents offer their opinions on the designs.

<p>When University of San Francisco Professor Peter Novak proposed to his students that they produce a series of events commemorating the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, he got a shock -- most of his students had not heard of Moscone or Milk.</p>