Free Republic

The DOW is in a nose dive, and for no reason. Economic indicators are up. The economy is improving, but faith in the future of business has been affected by the many "Enron's" in the news. Fear is in full control of Wall Street, but what is it that investors fear? Since the economy is moving up, what are they worried about? Is this drop in the DOW representative of their fear of possible terrorism? Or, could it be a fear of more giant corporations collapsing from the Enron Syndrome? (coined by SamBees) OR, better yet, could it be that...

NEW YORK (AP) - As state after deficit-ridden state ratchets up cigarette taxes, authorities are bracing for some unwelcome consequences in the form of more aggressive smuggling and bolder use of the Internet as a tax-evading tobacco shop. Never before have so many states — 17 this year alone — approved cigarette-tax hikes in such a short time. Anti-smoking advocates call it a win-win situation, enabling states to reduce smoking and budget deficits simultaneously. In many legislatures, even tax-averse conservatives have supported the increases — expected to generate $2.2 billion annually in new revenue — as budget woes and anti-smoking...

Today, I sent my son-in-law to the Maine Smoke Shop in Brewer to buy some tobacco. He is 19 years old, and is in the military. The person at the counter asked for his ID, which I can understand. When she saw it, however, she showed it to the owner, and the owner said, “That’s no good, get out of here.” My son-in-law told me several places in Bangor will not accept his military ID. What is wrong with this town? I will ask everyone else just as I asked the owner of that shop when I called him: Do...

Testimony costs flight attendant her job Airline fires witness for admitting pot use By Kristen Green UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERJuly 12, 2002 Denise Kemal was fired June 28, more than two weeks after her nationally televised testimony, because the company has a zero-tolerance drug policy. Losing her job has ruined her life, Kemal said yesterday. "I've always wanted to fly," she said. "It took me years to get my job." She said she is appealing the dismissal because smoking marijuana "wasn't an everyday thing." While she waits for an answer, Kemal, 28 and recently divorced, watches the Westerfield trial from...

The more the experts study smoking, the more harmful it's shown to be -- for smokers and nonsmokers alike. In the face of this onslaught of evidence, it seems almost bizarre that government still permits smoking in any indoor place open to the public. Yet government does allow smoking in many places, apparently afraid to take on certain business interests despite the overwhelming desire of the public to be protected from others' smoke. What will it take to get government to act? The latest analysis of the effects of smoking comes from the respected World Health Organization, which conducted...

AUGUSTA — Two lawmakers have asked the attorney general’s office to determine the state’s liability if it breaks a contract with Apple Computer for thousands of laptop computers. Reps. Phil Cressey, R-Baldwin, and Brian Duprey, R-Hampden, asked Attorney General Steven Rowe to determine if there’s an out in the $37.2 million contract. They said the money would be better spent to offset a looming $180 million budget shortfall than on computers. “This laptop program here in the state of Maine does not have the support of all the people of the state of Maine,” said Cressey. “When we’re trying to...

My sister in law is in her fourties and has emphysema. She has been asked by the Red Cross to allow them to fly her Washington, DC and testify that Bush's proposals against clean air will cause her health problems. My wife asked me to provide information regarding whether this is a good idea or not. I have no idea what the hearing is or what the law is she is supposed to testify about. Does anyone know what hearing is taking place next week ? What is the topic and what are the pro's and con's ?

<p>LANSING -- A pack of cigarettes will cost 50 cents more in Michigan under a budget bailout given final approval Tuesday by the state Senate.</p> <p>Gov. John Engler said he will sign the bill.</p> <p>The higher tax will take effect Aug. 1 and give Michigan the nation's fifth-highest cigarette tax at $1.25 per pack. The price of a pack would rise to about $4.60.</p>

General Motors' Adoption of Smoke-Free Policy in All Ingham County Plants Hailed by Smoke-Free Environments Law Project of The Center for Social Gerontology. The Center for Social Gerontology (TCSG), based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and its Smoke-Free Environments Law Project hailed the actions of the General Motors Corporation in adopting a total ban on smoking in all its Ingham County, Michigan plants and facilities, effective August 5, 2002. Jim Bergman, TCSG Co-Director and head of the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project said: "General Motors management is to be highly praised for announcing the adoption of a totally smoke-free policy in all...

Singer's remark riles Hispanics -- Greeley debates 'English' comment By Michael Riley Denver Post Staff Writer Tuesday, July 09, 2002 A country western singer who told his audience at the Greeley Independence Stampede that immigrants should learn to speak English ignited an emotional debate in a community that has seen an influx of Hispanics over the past decade. Warner Brothers recording star Chad Brock said Monday that his comments were meant to express his "pride in being American." But Hispanic leaders said they were racist and the failure of Stampede organizers to condemn them shows the refusal to embrace newcomers....

