Free Republic

The Problem With Bashing The Rich August 2, 2004 The clear implication of the Democrats' message is that the rest of us would somehow be better off if the rich were worse off ... they've already received their wish. Why are they still complaining? (National Review Online) This column from National Review Online was written by Bruce Bartlett. A key theme of the Kerry- Edwards campaign is "us-versus-them," where "us" includes the poor and middle class and "them" indicates the greedy rich. Edwards famously characterized this dichotomy as "two Americas" during his run for the Democratic nomination. The clear implication...

Within the last couple of days, when I goto WWW.FREEREPUBLIC.COM, it takes me to Front Page News instead of the home page. Now I have to goto WWW.FREEREPUBLIC.COM/HOME.HTM to get to the home page. It is doing this on 3 different PC's at home and work. Does anyone know what is happening? I looked at my profile/account to see if there was some setting there that could be redirecting me there. Thanks in advance...

Daisy is stalking Kerry a spoof by Roger Wm. Hughes Sen. John Kerry has been plagued by an insidious problem since his vacation. The Secret Service has tried to keep it quiet, but now the truth is coming out. The incident of the Secret Service agent running into Kerry was no accident. The agent was actually trying to tackle a daisy, which had suddenly shown up after Kerry bought a new ski coat. The daisy appeared to be attacking, uhm, the Senator’s private parts. There is a rumor that this is why Kerry has not been a forceful candidate....

<p>THIS WINTER has been a strange one -- periods of extreme cold followed by unseasonable warmth. While some may consider this a "good old fashioned winter," it bears little resemblance to those of the 1950s or '60s. Scientists and policymakers alike are concerned that carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels are having an increasingly significant impact on our regional and global climate.</p>

Program targets growing problem of abandoned mobile homes The Associated Press Jan 4, 2004 : 10:14 pm ET RALEIGH, N.C. -- Local officials have asked the mobile home industry to help devise ways to remove abandoned single-wides, a growing eyesore they say can hurt efforts to attract jobs. The N.C. Association of County Commissioners estimates that 40,000 derelict mobile homes lurk in the state's woods and fields. Unlike old tobacco barns that also dot rural North Carolina, single-wides lack rustic charm. "This is an economic development issue," said Paul Meyer, assistant general counsel for the N.C. Association of County Commissioners....

<p>MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- Milwaukee will spend $2 million on a filtering system at a wastewater treatment plant in an effort to stop condoms from floating into Lake Michigan.</p> <p>The issue drew attention in June when a fisherman said he saw hundreds of spent condoms in the Milwaukee harbor, prompting the state attorney general to threaten to prosecute the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Commission over the problem.</p>

Who is to blame for the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister? The question has been obscured by a smokescreen of recriminations and threats, but the answer is clear enough. Mr Abbas (better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mazen) was forced to relinquish the post that was created for him only 100 days ago by the man he was intended to replace: Yasser Arafat. The latter's brutal methods were symbolised by the masked thugs who tried to batter down the door of the Palestinian legislative council on Thursday while the prime minister was speaking. By refusing...

Once again, the ranks of overweight children are on the rise.According to the latest report from the National Institutes of Health, although almost every indicator of adolescent health has improved over the last 10 years, America's youth continue to get heavier — to the tune of an estimated 9 million overweight children. What can you do about this junior obesity crisis? Here's a countdown of the top 10 tips from experts on how to prevent your child from putting on too many pounds. 10. A Healthy Beginning The key to getting through the day is to start off on the...

E A G L E, Colo., July 14— The nation knows basketball player Kobe Bryant's accuser only as a namless 19 year-old hotel worker, but her hometown friend says everyone in the small town of Eagle, Colo., knows exactly who she is and what she has been through. Starlene Bray, a friend of the alleged victim, says the young woman is upset over a media stakeout outside her home and reports of emotional difficulties she's recently suffered. "She's kind of in hiding right now," said Starlene Bray on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America. "She's been back and forth from Denver, kind...

A west Houston man preparing to leave on a fishing trip was wounded in a gunfight that killed an unidentified assailant, police said. Marco Antonio Carillo, 21, was in good condition at Ben Taub Hospital on Wednesday after he was shot behind his home in the 5100 block of Eigel near Reinerman about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday. "He stepped outside to put some equipment in his truck and noticed a suspicious vehicle circling the neighborhood," said homicide Detective Kevin Carr. An man dressed in black, who may have been riding in the suspicious Jeep Cherokee, attacked Carillo as he was about...

