Free Republic

Need a break from the depressing news Dogs welcoming home their "daddies"

It's still a long way from being fully cooked, but the fuzzy outline of a deal on the much-delayed, deficit-ridden state budget is becoming visible as the deadline for placing measures on the November ballot draws near. Secretary of State Debra Bowen says Saturday is the deadline, but Capitol types believe it could be stretched a week or two. And the deadline, whenever it may be, is an important ingredient in any budget deal, because at least one of the pending elements would have to be placed before voters. The central element is what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger calls "budget reform"...

President George W. Bush's poll numbers -- even among Republicans who are hapy about tax cuts and the judicial appointments -- scream trouble. Trace the dismal numbers to three things -- the war in Iraq, spending, and Bush's perceived soft stance on illegal aliens. Let's go over them. As to the war in Iraq, the Bush administration argues that mainstream media ignores good news and focuses on the bad. General Barry McCaffrey, who worked as a division commander in the first Persian Gulf War before becoming President Clinton's drug czar, recently returned from Iraq. McCaffrey reported his findings in a...

Abbas: Gaza pullout due to "Palestinian Sacrifices."

Archbishop of Canterbury admits: This makes me doubt the existence of God By Chris Hastings, Patrick Hennessy and Sean Rayment (Filed: 02/01/2005) The Asian tsunami disaster should make all Christians question the existence of God, Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, writes in The Telegraph today. In a deeply personal and candid article, he says "it would be wrong" if faith were not "upset" by the catastrophe which has already claimed more than 150,000 lives. Dr Rowan Williams: Prayer provides no 'magical solutions' Prayer, he admits, provides no "magical solutions" and most of the stock Christian answers to human...

The municipal drama that plays out each day in City Hall has a reliable cast of characters, their daily arrival as inevitable as budget deficits and comptroller reports. There are the lawmakers on the east side of the building, the mayor on the west, and the lobbyists, advocates and reporters sprinkled throughout. They join with the rest of the powerful and the seeking and the perpetually aggrieved who descend on city government each day. And then there is the challah lady. Soft spoken and unassuming, she strides up the steps of City Hall each week with a few toasty loaves...