*** Nothing But Hopeful Vanity Here***My Fellow FReepers: I would like your input on the potential of the FOX News Channel putting together a calendar, featuring the Foxes of FOX.Would there be much interest in such a calendar? And, if so, who would you like to see featured?Some possible FOX's Foxes: Laurie Dhue, E.D. Hill, Jillian Barberie, Donna Fiducia, Kiran Chetry, Terri Keenan, Molly Falconer, Carol Iovanna, Jane Skinner, and many more tht I can't think of right now.Comments and ideas, suggestions, etc....comments@foxnews.com

<p>PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine's primary refugee resettlement agency is expected to remain open and many local families can hope to be reunited with loved ones now that the Immigration and Naturalization Service is processing refugees from abroad again.</p> <p>The refugee resettlement program at Catholic Charities Maine had feared it would have to shut down because the flow of refugees slowed drastically after Sept. 11. The program needs to resettle about 250 people a year to keep its federal funding.</p>

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of “word for the day”. Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the “word of the day”; in a sentence. The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day. The Review threads are linked for your edification. ;-) Practice makes perfect.....post on.... satiety \suh-TY-uh-tee\, noun: 1. The state of being full or gratified to or beyond the point of satisfaction. 2. The state of being satiated or glutted; fullness of gratification, either of the appetite...

WASHINGTON -- Attempting to woo computer-savvy young people, the Army will release on July 4 the first installment of an ambitious new computer game that will let players be all they can digitally be. The game, which will be free on many gaming Web sites and www.americasarmy.com, lets a player assume the role of a new recruit on an Army team pitted in an online battle against terrorists. While it is meant to be fun, the two-game set also was designed as a recruitment tool. "With this game we hope to educate young Americans and present them with a realistic,...

An Anne Arundel County grand jury has decided not to indict an F-B-I agent in the mistaken shooting of an unarmed Pasadena man. The panel began considering the case last week, and heard testimony from the shooting victim, Joseph Schultz, and his girlfriend, Krissy Harkum. F-B-I agent Christopher Braga thought he had cornered a bank robbery suspect when he shot Schultz in the face. Schultz was in the passenger seat in Harkum's car as they were returning from a shopping tip March 1. The F-B-I and Anne Arundel County police investigated the shooting, and the county state's attorney's office took...

Lead flees flare ups By Dan Daly, Journal Staff Writer Residents in a broad swath of Lead were asked to voluntarily evacuate their homes late Sunday when the Grizzly Gulch Fire flared up along its western edge. The new evacuation involved areas south of Lead's Main Street and the areas north of Main Street that are east of Washington Street, Brenda Bower, information officer with the U.S. Forest Service, said. That's about two-thirds of the city. Gov. Bill Janklow ordered the evacuation Sunday afternoon. The new evacuees joined thousands of people from Deadwood and rural areas east and south who...

Last night I attended Calvary Chapel in Fountain Valley, home of Pastor Chuck Smith, founder of the original Calvary Chapel. He told us that Michael Newdow's daughter is a born again Christian and attends a Calvary Christian school. Mr. Newdow was the atheist who brought the Pledge of Allegiance ban lawsuit to court claiming his daughter's rights were violated because of a reference to God in the pledge. Chuck Smith was told of this through a sister Calvary Chapel and got a hold of his contacts in the media. The daughter will now appear on the Today show later this...

(Page 118) By disrupting the constant drumbeat of liberal propaganda -- Reagan was a brute, Cuba has excellent health care, Santa's home is melting, Gore won the election, and Clinton is Elvis--the Internet had become a threat to "democracy." The first chapter of Sunstein's book [Republic.com -- a book that apparently advocated censoring the Internet] was posted on Freerepublic.com --a website that is wildly popular on the basis of the now-discredited "consumer sovereignty" principle. One Freeper responded, "I've been exposed to a massive excerpt from Republic.com, a book written by a liberal, on a conservative niche website. Without that conservative...

UNBELIEVABLE. BREAKING ON FOX: SF APPEALS COURT SAYS PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ENDORSES RELIGION, AND IS THEREBY UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court overturned the death sentences of dozens of convicted killers Monday, ruling that juries and not judges must make such life-or-death decisions. The 7-2 ruling affects the way death sentences are imposed in at least five states and means that more than 150 death sentences must be reconsidered. Monday's ruling concerned instances in which juries determined defendants' guilt or innocence and judges alone decided their punishment. The court held that such a sentence imposed by a judge violates a defendant's constitutional right to a trial by jury. It was the second major Supreme Court ruling...