Free Republic

FALLUJAH, Iraq (August 17, 2005) -- The events of September 11, 2001, brought former Marine, Cpl. Brandon Connelly, back into the Corps to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Twenty-eight-year-old Connelly, originally a native of Toms River, N.J., was living in New York City at the time of the tragedy. Like everyone around him, he recalls being shocked and angry as the day's events unfolded. But unlike many of his fellow New Yorkers, this 1995 Toms River High School North graduate did not wave a flag or sport a bumper sticker to express his solidarity and patriotism. Rather, the former Marine...

High Court Won't Review Ban on Assault Weapons WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to review a ruling that upheld California's ban on assault weapons and declared there was no constitutional right for individuals to own a gun. Without comment, the justices let stand the ruling by a U.S. appeals court in San Francisco that the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment does not confer an individual right to own or possess arms. The ruling differed from the position taken by the Justice Department under Attorney General John Ashcroft, who changed the government's long-standing policy, and by a...

President Bush called wavering lawmakers Monday in hopes of thwarting a Democratic drive to force changes in the homeland security bill, but he lost the support of the senator who vied with him for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination.~~~~ John McShame A federal court ruling ensures that the Justice Department can take full advantage of broad new surveillance powers to track suspected spies and terrorists, Attorney General John Ashcroft says.Iraq continued firing at U.S. and British patrol planes Monday, and an Iraqi warplane penetrated an area in southern Iraq that is off-limits to the Iraqi air force. MSNBC executives, under...