Free Republic

Why is Dr. Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State who has said that she will not run for president in 2008, the GOP's best option to win the White House in said year? The polls have consistently shown that there are only three Republicans who can beat the major Democratic contenders in 2008. Those three Republicans are Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and Condoleezza Rice. However, there is only one candidate that is acceptable to the GOP out of those three: Condi Rice. Giuliani could win the general election hands down, but he is a notoriously hardcore social liberal who would...

Vince Young announced Sunday that he is skipping his senior season as quarterback for the national champion Texas Longhorns and will enter the NFL draft. "I've decided to enter the draft this year and go to the NFL," Young said in a news conference on the University of Texas campus. "I know that everybody is behind me, and I thank God for that. I won't let ya'll down." Young said he made the decision after meeting with his pastor and family. He vowed to complete the requirements for his college degree. "I want to thank God for this opportunity to...

Nothing could better prove the New World Order/Internationalist/World Federation conspiracies than the attempts by the left (and somewhat President Bush) to minimalize the value of being an United States Citizen.Illegal immigrants have been given nearly full citizenship rights - without being Americanized or Naturalized.Islamic enemy combatants have also been afforded Constitutional rights - even while actively terrorizing the United States. What's with Dual and Tri citizenship?Below is the highly ignored "Oath Of Citizenship" from the United States Citizenship And Immigration Service.The Oath of Citizenship"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity...

What age did you join the Military and why? What motovate you? Any regrets? What would advise a young person to do these days?

The former Vermont governor was excused from the draft in 1970 when X-rays showed he had a bad back, although Dean said in an interview that he "probably" could have served, The New York Times reported yesterday. Two other candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination — John Kerry, D-Mass., and retired Gen. Wesley Clark — fought and were wounded and decorated for service in Vietnam. The two declined to criticize Dean for his draft deferment, which was approved by the Selective Service. But a Clark spokesman said Clark's years of military service and term as supreme allied commander of NATO...

Debunking The Myth Of The Underprivileged Soldier By Tim Kane and James Jay Carafano, USA Today They all volunteered. The U.S. soldiers pitching in with hurricane relief along the Gulf Coast and those fighting and dying in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere decided, on their own, to serve their nation. Or was the decision made so freely? Could it be that unscrupulous Pentagon recruiters duped them, taking advantage of their poverty, their lack of education and the bleak futures they share as members of the USA's urban underclass? That's the view of some critics, such as New York Times columnist Bob...

I READ with wry amusement the article from a college senior deploring the apathetic state of protest from the current college generation (''Antiwar activists, where are you?" op ed, Nov. 7). Writer Victoria Bonney seems surprised that there are not massive, Vietnam-style antiwar protests against the conflict in Iraq. Obviously she does not understand what was the primary motivator that fueled these protests among college students of the 1960s and early 1970s -- the prospect of being drafted and ending up in Vietnam. So you can cloak the Vietnam protest in noble- sounding rhetoric, but at the heart it was...

Ali does the "Rope-a-Dope" on Bush. This draft dodger, Cassius Clay, changed his name to Muhammad Ali and became a Muslim in order to avoid serving his country during the Vietnam war. For some reason (does anyone know?) everyone now loves to kiss his ass. What did he ever do for his country to deserve this honor? As a further insult, they do it right before Veterans Day.

Facing draft, Alito joined Army Reserve Wednesday, November 2, 2005; Posted: 10:42 p.m. EST (03:42 GMT) WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito joined the Army Reserve while he was a college student because his lottery number had made it likely he would be drafted for the Vietnam War, college roommates said Wednesday. Alito was part of the Army's ROTC program during his years at Princeton -- 1968 to 1972 -- a period when the war in Southeast Asia escalated and more American men were drafted. In 1971, President Nixon ended student deferments, increasing the pool of potential military...

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's landmark constitution was adopted by a majority of voters during the country's Oct. 15 referendum, as Sunni Arab opponents failed to muster enough support to defeat it, election officials said Tuesday. Results released by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq showed that Sunni Arabs, who had sharply opposed the draft document, failed to produce the two-thirds "no" vote they would have needed in at least three of Iraq's 18 provinces to defeat it. Nationwide, 78.59 percent voted for the charter while 21.41 percent voted against, the commission said. The charter required a simple majority nationwide with...

