Free Republic

If I don't, then who will?Vallejo Times Herald photo Profound, powerful words - a quote one might expect from a Greek philosopher or Mother Teresa, not a kid a couple of months shy of his 20th birthday. "Kid" may accurately describe LCpl West in chronological terms, but he was far more mature and wise than most people twice his age. He recognized terrorism's deadly threat, and as he graduated high school he was already making up his mind to become a Marine and fight for the very freedom many of us too easily take for granted. Phillip made it perfectly...

Miss. Rep. Changes Mind on Bush Judge Pick By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 12:32 p.m. ET JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- The head of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus says he no longer opposes U.S. District Judge Charles Pickering's appeals court nomination -- a surprising turnabout that could cost him his position. State Rep. Phillip West, a Democrat, said in a Tuesday statement that he was speaking only for himself and not for the full caucus. The 45-member caucus has vigorously opposed Pickering's nomination to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Advertisement Pickering, nominated to the New Orleans-based court...

<p>In a surprise move, the head of the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus says he no longer opposes Judge Charles Pickering's controversial appellate court nomination and can even relate to Pickering's feelings about being branded a racist.</p> <p>Pickering, a federal judge who was nominated by President Bush to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has been criticized by African-American organizations for his record on civil rights issues, including his decision to seek a lighter sentence for a convicted cross-burner.</p>

<p>Representatives from the clergy, the Mississippi Black Caucus and two civil rights groups unleashed a blistering attack on caucus head Rep. Phillip West Wednesday for switching his position on Judge Charles Pickering's nomination to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.</p>