The most publicized afterevent of the war of liberation has been the Palestine Arab refugee problem. It has become the most potent political weapon in the Arab arsenal. The Arabs have gone to great lengths to describe the plight of these war victims and to keep the refugee camps as working models to demonstrate to the world Jewish cruelty. Indeed, those who visit these wretched souls are certain to be touched by their plight. The Arabs would have the world believe that the Palestine Arab refugee is unique. Nothing could be further from the truth. Every war man has waged...

Wolfowitz thinks Turkey has an 'attitude' problem SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COMThursday, May 8, 2003 ANKARA — Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz is looking for a change in relations between the United States and Turkey. And he has made clear that the Bush administration is not pleased by Ankara's warming relations with Iran and Syria. "I'd like to see a different sort of attitude [on Ankara's part] than I have yet detected," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told the private Turkish CNN-Turk television on Monday. "Maybe it's there, I haven't been to Turkey in a while." "Let's have a Turkey...

<p>WASHINGTON - Almost two years before the Columbia disaster, NASA inspectors discovered a serious weakening of a shuttle's protective left-wing panel and ordered a fleetwide inspection out of fear the problem would turn up in other shuttles, internal space agency documents show.</p>

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Legislature's budget analyst says Gov. Gray Davis' plan to raise $8.3 billion in income, sales and tobacco taxes wouldn't adequately fund his proposal to shift billions of dollars in state programs to local governments. Analyst Elizabeth Hill says the taxes sought by the governor would grow at a somewhat lower rate than the programs local governments would administer. Davis is proposing to shift several state programs, including mental health and substance abuse, child care, long-term care and court security programs, to local governments to save more than $8 billion. Davis wants to raise the sales tax...

The stress of being a young doctor takes its toll, with many suffering mental problems  Two-thirds of Australian medical graduates show obsessive-compulsive behaviour, a fifth are likely to have mental health problems and some face drug issues, according to a new study. The research looked at 117 students who were the first to complete a new graduate medical program run by the University of Sydney. Many became emotionally exhausted, and suffered burn-out in their first year of work. Some experienced a high level of distress. "It's a stressful environment - you can't work in acute end of health care,...

Popular gaming engine could expose you to attack. By Becky Worley  Printer-friendly format Email this story Entertaining computer games may no longer be so harmless -- especially for your computer. PivX Solutions, a computer security firm in Newport Beach, Calif., recently disclosed that it has found a slew of vulnerabilities in the core software code or "engine" that is used in the Unreal video game. PivX says the holes could let an attacker launch a denial-of-service attack, crash a gaming server, or even run code on a player's machine. Luigi Auriemma, a security researcher for PivX Solutions, discovered the holes. "These...

I had a "drug problem when I was a young person. I was "drug to Sunday School; I was "drug to church on Sunday mornings. I was "drug" to church on Sunday nights and I was "drug to church on Wednesday nights. I was "drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card or did speak with respect. Those "drugs" are still in m;y veins, and they affect my behavior in nearly everything I do, say, and think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin. If more children had this...

A German psychologist has begun offering specialist help for men with problems urinating in public. Philipp Hammelstein is heading a two-year study at Dusseldorf's Heinrich Heine University. Scientists estimate that between 3 and 7% of men suffer from Bashful Bladder Syndrome. They have trouble using public toilets if somebody is standing next to them, or even just because they are afraid somebody might come in. Dr Hammelstein examines the underlying cause in each case before dispatching patients to public conveniences in train stations and department stores. Before they go, they have to drink at least half a litre of water....

Voluntary Alternatives to Taxation Stuart K. Hayashi Most Americans believe paying taxes is a patriotic duty. Yet this very nation was founded upon people evading taxes in 1776. When individuals don’t pay taxes, the government goes after them with guns, even though they haven’t used force on anyone else. Thus, taxation is an initiation of physical force against the individual’s right to life, liberty and property. Because taxation is forcible extortion, it violates your right to property. If you don’t pay taxes, you can be jailed, hence depriving you the right to liberty. And if tax “evaders” fight tax...