Free Republic

John Kerry's far-Left supporters have chosen this day -- March 10 -- to celebrate abortion. Today, March 10th, is a holiday with which you may not be familiar: the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. The very fact that such a “holiday” exists—created in 1996 and co-sponsored by more than twenty major groups, including Planned Parenthood and National Organization for Women (NOW)—says everything you need to know about John Kerry’s leftist supporters. Most ordinary Americans who identify themselves as “pro-choice” would be disgusted that abortion providers are being hailed as heroes. Even to people who support keeping the procedure...

This Wednesday, March 10th, is a holiday with which you may not be familiar, but should be: the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. The very fact that there exists such a “holiday”—created in 1996 and co-sponsored by more than twenty major groups, including Planned Parenthood and National Organization for Women (NOW)—says everything you need to know about the pro-abortion movement today. Most ordinary Americans who identify themselves as “pro-choice” would be disgusted that abortion providers are being hailed as heroes. Even to people who support keeping the procedure legal, abortion is not something to be glorified. The National...

With a five-day opening weekend gross of well over $100 million, Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” is shocking Hollywood in becoming a certified blockbuster.  Even as recently as this past week, the “experts” were predicting a total opening weekend take of $30 million—slightly more than it made on just the first day.   Thus continues the strange odyssey of “The Passion.”  Easily one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood was planning to write and direct a movie about the most famous and revered figure in history.  And the budget would be nothing: $25 million.  The average movie—not the...

<p>After the media tore into President Bush’s 30-year-old National Guard record like a rabid pit bull into a bacon-scented postman, Democrats have been licking their chops in anticipation of highlighting John Kerry’s service during the same period.</p> <p>A new Web site, however, should give Democrats more than a moment’s pause — and it’s likely just the opening salvo concerning the outlandish actions of Kerry and his comrades in the antiwar Vietnam Veterans Against the War.</p>

With a five-day opening weekend gross of well over $100 million, Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” is shocking Hollywood in becoming a certified blockbuster.  Even as recently as this past week, the “experts” were predicting a total opening weekend take of $30 million—slightly more than it made on just the first day.  Thus continues the strange odyssey of “The Passion.”  Easily one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood was planning to write and direct a movie about the most famous and revered figure in history.  And the budget would be nothing: $25 million.  The average movie—not the average blockbuster,...

After the media tore into President Bush’s 30-year-old National Guard record like a rabid pit bull into a bacon-scented postman, Democrats have been licking their chops in anticipation of highlighting John Kerry’s decorated service during the same time period.A new web site that launched yesterday (Monday, January 23), however, should give Democrats more than a moment’s pause—and is likely just the opening salvo in exposing the truth about the outlandish actions of Kerry and his comrades as part of an anti-war group known as Vietnam Veterans Against the War.Created by the conservative Free Republic Network, WinterSoldier.com seems to contain...

Are we continuing to ignore a troubling pattern at our own peril? http://www.jewishworldreview.com | To those who worry about the extremism that Saudi influence can foster here in the United States, the joint Muslim community at Washington State University and the University of Idaho — just nine miles apart — might provide a classic case study. It also happened to be the home of detained National Guardsman Ryan Anderson, aka Amir Talhah, when he converted to Islam five years ago. Anderson, who was nabbed while allegedly trying to pass secret information on to al Qaeda through an Internet chat room,...

To those who worry about the extremism that Saudi influence can foster here in the United States, the joint Muslim community at Washington State University and the University of Idaho—just nine miles apart—might provide a classic case study. It also happened to be the home of detained National Guardsman Ryan Anderson, aka Amir Talhah, when he converted to Islam five years ago.Anderson, who was nabbed while allegedly trying to pass secret information on to al Qaeda through an Internet chat room, graduated from Washington State University in 2002.  Though the strength of his ties to the local Muslim community is...

The European Union has finally started doing the right thing by cutting its funding of the hopelessly corrupt Palestinian Authority—but for all the wrong reasons.  Denying that any of its financial support has been diverted to terrorist activity, the EU is reducing its $120 million annual aid by one-third because of the continued lack of transparency of PA finances.  Not because PA Chairman Yasser Arafat has eschewed any prospect for peace and instead orchestrated a three and a half year terrorist campaign designed to kill as many Israeli citizens as possible, mind you, but because he didn’t do so with “transparent” finances.  To...

Debating the President's WarBy Jamie GlazovFrontPageMagazine.com | February 17, 2004 Frontpage Debate has the pleasure of welcoming, from the Left, David Corn, the Washington editor of The Nation magazine and the author of The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception; from the Right, we are joined by Joel Mowbray, a syndicated columnist and the author of Dangerous Diplomacy: How the State Department Threatens America's Security. Frontpage Magazine: Mr. Corn and Mr. Mowbray, welcome to Frontpage Debate. I think a good way to begin would be discussing the recent developments in Iraq. How do you see...