Yes, I filled it out and mailed it. No, I don't think a draft is imminent. Yes, I think it's an honor. And yes, I think it's prudent to have the mechanisms in place just in case.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2005 – The draft constitution signed in Iraq today provides a strong basis for further progress in Iraq and will adapt to remain relevant as the country changes, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq said today. On NBC's "Meet the Press," Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said that even though not all parties are completely satisfied with the draft, it represents a "synthesis between the universal principles of democracy and human rights, and Iraqi traditions and Islam." He said that, like all constitutions, this is not a one-time document and will be revised as necessary in the future. "This is...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - In another dramatic last-minute standoff, Iraqi leaders late Monday put off a vote on a the country's new constitution, adjourning Parliament at a midnight deadline in order to gain time to try to win over the Sunni Arab minority whose support is key to ending the insurgency. Negotiators finished the draft constitution Monday and prepared to submit it to parliament as the lawmakers convened minutes before a midnight deadline. But the negotiators withdrew the draft in the final minutes because of fierce resistance from Sunnis over the issue of federalism, which they fear could cut them out...

OTTAWA -- Let's start from this simple premise: Sidney Crosby cannot possibly be as good as people expect him to be. How could he? If NASA and IBM joined forces and took the heart of Maurice "Rocket" Richard, the hockey mind of Wayne Gretzky, the leadership qualities of Mark Messier and Mike Bossy's shot and created their own super-player, such a creation would still fail to meet the expectations heaped on the slender shoulders of the 17-year-old Canadian. "You wish him well," one respected agent said. "But he's been built up into an icon before he's scored an NHL goal."...

A surprise came as Kansas City's Priest Holmes was the first pick in the drfat by the 22 Rush Limbaughs. Most drafts have Indy's QB Peyton Manning going first. Manning went 2nd to the Rearden Mettle team. For all the draft results, go to http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/215944/draftresults

Okay, I know I shouldn't be listening to Georgy Noory, but it is the only thing on late at night. I don't watch TV. Sean David Morton, a self-proclaimed psychic and remote viewer had a number of predictions. (I predict that, during an August heat wave in Southern California, he will be on the street selling his body by the hour for shade.) He predicted that the President would not finish his term. He also predicted that a draft would be re-instated in 2005. It would be changed to include men and women 18-28. Everyone would have to do...

ARE THEY IN THE ARMY NOW?Cries of shortfall, exhaustion, and overstretch by Victor Davis HansonNational ReviewJuly 4, 2005   Figures on U.S. military recruitment just released for 2005 show that the Army missed its monthly announced goal, achieving only 75 percent of its anticipated enlistments for this May. The Army National Guard and the Army Reserve also missed their desired monthly targets. Stories in the press followed, claiming that the Pentagon is lowering Army standards to pull in new recruits and address the fallout from the depressing news from Iraq. Recent dips in Army enlistments also fueled a new...

Poll Finds Most Oppose Return to Draft Associated Press June 24, 2005 WASHINGTON - Americans overwhelmingly oppose reinstatement of the military draft and most say they wouldn't encourage their children to enlist in the service either, an AP-Ipsos poll found. That resistance underscores the dilemma facing the Bush administration as it struggles to recruit a volunteer military in war time. The Army is falling short of its recruiting goals this year at a time the country is fighting extended wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army has repeatedly missed its monthly recruiting goals this year, falling short by 42 percent...

The Defense Department and a private contractor have been building an extensive database of 30 million 16-to-25-year-olds, combining names with Social Security numbers, grade-point averages, e-mail addresses and phone numbers. The department began building the database three years ago, but military officials filed a notice announcing plans for it only last month. That is apparently a violation of the federal Privacy Act, which requires that government agencies accept public comment before new records systems are created. David S. C. Chu, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, acknowledged yesterday that the database had been in the works since...

The Army is getting desperate. Having fallen 25% short of already reduced recruiting goals last month, it is raising enlistment bonuses to $40,000 in some cases and lowering standards to accept and retain soldiers who would have been turned away in years past. A minor criminal record? No high school diploma? Uncle Sam still wants you. Down this way disaster lies — the undoing of the finest armed forces in U.S. history. But what choice is there? With combat dragging on in Iraq and plenty of jobs available at home, there aren't enough volunteers. So far, a real crisis has...