Free Republic

She outlined three areas where Democrats would seek to differentiate themselves from Republicans: integrity, civility and accountability. If Democrats were to take control of the House in November, their first actions would focus on promoting those values, she said. “These are not full-blown initiatives,” she cautioned, “[but] they are a beginning to differentiate from the Republicans’ misguided priorities of taking us deeply into debt, bringing up divisive social issues instead and raising those issues instead of raising the minimum wage.”

HTML Graphs: an update The impact of the little HTML graph applet blows my mind. Here's what has happened in one week: In the last five days of may, I had 114'579 unique visistors on aharef.info. As I write this, 345'117 networks have been created. According to technorati, 1'686 blogs link to aharef.info (aharef.info is not even two months old, so all the links are due to the HTML graph applet). Technically, this makes aharef Switzerland's most technorati - linked blog, but I'm not even on this list (not that I care ;-) Massive coverage on del.icio.us, Digg and other...

LOWER BURRELL, Pa. -- A Lower Burrell school student is facing a three-day suspension for sharing gum with a classmate. Jolt chewing gum has caffeine and ginseng. The Lower Burrell school superintendent said consuming and passing out the gum violates the school's drug awareness policy. That's because caffeine is considered a stimulant. Parents told Channel 11 they did not understand the suspension. Resident Elizabeth Grombacher said, "I think it's stupid. Everything's getting too politically correct it's so wrong." "It's probably just like Mountain Dew or something like that. If it's got a lot of caffeine in it and they probably...

Best-selling author and Muslim dissident Ibn Warraq argues that freedom of expression is our western heritage and we must defend it against attacks from totalitarian societies. If the west does not stand in solidarity with the Danish, he argues, then the Islamization of Europe will have begun in earnest. The great British philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote in On Liberty, "Strange it is, that men should admit the validity of the arguments for free discussion, but object to their being 'pushed to an extreme'; not seeing that unless the reasons are good for an extreme case, they are not good...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Tens of thousands of angry Muslims marched through Palestinian cities, burning the Danish flag and calling for vengeance Friday against European countries where caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad were published. In Washington, the State Department criticized the drawings, calling them "offensive to the beliefs of Muslims." While recognizing the importance of freedom of the press and expression, State Department press officer Janelle Hironimus said these rights must be coupled with press responsibility. "Inciting religious or ethnic hatred in this manner is not acceptable," Hironimus said. "We call for tolerance and respect for all communities and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington on Friday condemned caricatures in European newspapers of Islam's Prophet Mohammad, siding with Muslims who are outraged that the publications put press freedom over respect for religion. "These cartoons are indeed offensive to the belief of Muslims," State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said in answer to a question. "We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable."

Best States For Healthy Kids March 17, 2005 (WebMD) Connecticut is America's top state for raising healthy kids, while Alaska ranks lowest on a list compiled by Child Magazine. Of course, it's possible to raise a fit child anywhere. No state has a monopoly on health, but some may make it a bit easier to achieve, the survey shows. Not that long ago, the list might have looked somewhat different. Connecticut rose to the top with school-based measures that took effect last July, says the magazine. Still, food and fitness aren't just important at school. What happens at home and...

Ever hear of how republican's always call the liberal left "Whiner's"? Well, take a look at Wa. State, ...who are the Whiner's now? LOTS OF LAUGHS! Boy, the shoes on the other foot now! I think it's great, don't you? These people deserve it..! Has anyone seen the comedian on HBO, who gave a discription of a "Republican"? Wow was that great, and very very true.

Released: November 22, 2004 President’s Job Performance Rating Breaks Ceiling with 51%; Nearly Half (49%) Now Say US Headed in Right Direction; Powell Exits with 88% Favorability Rating While Other Top Cabinet Members Receive Mixed Reviews, Rumsfeld (47%) and Rice (53%); Electorate Uncertain About President’s Nominees, New Zogby Poll Reveals After scoring below fifty percent in several pre and post-election surveys, President George W. Bush’s job performance rating has risen to 51%, with nearly half of respondents (49%) now saying that the US is headed in the right direction, according to a new Zogby America survey. The telephone poll of...

QX NOTE: Since mentioning the below in a very sparse thread, a well known FREEPER has reported a similar dream. Another FREEPER, who probably knows more than many of the rest of us put togehter, said it was . . . my words . . . compatible with other . . . data. I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT HOW MANY OTHER FREEPERS HAVE HAD SUCH DREAMS AND/OR VISIONS. PLEASE FREEPMAIL THEM OR POST THEM ON THIS THREAD. If you FREEPMAIL them, please let me know if I can post them anonymously on this thread. Blessings, QX --------------------- The AP List...

US soldiers in Iraq say 1,000 death toll meaningless 2 hours, 30 minutes ago BAQUBA, Iraq (AFP) - The deaths of 1,000 American troops in Iraq since the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein has only strengthened US resolve to restore security to the strife-torn country, soldiers said. Dismissing parallels with the 1961-75 war in Vietnam, officers lashed out at the media for playing the grim-reaper over the mounting casualty toll and failing to appreciate the sacrifices made by each soldier. "It sucks. The newspapers glorify it. Everyday, reporting the numbers going up and up, trying to push a point,"...

<p>In January, CBS News reported that President Bush's approval was "sinking." This month, USA Today has said it was hitting "a new low." And there is no doubt that the president's approval rating has fallen, down from nearly 90% right after 9/11 to about 51% today.</p>

So what happened? Any stunning secrets? Dissappointing, shocking, or good? Yeah, yeah, yeah, its stupid and meaningless, TV will destroy the Roman Empire, etc., save us the speeches. Yes TV has never been the same since Greg Kinnear left Talk Soup(though I thought Monkey Boy had his moments). I just wanna know what happened.