Free Republic

Couldn't find the help area on FR that discusses caucuses, so I am asking admins and others in the know: 1. Who can start a caucus? 2. Where do you have to go to apply for one? 3. What all different kinds of topics, issues and groups could start a caucus? for example we have both denominational caucuses in the Religion section as well as topical ones (the "rapture caucus" for one). 4. If there is a section on FR that talks about caucuses and the 'rules' of them, please point me to it.

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is forming a new agency to study and report on the changing climate. Also known as global warming, climate change has drawn widespread concern in recent years as temperatures around the world rise, threatening to harm crops, spread disease, increase sea levels, change storm and drought patterns and cause polar melting. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, planned to announce Monday that NOAA will set up the new Climate Service to operate in tandem with NOAA's National Weather Service and National Ocean Service. NOAA recently reported...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Atlantic Ocean could see its first named storm of the hurricane season in a day or two as a tropical wave off the west coast of Africa gains strength, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Thursday. The energy market is focused on the tropical wave, located about 250 miles south of the Cape Verde Islands, because it has potential for significant development as it marches across the Atlantic at 10 to 15 miles per hour during the next two weeks. AccuWeather.com said the system could become a "strong hurricane" next week and "pose a significant...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Small, rocky planets that could resemble the Earth or Mars may be forming around a star in the Pleiades star cluster, astronomers reported on Wednesday. One of the stars in the cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters, is surrounded by an extraordinary number of hot dust particles that could be the "building blocks of planets" said Inseok Song, a staff scientist at NASA's Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology. "This is the first clear evidence for planet formation in the Pleiades, and the results we are presenting may well be the first observational...

WASHINGTON, April 23, 2006 – After months of deadlock, Iraq reached an "important milestone" in its journey toward democracy with an agreement on top leadership posts for a national unity government, President Bush said yesterday. The parliament elected a president, two vice presidents, a parliament speaker and two deputies yesterday. President Jalal Talabani then named Jawad al Maliki as prime minister-designate. "This agreement represents compromise and consensus among many different Iraqi groups and it came after months of patient negotiations," Bush said in a speech at the California Highway Patrol Academy in Sacramento. "The agreement reflects the will of the...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The militant Islamic Hamas group spoke openly for the first time Saturday about the possibility of forming the next Palestinian government after this month's parliamentary elections. Hamas is expected to deliver a major drubbing to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, which has dominated Palestinian politics for four decades. But Hamas has never directly said it might agree to form a government. During a campaign visit to families of people killed or taken prisoner in the past five years of conflict with Israel, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar was asked if the atmosphere were ripe for...

When I was a child someone gave me a beautifully illustrated book of children's stories from around the world. My younger sister's favorite was "The Celestial Maiden" and she begged me to read it to her over and over again. In the tale a poor Japanese woman prays for a child. One day she finds a tiny maiden lying on a leaf in her garden. She takes the maiden into her home and cares for her, happy that her prayers have been granted. As nightfall approaches, the maiden reveals that she is a celestial princess who must return home before...

<p>SACRAMENTO – Secretary of Education Richard Riordan is preparing a major overhaul of state school funding that would bypass local districts and funnel taxpayer dollars directly to school principals.</p> <p>The proposal, which Riordan said he has discussed with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, would replace California's complex school funding formulas with a flat payment per student. Schools would be held to strict standards but would be given freedom to determine how they met those standards.</p>