Free Republic

<p>Hillary Rodham Clinton left caucus-goers here yesterday believing that Bubba had given her a baptism by fire in how to deal with "evil and bad men."</p> <p>Clinton's quip, made during a morning rally with about 500 Iowans, drew 31 seconds of straight laughter and applause that left little doubt among attendees that she'd made a joke at hubby Bill Clinton's expense.</p>

Bedbugs, the flat, brown, blood-sucking subjects of the beloved nursery rhyme, are back with a vengeance after almost being eradicated from this country for the past 60 years. They're turning up in the residences of local travelers, having hitched rides in suitcases from parts of Europe, the former Soviet Union and other international hot spots. They've popped up in a San Jose State University dormitory, where one room underwent extensive fumigation and cleaning Thursday morning. One world, one icky, icky bug. Case in point: the San Jose State infestation, which was found in a third-floor room of International House, one...

A spokesman for Rudy Giuliani says the former New York City mayor is not interested in buying the Chicago Cubs and remains a diehard New York Yankees fan, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. Giuliani's firm, Giuliani Partners, had reportedly been seeking to team up with former Cubs' star Ernie Banks and another investment firm to purchase the team. But according to Crain's Chicago Business, Banks met on May 23 with club executives by was rebuffed. An executive from Giuliani Capital Advisors had a meeting with Banks at Banks' request, according to Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel. She apparently...

Male U.S. representatives with daughters are more likely to vote in favor of abortion rights and "more liberally on a range of women's issues" than male representatives without daughters, according to a working paper published this month in the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Washington Post reports. Ebonya Washington of Yale University examined the 105th Congress members' familial compositions and the National Organization for Women's ratings of its male members. The ratings, which are based on members' votes on 20 women's issues, range from zero -- which means they consistently vote against NOW's position -- to 100 -- which...

A state senator wants the Boy Scouts kept out of the governor's mansion because of what he calls the anti-gay positions of the national scouting organization. State Senator Thomas Duane of Manhattan was invited by the Twin Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts to join them at the Albany mansion. The group is planning a reception Thursday on character-building programs. In a letter to Governor Pataki this week, Duane, who is openly gay, says the governor is sending a bad message by allowing "a discriminatory organization" to use state facilities. Pataki spokesman Kevin Quinn tells the Albany Times Union the...

On the eve of what would have been his third trial date in Bucks County court, Douglas Aster pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexually assaulting a woman during "thong night" at a Bensalem tavern. As part of a plea bargain, prosecutors did not drop any of the charges against Aster, 32, but agreed to seek a sentence of 111/2 to 23 months, with possible work release privileges. Aster had been facing at least three years behind bars. Assistant District Attorney Anastasia Filopoulos said the deal was offered, in part, to spare the victim the trauma of taking the stand again. During...

The esteemed Mr. Eastlund will, no doubt, attempt to spin his argument into one weighing the merits of Star Trek: The Next Generation against those of “classic” Star Trek. This is not an argument about the firepower of NCC-1701 versus that of NCC-1701-D or whether a Shakespearean actor who gave a great portrayal of Charles Xavier is a better actor than the toupee-wearing star of Kingdom of the Spiders. No, the issue at hand is simply whether the character of Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the 24th Century was a better Starfleet captain than the character of Captain James Tiberius Kirk...