Free Republic

Shoutouts at presidential speeches are nothing new in politics, but which ones should be included in the official White House transcripts? Conn Carroll, senior editorial writer at the Washington Examiner, points out that the White House transcript of President Barack Obama’s immigration speech in El Paso, Texas, includes this text: AUDIENCE MEMBER: They’re racist! (Snip) Normally, outbursts are only included in transcripts if the president responds to the remark

Washington, DC -- While some Barack Obama backers are hoping to provide cover for his pro-abortion positions by saying he will advocate better health care, the Obama campaign is coming under criticism for refusing to say whether his governmental health care plan will require Americans to pay for abortions. Obama, who supports unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason, previously told Planned Parenthood his plan would include tax-funded abortions.

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Sunday his plan for universal health care would require higher taxes and cost up to $120 billion year. "The bottom line is we're asking everybody to share in the responsibility of making health care work in this country. Employers, those who are in the medical insurance business, employees, the American people — everyone will have to contribute in order to make this work," the 2004 vice presidential nominee said. "Yes, we'll have to raise taxes. The only way you can pay for a health care plan that costs anywhere from $90 (billion)...

Protest marches. Lobbying for legislation. Alliances with pro-immigration groups. A Good Friday Mass in which an immigrant stood before a cross to symbolize Jesus. The Catholic Church has become a force for change, with the weight of millions of Catholics behind it, in the politically charged battle that is immigration reform. Some see the position as one grounded in moral principles, in which the dignity of people is more important than their legal status. Others question the propriety of a faith-based organization, whose main mission is evangelization and the spiritual welfare of its flock, planting itself so squarely in the...

Sacramento -- A giant bond proposal being weighed by state lawmakers has far more in it than billions of dollars to build schools and highways and strengthen California's levees. Restoration of the Salton Sea, retrofitting diesel school buses, acquiring land and creating urban parks are a few examples of spending included in the most recent version of the bond, which would go before voters in June if lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can work out a deal in the next couple of days. "Protection of environmental resources is as much of a long-term investment in California's future as is the...

Workers load the hazardous items for transport to a disposal site. Reconstruction efforts in Iraq also include hazardous waste cleanup. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo Iraqi Rebuilding Includes Environmental Cleanup Almost 100 containers of hazardous waste were removed from a field in Mosul. By Claude D. McKinney Gulf Region North U.S. Army Corps of Engineers MOSUL, Iraq, Dec. 30, 2005 — Reconstruction of Iraq includes more than the restoration of dilapidated infrastructure. In this case, it includes hazardous waste clean up. "These types of projects, though seemingly small, send a very visual message to the community that things...

SACRAMENTO – A little more than a week after voters rejected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's four ballot measures, Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill repeated her call to repeal the after-school funding measure that helped launch the governor's political career, Proposition 49. Hill recommended the repeal yesterday during her annual budget forecast, which produced a rosy assessment about overall state finances, including a projected $4 billion increase in the state's current year budget reserve. The projected growth in revenues, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office and the state Department of Finance, will trigger the operation of Proposition 49 in fiscal 2006-07, which begins...

MONTGOMERY, Ill. (AP) - The massive transportation bill President Bush signed Wednesday includes $207 million for a pet project of House Speaker Dennis Hastert - a new road connecting two major highways in his district. But state officials are not yet convinced that the Prairie Parkway connector is the best way to ease traffic in the growing region outside Chicago, and some locals say it will promote urban sprawl, hurt the environment and swallow up fertile farmland. Illinois was second only to California in the amount of money earmarked for special projects - $1.3 billion - in the transportation bill,...

Hillary Clinton, the action hero SUNDAY, OCTOBER 03, 2004 02:36:49 PM LONDON: She might not be Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Hillary Clinton has surely inspired an action figure. According to Ananova , a new action figure of Hilary Clinton will be available from November 1. The doll can be pre-ordered on the internet from the US makers, hero builders for $19.95 dollars. The doll comes with a navy blue suit and shoes with a light blue blouse and lily white underwear.

'Rape 2 and call me in the morning' Posted: August 7, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Jani Allan WorldNetDaily.com The term "quack doctor" takes on a whole new meaning when you consider the situation in Southern Africa. There are more than 400 tribal groupings in South Africa. All of them come from a tradition in which ancestor worship is the norm and evil spirits cause misfortunes and disease. According to this belief system, there are only three reasons for something bad happening to you: - Someone has bewitched me and caused this to happen to me - The ancestral spirits...