Free Republic

Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has said he will talk to Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin about an alternate plan for raising the national minimum wage. Graham's plan, suggested to him by representatives from the national restaurant chain Waffle House, would index minimum wage increases to inflation. His plan could also soothe Machin's worries that the Democrats' proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 would endanger small businesses already harmed by the pandemic's economic downturn.

Hamas' stunning victory in the Palestinian elections left the Bush Administration in a difficult position this morning, forced to reconcile the fruits of its push for democracy in the Middle East with its goal of peace in the region. In response, the White House argued that the vote was a rejection of the ruling guard Fatah's corruption, rather than the peace process itself. Speaking at a press conference this morning, President Bush called the Hamas win a “wake-up” call for the Fatah leadership. "You see, when you give people the vote, give them the chance to express themselves at the...

The cleaning of Minute Maid Park's moldy roof may go up in dust. A day away from Thursday's deadline to restore the $250 million ballpark's roof to its original white color, and 2 1/2 weeks away from the Super Bowl, the mold is mostly gone, but the roof still looks like coffee-stained teeth. Harris County-Houston Sports Authority officials, who viewed the roof from the Chase Tower on Monday, said parts of the roof still weren't clean enough. The roof's manufacturer, which is paying for the cleaning, is supposed to make it white, they said. "The expectation is that the high...

p>The Recall: It isn't every day that someone of Arnold Schwarzenegger's caliber gives up a highly successful career to run for public office. Californians should take advantage of the opportunity. If they don't, we fear the worst. The state is being driven off a cliff by a one-party government led by second-rate hacks. Next month's recall election may be the only chance to turn things around.No need to go through the problems — the cavernous deficit, the porous border, the business exodus and so on and so forth. But you have to be here (and IBD is headquartered in Los...