When asked if recently “detained” National Guard soldier Ryan Anderson—who allegedly tried to pass on sensitive information to al Qaeda—was a Muslim, the unit spokesman, Lt. Col. Stephen Barger replied, “Religious preferences are an individual right and responsibility, and I really can’t get into it.” On one level, of course, Barger is right. Sadly, however, Anderson’s religion may be the only prism through which his alleged behavior can be understood. Various media reports have pegged Anderson as a convert to Islam. Why is this significant? Because if he had converted to Buddhism or Hindu, for example, he almost certainly would...

Although Osama bin Laden has long used videos for recruitment and garnering political support, an MTV-style music video in Britain seems to be the first radical Islamic propaganda to utilize an overtly Americanized approach to reaching Muslim youths.  And it may just be catching on.  Called “Dirty Kuffar,” which means dirty “infidels” (or non-believers), the slickly-produced video (which can be viewed online at http://ipnews.planetgac.com) combines cartoonish images and footage of graphic violence, and the all-English lyrics are sung in Jamaican dancehall reggae style over a beat taken directly from the very recent international smash hit Sean Paul song “Get Busy.”  In...

Imagine we had known in summer 2001 that al Qaeda was planning a strike on American soil that would claim the lives of thousands of innocents.  Imagine that our pleas for cooperation to the Taliban, the government harboring Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network, were rebuffed.  Without certain knowledge, but knowing nonetheless that a massive attack was likely—and that the likely date was in September—would the president have been justified in launching a strike at the Taliban to prevent a possible al Qaeda attack?    What would the reaction among peaceniks have been had we taken out Mullah Omar and his merry band...

The man who until last week was in charge of investigating Saddam's weapons of mass destruction stash has become either a hero or an enigma--it just depends on who you are. To the anti-war crowd, David Kay's recent statements that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction on the eve of the war is a valiant admission. To many in the administration who respect the weapons expert but are awestruck at the timing and the bluntness of some of the comments, Kay is a hard man to figure out. Kay's statements make one thing clear, though: Bush was justified to...

The 9/11 Commission on Monday will explore one of the most critical elements of the attack that claimed the lives of 3,000 innocent Americans: how the terrorists got into the United States.  We have long known that all 19 of the 9/11 terrorists came here on legal visas, but one of the topics the commission will cover is that several other would-be hijackers did not make it because they were stopped by alert officials who sensed that something was amiss.  Though this might appear a vindication for the State Department’s beleaguered visa division, it is actually just the opposite.  State has long...

The 9/11 Commission on today will explore one of the most critical elements of the attack that claimed the lives of 3,000 innocent Americans: how the terrorists got into the United States. We have long known that all 19 of the 9/11 terrorists came here on legal visas, but one of the topics the commission will cover is that several other would-be hijackers did not make it because they were stopped by alert officials who sensed that something was amiss. Though this might appear a vindication for the State Department's beleaguered visa division, it is actually just the opposite. State...

<p>January 26, 2004 -- THE commission probing the 9/11 attacks won't like what it hears today.</p> <p>A chief witness will be Chief of Consular Affairs Maura Harty, the woman in charge of the State Department's processing of visas. She'll undoubtedly be grilled on how several hijackers got visas despite plainly dubious applications. And she may have to explain the program "Visa Express," which let all Saudi residents apply for visas at private Saudi travel agencies - until Congress made State stop it, 10 months after 9/11.</p>

Although President Bush devoted much time to foreign policy in his State of the Union address, there is one issue he did not tackle in detail that could yet cause him political harm before November: Islamists’ increasing power inside Iraq. Most media attention has focused on Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s most powerful Shi’ite cleric, who has repeatedly called for immediate, direct elections in recent weeks. Given that Sistani has been told by the United Nations, among others, that “democracy” takes just a few months and the casting of ballots, the cleric’s position seems nothing if not reasonable. Establishing direct elections...

Have you heard the one about the Bush administration covertly aiding greedy employers who want to deprive 1.3 million low-income workers overtime pay?  If you haven’t, then you haven't been paying attention to Democrats—or the Associated Press.  Last week, the AP ran a story accusing the Labor Department of giving “tips” to employers on how to avoid paying overtime to low-income employees.  But no “tips” were given to anyone, least of all employers.  Not that that stopped newspapers across the country from flogging the story, however.  In an article touted as an “AP Exclusive,” reporter Leigh Strope wastes no time mincing words,...

After 3,000 Americans were murdered on a single day, common sense should have dictated that political pandering would finally take a back seat—if only marginally—to the most serious of security concerns. But barely two years later, craven political concerns are about to feast at the expense of our security. In an election year pursuit of Hispanic votes, President Bush is prepared to embark on the ill-advised path to providing some sort of amnesty to 8 million illegal aliens. Perhaps Bush thinks that enhanced scrutiny and enforcement—things the President will combine with his calls for amnesty—can screen out terrorists from those...