Free Republic

As a child I was taught to take the Constitution seriously. Some in my community asserted that it was a divinely inspired document which should be respected, revered and followed. After all, the creators of that document were persons of experience, learning and wisdom who had thought deeply about how government should be structured and how power should be divided. As a U.S. district judge, I have admired and cherished their history-tested insights. I speak here, however, as a citizen and only for myself. The framers, with their bitter experience of colonial status, their natural mistrust of undue power in...

LOU DOBBS: Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California ...has introduced a bill that would forbid anyone working in this country illegally from receiving Social Security benefits, and he joins us tonight from Capitol Hill. Congressman, good to have you with us. ROHRABACHER: Thank you very much. DOBBS: Correct my interpretation if it is wrong -- not only are the American people denied representation on immigration policy in this country, but the effect of a totalization agreement is to deny participation by the U.S. Congress, other than through veto. ROHRABACHER: I will have to say that this is an undemocratic way of...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Soldiers from a combat unit at Fort Carson say they have been told to re-enlist for three more years or be transferred to other units expected to deploy to Iraq, the Rocky Mountain News reported Thursday. Hundreds of soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team were presented with that message and a re-enlistment form in a series of assemblies last week, two soldiers who spoke on condition of anonymity told the newspaper. "They said if you refuse to re-enlist with the 3rd Brigade, we'll send you down to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which is...

WASHINGTON (AFP) Sep 15, 2004 The US military may run out of national guard and reserve troops for the war on terrorism because of existing limits on involuntary mobilizations, a congressional watchdog agency warned in a report released Wednesday. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the government has considered changing the policy to make members of the 1.2 million-strong guard and reserve subject to repeated involuntary mobilization so long as no single mobilization exceeds 24 consecutive months. In commenting on the report, however, the Department of Defense (DOD) said it planned to keep its current approach. "Under DOD's current implementation of...

CAMDEN — The aftermath of the war in Iraq has become a problem for President Bush among South Carolina’s swing voters in Kershaw County. It has turned what once was believed to be an asset for re-election into a vulnerability, according to interviews with those voters. Especially chilling were government reports last week that 1,000 Americans had been killed in combat since the conflict began. “Young guys are getting killed over there for nothing,” said Wanda Blakeney, a 49-year-old cook. “It’s sickening,” said Peter Roland, a 52 year-old baker and owner of the Mulberry Market in Camden. The war clearly...