Free Republic

Warning: In this citadel of raging partisanship, no reader will agree with more than half of this column, but ... The recent news that the economy grew at a 7.2 percent annual clip during the last quarter is only the latest reminder that we Americans have had the best governance in the past 23 years that we have had since the time of the Founding Fathers. Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush; House Speakers O’Neill, Foley, Gingrich, Hastert; Senate leaders Mitchell, Dole, Lott, Daschle, Frist — combine them all and, although they were fiercely partisan, they have given us amazingly good...

SELECTIONS In the aftermath of Wednesday's attack on American personnel in Gaza, the US announced that the FBI will conduct a thorough investigation. ........... Last week, WorldNetDaily reported that the FBI has rejected, apparently systematically, applications from Jewish Arabic speakers to serve as translators for the Bureau. ............. Two weeks ago, Abdulrahman Alamoudi, the Muslim-American responsible for for vetting and accrediting candidates for Islamic chaplaincy positions in the US military, was arrested on terrorism-related charges. ............... Last year, in the face of public protests, FBI Director Robert Mueller spoke at Alamoudi's American Muslim Council's annual dinner. FBI spokesmen have referred...

US orders extra security for Iraq's Governing Council By Justin Huggler in Baghdad 16 August 2003 Even as the United Nations voted to welcome Iraq's Governing Council yesterday the United States was already increasing the intense security surrounding it. Paul Bremer, the US's civilian administrator for Iraq, has deployed 120 new security personnel to guard the 25 members of the council appointed by the Americans to help run its occupation. The council members are almost never seen in public. They meet behind closed doors in a building set back half a mile from the road. No one is allowed in...