Free Republic

AMMAN, Jordan - On his first visit to the Middle East, Ricky Martin declared he will try to change negative perceptions of Arab youth in the West. "I promise I will become a spokesperson, if you allow me to, a spokesperson on your behalf. I will defend you and try to get rid of any stereotypes," the 33-year-old singer told youngsters from 16 mainly Arab countries at a youth conference on Monday. The children, ages 14 to 16, expressed concern about being labeled as "terrorists" by the West.

NEW YORK -- U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes stridently defended his statements about the vice president's gay daughter today even as Illinois Republican leaders expressed reactions ranging from dismay to disgust.

George W. Bush seems to have driven his political opponents nuts. Howard Dean's reference to the "most interesting theory" that President Bush might have had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attack on the United States suggests that Dean has gone around the bend. But Dean is in good company with many of his fellow Democrats. Former Vice President and Democratic elder statesman Walter Mondale has joined the crowd, although he distinguished himself with spectacularly bad timing. Mondale presided over a program devoted to discussion of the Bush administration's foreign policy at Macalester College on Dec. 12, the day before American forces...