Free Republic

The American public is losing its patience with President Obama over his handling of the Gulf Coast oil spill. In the five weeks since an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig sent hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico, Obama had largely escaped political fallout. But as BP attempts yet again to seal the leak, a new USA Today/Gallup Poll finds a majority of Americans unhappy with Obama's handling of the spill. According to the poll, 53 percent rate Obama's handling "poor" or "very poor"; 43 percent believe Obama is doing a good...

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), based in San Diego, set sail Jan. 5 for the Indian Ocean area as part of relief efforts following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that recently struck the region. The Navy has deployed Mercy in an imaginative way, utilizing a creative approach to provide the type and level of care that will be needed to aid the tsunami victims. There is presently an opportunity to configure Mercy with a humanitarian assistance crew - which might be staffed significantly by nongovernmental organizations and people with significant medical capability who can provide...

Hams Demand Apology By TIME Magazine: Hams around the U.S.A., and in other nations as well, have been writing to TIME Magazine. They are demanding an apology from TIME for failing to edit out a slur against ham radio in TIME's December 31, 2004 issue. That edition featured an article by Lev Grossman about Internet blogging. At one point, Mr. Grossman wrote this: “Before this year, blogs were a curiosity, a cult phenomenon, a faintly embarrassing hobby on the order of ham radio and stamp collecting.” KEN LINDER KC7RAD was apparently the first to spot this statement and started a...

This is a message to my fellow professional (and amateur) artists:The plight of the people victimzed in the South Asia Tsunami Disaster has touched the world. We all want to help them, but, besides donating as much as we can to the various relief agencies involved in the global aid effort, what can any of us really do? As artists, it’s our duty to use the abilities God has given us to help our fellow men, but how can art help people who need food, water, medicine, clothes, and hope? I think I may have discovered a way. While there’s...

BALTIMORE (AP) - Catholic Relief Services is pledging $25 million for emergency relief and long-term programs to help people in southeast Asia recover from the tsunami that has killed more than 117,000 people and left millions without clean water, shelter, food or medicine. The amount committed by the Baltimore-based group, which is the official international humanitarian organization of the U.S. Catholic community, is one of the largest to date. It's only $10 million less than the money initially pledged by the U.S. government for emergency aid. "We must brace for the commitment this emergency asks of us and be as...

Blaze, smoke engulf victims within seconds 02/22/2003 BY JENNIFER LEVITZ and ZACHARY R. MIDER Journal Staff Writers WEST WARWICK -- A fireworks display exploded into flames at a small-town nightclub, killing at least 96 people, injuring another 180, and turning a carefree night of rock 'n' roll into the worst disaster in Rhode Island since the Hurricane of 1938. There were up to 360 people in The Station in West Warwick around 11 p.m. Thursday as the band, Great White, launched into its first song, "Desert Moon." Pyrotechnics ignited on the back of the stage. Within 20 seconds, the club...